Newsflashes about steamtrains or issues concerning add-on’s of steam locomotives.
july 26, 2017
Bulleid’s Southern workhorse, the Rebuilt Light Pacific,
An order was placed for a brand new steam locomotive that would fill the gap left by deferred electrfication, and Oliver Bulleid, CME of the Southern Railway, quickly went to work in designing such a loco. Thinking ahead was Bulleids’ game, in particular, he was considering the requirements of a post-war Southern Railway, where infrastructure was weaker, and not capable of handling big locomotives. A Pacific design was chosen, in particular, Bulleid simply went for a lighter variant of his Merchant Navy class.
In service, the “Light Pacific” locomotives, known as the West Country or Battle of Britain Class, earned a moderate reputation for being a powerful and versatile worker, and could be found almost anywhere. They shared their positives with the sister Merchant Navy Class, as well as their negatives, but overall the 110-strong fleet worked hard and did their duty, and would continue on in the south after British Railways took charge.
To improve upon their shortfalls, R. G. Jarvis of British Railways was assigned to rebuilding the entire fleet to a more conventional standard. Jarvis had already done this to the Merchant Navy Class with resounding success, and BR wanted the Light Pacifics to follow suit. The rebuild would completely strip the class of its iconic ‘Span Can’ design, instead, the locomotives would look more like a BR Standard locomotive with a Southern twist.
Despite the cosmetic changes later in life, the elegance of Bulleids’ Light Pacific locomotives cannot be ignored, be them named after Battle of Britain or West Country insignia, they changed the face of Southern Region operations.
For Train Simulator, Partner Programme developer Just Trains’ Rebuilt Bulleid Light is represented in British Railways Brunswick Green livery, and a total of 10 nameplated versions are included from both the ‘West Country’ and ‘Battle of Britain’ variants, they are:
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34001 Exeter
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34016 Bodmin
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34022 Exmoor
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34026 Yes Tor
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34027 Taw Valley
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34039 Boscastle
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34046 Braunton
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34059 Sir Archibald Sinclair
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34062 17 Squadron
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34101 Hartland
Advanced lighting and headcode features are present aboard the Rebuilt Bulleid Light Pacific, along with characteristic particle effects and changeable numbers and shed plates.
The Rebuilt Bulleid Light Pacific also features additional coaching stock; Maunsell’s Brake Composite (BCK), Composite (CK), Brake Third (BSK) and Third (SK) coaches are all included in British Railways Southern Green livery.
A trio of Career scenarios for the Somerset & Dorset Railway are the perfect way to display the Rebuilt Pacific’s potential to operate practically anywhere, the sharp grades of this line will put your skills to the test.
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July 24, 2017
The Orient Express
On June 5, 1883, the first Express d’Orient left Paris for Vienna. Vienna remained the terminus until October 4, 1883. The train was officially renamed Orient Express in 1891.
The original route, which first ran on October 4, 1883, was from Paris, Gare de l’Est, to Giurgiu in Romania via Munich and Vienna. At Giurgiu, passengers were ferried across the Danube to Ruse, Bulgaria, to pick up another train to Varna. They then completed their journey to Constantinople by ferry. In 1885, another route began operations, this time reaching Istanbul via rail from Vienna to Belgrade and Niš, carriage to Plovdiv and rail again to Istanbul.
WL Orient Express
In 1889, the train’s eastern terminus became Varna in Bulgaria, where passengers could take a ship to Constantinople. On June 1, 1889, the first direct train to Istanbul left Paris (Gare de l’Est). Istanbul remained its easternmost stop until May 19, 1977. The eastern terminus was the Sirkeci Terminal by the Golden Horn. Ferry service from piers next to the terminal would take passengers across the Bosphorus to Haydarpaşa Terminal, the terminus of the Asian lines of the Ottoman Railways.
The onset of World War I in 1914 saw Orient Express services suspended. They resumed at the end of hostilities in 1918, and in 1919 the opening of the Simplon Tunnel allowed the introduction of a more southerly route via Milan, Venice and Trieste. The service on this route was known as the Simplon Orient Express, and it ran in addition to continuing services on the old route. The Treaty of Saint-Germain contained a clause requiring Austria to accept this train: formerly, Austria allowed international services to pass through Austrian territory (which included Trieste at the time) only if they ran via Vienna. The Simplon Orient Express soon became the most important rail route between Paris and Istanbul.
Badge of the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits on a car of the Orient Express
The 1930s saw the zenith of Orient Express services, with three parallel services running: the Orient Express, the Simplon Orient Express, and also the Arlberg Orient Express, which ran via Zürich and Innsbruck to Budapest, with sleeper cars running onwards from there to Bucharest and Athens. During this time, the Orient Express acquired its reputation for comfort and luxury, carrying sleeping-cars with permanent service and restaurant cars known for the quality of their cuisine. Royalty, nobles, diplomats, business people and the bourgeoisie in general patronized it. Each of the Orient Express services also incorporated sleeping cars which had run from Calais to Paris, thus extending the service right from one edge of continental Europe to the other.
WL Golden Arrow
The start of the Second World War in 1939 again interrupted the service, which did not resume until 1945. During the war, the German Mitropa company had run some services on the route through the Balkans, but Yugoslav Partisans frequently sabotaged the track, forcing a stop to this service.
Following the end of the war, normal services resumed except on the Athens leg, where the closure of the border between Yugoslavia and Greece prevented services from running. That border re-opened in 1951, but the closure of the Bulgarian–Turkish border from 1951 to 1952 prevented services running to Istanbul during that time. As the Iron Curtain fell across Europe, the service continued to run, but the Communist nations increasingly replaced the Wagon-Lits cars with carriages run by their own railway services.
Luggage tag
By 1962, the Orient Express and Arlberg Orient Express had stopped running, leaving only the Simplon Orient Express. This was replaced in 1962 by a slower service called the Direct Orient Express, which ran daily cars from Paris to Belgrade, and twice weekly services from Paris to Istanbul and Athens.
In 1971, the Wagon-Lits company stopped running carriages itself and making revenues from a ticket supplement. Instead, it sold or leased all its carriages to the various national railway companies, but continued to provide staff for the carriages. 1976 saw the withdrawal of the Paris–Athens direct service, and in 1977, the Direct Orient Express was withdrawn completely, with the last Paris–Istanbul service running on May 19 of that year
The withdrawal of the Direct Orient Express was thought by many to signal the end of Orient Express as a whole, but in fact a service under this name continued to run from Paris to Bucharest as before (via Strasbourg, Munich, and Budapest). However, a through sleeping car from Paris to Bucharest — and even eastwards from Vienna — was only operated until 1982, and also a through seating car was only operated seasonally. This meant, that Paris–Budapest and Vienna–Bucharest coaches were running overlapped, so a journey was only possible with changing carriages — despite the unchanged name and numbering of the train. In 1991 the Budapest-Bucharest leg of the train was canceled, the new final station has become Budapest. In the summer season of 1999 and 2000 a sleeping car from Bucharest to Paris reappeared twice a week — now operated by CFR. This continued until 2001, when the service was cut back to just Paris–Vienna, already in EuroNight quality — but in both cases the coaches were in fact rather attached to a Paris–Strasbourg express. This service continued daily, listed in the timetables under the name Orient Express, until June 8, 2007.[4]
With the opening of the LGV Est Paris–Strasbourg high speed rail line on June 10, 2007, the Orient Express service was further cut back to Strasbourg–Vienna, departing nightly at 22:20 from Strasbourg, and still bearing the name, but lost the number 262/263 which was owned since decades.
The remains of the train had a convenient connection from/to the Strasbourg-Paris TGV, but due to the less flexible prices the changing has become less attractive. In the last years through coaches between Vienna and Karlsruhe (continuing first to Dortmund, then to Amsterdam and finally — partly from Budapest — to Frankfurt) were attached. The very last train with the name Orient-Express (now with a hyphen) has departed from Vienna at the 10th December 2009, and one day later from Strasbourg.
Source: Wikipedia
You can now purchase the coach set online at 3DZUG.
The best suitable engines available to haul th Orient Express is:
– Class Br 18 from Eisenbahnwerk/steamstore,
– Class 01 from BeeKay/Just Trains,
– Class 1189 Crocodile from Eisenbahnwerk/Steamstore
– Class 52 from Eisenbahnwerk/Steamstore European Asset Pack
– Class Re 4/4 420 from Trainworks in green livery
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July 6, 2017
Somerford Spectacular
Set in the steamy 1950s, the Malmesbury Branch route for Train Simulator recreates the sedate trundle north from Little Somerford station, of the South Wales Main Line, up to the historic market town of Malmesbury. As simple as it may seem, the gradients make mastering the Wiltshire countryside no easy task, and making sure you’re on time too, as to not disrupt the busy main line, makes for a thrilling and immersive journey, no matter what your duty!
T
he locomotives at hand, GWR’s iconic Pannier Tank and reliable Grange Class, are perfectly suited to the day-to-day challenges of the Malmesbury Branch; Light freight, heavy freight, passenger, mixed train. What better way is there to recount the classic steam era than by mastering the workhorses of the GWR?
To get you up to speed, 5 Career scenarios will have you run up and down the Malmesbury Branch, and even the disused line to Great Somerford, in varying weather conditions, be careful not to slip in the snow!
As you approach Little Somerford, both you and your passengers have the joy of watching the express trains run by, but don’t get too distracted, you won’t want to stall on the junction. And, with Quick Drive compatibility, you can take whichever GWR locomotive you desire on a little Malmesbury trip!
From Partner Programme developer, Just Trains, the Wiltshire ‘Wonder’, the Somerford ‘Spectacular’, the ‘Magical’ Malmesbury Branch is available now for Train Simulator!
Go to the websiteGo to the store
From 1950, 105 examples of this newly designed class were manufactured for medium passenger train and light express trainservices. They had welded 
Engines up to operating number 023 had Knorr surface preheaters and journal bearings. Locomotives with serial numbers 024 and 025, as well as those from 053 onwards were equipped with roller bearings for the axles and drive as well as mixer-preheaters.
A new site in addition to Steamtrains Unlimited is now under investigation in order to move the Guide to the new site. This is aimed to give much more freedom and a better way to improve and establish the website. The Need to expand has all to do with the limitations that is encountered within the workshop guide of steam.
The need of the expanding to a new site is nessecary in order to expand and to deal with the bandwidth of the website itself.
Having already made its place known, the Midland Railway grew a monopoly over the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire coal traffic and the Great Northern Railway, which consumed the ANB&EJR, wanted to have their own say in the lucrative industry. Since the original Ambergate line reached the outskirts of Nottingham, any further passage towards the city was through running rights. As the GNR sought to introduce their own coal traffic, the Midland Railway saw fit to significantly increase the cost of the rights to be prohibitively expensive. In return, the GNR decided instead to build their own infrastructure, it would be cheaper.
William Stanier, Chief Mechanical Engineer of the LMS, adjusted policies when stepping up to his role, and adapted his simply incredible ‘Black 5’ design to produce a more powerful heavy freight locomotive. The 4-6-0 wheel configuration was swapped out for an appropriate 2-8-0 equivalent with smaller driving wheels, and the end result was the Class 8F. The first of these new locomotives rolled out of the famed Crewe Works in 1935.
In the early 1900s, the Midland Railway’s Henry Fowler designed a new 0-6-0 locomotive which would be primarily focused around freight work. Two examples of this new loco, classified as the 3835 Class, emerged from Derby Works in 1911 and got busy on the main line. It would be another 6 years before more were built, and between 1917 and 1922, no less than a further 195 entered service.
The 3835 Class was a reliable freight hauler, and was considered a success, so when the Midland was absorbed into the LMS (and Fowler took CME status), the design continued to be produced, however new engines would be classified as the Fowler 4F. There were some minor modifications made in-between the Midland and LMS locomotives, mainly the switch from right-hand to left-hand drive, a standard among most of the British network (excluding GWR).
By the 1870s, the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway was in its prime, covering Sussex with hundreds of miles of track, which themselves were peppered with steam locomotives of various designs. William Stroudley, Locomotive Superintendent of the LB&SCR, sought to introduce a new fleet of locomotives that would bring standardisation to the roster, rather than dealing with the 70+ different classes which were a struggle to maintain.
One standard locomotive designed by Stroudley was classified as the A1, and it was to work amongst the hustle and bustle of a growing South London, hauling commuter trains between the likes of London Bridge, Victoria and Croydon. The first small batch of 6 locomotives rolled out of Brighton Works in 1872, and they were so successful that another 44 would be built, with the last entering service in 1880.
Until this point the A1 Class had been fully resplendent in Stroudley’s ‘Improved Engine Green’ livery, however since 1911, a select number of A1 locomotives, which were modified and reclassified to A1X, were repainted into a new Marsh Umber livery. Of course, other liveries also appeared on the A1s that were sold to other railway companies. Also, the A1’s distinctive ‘barking’ exhaust beat would soon earn the class the nickname ‘Terrier’.
The Isle of Wight Central Railway purchased 4 Terriers between 1899-1903, becoming the most popular class of locomotive on the line, with this number rising to 8 in total following the grouping and formation of the Southern Railway. It became something of a tradition during this time on the Island for the engines to be named after local towns and villages, as was the case with many LB&SCR locos, however one loco scrapped in 1926 never carried a name on the Island.
Nationalisation swept across the network in 1948, and British Railways inherited a single A1 and 14 A1X Class locomotives which had continued to strive. They would continue their duties initially, however their age was starting to catch up with them – replacement parts were expensive, and above all, the 1955 Modernisation Plan would see many of the lines they served fade away. The final example of the class, a modified A1X variant, was withdrawn in the summer of 1963, and after an astonishing 91 years of service, the A1s finally got a rest.
The class is survived today by 10 preserved locomotives, the Bluebell Railway (the world’s first preserved standard gauge railway) re-opened in 1960 with No 55 ‘Stepney’, which has since risen to fame thanks to Rev. W. Awdry’s ‘The Railway Series’ and latter ‘Thomas & Friends’. Two examples are also preserved on the Isle of Wight Steam Railway, as some Terriers lived an interesting life on the island thanks to their appropriate size.
A set of amazing add-on and more features conceerning the Digital Traction 4MTT as main engine. Severall different and accurate physics of driving and further enhangements are included even as very detailed liveries comes with this package. You need to own the originat 4MTT of Digitaltal traction to get the full add-on pack of the Steam Sound Supreme 4MTT enhangement pack.
130 of the class of 155 were built at Brighton, 15 (80000–80009, 80054–80058) at Derby Works and 10 (80106–80115) at Doncaster Works between 1951 and 1956. The first to emerge was 80010 from Brighton in 1951. Fifteen that were due to be constructed in 1957 were cancelled due to impending dieselisation, and the last five would have been too had they not been at an advanced stage of construction when the order came to cancel them.
From Smokebox and that maestro of steam locomotive creation, Mike Rennie, the Train Simulator CPRR Jupiter is a marvel. Authentic in every detail including its stunningly beautiful black, blue, and crimson livery – the 4-4-0 delivers the true and challenging experience of taking the throttle of a mid-19th Century wood-burning steam locomotive.
Built in the summer of 1868 by the Schenectady Locomotive Works (a predecessor of the famed American Locomotive Company), No. 60 was one of a quartet of identical 4-4-0 locomotives built for the CPRR. The Jupiter was designed for dual service, with 60-inch-diameter drivers and 16 x 24-inch cylinders and a total engine weight of 65,400 pounds and was typical of its era in that many of its operating features were relatively primitive (including a lack of air brakes!). Smokebox has meticulously re-created the Jupiter in its “as built” condition, which promises a new, different – and demanding – experience for Train Simulator locomotive engineers.
And there’s still more: For those wishing to create their own 1860s-era Train Simulator route or scenarios, the pack includes a variety of period-authentic assets, including trackage, a wooden trestle, switch stand, water tower, and locomotive fueling point.
Featuring iconic locomotives such as GWR’s prolific Pannier Tank, the 5700 Class; English Electric’s definitive Type 1, known today as the BR Class 20 ‘Chopper’; and of course, the long-serving 1938 Tube Stock, which has served DC rails for nearly 8 decades, the London Transport Heritage Collection is the perfect way to experience a wide variety of operations. From passenger commuting to freight hauling, behind the controls of either steam, diesel or electric.
The bonus, and fictional, London Transport Heritage route is included to provide challenging and unique operations for each distinct locomotive. Work hard along the tough gradients of Stony Bay Quarry before coasting down to the quaint Breakwater docks, get busy on the loop and pass the scenic locations of Channel and Jurassic Halt, stoke up the fire at Vindelis and steam along to Stony Point. There’s no end to the potential of the London Transport heritage route, and with the plethora of route assets available, you’ll be able to create whatever you desire.
With quick drive, you can not only run whatever you like on the included route, but you can make the included stock feel at home on our various London-based routes.
