Class 370 APT-P

I've posted this on UKTS as well, so my apologies to everyone you prowls both fora.

I have Tim Mitchell's excellent Woodhead v4.2 with the BR Blue Activity Pack. Listed in the stock requirements is the APT-P, a train I was very interested in as a kid as it was just coming into service when I was 15 (sadly, we all know how that turned out). However, looking through the activities, I can't seem to find which ones the APT is actually involved in. I've hunted through Route Riter (I'm still learning the ropes there) by listing the rolling stock for a selected route to no avail. So, two questions, please:

Is there a way to search my collection to see which activities actually use a particular piece of rolling stock?

Searching in the UKTS Download Library, I can't find any activities that use the APT. Is anyone aware of any?

[quote="sbowness"
Searching in the UKTS Download Library, I can't find any activities that use the APT. Is anyone aware of any?[/quote]

Hi Stephen.
The class 370 APT  was the electric multiple unit sets intended for the West Coast main line, These are available in the UKTS liberary UKTS_833_APT and you would also need UKTS_17328_APT Pcab.

If you have Thames-Mersey version 4.3 the class 370 is included and there is an activity that uses it.

Hope this helps.
Cheers
Andy Moody

Hi Andy

Thanks for that. I've run it in both MSTS and OR and it seems to go quite well (except for the odd tree in the middle of the track in OR).

I also have installed the JR version of the APT (UKTS 23768) as needed for the Woodhead activities which seems to be a newer version. I've spent quite a bit of time this afternoon trying to change the activity to use that one instead but with no joy. Activity Editor just hangs. RR just does not seem to want to change the consist used. I get the consist list, right click to bring up the replace consist dialog box and select the relevant consist but nothing changes. Any idea what I might be doing wrong?

I'm also still keen to understand why the APT is listed in the stock for Woodhead in RR if anyone can help, please.

Cheers

My only guess - I haven't done much with the latest Woodhead - is that it is used in an AI consist, or possibly as a loose consist.

Hi Stephen,
The JR APT is used in the "24 Hour Party People" activity, where it is a Loose Consist - I don't think it's used as an AI train (but I could be wrong as I've not run the act!).

Cheers,
Ged

Hi Ged

Thanks for that.

Any ideas on how to use one of those JR consists instead of the earlier version in the Thames-Mersey activity, please?

Cheers
Stephen

Hi Stephen,

A quick check with Convoi shows that the JR APT is only used as a loose consist in the Woodhead route and only driveable versions are in the Trainset folder.

I use Convoi to replace consists in an activity but do it with AE closed and then open AE and check all is well before running the activity.

Hope this helps,

Stephen

Hi,
In the "24 Hour Party People" activity, the APT is sitting at Manchester Piccadilly!!

It's fairly easy to change the stock used in any consist just using a Unicode-aware editor, like NotePad or ConText.  Establish the file and folder names for the JR version and replace those shown in the Thames-Mersey consist/s.  Note that in a consist file, the first name is the file name and the second is the folder name.

Example :
Thames-Mersey -   EngineData ( APTDTS UK_Electric_BR_Prototype_APT )

Woodhead -   EngineData ( 370003DTS JR_APT_P_370003 )

Cheers,
Ged

Slightly going off-topic, it's one of those trains I would love to see someone make a new model of, but with so few people modelling these days I can't see it happening.

Either that or perhaps even if someone could build freight-anim interiors for the existing models, like we saw with DMUs a while back.

I know that if there was a decent version about, I would most definitely use it in activities.

Going further off-topic(!), I still look out for the APT at Crewe every time I'm traveling between London and Glasgow.

Niall

Gents

Thanks for the advice. In the end, I went with Stephen's plan and used Convoi, which seemed nice and easy (except for accidentally replacing the consist with a completely unrelated AI one). I can't get AE to work (I'm using Win8.1 and it's just completely unresponsive.

I now have to edit the cvr file in the cabview as the ride height was somewhat imperious (at least 2 feet above the other trains. I've dropped the height value down from 3.5 to 2.6 and that looks about right. However, I'm now seated over the right-hand rail rather than to the right of the left-hand rail. Which value do I need to change for that?

Niall, I agree with you. There only seems to be this one activity for it in the entire library. It looks like a model is being developed for the other sim by Oovee and there are some nice screenshots. I haven't driven the length of the line with this version yet but the cabview is much better. I remember seeing one of the three sets parked at Derby in the 1980s when I was a kid (used to travel between Newark Castle and Gloucester when heading home from school). It was so exciting and so disappointing when they cancelled the program (I was in NZ by that stage). Somewhere I think I still have a magazine from the time that covered the initial public services quite extensively. Must dig that out. I've got photos of me standing my the APT-E at the NRM in York in about 1981. Hopefully, I'll find a way to swing by Crewe on the next trip in July.

So, to provide an update.

I had a play with Ian Macmillan's measuring tool, which he suggested for redoing the Midland Pullman cabview. That gave me values of Position ( -0.5 2.5 9 ), quite different from the original and much closer to reality when on the track.

I've driven as far as Watford in MSTS. The cabview is so much nicer, although it doesn't have a night view. The accelerometer works (as was evidenced by the 3g that I was pulling when braking from 145mph coming out of Watford Tunnel to come to a stop at the station in less than a mile) but the C-APT is showing a fixed speed limit of 100mph.

I've had a quick drive in OR there are pros and cons. There's still a lot of wheel slip. The C-APT is now showing the correct speed limit but the throttle knob doesn't move and neither does the accelerometer, which seems to be stuck on 4g. The font for the digital clock is also rubbish but that seems to be so in any cab.

Perhaps someone will be inspired to add more to this and provide more activities. I might have a go myself at some point once I've got some experience. It would be nice to do the whole length from Glasgow - Euston and wrest the record back off the Pendolino.

sbowness wrote:Gents
I now have to edit the cvr file in the cabview as the ride height was somewhat imperious (at least 2 feet above the other trains. I've dropped the height value down from 3.5 to 2.6 and that looks about right. However, I'm now seated over the right-hand rail rather than to the right of the left-hand rail. Which value do I need to change for that?

Hi Stepen,
In the cvf file bit that you changed for height.
1st number is x - left/right of centre
2nd number is y - height up/down
3rd number is z - forward/backwards

So it's the x that probably needs changing. Experiment is the key to working out by what the number needs changing to but I think the number preceded by a - (minus) moves you left of centre so without a - should put you on the right.

Cheers
Clive