SIAM Limited : Manual Signal Box / Driver Simulations

	SIAM Limited
	Manual Signal Box / Driver Simulations

Aller Junction 1955

You are in charge of this busy signal box just west of Newton Abbot for a shift on a summer Saturday. Definitely not easy!

Chesterton Junction 1952

You are in charge of this busy signal box just north of Cambridge for a shift on a summer weekday. The mixture of passenger and freight traffic includes some terminating at or originating from sidings under your control. Depending on time-keeping, you may need to recess freights in the three loops to allow passenger trains to pass. You also have to keep traffic moving over two level crossings. Definitely not easy!

Yarnton 1954

You are in charge of this busy signal box just north of Oxford for your chosen shift on a summer weekday. Passenger traffic includes some to or from the Fairford branch (single track); freight traffic includes some terminating at or originating from the Exchange Sidings under your control, some of which come round the LMS loop from the Bletchley direction. Access to the Exchange Sidings from the north requires reversal on the main line or loop, with a need to shunt into the forward section on arrival or to block back on departure. Definitely not easy!

The top of your screen shows a plan view of a portion of the route, indicating the position of your train and showing stations and other significant landmarks; this is NOT a "driver's eye view". Below this are details of your position and other control information. In addition there is a graph of your speed against distance whenever you need to slow down for a signal, speed restriction or station stop, and a gradient profile at other times. As well as scheduled stops, you may be delayed by signals and temporary speed restrictions.

Kings Cross to Doncaster

You are in charge of your selected train on the East Coast Main Line, driving an HST or Class 47, 55 or 91 locomotive on an appropriate train and schedule. Accurate simulation of the performance of your chosen motive power. Schedules are taken from 1978, 1985 and 1990, with speed restrictions appropriate to each date.

Lickey Route (Birmingham to Bristol)

You are in charge of your selected train on this Inter-City cross-country route, driving an HST or Class 45, 47, or 50 locomotive on an appropriate train and schedule. Accurate simulation of the performance of your chosen motive power. Schedules are taken from 1981 and 1987, with speed restrictions appropriate to each date.

Thames Local (Paddington to Oxford)

You are in charge of your selected train on this Network South-East route, driving an HST or Class 47 or 50 locomotive on an appropriate train and schedule. Schedules are taken from 1987, 1989 and 1990, with appropriate speed restrictions. They include non-stop and stopping services.

Bristol to Plymouth

You are in charge of your selected train on this Inter-City cross-country route, driving an HST or Class 45, 47, or 50 locomotive on an appropriate train and schedule. Schedules are taken from 1987, 1989 and 1992, with appropriate speed restrictions. This route is quite a challenge, with Wellington, Dainton and Rattery banks to climb.

Euston to Crewe

You are in charge of your selected train on the Inter-City West Coast Main Line, driving an HST or Class 86, 87 or 90 locomotive on an appropriate train and schedule. Schedules are taken from 1989 and 1991, with appropriate speed restrictions. Time-keeping requires careful attention to the many speed restrictions.

Portsmouth to Bristol

You are in charge of your selected train on the cross-country route from Portsmouth through Southampton, Salisbury and Westbury to Bristol, driving a class 158 Express Sprinter or Class 31, 33 or 47 locomotive on an appropriate train and schedule. Schedules are taken from various dates between 1982 and 1993, with appropriate speed restrictions. Time-keeping requires careful attention to the many speed restrictions.

York to Edinburgh

You are in charge of your selected train on the northern section of the East Coast Main Line. You have a choice of schedules for InterCity 125, or loco-hauled by classes 47 or 55, or the more recent electric class 91 with Mark 4 stock. In addition to these, classes 40 and 90 are available. Schedules are taken from 1981 or 1995, with appropriate speed restrictions. Time-keeping requires careful attention to the many speed restrictions.

Highland Line (Perth to Edinburgh)

You are in charge of your selected train (from a choice of nine) on this mountainous section of the former Highland Railway. You have a choice of schedules for InterCity 125, or loco-hauled, or the more recent class 158 multiple units. For loco-hauled services, a variety of classes are available.

Crewe to Holyhead

You are in charge of your selected train (from a choice of nine) on this seaside run. Again you have a choice of schedules for InterCity 125, or loco-hauled, or the class 158 multiple units. For loco-hauled services, a variety of classes are available.

Penzance to Plymouth

You are in charge of your selected train (from a choice of nine) on this hilly Cornish section of the Great Western line. You have a choice of schedules for InterCity 125, or loco-hauled, or the more recent class 158 or the older "Heritage" multiple units. For loco-hauled services, a variety of classes are available.

Bristol to Weymouth

You are in charge of your selected train ,again from a wide choice, on this secondary cross-country route. Again you have a choice of schedules for loco-hauled or multiple units trains. For loco-hauled services, a variety of classes are available.

Aberdeen to Inverness

You are in charge of your selected train (from a choice of nine) on this hilly Scottish line. You have a choice of schedules for loco-hauled, or the more recent class 156 or the older "Heritage" multiple units. For loco-hauled services, a variety of classes are available, with schedules to match: classes 25, 26, 27, 37, 40 and 47.

Paddington to Exeter 1970s

You are in charge of your selected train (from a choice of 9) on this varied line: fast to Reading, then twisting and turning through Westbury to Taunton, then over Wellington bank to Exeter. You have a choice of schedules for loco-hauled services, with a variety of locos available: classes 35, 42 (single or pair), 47/0, 47/4, 50 and 52.

Waterloo to Exeter via Salisbury

You are in charge of your selected train (from a choice of 9) on this varied line, with schedules from 1987 and later years; some services run through to Exeter, others terminate at intermediate points. You have a choice of schedules for loco-hauled and multiple-unit services, with a variety of locos and units available: locomotive classes 33, 47/0, 47/4, and 50, and unit classes 159 and 205.

West Somerset Railway

Drive the length of this, the longest preserved line in the country. You have a choice of schedules for diesel-powered services, with a variety of preserved locos available, including most of the diesel-hydraulic types.

Paddington to Exeter 1980s

Cardiff Valley Line
(Cardiff to Rhymney)

Drive this steeply-graded route with frequent stops. This is a marked contrast to our usual long distance routes, and keeping time with many stops and speed restrictions is a real challenge. You have a choice of schedules for loco-hauled and multiple unit services, with a variety of locos available, including a couple of preserved classes that have been hired in for commuter traffic.

Midland Main Line 1
(St Pancras to Derby, 1971)

You are in charge of your selected train (from a choice of 9) on this much-requested line, in the days when signalling was mostly by semaphores, with areas of colour-lights at the beginning and end of the run. You have a choice of schedules for loco-hauled services over the entire route, with a choice of classes 45/1 or 47/4; to add variety, you can also drive the diesel-electric Midland Pullman set on a 1961 schedule to Leicester, or a Bedford DMU on a choice of suburban schedules to Luton or Bedford.

Midland Main Line 2
(St Pancras to Derby, 1986)

Still semaphore signalling around Leicester. Choice of 9 trains, schedules for IC125 and Peak loco-hauled services, with a choice of classes 45/1 or 47/4; to add variety, you can also drive a �BedPan� EMU on a suburban run to Bedford.

NEW! Severn Valley Railway

Drive the length of this well-known preserved line in the West Midlands, from Kidderminster to Bridgnorth. You have a choice of schedules for diesel-powered services during a Diesel Gala, with a variety of preserved locos available, as well as a �Heritage� multiple-unit.

Iron Ore (Margam to Llanwern)

You are in charge of your selected iron ore train from Margam Yard to Llanwern steelworks, driving two or even three locos of class 37, two 56's or a single class 60 on an appropriate train and schedule. Schedules are taken from various dates between 1978 and 1993, with appropriate speed restrictions.

Mendips Stone (Westbury to Acton)

You are in charge of your selected stone train from Westbury Yard to Acton, or on a short working to Theale, driving two locos of class 37, or a single class 56, 59 or 60 on an appropriate train and schedule. Schedules are taken from 1989 or 1994, with appropriate speed restrictions.

Imported Coal (Avonmouth to Aberthaw)

You are in charge of your selected train of imported coal on this heavily-trafficked route; your journey is likely to be interrupted by waits for other trains to clear. You have a choice of classes 37, 56, 59 and 60, with schedules to match.