(Preferably something fun)

Saturday I went to an event at an Indiana distillery to support the Hoosier Heartland Trolley Co, a group working on restoring a 1925 Union Traction interurban that ran in Indiana from 1925-1940. I've been supporting their Patreon for a few years now, as my elementary school librarian is one of their members! They've got several vehicles to get to eventually and I'm excited to see their progress at preserving our history of electric transit.

(Also bought some of the distillery's gin. Friendship with whiskey ended, now gin is my best friend)

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.