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

[Annie]

And after a mind numbing amount of work I revised the GER covered van textures to improve the planking (and some other things);  -however  I think it was well work doing and definitely worth the effort.

 

 

Old artwork compared with the new.

 

[Annie]

And I did one on a steel underframe.  I thought it was going to be horrifyingly complicated sorting out the steel underframe kit, but it was actually quite user friendly.  Unfortunately it was very much GWR orientated, but I think I managed to come up with something that doesn't offend the eye too much.  The kit only had weedy looking GWR buffers in it so I was very pleased when I was able to figure out how to fit the same buffers as I had used on the earlier wooden underframed version of the covered van.

I suppose I have to do one of those modern image vans with the big 'G E' intials now........

 

[Annie]

And the van that kicked off all this furious van building is now finally done.  It has single sided brakes and yesterday I had the most awful time trying to fit single sided brakes to the underframe since the simulator didn't want to accept my config changes.  Today I had no problems.  I haven't a clue why that was so.

I'll most probably do two more for the E&GR.  The E&GR doesn't own a great many vans and these ones came second hand from the GER.  I'm working on a Hull & Barnsley van at the moment and since the design is very 19th century and a lot railways had similar vans I'll most probably adapt the artwork to make a couple more E&GR vans; - and that should pretty much take care of the van situation for the E&GR.

 

 

I still haven't done a GER version with the large 'G E' initials.  I've really gone off pre-grouping rolling stock with large initial letters and much prefer the older style of lettering.

[Annie]

Perhaps I need a pre-Raphaelite painting to create some interest in this thread.

 

 

[Martin S-C]

Oh, plenty of interest, just that I'm so gobsmacked at your modelling skills I am lost for words!

 

I just wish I'd had freight stock so gorgeous as these when I was into train sims.

Edited May 12, 2019 by Martin S-C

[Annie]

Thanks  very much Martin.

 

I had a long difficult period of feeling sleepy, but not being able to sleep so when I'm like that I tend to build wagons and vans in order to give my stupid brain something to do.  The GER van took about 6 hrs to do and then a couple of hours more to correct and adjust things.  I suppose it is a skill I have, but mostly I just obsessively plug away at things until they come right.

[RedGemAlchemist]

25 minutes ago, Annie said:

I just obsessively plug away at things until they come right.

I know that feeling, though mine is for different reasons.

[Annie]

A mystery van.  This is still a bit WIP with some final texture tweaks needing to be done.  I found a photo of a van that was taken on a preserved line, - and I haven't a clue which one since the photo wasn't referenced, - and it was marked with large 'G E'  initials and was in company with other GER vans.  I think the doors are  replacements that the van picked up at some stage of its life, but I'm really not sure what type of doors it would have had originally.

Anyway I took the photo and straightened it out until I could use it as a template to draw all over.  The door situation doesn't worry me so much in the van's guise as a E&GR van  that was purchased second hand from somewhere, but should I want to make a GER version I'd really like to know what kind of doors this van should have.  Any help or advice anyone could give would be very much appreciated.

 

 

Original photo.

 

Edited May 13, 2019 by Annie
added a picture

[Regularity]

Looks a lot like a Wordsell era van.

But it also looks like a few other companies’ designs as well, so may be masquerading.

[Annie]

Several railway companies made similar 'X' braced vans and I was certainly intrigued by this one since it had a wooden underframe.  Any surviving GER van with a wooden underframe would be a very old van indeed since the GER were an early adopter of steel underframes.   So while my van model remains in doubt the E&GR can keep using it since they tend to own a lot of odd second hand rolling stock.

[Annie]

I've decided that the E&GR has a thing for iron open wagons so I made a version of my iron bodied open wagon with side doors.  I'm mostly happy with it even though the hinges at the bottom of the side doors are a fudge and wouldn't really work if they were made that way.  It all comes down to the limitations of the body mesh and while I thought of a few ways that I might be able represent the hinges properly most of them would have involved a lot of work as well as much modification of the textures and then would have needed a whole lot more fudges in order to make something vaguely passible.

As this wagon is for my own use and I'm not going to upload it to the DLS for other Trainz folk to make use of I decided that my fudged version is acceptable and will do the job.  I haven't put the E&GR's double 'E' reversed 'E' symbol on it yet, but will do so soon.  I've done  this to the other iron wagons, but the paint is so faded and dirty that you really have to look for it amongst the rust, chipped paintwork  and dirt.

 

[Ravenser]

On ‎12‎/‎05‎/‎2019 at 17:11, Annie said:

Perhaps I need a pre-Raphaelite painting to create some interest in this thread.

 

 

 

You have a high class of passengers. 

 

 

Possibly one of your light railways needs a Nymph Saloon, rather like the Shropshire & Montgomeryshire Railway running Queen Adelaide's Saloon

[Annie]

Modelling the pre-grouping railways of Norfolk and the enjoyment of pre-Raphaelite artworks very much go together on this forum.  Confessing a dislike for pre-Raphaelite artworks might well led to your name being taken and being investigated  by the requisite authorities.

[Malcolm 0-6-0]

9 hours ago, Annie said:

I've decided that the E&GR has a thing for iron open wagons so I made a version of my iron bodied open wagon with side doors.  I'm mostly happy with it even though the hinges at the bottom of the side doors are a fudge and wouldn't really work if they were made that way.  It all comes down to the limitations of the body mesh and while I thought of a few ways that I might be able represent the hinges properly most of them would have involved a lot of work as well as much modification of the textures and then would have needed a whole lot more fudges in order to make something vaguely passible.

As this wagon is for my own use and I'm not going to upload it to the DLS for other Trainz folk to make use of I decided that my fudged version is acceptable and will do the job.  I haven't put the E&GR's double 'E' reversed 'E' symbol on it yet, but will do so soon.  I've done  this to the other iron wagons, but the paint is so faded and dirty that you really have to look for it amongst the rust, chipped paintwork  and dirt.

 

 

 

To my eye it needs some form of  framing to support the sides, other than that a lovely job on the rusted iron.

Edited May 15, 2019 by Malcolm 0-6-0

[corneliuslundie]

Dumb buffers. Lovely.

Jonathan

Who is building one in 7 mm, albeit with a wooden - well plastic - body.

[Annie]

Thanks for the feedback Malcolm.  The open wagon is now at the stage where I run it about on the layout and stare at it a lot and then make any necessary modifications.  I've already noticed that the side texture seems to have shifted a bit cutting off part of the framing at one end.

[Annie]

Another new iron bodied open wagon.  I cribbed some details from GWR iron wagons since they were pretty much the iron wagon experts during the pre-grouping era.

 

Smoke and mirrors with a completely flat texture.

 

And the side door open wagon I made the other day has had some revision.  I'm a lot happier with it now.

 

[Annie]

Some snaps from playing trains.

 

An ancient Hawthorne 0-6-0 on the Windweather Tramway with a train of open wagons loaded with limestone.

 

Crossing the wooden bridge over the salt marsh.  This is one of the reasons why an old engine like the Hawthorne still finds work to do due to its (relatively) light weight axle loading.  Distant details are are absent in these snaps as I have the draw distance turned down due to the fact that my graphics card is starting to struggle a bit with rendering my rambling little railway empire.  BUT I have just purchased a new graphics card so things should improve once it's installed.

 

And at Windweather Harbour the limestone train is handed over to one of the Windweather Tramway's special super tram engines to continue its journey over the Hopewood Tramway where tramway skirts must be worn.  I've described these 'what-if' tram engines in an earlier part of the thread.  Essentially they are a Shay/Heisler hybrid wearing a lengthened GER tram engine body.  I originally built them for hauling heavy timber trains over the Windweather Tramway's tightly curved and somewhat challenging trackwork.

 

And now onto the Hopewood Tramway.

 

I had a really nice session with following trains about and hitching a few cab rides.  It's alway good seeing my layout from down at people level instead of flying about with sparrowcam since that way I can best appreciate all the scenic work I've done.

 

 

[Annie]

Some more Hawthorne snaps.

 

Riding on the footplate on the E&GR after loading the wagons at one of the two quarries.

 

Yes the trackwork really is meant to be crooked like that.  There's a long section with a severe speed restriction where the track has been modelled as if it seriously needs attention from the PW dept.  All good fun.

 

 

And arrival at Barrow Hills just as a local train pulls into the platform from the GER branch line to Windweather.

Here the old Hawthorne will run around its train after a visit to the turntable and the small MPD's water tank and then proceed onto the Windweather Tramway heading for Windweather harbour.

By mistake I gave the old Hawthorne a clean tender when it should have had a mucky one.  I still need to install point frogs and check rails at Barrow Hills and I haven't clue as to how those wooden crossing boards moved out of position.

 

[Edwardian]

Love the loco and the wiggly light railway track!

 

This is looking rather like how the Norfolk Minerals Railway will appear.  For Hawthorne, substitute (hopefully) a Thwaites & Cubitt 0-6-0 or a Todd Kitson & Laid 0-4-2 and you have a similar set up. 

[Annie]

It was your Norfolk Minerals Railway James that very much prompted me to start thinking about quarry branch lines and also to purchase three Hawthorne engines from Paulz Trainz with wooden lagging on their boilers especially specified.  The E&GR quarry branch does also have passenger traffic, but it's fairly light with only two trains in either direction a day.  It will be the stone trains from the quarries that will be the main event on the line which is why I've been busy with making iron open wagons.

 

Yes I really like the wiggly track too.  I had my doubts as to how successful it might be, but in practice it very much gives a light railway feel to the line.  While riding on the footplate the engine rocks about in quite a pleasing way that greatly enhances the sense of immersion.

[Edwardian]

Nice to see the evocation of something similar.  I really like that shallow cutting topped with undergrowth; might have to pinch that idea!

 

They'll have to be a workmen's train in the NMR, which will have to be something even more ancient and decrepit than found even on the WNR's most obscure corners!

[Martin S-C]

I like the mystery van with its battered and cobbled-back-together doors. I am not sure any respectable railway company would allow such a thing on its rails but a minor company might - or an internal user. You've done a wonderful job getting the original photo squared up to make a texture.

 

Did you notice the steel tie-bars that seem to be assisting the ends in staying attached?

 

BTW I think it has an LSWR feel about it.

 

I hope you don't mind some positive criticism but I think the steel open's underframe could use a bit more textured grot on it - it looks a tad clean against the rusted body.

All this pre-Raphaelite-ness with the Norfolk region makes me think I need a certain class of lady passenger to frequent the Forest of Dean area. I wonder what art school I could raid for ideas.

[RedGemAlchemist]

20 hours ago, Martin S-C said:

I like the mystery van with its battered and cobbled-back-together doors. I am not sure any respectable railway company would allow such a thing on its rails but a minor company might - or an internal user.

I have never been so insulted in an my life! The KLR is perfectly respectable, even if most of our stock is (ahem) pre-loved... 

Edited May 17, 2019 by RedGemAlchemist

[Annie]

18 hours ago, Edwardian said:

Nice to see the evocation of something similar.  I really like that shallow cutting topped with undergrowth; might have to pinch that idea!

 

They'll have to be a workmen's train in the NMR, which will have to be something even more ancient and decrepit than found even on the WNR's most obscure corners!

Thanks James.  I have some 1860s 3rd class coaches with hard wooden bench seats that I'm going to be using for the workman's trains.  I have some 4th class open wagons coaches as well with no seats at all, but that might be going a step too far.

 

17 hours ago, Martin S-C said:

I like the mystery van with its battered and cobbled-back-together doors. I am not sure any respectable railway company would allow such a thing on its rails but a minor company might - or an internal user. You've done a wonderful job getting the original photo squared up to make a texture.

 

Did you notice the steel tie-bars that seem to be assisting the ends in staying attached?

 

BTW I think it has an LSWR feel about it.

 

I hope you don't mind some positive criticism but I think the steel open's underframe could use a bit more textured grot on it - it looks a tad clean against the rusted body.

All this pre-Raphaelite-ness with the Norfolk region makes me think I need a certain class of lady passenger to frequent the Forest of Dean area. I wonder what art school I could raid for ideas.

Thanks Martin.  It was a bit of a mission squaring up the photo as after using Gimp's perspective correction tool I then had to cut the image into sections and square them up a bit more.  And then I put it all back together again and drew and painted all over it.  It was quite an interesting exercise all in all.

 

I did notice the steel tie-bars holding the ends on and I was careful to include them.  The mystery van is going to remain a singleton on the E&GR representing a damaged van that was picked up very cheaply, given some basic repairs, a coat of paint and then sent out to earn money.  And yes I wondered if it was an LSWR van too before Bodge & Co. wagon repairers got at it.

 

I agree about the underframes.  They are just a little too clean.  When I get a moment I'll drag them into Paint.NET and give them a going over.

 

No thoughts at the moment for a school of art to follow for the Forest of Dean, but if I think of something I'll let you know.

Edited May 17, 2019 by Annie
more words needed.