Hi Everybody, Nick Hudson and I started work on this project several years ago now, we originally set out to regress the Liverpool to Manchester Route to the BR Blue period ( 1980 - ish ) - Nick handled all of the track and signalling infrastructure and I handled the scenery....once this was completed we decided to add more sections covering South Lancs. and North Cheshire ( hence the route-rename ) and added the sections to Manchester Victoria and Chester before including Frodsham to Widnes ( including Weston Point ). We then too a break to regress the North Wales Coast and Conwy Valley lines to BR Blue before picking up South Lancs again and adding the section between Warrington and Preston. Nick had always wanted to model Crewe so we then started on the section between Runcorn, and Warrington, to Crewe - Nick was always way ahead of me with the track and infrastructure so would create the base infrastructure leaving me to complete all of the scenery while he worked on other projects.....we kept in touch almost daily as I would sometimes come across infrastructure issues which needed his attention or just to bounce ideas off each other. Nick sadly passed away very suddenly before we had been able to complete and publish the section to Crewe.....after some soul-searching I decided to complete the scenery to Crewe, as Nick had already completed the infrastructure, and dedicated it to Nick. Once this was completed I realised that Nick had completed a lot more of the track and infrastructure on the Atherton Line ( Manchester Victoria to Wigan ) than I had thought......so along with Steve ( who had been working with Nick on other projects and had created some scenarios for South Lancs. ) I am now working on completing this section.......Steve is handling track and infrastructure while I am working on the scenery. I have been updating progress on UKTS and my Railworks Forum but with UKTS in the process of winding down I will now provide updates here instead. Latest Update - We are working from Manchester Victoria towards Wigan, all scenery is completed from Manchester Victoria through Pendlebury and Swinton as far as the M60.....scenery to the South of the line is also completed as far as Walkden and I am currently working on the North side.....a few screenshots of the current work attached. There is a Flickr site which also has some screenshots showing progress on this section so far ( including Agecroft Power Station ) https://www.flickr.com/photos/143036581@N05/sets/72157718139143613/ although I have realised that it needs a bit of cleaning up as the date order does not seem to be correct. Andy
I've got all the required dependencies listed but still have a few missing bridges, checking in TSTools seems to bring up quite a few missing dependencies too, has anyone done a treasure hunt to find out what's missing?
Hi - when I first released the current Phase of the route there were a couple of reports of missing bridges, I released a couple of updates to include the missing assets so please ensure that you have downloaded all additional updates/fixes from one of the host sites. Nick took care of the assets so when he passed away I had to try to figure out exactly what to include in the route package, it turned out that I missed a few. Andy
I love this route, and I have the latest version and all dependencies, so I look forward to the next instalment.
Thanks very much - I'm currently working on some of the housing estates around Walkden - not much open countryside between Manchester and Wigan so progress is a bit slow. Andy
Just to let folks know that Richard found that one of his scenarios, which we provided with the route, no longer works as we renamed a marker at some stage, a replacement scenario can be found at either host of the host sites ( https://www.wotawallysbits.net/slnc.html or https://backdatedtrainsim.weebly.com/andy--nick-routes.html )....Richard also made a change to the closing stages of the scenario. Andy
All scenery now completed between the M60 and Walkden Station - some screenshots can be seen on the last page of the Flickr site - flic.kr/s/aHsmU4sBon . Quite a few changes in this area since the early 80s when this route is set, the factories to the North of Walkden Station have gone and been replaced by housing. Andy
Just to try to bring you up to speed with developments over the past few weeks, thanks to a couple of people who reported issues it became very clear that anybody wanting to run South Lancs. but did not have the original DTG North Wales Coast Route ( and had downloaded the current DTG NWC route version ) would have considerable track and scenery corruption around Crewe. We have therefore been trying to create a version of the route which will be compatible with both versions of NWC ( the NWC dependency was created when we used the Chester to Crewe tiles from our North Wales Coast - BR Blue route which has a dependency on the DTG NWC route ). Colin ( Wotawally ) undertook a massive task of editing hundreds of files, and creating a batch file, which would enable the route to be compatible with the current DTG NWC route....huge thanks to Colin - as is common with something as complex as this there have been several unexpected side effects that we have been grappling with ( eg. missing assets, lofts and track ) but we are slowly getting there.....we have a short length of track to resolve at Crewe, the most worrying issue that we currently face is that some lofts have disappeared in a couple of locations that we know of, but these are not being picked up as missing ( milk bottles ) so we cannot track these, they can only be noticed visually as being missing if you see what I mean. So, as we cannot inspect every single nook and cranny of the route to spot those that are missing we could end up publishing the route with lofts missing and would need to rely on reports of missing lofts for us to fix them.....or, if the issue looks to be too messy to try to resolve we may have to accept that we will have to stick to the current route version with no compatability with current DTG NWC route. Just to be clear - if you have the original DTG NWC Route and are running South Lancs. with no issues you will not be impacted at all if we have to scrap plans to move to the revised route version.....but I'm pretty sure that we will eventually figure this out. On the bright side I have now resumed work on the scenery at Walkden and will progress on to Wigan - the tiles that I am working on can be used on whichever route version we proceed with so the current work that Steve is doing around Crewe will not hold us up. Andy
Walkden area finally completed - as usual during the Summer months I have less time for route creation, and with starting to volunteer on the Chinnor Railway this year I have had even less time....having said that I have made some slow progress around Walkden since the extended "NWC compatibility" break and it is now complete.....as this area has lots of housing this also adds to the time it takes to correctly locate and place the individual houses. I have added some new photos to the Flickr site http://redirect.viglink.com/?key=71...&subId=6755311&u=https://flic.kr/s/aHsmU4sBon. The eagle-eyed amongst you might spot some missing bridge deck lofts.....these mysteriously disappeared during the "NWC compatibility" exercise, as Steve had added these when tidying up Nick's previous work he will look at this at some point. Andy
Aww darn. I feel your pain, I know very well how annoying it can be if you create something based on a product that is no longer available or that has been very thoroughly updated by the developper.
Now that the Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway operating season has ended, before Santa Specials start on November 25th, I have been able to spend some time on Slancs during the past few weeks, I have now completed all scenery up to a point approx. 1/2 mile from Walkden - I have posted a load of screenshots from the Editor on the Flickr page www.flickr.com/photos/143036581@N05/sets/72157718139143613/, latest screenshots are on page 3 dated 12/11. I whizz through the open countryside sections but the built up areas take a long time as I place each building where it should be, I only use pre-cast blocks some distance away from the line. Andy
All scenery is now completed between Walkden and Atherton, not including Atherton Station itself. I have added some more screenshots to the Flickr site ( https://www.flickr.com/photos/143036581@N05/albums/72157718139143613/page4 ) - the brownish hills are actually the remains of the Cutacre slag heap which was the largest slag heap in Europe in the 1980s - it has since been removed and landscaped. Andy
All scenery is now complete between Walkden through Atherton and Hag Fold ( the station was not there in 1980 ) as far as North Road - masses of housing estates to add here so has taken a while, this area has changed almost beyond recognition......if you compare my screenshots to googlemaps view today you can see that a housing estate now covers the area where Laburnam Mill used to be ( immediately to the NorthWest of Atherton Station ) and stores and car parks obscure the goods yard, which was derelict and overgrown in 1980. Steve is going to change the signal post near to the Atherton Goods Yard Signal Box to the type that was actually in place at the time. I have posted several screenshots on the Flickr page - flic.kr/s/aHsmU4sBon Andy
Great work Andy, the level of detail is so great that every image is recognisable to it's real world location though I fear my PC might spontaneously combust when the time comes to run it
All scenery completed between Daisy Hill and Dobb Brow, some screenshots from the Editor posted on Flickr - redirect.viglink.com/?key=71fe2139a887ad501313cd8cce3053c5&subId=6755311&u=https%3A//flic.kr/s/aHsmU4sBon It should not be long before I start to see the distant scenery from the last phase of the route. Andy
I have now reached Crow Nest Junction which is where the line from Bolton meets the Atherton Line just a few miles from Wigan, more screenshots from the Editor on Flickr - https://www.flickr.com/photos/143036581@N05/sets/72157718139143613/ Andy
Hey Andy, This route is what I'm after! How far are you off for releasing the St Helens line which links up to Wigan and Huyton? I was going to create my own route for this area of the north west but looks like you have beat me to it
Hi - not sure where we will be heading next tbh, focussing on getting the Atherton Line complete first. Andy
All scenery between Crow Nest Junction and Hindley now complete....the screenshot shows Hindley Station looking towards Ince and shows the gap in scenery remaining between this phase and the previous scenery created around Ince. Once I have filled in the gap we will then need to test and start creating some scenarios before sending the files to the host sites for release. Andy
All scenery now completed on this Phase between Manchester Victoria and Wigan - the screenshot shows where the new scenery meets the scenery from an earlier Phase near Ince. I will now run a few test trains to check for any obvious problems or glitches and then the scenario creation will begin......so it will be a few weeks before the route and scenarios can be made available. More screenshora are available on the Flickr site www.flickr.com/photos/143036581@N05/sets/72157718139143613/ Andy
An update of how things are going - Richard has jumped in to help me with some scenario creation, running and testing our scenarios has thrown up some signalling and scenery issues as expected....Steve is fixing the signalling issues. Steve had also been making some changes elsewhere on the route around Warrington, Springs Branch and to the track configuration between Wigan and Preston to make it more correact for the early 1980s, he is making finishing touches to that at the moment. In general the new section is running quite smoothly - as my scenery tends to be very dense there are some stutters during tile loading in some areas but does not seem to be any worse than other dense areas elsewhere on the route. I was a bit worried about how this section would perform so I'm pleased that it seems ok. I can't really say for sure how much longer we need for testing and fine tuning but I would think at least a couple more weeks, perhaps longer - we won't be able to test every siding/nook and cranny but I would like to get the route as problem free as possible before publishing, and have a few more scenarios to go with it. Andy
Nice work on phase 6, I am now able to get a run out to preston from Manchester!! What route will be added to the next phase?
Quick question if I may, do you know if any one is working on Cheshire Lines from Chester to Manchester via Northwich?
Installed this, great atmosphere as always, seeing a lot of milk bottles though on the new bit including Brindle Heath box. Unsure if I have something missing and installed it from the instructions on wotawallys site having had Phase 5 already although have moved my install from one drive to another.
I recommend reinstalling it from scratch, I did and it filled in most of my missing scenery (so I'd obviously missed something previously) so now the only thing I'm missing is the station building/steps at Atherton which is a massive step up from what I'd previously been missing
The last patches should have fixed everything on the new section - the complex history of the route and the reskins that Nick produced for the earlier stages of the route do make things a bit complicated for any newcomers or people reinstalling from scratch. One of the host sites ( Wotawallysbits ) now has a version of the route which contains all assets, and any required .bat files, for the entire route in a single download which should hopefully make life easier for newcomers to the route. For the latest, and final, phase of the route I am trying to keep things as simple as possible in terms of assets being used. Andy
Still got a missing Signal box at Brindle heath, Station Building signs at Wigan appear to have no building and bridges missing South of Coppull and at Brindle Heath again. Maybe I have a dependency missing. Had uninstalled my original V5 version and used wotawallys unofficial all in one package. The route still great and I am working on quick drives using mainly AP stock or other newer versions.
Glad you are enjoying in spite of the remaining issues you have, I would like you to run it without issues if possible though - if you were seeing the buildings and bridges after installing the lastest patches ( for this Phase ) but not after installing Wotawallys version then re-installing the 2 pataches should bring them back.....also ensure that you have the NorthWales Coast - BR Blue route and any asset packs installed, you should then be fine. Andy
Reinstalled the North Wales line and put the detail slider to max in the settings, Havent seen anything missing yet. Thanks for the help and for a great route.
Phase 7 construction is now underway - this will be the section between Huyton and Wigan via St. Helens - Nick had laid track over the entire section but will need a lot of work and also resignalling. Unless I have missed anything this is the final section of track, that Nick had laid, for which I had not completed scenery so will be the final Phase of the South Lancashire & North Cheshire route. It was interesting to revisit a part of the route which I had not looked at for around 10 years, or however long it is since Nick and I first started on Slancs - Edge Hill to Manchester Victoria was the first newly constructed, rather then regressed, section of the route....at the time I thought that Huyton looked pretty good, but now I realise that it actually did not look very much like Huyton at all so I started by remodelling all of the area to the North of the line and anything South of the line nearest to the St. Helens line.....I had not actually included any of Huyton village/town centre, I have no idea why.....anyway that has now been put right with extensive research of maps and photos so it hopefully now looks something like an early 1980's Huyton which is almost unrecognisable today. In the early 1980s Huyton had 2 working platforms, with 2 unused and overgrown.....Nick had not modelled the track layout to take this into account so to reduce the amount of Nick's work that we would have to replace the Station has been left with 2 platforms, I have sited buildings where they would have been, and Steve has relaid the junction so that it is in the right place and has the correct profile ( some signalling work left to do later ). If anybody can recall Huyton in the early 1980's and spots any scenery howlers then please let me know. Some new screenshots can be found on the Flickr site - https://flic.kr/s/aHsmU4sBon Andy
Does this part include the section between Huyton and Newton le Willows needing work - I seem to have lacking scenery (some track/roads showing as texture missing, bridges, the odd signal post, and a large lump in the terrain near Rainhill. I *think* I have everything installed correctly. But I don't have the Legacy NWC/NWC BR Blue. I am a bit confused - is that needed, or did the issue get fixed (sorry, if I have not read this in the above correctly).
The requirement for the legacy NWC route still remains ( have so far been unable to get around this ) but primarily affects the area around Crewe Station- I know that it is a bit of a chore but the the best thing to do is to install all of the asset packs from the earlier route versions from one of the host sites ( don't forget the bat file ), and also install our NWC BR Blue route available from the same sites.....without having the legacy NWC route that will get you the best possible version of Slancs. That "lump" actually existed in the 80s near to Bold Colliery......have a look for photos from the "Rocket 150" event which was held in 1980 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the opening of Liverpool to Manchester, many specators used it as a vantage point....the "lump" was levelled some years ago. Andy
Prescot Station, and all surrounding scenery as far as Warrington Road, completed - this has taken a considerable amount of time as it includes the vast majority of the BICC works....a huge complex, all sadly now gone and replaced by housing estates and shopping centres. There are quite a few photographs of this area in the 1980s so the scenery is quite accurate, although no custom assets ( other than mentioned below ) have been used so there is a fair amount of "fudgery" using standard assets. Steve has done a great job getting the track layout and signalling correct for the early 80s, and many thanks to Colin ( Wotawally ) for creating a new disused Loading Gauge asset for me ( there were 2 in quite prominent locations in the Prescot Station area ), for reskinning a footbridge to create the distinctive red footbridge at Prescot Station and also station and Signal Box signs. There are several sceenshots on the Flickr site - redirect.viglink.com/?key=71fe2139a887ad501313cd8cce3053c5&subId=6755311&u=https%3A//flic.kr/s/aHsmU4sBon Andy
It's another great update there Andy While I now live close to that line (and for a couple of months was a daily commuter along it) and as a result can't compare it to the Atherton line which I grew up alongside and recognise instantly, while I didn't recognise Prescot (or at least the area around it which has since changed so much) I could easily recognise the station itself and if you are putting in even half the level of detail that you've put in on the other lines it'll be another winner PS - I've only got 5 more chapters of my book to write before it's ready to send off for publishing, I'm now several months behind and I blame your Atherton line - it came out and I find myself doing several runs along it on my days off instead of working on the book
Thanks for the nice comments Phil, and sorry to be the cause of a delay to your book Here is an aerial shot of the BICC works at Prescot, the station is centre/left..compare that to today's housing estates etc...... Andy
Could it be there's something missing in the package? I am missing this bridge, the supplied DTG\NorthWalesCoastal folder only contains a texture but no bin: Should I copy this one to the Scenery\Extras folder and rename it? I am trying to make it myself - important is to adjust the internal name too in the bin. (Doesn't matter to what, it just has to be unique on that route)
