Post by sgtmajor on Feb 10, 2014 2:54:05 GMT -5
I picked this up as I thought it might be a great addition to my Isle of Wight scenery package. My gut feeling was right on the money!!! Perfect additon, and I've grown quite fond of it......especially in the Advanced Mode setting, where you're driving from one end of the cab, and your fireman is at the other end. You have to communicate with the fireman through a series of bells........That's different, however, quite entertaining. (smile)
Here's a short video:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOmOfLbGyDc
Here's a real verison:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNZIJUfwUjE
You also get the steam Boggie to test run (no carriage)....which in itself is fun to drive.....but power to weight ratio is off the charts. (smile)
The following is straight from the manual:
The GWR railmotor came into existence at a time when the railways were starting to encounter
competition from electric street tramcars and motor buses. A better service was needed urgently
on suburban routes and branch lines and after success was had with steam railmotor units by the
London & South Western Railway in Southsea the GWR followed suit.
The design was similar to a standard passenger coach but with a boiler attached directly to a
driving bogie at one end as a “standalone” power unit and a rolling bogie with a rear vestibule
cab at the other for driving in reverse.
In total the Great Western Railway built 99 steam railmotors, numbered from 1 to 99 between
1903 and 1908. There were many designs and the locomotive represented here is of the Q
diagram which were numbered from 73 to 80 and built in 1906.
There were actually 112 power units built and these could be exchanged during maintenance.
The design provided some unique challenges, primarily being the distance between the driver
and the fireman when being driven from the rear cab (vestibule). This normally symbiotic
relationship had to be conducted via a series of bell pushes and the fireman's duties were greatly
increased when the driver was at the other end doing little more than accelerating or braking.
Meanwhile the driving cab was far from standard with a vertically mounted boiler providing
power directly to the rotating bogie below it via Walschaerts gear which meant that the driver’s
and fireman’s controls, usually mounted on a static back head, would rotate with the
boiler/bogie combination making coaling while in motion very difficult. In addition to the
movement the firebox hole was very small, very low down (slightly below the floor) and when
the firebox doors were opened while the locomotive was moving the extreme draught would
cause the fire to lose all temperature and could also cause the pipes in the boiler to crack. Due to
these reasons the steam railmotors were only coaled during stops.
The railmotor also had other unusual features such as walk-over seats which could be flipped for
travel in either direction, a handbrake in both cabs and sander on both the powered and rolling
bogies, retractable steps for stopping at ground level stations so the passengers could ascend to
the doorway and a hand operated windscreen wiper in both cabs.
And yes Bruce.......there's a bunch of stuff to "fiddle" with.(smile) Doors and windows open and it's nicely done....however, there are a couple "gliches" which I hope will be addressed with an update. (One you can see in the video; i.e., there is a "ghost" image on the throttle locking device.
The one thing I haven't yet tried.....there is suppose to be folding steps....however, you need to set the passenger pickup point other than an actual platform. It looks simple enough, so I'll give that a go next.
Enjoy!!
Cheers,
Here's a short video:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOmOfLbGyDc
Here's a real verison:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNZIJUfwUjE
You also get the steam Boggie to test run (no carriage)....which in itself is fun to drive.....but power to weight ratio is off the charts. (smile)
The following is straight from the manual:
The GWR railmotor came into existence at a time when the railways were starting to encounter
competition from electric street tramcars and motor buses. A better service was needed urgently
on suburban routes and branch lines and after success was had with steam railmotor units by the
London & South Western Railway in Southsea the GWR followed suit.
The design was similar to a standard passenger coach but with a boiler attached directly to a
driving bogie at one end as a “standalone” power unit and a rolling bogie with a rear vestibule
cab at the other for driving in reverse.
In total the Great Western Railway built 99 steam railmotors, numbered from 1 to 99 between
1903 and 1908. There were many designs and the locomotive represented here is of the Q
diagram which were numbered from 73 to 80 and built in 1906.
There were actually 112 power units built and these could be exchanged during maintenance.
The design provided some unique challenges, primarily being the distance between the driver
and the fireman when being driven from the rear cab (vestibule). This normally symbiotic
relationship had to be conducted via a series of bell pushes and the fireman's duties were greatly
increased when the driver was at the other end doing little more than accelerating or braking.
Meanwhile the driving cab was far from standard with a vertically mounted boiler providing
power directly to the rotating bogie below it via Walschaerts gear which meant that the driver’s
and fireman’s controls, usually mounted on a static back head, would rotate with the
boiler/bogie combination making coaling while in motion very difficult. In addition to the
movement the firebox hole was very small, very low down (slightly below the floor) and when
the firebox doors were opened while the locomotive was moving the extreme draught would
cause the fire to lose all temperature and could also cause the pipes in the boiler to crack. Due to
these reasons the steam railmotors were only coaled during stops.
The railmotor also had other unusual features such as walk-over seats which could be flipped for
travel in either direction, a handbrake in both cabs and sander on both the powered and rolling
bogies, retractable steps for stopping at ground level stations so the passengers could ascend to
the doorway and a hand operated windscreen wiper in both cabs.
And yes Bruce.......there's a bunch of stuff to "fiddle" with.(smile) Doors and windows open and it's nicely done....however, there are a couple "gliches" which I hope will be addressed with an update. (One you can see in the video; i.e., there is a "ghost" image on the throttle locking device.
The one thing I haven't yet tried.....there is suppose to be folding steps....however, you need to set the passenger pickup point other than an actual platform. It looks simple enough, so I'll give that a go next.
Enjoy!!
Cheers,
