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Edge Hill

Official Files

Title	Version	Released
Simulation (Payware)	3.13	27/11/2021
15/10/2009 WTT (Midnight and 0445 Start included)	1.2	07/12/2020
08/04/2015 WTT (Midnight, 0400 & 1400 starts included)	5.1	27/11/2021

Additional user-written timetables are available to download here .

Introduction

Edge Hill simulation covers numerous small signalboxes in the Liverpool area stretching from North of Weaver Jn through to Lime Street and includes the branch towards Huyton and Boootle Jn as well as the Low Level Lines past Fiddlers Ferry towards Arpley Junction. The simulation includes numerous freight locations (Garston, Ditton, Fiddlers Ferry, Halewood) as well as two depots and a terminal station and therefore offers plenty of variety. The simulation is set prior to the remodelling of Lime Street and re-control of most of the area to Manchester ROC, which took place in the late 2010s.

Start-Up Options

Scenarios

None

No special scenario

Platform Closure

A random platform at Lime St is closed all day; you will have to find alternative platforms for trains booked into that platform, causing as little delay as possible.

Lines Blocked

The specified lines will be blocked all day for engineering work. Note that the Allerton- Ditton Slow option will make it impossible to access Halewood Jaguar/Ford sidings, and may require the timetables of trains to the sidings at Ditton to be edited.

15th October 2009

The possessions in force on that day will be taken and given up throughout the day (overrunning is possible on harder difficulty settings). For use with the supplied 15/10/2009 timetable

Other Options

Scale of problems

TT Developer	No failures, and absolutely no delays- ideal for checking that timetables work correctly
Beginner	No trackside equipment failures, small amounts of late running
Standard	There will be some late running, and low chance of trackside failures. Only one item of equipment may fail at a time.
Difficult	As Standard, but with more late running and a higher chance of equipment failure. Up to 2 items may fail at a time.
One of those days	One of those days where everything is running late! As Standard, but with a far greater amount of late running.
Gremlins at Work	As standard, but with a much higher chance of equipment failure. Up to three items may fail at a time

The above failure and delay settings may be altered at any time in a game via the failures tab in the 'Options' menu.

Bad Weather

If ticked, adverse weather will be affecting the area. Trains will be braking earlier and taking longer to accelerate than usual.

Features

Electrification

Most of the running lines (and, unusually, sidings) in the area are electrified with 25kV overhead wires. Limits of electrification are marked by the 'AC limit' markers on the panel. Note that Bootle Branch Jn to Huyton was only electrified in March 2015. Note that although the line towards Hunts Cross is electrified, this amounts only to a 'long overrun' and the wires stop a short distanc beyond Allerton Junction's control area.

Garston FLT and Halewood Jaguar/Ford sidings are not electrified throughout in reality- they are wired for the minimum distance that allows an electric loco to propel a train into the sidings. To be realistic, therefore, TT writers should ensure that electric trains to these locations have the loco positioned such that it is propelling into the yards. Note, however, that SimSig will not enforce this; it does not 'know' which end of the train the loco is.

Regulation Notes

The following notes are a general guide, and may not apply to every train in every timetable- if in doubt, follow what is shown in the timetable.

• At Lime St, trains towards Liverpool South Parkway typically use the higher-numbered platforms, and those to Huyton the lower-numbered platforms, with some overlap in the middle. Furthermore, Huyton trains typically use the Slow lines and Liverpool South Parkway services use the Fast lines, although it is possible to switch trains between lines at Edge Hill if necessary. In a Multiplayer session, the Lime St signaller should advise the Edge Hill operator if they intend to send trains on the wrong line; if the signals at Edge Hill are set for the normal route they must be cancelled before the train leaves Lime St on the Fast lines, and before the platform starter is cleared on the Slow lines to avoid a wrong route or ACOA penalty.
• The lines to Huyton and Manchester via Hunts Cross have a large number of intermediate stations, and little or no locations to put trains in passing loops. Therefore, care should be taken to avoid sending a stopping service out in front of an express at Liverpool South Parkway (Hunts Cross route) or Edge Hill (Huyton route). If the stopper were to go first, the express would be 15-25 minutes late by the time it reached Manchester or Wigan.

Semaphore Signalling

Semaphore Signalling is in use at Monks Sidings, Fiddlers Ferry and Allerton Junction.

Box Notes

Halton Junction (HN)

Trains enter the simulation from Weaver Junction, where the Liverpool line diverges from the West Coast Main Line. At Halton Junction, the Halton Curve (from Frodsham Junction, on the Warrington- Chester line) joins the main line.

Notes:

• The Halton Curve is uni-directional- trains can only head towards Halton Jn. This is as a result of cost-savings in the 1980s, when the line was singled.
• There is a Ground Frame controlling the crossover at Sutton Weaver, which is operated in the usual way. To avoid ACOAs, ensure no train is approaching from Weaver Jn before releasing the GF.
• Granting slot HN2 allows the Runcorn signaller to set a route towards RNLOS on the Down Ditton.

Runcorn (RN)

The main line now passes to Runcorn's control, where a non-electrified branch line diverges to Folly Lane sidings. The sidings used to serve an ICI facility, but now serve a waste incinerator there. The main line carries on to Ditton's area.

Notes:

• Trains to the ICI works can be routed up to the stop board where the shunter will then authorise them into the terminal. Drivers of departing trains will contact you for permission to draw up to RN22 signal.

Monks Sidings (MS)

Monks Sidings is the first signal box after trains enter on the freight lines from Arpley Junction (Warrington). It is an absolute block area with a few track circuits, 1 crossover and three level crossings .

Notes:

• Littons Mill Level Crossing is controlled locally by a

  crossing keeper , who will close the gates when trains pass Arpley Jn or Fiddlers Ferry Jn. When closed, the 'CLEAR' button will flash, and must be acknowledged before MS3/MS17 clear.

Fiddlers Ferry (FF)

Fiddlers Ferry Signal Box takes the freight only line from Monks Sidings through to Ditton, and the entry to Fiddlers Ferry Power Station. In reality, additional signals are present on the unloading loops, controlled by a separate 'box. The exact arrangements have been simplified to allow the lines to be simulated.

Notes:

• There is a 3mph speed limit on the unloading loops at Fiddlers Ferry. This will also affect departing trains, until the rear of the train is clear of signal FF6.

Ditton (DN)

Ditton box covers the largest area on the simulation. The main line from Runcorn and the Low Level lines meet, and form the Fast and Slow lines respectively. It also controls Ditton reception Sidings, where trains shunt to and from Ditton O'Connor's freightliner terminal and the AHC as well as the reception sidings at Halewood for moves into the Jaguar and Ford car plants. As a result, Ditton sees numerous shunt movements throughout the day.

Notes:

• Phone calls must be placed to O'Connors before sending trains there.
• Freight trains arriving at Ditton Reception sidings should be signalled through the reception roads and onto the Headshunt. Once the train has stopped behind either 8002, 8004 or 8006 signal and permission has been obtained from Ditton FLT Shunter, the long route can be set from 8002, 8004 or 8006 through to O'Connor's for the propelling movement. Light engine movements should be dealt with in the normal way.

• Shunt Routes are provided towards DN106, DN302 and DN307.

Speke Junction (SE)

Speke Junction covers the 4 track main line from Ditton off towards Allerton Junction, and a triangle of freight lines serving the Garston terminals.

Notes:

• A phone call must be placed to Garston FLT before trains are signalled in.
• To signal a train past the Stop boards, simply set a route between them and the appropriate signal/exit arrow as if they were normal signals. The white roundel will illuminate to indicate that the route has been set.
• Trains to Garston FLT normally arrive in the Arrival siding, and the loco runs round (via the FLT sidings) before propelling the train into the terminal. Note that you will have to ask the shunter's permission before letting the light engine into the terminal.
• To release Speke

  Ground Frame , first ensure that the points between the sidings and the Down Slow are keyed normal .

Allerton Junction (AN)

At Allerton, the main line is joined by a spur from Garston, and the line from Hunts Cross. Despite appearances on the diagram, the latter is a fairly important secondary route to Manchester via Warrington Central, and sees as much, if not more, passenger traffic as the Runcorn route.

Notes:

• A phone call must be placed to the Allerton TMD shunter before sending a train to the CS or DEP roads, but must not be placed for trains sent to the ARR road.
• Setting a route from AN53 will lock the trailing points in rear (i.e those to the Hunts Cross branch) in the position they're set in when AN53 is cleared. Take particular care when a train from Hunts Cross is crossing the junction in front of a train for Runcorn, as clearing AN53 early may cause delay to the Runcorn-bound train.
• Trains from Liverpool may turn back in platforms 3 and 4 at Liverpool South Parkway
• Liverpool South Parkway station was called Allerton, prior to a rebuild in 2005.

Edge Hill (LE)

Edge Hill is quite a complex layout with the Fast and Slow lines from Allerton merging at Wavertree Junction, with the London end entrance to Edge Hill TMD peeling off. The line then carries on and is joined by the Chat Moss route from Huyton. The four lines pass the Liverpool end entrance of Edge Hill TMD and the branch to Wapping Goods (now only used for freight run rounds) and Edge Hill station. Tuebrook Sidings run parallel with the Chat Moss lines from Bootle Road Junction through to Edge Hill. The freight-only line from Liverpool Docks meets the Chat Moss lines at a triangle junction.

Notes:

• A phone call must be placed to the Edge Hill CMD shunter before routing a train into the entrance at the Wavertree Jn end. No phone call is required for trains entering at the Edge Hill end
• Trains leaving Edge Hill CMD at the Edge Hill end will request permission to enter; trains leaving at the Wavertree Jn end will simply draw up to the exit signals without requesting permission.
• Note that there are several dead end sidings which are also part of the depot complex but under your control. You can send a train bound for the CS into these sidings, but unless they have a next working shown in their schedule they will simply stop at the end of the siding and remain there until another timetable is manually assigned to them.
• The Edge Hill entrance of Tuebrook/Waterloo sidings is not electrified.
• Trains for Edge Hill sidings or Liverpool South Parkway approaching on the Slow lines must be routed towards Platform 2 at LE58.

Liverpool Lime Street (LS)

Lime Street box controls the last mile or so of the line into Lime Street station.

Notes:

• All platforms and sidings are

  permissive

• Shunt Routes towards several signals.

• Three platforms at Lime Street (1, 5 & 7) operate the track circuits in an unusual way. This is linked to the signalling layout in these platforms. There is no signal for departing trains from behind the points which allow access to the station sidings. In real life, the interlocking of the miniature lever frame makes any movements from this position safe. As the signallers only have an indication for the entire track circuit over the pointwork that is linked to their diagram, they would notice nothing unusual. However, in an IECC environment, a route would normally set (in white) across the portion of a track circuit the train would actually pass over, and only this postion would occupy (in red). Without a signal on the buffer-stops side of the points, the track circuits across the points will “flood” (ie: the whole track circuit will occupy) when a train departs the station from this position.
• LS1 Signal once cleared will act as though it has an automatic working enabled, to cancel the route from the signal you must manually replace LS1 to danger.

Level Crossings

Name	Type	Panel
Crossfields	CCTV	Monks Sidings
Fiddlers Ferry	UWC	Fiddlers Ferry
Garston	UWC	Speke Jn
Littons Mill	CK (MCG)	Monks Sidings
Marsh House	CCTV	Fiddlers Ferry
Monks Siding	MCB	Monks Sidings
Penketh Hall	UWC	Monks Sidings

Multiplayer & Chaining

The simulation can be played by one reasonably experienced player, and also makes a good multiplayer for 3-4 people.

The simulation chains at all fringes:

Simulation	Location	Note
Chester	Frodsham Junction	Only compatible with the 2006 Chester era
Crewe	Weaver Junction
Hunts Cross	Liverpool South Parkway
Huyton & St Helens	Huyton	See extended note below
Sandhils	Edge Lane Jn
Warrington	Arpley Jn

Note when chaining to Huyton simulation with it running the pre 2014 era, the chain will function as expected. When running chained to Huyton in the post 2014 era, LE289 and LE291 will be permanently red on this simulation, and the track circuits for these two signals will function as approach tracks, the TD berths for both signals will not function. This reflects Edge Hill signalbox loosing part of the area to the Manchester ROC workstation.

Provision exists for the simulation to chain at other fringes, should the corresponding simulation be developed in the future.

Hot Keys

In addition to the standard shortcut keys , the following are available:

The number keys 1-5 scroll through the panel in equal steps.

Key (Shift+)	Panel Area
R	Runcorn
D	Ditton
G	Garston
E	Edge Hill
L	Liverpool Lime Street

Acknowledgments

Simulation by: Noel Young

15/10/2009 WTT by: Paul Biddle (Officer Dibble)

Reference Section

Signal Number Plan

Edge Hill Signal Number Plan

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 . Use the built-in Find function (Ctrl+F) to locate signal numbers.

Signal Box Prefix Codes

Code	Box
AJ	Arpley Jn*
AN	Allerton
DN	Ditton
FF	Fiddlers Ferry
HC	Hunts Cross*
HN	Halton Jn
HN	Huyton*
LE	Edge Hill
LS	Liverpool Lime Street
ML	Sandhills IECC*
MS	Monks Siding
RN	Runcorn
SE	Speke Jn
WD	Winsford*

*Fringe box, signals not controlled in this simulation.

Platform, Loop & Siding Lengths

Platform Lengths

Location	Platform	Length (m)	Notes
Broad Green	Up	109
:::	Down	117
Edge Hill	1	208
:::	2	222
:::	3	224
:::	4	257
Liverpool Lime Street	1	169	Permissive Working allowed
:::	2	161	Permissive Working allowed
:::	3	162	Permissive Working allowed
:::	4	160	Permissive Working allowed
:::	5	197	Permissive Working allowed
:::	6	250	Permissive Working allowed
:::	7	280	Permissive Working allowed
:::	8	281	Permissive Working allowed
:::	9	246	Permissive Working allowed
Liverpool South Parkway	1	123
:::	2	137
:::	3	137
:::	4	117
Mossley Hill	1	126
:::	2	125
:::	3	136
:::	4	161
Runcorn	Up	325
:::	Down	295
Wavertree Technology Park	Up	96
:::	Down	96
West Allerton	1	93
:::	2	99
:::	3	97
:::	4	100

Siding Lengths

Location	Siding Name	Length (m)
Liverpool Lime Street	Siding A	80
:::	Siding B	80
:::	Siding C	80
:::	Siding D	170
:::	Neck Siding	80

Timetabling Details

These notes apply to those writing timetables for the simulation. They may be of interest but are not required if you are simply running the simulation.

Mandatory Timing Points

Trains must be timed at the following locations as a minimum

Main Line

• Weaver Junction
• Runcorn
• Ditton
• Liverpool South Parkway
• Wavertree Jn
• Edge Hill Signal Box
• Edge Hill
• Liverpool Lime Street

Chat Moss Lines

• Huyton
• Bootle Branch Junction
• Edge Hill Signal Box
• Edge Hill
• Liverpool Lime Street

Bootle Lines

• Bootle Jn OR Regents Road LX
• Bootle Branch Junction
• Edge Hill Signal Box
• Edge Hill
• Liverpool Lime Street

Shunt locations

The sim has been designed to allow all feasible shunt movements with most shunt movements being shown in the timetable as the location followed by the signal number.

TIPLOC Codes

TIPLOC Codes

Splash Screens

• Spash 1 - 4 : Liverpool Lime Street (Copyright - Matt Cooper)
• Spash 5 - 13 : Liverpool Lime Street (Copyright - Paul Biddle)
• Splash 14 : Halton Jn (Copyright - cmc_1987)
• Splash 15/16 : Garston (Copyright - cmc_1987)
• Splash 17 : Halewood (Copyright - cmc_1987)

Version History

Version History

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Last edited by Steamer on 18/04/2023 at 16:16