Wycombe Railway and Joint Railway Extends Towards Oxford

Peter Brings us up to date with progress being made with version 2 of the route:  

In our last report we told you about reaching Morris Cowley on the High Wycombe to Oxford line. Well, now the line has reached Kennington Junction, where it joins the Didcot to Oxford line. Here are some pictures:

Approaching Littlemore Station on the southern outskirts of Oxford. It was built in the shadow of the Oxfordshire County Lunatic Asylum.

Coal trucks for the Asylum were positioned on a wagon turntable over which locos were forbidden to go.

The original station of Littlemore burned down and the GWR replacement was in the style of the Joint Line.

The track on the left was a very long siding. There was no passing loop here.

The view from the road bridge. My attempt at the asylum was built from WH sheds and AP stations.

Here is an old postcard of the scene

Beyond the bridge the line descends through a cutting which has been quarried.

A spur off the main siding served a National Benzole oil terminal.

The long siding ended at a source of sand where trucks were occasionally positioned so the station staff could fill them.

They were possibly then taken to Oxford loco shed.

Descending to the Thames valley

Crossing the Thames at Kennington

Joining the Didcot to Oxford line at Kennington Junction for the marshalling yard at Hinksey just south of Oxford

Looking north towards Hinksey yard which was built in 1943 to handle wartime traffic.

On the horizon are the dreaming towers of Oxford gas works.

Southern Region train heading for the north via the Great Central

Heading for Thame and Princes Risborough Crossing the River Thames

Looking back towards Kennington Junction and the bridge over the Thames

More Soon. . . . . . . . . . 

Project Progress Reports

Rebuilt Royal Scot

This project is back in progress having stalled for a while. The reason for the hold up was to do with problems getting the animated valve gear exported to TS. Now though, thanks to some help from various people, most recently Pete from Victory Works, progress is being made once again.

GWR 2800/2884

It appears that 'hold up' is the flavor of the month! The 28xx cab stalled due to lacking certain pieces of detail. Give the guys at DT credit. They weren't prepared to make it up. They wanted to get it just right! After a small plea on their facebook page for extra source images and info, some have come through with offers to help. This is very much appreciated by DT and ourselves. Once the cab is complete, then we'll be on the home straight!

Stainmore, Eden Valley and Shap Railway

As can be guessed in the new name, the Stainmore Route has been expanded to include the famous section of WCML over Shap, from Tebay to Penrith. This was a natural choice because the Stainmore line runs east from Barnard Castle to to Tebay, via Kirkby Stephen East, and the Eden Valey line runs north west from Kirkby Stephen to Penrith. This will now be an exciting network of lines. Below is a route map, as things stand:

Severn Valley Railway

Progress is being made on platform 2 at Arley station. Please see below 2 very much WIP images:

Please note that these images were taken in an old version of the route, so the surrounding scenery does not necessarily reflect the current look of things.

And just in case you haven't see yet, here a closer look at platform 1:

LMS Jubilee Sound Pack

A new sound pack is in the final stages of development. The Jubilee has been transformed by news sounds, CJB script and particles, new scripted lamps and the Settle to Carlisle Jubilee, Leander has also been updated and includes the addition of the high-intensity lamp and a selection of headboards for modern mainline use. Once we have sourced a sound for the higher speed exhaust sounds, then it'll be ready

GWR King Enhancement Pack

Slowly getting there, the GWR Kings are having brand new liveries applied by Stephen Gurney. The 1927 Great Western livery is pretty much done. Stephen is now finishing off the showcase livery - the stunning BR Blue King Edward II.

There's a lot more going on behind the scenes and we'll endeavor to bring you updates very soon.