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

[Northroader]

What happens when it gets to a curve in the line?

[Annie]

21 minutes ago, Northroader said:

What happens when it gets to a curve in the line?

Yes I know Mr Northroader, but I still like to stare at it in awe.

 

If you haven't figured it out by now it's a beautifully crafted piece of April tomfoolery, named after one of the ancient goddesses of deception.

[Northroader]

Called “Annie” then?

[Hroth]

1 hour ago, Northroader said:

What happens when it gets to a curve in the line?

 It straightens them out....

 

35 minutes ago, Annie said:

If you haven't figured it out by now it's a beautifully crafted piece of April tomfoolery, named after one of the ancient goddesses of deception.

 

Its a member of the "Iron Crow" class, designed to get from A to B in a straight line and consequently employed mainly between Paddington and Bristol...

 

Even better than my outside framed enlargement of the Atbara class...

 

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/69535-great-british-locomotives/page/227/

(Posted August 5, 2015)

 

I even started on a physical rendition...

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/134913-airfixdapol-kits-real-life-inspiration/page/3/&tab=comments#comment-3366945

(Posted October 4, 2018)

 

 

 

Edited April 1, 2020 by Hroth

[Annie]

1 hour ago, Northroader said:

Called “Annie” then?

Smoke and mirrors Mr Northroader, smoke and mirrors.  It's not my clever bit of photoshop work though.  It appeared briefly on the 19th Century Railways Facebook page before being suddenly removed.

 

34 minutes ago, Hroth said:

Even better than my outside framed enlargement of the Atbara class...

 

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/69535-great-british-locomotives/page/227/

(Posted August 5, 2015)

 

I even started on a physical rendition...

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/134913-airfixdapol-kits-real-life-inspiration/page/3/&tab=comments#comment-3366945

(Posted October 4, 2018)

 

If you can't have some silly fun with your trainset from time to time then it can all end up being no fun at all Mr Horth.

[Compound2632]

Those 19th century British locomotive engineers really struggled when it came to designing bigger engines based on existing successful designs, didn't they?

 

 

I'm afraid I've posted that before. I could have shown you one of Dugald the Great's genuine efforts at a 4-6-0 but that would be too painful.

[runs as required]

Loved the April Fool !

I suppose Antipodean foolery is all done and dusted long before we’ve even woken up to it being 1st April.

Might she have handled curves as a 4-4-0 ?

[Hroth]

1 hour ago, runs as required said:

Might she have handled curves as a 4-4-0 ?

 

The Gooch "Single"  handled curves as a (2-2)-2-2, so I don't see why not!  The GWR certainly produced 4-4-0 versions of 4-2-2 locos that ran very nicely.  With generous, well controlled sideplay in the leading and trailing axles there's a possibility that in "Atlantic" form she would be able to perform quite well.

 

The Atbara and Beatrice 4-6-0 imaginations would corner just fine, with their conventional leading bogies.  However they would probably be short of breath like most other scaled up 4-4-0s because the boiler and firebox would need complete alteration to steam correctly.

[MikeOxon]

19 hours ago, Annie said:

I want!

I'm a bit late in coming to this but I think it's magnificent - so much better than the Great Bear.

 

In the real world, designers really struggled with up-scaling from the classic Victorian inside cylinder designs.  William Dean tried all sorts of arrangements to attempt to fit larger cylinders plus their valves between the frames.  He must have envied the Broad Gauge designers.  it took Churchward to move the cylinders outside and then he got lured into multi-cylinder designs by the wiles of the Frenchmen.

[Hroth]

9 minutes ago, MikeOxon said:

it took Churchward to move the cylinders outside and then he got lured into multi-cylinder designs by the wiles of the Frenchmen.

 

Tsk, those Naughty Wiles!

 

At least Churchward kept things Simple, rather than being lured to the Dark Side of extravagant Compounding, so his multiple cylinders could all be the same size and the valve gear derived to minimise complication.

[Annie]

 

Foxhollow WIP.  This bit I like, but further along the street I'm going to demolish it all and start again.  The problem is not enough era and region appropriate buildings without using the same handful of building models in every town.  The image I have for Foxhollow is the town being more built up and well heeled close to the station, but then transitioning into an older part that predated the railway.  I can see that I'm going to need to do quite a few texturing jobs on building models to make them suitable, but I'm struggling with sleepiness quite a bit lately so I don't much feel like doing any texture work.

It was my birthday today and I got far too many all expenses paid trips into the Dreamworld for me to feel happy about.  My daughter did cook a nice evening meal for me though which was a cheer up for me. 

All is not gloom though since a creator group member who made nearly all of the Uk semaphore signals for Trainz and also made the Mckenzie & Holland slotted post signals I mostly use is doing some further work on them and he asked me if there were any specific types I needed.  I asked for some three doll bracket signals in right and left hand varieties, but after that my mind went a bit blank.  I use some 1927 era GWR wooden post signals here and there as placeholder signals and it would be nice to be able to get rid of them at last so I'll have to go and look at the signalling on my layout and see where I've had to fudge things because the right signals weren't available.

Edited April 2, 2020 by Annie
fumble brain

[Hroth]

Happy Birthday!

 

Very quiet in Foxhollow.....

Where are the goats?

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-52103967

 

 

[Annie]

Thanks Mr Hroth.  I don't have any goat models, but I do have a few cat models so perhaps they might be an adequate substitute.

[runs as required]

Mebee too late to wish you an NZ "Many Happy Returns", but a virtual sea-side resort deserves better than a Welsh goat in a window box .

I see it is National Unicorn Day on 9 April apparently somewhere in the virtual universe - so time enough yet to conjure it up (being a unique-corn there will be only one) to chase off into the ether. 

[Hroth]

You could have a proper unicorn....

 

Or if you want colourful, the ones they had in Chester a few years ago!

 

Cute, eh?  

 

 

[Annie]

Back to Melton Constable.  One of the members of the creator group I belong to had some M&GNJR running in boards he made ages ago so armed with those and after a further successful search for M&GNJR buildings & etc I decided to have a look at my M&GNJR layout again.  I'd left off working on it sometime ago because I'd gone a bit stale and burned out on it and now that I'm feeling the same way about building Foxhollow on my Norfolk layout I thought I'd go and do some tidying up in the land of the Golden Gorse engines.

 

Melton Constable goods yard.  This is a reasonable representation in that I amalgamated the track plan from two different OS maps to end up with a nicely workable goods yard.  The gasworks is in the right place with its own siding, but it's a bit truncated so I could get everything to fit.

 

 

Faux M&GNJR engine warning!  Nobody has made either M&GNJR engines or Midland engines for Trainz (not counting a solitary Compound model) so I had to get a little creative.

 

 

Coal for the gasworks.  I have now found a correct model for the terrace houses at Melton Constable, but I'm not looking forward to changing around most of the town in order to replace what's there at the moment.  All the M&GNJR buildings & etc models available for Trainz were made by one digital modeller who plainly had a thing for the M&GNJR and i'm very pleased he did.

 

 

Waiting for the road.  Shunting all done so now for a spot of trip working.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Annie]

I have stolen this image so I can admire its perfection.  Yes I know I'm completely boring.

 

[Edwardian]

On 28/03/2020 at 09:54, Northroader said:

I was intrigued by Foxhollow Marine, and dug out a couple of illustrations. First Barry Pier station, where there was an extension from Barry Island, an unbridled seaside resort

 

 

I don't think I've ever been to an unbridled seaside resort.

 

I feel I've missed out.

 

On 30/03/2020 at 03:46, Annie said:

Latest snaps from Foxhollow Marine Station.

I think I have it pretty much how I want it to be now.  I would have prefered the station platform to be shorter, but I was limited by the types of curved interactive passenger platforms that were available and the one I used was the one that fitted the curve of the wharf the best.

The final work with the marine station will be sorting out signals and working out the schedule for the boat train.

 

 

 

 

 

I love No.8, the boat train and Foxhollow Marine.

 

As to the latter, I have two suggestions, neither of which may be technically possible, even if desirable, but here goes ...

 

First, as the platform faces away from the sea, I feel that a prototypical approach would be to have a wooden wall to the canopy, rather than a fence, on the seaward side, as a wind break.

 

Second, while those docking to visit the town can get a horse 'bus, I feel those wishing to change trains at the main station are a bit b*ggered.  So, I would have a footbridge pretty much from the end of the platform (where the signal box is), running across the line into the side of the train shed and running right across the latter. Give the location, I would not go for an open lattice-work bridge, but one planked, roofed and glazed.

 

This is Northern Hemisphere and North Sea. Most of the time there will be a brutally cold Easterly sending brass monkeys running for cover. 

[Compound2632]

43 minutes ago, Edwardian said:

I don't think I've ever been to an unbridled seaside resort.

 

I feel I've missed out.

 

It's the donkey rides that were the really wild part.

 

45 minutes ago, Edwardian said:

This is Northern Hemisphere and North Sea. Most of the time there will be a brutally cold Easterly sending brass monkeys running for cover. 

 

The word you're looking for here is "bracing".

[Annie]

1 hour ago, Edwardian said:

 

I don't think I've ever been to an unbridled seaside resort.

 

I feel I've missed out.

 

 

I love No.8, the boat train and Foxhollow Marine.

 

As to the latter, I have two suggestions, neither of which may be technically possible, even if desirable, but here goes ...

 

First, as the platform faces away from the sea, I feel that a prototypical approach would be to have a wooden wall to the canopy, rather than a fence, on the seaward side, as a wind break.

 

Second, while those docking to visit the town can get a horse 'bus, I feel those wishing to change trains at the main station are a bit b*ggered.  So, I would have a footbridge pretty much from the end of the platform (where the signal box is), running across the line into the side of the train shed and running right across the latter. Give the location, I would not go for an open lattice-work bridge, but one planked, roofed and glazed.

 

This is Northern Hemisphere and North Sea. Most of the time there will be a brutally cold Easterly sending brass monkeys running for cover. 

A wooden wall to the canopy can be done James since the same canopy model that I used has a variation with a wooden screen on one side.  A covered footbridge will be more difficult though.  I did try one in place, but there was something wrong with the footbridge's mesh which made the texturing flicker in a most un-footbridge like manner so I removed it.  So far I haven't had any luck with finding another covered footbridge model.  An long open lattice footbridge would be a cruel place to be with a stiff easterly wind blowing so I didn't install one even if it was just going to be a placeholder until I found a replacement.  So for the present time one of the horse buses will have to go quicksmart around to the main station via the road so that intending passengers can catch their train.  The  station master at the main station will of course hold the train until they get there.

 

I am very pleased with how No.8 turned out.  It will remain the only green B&FER engine though since it's a paintshop dodger and eventually it will get taken off to be painted blue, - BUT not yet!

[sem34090]

I've finally regained the ability to reskin stuff, so set about weathering some buildings, giving them London Brick and doing a bodge to represent an NLR brake van.

When you need North London brake vans, and you don't know what to do...

Just nick one from the South Western and say that "it will do".

 

[Annie]

Nice work Sem.  I'll be doing much the same kind of thing to make myself a M&GNJR brake van.

Very nice work on that brickwork too.

[Northroader]

Unbridled “social distancing” in force at Barry Island.

[Annie]

I suppose that's called 'getting away from it all'.

[Annie]

Testing in TS2019.  I'm having a serious look at Trainz latest offering to see if I can stand it   I want to put up with it  it will do do what I want when it comes to building layouts.  It does have some useful advantages, but it would mean having to get used to a new menu layout as well as some new tools.  I'm not very good with 'new', I tend to be suspicious of it, but I really need to be using a 64 bit version of the simulator if I'm going to keep on making detailed digital layouts like I do.  As much as I like using TS2012 I'm really making it struggle now with my Norfolk layout.