Beiträge von holzroller

http://store.steampowered.com/app/258659/ £11.99

The unique Class 73 remains the only electro-diesel locomotive to be seen on the UK’s rail network, and now comes to Train Simulator in InterCity Gatwick Express livery, complete with the Class 488 and Class 489 to recreate authentic Gatwick Express services.

The Class 73 was designed to operate on both 650/750V DC third rail and diesel power, following British Railways’ 1955 modernisation plan and an increase in electrification in the Southern Region. The Class 73 was built in two stages - the first six locomotives were built by BR in 1962 at Eastleigh Works (initially classified as Class 72) with the remaining 42 in the Class built by English Electric at their Vulcan Foundry between 1965 and 1967.

Initially designed for mixed traffic use, the Class 73 had limited power output of 600hp when operating under diesel traction mode; when operating on third rail, the power output was considerably higher at 1,600hp, meaning the Class spent most of its time in Southern England. Arguably one of the most famous uses was hauling the Gatwick Express services between London Victoria and Gatwick from the mid-1980s until 2005, although many Class 73s could be seen hauling other passenger, freight, parcels and boat trains, and also as ‘Thunderbird’ rescue locomotives.

To date, all but 10 of the Class remain, some in mainline service with others preserved, and current owners include GB Railfreight, Network Rail, South West Trains and Eurostar.

The Class 488 started their lives as standard BR Mk2f passenger coaches. However, in the mid-1980s, BR’s search for new Gatwick Express stock to replace the ageing Class 423 ‘4-VEP’ saw a number of Mk2f coaches being converted into sets for the service.

Two sub-sets of Class 488 were produced, the 488/2 was rebuilt as two-car units for first class accommodation and the 488/3 was a set of three coaches for standard class only, both sub-classes with the addition of air conditioning and Southern Region multiple unit control jumpers.

Following privatisation, the Class 488s were only used on Gatwick Express services, sandwiched between a Class 73 and Class 489. From 2000, Class 488 services were gradually replaced by new Class 460 ‘Juniper’ EMUs, although some units still remain in service with operators such as Network Rail, Northern Ireland Railways and the Ministry of Defence.

As BR continued its upgrade to Gatwick Express services, a number of DMBSO coaches from Class 414 2HAP EMUs were converted into DMLV coaches specifically for airport trains. Coupled with Class 488 and Class 73 stock, the Class 489 was a driving motor coach with capacity to transport luggage, with a top speed of 90mph (145 km/h).

As with the Class 488, withdrawals of the Class 489 began in the early 2000s, with all completely removed from Gatwick Express services by 2005. Half of the Class survived into preservation, with three units still being used by Network Rail for de-icing maintenance trains.

The BR Class 73 for Train Simulator is available in InterCity ‘Gatwick Express’ livery and includes Class 488/2 Mk2e TFO, Mk2e TFOH, Class 488/3 Mk2e TSO and Mk2e TSOH passenger coaches in InterCity ‘Gatwick Express’ livery, plus Class 489 GLV driveable cab car in InterCity ‘Gatwick Express’ livery, as operating on the London-Brighton route in the early 2000s. The Class 73 features a dual power-control unit to allow the locomotive to run under diesel and third rail power, Driver Safety Device (DSD), Driver Reminder Appliance (DRA), Electro-Pneumatic brake, plus accurate and authentic sounds recorded from 73210, access kindly provided by the Mid-Norfolk Railway.

The locomotive is also Quick Drive compatible, giving you the freedom to drive the BR Class 73 on any Quick Drive enabled route for Train Simulator, such as those available through Steam. Also included are scenarios specifically for the London-Brighton route (available separately and required to play these scenarios).
Scenarios
Three scenarios for the London-Brighton route:

• A Crowded Space (Class 489)
• Outbound Express (Class 73)
• Return Diversion (Class 489)

More scenarios are available on Steam Workshop online and in-game. Train Simulator’s Steam Workshop scenarios are free and easy to download, adding many more hours of exciting gameplay. With scenarios being added daily, why don’t you check it out now!

Click here for Steam Workshop scenarios.
Key Features

• BR Class 73 in InterCity ‘Gatwick Express’ livery
• Dual power control for diesel and third rail running
• Driver Safety Device (DSD)
• Driver Reminder Appliance (DRA)
• Electro-pneumatic brake
• BR Class 488/2 Mk2e TFO passenger coach
• BR Mk2e TFOH passenger coach
• BR Class 488/3 Mk2e TSO passenger coach
• BR Class 489 GLV with driveable cab
• Quick Drive compatible
• Scenarios for the London-Brighton route
• Download size: 234mb

According to the BBC news, the problems at Bombardier are caused by their Aerospace division, not the rail division. Cost overuns on their new C series jet have drained the money out of the company, but this now affects all parts of the company. For those who read english http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-35594320 1000 jobs will go in Northern Ireleand

The creator of the JT route has posted on UKTS that the route is a completely new build and is in fact one long route. The terminology used is because two sections of the route used have already been modelled in their own right, but these older routes are not used in the new route at all. It is no colloboration.

I think it is a completely seperate project from JT.

More difficult to understand is that apparently the new Class 175 will come with scenarios for the route. In real life these only make a 10 journey on this line. If all the freight facilities are modelled then it may be interesting. Otherwise it will be for the bargain bin. Much disappointment on UKTS as people had been expecting a line more suited to the class 175.

@kiter Personally I wonder if the UE version is as well developed as people think, I wonder if it is still far away and that is why the urgent need for many new releases and the sudden focus on bugfixes. Maybe I'm wrong, we will find out later in the year anyway. In the meantime, for me and others the current screenshots don't match the statement from DTG, but maybe they will surpise us, or maybe they will release another Turkey like the original Donner Pass. Hopefully not.

I suggested Schusters signals to them in my reply. But as we say "Don't hold your breath waiting". Not sure how much input Matt Peddleston really has. It is all down to time and money, and at the moment I have the impression that it is even more so.

DTG's response to mine and other criticisms on Facebook;
The route has been extensively overhauled and improved over the original product with much care and attention given to the detail.

Off-topic, but I did not see the post about RETB, we have this in some parts of Scotland and I could tell you some horror stories about it. It is far from perfect and especially so before GPS was fitted to the trains.Before GPS the only way the signal man knew where a train was located was when the train driver told him over the radio. The signalman could be over 100 miles away, there were a few near misses. When I started we had tokenless block between Dyce and Forres (a little safer, but still with a dangerous flaw) and token block Forres to Inverness (the safest, but still not perfect).

The only report worth reading will be the final one from the investigators. I am not so familiar with German interlocking, but I thought too did the press exagerate the ease with Which Examined a mistake Could be Caused. Here in the UK When I Was Instructed to pass a signal at danger Whether single or double track I always ran at greatly reduced speed until the next signal, I would expect it to be the same in Germany, but I am not familiar with your procedure for this. The point of my post what not to blame but to give an example of how things can go badly When people are under pressure. That signalman had worked for over 40 years without error. To err is human, only gods are perfect and They Do not work on the railway or post on this forum. I have seen firsthand the stress in a busy signalbox, in the driving cab, and on the ground. So I've Witnessed some very bad decisions and made a couple myself, fortunately mine caused no harm, could easily have been different. A colleague of mine made a decision did cost a young nurse her life, something he lived with for the rest of his life. The railway is a dangerous and at times unforgiving place

Yes it is very important to be sure of facts in such a matter, it is all to easy to unintentionally add to the pain of those involved. Everybody on the railway is human, once before I became a train driver and was still a guard a signalman at Laurencekirk almost killed my driver and myself, he panicked, became confused, made a very stupid decision and did something very dangerous. We were very lucky that night, the intention was not bad, but the result was almost fatal. I think the dispatcher will punish himself for the rest of his life far more than any court of law may do if he is responsible. In my case the signalman never worked again, I had no animosity to him, he was human.

Today many examples of solidarity and respect for those lost souls from the railway family have been posted here

Even in this day of a fragmented railway still the family unites in the hour of need.

There is some speculation that 3DTrains authors of the route in MSTS were involved. Looks pretty but I am not a fan of long low speed routes, but those of you who are seem to be enjoying the route, so happy driving.

Some avoid copyright by making a patch with the logos available as a free download. Although this is usually for complete models rather than re-skins.

DTG have also released many models that are simple repaints, and often at full price. As always it is personal choice whether you buy or not. Not everyone has the skill or time to produce reskins themselves.

off topic; I think there is still hope for the German TS as long as VR, 3D Zug, VT and TTB continue to produce excellent add-ons. Versystem appear to be taking an interest in upgraded sounds, and who knows they could become the AP of Germany, if sales are sufficient. Then you will just need a German equivelant to SSS. You also have a freeware community that seems to have become much more active and have produced some beautiful routes with more on the way. All is not perfect with the British add-ons from DTG, now Trainworks have taken an interest in the routes there is an improvement, although for some DB tracks is not an option, German and British track construction is done to differing standards. However there are also many many signalling errors on the DTG routes and so far nobody has tried to fix them for all the usual reasons, and some faults with the rolling stock are only fixable by DTG. On topic;
I too wonder how well such a long route with a reasonable leve of AI will run, especially as we have no equivelent to TTB AI packs. The route author is not the same as Newcastle Edinburgh as far as I know, and they have avoided some of the production problems they had with that route. But the proof is in the eating as we say.

For anybody wishing to keep up with their developments and future releases Fastline have set up a Trello board here https://trello.com/b/BEWr39An/stock-pack-progress

A couple of the testers and the route creator have said on UKTS that is one long route, that the short branches are not modelled and that it runs well on a 5 year old computer, although it has also been said that the london end is asset heavy and can affect performance. It has also been said that the route has been built completely from scratch, so the the term update which has been used is slightly misleading, non of the original routes are part of it. This makes me wonder what exactly we will get, especially after Newcastle - Edinburgh and the Far North line which is particularly unsucessful. Time will tell.

For those who wish to express their respect for those who have passed on and compassion for those left behind a memorial page has been created here http://www.ovbtrauer.de/mobil/…ahnunglueck-9999-31129999