Introduction Hi, welcome to another post in my series "Improving Lineside Industry". I'm going to be looking at various routes in Train Sim World and highlighting what we have, and what we could have, in regard to railways that serve the various industries along them. I find these to be very interesting, and I think maximizing opportunities for players to use them in TSW would greatly enhance our game. I've tried to limit any suggestions to what is just about already within the scope of the route, and might just need some extra modelling of scenery, and perhaps a few new wagons. It must be said that I haven't been a fan of railways for very long, and I'm from Australia, so I'd love for you to add your knowledge about these far-flung routes and correct anything I get wrong. I have speculated at times, as information can be hard to come by. (Some of the screenshots here of the in-game map are rather poor-looking as I couldn't do any better with their resolution when zoomed out. Some areas do not have 3D buildings on Google Maps so only some locations will have those images included.) Route In this post, I'll be looking at Southeastern High Speed. I believe the route is set in 2020. Here is a map of the route as represented in game, numbered with each location that I will be highlighting. Industries Location 1 Staring at the west of the route in St Pancras, Hanson has a rail-served concrete depot. Trains provide aggregates and cement. Players could empty consists of HKA wagons with their unloading pit and conveyor system (and PCA wagons via the game's interactive hose function, unless that takes too long). Location 2 Express Concrete in Barking receives stone and sand by train. It is unloaded by bucket. Players could shunt consists of JNA wagons here and split them across the two sidings. Location 3 Ward Recycling has a site where they send waste away via rail. The various materials are loaded onto trains by material handlers and wheel loaders. Players could shunt consists of JNA (or KEA) wagons here and split them across the two sidings. Location 4 Freightliner's intermodal terminal in Barking is used for containers going to and coming from Europe though the Channel Tunnel. Overhead gantry cranes move containers between lorries and trains. Players could form consists of FKA wagons here and drive them up and down High Speed 1 to or from Ashford.
Location 5 In Dagenham, Breedon Cement has a depot where trains deliver cement. Players could shunt consists of PCA (or JPA) wagons here and split them across the two sidings (and unload them via the game's interactive hose function, unless that takes too long). Location 6 Hanson has a rail link to their Dagenham aggregate facility. Barges unload sand dredged from the Thames Estuary and some of it is sent inland by train. Trains also arrive here with stone from Whatley Quarry in Somerset. Players could empty HKA wagons using the unloading pit and conveyor system before allowing their consist to be loaded with sand by wheel loader and departing. Location 7 Ford Automotive's plant in Dagenham has rolled out eleven million vehicles but has not built a complete since 2002. In the period in which the route is set, it appears to only be used for receiving cars and vans from other Ford factories in Europe and sending them elsewhere around the UK. However, diesel engines were seemingly still being built here and dispatched to the continent. Players could arrive and depart to and from Ashford with FKA and IPA wagons, and shunt around the complex.
Location 8 In Northfleet, there are some sidings that once were used for a large cement plant before it was demolished. A smaller cement unloading site was later established but during the period in which the route is set, the location seems to only have been used in 2020 for the Thames Tideway Scheme when sewer tunnel sections were brought here on FCA wagons. Players could drive trains to and from Dartford. Location 9 Just outside what is represented in game, in Cliffe, Brett Aggregates have a loading facility for trains. Consists are loaded with a unique aggregate dispensing apparatus that moves while the wagons remain stationary. Players could drive trains of JNA and HKA wagons from here to Dartford or Hoo Junction yard. Conclusion This was a tough one. Location 1 would only really offer running around the consist and unloading as there is nowhere else to drive the train. Locations 2 and 3 would offer shunting and running to and from the exchange sidings. Locations 5 and 6 would be similar but with the addition of unloading. Locations 4 and 7 would enable shunting and runs along High Speed 1 to Ashford and vice versa. Locations 8 and 9 would allow shunting and running to Dartford. I hope this was interesting. Please feel free to add to this and let me know what I've got wrong. Thanks for reading! Further References Information on High Speed 1 freight: https://www.rmweb.co.uk/topic/142266-current-freight-operation-with-class-92-in-s-e-england/
