HBA/HEA Hoppers: Brake Van first spin.

A first peak of a much too clean and sparkly dia 1/506 brake van from lot 3129 for use in the scenarios bundled with the HBA/HEA hoppers and other future packs as required. The default LMS van was looking a bit weird bring up the rear of partially fitted and unfitted trains in the late 1970s so we felt something a little different was required.

The model, originally produced as a CAR (through air and vacuum pipes) for inclusion in the VDA pack, has had a bit of an upgrade in a couple of areas along with the removal of the air pipes and visible controls inside the van.

It's safe to say that this has possibly been one of the biggest minefields yet and there is almost a picture to prove everything. Lot 3129 should (according to the diagram book) have been built with plain bearings and spindle buffers but every picture shows them with roller bearings and hydraulic buffers, just like dia 1/507 which covered the final two lots produced by British Railways and the subject of the CAR model.

Many of the vans had their through pipes removed towards the end of their careers with a subsequent change of TOPS code from CAP to CAO and these will be produced too, once the last little issues are sorted with this model.

Gas Lit TSR Warning Board

As we spend most of our RailWorks time in the 1970s and 1980s it seemed only right that we had a set of TSR signage that was appropriate to the era.

The pre-battery signs were gas lit using propane and by the early 1970s were flood lit rather than using internal lamps in the board itself. Reference photographs of the boards have been hard to come across and there seem to have been a wide selection of designs.

The board shown here has fittings for dual speeds if required and the gas bottle box is currently solid with the mesh to be added during the texturing phase.

AOT-01: 6M79 1610 Tyneside CFD to Toton Speedlink

My inbox has also been filling up with up with screenshots from the testing of our first Ages of the Train scenario addon pack from RailWorks 3 Train Simulator 2012.

Here we see the player train from the second of the scenarios under development for the first pack at Ouston Junction with class 25/3 25308 and Class 31/1 31315 making full use of their blue star multiple working equipment as the ER do their best to return the Sulzer back to the LMR.


A double headed Class 37 hauled iron ore train is glimpsed crossing the bridge behind on its way to Consett.