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

[Annie]

Oooooo what nice digital chocolates.  Just as well really since I can't eat chocolate.  Well I can 'eat' it as such, but it doesn't do me much good afterwards.  

[Annie]

The C53B tram engines for the Windweather Tramway that the GER never knew they owned are one of my long running projects.  Starting with a fairly naff tram engine by John Whelan that he claimed was a G15 even though it's about a full third of the length of a C53 too long, I've heavily reworked into an articulated Tram engine that rides on two 4 wheel bogies and has a two cylinder steam engine mounted alongside the boiler.  Say what you like but the two I built are perfect for shunting and working the timber trains at Windweather Harbour.

 

The boiler model is actually intended for a Darjeeling class 'C', but fits a C53B just fine.  Everything about it from re-texturing to actually getting it mounted on an attachment point on the main body mesh was a pig though.  I may return to doing some more finishing work on it when my hair grows back.  The two cylinder engine model is from a Shay if you haven't guessed that already.  There is more I'd like to do with fitting out the inside of the 'shed', but much depends on finding the right kind of meshes I can adapt and use.

 

 

This might not look much, - just a view out a window from inside the tram engine, but it wasn't easy getting this to happen.  I don't know why but this tram engine model has four body meshes and everything has to be done four times in exactly the same way or else nothing works.  The interior view attachment point was missing so I had to create one four times and then with adjusting its position I had to repeat every adjustment exactly the same four times.  No wonder this was a job I'd been putting off for ages.

It's all worth it though since the C53B's can shift a 160 ton timber train at 5mph through the tightest and most complex trackwork on the wharf without slipping or missing a beat.

 

 

 

 

Edited April 3, 2019 by Annie
can't spell for toffee; terrible grammar

[Annie]

Eastlingwold & Great Mulling Railway No.3 went to Wells and got promoted.

Normally when a train returns via a portal details like lamp codes get left off by the simulator, but this time it didn't for some reason and No.3's ordinary passenger headcode was given an upgrade.  The lamps are ancient 1860s ones that I managed to figure out how to reskin with a better texture to improve their appearance.

 

 

With the the only GER passenger train suitable tender engines available to me being  a Y14 and a 'Claud' E&GR No.3 gets a fair bit of use to make up the difference.  The 'Claud' only gets used on the infrequent posh trains so that leaves the Y14 and No.3 to take up the slack with all the other passenger workings.  In actual fact I doubt a 'Claud' would be seen in the coastal depths of Norfolk, but I have to work with what I have.

 

No.3 on the passenger service to Skatemire.  Most of the imaginary place names on the layout were taken from my also imaginary PO wagons.  In most cases the PO wagons came first and then when I needed some names for towns I went 'Hmmm....' and took my inspiration from them.

 

The GWR tri-composite I made a while ago hadn't been out for a run for a while so it got attached to the train.  I can only ever run one since there was only around eight of them in total so seeing two together in Norfolk would be unbelievably unlikely.  Seeing one in Norfolk is most probably unlikely too, but there you go.

 

W.N.R. Saloon coaches are a common sight since they are often hired out to intrepid parties of folk who want to explore Norfolk by train.  You'd have to be fairly intrepid to want to go sightseeing in Skatemire though.  I understand the annual 'Mudlark Festival' is a popular event however.

 

Edited April 4, 2019 by Annie
Invisible word syndrome

[Edwardian]

I love that Single, Annie.  Tell us more, do. 

[Annie]

It's a Beyer-Peacock of 1856 James.  Built originally for the Edinburgh & Glasgow Railway and they lasted until circa 1910, but they were owned by the NBR by then.  It was a very successful design and similar engines were sold to the early Australian railways as well as railways in Europe. 

I'm using a great deal of creative license by having one in GER blue, but the backstory is that it was owned by the Eastlingwold & Great Mulling Railway (one of my imaginary 'what-if' railways) and the GER inherited it when they purchased the E&GR.  Since the digital model has completely un-editable brass plates with the Edinburgh & Glasgow's initials on them I had to come up with a name that fitted those initials.

 

No.3 is being a bit of a problem at the moment since I'm trying to find an engine spec file to suit it since the one that came with it isn't very good.  No.3 has a Fowler 2P engine spec at the moment which is a bit too terrific and has given No.3 the kind of performance that can rival any other engine I have on the line including the 'Clauds'.  Despite the thrill of being on the footplate on a fast passenger run I really do have to find something more appropriate and I've asked the creator group I belong to for assistance since I haven't had much luck so far.

 

Edited April 5, 2019 by Annie
added a picture

[Legend]

Annie, great thread that I've just come across .  Forgive me for asking simple question , but which version of Trainz do you operate?   I used to use it until about 5 or 6 years ago when my upgrade to Windows 10 wiped out my old version  , I may have been using TRS2004, I really can't remember now.   But I am interested in getting back into it . It used to be Auran that designed and supplied it . Is it still around, if so whats the latest version?If I remember correctly they were developing different versions for those that liked creating scenery, and those that liked running trains prototypically, they did seem to be making life more complicated, but I've rather lost track of them.  Is it still Auran or did they sell out to someone?

[Edwardian]

Thanks, Annie. I'd love plans for one of those !

 

Blue really suits it. 

 

The view from a low angle as she rounds the corner with the trees at her back is particularly stately.  I love that.

 

 

 

Edited April 5, 2019 by Edwardian
spelling!

[Annie]

Legend, - Auran became or was taken over by N3V Games and the latest version of the simulator is TS2019.  My digital railway empire on these pages was built in the TS2012 version which I like because it's not as complicated as the versions that came out later on.  TS2012 might not look as pretty, but it works well for me.

I started out with TS2004 and then went on to TS2009 World Builder Edition which I really liked and I built a few layouts with it.  I bypassed TS2010 and went to TS2012.  I have the next version T:ANE (Trainz: A New Era) as well as TS2019, but it's TS2012 I always come back to.

 

You can find the on-line store for Trainz here:  http://www.auran.com/product   If you sign up for their newsletter you can get a free copy of TS2009.

Edited April 5, 2019 by Annie
more to say

[Annie]

9 minutes ago, Edwardian said:

Thanks, Annie. I'd love plans for one of those !

 

Blue really suits it. 

 

The view from a low angle as she rounds the corner with the trees at her back is particularly stately.  I love that.

 

 

 

Yes I was lucky to get that snap James since No.3 wasn't exactly taking things quietly as she rounded the corner. 

And I must agree I do like the blue livery.  I wasn't sure how it was going to work out, but I'm glad I gave it a go.  Quite a bit of other texture detailing was done at the same time and No.3 even found itself fitted up for vacuum brakes.  I changed the original weatherboard for one that gave a bit more protection and also to distance it a little from the appearance of the Edinburgh & Glasgow engines.

 

A drawing for one of the Australian engines with a 6 wheel tender can be found here:  http://www.beyerpeacock.co.uk/Drawings/890 Col-El.pdf

[Edwardian]

26 minutes ago, Annie said:

Yes I was lucky to get that snap James since No.3 wasn't exactly taking things quietly as she rounded the corner. 

And I must agree I do like the blue livery.  I wasn't sure how it was going to work out, but I'm glad I gave it a go.  Quite a bit of other texture detailing was done at the same time and No.3 even found itself fitted up for vacuum brakes.  I changed the original weatherboard for one that gave a bit more protection and also to distance it a little from the appearance of the Edinburgh & Glasgow engines.

 

A drawing for one of the Australian engines with a 6 wheel tender can be found here:  http://www.beyerpeacock.co.uk/Drawings/890 Col-El.pdf

 

Drawing very much appreciated, Annie.

 

In other news, the WNR has just taken delivery of another Beyer Peacock .... 

[Annie]

Sounds very interesting James.  I imagine all will be revealed on your Castle Aching thread.

 

I have to say that I'm finding I have a liking for Beyer-Peacock locomotives too.  Unfortunately the one I have is the only one available for Trainz.  I would really be stretching things if I said the Eastlingwold & Great Mulling owned two so I suppose I'll have to be good and just keep No.3 a singleton. 

[sem34090]

It weren't me sir! It were Annie wot made me do it!

[Annie]

Casting temptation in your way am I Sem?  

[Martin S-C]

16 hours ago, Annie said:

 

 

This is one of the sexiest train simulator images I've ever seen. Really, really nice Annie. Can we please have more screen shots taken from this kind of angle?

[Annie]

Oh I think I should be able to oblige from time to time Martin.  As I mentioned above I was lucky and hit the virtual shutter just at the right moment.

[Annie]

Various snaps from tonight's layout session.

 

The WNR's old E.B. Wilson well tank heading for home.

 

Assorted snaps of No.3 at work.

 

 

 

 

H.T.Co's No.8 on the local service between Foxhollow and Heacham.

 

 

[Annie]

I've been testing engines on an old version of my layout that still retains the 30 mile double track mainline as a continuous oval.  I really like driving my engines using the advanced steam controls, but many engine specs are set up to be DCC only and simply don't work properly with the advanced control set.  The worst problem is usually the boiler won't steam, or else barely steams then fades out to nothing and never recovers.  With the DCC controls an engine spec has to be pretty horrendous for it not to work at all, but with the advanced controls it has to be properly written in every aspect.

I found a good steam engine e.spec for Beyer-Peacock No.3, but it was a little too good and made it good enough to be a 'Race to the North' contender, but by using the 30 mile oval test track I was able to find another good e.spec by the same creator that's a steady reliable steam producer and a little more modest in its power output and much more suitable for my GER secondary lines.

 

It's the turn of my freelance H.T.Co. single driver tank engines at the moment (Nos. 5, 7 & 8) .  These are three very useful engines  for doing the lighter local passenger turns on the long rambling single track GER branchline out to Moxbury as well as the passenger runs on the former Barrow Hills & Foxhollow Extension Railway to Heacham.  They are a lot of fun to drive, but their engine spec was a pretty indifferent steam producer and would sometimes leave them stranded with little steam in the boiler and no hope of raising more.  They are coming on nicely with a e.spec boiler that steams well, but needs careful management with coal and water levels to get the best from it.  Too thick a fire and the result will be a sulky engine and run it too thin and boiler pressure starts to drop.  Same with the water level, - there's a definite sweet spot and running too much cold water in at once will make the boiler pressure drop.  

 

By the way I drive an engine using the reverser to control speed and power with the regulator set somewhere around fully open.  Back when I was 14 I read '2750: - Legend of a Locomotive' and my brain absorbed all the details in the book about driving a steam engine using this technique and I never forgot them.  The book was a great read and I wouldn't mind finding a copy of it again.

 

 

 

Edited April 7, 2019 by Annie
fixing mistakes and rearranging pictures

[Edwardian]

Sem, you're a very naughty young man.

 

Live it.

 

Annie, oh the joy of virtual; a whole WNR train, comfortable in excess of my layout's platform capacity!

[Annie]

I won't show you the platforms at Hunstanton and Wolferton then James because that 10 coach WNR train gets lost in them.  At the moment it's a twice daily Hunstanton-Wolferton-To the WNR portal and back again passenger service which I don't think is excessive and adds a different touch of colour to the GER blue and teak on the line.

[Annie]

Tonight nothing was working properly with my layout in TS2012.  I think I've crossed the critical point where I've added so much detail and with the scheduled trains running under AI controls as well it all started to tip over.  In particular I couldn't help noticing that trying to run trains with the advanced steam engine controls was almost a complete waste of time since nothing was working properly.  The single driver tank engines could barely move themselves and yet under testing on a smaller and less detailed layout they were fine.

The problem is TS2012 can only really use two cores of my computer's quad core processor whereas the later versions such as TS2019 can fully use all four cores.

 

Feeling a bit annoyed I ran a test in TS2019 with one of the single driver tank engines and it ran perfectly.  The boiler could steam for England and No.8 gave an excellent account of itself.  I deliberately chose the K&ESR Winter layout as a test track since the K&SER had some quite vicious gradients and I wanted to really give No.8 a proper work out.  I will confess I ignored all the speed limits and the fireman must've been stoking the fire like a Trojan to keep the fire at its best, but it certainly proved a point.  TS2019 is just plain better if I want to use the advanced steam controls to drive my engines.

Of course this means I'm going to have to think seriously about transfering my layout over to TS2019.  I have a kit of parts to convert my Xeon workstation computer to having dual processors which will be 8 cores altogether, but if TS2012  can only use two of them it's not going to make any difference.  TS2019 of course can use them all which is a somewhat heady thought since it would mean that there would be no real limit to how much detail I could put into a layout if I was so inclined.

 

 

 

 

Headcorn station at last.

[Northroader]

They’re lovely pictures even if I can’t understand a word of the rest of it. The whole concept of being able to drive virtual trains realistically in wide open spaces makes me wonder what are the rest of us doing?

[Annie]

Quite honestly Northroader if I suddenly no longer had narcolepsy and could do model-making again I think I would be very reluctant to abandon virtual railway modelling.  The Winter K&SER layout was built using DEM data and is the exact scale length of the real line with the landscape modelled as it really was.  After that it would difficult to go back to just having a layout in the corner of my bedroom.

[sem34090]

2 hours ago, Northroader said:

They’re lovely pictures even if I can’t understand a word of the rest of it. The whole concept of being able to drive virtual trains realistically in wide open spaces makes me wonder what are the rest of us doing?

Well, I find that the two fulfil different purposes for me. I enjoy building layouts, I enjoy making models and I am something of a model railway collector. But I also enjoy building routes in a train sim, though there I also get enjoyment from driving them too.

 

 

[Annie]

Perhaps I should just give up on all this modern 20th century stuff and dial things back to the 19th century.

 

 

 

Possibly not, but as a result of a discussion about engine specs and using the advanced controls I was given these two engines.  They are based on 1860's Australian prototypes and are certainly an interesting pair.  Still a WIP from their maker they aren't available yet.

 

[Annie]

Steam engine testing on a copy of the Broad Gauge Minehead route shamefully converted to standard gauge.

There is method to this madness as the Minehead branch has long steep gradients which are a good test when driving digital steam engines with the advanced controls.

 

This is an old TS2004 era layout that I've converted to run under TS2012 with the tree and hedge models having been upgraded, but all the other original scenic detailing has been left untouched.

 

 

I've been able to get my single driver tank engines working properly on the advanced controls at last.  Not quite a degree in thermodymanics needed, but with the help of some of the experts on the Trainz forum I've been able to properly edit these engine's boiler specs so the heat from the coal they're burning is going into the boiler water properly and not getting lost on the way.

 

 

Cab view.  To my delight I discovered that the controls inside the cab can be directly operated when running the advanced control system.  And what's more they are a lot more precise than just using the default control sliders.

 

 

One of the Australian 1860s engines out for a run.  They both have quite small boilers so I found I have to really watch their boiler water levels closely.  Their fireboxes are quite small too so managing their fire is a bit tricky.  All good fun though.