Powder River Basin

[Tomcat]

Thanks Boosted and CN2899.

Once the track for Valley and Angora is finished I'll be able to get some serious time in on scenery.

[Tomcat]

And it's done, well track is for the original idea I had envisioned of a 510 mile loop through the Powder River Basin. I may add more track at a later date after concentrating on scenery for a good long bit but I won't even get to scenery until I add about 150 signals, 300 or so track markers and 50 or 60 level crossings out of the 200 that have gates or lights.

FYI for those who use RWInfo - I could not get the screenshot at first since nothing showed up on RWInfo after clicking on my route. After 30 minutes I realized that the only thing that was different between the last time I had gotten the map to display and now was completing the loop. I cut the track in one spot just north of Northport, breaking the loop, and RWInfo displays the map normally. Now to go back and weld the cut so I can get some more work done.

PRB07052020.jpg

[BoostedFridge]

Tim, this is a great milestone on an already impressive project. I hope you have as much fun creating this, as I do running and creating scenarios for it.

[Tomcat]

Tim, this is a great milestone on an already impressive project. I hope you have as much fun creating this, as I do running and creating scenarios for it.

No worries on that account, I'm having plenty of fun! I don't quite feel as if I've reached a milestone yet... maybe after the entire thing is signaled and track markers are done.

Then there is a tremendous amount of scenery left to do, but completing the track work will be like lifting a heavy burden off of my shoulders. I think I've found a way to keep laying track as I'm working on scenery... have a look at the screenshot;

This is Northport, NE which would be the bottom right of the large map posted previously. I haven't researched this at all yet but it appears to be a Union Pacific car shop nestled against the Union Pacific mainline which runs just South and parallel to the BNSF Valley sub. If I follow the mainline back to the left there is the Union Pacific South Morrill yard about 45 miles away and then it branches off Northward and crosses over the Valley sub between Henry and Morrill, NE which then continues North and then Westward to hook up to the Union Pacific track that I have at Shawnee Junction. I don't think I can resist putting this in.

Northport.jpg

[McCRRR19]

No worries on that account, I'm having plenty of fun! I don't quite feel as if I've reached a milestone yet... maybe after the entire thing is signaled and track markers are done.

Then there is a tremendous amount of scenery left to do, but completing the track work will be like lifting a heavy burden off of my shoulders. I think I've found a way to keep laying track as I'm working on scenery... have a look at the screenshot;

This is Northport, NE which would be the bottom right of the large map posted previously. I haven't researched this at all yet but it appears to be a Union Pacific car shop nestled against the Union Pacific mainline which runs just South and parallel to the BNSF Valley sub. If I follow the mainline back to the left there is the Union Pacific South Morrill yard about 45 miles away and then it branches off Northward and crosses over the Valley sub between Henry and Morrill, NE which then continues North and then Westward to hook up to the Union Pacific track that I have at Shawnee Junction. I don't think I can resist putting this in.

Northport.jpg

This yard is a car repair facility. I think it is operated by Progress Rail (I was only down there once, and it was 5 or 6 years ago). I am not sure of the specifics, but it is set up so both BNSF and UP have access to this facility for the inspection of empty coal trains. Also, one of the sidings here on the BNSF is where the Bridgeport helpers will wait for coal loads to help them up the hill towards Alliance.

[Tomcat]

This yard is a car repair facility. I think it is operated by Progress Rail (I was only down there once, and it was 5 or 6 years ago). I am not sure of the specifics, but it is set up so both BNSF and UP have access to this facility for the inspection of empty coal trains. Also, one of the sidings here on the BNSF is where the Bridgeport helpers will wait for coal loads to help them up the hill towards Alliance.

Thanks for the info! I was wondering about the 1% grade up to Alliance on the Angora sub which is fairly long.

[chrisreb]

So glad to hear this route is still progressing

[Tomcat]

So glad to hear this route is still progressing

...and now progressing a bit beyond what I originally intended.


Relevant portion of Union Pacific's South Morrill subdivision is in place (just South of the BNSF Valley subdivision). The orange line is roughly where the Union Pacific Powder River subdivision will be.

PRBUPaddition.jpg

[Tomcat]

Playing around with getting the right look for scenery on the Angora sub. The hillocks, curves and a rather long 1% grade have made this one of the more enjoyable portions of the PRB to work on.

Screenshot_Powder River Basin_41.94175--103.01954_19-08-26.jpg

[BoostedFridge]

Looks good! That area must be pretty asset block friendly

[Tomcat]

Looks good! That area must be pretty asset block friendly

Yes, for a large portion of the sub there are almost no structures so it's asset blocks, a few trees and bushes. The Union Pacific's Powder River sub from Shawnee Junction, East then South, is more or less the same - I think 2 towns along the way, one very small and the other maybe 12 square blocks, so asset blocks for the most part there as well.

[gtrtroger]

Still having a blast with this route! Looking forward to future expansions.

[Tomcat]

Still having a blast with this route! Looking forward to future expansions.

Still plugging along daily, though some days it's only 10 or 15 minutes. Once I get the connection made to Shawnee junction and get signals and track markers in place I'll be ready for another release. You and Boosted will be the first to know when it's ready.

[krellnut]

Your decorating is outstanding! Every shot is real, it simply looks real. You really do have an amazing gift. Love checking on your progress.

[Tomcat]

Thank you Walter! I'm sure you know, along with a few others, that the encouragement I get from you guys makes it all worthwhile.