Sierra Railway Company No.3
This will be one of the few projects we’ll be proud to say is being completely rebuilt, first launched in 2022 following a community vote on our Facebook page as a major project featuring a variety of paint schemes for one of the world’s most famous steam locomotives; the Sierra No.3 is returning to TSC fully renovated.
A Rework Started From Scratch
Over the past nearly 5 years, we’ve implemented some updates to the TSC database structure, and some of our older assets were affected by them, minor bugs that were fixed as much as possible; others would require even more extensive work.
With the new features implemented for our locomotives, thanks to the support of DSGDDR since the release of the Empire State Express No. 999, we felt compelled to rework a few things, including the Sierra No.3. The previous release featured versions with iconic paint schemes from movies in which the locomotive starred, as well as those of the Sierra itself; however, it was not able to achieve the level of quality we desired. Until now.
The Definitive Variations
We have definitively selected 5 variations to represent this locomotive in the TSC and only one of them will be a famous movie version:
1- P&ACR - As Built
This is the original version of No. 3, known as W.N. Kelley. It featured a predominantly olive-green color on the tender, cab, domes, and wheels; the boiler jacket was build in the famous bluish “Russian Iron” shade, and beautiful gold and red trim adorned the entire locomotive.
2- SRC - 1920s Era
No. 3 retained part of its original appearance until mid-1918, when it suffered a serious accident that destroyed its original wooden cab, among other components. After that, it was completely refurbished, receiving a new cab, new components, and a new paint job under the care of the then, Sierra Railway Company.
3- SRR - 1940s Era
The locomotive served both on and off the Hollywood screen until 1932, when it was taken out of service. No. 3 was saved from being scrapped during World War II, and in the mid-1940s it was restored once again, underwent minor modifications, and was repainted, this time in the colors of the Sierra Railroad, and went on to pull tourist trains, in addition to making dozens of other appearances on screen.
4- SRC - 100th Anniversary
In 1991, No. 3 was once again modified to celebrate its 100th anniversary; while retaining its predominantly black paint scheme, it was adorned with gold and red trim and accents, just as it had been in 1891 when it left Rogers and was delivered to P&ACR. In addition to the paint job, during the celebrations, No. 3 sported three different types of smokestacks: the original straight smokestack, another with a spark arrester at the tip, and a balloon-style smokestack.
5- BTTF - Back to the Future No.131
This may be No. 3’s most iconic appearance in a movie of our generation. In 1990, it was converted into No. 131 for the filming of "Back to the Future Part 3"; the locomotive underwent modifications such as a fake balloon-shaped smokestack, an old-fashioned oil lamp, and a new paint job reminiscent of the CPRR (Central Pacific), featuring white and yellow stripes.
Therefore, these will be the 5 definitive main variations of No. 3, and each variation will come with an exclusive rolling stock, offered as a new, separate product, completely different from the first release in 2022, when we combined all paint variations, both those from the movie and those not from the movie, into a single product. This made it impossible to compress very large files during installation on your TSC, causing intermittent problems for some users, such as texture errors, since the textures were provided in a separate download.
So if you already own the old product with all its paint schemes and textures, keep them, we have no plans to make them available again. Keep in mind that this new Sierra No. 3 product design for TSC has absolutely nothing to do with the old one, but if you already own the old one, this will be a great opportunity to put them side by side and make some friendly comparisons.
Back To The Future No.131 Version
This will certainly be the version everyone is most excited about, and it will likely be the last of the five to be released, due to the complexity of the features we’d like to add to the locomotive. I think everyone here would like to try reaching 88 mph on a main line, wouldn’t you agree? And it would be even more fun if we had a Time Machine right in front of No. 131, wouldn’t it?
This is a basic model and isn't finished yet; there's no interior, but as soon as we get our hands on the BTTF No. 131 project, we'll post regular updates, and who knows, by then, the Time Machine might not just be something that can be pushed along by No. 131, but something that can actually be driven along the tracks. We still have a lot of work ahead of us.
First Release
All right, now that we've covered the specific updates, let's talk about the first release of the five variations of No. 3 and their rolling stock. The title of this post is “Sierra Railway Company No. 3,” and this is the first version to be released. This version depicts No. 3 as it was in the 1920s, featuring its original passenger cars, original in the sense that they were originally purchased by the Sierra Railway Company itself.
To the best of our knowledge, Sierra purchased three passenger cars between the late 19th and early 20th centuries a Jackson & Sharp, number 3, in 1897, and two W.L. Holman “shorty” coaches, numbers 5 and 6, in 1902. And they are the ones who will be part of the first release, along with No. 3, in the 1920s era.
Coach No. 3 was used for regular passenger service on the Sierra Railway and also made appearances in films until mid-1938. It was stored until mid-1945, when it was put back into service, though its interior had been completely modified into a bunk car for maintenance-of-way crews from 1945 to 1955.
This car still exists and is perfectly preserved, except for its original interior, which was completely dismantled to transform it. However, based on other materials from the same era, it was possible to recreate something close to what it once looked like. Seats made of rough burgundy-red fabric and a cast-iron frame with wood and polished bronze accents, some hand-painted gold trim on the luggage racks (which are still being made), and a beautiful solid wood frame varnished throughout the car’s interior.
For the three cars included in this first version, you can choose between “Closed” and “Opened,” which visually changes the curtains and windows to open or closed. At night, the interior lights turn on automatically, and they feature TSC's famous “Cast Shadow” effect, which can cause a significant drop in FPS during gameplay if your PC is too outdated.
Built in 1902 by the W.L. Holman Car Company of San Francisco, the "Shorty" cars No. 5 and No. 6 were designed to travel safely on steep inclines and sharp curves of up to 28 degrees, features found on the 19-mile-long Angels Camp branch line. And it was there that these cars operated for much of their service on the Sierra Railway alongside their larger, older sibling, the Jackson & Sharp No. 3, and Locomotive No. 3. In the mid-1930s, Car No. 6 was transferred to another railroad and remained there for nearly 15 years, returning to the Sierra Railway in 1949. Both short cars also starred in numerous film and TV productions.
Unlike Car No. 3, which underwent a major renovation in the 1940s, the short cars No. 5 and 6 retained many of their original features, both inside and out. Although they were repainted from time to time for some past film shoots, their structure and interior remained intact.
We also sought to create a classic reproduction of the cars from the Sierra Railway Company era of the 1920s, so they are practically brand new, and as mentioned earlier, they also feature a system that lets you freely choose between “Closed” and “Opened” cars, which changes the curtains and windows to open or closed.
With the three coach cars practically finished, our efforts now turn back to Locomotive No. 3, which will undergo extensive work to create new textures, animations, scripting, and new sounds, all revamped and better suited to TSC’s current limitations, since Machine Rail is known for featuring models with many interesting features for the user while maintaining the essence of simple and satisfying gameplay.
The three cars accompanied this version of the locomotive during the Sierra Railway Company era of the 1920s. Work on the locomotive is already underway, with the tender receiving our full attention, since it is a simpler vehicle than the machine itself. We hope to share more updates on this major Sierra No. 3 project and its other variations very soon, and we’d also like to have this first version released by December. Well, we’re working toward that, and in any case, you’ll be notified.
🎃 Halloween Sale 🎃
Enjoy of Halloween to make your collection even more complete in your TSC!
This promo is valid through Friday, November 13.
Comments