NS Pocahontas (Pokey 2.0)

[phydeaux]

This is going to be a masterpiece! Wonderful work and such talent!!

[kennyeaton]

Hi guy's,

I'd like to thank all of you for the nice complements on Norfolk and Western's Pokey 2.0. I am going to try to have this finished hopefully by the end of the week. As of today, I have completely torn down the whole town of Bluefield, VA and rebuilding it. All the vegetation is finished from the west end to the top of the hill in Bluefield, WV (just east of Mercer Street bridge). It shouldn't take long to finish that up to the east end of the route. I'll have around 80 ACE files to change to night textures to light up the Bluefields. And lastly, I'll need to run the route in winter mode to make sure all the painted terrtex files match between summer and winter before packing it up to turn it over to Eric.

Again, thank you all for the complements. You guys are the real artist's here. All of you in the community that create the structures, vegetation and so on. I just simply take what y'all have created and put them together.

Kenny


This is going to be the "Load" ace for the route.

load_ACE.jpg

[chilla]

Looks great wish someone would do something like this to the Florida Funnel route and make it look alot better but thats just wishful thinking.

[CSRX]

Looks great wish someone would do something like this to the Florida Funnel route and make it look alot better but thats just wishful thinking.

I think I did a scale rail conversion and did some scenery changes, but I can't remember what I ever did with that version. Could always try and start fresh some day..

[landnrailroader]

Earlier someone mentioned that the Clinch Valley line looked like someone had copied the BlueField Yard. I didn't do that particular route, it was done many years ago, but more recently I did copy the Bluefield yard into my Virginian route which is actually Simon Van de Laak's route which he gave to me, to finish, years ago and I also copied the Bluefield yard to start my own Clinch-Appalachia route which I sent to Kenny a few months back. I have to thank all those folks that create structures etc. I am good at mainly laying track and roads, although the latter are in their own way more difficult than the track. Almost all the routes I have done, were worked with the data from track charts and in some cases my personal recollections. I am working on a redo of my 2002 Blue Ridge & Kingsport Sub. routes. In the case of the Blue Ridge, I want to include the SR line from just east of ClinchCross to Asheville, mainly because Helene destroyed enough of the loops to suggest that NS might not rebuild there. The Loops are a grand example of 19th century, pre-heavy equipment design & construction, while the Blue Ridge Sub. of Clinchfield/CSX is an example of early 20th century with at least some heavy equipment. As for structures, the only modern coal handling equipment we have is in the Powder River Basin route which came out a decade or more ago and most of it's structures are not correct for eastern locations. Maybe somebody will do some modern structures in that area. I can share some images I have of the transloader in Appalachia, VA (built new in 1964, torn down by 2002) if someone wants to try.

Jerry Sullivan

[kennyeaton]

Good morning guys,

I have placed the last shape file in the route. It's been a long time coming to this point. A couple of things left to do before uploading to the library. I need to make night textures for about 75 ace files to light up a few buildings and then speed through the route to make sure the terrtex match between summer and winter. I know that there are several that will need fixed. The route, as it sits right now, is 12.6 GB. As they would say on the Pokey, "itsabiggin".

The branch lines,

All the tracks and roads have been painted and most of the towns and communities have been reworked. I have not worked the vegetation on these like I have on the main line from Bluefield to Williamson. I will eventually finish these and possibly upload an update for this. It will be quite a while coming though. I know a few of you might want to continue working on the branches than waiting for an update.

My question to y'all,

I have a lot of unused shape files in this route that has accumulated over the years, should I delete all of the unused or leave them in?

A couple more days and I should have it uploaded.

Kenny

Untitled1.jpg

Untitled2.jpg

Untitled3.jpg

[Orbita]

Kenny,

I would suggest uploading the route without the unused shapes. However, I would also suggest uploading a separate file of all the unused shapes and their respective textures for route builders to use on other projects/routes.

[kennyeaton]

UPDATE

Good Evening All,

After a few finishing touches that I will do in the morning, the route is finished and will be boxed up and uploaded tomorrow. This route will give you a completely different visual experience. Hope all of you that download will enjoy it.

Kenny

[niknak]

Looking forward to it

[kennyeaton]

Shouldn't be much longer. I sent this to Eric late yesterday evening.

[landnrailroader]

Kenny,

I just don't have that artistic skill that you demonstrate with your routes. But I'll keep plugging away. Down a little at the moment, Positive for Covid on 12/13 and though I had no temperature and was really feeling better, worst being night of 12/11, I was prescribed 40 large capsules which only one Walgreens in Jacksonville had in stock - 25 miles from where I live. Have to take 4 at a time, twice a day until used up in 5 days. Each dose is 800mg. I don't have any issues other than being almost 86, so mine were zero copay with our insurance, but my wife had it 6 months or so ago and she has some cardiac issues, so hers were not zero copay, try $300 copay. In any case, I am piddling along with track on the Eielson branch out of Fairbanks, AK now. This route will not turn out as well as others because of the distortion between earth coordinates and MSTS coordinates. For example a 10 degree curve, and there are several of those, instead of being nicely round, is sorta twisted and comes out mostly 8 degrees with a 15 degree kink. By using dynamic track anyone that does not like the shape, can create a nice round curve but it will interfere with structures etc. nearby in many cases.

Jerry

[kennyeaton]

Kenny,

I just don't have that artistic skill that you demonstrate with your routes. But I'll keep plugging away. Down a little at the moment, Positive for Covid on 12/13 and though I had no temperature and was really feeling better, worst being night of 12/11, I was prescribed 40 large capsules which only one Walgreens in Jacksonville had in stock - 25 miles from where I live. Have to take 4 at a time, twice a day until used up in 5 days. Each dose is 800mg. I don't have any issues other than being almost 86, so mine were zero copay with our insurance, but my wife had it 6 months or so ago and she has some cardiac issues, so hers were not zero copay, try $300 copay. In any case, I am piddling along with track on the Eielson branch out of Fairbanks, AK now. This route will not turn out as well as others because of the distortion between earth coordinates and MSTS coordinates. For example a 10 degree curve, and there are several of those, instead of being nicely round, is sorta twisted and comes out mostly 8 degrees with a 15 degree kink. By using dynamic track anyone that does not like the shape, can create a nice round curve but it will interfere with structures etc. nearby in many cases.

Jerry

Sorry to hear this Jerry. We'll keep y'all in our prayers. Thats nothing to fool with at your age. I've got an ole friend down your way in Baptist hospital that somehow got infection in the bone of his foot and ended up having to remove part of his leg. The good news is the infection is gone bad news is part of his leg is too.

When Eric gets the Pokey route in the library, delete the one I sent you awhile back and download the new one for your routes folder. I've changed a few things in it since I sent you the one you have.

Kenny

[eric]

I'm having to repackage it -- the forum software doesn't like 7Zip compression.... Should be in the library in a couple hours.

[kennyeaton]

Thank you. I have a description typed up in notepad for the display in the library. If you could copy/paste it in for me I'll send it in the messages. Or will I be able to edit this area once you get it loaded in?

[eric]

I'll set this up for you to be able to manage. Still uploading..... it's over 5gb.