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Peterborough v4.1

Timetables

Available from Download section

Title	Published	Author	Comments
Summer 2003	Bundled	?	Bundled with v4.1.0

Other timetables will need to be updated by their authors, though many may work without change.

Overview

v4.1.0 of Peterborough is basically a refresh of the original release, converted to Loader format and with various minor changes.

Continuing on from the ever-popular King's Cross, Peterborough completes the next 60 miles of line. Peterborough will chain to King's Cross, allowing over 100 miles of the East Coast Main Line to be directly controlled simultaneously! (However, the chaining required updating and a new release of King's Cross will be needed for fully correct behaviour.)

But Peterborough is also great as a standalone simulation. Expresses from London to Leeds, York, and points north; local Spalding services which terminate and originate at Peterborough; through trains from Leicester to Cambridge; semi-fasts from London to Peterborough; and several freights. This is an ideal introduction to larger simulations - there are no unusual procedures and ARS can be used to adjust your workload.

Timings are tight through the area, meaning that showing an up express running at 125mph a yellow aspect will cause several minutes of delay! Which, of course, then impacts on King's Cross...

Peterborough features Automatic Route Setting (ARS) for all the main line routes (though the prototype doesn't). This can, of course, be turned off at will on a per-area or per-train basis. This is especially useful for there are 12 controlled level crossings, 2 AHBs, and 7 minor crossings to deal with as well!

Operation

Electrification

The following lines are electrified:

• All main tracks between Hitchin and Peterborough
• The Down Slow/Stamford, Down Fast, Up Fast, and Up Slow lines between Peterborough and Grantham
• All platforms at Peterborough
• Nene Carriage Sidings
• The northern half of the Peterborough Goods Line
• Peterborough Yard arrival and departure lines
• All crossovers between electrified lines

The following lines are not electrified:

• The lines to Whittlesea, Ketton, and Spalding
• The Up Stamford line between Helpston and Peterborough
• The Flyash line at Peterborough
• The Fletton Flyash loop and the link to the Nene Valley Railway
• All other yards and sidings

Peterborough station

All lines are permissive . The exit triangles on the through lines and on the Up Slow can be used to set-call on routes onto their respective lines when a train is standing at Signal 435, 440 or 466.

Controlled Level Crossings

All controlled level crossings on the simulation are controlled locally by Crossing Keepers . On the real railway the crossing keepers operate the crossings in time to allow approaching trains through; they have control of slots on the signals protecting the crossings, most of which are automatic.

The simulation currently operates differently (though this may change in a future release): the protecting signals are controlled ones and the crossing keepers will lower the barriers when a route is set over the crossing and raise them when there are no routes set and no trains approaching. ARS will set the route in plenty of time for trains approaching the crossings to see only green signals.

The crossings were originally assigned to gate boxes as follows:

Everton	Everton
Tempsford	Everton
Offord	Offord
Connington North	Holme
Holme	Holme
Holme Lode	Holme
Woodcroft	Helpston [1]
Helpston	Helpston
Maxey	Helpston
Lolham	Helpston
Tallington	Tallington
Greatford	Tallington

[1] There is a separate crossing keeper who operates under instructions from Helpston.

More recently Everton, Offord, and Holme were replaced by a separate Peterborough Crossings panel in the PSB while Helpston took over the two crossings formerly controlled by Tallington.

Each of the five gate boxes is a separate workstation for multiuser play, allowing gate boxes to be allocated to the user covering the area or to have a single user working them all. Each is also a separate ARS area just for the routes over the crossings, labelled "GB" on the layout. Holme, Helpston, and Tallington are also normal ARS areas (the first two labeled "JUNC").

AHBs

There are two AHBs on the Spalding line. Their telephones communicate with Helpston gate box. To prevent trains on the Up Spalding line running over the crossings, you will need to phone Uffington and ask them to hold signal UN15 at red.

Blocking entrance points

At several of the entrance points the BLOK or similar code needs to be entered into a berth other than the first one on the line (either because of chaining arrangements or because it is a queued berth).

Down Slow	K715
Down Fast	K717
Down March	783
Up Main	D2
Up Stamford	802
Up Spalding	862

Biggleswade yard

Trains entering the yard normally do so using the 'A' ground frame while those leaving use the 'B' ground frame.

Sandy down yard

The hand-points in the yard are worked by a ground frame. There is no release required.

Fletton Flyash

Unlike the original release, where it was an exit point, the Fletton Flyash site is fully simulated. Trains signalled to the exit arrow will run along the arrival line, around the loop, through the ash discharge unit, and back along the departure line to signal 53. These lines are all permissive. The short cripple siding at the end of the loop is not simulated.

Train descriptions will not appear automatically in the berth at signal 419 and must be interposed by hand.

Ward Siding

Ward Siding is on the Up Spalding line east of Ketton. Trains to the siding must pull up to signal K3, which is just east of the points into and out of the yard. The ground frame release is on the panel (in reality it is released by Ketton signal box) even though the sidings are not shown. The lamps on the ground frame display simulate the shunter's ability to see trains; the "approaching" lamp flashes when a train is approaching from Ketton and requires the frame locked.

'A' buttons

At most signals the A button will only work if a route has been set and the signal has cleared at least to yellow. Yes, this is prototypical, though nobody knows why.

Startup options

Scenarios

• Normal
• Bad Weather - fog, reduced braking and acceleration, and delayed trains
• Fast lines closed - between Hitchin and Woodwalton. Possibly also a closed platform at Peterborough
• New England closure - Up Slow closed at New England; Spalding trains diverted via the yard
• One random closure - closures at one of 8 places (including the New England closure scenario) selected at random
• Several random closures - closures at up to 6 of the 8 places

Other options

Scale of problems lets you select a level of difficulty.

At present Era has only two options. There is the original layout of the 1990s, with electrification and five platforms at Peterborough. Alternatively you can select bidirectional working on the Up Slow between Peterborough and Werrington to allow trains to run to Spalding without delaying traffic on the Down Fast. This era has some other minor changes as well (e.g. no Fletton Flyash loop).

Future releases may have more eras.

Level crossing road users lets you select how often you will get calls from the AHB and minor crossings.

Flashing greens is a feature of the real ECML between Peterborough and Stoke: if selected, the speed limit on the fast lines is increased from 125 mph to 140 mph. A green signal will flash if the next signal ahead is also green; if the signal is not flashing trains must slow to 125 mph as, presumably, the next signal will be at double yellow.

If Nene C.S. phone calls is ticked then it is necessary to phone the shunter before sending a train into the carriage sidings (or you will lose points) and the shunter will phone to request permission to send trains up to signal 65. This matches the real world; the "off" option is for compatibility with the previous release.

ARS/TORR allows you to turn these features on and off (the real Peterborough has neither).

Screen jump points

Pressing a digit key or shift and a letter key will jump the display to a pre-set point. Digits 1 to 9 are evenly spread across the screen from left to right. The following letters are available:

B	Biggleswade
C	Connington
F	Fletton
H	Huntingdon
K	Stoke
N	St.Neots
P	Peterborough
S	Sandy
T	Tallington
W	Werrington Jn

Multiplay and Chaining

• Connects to

  King's Cross (at Hitchin) and Cambridge (at Whittlesea)
  

• Facilities for chaining to a potential future Doncaster simulation (at Grantham) are also provided
  
• Possible for one person to control the area with ARS; two without ARS

Difficulty Rating

• Passenger traffic - medium
  
• Freight traffic - medium
  
• Layout complexity - medium
  
• Overall - medium

Known Issues

None at present.

Reference Section

Peterborough Beta v0.4d Signalling Diagram (v2.102.0.0)

- produced by the user 'Postal'. This is mostly correct for this release.

Speed Limit Plan

- also for the original release but mostly correct for this one.

These are Adobe Acrobat PDF files. If you don't have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer you can get a free download of the latest version from the Adobe website . When checked during March 2013, it had reached v11 and the download size was just under 50MB.

TIPLOC Codes - there have been a few changes but all the codes listed here should still work.

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Last edited by clive on 13/04/2017 at 21:55