North Wales Coast - BR Blue

[acfreeman99]

Rhyl to Prestatyn now fully complete and the section has been released to our testers.

Prestatyn required a complete rebuild, both from a station perspective an scenery. The rebuilt station in the DTG route, although beautifully modelled, came as complete unit meaning that the modern parts could not be removed. Nick, therefore, reconstructed the station and added in the additional line which was in use during the 80s, the disused platform on the North side and the disused platform formerly for the Dyserth Branch. The track in the station, and junction with the main line, was still in place during the 80s but the branch ( and sidings ) had been lifted shortly before, I have included the overgrown trackbed circling away to the South.

Much of the town is still as it was in the 80s so I have been able to place buildings quite accurately even if the buildings themselves do not accurately represent the actual......but whereas the DTG route used precast blocks of houses I have placed bungalows where bungalows are/were.

Some new "before" and "after " screenshots on Flickr together with some scenario screenshots taken from a test scenario which I ran yesterday https://www.flickr.com/photos/113166928 ... 0085126135 - now on towards Talacre.

Andy

[acfreeman99]

It has been a while since my last update, have been working on a fairly intensive section of scenery between Prestatyn to the eastern edge of Ffynnongloyw ( the village just to the West of Mostyn Docks ) - this has entailed reworking of caravan sites, converting DTG's bungalow sites to caravan sites ( as they are still to this day ), adding in correct platforms at Talacre Station ( disused but still in situ today ), removing the modern structures at Point Of Ayr Colliery and adding in the Colliery itself, removing the Ffynnongloyw bypass and re-landscaping that area, removing and reconstructing Ffynnongloyw village after correcting the terrain levels, various minor changes to trackside scenery to regress to the early 80s.

Some new screenshots on Flickr - https://www.flickr.com/photos/113166928 ... 0085126135

I am now moving onto Mostyn Docks - Nick has already added in the dock basins, which were there during our period, and added in the sidings so will spend some time adding in the additional detail, once the Docks are complete we will release the Prestatyn to Mostyn Docks section to our testers.

Andy

[acfreeman99]

All scenery now complete as far as, and including, Mostyn Docks and will be released to our testers during this weekend. We have some good photographs of the West side of the Docks so that area is pretty accurate for the period, as are the piles of raw and prepared timber ( I remember them very well ). I have added in the overgrown platform at Mostyn Station ( still there today ) and replaced the derelict station building with something more akin to what is actually there, likewise with the Goods Shed....some additional earth removal was required to fit in the Mostyn Lodge Hotel. Nick has included the sidings network within the Docks complex accurately placed from period maps. Photos of the eastern side of the Docks storage area are less common so have relied on memory and zooming into distant images. I have also roughly modelled the Chemical Works just to the East of the Docks.

Some before ( DTG ) and after ( NWC BR Blue ) screenshots posted on Flickr including some screenshots from a couple of test scenarios that I ran last night

- https://www.flickr.com/photos/113166928 ... 0085126135

We now have just over 40 minutes of mileage completed ( at passenger express train speed ) and, by my reckoning, are over halfway towards Chester.....looks to be around 2/3 of the way, which will be our first publishing point. Now on towards Flint................

Andy

[749006]

Having the Before and After shots really shows the difference which your rebuilding to the route has done and how much life is in the scenes

Keep up the good work

Peter

[a214sli]

Prestatyn

Much of the town is still as it was in the 80s
Andy

No offence to anyone from there, but I had to raise a wry smile at that...

[acfreeman99]

Prestatyn

Much of the town is still as it was in the 80s
Andy

No offence to anyone from there, but I had to raise a wry smile at that...

No offence was meant by me to any Prestatyn residents either .....but from period maps most of the road network around, and near, the town centre are pretty much the same today.........a walk through the town on Google Streetview shows that most of the buildings are old ( 80s or older ) , not modern.....and that is not necessarily a bad thing, and made the modelling that bit easier as I could place accurately using the Maps API. DTG had the terrain levels all wrong though so there a few cheats and fudges but these are some distance from the line. Some of the distant bungalow estates will be more modern.

Andy

[acfreeman99]

The section between Mostyn Docks and Holywell Junction ( including the Station ) is complete - this has entailed correction of village buildings and industrial estates such as Greenfield Group, alteration and re-landscaping of lineside foliage to reflect our period, alteration and re-signalling of the track layout at Holywell Junction by Nick to reflect our period, re-construction of station buildings and Goods Shed to reflect our period ( within the constraints of our asset box ), resizing the tidal inlet at Llanerch y Mor ( note also that Nick has given the Duke Of Lancaster a bit of a sprucing up, she had only arrived there a couple of years ago in our period, so was not the sad rusting hulk correctly depicted by DTG in their period ), and various changes to hedges and fencing in nearby fields.

New screenshots on Flickr - https://www.flickr.com/photos/113166928 ... 0085126135

Courtaulds Works, which can be seen in the distance in a couple of shots, is WIP and is my next job......deep breath and dive in

Andy

[acfreeman99]

Courtaulds Greenfield works now complete - this works was very large, I clearly remember the engine shed with a steam shunter inside. The area is now very different so hopefully we have been able to recapture how it looked in the early 80s - we have had to rely on 80s photographs, track diagrams and my dodgy memory to reconstruct. Some screenshots on our Flickr - https://www.flickr.com/photos/113166928 ... 0085126135

I am now working on the scenery towards Bagillt.

Andy

[xguerra]

Hey Andy.

Loving all the great work!

Came across this YouTube channel from the Mostyn History Preservation Society, on which they've uploaded some fantastic archive film taken from Mostyn signal box during the late 80's and 90's.
Picked this one out because it had the Holyhead container freights:

This video is hosted by YouTube, a site which is outside of the editorial control of UKTrainSim and as such Parental Control is strongly advised.
To view the video, click on the PLAY button.
If you click anywhere else on this video, you will be taken to a YouTube page, where you may find yourself subjected to content that you feel is offensive.
If you feel THIS video is inappropriate, please report it to a moderator immediately for prompt action.

Thought you might be interested.

Enjoy!

[brysonman46]

Hey Andy.

Loving all the great work!

Came across this YouTube channel from the Mostyn History Preservation Society, on which they've uploaded some fantastic archive film taken from Mostyn signal box during the late 80's and 90's.
Picked this one out because it had the Holyhead container freights:

This video is hosted by YouTube, a site which is outside of the editorial control of UKTrainSim and as such Parental Control is strongly advised.
To view the video, click on the PLAY button.
If you click anywhere else on this video, you will be taken to a YouTube page, where you may find yourself subjected to content that you feel is offensive.
If you feel THIS video is inappropriate, please report it to a moderator immediately for prompt action.

Thought you might be interested.

Enjoy!

Thanks for the link. Some useful shots in there (I think we have most of it correct!). Andy is away at the moment - cruising the North Sea! I have just remodelled Shotton Station, and started on the tripling/quadrupling of the track from Queensferry/Sandycroft to Mold Junction.

regards

Nick

[acfreeman99]

Hey Andy.

Loving all the great work!

Came across this YouTube channel from the Mostyn History Preservation Society, on which they've uploaded some fantastic archive film taken from Mostyn signal box during the late 80's and 90's.
Picked this one out because it had the Holyhead container freights:

This video is hosted by YouTube, a site which is outside of the editorial control of UKTrainSim and as such Parental Control is strongly advised.
To view the video, click on the PLAY button.
If you click anywhere else on this video, you will be taken to a YouTube page, where you may find yourself subjected to content that you feel is offensive.
If you feel THIS video is inappropriate, please report it to a moderator immediately for prompt action.

Thought you might be interested.

Enjoy!

Thanks for that.....very interesting, as Nick says it does seem that we have been able to capture the Docks area quite well.

Andy

[acfreeman99]

All scenery between Courtaulds Greenfield and Bagillt ( including Bagillt Station ) now complete - this has been a major piece of work as I had to remove all of the DTG scenery to replace buildings with something more suitable ( without using housing blocks ), and also to correct the terrain levels to bring the hillside closer to the main road......even though they are distant I have also included hillside village buildings as I think that they add to the overall effect.

Nick reworked the track layout at Bagillt and added in the derelict platforms - as far as we can tell the main Station building had been demolished during our period so I have left it out.

Some before and after screenshots can be found on our Flickr site along with some screenshots from a test scenario that I ran last night - https://www.flickr.com/photos/113166928 ... 0085126135

Now on towards Flint and another of the, now demolished, Courtaulds works.

Andy

[acfreeman99]

All scenery has been completed onwards from Bagillt to the outskirts of Flint, have replaced all of the housing ( housing blocks and nearby housing ) but have left most of the industrial estate buildings, there were just a couple which looked a little too modern so I replaced those, and have added more boundary walls and fencing. Trackside trees and shrubbery has been reduced considerably to reflect how it was during the early 80s. The hillside has been changed so that it is mainly fields and hedgerows....as it still is today. Some before and after screenshots ( scroll down to below the previous scenario screenshots ) are on Flickr - http://www.flickr.com/photos/113166928@ ... 0085126135

The next stage is Flint town including the industry which, sadly, has long since been demolished.

Andy

[acfreeman99]

It has been a while since my last update as I have been working on the Flint area which has been a huge task - firstly the existing DTG housing and industry had to be removed as it was inaccurate, both for the BR Blue period and also today. Compared to the BR Blue period Flint is a very different town today - long gone are the 3 Courtaulds Works, recently gone are the grey low-rise flats, the high-rise flats are still there but have been given cladding, and additional industrial estates have been built.

The 3 Courtaulds Works have been recreated from old photographs and have been accurately placed by locating some buildings from old photographs which are still in place and then creating the Works accordingly - these are the Aber Works, Castle Works and Deeside Mill.....I have also created a fudged castle by sinking Conwy Castle in the right location. The majority of housing around the Flint area is the same as it was in the BR Blue era so I have recreated as accurately as possible omitting anything built since that period and adding in anything that has been demolished...the high-rise flats are now in their original pre-clad form. The station itself did not need much doing to it other than modern signs/lights replacing.

Finally, lineside trees and shrubbery has been lowered, thinned, and/or removed to be as it was in the early 80s - new screenshots on Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/113166928 ... 0085126135 the first shots are from a test scenario that I ran this afternoon, the shots below are "before" shots showing how it looked before the regression and "after" shots showing how it looks now that I have completed the regressed scenery. We now have 12 miles to go to Chester, once that is completed we will publish Phase 1 which covers Llandudno to Chester.

Andy

[johnrossetti]

Congratulations on your persistance. I think everything your doing is fantastic and I wish there were more backdated sceneries. Payware,Donateware,Freeware I will be happy with any of these options for such excellent work. 1960, 1980s or anything in between
Cheers John