Virtual reality Taffs Well

[John_Miles]

Somebody has been busy but this is very nostalgic. It is followed by one of Penarth which has trains breaking all the rule of block signalling but is still evocative.

 

https://youtu.be/S0PvV0zrFUE

[corneliuslundie]

Taff Vale, Rhymney, Barry and GWR in the Taffs Well and Quakers Yard videos. What more could one ask for?

Very nice. If it was in MSTS I would be offering him serious money for a copy. Not sure about the brake vans though!

Jonathan

[The Johnster]

These are about the best of this sort of thing I've seen, but nowhere near as good as a decent model.  Yet; give 'em a few years and they'll have replaced physical modelling altogether.  At which point I will never be seen outside again...

 

I'm as worried by the 57xx on auto work and the mk1 coaches as the brake vans.

[Northroader]

Wrong building at Taffs Well, but for a virtual trip, it's a wonderful creation.

[Chris Chewter]

Personally I think the computer model is absolutely fantastic.  To build such a model as Taffs Wells in 1:76 would take up a significant amount of space, and involve many millions of hours to create, plus cost many millions of pounds to fund.  Instead this is something that can be achieved using a mid-ranged PC available to most within the constraints of a more realistic budget. Using Google Earth, I estimate to re-create this model in 1:76 would take up a space of at least 52ft x 120ft.

 

 

Of course there are items that are incorrect on the video.  However if you look at models at your local exhibition, you can see the same thing happening.  Wrong locos, wrong stock, wrong buildings.  Like when building a real model railway where you can buy your resin buildings and drop them into place, you can easily copy and paste whole structures where appropriate, and use some temporarily whilst you model the correct structure.  At least this chap chose Wales where the significant number of repetitive terrace houses can be used to an advantage.  The beauty is it costs nothing than the electricity powering the computer and some free time to rectify the faults, rather than hacking apart nearly finished parts of a model in reality, and you don’t have to use the family Dyson to clean up the resultant mess.

 

 

There is however one very big disadvantage of computer modelling, and that’s the delete button.  Suddenly with the incorrect click of a mouse, or with a spot of hardware failure, your empire can disappear into the ether, never to be seen again, or at least only to be resurrected when you find your backup!

 

 

Computer modelling is excellent for those who dream big.  For those who want to recreate Kings Cross or Waterloo in a space no bigger than a ream of A4 paper, then computer modelling is a good way to go whilst waiting for your lottery win!

 

 

Personally however, I don’t get as much satisfaction from computer modelling that can be achieved from making something in reality, and that’s perhaps 3D computer modelling misses one thing that it can't currently achieve, and that’s tactility.

Edited September 5, 2017 by Captainalbino

[corneliuslundie]

I agree with everything you say, Captain.

However, for me the big advantage of computer modelling is that one can model from Paddington to Penzance and then run the train along the route, whereas even in the biggest room in this house the longest run would be about half a mile. Then next week it is a mineral train serving a mine on the Forest of Dean or a coal train in the USA (rather bigger than the FoD one!).

One of the fantastic things about the MSTS modelling community is the way hundereds of people take time to build models and then make them freely available to everyone. Rather like Hornby taking over all the Chinese factories and then giving the output away. Of course just like our physical models some are better than others.

And this is one of the only virtual models I know if based in South Wales. Oh for an MSTS model of ther Rhymney Railway!

Jonathan

[rue_d_etropal]

This has to be taken more seriously by the traditionalists in the hobby. Wonder why the average age is going up, and you will find many young profesionals are involved in the virtual world of model railways. At some time in the future they might come back into real model railways, but only if they feel they belong.

Some will be picky ad point out errors, but compared to the average exhibition layout this is superb. Virtual railway modelling has come on a lot in a very short time.Maybe it is tme to bring into the family. Most magazines now have a digital version, so there is the ability to include it there.

The world of wargaming has not been damaged by virtual world based on computers, in fact it has expanded. I use some wargaming products in my railway models, and know that the real railway modelling can be helped by the virtual railway modelling community.

Edited September 6, 2017 by rue_d_etropal

[BG John]

I think it's got huge potential for historical modellers. I'd love to see, or create myself, 19th and early 20th century lines. Where there is a lot of unknown or unclear information, it would be much easier to correct and update the virtual model than a physical one, as more information is found.

 

I have trouble visualising a lot of what I would like to model, from a limited number of black & white photos. I'm finding that when I design layouts, creating them in SCARM is a big help, where I can create very primitive 3D views from any angle. Being able to create an accurate and detailed 3D virtual model would be even better.

 

I think there's great potential for mixed media too, with perhaps an entire line created as a virtual model, with selected parts of it created as a real model. With low cost tiny wireless video cameras being available, I've been thinking that real layouts could be operated by radio control from the drivers view in the cab. But that creates a problem with off scene parts of the layout, like fiddle yards and hidden loops, that could be solved by the actual view from the camera being replaced by a virtual view.

 

I'm being careful to avoid exploring all this though, as I've got too much physical modelling to do!