The Mighty Mike - v2

[scottb613]

Hi Folks,

A few operating notes for the V2 Mikados:

The intended forward-looking head-out views use the passenger-view camera, mounted on the tender so you can see the locomotive moving relative to your viewpoint. Press 5 to enter the view, then Shift+5 to switch sides. Use the arrow keys or hold the right mouse button and drag to look around. If another passenger view opens first, press 5 again to cycle through.

For an added sense of movement, press Ctrl+V to toggle camera vibration. It enhances the head-out experience with camera shake while you watch the locomotive working ahead of you.

Use the normal head-out views for looking backward along the tender and train—End selects the rear-facing head-out view. This way you have (4) head out views a keystroke away.

Turn Advanced Adhesion ON and set adhesion to 80 for some plausible wheel slip. Ease the regulator open and use sand when needed.

Also make sure TCS scripts are enabled. The included script synchronizes the tender water hatch at startup; press P to open or close it.

Regards,
Scott

[eric]

Great work...

I don't recall a decent Hudson or Atlantic if you get bored...

[scottb613]

Great work...

I don't recall a decent Hudson or Atlantic if you get bored...

Hi Eric,

Thanks a bunch - one of the reasons I chose to do the Mikado - they are probably the most mass produced steam locomotive that survived until the end of Steam. Counting clones - there are probably 50 different railroads that used them.

Hah - have you ever clicked the link in my sig - I’ve got so many projects pending…
😁

Next is probably finishing the 3D cab for my RS3 - then my B&M R1 A, B, C, D Mountains with two different tenders - mesh is done - just texture work remains.

Regards,
Scott

[scottb613]

Hi Folks,

https://trainsim.com/forums/filelib-search-fileid?fid=91278

Just uploaded an EXPERIMENTAL unlettered USRA Light Mikado 2-8-2 and matching tender, presented in GLB/glTF Format with physically based materials, animated running gear, a working bell, 3D crew and an animated tender water hatch. A simple locomotive-and-tender test consist is included.

REAL LIGHTS - including AI trains
The locomotive carries a real, model-mounted GLB spotlight, not just a bright headlight disk. Its warm headlight beam is configured to illuminate the scene for player and AI trains when Open Rails' headlight and consist-position conditions enable it. This is especially noticeable when meeting AI trains at night. Marker/classification light glows are retained.

Requirements
A recent 64-bit Open Rails Unstable build with GLB/glTF, embedded DDS and animation support. Prepared and parser-tested with U2026.10.20-0423. Use the runtime required by your chosen build; that tested build uses the .NET 6 Desktop Runtime (x64). A compatible graphics card/driver with DirectX 10-class shader support is required. Microsoft Train Simulator and older Open Rails builds without glTF support cannot run these shapes. Blender and TSRE are not required to drive the model.

IMPORTANT - enable GLB animation

Enable glTF animations in Open Rails Unstable

1. Close Open Rails.
2. Open Registry Editor (regedit).
3. Navigate to:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\OpenRails\ORTS

4. Create or edit this value:

Name: GltfAnimations
Type: DWORD (32-bit)
Data: 1

5. Restart Open Rails.

Set the value to 0 to disable glTF animations.

If your installation uses OpenRails.ini, edit that file
instead of the registry. Add or update this entry in the
existing [ORTS] section:

GltfAnimations=bool:true

Installation
Copy the inner SCO_UNL282_GLB folder to TRAINS\TRAINSET. Copy Consist\SCO_USRA282_GLB_Test.con to TRAINS\CONSISTS. Select SCO USRA Mikado GLB - Loco and Tender. Do not rename or overwrite the older SCO_UNL282 folder.

Test release
Please report your Open Rails build and any animation, lighting, brake or refuelling problems. This package retains the original steam audio; the separate LHR audio trial is not included. Some TSRE GenX v0.19 previews reject GLBs above their 64 MiB limit and may show only the crew. That editor limitation does not make the Open Rails model incomplete.

Open Rails versions
Open Rails glTF and PBR information

Regards,
Scott

[superheatedsteam]

Impressive work as always Scott.

When I view the GLB model in Blender I see various value inputs in the metallic and roughness nodes in the Principled BSDF shader for each texture. Is that how you applied these elements on your model or is this how it was translated in the export to GLB?

Cheers,

Marek.

[scottb613]

Impressive work as always Scott.

When I view the GLB model in Blender I see various value inputs in the metallic and roughness nodes in the Principled BSDF shader for each texture. Is that how you applied these elements on your model or is this how it was translated in the export to GLB?

Cheers,

Marek.

Hi Marek,

Thanks a bunch…

Yes — those values are intentional. The model uses the original color textures with metallic and roughness values assigned per material, rather than separate metallic/roughness texture maps. Some finishes were fine-tuned directly in the GLB after export, so importing it into Blender reconstructs those settings in the Principled BSDF.

The shinier boiler surfaces use metallic 0.35 / roughness 0.52. The rods use 0.65 / 0.38, while the crossheads use 0.30 / 0.65 for a duller finish. The brass bell uses 0.85 / 0.45. Where parts share a color texture but need different finishes, they have separate materials.

It’s still experimental — I’ve been adjusting the finishes by checking how they actually look in Open Rails. Those values are my current settings, rather than a recipe for every locomotive.

Regards,
Scott

[superheatedsteam]

Good to know. I’m trying different things with texture maps but not getting the results I want as yet. I need to spend less time modelling and more time texturing.

Cheers,

Marek.