MS Train Simulator

......................................Simulated Railway: Microsoft Train Simulator

I intend to create the former Great Central Railway from Nottingham Victoria to Leicester Central. This will be done in stages with the line slowly expanding as and when I can create it.
Creating routes is very tricky as the editors are fairly complex. It is going to be a fair while before this MSTS route is released, if at all as I'm short of time!

There are a number of pieces of information required with which to create these routes. I've defined these as:

Maps of the route showing- the general area of the route; track diagrams, detailed maps showing much more precise details. The standard Ordnance Survey map will give you a general view of the area; railway books will give track plans and detailed maps can either be obtained from the local authority or by compromising detail by simply visiting the area and taking as many pictures as you can!

My progress:

I have Ordnance Survey maps of the whole line route (although obviously bits are missing from the line) - 100% complete
I have track plans of almost the whole line courtesy of 'The Great Central: Then & Now' by Mac Hawkins - 100% complete
I am yet to obtain detailed maps or get lots of photos. - 20% complete

Gradient profile- stating what the gradient of the line is at any point along it. This is vital for accurate routes.

My progress:

I have a full gradient profile from The GCR: Then & Now as shown here (click to expand): - 100% complete

Stations & buildings. Now this is a little more time consuming. To create accurate looking buildings you will need to obtain photographs of all of them from all four sides. The photos can then be texture mapped onto 3D objects to create the finished buildings. As you can see this is no easy task! Especially as many buildings are now gone and stations long closed.

My progress:

Photo acquisition: I have created a table showing the state of all major structures on the section I'm making. Luckily many buildings do survive and those that don't can often be replicated from ones that do (GCR stations are all very similar- well country ones at least). This table summarizes this and shows a few sample photos.

Station or other important area name	Current state and pictures available to me for 3d modelling (pictures are thumbnails- click to get full view; photos taken from books in Bibliography unless stated)
Nottingham Victoria Station	A shopping centre with virtually no trace - only clock tower remains. Many photos exist of many parts of the station. See rest of this site for photos of Victoria
Weekday Cross Junction	Mostly recently demolished with only tunnel and small sections of viaduct left. A good number of photos exist of the tunnel and junction. A decent picture of the signal box is required though. A few sample images: This shows the viaduct near Weekday Cross:
Bridge over Midland line	Demolished in the early 1980's. A number of pictures are available. An early photo:
Arkwright Street Station	Not a single trace remaining- area redeveloped. I have two photos:
Queen's Walk yard	No trace- area redeveloped. I have a full track layout and a small collection of photos: A picture of the engine shed:
Bridge over River Trent	Demolished in 1980's- embankment remains on southern side. A number of good photos exist. Here's one of them:
Ruddington Station	Overgrown wasteland- platform exists under weeds (minus buildings). Bridge remains intact. Area threatened with housing although there are plans to reopen the station eventually. I have two photos:
'50 steps' bridge	Exists and in use. I have a photo (somewhere!)- more can be taken easily.
Gotham Sidings & Branch	Single, in use, track runs through open space- branch formation remains. Branch and sidings (along with signal box) are being rebuilt. No photos as yet.
Rushcliffe Halt Station	Intact but minus footbridge and station signs. To be re-opened very soon. A couple of good pictures are here:
East Leake Station	Platform intact (but under weeds and young trees). Buildings demolished. Many good pictures of whole station from various angles. Here's a sample of the many pictures I have (still would love a colour picture!):
Barnstone Tunnel	Overgrown a bit each end but otherwise fine. I have a good picture:
Stanford Viaduct	Few coping stones missing but otherwise fine. I have a good picture:
Bridge over Midland line at Loughborough	Demolished with embankment missing on southern side. To be replaced eventually. A picture of the bridge:
Loughborough Central Station	Part of preserved GCR and in very good condition. Easy to photograph- a sample:
Quorn & Woodhouse Station	Preserved and in good condition. Recently took good close ups of buildings. See this page for Quorn pictures (note the pictures are not thumbnailed so may take a few minutes to load).
Swithland Sidings & Mountsorrel Branch	Now a four track main line with new signal box to be opened. Branch line- some formation remains. Need to get some pictures.
Rothley Station	Preserved and in good condition. Took some photos recently. See them here. Photos not thumbnailed so take a time to load!
Belgrave & Birstall Station	Platform & buildings demolished. New station built on site called Leicester North. Original station photos- only a few in my possession, here's a few:
Abbey Lane sidings & Leicester viaducts	Sidings no longer exist; many viaducts removed. A pictures of some of the viaducts:
Leicester Central Station	Demolished and now used as a car park & industrial area. Small sections of platform remain. Platform building photos tricky to find but have a few photos: A view of the road level building which still survives today:

In addition to all these various signal boxes, lineside buildings and goods buildings need to be added. Also you need to put farms, villages and cities in... - about 50% complete

3D modelling - Have begun modelling some buildings in Truespace 4- starting to get the hang of things now!.

A picture of one of my modelled buildings- a waiting room of a typical GC country station.- 5% completed

Signalling. It is vital to put the signals in the right places and have the right type of signals. To do this- try finding a signal diagram of the line. Failing this you can always look at track maps for signal locations and photos for types. One this is done either use the suitable signals from the Train Simulator signal library (whatever that consists of) or you'll need to make up some 3D models again.

My progress: I have no signal diagram as yet so I'm relying on old maps and photos. No signals have been 3D modelled. - 20% complete

Build the route. Will involved terrforming land (has to be done manually), laying track, importing gradient profiles, putting in scenery and stations, setting up signalling and setting up traffic patterns.

My progress: well I've used the editors a bit...- 1% complete

Locos & rolling stock- not essential for route creation but it would look good to have the right type of trains on your line!

My progress: Not going to build any rolling stock myself (not initially anyway) so on the look out for good modeller to knock up some GC, LNER and BR locos! - 0% complete

As you see a fair bit to do! Only Loughborough, Quorn & Woodhouse and Rothley remain intact complete with original buildings- these can be easily photographed. The other country stations are quite similar so could be simply copied - although it would be good to have at least one good picture of the other stations just to vary them a bit. Ruddington station is where the photos are a bit lacking- only really the one decent picture but the station was very similar to Quorn so could be modelled as a copy. East Leake is similar but has it's station above road level rather than below it- a number of good photos exist anyway. Rushcliffe Halt didn't really have any buildings so will be easy plus a number of pictures exist. Arkwright Street station is of two platform design and I have a few photos. The big problems lie with Nottingham Victoria (since it is very large and complex) and Leicester Central (large and not many building photos). Not to mention the various loco sheds and goods buildings on the outskirts of Nottingham & Leicester now long gone. This is where I need help! I'm looking for good quality (and preferably colour- although that's not vital) photos of Nottingham Victoria, Leicester Central, Ruddington and any other significant buildings along this section. I do have quite a few pictures in books (namely 'The Great Central: Then and Now' by Mac Hawkins; 'The Great Central Rail Tour' by John M.C. Healy; 'The Last Years of the Great Central Main Line' by Robert Robotham; 'Railways in and around Nottingham' by V. Forster & W. Taylor) so I won't need any of these again. Ideally they need to be clear shots of the sides of the building (i.e. not obscured or at too odder angle) - it doesn't need to be just a single building - it could be the whole side of the station. Also I'm looking for ANY pictures of Nottingham Victoria station since that's what this site is dedicated to! If you have any photos (be they fit my criteria or not) then please do email them to me! Or if you don't have them on your computer contact me and we can sort something out! All pictures received will go up on this website (whether used on the game or not) and will be fully credited.
Signalling- that is a big problem as I'm unsure where to get a signalling diagram- any ideas??

This is quite a project and any ideas, suggestions or help is much appreciated!

Progress so far on the simulator route (updated as I work!):

Route building put on hold due to other commitments (21/8/02)

Made a short route with MSTS (completely fictional) - take a look at the screenshots (5/7/01)

Getting used to MSTS editors- going to be a long time before routes are released... (4/7/01)

Rothley station pictures taken and many updates to simulator pages (9/3/2001)

This page restructured with photos and more information (7/2/2001)

Photos of Quorn Station taken (15/12/2000)

This website is produced and goes online (15/11/2000)