Cambrian Route

mattcarey · Post by **mattcarey** » Sat Nov 01, 2003 10:43 am

Hi All

Would you say that the Cumbrian route is well worth buying.
Also do the locos come with there own sounds not the default FS ones.

Regards

Matthew

bossman · Post by **bossman** » Sat Nov 01, 2003 2:00 pm

Hi Matt

I have the Cambrian Route from 3dts and i would thoroughly recommend it. The DMU's have proper cabs with working controls and realistic DMU vacuum brake screech.The steam locos are all GWR Prairie tanks but they too have realistic cabs and sounds. The only let down i have found is the modern day 'idiot' speed boards which don't go well with 1930's steam. That apart it is an excellent sim.

Also there are some good activities to be had.

Cliff

saddletank · Post by **saddletank** » Sat Nov 01, 2003 4:16 pm

Yes, buy it, a very nice route.

I personally was a bit disappointed that 3DTS had decided to build the route using 1970s track layouts (i.e. not many sidings in the stations, etc) but had then included a BR liveried steam loco and a GWR liveried one, so the setting of GW loco and GW stock on a 1970s BR route felt very strange. I think for freeware this kind of thing is acceptable as users will probably run whatever trains they like anyway but a commercial outfit should choose a prototype to model, choose a time period and STICK TO IT, selling a pckage that is a proper rendition of a railway line in time and space.

Except for UK main lines or heavy freight routes, most secondary routes like the Cambrian Coast today are operationally very boring: you drive a DMU to one end then you drive it back again and then...? With pre-Beeching routes there is always so much more to do activity wise.

You can see the attraction of preserved lines for commercial products can't you? Steam and diesel together, short length routes, not much need to do any expensive research on stations and signalling layouts that have long since been dismantled. Three have been/are being worked on by different companies already, with others being talked about.

I wonder when a commercial company will bite the bullet and do a proper historical route?

Zackybong1 · Post by **Zackybong1** » Sat Nov 01, 2003 8:12 pm

I'd buy that for a dollar...

mattcarey · Post by **mattcarey** » Sat Nov 01, 2003 8:20 pm

I got the route today, it is great. I also like the bank up to Minniford station, that really tested my driving skills, because it goes down to a 20mph limit.
Great Route. Glad i got it.

Matthew

steam4me · Post by **steam4me** » Sat Nov 01, 2003 8:53 pm

Also do the locos come with their own sounds not the default FS ones.

The locos come with their own sounds, albeit three are missing. AFAIK, MS will not permit payware routes to use anything from the default routes except track.

bossman wrote:I have the Cambrian Route from 3dts and i would thoroughly recommend it. The DMU's have proper cabs with working controls and realistic DMU vacuum brake screech.The steam locos are all GWR Prairie tanks but they too have realistic cabs and sounds.

I agree the scenery is superb and the general modelling skills are excellent, though aren't all the wagons a bit far apart? or are they simulating chain coupling (I'm used only to autocouplers in prototype)? The change of pace in running the activities is a pleasant change from intense mainline pressures and speeds .

You say that the sounds are good - yet if you run Conbuilder (Test units component) over the locos, you get 36 "serious errors". These errors relate to three missing sound files, x_45xx_abrake1.wav, x_45xx_abrake2.wav and x_45xx_abrake3.wav.

I've emailed 3dtrainstuff about this to get these missing files but their post-purchase support seems inadequate as they do not reply to emails, especially if they contain criticism of their product (run Conbuilder over the Tehachapi Pass rolling stock and you get several hundred errors).

I don't expect freeware routes to be perfect, but I do expect that payware routes need to offer a higher level of quality and care in the preparation of their products (though I suppose one could argue that they are only emulating MS who like to release incompletely finished software). Including all the files that 3dtrainstuff themselves have designed is surely a minimum requirement. Running Conbuilder to check for missing files takes, what, 2 minutes? - not exactly rocket science, merely basic quality control.

3DRailHound · Post by **3DRailHound** » Sat Nov 22, 2003 4:13 pm

Hi Yuri,

The program ConBuilder does not like the way we have aliased some of our files, nor does it like our night cabviews. And I have emailed the guy about it several times, and have not received any responses from him. Anyhow, the good news is that msts doesn't seem to mind

Keep 'em on the high irons!

Best regards,
Brad

http://www.3DTrainStuff.com

thedarkness · Post by **thedarkness** » Sat Nov 22, 2003 5:14 pm

I dont know alot about the real route, so Cambrian coast is a good place to practice my driving skills with small engines and steep banks.

johndibben · Post by **johndibben** » Sun Nov 23, 2003 11:56 am

For what it's worth, The Cambrian is, in an all around sense, the best route I've ever seen

But I'm hopelessly biased as a holidayed in Aberystwyth in 1965.

I could find fault in a 'purist' sense but to amble along with a freight through very varied scenery, with good frame rates and very challenging banks, is a delight

GeorgeJacksonChurchward · Sun Nov 23, 2003 12:46 pm

But I'm hopelessly biased as a holidayed in Aberystwyth in 1965

That was the year i left Wales,John.Coincidence or a plot by the CIA to start WW3.

johndibben · Post by **johndibben** » Sun Nov 23, 2003 8:31 pm

GeorgeJacksonChurchward wrote:
But I'm hopelessly biased as a holidayed in Aberystwyth in 1965
That was the year i left Wales,John.Coincidence or a plot by the CIA to start WW3.

There was a lot of 'English go home' signs around at the time I remember.

Luckily they didn't set fire to the chalet overlooking the VoR and Cambrian in which we stayed

Bit dissappointed though. Thought I'd see loads of GWR loco's and 'picture my dismay' when all I saw was BR Standard 4's (75XXX) which had recently arrived from Bletchley having been ousted by BR Standard 5's

The VoR was as delightful as ever. Can't remember the loco's names though

trainmad · Post by **trainmad** » Sun Nov 23, 2003 9:16 pm

That 45xx seems to go well, but then starts to slow down to stop. Is there anyway of stopping this happening, like modifying the ENG file?

fairlie · Post by **fairlie** » Sun Nov 23, 2003 9:50 pm

I Recommend this route, great run, only bad thing is It stops at Machynlleth and doesn't go to Shrewsbury

trainmad - Do you mean the gradient into Minffordd? If so, try going over the speed limit from Portmadog/Penrhyndeudrath to build up a lead, not like i'd do something like that

johndibben · Post by **johndibben** » Tue Nov 25, 2003 12:35 pm

One other feature of the Cambrian route, I had to mention in that it's a nice little touch that might not have been noticed.

Apart from the winter activities, it's all on the same day.

You can drive the freight from Pwhelli to Barmouth and the freight you drove from Machynlleth is there. You drive the 1154 DMU from Dovey Junction to Pwhelli and when you get to Barmouth, both freights are there.

Loco's and consists as you left them in previous activities.

That's really a simple addition but really gives the route that little extra something.

The timetable and loco workings are accurrate. I've got the first and have knowlege of the latter

lateagain · Post by **lateagain** » Tue Nov 25, 2003 3:13 pm

trainmad
wrote

That 45xx seems to go well, but then starts to slow down to stop. Is there anyway of stopping this happening, like modifying the ENG file?

...er I'm glad you mentioned this. I thought it was just me!

Having fallen in love with all that heavy metal Stateside I'd begun to loose interest in hauling 100+ consists with 5 or 6 diesels and started to get interested in Steam when I got the Cambrian route. I read up all the tips on driving and after awhile started working through the steam activities. First I noticed that Star Trek seemed to take over whenever you put one in reverse ....... touch the regulator and you had "Quantum Warp speed"!

Secondly like you the loco's seemed to run out of steam.

Careful monitoring of the F5 display showed that balancing steam use over steam production was very tricky. I gave up in the end.

Transferring my efforts to other routes and Locos I had no problem. I recently took 4 Blue Arrow Mk1s behind their 45xx from Blaenau Ffestiniog to Bala. It did seem a rather gutless loco. It didn't however run out of steam, albeit that much of the route was only covered at 20-25m.p.h. over Cwm Prysor.

I'm not convinced that I've mastered steam driving with Automatic Fireman yet and wondered if that was an issue with this route and these loco's?

Like trainmad I'd welcome any tips.

Geoff

Atomic Systems

Cambrian Route

Cambrian Route

Cambrian Route

Re: Cambrian Route