Tuesday 15 September 2015

Rebuilt Royal Scot Pack - In Development Special

Between 1943 and 1955, 70 members of the Royal Scot class, of the London Midland and Scottish Railway, were rebuilt with William Stanier's type 2A tapered boiler. This, along with many other modifications, changed the look of these locomotives dramatically. It is our pleasure to be working alongside Tom Homewood and Chris Barnes, to bring the Rebuilt 'Scot' to Train Simulator. As this project has been 'coming soon' for so long, we thought it would be good for you all to see what has been completed and what is left to bring this project to completion.

Complete Loco - Tweaked Front-End

The first loco, LMS Black 46115 Scots Guardsman, is now in game. Since the last preview was shown, a few modifications have taken place. These have been mainly focused around the smokebox area. The shape and profile of a 'Scot' is so distinctive. Tom is determined for the loco's to look 'just right'. A month or so ago, Tom reworked the front end. This included making changes to the smokebox door, smokebox and the adding of some extra details.




During our discussions about the project, we made the decision to ensure that a version without smoke deflectors was possible. That meant that Tom had to make sure that all the necessary detail was present in an area that would previously have been hidden. This included the addition of rivet detail, and, as seen in the second of the two pictures below, modeling of the ejector drain, which is very much obscured by the smoke deflector on that side. 

Variety Is The Spice Of life

One thing which we haven't fully shared yet, are the many views available in cabview. See them all below:

View 1:
The first view is leaning out the drivers side
 View 2:
Driver Seated Position
 View 3:
Driver Standing Position
 View 4:
Driver looking across cab view
 View 5:
Looking into the firebox
 View 6:
Fireman seated view
 View 7:
Fireman leaning out of cab view
Yes, that's 7 views!! 

What's Left to Complete?
  • The BR Green variant is complete and just needs putting into game, once we are happy with everything. Tom still needs to do the LMS Crimson Lake and BR Maroon variants. The dynamic numbering for the generic version still needs doing as well
  • The LMS Black variant is all done in game. Tom just needs to fiddle with the lining here and there to get the alignment correct
  • Tom is currently working on the nameplates. Seven crest types are being created. Blow are some examples which Tom has traced by hand!



  • Development of 46100 with the air pump/dual brakes and modified tender
  • Sounds have yet to be started
 So, there's plenty to be getting on with. Both Tom and Chris are busy with secular work and other other TS projects. We cannot predict how long the above will take. But be assured, we are working as fast as we can.

More Soon. . . . . . . . . . .

Wednesday 2 September 2015

Severn Valley Progress Report

It's been a long, long old road developing this route. Many obstacles have been overcome and we have benefited from assistance from some excellent people within the Train Simulator community. We now have an additional helper, a seasoned route developer, Mark Walker. We thank Mark for his willingness to help us get to the finish line. We are almost there folks! Another major obstacle has been crossed this week, literally(in a virtual sense!). We have our crossing of the 'Severn' sorted. Phil Baines has very kindly made the stunning and beautiful Victoria Bridge. That means that ALL unique buildings and structures have been made. A major milestone!!

What Is Left?

 A valid question. Well, to put it simply.................not much!! Bailey Maxwell is adding some extra details around Kidderminster and Bewdley, while Mark is now focusing on the Bridgnorth area. Once that is complete, we will get the signalling finished. Then, scenario creation can begin in earnest! Lets take a look at some images sent to us by both Bailey and Mark in recent weeks. We'll begin by taking a look at the Kidderminster to Bewdley section of line:

Great Western Castle Class 5029 Nunney Castle wait to depart Kidderminster Town
On the way out of Kidderminster we pass the back of a row of detached houses
Crossing Falling Sands Viaduct - Kidderminster
On the outskirts of Kidderminster we pass by an industrial estate
The Castle bursts out of Bewdley Tunnel
Coasting towards Bewdley on 'Safari' Curve
Drifting into Bewdley
We'll now move to the north end of the line where Mark Walker has been adding extra detail for us:
We now join Rebuilt Bulleid Pacific 34027 Taw Valley climbing Eardington Bank, heading towards Bridgnorth
Nearing the top of the bank
The flowers are in bloom at Cottage Crossing
On another occasion and having been turned, Taw Valley is at Bridgnorth waiting to depart
Taw Valley accelerates away from Bridgnorth
Having passed through the short Knowlesands Tunnel, under the Highley road, Taw Valley powers up the 1in100 gradient
Approaching Eardington Summit
The loco now drifts down the bank passing Cottage Crossing once more
As you may be able to tell, there aren't many gaps in the scenery now. It is our aim to gather in the completed scenery work over the next few weeks, and then we will begin the tidy up. After that, testing can begin. So we'll conclude with this classic scene at Arley as former resident GW Hall 6960 'Raveningham Hall' waits to depart on a southbound departure


More Soon. . . . . . . . .

Monday 15 June 2015

81F shed visits - By Peter Goodearl

Author of the route Wycome Railway and Joint Line, Peter Goodearl, takes us on a tour of Oxford engine shed and the surrounding area. Version 2 of this wonderful route is nearing completion. Enjoy your tour around 81F!
Oxford shed was given the code 81F by British Railways. It was situated just north of Oxford's WR station.

  
  A new coaling facility was added as part of the Wartime improvements, though it was still a completely manual process, shoveling coal into little wagons to tip into the tender.

  Quite a variety of motive power could be seen at this shed due to the inter-regional services that came through Oxford. Although former GWR engines were naturally dominant, there would often be both LMS and Southern engines using the facilities here at Oxford.


  Goods sidings north of the station were relaid during the War to hold coaching stock when the new yards were brought into use at Hinksey.













In these scenes outside the shed, a Pannier, a Large Prairie and a GWR diesel railcar can be seen.

  The large building on the left in the picture above, represents the Lifting, or 'Top' shop. It incorporated the site water tank as well. 

The sheds were rickety wooden structures dating back to the earliest years of the line. The one on the left was built by the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway, the Old Worse and Worse, and the GWR added theirs along side. They defied several plans to replace them. A fire broke out once but, 'unfortunately', the brigade turned up in time. 

Below are some further scenes from the shed and yard area:

Looking across the coal storage lines
A BR Standard 9F is waiting to load with coal
A Collett 0-4-4 tank is next in line for coal
An LMS 8F heads north past 81F with a train of empty mineral wagons
The queue for coal gets longer. A simulated strike perhaps!
  Oxford was a hive of activity, with many lines serving the city. Not only was there the GW north-south mainline, but there was the Thame branch from Princes Risborough, the Fairford Branch and the LMS route from Cambridge. Did you know that Oxford had two stations? 
  Looking south at the northern end of the yard with the LMS lines from Cambridge, Bletchley and Bicester on the left. 
Passing tower of St.Barnabas. The trucks are on an exchange siding between the LMS and GWR. 


  Rewley Road, the LMS station, was situated adjacent to the GWR station. Both lines crossed a channel which connected the end of the Oxford canal, from the Midlands, to the River Thames for onward journey to London. The LMS line was at a lower level and crossed a swing bridge. This bridge still survives, but left open to allow river traffic to pass. Apparently, a gong sounded in the station when a train crossed the bridge. 




Approaching the station shed. Compounds were rare visitors. Hopefully they knew how to drive them. 



  Upon arrival at Oxford Rewley Road, a station pilot would attach to the rear and pull the train out, releasing the train engine to visit the small LMS shed. The station closed in 1951 and passenger workings transferred to the WR station. The LMS engine shed also closed. The goods depot continued to function as did a petrol terminal and coal wharfs. The train shed is now at the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre. 


The building in the foreground was originally a stables for the company's horses. Apart from delivering around town they were also used for shunting wagons. 
  On the LMS, all trains heading north and east were traveling in the 'up' direction, whereas, on the Great Western, heading south, towards London, was 'up'. I wonder if terminology like that got confusing at a place like Oxford where two railway company's served the area? For example, a train approaching Oxford from Cambridge, approaching from the north, was travelling down. That makes sense. However, a GWR service approaching from the north, say from Banbury, was travelling up. 

  We now move to the northern end of the carriage yard again with Walton Well bridge in the distance. During the War links were added between the GWR and LMS lines and an ARP signal box built. (This section was run from the editor so the signals have not initiated). 


Entering the northern end of the station. A gantry replaced these signals in 1959 
Crossing the Botley road. A level crossing on the right provided an alternative to the low bridge.
 More Soon...................................