Tail Lights

Decided to add a little variety to my catalogue and make a wagon. My choice was a departmental rigid, to keep things simple, the ZUV Grampus.

 It was reasonably successful and, with the help of Ben Yates, I managed to re-skin it into a few variations.

 When I showed the WIP to the UKTS forum I received a request for a Shark ballast plough and, unable to resist a challenge, modeled the van in three colour vaiants.

While beta testing them, Ben asked if I could add tail lights, which I thought was a good idea, so started to use the one's provided by Dave Brindley, which are available through UKTS or you can add them even easier by using RWTools.

However, I wasn't very happy with them as you have to make a separate model just for the tail light and it has to be the right way round, so back to the drawing board.

I eventually came up with an answer that seems to work ok. I added an AddATex plane to the back of the model and called it "1_0128_light_fwdtail". This is the technique for adding tail lights to loco tenders. I then added a script which tells the consist to pass any messages along the consist to the end. So, when you switch the lights on, on the loco, it sends a message to switch on the tail light that travels along the consist until it reaches the last wagon, where it turns on the light!

So, I no longer need a special wagon just for the end of a consist and the light goes on and off at the same time as the loco lights. Result!

There are a couple of minor issues when doing this. The fwdtail must be modeled in the correct orientation and facing the right way when the wagon is attached to the loco.

Coal Tippler

While researching the coke oven I came across a number of references to coal tipplers being used to load the coal washery ready for the coal to be added to the coke oven.

Not one to resist a challenge I decided to atttempt to make one for TS2013.

I tried to solve the problem by using a transferpoint as the tippler and an animated wagon which would tilt in time with the transferpoint. At first it wouldn't wotk, but, thanks to Dave Dewhurst, the error in my blueprint was spotted and corrected and the idea came to fruition, as seen in the video.

Still obvious problems with the animation, but it seems to work ok in principle and I need to fine tune the animation.

Ropeway

For a long time I have been contemplating how to make a ropeway for TS2013, ever since I noticed one at the St Helen Colliery, which will be part of the extension to Ben Yates' Cockermouth Keswick Penrith Route.

I eventually decided to give it a go this week with the following results.

It is essentially a road 17m in the air (the ropeway) being followed by vehicles (the buckets). It didn't prove too hard to create, however, getting the vehicles to run on the rope, instead of mid-air, was a process of trial and error. The down side is it's not possible to have one vehicle (full bucket) going in one direction and another vehicle (empty bucket) going the other way. I hope to come back to this and try to use a track loft, rather than a road, so I can have greater control over the vehicles traveling the loft.

Update

Just an update showing the finished quenching car model. In game and working after the usual hassle with the couplings. (thank heaven for the RWCoupling program)

8 Wheels on my wagon.

Continuing with the coke oven theme, I have built the quenching car that is used to collect the coke from the oven, then carry it to the quenching tower for cooling.

Wish I could model the spectacular sight of the coke being loaded, that would be fun.

A drop of water with that?

Have completed the quenching tower to go with the coke oven, complete with particle generator for the steam.

This is based on the Moss Bay coke oven quenching tower, at Workington.

It's grim Up North

Just a quick peek at a w.i.p. for a northern steel works.