Missing Assest

Discussion in 'Technical Reports' started by CrazyGecko, May 22, 2020.

  1. CrazyGecko

    CrazyGecko Active Member

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    Currently missing signals and AWS magnates for the London to Brighton and South London Network route plus I can't use the Class 370 and the FCC 377.
     
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  2. ARuscoe

    ARuscoe Well-Known Member

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    370 is a known issue that apparently is being worked on
     
  3. 749006

    749006 Well-Known Member

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  4. RGoo

    RGoo Member

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    I’m also having issues with the FCC 377, it shows in the menu but doesn’t load in the game, like the Class 370
     
  5. Kyle_Lennard1

    Kyle_Lennard1 Active Member

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    It's been over a day now and they still haven't fixed the issue :(
     
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  6. hightower

    hightower Guest

    FWIW I’m missing the signals too, I haven’t checked the other stuff.

    Any news DTG? Given I don’t appear to have had any sort of update, how does this happen?!
     
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  7. ARuscoe

    ARuscoe Well-Known Member

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    Usually it happens that someone does an update which might work on their rig but somehow doesn't work outside the testbed
    They then upload it to Steam and get reports of lots of breaks
    Then rather than reverting to the previous version of everything (say rolling back a week) they try to fix it, leaving everyone up in the air
    In other words, someone in DTG [removed by Protagonist - watch the language] and a P45 is on their way, imminently
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 7, 2020
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  8. hightower

    hightower Guest

    Yep. Clearly someone has screwed up something, and it’s not like it’s the first time it’s happened.

    What’s odd is that I’ve been away and not touched my PC for 4 days, having gone before this issue started. I got home yesterday, fired up TS and (specifically having checked) didn’t see Steam download or update anything. I tried WCMLN purely out of interest and there it was (or wasn’t!), no signals.

    Unless this game updates somehow outside of Steam without telling us, I don’t get how the hell this has happened. It’s also pretty poor that it’s essentially broken a significant number of DLC, and other than a holding message there’s been no more news.

    Saying ‘we’ll update you when we have news’ is meaningless. In DTG world it could be 6 months before we hear anything.
     
  9. ARuscoe

    ARuscoe Well-Known Member

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    Kind of... The LED signals are a DLC requirement of other DLC but I know what you mean
    And yep, preferentially they should have done an immediate rollback and figured out why their testbed is different (or done some actual live testing first) before putting it out again
     
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  10. hightower

    hightower Guest

    It’s not just the signals though by all accounts.

    The APT doesn’t even load anymore, nor does the FCC 377. I don’t doubt there’ll be more.

    I’m not sure of the requirements, but it’s not beyond crazy to suggest Armstrong Powerhouse might have to delay the release of their new 377 Enhancement Pack as a result of the 377 being knackered.

    What I’m questioning though is what exactly is there to roll back? There hasn’t been an update that I’m aware of, so explaining how this has happened isn’t seemingly straightforward.
     
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  11. alexbourner

    alexbourner New Member

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    Same here, no signals on South london network
     
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  12. 749006

    749006 Well-Known Member

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    The game has Digital Rights Management (DRM) protection this ensure that people can only play what they have purchased.
    If stops Fred buying an add-on for TS20xx and the copying the files to his mates computer

    Because something has gone wrong at the Steam/Valve end nobody can use the affected assets.
    Nothing has changed on your computer - because you log in to Steam and they think you do not own these items is why you can't use them.

    I had a loco which was rubbish so I got a refund from Steam
    But that does not delete the files from your computer, you just can not use them.

    Peter
     
  13. Plastic Pal

    Plastic Pal Well-Known Member

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    Aaah....! Thank you. This is extremely useful to know, for a relative newbie like myself.... ;-)
     
  14. hightower

    hightower Guest

    Remember that’s only a theory. Peter has stated that as if it’s fact.

    I’m afraid that if it was a DRM issue this problem would have been solved by now. Those milk bottles are used to signify missing assets. The assets are there, but whatever DTG have done means the game cannot see them. I’d love to know what’s happened, and when they intend to get it sorted.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 23, 2020
  15. guaranteedirish

    guaranteedirish New Member

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    Missing signals on L-B and SLN routes too.
     
  16. Plastic Pal

    Plastic Pal Well-Known Member

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    I just checked South London Network, and this is infuriating. My "Afternoon Run to West Croydon" in the 378 doesn't even load. I know we are in lock-down, but this is ridiculous. How can I do my shopping....?!!!

    I then tried another scenario in the 455/8 called "It's Snow Joke". And this one loaded.... and the wintry trees are nice.... but it is still a joke - there were no signals at all... it's completely broken. ;-(

    What is the point if there are no signals....? Whatever happened to the guy that does the voice-over for TS... the one that says: "Precision. The quality of being precise..... Perfect..... Exact.... Begin.... Check everything.... On the signal.... and...Depart...."...... What is the point if there are no signals....?



    "The art of precision...."......Whatever happened to that idea?

    Well, this is a disappointment. I started off in TS1 for this previously magnificent South London route. It's five years old and it is now unstable and unplayable. Perhaps this is all something to look forward to with the asset management in TSW as well, particularly since they've now opened up "third parties" with stuff coming out of the "The Stirling Office"...
     
    Last edited: May 23, 2020
  17. hightower

    hightower Guest

    I bought it ages ago so it’s not that.
     
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  18. ARuscoe

    ARuscoe Well-Known Member

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    Different bug... Might be the same underlying cause (ie lack of testing and uploading etc) but they're two bugs and should be treated as such
     
  19. hightower

    hightower Guest

    How do you know it’s a different bug? If it is it’s massively coincidental that it’s all started happening at exactly the same time.
     
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  20. Plastic Pal

    Plastic Pal Well-Known Member

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    I don't think that you can say that it is two different bugs, for sure. I have just done some tests on South London Network, and I can say this:

    1. Scenarios either do not load at all, or if they load they contain no layer for the signalling system - and this means that you can drive "line of sight" and catch up with the traffic ahead.... ;-O
    2. It doesn't matter whether Steam is online or in offline mode (with no physical internet connection), so a change has certainly (surely?) been made to files on the PC
    3. It doesn't matter whether it is in 32 bit or 64 bit mode
    4. It doesn't matter if the PC is a low end laptop or if it is a high end tower PC (I tested both, independently)
    5. It doesn't matter if the scenario tested is Quick Drive, Career (and therefore wanting download data) or Standard
    6. It doesn't matter if the rolling stock/scenario is native to the DLC (456), or if it comes with other official DLC (various)

    I only tried "Official" scenarios - there are no workshop scenarios.

    Since some scenarios simply failed to load on South London Network, this could be the same bug that causes the APT to fail to load. If you do get a scenario to load on South London Network, the only bug is the complete absence of the signalling layer. This absence of a signalling layer could be a common block for some of the scenarios (whether APT on WCML, or SR EMUs on SoLon).
     
    Last edited: May 23, 2020
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  21. theorganist

    theorganist Well-Known Member

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    I have only recently in the last day or so re-installed South London Network and London to Brighton after several months and I am getting the missing track bins file message. On the L2B route I could see the class 377 but no signals when I went into the editor. With SLN I can only see a black screen. Very strange as I have not seen an update either!
     
  22. 749006

    749006 Well-Known Member

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    So if it is a STEAM Problem as I said above why would you receive an Update?
     
  23. 749006

    749006 Well-Known Member

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    Remember that DTG doing something is only a Theory . Hightower has stated that as if it’s fact.

    Those milk bottles are missing Signals on the SLN and L2B but if you go in to your UKLEDSignals01 folder the Signals are still there.
    So why do you tell everyone they are missing?

    Do you think DTG has done some massive update that has removed 3 pieces of DLC from EVERY COMPUTER?

    Peter
     
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  24. theorganist

    theorganist Well-Known Member

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    I was never querying whether it is a Steam problem or not, I just confirmed I hadn't had an update! I haven't a clue how it happened, I didn't know anything about it until an hour or two ago! I like to find out the facts first before apportioning blame.

    At the end of the day it is obviously a mistake and they are looking at it, whoever's fault it is, whilst it is annoying we aren't going to end up with content being taken from us.
     
  25. Plastic Pal

    Plastic Pal Well-Known Member

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    2. It doesn't matter whether Steam is online or in offline mode (with no physical internet connection), so a change has certainly (surely?) been made to files on the PC
     
  26. Plastic Pal

    Plastic Pal Well-Known Member

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    Well - I was about to buy it.... but maybe not now..... I really want to know what has happened here, before I buy anything else at all....
     
  27. hightower

    hightower Guest

    I’ve said all along there hasn’t been an update, so it is inexplicable how this has happened. I’ve certainly not intimated it as fact that DTG have done something, but the only people within who’s gift it is to screw things up like this are DTG. How have files on my PC changed, when nothing has been updated? Is this the work of a disgruntled ex-employee or something who has coded these assets to fail? I don’t know, but without an actual update to the files (files that have been just fine for years), how can this happen?

    You’ll notice that I said the signals “are there”, but they are missing in the sense that the game can’t read or see them, for whatever reason. That is what the milk bottle signifies. That is a fact.

    Finally, to reiterate, I don’t think Steam or DTG have done an update. I know unequivocally that I’ve not had one through Steam, yet my game is still f-ed up. Something is very wrong though, and it needs sorting very soon. It’s not acceptable for this to drag on because we’ve all spent a lot of money on this stuff. It did work, and has done for a long time. However, given DTGs past performance with fixing c0ck-ups, I fear we could still be having this discussion a month from now.

    Maybe even two.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 23, 2020
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  28. English_Electric

    English_Electric New Member

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    Just to add my two cents, I think this issue does seem to be a DRM-ish issue somewhere along the line. There have been no TS updates made, and I also keep a backup of my Steam DLC on a separate drive. Tried copying the relevant files from that into the install, same problem. Also this has manifested itself in a similar way to when I've unchecked DLC from my list and put that same DLC into my install from my backup - in that case, all the files were there, but not playable. Exactly the same as with the APT currently: files are there, you can select it to drive from the menu, but it won't load in the actual game.
     
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  29. ARuscoe

    ARuscoe Well-Known Member

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    Steam has to have been run to validate the license prior to running TSx, so even if steam isn't running when TSx is running, it has to have been at some point prior, so what Peter says is most likely accurate
     
  30. hightower

    hightower Guest

    If it was an issue with Steam & DRM then given their size, them being based in Seattle (and it not being a public holiday in the USA) and the fact that this has been broken for 4 days and counting, I’d have thought they would have had this sorted by now.

    It may well turn out to be DRM related, but I’d wager it’s more likely something else is going on.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 24, 2020
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  31. hightower

    hightower Guest

    You can only get TS from Steam, there is no non-Steam version. You might have been able to get the original Railworks on CD/DVD years ago but everything now is done through Steam.

    ps DTG is a British company, correct. It is a bank holiday here this weekend so don’t expect a fix before Tuesday/Wednesday at the earliest.
     
  32. Slugsix

    Slugsix Member

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    I'm not sure it's as simple as that. I can play Train Simulator *off-line* with no connection to the outside world and it normally works fine. Since there is no time limit (leasing) on the DLC, there's no need to check the DRM every time you play it. You buy, and are then allowed to download it.

    (I've just pulled the ethernet cable out of my computer, fired it up, fired up TS 2020 off line and it's perfectly playable. So it clearly isn't doing any DRM to Steam Servers when I play it in that mode is it!)


     
  33. theorganist

    theorganist Well-Known Member

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    With respect, and I am as irritated as you about this as I was planning some scenario creation on London to Brighton this weekend, but without us knowing what the problem is, where it has come from and even whose fault it is, how can you say they should have fixed it already? It is simple saying it, don't you think they would have "fixed it already" if they could have done, they would hardly want something like this to drag on for any longer than it needs to as there will be many angry users out there.
     
  34. Slugsix

    Slugsix Member

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    I'm also missing signals and AWS ramps. Not sure this is the same issue, but it sure sounds like it. Looks at the asset files it looks like it's the Pro Signals I'm missing (not the LED signals). I've been playing with a clone of the Bristol and Avonmouth JT route, so I guess it's possible that this may be another issue - to do with the removal of the European Loco and Asset Pack? Not sure at this point.
     
  35. rickyt7808

    rickyt7808 Member

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    Interesting, I have tried disconnecting from the internet and loaded a back up copy from last December which STEAM/DTG would not know about. This is stored on a completely different drive and when I load London to Brighton the signals are still missing.
     
  36. Slugsix

    Slugsix Member

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    Yes, I find signals are missing when I play off-line or on-line. I get the "milk bottles" or "telegraph pole insulators" in their place.

    Apologies if I caused any confusion. I'm not saying that playing off line fixes the issue. I'm saying that I can usually play TS off-line without a network connection. I just demonstrated that I could drive Padd - Ox without issue offline, but I'm guessing that this route hasn't been affected.

    Bit of a goof whatever it is.

     
  37. ARuscoe

    ARuscoe Well-Known Member

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    Just thinking about this from the technical point of view...
    When you start your computer up it probably loads the steam client, this is a requirement of TSx being run so if you can start TSx this has happened
    When Steam runs it checks the DLC you have installed and makes a file containing the licenses, probably an XML or encrypted XML as BIN
    When you start TSx it isn't checking against the Steam licenses, but this local key store, so if you then restored an old backup of your assets it would still verify against this key store and fail to loads these assets

    Only way I could check is to have a copy of a DLC that was not licensed on steam, go offline, restore that DLC and see what happens, but I don't have any to check
     
  38. Plastic Pal

    Plastic Pal Well-Known Member

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    Yeah - I get this. And what I am saying is that something must have changed (globally) at some earlier point - i.e.:

    - after installation and first time check by Steam for individuals;
    - not as part of an official global update from DTG.

    Although I think you have potentially described a likely possibility when you said the following about an offline start (offline..... after the fact that something global has changed):

    My suspicion is that some other global action has taken place, say, for example the removal and/or relicensing of the old Welsh DLC (or its assets) from Steam, and maybe now impacting on anyone that bought any of those DLCs. Some sort of de-listing elsewhere....? Perhaps the original SW Coastal Bristol-Cardiff.
     
    Last edited: May 24, 2020
  39. ARuscoe

    ARuscoe Well-Known Member

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    I'm sure someone else can confirm, but I think the UK LED signals was used before the SWC route was released, certainly the first time I saw it was on Chatham Mainline
     
  40. Plastic Pal

    Plastic Pal Well-Known Member

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    Yep - that's my point. If the UK LED signals pack was modified or updated by a DLC that has subsequently been withdrawn and de-listed (for sale), that maybe this process has broken anything that depended on it.

    But - I am just speculating.... I have no idea (yet) how the dependencies/updates/binaries function in TS1. I haven't had time to really have a good look. But maybe someone at DTG knows how the software works, and maybe they could look at it, at some point.... soon... maybe....?
     
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  41. frank351981

    frank351981 Active Member

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    I have that issue on Portmouth Direct Line (the old one) too. Only for completeness because it has not listed by now here. So it seems to cause "only" on old routes.
    When it caused by following:
    - DTG has changed or deleted something and updated it for all, without anybody has noticed it.
    => I´dont know how TS makes updates in the background but the load-screens (when loading a route) must be downloaded anyhow too, but I didn´t noticed any download for that process in steam by now. So who knows what DTG or Steam do on our PC-System/Train Simulator without knowledge
    - Steam has changed something and updated it for all => There would be the question when the last SteamClient update was and since the missing stuff appears?

    However - that´s why I don´t like such kind of updates. I like to control when and what comes to my computer. For years a windows vista update has killed my complete Windows-installation. So for that.
     
    Last edited: May 24, 2020
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  42. Slugsix

    Slugsix Member

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    Or more simply, when you bought the game and downloaded it for the first time you also downloaded a key that allows you to run that DLC, acting as a certificate that shows you legally purchased the product. Each time you run it, the main program checks the key/certificate against the DLC and enables you to run it.....



     
  43. Plastic Pal

    Plastic Pal Well-Known Member

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    I found this post to be extremely useful. And it prompted me to eyeball all of my UK routes, and I found that when trying to load Official Career scenarios that the following (in addition to the original Portsmouth Direct Line) do not have any signals/AWS:

    - WCML North
    - WCML (Shap)
    - South London Network
    - London-Brighton

    The following completely crashed Train Simulator [Edit: These three are now all fine on one of my PCs]:

    - Portsmouth Direct Line Waterloo-Portsmouth (new) (with the 444, but the 455/8 worked fine)
    - SWML Soton-Bournemouth (444 & 450)
    - Riviera in the Fifties (Castle & Pannier)

    The following initialised with working signals:

    - Chatham Main Line (to Gillingham)
    - ECML York-Newcastle
    - ECML London-Peterboro
    - Edinburgh-Glasgow
    - GWML
    - Liverpool-Manchester
    - MML London-Bedford
    - North London Line (including the 378)
    - North Wales Coastal
    - Portsmouth Direct Line Waterloo-Portsmouth (new)
    - Riviera in the Fifties
    - Settle-Carlisle
    - South Wales Coastal (Cardiff)
    - South Wales Coastal (Swansea)
    - SWML Soton-Bournemouth
    - The Isle of Wight
    - The Woodhead Line (original)
    - Weardale
    - West Somerset Railway
     
    Last edited: May 24, 2020
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  44. ARuscoe

    ARuscoe Well-Known Member

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    Erm, no. That would not be right. If I took my assets and contents folder and copied it to someone else's machine and logged in with their Steam login and their DTG live login I expect it would complain about license issues and lock out any content they hadn't bought
    If the license downloaded and was perpetuated from that initial download then you wouldn't need the steam client to validate at all
     
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  45. 749006

    749006 Well-Known Member

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    The Class 91 loads ok - why should it not?
    Screenshot_GEML London Ipswich_51.62916-0.32877_10-30-36.jpg
     
  46. frank351981

    frank351981 Active Member

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    I have now tested two original carreer scenarios with the 444 on Waterloo-Portsmouth and Bournemouth too and can not confirm problems. It loads normal, signals are shown, KI is driving. But I closed it after some seconds.
    I´ve loaded one career scenario with a 444 on the old Portsmouth Route => Error because missing tracks.bin (but the file is there). The file seems identicaly (file size, date) to that one I have in a backup made in january.

    So for me the status on my TS:
    No signals on the 5 know routes => I have the class 370 (its not loading). Issues on other rolling stock: unknown
    Further I have all of the Wales Routes including Welsh Marches (seems to be loading correct)
    I not have any of the recent on steam published JustTrain Routes (but some by JustTrains directly, some time earlier), the latest brithish addon I buyed was the Fife Circle.
     
    Last edited: May 24, 2020
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  47. Plastic Pal

    Plastic Pal Well-Known Member

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    Okay - thanks. This gives me a lead to try a few things to fix those two routes on my system, as a separate issue. Really brilliant - thank you....!

    EDIT: I have now fixed my issues with Portsmouth (new), Soton/B'mouth and Riviera 50s, as they appeared on one of my PCs. This is not related to the missing signals/AWS issue.
     
    Last edited: May 24, 2020
  48. Plastic Pal

    Plastic Pal Well-Known Member

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    No he didn't screenshot the wrong end. The vehicle pictured is numbered 91 125. ;-p
     
  49. 749006

    749006 Well-Known Member

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    DVTs do not have a PANTOGRAPH on the roof
     
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  50. 749006

    749006 Well-Known Member

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    That is because you were telling me I had taken the wrong picture
    And because you were TOO STUPID enough to either look at the loco number or the PANTOGRAPH
     
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