English Teamwork 2 planning and discussion

[Sascha Claus]

Hello,
somebody currently working at Teamwork?

[1993matias]

No, I am planning on working next week

[1993matias]

Erik has not uploaded a new version after his build time. Should I start building with Sascha's version 53?

[Sascha Claus]

Just do it! (from my side)

Edit regarding my new IC1 trains:
trains are numbered 101 to 104 and 201 to 204,
train names are Morning ... and Evening ..., according to the time of day,
train names must be swapped between Morning ... and Evening ... while stabled for the day/night, otherwise they will get lost when shunting in Torkham (see existing timing points for a sample),
trains must be stabled in LIFO (Last In First Out), which means you can shunt them all into a row onto the same track to save space,
a cream-and-burgundy liveried locomotive from Montspoor Railways would be welcome,
names and routings of the TR23 trains are just suggestions and open to change,
the luggage vans of TR23 are supposed to be driving trailers (AKA cab cars), so no loco runaround needed for these trains.
Everybody be careful, as similar sets of additional rush-hour business/tourist trains might show up on other cross-border routes as well.

[1993matias]

A new version of the network has been uploaded today, version 54! It's been a while since the last update from Montspoor. This time I implemented many changes I had prepared many months ago (talk about being late ).

Changes this time are full implementation of R42 and R43 from Haltwhistle (in the mountains west of Coates) to Redbanks (R42) and Keswick (R43). Both services are operated using Desiro multiple units. Haltwhistle now sees something like a "takt" every hour around :00 in most directions.
Preparations for ICE through service has also been made, and there is even one ICE already in service! From the border (Strone) via Redbanks and Haltwhistle to Coates, ICE 34 and 39. Since the goal for this ICE is not to be fast to Coates but rather provide direct connections to the mountain resorts, it has longer travel times and more stops until Haltwhistle than the IC train usually on this route.
It also makes use of tilting (being an ICE-TD) on the mountain route, a remnant of the infrastructure widely used before the new line from Coates along the coast via Selden and Keswick to Redbanks.

With this update the only lines with no train service west of Coates are the coastal line north of Selden, and some cross-border regional lines (trains from Warstones to Pembroke when, Sascha? )

If you want to see some activity, take a look at Redbanks (@ 14464 x 5881), there is shunting, coupling, decoupling, full use of platforms. This station hasn't been expanded in many decades other than the platforms 11-14, and has a hard time coping with all the traffic. When IC services are implemented it will really be crowded!

@Erik: What services did you want on your bypass of Cairndow to me? Regional services, freight services or maybe just a few services per day? I'd welcome anything, but space in Redbanks is very tight.

PS: Schedules have also been updated in case you are curious.

[Sascha Claus]

Hello & Happy Easter,

Preparations for ICE through service has also been made, and there is even one ICE already in service!

will we see an ICE with the specially crafted Montspoor Railways livery soon?

With this update the only lines with no train service west of Coates are the coastal line north of Selden, and some cross-border regional lines (trains from Warstones to Pembroke when, Sascha? )

As soon as the new rush-hour IC1/IC12 trains and their accompanying TR23 halves are running in Montspoor.

I'd welcome anything, but space in Redbanks is very tight.

Some of the platforms seem to be long enough to accommodate two trains at once, if they are short enough.

Meanwhile, as everybody (me included) was busy searching for easter eggs and whatnot, I silently extended my time without asking anybody for permission, to test my changes to the layout. Torkham Central station saw some trackwork to reduce the distances for IC1(101-114) shunting locomotives and (I'll hope) to reduce the time needed there for shunting. The regional trains there were reshuffled to the final timings, maybe they will also stop running 24/7 at a later date.

An intermediate version is available as 54½ in the drive, and as nobody has claimed time, I’m keeping the layout some more days. Any objections?

[1993matias]

I will be busy for the foreseeable future, so don't worry about me until i reserve some days in the calendar

[1993matias]

Summer surprise!

Montspoor has 120 km of new rail service with the introduction of the R53 and R54 services. They go from Selden (x19415 y3215) to Fishguard (R53) and further to Corkickle via Rhoose (R54), the whole line is unelectrified. It takes around two hours the long way around, but fortunately the mainline from Coates via Selden to Keswick and Redbanks links the two cities in 15 minutes.
A few of the R54 services are extended to/from Coates West during rush hour to provide direct service. There is a locomotive change made in Selden which is starting to become very cramped.
R54 runs hourly except two departures during mid-day in the least populated area of the route. R53 fills in the gaps between R54 to provide 20-minute headway between Fishguard and Selden (except mid-day and evening).
It's a complex operation which involves a lot of shunting and parking of trains a few hours here and there.

Another addition is the RE5 fast trains from Keswick to Coates Continental! Yes, now it's finally possible to travel from the western network to the eastern network without having to change stations in Coates! RE5 skips some stops and uses the freight bypass (soon to be double-tracked) to reach Coates Continental.
In addition to these lines, there is a new R55 line supplementing RE5, R51, and R54 service during rush hours from Coates West northwards. Montspoor Railways does not have enough modern equipment to run these services, so they are using older rolling stock for this. You can find them by their striking orange livery - they are still wearing the previous design.

Keswick the city has also gotten an upgrade. When Keswick Interchange was built a few decades ago, Keswick got a light rail to connect the Interchange with the Central station and the rest of the city. It is now in operation in the layout and includes overnight stabling at the depot at Keswick Interchange. There is also a small car ferry to an island off the coast.


If you are bored then just sit around in Coates West. The station is really busy now and it is becoming harder and harder to find space for more trains.
Luckily only Intercity services and two S-train lines remain, but I'm almost certain they will fit. I hope.

Enjoy the 56th version of the English teamwork! As always, it can be found in the Google Drive folder

[1993matias]

I had to replace the file as there were a couple of dispatcher messages I had missed yesterday. The current file on the drive is up to date, it fixed a train taking the wrong turn at a turnout.

Have a screenshot from Coates West as an apology for this

A rare sighting of two trains with the old, orange wagons next to each other. Can you see that real wagons they are based on?

[1993matias]

Another update from Montspoor:

- The most important stations now have their positions stored - find them by pressing F5
- Keswick now has a full urban bus system
- Bus 215 from Keswick and north along the coast is also in operation
- The first part of the Great North Coast Road has been built around Keswick
- The National Railway Exhibition has moved and has been updated near Coates West[/list]

Check out the latest version 56-1 in the Google Drive

[Sascha Claus]

Hiho,
I’d like to check, but currently there are some work-related issues taking priority (specifically, having to use up vacation days ). I’ll have a look in Septembre!