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

[Caley Jim]

3 hours ago, Annie said:

Slight disagreement at Lodge.  'You gunna take the bleed'n thing or wot'.

If that's the tablet for the next section, then the starter would need to have been pulled 'off' before the tablet was removed from the machine, otherwise it's locked 'on'.

 

Jim

Edited April 9, 2023 by Caley Jim
Typo

[Hroth]

16 minutes ago, Caley Jim said:

If that's the tablet for the next section, then the starter would need to have been pulled 'off' before the tablet was removed from the machine, otherwise it's locked 'on'.

 

Jim

 

Could be that the footplate has "lost" the tablet for the previous section and are looking desperately in the tender amongst the coals, hoping that it hasn't been shovelled into the firebox...

 

[Caley Jim]

4 minutes ago, Hroth said:

Could be that the footplate has "lost" the tablet for the previous section and are looking desperately in the tender amongst the coals, hoping that it hasn't been shovelled into the firebox...

The tablet would have been in the pouch, attached to the ring, so it's unlikely to have been shovelled into the firebox without being noticed.  Common practice was to hang the ring on the tender brake standard so that it couldn't go AWOL.

 

Jim

[Annie]

49 minutes ago, Caley Jim said:

If that's the tablet for the next section, then the starter would need to have been pulled 'off' before the tablet was removed from the machine, otherwise it's locked 'on'.

 

Jim

I did ask some clever Trainz magic script writing folk if there was a way to properly emulate tablets on a single line section, only to discover someone had come up with a method, but it was so darn complicated to use that it was like a punishment for being naughty to even want to try it out.

 

The tablet offering man is part of a set of people posed in various attitudes of tablet offering to suit all occasions.  They were made by a clever gentleman who is a member of the creator group I belong to.  There was some discussion around an animated tablet offering person, but it was found to be too difficult to do.

[Caley Jim]

Starter still needs to be pulled off before the tablet is removed and given to the driver.  In truth, it was usually the fireman who carried out the exchange, and then showed the tablet to the driver as it was his responsibility to ensure that they had the tablet for the section they were entering.  If any tablet was missing from either machine, then the signals for that section could not be pulled 'off'.

 

Jim

[Annie]

5 hours ago, Caley Jim said:

Starter still needs to be pulled off before the tablet is removed and given to the driver.  In truth, it was usually the fireman who carried out the exchange, and then showed the tablet to the driver as it was his responsibility to ensure that they had the tablet for the section they were entering.  If any tablet was missing from either machine, then the signals for that section could not be pulled 'off'.

 

Jim

Thanks for that Jim.  At least when I'm running trains via one of my written schedules the train can't leave until the starter is cleared and the signal won't clear if the section is occupied by another train.  It's one of the things I like about the Trainz simulator is that when signals are properly installed they do control the running of the trains.  It would be nice though if the tablet man could scoot up to hand the tablet over to the fireman, but as it is I have to play let's pretend and leave him permanently standing at the end of the platform out in all weathers.

Of course if I'm driving an engine myself using the steam control set as I often do while trip working it's down to me to properly observe the signals and follow the rules.  It would be simple enough to relay this single line section as double track, but I happened to like it being there for the operational interest.

[Annie]

Like a little Pixie chasing after bright sparkles I'm off jumping back to (finescale 00) Minories.

 

Amongst all the diesel hugging and kissing and BR Blue heresy going on in this Minories thread Brother Kevin made a wise and interesting comment.

 

Soooooo I've installed a crossover to make the general shunting of goods wagons less of an arduous task.  With my original 'O' Gauge version of Minories the lack of a crossover was bothersome, but with the 'O' Gauge version being shorter in length it would have been difficult to fit one in between platform 3 and the milk/parcels platform.

 

Edited April 10, 2023 by Annie
Um.........

[Hroth]

You've just got to hope that some thoughtless so and so doesn't park their train in the right hand road and goes off for a fag, a butty and a mug of tea while they read their Morning Star, until its time to take their train out again...

 

[Annie]

50 minutes ago, Hroth said:

You've just got to hope that some thoughtless so and so doesn't park their train in the right hand road and goes off for a fag, a butty and a mug of tea while they read their Morning Star, until its time to take their train out again...

 

The crossover is intended for off-peak use when goods trip workings can take place between scheduled trains without disrupting traffic.  Platforms 1 and 2 would still be available for passenger trains since most shunting moves won't tie up main line tracks into the station as they would if the crossover wasn't installed.

[Annie]

Minories pre-WW1 (finescale 00) WIP.  I'm making progress with this project even though finding suitable background scenic bits for it has been a bit tedious.  Overall I'm happy with how it's turning out and that's a definite cheer up.

 

 

 

Edited April 10, 2023 by Annie
added a picture

[Schooner]

7 hours ago, Hroth said:

You've just got to hope that some thoughtless so and so doesn't park their train in the right hand road

Not if you're on good terms with the pilot...

[Annie]

Two useful looking posters for 'Minories'.  These would be the first LT&SR ones I've found so far.

 

  

Edited April 11, 2023 by Annie
Um.........

[Annie]

I've got two District Railway posters as well, - only they are the most uninspiring things you ever saw.

 

 

[Compound2632]

3 minutes ago, Annie said:

I've got two District Railway posters as well, - only they are the most uninspiring things you ever saw.

 

Dear me. I'm surprised they're advertising returns. Shouldn't the Samaritans' phone number appear somewhere?

[magmouse]

9 minutes ago, Compound2632 said:

Dear me. I'm surprised they're advertising returns. Shouldn't the Samaritans' phone number appear somewhere?

 

I'm not sure the 'funny' response is quite the right one, but that did make me laugh.

 

The may not be quite enough to make you throw yourself off, but the message of the first one does seem to be "we've brought you here, and all the fun, brightly-lit gaiety is happening over there, at the top of a cliff across the water!".

[Annie]

26 minutes ago, Compound2632 said:

 

Dear me. I'm surprised they're advertising returns. Shouldn't the Samaritans' phone number appear somewhere?

 

14 minutes ago, magmouse said:

I'm not sure the 'funny' response is quite the right one, but that did make me laugh.

 

The may not be quite enough to make you throw yourself off, but the message of the first one does seem to be "we've brought you here, and all the fun, brightly-lit gaiety is happening over there, at the top of a cliff across the water!".

All the other railway posters I've found for Southend have been bright and cheery including the 'Underground' branded ones that were printed not long afterwards.  So I don't know what dreadful occasion had been visited upon the District Railway's poster artist to make him so depressed.

[Schooner]

Oh you 'orrible unromantic bunch!

 

The first is lovely - the peace and tradition of the barge, the warm welcoming solidity of the station leading us to the booze, bright lights and 

 

up top!

 

The second one is presumably the morning after. It is Southend, after all.

[Compound2632]

1 hour ago, Schooner said:

Oh you 'orrible unromantic bunch!

 

I'm reminded of the "design your own tram" activity at Crich. You were supposed to put yourself in the shoes of a tramway manager specifying new tramcars. When it got to upholstery, one could choose from leather, rep, oilcloth, etc.

 

Then came the killer question:

 

"Does it have to be brown?"

Edited April 11, 2023 by Compound2632

[Schooner]

Yes.

 

Next?

[Caley Jim]

Do they need upholstery? What's wrong with wooden slatted seats? 

 

Oh! And BTW, the outside should be blue! 😁

Jim 

[Compound2632]

1 hour ago, Caley Jim said:

Oh! And BTW, the outside should be blue! 😁

 

You surprise me. I would have thought you'd be for orange, cream and green?

[Caley Jim]

2 hours ago, Compound2632 said:

You surprise me. I would have thought you'd be for orange, cream and green?

As  a teenager I lived in a mining village where the Glasgow bus service was run by Alexanders 'Scottish Bluebird', whose buses were blue and cream.  Never lived in Glasgow itself.  Anyway, trams should match the locos!😉

 

Jim

Edited April 11, 2023 by Caley Jim
Spelling correction

[Annie]

I'm making some progress with it I suppose.

 

[Mikkel]

On 09/04/2023 at 14:15, Annie said:

Still playing trains on my Norfolk layout in TRS22 because it cheers me up.

 

Cheers me up too. The light in those photos works well, I think. Softens the stark realism of virtual reality a bit. Thanks Annie. 

 

[Annie]

54 minutes ago, Mikkel said:

 

Cheers me up too. The light in those photos works well, I think. Softens the stark realism of virtual reality a bit. Thanks Annie. 

 

Thanks for your kind comments Mikkel.  Both TRS19 and TRS22 are known for harsh environmental lighting effects unless steps are taken to adjust the settings towards more natural lighting.  My computer is an older model and its graphics card is nothing startling so I'm fairly limited with what I can do, but despite that I think I've found a reasonable compromise.