Recreation of Real Stations

[Gord]

Drive over quite a bit nowadays to be honest. Last time i took the train to Lowestoft must have been christmas 2002....the trains were Anglia green then!

[Ploes]

High Wycombe
*snip*
Platform 2 caters for northbound trains towards Birmingham. Various services run through, including services terminating at Bicester North, Stratford-upon-Avon, Snow Hill and Kidderminster.

I like the gap between 2 and 3!
Just a point, Platform 2 is also signaled to take services to London. I don´t think its in the current time table, but it used to be so 168s could overtake 165.

</padantic>

[jvassie]

The current timetable is scheduled so that a fast train departs Marylebone, followed by a semi-fast, followed by an all-stops. This is repeated every half-hour afaik.

And all trains on the Chiltern line are regulated to 75mph

[jvassie]

Nottingham

The station at Nottingham sees over 5 million passengers per annum, and has 6 platforms. Platform 1 is normally used for trains to the east, including Norwich, Peterborough and Ely. A Midland Mainline HST set is seen with a service towards Leicester. Platform 2 is an east-facing bay platform, used for terminating trains from Grantham or Newark. A 2-car Class 156 is waiting for departure with a train bound for Grantham. Platform 3 sees trains towards Kings Cross and St. Pancras via Leicester. A pair of Class 156's operated by Central Trains are on a service to Norwich. In the middle are passing tracks in both directions, a class 67 is hauling a rake of empty bogie's west towards Crewe. Platform 4 sees trains running northbound, to Sheffield and beyond. Platform 5 is for Eastbound traffic again, and sees regular services by Central Trains CityLink services. Lastly Platform 6, Westbound trains towards Leicester and Lincoln. A Pair of old Pacers are just arriving with a train from Norwich.

Name: Nottingham
Platforms: 6
Principal Destinations: London St. Pancras, Birmingham New Street, Norwich, Leicester, Lincoln, Liverpool and others.
Operators: Central Trains and Midland Mainline

[Raichase]

The current timetable is scheduled so that a fast train departs Marylebone, followed by a semi-fast, followed by an all-stops. This is repeated every half-hour afaik.

And all trains on the Chiltern line are regulated to 75mph

Interesting - does the first express ever catch up with the all-stations ahead of it?

[jvassie]

It shouldn't do, because of the timings, the all-stops will have reached the terminus somewhere along the line, (they dont normally go all the-way) and the express will pass on by. Thats for trains from London. On trains to London, the express normally catches up to the All-stops ahead of it in Ruislip, where there are overtaking tracks.

[Ameecher]

Sheffield

Name: Sheffield Midland
Number of Platforms: 9
Destinations: Norwich, Liverpool, Manchester, Nottingham, London (St. Pancras), Derby, Leicester, Hull, Leeds, Doncaster, Edinburgh, Bristol plus lots of others served by Northern Rail.
TOCs: Midland Mainline, Virgin Cross Country, TransPennine Express, Northern Rail, Central Trains and also Sheffield Supertram

Taken from Wikipedia:


In a normal days work local services run by Northern use platforms 1a / 1b, 3 and 4, whilst terminating trains of Midland Mainline normally use Platform 5. Midland Mainline services passing through and Cross Country services use platform 2 for northbound and platform 6 for southbound departures. Central Trains services on the Norwich-Liverpool axis use 2, 5 or 7, TransPennine Express use platform 2 eastbound and platform 8 westbound leaving platform 2c for the use of the Sheffield-Manchester local trains.

In the screenshot are 2 Midland Mainline HSTs, on platform 1 and 6, Platform 2C is occupied by a Northern Rail 156 (on loan from Central Trains). Platform 5 is occupied by a pair of SuperVoyagers with a service to the North. Platform 7 is occupied by a Central Trains, Liverpool to Norwich, this services reverses here to gain access to the Hope Valley line to Manchester. Platform 3 is home to a Transpennine Express 158 (on loan from Central) and another 158 belonging to Central negotiates the point work to the north of the station on an ECS move. A DRS 66 takes the through line with a rake of Coal Hoppers.
2 Duewag/Siemens Supertrams operate the Blue Line service past the station.

[jvassie]

Didcot Parkway

The station at Didcot is quite a hub, with trains departing for journeys far to the north, like Newcastle and Aberdeen, trains to the far South-West, like Exeter and Cardiff, and trains to the East, like Paddington, and Brighton. It sees both local and intercity trains towards London, intercity towards the south-west, and both towards the north. Consisting of 5 platforms, of which only 4 are regularly used, trains depart and arrive often, quite a spotters paradise. Situated to the North of the station is the Railway Centre, with a lively and fun museum, and north of that, the East Curve which allows non-stop trains to bypass the station completely, for example Virgin trains that don't stop. Platform 1 is for West-bound Fast trains, of which a few stop. Platform 2 is for London-bound Fast trains, and a FGW HST is seen pausing briefly, with a train from Swansea, bound for Paddington. Platform 3 is used for local trains north-bound, towards Oxford and Birmingham, and the occasional Virgin stopping service. A 3-car Class 165 is arriving with a train to Oxford from Paddington. Platform 4 sees trains in the opposite direction, and another 3-car lass 165 is arriving with a London-bound train. Platform 5 is used rarely these days, for when the station is extremely busy normally. On the curve, a Virgin Trains Voyager passes with a service to Birmingham from Bournemouth, and on the west curve, a Class 59 hauls a rake of empty coal wagons back North.

Name: Didcot Parkway
Platforms: 5
Principal Destinations: London Paddington, Oxford, Bristol, the South-West, the North, Cardiff and Swansea.
Operators: First Great Western and Virgin Trains

[Ben_K]

Great work fellas! Really interesting to see these in 'TTD format'!

[Raichase]

Sod you lot, I'm going to get us some AUSSIE stations

Still, nice work from you guys though, having never seen the originals, the recreations still look cool

[DeletedUser6]

Derby


Name : Derby Midland
Platforms : 6
Destinations : Forgot...Will edit when I know.
Operators : In here : Midland Railway, London, Midland and Scottish Railway, British Railways, Midland Mainline, Virgin Trains


After the building of the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1825, a number of ambitious projects for long distance lines between cities had been mooted. Among these were a 'Grand Trunk railway' between London and Edinburgh, for both goods and passengers, via Bedford and Leeds, taking in the various cities in between and passing between Carlisle and Newcastle.
Meanwhile a number of short lines were built for specific purposes. Among these were the Mansfield and Pinxton and the Leicester and Swannington. Both these were feeders for canals, the former a wagonway, but were pivotal in later events. Possibly the longest was the Cromford and High Peak Railway, opened in 1833, to connect the Cromford Canal with the Peak Forest Canal. It attracted interest because it provided access to Manchester through the Peak District of Derbyshire, even today an obstacle to transport.
In the 1830s, lines were already in progress between Bristol and London and from each to Birmingham and thence to Liverpool and Manchester, and their promoters were looking ahead. Three schemes came to the fore for the East Midlands. The Grand Junction Railroad would connect Birmingham with Sheffield and Derby, with a branch to Nottingham and another branch from Sheffield to Manchester. There would also be a line to the East Coast at Goole. In 1824 the London Northern Railroad Company was formed to link Birmingham, Derby, Nottingham, Hull and Manchester with London. Two options were proposed. One would branch at Loughborough, with branches for Nottingham and Derby, and proceeding to Manchester by the Cromford and High Peak Railway. The other option would pass through Northampton, with a branch to Birmingham, go on to Derby, with a branch to Nottingham, and thence to the Cromford and High Peak. The Grand Midland Railway was a proposal to branch from the London to Birmingham railway, already under consideration, at Northampton, and bring it through Leicester, Loughborough and Derby to the Cromford and High Peak.
Towards the end of the 1820s, however, the economic climate of the country had deteriorated, and many investors were waiting to see how the new Liverpool and Manchester Railway would succeed. Moreover, not everyone shared the dream. For most people the canals were adequate for the carriage of goods, while few travelled very far. Most people lived their lives within a few miles of their birthplace. The later story of the railways was a classic one of a product generating a demand, rather than the other way around. Thus, what investment that was forthcoming was for ventures for which a need could be clearly perceived, with a reasonable expectation of a good, and rapid, return. Although the surveys were useful in the planning of later lines, the three were never built.
Derby investors, naturally, favoured the scheme by the Grand Junction Railway, to connect to the Cromford and High Peak Railway and Manchester, through Derby, (at what was to be called the Grand Central Station), since the London and Northern would pass through Sandiacre, some ten miles away. In the event, neither line was built. In addition, the Cromford and High Peak Railway was not ideally suited to passenger working, and an alternative via Bakewell and Chapel-en-le-Frith, would encounter very difficult terrain. (Manchester was not, in fact, reached until later in the century by the Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midlands Junction Railway and its extensions.)
The Midland Counties Railway was originally proposed to connect the Mansfield and Pinxton Railway to Leicester because of competition to supply coal. However, with the existing canal network, and the navigability of the River Trent to Nottingham, there had been few people willing to invest.
On the other hand, although the River Derwent flowed from Derby into the Trent, navigation was not easy. The Derby Canal had been opened in 1793 but, due to financial restrictions placed on it by Parliament, and the complex local politics of the day it had not been a resounding success. Thus the financiers in Derby vigorously supported any scheme which would bring a railway to the town.
George Hudson was chairman of the York and North Midland Railway, a proposed line from York towards the industrial markets of Manchester and Liverpool. He was interested in a southwards route and encouraged the building of North Midland Railway, later becoming its chairman. Meanwhile financiers in Birmingham, including G.C.Glyn, a banker and chairman of the London and Birmingham Railway, were looking to expand their system. Derby was in between. The Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway would it give a link from Yorkshire to London, and access to the coalfields, as well as other minerals.
Meanwhile the promoters of the Midland Counties Railway found investors further afield, who suggested a line linking Nottingham, Derby and Leicester, with an extension to Rugby for London. Their original plan in 1833 had been to bring their line to Derby at Darby's Yard and Exeter Gardens, at the east side of the present Market Place, with a bridge over the Derwent. Following Vignoles's reassessment in 1835 a new route was proposed, either North or South of the Derby Canal to a terminus near St. Mary's Bridge with a branch to Full Street near to John Lombe's Silk Mill. Both options would cross the North Midland lines north of the other station.
The North Midland planned to build their station near Nottingham Road, avoiding a river bridge, while the Birmingham and Derby planned to build theirs nearby. Possibly with encouragement from the Derby financiers, they realised the value of a link with the North Midland, and decided to bridge the river and share its station. It was usual in those days for new railways to build their own termini, but, while Derby people were enthusiastic about railways, they were less so about a multiplicity of stations. In 1836 the Town Council suggested a single station for all three companies. The Midland Counties engineer pointed out to his financiers that a good deal of money would be saved by joining the other two railways on a single site.
An alternative that was considered was an island bounded by the River Derwent and the canal, called The Holmes, now Bass's Recreation Ground. Not only was the space restricted and susceptible to flooding, the necessary trackwork would be complicated. Eventually, the present site was chosen, further south on the west bank, Borough's Fields, in the neighbouring hamlet of Litchurch, at the southern side of the Castlefields estate. It was a mile from the town, but the Council agreed to build a carriageway to the town centre, along Siddals Lane, now Siddals Road. The whole arrangement was confirmed by the North Midland Railway Act of 1839.

Above copyed from Wikipedia.

And heres a Screenshot:

[Ploes]

And all trains on the Chiltern line are regulated to 75mph

Not quite.

The 165s are 75mph.
The 168s are 100mph.
(and their one and only class 121 can only do 70!)

Oddly the 165s used on First Great Western Connect are geared to a max speed of 95mph.

Ryslip might be a good one to do, if you can use the London Underground trains!

[Badger]

Derby .... some other words.....
And heres a Screenshot:

I'm sorry but that looks nothing like Derby.

[jvassie]

And all trains on the Chiltern line are regulated to 75mph

Not quite.

The 165s are 75mph.
The 168s are 100mph.
(and their one and only class 121 can only do 70!)

Oddly the 165s used on First Great Western Connect are geared to a max speed of 95mph.

Ryslip might be a good one to do, if you can use the London Underground trains!

I know the trains have different max speeds, but the line speed is 75mph throughout from what i know..

[Ploes]

I know the trains have different max speeds, but the line speed is 75mph throughout from what i know..

If you´re really interested I can find out for you?

I´ve got some mates who are drivers for Chiltern. Thats how I knew about platform 2 being signaled both ways!

[jvassie]

Dont mind, i just live a few miles from it, so i regularly see it when i go to town, and ive been up to Birmingham and down to London many a time, all the markers i saw were for 75 i believe

[Ploes]

I think your mostly right, the more I think on it....

But north of Banbury there is some line that allows 100mph running, I'm sure.

Its a shame they arnt going to fork out the money to redo the fast lines at Beaconsfeild and High Wycombe since that would have upped the line speed of that bit of line to.

[jvassie]

Yeah, used to be through tracks, way before i was born though i think.

And north of Banbury, hmm, dont know tbh, i know that you have the Virgin Trains on that line too, but i dont think its any more than 75mph. /me hmms

[wallyweb]

Interesting background info with the screenies.
/me waits for more.

[Dave]

The Junction was coming at some point. You knew it.

Most of the things you see here are wrong in fairness, but are the best I could do with scale, trains available, etc.

Here we see Stourbridge Junction on a quiet Monday evening. In shot we have three Chiltern Railways 168s stabled at Stourbridge LMD after a return from London Marylebone. A three-car 150 sits in platform 3 awaiting the road for a service to Stratford-upon-Avon via Birmingham Snow Hill. A Class 66 hauls empty steel wagons through Stourbridge towards Round Oak, along the (now) freight-only South Staffordshire Line.

The single car 153 returns from Stourbridge Town with another short working. A Parry People Mover 60 model sits in the shed at the end of Platform 1. Now London Midland are about to take over the franchise, the use of this vehicle is becoming ever more likely.

Now... Infrastructure. You'll notice it's set on a high embankment. It actually does cross the road like that, and a good deal higher too. Strangely for railways, there are actually two separate bridges: one carrying the main line, the other the Town Branch. Due to the scope and space, the Town line appears to turn away far more dramatically than for real, although the drop all the way down to the station is realistic. The yard setup at Stourbridge is slightly more complex, but once again... Space... Scale... The line really does curve to the right heading towards Kiddy, and it really does diverge like that towards Birmingham. The line to Round Oak was once the Main Line (and was the first line in existance). There used to be a Stourbridge North Signal Box, and a South too, which led to the one left in existance to be called Stourbridge Middle Box. Chiltern DO store their 165s/168s at Stourbridge at night, and in fact the last service of the evening doesn't even get as far as Kidderminster before terminating. There is a huge viaduct (Stambermill Viaduct) on the way to Round Oak. I did put it in but it's somewhat out of shot. Not much more to say, other than the town centre is much further away, and the Junction is set in the middle of the middle-class suburbs of Stourbridge. For the record, the roads shown are almost perfect.


Onto the station itself then... You'll notice the platforms are set above the station building. This is essentially not true anymore, since the station building only consists of the entrance and ticket office. The real buildings are upstairs in the form of two waiting rooms, toilets, a crew room and a tiny shop. I couldn't find a likeness for these so left them out and just put in the boring flat roofs (which aren't too wrong, really). The station used to have four platforms and carriage sidings but you can see that the car park now occupies that space. There's also a dead bit of space at the west end of the station that is sectioned off by barriers. There's a small Network Rail depot in the car park too.

Platform 1 is served only by trains to Stourbridge Town. Platform 2 is served by trains to Birmingham and beyond. Platform 3 is primarily served by trains to Kidderminster and Worcester but is usually the starting point for trains to Stratford Upon Avon.

To elaborate, Platform 2 can accept trains from either direction (although it is rare that a train reverses from the yard into platform 2 to start from there), but only send them out towards Birmingham (there is a headshunt towards Hagley to the west that stops trains proceeding beyond). Platform 3 can only accept trains from the Birmingham direction, but usually sends them out westward, although as I said, quite a few trains terminate and either head back to Brum or into the yard. The 153 that swaps with the other uses platform 3 for this method, as does any vehicle wishing to access the yard.

I think that's all. Questions welcomed