PLYMOUTH

This simulation is based on the track layout prior to the 1959 reconstruction of Plymouth North Road Station.  The Down Loop between Signals 21 and 14 at the West end came into use during 1954 as the only part of the final scheme done prior to 1959.  It had previously formed a siding with a buffer at the site of 31 Signal.  In addition, signals 9 and 57 have been provided to split Plarform 5 to facilitate reversing of Auto trains at the West end of the platform.

All signals and points were mechanically operated during this period, but have been upgraded to Colour Light and Power operation for the purposes of this simulation.

Plymouth is on the ex-Great Western Railway Main Line from London (Paddington) to Penzance and is 246 miles from Paddington via Bristol (226 miles via the later route through Newbury).  It was also served by the London & South Western Railway (later Southern Railway) from London (Waterloo) to its terminus at Friary Station, but this route is now closed.

Plymouth and Exeter are unusual in that it was possible to travel from both stations to London by trains which departed in opposite directions.  In both cases GWR trains departed to the East and SR trains to the West.

Several of the lines and yards were closed after 1940, with Plymouth Millbay being severely damaged by bombing in 1941.  Millbay then became the Carriage Sidings for North Road but retained the lines to the Docks.  The Marshalling Yards at Laira were closed in 1958, with most of the work being transferred to Tavistock Junction where additional sidings were laid.

The Lee Moor Tramway crossing the Main Lines just East of Laira Junction was unusual as it was 4ft 6in gauge and horse worked.  The crossing was fully signalled and interlocked with the Main lines.

Laira MPD was the Great Western Shed and had a 28-road Roundhouse, connecting to both N and S entry/exit points, and a 4-road single ended straight shed served by the S entry/exit only.  Locos were frequently turned on arrival at, or departure from, the shed by using the Loco Line and the curve between Mt Gould Jcn and Lipson Jcn.

Locos arriving from North Road to the South entry to the shed either used the entry via the curve between Lipson Jcn and Mt Gould Jcn, or alternatively reversed at L97 or L95 signals (or used the Ocean Siding to reverse).

The Coal Stage served both N and S entry/exits, but has not been included in the sim.

Locos not requiring long stays or extensive attention were often turned on the Turntable in the triangle at North Road and would await their next duty either on Turntable line A or in Sidings 1 and 2 at the East end of the station.

Friary MPD was the Southern Shed and was a 3-road straight shed and had a turntable within the shed complex.

Friary Station was difficult to operate as all trains had to arrive at Platforms 3 and 4, and departures could only be from Platforms 1 and 2 or the Dock.  The Carriage Sidings had limited storage space and most trains were shunted to the departure platforms after arrival.  This was particularly awkward if Platform 4 was used as a triple reversal was required to reach Platforms 1, 2 or the Dock.  Note that it was not possible to signal from Friary A SB towards signal B30 and all moves into Platform 1, 2 or the Dock had to use the Down Friary and Middle Siding or Platform 3 and then reverse to the Up Friary (Signal A43) and reverse again after stopping behind Signal B30.


Signal Boxes.

Where possible the numbering of signals and points reflects the original numbering, but with the addition of various prefixes, or for Plymouth North Road, the original numbers are used for West Box and thse for East Box have been increased by 100 and are in the series 101 to 299.  

Note that the simulation requires that points must be in a numeric range, so these have been given suffixes rather than prefixes. The prefixes/suffixes used are:

Cornwall Junction .. .. C
Devonport Junction . .. D
Lipson Junction . .. .. J
Laira Junction .. .. .. L  (some signals have been renumbered to be below 100)
Tavistock Junction . .. T  (some signals have been renumbered to be below 100)
Plympton .. .. .. .. .. P  (Note that the SB and other signalling is "off screen")
Friary B .. .. .. .. .. B
Friary A .. .. .. .. .. A
Friary Junction . .. .. F
Mt Gould Junction .. .. G


Platform Lengths.

Note that the lengths shown are in equivalent coach lengths and include the locomotive(s).  Thus a double-header with 13 coaches is equal to 15 coach lengths.  Wagons are counted as 3 wagons = 1 coach.

North Road:
Platform 2 .. .. 17
Platform 3 .. .. 17
Platform 4 .. .. 17
Platform 5 .. .. 17 (8 on each separate half)
Platform 6 .. .. 17
Platform 7 .. .. 16
Platform 8 .. .. 16
Middle Siding .. 16 
Dock .. .. .. ..  7

Friary:
Platform 1 .. ..  6
Platform 2 .. .. 12
Platform 3 .. ..  7 (Between signals B5 and B9)
Platform 3 .. .. 12 (Full length)
Platform 4 .. ..  6
Middle Siding ..  7 (Between signals B3 and B16)
Middle Siding .. 12 (Full length)
Dock .. .. .. ..  5

Laira Halt will accomodate 8 vehicles, but over-length is permitted.

Lucas Terrace Halt will accomodate 4 vehicles, but over-length is permitted.


Stopping and Timimg Points.

The Codes used in the WTT for 'Locations' which are Stopping (S) or Timing (T) points are:

   North Road Station (S) - all Platforms and Dock
C  Cornwall Curve (T) - between Cornwall Jcn and Devonport Jcn.
D  Devonport Junction (T) - near Crossover
E  North Road East Sidings (S) - Sidings 1, 2, 3 and 4
F  Friary Station Departures (S) - Platforms 1 and 2
F  Friary Station Arrivals (S) - Platforms 3 and 4
H  Lucas Terrace Halt (S)
J  Cornwall Jcn Sidings (S) - Sidings 1 and 2 behind SB
K  Friary Dock (S)
L  Laira Halt (S) - Up and Down Platforms and Loop Lines
M  Friary Middle Siidng (S)
N  North Road Middle Siding (S)
P  Plympton (T) - near points to Goods Lines
S  SR Curve - between Lipson Jcn and Mt Gould Jcn (T)
T  Turntable Sidings (S)
W  North Road West Holds (S) - Shunt Spur, Loco Siding and Down Loop.


Locomotive Restrictions.

Ex-GWR 'King' Class 4-6-0s and 47xx Class 2-8-0s were not permitted to work West of Plymouth (including to Millbay and Millbay Docks) and had to be removed at North Road or Tavistock Junction Yard.  Double-heading was not permitted between North Road and Millbay.  Any arriving terminating trains required the pilot to be uncoupled before the stock went to Millbay sidings.

Ex-SR 'Merchant Navy' and rebuilt 'West Country'/'Battle of Britain' 4-6-2s were not permitted to work to Plymouth.

Ex-GWR engines of the Red route availability were not permitted over the SR, this prevented 'King', 'Castle', 'Hall', 'Grange' and 47xx Classes being used for diversions.


Load Restrictions.

Main Line trains in both directions on the GWR route between Plymouth and Exeter are faced with severe gradients, which restricted the load which could be hauled unassisted.  Tank locos were not allowed to power Passenger trains, but could be used as Pilots in the Up direction and were usually 51xx Class which were removed at Ivybridge or Brent and returned to Laira MPD or Plymouth.  Tender engines worked through to or from Newton Abbot.

Up Freight trains were often banked from Tavistock Jcn Yard or Plympton to Hemerdon SB, at the top of Hemerdon Bank, by a Tank Loco. As the simulation will not allow the use of a banker, the additional loco is shown as the second loco in the train details.

The limits which classes were permitted to haul without assistance is shown below:
7 coaches:  [Power Class BR4 or GWR Class C]:   29xx (Saint), 43xx, 78xx (Manor), N, T9, 75xxx
8 coaches:  [Power Class BR5 or GWR Class D]:   40xx (Star), 49xx (Hall), 68xx (Grange), WC, 73xxx
9 coaches:  [Power Class BR6 or GWR Class DX]:  10xx (County), 4073 (Castle), 47xx, 70xxx (Britannia)
10 Coaches: [Power Class BR8 or GWR Class Spl]: 60xx (King), 92xxx

The maximum load is calculated by adding the permitted load of each loco on the train.

Similar load limits applied to Freight trains (1 coach = 3 General Goods or 2 loaded Mineral or 4 empties), with a maximum length allowed being 51 wagons in both directions between Plymouth and Exeter.

Limits also applied to and from Penzance, which were 3 coaches more than the above, but 60xx (King) and 47xx Classes were not permitted and the use of a 92xxx 2-10-0 was rare, if ever.


Speed Restrictions.

The Maximum speed permitted between Exeter and Plymouth North Road via the GW route was 75 mph, and 60 mph via the SR route.  From Plymouth to Penzance, the limit was 60 mph.  Additional limits were 35 mph over the curve near the Tavistock Branch Junction and 10 mph to and from the Tavistock Branch.
North Road station had an overall limit between East and West SBs of 15 mph and the lines around all three sides of the triangle to the West of North Road station were restricted to 25 mph.
Most turnouts were restricted to 20 mph through the curved leg.


Train Reporting Numbers.

Details of the codes used are shown in the Timetable Notes of the individual timetables as these varied dependent upon the year.


Startup Photo

The photo on the startup screen was taken on 4th September 1962 towards the end of steam in Cornwall by Peter Dean. It shows ex-GWR 'Grange' class 4-6-0 No.6863 "Dolhywell Grange" of Laira MPD (83D) awaiting departure from North Road Platform 5 with the 15:42 all stations to Penzance (arr 18:50).  The engine had been recently outshopped from a General Overhaul at Swindon Works and gave a very creditable performance with an enthusiastic crew through to Penzance, having to 'wait time' at most stations.


Acknowledgements

This simulation was developed by Peter Dean using the PC-Rail Development software supplied and supported by John Dennis, proprietor of PC-Rail.

Testing of the operation was carried out by the PC-Rail testing team, with thanks to Peter Mould, Alan Sugden, Rob Roeterdink and Richard Wade for their invaluable assistance.

