Click here to buy!

The first release in our Ages of the Train range of scenario expansion packs for RailWorks Train Simulator features a selection of Goods Trains for the Newcastle to York route from what many consider the classic Diesel and Electric era of British Rail.

Building on the ethos of the 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.

The included scenarios are:

4C64 2135 Newcastle FLT - Stratford FLT. (1977)

Traction: Class 45

Difficulty: Medium

Duration: 115 minutes

6E32 2200 Clitheroe - Newcastle. (1980)

Traction: Class 40

Difficulty: Easy

Duration: 135 minutes

6L45 0645 Derwenthaugh - Wakefield. (1981)

Traction: Class 31

Difficulty: Medium

Duration: 160 minutes

6S69 1237 Ecclesfield - Grangemouth. (1982)

Traction: Class 37

Difficulty: Hard

Duration: 165 minutes

7L06 1356 Tyne Yard - York Up Arrival. (1985)

Traction: Class 56

Difficulty: Medium

Duration: 190 minutes

If you would like more information a copy of the manual can be found here: AoT 01 Manual

Traction and Rolling Stock

Alongside the freeware wagons kindly offered for inclusion by Malcolm Mackay and included in the installer for the pack for your convienience, the scenarios feature a range of third party traction and rolling stock products for RailWorks (which will need to be purchased separately) along with default items.

Armstrong Powerhouse

BAA Wagon Pack

Digital Traction

Mk1 Coaches

Mk2e Coaches

Wagon Pack 01

Wagon Pack 02

Fastline SImulation

PEC-01: 102t Bogie Tank Wagons

PEC-02: VDA Vans

Iron Horse House

Class 20

Class 25

Class 25/3

Class 40

Class 45

Class 56

Bonus Content

Just Trains

International Flat IGB

Cargowaggon IWB

VGA Vans

YGB

RailSimulator .Com

Class 08

Class 31

Class 37

Class 101

UK Wagon Pack

Click here to buy!

Click here to buy!

The railways have always been good at making use of things they have lying around to create something new and useful, now we're done the same with our VDA van chassis.

Background

A predominate story for the engineers department of British Rail during the second half of the 1980s and into the 1990s was the replacement of firstly the unfitted, and then the vacuum braked wagons used for the majority of their trains with higher speed air braked wagons of greater capacity. The engineers became quite adept at converting what they had or what they could acquire in order to modernise their fleet. The ZCA Sea Urchins converted from redundant VDA vans are one part of that story.

The 1980s saw a steady decline in the amount of general merchandise traffic carried by the railways and this ceased completely with the end of Speedlink in 1992. As a consequence a large number of vans and other wagons were surplus to requirements and disposal or alternative uses started to present themselves along with sales to the MoD for internal use.

In late 1992 a start was made in converting some 400 VDA vans (other types of air braked wagon were also converted at different times) into open ballast wagons with a reinforced box type body and an angled top. Some 300 of the wagons went to Network SouthEast and the balance to the West Coast Mainline. The conversion work was split between four contractors: ABB Transportation, Marcroft Engineering, Prorail Bombadier and RFS Doncaster and naturally there was some variation in the conversions.

The wagons used came mainly from lots 3855 and 3908 which can easily be identified by the length of their handbrake levers. The bodies themselves also show some variation with the end bracing either being flush to the top of the body (like the sides) or protruding out beyond the top of the body, there is also variation in the location of the lamp iron.

Addon Contents

ZCA Sea Urchins

This addon for Railworks Train Simulator 2012 contains four variations of the wagons. These are, the ZCAs converted from lot 3855 VDA vans (short hand brake lever) and those converted from lot 3908 wagons (long hand brake lever). Each of these chassis has been fitted with the two obvious body variants of flush and raised end ribs and are all supplied in lightly weathered Civil Engineers grey and yellow 'Dutch' livery. Both loaded and empty models with matching physics are supplied along with four different ballast and aggregate loads.

To complete your engineering trains a rear version of all the types listed above is included, fitted with possibly the first model of a British Rail Mark 1 battery, flashing tail lamp for RailWorks Train Simulator, with random flash interval mimicking different levels of charge and to ensure all your tail lamps don't flash together!

Scenario

To allow you to give your new rolling stock a quick spin (though not necessarily see it) as soon as you've downloaded your purchase we've included a scenario. Take a Class 37 hauled late evening working of empty ZCA Sea Urchins from Acton Yard to Hinksey Yard for loading ready for the following weekends engineering work.

Temporary Speed Restriction Signs

As a little nod towards greater authenticity in scenarios we've created and used a set of battery powered, illuminated speed restriction signs including a functioning portable AWS magnet and all the signs needed to create a 40mph temporary speed restriction.

Click here to buy!

Click here to buy!

The VDA van was a logical choice to be one of the first add-on releases as a part of Project East Coast for RailWorks Train Simulator 2012 as special white roofed versions had a daily duty carrying chocolate and confectionery between factories owned by the Rowntrees company in York and Newcastle.

Stock Pack Contents

VDA Vans

The add-on contains one hundred and thirty two different versions of the vans divided between four different lots, each constructed with various differences between them. All of the lots are supplied in Maroon and Railfreight Flame Red and Grey livery, with and without white roofs for Rowntrees chocolate traffic and one of the lots also includes the unique all white van for Rowntrees traffic. Each of these lots are subdivided into loaded and empty versions in both almost ex-works condition and downright dirty, each of these versions is then further supplemented by rear versions carrying the once ubiquitous oil tail lamp.

CAR Brake Vans

In addition to the VDA vans we have included an air and vacuum piped BR standard 20T brake van to dia. 1/507, TOPS code CAR. The brake van is supplied in twenty four different versions covering Bauxite and Yellow livery along with Railfreight Flame Red and Grey livery. These two types are subdivided into those with smoke from the stove, clean and weathered versions and three different variations of tail lamp covering, unfitted trains, fitted trains and no lamps.

Scenarios

To let you experience the wagons in as authentic an environment as possible on the East Coast Main Line of the 1970s/80s we’ve enclosed four scenarios for you to use.

• 6M64 1852 Haverton Hill - Warrington Arpley - Take this Speedlink working on a part of its journey from Northallerton to York.

• 6S92 1600 Hull - Aberdeen - 6S92 1600 Hull - Aberdeen speedlink working changed crews under the imposing roof of York Station for the leg between there and Tyne Yard. This evening you find yourself waiting on the platform for 6S92 to arrive from the south so you may relieve the crew and take the train forward.

• 7E73 0402 Millerhill - Whitemoor - A run south from Tyne Yard to York with this early morning trunk working. The weather has turned wintery and considerable traffic conveying confectionary from Rowntrees’ site at Coxlodge to the York factory has been added at Tyne Yard.

• 7S66 1750 Tees Yard - Stranraer - Another evening run with this working from Tees to Stranraer between Ferryhill and Tyne Yard.

Background

VDA Vans

The VDA was the penultimate design of covered van for freight use designed by British Rail, and in many respects was the last variant of the traditional goods van. Built from 1975 - 1978 the VDA was the fourth and final design in a series of vans that had begun with the COV AB (later to become VAB) constructed in 1966. The wagon has a tare of c.16.25t and can carry up to 24.5t, on a 20’ 9” wheelbase. There are three openings per side with hinged doors at the outer ends and a pair of sliding doors in the centre with the sliding doors not being able to open while the hinged doors are in use and vice-versa. The wagon was designed to be loaded by forklift and has a strengthened floor to ease loading. Designed with the Air Braked Network/Speedlink in mind, the vans were able to travel at 75 mph whether loaded or empty.

Four distinct lots were produced between 1975 and 1978, the first three lots at Ashford and the final lot at Shildon. Each of the lots incorporated a number of differences.

Lot 3855: The 330 wagons built to the original lot number were built with disc brakes, short door hinges and brake levers.

Lot 3856: The 100 wagons to this lot were built using experimental Taperlite suspension. Although the arrangement looks very flimsy it was a success but future use was ruled out on account of it being more expensive to produce than standard suspension, all other details remained as lot 3855.

Lot 3890: These 20 wagons were fitted with clasp brakes with all other details as lot 3855. Numerically they fit between the two lots above and it is possibly safe to assume that the clasp braking was an experiment making use the last 20 wagons in lot 3855 which had already been authorised.

Lot 3908: The final 300 vans saw a change of construction location being built at Shildon. The change of location also brought other changes, the hand brake lever was lengthened, the design of hinges for the outer pairs of doors was amended while the running gear design reverted to that of lot 3855. An extra complication while modelling was the variation in the application of the Maroon livery by Shildon compared to Ashford.

Notable for use on the East Coast mainline were a considerable number of vans fitted with extra insulation to carry confectionery products for Rowntrees between their factories in Newcastle and York. The modified vans were easily recognisable as they had received white painted roofs, with at least one example from lot 3890 being painted completely white.

CAR Brake Van

Dia. 1/507 was the last incarnation of the standard BR brake van, built with roller bearings and hydraulic buffers to lot 3394 at Ashford in 1963. Unfitted when built, but with a through vacuum pipe and brake valve the majority were later fitted with through air pipes to create the CAR variant. Intended to work with air braked trains many were allocated to specific pools and flows, some were in use in the late 1980s on traffic flows carrying dangerous commodities that still required a guard to travel at the rear of the train or where propelling movements were required as a part of the trains journey.

The one limiting factor of the use of a brake van as a part of a Speedlink service was the 50 mph speed limit imposed on them which could mean the higher speeds of the modern air braked wagons couldn’t be taken advantage of.

Click here to buy!

Click here to buy!

The impressive 102t Class A bogie tanks are the first release in our Project East Coast range of add-ons for RailWorks and were some of the first big wagons seen on the UK rail network.

The pack features loaded and empty physics, clean and dirty versions, TEA and TEB variants and rear versions fitted with a Bardic battery tail lamp.

Background

In the mid 1960s Metro-Cammell built an experimental 92t glw class A bogie tank for Shell Mex and BP which was destined to become the forerunner to most bogie tank construction. The strength of the tank barrel meant that continuous sole-bars were not required and as such just short sections were provided over the bogies at each end, angling down to a full length under-frame which was also used to support the braking equipment. The wagon was fitted with air brakes and had a maximum speed 60mph. Carefully designed at 54ft 10in in length, the wagon took up the same amount of space as a pair of 2-axle wagons with the fillers and discharge points lining up with existing facilities.

The prototype was a great success and both Shell Mex and BP proceeded to buy a large fleet of the production wagons, By this time the design had been uprated to 102t glw to take advantage of rising maximum axle weights. Metro-Cammell, Powell Duffryn and Pickering were all involved in construction and naturally there are some variations between lots. By 1969 there were over 1000 wagons in service with Shell and BP.

Our model is based on an example from a relatively small lot of wagons originally built to carry diesel fuel for Shell by Metro-Cammell in 1967, but it shares a common appearance with a number of lots produced for both Shell and BP.

Pack Contents

A total of sixteen versions of the Class A tank wagons, including:

• TEA and TEB variants, both clean and dirty

• Empty and loaded versions

• Rear versions featuring a Bardic battery with emulated sensor to only light at night.

In addition there are two authentic scenarios for the default Newcastle to York route based on the 1980 working timetables:

• 6E79 1950 Grangemouth - Ecclesfield

• 6S69 0841 Masborough - Grangemouth

To complete the pack a manual in the style of a period BR official booklet is included giving more details about the models, their use in scenarios and other important information.

Want to know more?

If you're still not sure you want to hit the 'add to cart button' there's a demo version available to download here or you could take a look at the manual.

This is a download only product.

Click here to buy!