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

[Adam88]

On 06/08/2022 at 20:44, Annie said:

Now there's a seriously good cheer up for me this morning.  Thank you very much Adam.

 

I have an older model of No.80 that was made for Trainz and a lovely thing it is too.

 

Sorry to hear that you've both been infected by the dreaded lurgy, it can be most debilitating, I had it at the beginning of June and it knocked me for six for three or four days and then about ten more days to get back to normal.  I dread to think how bad it might have been had I not been innoculated.

 

That apart, I had penned an observation about Le Continent which I thought I'd lost in a textual black hole but it re-emerged this evening.

 

I think we've touched on this before but the lack of cabs for the Crampton's enginemen is amazing. In 2022 Paris-Strasbourg takes a tad under 2hrs by TGV. In 1852 it would perhaps have taken 6hrs in all weathers.  Just imagine how awful that double dos-et-dos Crampton would have been to drive and fire.

 

Well today my travels took me to the German railway museum in Nuremberg and of course they have their own Crampton, Phoenix, this time most sensibly fitted with a cab. I am not running short of railway interest on this trip but I must pace myself.

 

I next plan to back-track geographically and revisit the Lucerne museum, I only ever went there when I was 15y/o so it qualifies for a return. I will finally be spending a few days tramping on high ground and if I need a mountain railway or so to cross a few contours then so be it.

 

Here's Phoenix offered as a warm-cabbed cheer-up.

 

 

 

 

[Annie]

4 minutes ago, Adam88 said:

Well today my travels took me to the German railway museum in Nuremberg and of course they have their own Crampton, Phoenix, this time most sensibly fitted with a cab. I am not running short of railway interest on this trip but I must pace myself.

Thank you Adam.  Those are a mighty fine pair of cheer up pictures.

 

6 minutes ago, Adam88 said:

I think we've touched on this before but the lack of cabs for the Crampton's enginemen is amazing. In 2022 Paris-Strasbourg takes a tad under 2hrs by TGV. In 1852 it would perhaps have taken 6hrs in all weathers.  Just imagine how awful that double dos-et-dos Crampton would have been to drive and fire.

They really must've been an intrepid lot to be driving and firing in all weathers for 6 hours.  Cramptons that survived into the 20th century seemed to have eventually acquired cabs similar to 'Phoenix', but they certainly were overdue by then.

 

11 minutes ago, Adam88 said:

Sorry to hear that you've both been infected by the dreaded lurgy, it can be most debilitating, I had it at the beginning of June and it knocked me for six for three or four days and then about ten more days to get back to normal.  I dread to think how bad it might have been had I not been innoculated.

Fortunately I'm fully jabbed as well or else I think I'd be in dire straits.  I'm feeling better today which is good, but the general fatigue as well as having to sleep every two or three hours is frustrating.  Some of this I'm used to with having narcolepsy, but COVID puts a much harder edge on it.

 

17 minutes ago, Adam88 said:

I next plan to back-track geographically and revisit the Lucerne museum, I only ever went there when I was 15y/o so it qualifies for a return. I will finally be spending a few days tramping on high ground and if I need a mountain railway or so to cross a few contours then so be it.

 

 

18 minutes ago, Adam88 said:

I next plan to back-track geographically and revisit the Lucerne museum, I only ever went there when I was 15y/o so it qualifies for a return. I will finally be spending a few days tramping on high ground and if I need a mountain railway or so to cross a few contours then so be it.

Sounds like good fun.  It's definitely the best kind of holiday that you are having.

[MikeOxon]

I was sorry to read that you have COVID.  Those lock-downs may not have prevented the disease but they bought time for us to get vaccinated and I hope that has alleviated your symptoms to a large extent.

 

The Broad Gauge modelling looks wonderful and reminds me that I must turn my attention to creating some interesting buildings.  There's a splendid simplicity about those single-sided stations.

[Northroader]

Whilst you’re mentally tuned to one sided stations, here’s one on the GWR that you never hear about, as it’s standard gauge on the Northern Division, ex Shrewsbury and Birmingham, at Wellington (Shropshire) Also much more economical with space, as it does for both up and down. It wasn’t long before a very short island platform was stitched in on the up side, with the engine shed tucked in behind. All the Birkenhead to Paddington trains had to pull up twice after that.

[Annie]

7 hours ago, MikeOxon said:

I was sorry to read that you have COVID.  Those lock-downs may not have prevented the disease but they bought time for us to get vaccinated and I hope that has alleviated your symptoms to a large extent.

 

The Broad Gauge modelling looks wonderful and reminds me that I must turn my attention to creating some interesting buildings.  There's a splendid simplicity about those single-sided stations.

Thanks Mike.  Yes that was the most important thing for us in here New Zealand, - we were given time to get all our jabs before the virus finally got into the country.  After four or five days of not feeling all that well I seem to be doing a bit better today.  Fatigue and sleepiness is still a thing, but I'm not feeling so much like I've got the 'flu.

My Broad Gauge projects have been languishing for a while now so it's been good to get back into working on one again.  I'd had the beginnings of the single sided station hanging around for far too long so it seemed like it was a likely thing for me to have a go at to see if I could get it finished.  The Trainz simulator doesn't really lend itself to doing things like this all that well and it didn't help that the range of Broad Gauge wagon turntables I had were from the earliest days of Trainz and their tracks weren't set at the best angles from one another to be really useful.  All in all though I'm pleased with how it's going so far.

 

7 hours ago, Northroader said:

Whilst you’re mentally tuned to one sided stations, here’s one on the GWR that you never hear about, as it’s standard gauge on the Northern Division, ex Shrewsbury and Birmingham, at Wellington (Shropshire) Also much more economical with space, as it does for both up and down. It wasn’t long before a very short island platform was stitched in on the up side, with the engine shed tucked in behind. All the Birkenhead to Paddington trains had to pull up twice after that.

That's an interesting looking illustration and a perfect modeller's dream with it being set between two bridges.  The NLS maps site seems to be not working at the moment or I would have looked it up.

If I'd had a better choice of wagon turntables I would have been able to make my single sided project a lot less spread out in width, but with their placement rigidly enforced by the underlying layout grid I had to make the best of it.  If I was doing something like this again I'd place the wagon turntables first and build the rest of the station around them.

 

Latest News: Steve Flanders has just now told me that he's thinking of doing Slough station next once he's got the 'never was' version of Chippenham done and dusted. 

Edited August 10, 2022 by Annie
More words needed.

[Oscillation]

 

A beautiful colour version of the illustration I simply had to share! 😁

 

 

---

[Northroader]

Thanks, thats a much better illustration than the one I gave. The island platform went in where the wagons are standing, and a small engine shed replaced the goods shed. This became known as a lost dogs home, the last GWR “Barnum” 2-4-0 being there, and no.92. The goods facilities were moved west a few hundred yards, with a LNWR yard north of the tracks, and a GWR yard south of the lines. Then a couple of bays for the GWR and LNWR branch trains were added, behind where the train is entering the station. These had the distinction of being gravity worked for turnbacks.

Edited August 10, 2022 by Northroader

[Annie]

I'm considering using this stone artwork for my station buildings.  I know they are two different shades of colour, but they are both based on the same artwork.  The alternative is to use timber, but I'm not so sure about that.  I suppose it wouldn't be too difficult to make both sets of textures and see what I think looks the best.

 

[Johnson044]

On 09/08/2022 at 20:26, Annie said:

I feel like I'm making some progress now.  I ended up having to re-texture the ballast on the Broad Gauge track I wanted to use since I couldn't match it to any ground cover textures.  Once that was done I was able to level out the trackwork and wagon turntables at the height I wanted.  With that done I flung a suitable ballast texture everywhere which tied it all together very nicely.  It won't be staying quite so pristine as I'll mix in other ground textures.

I would have liked to have lowered the trackwork even more, but the wagon turntables proved to be the fly in the ointment as they couldn't be lowered anymore than what you see here.  Despite some of the frustrations with trying to get everything to work together I am enjoying myself and I'm managing to keep myself distracted from not feeling so well which is certainly a good thing.

 

 

 

I dug out some old friends.  The 'Metropolitan Pyramid Co' wagons are a bit of fun and while they aren't exactly correct for any known Broad Gauge wagon prototype I don't mind taking them out and giving them a run sometimes.  The GWR wagon in the background is a better example of a Broad Gauge open wagon as its meshes were made by a member of the creator group with some reference to BG Society drawings.  While digging about for rolling stock I found some B&ER open wagons I'd textured and completely forgotten about so I must get them finished off as well.

 

 

More old friends.  The E.B. Wilson Broad Gauge well tanks that never were (but could have been).  There's four of them altogether; - 'ARKE', 'ARETE', 'CORUS' and 'METIS'.  They're named after titans from Greek Mythology.  All four are nice runners and are capable of doing good work.  I keep meaning to devise a freelance railway company for them to belong to, but I haven't thought of one yet.

 

Mike Sharman would have been so proud of you Annie! Really lovely - and, as always, thoroughly inspiring. I'm so sorry the plague has finally reached you and I hope you and your daughter feel much improved very soon. Here's a cheerful photo.

[Johnson044]

And another one that I found the other day whilst researching- of all things - Southern Railway concrete electrical sub-stations (Egham got one in later years but I much prefer the pre-grouping view).

[Johnson044]

...and finally, on the subject of SR concrete- the one at Lewes looks really cross!

[Caley Jim]

38 minutes ago, Johnson044 said:

Mike Sharman would have been so proud of you Annie! Really lovely - and, as always, thoroughly inspiring. I'm so sorry the plague has finally reached you and I hope you and your daughter feel much improved very soon. Here's a cheerful photo.

Is the windmill on the tender in lieu of  a boiler feed pump?

 

Jim

[Annie]

34 minutes ago, Johnson044 said:

Mike Sharman would have been so proud of you Annie! Really lovely - and, as always, thoroughly inspiring. I'm so sorry the plague has finally reached you and I hope you and your daughter feel much improved very soon. Here's a cheerful photo.

Ooooo that's a very nice cheer up picture.

 

Thanks for your kind comments.  Back in the day when I was regularly buying RM Mike Sharman was certainly a major influence, but it's only now in the virtual world that I'm able to properly follow my delight with the old Broad Gauge and the real GWR. 

While I did manage to make one or two nice 19th century engines in brass to P4 standards along with a couple of wagons during my 20 somethings I always despaired that I'd have no hope of ever completing an actual layout built to these standards.  Then I got married and had two kiddies and too much life happened for far too long.  And then I was on my own after my awful marriage failed and I had to study for cleverness certificates in order to get a proper job.  My proper job broke my health and here I am retired and wondering why I ever bothered with it all; - though I hasten to add I never regretted having my two children for a single moment.

 

Both my daughter and I seem to be past the worst of the virus, but being constantly fatigued is still lingering on.  It's also made my narcolepsy worse so I'm sleeping more than usual and I've had a couple of near brushes with catalepsy symptoms making a return after not being troubled by them for ages.  BUT it could have been a lot worse so I'm grateful for that.

 

[Annie]

1 hour ago, Johnson044 said:

And another one that I found the other day whilst researching- of all things - Southern Railway concrete electrical sub-stations (Egham got one in later years but I much prefer the pre-grouping view).

That is a very nice pre-grouping picture.  I've tried my best to avoid getting interested in the southern railway companies as I've got enough to do as it is.

 

1 hour ago, Johnson044 said:

...and finally, on the subject of SR concrete- the one at Lewes looks really cross!

I wondered what you meant for a moment, - then when I saw it I just about split my sides laughing.

[Annie]

Bristol & Exeter Cheer Up picture:  B&ER No.40 circa 1873.  It was pictures like this that fair turned my head when I was a young and impressionable school girl. 

 

[Annie]

Where things are at for the moment.  I thought I'd try out a timber built station building using a modified set of textures originally made by a member of the creator group. Matching colour shades between the different meshes isn't easy and after a few attempts I decided to leave it for now as I was starting to feel sleepy.

 

[Annie]

A fun Cheer Up video.  There's a model engineering society with an extensive outdoor track in the next town from where I live and when I moved here over a decade ago I had high hopes of joining the society and doing stuff with 3½ inch gauge.   But (sigh) it was not to be.

 

 

[Annie]

Evening Broad Gauge Cheer Up Picture:  "Bacchus" built May, 1849, having been created using many parts, including her boiler, from the strange and wonderful articulated "Hurricane" built in 1838.  "Bacchus" was described by Gooch as "a powerful and useful goods engine". She ran until November, 1869. (Picture courtesy of the Broad Gauge Society)

 

[Annie]

Morning Broad Gauge Cheer Up Picture:  A nicely detailed shot of a Bristol & Exeter 4-4-0 Saddle Tank.  As some of you know the B&ER is my favourite Broad Gauge railway company.  Here we see 2051 in around 1887 - she's gained a Dean chimney, but still has no cab - just a spectacle plate and tarpaulin supports behind the crew.  The photo is believed to have been taken at Victory Crossing, Norton Fitzwarren Plymouth North Yard.

Sadly, 2051 was lost in the Norton Fitzwarren accident of 1890 - a head on collision between two trains which proved the stability of the Broad Gauge.  Both engines remained upright and the crews survived.  (Photo and some words courtesy of the Broad Gauge Society)

 

 

I'm doing better.  I'm still feeling fatigued and sleepy, but most of the other symptoms have beggared off.  For a couple of days there they kept up with doing encore shows in the afternoon when I was feeling more tired, but there's a lot less of that now.

Edited August 16, 2022 by Annie
Change of location

[MikeOxon]

7 minutes ago, Annie said:

A nicely detailed shot of a Bristol & Exeter 4-4-0 Saddle Tank. 

It was the step ladder up to the footplate that put me off modeling one of these in 4mm scale.  The problem is compounded by having to fit the coupling rods between the wheels and the ladder!

[Annie]

16 hours ago, MikeOxon said:

It was the step ladder up to the footplate that put me off modeling one of these in 4mm scale.  The problem is compounded by having to fit the coupling rods between the wheels and the ladder!

No.2039 demonstrates just how close the coupling rod is to those ladder footsteps.

 

 

[Hroth]

1 hour ago, Annie said:

No.2039 demonstrates just how close the coupling rod is to those ladder footsteps.

 

 

 

At least there's a backsheet on the stepladder to stop the coupling rods taking your toes off!

 

[Annie]

I still haven't come up with a station name for my Brunel single sided station.  Latest snaps provided for you to go Ooooooo and Aaaaah at.  I haven't done much more to it, but I did try out using some of Steve Flanders's older TS2012 mixed gauge track he'd given to me to try, - only it's appallingly diabolical to use which is most probably why he never put it on his website.

 

 

 

B&ER two plank wagons I'd completely forgotten about.

 

[Edwardian]

Ooooooo, Aaaaah

[Northroader]

I feel the virtual 2039 construction has it wrong in having the footplate level across the width of the cab between the splashers tops. Surely the splashers are stepped over and you drop into a well between the backs of the splashers? You need to get at the fire hole door for starters.