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www.MeshTools.co.uk 1 Contents Background………………………………………………………………………………………………... 2 Technical Data……………………………………………………………………………………………. 4 Controls…………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 5 Liveries………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 24 Scenarios…………………………………………………………………………………………………… 29 Reskinning/Sound Policy……………………………………………………………………………… 30 Head codes………………………………………………………………………………………………… 31 Credits……………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 33 Background Maerdy Branch The Maerdy branch was in South Wales, it ran from Porth to Maerdy Colliery, following the River Rhondda. Originally owned by Taff Vale Railway it was used as a coal mining freight railway and continued into service when the Great Western Railway took over in 1923. The line also ran passenger services from Porth, stopping at Ynyshir, Pontygwaith, Tylorstown, and Ferndale. The line continued up to the Colliery, however this was freight only, also privately owned by the NCB.. The last passenger Train ran on 15th of June 1964 because of the Beeching cuts, just leaving the coal trains to Maerdy Colliery. The track was lifted in 1987, however the colliery didn’t close until 1990. Today many of the bridges remain and the line turned into a cycle path, however the track bed South of Tylorstown is now gone, the remains of the stations and bridges removed and replaced by the A4223 Porth and Lower Rhondda Fach Relief Road (Porth Bypass). English Electric Type 3B The English Electric Type 3B was a class of 4 wheel electric locomotives built by English Electric between 1921 and 1951 mostly at the Dick Kerr works in Preston. The locomotives could be powered by batteries or from overhead wires. The voltage and power of the locomotive could be altered as could the weight so very few of the class were actually the same. www.MeshTools.co.uk 2 The class all had a central steeple cab with sloping bonnets either engine. These were either filled in with ballast such as concrete or scrap metal, or if the locomotive was battery powered with banks of lead acid batteries. This particular Type 3B is based on the locomotive built to work at the Upper Boat power station near Pontypridd in Wales. The locomotive was registered to run on GWR metals to access the nearby exchange sidings to collect and drop off coal wagons. The locomotive worked here between 1945 (when it was built) till 1971 when the power station closed. From here the locomotive was moved to CEGB Back O'Th'Bank power station in Bolton where it remained until that power station closed in 1981. From here it was then preserved at the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester where it remains to this date. WD Austerity 0-6-0ST The Hunslet "Austerity" was an 0-6-0ST shunting engine designed by R.A. Riddles for the War department. The design evolved many years before from the Class 48150 0-6-0ST produced by Hunslet, these small tank engines were then developed by Hunslet into the class 50550, a much heavier and more powerful engine. Riddles took the design of the 50550 and simplified it making it more suitable for cheap and quick production. In total 377 Austerities were produced for the War Department up until 1947. The engines were built by various firms including Hunslet, Andrew Barclay Sons & Co, W.G Bagnall, Hudswell and Clarke, Robert Stephenson's and Hawthorns and the Vulcan Foundry. After the war, the War Department had no further need for the "Austerities" and they were sold to various companies including the LNER which after modifications to make them suitable for their service and became Class J94, the Nederlandse Spoorwegen where they became NS Class 8800. Further examples were sold for industrial use in collieries and mines etc. After the war the NCB ordered 77 new austerities for use in its collieries and these were produced between 1948 and 1964. The NCB continued to use these austerities well into the 1970s and 80s long after steam on the mainline had come to its end. The J94s of the LNER and later BR were finally withdrawn in 1967 having found use on the difficult branch line of the Cromford and High peak Railway. Hunslet 3878 started out life in 1945 at the Vulcan Foundry’s as number 5280 and entered service with the war department as WD 75290, soon she moved to the Longmoor military and was repainted in blue with red and gold linings and carried the name Manipur Road and number 186. She was at the Marchwood military railway between 1950 and 1953. She then appears to have fallen and withdrawn in 1960. From here things get quite interesting, she was then purchased by Hunslet and completely rebuilt as number 3878 and was out shopped in 1961. Following this rebuild she was then sold to the NCB where she eventually ended up at NCB Mardy as Mardy number 3 (although the number 3 indicates that she probably arrived before the Pannier No.4 which means before 1964). Like her sister described next she was withdrawn in June of 1971. She was cut up on site. Given her short life span at the colliery, especially after being rebuilt in 1961 gives testament to the fierce work the engines had to perform. Strangely we have been completely unable to find a picture of her, even at the Longmoor military railway. RSH 7099 was built in 1943 and joined her sisters as WD 75063. She stayed with the war department for quite some time and ended up at some point carrying the number 125. She www.MeshTools.co.uk 3 served at multiple places with, initially starting out at the Honeybourne Central Ordnance Depot, then Bicester COD, then to the Shropshire & Montgomeryshire Railway ( by this point carrying the number 125 ), then back to Bicester COD before finally being sold to the NCB in the late 60s. She saw out the remainder of her life at NCB Mardy and was withdrawn and scrapped like her sister in June 1971. She was again cut up on site. Technical data – WD Austerity 0-6-0ST Introduced: 1943 Power Classification: 4F Configuration: 0-6-0ST Total Built: 485 Length: 30'. 4. " Width: 8'.9" Height: 12'. 6.81" Weight: 48T. 5C Coal Capacity: 2.3 Tons Water Capacity: 1200 Gallons Tractive Effort: 23870 Lbf Estimated Power Output: 510HP Fire tube heating surface: 873 Sq Ft Firebox heating surface: 88 Sq Ft Total Heating Surface: 961 Sq Ft Cylinder Size: 18' x 26' Driver Diameter: 4'. 3" Boiler Pressure: 170 Psi Technical data – English Electric Type 3B Introduced: 1921-1951 Configuration: 4 Wheel electric Total Built: Around 35 Weight: 20T Power: 100HP Driver Diameter: 33" Power Source: 180 Lead acid batteries Voltage : 320-400V www.MeshTools.co.uk 4 Austerity Controls Each engine has two versions, a standard [Std] and an advanced [Adv] version. The need for both arose when creating the script as we found that the AI simply could not drive the engine, nor could the automatic fireman use the injectors/shovel coal. Since the HUD must be fully functioning we had to do 2 versions, the simple and the advanced engines. The simple version of the Austerity is virtually identical to the advanced version, however the injectors and firing are simplified to conform to the automatic fireman. All scenarios have a standard and advanced version using the respective standard and advanced engines. When you enter the Austerity's cab you will probably notice two things, firstly you are on the wrong side, but that is down to some misinformed designer putting the driver on the right (but not to worry he also allowed you to drive from either side). Secondly you will likely notice some interesting controls, but before you touch them it may be wise to know what they all do! Here are some key ones for you to learn (and you will be tested later!). Additional Controls Steam Brake Release: ; Apply: ‘ Handbrake Release: / Apply: Shift / Reverser Release Lock: E Cab Lamp Delete White Lamp (Front Bottom Left) Ctrl 1 White Lamp (Front Bottom Centre) Ctrl 2 White Lamp (Front Bottom Right) Ctrl 3 White Lamp (Front Top Centre) Ctrl 4 White Lamp (Rear Bottom Left) Ctrl 5 White Lamp (Rear Bottom Centre) Ctrl 6 White Lamp (Rear Bottom Right) Ctrl 7 White Lamp (Rear Top Centre) Ctrl 8 Red Lamp (Front Bottom Left) Ctrl Shift 1 Red Lamp (Front Bottom Centre) Ctrl Shift 2 Red Lamp (Front Bottom Right) Ctrl Shift 3 Red Lamp (Front Top Centre) Ctrl Shift 4 Red Lamp (Rear Bottom Left) Ctrl Shift 5 Red Lamp (Rear Bottom Centre) Ctrl Shift 6 Red Lamp (Rear Bottom Right) Ct Ctrl Shift rl 7 Red Lamp (Rear Top Centre) Ctrl Shift 8 Whistle toot B Shovelling Hold R www.MeshTools.co.uk 5 Steam engines are very different beasts to drive than Diesels or Electrics. Before you start, it's important to get some idea of how they work - what components there are and how they interact - some of this might seem basic and you'll be tempted to skip it and move on but I would encourage you to read carefully. There are two fuels needed to make a Steam Engine work - coal and water. Coal is used to make fire, fire is used to turn water in to steam and steam pushes the cylinders that drive the wheels. Let's split it in to four bits - Fire, Steam, Going and Stopping. Fire Your goal here is to create a fire that will provide the right amount of steam at the right time. That's the key here, it's not simply a case of "as much as possible all the time", but let's get to that detail as we go, to start with if you can get it creating as much as possible then the worst that happens is you're continually blowing the safety valves and that's just noisy and a waste of steam.