November 2023 Newsletter
The countdown to the end of the year begins! That could be bad or good depending who you ask. Personally, I enjoy the holiday season as well as the "indoor time" that comes with the winter months. Its a good time to get caught up on all things Trainz and model train related 😁
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News:
Over the past month I've made a ton of progress on the P&B. It's almost too much to list out here but several more miles of mainline have been scenic-ed and many more industries are in a more completed state.
Since I've been operating the route more frequently, I'm coming across operational issues and have been able to resolve them on the fly. A good example is when I was building a train in Allegheny I realized there was no yard lead or bypass on the west end of the yard. It's something I simply overlooked when I first build the yard and didn't notice until I was fully engrossed in an operating session. So I added it! And it should make the overall yard much more functional. That's just one example so far.
I've also found myself dabbling around on the Port LA route again as well as the modern version of the DBEV, so those may be things to look out for again in the future. As I mentioned though, my main focus right now is getting the P&B into a solid beta form by the end of the year. I should have another video or two out this month as well if all goes as planned....
You guys might be wondering what will happen with the P&B and the Executive Patreon tier once the route is done. Well the good news is that the route is never going to be "done." Once it's released I plan to continue to update the route and rework old areas and perhaps add some new industries. I'm really looking forward to reworking Old Town and Vonny one day. Don't get me wrong, I love the way they look now, but I built those towns nearly a decade ago and they could use some newer assets 😆 There will obviously also be other projects Executive tier members will gain access to as well.
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Patreon Benefits:
Executive: P&B route update will be available around 11/2. I've been travelling so things have been a little delayed on my end.
Changes include:
Completed scenery between Highland and Grafton
Completed scenery between Highland and Paint (still need to do some trackwork)
Grafton Dockside (might've been part of last months release?)
Lots of updated scenery around Grafton and Highland
Updated scenery along the Paint Creek Branch
Began mainline scenery around Huntingdon Paper Mill
Updated yard ladder at Allegheny
Added runaround at Brier Grain
The next update will include track updated with the new JR procedural track as well as additions made by Willys. I'm also hoping to fully complete more areas along the ROW and polish off some industries (the paper mill comes to mind....live stream maybe?!).
Dispatcher: The monthly live stream for Dispatchers and Executives will be Wednesday November 8th at 7pm EST. I'm thinking I might begin to do some technical work on the P&B during this stream. Perhaps adding speed limits, track conditions, etc.
Project Manager: You guys are in for a real treat with this asset pack. LTG was kind enough to donate some of his hard work for this months pack and his 3D modelling skills STILL knock it out of the park!
This pack includes some pretty neat 1970's/80's style gas stations and pumps. Great addition to any route if I do say so myself 😉
Pack will also be available around 11/2.
Station Agent: Weekly Wednesday hangouts continue as scheduled. Thanksgiving is coming up on the 22nd of this month and I will be travelling so there may not be a hangout that week, TBD.
If you're not part of this tier and are curious what it is, basically every Wednesday from about 7-9 PM EST a group of us jump into a call on Discord and spend the evening talking shop and working on projects. Usually I'll stream something I'm working on and lately its been the P&B. If that sounds interesting, check it out! Is always a good time.
Model Railroader: Honestly I don't have anything scheduled for this month at the moment. I haven't had a ton of time this past month for the layout but I may be able to put together a little post for your reading pleasure. I did purchase a new locomotive that might be fun to talk about 😏
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If you've made it this far, thank you for reading and thank you for the continued support. It really does mean a lot to me and I really enjoy this little community that we've built together. Hope you guys all have a great November and I'll be seeing ya's around on the Discord and the Youtubes!