UK Screenshots for Pre BR Blue. High resolution warning.

Re posts #2898 KotangaGirl, #2901 BOGIEMAN and #2902 klambert.
Many thanks to you all for the compliments.

"One for the road"

My-Trainz-Screenshot-Image.jpg


Cheers, evilcrow
 
Good shots Lewisner. Welcome back Evilcrow. Regarding post #2891 - the Alexandra Bridge did not just offer a direct route to the coal staithes at Sunderland for coal trains from the Consett district but for the Stanley, Craghead, Burnhope, Grange Villa, Pelton Fell, Waldridge, Edmondsley and Sacriston collieries, which all ultimately had an outlet to the main NER network at Stella Gill yard. The collieries around Beamish had their own wagonway prior to NCB days, which joined the former Stanhope & Tyne route at the old Great North Road and then the colliery at Harraton to the west of Washington station also had an outlet towards the coast.

The traffic volume from these other districts was larger than that from Consett, since the blast furnaces of the steel works consumed most of the coal produced at Consett, Medomsley, Eden Hill and (on the Lanchester valley branch) Malton and Langley Park. The peak traffic was achieved in 1913 but WWI constrained the coastal collier trade and the export trade disappeared entirely. Post-WWI the export coal traffic from the East Coast ports did not revive and demand for the coastal collier trade remained depressed. This meant that what coal traffic there was emanating from Stella Gill yard and the Beamish waggonway for coastal shipment could be accomodated at Tyne Dock and Dunston.

As for WWII traffic if the bridge had been retained it could have been used as a diversionary route if the direct line from Penshaw North was put out of action but it would not have helped when Sunderland station itself was bombed. The lack of a north to east chord to the north of the Washington - Brockley Whins line and the loss of the west to south chord at Brockley Whins meant that the bridge could not act as a diversionary route for Newcastle to Sunderland trains in the event of a severing of the line at East Boldon or Monkwearmouth. During the 1840s and 50s there was a west to south chord between the Newcastle to Sunderland line and the Tyne Dock to Washington line at Brockley Whins when it was part of George Hudson's first main line between York and Gateshead's Greenesfield station and seems to have still been extant in 1912, but it was long gone by WWII. The north facing connection at the junction south of Sunderland would also have worked against it, though routing past the north end of the Alexandra bridge via Monkwearmouth would have given a south facing connection while the rail bridge over the Wear remained intact, that option would not have helped the Alexandra bridge of course.

Sadly, I have to conclude that the NER took a bold and expensive gamble on an ever-increasing coal traffic to the coast at Sunderland and it "lost its shirt" with the Alexandra bridge since it could not forsee what would happen in 1914.
 
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Good shots Lewisner. Welcome back Evilcrow. Regarding post #2891 - the Alexandra Bridge did not just offer a direct route to the coal staithes at Sunderland for coal trains from the Consett district but for the Stanley, Craghead, Burnhope, Grange Villa, Pelton Fell, Waldridge, Edmondsley and Sacriston collieries, which all ultimately had an outlet to the main NER network at Stella Gill yard. The collieries around Beamish had their own wagonway prior to NCB days, which joined the former Stanhope & Tyne route at the old Great North Road and then the colliery at Harraton to the west of Washington station also had an outlet towards the coast.

The traffic volume from these other districts was larger than that from Consett, since the blast furnaces of the steel works consumed most of the coal produced at Consett, Medomsley, Eden Hill and (on the Lanchester valley branch) Malton and Langley Park. The peak traffic was achieved in 1913 but WWI constrained the coastal collier trade and the export trade disappeared entirely. Post-WWI the export coal traffic from the East Coast ports did not revive and demand for the coastal collier trade remained depressed. This meant that what coal traffic there was emanating from Stella Gill yard and the Beamish waggonway for coastal shipment could be accomodated at Tyne Dock and Dunston.

As for WWII traffic if the bridge had been retained it could have been used as a diversionary route if the direct line from Penshaw North was put out of action but it would not have helped when Sunderland station itself was bombed. The lack of a north to east chord to the north of the Washington - Brockley Whins line and the loss of the west to south chord at Brockley Whins meant that the bridge could not act as a diversionary route for Newcastle to Sunderland trains in the event of a severing of the line at East Boldon or Monkwearmouth. During the 1840s and 50s there was a west to south chord between the Newcastle to Sunderland line and the Tyne Dock to Washington line at Brockley Whins when it was part of George Hudson's first main line between York and Gateshead's Greenesfield station and seems to have still been extant in 1912, but it was long gone by WWII. The north facing connection at the junction south of Sunderland would also have worked against it, though routing past the north end of the Alexandra bridge via Monkwearmouth would have given a south facing connection while the rail bridge over the Wear remained intact, that option would not have helped the Alexandra bridge of course.

Sadly, I have to conclude that the NER took a bold and expensive gamble on an ever-increasing coal traffic to the coast at Sunderland and it "lost its shirt" with the Alexandra bridge since it could not forsee what would happen in 1914.

Hi Bordereiver, I am pretty sure the Brockley Whins west to south curve (Hedworth Lane to Cleadon Junction) actually lasted till about 1963 and the points were motor worked from Tile Shed box. It was the west to north curve which crossed a timber trestle viaduct at Brockley Whins which closed prior to WW2.
Anyways, here is D603 Conquest passing Burnfield Junction in Sunderland heading east.

D603 at Burnfield Junction TRS19 7.8.20 by A1 Northeastern, on Flickr
 
Hi Lewisner,

The 25 inch map for Brockley Whins has it lifted in the 1941 survey (published 1947). there is a stub present at the western end, to the south of Boldon Colliery Station. The bridge over Old Mill Race is gone and the track is lifted south of there. The 1939 25 inch OS survey of the adjacent map panel for Boldon Colliery shows track present at the southern end of the chord. So, a bit of a conundrum. The Middleton Press 2009 book by Roger Darsley "Consett to South Shields" is silent on it, the photographs being the popular spot of Pontop Crossing with the Tyne Dock to Consett ore trains represented. Now I have "an itch" which requires scratching to resolve the history of this chord. It does not make it any more likely that a "what if" scenario would have saved the Alexandra bridge but I now want to find out when a short stretch of line which had once been so important, if only for a rather brief spell, in the evolution of the earliest existence of East Coast Main Line.

On the 25 inch OS maps the west to south chord was Brockley Whins Junction to Hedworth Lane Level Crossing - the connection being a trailing one to the Up Pontop & South Shields branch. The south to east chord (the NER "Boldon and Newton Garths branch") ran from West Boldon Junction ( a distance north of Hedworth Lane level Crossing) to East Boldon Junction. Cleadon lane Junction was further to the east, by Curley Crooks on the other side of Boldon Level Crossing. Cleadon Lane level crossing was further east still, by Cleadon lane station (renamed East Boldon prior to WWI). The stations are still there at Brockley Whins and East Boldon but of course much of the remainder is gone. Certainly everything to the south of the Newcastle and Sunderland branch.


My personal route, NW Durham ends just east of Harraton Colliery Junction. here, on a filthy morning, a 9F runs past the exchange sidings towards Tyne Dock with ore empties.






With a single trailing connection on the NER Newcastle and Sunderland branch just west of Boldon Colliery station it appears that the chord was (by 1912) not configured for easy running between the Newcastle and Sunderland branch and Pontop & South Shields branch. A train or loco heading northwest from the colliery towards Pelaw or southwest from the colliery towards Washington perhaps, but seemingly not Washington to Pelaw via Boldon Colliery (which would have been possible in the 1840s/1850s).
 
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Hi Lewisner,

The 25 inch map for Brockley Whins has it lifted in the 1941 survey (published 1947). there is a stub present at the western end, to the south of Boldon Colliery Station. The bridge over Old Mill Race is gone and the track is lifted south of there. The 1939 25 inch OS survey of the adjacent map panel for Boldon Colliery shows track present at the southern end of the chord. So, a bit of a conundrum. The Middleton Press 2009 book by Roger Darsley "Consett to South Shields" is silent on it, the photographs being the popular spot of Pontop Crossing with the Tyne Dock to Consett ore trains represented. Now I have "an itch" which requires scratching to resolve the history of this chord. It does not make it any more likely that a "what if" scenario would have saved the Alexandra bridge but I now want to find out when a short stretch of line which had once been so important, if only for a rather brief spell, in the evolution of the earliest existence of East Coast Main Line.

I've just had a look at Brockley Whins on the Disused Stations website and it seems the problem is that as a Mackem I regard the line from Newcastle as being "North" whereas Brockley Whins is actually orientated West/East so when you say the West/South curve was closed by WW2 you are right, I was meaning Hedworth Lane - Cleadon Junction and it is shown as open on the 1960s OS map.
 
1949 - Beamish Junction

One of Raven's Q6 Class 0-8-0s about to cross the Great North Road at Beamish Junction while running back to Tyne Dock with iron ore empties from Consett.




This is several years before the BR 56 Ton bogie iron ore hoppers were introduced and the ore traffic was in the hands of Diagram 167 21 Ton steel bodied hoppers built during 1940/41 on frames of wagons initially ordered to support the BEF in France during WWII. By 1947 some 300 were allocated to Tyne Dock to carry ore to Consett. At the same time 1,000 were allocated elsewhere in the UK for domestic iron ore traffic with another 1,000 allocated to the NE Area for coal traffic. A further 144 were allocated to West Cumberland ore traffic and 50 allocated to West Cumberland coal traffic. It is not clear which wagon type they displaced at Tyne Dock but both the NER 20 Ton S4 and 30 Ton S3 ore hoppers were at least forty years old by the end of WWII.

Normally, a Q6 or Q7 would haul a trainload of thirty hoppers as far as South Pelaw Junction. There the load would be split with fifteen taken forward to Consett and the services of a banking locomotive (Class Q6, Q7, O1 or WD 2-8-0) were required as far as Medomsley South junction. OS Nock had a footplate ride along the 1896 deviation line through Beamish on a 3-cylinder Q7 0-8-0 and described it as a furious assault on the steep grade, with the regulator wide open and the feeling that it could do this all day long (I would add that it would do so provided the fireman did not expire of exhaustion in the meantime). even so, speeds could drop to almost walking pace to the west of Shield Row station on a wet day with greasy rails and a fully charged sander was a necessity. If the consist did stall out it would be the very devil to restart on the 1 in 37. A fireman might have to walk to the nearest signal box and call for the services of a second banking locomotive. This was not a duty where the banker could "skive off" and leave the train locomotive to do all the work, not on any day.
 
With the wider choice of engines available in BR livery i'm considering pushing the new route to early or late BR. There are definately some nice items to be had;

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3A418038FD11DCAE6493750A9F9ABBFFFC59E1F9

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There's been some very fine screenshots lately.

Morning passenger train on the Hopewood Tramway on my GER (alternative) Norfolk layout.

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I particularly like your second screenshot lewisner.

Cameras? I've never been able to figure out how to set them up. Some of the routes I downloaded from the DLS that have become favorites of mine have them, but I hardly ever use them.
 
Ye I certainly haven't used them since TRS2004 days.

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Felt the goods train was a little too "stiff" being all mixed goods wagons. So mixed it up a little. There's some posh fella in Fellbeck who's having his new automobile delivered. Puh, the snobs. How dare they :p

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As for a touch of realism I'll look at setting up a timetable for the odd consist. Maybe a session or two based around you making good time on the hard work coal train or the lighter on its feet local passenger service. Being a minute late may end up with you being several minutes late at the end of your journey with how busy the route is.
 
I particularly like your second screenshot lewisner.

Cameras? I've never been able to figure out how to set them up. Some of the routes I downloaded from the DLS that have become favorites of mine have them, but I hardly ever use them.

Thanks KotangaGirl I have a couple of videos of part of the route here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evDhNozCaFQ&t=611s and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekZ5M-affjQ&t=26s and my photos of the actual line here https://www.flickr.com/photos/155871599@N08/albums/72157715182843483
 
Thanks for the video links. That is a big project you're working on. I have a weakness for Gresley tourist liveried coaches too, - or at least when I can pry myself out of the pre-grouping era that is.
Sad to see the derelict station buildings in your photo album though.
 
What you using for capture Lewisner?

I used to use FRAPS but I found the results when played in Windows Media Player were horrible. Then I switched to Nvidia Shadowplay , which I use now, with equally horrible results. However I tried using the free software VLC Media Player and found that my videos played perfectly. So, Nvidia Shadowplay and VLC Media Player are a good combination.
 
God ye used to use FRAPS for Machinima several years back in the early days of Youtube. Might try Shadowplay in Trainz as i've used it in other games that support it.
 
Re posts #2898 KotangaGirl, #2901 BOGIEMAN and #2902 klambert.
Many thanks to you all for the compliments.

"One for the road"

My-Trainz-Screenshot-Image.jpg


Cheers, evilcrow

Inspired by Evil Crow's pub theme I thought I'd do one of my own ...
t6CDAqW.jpg


John and Ron discuss the particulars of a 'completely legit' transaction
 
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