The Gramsby Line (LBSCR)

Hello everyone! I've finally decided to work on a fictional UK route of my own. I call it, The Gramsby Line, a fully electrified overhead line from Stamford to Gramsby. I'll be able to post updates when I can find the time to do so. Stations along the route are the following along the direction of North to South. Tracks represent how many platforms serve trains.


Stamford (4 tracks, Terminus)


Balerno (4 tracks)


Ferndochty (2 tracks. Local Service only)


Furness (2 tracks, Local Service only)


Auchendale (2 tracks, Local Service only)


Dangarnon (4 tracks)


Aempleforth (2 tracks, Local Service Only)


Auchterarder (2 tracks, Local Service Only)


Bury (4 tracks)


Gramsby (4 tracks, Terminus)










For the first time ever, I will be working on a route with LBSCR Catenary, respectively using the LBSCR and SR South London EMUs. This route will take a awhile to be completed, but I will make sure to post screenshots every month or so. With college in the way, I will be working on this minimally. If anyone has any tips on building the LBSCR Catenary or any other route building tips in general, please let me know. Recommendations would be greatly appreciated as well.


Thank you all, keep up the good work, and stay awesome.

A LBSCR South London EMU 5 car train and a SR South London EMU 5 car train terminate at Stamford. LBSCR trains will be express service and SR trains will be local. I have now confirmed that these trains will be 3 cars long instead.

Sounds promising.

Will be watching the progress.

hotgrove said:

Sounds promising.

Will be watching the progress.

Click to expand...

Thank you. As of today, I also constructed a crossover layout, placing two signal boxes near the line called North Stamford and South Stamford respectively.
This is what the crossover looks like. Credit goes to Mightyena for showing me this crossover idea.

Hello everyone! Here are some progress screenshots. I have a few questions to ask as well.

First off, this is Stamford Station, the northern terminus of the line. I used LBSCR station gantries and FMA platforms. The platform canopies are LBSCR as well.



Here's the station building for Stamford. If there are any recommendations to use a different station building, please let me know.



Here's a view from Platform 3 of Stamford. Local and Express trains serve all platforms. Feedback on the station design would be greatly appreciated.



Here's North Stamford signal box. The crossover here is at the north side of the North Stamford Crossover.



Inside the South Stamford Signal box.



The outside view of South Stamford signal box. The direction markers are very useful indeed.


Here's the above view of Stamford Station.



Now, question time. Using the LBSCR catenary provided, how can I make crossover wiring to each of these screenshots below?







I apologize for the amount of screenshots in this post. I do take my time on working on routes, but with only one true route complete, I still have the tendency to ask questions on route building improvements. Any feedback, questions, and comments would be greatly appreciated. Further discussion about this route can be discussed in private message. Thank you all and stay awesome.

Excellent looking start.

A lot of work ahead if you do manage to reach Gramsby.

I hope you get there.

hotgrove said:

Excellent looking start.

A lot of work ahead if you do manage to reach Gramsby.

I hope you get there.

Click to expand...

Thank you. It will take awhile to get to Gramsby, but it seems I may need to reconfigure the crossover layout. The LBSCR catenary wires don't align properly. I'll see what I can do to fix that problem.

Good news everyone! I have successfully wired the crossovers located at the North Stamford Crossover between North Stamford Signal Box and South Stamford Signal Box.

Here are some updated screenshots!









Lastly, located north of Balerno, is the Brighton Bridge. This railway bridge carries all train traffic over the Balerno River.


I'm glad I was able to finish wiring that crossover. The next step is working on Balerno, a four track station. Any questions, comments, feedback, and recommendations are greatly appreciated. When this route is complete, it will be the first route with LBSCR catenary throughout. Thank you and stay awesome!

:wave: Hello and thank you for the nice presentation of your Fictional RR Line........ Your map gives perfect perspective of what your are achieving and with the pictures an excellent overview.

Like your Track work too......Thank you for sharing with us and keep up the good work. :Y:

blueodessey said:

:wave: Hello and thank you for the nice presentation of your Fictional RR Line........ Your map gives perfect perspective of what your are achieving and with the pictures an excellent overview.

Like your Track work too......Thank you for sharing with us and keep up the good work. :Y:

Click to expand...

Why thank you very much. For the tracks, I'm using the UK Bullhead- Wooden 09 asset.

Currently, the route is compatible for Trainz 2012, but I don't know when I'll get T:ANE. My birthday is this Wednesday and that would be a nice birthday gift, if my computer can handle the specs it requires.

Copy that on Birthday Present, I would say check before you buy T:ANE, there has been a fare number of those who are disappointed in Frame Rates and Storage requirements that associate with TANE due to it's strong requirements for better Horse power all the way around, with what I think, that your GPU has to be good or better so when you play on your Routes, you get 60 FPS or Frames for reasonable video Quality playback, versus Frame Stutter which is what I face.

Here is one review from head of NV3 as he speaks to what might be needed to run properly!

As for me with my Laptop, HP Envy, 16 megs, Samsung high output SSD, my nemesis is, and always will be my built in GPU, a Pain in my neck for lack of better verbiage. And this time I learned my lesson about thinking I could get by on, so my next computer laptop will be a high end with Dedicated NVidia Card with at least 4 megs of Vram.....Now in all fairness I need to say, I was playing TS-12 which runs better on my Laptop that T:ANE, however Shadows, Crispness and all the other things T:ANE is known for are superior in T:ANE.

One of the best things I like about T:ANE is the fact I can run Large Routes with T:ANE and could never do that with TS-12........

Hope this helps you a little in your quest for T:ANE.
What hardware should I buy for Trainz?

By Tony_Hilliam, July 15 2016

One of the most common questions we are asked is "What hardware should I get to run Trainz?". There is a bewildering amount of information out there about computers, and we wanted to provide a Trainz specific guide to helping you make that decision.

First off - Why Upgrade at All?

If you haven't bought a PC in the last 5 years then you are really missing out on a big part of your Trainz experience. A 5 year old video card such as the GeForce GTX 560 has a performance rating of 3,111 on the G3D Mark scale. Move forward a few years and the budget GTX 960 card released at the start of 2015 hits nearly double that rating at 5,923 (and these cards are surprisingly affordable).
By comparison however, the latest card just released by Nvidia is the GTX 1080 and it comes in at a staggering 12,748 on G3D Mark - or roughly 4 times the performance of your 5 year old graphics card.

Take a look at these differences in performance benchmarks to see where your current card sits. Obviously the higher the number on the scale, the better performance you are going to see in Trainz.
Upgrade or Buy New?

This is the hardest question to answer as there are so many variables at play. If you have bought well in the past, then chances are you will be able to upgrade at a fraction of the price of buying a whole new system.
If your power supply supports a higher powered graphics card, then this is one of the quickest and most beneficial upgrades. Apart from checking your PSU is up to the task, also make sure the card will actually fit into your desktop computer case.
Adding more RAM is even quicker and cheaper, but while you should notice certain things running quicker, you probably won't see a big difference in frame rates.
Desktop or Laptop?

The answer to this one is easy. Unless you plan to travel a lot with your laptop, or you have lots of spare cash, desktop is really the only choice. Dollar for dollar you get far better value from the desktop, and if you are going for a higher end specification, then desktops will outperform the laptop by even further.
Budget or High Spec?

Buying hardware is always a trade-off, and in addition, what you buy today is out of date tomorrow. It nearly always comes down to "buy the best system you can afford".
We have no affiliation with any of the following companies but are simply providing examples of systems you could consider to be "budget" or "high spec". You can go lower or higher than these ranges, and most PC vendors will offer you upgrade options on their base system. If it comes down to choosing between one or two components to upgrade, then generally the graphics card is going to be your best "bang for buck"
UK Budget £499.00
UK High Spec £1,999.99
US Budget $799.99
USA High Spec $2,299.99
Operating System

Most users have reported that upgrading to Windows 10 gives a 5-10% boost to performance. This upgrade is currently free - but only for the next two weeks, so make sure you act now if you choose this option.
Research your hardware.

Prior to taking the plunge and buying your hardware, consider jumping onto an online forum and asking for advice on the setup you are looking at. Often when a deal looks too good to be true, it is due to using certain components that simply don't match up to the rest of the system, and you end up saving money but losing out on performance. You can also get good advice on our own forums...

What hardware should I buy for Trainz?

By Tony_Hilliam, July 15 2016

One of the most common questions we are asked is "What hardware should I get to run Trainz?". There is a bewildering amount of information out there about computers, and we wanted to provide a Trainz specific guide to helping you make that decision.
First off - Why Upgrade at All?

If you haven't bought a PC in the last 5 years then you are really missing out on a big part of your Trainz experience. A 5 year old video card such as the GeForce GTX 560 has a performance rating of 3,111 on the G3D Mark scale. Move forward a few years and the budget GTX 960 card released at the start of 2015 hits nearly double that rating at 5,923 (and these cards are surprisingly affordable).
By comparison however, the latest card just released by Nvidia is the GTX 1080 and it comes in at a staggering 12,748 on G3D Mark - or roughly 4 times the performance of your 5 year old graphics card.

Take a look at these differences in performance benchmarks to see where your current card sits. Obviously the higher the number on the scale, the better performance you are going to see in Trainz.
Upgrade or Buy New?

This is the hardest question to answer as there are so many variables at play. If you have bought well in the past, then chances are you will be able to upgrade at a fraction of the price of buying a whole new system.
If your power supply supports a higher powered graphics card, then this is one of the quickest and most beneficial upgrades. Apart from checking your PSU is up to the task, also make sure the card will actually fit into your desktop computer case.
Adding more RAM is even quicker and cheaper, but while you should notice certain things running quicker, you probably won't see a big difference in frame rates.
Desktop or Laptop?

The answer to this one is easy. Unless you plan to travel a lot with your laptop, or you have lots of spare cash, desktop is really the only choice. Dollar for dollar you get far better value from the desktop, and if you are going for a higher end specification, then desktops will outperform the laptop by even further.
Budget or High Spec?

Buying hardware is always a trade-off, and in addition, what you buy today is out of date tomorrow. It nearly always comes down to "buy the best system you can afford".
We have no affiliation with any of the following companies but are simply providing examples of systems you could consider to be "budget" or "high spec". You can go lower or higher than these ranges, and most PC vendors will offer you upgrade options on their base system. If it comes down to choosing between one or two components to upgrade, then generally the graphics card is going to be your best "bang for buck"
UK Budget £499.00
UK High Spec £1,999.99
US Budget $799.99
USA High Spec $2,299.99
Operating System

Most users have reported that upgrading to Windows 10 gives a 5-10% boost to performance. This upgrade is currently free - but only for the next two weeks, so make sure you act now if you choose this option.
Research your hardware.

Prior to taking the plunge and buying your hardware, consider jumping onto an online forum and asking for advice on the setup you are looking at. Often when a deal looks too good to be true, it is due to using certain components that simply don't match up to the rest of the system, and you end up saving money but losing out on performance. You can also get good advice on our own forums...

Well, I don't need T:ANE at the moment. But you could have sent me a private message about all this information. You can delete the above information from your post after you sent the private message blueodessey.

Anyway, update time! I'll be working on Balerno station this week. Also, today is my birthday! All birthday wishes should be sent via private message only.

Thank you and stay awesome!

Hello everyone. I would like to announce that I've started to work on Balerno and Ferndochty stations. They both will look fantastic when completed. At Ferndochty, there are two tracks for storage. I think Gramsby would be where the maintenance and main storage yard will be for these trains. More screenshots will be on the way. College is going well so far too.

Any feedback, comments, more information about the South London LBSCR Overhead rolling stock, and questions are greatly appreciated. Thank you and stay awesome!

LBSCR South London EMU 3-car set crossing the Brighton Bridge. This train will terminate at Stamford.


A LBSCR South London 3-car Local train at Balerno Platform 1. The next station will be Ferndochty.


I have some more updates to announce:

-All trains will be five cars in length during peak times. During off-peak hours, trains will be three or two cars long.
-Express trains will be in the LBSCR livery and the local trains will be in the SR (Southern) livery.
-So far, I have laid track from Stamford to Auchendale. After Auchendale, the line will be elevated from Dangamon to Bury, with Gramsby at ground level.
-I will need beta testers for this route after I have finished the route. Please send me a private message if you would like to be a beta tester.
-I will make sure to post more screenshots of my progress on this route this weekend. Questions, comments, recommendations, and feedback are greatly appreciated.

Thank you all, have a great weekend, and stay awesome!

Hello everyone! I have taken a few more screenshots and have fixed up Stamford station. Progress is going along well too.

I have a specific question to ask. I've added six storage tracks at Stamford. According to the screenshot below, how can I connect those six storage tracks to the four track mainline? Also, using the LBSCR catenary, how would I be able to build the catenary over the station throat, in other words, the tracks outside the station?

Take care and stay awesome.

Hello everyone! I have excellent news. I was able to fix the station layout and this is the result:





Now, I have a certain question to ask. On many assets that have pantographs, you can clearly see the pantograph when you zoom in to the locomotive and when you zoom out before going beyond the viewing point and seeing the route map view.

Here are some pictures to explain the situation.

Before:
A Gramsby Line LBSCR Express train with the bowstring pantograph clearly displayed above the EMU Brake Third.



After:
The bowstring has vanished. When using a Class 319 using this same screenshot viewpoint, you would be able to see the Brecknell Willis High Speed Pantograph.


Here's another example.

Before:
Here's the rear carriage of an LBSCR 3-car Gramsby Line Express service to Gramsby. The bowstring and indicator are clearly displayed on the carriage.


After:
The indicator and bowstring are missing when the view is zoomed out.



If there is way to fix this problem, please let me know. So far, I've been getting back to working on this route and I hope to get the trackwork done before the end of this year.
Take care and stay awesome.

Hello everyone! I'm currently finishing my final exams for this semester. I am thinking about making a few edits to this route, specifically having the catenary be a separate layer. But, since it's already there, I think I won't need to have it be a separate layer. So far, I haven't figured out on how to fix the problem with the pantograph disappearing after zooming out. The bow-string pantograph on the LBSCR South London EMU Brake Third Unit to be exact. I hope everyone else is doing well. Any route suggestions, questions, and other comments are greatly appreciated. More screenshots will be posted here during my winter break. Thank you and stay awesome.

Merry Christmas everyone! I have decided to make some improvements to this route and I will make sure to post screenshots later. Thank you and stay awesome.

Hello everyone! Happy New Year. I have some good news and I have some bad news. The bad news is that I have deleted this route I was working on. I have looked it over and it seems that I'm just not comfortable working on this route. I need to restart it again and maybe try something else. Also, I won't be using the LBSCR catenary for this new version. Most of the wiring was confusing or it just didn't line up at all. I'll take my time on this new version and I'll post screenshots when I know that a section looks presentable. Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or feedback. Thank you all and stay awesome.

Hello everyone. I now have some really bad news. I'm having trouble trying to start this route. I can't find any suitable terminal buildings, the platforms are a mess, and everything is just discombobulated. In other words, I really need help. If anyone has tips, tricks, and/or information that can be helpful to route making, that would be greatly appreciated. I'm sorry but I hate giving up on a route that I've been working on for awhile.

Take care everyone and stay awesome.

P.S. If you guys want me to stream on Twitch so that you can see me build the route, that would be helpful too.