Australian screenshots

[Railwayz]

Been laying the cement siding - does this look "believable" to anyone? All the photos I could find were for cement works - ie where cement is processed from limestone. I just wanted a simple discharge siding into a hopper where it can be loaded onto trucks for transport to the local consumer.

Raichase,

I find your cement siding very believable. In fact it looks very similar to the plant that was next to Villawood station in Sydney until recently. It's now been bulldozed to make for the Southern Sydney Frieght Line but maybe it's still on Google Earth. The only difference to the real thing is that the real one had two dead end sidings behind the plant and wagons were moved backward from the loader by means of a capstan and rope arrangement.

Does anyone know if there is a similar capstan available on the DLS?

Railwayz

 

[mattm]

Pommie, nice shots.

More from me:

Matt.

 

[Raichase]

Raichase,

I find your cement siding very believable. In fact it looks very similar to the plant that was next to Villawood station in Sydney until recently. It's now been bulldozed to make for the Southern Sydney Frieght Line but maybe it's still on Google Earth.

Railwayz - thanks mate! That was one of the sidings I used as my inspiration actually. I was trying to find a small scale unloader to base it on. I went looking for photos of Villawood on the internet actually!

I might extend the siding back a bit, put in another siding for wagon storage. I do want to expand the intermodal terminal behind it too!

Sadly, I think the flour mill might have to go, as the yard is too big and complicated! It's the flour mill or the fuel siding!

 

[mattm]

Railwayz - thanks mate! That was one of the sidings I used as my inspiration actually. I was trying to find a small scale unloader to base it on. I went looking for photos of Villawood on the internet actually!

I might extend the siding back a bit, put in another siding for wagon storage. I do want to expand the intermodal terminal behind it too!

Sadly, I think the flour mill might have to go, as the yard is too big and complicated! It's the flour mill or the fuel siding!

Raichase,

If you're after diagrams for Villawood, this site Signaldiagramsandphotos, has what you are after. Villawood is near the bottom, and has diagrams for 1973 and 2005. I use it a fair bit as a source for inspiration and ideas.

Matt.

 

[Raichase]

Matt - thanks for those diagrams! Very interesting website!

 

[mattm]

Matt - thanks for those diagrams! Very interesting website!

No problems, glad to help.

Now, i've posted a few shots over the last few days, so feel i am entitled to take us a little off topic. I have a question, with regards to operations of two facilities, the Allied Mills facility (i believe it is) and the Blue Circle cement works at Maldon, in the Southern Highlands, NSW.

Both of these facilities are rail-served (Well, duh!), and i was wondering how they are shunted, and what advantages the track arrangement at the two sites offers, if any. In both cases, the facilities are a loop arrangement, with a crossover roughly halfway down the loop. Maldon also has an extra siding with two loops coming off of it.

I can understand the purpose of the loop, in that running round the train would be an advantage; however i'm a little confused about the crossover in the middle. What is it's main purpose? Would it be worth replicating the arrangement on a similar facility in Trainz?

Thanks for any enlightenment,

Matt.

 

[Raichase]

The Allied Mills facility at Maldon was covered in an issue of Railway Digest when it opened for service. The facility can take a full 40 wagon rake of grain wagons. The whole train is dragged into the siding to clear the mainline. The locomotives then drag the first 20 wagons through the unloader and set them back onto the empty track. They then run back to collect the second 20 wagons and drag them through the unloader, setting back to complete the rake.

It's hard to explain! Set it up on a blank Trainz baseboard and have a play around - I did this after reading the article, and it helped me. The trick is not to affect the mainline at all.

 

[mattm]

Raichase,

Thanks for the info. That makes things a little clearer. I am assuming that the cement works would operate in a similar manner, given that the track arrangement is almost identical.


Matt.

 

[Red_Rattler]

I'm banned from trainz for a week

Yep, I think I will ask, If he is banned from Trainz for a week, how can he still be posting?

 

[misterchugg]

red rattler

he is not banned by auran

but by someone in his household :hehe::hehe::hehe:

cheers
ron

 

[mattm]

Raichase,

Thanks for the info. That makes things a little clearer. I am assuming that the cement works would operate in a similar manner, given that the track arrangement is almost identical.

Matt.

Okay,

Further to this, I had a play around with the track arrangement last night and this morning, and I think I get it. The crossover is a 'shortcut', of sorts.

This is how I understand it:
The siding length is long enough to take a full rake of wagons (40, in the case of Allied Mills), with a little extra, taking into account the crossover in the middle and the unloader.
A train will arrive at the facility, on the track with the Unloader, coming to a stop leaving the back half of the train in rear of the crossover, and enough room for the locos at the head to couple to those cars clear of the crossover. The train is divided, and the train pulls the wagons through the unloader, and onto the lead. The train then sets the empties back onto the empty track, again in rear and clear of the crossover.
Then, and this is the bit that is fairly obvious, when you think about it! The locos pull forward, clear of the crossover, the points are set, and the locos set back onto the rear portion of the train, and repeat the process to unload the train, and join the two halves back up into one.
So, the crossover acts as a shortcut for the driver, who rather than running up the length of the siding, and then halfway back, and the forward again, only has to move forward 50 metres or so, clear of the points, before he can set back onto the remaining wagons to be unloaded.

Have i got that right, or did i miss something?

Apologies for rambling,

Matt.

 

[axe1970]

A totally uninteresting/messy/incomplete shot.....

Regards

 

[Raichase]

A totally uninteresting/messy/incomplete shot.....

Psst. You forgot to add "with impressive potential" after that line...

 

[ad602000]

NPRF,NPRX and NPRY, with L7 ,freightcorp and blue circle logos, have also added name boards(unnumbered) danger sign next to ladders ad speed limit sign

cheers
pete

 

[NSW_Maddog]

nice job on the cement wagons there pete ,and the 72 class a wip ? looks good too.:udrool:

 

[Raichase]

NPRF,NPRX and NPRY, with L7 ,freightcorp and blue circle logos, have also added name boards(unnumbered) danger sign next to ladders ad speed limit sign

cheers
pete

Lookin' really good Pete, loving it! Thanks for doing a Freightcorp and an L7 logo . I was wondering if you planned on doing a logo-less version as well, as the current crop of hoppers don't seem to have much in the way of logos anymore? Love the texture on the hopper itself, and the shape is spot on.

 

[dreddman]

Been a while since I posted a screen of anything ......or had the time to do anything to do with Trainz or QDR, been too busy moving house, putting up a shed (everyone needs a shed) and comming to grips with retirement in the bush...."LOL"
Vulcan helped me a while back updateing some of my QR models, Ian adjusted my configs to be finnaly error free in 06 and above, since the Auran DLS is stopping support for 04/06 soon I have been transfering them into 09, so I might finally upload them to the DLS soon.
So far 2 C17's and the BB18 are in 09.
Just thought I would let you know I am still out there in internet land :hehe:

 

[mattm]

Pete,

Love the wagons. They would go well with the area i'm currently working on (a private branch serving a cement plant), shots of which i shall post tonight. Will these be industry-enabled?

Axe1970,

Agree with Raichase, in his assessment of your WIP. With a little colour, and some trees on the hills, it'll look pretty good.

Matt.

 

[misterchugg]

good to see you back dreddy
cheers
ron

 

[ad602000]

Will these be industry-enabled

they are, for the non logo cement hopper, I will be doing a model of a PCC