Union Pacific Sharon Springs sub route, oncoming template Options

[dgionet]

Hello to all,

Following the recent release of the Sharon Springs sub route from Basil Price (in the MTL-Mophouse downloads site), I have decided to work on building a template. Construction is now mostly done and testing will start and expect some refinements as it progresses. It is a near 240 mile route and will take some time to cover the whole sub.

The Sharon Springs sub starts at Salina and ends West at Sharon Springs, close to the Kansas-Colorado border. As some may remember, Basil Price had done earlier the Salina sub which covereed from Kansas City to Salina. So this one is the continuity of the former route he had made.

The main download will be the Streamlines UP on the Green River route loco set, which covers most of the needed stock. Other than the set, five (5) additional downloads only will be needed.

Six (6) templates are now ready to be tested WB and EB mainline, EB and WB Locals, a Yards templates and also one depicting transfer between both the BNSF and UP Yards in Salina.

Here are the first images of some already created SLG activities for the route





If some wish to test the route, let me know.

Will update later

[dgionet]

Hi to all,

Following some research on the sub operations and also some information provided in the MOPHOUSE-MLT site, Important changes were planned from the original template pack to have the timeframe pushed to the mid-2000's since the main download, the SLI UP on the Green River set sets the activities provided in this era. Traffic is relatively a lot lower than thought, compared with for example between Kansas City and Topeka, which could see 60 trains per day. I have setup traffic with three-hour intervalls between each train which is mostly coal ( to the East), coal empties( to the West) with some grain trains and mixed freight to complete the traffic pattern. Coal seem to come from mines in Western Colorado and also from the Powder River basin in Wyoming.

I have written Basil Price, the route's builder, to allow some minor changes to the route to accomodate the oncoming template. Basil has given me permission to make the changes for the oncoming template package.

A big thanks Basil for your green light! Much appreciated.

Sidings were created at both ends of the route to allow a certain conituity of the EB and WB runs, not only to stop at Salina or Sharon Springs. The sidings are named "To Denver" and "To Kansas City" . Sidings were created the same way as for the earlier Stowe Northern template with the same purpose here in Sharon Springs.

Another important change; the old SF yard beside the UP Yard at Salina has been redone to reflect Kansas & Oklahoma railroad (K&O) operations since the K&O had runs from Salina with trackage rights to Abilene. One siding had been stretched and renamed "K&O interchange". This will allow some car transfers from one railroad to the other. The Yard sidings were renamed K&O Yard 1, 2,3 & 4 and the Eastern tip of the line has a siding named "To Abilene" to allow a continuity.

Just to remind users, when chosen as final destinations the "To Denver","To Kansas City" and "To Abilene" sidings, users need not to stop inside their limits to end the activity. Simply accelerate to the cruising speed, simulating a continuity to their respective destination, and once the train is inside the siding limits, the act ends successfully (see third picture "To Kansas City")

Changes in the download requirements, the BNSF SD40-2 ( for the originally planned BNSF Yard) is scrapped to be replaced with K&O GP38-2's from the Mophouse-MLT downloads site.

Benny is helping with testing. A late addition to the downloads: Benny has also found a set of K&O hoppers in the trainsim site. I have added the set with the package. Thanks Benny.

The pictures here shows the SLG-generated EB run from Sharon Springs to Kansas City (Salina)

The activity took more than five hours and involved some work inside both yards at Sharon Springs and Salina.

Here are some shots, the 1st is in Sharon Springs, the second is at Salina and the thrid to confirm completion of the activity.







More to come later