Waterville Rail Shops 2026

[CSRX]

I stepped away from repainting a while back, due to a few factors including the release of ORTS 1.6 with its many new physics features and other details, and it seemed like I always got overshadowed by someone else jumping on the bandwagon when it came to working on container sets, boxcar sets, or even covered hopper sets. At the moment, it is what it is, never hurts to have more and reduces my workload, especially now that I am four days a week at work. I would love to get back to repainting locomotives as well, as I have some New England desires for the GP38/GP38-2 series, but eh, one small step at a time.

These cars are currently set up for ORTS 1.5.1 using the physics that Erick Cantu provided when he built the cars to begin with. I may look into making an additional folder containing physics for ORTS 1.6 use, but time permitting, hard saying. If someone would be interested in doing that part, I have zero problem, again, reduces my overall workload.

Anyways... So far, two for today. Probably won't have an update until next weekend as I work Tuesday to Friday on a local job.
AOK and COER.

[jbtower]

Classic as usual, Shawn. We definately need those tagged railcars to make the prototype realism to the sim.

[ossie]

Nice job Shawn! I must be a real kick to be able to recreate what you run at work.

Railroading must be one of the rare jobs in the world where people come home from work and still want to do more of it.

[qballbandit]

Thanks Shawn! Always get anxious when you preview your work.

[EvolutionMan]

...it seemed like I always got overshadowed by someone else jumping on the bandwagon when it came to working on container sets, boxcar sets, or even covered hopper sets.

You're not alone when it comes to that understanding, Shawn. You just happen to be familiar with a unique style of railroading, and that itself creates a lot of potential. In the face of that reality, my advice would be to keep on going, even if the efforts are only for yourself. You'll get more enjoyment out of making something you've wanted, especially if you spent a lot of effort on it. That's what I've stood by for a long time.

Either way, regardless if you plan on releasing them or not, I look forward to hearing of further progress!

[pwillard]

I don't release most of my "things" because I enjoy working on them... but not actually finishing them... so there... :-P

[CSRX]

Three more for now. The ATW box is actually one of my favorites on the system, as it is to my knowledge, the only one in the set that has the newer BNSF logo unpatched, while the others retain the original BNSF circle/cross logo. Then there is the TR box, with the original CN reporting marks and numbers making it known it will not hide. These three cars, are mostly used in the printer paper service out of Twin Rivers in Madawaska, ME.

I haven't seen this NOKL car, or any other NOKL car as of recent, so I wonder if these have gone off lease alongside the YKR's.

[Timbit]

Shawn, the boxcars look good, not new but that beat up look, like most of the boxcars now look like lol

[CSRX]

Thanks Tim!

And because not every boxcar is brown/red.

[EvolutionMan]

I haven't seen this NOKL car, or any other NOKL car as of recent, so I wonder if these have gone off lease alongside the YKR's.

NOKL 50' high-cube box cars like this one are an occasional sight around where I am. The paper traffic usually consists of CN-owned box cars or some other privately owned cars...reporting marks such as LW, TR and UCRY are not uncommon.

[CSRX]

NOKL 50' high-cube box cars like this one are an occasional sight around where I am. The paper traffic usually consists of CN-owned box cars or some other privately owned cars...reporting marks such as LW, TR and UCRY are not uncommon.

We have a ton of TR boxcars (ex CN) leased to Twin Rivers Paper, while a ton of AOK, UCRY, CRLE, COER, and ATW leased to Irving for use at Twin Rivers, Irving Paper, or Woodland Pulp LLC, which is mostly where my photos I'm using are from, the trains we haul and interchange with CSXT or CP. We also interchange with CN, and some of the other fleet of leased boxcars go that direction too, so really, these should fill out a lot of locations for paper products, whether it's woodpulp, pulpboard, printer paper, newsprint, tissue paper, or paper ground, whatever that stuff is..

For reference, a lot of the blue and gray painted ATW and COER boxcars on property, are former LW, CMQ, CDAC boxcars.

[CSRX]

Some more. Huge chance the FBOX car will not be released. I saw this car show up one night from Saint John, NB, empty, heading back to CSX. Of course it was at night, and I was working, so I couldn't get a good side shot. Thankfully I found a somewhat decent side shot of this car online, but not the quality standard compared to the others. Added a another ATW, TR, and two GACX cars today. I believe most of the GACX cars are getting relettered to ITFX as of recent.

[jbtower]

I'll keep my eyes open for any NOKL here on the BNSF other than lots of 2-bay sand hoppers!

[CSRX]

I'll keep my eyes open for any NOKL here on the BNSF other than lots of 2-bay sand hoppers!

If you see any of these NOKL cars head your way, I would be very surprised. I do believe most of them actually went down into Mexico with loads of Printer Paper. I want to say the COER, AOK and UCRY ones are more common in your neck of the woods from us. Some even go to the Chicago Tribune with newspaper print from Irving Pulp & Paper.

[CSRX]

Three more from today. Now I need to step back and take a look at the folder, to see if any of these have been release prior or not, as currently, the folder contains 40 total boxcars. If I did, chances are, it reduces the number of boxcars I currently have done for this "set" to 15 total as an addon.

Edit: Taking a peek in the library, it looks like I did release some of the boxcars in the main folder, but only AOK 15038, and four CN/CNA boxcars. So I guess that would make 35 total that I have worked on. Perhaps I should wrap this up, test them, and release them, or just keep going and get these photos of mine used up and off my computer, and release as a giant add-on to the WRS_BOXCARS folder.

Edit 2: 115 photos left to work with for boxcars at least. Yeah, maybe not a good idea to do all those and release as a giant pack, because that would mean roughly 150 total boxcars, give or take, depending on how I feel with the end quality. Probably split that up in five various packs over the course of this year. Maybe.. We shall see.