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

[sem34090]

Playing with a Y14 on my pre-grouping route:

In the process of backdating I've also replaced bridges throughout with ones from the Bluebell route:

[sem34090]

Now on to the 812:

[sem34090]

And going back up the 1 in 60:

[sem34090]

[sem34090]

Edited April 28, 2018 by sem34090

[sem34090]

A perhaps unlikely, if not impossible combination: CR 812, GWR Railmotor, on LBSCR Metals...

[sem34090]

[sem34090]

I decided to add a railmotor/motor train halt:

Edited April 28, 2018 by sem34090

[sem34090]

[Annie]

Some great photos there Sem.

I very much agree about providing halts and small stations along the route being a good thing.  My own layout being very rural in places and lacking roads in some areas, - and with tiny dots of habitation about the place could do with more than it has.

 

The Caley 812 looks very fine; - and I do love that steam railmotor.

[Annie]

It might seem like a daft idea to set up a steam locomotive so it's breathless and weedy, but that's exactly what I did with the digital model NER McDonnell class '59' I purchased for use on the GNJt.R.  These engines were a near failure, turning out to be less powerful than the older locomotives they were meant to replace.  Worsdell attempted to work his magic on them in later years to no avail and after the grouping they did not last long as the new LNER was quick to send them to the scrappers.

By dint of taking an engine spec file for a smaller locomotive, - a LBSC Terrier, - and re-writing it a little to take account of the difference in wheel diameter, locomotive weight and boiler pressure I was able to end up with a suitable engine spec file for a class '59'.  Rice pudding skin need not live in fear anymore!

What was especially important in doing all this custom engine spec work is that I also own a pair of the later Worsdell class 'C' 0-6-0 tender engines and I did not want the class'59' to end up being just as capable as those models are because in the prototype situation they weren't by a long chalk.

So all in all a class '59' is just the engine to palm off on an unsuspecting joint partner which is how the GNJt.R ended up with No. 1490.  The class '59's' were designed to be a mixed traffic engine and since it didn't take long for the GNJt.R to discover that No.1490 was hopeless at hauling coal most of the work this engine now does involves hauling passenger and parcel trains.  By and large No.1490 does manage  to carry out these tasks, but don't expect any speed records.

Heading away from Debton (GNJt.R) station with a train of four teak 6 wheel coaches and four parcel/luggage vans.  I think that should be a good test load for No.1470.

Not far into the test run and words like 'unhurried' and 'gradual' were already coming to mind.

Since I also wanted to do some route checking and a spot of exploring of places on the HUGE UK layout I haven't been to for a while. I sent No.1490 along towards the triangular junction that curves away to the west of Fenton.  I've been running the eastern coastal route quite a bit lately so I fancied a change.  Fenton is looking better too after the 'Martian Invasion' swept away all the nasty modern buildings.  (Fenton station with its glass overoof just visible to the left of the picture).

Continuing on towards the junction.  Tall retaining walls much in evidence along this section.  That bridge carries the GWR main line on its journey to the southern ends of the layout.

You don't have to go far to find bodies of water to cross on the HUGE UK layout.  It's one of the things I really enjoy about it and what attracted me to downloading the base layout and making it a 'keeper' in the first place.

In the centre of the layout there's this huge power station.  I don't know much about power stations, but I don't think they had ones like that circa1923.  I think I've found a  much older 'cathedral' type power station model that I could use instead so I might have to whistle up the Martians and their disintegrator ray guns again.

After this snap disaster struck as I managed to derail No.1490.  Partly due to the fact I was getting sleepy and partly due to me not having overhauled the signalling on this section yet I ran over some points that were set wrong and that was that!

Despite that it was a good test run though and very much proved that I'd got things right with No.1490's engine spec file.  No.1490 constantly sounded as if it was having to work hard to keep the train moving and it generally could only just manage to maintain the posted speed for the section (30mph).  The Worsdell class 'C' 0-6-0 tender engines would have romped along with the same train so overall I'm pretty darn pleased with my custom engine spec file for wheezy old engines.

One other matter arising was that all along this very long section that runs into LSWR territory (And please don't ask me to draw a map to show how that is prototypically possible) there wasn't a single station despite there some evidence of habitation along the line.  Plans are afoot to put in a few stations and to turn the random buildings plonked down in fields into reasonable representations of villages and hamlets which should make future runs along this route a bit more enjoyable.  

Edited April 29, 2018 by Annie

[BlueLightning]

I just want to jump in and say how much I enjoy this thread!! (Especially all these occasions that Sir Eustace gets a certain Terrier out to play with!!)

 

In fact I enjoy it so much that I "acquired" a copy of Train Simulator 2018 to try out! However I discovered that following the year or so of abuse it had had from me can not run it!!!!

 

Any tips for simulators to try out that a slightly battered laptop may have more luck with?? (Some pre-group LBSC content being available would be a plus!!)

 

Gary

[sem34090]

I would suggest perhaps trying Trainz: the simulator that Annie uses with great effect. I used to run it on my laptop (this laptop!) before I got TS2016 (As was) and had a couple of years of 15fps... now on a better computer I'm happy with 40fps.

 

If you ever do get TS functioning again, please let me know as I then may be able to sort out a few terriers and birdcages for you... and other nice pre-groupingy bits...

[BlueLightning]

Thanks Sir Eustace, I will give it a go!!

 

Gary

[Annie]

Copies of Trainz TS2009, - which is the version I use, - are still available to download reasonably cheaply.  Provided you're not trying to do what I do which is have a huge layout and heavily detail it you shouldn't have too many problems running TS2009 on your laptop.  There are quite a few LBSC models that will run under TS2009 just fine on Auran's Download Station and perhaps over the next couple of days I should get the ones I've got out of my digital trainset box and give them a run about and take some pictures of them.

[BlueLightning]

Thanks Annie!!

 

Where can I get Trainz 2009?? I have been looking but everything I find links back to Trainz A New Era. I would rather have the older one if it is going to work better!

 

I would love to see the LBSC stuff you have got!!

 

Gary

[Annie]

Hum................. it looks like the official Trainz website has taken the download purchase link for TS2009 down, BUT they are still listing TS2010 which should be a useful alternative.  I will say though that I haven't tried TS2010 before as I don't own a copy, but I would doubt that you'd have any problems with it.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Trainz-Simulator-2010-Engineers-Download/dp/B003Y5HB7S/ref=sr_1_3?s=software&ie=UTF8&qid=1403566520&sr=1-3&keywords=n3v

 

I didn't buy my copy of TS2009 from the official website, - I got mine from another on-line trader.  I'll have a hunt about an see if I can find a link for you.

Edited April 29, 2018 by Annie

[sem34090]

I bought my copy in Maplin in 2012, so I doubt that's any help!

[Annie]

Two sites still list it.  The website I got mine from doesn't have it anymore sorry to say.

 

https://www.play-asia.com/trainz-simulator-2009-dvd-rom/13/704r2x?ref=froogle_nz&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI9smbsqzf2gIVT3ZgCh2GkgmEEAQYAyABEgIKZPD_BwE

 

https://www.gamersgate.com/DD-TRS2009/trainz-simulator-2009

 

Edit: - make that three websites.

 

https://www.gamesrocket.com/trainz-simulator-2009-world-builder-edition.html/

Edited April 29, 2018 by Annie

[BlueLightning]

Thanks Annie!!!

 

I hold you both responsible for this!!!

 

 

Gary

[Annie]

That's really great Gary, - you won't regret it.

[Annie]

One of the new stations on the LSWR section.  This is Sudbury which on the original downloaded layout was just a coal yard (to the front left and out of the picture) and some buildings including a church, a pub and a post office plonked down along the road.

I will be doing some more work on the village and replacing the original terrace houses with some more suitably rural ones.

On the original layout all the roads were a very unconvincing two lane very black tarmac road with a white line down the centre.  Finding the road model you can see in the picture made me very happy as it looks exactly like a country road and suits the layout perfectly.

[sem34090]

Nice!

[Annie]

Further work has been done on Sudbury station as I decided Sudbury is going to be a larger and more important town.  Because it's a farming area I  added a substantial goods shed to handle the sizeable amounts of produce that would be brought into the station from the farms.  Because this is a surveyor/editor screenshot you can see the red arrows that mark the position of the magic passenger loading and unloading tracks.

Possibly the station is somewhat of a London, South Western, Brighton & South Coast Railway mix up, but that's mostly because I don't have an exactly ideal selection of suitable model buildings to draw upon.  It basically looks like what I want it to which is a country station on a secondary line out in the rural countryside with London a much rumoured place many many miles away. 

 

[Annie]

Sudbury work in progress screenshot with the much rebuilt town in the background.

 

 

I've had much useful advice about old towns built around a substantial church from a member of the NGRM forum which I will be putting into effect over the next few modelling sessions.

 

A further stage on; - the second platform now in place,

 

 

A snap taken of the town.  More still to do here.

 

Edited April 30, 2018 by Annie