Interurban Era

(Preferably something fun)

I hope there are comic book color artists amongst my followers, I think it'd be fun to "Color this in your style". If you do, tag me. This is just for fun, I'm curious what you come up with.

If you want color-photo reference for any of this train, search using the terms for each piece of equipment below, but I encourage you to color it your own way.

Locomotive: GE steeplecab electric locomotive Boxcars: USRA outside braced boxcars Covered Hopper: ACF 1958 cuft. 2 bay Caboose: Just a good old wooden caboose.

Image description: A line drawing by Interurban Era of an electric locomotive hauling a freight train sometime in the late 1940s United States.

Key System's 500 Class interurbans were all scrapped before the end of operations in 1958. Only photographs and surprisingly good blueprints exist of them, but their long 40+ year careers serving Oakland, California, and the east bay weren't forgotten by locals.

So I set out to recreate them for the first time digitally. Jay was at the helm 3D modeling them in Maya while I advised on details, paint, and other things along the way, providing plans and photos to bring them to life.

The real cars were of wood and steel construction, with varnished wood interiors. For cities skylines, you want to balance detail level with game performance, so these models aren't intended to be "train sim" level hyperdetail, but to be handsome additions to the street and match the rest of the game's level of detail. I'm deeply pleased with them, and they're so satisfying to see trundling along the street.

If you want them in your city, you can download them off of the Presidio Bay Patreon as well. They include realistic traction motor sounds and a gong bell just like the one they had.

((Editor's note, this was done text-to-speech, there be typos & homonyms galore))

Books

-Fuzz by Mary Roach A fascinating intersection of human & wild animal worlds and what happens when they collide. Truly incredible things happen in this book, and it's rollicky fun! I picked it up on a whim because I always wanted to read a full Mary roach book, and I certainly wasn't disappointed. I really look forward to reading more of the books that she's done.

-Every Tool is a Hammer by Adam Savage

This book changed the way I make things, and I don't say that lightly. It's such a beautiful condensation of so many of so many of Adam Savage's thoughts on making all sorts of different things from props, to scale models, to all sorts of crafts, and art. It also chronicles his wonderful journey from being a teenage maker into a professional storyteller and educational resource. It's written in such a wonderfully convivial style. You can pick it up, read a chapter and put it down for that moment when you need a little pick me up.

-Red Cars in the East Bay

Had to put one railroad book on this recommendation list, and I have to say I'm very impressed with red trains in the East Bay. It's an older book that you can find pretty affordably for about $25 online. It's a nicely written and wonderfully structured book on the history of the inter-urban electric railway that served Alameda, Oakland and Berkeley from the 1860s steam hauled commuter trains meeting side-wheel ferries, all the way to the end of operation, pulling up the wires on the Bay bridge and Trans-Bay terminal in 1960. It has a generous amount of photographs, blueprints and plans and elevations for both rolling stock and line side structures. It's a very valuable resource for anybody wanting to model this. My favorite thing about it has to be that it finally clarifies the relatively murky information you find online about the IER. For that I'm very thankful.

-Ducks by Kate Beaton

Ducks is an autobiographical story by Kate Beaton chronicling her desire to pay off all of her college student loans by working in the oil fields of Northern Alberta. She goes from living in a small town and Atlantic Canada to the middle of frozen nowhere surrounded by gruff men. It's a deeply personal and eye-opening story, both into her own personal world, and the world of 21st century, heavy industry, and the dangers; both personal and emotional, that lie within. Absolutely loved it, and I hope she does more long-form graphic novels like this in the future!

Websites -WWII after WWWII https://wwiiafterwwii.wordpress.com/

World war II produced more machinery than any other point or conflict in history. And so much of it was easy to maintain, durable, and well designed to last. So this amazing blog has a wide variety of long form posts that follow the paths of capital ships, aircraft, land, and other air vehicles, from the day the war ended until present day. I was flabbergasted to learn so many things, especially firearms last into service today in very unusual circumstances. Each post is a fantastic read to sit on a nice afternoon and drink in all of the weird obscure and convoluted history of items that survive the war.