Atomic Systems

Hi Andrew,

All looking very good indeed, the canal scene above, is it a download model or have you build it yourself?
If you built it yourself I might have an interesting idea for you!!!

Andrew,

All the scenery (apart from the trees) is original, as I'm trying to put a railway in a real place that lacked one, so if you've got some helpful ideas, I'd love to hear them.

Amongst the many projects that I have started is a canal-side scene. I spent much time experimenting with shapes and animation in MSTS and I found out that a scenic shape can support a great deal of animation, this coupled with the ability to edit the shape file to slow the animation down allows for some very interesting scenes, if not wholly interactive.
For example, if you were to create the canal as one object (MSTS shape) and set up four or five of the boats, lock gates and water in the lock as sub-objects, they can all be animated. Boats can move along the canal, wait for locks to fill, lock up and/or down, pass other boats in the pounds and even stop for periods of time on the wharfs.
If I remember correctly MSTS would allow up to 10,000 frames of animation (maybe even more?) this could be possibly hours of animation in MSTS and if you make sure that the scene ends it animation in the same state that it starts then MSTS would just repeat the animation and the user would never notice.

Once you have started this scene play there is no end to what could be done. One of the narrow boats moves from the lock and moors up at the wharf, a lorry moves away from the wharf (carefully avoiding the track work) leaving the dockside crane to unload the boat (the creates on the boat could also be sub-objects) and leaves them on the dockside ready for the next train (but, in reality will be loaded into the next boat!) and of course all this while the user drives the trains through this busy scene.

But it’s only an idea!!!

Andrew,

This sounds a marvellous idea! I had toyed with the idea of a "boat spawner", or possibly going for the LNWR idea of one of the Crewe works engines towing a string of narrow boats, but narrow boats wouldn't fit in my locks as they were made for quite different craft. Actually, all of the town buildings and roads are a single scenery object, so we could have all manner of things moving about in a gentle kind of way, a road sweeper (a man with a brush!) with occasional sweeping and extended rests, swans on the canal, loads being hoisted to the top of the mills..... Once I've got the basic structure done, I shall have a good look - thanks very much for the idea, I will come back and pick your brain at some point.

The extra scenery data has arrived, but the works had already started work on another engine, and before they take a rest, they thought that they would give the chassis a track test. The manufacturer said that it would go round a 24ft radius curve, but there is nothing like being sure...


Click the image to zoom in

Most of the major building work at this end is now done, and we have some wagons

Click the image to zoom in


Click the image to zoom in

A bit more progress to show - we now have 2 locomotives being worked on, photographed here in their shed awaiting the arrival of their boilers

Click the image to zoom in


Click the image to zoom in


.. which have just been unloaded by the new crane down at the basin


Click the image to zoom in

Hi Andrew,

Looking very good. Like the picture of the boilers being delivered

Cheers,
Kevin

Thanks Kevin!

One of the boilers is now on, and the staff thought that a steam test, "just round the yard", was called for.


Click the image to zoom in


Someone got carried away and it seems that a celebration is in progress!

The loco should now be recognisable, but what about the locality?

Some excellent scenes, I look forward to more screenshots.

jefran wrote:Thanks Kevin!

One of the boilers is now on, and the staff thought that a steam test, "just round the yard", was called for.


Click the image to zoom in


Someone got carried away and it seems that a celebration is in progress!

The loco should now be recognisable, but what about the locality?

Just to prove it does happen see the videos in the Latest News section on the the 3650 pannier tank site!! I don't think they made it quite as far as the pub though!!!

Inevitably some pungent remarks were made about leaving steam locomotives on the main line in the middle of the public highway, and for the second engine, something more responsible was required. So the crew went up the line rather than down, (it also meant that if anything failed, they could get home by gravity), and even parked the engine on a siding.

Click the image to zoom in


Does anybody recognise any of these engines!

Yes - the first looks like one of the second hand Hunslets of the Sand Hutton Light Railway (closed 1932) and the second engine appears to be 'Woolwich' of the Bicton Woodland Railway.
'Woolwich' worked on the Royal Arsenal Railway (in Woolwich) before coming to the BWR. She is now at the Waltham Abbey Royal Gunpowder Mills museum with the BWR's diesel, 'Carnegie', which also worked at the RAR.

Another of the RAR's engines was 'Busy Bee', which can be found on UKtrainsim.

Well, thank goodness for that! Right on both counts. The Hunslet is 1 of 12 built for use at Deptford meat depot during the First World War, (another was built to the same design after the war) and the Bicton loco was one of no fewer than 16 built by Avonside at the same time. I am still haven't decided on the final livery, but the Midland square edged look has always appealed, and one of the Hunslets was painted in these colours.

A bit more progress. Here are the 2 new engines outside the shed.


Click the image to zoom in


The weather has turned inclement, and the crews refused to go out without the cabs being fitted.

The picture shows the great difference in size between these engines: the Avonside is bigger than Lilla and only marginally smaller than Charles, Linda and Blanche

Looking superb Andrew, the Avonside is a particular favourite of mine I'm very much looking forward to downloading these!