[OTTD] JamesP's UK Screenshots

[JamesP]

Having enjoyed TTD, TTDP and then OTTD for many years, and having 'lurked' here for slightly fewer years, enjoying the hard work of others, I decided it was high time I contributed to the forums.

The way I enjoy the game is to create a network which has a 'real' feel to it, rather than any emphasise on big profits. The 'real' which I aspire to is always UK outline, in a set era. On my current map, it's 1970s-80s.

As is the norm on much of the real UK rail network, there are lots of trains on relatively little infrastructure - it's congested, and if I want to add a new train service which will push a given route 'over the edge' in terms of capacity, I think as UK rail operators have to - the smallest possible infrastructure capacity enhancement to cram in the extra trains without the whole things grinding to a halt.

Whenever possible I stick to UK practice, such as mostly flat junctions rather than flyovers, even where it's a pain operationally (just like in real life!)

I spend a lot of time just watching my network operate, watching late running trains and their ability to gradually recover time (all passenger trains are timetabled, where as freight normally runs to a 'wait for full load' system), making little network refinements where needed. I therefore take no notice at all of the system date, as you'll see when we get to the screenshots. In my mind, we remain in the chosen era.

Moving to the current map, this is the 'Robin Region'. Region of what I don't know - there is no attempt to recreate a specific part of the UK (and no real UK town names used). But there is plenty which has echoes of parts of the UK rail network.

We can see on the map that there is a coastline to the North East, and the North part of the map is flat and heavily populated. Away from that areas we get into the hills. Population is more sparse, although there are still some large cities with surrounding towns and villages.

There are a number of main lines connecting major cities, connecting numerous secondary routes, suburban networks and rural branch lines. Also on the map is a preserved steam railway, and also a main line steam special slipping between normal scheduled services. There are currently 630 trains in total.

[Jacko]

holy moly. thats kinda impressive

[Gord]

Liking the sound of this...

...looking forward to the shots!

[Level Crossing]

Sounds interesting...

but Gord took the words out of my mouth!

[JamesP]

We'll start at the capital - Sonninghall. Looking at the map on the first post, this is the city towards the top of the map, at the heart of the 'spiders web' of routes. The heavy commuter traffic of the densely populated north of the region is largely towards Sonninghall, and this traffic is the company's greatest income source.

Sonninghall has two main termini - North and South - as well as a couple of smaller termini and a number of intermediate suburban stations on the numerous routes out of the city.

In the picture we see Sonninghall South; an AC (overhead) electrified terminus of routes to the South and East. A number of primary routes run to this terminus, with both main line and suburban services.

In the picture the station throat is typically busy, with two EMUs stood awaiting platforms on lines from the East, and another approaching from the South. An HST snakes its way to the carriage sidings to stand down before its next working, while another makes a typically smoky start on a fast service to Dredhead Cross. Meanwhile an electric-hauled service from Plennington rolls into platform 7, a couple of minutes late after following a suburban services for the last few miles of its journey.

To the bottom of the picture is the first suburban station on the Plennington line - Hetown Central. Here two freight only lines leave the main line - one to the left (past Hetown Junction Box) connects to DC electrified (3rd rail) suburban lines into Sonninghall North. These lines appear on the left of the screen, through a tight left hand curve and into the busy suburban station, Sonninghall West.

Also worthy of note is Sonninghall Sonlink station at the very top of the map. Located in the heart of the city's financial district it is served by dual-voltage EMUs running DC powered to the North of the city and AC power to the East. There are strong echoes of London's Thameslink here. The company would love to add more or longer trains, but the line is absolutely full with trains and there is nowhere to build more infrastructure, so overcrowding manages demand...

As with the entire network, the lines and stations in the city were built with a rule that no more than 1 building per station could be destroyed, and re-landscaping was absolutely minimised. Building a railway in existing surroundings is much of the fun. Mind you, the city has grown since most of the stations were built, making them better surrounded than they were at first.

[Gord]

There we go! Just knew from your initial description it was going to be a good one. There's a real rush hour feeling about that shot.

Do you intend for the city to grow between those rails? A few road tunnels or bridges under/over the lines would give it a real city like feel!

Great shot!

[JamesP]

Moving to the North of the city, and we're into 3rd rail territory. A seemingly endless stream of EMUs roll in and out of the major Sonninghall North terminus. A 4-track mainline from the North-West is the coming together of four different routes in itself. Two more routes arrive from the North, plus the suburban lines from the West which we saw in the previous picture, coming through Sonninghall West. Here we can see the final stop on this route, Sonninghall Hill.

Like most lines in the region, there are a mixture of slow and fast trains (some have slow, semi-fast and fast). Here we can see a slow service from Heston accelerating out of Sonninghall Hill, while a fast service from more distant Tutford - which will not call - stands at the protecting signal awaiting the road.

Entering platform 1 is a Class 73 hauled mail train arriving from the Carriage Sidings. When loaded it will form the the evening departure to Sennington. At the far north of the picture we can see the entrance to the tunnel to Sonninghall Sonlink, which we saw in the previous picture.

Sonninghall North is not the city's only 3rd rail terminus. At the top of the picture is the smaller Hunnaman Street - originally built due to the refusal of the builders of 'North' station to allow another company access, although now both are owned by the same company, and Hunnaman street survives only because North station cannot handle any more trains. The lines from Hunnaman Street run through tunnels to Corin Street to the bottom of the picture, then on through Chufield Road, before linking with the lines from North station through Sonninghall West (the junction is just out of the picture). Trains from Hunnaman Street run to Trenfingley Market and Tindwood. Departing Chufield Road is a semi-fast Trenfingley service.

Finally, above the portals of Hunnaman Street tunnels are Corin Street sidings. Goods trains arrive here from Sefingfield Factory, and indeed the tail of one can be seen entering the tunnel beneath the main lines.

This area started out with flat junctions, but the money has had to be found to replace them, one by one, with dive-under tunnels, as congestion grew. Heavy 'Merry-Go-Round' (MGR) coal trains arrive on the 4-track main line from the North-West and run through Sonninghall Hill thence over the freight-only lines we saw in the previous picture and onto the AC lines out of Sonninghall South. They used to cause endless delays as they crawled over the North station approach, before the tunnels were dug.

That's it for tonight. If people are interested, more pictures will follow.

James.

[JamesP]

Thanks for the comments, all. I hope the pictures don't disappoint.

Gord - the city does continue to grow, but fairly slowly. I have the settings set this way because I don't like dramatic explosive growth in my cities. In the end I think it spoils the 'feel' for a network like this. I also rarely build any roads at all (just tidy up the the odd bit where the game fails to connect junctions etc). The city grows organically. I should probably replace a few level crossings with bridges though, as the game uses them instead of bridges to a greater extent than is UK practice. You're right that some bridges etc may improve the look.

On another map I went for something different and had densely packed very fast growing cities, and crammed in an inner-suburban network between it as it grew (building until it got to the point where there was nowhere else I could put a new line!) That was great fun, but totally different to this. I note there's an Underground train planned for release now. If that comes out, I might have another go!

[JamesP]

This is New Bintford on the Plennington main line, where the slow lines from Sonninghall North, end.

A 4-car EMU has just terminated on its slow inner-suburban working from Sonninghall North, and now makes its way to the Carriage Sidings. Later it will cross to the 'up' platforms to form the next slow service back to Sonninghall.

It has just been overtaken by an 8-car EMU on a semi-fast outer-suburban working from Sonninghall North to Frarhattan, further down the line.

On the 'Up' road a fully loaded 36 wagon MGR train is just joining the main line off the short branch from Sondwood pit, hauled by a pair of Class 20s, nose to nose. The 20s struggle with loads as heavy as this, and are only used on routes with light gradients. For more challenging routes a few more horsepower are required, as we'll see later.

The town of New Bintford itself has grown into an affluent commuter town since the arrival of the railway, although the station is a stiff walk from the town centre.

[JamesP]

Whilst the southern part of the region is generally less densely populated, it still has some sizeable cities, and Ganingwell is one of the biggest. On the map on the first post it can be seen at the centre of six converging routes at the bottom of the map. The city has a suburban network of its own, although it does not have enough of a hinterland of commuter towns to justify a network of the density of the capital, Sonninghall.

Ganingwell's central station seemed, at the time it was built, to be comfortably sufficient for the number of trains likely to serve what was a moderately sized town. As the town became a city and continued to grow around the station on all sides it became too late to expand and the four through platforms, plus two bays, became a serious bottle-neck.

Although I have said that the Robin Region spans a time period covering the 1970s and 80s, I dislike seeing trains alongside one another which never operated in service in the same year in real life. The map therefore has slight time warps as you move around it, and in these southern parts we are very much early in period. The fast trains through the city are Deltic hauled, accompanied by class 47 hauled rakes on the semi-fasts.

As we watch, one such 47-hauled train arrives from the south. It has just passed through St Marks - a suburban station added only recently as the city grew. There wasn't space for the 4-platform station needed, so there are 3 platforms with the middle one being bi-directional. A Class 101 DMU departs on a local stopping service.

To the left of the picture is Ganingwell West, with a Class 25 awaiting departure with a local service. In the opposite direction a train passes through non-stop formed of 6 coaches with a type 2 on both ends. This unusual arrangement is reminiscent of the "poor man's HST" used on Edinburgh-Glasgow shuttles in the 1970s. At Ganingwell it allows quick turn-arounds at Central station, where these trains terminate, so minimising platform occupancy at this congested location. The impressive power-weight ratio also brought journey time improvements to the fast Ganingwell-Wutfield shuttles when introduced.

Of note is that the Wutfield line is not yet under the control of Ganingwell power box, and still has semaphores controlled by local signal boxes.

North from Central station, the main line plunges into Ganingwell tunnels, and emerges directly into North station - a booked call only for local services. A southbound DMU is departing.

Aside from the other suburban stations visible, served by an ageing collection of first generation DMUs, the final station of particular note is Ganingwell North Hill. With Central station completely full, and the need for a new line into the city from the East, a new terminus was the only solution. With the city burghers unprepared to sanction compulsory purchase and demolition of buildings, this new terminus is well north of the centre, but convenient for this rapidly growing district on North Hill. Even then, the station's location necessitates a steep climb for the final half mile - a climb about to be tackled by another Class 25 hauled local service, just leaving Chenpool West. Chenpool - visible in the top right corner of the picture, was originally a separate town - and some of its residents still like to think of it as such - but in reality it has merged into Ganingwell, and has the feel of a suburb of the city.

[Jacko]

they look really really awesome. we want more!

[furiousuk]

Took me a while to workout what looked *odd* about the shots - no trees!!!

I like the region map though!

I like trees.

[JamesP]

Trees....huh. Yeah, I'd love to tell you that the lack of trees is part of a cunning strategy to achieve something-or-other, but I've no idea why there aren't any (aside from the obvious, that for some reason I've chosen the 'none' setting under 'tree algorithm'). I had never actually noticed it before.

Short of planting them manually over the entire map I don't think I can do much about it now so....

"The Robin Region is so named in memory of the large Robin population which sadly died out following the spread of Dutch Tree Disease in the early 1970s, leaving the area a deserted wilderness of....er.....treelessness."

OK, that's the lack of trees convincingly explained - back to our tour of the region......

[Jacko]

hehe, i just make them transparent when playing, but we do want some screenies, trees or no trees

[JamesP]

West of Ganingwell, lies a conurbation of towns centred around the industrial town of Meham.

This area is primarily served by a frequent service of all-stations DMUs, connecting with the cross-country route to Pronborough (with its heavy Class 45 hauled rakes of 13 mark 1 coaches) at the junction at Great Prawood - located just off this screenshot, to the West.

As we watch, two of these DMUs prepare to exchange tokens at Preningley Market East - to the right of the shot - before the Eastbound service takes the single line to the terminus at Binfingway-on-Water.

As the conurbation grew, though, pressure increased for a limited stop service to the regional centre at Gunnway, with the limited capacity and lengthy journey times afforded by the existing DMUs felt to be a restriction upon the economic development of the area. This limited stop service was eventually provided in the shape of five coach trains hauled by one of the area's erstwhile Type 2s.

In this view, one such train can be seen to the left of the shot. It has just emerged from Garnpool Tunnel and passed through the station before, on the falling gradient, the driver applies the first breath of the air on the brakes to start to reduce speed for the Meham Central call. After this it will complete the final leg of its journey to Preningley Market Central, terminating in the Eastbound platform in front of the station building. It will return West from the same platform, crossing over to the Westbound line on the crossover after the level crossing.

[Pilot]

Can I say i really like these?

[JamesP]

In the village of Grudstone nought-percent-financed Daewoos lurk behind remotely controlled carport doors, satellite dishes glitter from the roofs, copal varnished slices of barked Do-It-All elmwood proclaim Mulberry Lodge, South Fork and El Adobe. A blackboard outside the village pub vibrates in three-coloured chalk with the promise of Happy Hour, pool, premium guest beers and big screen satellite TV. The smell of stale lager and Doritos leaks up the main street to the church, where laserprinted A4 pages flap announcements from the chancel wall promising car boot sales and outreach fellowship retreats in Wales. Lard-arsed fatties in Russell Athletic sweatshirts swap Sensual Love Guide CD-ROMs with their neighbours as their Nike-ticked kids line up burger cartons on the barbecue patio and zap them with turbo-boosted water guns. The girls smear blusher on their cheeks and poke their tongues out fiercely when they meet your eye.

Well, maybe it’s not so bad. Somewhere between warm gloop and cold water is the tepid truth about the village of Grudstone, which gets on with life as charmingly as it can. There was a time when the very Mansion furniture wax, dividend tea and gymkhana girls of sentimental memory were themselves modern and noisomely resented intrusions; books will one day be written that recall CD-ROMs and Russell Athletic sweatshirts in a nostalgic melancholy haze as fervent and foolish as any.

(with apologies to Stephen Fry)


The Robin Region isn't all about large conurbations and dense inter-urban rail networks. Grudstone station was listed for closure - along with neighbouring Plondinghead - in Dr Beeching's report in the early 1960s. Thanks largely to local stone traffic the branch line from Sedinghattan clung on into the late 60s. However the loss of this traffic to road transport signalled the end, and the closure notices were finally posted in the autumn of 1968.

A decade or so later, and the smell of steam once again wafts from the engine shed at Grudstone. The line has been taken over by an enthusiastic group of volunteers, and after several years of hard work, it has been restored to working order. As we watch, a 2-6-4 tank - similar to those used on the line by British Railways - departs Grudstone with a train of Clestory coaches of a rather older vintage, for Sedinghattan Valley - where it enjoys cross-platform interchange with local class 158s on the main line.

In the yard is a collection of the railway's other engines and rolling stock, including a Hunslet tank and a steam railmotor.

The attractive run to the coast and the nostalgia of working steam is enough to bring enough tourists to the line to keep it running throughout the year, with 'Santa Specials' in December.

[Nite Owl]

You can add trees to your game. The method for doing so is as follows:

1) Find your save game file and make a copy of it. Change the file extension on the copy from .SAV to .SCN. This keeps the original file intact should something go wrong.
2) Load that file into the Scenario Editor.
3) Open the Tree Toolbar and click the Random Trees button as many times as you wish to add trees to your entire map. Do NOT unpause your game at any time while in the Scenario Editor.
4) Save the Scenario and exit the Scenario Editor.
5) Change the file extension on the file you just saved from .SCN to .SAV.
6) Load that file into the game and play as usual but now with trees.

[SwissFan91]

You beat me to it Nite Owl. Out of interest, why must you not unpause your game?

[Nite Owl]

It will default the date of the saved scenario (.SCN file) to whatever year (January 1st) is set in the Scenario Editor. This could cause strange behavior to occur such as vehicles being out of date and your year end financial reports being scrambled. As an example: If your game has progressed to 1960 but the editor is set to 1920 and you forget to change the year in the Scenario Editor when you reload the .SAV (changed from .SCN) the date of your game will be January 1st 1920. Even if you remember to change the year to match your saved game if you unpause it in the Scenario Editor the date will default back to January 1st of that year. You will also not be credited for any deliveries your company makes while the Scenario Editor is running. That is secondary though to the many problems that could potentially occur if the Scenario Save (.SCN) and the Game Save (.SAV) get out of sync with regards to the date. If you do NOT unpause while in the Scenario Editor then the back and forth conversion will keep the exact same date as the originally saved game.