RMD West route, oncoming template Options

[dgionet]

Hello to all,

As you know, testing has begun on the RMD_West route, as we read at the Trainsim site (Route Design forum). I have also received the route files with permission from Lukas (aka Swissie) to proceed ahead with installation of the route and construction of the template pending its official release.

I want to thank Moe (dispatcher) for telling me about the oncoming release, also for giving a good word for me to have the route available to prepare grounds for the oncoming template. He has received the route to allow creating the route system maps, like he has done for the RMD_East route. But the last is to thank Lukas to allow me having in advance the route. It has been a long time I have wished for this route to see the day and now it has come.

I have also received Moe's maps. That helps a lot to start planning the project. Thanks again Moe!

Due to the large presence of the Northern Pacific (NP) railroad in the RMD_West route, I plan to use the NP freight pack from BLW. Consequently, many of the earlier downloads used on the RMD_East route won't be required anymore. The BA&P now absent in the current route and with the BLW pack which had been released after the completed RMD_East template, the required downloads has been reduced from 25 (for the RMD_East) to the current 17. Most of the original downloads on the RMD East route will remain on the RMD_West route. I expect to keep the same timeframe as with the earlier template, that is around 1962.

I have yet to install the rolling stock and the route itself but the project is now on and hope to give teaser shots of the route up to its official release.

[dgionet]

Hi to all,

Lukas Lusser had sent me some schedules of both the MILW and the NP lines of late forties and early fifties and have looked at it. Although, the template's timeframe in around 1960, I have worked with the purpose to implement some of the trains that were in operation.

For the first templates the main Westbound templates for both lines, I have decided to redo from scratch the entire traffic pattern using some of the real-time schedule trains. One example was the NP train 600 (aka the "Fruiter"), which was a load of fruit cars from the West to the East. Many of the trains ran mostly under the dark but was able to have at least five (5) trains with real-time schedules and set them up to leave at the exact time and was able to set their arrival with about five to 15 minutes of difference. Some of the trains that were actually in the dark but ended their run at daylight. For example, the fruiter leaves Paradise at 2:40 AM and arrives ar Garrison at 6:55 am. Since the player train departures from Deer Lodge had been moved back to 6:00 Am, the user will be able to see it from the MILW or to meet it (for the NP) It seems many of the NP freight did not use the Butte short line, so at Garrison, they kept on straight Eastward toward Mullan Pass, Helena and through Logan, bypassing Deer Lodge and Butte.

The AI traffic pattern has been done to work simultaneously on both the MILW and the NP. Two scheduled trains are very close to each other. That means the user may have to wait for both trains before having the green. However the waiting time won't bee too long.

Out from the 17 AI traffic trains which are part of the traffic pattern, five of them are authentic. They include the NP fruiter, the MILW Olympian Hiawatha, the NP North Coast Limited, the NP Mainstreeter ( a mail/passenger train) and a MILW through freight from the West.

I have started and finished testing the traffic pattern on both lines, running on the MILW line between Deer Lodge and Alberton with success.

Except for the first picture (ending my previous two boxcab run at Avery), here are some of the trains I have seen and met along the way.



The Fruiter


The North Coast Limited


The Throughfreight, numbered 262


Two shots of the Olympian Hiawatha




Will start building the NP mainline template and once finished test the Deer Lodge-Missoula run.

more developments later