Making Tracks Discussion

The MT Ivatt Class 4MTs are very nice models, thanks for making these available.

Geoff

MSTS is alive, I cannot wait to see what else comes out.

Keep up the good work to all involved.

Hi All,

It has been brought to my attention that I made a mistake with the InterCity Swallow set.
I do apologise for the mistake with the files.
That is a woeful and inexcusable mistake on my part.
I have corrected the files after retrieving the back ups.

Again, my sincerest apologies,
Justin

Simple case of re-downloading then?

Well atleast you seen it and sorted it unlike some other producers i use

cgood124 wrote:Simple case of re-downloading then?

Sort of. It also means that the InterCity Executive livery was wrong as well.
It's a bit confusing but I will try to explain:
The original upload of the Executive livery had an incorrect Pullman.ace file included in it. This set needs to be deleted.
The incorrect upload of the Swallow livery had the correct Executive livery set in it. This was renamed and uploaded as the correct Executive livery pack.
The correct Swallow livery has been uploaded and check by others to make sure I didn't stuff it up again.

Hopefully this has not caused too many issues for people.

Regards,
Justin

And Coming out now is the next batch of "new" releases:









British Railways Mk3 Loco Hauled Coaches in Wrexham & Shropshire Blue Grey, GWR Green, Virgin Trains and exVirgin Trains.
The DVTs are driveable as locomotives. They include the Class 90 cabview which is a close representation of the DVT cab.

Available now through the TSSH Download site: https://tsshonline.weebly.com/

Regards,
Justin

Knock - Knock,

"It's all gone a bit quiet lately, I wonder what's happened? Has he fallen of the face of the earth?"

Hello World,

I know that things have gone quiet of late due, with no new developments being announced and there is a reason for that.
I have had a number of personal issues that have hit one after the other which left me scraping the bottom of the barrel mentally.
This has meant that I have not been able to focus and think clearly enough to produce any MSTS work.
I have been slowly attempting to tackle a few more of the Mk3 coach sets, I have one set "done" and another being worked on, but my brain has been fighting back.

However, things are slowly moving back in an upward direction, so I will be getting back into modelling and releasing soon, both the unfinished MT projects as well as some of my own. So, no need to worry too much, I do go through these phases often, some are better than others, and they do pass eventually and then I get back into the swing of things and push out more work. So keep an eye out for a deluge of "new" things in the new year.

Regards,
Justin

Sorry to hear about your problems.As a fellow sufferer,I know exactly where you are coming from.Just do not let it overwhelm you.

Thank you for the kind words.
In Easter 2021 it will be 11 years since I was diagnosed with my "mental health issues" (the level at which I was declared shocks most people),
But I have been having "issues" since a very early age, so by now I am sort of used to it. The downside of it is, short of a double polar reversal (North Pole becoming South and then going back) there is basically no cure for it. The upside is I have found out the hard way that I am not easy to get rid of.

Regards,
Justin

Hi Everyone,

As promised, I have climbed back in the saddle and produced 2 new livery packs:





British Railways Mk3 Loco Hauled Coaches in FGW cigarette pack and Dynamic Lines liveries.

Available now through the TSSH Download site: https://tsshonline.weebly.com/

Regards,
Justin

And Coming out now is the next of the "new" releases:



British Railways Classes 507 and 508 electric multiple units.

Available now through the TSSH Download site: https://tsshonline.weebly.com/

Regards,
Justin

Hi Everyone,

After a short discussion it has been decided to release a patch for the 350 and 360 Desiros to enable the AI pantographs to be permanently up.
This is now available from the TSSH download site.

Also Ged has updated the South West Slam Door stock file that was previously release through UKTS to remove the installer restrictions for the file.
You still need London & South East v1.2 or Gold editions installed for the sounds and cabviews.

It is available through UKTS and the TSSH download site now.

Regards,
Justin

Hi Guys,
Stirling work thus far , however I've a query (sorry). I've just started playing about with the class 66 units for a little project I'm working on, however the loco sounds are aliased to 'Railwaves', which I don't possess. So are these sound files still available, (have I missed something?), or is it a case of my needing to edit the .eng files to alias to a more generic sound set?
Cheers,
T

Hi Terry,

You scared me for a second....  I thought something had gone horribly wrong and no one noticed missing files!

Having checked over the eng files, the sounds are aliased as:

Sound ( "..\\..\\MT_Common.Sound\\railwaves\\66Sound\\rw_66_eng.sms" )

And

Sound ( "..\\..\\MT_Common.Sound\\railwaves\\66Sound\\rw_66_cab.sms" )

When I checked the installer files the above folder MT_Common.Sound/railwaves/66Sound is there.
A trial installation does show that all the files are installed and no additional files are needed.

Regards,
Justin

If you want some better sounds,try these: https://www.trainsim.com/vbts/tslib.php?searchid=19120797.You will have to substitute the horn sounds etc,but believe me they are excellent for 66s,although I have a feeling the file I downloaded had more versions;however,much better than the Railwaves sound,he just used the idle sound.(Ex Cl 66 driver !) If the link does not work just search "710" in the sounds section.This one is better,use the "B" sounds https://www.trainsim.com/vbts/tslib.php?searchid=19120900 It is a big download,but worth it.I can also supply the modified eng and cab sms files if required.

Thanks Justin..
Weird (and embarrassing ). Neither the MT Common sound nor MT common cab for that matter were in my trainset folder, I've just re-installed the class 66 pack, and lo and behold, they're now there! I haven't a clue as to what's happened previously. Sorry for the panic! Now I just need to reinstall the rest of the packs one by one as I need them.

Thanks for the link to the trainsim.com files.. I'll also take a look at those.

T

Hi Peter,
Thank you for your heads-up on the sounds suitable for the Class 66 from trainsim.com. Having personal experience is a very valuable asset and we also thank you for sharing it.
I suppose that, as the they were built in the US, it's logical that suitable sounds would be found 'over there'!

As soon as I've finished, or have a 'window' in, my present project, I'll give those files a try-out. It'd be great if you could attach sample .sms files to a post, then anybody would be able to use them!

Cheers,
Ged

Hi Peter,
Sorry, mate, but those links only give "No Search Results"!

Can you please give the zip file names.

Cheers,
Ged

Hello everyone,search "Anthony" in the sounds section,you will see the MLW EMD710G3 megapack,dated 01-28-2012,4th result down.The closest sounds (as far as I can remember from so long ago now,although I produced them in 2012) are the "B" set.I substituted the Railwaves horn sounds and tweaked Ron Furto's SD40 sms files to use the 710 sounds.

Hey everyone. This is regarding the Class 158 pack.

Now that I have returned home and have access to my desktop and main MSTS install again, I've made sure to download some of the MakingTracks stock packs for more modern units - typically the Class 150, 153/155, 156 and 158 packs.

Regrettably though I was hoping there would be a little more variety with the 158 packs, in regards to the Regional Railways Express 'Branded' options. Of particular interest to me was the ScotRail branded 158s. I'm creating an activity for Scottish Central Plus set in the early-1990s with a Perth-Edinburgh Express.
What I am looking for is 158s with Scottish destination signs, as well as the front-end branding. Anton-Courtenay May did release one fifteen years ago of 158714, however it was never released in the 2048x2048 textures as others were.

Hi Harry (and everyone else),

Regarding the liveries that are currently available in most of the packs:
All of the packs include whichever liveries that where originally included with the packs in their original release forms. Some packs do contain “new” liveries that have been created by myself, other packs are all new liveries created by myself that Making Tracks did not release, either because they came about after MT stopped releasing, or the liveries were just never done for whatever reasons.

“So, what is the deciding factor for doing the new liveries then?”
That’s a good question, but not an easy one to answer.

Some packs took longer to release as bugs that occurred under testing for OpenRails had to be sorted out. As I would await feedback on the problems, I would be continually looking ahead at other projects to see what could be done for them. Sometimes creating a new livery was easy, so some packs received more liveries before release.

The 158s in question have a larger number of “missing” liveries and I was unable to get the time together to do those liveries justice. It doesn’t mean that those liveries won’t get done, it just means that there is delay to them until I can get all the info that I need and the time that I need to create the liveries.

Don’t forget, I am literally on the other side of the world doing this, I can’t just pop down to my local station and see these things in real life. Any research that I do is either based of what is available on the internet, or if I can find a book on the subject that I can afford, I use that as well.

As for creating the larger 2048x2048 textures, there is a whole new level of precision that is required to get the new textures to match up to the older textures properly. I can and have done this many times, it is time consuming and can be frustrating learning curve to improve the details in the textures so time and a literal train load patience is required.

Regards,
Justin

I for one are just so grateful that all these files,plus the new ones have been made available,no doubt involving lots of work for you,Justin.

Its like the 150 pack when that didnt come with any wessex trains or fge liveries, i did ask Mt if they were going to release any but they said it wasnt on their list, which is a shame as my Heart of Wessex route used these all the time until recently, however when they released the 153/155 pack they included the fgw one

I must apologise for my earlier post, I was just expecting a little bit more from the stock pack given how long a lot of us waited for it, even before OpenRails was released. I believe I could still make my activity work, even with the DMUs having the wrong destination signs. It's just a minor detail.

I too can relate to the issue of being on the other side of the world, and having to resort to using whatever is available on the internet to research how things are/were. In particular I'm pretty young by most standards and have this odd fascination with a lot of things that occurred before my time.

Hi Harry,
Sorry, I can't help with the Class 158 liveries but felt I should mention that two texture files are used to display the destination for the A and B vehicles, destinationA.ace and destinationB.ace, respectively. With the right skills, these can be modified to display any required destination. but, unfortunately, that's not me!!

Cheers,
Ged

Hi all,

I was wondering to what extent you are allowed to update and release the packs, like modifying the class 66 body shape / shell and create the class 59??.

Many thanks

If you are looking for Class 59s,there are some very reasonable examples by Dutch Train Design on the Trainsim.com site.I use modified SD40 sounds from the same source.

And Coming out now is the next of the "new" releases:



British Railways Class 313 electric multiple units.

Available now through the TSSH Download site: https://tsshonline.weebly.com/

Regards,
Justin

Hi All,

Regarding the class 59s: Yes there is an MT model for it.
And like everything else, it will get done when I can get the chance.

Regards,
Justin

Hey justin,

Good to hear about the class 59, looking forward to it

Hello one and all,

I know things have gone a bit quite from me of late and I would just like to take the opportunity to up date everyone as to what is going on.

First and foremost, I am physically safe and well. Despite Sydney being in its toughest lockdown to date, I am still working on site at my job. This is possible as no customers are allowed in the shops.

Whilst in some ways this has been a relief (as we are not dealing face to face with the crazies), due to the fact that we are doing everything as click and collect it does mean that I am working more hours, due to the fact that we aren’t using casual staff at the moment, only full time and part timers (of which I am one). Due to my work skill level and availability, I am quite frequently working almost 35 hours a week. This has meant a drop in my down time.

The down side has been that, due to the switch to online only trade, we have had an increase of people “not understanding” the situation. Most walk-in retail shops in Sydney been “closed” for over a month and we are still getting customers who do not/refuse to understand what is going on and they can get abusive when informed of this. This, combined with other work-related factors, has had a negative effect on the majority of the team’s mental health.

I have been personally struggling with my own demons due to multiple compounding problems from home and work and I am trying to work towards a clarity and focus so that I can keep going. I do know that the work that I do with MSTS is actually something that can help me relax and center myself but I need a degree of mental clarity and almost no interruptions to get through the work and at this current time I am not being afforded either.

Sometimes when I find myself in a dark spot, I actually do remember that I have made so much of a contribution to the world (of MSTS), and this can help. So don’t worry too much, I have been through a lot the past 36 years, and I will be around for a fair while yet. As soon as I can get out of my slump, I will get back in to working through the outstanding unfinished Making Tracks projects.

Stay safe and (in)sane,
Justin

Hi Justin,
Thanks for the update, mate

You seem to be having to endure a more stringent lockdown than we did!  

Although working on the Making Tracks project gives you a good break from the trials and tribulations of 'life', it is 'only' a hobby! You still need your health to be able to work and you need to work to be able to afford to live!!
Of course, that's easy for we retired folks to say - we get paid every month without having to do a stroke of real work!!

We'll all (hopefully!) be still here when you feel able to get back into the MSTS saddle!

Best Wishes,
Ged.

Hi Justin
I echo much of what Ged has said, although in terms of "getting paid every month without having to do a stroke of real work" I would point out that i spent the best part of 40+ years paying my taxes and national insurance in order to qualify for a state pension. In addition I also spent a good part of that time paying into a private pension!
However life, and in particular your well being, always comes first.
I don't envy you suffering the extreme lockdown measures and the enforcement process!
Please take care of yourself and as my darling wife used to tell me, take each day as it comes and if necessary take each hour as it comes. Remember yesterday has gone and nothing can be done about it, tomorrow hasn't arrived and hence you can only deal with today!
All the best, Alec

Hi Justin.

I echo all the above and hope you'll soon be out of that strict lock-down and get back to some semblance of normality.

All the best.

Hi Justin.

Sorry to hear you're having a rough time. Hang in there. There is surely a light at the end of the tunnel.

On the subject of lockdown, yours is not very severe compared to ours and I think the number of new NSW cases is a result of that. We are currently in Level 4 lockdown because we've had an outbreak of the Delta variant (currently a total of 217 cases and counting).This is our second week of Level 4 this time and it looks like we'll be in it for at least another couple of weeks. NZ is still following the "elimination" strategy which seems to have completely eluded New South Wales where you are getting over 1,000 new cases a day.

Under our Level 4, only essential workers are allowed to travel to work. Non-essential workers and non-workers (like me) are allowed out of our houses only for essential purposes like going for groceries or Covid tests or vaccinations. Masks are compulsory when out of the house and scanning using an NZ Covid Tracer app is also compulsory at venues where complete social distancing is not possible. We were in Level 4 last year when the whole thing kicked off and it worked. It's a whole new ball game with the Delta variant but the lockdown appears to be working again this time. Economically the argument is that sharp relatively short lockdowns are much better than long drawn out less rigorous ones and our experience over the last year and a half has proven that is correct. Before this latest lockdown, the NZ economy was doing really well.

Take care all.

Bob.

P.S. On a personal note, Sandy and I have both had two shots of Pfizer, the second one about three weeks ago. So it appears we are about as protected as we're going to be.

I guess we are all "of an age" (except maybe Justin) so all experiencing the same sort of thing.Owing to my mental health situation (caused by external forces from an early age and I leave you to guess ,but it does not just happen to soldiers) I am used to an abnormal life situation so finding pandemic conditions easier than most.I have found MSTS a lifesaver,as it gives me something to focus on although sometimes concentrating is difficult so I just have to go and watch the idiot's lantern,read a book or gaze into the garden.I am interested in horse racing (have ridden ex racehorses and you do not need to take drugs after riding a fast horse !).I have also driven trains at 100mph,heavy freights including 2500 tonnes Avgas for heathrow at 60 mph so I have at least done things that most people never experience.I almost always got a clear road because I always informed the signalman "I would run them" and got a wave when passing Slough IECC.
So,remember hopefully we are all friends on here and at least can say something nice to help others.
Best wishes to all.

Hello Justin,

I can only echo to what others have said, so keep your chin up and dont worry too much about MSTS we can all wait.

The whole world will get through this stupid stupid COVID-19

Hi All,

Thank you all for your kind words. They do mean a lot to me.

Things have been a bit better today as I had a unique interaction with one of the last customers for the day. She had come to pick up a single car seat cover, and her order wasn’t in the order system (any number of system glitches) but we still had her order set aside so I took it out to hand it over. Upon opening the roller door where we hand out the parcels, I was not only greeted by the customer but also by her Golden Labrador which walked over to me when the door was high enough. I said hello to the lady and the dog, which had taken an interest in the parcel. Knowing how smart and well-behaved Labradors are, I asked it if it wanted to take the parcel for it’s mum, and it gently too the package out of my hand and walked it happily back to its owner, who then let the dog carry it away from the store.

After all the difficulties that I have had lately, it was a cute, heartwarming moment for me.

Bob, I don’t doubt that your lockdowns have been stricter in NZ, a lot of us over hear wish that our government had followed yours in the heavy restrictions, but “too many people would be offended”.

As for a vaccine shot, don’t get me started….
Medically I qualify as a high-risk person who should have been allowed in the first rollout months ago, but I hadn’t been able to get an appointment booking until last Sunday (22/08/2021). The earliest I have been able to get an appointment is the 18th of October 2021 (if it doesn’t get cancelled), and that is a government appointment. I have been unable to get a doctor’s appointment or vaccine hub appointment, they either refuse me out right or tell me that I have to wait until next year….
One of my female colleagues who’s aunty is a doctor has been able to get both of her jabs, so I have asked her to see if her aunty can get me in earlier (fingers crossed).

Justin

Best of luck, Justin. Hope you get vaccinated soon. It does give you some peace of mind.

My day has often been made by a friendly dog. In fact a friend and I on holiday used to rate our days according to how many nice dogs we met.

All the best,

Roderic

Hi All,

I know it has been a while since anything has been released, so to kick things back off we have a new livery for the HST 125: the Midland Pullman.
This set is complete with both the original 2020 livery with the full blue fronts, as well as the 2021 version with the lower yellow warning panel.



Available now from the TSSH file hosting site!

Justin

I'm just wondering, did MT ever get around to creating a pack of 317s?

I know there are the two or three models in Great Eastern in NSE livery, and the one that came along in One livery with Greater Eastern. I'm just wondering if any WAGN 317s came out. Of particular interest, the LTS green-stripe, WAGN purple, and WAGN outer suburban.

Hi Mate!

Unfortunately, here was never a 317 pack by Making Tracks.
We do still have the models and files. There has been some work done to the files to update them, but the updates don't work in MSTS, something that we want to carry on with for the foreseeable future. As soon as I can get my brain back to working properly, there are a number of projects that need finishing/doing. I have made a good start on some, so keep an eye out for what is coming up.

Justin

I hope that you are not going to abandon MSTS ! I still consider OR to be a wip and far too complicated,and its authors not open to constructive criticism.

Hi Peter,
From what Justin posted, MSTS is not being abandoned

This is not the thread for discussing the pros and cons of Open Rails, but, on one level, I tend to agree with you, mate.

Cheers,
Ged

Don't worry guys! As long as I have a computer that can run MSTS I will keep the lamps burning for the old girl.

Justin

Thank you,Justin,I meant I am hoping you are not going OR only !

I had a bit of a creative fever over the last month or so and decided to have a go at creating some additional 313 units.

313002 - North London Line allocation in late Network SouthEast
313025 - Great Northern allocation in exNetwork SouthEast without WAGN Prisms
313040 - Network SouthEast - North London Line and West Anglia
(Used to and from Liverpool Street in the late 80s and early 90s)
313046 - WAGN White Undercoat (as loaned to Silverlink County for a weekend in 2003 with a blank destination board)
313055 - Great Northern allocation in late Network SouthEast
313058 - exNetwork SouthEast with WAGN Prisms
313059 - exNetwork SouthEast with WAGN Prisms (as loaned to Silverlink County for a weekend in 2003 with blank destination boards)

I had also noticed that the carriage numbers for 313064 (NSE) and 313051 (WAGN) were incorrect and I fixed those too. Though the numbers used mean virtually any unit could be created with accurate numbers.

Then came creating some 315s as well... 315830 is included in Greater Eastern.
315815 - late Network SouthEast livery
315850 - exNetwork SouthEast with WAGN Prisms
315852 - WAGN White Undercoat (this was the most difficult unit to complete as I had to manually reskin the TSO and make sure the windows and doors were correctly positioned).

I did send Justin an email over a week ago but haven't heard back yet.

Hi Mate,

I did get your email, but I have been a bit under pressure from work in the lead up to Christmas and my head has been all over the place this past year.
Most Days I have been leaving home at 6am and not getting back until close to 7pm (6pm on at Saturday) and with things needing care around the house on my days off, I haven't really had time to myself.
Even on Christmas day I had things to do (sorting out the garden waste bin and mowing the lawns).

Today was the first time in ages that I have been clear of tasks so I could breath, but it is the Australian summer so the temperatue is hiting 30c+ outside and my room is facing North, so it gets most of the sun and heat all day, so if I want the main computer on it also means running the portable air-con unit to try and keep the temperature down.

I do have an ever grwoing list of things that I want to do (both with MSTS and other computer work) that I hope to be able to get into over the coming weeks as I have another 3 day weekend next week. so fingers crossed.

If you want to drop me a message with your email address I'd like to talk to you about a plan....

Here is the preview video for the add-on pack of a dozen Class 313 units I created. Three or four for use on the North London Line, Eight for use on the Great Northern Lines. 313040 can be used on either one.

https: