NYC Themed routes

[ronanlinsley]

Does anyone know of any in progress/released routes that can be themed for New York Central? It has grown to become a favourite railway of mine and I would love to see a route for it. It can be from any site, I don't care. It doesn't matter whether NYC ran over it in real life or not, but it would likely be in the eastern extremes of the Midwest or the general Northeast.
Thank you!

[EngineerJohn]

Does anyone know of any in progress/released routes that can be themed for New York Central? It has grown to become a favourite railway of mine and I would love to see a route for it. It can be from any site, I don't care. It doesn't matter whether NYC ran over it in real life or not, but it would likely be in the eastern extremes of the Midwest or the general Northeast.
Thank you!

Firstly, welcome to the club.

Unfortunately there really isn't any. There are several routes in which you can "interchange" with the central such as the routes in and around the greater New York City area and I believe some aspects of the Bergen Line, but don't take my word for it. The NYC did terminate in Chicago but not at Union Station. They ran to a different station, but it's still not entirely fictitious to show them in the area.

There's several problems in modelling the central for now.

1. They were mostly built on ALCo diesel power (they had gp7/9's, 20's, 30's and 40's as well as E and F units from EMD)

2. Similarly to the Union Pacific, a lot of their steam engines were custom built by ALCo, so most of their engines, particularly their mainline power looked quite different than "off the shelf" USRA spec locomotives

3. Penn Central was a disaster, not many people are to keen on bringing back those memories

[minerman146]

Ronanlinsle: Welcome Sir! As far as the Bergen interchanging with the Central, its at one place, Maybrook NY after 1968. Also on my route from Montgomery to Walden, NY is legitimate NYC track as the Walkill Valley RR, was bought by the Central in 1884. Read about that here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallkill_Valley_Railroad. As an Erie Man, my position on the Penn (huck-toooey) Central, should be clear.
For me, and I have done a 10 mile section of the West Shore from Cornwall Landing to Marlboro, the problem is the Hudson River scenery. You have to do both sides of the river. The biggest obstacles are the bridges. (Tappan Zee, Bear Mountain, Newburgh-Beacon, 2 Bridges at Poughkeepsie and the Kingston-Rhine Cliff Bridges) These are so iconic they MUST be made for the route. It would be easier to start in Selkirk and go West.

[ronanlinsley]

Does anyone know of any in progress/released routes that can be themed for New York Central? It has grown to become a favourite railway of mine and I would love to see a route for it. It can be from any site, I don't care. It doesn't matter whether NYC ran over it in real life or not, but it would likely be in the eastern extremes of the Midwest or the general Northeast.
Thank you!

Firstly, welcome to the club.

Unfortunately there really isn't any. There are several routes in which you can "interchange" with the central such as the routes in and around the greater New York City area and I believe some aspects of the Bergen Line, but don't take my word for it. The NYC did terminate in Chicago but not at Union Station. They ran to a different station, but it's still not entirely fictitious to show them in the area.

There's several problems in modelling the central for now.

1. They were mostly built on ALCo diesel power (they had gp7/9's, 20's, 30's and 40's as well as E and F units from EMD)

2. Similarly to the Union Pacific, a lot of their steam engines were custom built by ALCo, so most of their engines, particularly their mainline power looked quite different than "off the shelf" USRA spec locomotives

3. Penn Central was a disaster, not many people are to keen on bringing back those memories

The MSTS conversions took care of the steam locomotives. However, as cool and easy to drive as they are, they are not up to today's standards. I have downloaded several reskins of the F7's, but they don't work. I put the geo files in, follow the text instructions, and when I open the game, the B unit refuses to show up. The A unit is fine. But, that is another problem. One of my ideas for routes was the NYC route from Grand Central out to Croton-Harmon. It would be third rail aswell. However, the main problem is the T and P-motors used on that section. It COULD even be set in modern day, as we have the appropriate stock from NYNH. I have many ideas though, and unless I take action, they will not come to fruition. Maybe one day I will find the confidence to create a small route, but not now.
Thank you!

[EngineerJohn]

The MSTS conversions took care of the steam locomotives. However, as cool and easy to drive as they are, they are not up to today's standards. I have downloaded several reskins of the F7's, but they don't work. I put the geo files in, follow the text instructions, and when I open the game, the B unit refuses to show up. The A unit is fine. But, that is another problem. One of my ideas for routes was the NYC route from Grand Central out to Croton-Harmon. It would be third rail aswell. However, the main problem is the T and P-motors used on that section. It COULD even be set in modern day, as we have the appropriate stock from NYNH. I have many ideas though, and unless I take action, they will not come to fruition. Maybe one day I will find the confidence to create a small route, but not now.
Thank you!

If you want to do the New York Central System. My suggestion would be to take Minerman's advice and look toward the western end of the line and the great lakes region. It would be significantly easier for you eliminating the need to model the Hudson river valley. If you think you can pull it off, many of us would love to see it but man you'll have one big challenge ahead of you.