Friday 29 January 2016

USATC S160: Liveries, Part 4

And so we arrive at Part 4 of the S160's liveries - we expect at least another 3 parts to this so we're about halfway through!

We start off with a quick re-visit to the WW2 black livery. In Part 1 we saw the original black livery as used all over the world but some information came to light on some specific country liveries based on this.
Firstly we have the French 140U - used during and after WW2. Essentially a standard USATC Black S160 with a hook coupling and air brakes but with the added French depot name painted at the bottom of the cab side.
We've provided 30 of these depot names to choose from and a big thank you goes to Olivier (cerbere22 on the UKTS forums) for compiling the list for us.


Similarly Poland had it's own version of the S160, named Tr201. 75 of these were provided during WW2 and had their own numbering style.


Another 500 S160's named Tr203 were provided to Poland after the war and together with the Tr201's they were repainted in a more specific national livery. We are doing this livery and it's variations and these will be shown in a later blog post.

200 S160's were also sent to Russia to help during war time. Specifically built to run on 1520mm gauge track they were named Ша (or ShA) and nicknamed "Шарик" ("Sharik" meaning balloon).
For Train Simulator we are providing both standard gauge and 1520mm gauge options for all ShA locomotives, tenders and associated rolling stock.


After the war many of these locomotives went into full time service and were rebuilt and repainted into the national livery. This included the locomotive number, the emblem of the Soviet railway authority and the name of the locomotive's area - we have included 6 areas to select from.



They were fitted with many additional parts (available as options on the TS locos) including fire hoses, full electrical systems, spotlights, Russian cab dials, some had radios and they all had a very specific speedometer/tachometer installed.


As well as measuring speed and distance travelled it also has a speeding alarm (at 65kph, the locomotives maximum rated speed) and a 24 hour clock. Other interesting features are the notched mechanism that operated the speedometer, meaning that it moves in 2.5kph clicks, and the constant clicking sound that it makes when the locomotive is in motion. All of these can be enjoyed as part of the Train Simulator version.
We also need to give a huge thank you to Артём and to his colleagues on the Russian Train Sim forums. Артём and I have been in communication for nearly a year now and he has been essential in getting us details on every aspect of the ShA, providing critique as we've been modelling and in his translation skills to make sure we didn't cause an international incident my mistyping something (or printing it backwards which we definitely did not do, at all!).
It sounds cliché but without him the ShA variant really would not have been possible.

That's it for today. Next time we'll be heading across the Atlantic (or the Bering Sea if you go the other way!) to the USA where the S160's were born.

Thursday 21 January 2016

USATC S160: Liveries, Part 3

Another quick update showing the British Railways livery as sometimes run on S160 No. 5820 "Big Jim" under preservation in the UK. Although never applied at the time this livery could very well have happened had the UK kept any of the S160's and put them into regular service in the 1950's.



More to come soon as we head out of the UK...

Friday 15 January 2016

USATC S160: Liveries, Part 2

Just a quick update today showing off the Longmoor Military Railway livery with FDR nameplate.



More liveries to follow...

Wednesday 13 January 2016

USATC S160: Liveries, Part 1

Happy New Year!
It's finally 2016, and this is definitely the year that the S160 will be released! It's been a very long road to create this locomotive with the level of authenticity that we desire in our add-ons. We've spoken to people from all over the world gathering information and it's been quite a chase to make sure the details are just so.

But after spending many more hours than normal creating the alternative components and set ups we are now in a position to start making the chosen liveries and over the next couple of weeks we will reveal them all in a few blog posts.

Following on from the last images of the preserved USATC Grey livery here is a picture of 4 versions of the same livery.
From left to right the coupling/brake types are: Buckeye/Air (USA), Willison/Air (USSR), Hook/Vacuum (UK) and Hook/Air (Anywhere!). Each one of these has numerous options and the Hook/Air version has a specific option for Polish dials.



Next up is a static loco and tender (non-drivable) that represents the S160 as they were shipped from the USA. Covered with wooden packing and loaded aboard ships (usually on top) all of the markings were painted out to deny easy identification from enemy shipping and submarines.


Can you guess at how long the working life of an S160 was intended to be?
Just 90 days! The locos were produced en-mass and expected to be disposable and used for a single purpose, to help the Allies to move equipment, supplies and troops all over the world. It's remarkable that so many survive to this day on preserved lines - and even more remarkable that some were still in daily service up until the 1990's!
Below is the typical S160 as seen all over the world during World War 2, worn and very well used.


This livery will also be available in all 4 set ups as listed above.
Some tenders had additional lettering..


.. and as with anything in WW2, US soldiers liked to add graffiti when given the chance.


UK troops had their own message for "Uncle Sam" which appeared on a few S160 tenders as well, but you'll have to wait and buy the add-on to see that one ;-)