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

[Annie]

[Annie]

Leaving Furlong station and heading out along the branch.

 

 

Being mostly a branch to serve the timber mill and also because the line is laid along the edge of the river there are a lot of dips in the track.  I was going to fix them, but I though I'd leave them as they are since It's fully in keeping with the character of the branchline.  Experienced passengers have learned to hold on tight and to brace themselves along this section of the line.

 

 

 

A couple of snaps taken along the main Seaside branchline.  I hadn't really run one of these old Hurst 0-4-2's around very much and I have to conclude it was a little too overpowered for its own good being able to hit 65mph with a 68 ton train.  Braking was a little 'pull the lever and hope', but I expected that.  Another candidate for a new engine spec transplant I think.  It could do with a new whistle file and steam sounds file too.  I'll letter up a couple of these Hurst engines 'F.L.R.' for the Furlong Light Railway.  I have four of these green ones in different degrees of weathering so I'll pick the dirtiest two and convert them over.  Nominally a part of the GNJt.R the F.L.R. is very much the poor relation and has to make do with very old equipment.

 

 

[Regularity]

I hadn't noticed this before, but Paulz Trainz has the Barry Railways Class B1 and J tank engines in their original as built condition on his website

 

“as built”: the thinking person’s phrase for the appalling ‘unrebuilt’!

[Edwardian]

“as built”: the thinking person’s phrase for the appalling ‘unrebuilt’!

 

"unreconstructed"?!?

[Annie]

Well it just seems to be a far more exact statement Simon.  A locomotive remains 'as it was built' until it is rebuilt.  Some members of locomotive classes remained in their 'as built' condition for all their working lives even though other members of that class were 'rebuilt'.  You can't call such engines 'unrebuilt' because they are as they were built and were never slated for rebuilding.  Apart from that it's also a generally untidy word and not a very good use of the English language..

'

[sem34090]

I apologise... in my opinion the sole use where this should possibly be used (as it is now the common name for this variant of loco) is in the case of the Rebuilt and 'Un-rebuilt' Bulleid Pacifics. It's not a good use of language, but is more widely recognised than 'as-built Bulleid Pacifics'.

 

Other than that, I think 'as-built' is preferable and is correcter...

 

He said, wondering why everyone was laughing at his last word...

[sem34090]

The Digital Traction 812 has released a day early!

 

• 18 Liveries (CR, LMS, BR & Preserved)
• 18 Quickdrives
• Custom sounds recorded from CR 812 No. 828 at the Strathspey Railway/h6>
• Advanced Scripting, Particle Effects, Lighting and Performance Mode
• 7 in-depth Scenarios
• Realistic Westinghouse Pump physics & particles
• Authentic CR Lamp & route markers taken from a 1915 CR guidebook
• Custom BR & Preserved Headboards and Flags
• Custom Cab with Extensive Controls
• External Animations
• Multiple Camera Views
• Custom CR Crew

Edited April 19, 2018 by sem34090

[Annie]

Wow!  Brilliant!  What a great piece of video!  Makes one want to reach for one's wallet and make sacrifice to the goddess Visa..

 

So have you got your's yet Sem?

[Killian keane]

I do beleive mr Wilson is also doing Cornwall in her Current guise

[sem34090]

Mr Wilson is doing an awful lot of very nice pre-grouping things!

 

Maybe next week, Annie...

[Annie]

I decided to go ahead and buy the 'Sharpie' Barry Railways tank engines.  At $10 for 3 locomotives I think it's a pretty good deal.  I've ordered them in GWR livery which gives me a lot more options for modifying them into becoming GNJt.R locomotives.  The GWR versions are in 'as built' condition so I don't have to worry about Swindonisation.

 

I was sorely tempted by a GCR 9K (C13) Atlantic tank engine though, but that can wait for later as I'm not working on the Valleyfields GER-GCR layout at the moment as I want to get a few more things sorted out on the HUGE UK layout.

 

[Annie]

Further work on the Furlong branch.  All very light railway.

 

[Annie]

Another idyllic snap taken along the Furlong branch.

 

[Annie]

The Seaside Branch despite its name and the miles of perfect beaches the line runs beside is actually quite bustling and industrial at Seasside Maga where the branch terminates.  With the Furlong branch I wanted to capture something a bit quieter and unhurried.  There's no towns in sight, but there are several farms along the route and some farm workers cottages, stations are small with low wooden platforms and the only industries are the lumber mill and a wood products factory that can barely muster two tall smoking brick chimneys between them.  I wanted the Furlong branch to very much look like a light railway, - though there is signalling because there's usually at least two engines in steam.  Signalling is mostly dealt with by older type McKenzie & Holland signals (I just love Mckenzie& Holland signals), though there are some ancient 1860's junction signals too.

In places due to the soft nature of the soil alongside the river there are some dips and hollows in the trackwork; - and I have been along the branchline and edited out the worst ones that were a bit too far beyond any idea of creating the atmosphere I wanted.  These section have been economically dealt with by the F.L.R. by putting 15mph speed restriction posts.where necessary.

Most goods traffic is to do with supplying the timber mill and the wood products factory and taking away their finished products.  There is quite a bit of trip working too with supplying other factories much further along the river.  This part of the line is built on wooden staging, - which is under yet another speed restriction, - and was quite a lot of fun to put in place as well as adding operational interest.

 

That looks like a well oversize train load that wouldn't fit the loading gauge, but there's no clearance problems to worry about along this section.  The bogie flat wagons are a bit modern, but I'm hoping to replace them with NER ones in a week or two.  The factories further down the line are fully interactive and will accept loads and also load their products.  Yes I know it's a bit silly and magic trainsetish, but it does make for a lot of fun with operating the Furlong branch.

 

Returning from the shunting trip.  The NER Class E's and E1's are very much in charge on the Furlong branch, though I'm going to try out the GNJt.R's two Terriers on the branch too.

 

 

A shortage of suitable log traffic wagon models means that I'm stuck with using some SG modernish Australian ones at the moment, but hopefully I'll be able find something better soon.  The Class E1's are lettered for the GNJt.R, but are still carrying NER numbers.  In operating the Furlong branch I've learned some hard lessons about small tank engines hauling heavy log trains.  Watch your braking distance Annie!

The timber mill is again a bit too modern in that some of the animated equipment on the model is very much late 20th century, BUT the thing is fully animated and interactive with proper loading and unloading which is a lot of fun so I turn a blind eye. 

 

 

 

I did some work on the F.L.R.'s aged 'pet' Hurst well tank engine and it now has a Paul Hobbs Terrier engine spec file and a LNWR coal tank engine sounds file, - oh and a NER whistle, - because the GNJt.R workshops had one to spare as you would expect.  What a transformation!  Suddenly this formerly underwhelming little locomotive has become a total pleasure to drive.  It's highly controllable down to walking pace and sounds exactly what you'd expect an elderly steam engine to sound like without any glitchy bits like it had before.  If you're patient it will reach 55mph as it's utmost top speed, but generally 35mph is all it needs to do at the very most.  Paul Hobbs's Terrier engine specs are very very useful for older locomotives as I found with the McDonnell Class '59', - but for that particular engine I did mildly edit the specs to allow for a larger wheel diameter and a higher boiler pressure.

 

Heading out from Furlong station on the twice daily passenger train.

 

Along the branchline.

 

Running beside the river with one of the infamous track 'dips' in view.  I've since worked on the background hills to make them look more Summery and less grim.

 

Shipping on the river.  One of the Grand Navigation Shipping & Railway Co's small colliers on its way to the Debton river wharf.

 

Riverside station (on the Seaside branch) in sight.

 

Leaving Ironbridge station.

 

A snap taken at Walberry Old Wharf station.  This station is on the list for a rebuild.

 

And at platform No.2 at Seaside Magna station ready to return to Furlong.

 

And just for fun the interior of one of the old NBR 3rd class carriages.  By an odd quirk these old NBR 3rd models are scripted to carry less passengers than the posh 1st/2nd composites.  I've converted the coaches over to take the more modern passengers models that are the same as all the stations on the HUGE UK layout use.  I do have some country folk type model figures which are very nice and would be better, - and it is possible to convert all the magic passenger platforms and coaches to use them, - but it's not a simple job so I've been putting it off.

Edited April 21, 2018 by Annie

[Annie]

More trip working with a heavy load of lumber from the sawmill.  'Peck' (Terrier) is acting as banker and an extra set of brakes since the bogie wagons seem to be innocent of all signs of a continuous braking system.  The Twee Society telephoned me and said I had to have a windmill at that farm.  

 

 

Out onto the wooden trestle beside the river.  That curve onto the trestle is a real flange squealer.

 

I need to think of an appropriate scenic treatment to disguise the edge of the layout board.

 

The ex-NER E1 seems to be doing all the work, - there might be a few words said back at the engine shed.

 

Return journey.  With a locomotive at each end of the train it saved having to do extra shunting after off-loading all that timber.  The brake van is an SECR 10 ton van and is a really nice digital model.  For a line in joint partnership with the NER  the GNJt.R seems to own a surprising amount of second hand SECR equipment.

 

No.1635 back at the engine shed again.  I'm not sure where 'Peck' and its crew are.  They were somewhat annoyed when No.1635's driver referred to 'Peck' as being a 'toy engine' and went on to say that 'Hursty' (the ancient ex Edinburgh Railway well tank) would have been more use.  I'm sure they'll make up their differences though once they get used to working together as time goes on.  Actually it was a lot of fun having the two locomotives working the train as they both sound quite different from one another especially when starting off with a heavy load.

 

And introducing No.10 which is a bit of an odd little digital model engine indeed.  No.10 is an Irish Great Southern & Western locomotive that's been re-gauged to 4ft 8 1/2inches; - only it wasn't done quite so well as No.10's wheel flanges are riding on the top outer edge of the railhead.  Fitted with the engine spec file from a LMS dock tank it's quite a nuggety little engine and can shift quite a fair load while shunting around the lumber mill.  It's an older more simple digital model with fairly plain detailing and I hummed and haaed over whether I was going to use it, but in the end it was painted blue and taken on as a Furlong Light Railway Co engine.

Edited April 21, 2018 by Annie

[Annie]

I have one of the new 'Sharpies' sorted out.  Older digital models with small one piece one colour textures (blob textures) can be a pain to sort out so they actually have some definition and give the underlying locomotive mesh a chance to actually look any good.  The new No.2 is still a little on the WIP side, but good enough to get its picture taken.  The only way to make the GNJt.R's blue Caley-like livery look any good was for me to break up the single colour 'blob' texture by weathering it.  Overall it does look fairly reasonable and a lot better than the Barry Railways red liveried locomotive I started with.  Paul didn't have the files for the GWR version anymore, but overall that didn't matter in the general scheme of things.

 

 

 

What I started with,  At this stage of things I'd already re-coloured the wheels from being an almost invisible grey colour.

 

No.2 on shed at the joint NER - GNJt.R loco sheds at Stanley Farm Halt.

 

Next to do is the 'Sharpie' 2-4-2 tank engine (Barry Railways 'J' Class) and I'll most probably use the same approach, but try to minimise the weathering so it looks a little cleaner.

[Annie]

I finally got the 'Sharpies' sorted out to my satisfaction. A bit tricky as these locomotives use 5 different grey/dark grey/almost black colour patches only described with the word 'grey' and a number.  With my silly little sleepy clockwork brain I kept getting the numbers confused so whenever I made adjustments you can depend that I did it to the wrong grey colour patch.  But I got there in the end (sigh).  

I managed to adjust things so that the 2-4-2 is less weathered than the 0-6-2.  No.2, - the 0-6-2, - is going to be doing mixed traffic work with most probably some of it involving coal trains so I decided a more dirty appearance was fine.  No.9, - the 2-4-2, - will be used on passenger trains so I made it a bit cleaner.  Using a plain unweathered blue colour patch didn't look any good unfortunately with the way the colour is applied over the body mesh.  The dark blue wheels might be considered a little over the top, but these two 'Sharpies' are supposed to represent two locomotives purchased new from Sharp Stewart which was a rare event on the GNJt.R so they got the full treatment with regard to their paintwork.  The oval plate on the tankside is a part of the body mesh and can't be removed, but I was able to change it from 'Barry Railways' to G.N.Jt.R. with 'Progress' under the loco number.  As I mentioned with this pair being new purchases it all went to everyone's head a bit which is how 'Progress' ended up being cast onto the number plates.  For some odd reason the numbers only want to show up on one side of the locomotive which looks like a missing mesh patch error.  Something for me to look at later on when I'm in the mood for puzzle solving.  Both engines have their numbers in brass on their chimneys as well which is a nice pre-grouping kind of detail.

 

GNJt.R No.2

 

GNJt.R No.9

 

So now I'm going to do some testing.  Both engines now have better sound files and I've changed their engine spec files from the one size does all generic one that Paul of Paulz Trainz uses.  And of course they both now have NER whistle sound files.  A very nice whistle sound it is too.  The 2-4-2 has an engine spec file for an LMS 2P and the 0-6-2 has an engine spec file for a LNER N5, - both of which I think should suit them Ok.  

[Annie]

From the very odd department the 'Sharpie' 0-6-2 has a booster of an unusual kind.  Somehow during its original construction the locomotive ended up with a stray attachment point and there's a third footplate crew member underneath it with his feet at ballast level.  Plainly his job is to give the locomotive some extra push or pull when it needs it.  

 

I may be able to remove this attachment point using AssetX, but if I can't it's not exactly a big problem as the extra crew member can't be seen unless you get right down at track level.

[sem34090]

I was feeling a bit self-depressive, so decided to drive my favourite (real) loco in existence for a bit:

Then used a shoebox to bring the train back down the hill:

Before switching back to some proper traction:

And even spent a bit of time 'on the cushions' in both first and third!

Then went back to where I was supposed to be!

And so to Tanley, where the next loco awaited...

Then went to check the Caley's passenger accommodation:

Then back to the cab again... having reached twice the 25mph speed limit (!):

Rushing through Langden at 60!

And a safe arrival at Norford:

Where I shuffled an E2 around for a bit before calling it a night:

 

[Annie]

Playing with a digital trainset is good for getting rid of the black dog.  And I do love those locomotive cab views you posted.  I like a well modelled locomotive cab and those are absolutely beautiful; - worthy of being printed out, framed and hung on the wall.  The coach interior views are lovely as well and beautifully modelled.  Some of the latest pre-group carriages for Trainz made by Ken Green and Rob thingummy (forgot his surname) have interiors that are almost as nice as that, but TS modelling seems to push things out beyond the limits of what mere mortals can achieve.

 

All the pictures you posted are really great (undecided about the dismal though) and thanks for posting them Sem.

[sem34090]

I thought 20 might be pushing (OK, 19 half-decent ones... a dismal picture is a bad picture!) it, but if you like them...

 

Good news though from Kris Wilson of Digital Traction:

 

 

Now that the CR 812 is out. I can really dig into the LSWR Adams Radial but I wanted your guys opinion on something.... while the Radial is being worked on scripted, would you guys want me to release some engines in between? I have loads of engines done and ready to release, so as a filler between now and the radial would you guys like a new engines to play with while you wait on the radial (CR and non CR)? Or just wait for the radial? Your call  - Kris

 

Now, of course he's had about 45 replies all telling him to release them, but he also stated:

 

 

 

These engines I already have ready would be smaller loco packs and not as huge as main releases. Like one off locos or ones that didnt make it to BR or few variants.

 

So yet more pre-grouping stuff! Rumour has it that LNWR 2-2-2 'Cornwall' will be the first mini-pack... he also has the LBSCR B1 and E4 on his list and I may be trying to persuade him to do an E1 and D1...

[Annie]

Sounds like you're going to get a pre-group overload Sem and will end up like a kiddie in a sweetshop not knowing what to choose.  

Edited April 22, 2018 by Annie

[sem34090]

Exactly!

[Annie]

A snap I took of 'Sharpie' No.9 about to take a passenger train away from Debton (GNJT.R) station.  I must say that I'm very pleased with how well that teak luggage van I put together has turned out.

 

And a snap of No.9 herself.

 

I must say though that after seeing Sem's glorious pictures of pre-grouping locomotives and rolling stock I felt a little hesitant about posting pictures of my toy-like trains.

Edited April 23, 2018 by Annie

[sem34090]

Someone over on the UKTS forum has very kindly reskinned some track for me! Pre-Grouping can now be bought to trainsim with greater ease!