Hello world! My name is Leonard and I've been a member of the GAD team for about 4 years. You may already know me from my scenario packs on the GAD website and recently, I have recently decided to try my hand at route-building.
My first project is not a standalone route, but is a new extension for GAD's West of England Mainline. The Sidmouth Railway: an 8.3 mile line, with stations at Ottery St Mary, Tipton St Johns, and Sidmouth. The line branched off the mainline at Sidmouth Junction (now Feniton), principal trains stopped here to connect with trains to Sidmouth and Exmouth, often with Through Coaches.
From there the line drops down into the Otter Valley at a ruling grade of 1 in 53, it then runs beside the river for roughly 5 miles, eventually crossing the river just North of Tipton. Through the water meadows of the Otter Valley, the track is relatively straight and level, as the railway passes many farms and cottages: the apple orchards are abundant here.
Between Ottery and the Junction, there were two gated road crossings at Gosford and Cadhay both of which were 24hrs manned, and had their own signals worked by groundframe.
Just under 3 miles from the junction is the first crossing point at Ottery St. Mary. There was significant market traffic from this station which warranted its own daily goods train
After reaching Tipton St Johns, the branch for Budleigh and Exmouth splits off, and our line climbs out of the Otter Valley to Bowd Summit, with a challenging ruling grade of 1 in 45. This station, along with Hawill Junction further west , were the busiest single-line junctions on the SR, with most Sidmouth trains making a connection with Tipton-Exmouth trains and vice versa.
Climbing up to Bowd summit, the line passes through Harpford wood, the most desolate part of the line.
Conifer trees abound, and the risk of lineside fires from engines charging the bank is apparent.
At Bowd farm bridge, we reach the summit. The climb eases off and we descend at 1 in 54 into the valley of the River Sid. The road overbridge at Bowd still stands, as do most of the engineering structures on the line.
The station at Sidmouth stopped just outside the town itself, about a mile from the seafront. There was a bus service to Sidmouth Town centre and onward to the sea, as there still is today.
With steep hills and a 50mph speed limit, we hope that this route will provide a challenging and speedy drive, especially with those 12 coach Saturday extras! The majority of the scenery has been built, but the fine details, such as signalling, telegraph poles, and custom assets have yet to be added. Therefore all screenshots are work in progress, and we look forward to sharing developments with you as they occur.
I look forward to sharing more progress with you soon. Please note my computer settings are lower, but the route graphics look similar to the rest of the route.
