Northern mainline, South Australia

[GeoffreyHansen]

Excellent ARG706.

[ARG706]

Here's another video

[ARG706]

More news on general overall progress later, but I was messing about today and decided to do an experiment.

I had a gripe with the lack of overhanging trees in the route, but couldn't move the trunks any closer without smashing the windscreen, so spent some time in PSP X pruning some trees to get a more "enclosed" feel on the most deserving part of it. (I have heard cases of foliage clipping the mirrors on the prototype).

I didn't change or destroy the original image/model, these are just duplicates

Here's the result so far





I think it has improved the look a tad but the pines may need extra editing. Constructive criticism is welcome

[ianmacmillan]

We called them tree tunnels on theWest Highland line.

The close branches kept the coaches clean.

You could add a semi transparent dark flat texture under them to give a shadow

[GeoffreyHansen]

Excellent ARG706. Very Effective.

[ARG706]

We called them tree tunnels on theWest Highland line.

The close branches kept the coaches clean.

You could add a semi transparent dark flat texture under them to give a shadow

Shadows are a separate minefield

I can't add them without them looking peculiar on a hill or in a cutting. Although I could do trees with modified shadows. I'll just have to see if I have the patience

[gallop3ta]

Very impressed with the work so far. Good luck with it.
Cheers
Ian

[ScottAUS]

Impressive work - like the external shots - they are the goods.
Well done!

Cheers..Scott.

[ARG706]

Here's some shots near Ulooloo siding (202kms). Note the desolation

Believe it or not, there is animal life here


Ulooloo 'yard'


The green becoming brown





Somebody's isn't home


Terowie itself should be underway in about a week or so. This was the terminus for the 5'3 gauge in the period the route is modelled in. The route will end there making the total number of kilometres with scenery just over 300

[GeoffreyHansen]

Great images. I especially like the fourth and sixth images. Keep it up ARG706.

[ARG706]

Update- After a few days of endless modelling, virtually all of the many old buildings for Terowie (bar the goods transfer platform) are finished. This includes the tippler device which was used to transfer coal from the narrow gauge to the broad gauge, and the 3 station 'buildings' from both gauges along with the transfer platforms and footbridge. Many of the actual buildings from the main street are present, and the spring/early autumn terrain textures will come soon giving it that finishing touch. There are no houses with tiled roofs or roller shutters, as they are mostly stone. I intend for it to be a pleasant place to shunt, and Mile End and Adelaide yards as well.

There should be a total of just under 1000 custom objects when it is done with a lot of these incorporating actual buildings from the towns depicted, like in allanl's route

[sp762]

That's very, very impressive.

Incidentally, Patterson's Curse( Echium plantagineum, Salvation Jane, Riverina bluebell, blue weed, purple bugloss)
was introduced to Australia from Europe during the mid-nineteenth century. It is Australia's worst broadleaf temperate pasture weed. Its high seed production (thousands of seeds per square metre), seed longevity of more than seven years and an ability to germinate at any time of year, given the right conditions, contribute to making it such a persistent weed.

Patterson's Curse is now a dominant pasture weed through much of New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania and also infests native grasslands, heathlands and woodlands. The plants contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids and, when eaten in large quantities, cause reduced livestock weight or even (in severe cases) death. Paterson's Curse can irritate the udders of dairy cows and the skin of humans.

Patterson's Curse has positive uses — it is the source for a particularly fine grade of honey (although some say that Patterson's Curse honey may be poisonous, especially after drought) and, with proper handling, is used for cattle (though not sheep) feed in northern South Australia. However, the annual cost in control measures and lost production was estimated (in a 1985 study by the Industries Assistance Commission) to be over $30 million, compared to $2 million per year in benefits.

Too much information courtesy of the CSIRO!

[ARG706]

Update: The scenery for the whole line is virtually accounted for now, bar a couple of whistle boards at Terowie which will need to go in. There are a few models which I left out earlier (elsewhere) which need to be built, and minor cosmetic improvements to take care of, then it will be ready for interactives/signals etc

Anyhow, I decided the terminus deserved a couple of extra screens owing to the fact the yard is around 2 kms long as well as occupying two gauges

A broad gauge steamer about to leave for Adelaide

A view of a shop or two and the immediate area


Two large gauges are better than one apparently, at least in SA.....


The tippler device *cough*


A train of local livestock being shunted


View of the broad gauge triangle. The Barrier hwy runs over the now demolished apex of the triangle


A view from a 930 cab near the loco shed


A view up the main street


Showing the desert with a more suitable terrain colour. The open space in the middle of the image carries the realigned barrier hwy away from the town which coincided with the mothballing of the bulk of the railyard and many jobs. The impact was not pretty

[JohnOz]

Those shots are just brilliant! I grew up in small country towns at the end of the steam era in Queensland, and those photos took me back to that time, when we did almost all of our travel on trains. Thanks!!

[algeleis]

Hi ARG706,
From the screenshots it looks like you have put a lot of work into this route.It looks rather good.Keep up the good work.
Regards Geoff.