[OTTD] Dave's Screenshots - Old Screenshots Compilation

[Dave]

That's not a poor shout actually, I quite liked the idea of turning them off, but incredible ballache for whenever I'm trying to do screenies just to turn them off. Unless there's a hot key?

Thanks for your input on t hat, it's one thing i've always thought about in repping my network faithfully.

[Nite Owl]

Having always been a fan of good substance regardless of how it is achieved (especially if it includes a good narrative component) I find this work most impressive.

Keep 'em coming Dave.

[AndersI]

The Sudbury and Sotherton stations look a wee bit too large - actually much too large - for the current size of the towns. Are you building for the future?

[SkeedR]

How far are you from building in Wiltshire then Dave? Or is there no wiltshire... :/

[EDIT] *facepalm* I should really actually look at what I'm commenting on first rather than going by memory. Now, where's Chippenham?

[Gord]

Well the screenshots are enough to get me posting again.

I like them. I like your style of game Dave. Just how I like to play.

Maybe you'll inspire me to get one of my games going again...

....maybe work will calm down and i'll find the time.

I'll have to dig out my own screenshot thread at some point this year.

Thanks for bringing back your thread Dave.

[John]

That's not a poor shout actually, I quite liked the idea of turning them off, but incredible ballache for whenever I'm trying to do screenies just to turn them off. Unless there's a hot key?

Yeah, for some reason I like playing with them showing - I guess I like being able to see that yes, the game is doing what I want it to do.

But then on screenshots it kind of ruins it...

Nice screenies, but as you have use of the GB station set and I don't, I shall call you rude words in a jealous rage. Tosspot.

[Dave]

The Sudbury and Sotherton stations look a wee bit too large - actually much too large - for the current size of the towns. Are you building for the future?

Sotherton not so much - platforms are full most times, but in terms of length yes, definitely for the future, when 12-car pendolinos are the norm, etc.

[Chrill]

What bugs me is that you use separate stations to direct trains into the right platforms (or so it appears). Would this not cause issues with passengers ending up in one station and similar?

[Dave]

Not if you're careful enough to route through rather than stop at. There are some odd workings behind the scenes but bear in mind I'm just trying to build a realistic network... I say trying.

It's making a profit too.

[Dave]

A VERY busy scene at Newcastle showing the recent overcrowding on the West Coast Main Line. There are no fewer than six service trains in shot. Just leaving Newcastle is 0-6-0T No. 7268 on a stopping service between Newcastle and Poole. Just arriving to its right is City Class 4-4-0 No. 3419 on a semi-fast service to Yeovil.

Behind it, and waiting for a clear run, is A1 4-6-2 No. 60105 on an express between Cambridge and Poole. To its right is classmate 60106 on the return journey. This is being held up by 0-6-0 Freight engine No. 4030 with empty coal wagons on its way back to Knutsford. To the west of the station is 4031 with empty tanker wagons on its way from Cresswell refinery to Frome's oilfields.

Dawlish.png (378.71 KiB) Viewed 3921 times

In this unusually quiet scene at Dawlish, we see the need for expansion. The town has grown very quickly and is now underserved by only semi-fast trains, whilst smaller towns such as Poole have express services. In the ECML modification project, Dawlish is expected to be rebuilt into a much larger station, and act as a through station for Nine Elms and Fletton, as well as the southern terminus of an extension to the unconnected towns in the west of the Moreton Levels.

Meanwhile up in the north at Stafford, plans are afoot to close the shed and rebuild the area as extra platforms, as this important city grows. A new south chord will be built from Exeter to Stafford, which will relegate Newport to a mere extension. The current East Coast Main Line from Exeter to Newport will remain for some semi-fast services, meaning the congested Newport station will share its commuter services. Express services will now run exclusively to Stafford, whilst there will be a new through semi-fast service from Sotherton St James to Preston. Preston-Newport services will also remain. It is likely that the Moreton Levels Line will terminate south of Stafford at Horsham, but the city of Stafford has applied for a through line, giving two routes from the capital to the "Jewel of the North", although linespeed on the Moreton Levels Line will be much slower, and the line will serve at least a dozen minor villages along the lakes.

[Dave]

These screenshots show the development of the railway in the Dawlish area, as in the aforementioned post, the station has undergone a major refurbishment in preparation for the opening of the Moreton Levels Line.

Work started at Dawlish in the summer of 1927 with Phase 1a, which involved the building of new tracks in the area. Dawlish Borough Council insisted on a new road network to be added to by the corporation, so a four-track level crossing was constructed across the north of the old station. Trackwork for the new platforms and running lines to the north was laid, but none of the new tracks were connected at this point. In shot is 0-8-0 8895 with a works train consisting of goods vans, rail-carrying flatbeds and ballast wagons, as well as an inspection saloon behind its tender.

Three months later, demolition work on the bay platform at Dawlish had taken place, leaving the station temporarily in a two-platform layout - a south facing crossover was added to the south of the station to allow a single terminating service to turn back at Dawlish, which can be seen in shot here, powered by 0-6-0T 7260 heading towards Dawlish. 8895 also makes another appearance. Note the roads built around the station at the behest of the local authority.

A month later, with a much increased workforce, Dawlish was already well on its way to completion, the new through platforms are built, although devoid of any fixtures. Note the length of the platforms, much increased on the original platforms, which will be brought up to this standard later - the BTB's poor projection of growth in the town of Dawlish left them requiring to upgrade within just 6 years of the railway coming to the town.

[Dave]

Continued...

Just a month later, the graceful elegance of Dawlish's newly designed station building is complete, as are the new platforms and fixtures. Work continued throughout the first two weeks of December 1927 to complete the work at Dawlish, whilst the station was closed to stopping trains. The BTB estimated a loss of around £40,000 in revenue from this closure alone. 4-6-2 No. 60102 approaches the station with an express to Sotherton St James. Under new proposals, these express trains would stop additionally at Dawlish.

During the Christmas Blockade on the East Coast, the track to the north was finally rationalised for signalling and the lines were connected. This shot shows the removal of the Up Line. The Down Line will remain in situ for use in the new Dawlish Locomotive Works, to be built throughout early 1928. 8895 makes another appearance, carrying mainly signal equipment.

Phase 3b, carried out between the 27th December and 8th January, built the final crossovers at the north of the station, constructed prefabricated signal-boxes and signalled the two sets of lines. The Dawlish Levels Line leaves the ECML just to the north of this shot, which shows the completed construction of both the running lines and the station. Capacity enhancement has already solved the issues at Dawlish, where as we see here 4-6-2 No. 60101 passing a semi-fast service headed by 4-4-0 No. 3403 through the station.

[Dave]

Continued...

In this final screenshot, we see the Locomotive Works. Completed in March 1928, the works has already churned out 9 locomotives, 6 4-4-0s numbered 3428-3433 and 3 0-8-0 Freights numbered 8896-8898. The seemingly ubiquitious 8895 has been stabled for four months since the works' completion, but is expected to be joined by a classmate heading a similar train to build the Moreton Levels Line.

[Dave]

The toils of war in Europe have caused the government to demand a total ban on passenger travel. Passenger locomotives have been reassigned to coal and steel duties and services are few and far between.

However, the budget for the railway has not been totally decimated - and as such (now Sir) Dave Worley has been purchasing and building on new land in the preparation for a total revamp of service when the war ends. With Poole and Sotherton emerging as some of the the largest towns in the country, it was considered that a direct service, without a reverse at Sudbury and thus shortening journey times by up to an hour, was necessary. These two screenshots show the construction of two chords which offer north facing links to the Reedham Loop Branch Line. As well as these newbuilds, there has been a significant upgrade in the quality of the track to allow 90mph running throughout, meaning the new A4 trains currently being designed will have no problem keeping to time in crack express work between Poole and Sotherton.

Knutsford North Curve 31st Mar 1941.png (182.91 KiB) Viewed 3646 times

Note here the signal box. This has since been renamed Knutsford No. 1 and joined by a signal box at the north end of Knutsford North Jn.

Reedham North Chord 31st Mar 1941.png (267.68 KiB) Viewed 3646 times

This chord allows the removal of Reedham Turnback Siding to the south of the station.

Other projects planned whilst service is light is the quadrupling of the East Coast Main Line as far as Dawlish North Junction and other minor projects to improve the overall running of the railway, as well as new lines to freight facilities to fund the war effort.

[bwong]

Again, you always seem to make people say "wow" when they see your screenshots

[Wintersoldier]

I am amazed.

[nighthawk_c_m]

Now those are quite some beautifull shots I must say. But also I must ask if there is any news at all on the British Stations set - a possible release - a pre release beta?

Keep up the awesome Shots Sir Dave Worley

[Dave]

I'm afraid it's not my bag! I'm playing the pre-release given to me by daylight/mph who hasn't been around for a while.

Hound jvassie and Ameecher about these things

[Dave]

Couple of updates for you. It's still April 1941.

Here's a routemap:

And here's a schematic map:

Now I have to reassign all the trains between depots and lines to get back to normality. My station ratings have taken a huge beating and it is as if I've "started again".

Many more screens to come.

[Dave]

Archive aerial photo of Sotherton station, April 1939

Redevelopment of the Sotherton area was earmarked as important after the draft timetable for the British Transport Board's new services found that it would now see around 500 services per day (in game terms, 47 trains would now operate over 20 routes out of the station's 7 platforms.)

As such, the redevelopment of Sotherton St James, accelerated by bomb damage to the country end of the station in November 1940, was commissioned by Sir Dave Worley to shorten the mainline platforms by 80 metres (2 squares) to 280 metres (7 squares). This length is more than enough for the trains currently using the station. The local line platforms have been lengthened to 240 metres (they were built with a bigger gap between concourse and track to allow the complex electrical equipment to be placed behind the buffer stop) and the former crossover known as "The Well" due to its low-lying nature was removed. A new tunnel construction method led to the easy building of short tunnels under raised land at the end of the station, which has been used to house the new Sotherton Loop platforms. Access is via the mainline platforms. This hasn't changed the alignment of the Loop Line tracks but has meant the disuse of the old Sotherton North Tunnel. It has since been used as an air raid shelter. St James' Chord has been moved slightly to the left and now joins the mainline at the top half of the junction.

All of this means there are now 7 mainline platforms. The three ex-local platforms have had their electrification equipment retained to allow for an easy switchover in the future, although this will mean a change of voltage as the electrification being developed is at 25kV, whereas the Sotherton Loop line system is built to a 1500v DC current. The bombing also destroyed the trackwork at the north of the station, which has been reworked to allow access to all platforms from all lines, whilst establishing a bi-directional system as far as Fletton Junction, where trains are then filtered to their various running lines.

Construction cost one million pounds, and took 8 months.