Had a thought about the font: download Blue Highway and if you tinker with the width of the letters, you'd be pretty damn close.

Is this wooden frame modelled or is a texture? How many polys are each car?

Thanks for the suggestion Notch.

I had a crack and came up with this;


That is on bold, but I may need to 'plump' it up a bit. The 6 will need to be changed up top but I think it is far closer to the prototype.

One thing I can't make out in back and white pics is whether there was black shading or not. I know the pre-1950s lettering was shaded, but what about the later type?



The car sides are a single textured rectangle. The entire car works out at nearly 9000 polys, athough it has LODs which drop the poly level off pretty quickly.

Cheers,
Matt

I used to have real decals for a Tait and from memory they were shaded with orange and a black outline.

Got ones for a BCPL, and signal numbers were similar. Seeing as I get the Ubermagna this weekend, I might go for a drive. Or just scan the enamel numbers.

I think I have some colour pics somewhere. Look for an email from Mr. Humpington.

I've seen some pics recently (I was looking at a buttload of Tait pics for something else) and yes, they did have black shading on some cars.

The AP and BP pre-electrification ones had SMOKING on the second-class cars frosted on the bottom of the windows. I have a picture of another car with this shading on it.

Another variation: some ellipse roofed G trailers were divided into First and Second with a white line down the middle. Might have to do some scanz0rzing.

3 posts in a row!

Anyhow, something else to consider is that the G cars could be used independently for running in country workings; on busy times, they could and were released for special trains. You could, with the right packs, run a second-series T with G and BPL cars on the North-East as a Bonegilla special, or a Y with G's and other cars to Daylesford. I might once I figure out activities do summat like that.

great work
now i just have to wait for the taits,
I remember my uncle used to take me in the guards department when i was young.

October 2010 it says !
Ray

I've helped Matt Austin with the lettering and the numbering on the Taits since I am a logo graphic drawer. I'd had a very sharp look at the photos of the Taits in B&W. With good eyes I got, I'd gave the lettering a good go on it.

Matt Austin, Hows the New lettering getting along I'd done up for you?

When you click on the title the date changes from october 2010 to october 2009.
any way i still can wait.

I figured it was time for a progress update.

Several months ago, I thought I was neary done, but I noticed some large faults which necessitated a thorough overhaul of the cabs. That knocked the wind out of my sails but I've since fixed it.

A couple of days ago I decided that all of my entertainment time was to be used to finish the Taits. As they'll be available in five major colour scheme variations and a few sub-variations, I've finished a revised set of 1936-1956 motor, trailer and driving trailer shapes and have sent them to the beta testers. These take into account all of the comments and fault-fixes from the last set I sent around a month or so ago.

I've started the freightanimation shapes for these models, as each body shape has several different freightanim shapes to give variety of numbers. Once these are done, I'll make numbered .eng files to give identities to the cars and tie them all together. I'm confident that a couple of nights' work should have a complete set of 1936-1956 cars ready for packaging and release.

Once this is done, I'll go back and reskin each shape (with minor body variations) to give the 1918-1920s scheme of chocolate and straw.Then comes the 1956-1970s shape-set, followed by the 1970s-1980s shape-set, complete with body changes and faded paint. With this last set will be the double-ended motor cars.

Then comes the parcels coach set. This is simple really, as it is pretty much a CE car (I built one of these for the Spirit of Progress set by modifying James Brook's original BE and BCE shapes) with motor cabs. I have the scanned details to finish these.

So, all things being equal, I'm on the home straight. The other team-ALCO guys have been exceedingly patient with me, and I feel it's about time I contributed more than I have for a while.

My wife is most supportive, and has made it possible for me to spend more time on these cars. I'm not sure when my side of things will be done, but I'm giving it a real effort to get them out there.

Cheers,
Matt

great job.

Gidday Matt.
They're looking very good mate, So the smoking lettering I take it are the one's I'd made for you turned out good?
Done very well.

What can I say other than stunning work there Matt.

Thanks guys.

There is one last shape I had to do. Another run of trailer cars was built in the 20s. These cars were also able to be used in country excursion service so they had pintsch gas lighting as well as the standard electric lights. Classified G, there were about 100 of these cars built. They look like T cars but with gas vents and plumbing on the roof, along with an offset central beam.



Cheers,
Matt

Ah yes, the Master's touch.
Looking great Matt.
Cheers

An update.

I've finished all of the 1936-1956 Taits, with the Moonstone Grey band down the sides. They're all complete with individual numbers, destinations, marker lights and head disks appropriate for the destinations.

I've nearly completed the 1956-early 1970s set, with all-over red livery with grey window frames. These cars had the clerestory windows panelled over and round ventilators added, the heavy GE crossarm pantograph replaced with a lighter type, and newer motor bogies. I'm a good way through the freightanim shapes which give the individual numbers and car-end details. Some shots of a destination roll on eBay provided more material so I now have photo-realistic destination textures.

Next come the 1970s-1980s cars with the alternate saloon windows panelled over, both in bright fresh red and faded red versions. Then I'll go back; doing the chocolate cars which started eectric services, and even further back to the pre-electrification cars used as trailers behind the DDe locos, available at this site. The blue and silver Boat Train of 1936-1939 finishes the standard passenger versions, before doing the double-ended motor and the parcels coaches.

I like this shot; a Mordialloc cab motor car at the head of a train at St Albans. I'm happy to be able to have a set with correct destination showing for the station where it is seen.



More to come,
Matt

More Taits.

The Boat Train was introduced by the VR Commissioners in 1936 to meet ocean liners at Port Melbourne. It was advertised in the shipping notices as leaving Flinders St to meet each big ship as it arrived in port. Patronage was disappointing and it was withdrawn in 1939 with the outbreak of war. The cars were returned to standard condition and served many more years before withdrawl in the seventies. This set is as the train was in 1938.



Reminds me of this shot;



Side view, showing the special signage


Cheers,
Matt

Looking great there Matt and Team-Alco. Very nice work.

Hi Matt,
Looking closely at the comparative pics, could I suggest a few things? I am quite sure you will politely inform me (read "tell me precisely where to go") if I cannot make a few suggestions, heh, heh.
I feel that the queen posts are too long and extend several inches lower than they should be. Equally, the diameter of the air tank (?) is too great - it is much smaller in the prototype photo.
It seems to me that the "The Boat Train" printing is too big and is not positioned correctly. On the prototype, it is the height of and back against the top clerestory vents.
The roof line at the front seems different in the comparative shots as well as in the next shot, particularly under the pantograph. In counting the number of clerestory vents between the name and where the roof line ends for the panto, not only are there more on the model but also they are "single" vents in the prototype whereas on the model, they are arranged in pairs.
The two very front vertical handrails are quite short, the tops of which are below window height on the prototype.
These are a few things that I have observed in the several photos.
Cheers
Allan

Thanks for the feedback Allan,

I gladly accept feedback, although I'm a llittle daunted at the thought of going back over all the completed models to reduce the tank, redo the queen posts and fix the handrails. The clerestory windows are a texturing job.

The Boat Train signage point is gladly accepted as I was unsure of the arrangement. I'll fix that ASAP.

Looks like I have a job ahead of me. Not too bad as I only have to redo one car then I can cut and paste the parts, but running all the shapes through Polymaster will take a bit of time.

Cheers,
Matt

Gidday Matt,
It was somewhat tongue in cheek, because you really have done a tremendous job with them, and it needed an actual direct comparison to be able to comment.
A small change to the sign-age would be good if time permits.
Ummm, are you still going to do the droppie for me?
Cheers
Allan

Thanks Allan,

I will modify the signage and see what I can do with the textures. I'm tossing up whether to do the rest, but I feel if a job is worth doing, it's worth doing well.

Of course I'll finish the droppies, they're far too handsome a tram not to complete. I'll do it the way I've done the Taits, with the numbers added on the freightanim shape, allowing for plenty of cars. I do have to do a silver one, as I have a soft spot for the scheme, being an attempt at modernisation. In a similar way, I like some of the later US traction schemes where they tried to make old cars look ultra-modern.

Cheers,
Matt

Hi Matt,
Many years ago, I made a 600 ft movie film on the H class trams. At the time they were in the silver scheme. I never went back to repeat the film in the maroon scheme, mainly because I had moved to Perth in the meantime.
One of the disappointing sights I have seen in a railway context, was a consist of stainless steel Indian Pacific cars with several of the older cars (that rode so well on the German bogies) interspersed throughout the train. I feel that they would have been no more conspicuous than if they had been left in their original majestic livery.

The SA trams fit the same mould.

Thanks for the time and expertise that you bring to this (still) incredible hobby.
Cheers
Allan