District Line Route Beta1 kit uploaded

Ok then, cool, looking forward to it being processed.

DrJimi

I do believe its RELEASED!!

www.uktrainsim.com

I'm going to go drive it, thank you DrJimi for putting such effort and time in!

Aha! That explains it!

Argh again. The 'simple fix' noted won't work for highly technical reasons I won't go into right now.

However...!

A fixed ttype.dat (contained in a ttype.zip) is now available here:

jimi.fox-developments.co.uk/ttype.zip

Unzip it into the DistrictLine folder overwriting the one there.

Yes, I tested it. My sincere apologies for this mess.

I'm re-uploading fixed full kits to UKTS and Train-sim as soon as I've re-tested the kit.

Hi Chris - those sections are part of the NewRoads download that the Install Readme noted you needed to install. They're not part of the DL kit. You can find the kit on UKTS here:

www.uktrainsim.com/filelib-info.php?form_fileid=6254&CUTHERE=242757d45efffeef2bf4954cb3669562

Yell if you get any more issues... I'm glad to help.

Got it finally working! (hope it stays that way!)

Its absolutly brilliant! If i ever meet your Jimi i'll buy you a drink!

jimi - "A drink?! A DRINK?! Years of blood, sweat and tears for one measly drink?!"

I included the following text in part of the DL route documentation, and I wanted to share it with all of you on this forum - as many of you won't be downloading the kit and won't otherwise see it. I'm sorry it's long. But I wanted to recognize the considerable help and friendship I've received from many people on this forum. Thank you all!

From the kit readme:


ACKNOWLEGMENTS AND CREDITS

A lot of kind people have helped me get this far, and I want to recognize their part in this work.

Richard Scott caused all this, although he may be surprised to hear it. He simply built a train that had no realistic place to run - thus provoking me into tying to create such a place. Richard is well known for his high-quality MSTS trains (freeware and commercial), and back in mid-2002 (or so) he had created a few of the first LUL stocks for MSTS (R Stock and later the CO/CP). At that time they used non-prototypical cabs, and I offered to try and make a 'real' one for his COP train. He kindly agreed and a new version was released with my cab (incorrectly based on a C69!) and some improved physics and lighting. It was the beginning of my learning how to do those things. That train over time has over 10,000 downloads on UKTS and Train-sim combined. Clearly there are some LUL fans out there! Richard and I continued to collaborate on other District and Piccadilly-focused LUL stocks, latterly with Darren Carter joining our 'team' as the cab building wizard. But with the release of the CO/CP V2 train in 2002, one thing niggled me. Where to run it? I decided to try and build a LUL route and started some research.

A chance discussion on a LUL-related forum in late 2002 led me to 'meet' Piccadilly Pilot (to use his forum persona and protect his anonymity). PP is an ex-Piccadilly Line Guard and Motorman and an acknowledged LUL 'guru'. He truly understands how railways really work and is a fountain of knowledge and anecdotes about the Underground. We discussed my idea and he enthusiastically began to provide me with detailed material (track charts, signal diagrams, photos, etc.) that began my learning about the District Line. He has spent countless hours on MSN talking with me about the route, critiquing and providing guidance. He also made several trips to London to obtain detailed photos, many of which are used as textures on the route station structures, etc. Without his contributions and encouragement, this route would likely not exist. He has a critical eye, is sparing with praise, and has a dry wit. A favorite anecdote (true, honestly) - I'd asked his expert critique of a part of the route I'd completed. After some deliberation, the reply came: "I don't see much wrong with it...(pause)...mind you, I haven't looked closely yet." That, I came to learn in time, was in the nature of tacit approval :-)

Another instigator, although he was unaware until I recently had the opportunity to tell him, was TubePrune. His LUL-focused web site of the same name is a goldmine of information about the Underground, and I spent untold hours reading everything - multiple times. Often I needed a detail about a specific stock or a part of the route, or a map and found it there. Discovering all this information, along with that provided by PP, convinced me that building the route was at least possible.

One of the occasional contributors to the TubePrune site at that time was "District Dave" - then a C69 and D78 Operator on the District, and more recently an Instructor/Operator. He has also started his own District Line web site, which attracted a number of "LUL professionals" to its discussion boards. Another notable on that board is long-time C69 and D78 Instructor/Operator "SolidBond" who is unquestionably a leading authority on the District Line and those stocks in particular. Both DD and SB were instrumental in the team's D78 stock being as realistic as it is. They spent hours 'driving it' and giving feedback until it matched their real-life experience of its appearance and performance. They have also both contributed to my knowledge of the route by supplying additional detailed materials and sharing their own personal knowledge of the line, and are honorary members of the Virtual District route and trains team. And have become good friends.

Others from the DD forum have been equally supportive and have shared their first-hand knowledge of stocks and the lines. “Motorman Jim" first taught me about C Stocks. "Doc", a Piccadilly Line 73TS Instructor/Operator, helped out considerably when we build the 73TS trains and has improved my understanding of Picc operations. D78 I/O "Colin" explained to me all about Depot working and other real-world procedures. "CitySig" tested out my LUL route signal set on his MSTS installation and helped me get it to work prototypically (as far as MSTS allows!). There are surely others, and one of the downsides of listing people like this is the accidental omission of a name. So, to anyone else who ever answered one of my questions - thank you!

Finally, my thanks to the many on UKTS and elsewhere who have followed the sometimes rocky path that the construction of this (partial) route has followed. Your enthusiasm kept me at it, and will continue to do so. I hope you get some enjoyment from it.


A BRIEF HISTORY

The date Jan 20 2003 is apparently significant - that date, according to MSTS, is the date I created the District Line 'world' in MSTS and laid the first piece of track in what was geographically Earls Court. Ironically, that piece of track and those following it to around Barons Court really need to be ripped up and re-done. Back when I started this, I didn't have the detailed gradient data I now have, and the trackwork is now clearly at the wrong elevation. It will get fixed in the new year.

My approach to building the route was (is?) likely unorthodox. Having charted out the line (using TStools2 to place markers for station locations and paths between), I began laying track westwards from ECT - arriving at Ealing Broadway some while later. The small section to Olympia was added on the way. I then began construction of the station and nearby buildings at Ealing Broadway and continued working back eastwards. Each station is "scratch-built" using TSM (and/or 3D Canvas Pro) working from video and photos. None are perfect recreations of the real thing, but I feel are instantly recognizable for what they are. Each has a certain style and character, and one of my most enjoyable parts of this work was (is) creating the stations. So having built EBY, I then built Ealing Common, and the nearby Depot. Next step was to "fill in" the area between the stations with "appropriate scenery". At the west end of the DL, this involves a lot of trees :-) as well as other 'landmark' buildings, bridges or objects. This I personally find the hard part of route building. Some sections took months to get right to my satisfaction. The progression then continued. Build Acton Town, then the scenery between it and ECM. Then on to Chiswick Park, then Turnham Green - filling in scenery after each station. Roads were added. Another issue became obvious...

If you look at photos of the line (or any LUL SSL line) you'll see 1001 details involving line-side objects and structures, signs and other clutter that make up the railway. These needed to be added, to a reasonable degree. So in the virtual DL, you'll see miles of trackside cabling, periodic yellow sectionalization switch boxes, limited clearance signs, speed posts and the other assorted detritus, of which it would be noticed if it weren't there - so to speak. Again, all of that was built using TSM and textures created where needed from detailed photos. Creating all those objects took time. Not hard work, as I enjoy 3D modeling, but painstaking. Having built that far I decided to add signals and try it all out. Issue number 2 bit me - signal lights kept going out when a number of trains were in the area, as a result of a Kuju "maximum number of lights" restriction.

I had been using a (very good) downloaded signal set that I'd added to as needed for LUL purposes. I have no criticism of these signals at all, but they were not designed to be used in the density that parts of the DL require. You'll see that density for yourself, especially around the Acton area! I decided I had to build a new set of signals from scratch - including many multi-head units, and design the code to be more tolerant of density (less light definitions). This, once again, took a while but was successful. As a side note, I have recently improved the lighting efficiency of our LUL stocks, knowing they'd have to live in the signal-rich environment of the DL. Despite all this work, I still see the odd dark signal. It's a Kuju limitation that we likely can't get around entirely. So be it.

Now that the TGN-EBY section was complete (including added parts of the Picc to Sth Ealing and Nth Ealing, and a bit of the Central from EBY) I decided on a change once again, and started to build the Richmond road from TGN. Once again, the locations and paths were marked and the tracklaying crew set off and laid the section to Gunnersbury and added in the North London lines as needed. So far so good. However, not 1200m west of GUN we hit another issue - the ground levels were clearly off, meaning the terrain sculpting wasn't right. Nothing for it but to get new (more accurate) DEM data and apply it to the WHOLE route. I recall gritting my teeth as I hit the button to execute it, as I knew what the overall effect would be - and was. Some sections of track now lay underground and some were in mid-air (where previously constructed banking had been flattened and cuttings filled-in). All tracks, or more accurately all the ground under them, now needed 'fixing' so the rails once more sat on the ground. Embankments and cuttings were re-built and the area just west of ACT needed a major facelift. All this took time, but was it was essential to get all the route terrain right before proceeding further. Over the 3 years I've been working at this, better tools have come out to help, and more accurate data has been available (and used). On a number of occasions I've had to back-track and fix stuff as a result of getting better gradient data and so on. Similarly, UK Fine Scale now has 3D 4-rail tracks - whereas the Xtracks I'm using have a 4-rail texture. I have no issues at all with Xtracks, but if I'd started today I'd likely use UKFS. And I just can't bring myself to start all over again.

So now with good terrain and the existing trackwork fixed, the tracklaying to Richmond proceeded quite quickly, with a brief pause to get the Thames correct (enough of it that was visible from the bridge). I think I even got the water color close :-) At that time I also marked the locations and paths of nearby roads (A4, etc.) and bridges that I knew would have to be included as they're very visible from the train. Next I built Richmond Station and the nearby Richmond signal cabin (now apparently unused in real-life). There's a lot of glass in the station facing the platforms, also in the canopies, and I had to learn how to create realistic looking glass (semi-transparent). The transparency is actually slightly different for the day and night textures. New signs meeting NR standards (not LUL) had to be created for this and the other stations on this Railtrack section. I then built the various bridges between RMD and Kew gardens and added in the nearby roads and 'traffic spawners'. Next to Kew Gardens station, which I had been greatly looking forward to building. I had some excellent detailed photos from PP, and these were used extensively as part of the building textures. The station, nearby buildings and a LOT of trees got added. Next to Gunnersbury station. Despite being 'simple concrete' after the character and architecture of Kew Gdns, it took about as long to build. Even a concrete station has its own kind of character and I tried to capture it - without the litter and graffiti!

At this point I broke my own building rule. Instead of then adding in the scenery from KEW to GUN, I moved on and build Turnham Green station. The reason was that I hadn't yet figured out how I was going to put in what would need to be a lot of scenery without killing frame rates. The view the Kew Bridge goes a long way and it needed to be filled with a 'scenic vista' of some kind. I determined to come back to it after some thought. TGN station is likely my second-favorite (after Kew) because of its architecture. There are some unique features that I wanted to try and capture, like the 'old' seats and the canopy moldings. Once again, PP's photos came to the rescue and I was able to create some appropriate textures for the station from them. There are a lot of details on that station if you look for them.

So finally, back to the inter-station scenery problem. Actually two of them. I'd also held off on doing the Chiswick Park to Turnham Green section of scenery as it in part included Acton Green - a very notable area on the left going east. It's essentially a nice green park area, and none of the MSTS ground textures (terrtex) were close to what I wanted. I pondered that for a while as I set to doing the KEW-GUN and Thames area.

The solution was reasonably simple, once the right buildings and structures were to hand. Use detailed buildings up close, less detailed building 'blocks' further away, and use backdrops out far. This, along with trees and tree clumps and tree lines gave a layered 'full' look to the scene. From the viewpoint from the train it looks busy and extensive. If you look from above you'll see how it was done and how your eyes are tricked somewhat from ground level. It looks especially effective at night with distant lights and the moon glow on the river. I also added in the Kew Rail bridge (a very welcome and appreciated offering from a fellow builder!) and built the Kew road bridge to add in. So finally that part was done, leaving one scenery part left.

A while ago I purchased a great tool called Mosaic, and had tested it out but not really used it. This was the secret to getting the custom ground textures done for Acton Green so it looked like a true park area. Adding in some buildings, trees and gravel paths completed the look I wanted. You'll see it on the left if you drive from GUN to TGN, just after the flyunder near Chiswick Park.

And that's where we are today - some 3 years after starting. There's a lot more to do and I intend to issue updates as I complete further sections. Next will be to finish and fix the sections from TGN east to ECT, including OLY. After that the Wimbo road (initially as far as Parsons Green sidings). Then east to High Street Ken and Edgware Road (so the C69 will finally have a road to use!). Then on eastwards through the 'underground' sections. And so on...

I am nervous of 'releasing' an unfinished work or 'work-in-progress'. However, the enthusiasm shown by many on the UKTS and other forums has encouraged me to do so. Some people have apparently been waiting a long time to get a first-hand look at it and to drive on it. I hope you enjoy it for what it currently is - an unfinished work. One day it will be finished :-)

Thanks, Jimi

Does this route require anything from 'USA2' when installing, Jimi?

Sam

Sam - yes, all 6 default routes must be present as the installer copies files from them (which saves including them in the kit).

Anyone stuck in the queue at UKTS - there's a mirror site set up (free and very fast). Go here:

jimi.fox-developments.co.uk/LUL_DISTRICT_LINE_BETA1_KIT.zip

That site has the latest Beta1A version. There is still a minor bug fix needed for a missing texture (c_bus.ace).

The fix is to copy the c_bus.ace from DL tex folder to DL tex\night folder; and to copy the c_bus.ace from the Europe1 tex\snow folder to the DL tex\snow folder. Apologies for this one.

A full version of Beta1B (all bugs fixed) is available at:

jimi.fox-developments.co.uk/LUL_DISTRICT_LINE_BETA1B_KIT.zip

A very small Beta1B update patch is also available for people who have downloaded Beta 1 or Beta 1a at:

jimi.fox-developments.co.uk/LUL_DISTRICT_LINE_BETA1B_UPDATE.ZIP

That fixes it all!

OK, now I'm curious. Who among you tried to beat the 73TS up the HAMS bank in Activity 3? Not that ever happens, of course

Sam - tell me more. What's an 'installing bug type thing'? Are you saying you have a corrupt USA2 route? If so, that can be fixed. Give me more info (PM if you wish) and I'll try to help.

Tee hee. As I noted, I used real timetables for the services, so it makes sense that the DL and Picc might be at interchange stations at the same time. When I was testing that one and saw the 73TS leave HAMS WB 10 secs. in front of me, I *knew* what was going to happen. If you're on time for departure you'll draw level with the 73TS just before the top of the bank. I count that as a win, as we have to stop shortly after (Doc may disagree) ;D

Dr Jimi - with regard to your acknowledgments post in reply#15:

First of all I was surprised and humbled to see my name appear - I really didn't expect that ;D

Your reference to Richmond signal box being unused - it's actually very much still in use! ;D ;D ;D I am aware that there are plans to close it in the future and have the North London line signalled from one 'IECC' (possibly at Willesden) - but I believe they are not at a particularly advanced stage.

**waits to be corrected and made to leave with his 'tail between his legs' ;D**

EDIT: BTW, I'm not an I/O - merely a humble T/Op ;D ;D

On the District DVD, when Dave goes past it the nameboard has gone and even our Rob says something about it being long gone

or do I need to take me pills again?