Hollywood Udates again

It was getting crowded at the other thread.Between working on the Milwaukee Boxcabs, and other things, I managed a few hours on the PE 600's, and finally decided to follow the cue from the guys over at Island Electric, using alpha channel to interpret the many standee grabs in their subway cars. I did the same with the Holly's seat-back handrails. They are added to the interior model that is being placed within the car using the freightanimation tag. This was a major step for me, as I was stressing over the impact these 22 handrails would have on the sim. But being as they are made of a two-sided panel, and the handrail above the seatback is alpha'ed, there arent that many polys for the effect it gives:

It only loses the effect as you turn to look at the seat edge-on, then you can see it's a flat panel. But, I am willing to live with that, and not the S/DS that 22 complex 3D pipes would no doubt be causing.Next up: Modeling the Johnson farebox and end details. Then, it's off to the beta testers....( after Chuck is satisfied with the .eng file).Timtimmuir@wcn.net

Street and Interurban Electric Railway Models
Sumpter Valley B&B Gang
Willamette Valley Route
(No timetable for release)

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RE: Hollywood Udates again, dvdhoven, Feb-07-04, 01:22 AM, (1) RE: Hollywood Udates again, Overkill211, Feb-07-04, 01:33 AM, (2) RE: Hollywood Udates again, tryagin, Feb-07-04, 02:11 AM, (3) RE: Hollywood Udates again, Swissie, Feb-13-04, 01:40 AM, (7) RE: Hollywood Udates again, Swissie, Feb-07-04, 08:16 AM, (4) RE: Hollywood Udates again, tryagin, Feb-07-04, 01:07 PM, (5) RE: Hollywood Udates again, Magick_maker, Feb-12-04, 11:25 PM, (6) RE: Hollywood Udates again, bradhig, Feb-14-04, 06:00 PM, (8) RE: Hollywood Udates again, philmoberg, Feb-14-04, 06:59 PM, (9) RE: Hollywood Udates again, tryagin, Feb-14-04, 11:07 PM, (10) RE: Hollywood Udates again, bradhig, Feb-21-04, 01:07 AM, (11) RE: Hollywood Udates again, tryagin, Feb-21-04, 12:49 PM, (12) RE: Hollywood Udates again, Thirdrail70, Feb-23-04, 07:14 PM, (13) RE: Hollywood Udates again, tryagin, Feb-24-04, 01:07 AM, (14) RE: Hollywood Udates again, linkj, Feb-24-04, 09:27 AM, (15) RE: Hollywood Udates again, tryagin, Feb-25-04, 03:00 PM, (16) RE: Hollywood Udates again, ivanfurlanis, Feb-25-04, 03:59 PM, (17) RE: Hollywood Udates again, Swissie, Feb-25-04, 04:39 PM, (18) RE: Hollywood Udates again, linkj, Feb-25-04, 11:00 PM, (19) RE: Hollywood Udates again, tryagin, Feb-26-04, 00:29 AM, (20) RE: Hollywood Udates again, Swissie, Feb-26-04, 06:25 AM, (21) RE: Hollywood Udates again, bradhig, Feb-26-04, 09:31 PM, (22) RE: Hollywood Udates again, tryagin, Feb-26-04, 10:05 PM, (23) RE: Hollywood Udates again, msavianney, Feb-27-04, 02:41 AM, (24) RE: Hollywood Udates again, tryagin, Feb-27-04, 06:27 PM, (25) PE 5050-class one-man cars, tryagin, Mar-01-04, 00:29 AM, (26) RE: PE 5050-class one-man cars, dvdhoven, Mar-01-04, 12:38 PM, (27)

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Hi,Woow, that interior is looking very real!!! Both from inside and outside. Very great job. One of the best, may be the best, I have seen so far in MSTS. Outstanding, Tim. Congrats.
And thanks for sharing this. Dick van den Hoven

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Beautiful... simply beautiful. We just need to find you some of the advertising boards (liver pills, refillable ink pens, hair tonic, vacuum cleaners, etc.).

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Thanks Dick and O-k! Yes, the ads have been discussed down at the carbarn. I have been cruising ebay for ads of the period to edit, and maybe some of my own ( Mrs. McCready's Surgical Bruise Lotion, etc.). Sure would be the icing on the cake, tho, wouldn't it? Timtimmuir@wcn.net

Street and Interurban Electric Railway Models
Sumpter Valley B&B Gang
Willamette Valley Route
(No timetable for release)

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Hi Timlooking forward (Although that means I've to re-do some of those traffic files - which I will do with great pleasure!)Cheers Lukas a.k.a Swissie

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LAST EDITED ON Feb-07-04 AT 08:17 AM (EST)

Hi Tim, no need to worry about the flat panel when viewed from the side... I do not think anybody will complain. Can't wait boarding it and lingering in those comfy seats!Lukas a.k.a SwissieEdit: Guess I've got to wait for it to show up at a flagstop near my door

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I hear the PE made a deal with the Mt.E on a fleet of Holly's for the Mountain lines. The PE has to treat all the wood window frames with preservative, for the climatic changes encountered between the two locales. This was a lesson learned when PE sold 8 cars to Portland Traction. The window frames are made of a type of wood from southern climes, which swelled with the damp conditions of the Pacific Northwest, making the windows impossible to open.Keep your eyes peeled!Timtimmuir@wcn.net

Street and Interurban Electric Railway Models
Sumpter Valley B&B Gang
Willamette Valley Route
(No timetable for release)

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One thing I've often considered making in G max is something I used when I used to model in HO and N scale.Back then, I had a problem with buildings, finding that most of the time I could only afford one or two kits at a time. So, to make the most out of what I had, i would build "Boxes" of buildings by combining three or four kits in such a way that sometimes I only used one wall of a building.Basically, to explain this, picture a large block of buildings, let's say six stores on a main street. I would remove the interior walls, and any walls the visitor wouldn't see, and replace them with styrene, or just leave them gone. There MIGHT be cardboard dividers in the middle, but sometimes I would just paint an interior on the windows. Depending on how far the building was from the visitor.In Gmax, then, I've been tempted to recreate blocks such as this, with five and six or more buildings of the same type together. That way, a user could fill a city, and yet keep the poly count relatively low.

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Did Pacific Electric ever run PCC cars?

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See this link:

http://www.stubchaer.com/Pacific_Electric_Ry_Photos_1947_49_by_Jim_Stubchaer/PE06.htm

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Hey, Phil, I'm glad you put Jim's link here. He's got some really terrific photos to share. The Hollywoods I'm modelling are representatives of after the 1939 re-modelling, which were inspired by the PE 5000's (PCC's). It was then they recieved the "butterfly" paint scheme and green zebra-striped mohair seats, which first appeared on the PCC's.By the way, I'll be returning to the Hollys after the Milwaukee Road "pelicans" are uploaded. (There will be 22 units!) Timtimmuir@wcn.net

Street and Interurban Electric Railway Models
Sumpter Valley B&B Gang
Willamette Valley Route
(No timetable for release)

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Those pictures make my think of Roger Rabbit but those were fake streetcars in the movie.

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Fake, yes, but inspiring nonetheless. Seeing RR made me want to build a "600" a long time ago. I never knew anything about Hollywoods ( other than my native Portland Traction had 8 ex-PE Hollys) until I saw the movie, and now, well, I'm bitten by the PE bug. Not only the Hollys, but the 900's, the "Tens", the boxmotors, and then there's the LARy, and the "Yellow Cars"! Ah! Too many neat cars, too little time! Timtimmuir@wcn.net

Street and Interurban Electric Railway Models
Sumpter Valley B&B Gang
Willamette Valley Route
(No timetable for release)

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Tim:Your car is looking super. I, for one, am looking foreward to seeing the completed model. It'll be tops on my download list. This will certainly be an MSTS favorite, a reminder of the fabulous transit system that existed in Southern California and as we all hope, may one day exist again. As gridlock effects the highways, an inevitability for any roadway, people will realize that mass transit systems offer a choice for those who wish to take advantage of that choice. New York City's mass transit system, for example, does not ease gridlock on New York City roadways, but it provides an alternative transit mode for millions of its citizens and indeed makes a city like New York possible. Terrific model Tim...
you're the best!!!Frederick Dreany
Island Electric, East

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Frederick,Thank you again for your kind comments and thoughtful commentary. Indeed yes, the PE was one of the finest transit systems in the world at one time. I have been studying and purchasing books about the PE and learning as much as possible about it. It's really a fascinating and multi-faceted study.About the model. I have been adding the end details and fighting the system all the way. It's been a treacherous balancing act between placing parts in the car itself, and those in the separate shape file ( some of the details created as scenery and loaded in a route then copied the shape files into the cars' folders, then added to the model using the freightanim tag in the engine file). I think I'm about at the limit. I don't think I'll be able to load the farebox or car cards, without crashing the sim.here's the end details as of today:

You might notice the wooden drop-down seat by the back door. Those are all in too.Thanks again Frederick. I appreciate your expert opinion.
Timtimmuir@wcn.net

Street and Interurban Electric Railway Models
Sumpter Valley B&B Gang
Willamette Valley Route
(No timetable for release)

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Tim, with that last brown-toned photo I think you finally took us across the boundary of no longer knowing what is MSTS and what is reality. Lukas Lusser's MountE work is going the same way. To me that's the ultimate goal of MSTS. Absolutely astounding, well done!Aloha, JeffPS--No fare box? And they say there's no such thing as a free lunch... No ads? That's kinda like PBS for train-sim!

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Ok, Jeff, the farebox is next, I promise! I have been spending the last couple days fine-tuning the car cards and roll-signs. Thanks to yours and Frederick's help, I finally got them in.

Shown here with alternate cut'n'paste Venice Short Line destination. Also included are "Los Angeles" "Hollywood BLVD.-Beverly Hills" and "Santa Monica Blvd."
Lots of reading material! Plenty of authentic 1939-40 ads, edited to fit from magazines and period blotters. Blotters were used for the old ink pens, before ball-point pens, and there are thousands of different advertising designs, from the 19th and early to mid 20th centuries, and are the right format for car cards, with just a little editing.Timtimmuir@wcn.net

Street and Interurban Electric Railway Models
Sumpter Valley B&B Gang
Willamette Valley Route
(No timetable for release)

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Hi Tim!Your new streetcar is simply fantastic: in the night screenshot it's hard to say if it's the real thing or a simulation! Sadly, I'm not able to access the file library to donwload it, as I always find "all nodes are busy".Greetings, Ivan

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LAST EDITED ON Feb-25-04 AT 05:09 PM (EST)

Wow. WOOOW! Ehm... Wooooow.Lukas a.k.a Swissie
(Sorry, words now fail me) Edit: I mean - after rebooting my verbal abilities - look at the second screen shot, the interior of the car. Not just the placcards, not just the details of the roof all the way to the glass of the lights. Just take a close look near the right upper corner where you can even see the mechanism inside the rolling sign, and parts of its lettering, properly inverted as one would see it when looking at it from behind. That's not only taking care of details, that is absolutely outstanding fine tuning and accuracy!)

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LAST EDITED ON Feb-25-04 AT 11:01 PM (EST)

And I quote, "I think I'm about at the limit. I don't think I'll be able to load the farebox or car cards, without crashing the sim."Really? Let the guys who say TSM is limited use this as a case study.'loha, Jeff

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First, Ivan, the car isn't in the library yet. So you wont find it even if you could get in there. But, I'm real close to the beta stage, now. ( The Milwaukee Road boxcabs are next in line to the library, maybe next week).Lukas, thanks. This car has been a real learning experience. And once I sat inside the passenger compartment, that first time, I decided I was going for broke and make it as authentic as possible. I got alot of input from all sorts of people about what to put in the car, as far as certain details that stuck in personal memeories of these folks. Like the fold-down wooden seats in front of the doors, and everyone wanted that farebox in that contraption in the center of the car.

Then there are those who want the later 5050 class 1949 rebuilds, with slightly different details. That is being developed alongside the 600-700 class, and that Portland Traction version is lurking in the background too.Jeff, That limit I referred to was pushed back yesterday, by the re-evaluation of older parts, and re-doing the seats. I think TSM is a good tool. And there's an old saying: "It's a poor workman who blames his tools". Sure, TSM has lots of bad attributes, and that commercial license stigma is a real bugger, but I've become good friends with it, and have learned to work with and around it's glitches. I think I'll keep 'er! Thanks all!Timtimmuir@wcn.net

Street and Interurban Electric Railway Models
Sumpter Valley B&B Gang
Willamette Valley Route
(No timetable for release)

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LAST EDITED ON Feb-26-04 AT 06:26 AM (EST)

Hi Tim and Jeffand I quote: "Jeff, That limit I referred to was pushed back yesterday, by the re-evaluation of older parts, and re-doing the seats. I think TSM is a good tool. And there's an old saying: "It's a poor workman who blames his tools". Sure, TSM has lots of bad attributes, and that commercial license stigma is a real bugger, but I've become good friends with it, and have learned to work with and around it's glitches. I think I'll keep 'er!"Well said, I like that statement. There are also people bragging about what crappy tool the MSTS Route Editor is. Well, well. If they only cared a bit more... The tool can be pretty good, but on the part of the workman, it demands strict discipline, a clear idea of what to achieve, and some willingness to study and learn from the wealth of information in Michael Vone's 300+ pages book and on the fora here. I guess the same applies to any advanced program, be it called MSTS, TSM, Photoshop, PageMaker, Excel, etc etc (don't want to get into advertising here 'nough said, LukasLukas a.k.a Swissie

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Anyone planning on painting a PCC in Pacific Electric Livery?

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I hope so. It is one of the prettiest looking paint jobs going. I'd like to try building a PE version from scratch, but alas, not enough time.Timtimmuir@wcn.net

Street and Interurban Electric Railway Models
Sumpter Valley B&B Gang
Willamette Valley Route
(No timetable for release)

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Wow!I've been away for a while, and return to see this magnificent work of art. Best MSTS model ever! Well done my friend, I can do little more than gape in amazement at the stunning realism you've captured.Cheers,
Matt

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Team-ALCO
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Thanks, Matthew! I appreciate that, coming from you! It has been awhile since I heard from you.The Hollywood has from the beginning been a community effort. There are alot of people who rode and even operated these things that have come forward to offer advice and information, photos and anecdotes. It couldn't have been so "full" of detail without some of these folks. The fact that there are several still around, and opportunities for detail photos are more prevailant.One person in particular came forward with extremely good high-res photos from his collection, Jim Walker. His knowledge and background is known to most PE fans. I met him through this project via email, when he volunteered to help. I just want to publicly say a big THANKS to Jim, and of course to everyone who has helped with the Hollywood projects.Timtimmuir@wcn.net

Street and Interurban Electric Railway Models
Sumpter Valley B&B Gang
Willamette Valley Route
(No timetable for release)

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In 1949, some of the Hollywoods started to be rebuilt for one-man operation, moving the farebox up to the front-end, and included other detail changes, mirrors, removal of the front corner seats and replacing them with sloped toolboxes, to keep passengers from blocking the motorman's view to the side. Also a new version of the PE image was applied to the sides.Sitting up front you get a good view of the track ahead and the controls.

Fold-down wooden bench seen at the lower right, in it's up position.
New PE "Railway-Motor Coach Lines" speedball herald.
Convex mirrors placed at the center doors, and rear-view mirrors over his seat, enabled the motorman to see passengers without having to turn his head.The 5050 class is being devloped alongside the 600 class, and will be available with NEC trolley height as well.That's it for today!Timtimmuir@wcn.net

Street and Interurban Electric Railway Models
Sumpter Valley B&B Gang
Willamette Valley Route
(No timetable for release)

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LAST EDITED ON Mar-01-04 AT 12:41 PM (EST)

Hi,Speechless, I find no words.... Just great, terrific, outstanding. Oh, I will stop, as I said before, no words.
Kudos, Tim and congrats too; you have created a masterpiece!! Dick van den Hoven

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