45t GLW BALLAST WAGON ex VDA [EWS] INSTRUCTIONS FOR USE OF A STOCK PACK FOR TRAIN SIMULATOR

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1 (PRIVATE and not for Publication) F.S /5 fastline simulation ZCA SEA URCHINS 45t GLW BALLAST WAGON ex VDA [EWS] INSTRUCTIONS FOR USE OF A STOCK PACK FOR TRAIN SIMULATOR This book is for the use of customers, and supersedes as from 1st September, 2015, all previous instructions for the use of the above expansion pack for Train Simulator. THORNTON 1st SEPTEMBER, 2015 I. P. FREELY MOVEMENTS MANAGER

2 order of contents Page Introduction. 2 The Rolling Stock Rolling Stock Features 5 File Naming Overview 5 Compromises Help and Support More Information & Stay in Touch 6 Thanks Copyright

3 Introduction This expansion is our first developed specifically for distribution via Steam Marketplace and follows on from our eight independently distributed rolling stock packs. This expansion is a reworking of an earlier offering featuring ZCA SEA URCHINS converted from redundant VDA vans.we have previously released this model in clean Civil Engineers Dutch livery but have reworked the materials and textures alongside other improvements to create representations of the wagons later in life when a number of them received EWS maroon and gold livery. The Rolling Stock The 1980s saw a steady decline in the amount of general merchandise traffic carried by the railways and this ceased completely with the end of Speedlink in As a consequence a large number of vans and other wagons were surplus to requirements and disposal or alternative uses started to present themselves along with sales to the MoD for internal use. The civil engineers department became quite adept at converting what they had or what they could acquire in order to modernise their fleet. The ZCA Sea Urchins converted from redundant VDA vans are one part of that story. In late 1992 a start was made in converting some 400 VDA vans (other types of air braked wagon were also converted at different times) into open ballast wagons with a reinforced box type body and an angled top. Some 300 of the wagons went to Network SouthEast and the balance to the West Coast Mainline. The work was split between four contractors: ABB Transportation, Marcroft Engineering, Prorail Bombardier and RFS Doncaster and naturally there was some variation in the conversions, namely the body style and whether it has raised or flush end braces. After privatisation the wagons passed on to be operated by English Welsh & Scottish railway which saw a number of them gain EWS livery in a variety of styles after repairs or possibly extreme vandalism. The wagons themselves were less than popular for use in engineering trains as they were much longer than similar MFA and MHA types of wagon but only carried a similar amount of materials making engineering trains less efficient. ZCA Sea Urchin converted from a lot 3855 van: A fairly recently converted example on the under frame of a lot 3855 VDA van with the flush style of end braces. ZCA: EWS ex E.C

4 ZCA Sea Urchin converted from a lot 3908 van: A weathered and battered example on the under frame of a lot 3908 VDA van with the flush style of end braces and grey ballast load. ZCA: EWS ex L1.W ZCA Sea Urchin converted from a lot 3908 van: A weathered and battered example on the under frame of a lot 3908 VDA van with the raised style of end braces, sand load and later model flashing tail lamp with reflective strip. ZCA: EWS ex L4.W.R

5 ZCA Sea Urchin converted from a lot 3908 van: This example on the under frame of a lot 3908 VDA van again has the raised style of end braces and has been tagged by various artists at some point! The picture also shows the contrast between the lightly weathered wagon in the middle and the more heavily weathered example just visible to the right (textures displayed at random) along with the clean wagon to the left. ZCA: EWS ex E.W Detail of the slim-line flashing tail lamp fitted to the wagons.

6 Rolling Stock Features This expansion contains 40 different versions of the ZCA split between two different under frames dependent on the original lot that the donor VDA vans were built to, the main difference being the length of the handbrake lever. When placed in game each of these under frame styles will then display one of the two different body types at random as it has not proved possible to identify the full details of which wagon carried which style of body but this way variation within a rake of wagons can still occur. Each of these different versions is then supplied in empty and four different loaded versions (grey ballast, pink ballast, pea gravel and sand) along with rear versions fitted with a slim line flashing, battery tail lamp. All the wagons are finished in EWS maroon and gold livery in clean and weathered versions with the weathered versions having three different randomly applied textures and random graffiti. Empty wagons have randomly selected grey ballast load remnants lurking in the corners and round the edges. File Naming Overview We have developed a standardised naming structure for our rolling stock using the following mask: TOPS: LIVERY exlot Body Type - FLAGS For example one wagon may be named ZCA: EWS ex L1.W.R In effect this means it s a ZCA in EWS livery with an under frame from a lot 3855 VDA van, grey ballast load with a weathered textures and is carrying a tail lamp. File name options The following is a list of the variable flags used in this pack: TOPS: ZCA 45t GLW ballast box open wagon, fish kind Sea Urchin LOT: See descriptions elsewhere in this manual. LIVERY: EWS EWS maroon and gold livery. FLAGS: C Clean textured E Empty physics L1 Loaded physics with grey ballast load L2 Loaded physics with pink ballast load L3 Loaded physics with pea gravel load L4 Loaded physics with sand load R Rear version of the wagon fitted with a tail lamp. Compromises With any project you always have to make some compromises and this one has been no exception. We re not ashamed of the ones we ve made and we are more than happy to tell you about them. With four different contractors being responsible for the conversion of the ZCA Sea Urchins it was almost inevitable that some variation would occur. We have taken account of the major variation of body style with regard to the flush or protruding end bracing but have not been able to isolate a pattern with regard to which wagons had their lamp iron on the bodywork or on the left hand vertical brace. As a result we have modelled all types with the lamp iron on the bodywork as this appears to be more common. In a similar vein we have been unable to ascertain which wagons were converted by which contractor and which of the contractors were responsible for which style of end bracing. As a result of this we have allowed all of the numbers for wagons converted to ZCAs in each of the donor lots to be applied to all of the wagons in that lot irrespective of the type of end bracing. If you want to go for 100% accuracy you may wish to consult pictures and ensure your number matches the end bracing and amend as appropriate! It hasn t really been possible to identify which wagons gained EWS colours and which variation (we ve applied what looks to have been the most common) so the numbering file contains all vehicles that were known to be converted to Sea Urchins. Help and Support General Issues with the Expansion In the unfortunate event that you find a problem or things won t work we really do want to hear from you. Getting support is simple - all you need to do is send an to fitters@fastline-simulation.co.uk and raise a support ticket about your issue and we ll get back to you as soon as we can. Please don t use Facebook, Twitter or the chat client etc as things are much more likely to be overlooked and more difficult to keep track of. Core Train Simulator Problems Although we are more than happy to investigate issues you may be experiencing with our expansions more general Train Simulator issues or observations should be directed to which is the location of the Dovetail Games Support Library and help desk.

7 Steam Issues If the problem you are experiencing is related to a Steam purchase or download we will be unable to help you. The best course of action will be to take a look at the Steam Support pages which can be found here: More Information & Stay in Touch If you want to know more about what s going on at fastline simulation there are a few things you can do. Website Our website can be found at and contains updates and information about all our present and future expansions. On the website you can also say hello via the chat client if it s online if you ve got a quick question to ask or drop us a line by ing hello@fastline-simulation.co.uk. The Blog Our blog can be found at and is usually the place where in progress renders and screen shots appear along with little articles about other things that are going on. Twitter If you really want to know the tasks of the day or what s really getting on our nerves you can follow our tweets at twitter.com/fastlinesim Facebook Liking us on Facebook is probably the best way to go if you want to really keep your finger on the pulse, updates to the blog and website are fed in, all the Tweets appear as status messages and we even post extra pictures now and then with the added bonus that you get to comment too. Our page can be found at Mailing List Possibly one of the best ways of ensuring that you don t miss out on any important announcements is to sign up for our mailing list.we only use the list for important expansion information, really special messages and occasionally to ask your opinion about things. We ll never share your details with anyone else and you can easily unsubscribe at any time. To join the list please fill in the little box on this page: Thanks The production of any product wouldn t be possible without hard work, support and down right nagging. This pack is no exception and as such it s only fair to say a big thank you to the families that allow us the time to do this/enjoy the fact we re distracted and out of their hair for a bit! The other key element are the testers. It s safe to say this is probably the best team of testers that s been encountered for train simulation projects. They test thoroughly and speedily, communicate well, continually offer opinions and guidance and share the common aim to strive for quality. We should also thank the guys at Dovetail Games for putting up with us, humouring our wild Is this possible? ideas and allowing the opportunity to create official expansions! This is the ninth expansion we ve managed to get to the point of no return, (ok, release as we re sick of the sight of it and releasing is the only way to stop the constant tinkering) so a big thank you should go to our family and friends for their patience and support with our playing trains! Copyright This manual and expansion contents are Fastline Simulation Ltd all rights reserved The contents of the pack may not be modified, reverse engineered, uploaded or redistributed without the written consent of Fastline Simulation Ltd with the exception of reskins of the models in line with the reskinning policy which is available from our website at