Misty Morning

I often take lots of screenshots for my own enjoyment but the majority rarely get shared. I am quite fond of this misty early scene though, so thought i'd share it.

For full size click here.

DPSimulation - North East England

Following the Twitch live stream and subsequent posting of the above video to Youtube (thankyou to Alan) last night, I thought I would address a couple things i've seen posted in response.

With a working title of North East England, this new route is something we have been working extremely hard on and as outlined in the video, is in an early stage of development and is scheduled for release in summer of 2018 at the earliest.

One thing to note from many responses is to clarify that this is not an extension of East Coast Main Line: North East. Although that route has been extremely popular with over 20,000 downloads/subscriptions over the workshop and website versions, the truth is that it was still effectively a rework of the original Rail Simulator Newcastle to York route and as such was still very inaccurate. Built long before things such as the Google Earth overlay were even conceived, the route was way out of line with real locations and therefore adding extensions or even adding simple things such as newer housing estates were troublesome and difficult. Couple that to a long standing request for super-elevation that was not achievable in the ECMLNE route, it was decided that it was not worth taking the route further.

I therefore decided to create this brand new route using all of the new tools and everything learned over a decade of building routes in Train Simulator and it's various incarnations. This allows me to create a faithfully accurate representation of my local area and use all of the latest tools and techniques available, and is intended to be my Train Simulator swansong.

In the video above, the section shown was between Thirsk and Hartlepool via Darlington, on a diverted Virgin XC service in 1999, meaning a portion of the much requested Durham Coast line has been added. More areas are already complete and will be shown in due course, with new sections being added every few weeks and populated with detailed scenery. Once complete, the route will resemble a large network covering much of the area and will have massive scope for scenarios. I have purposely not added large areas of track and have instead focused on adding core sections and fully completing them before moving on to the next. This means that no matter how far the route develops before release, no areas will be left without scenery and the route will be released in a completed state.

Keep an eye on this blog for more updates over the coming months about the route and be sure to keep an eye on Alan's Youtube and Twitch channels for more route updates and general Train Simulator content.

Thirsk

Northallerton

Northallerton East Junction

Yarm Viaduct

Eaglescliffe

Darlington

Hartlepool

Clarence Road, Hartlepool

Amazon DLC Bargains

It's sale time on Amazon and there are many Train Simulator bargains to pick up, in many cases they are much cheaper than via Steam. When you purchase from Amazon, they simply send you a code to activate on Steam. As an affiliate, we also get a small percentage of the sale which helps towards our website running costs. Here are a selection of deals, Weardale is a steal!

Weardale & Teesdale Network - £4.80

Somerset & Dorset Railway - £2.40

Falmouth Branch - £4.00

 Feather River Canyon - £10.00

Class 73 'Gatwick Express' - £6.00

South London Network - £10.00

Portsmouth Direct Line - £4.00 

Miami - West Palm Beach - £10.00

Isle of Wight - £4.00 

Simply go to Amazon via any of the links above, there are more deals that are cheaper than Steam. 

Donations

It's approaching that time of the month once again, this is something that I hate doing, but i'm often left with little choice but to make an appeal.

We don't ask users to sign up and don't charge for content at DPSimulation and never have any intention of doing so, the resource was created to maintain a free library of Train Simulator content. Although we do receive some donations, it often isn't enough to cover the costs we accrue due to the large amount of content we host and although i'm always happy to make up any shortfall, I'm not always able to do so. 

As ever, if you like the content we create and host or just want to help out, please consider a donation of any amount. Paypal donation buttons can be found on this blog, on the DPSimulation website or via paypal.me/dpsimulation

All donations are very much appreciated and help to maintain the resource for existing and future users. May I also thank those who have donated previously, your support is invaluable and we simply couldn't exist without you.

Glorious Devon 1958 - GWR/SR Expansion Part 1 - Released

I have just released an all new route courtesy of the Glorious Devon team.

The section of the former Great Western Railway that runs across the South Devon Banks to Plymouth from Exeter and its branch to Kingswear is one of the most famous and picturesque locations in England that has captured many people's hearts.

The alternative Southern / ex-LSWR route climbs through farmlands to Okehampton then across northern Dartmoor and down to Tavistock, terminating in Plymouth Friary Station, a scenic but less busy route servicing many small holiday communities in north Devon. GWR and SR would run trains along both routes in order for drivers to familiarize themselves with the branches in case an emergency detour was necessary.

“Glorious Devon” recreates the area as it would have looked in the late 1950's, pre 1964 after which the Beaching changes took effect. Significant research has been undertaken to achieve the closest possible authenticity, recreated in digital, for Train Simulator.

It was a period of great transition for Britain's railways, from much loved steam traction – Manors, Halls, Castles and Kings, to early classic diesel hydraulics – Hymeks, Warships and Westerns on the GWR route, along with Bullied light pacifics, King Arthurs, Schools, T9, S16’s and many other smaller classes on the Southern portion.

Colour light signals were just making an appearance around Plymouth and the diesel shop at Laira was in the first stage of construction. The iconic Intercity House at Plymouth North Road station had yet to be built.

Glorious Devon offers great potential for scenario writing, from local passenger services, to inter-regional expresses to London, the Midlands and beyond. Although the location is predominately rural, freight services were varied too, including coal distribution and fuel for a 40MW power station, livestock, milk, fruit, fish and china clay and ballast. There is much to discover, from rail connected docks to stations long since closed but now brought back to life.

This route can be downloaded from the 'Routes' page by clicking here. Please read all of the included documentation provided wth the download.