An introduction to 3D Railway Simulation

A few years ago I started seeing computer-generated animations in some of the documentary programs on the History Channel, mostly aircraft of World War 2, and a memorable reconstruction of the loss of John F Kennedy's PT boat when it was rammed by a Japanese destroyer. I sat watching these programs, wishing it were possible to be able to see some recosntructions of the long-lost light railways of the British Isles. Very few detailed films were ever shot of these lines; mostly people took brief shots of their holiday train arriving and departing, such as Hesperus leaving Bodiam station on the Kent and East Sussex Railway.

Within two years my wish had been, to some extent, granted. I was able to buy a program called MSTS for less than £30, and began to learn what I needed to do in order to re-create the East Kent Light Railway in digital form.

I shan't clutter up this introduction with the details of how I got to where I am now. Some of that may come out in later posts. Here, as an introduction, is a screenshot taken from a train leaving Shepherdswell for Wingham, of the Adams Radial tank, stationary, as usual, by the collection of water tanks.

So I have managed to recreate the same scene that many of the photos in the books on the EKLR have shown; an out-of-use Adams Radial tank by the water tanks in Shepherdswell yard. It is in colour, which is the first difference, and, unlike the photographs in the book, I can roam around the simulator and look at it from different positions. Here, for example, is a view of it from one of the passenger compartments in the coach behind the engine.

The model of the engine was created by Richard Osborne. The coach in the second screenshot was created by Jeff Layfield. Both were downloaded from the excellent UK Trainsim site. The water tanks were created in Google Sketchup in less than an evening.

The engine shed took a little longer to make than the water tanks, because I wanted to be able to view the inside of it. I picked the period when the original wooden shed and wooden extension still existed. I was intrigued by the half-clad sides of the extension which allowed a view in from the outside.

Three locomotives by Paul Gausden, downloaded from the UK Trainsim site. The O1 is correct for the EKLR, although not in southern livery, but they did purchase No 100, which then became Number 2, with the rebuilt cab and dome. The original EKLR O1's were a mixture of Stirling round cab, O1 boiler but without the domes, and short chimneys. The KESR saddletank "Hesperus" never visited the EKLR, but I am using it as a placeholder for one of more of the other saddletanks 1, 2 and 7. The Ilfracombe Goods is also not quite right for the EKLR since it has the dome in the rebuilt position, but until I learn a lot more about using 3DCanvas, I will have to make do with other peoples' models.

There is still a lot more to be done just to recreate the engine shed area: the carpenter's shed, the hoist opposite the water tanks, a lot more ash and dirt on the ground, and a derelict engine or two.

On the software used page, I said that Microsoft Train Simulator (MSTS) was not expensive. In fact, I have seen it on the shelves in some shops and supermarkets at less than £10. Google Earth is free, the free version of Sketchup is adequate for creating buildings and scenery, so if you feel that you too want to try recreating the past inside your computer, why not spend that £10 and join in?