Annie's Virtual Pre-Grouping, Grouping and BR Layouts & Workbench

[Compound2632 31,271]

13 minutes ago, MikeOxon said:

The booklet is "A Pictorial Guide - The High Peak and Tissington Railways" published by the Peak Park Joint Planning Board and Derbyshire Council, 1980.  It contains many very atmospheric photos covering the history of these lines.  One shows an Allen locomotive at the head of a goods train rounding the tight Gotham curve, which restricted the maximum wheelbase that could be used on the line.  Other photos include one in colour of a North London Tank at Middleton top.

 

 

 

That's nice. Webb chimney and lamp socket at the top of the smokebox, introduced 1872/3, but otherwise as built, I think. No cast numberplates but the number painted on the cab side-sheet, I think? All of which would suggest the engine is green, not black; we're told that all LNWR locomotives were black by 1880. (Goods engines were not lined out until the 1890s and only then if they had the vacuum brake, I believe.) However, the fourth wagon bears the initials M R and is one of those bought-up PO wagons - so the photo is 1882 at the earliest. The LNWR wagons are two-plank wagons to diagram D2, which were built from 1870 onwards. 

 

So, is this an engine that has survived repainting into black into the early 1880s, hiding away in the remote Derbyshire hills?

 

 

Edited February 19 by Compound2632

[Annie 13,276]

The same picture appears on page 33 of 'The Cromford & High Peak Railway' by John Marshall.  The 'Crewe Goods' is thought to be No. 3083 and the photo is considered to have been taken between 1887 and 1892.

[Compound2632 31,271]

Looking in E. Talbot, An Illustrated History of LNWR Engines (OPC, 1985) plates 16 and 17, I learn that there were a number of these engines were at Buxton for the Cromford & High Peak into the 1890s, in the near-original condition seen in the photo, in plain black with painted numbers - they were pout on the duplicate list (3xxx numbers) around 1880. Plate 16 shows 3074 and plate 17 3046. So my initial incredulity at the around 1890 date for the photo is assuaged.

 

Looking at a shaper print of the photo of 3049 on the Hopton Incline, the first wagon can be seen to be another Midland bought-up ex-PO wagon. 

Edited February 19 by Compound2632

[Annie 13,276]

Oh my word No. 3049 is a lovely engine.  Thanks Stephen.

 

The 'Crewe Goods' must've been capable engines to be at work on the Cromford & High Peak in their old age.

[Annie 13,276]

Remember this?  I might have even previously owned a copy before too much life happened.  Anyway I have ordered a copy from a purveyor of ancient manuscripts.

 

 

 

[Caley Jim 7,216]

7 hours ago, Annie said:

Remember this?  I might have even previously owned a copy before too much life happened.  Anyway I have ordered a copy from a purveyor of ancient manuscripts.

 

 

 

I have a copy of that somewhere.  Has some details of CR locos IIRC.  Must dig it out and have another read.

 

Jim

[Annie 13,276]

The Crewe Type certainly got around Jim.  This looks like the photo that was used for the cover of Loco Profile 15.

 

[Caley Jim 7,216]

The LNWR and the CR were not just operating partners in the WCML, but there were strong financial ties between them.  Before becoming Locomotive Superintendent at the Greenock works, Robert Sinclair had spent time with the GJR when Crewe Works were being set up and the Crewe type was being developed and he introduced the type on the CR.  It was further developed by his successor, Benjamin Connor.

Jim

[neilkirby 288]

 

On 19/02/2021 at 08:48, Skinnylinny said:

SketchUp (at least the old, free version!) definitely has a soft spot in my heart - it's where I first started 3D modelling all those years ago. I still catch myself nipping into it occasionally for laser-cutting work. I've also seen some very impressive models made in TinkerCAD - see here for example:

 

Hi,

Thanks for the mention, that image is quite an old vesion, below is the current version, all done in TinkerCad:

Regards,

Neil

Edited February 21 by neilkirby

[Annie 13,276]

Testing on the new SP3 beta version of TRS19.  For some reason N3V thought that promoting the Cornish Mainline to Penance as a 'generic' Uk route with engines and rolling stock from everywhere and any time in the Uk would be a good thing.  Most of the sessions were set up by an American modeller who might have been good at being a session builder, but knew very little about the railways of Britain.

I've been deleting lots of things that never would be seen in Cornwall and I'm going to work towards an early BR time period with my own sessions since that's about the best fit for how all the scenic details have been set up.  The new SP3 beta version seems to be Ok and runs well.  Some work seems to have been done on the environmental lighting which is good.  Being a beta version there's odd glitchy bits, but nothing particularly upsetting.

I used part of an earlier version of this route as the basis for my still very WIP 1880 Cornwall layout.

 

[neilkirby 288]

Hi again,

More in keeping with the theme of the subject, I just remembered that I played with 'Colouring in' the design using the MSPaint3D program. Here is the result:

 

 

Regards,

 

Neil

[Annie 13,276]

I'm still working on things with the SP3 beta version of TS2019.  I've been making some  further slight adjustments to the environmental lighting which look to be an improvement.  The 'Mickey Mouse' 2MT is one of several that Swindon painted in lined Brunswick Green and is an older model from Paulz Trainz.  Paul's 46xx 2MT's are a multichoice model and I asked Paul to put together a representation of No. 46509 for me from a photo I found on-line.  I've since done a little texture work on this engine, but haven't had to do anything else to it as it's been a really nice runner right out of the box.

 

 

[Annie 13,276]

While it's always fun running trains about on the Cornish Mainline it's time to get serious again.  Greatly daring I've moved my 1880-1890s Minehead branch project over to TRS19 SP3 and I will be continuing with building it in this latest version of the simulator.  I've had my ups and downs with TS2019/TRS19 and it's been a bit of a Love-Hate relationship for me, but this is where the Trainz simulator is going so I'd best stop moaning and get on with it.

Before anyone points it out I know that the benches on the station platform are from the wrong era and they will get changed out once I find something better.

 

[DonB 1,823]

Annie, knowing nothing about simulators , I hesitate to comment. However the support brick columns under the viaduct in your pictures above do look far too thin at just one brick thick.-- where is the prototype?  Having read some of your comments about scenic shortcomings perpetrated elsewhere I though it safe to enquire! 

 

[Annie 13,276]

It's supposed to be the viaduct at Hayle Don.  Possibly it's not as bad a crime against the Cornish Mainline as some things on this Trainz route.  If greater care had been taken with placing the viaduct so that the pillars were closer together it may have looked a lot better.  Once in a silly moment I checked this Trainz route against some 1930s OS maps of the area and it's very plain that a good many things have been left out or else were imagineered by the route's creator.  Possibly I could rebuild the route to be a lot more correct, but I won't because I'd rather spend my time working on my pre-grouping projects.

I don't have a problem at all with you asking for clarification.  Auran/N3V have had the route's faults pointed out to them many times, but despite it being a route that they actively promote they don't really seem to care.  I find it to be useful enough as a test track or to simply play trains on and I turn a blind eye to all the faults and inaccuracies.

 

 

Edited February 23 by Annie
more to say

[simonmcp 343]

At least in the simulation of Hayle viaduct there isn't the abominable crime against architecture that is the recent Asda superstore. I gather it is supposed to be like a ship, I would never trust any ship that architect designed.

https://images.app.goo.gl/DEbLFuwZsywrFvLT9

 

And that picture actually makes it look better than it does in reality.

 

Simon

[Caley Jim 7,216]

If it's a ship-like building you're after try the V&A Dundee!

 

Jim

[Annie 13,276]

1 hour ago, simonmcp said:

At least in the simulation of Hayle viaduct there isn't the abominable crime against architecture that is the recent Asda superstore. I gather it is supposed to be like a ship, I would never trust any ship that architect designed.

https://images.app.goo.gl/DEbLFuwZsywrFvLT9

 

And that picture actually makes it look better than it does in reality.

 

Simon

What a hideous abomination.

 

1 hour ago, Caley Jim said:

If it's a ship-like building you're after try the V&A Dundee!

 

Jim

And that's not much better.

 

I knew there was a good reason for keeping my digital railway modelling firmly in the past.

[Annie 13,276]

Small things being done with sorting out Minehead.  A pair of '850' saddle tanks received a tidy up since I have to be 'serious' with this version of Minehead and not run any old thing I happen to feel like all over the branch.

 

 

TS2019 is a considerable pain with messing up the signal lamps on most legacy signals.  The disc and crossbar signal at the end of  the bay platform had to be attended to and now it looks much better.   Finding the old photo that showed this disc and crossbar signal at Minehead despite all the other signals  in the station yard being later varieties of semaphore signals was a real delight.

 

 

 

More TS2019 dreariness.  TS2019 fogs up windows on coaches made for earlier versions so I'm having to edit all the windows on all my nice old GWR coaches one by one over to the new specification.

 

[Annie 13,276]

 

[DonB 1,823]

Annie, thanks for the clarification of the prototype of the viaduct being at Hayle. It must be 45 years since I last walked underneath it! 

You are correct about the simulation pillars being too far apart, but they do have a taper if you look closely enough. They just don't look right. I know that I could not attempt to do better! I do admire your patience and ability to correct other people's errors. 

[Schooner 1,162]

A) Beautifully convincing, as ever

B) The signal is glorious

C) Is the point lever a separate object, or part of the trackwork?

[Annie 13,276]

3 hours ago, Schooner said:

A) Beautifully convincing, as ever

B) The signal is glorious

C) Is the point lever a separate object, or part of the trackwork?

Thank you very much Schooner.  I seem to be drawn to open and empty landscapes even though 'empty' is much harder to do than landscapes full of detail.

The glorious signal is by Steve Flanders and he's given me to permission to do anything I want with his Broad Gauge models so I will be uploading disc and crossbar signals with corrected lamps to the DLS once I've done the rest of the set. 

The signal really does fit into the landscape well though.  I wonder how longer it remained at Minehead before it was replaced?

 

And the point lever is a wonderful model of a McKenzie & Holland point lever which I placed very carefully so it looks all of a piece with the pointwork.

 

[Annie 13,276]

What the feck has gone wrong with this sainted bolloxed forum?  Four times it's dropped back to the main forum menu while I've been writing a post and four times I've lost what I was writing.  I'm trying again in Firefox instead of Chrome, but now I'm too annoyed to remember what I wanted to say. 

[Compound2632 31,271]

18 hours ago, Annie said:

Small things being done with sorting out Minehead.  A pair of '850' saddle tanks received a tidy up since I have to be 'serious' with this version of Minehead and not run any old thing I happen to feel like all over the branch.

 

 

TS2019 is a considerable pain with messing up the signal lamps on most legacy signals.  The disc and crossbar signal at the end of  the bay platform had to be attended to and now it looks much better.   Finding the old photo that showed this disc and crossbar signal at Minehead despite all the other signals  in the station yard being later varieties of semaphore signals was a real delight.

 

 

 

More TS2019 dreariness.  TS2019 fogs up windows on coaches made for earlier versions so I'm having to edit all the windows on all my nice old GWR coaches one by one over to the new specification.

 

 

"Are those the new Hornby coaches?"

 

Bolections! (Pardon my French.) Serves me right for looking too closely...