S Harbour Goods

Hello Stephen.
I am still new to open rails and therefore may not have it working correctly.
Having read your driving notes, there are a few queries before I commence the activity I am running version X3277.
There appears to be several "Departures" from the actual activity in the very early stages,which require clarification otherwise the activity obviously will not work correctly
1:The 0850 Bournemouth Waterloo, I do not have to wait at the signal for it to pass me at Gasworks jn, I already have the signal cleared towards Branksome, If I hold back I actually delay the train.
2: There is a message about no train heating, I am on a freight train, how does that  affect my freight train? Am I "responsible" for heating all of the A1 Trains and if so
    how do I do that with OR?
3. The notes state that I  follow the Stopping service to Poole, No I don't, 44917 and green mk1 set are stopped at the signal before Branksome, I have a clear road ahead!

4.  The notes  say "At Poole  stop with the Brake van just at the platform uncouple just after wagon 08"
    How do I  know where to find wagon 08, unlike MSTS Key F7 just gives a description of the player train and any surrounding  A1 trains. I also cannot "Look around th train
   with OR.
    In my  case I cannot detach the Brake van as I do not have one in the first place!
    I  have  both D504 and D506 in the SDJR Trainset.

I am running W7 Home Has anyone else experienced similar problems? Sorry to sound so negative, but It looks as if my computer does not like  the activity.

Cheers
Andy
Edit: I do have the Extended A1 shunting function ticked.

Hi Andy,

1 If you are getting a green signal at the start it is because the Gas Works J Blocker isn't present. The easiest way to check is Open OR, under Activity select Explore Route, under Locomotive in the drop list you should have InvisiPilot. I have included this in the required downloads but it is probably present in the Mini-Route version ( I only have the download version ).OR will sometimes run an activity with a missing service or consist which could be why you are getting the green signal.

2 The 0850 Bournemouth Waterloo precedes the stopping service towards Poole so until that has cleared the Bournemouth West Junction the stopping service can't proceed.

3 The lack of steam heat message is something new in x3277, I have just run the start of the activity and I get the same message - unless instructions for dealing with this are in the latest version of the manual then I presume that it can be safely ignored.

4 Perhaps I wasn't quite clear enough, when you stop at Poole the only brake van is at the rear of the train and you should stop when that has just entered the platform, the exact position isn't important but should be within 2 to 3 wagon lengths. Use F9 to find and uncouple wagons just as in MSTS. Key 3 will give a view of the rear of the train, again as MSTS. You can find the wagon numbers by using K7 and then K7+Shift.

I too use W7 so it shouldn't be your computer.

I hope that this has helped,

Stephen

Hello Stephen.
Some progress, Have now been able to locate the problem with the signals clearing at Gasworks Jn and Branksome station Junction.
Problem was with the Invisible pilot, Had to fire up the DOS Batch files and now signals and pathing work just fine.
34040 and train came to a stand beside my train 2217 detached, set back behind the up signal and moved forward into the gasworks siding, Thats neat!
Also by the time I got towards Branksome station, the black five was departing so I was able to follow it to Poole.

Re: the missing D504 Brakevan: Have discovered the reason why.
The consist WagonData ( BR_Brakevan_D504_VacPiped2_T UK_Brakevan ) does not exsist within the D504 Brakevan supplied by UKTS, I have had to replace it
with WagonData ( BR_D504_Brakevan_Piped_T BR_D504_Brakevan_Piped ) So I take it that nobody else has tried your activity do far Stephen?

I am still having issues with coupling uncoupling with OR F9 still a lot to get used to but it looks like a very good activity once I can master it.

Cheers
Andy

Hi Andy,

I'm glad you're making good progress as yours is the only feedback I've had, so far. Getting 2251 to uncouple is the reason for the long wait at the Gas Works Junction - it had to couple to 34040 after the activity started and out of normal sight.

Re:- Brakevan D504 , you're quite right, that was my mistake, it's actually in UKTS 31515 UK_Brakevan. When checking I must have just seen D504 and gone from there.

Please persevere with the coupling etc. as when mastered is does make for a better realism - even if a bit slow at times. When all the stock is set up properly for OR everything happens better. I don't change the standard MSTS settings so that every one can use my activities without having to change the file contents.

I hope that you successfully finish the activity,

Stephen

PS. If you want to see what happens at Poole station while you are at the Docks make save once you are in the branch. Then when ready, run from the save, stop the train and use an external view to watch the 3F. Use F1 to get a list of available views.

I have just started it and got as for as Poole.

Hi All,

I have modified the Activity Description on the download page to include the correct download number for the D504 Brakevan. It seemed simpler to do it this way rather than modify the complete upload. No-one else has said anything so I assume all the others who have tried this activity already have the correct D504.

Regards,

Stephen

I have reached Hamworthy Docks but am not able to to get the path to collect the wagons for the last shunt.

Hi David,

Please can you be a bit more specific as to where you loose the path. OR is very specific about stopping at reverse points, overshoot too much and then going over the next one can result in the correct path being lost. Don't hurry these shunting operations, I have allowed plenty of time before departing for Hamworthy Station.

Regards,

Stephen

I have now got as far as Hamworthy Station but can go no further. Consists are changing from one platforms to another and from one end of the station to the other. The banker has moved half a mile or so up the track. Impossible things but they are happening!

Hi David,

Why the wagons are jumping platforms and swapping ends I don't know - it's not something that ever happened to me during testing. I ran the activity several times to check that all works properly including do all the shunting moves much slower than is possible. The pilot loco has moved up the line because of your arrival time back at Hamworthy, maybe I should have made its waiting time longer, but it shouldn't affect your ability to run round the wagons and maybe catch up with it.

I am starting to think of my next one but it will be much simpler, I hope.

Regards,

Stephen

I did drive, catch up and couple to the banking engine. I then found that I was no longer about half a mile east of the station, where I coupled to it, but about half a mile west of the station!

The consist of wagons had moved from the north platform to the south platform.

I also had had problems entering the station the first time. The path was set to the south platform where the banking engine was at that time. I had to correct this manually which then did cause the revering point to show.

Probably nothing to do with this issue, but the crew of the banking engine are again a few feet in front of the loco.

Hi David and Stephen,
I'm probably trying to teach my grandmother to suck eggs (!!) but are you both using the same version of Open Rails?

Cheers,
Ged

I am sucking on X3280.

I have posted here:

http://www.elvastower.com/forums/index.php?/topic/27645-jumping-stock/

Hi David,
Regarding the crew being "a few feet in front of the loco".  I have an interest in this problem as I raised the bug several moons ago.  As far as I was aware, it has been solved, but to make sure, I've just checked X3277 with my test installation and all the crews appear in their correct places.  Could you please tell be which loco/tender has this problem.

Personally, I'd be wary of using the "daily" releases of OR as they may contain fixes which are subsequently found to cause problems and, therefore, are reversed prior to the next "weekly" release.

Cheers,
Ged

slipperman12 wrote:Hi David,
Regarding the crew being "a few feet in front of the loco".  I have an interest in this problem as I raised the bug several moons ago.  As far as I was aware, it has been solved, but to make sure, I've just checked X3277 with my test installation and all the crews appear in their correct places.  Could you please tell be which loco/tender has this problem.

Cheers,
Ged

Ged the loco is 3205.eng in folder "SDJR Class 2251" with tender BRBLK_LATE_2251T.wag.

Hi Ged,

I'm using X3277 but the activity was built on earlier versions - I only use the weekly updates. When testing the crew were in the correct place which was one of the reasons for choosing this loco. I have just tested the 2 Class 2251's used ( 1 with chain couplings and the other automatic ) and both have crew in the correct place.

When I made S - Burnham_Templecombe they were in the wrong place so I didn't use them.

Regards,

Stephen

Hi,
Stephen : I accept the comments in your last post (sounds a bit final, doesn't it??!), but I suggest you've made some changes - please see later.

David : Thanks, mate, for the info
I have just tested the 2251 tender and agree that the crew appear in front of the loco.  This brought back memories - I actually tested this loco/tender some time ago, with the same results.  It seems that almost all the tender crew additions have three numeric parameters in the FreightAnim entry.  This is one of the few which only have 2 and I think the OR team were having problems differentiating between a tender fuel FA and a loco crew FA.  The absence of the third parameter defaults it to 1, which causes the problem.  I know MSTS can tell the difference!!   I suggest that the FA entry in the tender wag file is changed to add a zero as the third parameter, as follows :

Original   :  FreightAnim ( "..\\common.crew\\BA_1\\2251T.S" 1 1 )

Amended : FreightAnim ( "..\\common.crew\\BA_1\\2251T.S" 1 1 0 )

I think you, Stephen, may have made this change to your 2251 tender wag files, which is why you don't have the problem. It might have been a conversation with yourself which originally brought this particular problem to my attention

Cheers,
Ged

I have run the activity again from a save and have not seen the problems I saw yesterday night. It may be that I was confused by ORTS's automatic repositioning of the front of train camera on a reversal of direction ....................!!

Ged, the crew is back in the cab.

Hi David,
Yes, I don't like the way the camera view changes with direction changes - it's very confusing!!

Cheers,
Ged

Hi Ged,

I think you must right - checking the freight animation entries in my Trainset Folder with the original download I get the differences you described.
I apologise if I sounded as if my results were final, they were merely an observation on what had occurred during earlier testing of activities under construction.

Regards,

Stephen

Hi All,

Yesterday ( 23-12-15 ) I received a notification on my Gmail account stating that 2 comments had been posted for this activity, one on the 11th October and one on the 12th October. I don't remember seeing these comments when checking my uploads and if they were posted on the stated dates why have they only now arrived in my inbox and both on the same day. I always check my email accounts once, if not twice every day so it's not negligence on my part. All other UKTrainsim notifications have arrived promptly.

The reason for the comment is quite correct in that ukts_file 13621 is no longer available. Before uploading an activity I do a Bulk File ID check just to ensure that everything is still available. In this case either I slipped up when doing the check or the file was removed soon afterwards. This is now the second invisible engine that has been removed that I know of.

I have added a comment to the file stating that a modified version will be available after Christmas.

In the meantime I am trying to finish my latest activity for the SDJR, again Open Rails only but much simpler than the last two. This should available at TSSHonline later today and at UKTS when uploaded and approved.

Happy Christmas to you all,

Stephen