Missus Vern decided to buy me a Steam gift voucher (!) so looking at buying one of the above Bossman locos (as no sale appears imminent to grab both). Was wondering which is the best option. Both get good reviews on Steam, I would probably tend towards the Jubilee but it doesn't come with as many scenarios as the 8F. Any guidance appreciated.
Depends what you prefer - the Jubilee is a passenger loco (Speed>Tractive Effort), the 8F is for heavy freight (Tractive Effort>Speed). Be sure they're top notch Bossman quality both. Be nice to Missus and maybe you can afford both
Don’t rush your purchase Old Vern, as the Steam sale starts on June 23rd plus there will be a bossman games sale soon.
Just had a quick go with the 8F, doing better than the first time I tried it some months ago. The main issue I am finding is that the cab interior is very dark so it's quite hard to see what you're doing or even find controls such as the ejector and injectors etc. to control with the mouse. I'm also finding using the F5 HUD as much as possible the values do not reflect the state of the controls. For example the regulator always seems to show on 100% even when closed (including when slamming open then shut to close as per the manual). Small ejector shows closed when open. However I will persevere this time as the locos are great and of course give a little taste of what's to come in TSW next week!
Very dark... are your ingame settings (AmbientLight, Contrast, SunlightIntensity) on default levels? You can move the AmbientLight slider a bit to the right, this should help. I use this also especially for the Kansa-Topeka route which has great environment/sky colours but overall too much ambient light - reduce it to half and the scenery looks very realistic, especially sunsets/sunrise. But that's off topic... What I do in some cases is add a little weak light source to the cab (just adding a few lines to the .bin) - an example of this is the BR Class 20 which uses this method - it's never completely dark in there.
I’ll try ambient light a bit higher. The other thing I need to practice with a bit is the brakes as I was really struggling to balance the small ejector. Closed you immediately get a brake application but open try to apply the brakes and immediately release. I also found you couldn’t just make a set brake application and hold it there. Suspect this is all user error on my part, probably need to find some YT tutorials to achieve a better understanding.
Good luck. It's understandable the real life steam engineers are very proud of their mastery, probably and rightfully feeling being part of an elite.
Fully agree. I found one video clip of a guy driving the BMG Black Five and he actually seemed to be keeping the large ejector slightly open and getting slightly more finesse over the braking.
I got the hang of it now! When braking you have to put the brake handle off at the desired reduction, other wise it keeps destroying the vacuum. Just feather as necessary with the brake valve and large ejector. Small ejector on a tiny fraction to keep the brakes off while running. Testing a little scenario I set up on Port Road, if it works okay will upload to Workshop in a few days. I love Bossman locos!!
I have the 8F and most of Bossman's games Steamers. Just another thing if you don't already know is you can only put coal on by being in the F5 HUD view and maybe the same for filling the boiler. As I haven't driven it for a while I'm a bit rusty on its operation. I do find the trickest part of driving these locos is filling the boiler. You just have to have the valves in the right position for the water to go in but once you have found the sweet spot everything is go.
One quick follow up question? Is there a way to overcome what appears to be a minimum boiler pressure cap, seems to be around 142psi? This means technically no matter how hard you thrash the loco, it’s impossible to actually run out of steam. Bit of a cheat really and the only disappointing aspect of the otherwise superb add on.
I don't know but would hardly think so as this is from Bossman Games but maybe because you are using the AI fireman. I have been driving this today as it has the light purple livery celebrating the Queens Platinum Jubilee. BR(S) Rebuilt Bulleid Light Pacific Add-On Queen’s Platinum Jubilee livery (dovetailgames.com) You can drive this loco at different levels of experience by moving the driver's seat.
Indeed which is why it surprised me. After mastering the driving controls, next step will be to go manual on the firing though there will be the slight distraction of Spirit Of Steam for the next couple of days!
I'm surprised you bother with that old crock (TSW). I think TSC will continue to give a superior steaming experience for some time yet. Please report back what you find.
Well as of the moment I’ve refunded it (again) think it best to wait until the bugs are ironed out and the missing bits like no track sound added in. Maybe wait for it to go on sale at Xmas. It’s a valiant effort but all else aside, Crewe to Liverpool was a really uninspired choice for the first TSW steam route. Too short, little challenge and bland dreary scenery. Compare with that where we can go in TSC with our Bossman collection.
Thanks Trev. I already bought the Black Fives from Steam yesterday so think I’m sated for a while now. Lovely locos, charging double headed up the S&C.
I have bought more than I needed or wanted in the BMGs at 50% off and maybe awhile until they give a discount as good as that again, ends tomorrow as does DTs 60% off.
Well I just bought the B set off DT for £1.20 in the sale to go with Pete's/VW Prairie, when I get time to set up a scenario on JT Western Lines from Paddington to Oxford. Also picked up some Matrix P3 coaches to go with the Bossman LMS stuff, make a change from running round with Mark Ones (shame no interior view though).
I would recommend the SSS sound pack for the lovely VW Prairie. I love the Matrix trains carriages, they really bring variety to the sim, I think the newer releases are only on SSS. There are some nice Caledonia Railway carriages suitable for Scottish scenarios.
There are quite a few videos on how to drive the various steam locos from Bossman Games. (2) Bossman 8F - YouTube
Oh I have got the hang of it now. Once you’ve driven advanced, hard to go back to standard controls! I’m currently wrestling the CW Caley 956 north from Carlisle to Glasgow on a rake of the superb Caledonian Grampian stock from Matrix. Another lovely loco but a real challenge to drive. Had to stop for a “blow up” halfway up Beattock as even under moderate power and 20% cutoff the boiler empties very quickly and the pressure cannot sustain the injectors being run to compensate. Even on the level stretches seems this loco is not built for extended power cruise. All good fun though!
I’ve also got back into steam as of recent, and have picked up the BMG rebuilt light pacific and CW T9, both of which I would highly recommend as well as some matching Matrix Trains coaches. The RLP was my first proper BMG loco, and I got to grips with it fairly easily, and managed to get Taw Valley up to 84mph with a 13 coach train before having to slow down quite sharply for a 50 limit. I think the passengers in the dining car would have had quite a time of it! The Bulleid Pacifics were really fantastic and incredible machines, when faced with the task of building a new express loco for the Southern, OVS Bulleid had to create a machine that adhered to the weight restrictions and smaller loading gauge of the Southern, which were stricter than the other regions, but with the pulling power of a ‘Princess’ or a ‘King’. Always up for a challenge, Bulleid created the Merchant Navy and later the Battle of Britain and West Country classes (these two were exactly the same type of loco just with different names, because they thought that locos with the names of obscure West Country villages wouldn’t mean much to the patrons of Kent Coast Expresses!). An interesting fact about them is that after rebuilding, the so-called ‘Light’ Pacifics weren’t allowed west of Exeter because they were too heavy! The T9s were one of the longest lived 19th Century designs and rightfully so, they were pretty nippy when they got down to it. I remember talk of an Okehampton to Exeter run where the timings required an average speed of well over 50mph, which they tackled with ease. They weren’t called Greyhounds for nothing! Their TS reproduction has really done them justice, even with my poor driving skills they can sustain a solid 50-55 with a full train, and well over sixty with a shorter set. Also some of the best wheel slip I’ve ever seen, especially on the long slog out of Weymouth.
Meldon Viaduct and Cowley bridge were strengthened in 1961 and there after the rebuilds were allowed on Plymouth trains but due to weak bridges never to Barnstaple, Bude and Padstow. There are many photos of rebuilds passing through Exeter St. David’s.
Sensible chap! They were 1 power rating less than the Merchant Navies, but a fair bit lighter and by far the lightest loco for their power rating. I would strongly recommend the SSS Southampton to Weymouth route to run the RLPs on, really great quality for freeware and includes both the 60 mile mainline and Castleman’s Corkscrew original route plus the Lymington Branch. The Pacifics would get up to quite the speed on the expresses, but could also often be seen on locals with only a couple of coaches going round the Castleman’s Corkscrew, in typical Southern style! The route is also a good one to run the JT V2 on, interestingly, since these were brought in to work the Bournemouth Belle for a period when the Pacifics were out of action due to an axle snapping incident. As I understand it, they took to these duties rather well. Ah yes, that would make sense. I’m sure further strengthening work would have been promised, but never followed through with due to the eventual closure of the Withered Arm routes.
Just grabbing the Weymouth route, amazed that it is freeware. Will extend my support at a future date by purchasing Stainmore which looks magnificently compelling.
Stainmore is excellent Vern, although I found there are rather a lot of sound domes right across the route, the same bird song after a while gets mildly irritating, I supplemented that by adding the birdsongs from the ExeterKingswear DTG route. If you go on Wotawallysbits website, you can also pick up Trevor Wood's other superb freeware offering 1960's Waterloo Suburban Lines, set in the 1950s/60s from London Waterloo out to Windsor & Eton and Hampton Court, and the yard at Feltham is absolutely magnificent. I think you need Just Trains' Watercress Line as a DLC requirement. Cheerz. Steve.
