SimSig Central Scotland

Start-Up Options

Scenarios

Scenario	Description	Easy Mode
Perfect	Everything should run like clockwork (user errors excluded). No failures or delays.	Easy
Beginner	As Perfect but, some minor delays maybe experienced.	Easy
Standard	As Beginner plus temporary speed restrictions. Also small risk a major disruption.	Hard
Difficult	As Standard plus one of 9 line closure events will be in place. Small risk of major disruption.	Hard
Bad Weather	As Difficult but more so! Slippery rails and other problems to deal with.	Hard

Please see here for Easy Mode features.

Eras

Old Cowlairs

This is a representation of the area up to the end of 1998 and the opening of the Cowlairs (New) PSB. Compared to the other eras, this layout removes the Cowlairs West to Sighthill West Junction chord and Bi-Di signalling between Cowlairs West and Cadder. Cowlairs Carriage sidings and Bishopbriggs oil sidings are open. Also, all stations on the Westerton line and the Anniesland branch have been removed, as have Gartcosh and Camelon, and other minor tweaks. Not strictly accurate (e.g East to N Jn was double track) but a fair representation. Additional (illustrative only) signal boxes added on Cowlairs Duty 2.

Pre-SAK Line

This simulates the area from 1999-2008, following the opening of Cowlairs PSB, but prior to the re-opening of the line through to Alloa and Longannet; this line at the time was a lightly used goods-only branch to Cambus.

Post-SAK Line

This is the 2008 layout, which saw the re-opening of the Stirling- Longannet line. The Stirling- Alloa section also re-opened to passengers, with the line beyond primarily for coal traffic to Longannet power station, negating the need for those services to use the Forth Bridge. The control areas of the boxes at Stirling were adjusted at the same time, with a few semaphores being replaced by colour light signals.

EGIP

EGIP, as the Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement project is known, is primarily the electrification of the E&G and Shotts line from Glasgow Queen St (HL) to Edinburgh (via Falkirk High and Grahamston) and Perth lines as far as Dunblane. The Maryhill lines were outside the scope (glaring omission?) of the project, but a link line was installed to the North Clyde lines at Anniesland. This was to allow the Queen Street Low-level platforms to be used during the high-level blockade to rebuild the station and electrify the tunnel. The Perth lines between Cumbernauld and Coatbridge are also now electrified.

A new station has opened at Robroyston, between Stepps and Springburn. The latter station has also been re-modelled, removing the single-line connection to the Stepps route.

The south end of Stirling station has been re-signalled, with all semaphores removed and the track layout re-worked to modern principles; most notably, bays 7 and 8 can now be used by arriving passenger trains, while most of the sidings have been removed.

This era is something of an amalgamation. All platform lengthening, re-modelling and electrification works associated with the EGIP project are fully simulated, allowing present day timetables to be run without issue. Signalling-wise, the area is represented as it was around 2018. The boxes at Carmuirs West Jn, Larbert Jn and Plean Jn have closed, being taken over by neighbouring boxes. Cowlairs PSB had also closed in 2013, control passing to Edinburgh. After this period, the boxes at Greenhill, Carmuirs East, Grangemouth Jn, Polmont and Larbert North closed, with control passing to Edinburgh. Stirling lost its remaining semaphores, and Dunblane lost almost all of them.

Other Options

Track Circuit Visibility

In some of the Absolute Block areas and also between boxes there are often no Track Circuit (TC) indications. The sim is constructed by default to not show TCs where there are none in reality. However, for those who prefer slightly easier life there is an option to have visible TC indications of the train passage.

TORR

Tick to turn Train Operated Route Release on for the NX boxes (Cowlairs, Greenhill, Grangemouth Jn and Polmont). TORR is always off for the mechanical boxes to simulate having to replace the levers.

Mechanical Interlocking

If enabled, this makes the simulation operation as close as possible to the real lever frames in mechanical areas. Points must be set correctly prior to route setting, including within the clearing point where applicable. At junctions where points are flank-locked, points must be moved sequentially to set a route up. See the mechanical signalling section for more details.

In addition, where signals require a track circuit to be occupied before a lever can be pulled (for example, DB54-> DB42), mechanical interlocking requires that the track circuit be occupied before the route is set. With mechanical interlocking off, these routes behave as conventional approach controlled routes. Please see the Box Notes for details of individual routes.

Central Scotland Contents

Last edited by Steamer on 29/12/2020 at 22:40