GWR 4200/5205 and GWR 7200 Pre-orders now available!

Pre-orders for the GWR 4200/5205 DLC and GWR 7200 add-on are now open over at Steam Sounds Supreme. http://steamsoundssupreme.com/gwr-42005205-2-8-0t-preorder.html

Some early model renders
http://victoryworksts.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/gwr-42005205-beginnings.html

Details on Steam Sounds Supreme page as to what is included (it's a lot!)
http://steamsoundssupreme.com/gwr-42005205-coming-soon.html

Videos showing the loco in action as well as liveries and a specific video on the custom sounds
https://www.facebook.com/SteamSoundsSupreme/videos/696044093880675/
https://www.facebook.com/SteamSoundsSupreme/videos/696111140540637/ 
https://www.facebook.com/SteamSoundsSupreme/videos/696413613843723/

GWR 7200 2-8-2 coming soon!

GWR 7200 Add-on Coming Soon!

We're delighted to announce that the mighty GWR 7200 2-8-2 tank will be released alongside the 4200/5205 add-on, coming soon via our friends at Steam Sounds Supreme.

This will be released as a low-priced add-on which will only work if you own the 4200/5205 and have it installed. The 7200 Pack shares sounds and other features from the 4200 and so will not work without it.

The following variants and liveries are included with the 7200 add-on

GWR 7200 Square frame, 19" cylinders, 6t coal, 2500gal water
[7200] GWR 7200 (Square), 1934-42
[7200] GWR 7200 (Square), 1942-47
[7200] GWR (worn) 7200 (Square), 1934-42
[7200] GWR (worn) 7200 (Square), 1942-47
[7200] BR(W) 7200 (Square), 1948-49
[7200] BR(W) 7200 (Square), 1950-56
[7200] BR(W) 7200 (Square), 1956-65
[7200] BR(W) (worn) 7200 (Square), 1948-49
[7200] BR(W) (worn) 7200 (Square), 1950-56
[7200] BR(W) (worn) 7200 (Square), 1956-65

GWR 7200 Curved frame, 19" cylinders, 6t coal, 2500gal water
[7200] GWR 7200 (Curved), 1934-42
[7200] GWR 7200 (Curved), 1942-47
[7200] GWR (worn) 7200 (Curved), 1934-42
[7200] GWR (worn) 7200 (Curved), 1942-47
[7200] BR(W) 7200 (Curved), 1948-49
[7200] BR(W) 7200 (Curved), 1950-56
[7200] BR(W) 7200 (Curved), 1956-65
[7200] BR(W) (worn) 7200 (Curved), 1948-49
[7200] BR(W) (worn) 7200 (Curved), 1950-56
[7200] BR(W) (worn) 7200 (Curved), 1956-65

GWR 7200 Curved frame, 19" cylinders, "Scuttle Bunker" 5t coal, 2700gal water
[7200] GWR 7200 (Curved, Scuttle), 1934-42
[7200] GWR 7200 (Curved, Scuttle), 1942-47
[7200] GWR (worn) 7200 (Curved, Scuttle), 1934-42
[7200] GWR (worn) 7200 (Curved, Scuttle), 1942-47
[7200] BR(W) 7200 (Curved, Scuttle), 1948-49
[7200] BR(W) 7200 (Curved, Scuttle), 1950-56
[7200] BR(W) 7200 (Curved, Scuttle), 1956-65
[7200] BR(W) (worn) 7200 (Curved, Scuttle), 1948-49
[7200] BR(W) (worn) 7200 (Curved, Scuttle), 1950-56
[7200] BR(W) (worn) 7200 (Curved, Scuttle), 1956-65

Bulleid Q1 on Sale!

It is sale time for the Southern Bullied Q1, with 30% off until 14 October 1pm (UK time).

Built to a cost with the minimum of frills during WW2, these work horses continued to be used until the end of steam under British Railways and performed duties all over the Southern network.
Nicknamed "Ugly Ducklings", "Coffee Pots" and "Charlies" they became loved by their crews for their pure strength and were the most powerful 0-6-0 steam locomotive ever to run on Britain's railways and had very distinct driving characteristics with their tendency to wheel slip at any opportunity and being fitted with a steam powered reverser.

The Train Simulator DLC has been built using original plans and reference and was overseen by an ex-Southern driver who was able to give us details of not only technical information but also on how they actually felt to drive all of which has been included in the advanced simulation features which place the Bulleid Q1 in the TS Pro Range of products.
But fear not, she can also be driven in simple and standard modes and even using an X-box controller.
The DLC comes with the Q1 in it's original Southern livery as well as British Railways clean and dirty versions and with numerous optional parts to re-create all 40 members of the class.

Also included are a selection of World War II era wagons, including SR single conflats with containers, SR double conflats with loads including Spitfire fuselage, gun barrels, tree trunks and planks, Howitzer Railgun and SR Warwell with Cromwell tank.
Six scenarios for the Somerset & Dorset Railway route complete this extensive pack.

Grab it now with 30% off and take charge of these charming Ugly Ducklings.

Link to Bulleid Q1 on Steam

GWR 4200/5205: The beginnings

As we announced last week our next locomotive add-on will be the GWR 4200 2-8-0 tank engine and it's more powerful variant, the 5205.

In the early 1900's With the rapidly increasing requirement to move large amounts of coal, especially in the valleys of Wales, Chief Engineer Churchward of the Great Western Railway took the basic design of his 2800 Class and adapted it to be the UK's first 2-8-0 Tank engine.
Using 18 1/2 inch cylinders and boasting an impressive 31,450 lbf of tractive effort (GWR power class D) the 4200 was put into production in 1912. They were quickly nicknamed “Water Carts” because of their heavy water consumption and proportionally limited tank capacity.
In 1919 they recieved an upgrade to 19 inch cylinders increasing the tractive effort to 33,170 lbf (GWR power class E) and creating the 5205 class variant.
In later years many of the remaining 4200's were upgraded to 5205 specification with outside steam pipes, the larger cylinders and some were given curved frames at the front end.

We'll be announcing everything that will be included with the add-on later this month via our partners at Steam Sounds Supreme but for today we wanted to show the modelling progress that lead us to the pictures we released last week.

As always we started with the wheels and cylinders. Being sure that these are totally accurate makes sure that the rest of the locomotive scales correctly and it's vital that the motion reflects the real locomotive as this is an iconic part of any steam engine.

Next we worked on the main body shape, initially building the square framed front end. There will be 4 front ends in total; square and curved, each with or without outside steam pipes.

Once this was complete it was a case of working around each part of the locomotive systematically and adding the detailed components. Unlike some of our other locomotives, such as the GT3 Gas Turbine and  certain variants of the USATC S160 where there are no preserved locomotives to visit, we have been able to take detailed measurements, pictures and notes from 4247, 4270 and 5224.

As well as modelling the different front ends we also needed to model changes made to the 4200/5205's under British Railways and these can be seen on the images of the 5205 below.

 

Noticeably absent in the above images is the cab which was built afterwards and can be seen in it's completed form here (because we forgot to take any renders while we were building it!)
A cosy place to be in the winter, a sauna in the summer!

That's it for today's update. We'll be sharing more information about the add-on soon and there will also be updates from Steam Sounds Supreme so stay tuned.

What's next?

We are delighted to reveal our next add-on and to announce a new publisher - a company we know rather well...

More details coming soon...

GWR Saint and Travelling Post Office - Available Now!

The GWR Saint and Travelling Post Office add-on is now available on Steam.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/376963/

The included scenarios are for the "Riviera Line in the Fifties: Exeter - Kingswear Route Add-On" which is available here if you do not already own it, as it came as part of the TS2016 core game.

There are lots of  previous blog entries showing the creation of the add-on along with details of everything that it includes.

GWR Saint Cab and TPO Coach
GWR Travelling Post Office
GWR Saint and TPO: Contents

We are now working to get the British Railways Marketplace add-on through testing which will include re-skins of the locomotives and coaches, and we'll let you know when this is available.
GWR Saint and TPO: BR Add-on Pack

USATC S160 Summer Sale!

The USATC S160 is on sale from today, 25th August, until 2nd September at a lovely 30% off!

Enjoy this globally used locomotive that exceeded it's 90 day expected life in the 1940's to still be in regular daily use into the 1990's and survives today on many preserved railways.

The DLC includes the USATC S160 steam locomotive in 10 accurate liveries with thousands of realistic optional set ups, and dozens of items of rolling stock with a military theme and can be driven in simple, standard and advanced modes.
Liveries include: USATC Black, USATC Grey, Longmoor Military Railway, BR Preserved, USSR Ша (wartime and post wartime), USA Alaska Railroad, USA Army, Poland Post-War and Poland Black Wartime.

Buy it here on Steam with 30% off

Some thoughts from existing customers:

"By far the most dynamic loco DLC yet. So many options and variations. The details of the whistle and advanced controls are fantastic. The blue FDR gets my vote as well. Worth the wait!"

"Thank you so much for this incredible engine. The best add-on I have ever bought for TS! Thank you VW"

"Well done and thank you for a wonderful pack of locos and stock that was oh so worth the wait. I'm absolutely elated by it"

"What an amazing DLC pack. Bravo!"