Atomic Systems

You may be aware that I have slowly been building the Chiltern Line for MSTS from Banbury to Marylebone. I have now got to the stage of placing platform markers in the route. At the moment I am labelling the down platforms as Platform 1 and the up platforms as Platform 2. However, if any of you regularly use the line and can give me first hand information on the numbering of the platforms at any of the stations on the line, I would be very grateful. And then, since my route is placed in the steam era, there are a couple of stations with more than two platforms - High Wycombe and, of course, Banbury. I know the numbering of the platforms at Marylebone, but that is the only station I am absolutely sure about.

docmartin wrote:You may be aware that I have slowly been building the Chiltern Line for MSTS from Banbury to Marylebone. I have now got to the stage of placing platform markers in the route. At the moment I am labelling the down platforms as Platform 1 and the up platforms as Platform 2. However, if any of you regularly use the line and can give me first hand information on the numbering of the platforms at any of the stations on the line, I would be very grateful. And then, since my route is placed in the steam era, there are a couple of stations with more than two platforms - High Wycombe and, of course, Banbury. I know the numbering of the platforms at Marylebone, but that is the only station I am absolutely sure about.

Occasionally use it but not enough to now the numbering of the platforms. However after the Banbury to Marylebone section was complete would you consider extending it further north?

Tom

I'm afraid, Tom, that it is highly unlikely that I will extend the route north of Banbury. I have been working on the Marylebone to Banbury section since April of 2007 and still have not reached the final - and very big stage - of placing the scenery objects, let alone solving a couple of track database problems. And, if this section is ever completed and I think about extensions to the route, there are a lot of additions which in my book have higher priority than extending northwards - I would like to add the Marylebone - Aylesbury segment together with the Met lines to Rickmansworth and the Bakerloo (Jubilee) to Stanmore and the Met/Piccadilly to Uxbridge, maybe extend the GWR line to Old Oak Common with the Central lines to Greenford, add the branches from Princes Risborough to Aylesbury, Thame and Oxford, and Watlington, the branch from Denham to Uxbridge and the branch from High Wycombe to Maidenhead. And if I did extend the main GWR line, it would probably be southward to Didcot rather than north to Leamington. At the moment, though, I don't see any of this happening in the foreseeable future. I will be happy enough if I can finish the part I am currently working on.

I do use Wembley Stadium station fairly regularly and I think that platform 1 is the Marylebone one, but I'm not absolutely certain. I did look at the Chiltern Railways website, but there doesn't seem to be any reference to platform numbers.

Have you tried contacting Chiltern Railways?
You never know there might be someone there who can give you the current setup!
I'm sure the platform numbers in the main will be the same now as they were in the steam era.

I wondered if you've included a model of the old Wembley Stadium? Neither the West Coast Express or the Thames Mersey have included it, but the Chiltern Line passes right next door to it.

With regard to your possible extensions, there is a goods branch at Neasden that links up with the North London Line (I think). You could include this and then add the entire Southern region Network, making it even bigger than the Dorset Coast!!
Not only that, the goods line joins with one coming down from the MML at Cricklewood, so blah blah blah blah..........................

Here's the answer to your second question! Of course, it's the old Empire Stadium, not the modern one.

The goods branch you mention is the Acton branch of the old Midland Railway with the Dudden Hill loop being the part that crosses the Chiltern/Met/Bakerloo lines and also forms a junction with the down Chiltern line. SR hauled goods trains used to travel between Feltham and Neasden using this line. I have, of course, modelled as much of this line as is visible from the Chiltern.

docmartin wrote:
Here's the answer to your second question! Of course, it's the old Empire Stadium, not the modern one.

The goods branch you mention is the Acton branch of the old Midland Railway with the Dudden Hill loop being the part that crosses the Chiltern/Met/Bakerloo lines and also forms a junction with the down Chiltern line. SR hauled goods trains used to travel between Feltham and Neasden using this line. I have, of course, modelled as much of this line as is visible from the Chiltern.

Excellent!!

Blimey, you know more about the goods line than I do, and I used to go to school near there!!!

Actually, I got the information from the Middleton Press book, Marylebone to Rickmansworth.

If you want to see more screenshots of the route, take a look at the Chiltern Line thread in the MSTS1 Route Building forum.

Hi Martin,

I've been meaning to follow this up as the current platform numbering is in the Quail Track Diagrams book 3, a copy of which I have right here.

There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to the numbering (I haven't included all platforms here, just enough to make it clear what the present arrangement is):

Marylebone: pfm 1 on east side
Wembley Stadium through to Northolt Park: pfm 2 on down side
South Ruislip/West Ruislip: pfm 3 on down side (Central line is pfms 1/2)
Denham: pfm 1 down
Denham Golf Club: pfm 2 down
Gerrards Cross: pfm 1 down
Seer Green: pfm 1 down
Beaconsfield: pfm 2 down
High Wycombe: pfm 1 bay, pfm 2 down
Saunderton: pfm 2 down
Princes Risborough: pfm 1 down bay, pfm 2 up, pfm 3 down
Haddenham: pfm 1 down
Bicester North: pfm 1 down
Kings Sutton: I think pfm 1 is up
Banbury: pfm 1/2 down

Hope this is of help, and let me know which other stations you might need.

Michael

That's terrific, Michael, thanks a lot. I think you've got all the stations covered.