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

[Edwardian]

Well, there is Fen as a natural environment and Fen as in the photographs, which is very different, being a man-made industrial-agricultural landscape.

 

Rivers will have been canalised and often embanked. Flood plains provide rough pasture for much of the year, but are inundated in the winter.  Most land is drained former Fen given over to arable cultivation. Fields are kept drained by ditched, called drains, which also form the boundaries. Often there is no need for fences or hedges.  

 

The wind pump pictured was for drainage. There are a couple of steam pumping stations also pictured.

[Annie]

That's the bit that I have to decide about, - the natural fen or the man-made version.  At least one part will be salt mash so that will be natural, but once I move more inland I'm going to have to make up my mind properly about it.  The area involved is only a couple of scale miles so my thoughts are tending towards a more natural landscape which I feel might be easier to to.

[Annie]

And just as I'm musing over such things Chris Wallis a creator of fenland Trainz layouts is just about to release his latest layout set during Summer (several of his others were Winter layouts).  I know the risks of copying a model rather than the real thing, but as a natural born fenman Chis does know his subject.  

Anyway further research to do and in the meantime I've still got the harbour to finish off.

[Edwardian]

At least one part will be salt mash so that will be natural

 

Which takes us to the north Norfolk coast and the its fictional counterpart served by the WNR, so I may have to model such a landscape in 4mil.

[sem34090]

I've just bought the beautiful Wherry Lines route, modern one, that depicts Norwich - Great Yarmouth/Lowestoft and captures Norfolk very nicely!

Much nicer than the supplied Class 37 and MK2 coaches!

[Annie]

That's a very pretty looking route Sem.

[sem34090]

It is, and because the route, even these days, is rather traditionally operated (mechanical signalling equipment is almost universal across it and much of the track is jointed bullhead with a few tweaks it will do nicely as a pleasant, though probably inaccurate, steam-era route.

[Annie]

Pottering on with the harbour at Windweather; - still very WIP.  Having a real struggle with sleepiness at the moment so not really doing much.

 

 

 

[Martin S-C]

Are there other water plane or water surface textures? I get this feeling you shouldn't be able to see very far down into such water!

[Annie]

That's the basic simulator water representation Martin.  I can adjust its colour and also its lightness/darkness, but while I'm working on things at the harbour it does make it easier if I can see into it.  The one problem with the water settings though is that they are global so all water everywhere will be the same.

BUT there are translucent water texture pieces that can be used that aren't affected by adjustments to the default water simulation and I used one in the lock basin since it's just about impossible to get simulated water at two different levels to play nice together.  Once I've finished most of the work around the harbour I'll hopefully be able to adjust the water to be more convincing.

[sem34090]

The virtual version of the Kelsby Light Railway takes shape:

 

Adapting the route shown above to represent Mr Red Gem Alchemist's KLR.

[Annie]

Mostly doing all the landscape shaping at the moment with texture and scenic work to follow.  I'm laying out and levelling the trackwork at the same time so I don't end up painting myself into a corner.  A spindly wooden trestle bridge  crossing the salt marsh was a definite must have on my list.  About a million more reeds to go........

 

 

 

I added in four more layout boards to complete the coastline as well as give me a wider expanse to the sea.  It definitely looks a lot better now since it was a bit daft having the sea stopping short about a 100 yards from the beach.

 

 

 

And I had to have a lighthouse........

 

 

The illusion revealed.  Once I have the harbour completed enough to my satisfaction I'll continue the waterway.  I'm still making up my mind about what shape and form that will take.

 

[Annie]

A pleasant bit of messing around.

I didn't really like that LSWR platform shelter at Winkle Bay so I went searching for something better.  After a bit of hunting around I found a ratty little station building with awful low resolution textures laid onto a slightly ill-fitting mesh.  So nothing ventured nothing gained I had a go at making something better of it.  The slightly ill-fitting mesh is almost an advantage since it adds to to the ramshackle character of this little station building very nicely.  Overall I'm very pleased with my afternoon's work and now I'm starting to look around for something else that I can use to put together the next station building on the line. 

 

 

[Regularity]

The illusion revealed. Once I have the harbour completed enough to my satisfaction I'll continue the waterway. I'm still making up my mind about what shape and form that will take.

 

Your composition there put me immediately in mind of Standard Quay on Faversham Creek, so realistic is it.

That may give you an idea for how to finish it off.

 

PS Your fishermen appear to be followers of the Leaping Order of St. Beryl:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Dr7SHCCETgM

Edited January 7, 2019 by Regularity

[sem34090]

That all looks fantastic, Annie!

[Edwardian]

An excellent layout.  Very convincing arrangement.  I love the new station building and the trestle bridge; that is a great image of the train crossing it.  How many years would it take to realise such a scene on a physical model?

[TurboSnail]

This is not the first time this layout has made me think of Dungeness. Very atmospheric!

[Martin S-C]

Um... seeing all those bullrushes, I don't know how to say this, but they are freshwater plants. You don't see them in salt marsh. Are they easy to swap for something else? Or is that trestle crossing a river estuary? Making the water into fresh water in your world may be easier than replacing the vegetation!

Photos of salt marsh:

https://www.google.com/search?q=salt+marsh&client=firefox-b-ab&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiSstO5ztvfAhV1t3EKHRbHApcQ_AUIDigB&biw=1680&bih=948

[Annie]

Your composition there put me immediately in mind of Standard Quay on Faversham Creek, so realistic is it.

That may give you an idea for how to finish it off.

 

PS Your fishermen appear to be followers of the Leaping Order of St. Beryl:

After following your suggestion and looking over a few pictures of Standard Quay I've certainly picked up a few more ideas on how to proceed with Windweather Harbour Simon, - so thank you very much for that.

Oh yes those naughty fishermen, - wantonly leaping about the place.  I think the small timber wharf must've shifted a little while I was sorting out the final positioning of the swing bridge so I'll have fix that.

 

 

An excellent layout.  Very convincing arrangement.  I love the new station building and the trestle bridge; that is a great image of the train crossing it.  How many years would it take to realise such a scene on a physical model?

Thank you very much James, your comments mean a lot and are very encouraging; - though I do find myself wondering how many years it's going to take me to 'plant' all the reeds in the salt mash.  Truth be told the passenger train on the trestle must be a high holidays ultra market day special because anything more than two coaches on the Windweather Tramway is almost an earth shaking event.  In actual fact I was doing some track testing and I find a train of six wheel and long wheelbase four wheel coaches to be very good for showing up any dips and hollows in the track alignment.

 

 

That all looks fantastic, Annie!

Thanks Sem.  Your Kelsby Light Railway adaptation is looking interesting so don't forget to take some more snaps.

 

 

This is not the first time this layout has made me think of Dungeness. Very atmospheric!

Some odds and ends inspired by the landscape at Dungeness are going to appear around and near the lighthouse so thank you very much for giving me some further inspiration.

Edited January 7, 2019 by Annie

[Annie]

Despite microsleeping all over the place I did manage to get some more things done around Windweather and it's harbour yesterday.

 

The group of older wharf sheds and warehouses are coming along nicely.

 

 

This is the smallish steam powered generating plant/station at Windweather.  Considering that I don't really know that much about such things I think it turned out reasonably well.  It provides electric power for both the swing bridges and the lighthouse as well as the harbour area, but doesn't really have the capacity for much more than that.  The control tower for the swing bridge is actually an American interlocking tower (whatever one of those is), but I've always used it as a bridge control tower and I think it works well in that role.  The swing bridge at the other end of the harbour has one of these too.

 

 

Some snaps of test shunting at Windweather.  I decided that Windweather was going to get a proper GER station building since it is a place of some importance due to the harbour.  So Windweather is now at the very (very very) end of an unspecified GER branchline that I'm still working out how it fits in with the rest of the layout.  Everything over the other side of the harbour and across the swing bridge is the Windweather Tramway and Windweather station and yard is GER.  Which is a good thing really as up until now both the Hopewood Tramway and the Windweather Tramway have lacked a plausible and visible connection to the GER.

 

 

The turntable in the small MPD area at Windweather.  The C53 is one of Paulz Trainz much better later BR versions, but being the weathered version it's hard to tell since the cycling lion totem is barely visible.  Changing its livery to the pre-grouping era is far from straight forward unfortunately due to the way the texture pieces fit onto the body mesh, but hopefully I'll be able to figure it out.

 

 

 

The end of the goods yard headshunt.  All a bit of fun and I think it adds to the character of the line.  At this point I had to give up on doing any more shunting as I was microsleeping so badly I had to leave it.  I have saved the session though so I can go back to it.  I'll most probably pause now with doing anymore work on the layout for a couple of days and just shunt  trains about in the station and harbour sidings to check that it all works properly.

 

[Regularity]

An interlocking tower is a signal box. They appeared at busy junctions and on more intensively worked lines, but were rare in remote areas, where trains would operate under timetable and train orders, with turnouts operated locally and any signals would be used at timetable stations, to inform the train crew of a need to stop, slow down for revised orders, or to proceed as normal.

 

It was of a tower-like construction, and contained a lever frame and a(n inter)locking frame.

[Annie]

Thank you Simon, - I thought it might be something like that, but with the Americans you never know.

 

On the Auran forums some of the American modellers were having a discussion about where and how to store all the locomotives and trains on their layout.  Mildly curious I read over some of the posts and some of these guys had 350 diesel locomotives and countless set freight trains of over a scale mile in length on their utterly massive layouts.  They also tend to go in for using the simulator robot AI train control systems a lot more than us proper Uk digital railway modellers do.

It was like looking into a whole new and alien world; - not one that I want to have any part of I hasten to add.  I like my little light railways and very minor backwater tramways too much to even consider such a thing.  And I also like to actually drive my engines myself and not get the robots to do it.  No wonder discussions between us Uk modellers and the Americans often end up at cross purposes on a regular basis.

[Northroader]

And alongside your tower you put a flagstaff with a red flag, lowered when the bridge is fully open for boats, (Reedham Bridge)

 

[Annie]

Thanks for that Northroader, - I did not know about the flag so I'll have to see if I can include that detail.  It would be too much to hope to find an animated flagpole so we might just have to....... keep the red flag flying here...... 

[Annie]

Faking it.  The turntable track on the right hand side isn't functional, but at least it looks better than the track ending in a buffer stop.

Due to the way the Trainz simulator works an engine can cross the turntable using the right hand track, but the turntable can't turn it.

I'm presently hunting through all the turntable models available for Trainz to see if there is one that can work in this way, but it would have to be a covered turntable and that of course makes things a bit more difficult.

 

 

 

Gradual progress on the town at Windweather .  Finding the right kinds of buildings or ones with the right kinds of roofs is getting to be a problem.  The other problem is a lot of nice older buildings for Trainz have been modelled with modern windows which are always going to look wrong. Looks like I might have to start making some of my own.

 

 

Update snap of the harbour.  And yes the elderly tramp steamer will fit through the sea lock and past the swing bridges.  A nice digital model I have of a much older steam assisted sailing ship was much too long to enter the harbour, - which was a pity, - but then it's really a bit too old for my slightly rubberised 1913 time period.