This article, by special arrangement with Auran, is featured in the 1 December 2006 issue of Trainz News.



I first became acquainted with Sirgibby, whose real name is Michael Sutton, way back in the early days of Trainz. He designed a beautiful group of New Zealand homes that fit very well with early 20th century model railroads, no matter what country you were using. The above screenshot is from my route, Nancy’s Cove, a model of a New England fishing village dating back to the early days of steam here in America. The route is still under construction and the trees and people have not been placed yet. The four homes are his creations. The schooner model was originally made for Microsoft Train Simulator by another modeler and Michael obtained permission to make a variation of it for Trainz.

I have to say that his homes, made in both high and low poly versions, have become a mainstay of my routes. One of his earliest homes, shown below, has been downloaded over 341,000 times, so I can say that MANY other people have also enjoyed his work!


A very popular model.


Love the porch!

But there is much more than what meets the eye regarding Sirgibby. In addition to his many NZ home models and the modified schooner model, he has created a wonderful website that has numerous rolling stock items covering standard gauge, 3’ narrow gauge and 2’ narrow gauge gear. It also has a large amount of equipment that is devoted to logging operations. His site has been a real “watering hole” for those of us who enjoy exploring off the beaten path. So, without further adieu, let’s meet Sirgibby!

Mike Sutton:

In 1998 I was part of a group from the local model railroad club heading out on a club visit. Having recently been amazed at the scenic realism of the computer car simulation "Need for Speed," I was talking about the possibility that we would soon have computer software that would allow us to build model train layouts. Unfortunately, one of those in the car was a professional railroad modeler and the thought of his livelihood being threatened did not meet with great enthusiasm, so I let the subject drop but knew that the computer would one day offer the railroad modeler a viable alternative.

From my early boyhood O-gauge wind-up Hornby found under the Christmas tree, my interest in trains was always there. However, the Hornby didn't last long and I never bought my first electric train set until I was nearly 40 years old. From there my enthusiasm for train modeling grew quickly from a cheap fold-down 6' x 4' layout (with steel tracks that always rusted and hardly ever worked) to an 8' x 5' English OO layout that I "finished" to a very high standard. Finally my wife gave me permission to take over the basement and I built my first large American HO layout that lasted until it had to be broken up when we shifted houses in 2001.

At the same time as all this was happening, another major factor in my life was guiding me on a collision course with model railroading. In 1986 I bought my first Commodore computer followed by my first IBM-compatible and AutoCAD CAD system in 1987. As a self-employed Engineer/draughtsman I became immersed in the world of computer graphics and in 1990 I was asked to teach AutoCAD at the local technical college. From there I was employed part time to both teach and write courses on all main aspects of AutoCAD through to 3D modeling.

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