Ay Valley Route Version 3

As promised, here is version 3 of the Ay Valley route.

Requirements are the same as for earlier versions, with the exception of one additional UK TrainSim Freeware Pack - full details are in the manual posted earlier

Here's the marketing spiel:

The Ay Valley route is a fictional network of lines set in the West of England, focused on a main line that runs roughly parallel to the real-world Great Western Main Line. The focus time period is approximately from 1990 to the present day, although it is possible to run scenarios set in the 1970s and 80s as well with a little artistic license.

The main features of the route are:

·         Thirty-three fully detailed passenger stations

·         Four freight marshalling yards

·         Three locomotive and rolling stock maintenance depots

·         A Freightliner terminal with interactive container loading

·         A parcels depot

·         A coal-fired power station with "merry-go-round" rail facilities

·         Two quarries

·         A number of rail connected local industries

·         A short heritage railway

The route has been detailed to a high standard throughout and features Railworks 4: Train Simulator 2013 TSX Game Engine Technology lighting, super-elevated curves where appropriate and custom station signage.

Version 3 of the route extends the total end-to-end driving distance to just under fifty miles, and the total route mileage to in excess of eighty-five miles.

The main new features of Version 3 include:

·         An eastward extension to the mainline of nearly forty miles, rated for 100mph+ running

·         An extension of the branch line through Tetherton to its truncated terminus at Merringham Oil Terminal

·         An extension of the line running north from Shipley Road station to the small market town of Shipley

·         A new marshalling yard, DMU depot and local industrial sidings at Turcester at the eastern extremity of the route

·         A fictional series of junctions with the real-world Great Western Main Line around Cholsey

·         A representation of the real-world Cholsey & Wallingford railway

·         Quick Drive compatibility

Additionally, there have been some changes to previously released sections of the route:

·         The line from High Lakes to Barrowmere is now single throughout. Passing loops have been retained at Long Winding and Highvale. All scenarios included with the route or in any of the additional scenario packs released so far have been updated to reflect the new track layout, but any user created scenarios will need amending to function correctly.

·         Minor alterations to the track layout at Stratton Vale T&RSMD to eliminate superfluous junctions

·         Minor adjustments to the signalling throughout the route for improved functionality

·         Improved placement of speed restriction warning signs

And here's the route (231MB, free download):

Ay Valley Route Version 3 

Ay Valley Route Version 3 - Manual

This is the PDF manual for version 3 of the Ay Valley route; the route itself will follow shortly, and (hopefully!) some more scenarios over the coming weeks

Ay Valley Route Version 3 Manual

S

Ay Valley Route V2 - Fix for Missing Assets

Unfortunately a small number of files were omitted from the main route package; these can be found here:

http://www.4shared.com/archive/Q8bjnD9W/Ay_Valley_Extra_Assets.html?

If you have previously installed version 1 of the route, this file should not be necessary

Ay Valley Route Version 2

The Ay Valley route is a fictional network of lines set in the West of England, focused on a main line that runs roughly parallel to the real-world Great Western Main Line. The focus time period is approximately from 1990 to the present day, although it is possible to run scenarios set in the 1970s and 80s as well with a little artistic license.

This portion of the route focuses on the major city of Westhampton, with the emphasis on urban and suburban passenger and local freight services.

Version 2 of the route extends the total end-to-end driving distance by approximately twenty miles in a south-easterly direction from Denbigh Park to three separate destinations at Barrowmere, Hazelgrove and Hurlesdown.

http://www.4shared.com/archive/uO0J-R0D/Ay_Valley_Route_V2.html?

Scenario Pack 1: Variety Pack

Scenario Pack 1 features ten standard scenarios, each requiring one additional item of DLC:


1. Barrowmere And Back: Class 153 Advanced by Just Trains. 45 minutes; easy.
2. Hazelgrove - Northcut Yard Aggregates: Class 70 by RailSimulator.com. 55 minutes; hard.
3. Hazelgrove - Westhampton Cross Country: Voyager Advanced by Just Trains. 30 minutes; easy.
4. Hobley Grange - Tetherton: Class 150/2 by Thomson Interactive/Oovee. 25 minutes; easy.
5. Leaves  On The Line: Class 20 Collection by Just Trains. 20 minutes; medium
6. Morning Post: Class 67 by RailSimulator.com. 30 minutes; easy.
7. Stonehollow Quarry - Stratton Vale Up Yard: Class 33 by RailSimulator.com. 45 minutes; hard.
8. Sunday Evening Engineer's Train: Class 31 by RailSimulator.com. 60 minutes; medium.
9. Tetherton - Westhampton: Class 142 "Pacer" by Armstrong Powerhouse/Waggonz. 20 minutes; easy.
10. Westhampton - Haverthorpe Early Shift: Class 142 "Pacer" by Armstrong Powerhouse/Waggonz. 25 minutes; medium.

http://www.4shared.com/archive/aStF9Qvn/AyValleyScenarioPack01.html?

Scenario Pack 2: Class 37


Scenario Pack 2 comprises six standard scenarios, each requiring the Class 37 Pack by RailSimulator.com and the UKTS Freeware Pack - UK Carriages #1, available from http://www.uktrainsim.com/filelib-info.php?form_fileid=27132.

Summary

1. Hurlesdown - Haverthorpe Passenger. 40 minutes; easy.
2. Northcut Yard - Longheath Yard Tanks. 45 minutes; very hard.
3. Stratton Vale Up Yard - Stonehollow Quarry. 60 minutes; very hard.
4. Weekend Engineering Preparations. 70 minutes; very hard.
5. Windingways Quarry - Northcut Yard. 50 minutes; medium.
6. WoE Postal Hub - Hazelgrove Parcels. 50 minutes; hard.

http://www.4shared.com/archive/K45uyadK/AyValleyScenarioPack02.html?

Full list of the requirements for the route is included in the enclosed PDF manuals.
The route and scenario packs are also available from RW-Trainsim.co.uk and (currently pending) UKTrainSim.com

S

First Impressions

So, Train Simulator 2013 has officially launched through Steam...

Was how I was going to start an in depth review of the changes the latest update has brought about. But I've been too busy playing the thing (and enjoying playing it) to have time. It has brought improvements across the board, not t he least of which is the vastly improved performance on evening the most demanding of routes. Philadelphia 30th Street Staion on the North East Corridor route was previously a very slow and tedious slideshow, now it looks like the busy commuter hub it is supposed too as trains pass by seamlessly. The same is true of central Glasgow on the WCML route.

Great job all round by RailSimulator.com - have a hobnob on me!

Cheers

S

What's In A Name?

As September is upon us again, it is nearly time for what has become something of an annual event; RailSimulator.com's latest instalment of Railworks. Except this year, it isn't.
From September 20 2012 users will automatically receive a free upgrade to Train Simulator 2013 when they log in to Steam.
As usual, there are a host of new features and improvements coming our way (I'm not going in to detail over these here, they can be found at http://www.railsimulator.com/newsdetail.php?Ref=428), but there is, to me at least, one glaring omission; no mention whatsoever of the word "Railworks".
Now, this isn't me ranting about RailSimulator.com continuing to evolve the program; over the last 2-3 years this has brought us some massive leaps forward in the realism stakes, such as interactive road traffic at level crossings, variable ride quality, superelevated curves and improved ambient lighting to name but a few.
However, one of the things that led me to pick up Railworks over any of the other railway simulators out there was the name. Railworks as a name is just brimming with potential and reflects the vast possibilities within the program itself. You can drive pretty much any type of rail traffic imaginable from many regions of Europe and America; create your own timetables, missions or scenarios or one of the many high quality routes available for the program; you can create your own route or railway within the vast, open world editor; you can build 3D models in other programs such as Blender to place in, decorate and customise your routes.
On the other hand, the alternatives are all rather lacking in the naming department. Trainz sounds rather frivolous with that somewhat juvenile "z" appended to it. BVE offers no indication that it is a rail simulator. And (significantly) Microsoft's Train Simulator sounds rather po-faced and serious (and, dare I say it, just a little dull).
Yet RailSimulator.com have chosen to adopt the Train Simulator moniker for their program, evolving from Railworks to Railworks 2: Train Simulator to Train Simulator 2012: Railworks 3 to this years forthcoming Train Simulator 2013.
I'm sure there are sound commercial reasons for adopting this change of name. As mentioned above, it is important that the name of the program gives a strong indication of the content, especially for newcomers to the genre who have limited foreknowledge of the programs that are available. Train Simulator is undoubtedly a "Ronseal" name; it does exactly what it says on the box and that can only be a good thing in terms of attracting new users to the program and for the commercial success of RailSimulator.com.
But I can't help but feeling that Railworks is a far more evocative and fun name for the program, and one that does convey to the potential buyer the core gist of the game while also hinting at the huge possibilities for more creative use contained in the program.

Steve

Tanks Very Much!

Malcolm Mackay has just released another pack of very fine freeware wagons over at http://www.dpsimulation.org.uk/, this time the two axle TTV tank wagons that were a common sight on Britain's rail network in the 70s and 80s. Download them here: http://www.dpsimulation.org.uk/rollingstock.html. Massive thanks to Malcolm for another impressive addition to his fleet of completely free rolling stock for Railworks. Appalling pun courtesy of me!

Steve