Annie

I see Dovetail have a canal pack on sale at the moment Sem. https://store.dovetailgames.com/eu/product/429613/marketplace-canal-scenery-pack?utm_source=Trains+Franchise&utm_campaign=4d9431373d-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_02_21&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_e964f3a6f5-4d9431373d-39700653 I usually don't take any notice of the sale newsletters because they're mostly about silly looking dismals painted in silly colour schemes, but for once they actually had something that was interesting.

Sparrowcam snap I took of the main station at Seaside Magna while playing testing the NER Class E tank engines yesterday. The wooden station buildings are based on those that were at the NBR station at Markinch until British Railways knocked them down in the 1970's. They are very much the kind of thing a small independent railway might have and are replacements for generic Big 4 station buildings which never really looked the part, In other news work continues on making my various NER locomotives properly useful. After checking real world weights and measures I was able to confirm that the engine spec files I've installed so far in the Class E and Class E1 tank engines are close matches so I'm happy about that. It's onto the Class L's (J73) now which I think will be interesting as they are real bruisers. There were only 10 in the class, so I don't know what I'm doing with three of them. One would have been quite enough for the Seaside branch and then it most probably would have been only on loan from a depot somewhere and they want it back.

Nice scenic work Sem. I have a thing for leafy backwater railways too. Ooooo 1 in 64 might make the Terriers complain a little on market days when the train is well laden, - though like you I guess I much prefer to have railways with a few hills and difficult bits rather than it all being dead flat just to add some interest to running a train service. Nice to see a wharf. As you know from my own screenshots wharves are a big part of traffic movements on my own layout and with the HUGE UK layout having a lot of coastal landscape there's around five on the layout ranging from the quite small to very large like the one at Seaside Magna. I'm going to have to get my own Terriers out on the local passenger trains again as the posh blue E1's have been having it all their own way lately.

Of course moving coal trains off the wharf with these is no problem at all. I got these from Paulz Trainz a while ago in the green Edinburgh Railway livery just because I liked the look of it. He had them in the NBR's strange yellow brown livery as well, but the colour reminded me too much of a baby's nappy contents and I saw enough of that when my two now grown up adult children were small. Engerth locomotives had very long lives in France with some still being used up until just before WW2. So I have no problems at all with them still being in service with my imaginary little railway company in the grouping transition period. Paul also has a 0-6-4WT Engerth locomotive, but it's a type with a powered rear bogie and they weren't so successful as their maintenance costs were fairly extreme due to the technology of the time not quite being up to realising the inventor's vision. These are nice locomotives to drive, very slow and steady and they will just about move any train you care to couple up to them. The articulation on the digital model isn't the same as the real thing, but it does the job and the difference is only noticeable on very tight curves. The outside Stephenson's valve gear is beautifully and fully animated too and is a delight to watch in motion.

So first test run with the usual 50 wagon coal train. I decided to start off with the NER Class E's (J71) of which the GNJt.R owns three, Nos.13, 14 & 15. Lighter axle weight made them an ideal choice for the Seaside branch and something I had to bear in mind was that they were not as powerful a locomotive as the Class E1's (J72). The posh blue E1's have a GWR 97xx engine spec file as well as the nice steam sounds file recorded on 'Maude' and the only thing I had to do to them was change out the GWR whistle sound file for a genuine NER one. Because they work reasonably well and sound like a two cylinder steam engine should they gave me a bench mark for adjusting things on the small Class E's. I decided to give the Class E's a GWR 54xx engine spec file and on test this seemed to have been a good choice as the plain Jane unlined black Class E's were transformed. They got the good steam sounds file and the proper NER whistle too; - I'm fussy about my engines having proper whistles. Heading off to the wharf. Just running light it was plain they weren't generic steam powered roller skates anymore. And the sound of the three of them together was soooooo nice. Risking being accused of cruelty to small engines I decided to just use No.13 and No.14 to work the coal train. It's a tough test loading and taking a coal train off the wharf because the train gets heavier as the wagons are loaded. There was no wandering off with the train anymore as if it wasn't there. Now the two Class E's sounded like they were working hard to shift the train and keep it moving. As it happened I didn't need to worry as they were up to the task, but what an improvement. When I came to move the two Class C's (J22) out of the way so No.13 and No.14 could take over the train I immediately noticed the difference. Their steam sound file is pretty marginal so that was immediately apparent, but they were just a couple of roller skates with no sense of having any mass and weight to them. No.13 and No.14 underway. And no more pictures after that sorry because my overtaxed video card decided to crash and spit its driver which is something it's doing more often lately. BUT the most important thing is that it does look like I can make my new NER locomotives from Paulz Trainz work a lot better. Perhaps not up to the standard of a full bells and whistles simulator like TS, but certainly well enough that I can enjoy playing trains on my layout. I'll sort out the earlier Class E1's (J72) I got from Paulz Trainz to have the same spec as the posh blue E1's 'Fly', 'Wasp' and 'Hornet', - which will certainly transform them and make them really useful engines; - which leaves me wondering what to do with the three NER Class L's (J73) that I've got. Class L's are bigger and heavier with 18 tons axle weight as compared to the Class E's 13 ton axle weight and 21,320lbs tractive effort compared with 12,130lbs for a Class E and 16,760lbs for a Class E1, - soooooo I'll have to put my thinking cap on and see what suitable engine spec file I can find for them.

Hunted for the last coins down the back of the couch and purchased an ex-GCR J11 (Class 9 'Pom Pom') from Darlington Works which at $4.99 is a real bargain. https://darlington-works.weebly.com/gcr-j11.html Too heavy for crossing the wooden river bridge this loco isn't really for use on the NER dominated HUGE UK layout and will be ultimately going to my GER-GCR layout Valleyfields. But until that happens I will be using it to help me conduct some locomotive trials so I can fit better engine spec files to my recent NER 0-6-0 purchases from Paulz Trainz. Paul Hobbs (not the Paul from Paulz Trainz), - log in name paulhobbs on the DLS, - has made a good many nice digital locomotive models and they don't use 'one size does all' engine specs so I've downloaded a variety of his 0-6-0 engine spec files and I'm hoping to be able to match up some better engine specs for my new NER locos. I knew there were going to be problems with the new Paulz Trainz NER locos when they just walked off with a 50+ wagon coal train without a murmur. The ex-SECR R1 tank engines that had been doing this work before are based on Paul Hobb's digital model R1 and have his engine spec files and they always gave the strong impression that they were hauling a heavy train and having to work at it. I'm happy enough to buy models from Paulz Trainz, but I do so in the knowledge that I'm going to have to fettle them a little to make them suitable for work on my layouts. I've also got some sound files that were recorded on the footplate of the preserved NBR Class 'C' 0-6-0 'Maude' so I'll be using those too. Hopefully after that the new arrivals will be 'really useful engines' and will be properly fun to drive instead of being generic steam powered roller skates. The orphan McDonnell Class 59's will need more careful attention though since they were well known to be underpowered and I'd like them to have that quality just to make the running shed foreman at Seaside Magna tear his hair and invent new words to bless them with.

I corresponded with Norman for some years when I was a member of the 'S' Scale Society and he was a true gentleman and a highly skilled craftsman and model-maker. I remember some photos of his LSWR coaches he sent to me and they were exquisite pieces of work. I was deeply saddened when he died and the hobby suffered a great loss.

The test G6 bodyshell turned out very well Sem and looks very nice indeed. Very impressed that almost nothing in the way of surface preparation was required before the paint went on,

Oh and I meant to post pictures of the NBR 1st/2nd composite and the Brake 2nd which I also have my eye on. All fairly generic as a lot of railway companies used the same design. Some of Pauls other NBR coaches are more Scottish railway specific so while they're interesting I won't be going for those.

Some of the better models for Trainz can be quite individual and have some of the characteristics of their prototype. I like the GER Claud as an example because it does have the fast, slightly prone to slip qualities of its prototype. The NER T2's (Q6) 0-8-0's from Darlington Works are another good model that their maker spent some time over getting to work as they should. On the 3ft 6inch gauge side I have some Kitson-Meyers that act and sound very like the real thing. However I do agree that quite a few of the locos on offer can be very samey and fairly vanilla in their characteristics. Some of Paulz Trainz 0-6-0's I've got are virtually identical in their characteristics and don't give you much of clue that they're doing anything at all and yet the Engerth 0-8-0 well tanks he made have all the qualities of their prototype with their ability to move a heavy train from rest and what's more they sound and feel like they're really doing it. I'm not above going and hunting for better engine spec and steam sounds files for my locomotives since I like my locos to work properly, but I do agree that Trainz strength does lie more in the area of world building more than being a true down there in the steam and grease and coal loco driving simulator. Because of my silly sleepy little clockwork brain I can't manage to drive a steam loco in TS and I just end up being horribly frustrated so I envy you a little Sem because you plainly can use the simulator as it's designed to be used and get a lot of fun and enjoyment from it. Thanks for identifying my Terriers by the way as I'd feel a bit silly if someone asked and I had to say I didn't know

This is the NBR 1st coach Paulz Trainz sells.

I would love to have those kind of Terrier options in Trainz Sem. The GNJt.R has two which are 'defaced' TTTE models because the 'proper' models have their cab roof modelled all wrong even if their paintwork is absolutely exquisite. I really don't know what variety of Terrier the ones I have are claiming to be, but they are useful on the lighter local passenger trains.

The evening drawing in at Debton. I don't often use the editor in Trainz in low light timespaces (ie. evening and night), but sometimes it's useful to get a different impression of how everything looks. I guess around 80% of the buildings I have on the layout have some kind of night time lighting effects so the overall impression is really nice. I'm not modelling the heaving metropolis so I don't want things lit up like a Christmas tree. 'Fly' again on the evening train. With my older litho coaches now in the works I hauled out some other later versions I'd been messing about with. The 5 compartment 3rds which are based on a photo of a Metropolitan Railway Carriage Co coach I found somewhere have quite high resolution textures compared with my older coaches. The No.11 teak 1st class coach is a very early low resolution model I made ages ago and I decided to work on its textures a little to improve their appearance. Ideally I should remake it with better textures, but it will do for now until I've upgraded and polished the other coaches. It doesn't look too bad alongside the Metropolitans. One of Paulz Trainz NBR teak luggage vans with the NBR crest replaced with the Grand Navigation crest. I'd like to get some of his 1860's NBR 3 compartment firsts as with a stretch I could still make use of them on the layout since old first class coaches tended to have longer lives due to their more luxurious interiors. I unearthed some older 'try-out' 6 wheel clerestories I made at one time and these could be nicely upgraded as well. These simple coach meshes do look better as a 6 wheeler, but I'd prefer it if I could have this mesh as an arc roofed version as well. The green coach at the end is a 'Foxwater Light Railway' try out sketch I did and it will most probably tag about on some local passenger trains since nobody (including me!) really knows where Foxwater is.

That very much sounds like a plan Sem and I like the sound of it. It's good that the WC&PR Terriers have been made so they can be re-numbered and named as that's something I have problems with when it comes to some locomotives for Trainz.

It looks like you've made a really good start though Sem and I'm looking forward to seeing future developments

Looks like our posts crossed Sem. I do like your snaps of the Mid Hampshire Light Railway. More pictures please as it really does look lovely with some really nicely done scenic details.

I played trains quite a lot yesterday and just to make a bit of a change from everlasting Summer skies I set the weather to 'changeable'. What this really means is occasional patches of clear sky in between sudden humdinger type thunderstorms. Part of the purpose of me having a play about was to generally test everything along the GNJt.R's Seaside branch and to see what else needed to be done. I started off proceedings with 'Fly' on the return journey of the 'express' to Seaside Magna. And it started to pelt down. On the approach to Stanley Farm Halt. And the weather started to look like it was clearing a bit. Crossing the wooden river bridge under clear skies. On the approach to Riverside after crossing the bridge. At Riverside the skies darkened and it started to rain again. (I've since updated Riverside station with different buildings) Ieaving Riverside and heading for Ironbridge station. No pictures of Ironbridge station because it was half pulled apart at the time for a rebuild. And after leaving Ironbridge station the skies cleared. At Walberry Old Wharf station the sky started looking a bit iffy again. The station here is also scheduled for rebuilding. On the way to Seaside station it started to rain again. (Between Walberry Old Wharf and Seaside is a long open stretch of gently curving line where loco crews sometimes compete to see who can obtain the smartest time between the two stations, - they call it the 'speed track'. All very unofficial and not really approved of by management of course.) And at Seaside station the skies were clear again. Seaside is the oldest station on the branchline and very popular with visitors during Summer. It's also due a rebuild which I want to do without taking away from the character of the original station too much. After Seaside station are the workshops and engine sheds (out of the picture bottom left) and the coal sidings where incoming and outgoing coal trains are shunted and sorted. Ancient eight coupled well tank engines built according to Engerth's patents rule here much to the horror of the newly formed LNER. Approaching Seaside Magna station. Quite a bit of rebuilding is going on around here. The GWR signals have since been replaced by antiques from the 1870's and there's work going on with the station itself too. After this running session I had a longish stint with completing all the backyards of the houses alongside the railway line, - which was mind numbingly tedious, but necessary. No.5 heads away with a train of NER bogie coaches while 'Fly' waits beside the dairy factory. No.5 caught the bad weather too. (snap taken along the seafront at Seaside Magna) No pictures of Seaside Magna station because the builders said, 'Go away and come back later', so here's a snap taken of 'Fly' on the approach to the Seaside Magna New Wharf station while a J70 sets off for the town tramway that runs beside the main street. The town council insists on proper skirted tram engines being used on the tramway which caused me some problems as proper digital model tram engines without faces on aren't that easy to find. And it looks like I didn't take a snap of the New Wharf station. Either the builders chased me off again or I was getting tired and forgot to take one. I found some timber built buildings from Scottish branchlines that are absolutely perfect for an independent railway like the GNJt.R. Using generic mainline company type buildings never looked right for the GNJt.R, but that was all I could find at the time. Soooooo it's been a bit of a spree of rebuilding stations just lately as well as lengthening some too short platforms, making signalling and trackwork adjustments & etc. One problem that I didn't expect was that my old litho coaches had stopped working with passenger interactive platforms. It's only a very simple pick up and set down passenger script that they've got because of course they don't have an interior or any seats. But despite that the illusion of passengers getting on and off the train was very nice to see and I really missed it. So anyway I decided that these old coaches are going to the 'works' for some overhaul work as well as getting their passenger scripts mended so they'll be out of circulation for a short while. These were the very first models I made for Trainz when I started out and while I know they're quite basic and not entirely prototypical as well as being a bit toy trainish I do like them and enjoy running them on my trainset even though I do have other highly detailed and prototypically correct 'finescale' coaches with accurately modelled interiors that I could use instead. And that's all for now. I hope I haven't bored you all to tears and put you to sleep with my ramblings

I presently have 25Gb of digital railway models and even if they were all available in 4mm scale I could not hope to buy them in physical form unless I was a millionaire. Even if I buy payware models which I have to do for some models that aren't otherwise available I generally pay $4.00 for a goods wagon $5-$6.00 for a coach and $7.00 for a steam locomotive. As to what dismals cost I neither know nor care. My main grouping transition era layout has approximately 100 scale miles of trackwork. Soooooooo whenever I wonder if I would be happier building a real world tangible non-digital layout the short answer is 'No'.

Very nice Sem. It would be soooooo tempting to go Southern with a digital layout, but with the two LNER & constituent companies ones I'm already working on it would be a step too far and I'd never get anything done. Good too that you've got the proper rulebook to go by. I don't think I could quite manage to actually run any of my layouts according to a proper rulebook or any rulebook of any description, but with a prototype line like what you have there with TS I can see how it would add another dimension.

After paying all my horrible nasty boring bills for the week I had enough left over to buy a 20 ton NER coal hopper wagon and a 10 ton NER coke wagon from Paulz Trainz. Nice models too and only $4.00 each. Next week should be bill free so I'll have a little more pocket money to buy some more pre-group NER wagons. Most NER wagons were quite distinctive and nobody is making anything in the way of freeware for the NER. The LNER/NER page can be found here; - http://www.paulztrainz.myenet.info/inside/LNER_Wagons.htm All wagons $4.00 each and pay via PayPal at this email address paulztrainzusa@gmail.com And I don't get any commission for passing this information on I'm just a happy customer who wants to share the joy.

Nice. It would be just the thing for a Scottish themed layout

That LNER registered PO wagon in the GCR collector wagons pack is a bit disappointing. Could be a violation under the Trade Descriptions Act ...... mutter mutter grumble.......

Ha ha. I do have another layout, - a 3ft 6in gauge one that does have a treacle mine, - but I thought I'd be a little more sensible with the HUGE UK layout and have a proper factory instead. The name 'Golden Bounty' has been carried across to this layout from the other layout though.

These are the closest thing the GNJt.R has to 'top link' locomotives. How the GNJt.R came to own a pair of ex-SECR locomotives is (conveniently) lost to the mists of time, but No.5 and No.4 (inside the engine shed) are the two 'express' engines worthy of the name on the GNJt.R. Even though the unlined No.5 should be the more 'plain Jane' of the pair to my mind it has always been the more visually striking of the two locomotives. I'm thinking of altering No.4 to carry the same 'GNJt.R' lettering on its tanksides as a part of the general upgrading of I'm doing with the original GNJt.R locomotives at the moment. Edit: These digital models are quite old, the base 'H' class model having been made for TS2004, but recently someone very clever made a brand new detailed cab interior for them which has certainly helped to make them look a little better. Originally the cab was empty with a bare backhead which made them look very plain. Lovely locomotives to drive with quite a tenacious performance and a good turn of speed when hauling a a train of 6 bogie coaches.

The Class '59' (J22) has arrived and I'm very pleased with it. It's a later model by Paul so has various small refinements to its digital make up as compared to the older Class C's (J21) which are very nice. Fun fact, - the Class C's were built by Worsdell as a replacement for the underwhelming Class 59's designed by McDonnell so it's slightly amusing that the new Class 59 is the more refined digital model out of the two. With a lot of digital steam loco models being made these days lettering and numbers are on small attached mesh patches rather than on the main body texture which means that it can be quite difficult to make changes to another era if the attached patches aren't in the right place. I'd had to compromise with the Class C's tenders to give them NER style lettering, but having purchased the Class 59 in NER condition I decided to use the same tender on the Class C's since it had its lettering attachment patches in the right place. The Class 59 tender is smaller and of an older type, but I decided that in my little world the smaller tenders were fitted to the Class C's before they were transferred to the GNJt.R's Seaside branch. The ever present fact of the fragile wooden river bridge would have been the likely reason since nobody wants to be the one who did something to break it. Being a swing bridge that opens to river traffic would make any stronger modern replacement for the wooden bridge far more expensive than anybody wants to shell out for so the wooden bridge remains and the operating department just has to live with all the necessary compromises involved with keeping traffic moving over the bridge. (The bridge is animated and really does open and close by the way). I used my own shaded lettering on the now Class C tenders. Mine is based on some accurate NER images I found somewhere and is a little bit better than Paul's. I had a problem though in that my correct width 'N' wouldn't fit on Paul's attachment patch so I ended up having to make it narrower than it should be. At some stage I'll change the lettering on the Class 59 tender as well which won't be so difficult since I've already done the 'N' and the 'E' to suit. I use a dove grey for the normal maps on my lettering instead of white as Paul does and I find this stops the lettering from looking unnaturally bright. I was going to buy the similar looking, but slightly smaller NER Worsdell Class 'P' (J24), but decided on the McDonnell Class '59' mostly because it's visually different looking to the Class 'C' and also more likely to have been orphaned out to the GNJt.R as a way of getting rid of a couple of not especially useful locomotives. I have yet to do anything about a second Class '59', but it's definitely on the 'to do' list.