My first attempt at chunky mesh track

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thegrindre
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My first attempt at chunky mesh track

Post by thegrindre »

Hi all,
Thought I'd share another specialty item with you. It's 3' NG Shay track with the grease and oil drippings on the outside of the rails instead of down the middle.

Image

Image

Still working on the darn repetitive ballast problem as you lay this stuff. LOL Now I know why everybody uses rocks for ballast. :lol:

:)
Rick
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Dreadnought1
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Re: My first attempt at chunky mesh track

Post by Dreadnought1 »

Rick,
Very nice bit o' work there!
Cheers,
Dreadnought1
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thegrindre
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Re: My first attempt at chunky mesh track

Post by thegrindre »

Well, I did it! He he, here's the final version.

Image

Not bad for a first try at it, huh?

I'll get it posted as soon as I work out a couple other things...

Oh, and thanks again, Curtis for letting me use one of your textures as a guide. :D

:)
Rick
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Pencil
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Re: My first attempt at chunky mesh track

Post by Pencil »

Nice job, Rick! Where's the rusty version? :P
thegrindre
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Re: My first attempt at chunky mesh track

Post by thegrindre »

I see the, 'I wants', are already coming out of the woodwork. LOLOLOL

Thanks.

It is now officially released. 36 NG Shay track.
Tested and working in, '04, '06, and '09, btw.
My site, the TPRDD, and the DLS.
DIRECT link, http://www.geocities.com/thegrindre/page9canvas3d.html
36ngTrackforShaylocosChunkyMesh.jpg
36ngTrackforShaylocosChunkyMesh.jpg (41.12 KiB) Viewed 33562 times
Have fun, guys...
Last edited by thegrindre on Mon Jan 12, 2009 5:20 am, edited 1 time in total.
Rick
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Col Hogan
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Re: My first attempt at chunky mesh track

Post by Col Hogan »

Rick
This has to be one of your absolute best. Since everyone who has built a track system
and thought it looked great, you have come along with some insight as well.
Shay's don't leak down the middle.

I have gone to your site and bought one for myself and thanks for thinking. lololol :D

Ken
"Floundering Around in Mediocrity For No Particular Reason...."
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thegrindre
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Re: My first attempt at chunky mesh track

Post by thegrindre »

Thanks, Ken, and you are right... They don't leak down the middle.
Found this fact out after my stay in Cass. I noticed something a little odd about the track. I've been playing around railroad tracks all my life and am familiar with the basic look of rails but, something was wrong in my mind at Cass.
Boom, then it hit me, the light bulb lit. Cass is basically Shay country and I notice the very dirty track OUTSIDE the rails.

On another note, I noticed my web site has taken the most hit it's ever had, yesterday. Almost 200 in one day. It usually averages about a dozen and when I release something, it might reach 75 hits at most. (105 is max, btw.)
It's hard to believe that this little asset has caused all this activity.

:D
Rick
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bdaneal
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Re: My first attempt at chunky mesh track

Post by bdaneal »

thegrindre wrote:Thanks, Ken, and you are right... They don't leak down the middle.
Found this fact out after my stay in Cass. I noticed something a little odd about the track. I've been playing around railroad tracks all my life and am familiar with the basic look of rails but, something was wrong in my mind at Cass.
Boom, then it hit me, the light bulb lit. Cass is basically Shay country and I notice the very dirty track OUTSIDE the rails.
AFAIK, conventional steam locomotives don't leak down the middle, either. That seems to be a diesel and electric thing (maybe because of oil dripping from the traction motor?). A conventional steam locomotive would probably drop oil directly below the crossheads and directly under the driver bearings, so two small lines on the outside and two larger lines either inside or outside the rails (depends on if it is inside or outside framed). I think solid bearing equipment will already make two lines right outside the rail because of oil seeping out of the box.

Again, this is all guess work, based on what I saw back when I was working at a railroad museum.
Oil from crossheads - from moving RR&G 104. It might have behaved differently if it was under steam.
Oil from journal boxes - A guess based on this. Specifically, the dark patch right above the stick, and the other one that is about a truck length to the right.
Oil from driver bearings - a guess based on the journal box lines

The key here is to make the grease stains very light, more a hint of grease than anything.

By the way, this isn't a request. This is how I plan to weather the track for my 30ng route. (but you can make use of it if you want)
Cheers,
Ben
thegrindre
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Re: My first attempt at chunky mesh track

Post by thegrindre »

Ben,
Of course, I'd have to agree with you on this matter. I've always disliked the 'stain' down the middle, being a steam fanatic and all. The cross heads, cylinders, rods, and valve gear of a steam loco would naturally leave the 'stain' on either side if the rails instead of down the middle.
It happens to be the reason I wanted to learn how to make my own track. There isn't any true steam engine track out there that I've found, anyway. There is some nice track but no 'stains'.
I've tried to re-skin some but I didn't know what I was doing and my efforts were pretty bad so I dropped it. I now understand Chunky Mesh track and am going to put out some true steam track shortly.

Thanks for the input. You've been a big help to me and I appreciate it very much.

Enjoy!
Rick
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thegrindre
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Re: My first attempt at chunky mesh track

Post by thegrindre »

How about a little darker and more 'forest floor' type track?
Same gauge and rail size, different ballast is all.

Image

:D
Rick
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Col Hogan
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Re: My first attempt at chunky mesh track

Post by Col Hogan »

I love it ! ! ! When you try to match the OZ colors that are built in which look pretty
good to me, you've done well. Keep it up and I'll soon have EVERYTHING ! ! !

I do have another idea if you care to tackle it.
Many times the "horn" or "whistle" post on the trackside does not work as well as
I would like them to. Would it be possible to have an invisible marker for the
track that has a horn or bell sound that also has a "timer" for distance the horn
would sound ??

BTW - I started work on the Logging and mining RR and will send progress pics if you like.

Ken 8)
"Floundering Around in Mediocrity For No Particular Reason...."
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thegrindre
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Re: My first attempt at chunky mesh track

Post by thegrindre »

He he, I like it, too, Ken. LOL

That horn sound is basically governed by the engine's horn. My horns are a two part horn so it only toots. One part horns will blow their duration. You'll have to adjust the horn thingy(s) accordingly.
To hear my horn, you have to hold down the H key. A one part horn works if you just tap the H key.

(How'd I do, Norm?)

Have fun!

P.S. No, I don't need to see any pics, Ken. I trust your work and I want to be surprised, anyway.
Rick
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thegrindre
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Re: My first attempt at chunky mesh track

Post by thegrindre »

OK, guys, you know where to get it by now, I hope.
36ngTrackforShaylocos2ChunkyMesh.jpg
36ngTrackforShaylocos2ChunkyMesh.jpg (40.52 KiB) Viewed 33460 times
Enjoy!
Rick
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Creating in 3D Canvas Pro
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thegrindre
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Re: My first attempt at chunky mesh track

Post by thegrindre »

Here's some rails only track that matches my other track for bridges and such;

Image

Enjoy!
Rick
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Creating in 3D Canvas Pro
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