Blue Comet Lines Redux Route 1965-1976 - A Work In Progress Part Deux

[NW 2156]

Hi Mark,

I'm glad to see your still working on this route. It's awesome following along and learning some of NJ history. I've always wanted to go to NJ. Maybe one day!

Im wondering if we can make this work in MSTS as well as ORTS? The use of DDS textures caught my eye while reading the updates. Hopefully I can figure out how to convert DDS to Ace.

I should probably get with the times and figure out ORTS LOL!

Thanks.

Robert

[MMSS]

Hi Robert,

Nice to see and hear from you again. Well, I like to give a bit of a background for those who might think it was a "Carnival Life" atmosphere like they might have heard about or maybe seen in some movies or on TV. Keansburg today for the most part is still a seedy town on the Bayshore. A perfect movie to see a downfall of towns and cities along the NJ shore is a movie called "Down The Shore" from 2011 (Pre-Hurricane Sandy by one year) with the late James Gandolfini. 85% was actually filmed in Keansburg and the rest in Atlantic Highlands.

Another good movie to see the downturn of Atlantic City is "The King of Marvin Gardens" with Jack Nicholson and Bruce Dern from 1972. It shows AC in its real downturn from the Steel Pier & Million Dollar Pier to the city's most beautiful old hotels that met the wrecking ball (or imploded) in the 1977 casino start-up era. Hotels like the huge Traymore, Marlborough-Blenheim (Where King/Marvin Gardens was filmed), The President Hotel, The Breakers and so met their fate to glass towers. Also, the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines stars in the movie too. Jack Nicholson's character arrives in AC with a GP38 pulling two RDC-1 units and in the end leaving AC with the same consist plus a Penn Central baggage car.

So, you can see what I am trying to achieve with what I remember going up in my youth. In that era, the towns along the shore seen better days. Mostly the towns and cities that have amusements and entertainment. Towns like Sea Bright, Deal, Spring Lake, Manasquan, Bay Head and towns like that are towns with homes that are oceanfront and if they have a boardwalk, it is then for walking or bike riding. There are no amusements or bars along them to speak of. A few might have a restaurant or two but that is about it. But I want to have that seedy mid-1960's to mid-1970's look to those shore towns.

As for use in MSTS, at this point it isn't happening as it stands. I have been using many scenery objects using .dds type textures. Some like Bob Ellis' trash shapes, textures and transfers are essential for the route. Afterall, this is New Jersey in the 1960's and 70's so roadside and trackside trash and garbage all over. And for others worldwide ORTS and MSTS, there are some great scenery objects I have incorporated in the route too. I did try to boot the route up in MSTS last night and like I thought, it crashed big time. So no, MSTS it will not run it.

And ORTS isn't hard to learn and use Robert. It is very flexible and very user friendly. You just have to remember it is a work in progress (WIP). You have a bunch of people programming it for free on their spare time and they really listen to user input. But a lot want a flaw they might catch fixed ASAP. I don't care for the pissers and moaners that bash something that is really incredible and gives life to so many files that are 20+ years old.

[conductorchris]

I am really enjoying this. Thank you.

[shadowmane]

I love that Ford Station Wagon. Based on the 1972 Torino that is hard to find and expensive as *ell today. This is some great work. I'm enjoying your posts about the history, too.

[MMSS]

I love that Ford Station Wagon. Based on the 1972 Torino that is hard to find and expensive as *ell today. This is some great work. I'm enjoying your posts about the history, too.

I still see many in Northern Jersey to this day. The herd is thinning but they are still around. I have a friend who bought a Squire version one about a year ago in real cherry shape. No rust, interior was the same and with a 428 CID for $3500.Shows the car to this day.

I had first dibs on it and should have bought it for myself but still have to do some minor work to my numbers matching '69 Mach I with 429SCJ Drag-Pak when my health improves a bit more.