Featuring 5 freight scenarios from 1973 to 1986 for the York to Newcastle stretch of the East Coast Mainline we're pleased to announce the release of our first scenario pack Ages of the Train 01: ECML Freight 1973 - 1986 for RailWorks Train Simulator 2013.

Building on the ethos of the acclaimed scenarios included with our stock packs each scenario pack contains five prototypical scenarios for one route with a common theme from a logical period of railway history. The scenarios are further enhanced by the alteration of line speeds to reflect the date of each scenario, additional lighting in yards and other locations where required and the use of period TSR equipment.

Each scenario features actual train formations and motive power (where known) for the individual services and prototypical routing where possible.

A number of other commercial products are required to use these scenarios and details can be found here: Traction and Rolling Stock Requirements

Priced at just £5 these 5 scenarios offer amazing value with over 12 hours of driving in what many would consider the classic Diesel era of British Rail.

If you'd like to try before you buy you can download a demo scenario in the same style as scenarios in the pack: Download the Demo

The manual (also included in the pack) is also available to download if you fancy a browse before making a purchase: Download the Manual

Click here for further information about the scenarios or to buy!

We're pleased to announce that the demonstration scenario showcasing of Ages of the Train scenario packs is now available to download.

The demo scenario gives you the opportunity to try out a scenario in the style of those included in the complete pack. Take charge of  6S92 1505 Hull New Yard - Craiginches from the crew change at York as far as Newcastle where you will be relieved. Using where possible actual train formations and locomotives from the day in question this scenario should start to give a true simulation of working freight trains on the East Coast Main Line.

The demo scenario can be downloaded here: Ages of the Train 01: ECML Freight 1973 - 1986 - Demo

Finally there's the time and some things worthwhile of an update. Sorry that things have been quiet but we've been through a period of development where it's been all boring stuff and not very news worthy or photogenic. However, there is some pretty interesting stuff if you want to read on.

Ages of the Train

As you read this the scenarios are having their last checks before the final installer is built and they are readied for release in early November. The development of the scenarios has not been easy and has seen a number rebuilt and in some cases scrapped as we hit limitations in RailWorks and with the route in the endeavour to make the scenarios as true to life as possible.

Much more excitingly we can reveal that Malcolm Mackay has kindly made some of his freeware models available to increase the variety of rolling stock to be seen in the scenarios, bringing us a step closer to recreating the ECML of the 1970s and 1980s. The models will be included in the main installer to make things a little easier for folks who may not have them installed already and will appear in a stand alone installer in the file library in the next couple of days.

Speaking of the file library there will also be demonstration scenario made available in the next few days to give you a feel for the style of the scenarios in the main pack.

North Staffs Minerals

The route track work is now complete with the exception of a couple of colliery lines and industrial locations where details of the actual layout are lacking so some modellers license may be required to complete those areas. Scenery is now going in and a large selection of new custom assets are being made to help reduce reliance on 'default' assets. Some images of fencing assets can be found in recent  Fastline Simulation Blog posts.

We like to hear from folks and especially when they have words of encouragement or useful criticism to make. We would ask though that folks please don't pester for release dates. Things are released when they are ready and the developer in question is happy. For many this is just a hobby income so increasing pressure is something we really don't want to do. Alongside this we know that customers get upset when something doesn't hit an arbitrary date.

Stock Packs

HBA/HEA air braked hoppers. The model creation stage of these is complete and they have passed an initial shape test from our test team. The shapes themselves are currently being unwrapped and prepared for baking which should be completed by the end of this week.

The Night Capitals. Shape creation for the passenger coaches is continuing and now that braking layouts for different brake types and bogies have finally been nailed down these should start to move forward again.

Car Flats: Like the stock above these had stalled waiting a little more information on the brake rigging but with one shape now complete the others should follow fairly rapidly behind.

Team Changes

We're still trying to recruit some extra asset builders to the team. This is the one area that is a serious concern at the moment with rolling stock modelling having to stop to create route assets.

So often we get contacts that seem interested and they continually come to nothing. To ease the construction of routes we really need additional modellers to create all that extra scenery.

At the same time we would love to add additional rolling stock modellers and route builders (but only if they create their own assets!).

These are commercial projects so there is hard cash involved (possibly the best rates in Train Simulator Land) in return for your efforts. If you have experience of modelling or route building for Railworks or another simulator and fancy making some cash from your talents do please get in touch.

We're pleased to announce an expansion to the stock packs under development for RailWorks Train Simulator 2012 as a development of the work currently being undertaken on The Night Capitals stock and as a consequence of a lucky find on a backup drive.

Mineral Hopper AB

More commonly known as HEA hoppers these mineral hoppers didn't include automatic discharge fittings like their HAA merry-go-round cousins and were designed for transporting coal to coal distribution depots and industrial customers able to handle coal delivery from hopper wagons.

Originally known as Mineral Hopper AB, construction started in 1975 at Shildon and resulted in nearly 2000 vehicles being constructed by the time production eased in 1979. The hoppers were originally built with BR long link suspension (and coded HBA under TOPS) but a number were built with Bruninghaus springs which proved successful and resulted in the vast majority of wagons being converted. As a consequence the wagons were recoded HEA with an increase in maximum speed of 60mph over the 45mph of the HBA.

The model itself is still under conversion, having originally been a GMAX model found languishing on a hard drive and converted to 3DS Max as an experiment. There is a degree of tweaking and upgrading to be done, but the ultimate aim is to include both HBA and HEA variants in the pack along with common variants of Maroon and Flame Red and Grey liveries.

Bullion Carriers

As a consequence of The Great Train Robbery various increases in security were introduced for the transportation of high value cargo from banks and similar institutions. One of these developments, was the conversion in 1965/6 of 5 Mk1 BSK coaches into Bullion Vans with one compartment and toilet left in place for security personnel. All of the other widows were plated over with two sets of double doors per side to the van section being provided, radio communication pods were fitted, the gangways removed, B5 bogies replaced the existing bogies and pressure ventilation installed.

The vans were originally added to scheduled passenger trains when the need arose for high value consignments to be transported. The development in 1969 of 4 container flats from more Mk1 BSKs saw a change in operation to special trains opperating to a number of locations conveying a Bullion Van and one or two of the container flats.

The stock pack is scheduled to include the Bullion Vans in Blue and Grey livery along with the container flats.

Carflats

As motor cars became more popular and the need to transport them from manufacturer to market increased a large number of Carflat wagons were produced. Originally built from converted pre-nationalisation carriage under frames a switch was made to using frames from redundant long Mk1 suburban stock.

Although allocated as freight vehicles a number of the carflats retained their buckeye couplings and buffing plates and could be found in use on Motorail services as required by demand, a large number being painted blue and carrying Motorail boards in the center. A large number gained through air pipes and full dual braking over time.

With the splitting of assets between the different businesses as British Rail prepared for Privatisation a number of the carflats were transferred into the NPCCS series under the control of the InterCity sector.

The pack is planned to include a couple of the most popular body variants of Carflat built on Mk1 under frames with various combinations of brake fitting where appropriate along with the vehicles transferred into the NPCCS fleet.

Development of both the Bullion Carriers and Carflats will run alongside the continuing work on The Night Capitals as as all three packs will utilise a wide number of common parts. Renders of both projects will be published once development is a little more advanced.

Light nights and a hectic day job are really putting pressure on the Railworks development at the moment when it comes to modelling. Luckily the scenario writer and route builders are finding time to keep plying their trade with stunning results.

North Staff Minerals

It's continually wonderful to pull new updates to the route from our development repository, there's a constant growth to the scenery applied and atmosphere is developing in every area.

All the track work is now in place and the long slog of terrain painting, scenery placement and asset creation for all of the unique buildings is underway. With massive contrasts of location, from the urban sprawl of Stoke-on-Trent, through collieries, a power station and various quarries, there's a wide variety of landscapes to accurately create in a Train Simulator.

The North Staffs route builder has a huge passion for the area and has amassed a large number of contemporary resources which are helping make this route as close to life as possible and should make for some interesting scenarios when the time for their creation comes.

Ages of the Train

Our first scenario pack for RailWorks is making steady progress when it's not creating headaches for the scenario builder. The desire to create extreme realism through the the scenarios is causing a myriad of problems for the Train Simulator, especially the dispatcher which is at times deciding it doesn't like things which had worked previously. All of the scenarios have had their moving parts tested and are in the process of having static vehicles added and last tweaks where required.

Two added bonuses have appeared for the pack since the last update. A set of temporary speed restriction signs suitable for the 1970s and early 1980's and a demo scenario is under development to give you an idea of what to expect.

The Night Capitals

Modelling progress has been pretty slow on his project of late with day job pressures seriously limiting modelling time. Both the TCV and GUV master shapes are in game and the majority of work is complete on the generic Mk1 coach parts which should then allow rapid construction of the sleeper vehicles and the other coaches needed to complete the formation of the Night Capitals.

Web Presence Changes

When we introduced the forum back towards the end of last year it was an experiment to see if people would like to engage in a forum and discuss existing and future projects.

It's fairly safe to say that people didn't want to do that, as a consequence the forum will be removed in the near future.

On the flip side we're trialing something a little more informal by way of an additional blog in the form of a developers notebook that all of our developers will add quick notes to as an update to what they've been doing. You can find the notebook at www.fastline-simulation.co.uk/devblog or by using the menu item at the top of the site.

It is possible to subscribe to the RSS feed from the developers notebook and we may consider linking the feed to Facebook in the future.

Asset Creators

We're still trying to recruit some extra asset builders to the team. This is the one area that is a serious concern at the moment.

So often we get contacts that seem useful and they continually come to nothing. To ease the construction of routes we really need additional modelers to create all that extra scenery.

These are commercial projects so there is hard cash involved in return for your efforts. If you have experience of modelling for Railworks or another simulator and fancy making some cash from your talents do please get in touch.