Stay, Just a Little Bit Longer.

The GP40 project that you have heard and read so much about has actually been around for much longer than you might think. It was originally started in August 2012 as a follow-up to the SMMD C39-8 locomotive. In that humble iteration it was a freeware project, and was intended to carry the NS flag as a companion to the already-released RPE4D slug. But, things happen, and after the initial build and unwraps were finished, the project was shelved.

Thanks to PapaXpress, the NS GP40-2  didn't completely die, although for a while it was in a holding pattern. By April, the project had been revived by the group of railroad simulator enthusiasts that came to be known as VRC. But soon after the resurrection of the project, it became clear that the model was inadequate for the more sophisticated tastes of Train Simulator users. Many new parts were added, and  new paint wraps had to be done. By May, the idea of being the first model in Railworks to carry the officially licensed CSX logo had came about. After licensing was acquired, it was decided that instead of one logo, five would be done. Then freight cars were added. By the time it is all done, this locomotive package will little resemble the humble slug-mother that it was to be.

So the question of the day is, "where is it"? Well, operationally, all five locomotives, four sub-liveries, and nine CSX and predecessor liveried freight cars are locked, cocked, and ready to rock. You can start them up, couple up, and pull on any route you desire. They have sound, they have power, and they have all of the comforts that a spartan-cab 1970's era locomotive can afford. But, there are still a few things we need to add - mostly electrical work for the Expert mode, and a few bits of animation here and there. Then we have to give it a thorough going over to be sure it performs to our own standards (we are quite picky).

So be patient just a little longer. Freight trains don't run on schedule, but this train is still a-comin!

Its like getting the key to Dad's car...

So thats what it looks like from here...

Are We There Yet?

After a slight delay to add more features to the cab views, primary construction on the first GP40/-2 pack is complete! No more hickey-doogers or thing-a-ma-jigs to add. Now it's on to dialing in the locomotive functions and sounds.

"Well that's a switch!"

Slogging it out.

Again, I apologize for the lack of updates, but everyone has been very busy trying to move this project forward. I'm happy to report that we are nearing the end of the primary building cycle and the locomotives are very close to being feature complete - that is two steps shy of Beta testing. We have also decided on a possible release date, and while I will say it's closer than Christmas (  :)   ), I won't say exactly when that release will be.

 In the mean time, have a look at this photo, taken at Wauhatchie yard of the Seaboard GP40-2 and the L&N GP40. They are finished shapewise, but awaiting Yard Foreman Dan's final inspection.

Click on the photo to view a larger image.

Update ... or teasing?

Approximately 1658 lines of LUA per locomotive model... currently.

Wild Horses

When this project first started, the goal was simple; create a GP40-2 and a slug locomotive in NS livery for Railworks. However, as time passed, things got a little more complicated, and due to circumstances beyond our control, we had to table the locomotive due to licensing issues. Rather than stop the project completely though, we went after other licensing opportunities that became available.

Now, we have come full circle, and yesterday we were able to sign off on a preliminary licensing agreement with Norfolk Southern Corporation. After the final approval, this licensing will allow us to produce content for railroad simulators and games bearing the marks of Norfolk Southern and all of the predecessor railroads to which it owns the marks.

We have already chosen the road names that will be featured in the first NS GP40 pack: Norfolk Southern, NS Operation Lifesaver, Conrail, Norfolk and Western, Southern Railway, and Reading. However, sometimes things don't go as planned and certain liveries may not be practical to produce, so we need an alternate choice out of the available road names. Along with an NS Product page, we will be posting a poll that will allow you, the railfans, to vote on which road name you would like to see as an alternate when the package finally resumes production.

You just may want a lump of coal in your stocking....

Follow the Sultry Sounds.

Being part of Geekdome, in a addition to trains, i'm also a big fan of Sci-Fi, especially the Star Wars movies. But if you ask me who my favorite character from those movies would be, you would get an odd answer: Ben Burtt. Though he never appears on the screen in the movies, Burtt is just as important as any of the visible actors. He's the sound design guy, the one who makes all of those odd and unusual noises that populate the Star Wars universe. For example, Burtt came up with Darth Vader's labored breathing (a microphone inside of a scuba regulator), R2D2's beeps and whistles (baby gurgling and Ben's own voice played at super speed), and the engine noise of the hero's spaceship, the Millenium Falcon (a soon-to-be broken down air-conditioning unit).

I've always been more enthralled with the sound fx in the movies and the behind-the-scenes work of the music industry than I have been with the finished products. So for me, trying to come up with the various sounds that a locomotive makes is just as much fun - and just as much work - as the other aspects of putting a locomotive into a simulator or game. For the GP40, there are still enough of them and their six axle brothers around to be able to get most of the sounds we need. However, just like I found with the locomotive shape, there is no such thing as "generic" GP40 sound. A rebuilt CSX 645 prime mover doesn't sound the same as an NS 645. The NS unit actually idles lower and Notch 1 sounds like Idle on the CSX unit. Another thing that is quite noticeable is the difference in sound between coupling to a loaded car and coupling to an empty car.

So, after many hours of pointing an HD video camera at various GP and SD40-2's, and more hours spent behind a computer desk cutting, pasting, and mixing sounds, we've come up with a few that may be acceptable for our locomotive. Here is the first test after a recent complete sound file replacement.

Pretty neat, huh? In the next few weeks we will be adding other sounds such as bells, dynamic brakes, brake squeals, cab noise, and of course, the horn. 

Check back with us here, and on our YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/user/VirtualRailCreations) for more updates and we move the project into the final stages of the build, and then on to testing.

Did Someone Call A Cab?

     More pics from progress on our locomotive. We've added new cab furnishings and additional accoutrements to customize the cab for each particular locomotive paint scheme. The cab view can also be dated according to the optional equipment it carries. This one is the most modern cab, built for the CSX YN3 scheme. Note the Wabtec Trainline HOT box, which is the most current in the company catalog, as well as the modern speedo and the Auto-Start warning sticker on the back wall.

     The windows haven't been given their transparency yet - that will come when the cab is "mated" to the body. Yes, it is a real hook-up process, akin to what happens at the prototype factory!

New Video

We finally got the GP40 model exteriors done - well, not quite done. As George Lucas once quoted someone else who was talking about movies, works of art are never finished, only abandoned. But we have enough functionality in the models now to put together a demo video of what we have been working on. Take a gander at it over on the CSX page!

A Little Update

I apologize that we have not provided more frequent updates on our current project.  You have to realize though that posting updates, pictures, and videos on our Blog or another forum takes time away from building locomotives. Anyway, here is a little update to give you an idea on where we are with this.

We are working overtime, pretty much all the time, to complete the first locomotive pack release. I've seen updates posted for it in the middle of the day, and I've seen them come in at 3am. Every day is seeing new progress being made on the models. As it stands right now, we are 90% complete on the exterior and cab view models, 80% on animations, and 75% on scripting and controls (some of that is waiting on animations). Still yet to go are sounds, scenarios, and the where-when-and-how's of distribution.

The decision as to which railroad will be represented in the first release has been made, and it will be CSX. It is only logical that they will be released first, as they were the first company to license our products. Anyway, the planned package will contain five different road liveries and four sub-liveries, all painted on four different GP40 types - the Dash 2 in Phase 1, Phase 2, and Non-Dynamic, and a regular GP40.

Among the five road liveries that will be released, there is an astounding amount of variability. There is no such thing as a "stock" GP40, and these units are being customized to showcase each road's preferences. For example, some units have snowplows, others preferred a cow-catcher, while still others used a box-like pilot extension to hold the MU cables. Some companies like cab lights, and some of them took it on the nose. All the different options are enough to make you wonder how GMDD ever got any locomotive orders filled!

The date of release is still unknown. Let me just say that when we are satisfied that the railfans who buy this will be satisfied, then we will release it to the masses. The three of us are railfans, and we are pretty particular about the should's and should nots of this locomotive. Sometimes our e-mails look like a skit from "I Love Lucy" with all of the contradictions, corrections, and backtracking to try to catch the smallest operational detail. We won't let it loose in the wild until we have done the best we can do for it.

Well, that is about all we can say for now. When we are finished building the last exterior model, we will update our CSX page to give you a better idea of what to expect. In the mean time, have another look at the finished CSX "Bright Futures" exterior as it brightens up the view of downtown Dalton on the Southern Rails route.

The Devil in the Details

     Some of you, like me, just don't have much skill when it comes to detail. Instead of worrying about the right buttons to push to start the train, you would rather be muscling ten-thousand tons of Bituminous Black Gold down some butt-crack of a valley in the Alleghenies. For that, we salute you!

     But, if you are one of those people who keep your Christmas decorations up until July because you like to look at all the twinkly lights, or if you are one of those that flips the light switch in the kitchen a hundred times a day just to hear it click, we've got you covered too.

Merry Happy Independence Day!

Nothing says America like the railroads that span from sea to shining sea! Have a safe and prosperous Fourth of July.

The X factor

Trivia time again!

Difficulty: Classic Rock (if you know the oldies, and you appreciate the classics, then you know this answer without looking up wiki).

Q: What came before the GP50 and after the GP40-2?

A: While the SD family enjoyed a SD45 there was not a similar model for the GP family... but there was an X. The GP40X incorporated the latest technology of the time which would eventual be used in the GP50 and SD50, and boosted an extra 500hp over its older sister the GP40-2.

Though it there were only 20 units sold, and unlike is other kin like the GP39X, SD45X, and DDA40X, it is the only experimental unit in Class I service today.

Update: Extra Credit... Difficulty: Its my job (because I love the smell of diesel in the morning)

Q: BNSF has GP40X marked on the sides of their locomotives, but what is there true rating?

A: Sometime after BN and SF merged the 40X fleet was derated to 2500hp. On the books they are now listed as GP25X.

Progress GP40 (2013-06-15)

More work in progress from MadMike

And from myself (any guesses?)

Jerry's been working almost non-stop. My next post will cover what he has been up to.

Progress GP40 (2013-06-07)

Another work in progress from MadMike. Two more and we can apply for another license.

More to come this weekend.

Yes, They Will!

Today, Virtual Rail Creations has passed a milestone by completing a preliminary license agreement with CSX Transportation. This agreement, subject to final approval, will allow us to use several locomotive reporting marks that are owned by CSXT. These trademarks include Seaboard System, Chessie System, all CSXT paint schemes that have been used since the company's formation (except "How tomorrow moves"), and one more livery that has yet to be determined.

For more information on what we will be doing, keep tuning in to this blog, and keep up with the CSX link at the top of the page. We are also actively pursuing license agreements with other railroads so that we can bring you more of what you want to see in your game!

Its almost summer time... Is the AC working?

Again I shirk off my planned tasks to working on a part that has been nagging me for over a year. I always wanted an AC unit in my library for my super-detailing projects.

It has an interior part, but that will likely be textured with no 3D controls.

There are at least three more versions I need to do. Hopefully the we'll have an Indian Summer to use them.

Progress GP40 and GP40-2 (2013-06-03)

I got bored of messing with blueprints tonight. So I completed one of my side tasks.

MadMike also had a fairly productive night.

Just keep in mind that both are work in progress. There is plenty left to do.

We've added a few of our "Work-In-Progress" shots to the site

We've added a few of our "Work-In-Progress" shots to the site. Planning to provide more as we go along. Click HERE to go there.

Turn on the lights!

Who Nose.

  Trivia Time!

  Difficulty: Fanboi (if you don't know this without looking it up on the internet, then you play with Brio Trains).

 The two major predecessor roads that merged to become NS did not have high-hood GP40-2's. And by all indications, NS did not buy any with high short hoods after the merger. So just how did they get a stable full of these relics of first-gen railroading?

 As for talking points, Spartan Cab and high-hood locomotives are from my favorite era in railroading. Today's "school bus on rails" look of modern locomotives just doesn't convey the personality and power that the pre-comfort cab locomotives do. So why did railroads switch from high short hoods to chop noses? Well, if you read up on the internet (Bonjour!), that is a hotly contested question.

 The fanbois who think they know better than anyone else have said that the noses were chopped for visibility reasons. Current and former railroaders say that is a myth. In one forum post I came across, it was mentioned that from the engineers seat, you can't see over the console equipment anyway if you are sitting down, so the configuration would only be useful if a low-flying plane were coming at you from the left side of the tracks. Also of note is a lot of the eastern railroads, where the second generation high hoods were prevalent, ran their locomotives with the long hood facing forward, so visibility wasn't an issue there either. 

Another reason mentioned by the locomotive builders and buyers was that it was primarily a cost issue, with the low hood becoming standard issue and the high hood as an extra cost option. This didn't sit well (so it's read) with some train crews, who felt that their safety was being jeopardized over a few bucks worth of metal.

 So what exactly was the high short nose on a locomotive used for? The most common use that pretty much every rail-fan knows of is the toilet. Of course, a high hood would have meant a bit more comfort for the user, as they could stand up to do their business. Collision protection was also touted as the reason for high hoods, but if those hoods were made out of the same thin gauge metal that the engine-end of the hood was made of, and with no extra bracing, I doubt it would have done much better than a low hood. Some railroads used the high hood for radio equipment or steam generators.

 Any way you slice it, the years between the GP7 and the GP50 were the golden age for high-nose locomotives. If you see one today, you better get a photo quick. Norfolk Southern has chopped (or is chopping) and rebuilding it's fleet of GP40's, so the few that are left are either on short lines or in the scrap heap.

BN Progress (2013-05-21)

Just a few teasers...

Wonder what this one will turn into...

Will They, or Won't They?

We all have our favorite railroads that we would like to see in our favorite train game (I'm a Southern/L&N man myself). Every once in a while, I will see a post from someone asking why a particular railroad livery isn't available for the game. Truth is, it's the actual railroad companies that govern what you can get in a train game, or even what is on the shelves at your local hobby shop. If you are creating a freeware model, most of the time the big corporations won't pay much attention to you using their trademark, as long as you aren't using it in a derogatory way. When you create payware though, those same companies tend to be a little more attentive to what you are doing.
When it comes to the railroads here in the U.S., the methods, permissions, and costs for trademark licensing varies widely. Want to know why BNSF is present in every train game available today? It's because they are very easy to work with when it comes to licensing procedures. However, another railroad, whom for now shall remain unnamed, has expressed the desire to have it's likeness displayed for the free advertising, but won't allow a penny to be made from it. When asked why, as this particular railroad has it's models in every railroad game and simulation out there today, the reply was "we've licensed one or two projects some time ago, but we don't do that now". Needless to say, they won't be a part of this package.

Now I have also seen posts with people giving sage advice like "why bother asking permission, as you are to small a producer for these companies to notice?" That may be true, and the reward may be greater than the risk. But it's never wrong to do the right thing and ask for permission. A little caution now might save a million in lawyer fees later.

So will CSX and it's predecessors finally make it into Railworks as an officially licensed product? Only time will tell...

GP40-2 BN progress (2013-05-10)

Just a snapshot of the work done tonight.

So... is the stable is half full or half empty?

Too much left to do before we call them done, so hold your breath.