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

[Annie]

15 minutes ago, monkeysarefun said:

Thanks Annie, that's more than enough to get started.

That's good, - I'm glad i was able to point you in a useful direction.

 

Apparently old passwords and usernames do persist in the Trainz archives if you've purchased a version of Trainz before and registered it.  My very first copy of Trainz was the TS2004 version and I certainly had a lot of fun with that.

 

Yes spammers, - scum of the earth.  We get the same with fake bits cut and posted from somewhere else with a link to a dodgy website somewhere amongst it all.  It wastes a lot of the moderators time that's for real.

 

I had to laugh when I saw you mention 'Flying Scotsman'.  There have been so many Trainz models made of Gresley's GNR and LNER Pacifics it's not funny.  What is really lacking is ordinary everyday shunting engines.

[Annie]

More general mucking about with setting things up at Gwladys Ddu in 'Tristyn in Winter'

 

A new 57xx model has just become available for Trainz and it really is a nice piece of work.  It even has fully modelled inside valve gear.  I won't be retiring any of my older 57xx's though as I'm short enough of useful 0-6-0 shunting and trip working engines as it is.

 

 

 

A couple of snaps of the rebuilt yard with the engines at home and rolling stock in the sidings.

 

 

 

I'm not above sneaking the occasional item of TTTE rolling stock onto the layout.

 

[Annie]

Just a quick note about the previous post with all the pretty pictures.  That is my post-Grouping GWR session for 'Tristyn in Winter'.  A good few of my engines for my Penzance to Camborne project in TRS22 are taking refuge here until such time as I can get TRS22 properly working again.  Some of my goods wagons and vans from Cornwall are visiting here as well.  Please don't look  too closely at the Toad brake vans as they are marked for Cornish districts.  I have yet to re-letter a half dozen or so vans especially for Tristyn in Winter.

 

Once I have the post-Grouping session in a workable state I will be doing a pre-Grouping GWR session so that all my late 19th Century and pre-WW1 engines will have somewhere of their own to play as well.  And I can promise you that red painted goods wagons shall be seen and have a visible presence.

 

Everything on Tristyn has been too much of a muddle for far too long with GWR engines and rolling stock from every decade being all mixed up together.  It was starting to annoy me so it's well time I did something about it.

 

Edit: When my friend Colin built up his Tristyn & District layouts back in TS2009 days he gave all the stations and places on the layout Welsh names so I suppose it must be somewhere in Wales.  He's never actually said where in Wales it might be though, - so you might have to bear with me if I make any awful mistakes.

Edited December 27, 2023 by Annie
more to say

[Annie]

 

So for 1934-1942 'shirt buttons' should be worn, - and after 1942 it's GWR initials until BR and nationalisation arrived and ruined everything.

This is going to be terribly inconvenient since I now have at least a dozen engines that will need to be 'buttoned up'.  Post 1942 is getting far too late for me (sigh).  My 45xx's with GREAT WESTERN on the tanks should be able to stay as they are, but my Saints with GREAT (crest) WESTERN on their tenders might need to be 'buttoned up'.  At least tenders are easy since I only need to do one of them.  Personally I think a 3500 gal tender looks dead daft with a teeny weeny 'shirt button' stuck in the middle of it.

[Annie]

I've sent the new green 57xx off to the archive hard drive of shame.  It had all kinds of strange magic incantations in its config file that I didn't like much as well as a number of faults that tried my patience once too often.

So it's back to one of my old faithful engines that was originally made for Trainz TS2009.  Yes there are a few things about it that could have been modelled a little better, but it's reliable and it works without causing a fuss.

 

Can't have too many 57xx's, - especially ones with a Churchward cab.

 

 

 

 

Edited December 28, 2023 by Annie
can't spell for toffee

[Annie]

Since Tristyn & District is supposed to be in Wales I decided that I could order in two more 56xx 0-6-2T locomotives.  I already had one that hadn't seen much use up until now and with there being a colliery on the layout I figured that was sufficient excuse to have a couple more 56xx's.

 

 

Here they are parked on the wye at Gwladys Ddu.  Truth be told I'd much rather have a proper turntable and coaling stage rather than a wye which isn't that much use to me.

Edited December 28, 2023 by Annie
More words needed.

[Annie]

Where is everybody?  Have you all been chased off by giant Yorkshire space yetis?

 

[Edwardian]

4 hours ago, Annie said:

Where is everybody?  Have you all been chased off by giant Yorkshire space yetis?

 

 

Well, 4 hours ago I was sound alseep. No yetis in Yorkshire. No snow. Plenty of wind, however.

 

 

[Schooner]

On 27/12/2023 at 22:21, Annie said:

...until BR and nationalisation arrived and further ruined everything.

 

Fixed it :)

 

17 minutes ago, Edwardian said:

No yetis in Yorkshire. No snow. Plenty of wind, however.

Can confirm same for opposite end of the country.

 

5 hours ago, Annie said:

 

An AI creation?

[Annie]

19 minutes ago, Edwardian said:

 

Well, 4 hours ago I was sound asleep. No yetis in Yorkshire. No snow. Plenty of wind, however.

 

 

Sleepth sound the head that hath no yetis to haunt it.

 

We've got our standard NZ Summertime rainstorms here.

Edited December 29, 2023 by Annie
Um.........

[Annie]

3 minutes ago, Schooner said:

5 hours ago, Annie said:

An AI creation?

It most certainly is.  Night Cafe is useful for creating all manner of silly ideas.

[Annie]

Gary Price's locomotives for Trainz are made for the TS2009 version and while they are nicely made models they are simplified in some details such as having no cab interior.

I was going edit the 56xx's config files to use an interactive 45xx cab interior, but to my surprise I found a proper interactive 56xx interior.  With interactive cabs all the controls actually work and can be used to drive the engine so finding that 56xx one was really nice.

 

 

What with my GWR focus being largely on Cornwall I hadn't really noticed what 56xx models there were about for Trainz.  I knew that I'd purchased a GWR 'shirtbutton' 56xx some time ago from Gary Price, but I discovered this evening that I'd also purchased a nicely lined out early BR one as well.  I'm not sure what I'd intended for that one, but knowing me I most probably purchased it because I thought it was pretty.

[MikeOxon]

5 hours ago, Annie said:

because I thought it was pretty.

nothing wrong with that 🙂

Edited December 29, 2023 by MikeOxon

[Annie]

I spent most of the afternoon working on the station and yards at Branwyn on Tristyn in Winter.  As it was originally Branwyn had 4 sidings, no goods shed and 3 sidings that are made use of by Maeryn Colliery.  There was also a generic single track engine shed to house a couple of shunting engines.

Perhaps the most impressive thing about Branwyn is the length of its platforms, but with the  station buildings being a 1867 GER station building on one platform and a unlikely looking brick pagoda thing on the other it largely failed to carry it off.

 

There's still more work that needs doing, but this is where I ended up at close of play this evening.

 

Yes it's a B&ER platform signal box, but it's replacing a Midland signal box so it's better than a poke in the eye.

 

General view looking that way.  The station building and Brunel over roof are borrowed from my Cornwall projects.  The engine shed is generic no longer.

 

No.12 Sentinel shunter at Branwyn having escaped from Shrewsbury.

 

Goods shed and cattle dock. The goods shed is based on the one at Tenby.

 

That foreman is a bit of a slave driver.

 

Aberdare resting quietly after arriving all the way from Hayle.  Actually it hasn't, - it's just that I haven't lettered any of the Toad brake vans for Tristyn & District yet.

 

Is that the local undertaker chatting to the fireman on that 14xx?

 

Another general view looking that way.

Edited December 30, 2023 by Annie
More words needed.

[Annie]

Branwyn station and yards done and dusted well enough for now I think.

 

 

I was only a young teenager when i discovered that Dukedogs weren't really as old as they looked.

My early 1950s branchlines book I owned at the time had many pictures of Dukedogs and they were very much my favourite engine.

Back at Gwladys Ddu and I'll be spending some time sorting out the local passenger service schedule and no doubt completely confusing myself in the process.

 

 

[Annie]

Dukedog in the snow.  First test of the passenger schedule I put together.  

To my great surprise it worked out reasonably well considering that I had to sort out some poorly placed and dodgy signals at a couple of the stations.  Heading away from Gwladys Ddu the large stations at Tristyn and Rathtyen were the first two stops, but after that I left the main line and followed the secondary route heading for the smaller towns; -  Aelwyd,  Eirlys and Saint Elian.  All these stations are separated by several real miles of rural countryside.   Some of those miles are single track as well which helps to keep me smiling.

Crossing back to the main line eventually found 'Earl Berkeley' at Branwyn station with its train sheltered under the Brunel timber over roof.  I wanted to try something new here with using a trigger point to send the 14xx and it's driving trailer automatically on its way running its own schedule.  'Earl Berkeley' arriving at the station and coming to halt sets a timer counting down for the 14xx's own schedule so that after three minutes or so it toots its whistle and heads off to Gwenabwy which lies at the end of several miles of branchline. 

 

Thinking about it three minutes might be a bit of a mad scramble to cross over the footbridge with an armload of luggage and clamber aboard the 14xx's driving trailer so I might make it a bit longer before the 14xx heads off.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The interior of the driving trailer.  Everyone seems to have survived the footbridge dash Ok.

[MikeOxon]

perhaps Annie can give the rest of us a sneak preview of how 2024 is feeling?

 

Mike

[Annie]

5 hours ago, MikeOxon said:

perhaps Annie can give the rest of us a sneak preview of how 2024 is feeling?

 

Mike

Well here it kicked off just like it did with 2023 with thunderstorms and heavy downpours of rain.  Seems to be our standard Summer, - two or three tantilising fine days just before Christmas and then grey skies and rain all the way through to Autumn.  At least there's no tropical cyclones, - yet.

[MikeOxon]

26 minutes ago, Annie said:

Well here it kicked off just like it did with 2023 with thunderstorms and heavy downpours of rain.  Seems to be our standard Summer, - two or three tantilising fine days just before Christmas and then grey skies and rain all the way through to Autumn.  At least there's no tropical cyclones, - yet.

4 hours to go here still but it does seem to have stopped raining.  Fireworks crackling all around and upsetting our neighbour's dogs.  Just started on a bottle of Cloudy Bay Pelorus which, in my opinion, beats most Champagne 😀

[Annie]

35 minutes ago, MikeOxon said:

4 hours to go here still but it does seem to have stopped raining.  Fireworks crackling all around and upsetting our neighbour's dogs.  Just started on a bottle of Cloudy Bay Pelorus which, in my opinion, beats most Champagne 😀

Have a glass for me Mike since I don't drink these days.

 

Someone a couple of houses over from me let off some damp sounding crackers at midnight, but they soon gave it up.  I really don't see 2024 being much of an improvement on 2023.

[figworthy]

1 hour ago, Annie said:

Well here it kicked off just like it did with 2023 with thunderstorms and heavy downpours of rain.  Seems to be our standard Summer, - two or three tantilising fine days just before Christmas and then grey skies and rain all the way through to Autumn.  At least there's no tropical cyclones, - yet.

 

Sounds much like things here, although we haven't had a thunderstorm for a while.

 

1.25" of rain since Christmas and windy with it, fortunately above average temperatures.  And just for good measure, the Somme Re-enactment Society are holding rehearsals.

 

Happy New Year.

 

Adrian

[MikeOxon]

41 minutes ago, Annie said:

Have a glass for me Mike since I don't drink these days.

Done!

 

It's hard to see how we are going to get out of the various messes the human race is in but we can only hope for some pleasant surprises.

 

Happy New Year!

[Annie]

My apologies Mike and Adrian for forgetting the obvious, - Happy New Year  😁

 

19 minutes ago, MikeOxon said:

It's hard to see how we are going to get out of the various messes the human race is in but we can only hope for some pleasant surprises.

Yes we can only hope Mike.

 

27 minutes ago, figworthy said:

Sounds much like things here, although we haven't had a thunderstorm for a while.

If you want some we've got a few here that you can have.  It gets to be really annoying especially since we have to unplug our computers and home network until they clear off.

 

30 minutes ago, figworthy said:

And just for good measure, the Somme Re-enactment Society are holding rehearsals.

Take that for your silly dollar shop crackers.

[monkeysarefun]

59 minutes ago, Annie said:

 

 

Take that for your silly dollar shop crackers.

 

Cost more than that here!

 

"Anyone lighting the fuse on illegal fireworks faces a fine of almost $40,000 and one year in prison, the NSW government has warned, as it promised a tough "zero tolerance" approach this New Year's Eve."

 

[Jake The Rat]

Happy new year from 'Rhye on Sea' ( & from Bremen, where I live) to all of you & especially to Annie!

 

 

 

 

Edited December 31, 2023 by Jake The Rat
better picture...