From the magic hat!

[Kali]

I started from the default GP9 one - but I've replaced the texture, which pretty much makes everything else useless :(. I guess I may end up reverting them.

[Kali]

Hmph. Well I wrote 200+ lines of code ( well ok, recycled my existing stuff into a library & hacked at it a bit ) to check engine temperature, use that, rpm, idle time and governer settings to control the smoke colour, and the blasted emitter hardly shows any of it. It's sortof vaguely lighter grey when it's cold, and darker when it's hot, but you have to really look at it...

Anyone familiar with driving a GP9? I added contactors to it so you need to leave it in notch 1 for a couple of secs before it'll move, and I added a cutout if you go over 1400A or do something crazy like stick it in reverse and rev the engine a lot while you're moving ( it will let you do that if you're gentle still ). Is any of that at all prototypical? I'm just taking guesses based on similar era stuff over here, and the TEM2 which I assume is still fairly similar to an old Alco.

[philmoberg]

It's been a long time since I looked at any of the sources for these first generation units (and I don't have them handy, unfortunately), but I recall both the rulebooks and the operating manuals solemnly admonishing operators not to draw more than 600 amps. They also advised shutting off at turnouts and crossovers. The major concern here was to prevent the traction motors from flashing over under heavy load. I have some friends who keep a stock GP-9 in operating condition most of the time, and I'll ask them.

As to the TEM-2, I could dust-off my copy of Rakov and see what the specs say; but I'd be willing to bet that's where the builders of this model got their information in the first place.

[Kali]

After poking around an F9 manual it seems there's no delayed contacts, just move idle->notch 1 or higher & everything starts working - while very sensible, that's awfully boring. I've not found anything about cutouts yet but this is a systems manual rather than an ops one. I've got a GP18 manual I've not got far into yet also.

This is a hellishly old cab, not even a F9 type control stand... I am wondering if what RSC set up as the dyna brake handle is actually the DB, or is it the selector? there's that non-functional lever on the end of the main stand which might also be. I think I can script the power lever notches so it can be notched power/notchless DB, but I'm not rewiring the cab any more unless someone actually knows what that lever is.

And looky.

Edit: finally found an overhead shot. Still can't make out what shape the gold on the top is! I think my first version was probably right though. Do we have any of those reefers? I presume they're reefers.

[PapaXpress]

But did you notice that the head light is different between those 9's?

[Kali]

Yeah, the blog mentioned they got replaced by the twin sealed beam ones pretty quickly - CN did strap their own ditch lights on though, now I have something else to add... thankfully they seem the same shape as some lights I've already made.

Early GP9s seem to have GP7-shaped frame sides, and our one appears to have short-range fuel tanks also. Actually I'm not sure what the right-hand one of that pair really is - I guess it is a GP9, but it's a bit different to the other one...

[PapaXpress]

No, the first one could be a GP7
http://colinduff.com/canada/museums/toronto05.html

[Kali]

They both have GP9 grilles ( yes I had to look up an ID guide )... I'll stick with the upper lights the RW one comes with I think :p. Besides that huge thing looks daft.

[MadMike1024]

They both have GP9 grilles ( yes I had to look up an ID guide )... I'll stick with the upper lights the RW one comes with I think :p. Besides that huge thing looks daft.

The rear is a GP9 gen 1 and the front is a gen 2. The bigger dynamic brake fan is the key there. Both have the GP9 louver, radiator, and battery box arrangements.

Good spotter explanation here: http://www.elmassian.com/trains-mainmenu-27/motive-power-mods-aamp-tips-mainmenu-35/usat-motive-power-mainmenu-36/gp79-mainmenu-267

Oh, nice shot of the steam jenny by the roundhouse.

[PapaXpress]

I was wondering what that 'B' unit was.

[philmoberg]

... This is a hellishly old cab, not even a F9 type control stand...

If you want to see something even more basic (read primitive), get a look at the cab of an RS-1 . Remember that when the GP-7s were first introduced, the big teakettle builders were still very much in business building big teakettles. One of the really successful elements of EMD's strategy was that their designs were evolutionary, as opposed to revolutionary. At that point, the precedents for cab design were steam and electric locomotives, and these were exclusively functional. The GP-9 was merely an uprated and [hopefully] more reliable GP-7, with no real concern for aesthetics or ergonomics.

The refrigerator cars are top bunker models, which I believe were unique to CN. I have seen photos of these, or their close sisters, in passengers colours for express service. Also interesting, on the left side of the photo, is one of CN's boiler cars, which were used to provide additional heat for passenger trains. The early package boilers used on diesel locomotives had their limits, especially in extremely cold weather. CN wisely compensated for this, and it would have been nice if some of the railroads I rode back in the '50s had done the same.

[Kali]

I was afraid of that for the reefers... no idea where to dig plans for those up. CN seemed to have a lot of their own designs, which is both interesting and a bit maddening.

I have turned the dynamic brake lever into a selector lever - it's not a properly racheted thing because there's no indicator, so it's just one way for brakes & the other for power. Then I had to script the notching for the power lever so I could turn it off for the brakes, but that part seems to work really well ( which is promising for SD40s and so on also ). I ditched the timer for contacts, but I kept the overload cutout because otherwise there's just no consequences for just throwing it into notch 8. I think I might need a couple of people to test this a bit later...

[philmoberg]

I was afraid of that for the reefers... no idea where to dig plans for those up. ...

I could swear I've seen these somewhere, but I can't remember the source. The last time I looked at these, I remember their being not substantially different from their more conventional end bunker cousins, with the possible exception of the side doors being shorter, presumably to clear the bunkers inside. Let me look around and see what I can find.

BTW, my sources didn't remember what the red line amperage for a GP-9 is, since they haven't had it fired up for some time. They did note that if you overloaded it, you'd smell it in short order.

[Kali]

The F9 manual doesn't mention it either. I'm not going to mess with the physics really - I'll probably remove the initial dip in the TE/speed capping graph because my controls are a bit more gentle, but anything further requires major surgery & I want my better script libraries done for that. However atm, go over notch 3 from idle and it will overload and cut out after a few mph, so that does promote better driving.

The audio seems to be missing a notch too - the 2nd power notch sounds exactly like the idle-with-power one :( don't think I can fix that.

[Kali]

I rather forgot what I was doing with the GP9, so ... anyone who's interested can have a play with it as it stands. Beta, so liable to a) not work - although it should and b) change. And c) not be finished!

Beta dl here

Install the package, copy the geo file from the default CN geep to CN Green\Engine\Engine ( yes, that is deliberate and not a typo ) and the cabview geo from the same one to CN Green\Engine\Cabview. Don't run the install.bat, it doesn't do anything!

Driving it:

* There's an extra clunk when you go through notch 1 - notch 1 is pretty much idle-with-power now. Unfortunately the sound is set up to idle in notch 2 also :(
* If you go over 1400 amps you'll lose power, you have to go back to notch 0 for a couple of seconds. They didn't really do this, but RW doesn't support burning smells yet!
* To use the DB, put the power lever in notch 0, pull the selector lever ( where the dynamic brakes used to be ) towards you, wait 10s until you hear a "clunk", and then use the power lever for the DB. Throw the selector lever back the other way to get power again. DB works on trailing green units also. Selector levers don't work like that either, but there's no display available to tell you what's selected.
* I've attempted to interlock the levers, it works ok provided you either use the keyboard or the 3d controls. I'd not recommend using the F4 controls.

The smoke is meant to change colour with various things like temperature & governer setting, but ... doesn't, really. I think it's mostly that I'm terrible at emitters. The scripting isn't really complicated yet but it does use a lot of untested library code, I just hope all that works too ( hence the public test ).