VP Railways of Devon - 1985
V1.1 UPDATE Released 30/12/18
The Railways of Devon 1985 (July 1985) is a heavily rebuilt version of DTG's Riviera Line,in most areas with scenery completely redone over the course of the last 4 years. It features some stunning vistas,semaphore signalling and the level of detail that you have come to expect from our routes. We have aimed to recreate that "gritty" 1980's aura,matched up with the "Glorious Devon" feel as you head along the coast at Dawlish. We hope you enjoy this route,which has taken hundreds of hours to become a reality.
Note: For those who want a detailed article on the route,and an in depth look into it,please have a read of the manual,which goes into great detail over what went into the project,including an entire binder of notes,and the full Summer 1985 WTT for the lines between Bristol and Plymouth!
The route includes 27 scenarios,most of which are EXACT recreations of workings seen in a 2 week period (these can be found in the "Notes" in the manual) in July 1985.
This is the ultimate South Devon Summer Holiday,take a trip back in time to the nostalgic Railways of Devon - 1985!
Note: For those who want a detailed article on the route,and an in depth look into it,please have a read of the manual,which goes into great detail over what went into the project,including an entire binder of notes,and the full Summer 1985 WTT for the lines between Bristol and Plymouth!
The route includes 27 scenarios,most of which are EXACT recreations of workings seen in a 2 week period (these can be found in the "Notes" in the manual) in July 1985.
This is the ultimate South Devon Summer Holiday,take a trip back in time to the nostalgic Railways of Devon - 1985!
Exeter St ThomasLargely the same as today's Exeter St Thomas,with some minor changes taking place. This is the boundary for where colour light signalling becomes semaphore.
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Exeter St DavidsIn 1985 Exeter St Davids had it's track layout remodelled and colour light signalling was brought into use,our July 1985 version reflects that with the setup much the same as today,south of Exeter the semaphores soon resume.
Exeter City BasinBasin Junction is where the former Teign Valley line to Newton Abbot via Chudleigh and Heathfield left the main line,but by 1985 this was long closed and had become a headshunt for a number of goods sidings and most notably the Exeter Basin Bitumen Terminal. This branch left the Main Line and involved a double reversal to reach the terminal (which ironically was right next to the Down Main itself!),during which it actually went under the SDML before climbing back up on the other side. This short branch took a number of evenings to reconstruct,with research material very thin on the ground! The bitumen trains at this time were tripped from Riverside Yard by a resident 08 shunter.
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Exminster |
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The stretch through Exminster is the fastest part of the route,in 1985 the limit was 90mph,and this is usually attainable by most locos,except the 118’s and certainly Class 31’s. At Exminster we have added the semaphore signals and the goods loop/sidings,that still remained (albeit on borrowed time). Cockwood HarbourIn our version of this route we have rebuilt Cockwood Harbour from the ground up,to give it a much more realistic feel with it's entrance bridges and a much more accurate banking etc.
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StarcrossStarcross station is where the ferry service to Exmouth heads across the Exe Estuary,but it's also home to the Atmospheric Pumping Station,that was part of the South Devon Railway system,designed by Sir Isambard Kingdom Brunel,this station is served mostly by just local services to Exeter and Paignton.
Dawlish Warren |
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Dawlish Warren is where we join the sea wall,we see an array of semaphore signals on show,as well as our custom signalboxes. Again this station is mainly served by local stoppers.
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Dawlish
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Once again not much needed to change Dawlish,other than a number of edits to add extra detail and realism,including changes to Marine Parade,the station,addition of the signal box and a variety of "Easter eggs" around the area.
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TeignmouthTeignmouth station is largely unchanged bar the changing to semaphore signals and general tidying up and super detailing of the overall area.
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Newton Abbot
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Newton Abbot has seen a great deal of change,Hackney Yard is still present,but beyond there it’s unrecognisable when compared to Riviera Line. From Hackey right through to Aller Junction the track was completely torn up. We began rebuilding by placing Newton Abott 1950’s station and laying the track around that. Following this considerable research was done before we could get on with relaying the yards,Heathfield branch (start of) and then adding the 4 track section to Aller Jn,which in 1985 was far different to what it is today. Newton Abbot itself took well over a month of evening’s to sort out,and caused considerable headaches,but we're more or less happy.
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Aller Junction |
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Aller Junction (in 2018 known as the Aller Divergence) is where the lines to Penzance and Paignton used to split,with a junction between the lines.
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Torre
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Torre station simple aided by super detailing and general increment of "grit",such is the nature of this part of Torquay.
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Paignton |
TorquayTorquay,the heart of "The English Riviera" and the start of so many happy holidays. We've recreated the station with many small features and an "Easter Egg" in the car park!
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Paignton and Goodrington Sidings have been rolled back to their 1985 appearances,though the changes for the most part are minor,the level crossing now actually works,and is the correct style,and a lot of work has gone into adding other detail to the station area itself.
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The Requirements for this route:
Payware:
Riviera Line (Modern)
Riviera Line (1950’s)
JT South Devon Main Line (Extension or Standalone)
JT Paignton Extension to WML
WCML Over Shap
Settle & Carlisle
European Asset Pack (If you owned TS before Sept 2012 you don’t need this)
Wherry Lines
North Somerset
Woodhead BR
MP Town Pack
MP Platform Clutter
Freeware:
Civil Engineers/Platelayers Pack
BR WR Semaphore Signal Kit
GWR Semaphore Signal Kit
Supplementary GWR Signals
Please note - These are not dependencies for rolling stock used in any screenshots, also you require all of these add-ons for the route to function correctly and load into the game without being unstable.
SCENARIO REQUIREMENTS DETAILED IN THE MANUAL
Version 1.1 Update Released 30/12/18,changelist:
Fixes missing speed signs (Starcross/Paignton)
Fixes incorrect speed limits (Paignton)
Fixes errant section of 10mph (Up Torbay at NTA West Jn)
Lowers track unevenness to make it more stable between Aller Jn and Paignton,also Starcross to Exeter
Removes a number of scenarios which shouldn't have been included
Fixes "Up Cornish Riviera" scenario loading
Adds track ONLY to Plymouth,track for large sections buried in terrain,this track is also disconnected from the main route on Dainton and isn't intended to be used at this time,it's also not completed,particularly around Totnes and Tavistock Jn.
Riviera Line (Modern)
Riviera Line (1950’s)
JT South Devon Main Line (Extension or Standalone)
JT Paignton Extension to WML
WCML Over Shap
Settle & Carlisle
European Asset Pack (If you owned TS before Sept 2012 you don’t need this)
Wherry Lines
North Somerset
Woodhead BR
MP Town Pack
MP Platform Clutter
Freeware:
Civil Engineers/Platelayers Pack
BR WR Semaphore Signal Kit
GWR Semaphore Signal Kit
Supplementary GWR Signals
Please note - These are not dependencies for rolling stock used in any screenshots, also you require all of these add-ons for the route to function correctly and load into the game without being unstable.
SCENARIO REQUIREMENTS DETAILED IN THE MANUAL
Version 1.1 Update Released 30/12/18,changelist:
Fixes missing speed signs (Starcross/Paignton)
Fixes incorrect speed limits (Paignton)
Fixes errant section of 10mph (Up Torbay at NTA West Jn)
Lowers track unevenness to make it more stable between Aller Jn and Paignton,also Starcross to Exeter
Removes a number of scenarios which shouldn't have been included
Fixes "Up Cornish Riviera" scenario loading
Adds track ONLY to Plymouth,track for large sections buried in terrain,this track is also disconnected from the main route on Dainton and isn't intended to be used at this time,it's also not completed,particularly around Totnes and Tavistock Jn.
