Steam Locomotive Wish List 2026

[BrandonS261]

Hey everyone,

So being that I am a steam guy and enjoy building my own models I was curious what everyone else's wish list would be regarding Steam Locomotives in Open Rails? I have many projects going on but would like to get at least a few of them done and off of my plate so you all can enjoy them.

Now the main ones I am focusing on are the SP GS1 class 4-8-4, RI R67B 4-8-4, and FEC/US Sugar 148 because those three are the closest from being completed.

That all being said I also have some other projects in the works as well and would like to get an idea of what others would like to see in the future either from myself or others who model steam locomotives.

The other projects I have in the works regarding steam are as followed.

Reading T1 class 4-8-4
CP 2816 4-6-4
CP 2317 4-6-2
UP FEF class 4-8-4
UP Challenger 4-6-6-4
NKP/PM 2-8-4
NYC 4-8-4
SP 4-6-2
SP 4-6-0 2248

Future projects I would like to do.

SOO LINE H23 4-6-2 2719
SOO LINE L1 class 2-8-2 1003
CNW R1 class 4-6-0 1385
RBM&N G1 class 4-6-2 425
SP GS4 4-8-4 4449
SP&S E1 4-8-4 700
ATSF 4-8-4 3751 and 2926
IAIS QJ 2-10-2 6988 and 7081

I could keep going on with future projects but that would take all night and I already have my plate full with projects that are all over the map for Open Rails.

The reason I bring this up is being that Open Rails is starting to be more advanced it would be nice to have some steam locomotives up to the current standards. Yes I do know a few of the projects I mentioned we already have out for MSTS but I feel like many of them would be great candidates to have a complete new models made and up to Open Rails standards as many of them were built in the early 2000s when MSTS first came out. I have been putting all of my focus lately on passenger cars but I would like to switch it up and get back into my steam locomotive projects. Yes I am aware I am most likely digging myself into a huge hole with this forum but I am very good at doing that.

Let me know what you all would like to see come out first and what you would enjoy seeing in the future for Open Rails steam.

Brandon

[Orbita]

Great list Brandon. I'm all for seeing the NYC Niagara, Reading T1, and NKP Berkshire come out first. Northeastern railroads are my niche.

In the future, I'd love to see more steam for PRR. We could use an L1 Mikado, E6 Atlantic, H9/10 Consolidation, and the J1 Texas.

[landnrailroader]

I got two of them. NC&StL Dixie Class, 4-8-4 and an L&N Big Emma, 2-8-4.

Jerry Sullivan

[BrandonS261]

Now I do not want to get too far ahead of myself but I was thinking about doing a L&N Big Emma and other Berkshire locomotives as well like the C&O, Virginian and even a CNW. I will already be building part of a Big Emma tender since quite a few of them were saved and used as water tenders for other mainline steam locomotives that are still used today. Like i said in a previous post I am trying to think of locomotives I could build that could cover multiple railroads or from railroads that are not usually thought of. My thought is if I could build locomotives that would also be able to be converted to another locomotive from a different railroad without too much modifications or little effort in doing so I could cover more ground and satisfy more people in the process.

Brandon

[SD40-2]

Honestly, the thing that'd benefit the community that I'd want to see are USRA Light and Heavy Pacific locomotives. That'd be so useful for the community as they could be the basis for multiple skins, either exact matches or close-enough models.

[rdayt]

A 20th century 4-4-0 would fit in in a lot of places.

Randy

[BrandonS261]

Yes that is a very good idea! I have actually thought about a 4-4-0 and a USRA 4-6-2s and USRA 2-8-2s. Make a basic shape of them and then use a FA for specific details depending on the railroad they served on.