English Teamwork 2 planning and discussion

[1993matias]

A new version has been uploaded: 25 - find it in Google Drive, the link is in the first message
With this update, Montspoor has gotten a 3rd dimension: Height! The mountains west of Coates are now marked in the layout together with the old mainline Coates - Redbanks over the mountains. The line from Redbanks to Strone is now finalized. Part double track, part single track, with a bypass tunnel that cuts off ten minutes of travel time. Intermediate stations have appeared and will receive service soon.
IC5 has been timed to fit wirh IR11 from Cairndow and IR18 to Cairndow. Would you be able to swap one of them out on this leg to make it the same line in both directions? I think that would be for the best.
Unfortunately, the timings of IC5 in Redbanks doesn't allow for a perfect fit right now, unless I give it 30 minutes of waiting time in one of the directions.

G’d morning,
[...]
Threading IC22 through Cairndow and out to Strone will be a challenge, maybe we can sacrifice some freight train slots for that. Or the go via the new, electrified line for the fast IC, this also solves the electrification problem.

I think that will be the best solution, since my IC5 already connects the coastal towns every hour. In that case - since 97% of the route is in your area - we will simply use your trainsets with no additional Montspoor units.

I'll fit in an hourly service from you extending R19, unless you want me to use another route. During rush hour I will extend an additional hourly service forming half-hourly service. (For now with change of carriage at the border, just like IC12).

Note that SC-R19 (with the orange train) is missing all the connections in Cairndow when coming from Strone, but it has wonderful connections from Cairndow to the southwest. M-R19 (with the blue-and-white train) has great connections from Cairndow to northeast and is the one supposed to continue to Redbanks.

And the rolling stock and route number can be replaced by something of your choice.

Ok, I will extend M19 - can we call it R19 though? The timetable is ready, expect it to be implemented next time.

[Freight trains are] currently alternating between a container block train and a ‘mixed bag’ goods train from the soon-to-be-built marshalling yard. That might need some variation, such as trains from the harbours in Inverfyne (the town) and the smaller coastal towns, motorail trains, open access goods trains …

Since the timings are already final I will extend them at some point. There are some marshalling yards on the way to Coates via the coastal route. What is the maximum length of freight trains across the border at Strone?

[Sascha Claus]

’n Amhdchen,

The line from Redbanks to Strone is now finalized. Part double track, part single track, with a bypass tunnel that cuts off ten minutes of travel time. Intermediate stations have appeared and will receive service soon.

IC5 has been timed to fit wirh IR11 from Cairndow and IR18 to Cairndow. Would you be able to swap one of them out on this leg to make it the same line in both directions?

That should be easy, or at least possible. The line to Warstones doesn’t currently exist, so there is not that much timetable to change.

https://i.imgur.com/p0cxcay.png

I see that you picked up the loose ends from Warstones. I did envisage a local train from Warstones to the border (or further) and an Interregio with Class 612s winding along your coastline.

And did you notice that Alvechurch and Henley-in-Arden are both supposed to have a railway line to Montspoor?

Unfortunately, the timings of IC5 in Redbanks doesn't allow for a perfect fit right now, unless I give it 30 minutes of waiting time in one of the directions.

Which would be somewhat too much to wait for an half-hourly train.

I think that will be the best solution, since my IC5 already connects the coastal towns every hour. In that case - since 97% of the route is in your area - we will simply use your trainsets with no additional Montspoor units.

OK, but maybe we’ll see some advertising liveries for the towns along the route.

Ok, I will extend M19 - can we call it R19 though? The timetable is ready, expect it to be implemented next time.

R19 is already reserved for the Queensbury Forster Sq – nameless town – Cairndow local that’s paralleling IR19. I’d prefer a different route number.

Since the timings are already final I will extend them at some point. There are some marshalling yards on the way to Coates via the coastal route. What is the maximum length of freight trains across the border at Strone?

I don’t know, but my yards will be built for 750m, like the Cumnock container terminal. Given the extensive mileage until the border, I’ll accept 750m, as long as there is enough motive power to get it going on the diesel only line.

[Sascha Claus]

another Ahmdchen,

https://i.imgur.com/p0cxcay.png

I see that you picked up the loose ends from Warstones. I did envisage a local train from Warstones to the border (or further) and an Interregio with Class 612s winding along your coastline.

to reformulate it more clearly: a local train from Warstones northward towards the place named Reverse on the following map and another local train from Warstones northeastbound towards the place named Split.

Split-Reverse-Warstones.png

The Interregio along the coast could be split at the place labelled Split , with one part turning left to Warstones and the other half going north to the place named Reverse, reversing there then and continuing to Warstones (basically combining a south – Reverse and a Reverse – Warstones route).

Edit 1: Matias, would you mind creating a demonstration route of IC5 from Redbands to Strone with the planned rolling stock and the planned timing? Then I could easily visualize it and start to meddle around with my IRs and have something test with.

Edit 2: How long will the trip from Coates to Cairndow approx. take, both ways (long way along the coast and short way wherever)?

[1993matias]

[...]

https://i.imgur.com/p0cxcay.png

I see that you picked up the loose ends from Warstones. I did envisage a local train from Warstones to the border (or further) and an Interregio with Class 612s winding along your coastline.

And did you notice that Alvechurch and Henley-in-Arden are both supposed to have a railway line to Montspoor?

This is the current state of Western Montspoor. A sparsely populated coastal area with steep hills (or flat mountains?) - think Wales. Redbanks - Rhennir (~75 kms) is double tracked and electrified, Rhennir - Pembroke (~75 kms) is single track and unelectrified. Until Rhennir there is 1-2 regional trains per hour in taktfarhplan, and an IC every two hours. To Pembroke there is a regional train every hour or so and an IC every four hours. Due to the single track and long distance between stations, the schedule is not a taktfahrplan.
From Alvechurch (IR10) I imagine the line going north along the river to Rhennir. From Henley (IR??) I imagine it going north towards the river that leads to Trimsaran, with the trains possibly continuing to Redbanks. Trimsaran itself is not a big city, but it's not insignificant either.

[...]I did envisage a local train from Warstones to the border (or further) and an Interregio with Class 612s winding along your coastline.[...]
to reformulate it more clearly: a local train from Warstones northward towards Pembroke and another local train from Warstones northeastbound towards Rhennir.

The coastal line from Pembroke to Rhennir is not really that populated. But a regional line from Warstones to Pembroke is more than welcome, maybe with some Kurswagen/direct coaches to be attached to the regional train in Wahanu if needed. But a DMU operated regional train is to be preferred, as that will be the easiest to fit in to Pembroke.
From Rhennir to Redbanks there is space for more trains. Could the IC5 be extended from Rhennir every two or four hours to Warstones?

Ok, I will extend M19 - can we call it R19 though? The timetable is ready, expect it to be implemented next time.

R19 is already reserved for the Queensbury Forster Sq – nameless town – Cairndow local that’s paralleling IR19. I’d prefer a different route number.

Ok, what do you say about R67 or any other number in the 60ies?

Edit 1: Matias, would you mind creating a demonstration route of IC5 from Redbands to Strone with the planned rolling stock and the planned timing? Then I could easily visualize it and start to meddle around with my IRs and have something test with.

Edit 2: How long will the trip from Coates to Cairndow approx. take, both ways (long way along the coast and short way wherever)?

Coates West to Redbanks departs at 6:01 and arrives 7:53. From Redbanks it leaves 8:06 to Cairndow and arrives 8:42. Every hour 6-22 (arriving 8-24).
Cairndow to Redbanks departs 5:51 and arrives 6:20. Redbanks to Coates West leaves 6:30 and arrives 8:21. Every hour 5-21 (arriving 8-24). Train compositions could be like this if they are to your liking:


I was also thinking about a night train leaving at around midnight and arriving at around five. Or maybe not, it is an awfully short stretch for a night train - even if it starts boarding at 22 and stays on the platform until seven after arriving. Maybe some car carriers could be attached?


The line over the mountains has not been built yet, but travel times are expected to be longer due to single track and lower speed (max 120 to 160)

- - -

I am in some need of more user defined graphics. I have found a lot of old graphics on a laptop, would any of these be of interest to have in the layout? For example some more platforms, walls (Mauer), industrial buildings (Halle) etc.
See the link below for them all:
https://imgur.com/a/c86qAEi

[Sascha Claus]

Hi ho,

[https://i.imgur.com/DsaLy4X.png]
This is the current state of Western Montspoor. A sparsely populated coastal area with steep hills (or flat mountains?) - think Wales.

aaah, Wales, with steep cliffs along the coast and gentle hills atop them and a lot of narrow gauge railways to carry slate. You know that you're only allowed to have a town named Pembroke if you also have a town called Pembroke Dock with the namesake harbour and preferably a castle as well?

Redbanks - Rhennir (~75 kms) is double tracked and electrified, Rhennir - Pembroke (~75 kms) is single track and unelectrified.

A good time to place a reminder that the German (diesel) ICE-TD was able to run coupled with the (electric) ICE-T.

Until Rhennir there is 1-2 regional trains per hour in taktfarhplan, and an IC every two hours. To Pembroke there is a regional train every hour or so and an IC every four hours. Due to the single track and long distance between stations, the schedule is not a taktfahrplan.

It certainly will be intetesting to see how the non-takt-train is going to connect with the takt-trains.

From Alvechurch (IR10) I imagine the line going north along the river to Rhennir. From Henley (IR??) I imagine it going north towards the river that leads to Trimsaran, with the trains possibly continuing to Redbanks. Trimsaran itself is not a big city, but it's not insignificant either.

Sounds good. IR10 will arrive in Alvechurch half-hourly with one or two 612s. I'm assuming not every train will extend to Rhennir, so the ones that do might be longer and be shortened in Alvechurch. And/or another line is built and IR10 east of Alvechurch alternates between Rhennir and Trimsaran. Or IR20 (with the same rolling stock, as its splits off IR10 in Bromsgrove) is extended from Henley instead of IR??.

[…] But a regional line from Warstones to Pembroke is more than welcome, […] But a DMU operated regional train is to be preferred, as that will be the easiest to fit in to Pembroke.

My tentative ideas for the area have placed a train of British Pacers in Warstones station as a placeholder for trains to north and east. Would these be of the proper size?

Could the IC5 be extended from Rhennir every two or four hours to Warstones?

Of course! I’ll even draw the ferry timetable to connect with these trains, wherever that ferry might go.

Ok, what do you say about R67 or any other number in the 60ies?

That would be okay, since the 60ies aren’t currently in use by me anywhere in the area.

Train compositions could be like this if they are to your liking: […]

Looks great!

it is an awfully short stretch for a night train

Don’t despair, it’s not the end of the world—literally! I could load it onto a ferry in Warstones for another four-hour ride, so that passengers get a full night’s travel. Another train could be routed into the area to the south of Inverfyne and one onto the Islands of Argull and Byte.

A daytime tourist train could take car carriers from Coates to Warstones, where people (and cars) would leave the train for the daytime ferry.

[1993matias]

This is the current state of Western Montspoor. A sparsely populated coastal area with steep hills (or flat mountains?) - think Wales.

aaah, Wales, with steep cliffs along the coast and gentle hills atop them and a lot of narrow gauge railways to carry slate. You know that you're only allowed to have a town named Pembroke if you also have a town called Pembroke Dock with the namesake harbour and preferably a castle as well?

Who knows, only the mainline is finished at the moment

Until Rhennir there is 1-2 regional trains per hour in taktfarhplan, and an IC every two hours. To Pembroke there is a regional train every hour or so and an IC every four hours. Due to the single track and long distance between stations, the schedule is not a taktfahrplan.

It certainly will be intetesting to see how the non-takt-train is going to connect with the takt-trains.

Not everything is perfect in Montspoor, but the IC trains do go on exactly every four hours. Connections in Rhennir are not horrible, usually with 5-20 minutes of changing time.

From Alvechurch (IR10) I imagine the line going north along the river to Rhennir. From Henley (IR??) I imagine it going north towards the river that leads to Trimsaran, with the trains possibly continuing to Redbanks. Trimsaran itself is not a big city, but it's not insignificant either.

Sounds good. IR10 will arrive in Alvechurch half-hourly with one or two 612s. I'm assuming not every train will extend to Rhennir, so the ones that do might be longer and be shortened in Alvechurch. And/or another line is built and IR10 east of Alvechurch alternates between Rhennir and Trimsaran. Or IR20 (with the same rolling stock, as its splits off IR10 in Bromsgrove) is extended from Henley instead of IR??.

An hourly IR10 serving as some sort of Regional Express to Rhennir could be good together with an hourly stopping service. The line is yet to be built, lets hope it will be suited for a Taktfahrplan, yes?
An hourly service with IR10 Alvechurch - Henley - Trimsaran - Redbanks doesn't sound bad, but maybe it would be faster for passengers to just go via Cairndow? Trimsaran is kind of a suburb to Redbanks, albeit not a sleeping village. Redbanks and Rhennir (and Pembroke) are the important cities here. Sorry about the confusion.

[…] But a regional line from Warstones to Pembroke is more than welcome, […] But a DMU operated regional train is to be preferred, as that will be the easiest to fit in to Pembroke.

My tentative ideas for the area have placed a train of British Pacers in Warstones station as a placeholder for trains to north and east. Would these be of the proper size?

Oh no, Pacers? Poor passengers But sure, enough for 100-150 passengers during busy periods would be good. Seeing as the majority - and most important part - of the line will be in your area, you can get the final say on this.


IC5 from Rhennir to Warstones every two hours it is then - but west from Redbanks it is actually called IC6. I will have to see about getting train cars from Coates all the way to Warstones on all departures, because there is barely enough time to shunt in Rhennir. Departure times from Rhennir would be around 6:55 and then every two hours. Rhennir to the border could take 10 minutes or so.

The line Redbanks - Strone - Cairndow is now called R67

Midnight to five is an awfully short stretch for a night train

Don’t despair, it’s not the end of the world—literally! I could load it onto a ferry in Warstones for another four-hour ride, so that passengers get a full night’s travel. Another train could be routed into the area to the south of Inverfyne and one onto the Islands of Argull and Byte.

A daytime tourist train could take car carriers from Coates to Warstones, where people (and cars) would leave the train for the daytime ferry.

Well, if the interest is there, you can add it. There will be a short night train from Pembroke to Coates with the (tentative) schedule mentioned.
One or more daytime car-trains are also welcome

[Sascha Claus]

Hidi ho,

An hourly IR10 serving as some sort of Regional Express to Rhennir could be good together with an hourly stopping service.

close examination with a tape measure will reveal the fact that the distances covered by the IRs up there are already in the RE range, so IR10 is going to have an easy time to adapt.

An hourly service with IR10 Alvechurch - Henley - Trimsaran - Redbanks doesn't sound bad, but maybe it would be faster for passengers to just go via Cairndow?

The ‘wing’ to Henley-in-Arden will split off in Bromsgrove and go via Redditch and Studley*, so that every small town there will have direct trains to Inverfyne. Through passengers Inverfyne – Redbanks will be faster via Cairndow, but from the small, intermediate towns, people might value a direct train; especially if they don’t go all the way to Redbanks.

Trimsaran is kind of a suburb to Redbanks, albeit not a sleeping village. Redbanks and Rhennir (and Pembroke) are the important cities here. Sorry about the confusion.

A suburb like Strone is for Cairndow? Then trains should run through to Redbanks , but might start only in Henley or Alvechurch.

Oh no, Pacers? Poor passengers But sure, enough for 100-150 passengers during busy periods would be good. Seeing as the majority - and most important part - of the line will be in your area, you can get the final say on this.

Why throw away perfectly useable trains in perfectly fitting livery? It is always possible to supplant them with a thoroughly modernized version, like the Czech Regionova and the old M 152.0; only with more modernized DMUs.

IC5 from Rhennir to Warstones every two hours it is then - but west from Redbanks it is actually called IC6. […] Departure times from Rhennir would be around 6:55 and then every two hours. Rhennir to the border could take 10 minutes or so.

I’ll see how I manage to fit it into the big connection in Warstones.

Well, if the interest is there, you can add it. There will be a short night train from Pembroke to Coates with the (tentative) schedule mentioned. One or more daytime car-trains are also welcome

Don’t forget the planned Centre Parks holiday resort between Alvechurch and Henley, which wants to run its own trains to contribute to the colourization of our railway.

*—if two towns have make do with a shared railway station, both want to be represented in the station name, just like with Creggans and Strachur. It has to look British, after all.

[1993matias]

An hourly service with IR10 Alvechurch - Henley - Trimsaran - Redbanks doesn't sound bad, but maybe it would be faster for passengers to just go via Cairndow?

The ‘wing’ to Henley-in-Arden will split off in Bromsgrove and go via Redditch and Studley, so that every small town there will have direct trains to Inverfyne. Through passengers Inverfyne – Redbanks will be faster via Cairndow, but from the small, intermediate towns, people might value a direct train; especially if they don’t go all the way to Redbanks.

Ok, that sounds good. Hourly service? Simply make it appear at the border, and I will try to fit it onto the mainline. Keep in mind that between the border and Trimsaran it may stop at all stations (albeit there will only be a few). From Trimsaran to Redbanks they will be skipping stops.

Looking forward to your next build

[1993matias]

Version 26 has been uploaded!

What's new?
Regional services R61, R62, R63, and R67 are now in operation, the whole line from Coates to Pembroke (350 km) is now working. Branch lines to the border to Sascha are also built. And see if you can spot the steam train for tourists

R61 is made of a single-ended locomotive (like FS E464) and some Bombardier Twindexx coaches. Same consists as planned for RE5 Coates - Keswick
R62 is a mix of DMU (Bombarider Itino) and loco+coaches
R63 is a short version of R62 and only uses Itinos.
R67 is currently four coaches, but this is not final. There are both low floor coaches and high floor coaches, just like R62

Latest version is available on Google Drive

[Sascha Claus]

Goedavond,

Ok, that sounds good. Hourly service? Simply make it appear at the border, and I will try to fit it onto the mainline. Keep in mind that between the border and Trimsaran it may stop at all stations (albeit there will only be a few). From Trimsaran to Redbanks they will be skipping stops.

ok.

Looking forward to your next build

For occupational reasons (“Thou shall take all your vacation within the year and not save it for the next year!”) that will take some time.

And see if you can spot the steam train for tourists

Found it!

Wognum.jpg

R61 is made of a single-ended locomotive (like FS E464) and some Bombardier Twindexx coaches. Same consists as planned for RE5 Coates - Keswick

Bombardier had plans for a single-ended version of the German class 146 that was never built, but can be found in BAHN as class 147. It might be a better optical fit than the E464.

[1993matias]

Goedavond,

Looking forward to your next build

For occupational reasons (“Thou shall take all your vacation within the year and not save it for the next year!”) that will take some time.

No worries, we all need some time off. Enjoy your vacation!

R61 is made of a single-ended locomotive (like FS E464) and some Bombardier Twindexx coaches. Same consists as planned for RE5 Coates - Keswick

Bombardier had plans for a single-ended version of the German class 146 that was never built, but can be found in BAHN as class 147. It might be a better optical fit than the E464.

It may be, but maybe the locomotive and the coaches were not bought at the same time. Or maybe Montspoor Railways got a bargain from Italy some years back. Or maybe the paintshop already painted all the E464 needed... Only historians will know

Speaking of rolling stock: do you have any suggestions for an EMU from late 90ies or early 00s? I am considering a Desiro EMU. It should have low entry to justify it still being in service. Steps up have been removed in regional trains by now in Montspoor.

Meanwhile the timetabling division is hard at work making a timetable and diagrams for the line west out of Coates to Redbanks

[Sascha Claus]

Hi back,

Speaking of rolling stock: do you have any suggestions for an EMU from late 90ies or early 00s? I am considering a Desiro EMU.

Bombardier Talent? Adtranz Itino & Adtranz RegioShuttle? DWA 670? DWA LVT/S? Siemens RegioSprinter? Stadler GTW? Jenbacher Integral? The “Whalefish”? LHB LINT? Self-made low-floor trailers and control cars for the good old DB 627/628/629? Going into a clicking spree in Kategorie:Verbrennungsmotortriebwagen and category:diesel multiple units by country?

The 90ies ought to be a very good time to find low-floor DMUs, as low-floor-technology was brand new on the market and everybody and their uncle was developing something with it. Later half of them went bancrupt or were taken over …

[1993matias]

Ah yes, there are plenty of Diesel Multiple Units But not many Electric Multiple Units

[Sascha Claus]

Hi ho,

Ah yes, there are plenty of Diesel Multiple Units But not many Electric Multiple Units

aahh … but missed by just one letter!

The Talent 1 has talent to tilt and go electric (ÖBB 4023/4024/4124, MAV 425 (formerly 5342)), the poor, ill-fated Alstom/LHB LIREX prototype was supposed to be available electric, the FTD Protos might slightly miss the timeframe and the 1st generations of the Stadler GTW hit it squarely into the bullseye, with a great selection of Swiss standard- and metre-gauge operations (and one Austrian).

The Czechoslovakian EM 475.1 might be slightly to early, but successor classes 470 and 471 fit nicely. The Finnish Sm4 and the DWA Meridian would compete as underdogs.

Special mention goes to the Viennese Reihe 400 of Wiener Lokalbahnen (WLB), which look like tramway cars but were used on the Lokalbahn, which was mostly (light) railway outside of Vienna. Oh, and everything used on the Karlsruhe Stadtbahn

[1993matias]

Hi ho,
[...]
The Czechoslovakian EM 475.1 might be slightly to early, but successor classes 470 and 471 fit nicely. [...]

Indeed - and they are already in service on S10/S11/S12 on the only DC-line out of Coates Siemens Desiro Electric ended up winning the bid, so expect to see more of them soon.

Anyway, after lots of hard work and tricky testing, I am happy to introduce the first domestic InterCity service in Montspoor! Going west out of Coates, climbing the dramatic hills and driving through impressive valleys, IC4 links Coates to Redbanks via Haltwhistle in just over two hours. Although faster than the direct R51 trains, the IC5 line will be faster when it enters operation. IC4 will be the only train to Redbanks with panorama wagons.



The map shows the current service level in the network. Red is for lines with some of the planned services in operation - but not all. Orange is for lines that have been built but not yet with any service. Blue is for lines where all the planned services are in operation. Currently all the lines passing through Haltwhistle have been planned out, so they are next in line.
These lines were planned to be introduced already in this version, but time constraints made that impossible.
Excitement is also mounting for the cross-border services from Warstones and Cairndow not yet in service!

IC4 uses the old long distance route from Coates to Redbanks. Before the coastal line was built in the end of the 20th century, trains used to go over the mountains. IC4 is the last remnant of that. Due to the landscape, IC4 carries two panorama wagons (totally not stolen from SBB), and since it is an IC-line, it also carries a bistro car. Demand isn't so big, though, so the train is only six carriages long, and it only runs every two hours.
RE4 is meant to fill the gaps left by IC4 Coates - Haltwhistle resulting in hourly service in that connection.
R41 is the stopping service Coates - Haltwhistle. It consists of single-ended locomotives and Twindexx 4th generation wagons, just like RE4. R41 provides half-hourly service most of the day, with a few extra departures during rush hour. But wait! One train is not the same as the others - see if you can spot the difference! Why will be explained once R42 (Redbanks - Haltwhistle) is in operation.

S35 is meant to provide frequent service Wylam - Exhibition Centre - Coates Continental , bypassing Coates West (which is already getting crowded!). Maybe it will appear in the next version?

If you want to study the schedules, please check the Google Drive for an updated schedule.

Speaking of a crowded Coates West, here is a morning view of the station. Several S-trains are visible, but also a short IC4 train has just arrived from Redbanks. Add some IC5 trains and a few more rush-hour services, and Coates West will be very full.


PS: Some user graphics vehicle files have changed names. Check the Google Drive if you have any problems, the newest files have been uploaded. You will also find the latest version of the Teamwork there.