I am very excited when I review the amount of development currently going on. With both broad gauge and narrow gauge routes in various stages of development plus the narrow gauge rolling stock roster virtually complete and locos that have been completed/in development, we face some interesting times ahead.
My enduring thanks to Russell for this forum where we can now get on with what we do best.
Cheers

I have put my foot in it Allan, I have announced that I have promised The SAR NG T class to you as a priority Now they know our dirty secret!!

Just can't take you anywhere these days - you'll just have to build it now won't you. Oh and some one is asking for that big beautiful beast the extended smoke box 720b class. Heh, heh, looks like you'll have your hands full for a few days.
cheers

Hi Russell,

Been long time between drinks. I just heard you immigrated to Qld.

Yes a "T" class be the icing on the cake of a Peterborough NG route. Those were great days, need to be revived and re-lived.

Now you got this forum up, one can sort of keep an eye on you now.

Regards,

Allan, With the recent talk about building a new tramline to Semaphore, I have found your Adelaide and Hills route to be very useful, as my sole familiarity with the Adelaide network is from your route. You've certainly done a good job.

Also a couple of days ago I descovered Port Dock station in your route I'm guessing that this would have been where the National Railway Museum now is? I didn't realise that it was a seperate station to the current Port Adelaide station.

Hi John,
Unfortunately Russell has seen fit to pull out of the T class exercise. However, I have taken on the building of the NG stock and last night finished off the animation of my T185. I still need to dress up some of the textures and reduce the number of .ace files I use. I would like to reskin another one in "nice" condition and then do Y 97. It is my intention to attempt (yes attempt!) a 400, but remember I have barely finished my first attempt at loco building and I now have no one to ask for assistance.
I have also canned the SAR NNG route - I am now too ill to continue with this major undertaking - particularly after the events of the past week.
I will be in touch through email - yes I need to dig out my camera for some fun on Skype - heh, heh.
Cheers

Hi Geoffrey,
Great to have the new forum, mate, and to see you here.
Glad you are still finding a use for the route - I am still amazed at the emails I get. Yes, the National Railway Museum now sits on part of the site where the original Port Dock Station sat. The new police station and a car park also share the site. Google shows these buildings very clearly - the police station complex has the white roofs, the car park is immediately south of it and the large grey striped roof adjacent to the very long narrow build are the main buildings for the NRM.
Cheers

Hi Geoffrey,
this pic might help.
Cheers

Hi John,
I thought you in particular might be interested in these pics since you had some time at Jamestown. Love your new web site..
The SAR NNG is NOT dead, heh, heh, heh. I have arranged for a friend to do a trip to the NRM and get detailed photos of all aspects of Y97 and 409 so that everything will be photoreal on these locos.
I will be in touch shortly to let you know of the events of the past week which left Sandy and me utterly shattered. The T still needs a lot of work but it is in and fully working, and is a dream come true - and this is hopefully just the start.

and

Cheers

Unfortunately I thought this may happen, I'm not surprised. Maybe too hard to do, but there again it's a SAR engine.


Way to go.


Well one will never know, till one has a go hey! The 400 SAR Garratt would be biggest challenge of all. I suppose for new engine builder the old adage stands, better to have tried and failed and not tried at all and always wonder... IF.


This makes much sense considering all things. Yes my rail cobber in Colorado, we have had some hilarious times with the Skype webcam.
These days we have all these great gadgets and no DECENT trains (well not todays boxes on wheels) to film anymore. Oh well back to the fun days of the past.


Looking good.


Been there sarfan39, and innocently copped a smack in the face at Railpage, so nothing knew, just got to turn the other cheek and try to forget it and move on to better things that will come of it. The engine is looking good and the NG rollingstock. Rome not built in a day and time is your own.

Regards,

If you need any more photos of the Y, T and 400 classes Allan, I am more then happy to get photos as well as detail shots of passenger coaches/freight wagons/brakevans where possible.

Hi 409
Parts such as bogies can either be made from a photo which makes them paper thin, or fully built up in 3D - in which they look so much better. For that I need close up photos of individual parts such as each spring, the axle box front, side and top, etc all taken as near straight on as possible. Tender side, rear top, lights, tools etc are some of the other things. If I cannot get an actual part, I have to 'make do' with a manually created texture which usually looks a bit artificial and fresh out of the paint shop which rolling stock usually isn't. I always welcome photos and recently I was given a collection of almost 30,000 photos which have been an absolute gold mine because it contains photos of unlikely places such as Bruce and Hammond and other important places during "in service" days, as well as rolling stock and locos from 20 - 30 years ago or more. So if you have "stuff" to pass on, I welcome anything that comes. When I was building the Adelaide route, I viewed movies I had taken in the early 1960's of trains departing Adelaide Station. Whilst it was good to watch the trains, it was the background buildings along North Terrace that were the interest in recreating them because virtually none of those buildings survive today.
When Russell needed the plans and photos of the Webb Caboose he is building, guess where they all came from, heh, heh.
Cut a short story long - yes, I gratefully welcome any photos of any period because you never know when a photo will contain information that is vital.
Cheers

Having taken over 200 photos or so of the 8300 class brakevan at the NRM for Ozscale models, I know what sort of detail is needed for certain parts. I am more then willing to get say 500 shots of the Short Tom, 7500 class brakevan or anything narrow gauge that the NRM has open to the public. Just need to get my membership renewed and then I am away.

As for sound files, I am currently cutting up some of John's audio clips into the neccessary WAV segments needed for MSTS. As I have already stated earlier, I will need someone who knows what they are doing with SMS files for them to be used.

Hi 409,
I made a number of sounds for the Adelaide route, but they were all single sounds such as that squawking rooster down Coonalpyn way.
I have tried to put genuine sounds into the Redhens, but I could never get 2nd gear to sound right - 1st and third were great, but ,,,,, ?
Maybe I/we need to revisit the scene. TA use Williamson's 2 cylinder sounds very successfully.
Cheers

I didn't think the Redhens had gears.
As far as I knew they started in "Hydraulic" and then went into "Lockup", which was the final drive.

Wayne

Yes, I think they were, but they still changed gears - automatically?. Certainly there is no gear lever in the cab nor is it necessary to use the "E" key in MSTS.
How did you get on the other day with Mark?
Cheers

I trust you used the SLSA Online archive catalogue though mate as one of your resources? I found quite alot of photos on there all along North Terrace and of King William Street that came in very handy

cheers, Troy

I have a number of video clips with the 400 class (redhen) class leader 400 at the National Railway Museum when it was running back in easter. These includes revving up and down of the engines, both inside and outside the railcar so it should be alright.

ARG706 is correct, the redhen's transmission only had two modes. These were 'slip' which ran from 0-55km/h and 'lockup' which ran from 55-110km/h.

The real Redhens (as opposed to MSTS ones) had a metal toggle switch on the control panel which could be used to change them manually, or they could just be left to change automatically when they reached a certain speed.

Wayne

I was lucky enough to be able to drive a single 400 class Redhen from Glenalta to Goodwood many years ago. An experience I still remember quite well.

Wayne

Thanks for the credit Will, but I think it should go to Wayne who actually made the post

Opps

Just a quick update on the sound files, the 400 class garratt is coming along nicely and is probably a little over half done. I am also working on the redhens which is in the early stages (only have an idle rev and in cab horns done at the present time).

Because I have a pile of TAFE work that needs to be done, these files will take some time.

Can't say how much I'm looking forward to the finished Red Hen sounds Will

Update on the sound files for the various SAR items. The T class sound file has now been completed and just needs an SMS file to go with it. Thankyou jm1941 for the impeccably timed release of your audio clip of T184 on your website.

The 400 class garratt isn't too far off either but like the T, needs an SMS file to go with it.