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Title Thames-Mersey - London Euston to Liverpool and Manchester
Era Late 1950's to Mid 1960's
Release 4.0
Date March 2005
Author David Alan Corfield [
ccsdc@ccsuk.com]
Chief Tester & Model Maker Brian Bere-Streeter [
bbss@bigpond.net.au] - Refer to Word document
"Merseyside Route - Contributions by BBS.doc"
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Introduction
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This is an upgrade to the Thames-Mersey route - version 3.0, which will work with both the downloadable version and the CD
release. Crewe to Manchester including the Styal loop has been added, the Wirral area has been completed and Northwich to
Manchester and Northwich to Sandbach (freight only line) has been added.
Installation Instructions
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Install will only work if MSTS is fully installed with all default routes present and with Thames-Mersey route - version 3.0
installed.
Note that the only changes to the track layout in the completed areas of Version 3.0 are North of Warrington and North of
Crewe on the Manchester line, so most paths and activities should work OK. The paths that were included on the Thames-Mersey
CD have been updated.
1. Backup your MSTS Installation - this is in case you make a mistake installing and don't have to install MSTS again!
2. Unzip Mersey41.zip that you have downloaded. Select the path c:\ (or other drive letter as appropriate) and check the
option in Winzip "Use Folder Names". Extract all files and when prompted choose Yes to All to overwrite existing files.
3. Repeat step 2 for the files Mersey42.zip to Mersey47.zip.
4. Run the Install4-0.bat file.
Performance Issues
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PLEASE NOTE: because of the very large Track Database and the considerable number of "World" tiles with large object counts,
this route may take a little while to launch in MSTS; the route may give the appearance of 'hanging' when loading, but leave
it alone, it just takes a little while. For example on the Reference System, the time from clicking the Start MSTS button to
the appearance of the main MSTS opening screen, takes approximately 3.5 minutes.When creating new activities with Activity
Editor, be aware that the large track database will take approximately 3.0 minutes to load, before any AE functions become
active. A good tip here is to start with NO platforms, signals etc. displayed, zoom into an area and then display the
information.
The Reference System was using an MSTS installation with a Trainset folder of approximately 600MB in size and approximately
500 consists, and loading ONLY this route.
In most of the general track areas the Reference System gave typical frame rates of around 20-25 frames per second, but in
the more densely populated areas, such as Liverpool, Crewe, etc, frame rates will drop to around 3-5 frames per second.
The Reference System used for testing was:
AMD Athlon 1800+, 512MB DDR-RAM, 40GB ATA100 5,400rpm drive, 64MB Geforce 4 - Ti-4200 video card and 19" CRT monitor. The
MSTS was set at 1600 x 1200 x 32 bit colour with all settings maxed out, except Dynamic Shadows were turned off. Experiments
with lower screen resolutions and colour density did not produce any significant increase in fps or startup times.
We would recommend that this route be run on systems, with at least equal or better specifications. Users with lower
specification PC's may suffer degraded performance. It is not necessary to use 1600x1200 and a 19" monitor, the use of
1024x768 or 1280x1024 on a 17" monitor should be quite satisfactory.
Alternatives
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I have included two alternatives for the route.
Steam Alternative - This is the default for the route and has no AWS bells or overhead electrification, but has heritage
vehicles and a track texture with wooden sleepers, although the route is still electrified for the 3rd rail electrified
lines. If you have changed to the "Modern" alternative, run the Installsteam.bat file to revert to this alternative.
Modern Alternative - This alternative includes AWS bells, overhead electrification, modern vehicles and modern track texture
with concrete sleepers. If you have changed to the "Steam" alternative, run the Installmodern.bat file to revert to this
alternative.
The ultimate intention, when the route is complete (if ever), is to have semaphore signals throughout for the steam version
and the colour light signals for the modern version, but that is a major undertaking as it involves having duplicate World
tiles, track database and track item files.
Outstanding Bug/Feature List in Release 4.0
-------------------------------------------
1. Euston and Stafford are the modern version of those stations as I am incapable of modelling the steam versions.
Modern Alternative Issues
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The modern version is still in fact set many years ago, 1965 to 1970 ish, post WCML electrification from Euston to
Birmingham/Stoke/Liverpool and Manchester, but pre electrification from Weaver Junction to Glasgow. So although you are
able to run current day stock on the route, there are some infrastructure differences which will prevent true modern day
activities.
No overhead line equipment from Weaver Junction to Warrington
No stations at Bache, Bromborough Rake, Conway Street, Eastham Rake, Overpool, Milton Keynes
No rail connection to Manchester Airport
Again as a future possibility I might have another option to include all of the above.
Milton Keynes
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Some have asked before release is Milton Keynes Central to be included. The answer is no, nor is Milton Keynes as a town
included as the route is essentially set in the steam era late 1950's to mid 1960's, when Milton Keynes was still a village.
There are some inconsistencies with this statement as I have included many of the motorways which were not built until the
1970's or in some case the 1980's, however, I spend a lot of time driving on the motorway network so I wanted them in and
they are easy to do.
However, if you hit the F6 key when driving between mileposts 49 and 50 I have put a marker on the track to indicate the
position of the future Milton Keynes Central station, and also some of the most famous residents of the future new town
have come to the trackside to give you a wave!!
Generally the "commuter" towns North of London have been scaled back to reflect their status as provincial towns in the
1950's and 1960's, rather than the small cities that some, such as Watford, have become today.
Scenic Rolling Stock
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I have made extensive use of scenic rolling stock, all created by Brian Bere-Streeter, to populate some of the many sidings
and yards that are present on the route. The advantage is that is saves an enormous amount of time in placing loose consists
in activities and does not hit the fps rate as much as a loose consist. The disadvantage is that not all sidings can be used
to create paths. Typically I have only placed the scenic rolling stock on the sidings furthest away from the main running
lines, but not always, so watch out when creating activities.
Trainspotting Locations
-----------------------
I have added trainspotting locations at the following stations by burying a piece of track under a platform, on which to
position the trainspotting locomotive. I have also set up the paths and services for these trainspotting locations, but no
actual activities yet.
Queens Park (North)
Watford Junction (South)
Bletchley (South)
Blisworth (North)
Rugeley (South)
Most other major stations already have suitable sidings on which to position the trainspotting locomotive.
White-Out problem
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As with some other routes, this one also suffers from the 'white out' problem.I have tried all the tricks that I can think
of, but cannot solve the white out problem. This now effects driving from Liverpool to Crewe, Liverpool to Ormskirk, Chester
to Crewe and Chester/Hooton to Helsby. The following procedure, which is also described on the UkTrainsim forums, is a work
around.
1. When you hit the white out let your train FULLY pass into the white out zone. Hit the F2 key to save the activity.
2. Hit the Escape key and exit activity. Hit the Home button on the activity evaluation screen.
3. Select the option Load Saved Activity and select the route and the activity, which is date and time stamped.
Version 5 and Future Extensions
-------------------------------
My computer is starting to creak and groan now whenever it has to load Thames-Mersey. Probably needs to be replaced with
something a bit faster, but as long as I still can, and as long as the train simming community still want it, I intend to
extend the route further. I have mapped out the possible future extensions, but don't hold me to these!!
I just hope that all of this is convertable into TMTS or one of the other new simulators.
Version 5 - Potteries Electrified Lines between Colwich/Norton Bridge and Cheadle Hulme.
Version 6 - West Midlands Electrified Lines between Rugby and Stafford.
Version 7 - Warrington to Glasgow.
Version 8 - True steam version of the completed route with correct Liverpool stations for Central and Exchange, Liverpool
Overhead Railway and semaphore signals throughout.
Acknowledgements
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My dad Mr Alan Corfield, who was based at Edge Hill (8A) from 1944 to 1966, then Birkenhead (8H) 1966 to 1980,
then Lime Street as chief traction inspector 1980 to 1994, for his contribution to the detail of this route.
UKtrainsim.com community for all the help and advice.
Special mentions to:
Brian Bere-Streeter for his hard work in testing and creating many custom objects for the route.
Bill Bzak aka Longhairedwizard for his excellent refinery buildings.
Captain Bazza for his excellent ship models.
Simon Barnes for his excellent signalbox models and all his advice on signal box types.
Tony Formoso for his excellent indicator signals.
My daughter Aisleighn, who reskinned all the mileposts, nearly 800 of them!!
Many thanks to several other contributers for letting me use their objects.
Legal
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You are welcome to copy this route freely as long as it remains in its current form, including this file. It contains work
freely donated by myself and others plus stuff produced by Kuju/Microsoft. Please contact me if you are considering
distributing it on CD or any other medium for profit. This route is only to be distributed on the Internet from
http://www.uktrainsim.com or
http://www.train-sim.com.
If you have any problems with the installation e-mail me at
ThamesMersey@aol.com
David Corfield (Liverpool Dave)
Its hidden half way down the 7th zip file. Also the install4-0.bat file wouldn't unzip and i had to copy it manually across to my desktop and then to my MSTS Mersey folder and then run it from there.