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

[Northroader]

Minor complaint, these lumber packs, back then I’m pretty sure they didn’t band things in large packages, no fork lifts. More likely loose planks, beams and so on. Nothing like ply or chipboard. Manual handling or lifted in slings by cranes, and either loose in opens, perhaps hanging over one end, or on bolster wagons with eithe a chain or rope to secure down on the wagon.

[Annie]

Very true Northroader.  It's a case of the deficiencies of the load model which I can't do a lot about.  Auran's old interactive industries from the TS2004 era are a bit cheesy in some ways and tend to be from the dismal era, but the thing I do like about them is that a wagon is physically loaded and then has to be taken somewhere else to be unloaded.  No cheating, no shortcuts.  That low resolution poorly detailed block of lumber (which Trainz folk have been complaining about for years) is a placeholder or token if you like that helps me to keep track of things (pun not intended) when I'm working through my poor excuse of an operational timetable.

 

Grott, Drear & Co is an Auran interactive industry heavily disguised with grim old brick building models to cover up the worst of the modern elements.  I can run boster wagons interactively loaded with logs from forestry camps to Grott, Drear & Co and collect lumber as well as mysterious crated finished products as outgoing loads.  Maybe not all that purist or finescale or historically correct in the details, but I do actually try to do my best operate my silly little tramway in a prototypical manner.

 

One thing I am pleased about though is getting those awful old bolster wagons from the TS2004 era to not only look plausible in a pre-grouping context, but also to actually get them to accept loads.  They aren't perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but at least when a very talented digital modeller from the creator group I belong to saw them, he was moved to comment that he was now thinking about making updated and more prototypical replacements.

[Annie]

Latest video from Darlington Works.

 

 

 

http://darlington-works.weebly.com/index.html

Edited December 1, 2018 by Annie

[Edwardian]

Ah, - the arcane mysteries of GER tram engines.  I discovered why I had a G15 and a C53 tram engine both numbered '131' .  G15 131 was scrapped in 1907 and its number was passed to its C53 replacement.  Though since G15 131 wouldn't have been very old at that date I'm wondering how much of it's fabric ended up being reused on the C53 that replaced it.  I bet more than a few modellers who can't identify GER tram engines from quite a way way off have been caught out by that one.

So I couldn't have a G15 numbered '131' on my layout due to it no longer existing during the slightly rubberised time frame I've settled on.  Back to the numbers game and No.125 looked like a safe bet since it wasn't withdrawn until 1943; - so the former No.131 is now No.125.  I still needed another G15 and after a little more study I noted that No.128 was withdrawn in 1913.  A dastardly history twisting plot started to form in my mind.  What if on being withdrawn No.128 went to the Hopewood Tramway instead of the great engine shed in the sky.  For a few moments I had an image of Hopewood Tramway staff storming Stafford Works with the cry, 'Stand away from that small and innocent engine you foul miscreants!'  But more than likely somebody from the tramway's board of directors just went along to Stafford Works and purchased it.  Still it was a fun thought; - it's just a pity I can't draw for toffee or else I could set down the image I've got in my head for your edification and amusement.

 

 

It took about three tries to end up with 'Hopewood Tramway' lettering I liked.  The texture piece is compressed into place on the mesh, so that made it more difficult as well since I had to space and stretch the lettering out on the texture based on a not very certain guess as to how it might look when loaded into the simulator.  I've lightly weathered the lettering as well since the yellow was just a bit too vivid and didn't look right despite supposedly being the correct GER shade of colour.

 

 

Now this is really odd.  When No.125 was No.131 the footplate crew were nowhere to be found despite being properly scripted to be in place crewing the engine.  As soon as it became No.125 they turned up for work.  The footplate crew for No.128 turned up for work as well.  Digital footplate crews not wanting to work on engines that should not be existing anymore is definitely a new one on me!

 

Love what you've done there, Annie, and the thinking behind it.

 

I think the lettering,in that font "HOPEWOOD TRAMWAY" really works well and looks the part.

 

It may not surprise you to learn that I had considered something similar for the GE-WB Joint Bishop's Lynn Tramway.  In that case it would have involved the skirts painted lined green and lettered "W.N.R.".

 

My current thinking, however, is to try to make the WNR tram engines distinct, and I think that the Bideford, Westward Ho! & Appledore Hunslets would favour the WNR's lined green livery.

[Annie]

Thank you very much James.  Even though it was a right fiddle to do that lettering I'm pleased I stuck at it until it looked right.  GER tram engines are very tempting for 'what if' minor railways, but I had to be certain in my own mind that the backstory was plausible.  I do like your ideas for a 'W.N.R' version, BUT I have to say that Bideford, Westward Ho! & Appledore Hunslet is absolutely amazing.  What a wonderful old photograph!  And that tramway bogie coach, - I would dearly love something like that on the Hopewood Tramway, but would either have to specially commission a digital model ($$$$)  or prevail upon someone in the creator group I belong to to take pity on me and make me one..

 

(Wikipedia image)

[NeilHB]

James, an excellent choice with the BWH!AR Hunslets - they were delightfully charming looking machines. They would certainly look good in WNR lined green (I nearly typed WNT there - a portent of the future perhaps?).

I have the MRC drawings and one will appear at some point in 7mm.

 

Annie - the G15s look rather nice in Hopewood Tramway livery.

[Lancaster622]

I have been having a play with Trainz again....

 

Ravenstone is my LNER based fictional creation that I am building as part of my pretty much daily stream on YoutTube (same username as here)

 

It has however been taken over in parts by some GCR stock!

 

 

8A Passing the Engine Shed at Woodgate Junction with a short frieght

 

 

Here we see 8G, 8K & 9J on shed at Woodgate Junction

 

These and the wagons behind the 8A are the wonderful work of Darlington Works that Annie showed us some pages back I know own several of his payware locomotives and all his freeware and must say I am a very happy customer!

[Annie]

As soon as pocket money day comes around this week I'll be getting my own GCR pack from Darlington Works.  As soon as I heard about the new GCR wagons under development I crossed all the ones I was going to build myself off my build list, - so I've been very much waiting for these.

[sem34090]

And very nice it all looks too! I blame Mr Lancaster for my now looking at possibly hacking my Bachmann 8K into an 8A...

 

In TS20xx news, Thursday saw the release of not only an addition to the ranks of pre-grouping machines but also to the ranks of LBSCR machines!

Another product of Mr Kris Wilson's Caledonia Works, the LBSCR E4 is now available in its later Marsh format. The initial pack includes 31 liveries from LBSCR Umber onwards, including such liveries as ROD Green and an Isle of Wight version of the SR Livery. Kris has said that he may look at producing the class in Billinton format (with the original boiler) as either an update to the pack or as a potential add-on pack in the future. The current pack also includes versions of the loco with Wainwright-pattern smokebox doors as carried by some class members in later years.

The loco is available to purchase here: http://digitaltraction.co.uk/mainsite/products/vl-lbsc-e4-loco/

[Martin S-C]

Wow. Train sims have come a heck of a long way since I used to play them...

[sem34090]

In addition to the visuals, the above loco features the following:

 

• Multiple Camera Views
• Animated Westinghouse Pump
• Custom LBSCR & BR discs and lamps
• Wheel slip Dynamics
• Custom Sounds recorded from LBSCR E4 No. 473
• 31 Liveries
• Quick drives
• In-Depth Scenarios
• Custom LBSCR Cab
• Automatic Fireman
• Custom Headboards
• Animated shovel inside the cab
• Animated lubricator inside the cab
• Animated Valve Gear
• Custom Crew

In addition to all of that, the scripting will mean that the loco performs as the real thing would. Train simulator 20xx addons are much more expensive than the vast majority of payware trainz addons but when looking at the above list one begins to see where the cost comes from, with creators spending so much time making things (Unnecessarily?) complex. They usually also have to hire a sound recordist or editor to create the sound files. I don't buy much TS stuff, but I will be buying the E4 at some point.

 

If anyone is wondering how they got the sounds from a loco that is currently out of service then the answer is that they were most likely originally recorded a few years ago for the LBSCR E2 addon, which was created whilst 473 was still in service on the Bluebell.

Edited December 3, 2018 by sem34090

[Lancaster622]

I think my main beef is that once you have paid your £8.99/£14.99 etc for all those lovely features the game itself TS20XX even in 64 bit mode able to take full advantage of your system is way to unstable to use regularly - esp for streaming purposes.

 

The biggest problem of course with Payware in relation to bang for buck is for example paying £11.99 for an A2 and getting only 'Blue Peter' in there then having to splash out and extra £2.99 on the remaining 14 members of the class the rest of the gaming community that I have spoken with wonder why we put up with it.

 

Obviously content creators such as Digital Traction do give you a large number of liveries as appropriate to the loco in question and a multitude of numbers making their content more value for money add the amazing features on top and you are laughing!

 

Now to be fair Trainz used to  be equally unstable but I have found that the newer version is proving to be very reliable plus the freeware is very easy to access via the DLS and I have found that on my return the quality of model on some of that freeware is equal in detail to the Payware TS stuff.

 

Really it is down to what you want from the sim, either High Detail but the potential for it to go tilt or stability but can't always get the same quality and the realism is down - personally I prefer the stability for streaming and like when it comes to my real world model railway just chill and play trains

 

Now back on topic - Ravenstone actually started out as a place to use the LSWR freeware:

 

 

 

 

Not sure why I had LNWR coaches behind the T3 though!

[Martin S-C]

I was always a little unhappy with the Train Packs concept of selling TS add-ons. You'd get 5 or 6 locos but you probably only actually wanted or had use for 1 or 2 of them. It was always a source of annoyance that you were required to spend extra money on something you simply didn't want. Why TS payware add-on companies can't just sell loco X for £X.XX one at a time like Hornby or Bachmann do in the real world I don't know. I would have been happy to pay exta for different loco identities or different weathering conditions but these offers never seemed to materialise.

 

EDIT: Lancaster622, something odd is happening with the visual finish of the 0-4-4 tank here versus the rest of the scene. These variations in graphic rendering were another bugbear of train sims I think.

Edited December 3, 2018 by Martin S-C

[Annie]

Edward Heaps has come through on his promise to make a GER brake van and I'm absolutely delighted.  I've been using some ancient 1860's era brake vans on the Hopewood Tramway and now they can be parked up in a siding somewhere and some proper GER brake vans can be used instead.  With the Hopewood Tramway being in a kind of transition state in its affiliation with the GER this would be very appropriate with the old Hopewood Tramway rolling stock being gradually replaced by GER rolling stock as the GER makes its presence felt.  Once I get my hands on these new brake vans though I'll quietly and discretely redraw the 'G' into being a proper GER 'G' just because I'm fussy about things like that.

 

[Lancaster622]

That looks a bit smart!

 

Some from tonight's stream with the 8G

 

 

1111 moves off shed to the turntable at Woodgate Junction

 

 

Being turned on the turntable with a 9J and D11 looking on

 

 

Passing Immingham between Alberton and Chatterley

 

 

After arrival the Ravenstone Station Pilot for the moment is this Sacre 2-4-0T moving up to release 1111 from it's train

 

 

1111 'on shed' among it's liveried more in keeping for Ravenstone stablemates with an O4 and D11 flanking and a J11 in front plus an A5 in the background.

 

At this point 1111 is the first engine to travel from the half way point of Woodgate Junction to Ravenstone and also the first locomotive to use both turntables on the route. 

Edited December 4, 2018 by Lancaster622

[Annie]

Far too much fun being had with new GCR toys.  And why not?  For a very long time the GCR was one of the forgotten pre-grouping railways in Trainz and now it has entered a new renaissance. 

[sem34090]

I think the GCR has been under-represented on all fronts until fairly recently. Perhaps that's because not only did the main route of the company disappear, but it was very much a newcomer. Add to that also the fact that virtually no GCR Locos, two I think, survived into British preservation.

Hopefully the tide is turning.

[Edwardian]

Far too much fun being had with new GCR toys.  And why not?  For a very long time the GCR was one of the forgotten pre-grouping railways in Trainz and now it has entered a new renaissance. 

 

And indeed in traditional model railways.  Relative to other companies it has been neglected.  There seems to have been relatively little support, even in kits, compared with other companies, and certainly not in relation to the earlier and more interesting stuff. I stress the term "relative", however.  

 

Considering the very considerable influence over many decades of the pioneering Buckingham, it is odd to think that the Great Central is still a relatively neglected subject.

 

It is good to see two modellers here in the pre-Grouping section active in addressing that neglect, as well as to see the GC achieve due prominence on a virtual layout. 

 

Not so many have followed where he led .... 

[Annie]

Ah yes Buckingham.  I can well remember reading every article on Buckingham published in RM that I could find back when I was a much younger woman than I am now.  And yet after all that Peter Denny remained a lone voice in the wilderness.  Something I could never quite understand.

 

I have to say though James that compared with a year ago when there was only two ex-GCR locomotives in BR black (three if you count in the ex-ROD Robinson 2-8-0's) and a Barnum open 3rd coach available for Trainz things have considerably improved.  Hopefully the trend will continue.  I've helped in my own small way with the models I've made and Robd from the Auran forums has done some excellent coaches, Darlington Works teased us for a while by producing a 'Director' in GCR livery. but this latest release from Darlington Works has now more than doubled the quantity of models now available for us GCR Trainz enthusiasts.

 

Valleyfields is a GCR-GER layout and I've been dabbling more with the GER side while waiting for Darlington Works to release the GCR pack.  Today I put together a basic 4 plank GER open wagon by reskinning one of Edward Heap's GWR wagons.  I don't get on especially well with reskinning Edward's wagons as his texture mask and style of mesh construction makes it difficult to apply any fine detail.  But I suppose it's better than a poke in the eye and it will do. 

The GER is also a much overlooked pre-grouping railway in Trainz, so hopefully they will get their turn in the sun sometimes soon.

 

Edited December 4, 2018 by Annie

[Martin S-C]

That GCR 2-4-0 tank is simply gorgeous. I recall seeing Peter Denny's scratchbuilt model of one decades ago and fell in love with the engine immediately. I'd love to have a model of one.

[Edwardian]

That GCR 2-4-0 tank is simply gorgeous. I recall seeing Peter Denny's scratchbuilt model of one decades ago and fell in love with the engine immediately. I'd love to have a model of one.

[Lancaster622]

Nice work Annie

[Northroader]

My first encounter with ex GCR items was in Wales, at Wrexham. By then the engines had been “got at” by Gresley, something to do with loading gauge clearances, and everything had the most ghastly “flowerpot” chimneys, which put me off the GCR for a very long time. You know how it is, the appearance of a loco succeeds or falls on what chimney it’s got. A long time later, the GCR warmed my interest in two ways, first in my last couple of years on BR, I had a lot of jobs on what is now “Chiltern Trains” territory, then when I retired and started long distance walking to keep fit, the Trans Pennine Trail depends on a lot of old railway lines, starting from Southport on CLC, to beyond Wath on the old main line, up over the moorland above Woodhead Tunnel. Looking at it all, I’d say “don’t forget the MSLR”, source of the 2-4-0T you were admiring, and I reckon their architecture for stations in Lincolnshire took some beating. This fits in nicely with my usual cut off date of around 1900, though admittedly the London Extension and Robinson locos untouched by the LNER is good.

Edited December 4, 2018 by Northroader

[Annie]

Sacre 2-4-0T's on Valleyfields; - and very handy little engines they are too.

 

 

 

I agree about those horrible flowerpot chimneys Northroader.  For a long time the only ex-GCR engines available for Trainz all had them.  Then a single 8K in LNER condition with a Robinson chimney became available from Darlington Works and I purchased it at once.  Now of course the drought is over and flowerpots are banned.

[Annie]

I found a naughty picture of a GER G15 without its skirts on.  Interesting in that it's in post 1915 grey with the later period large train reporting numbers instead of 'G E R' on the lower side panels.  I had a think about all this, did a little light research on the GER society website and decided that for the GER/Hopewood Tramway side of things on Valleyfields I'm going to stick with the pre-war liveries and time period.  As far as I can remember the GCR side of Valleyfields operates in the same time period even though I do happen to run French Grey/Dark Oak liveried coaches because I like them.  After 1908 the coaches should be in the varnished mahogany livery.

 

Edited December 4, 2018 by Annie