September 25, 2007

In the past I would work on several models at the same time. There were two reasons for this...A) I would get bored and start another project....B) I was trying to build as many as I could, so I wouldn't have to wait to see them run in MSTS. While "A" makes plenty of sense, "B" turned out to be ridiculous. For one, I couldn't build them all at the same time. For another, I was trying to meet a self-imposed deadline. This meant that the hobby started to become work instead of fun. I started more projects than I could really finish. Projects that should have taken months and supplied hours of enjoyment were crammed into weeks of late nights. I burned out.

These days I try to stick with one project until its done. Instead of starting new models when I'm "bored", I edit this web site, or do some research, or get involved with non-railroad related stuff in general. This has worked out pretty well. I managed to fix the AC and a very nasty coolant leak in my wife's car. That was a major undertaking, just a few parts short of replacing a head gasket. I also took a real vacation, something I have not done in many years. It wasn't a vacation per se, it actually started out as my daughters wedding. It just turned into a pretty relaxing and fun vacation. One of those "I don't want to go home" kind.

Unfortunately, railroad buffs can't go too long without getting involved in railroads. I had no reliable internet service and couldn't work on the web site. I did have a copy of TSM on my laptop, as well as most of the other tools I use to build models for MSTS. To get to the point, I started working on a better version of the GM Aerotrain I had been playing with...

It still needs a "tad" of development, but I like this version much more than the original. I had started at the locomotive (LWT-12) and worked my way to the "observation" only to find out the profile I used didn't work at the tail end. So I worked on that till I got it the way I wanted it and then moved forward to the loco again...A train with tail fins! Wonder what it would have looked like with Chyslers "Forward Look"

You can see the difference in style (and the rudimentary textures in these views of the LWT12 taken about a month or so apart.

The view on the right is a revision of the original with a better cab and "stainless" texture. The left hand picture shows the new unit after I altered the shape to match the coaches and tail car. The flatter roof on the new version allows the cab to sit more like it is on the real LWT-12. The window band on the coaches and tail car needs to drop to match the loco stripe, but that's just a quick change in the texture mapping. Now I have to find the correct text for the "Aerotrain" script.

Of course I had to take a shot of the train leaving Penn Station. It's 1955 again as the Pennsy version slides out of New York City and into an uncertain future. GM has pretty high hopes for the "Train of Tomorrow". The train will survive, believe it or not, serving most  of its days on Rock Island commuter runs. Today it sits, unrestored, at the St. Louis Museum of Transportation.

Well I think that's about it for now...Thanks for listening.