[DPS] East Coast
Main Line – North East
What is 'East Coast
Main Line - North East'?
The route is a clone of
the original East Coast Main Line route, formerly known as Newcastle
to York. The original route is set in the late 1970's and is probably
starting to show it's age given it originates before the release of
Rail Simulator in 2007. This project from DPSimulation is an effort
to modernise the route to reflect the route as it currently stands in
2013 with full electrification, accurate speed limits, track
rationalisation and complete resignalling.
What requirements do
I need?
The original East Coast
Main Line route is required, this was available to all users of Train
Simulator prior to the release of Train Simulator 2013. Anyone who
purchased a copy of Train Simulator after that release would need to
purchase the route from Steam. Great Eastern Main Line is also a
requirement as this provides the foundation for the track, track
rules, catenary and large portions of foliage.
What changes have
been made?
The current changes, as
of 23th November 2013 are as follows, all track, signal
and catenary related improvements currently relate to the section
between Newcastle and Darlington:
- Complete track rule swap with the GEML track to incorporate the new track rule and allow electrification using the new catenary tool.
- Complete track swap to GEML track, replacing the washed out effect that was present with the original ECML track.
- Route resignalled using the GEML colour light and LED signals. All signals numbered correctly where information was available.
- Track rationalisation/removal throughout the route to reflect modern day. This includes new platform allocations at Newcastle plus removals of things like Gateshead Depot, Tyne Yard, Darlington DMU depot etc.
- Speed limits changed to reflect prototypical working in the present day.
- Catenary added to utilise the new catenary tool with both sagging and zig-zagging wires.
- All nearside trees and bush lines bulk swapped with the relevant newer variations provided with GEML.
- Bridges along the route either replaced or raised to accomodate the catenary. In some cases, these bridges have been completely swapped with the newer GEML variants along with occlusion to project shadows and block rain.
What is to be done
to the route?
As of 23rd
November 2013, it is possible to drive from Darlington to Newcastle
under full catenary, speed limits and replaced signalling. The next
task will be to perform the same modifications to the section between
Darlington and York.
Future updates will
then include the remodelling of key points along the route such as
Tyne Yard along with improved lineside foliage, buildings and other
changes to scenery that have taken place in the last 35 years.
Another possible option
is a complete texture replacement using the more extensive texture
set provided with GEML. This would provide benefits such as a better
ballast blend and greater variation in field texturing. However, any
texture replacement would require the route to be stripped back to a
base colour and completely repainted from scratch so is currently
just slated as an option.
It is also entirely
possible that the route may receive extensions to provide greater
operational ability. These extensions could take the form of an
extension north to Morpeth including Heaton Depot, west to
MetroCentre and east to Saltburn.
What cannot
currently be done?
At this point,
super-elevation is not viable on the route due to the track not
originally being laid with easements. The only current solution would
be to completely replace the track and this is not viable mainly due
to the timescales involved. In addition, gradient transitions are
currently un-changed due to issues when using the newer gradient
smoothing tool which created various kinks in the track. Options to
work around this are currently being investigated.
Current issues?
Due to the complex
track layout at the northern end of Newcastle Central, a simplified
layout is currently in place due to the inability to form correct
slips and double slips. This, like the gradient smoothing is
currently under investigation.
Due to the issues
mentioned above with regards to the gradient smoothing tool, there is
an element of rough riding over certain sections, the same that were
present in the original ECML route. Also, due to the track following
the same alignment of the original route, but with higher speed
limits in some locations, this also presents an issue when taking
curves at speed, not that there are any chances of derailment, but it
doesn't feel right. Solutions and workarounds to this are currently
being investigated.
Where can I obtain
the route?
The route is to be
released, for free on the Steam Workshop in the coming weeks. As with
other routes from DPSimulation, it will be provided in incremental
versions and updated regularly. As stated previously, early
developments of these projects will be provided as a way of thanks to
those who donate to DPSimulation with the first development version
of ECML-NE released later today (23rd November).
If you have previously
donated to DPSimulation, then please send a feedback form at
http://www.dpsimulation.org.uk/contactus.html
stating your Steam username. Equally, if you wish to make a donation
to DPSimulation, please send us the same form after donating in order
to be added for early access.
Thanks for the update, lots of work done and to be done. It is a shame that easements can't calculate themselves from having a defined start and end straight section of track - from a programming point of view it can't be too difficult as it is an exact science. That would make upgrading routes much more viable for high speed running - WCML-N for example.
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