RailWorks Trans Pennine Route

New Members, Progress Update, and Rolling Stock

2011-05-14T14:23:00.002+01:00

It's been a while since I updated the blog so I thought it was about time I did.

TPR Team Grows Once more
We now number over 20 members with the recent addition of Tom and Sean. Tom has been detailing like mad and made incredible progress with the Pannal area considering he only started route building recently.

2 Pictures of Pannal Station (Tom's detailing handwork)

Sean has been making a start on a few objects for TPR. He is still in the early stages of learning how to create objects for RailWorks and is using 3D Studio Max. Model building is high on my list of skills to learn as well :)

Sean's First Sign

Route Progress

Route detailing has accelerated some what over recent weeks and many of the gaps in the Harrogate Loop are starting to be filled. We still have some major station objects to create and there progress is as follows:

Harrogate Station - Josh is working on this
York Station - Prooving troublesome manipulating the original model (kindly donated by RS.com) but Steve (KitForm) is still working on this
Leeds Station - Not started yet. Once I get to grips with model making this will be one of the top priorities.

Rolling Stock

The TPR project has been incredibly lucky over recent weeks to receive permission to include (as and when they are complete) a 225 set (class 91 + MK4's + DVT) being worked on by Kevin (UKTS: IrishRailGuy) and a 333 EMU being worked on by Alan (UKTS: jivebunny).

Obviously in these early days of rolling stock and route creation there are plenty of things that could go wrong. However if everything goes to plan then this is an significant boost to the project and very generous offers from both Alan and Kevin.

The 333 is ideal for the Aire Valley line (Leeds - Bradford) and obviously the 225 set is perfect for the ECML (Leeds - Doncaster and York - Doncaster).

Screenshots of the Alan's 333 and Kevin's Class 90

Your chance to see TPR in action!

2011-02-11T10:04:00.002Z

If you would like to see the Trans Pennine Route in action then come along to the Festival of British Railway Modelling at Doncaster Racecourse on Saturday 12th February. I will be on the UKTS Live stand demonstration what we have so far completed on the TPR route.

Please do come and say hello if you are passing.

Jim

Snow on the line!

2010-12-17T14:34:00.003Z

Despite the weather over the last few weeks it not seem to be holding back the TPR project. Progress is still going strong and some of the areas that have been detailed are not far from being joined up with neighbouring areas.

Signalling is going well. The whole of the Leeds - Harrogate - York - Leeds loop main line is signalled and tested. There is some yard work to do at Neville Hill (just outside Leeds) to finish off but most areas are complete. The Huddersfield Line (Leeds - Huddersfield - Stalybridge - Manchester Victoria) is signalled and tested.

We also have two new detailers who have joined us over since my last post. Mike and Jon are both getting stuck in and progress is going well.

Our researcher Graham has also managed to get hold of some excellent recordings at stations which I shall be turning into a sound pack. These sounds will add more realism to medium to large stations and combine a repeating background loop of general station noise with random short "one shot" samples played over the top. Works very well :). I have even managed to work out how to apply a fade to the sounds in the same way as Armstrong Powerhouse do.

To the screenshots Jim without delay I hear you cry!! The images were created by Mark one of the detailers. These and many more can be seen on the UKTS TPR thread.

31252 slows for the 30 limit at Starbeck.

The locos belt up the 1 in 200 towards Poppleton distant signal

The train crosses the pointwork at Poppleton.

TPR Team Grows and Good News for York Station

2010-11-03T15:12:00.006Z

New TPR Team Members
The TPR project has had a boost to it's membership recently. We have been fortunate enough to get 2 new detailers, both experianced and with some free time, in 2 days to join the team.

I am also pleased to say that Mark is now working back at full speed after having some computer problems.

York Station for TPR
After making contact with RS.com we have come to an understanding which allows the TPR team to modify the old York station for use in this route. The original station is a very good model but unfortuntely does not fit our track layout for York. A very big thank you to all at RS.com, especially Derek.

Signal Pack and Other Assets
KitForm has been working on a fabulous Signal Gantry Pack. More information and screenshots are available on KitForms web site and blog

The TPR Team is also please to announce the availability of assets from the TPR route on the following web sites:
www.rwdecal.co.uk/free
www.attix.co.uk

The assets can be used in any freeware route and may also be packaged up into asset packs for ease of distribution (with a route). They MAY NOT be uploaded as individual assets to ANY 3rd party sites. They are free to download and free to use (providing you agree to the terms of use).

These items are created for the TPR route and the benefit of the TrainSim community. Please respect this and use them as they are intended to be used - for the benefit of all

Screenshots to Wet Your Tastebuds

Coast to Coast Challenge!

2010-10-21T10:23:00.001+01:00

One of the TPR Team (Edward I think) had the fabulous idea of doing a TPR Coast to Coast Challenge. The team members start at Liverpool Lime Street and finish at Scarborough. They can choose any route they like and can drive any engine they want.

I have placed a few refuel points at York for water, coal etc (not in realistic places - just for this challenge) so those driving steam engines won't run out of water.

Each one of us will take screenshots as we go so that we can put a post up of all the fun and frolics we had on route :) Some team members are treating it as a race (best time wins - no speed limits) others are going the scenic route (that would be me then) so that I can have some nice screenshots of the Harrogate Loop to show how we are progressing.

Team members will be driving the route over the next 10 days or so and I will try to have a report up within 2 weeks.

In case you want to know..... My scenic route using Karma99's (UKTS) excellent Q1 steam loco is as follows (use the map at the top of the blog to see where how the route works):

Liverpool Lime Street
Manchester Victoria
Rochdale
Wakefield
Leeds (detach my rake of 10 coaches at Leeds Station)
Run light engine to Neville Hill sidings and turn the engine on the turntable
Couple back up to the coaches at Leeds Station
Harrogate
York (detach coaches at York Platform)
Refuel at the temporary Fuel Points added just for the challenge
Turn the engine on the York Engineering Y
Couple backup to coaches at York
Scarborough

All the turning etc is required as this is the only way to drive the scenic route (unless you like running in reverse!)

Should be fun. The vast majority of the route is still undetailed (there are over 400 miles of the route) so I choose the scenic route to make the screenshots more interesting.

Enjoy.

Route Stats and Information

2010-10-15T15:37:00.001+01:00

Some information and stats on the route:

There are over 400 miles of main line track in RW.
All track is modelled using RWDecal generated decals for the maximum accuracy
Over 35 free ware asset creators have allowed us to use and package their assets (many many thanks)
Rail Simulator.com have agreed to allow us to modify the York Station asset that comes with the default Newcastle - York route so that it fits the real world track layout (many thanks - this will save us many hours of work)
1st section to be released will be the Harrogate Loop between Leeds - Harrogate and York
Custom assets generated by members of the TPR Team will be supplied with the route. Many hours of dedicated work has gone in to creating them. Huge thanks to the asset creators.

As always (and I know I ask this often) if you can help with detailing the Trans Pennine route please get it touch. with over 400miles of main line to detail we need as much help as we can get. All you need is a copy of RailWorks, 10gb free hard disk space and enthusiasm. If you have experience with creating routes then this helps but is not required. Finally a copy of Excel 2007 or later helps a well (but is not needed).

If you want to help with the project just get in touch with me via PM on UKTS (nobkins) or email TPR@rwdecal.co.uk

Thanks for reading.

Jim

Signals - Oh the fun of it.

2010-09-28T10:11:00.003+01:00

Well I am finally getting to grips with signalling in RW. I have had to make several custom signals (based on default scripts etc.) to cope with the complex track work round Leeds and York but I have almost finished signalling the line in both directions between Leeds - Harrogate - York.

Lots of testing has gone on during the signalling and I have learnt a huge amount. Progress is quite rapid now.

So... How is the Harrogate Loop progressing on TPR:

Track speed limits, signs etc.
100% Complete
Signals, AWS Ramps, TPWS Grids
90% Complete
Detailing
20% Complete

Our aim is to release the Harrogate Loop first of all and then continue to detail, signal etc other sections of the route and release them as future updates.

As always we are in need of detailers. If you are interested in lending a hand then please do get in touch. Experience helps but is certainly not a requirement. With such a large project the more people chipping in sooner we will have it available for you all to use.

What you need to be a detailer:

10Gb free hard disk space
RailWorks
Broadband Internet
Excel 2007 or later (not required but does help)

The team are a fantastic bunch and all help each other out. If you want to get in touch just send me a PM on UKTS (nobkins) or email me at TPR@rwdecal.co.uk

And Finally.....
I have some great news to announce soon. Not saying what it is yet but keep coming back to find out!

New Addition to the TPR Route

2010-09-07T00:19:00.002+01:00

The TPR route has been extended to include the Huddersfield line between Leeds and Manchester Victoria. This route is a scenic route with interesting gradients through the beautiful Pennines.

Details on the route can be found on Wikipedia.

Screenshots etc. to follow soon.

More Detailers, More Progress

2010-08-18T18:35:00.002+01:00

We now have 7 detailers! The support of the TrainSim community has been truly outstanding. This project is really taking off and with 7 people working on making the route look nice things are changing every day.

I am still focusing on track work. We have reached Liverpool. The track for the docks is complete and 80% of Edge Hill yard. Then it is on to Liverpool Lime Street.

Edge Hill Yard looking to Liverpool Lime Street

Liverpool Docks

Men at Work

Here are a few pictures of the Liverpool Area track. The latest screenshots showing the work of the detailers are available on the UK Trainsim forum Trans Pennine Route thread.

The team have also released their first assets. Just some reskins of default walls but there are 9 walls in total using 3 different textures. They are available in the UK Trainsim File Library.

Detailing Begins in Ernest

2010-08-06T23:09:00.002+01:00

Well we now have 7 team members. 5 detailers (3 have already started work) and 2 asset creators. I thought it was about time (well actually one of the detailers reminded me!) that I posted a few screenshots of the excellent progress they are making.

So here you go:
A Northern class 150 rounds the curve towards York after leaving Starbeck Station

The line then straightens and the 150 can be seen disappearing into the distance as it runs behind Harrogate golf course

And ChrisBarnes (detailer) has also donated the following re-skin to allow the Scarborough Spa Express to run:

And KitForm is also creating this fantastic model of the Selby Swing Bridge:

Track laying has started again now that I am back from holiday. Today has seen good progress towards Liverpool Lime Street. We are now at Newton-Le-Willows which is only 16miles from Liverpool.

Collaborative Working on a Railworks Route

2010-08-06T22:54:00.002+01:00

After spending 3 to 4 days researching and contemplating how best to allow group work on a route I thought it might benefit others if I put my discoveries down in writing.

Assuming that the collaborative working is going to involve sharing files over the Internet (rather than working all out of the same office) then there are two methods you can use:

FTP sharing of files

Positives	Negatives
Simple Available from most ISP's	Due to most FTP servers being Linux based there are issues with file modified times changing depending on British Summer Time (BST) or GMT. This means that you can not easily use FTP Synchronisation tools to ensure all users are working on the most up to date files Due to FTP limitations there is more organisation and manual tracking of who is working on what to prevent clashes

SVN versioning software to share files

Positives	Negatives
Simple to use Locking of files to prevent multiple users working on the same file Automatic detection of changes files Synchronisation with the "Repository" only uploads and downloads the files that you need. Once configured minimal administration is needed	Not as readily available as FTP More complex to configure

I have chosen to go with Option 2: SVN Versioning

What you Need:
Access to an SVN Repository - I have access to Linux servers with a reasonable Internet connection so was able to configure and install SVN software on the server directly. I used subversion and svnserve to manage the repository. Here is a good document explaining subversion.

A SVN client - Fortunately there are many SVN clients available and plenty of Open Source ones. I have two favorites, TortoiseSVN and Rapid SVN.

Access to Google Docs so that you can create a tile map and keep track of progress and who is working on what tile. See this RailWorks wiki entry for what I mean. Once you have created your tile map, the advantage of using Google Docs becomes apparent. You can easily share the document and allow others to update it just by providing a URL to your team members.

What Goes Where?
Once you have your SVN client and the repository configured you need to import the whole of your route folder into the repository and set up the route folder as a "SVN Working Folder". A working folder essentially contains your copy of all the files in the repository. When you have done some changes you are happy with you can "Commit" your changes back to the repository so others can access them. You can also "Update" your working folder with the changes others have committed to the repository. If there are clashes the SVN client will warn you.
What About Shared Assets?
This is a little more complex. How you create your route will affect how you share assets. If you are only using default assets and those that you have created specifically for the route then it is probably easiest to create an SVN repository for the assets in the same way you have for your route. If however, like me, you are using a variety of assets from different sources you will have multiple Developer and Product folders that need maintaining in the repository. If you were to use a SVN repository for this there may be problems when people set up the "asset" folder of RailWorks as a working folder as not all items in the folder will exist in the repository.
I have decided to simply create ZIP files for the other TPR developers to download and extract to their assets folder. There will have to be some strict rules in place to ensure the developers only use assets where we have permission to use and repackage them. This will mean that the assets will require more central administrations but once a good range of assets are available in ZIP downloads the amount of work will reduce.

I plan to simply upload the asset zip files to a web site and link to them from a password protected web area containing all the resource and instructions team members need.

Tracking Team Members Work
There a some route detailing activities that can be done by more than one person at once and some that can't. There is a page on the RailWorks wiki explaining what can and can't be shared. Here is a summary:

One Person at a Time	More Than One Person
Track Track Linked Objects (signals, speed ramps) Lofts Roads	Terrain Painting Adding Assets / Objects Terrain Height

Due to the restrictions on track, lofts and roads it is important that we have a method in place to ensure that only one person is working on the files. Fortunately, SVN repositories allow users to "lock" files. This prevents other members modifying files somebody else is working on by accident. Anybody can override another persons lock but a strong warning is given.

For the areas where more than one person can work at the same time we still need a system in place to prevent members working on exactly the same tiles. To achieve this we must create a project Tile Map and check out files to team members by using the tile map and the locking system. I will be using Google Docs to create a spreadsheet tile map. You can download a template spreadsheet in Open Office format, which can be imported into Google Docs which will set up the spreadsheet for you. The big advantage of Google Docs is that you can give others access to the file so that can update the status of there tiles and select new ones.

Tips and General Advice,

It is best not to have different team members working on adjacent tiles at the same time. The joins (even when using decals) between each members work are unlikely to be good. It is best to leave a one tile gab and when bother team members have finished there area, they can commit their changes to the repository and update their working folder. Then one person can fill in the gap making a nice join
I was lucky enough to be able to create my own SVN server with enough bandwidth and storage for my requirements. There are free hosted SVN repositories available but they tend to have limited storage space. It is not too expensive to pay for a hosted SVN server and I would definitely recommend it.

East Coast in Sight!

2010-07-14T09:55:00.002+01:00

Last two weeks has involved a lot of work in putting system in place to allow group work on the route. The systems are all in place now and just a little bit of work on the guides for the team members. I have a post in draft form for this blog about how to setup collaborative working on a route but until I have it all up and running I am holding of publishing it.

Meanwhile, track laying has been slower than normal although we have now made it to Hull Station. Still need to get to Hull Docks before we can start heading out from Manchester Victoria to Liverpool Lime Street (the last track to be laid) but we are getting there.

Here are a few screenshots of the latest progress:

Selby Swing Bridge

Works on the approach to Hull Station

Hull Station

Investigations into Team Route Creation

2010-07-01T00:13:00.003+01:00

I've been looking at ways of allowing multiple users to work on the Trans Pennine route at the same time. There are various bits of info. on the RailWorks Wiki which have helped and some ideas from the Phorum Peninsula Blog that I am going to use (with the help of Google Docs Spreadsheets).

My biggest problem at the moment is that my volunteers are not all working in the same office. So, time to put some FTP Synchronisation tools through there paces.

For those that are not technical, FTP allows people to upload and download files to a storage area on the Internet. So my plan is to upload the route folder so that all users can download it and then upload their changes. I am not sure how I am going to deal with assets at the moment. I can't just sync the whole of my Assets folder as this contains lots of assets that won't be used in the route. I think I will have to ask my developers to upload any asset packages the use to the assets FTP area. Then others can download them and install them.

Anyway. For those that are interested. WinSCP looks very good. It has a command line version which can be scripted. Not only that but there is also a Portable App version of it and it is free / open source. I will be able to use this and distribute some pre-made scripts to my helpers allowing them to sync with the FTP server easily.

Spent all night on this so no track work done today :(

A Team is Born

2010-06-29T16:45:00.002+01:00

I am very pleased to say that the Trans Pennine route is now being built by a "Team" rather than just myself thanks to the generous offer of help by Josh (UKTS Trans Pennine Thread).
I am going to concentrate on finishing the track laying and then putting together a process to allow myself and Josh to work together on the project.

Screenshots of Track Work

2010-06-24T23:13:00.002+01:00

Copley Viaduct

Ferrybridge Power Station

Gascoigne Wood Sidings

Kirkham (on the way to Scarborough)

Kirkstall Viaduct

Milford Junction

Neville Hill Sidings

Scarborough

Wakefield

York

Healey Mills

Plans and Progress

2010-06-24T15:00:00.002+01:00

I have been working on the Trans Pennine route for RailWorks for several months however the route was never meant to be this big! (see banner at top of page) Originally I planned to do the Route of the Scarborough Spa Express but after laying most of the track I decided I wanted more scope for freight work. This coupled with a 225 Studios video of the Calder Valley route between Leeds and Manchester Victoria pushed me to extend the route further.

Route Details:

Freeware! Only default and freeware assets will be used
Simple to install - asset packs rather than hundreds of seperate downloads
Era: Track laid based on present day but suitable for BR blue onnwards. Steam (such as Scarborough Spa Express) can also be run
Accurate gradients, speed limits track layout

So... how far have I got:

All DEM data and tiles generated using ReDem
Gradient profiles sourced where ever possible
Line speed limits researched for all lines
Decals generated using RWDecal for the whole route
Following track laid according to Decals and with reference to TrackMaps

Leeds - York - Scarborough
Leeds - Harrogate - York
Leeds - Wakefield (via Normanton)
Leeds - Wakefield (via Outwood)
Leeds - Bradford Interchange - Halifax - Manchester Victoria
Leeds - Bradford Forster Square - Bingley
Halifax - Wakefield - Drax Power Station

What track is left to do:

Gascoigne Sidings - Hul
Drax Power Station - Goole
Manchester Victoria - Liverpool

Speed limits set for approximately 50% laid track

There is a lot more still to do but I am still going (after over 6 months of track laying) and for some reason still enjoying it.

Future Plans:
Once I have all the track laid I hope to put a team together to help detail the route. It is a huge task but hopefully the team will concentrate on specific sections so the route can be released in stages as more detail is added.
I'll take a few screenshots in the near future and put them up to show progress. Hopefully they will give you a feel for the route even though there is only track at the moment.

Route Map:
Click for High Res (2.6Mb)