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

[sem34090]

Almost all of the free ones are focused entirely on train driving and are usually very hard to use.

 

The two Trainz series of PC simulators will allow you to use Annie's goods stock, all those pre grouping locos and will allow virtual railway modelling.

[Annie]

Over the past couple of years the pre-grouping scene for Trainz Simulator has gone from almost nothing to being very good indeed.  Some lines are still not covered, - mostly the very minor and obscure ones and the GER in particular wasn't very well covered until I started making GER goods wagons and another content creator started doing some coach reskins to make representational GER coaches.

 

With the Trainz simulator there really is something for everyone, - if you like world building there are tools for that; - if you like operation and setting up timetables and schedules that's very possible; - and if you like to drive either with DCC like controls or 'realistic' full simulated controls that's available too.

If you wanted to make use of my wagons you would need to use Trainz Simulator since they will only work with that.  The Train Simulator Sem uses is a completely different system.  I have tried Train Simulator, but I personally found it couldn't do what I wanted so I went with the Trainz Simulator instead.  Both simulators have their own particular foibles and pluses and minuses, but the biggest thing Trainz has going for it is the huge amount of free user created content available on their servers.

Edited July 10, 2019 by Annie
fumble brain

[Annie]

Having idly posted up a picture from the Listowel and Ballybunion Railway a few days ago I thought I'd mention that it is possible to model such a line in Trainz.  Most of what you'd need can be found here.........  http://www.jatws.org/ing4trainz/listowel.htm

 

 

 

I have tinkered around with these models in the past and they are a lot of fun.

[Martin S-C]

I think that's amazing. Probably though such a monorail system (even one where cars are slung under overhead track such as in Germany or Japan) would be possible in any train simulator once you crack the code to write the behaviour of the track pieces and the logic for how the stock interacts with it.

The Listowel track though would need to be incredibly wobbly with coaches and locos swaying about and you'd need to have code to cater for that written into the vehicles or the track pieces. Not impossible but a very smooth ride would look quite odd I imagine.

[RedGemAlchemist]

1 hour ago, Martin S-C said:

I think that's amazing. Probably though such a monorail system (even one where cars are slung under overhead track such as in Germany or Japan) would be possible in any train simulator once you crack the code to write the behaviour of the track pieces and the logic for how the stock interacts with it.

The Listowel track though would need to be incredibly wobbly with coaches and locos swaying about and you'd need to have code to cater for that written into the vehicles or the track pieces. Not impossible but a very smooth ride would look quite odd I imagine.

Found some footage from back in the day (complete with misspelling it as the Historical and Ballybunion Railway!):

 

And from now. 

Edited July 10, 2019 by RedGemAlchemist

[Killian keane]

This is a line Im very familiar with,  one of the few interesting railways in my part of the country,  the hunslet trio had powered tenders and were supplemented by a smaller vertical boiler loco, Don Boreham built a very nice model of one of the hunslets back in the day 

[Annie]

I remember seeing pictures of Don Boreham's L&B engines back when I was much younger and I was very much fascinated by them.  I was working on a project to build a larger scale L&B like layout when I had to give up modelling.  A friend made the 3D artwork up for me for the triangular rail support frames and I think they are still on Shapeways.

[Northroader]

Just looking at it, you’d never think that the single rail on those little A frames is strong enough to support the train. It amuses me when you hear stories of how they wanted a cow at the other end of the line, they had to balance it with two calves on the outward journey, and these would be split up and sent back.

[Skinnylinny]

From memory, there was a Listowel & Ballybunion-style route for Microsoft Train Simulator, alongside a lovely NG line - the Piddington Light Railway (sadly no longer available). I had many hours of fun running the narrow gauge line. The monorail came with a twin-vertical-boiler loco and some coaches.

I managed to find some screengrabs!





I must have spent hundreds of hours on that route...

[corneliuslundie]

I use Microsoft Train Simulator, though now often running in Open Rails.

There is a fantastic amount of free stuff. I have only ever bought one route - Cambrian Coast 1.

There are numerous narrow gauge lines from all over the world.

Interest had dwindled but has been rekindled by Open Rails. Just today I am in the process of doanloading three new BR Lord Nelson c;lass locos. I have over 50 routes stored away along with rolling stock ranging from the very early - Rocket period =- to the very up to date.

But as far as I know it only runs on PCs and then MSTS is ratrher fussy about graphics cards.

I forgot to sate that it includes the Wuppertal Monorail.

Jonathan

Edited July 11, 2019 by corneliuslundie

[Annie]

[Annie]

3 hours ago, corneliuslundie said:

I use Microsoft Train Simulator, though now often running in Open Rails.

There is a fantastic amount of free stuff. I have only ever bought one route - Cambrian Coast 1.

There are numerous narrow gauge lines from all over the world.

Interest had dwindled but has been rekindled by Open Rails. Just today I am in the process of doanloading three new BR Lord Nelson c;lass locos. I have over 50 routes stored away along with rolling stock ranging from the very early - Rocket period =- to the very up to date.

But as far as I know it only runs on PCs and then MSTS is rather fussy about graphics cards.

I forgot to sate that it includes the Wuppertal Monorail.

Jonathan

For some reason or another I could never get MSTS/Open Rails to work for me and I did try to get on with it.  Most probably my silly sleepy brain was at fault, but then I tried the Trainz Simulator and that seemed to suit me just fine.

There are some very nice models being made for Open Rails these days and it certainly has grown up from its MSTS origins.

[Annie]

6 hours ago, Skinnylinny said:

From memory, there was a Listowel & Ballybunion-style route for Microsoft Train Simulator, alongside a lovely NG line - the Piddington Light Railway (sadly no longer available). I had many hours of fun running the narrow gauge line. The monorail came with a twin-vertical-boiler loco and some coaches.

I managed to find some screengrabs!





I must have spent hundreds of hours on that route...

I remember there being various webpages about that L&B route on the internet, but by the time I tried to track it down it had disappeared.  The author had overcome quite a few challenges with getting it all to work according to what had been posted on the internet back then so I wondered what happened and why the route download links had simply vanished. 

[sem34090]

I can see this becoming a long post - Here are some of my DTG TS2019 shots from the past few weeks, some of them are even pre-grouping!

An 8K battles up the bank on the ex-GCR lines from Warrborough (Regent Rd.) as a Webb Coal Tank, fresh in its new LMS livery, coasts down from 'Central, headed for the small ex-LNWR terminus at 'East.

The LNWR tank overtaking as they pass the LNWR Sheds.

The same loco, viewed slightly earlier, leaving 'Central.

Somewhat inexplicably, SR 'Schools' No.925 Cheltenham is seen pulling away from High Wycombe on the GC/GW Joint Lines.

An alternate version of Warrborough Regent Rd. SR Light Pacific No.21C13 Blackmoor Vale is seen slipping as she starts her train.

The same train viewed earlier at a busy Newton-on-Pyne.

Two views from what usually resides as an ex-NER branch line out of Newton-on-Pyne, which now seems to find itself on the Eastern Division of the Southern.

In a similar fashion, this branch usually fancies itself as ex-LYR...

An NER O on a local train somewhere between Crook and Bishop Auckland.

75079 Passes through Woking on a Down Portsmouth Fast which, for some reason, is steam hauled.

The NER O and its train, as pictured earlier, has now reached Bishop Auckland as a T2 passes in the background. This is set in early 1914, so I really ought to correct the signalling...

News of the events in Sarajevo have yet to reach the crew of this NER C as they leave Durham on a fateful August morning in 1914.

A holiday excursion to Yarmouth is seen about to spur off at Reedham, the unusual routing via Berney Arms being unusual but not wholly unexpected for this excursion.

And out onto the branch which is, incidentally, closed currently due to Network Rail messing up the resignalling of Reedham Junction, dumping the semaphores in the car park with no replacement signalling system available.

Clearly someone fancies a very long walk!

Back to Warrborough, and an ex-CR Dock Tank has just brought some Fish Vans up to 'Central from Regent Rd.

And it is a very big 'up'! 1 in 15, to be precise!

Another view of the GC/GW Joint Lines, this time with a somewhat more appropriate loco in evidence!

Passing Prince's Risborough North 'Box.

An NER O in the early morning sun, Winter 1914.

A silhouette of beauty? On the eve (well, morn) of the war.

Early morning coal train.

 

I hope that isn't too much and that some of you like those. Please feel free to point out accuracy issues, though hopefully they're attributable to the sim rather than to me!

[Regularity]

The combination of (advanced) starter and slotted distant signal for both directions on a single post is unusual. Is it based on a prototype? I really hope so.

[sem34090]

Haha... No. Though if anyone can prove me wrong on that I, too, will be delighted!

[Annie]

A great collection of screenshots Sem.  Thanks for sharing.

 

I have to say that signal fascinates me too.  I've done similar things in Trainz with making Col. Stephens type combined signals by carefully placing two signals so their post blend in together, but that one is a real doozy.

Edited July 15, 2019 by Annie
more to say

[sem34090]

It's basically exactly the same as what you've done in Trainz - A pair of NER Split-Post combined Home-over-Distants put back-to-back in such a way that the posts become one.

[sem34090]

Tonight's TS meddlings have seen a route get worked on -

And I am worried about locos on linkspans... I did think that a tender loco might be wiser than a tank loco for this, and the QM brake helps to avoid to much loco being on a ship!!! Still not exactly good practice though, I shouldn't think.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 16, 2019 by sem34090

[Martin S-C]

Lovely screenshots Sem. The GCR locos especially, plus the "hot air balloon" shot of the B12 out in open country. And love the 1:15 with the dock tank struggling up it - reminds me of the NM&GSR

[Regularity]

18 hours ago, sem34090 said:

 

And I am worried about locos on linkspans...

 

How is the linkspan supported, once the boat has gone away?

[Schooner]

Very nice!

 

Sem (or, indeed, Annie or anyone with an opinion), two quick questions if I may: how would you rate TS2019's route editor, and how would you rate its utility as a layout-planning tool?

 

I ask because I'm in the (very) early stages of thinking through an (over) ambitious layout and was hoping to use a digital facsimile as a testing/proving tool at some point, but I'm unsure if this is a viable process...

 

Cheers,

 

Schooner

Edited July 16, 2019 by Schooner
Parentheses :)

[Annie]

If you mean Trainz TS2019 editor I have used it a little to repair and amend routes from older versions when I've imported them into TS2019, but I haven't tried using yet it to start from blank baseboards to build a layout .  From what I've seen though the tools do what they are supposed to and there are improvements over the older versions.

My feeling is that building a digital version of a planned layout is a worthwhile exercise as it will quickly tell you what will work and what will not and if you have to tear it all up and start again it was all digital anyway so there's no mess to clean up and it didn't cost you any money with having to throw  actual real world scenic materials or anything else away.  The only danger is that you might get hooked into digital railway modelling and forget about building a layout altogether.

[Annie]

19 hours ago, sem34090 said:

Tonight's TS meddlings have seen a route get worked on -

And I am worried about locos on linkspans... I did think that a tender loco might be wiser than a tank loco for this, and the QM brake helps to avoid to much loco being on a ship!!! Still not exactly good practice though, I shouldn't think.

 

I would think that operating practice would be to use reach wagons such as bogie flat wagons to shunt the coaches onto the ferry so the locomotive wouldn't go on the linkspan at all.  There are various videos around of trains being shunted onto ferries and the most noticeable thing is that the ferry will dip downwards when a load goes onto the linkspan.  If a locomotive went onto the linkspan I think it could be a recipe for disaster since the ferry would drop by an extreme amount making the linkspan suddenly very steep stranding the locomotive if it didn't fail altogether.

Edited July 16, 2019 by Annie
fumble brain

[Northroader]

It’s a tricky operation: