Need help with sequencing Locomotive & Cars (from Gilbert Engineering)

Hello all,

I stepped in the proverbial kangaroo dung with this one. My elderly neighbor (his wife just passed recently and is mentally not doing the best) is a train fanatic and I made the mistake of mentioning that we could buy the Locomotive, Coal Car, Passenger Car and Caboose from Gilbert Engineering and put it in his front yard. This thing is 20ft/6m long!!! I am in the process of wiring it all up and since I already had a functioning display, I figured it wouldn't be hard to make a quick sequence to that could play on repeat to light up his yard and cheer him up (him and his late wife were big cheerleaders when I was making my display). Well, there are so many elements to this thing and my wife and 4 kids are consuming most of my time free time (I prefer to stay married)

Any chance anyone has a sequence created for this train set? Or know what shared sequences I could pull sequence elements from?

Any thoughts, help, direction, tips, or a ticket to the insane asylum would be greatly appreciated!

-Steve



Steam Locomotive

Coal Car (with matrix)

Passenger Car (with matrix)

Caboose (with matrix)

I will not be much help since I do not sequence but since it is a train perhaps one of the polar express sequences might be a place to gain some inspiration from. As odd as it might seem, i think magical light shows has sequences for Tesla's, or I thought someone did some sequencing with a Tesla and a show.

Oh, why not try to encourage your neighbor to find some train themed movies scenes or shows he likes to use as a model for basing some sequences off of.

Just some thoughts, good luck.

What is your show/display typically like? Is it mostly static (thus the request for static sequences) or are you mostly pixels and set to music?

My show is 20k pixels with music/sequences. Due to the location of this huge prop (20ft from my show), it will basically be a static sequence for now with no music. If I could get something basic figured out, I'll begin to mod it with different visuals when I get the time.

Does your controller have any test modes you could use just to light it up until you get time to create your own sequence?

Wow the GE models for that leave a bit to be desired. Anyway I'd use certified vendor models as a better starting point, as that's a free upgrade over the GE downloads. See Jeff's, attached.
You can apply effects to the submodels, to the groups used by the vendor, or import a vendor sequence onto it and have it look like it's doing something in the sequence. It won't be perfectly coherent, but it'll go with the show at least a little.

Yea, I agree, the GE models are lacking in sub-models and groupings. I appreciate the zip file as it showed me some grouping ideas and I'll check the google share link when I get home (work firewall). What I am confused on is when you said "I'd use certified vendor models" is that in relation to this GE train set? What vendor has this?

FYI - I built him a standalone v16v5 controller box with RP 4B+ that I intend to link with my show eventually I am a tech/electronics/build guy, but I severely lack any creativity genes... I typically buy sequences and map/tinker.

Sorry, I should have been more specific. Sequence vendor certified models for the prop, rather than the default models supplied by the coro vendor.

Pulled from PPD in this case: https://www.pixelprodisplays.com/ppd-certified-models/gilbert-engineering-usa/. PPD does this so that they auto-map into their sequences for people who just want to buy and be done.

Some other vendors have improved models (particularly the spinners and fan arches), though sometimes you have to pick them out of the layouts. BF light shows comes to mind for the Rosa Wreath, spin arches, etc., Blinky Sequences for peacock arch and a few others, etc., and of course xTreme is basically a division of Gilbert. You would find some of the Charlees props in Visionary sequences, and so on.