A&O Sub

[dodger]

Hi All,

I am thinking of purchasing this route , could anyone give me some info on it, how long is it/ are there maps that can be downloaded etc, its just that i can't seem to find much about it but the screen shots i have seen look good and those Alco's in the screen section of it look great,

Thanks for any help .

Cheers Dodger.

[sstyrnol]

I don't really know how long it is. But when I say that it is a shortline, I say it all. It is a very twisted line (dark territory) in the Ozark Mountains.

The focus of this route is pulling freight trains with mostly bulk commodities and forest products along this rugged line, switching the industries enroute. Various steep grades make for additional operating challenges.

The activities tell a great story about an engineer on the line and should be played in sequential order and make for hours of enjoyment. Given the fact that it is a shortline does not mean that trains are short. There are times you have to double the hills including the (in)famous Seligman Hill.

The route is "protolanced", based on an old branchline, which has since ceased to exist, but modelled how it might have looked today had the A&M RR taken over the operations on the line.

The line is modelled to give a very natural feel for the area. It does not have any sophisticated innards like some of the routes out there, but features a very solid modelling. Suffice to say that the rolling stock (A&M, BN, Frisco, KCS, CN, RBX, TTX) is excellent as well as the locos (as you already mentioned).

So, if you like branch-/shortline operations, if you like switching puzzles, if you like slow running through a scenic valley, if you like the calm variant of railroading, then this is the perfect route for you!

If you want to see more pictures, I would recommend visiting the 3DTrains screenshots forum! :)

Hope this helps you a bit!

[dodger]

Hello Sebastian,

Well it sounds like its an interesting route and i have just been looking at BLW's N&W addon pack over on V Scales Website and they look terrific .

Thanks for the help,

Cheers,

Dodger.

[sstyrnol]

No problem, my pleasure! :D

[Coonskin]

Hello Dodger:

I'm Andre Ming, creator of the A&O Sub route. Sebastian did an excellent job of sharing an overview of the A&O Sub for you.

An addendum:

Yes, there are track charts included for your convenience, along with other informational reading material found within the A&O Sub route folder inside a sub-folder titled "Documents".

Top speed for the route is 30 MPH, so it isn't all slow going. As Sebastion mentioned, the route, equipment, and the activities will challenge your abilities as a sim train operator. In addition, the physics included with the supplied equipment are a bit closer to actual physics than the default physics found with MSTS. It may take you a bit to catch on to running with such physics.

If I can answer any specific questions, please feel free to ask.

Thanks for considering the A&O Sub!

Andre Ming
http://www.vscalecreations.com

[dodger]

Hello Andre,

Thanks for the info, much appreciated.

Regards

Dodger.

[frankoburns]

You will find this route to be an absorbing experiance..I have owned it since the day of it's release(or 2nd day...help me out here, Andre! lol). As was stated earlier, the activities lay out a full season of railroading and the challenges of operating the first-rate locomotives and rolling stock will keep you glued to the monitor for hours(days!)....You will enjoy it!!

[sstyrnol]

LOL André! Of course it's not slow running, but some would say so (the 79/90 mph speed crowd!) :P :+

Personally I find this speed just right to get an appreciation for the scenery and the train handling!

[dodger]

Hi Gents,

I purchased this route today and have spent an enjoyable afternoon exploring it, the Trestle Bridges are great which reminded me of my On3 layout i had many years ago and its also nice to have those Alco loco's with it by Gaetan Belanger,

Well worth the money thats for sure,

Thanks all for the help about it,

Cheers Dodger.

[Coonskin]

Thanks a bunch for your order, Dodger! I hope you have many fun filled hours railroadin' on the A&O Sub!!

Andre Ming
http://www.vscalecreations.com

[rfranzosa]

Andre,

I've enjoyed seeing my Alco's on your route via Rod's screenshots (Gaetan's New Haven pack).

I have a question. My current home computer is not particularly powerful. Does the A&O sub require significant 'horsepower' for reasonable frame rates?

Rick Franzosa
ZosaTrains

[august1929]

Hi Rick, Rod here :-)

>Does the A&O sub require significant 'horsepower' for reasonable frame rates?<

Not at all, particularly if you use MSTSBin. There is a large variety of stock that comes with the route, and of course, when there are a lot of different stock items used in a scene there is going to be some hit on framerates.

My old computer had a 1 Gig processor with 500mb RAM. Most of the time I had absolutely no problems.

The route is quite an experience and has strong atmosphere all of its own - Andre did a fantastic job creating that atmosphere, both in careful Vignette modelling and in storyline. Rick, if you love Alco's, you will love the A&O Sub.

Rod

[Coonskin]

Hello Rick:

As Rod has noted (thanks Rod), the A&O Sub is quite user friendly. I developed it on a 1.2 Ghz Celeron w/256 megs of RAM. On that machine, I would see FPS in the 28 range at times, and the heavist tiles would cause it to dip to 16 FPS. Even with AI trains in the view, the FPS stayed around 12 or so on that machine.

IF you purchase the route, I really encourage you to go through the activities SEQUENTIALLY. Skipping from activity to activity will cause you to lose some of the atmosphere and feel of the line. I tried my best to impart some of my own railroading experiences into the activities... with some of those experiences coming from the actual A&M railroad on which the A&O Sub is based!

Andre Ming
http://www.vscalecreations.com