Old Dalby & Wegberg-wildenrath Double Test Pack

Discussion in 'Suggestions' started by synthetic.angel, Aug 27, 2019.

  1. synthetic.angel

    synthetic.angel Well-Known Member

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    I checked the eight pages of route suggestions, and was surprised to not see either of these test tracks listed. (If I have missed something, apologies - this is my first post!).

    Old Dalby: Melton Mowbray to Edwalton (or just do the whole Kettering to Nottingham route, with Old Dalby included). Could include variants of the APT, a Pendolino and some LUL stock, a wide range of 3rd rail and OHLE infrastructure, and some unique and engaging testing "Scenarios". How about a re-skin of the GWE HST as the yellow NR Measurement Train?

    Wegberg-Wildenrath: Test centre owned by Siemens - has a very very large oval shape. Testing ground for all that German (and new British) rolling stock. Again - opportunity for fun scenarios - testing noise pollution, acceleration under various weather conditions and loads, braking effectiveness, signalling systems, etc.

    A double-pack like this could be a brilliant place to host initial tutorials and training, and then demonstrate/teach the more complex stuff like signalling, in an environment with progressive difficulty/features.

    Could be fun for the Devs too...! ;-)
     
  2. JJTimothy

    JJTimothy Well-Known Member

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    This could work- it would probably make for a lot of short scenarios but they'd be quite technical. Old Dalby has a curve that can be realigned for measuring track forces under different conditions which might be tricky to mimic. It also used to have a couple of extraordinarily unreliable Clayton Diesels for dragging stock around so, if portraying that era, you could add operational complications by having one of them break down or catch fire now and then.
     
  3. synthetic.angel

    synthetic.angel Well-Known Member

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    The full Old Dalby is about 14 miles long. So if they packed in a lot of infrastructure, it could be quite suitable for TSW, methinks. You could then make the German Siemens facility (which is the site of an old RAF base) a modern era one. I don't know about American test tracks, but one of those would be good too. A UK/German double-pack would suit me though. Could be a core pair of routes for all future TSW202x releases....

    A key feature would be to be able to take any/all of your locomotives and rolling stock, and test it all at one of the test tracks (to provide a challenge for the devs, too....). And yes, scenarios could include anything from shunting practice, to rescues, ECS moves (!), to stringently timed/evaluated acceleration/braking performance, on curves/slopes and on leaves/ice/snow, etc. It's a completely open environment, unfussed by the operational timetabled railway.

    There isn't anything in TSW, that I have found so far, that gives a player a personal development roadmap - i.e building from the basics through to using the full signalling and safety systems. You can switch stuff on, and experiment, and then try and find a manual, and search for videos on PZB, etc., and then apply to it all to a service, but it's all at your own behest. Great for the die-hard tech fans, of course, but trickier for the average guy on the street.
     

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