Running the "Night Train To Scotland", had a game over SPAD on the Down Main approaching Carnforth. Running under clear signals, no AWS warnings. Looks like there might be a rogue signal there somewhere, though never had this issue running the route previously. Now disabled SPAD's and will pick up from my previous save and while I know it's unlikely an old route will be looked at, really needs sorting if something has corrupted and could cause problems for anyone running a Down service.
Just a further aside, searching through the forum I see there was an issue back in 2020 when several routes lost their signals WCML Shap included. As I probably haven’t run the route in the Down direction for several years could explain why I didn’t encounter this previously and that the rogue signal or link is a hangover from the fault that never got fixed. Yes the workaround is to run with SPAD’s off, but that feels like cheating and removes essential protection if you do make a mistake.
One thing I like about the Technical Reports is that it reminds me of stuff I haven't played in ages. Will give this a go and see what's wrong with it. (For example on WCML North there's a misplaced signal link at Mossend Yard leading to issues, which is fixed by moving the link a bit.)
That would be great, at least then we can fix the route for personal use given the chances of Keith Ross coming back in to do it or DTG at this point, are negligible. And you are right. So many of these much loved TSC routes have been left untouched for years, some barely played at all, in no small part due to the continuing distraction of the dark side, aka TSW! Though I highly doubt we will ever see the likes of WCML North or Shap with the tap changer locos in TSW.
That's why the BR111 is my favourite loco in TSW. Almost there... ... passed Carnforth without any issues - all clear It looks like something's modified on your end. Open this folder and tell me if there's a "Networks" folder next to the MainContent.ap: RailWorks\Content\Routes\ce4052d1-669a-4529-b16b-1972fc32913a\ This route displays the infamous "Jelly Cam" effect nicely... might want to adjust the track unevenness in the trackrule - like WCML North it's far too shaky imho. I bet it's 20 - Just Trains for example are mostly using an Unevenness value of 4.
That’s strange then. I’ll have to check the route for a Network folder later on, after tea. Certainly not been modified on my end. Will definitely look at modifying the track rule, that old 87 pitches and rolls into the turns!
Base trackrule has unevenness of 14 - changed that to 4 (JT standard) Browsing tracks.bin, there's ribbons with values of 25!!! Way too much - or were the WCML tracks really that bad? Edit: 100!!! Great Scott! No wonder the cam goes crazy. I'm using 4 as default, 25 gets converted to 5 and hundred to 7 for me.
Also worked fine for me last night, but I have AP Signals installed and I don’t think Oldvern does. So probably not that helpful.
Yes my route is entirely vanilla. Anecdotally, at one point the WCML track did get very bad. The constant pounding of the AC electrics took its toll on the track. Wet beds where the underlying clay had churned through the ballast, uneven profile. Temporary speed restrictions that stayed on for months. I used to commute from Northampton to London and it was not unusual for the bogies on the Mark One stock of the Master Cobbler loco hauled sets to start “hunting” with a side to side lateral motion at certain locations.
So Keith wasn't entirely wrong then - but the state that route's in would require a lot more TSRs I'm converting it to a smoother route for me anyway. I did so for WCML North too which kept breaking my tanker consist near Beattock in the Class 70 "Keep On Moving" scenario for the same reason, and the Jelly Cam bug gets unbearable if you're playing in one go. Maybe RailWorks behaved a bit differently back then...
Night and Day.... much better experience now... for anyone wanting to have a much smoother ride over Shap, check my fix. Makes it a high speed line again, so consider taking the APT for a ride! If it's too comfy for you and you want the old rough tracks back, just delete the two files so the game uses the .ap contents again.
Coming back to the earlier reply form Spikee1975 yes there is a separate Network folder in addition to the AP file, probably because at some stage I did a blanket extraction with RW Tools. About to grab the track quality amendements.
Had to start over as changing the route files nuked the save game. However will check to see if the SPAD happens again and already enjoying the smoother ride.
Final update... Ran the scenario again after removing the folders as noted and no SPAD occurred. So there was an isue but not reproduceable, so far as tech support is concerned I guess DTG can disregard this. However it is nice to get back into what IMHO is one of the TS Classic all time great routes. Next project will be to try and swap in slightly better looking tracck.
There's just something awesome about this route, and it benefits from the AP Veg update that replaces the DTG "plastic" trees. After all these years, I'm just driving here thinking it looks so much more natural to me than the strange TSW graphics... Blasting over Shap in my APT...
It is a beautiful route with AP enhancements. I bought a scenario pack off ATS last weekend and spent a lot of time running them. It’s a route I keep forgetting about for some reason,, but I’m glad I went back to it. Nice pictures Spikee1975
I will think about the AP enhancements but even vanilla it just looks more natural. It helps of course that you have a nice pop up menu in game with TSC to tweak the graphics as you drive, if nights are too dark you can notch the contrast out a bit etc. After a few sessions on a good quality TSC route, TSW comes across as a bit cartoony at times - even with the Jetwash lighting mod. However the first AP upgrade I want to get is the sound pack for the 86 and maybe his 87 pack. The default just drowns everything else out with the traction motor fan, whereas the AP it gradually diminishes so you can hear the actual motor pitch rise and fall - like the EU07 in SimRail.
I have fixed the sound by editing the Cab Occlusion blueprints for the 86 and 87, using these values. Now the fans are muffled due to the LowFrequencyRatio of 0.35 (default 0.01) which AP also uses.
Got to admit I think all the routes Keith Ross did for TSC are pretty good, and to a certain extent have stood the test of time. The WCML over Shap, WCML North and West of Scotland Lines - The Port Road are always routes I go back to, either for a quick half hour session or for a couple of hours.
Fantastic with the little sound mod, albeit still not much from the traction motors. Will probably still grab the AP sound mod when it gets a sale discount. Oh and quick request to the mods, DTG Alex , as this thread has moved beyond the original purpose, solved(ish) and more into a general WCML chat and appreciation, maybe move into GD please? I shall amend the title.
I think you’ll probably like the AP sound pack for the 86. I got it a couple of sales ago. I’m not too familiar with Tap Changer locomotives but I love all the noise going on in the cab. Particularly when you have the Tap Changer audio turned on and set it to run down. To me it’s really quite immersive. I have a long way to go to become proficient with the 86 though.
The 87 is slightly easier to drive as the tap position is shown as it is on the HUD, rather than in % like the 86. So all you have to do is watch the needles and stop tapping or step back from Run Up when you hit the yellow sector, though I will usually push to about half way especially when climbing a gradient. It's certainly a more fulfilling experience than push to go, especially on some of the modern trains which only have four power positions.
Yeah, but once you're acquainted with the hold position being at 62% it's no big deal. Though that can be easily modified (like most stuff) too, by enabling <DisplayNotchName> and adding the text strings to the ControlContainer. Might do this later on, as I had already fixed the wrong RunDown position on the WCML North 86. (which is 0.0286 instead of correct 0.286) But then, the AP Class 86 is of course the ultimate choice. There's some US locos with brake scripts from Smokebox which I have reverted to showing percentage again, as especially the Independent brake is unusable when in external camera, only telling me "Apply" but not how much, so I turned off the <DisplayNotchName> to see how much I'm actually applying the brakes.
I will look out for a little mod. With regard to Smokebox, while I like the Big Boy, the lack of information as to the state of the brake handle position makes it a right beggar to control. Put me off what is an otherwise fine model.
Is there a way for the Class 86 to show the Power Handle Position, Off, Run Down, Hold, Run Up, instead of a Percentage? And where is the <DisplayNotchName>? I'm happy to have a look in the bin files myself. Thanks
