Chama at last!

A brief update on the D&RGW Cumbres Pass route in XTracks 3' NG:I just completed most of the yard at Chama, after laying track down the hill from Cumbres over the past couple of weeks. Lots of little moves and mucho experience with the 1.6 and 0.3 m track sections. I've got a few more items to touch up, but I should be able to start putting down scenery along the line from Toltec Gorge west sometime this week. This version of the yard will include the (static) turntable, the turnouts to the "back 40," and the wye at the west end of town. I've tried to stay relatively true to the right-of-way drawing dated 1953 on the GhostDepot website, although I have added a couple of changes to reflect some of the modifications made to accomodate the oil traffic in the late 50s. The west end of the line heads off toward Durango, and my longer range plans are to use the Chama tile as the starting point for that part of the line.No pics this evening - just a verbal update - but I hope to have some pics in the next few days for those of you that may be interested.Andy

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RE: Chama at last!, Coonskin, Jul-08-03, 10:26 AM, (1) RE: Chama at last!, DRGWK36, Jul-08-03, 12:11 PM, (2) RE: Chama at last!, Coonskin, Jul-08-03, 07:04 PM, (6) RE: Chama at last!, jonathanmlewis, Jul-08-03, 12:20 PM, (3) RE: Chama at last!, DRGWK36, Jul-08-03, 06:17 PM, (5) RE: Chama at last!, jonathanmlewis, Jul-09-03, 02:04 PM, (10) RE: Chama at last!, DRGWK36, Jul-09-03, 05:59 PM, (11) RE: Chama at last!, jonathanmlewis, Jul-11-03, 04:30 AM, (13) RE: Chama at last!, DRGWK36, Jul-11-03, 06:55 AM, (14) RE: Chama at last!, charlie, Jul-11-03, 04:19 PM, (19) RE: Chama at last!, DRGWK36, Jul-11-03, 09:17 PM, (20) RE: Chama at last!, charlie, Jul-12-03, 08:58 AM, (21) RE: Chama at last!, DRGWK36, Jul-12-03, 12:06 PM, (22) RE: Chama at last!, WestSlopeRRfan, Jul-15-03, 04:18 PM, (24) RE: Chama at last!, heffed, Jul-17-03, 03:53 AM, (30) RE: Chama at last!, K36487, Jul-15-03, 07:12 AM, (23) RE: Chama at last!, K36487, Jul-08-03, 01:24 PM, (4) RE: Chama at last!, riograndedude, Jul-08-03, 11:12 PM, (7) RE: Chama at last!, DRGWK36, Jul-09-03, 06:56 AM, (8) RE: Chama at last!, Coonskin, Jul-09-03, 12:12 PM, (9) RE: Chama at last!, riograndedude, Jul-10-03, 09:08 PM, (12) RE: Chama at last!, WestSlopeRRfan, Jul-11-03, 09:35 AM, (15) RE: Chama at last!, jonathanmlewis, Jul-11-03, 11:03 AM, (16) RE: Chama at last!, hilltop, Jul-11-03, 12:32 PM, (17) RE: Chama at last!, DRGWK36, Jul-11-03, 04:04 PM, (18) RE: Chama at last!, mrmustard11, Jul-15-03, 05:48 PM, (25) RE: Chama at last!, DRGWK36, Jul-15-03, 08:44 PM, (26) RE: Chama at last!, mrmustard11, Jul-16-03, 05:19 PM, (29) RE: Chama at last!, K36487, Jul-16-03, 07:00 AM, (28) RE: Chama at last!, wpfan, Jul-15-03, 09:37 PM, (27)

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It's always a great feeling to arrive at a significant location when building, isn't it?Congrats and good speed as you continue forward!Andre

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Thanks, Andre. Yes, it is very satisfying to reach a major milestone. I've put a lot more time into this version of the route, now that I have a bit more knowledge of route building, and so it make the completion of a task that much nicer. The downside to trying to be more accurate is that you really run into the limitations of the RE!The next immediate task is to install the roads into and around Chama, then it'll be back up into the mountains and resume placing forests.By the way, I loved the stream texture you had on your "old time photo" in the Screenshot Forum. Where did you find that?Progressing in the forward direction, slowly but surely...Andy

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"Limitations to RE"...Welcome to the club, bub! Modeling a prototype with MSTS is quite a challenge, and a lesson in frustrations/compromises."Stream texture...Where did you find that?"I made it. Andre

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Good work.I am looking forward to seeing some screenshots.Are you going to upload a verison with all the senecy complete before you reach Durango?What ever you do you are going to get to Durango from the East before I reach Durnago on the RGS.http://groups.msn.com/MSTSNarrowGauge

Jonathan Lewis
jonathanmlewis@msn.com

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Jonathan - I'll definitely upload the route before I head any further west. Going all the way from Antonito to Durango in one stretch would mean a HUGE route, not to mention a huge amount of time before it's ready! I'll upload the Antonito-Chama stretch as soon as I finish the scenery, mileposts, and etc. I've given some thought to including some signals, but that may not happen this time.Andy

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How many miles is it from Chama to Durnago?and when you get to Durnago are you going to do the Chili Line to Santa Fe, NM?http://groups.msn.com/MSTSNarrowGauge

Jonathan Lewis
jonathanmlewis@msn.com

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Jonathan: I think it's about 150 miles. I've got the numbers somewhere, but will have to find them. If I recall, the mileposts in Durango are around 500 (miles from Denver), and Chama's at 344.Nope - it's more like 110 miles. Durango is around 455. Once I get that one done (think Christmas 04), I do plan to head south from Antonito to Santa Fe. That's going to be quite a bit harder to do, and may take more personal research to find the route, especially as I near Santa Fe. I can get most of the way there, but the last several miles are pretty well obscured. I may also get bored with route building by then, but that particular line is the one that got me going into route building to begin with, so it's likely to happen.Andy

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455 does seem about correct as Ridgway is around 377 and Ouray is 387 or something.By the time you get round to doing the Santa Fe line a K28 will proberly be made.http://groups.msn.com/MSTSNarrowGauge

Jonathan Lewis
jonathanmlewis@msn.com

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A K28 would be nice. That would give a pretty nice lineup of NG locos, at least for the DRGW. Andy

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Andy,It's not so far as you thought; you can be here in no
time at all.I got this with my (virtual) Kodak Brownie. I almost
tripped on the concrete platform before I remembered that
the asphalt was not there yet. charlie

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Nice work, there, Charlie. Your Brownie really takes some sharp pictures, and in color, too! Where'd you get those sharp looking autos? Are they in the file library?I estimated the mileposts in USAPhotoMaps using the "Create Route" feature, and came up at 454 or so. I'll have to check it again. That's about as far as I've gotten - I've built the route map, but nothing beyond that yet, at least to the west of Chama. It's going to take me a bit to get past Chama. I've got a few custom structures to put up, and a lot of trees to plant. I'm aiming for turning the Antonito-Chama portion out the door by Christmas.I've been trying to avoid it, but I have to ask - how's the Silverton Branch coming? I haven't seen anything for a while, and figured that you were busy with non-virtual stuff. Andy

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Andy,Several 1930's style cars and trucks by Jim Jendro are in the
library; "dvcars1.zip", "dvfix1.zip", & "dvtruck1.zip". I
cloned a few more for different paint.I have mileposts from official D&RGW track profiles and Doris
Osterwald's "Cinders and Smoke", a mile by mile guide. They're
in really good agreement. Chama to Durango can be seen here:The events in Iraq did occupy a lot of my time; I do large caliber
cannons and ammunition. Then there was the hard drive failure.
This was graceful enough that I lost nothing but my "key" to
3D Canvas, which is apparently the only thing that I was dim-witted
enough to leave in a volatile place.Having said that, here are some views of the depot at Durango.
Jonathan graciously puts up some screenies from time to time.
There are some of the depot at Silverton and surrounds. Ignore
the old one of the Durango area; it looks quite different now
after vegetation.http://groups.msn.com/MSTSNarrowGauge/dsng.msnwI guess I'm in a position to say (but not promise) "Soon now..."regards,
charlie

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Very nice shots of the Durango station! And I really appreciate the grade profile. That will help (one of these days, anyway). I think I have the dvcars/trucks, but I haven't done much with that level of scenery for a while, so those sorts of details begin to slip my ever more slippery mind. Hope the busy time for you is done - the less we need to actually use that stuff for real business, the better.Andy

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Love the depot and your track textures. The realistic textures on the depot really make it stand out. Good luck on the rest of your route!!Nick

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Beautiful! -Jeff

Union Pacific is my drug.

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Awesome! I was in Durango last August and it looks just like the real depot!
Future Cumbres & Toltec or Durango & Silverton Engineer. Go to my informative K-36 page:
http://www.freewebs.com/drgwk36 Visit the Pheasant Hill Railroad's (My G-scale) official site!http://groups.msn.com/MSTSNarrowGauge/ngmodelinggscale.msnwVisit the Red Mountain Gorge Narrow Gauge R.R.'s official
site:
http://groups.msn.com/MSTSNarrowGauge/narrowgaugerouteformsts.msnw

*Proud to be a "Friend" of the Cumbres & Toltec.*

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Awesome!! I can't wait to see some screenshots!Keep up the good work on this awesome route!
Future Cumbres & Toltec or Durango & Silverton Engineer. Go to my informative K-36 page:
http://www.freewebs.com/drgwk36 Visit the Pheasant Hill Railroad's (My G-scale) official site!http://groups.msn.com/MSTSNarrowGauge/ngmodelinggscale.msnwVisit the Red Mountain Gorge Narrow Gauge R.R.'s official
site:
http://groups.msn.com/MSTSNarrowGauge/narrowgaugerouteformsts.msnw

*Proud to be a "Friend" of the Cumbres & Toltec.*

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Now when you are talking about signals, you are running off my thought of taking signals and submerging them below the ground so we use the track display as the "dispatcher" in Alamosa or whatever.
Cause if you do that It'll be GREAT
Support our troops...They would support you if you had to kick someones ass!-SVTS
Live! From in between Davis Monthan Air Force Base and Ft Huachua AZ!---Bases of the Greatest Army under God

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The line also had some semaphore signals at several of the depots along the line. You can see them in old pictures of Cumbres and Antonito, so they wouldn't have to be submerged in all cases. But it's an interesting thought to do it that way, especially for stations where there's no evidence of semaphores.BTW, I ran across a photo of a short train on the run from Antonito to Santa Fe that suggests they were using radio dispatching back in the 40s. The picture shows a baggage car with a NYC-like antenna along the top. I hadn't thought the NG line had done anything like that, but I may look into it a bit more.Andy

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Andy:The semaphores at a depot were actually manually operated Train Order signals to indicate to an approaching train whether there were Train Orders for their train or not.The NYC-like antenna was actually a handrail for the brakeman to use as they walked the tops of mixed trains, as I recall.Andre

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Both right threre Coonskin.
Support our troops...They would support you if you had to kick someones ass!-SVTS
Live! From in between Davis Monthan Air Force Base and Ft Huachua AZ!---Bases of the Greatest Army under God

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The semaphores at a depot were actually manually operated Train Order signals to indicate to an approaching train whether there were Train Orders for their train or not.I'm glad you guys brought this up. I always wondered what they were for.

(photo from DPL)Nick

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I think that they might have used radio dispatching on the Santa Fe Line.http://groups.msn.com/MSTSNarrowGauge

Jonathan Lewis
jonathanmlewis@msn.com

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Before I get this book ("Rio Grande, Mainline of the Rockies") back to the library, I wanted to let you know of a branch line in the Chama area.In the book's appendix "Year by Year Outline" it lists a Chama Lumber Branch line from Chama to "Law's Mill", a distance of 3.16 miles built in 1888. And then in 1896 an 11.56 mile spur was built from "Law's Mill" to the Tierra Amarilla area. Not sure where "Law's Mill" was. Maybe someone else does.This is probably insignificant if your modeling a later period, but it's kind of fun to speculate and let your imagination go about what else needed rail service back then.

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That's interesting. I didn't know about these two spurs. I was aware of several logging spurs west of Chama, but not these two. I took a look at the topos south of Chama, and you can see the "old railroad grade" into Tierra Amarilla most of the way. But I don't know where Law's Mill was, either. None of the books I've seen talks about that. I'll keep an eye open for it, though.I don't know if it's completely insignificant. I don't think I'll be putting them into the route now, but at some point they might become more relevant. I know there are a couple of people who are interested in the late 19th century, so they may be very interested.Andy

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Well I guess I better get my D&RG(W) stockcars done then shouldn't I? -=Andrew=-

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Yep! The more rolling stock the better! One of these days I'll be making a couple of activities, and stock cars will go great. Are you making them black?Andy

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The first version will be the Red versions.
I will then take the finished model and change detail around to make the later black ones.Here is a screenshot of the current car.

Attachments

http://www.train-sim.com/dcforum/User_files/3f15c1340517e685.jpg

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Yes! Make 'em the black ones.
Future Cumbres & Toltec or Durango & Silverton Engineer. Go to my informative K-36 page:
http://www.freewebs.com/drgwk36 Visit the Pheasant Hill Railroad's (My G-scale) official site!http://groups.msn.com/MSTSNarrowGauge/ngmodelinggscale.msnwVisit the Red Mountain Gorge Narrow Gauge R.R.'s official
site:
http://groups.msn.com/MSTSNarrowGauge/narrowgaugerouteformsts.msnw

*Proud to be a "Friend" of the Cumbres & Toltec.*

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Allways nice to hear about some New Mexico railroading, look forward to seeing pictures from this one.

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