Update on West Hampstead PSB changes

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Update on West Hampstead PSB changes 04/03/2022 at 17:48 #145579
ajax103
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Just in case anyone is interested, there will be some work done with regards to the signalling control at the St Pancras end of the area that WHP controls.

In a nutshell which was notified to all RMT members at the last branch meeting of the local RMT branch, the following changes will be happening soon:

West Hampstead TL to St Pancras International (Upper Level) eg Platforms 1 to 4 come under control of West Hampstead PSB, this includes Platform 3 and 4 at Kentish Town.

There will be a slot system in place for trains using Platform 3 going to and from the Thameslink Core.

No other changes are to happen regards to signalling control.

This is what was explained to us by one of my fellow reps who works for NR.

Last edited: 04/03/2022 at 17:49 by ajax103
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Update on West Hampstead PSB changes 04/03/2022 at 19:10 #145580
Dionysusnu
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Am I correct in thinking this would be transferring back what was the original area of West Hampstead? Was any explanation given for the reasoning of the transfer?
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Update on West Hampstead PSB changes 04/03/2022 at 19:57 #145581
DaveHarries
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I remain hopeful that the Kings Cross (Modern Era) will be updated, perhaps with a new West Hampstead era to include the Thameslink core on both sims. I do, of course, know that the chances of such may be rather slim.

Dave

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Update on West Hampstead PSB changes 04/03/2022 at 20:47 #145582
ajax103
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Dionysusnu in post 145580 said:
Am I correct in thinking this would be transferring back what was the original area of West Hampstead? Was any explanation given for the reasoning of the transfer?
The reasoning behind this is not something I am privy to and the original area had the fringe with Victoria at Farringdon/City Thameslink.

I will try to get a update next month at the next branch meeting.

DaveHarries in post 145581 said:
I remain hopeful that the Kings Cross (Modern Era) will be updated, perhaps with a new West Hampstead era to include the Thameslink core on both sims. I do, of course, know that the chances of such may be rather slim.

Dave
I would say there is a far better chance of flying pigs happening or me winning the lottery in my own personal view as I'm pretty sure it's been stated that Kings Cross will receive no more updates from the powers to be and as to the modern era of Kings Cross as there has been a few changes since Hitchin flyover opened I can only hazard a guess that it won't be as simple as just doing work on the modern era but rather it would be a second modern era.

It would be good to have Canal tunnels etc BUT I would place a scrolly Cambridge with the old paged layout and the current modern layout ahead of any additional work to West Hampstead or Kings Cross even though Kings Cross used to be my local area together with Peterborough.

That said as sone Sims have up to 5 different eras, it's not beyond the impossible.

I know the powers to be like to spring surprises so while I welcome to be corrected and shown to be wrong,I won't build up my hopes.

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Update on West Hampstead PSB changes 05/03/2022 at 09:24 #145585
kbarber
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Dionysusnu in post 145580 said:
Am I correct in thinking this would be transferring back what was the original area of West Hampstead? Was any explanation given for the reasoning of the transfer?
I think the original idea, in the days when the whole country was going to be controlled by 13 (or 12 or think of a number) ROCs, Three Bridges was intended to control the whole of the Thameslink core. I'm not quite certain how far north Three Bridges control area was intended to go; after that the rest of WH would go to East Midlands. I have no idea what actually happened but it wouldn't surprise me if TB ROC also reckoned they'd get Kings X, so they could control Belle Isle out to Finsbury Park for the same reasons, but the East Coast people had other ideas; I'd love to have been a fly on the wall in those meetings...

Post Covid (and Andrew Haines), of course, wiser counsels have prevailed hence the return to WH of the Main Line side of what was taken from it.

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Update on West Hampstead PSB changes 05/03/2022 at 10:49 #145586
DaveHarries
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ajax103 in post 145582 said:
It would be good to have Canal tunnels etc BUT I would place a scrolly Cambridge with the old paged layout and the current modern layout ahead of any additional work to West Hampstead or Kings Cross even though Kings Cross used to be my local area together with Peterborough.

That said as sone Sims have up to 5 different eras, it's not beyond the impossible.

I know the powers to be like to spring surprises so while I welcome to be corrected and shown to be wrong,I won't build up my hopes.

I think you are right: I was writing that in hope more than expectation :)

Dave

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Update on West Hampstead PSB changes 05/03/2022 at 12:07 #145587
bill_gensheet
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ajax103 in post 145582 said:
[quote=Dionysusnu;post=145580]

I would say there is a far better chance of flying pigs happening or me winning the lottery in my own personal view as I'm pretty sure it's been stated that Kings Cross will receive no more updates from the powers to be ..........

That said as sone Sims have up to 5 different eras, it's not beyond the impossible.

Maybe some background on eras would help, purely from my testing / suggesting additions on sims with them.

The number of eras does not matter.

The complexity certainly does. Lopping off a siding or two, changing a goods line to a platform is fairly easy.
Adding wiring is trickier as there's always gaps left in error and takes a lot of testing and fixing to get right (CSCOT).

Often many of these are dealt with by a degree of flexibility on the exact sim date, as NR leave sidings lying around for years so can the sim. That allows many 'older' timetables than the nominal sim date to be run with little loss of accuracy, and clearly a 'steam' or 'diesel' timetable can run on a sim that happens to be wired.

The real difficulty comes when larger areas are different with a lot of reconnections to the 'always there' parts of the sim. Same with platform renumbering, which is also an issue for real on NR hence all the Platform 0, -1, A etc.
To get to examples, Motherwell has eras affecting level crossing type and stations on plain track (easy) and yards (big changes but relatively limited interconnections onto plain track). There are no conflicting platform numbers for timetabling so locations just grey out by era.

When you consider Edinburgh and Kings Cross these are large changes, a platform renumbering at Edinburgh and a very large number of 'joining ups' on both. Simply not viable as it is far more work than as a new clean sim, although some blocks of the basic data can be reapplied, say Alex Palace to Langley.

Last edited: 05/03/2022 at 12:07 by bill_gensheet
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Update on West Hampstead PSB changes 05/03/2022 at 20:56 #145602
DavidSplett
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bill_gensheet in post 145587 said:
ajax103 in post 145582 said:
[quote=Dionysusnu;post=145580]

I would say there is a far better chance of flying pigs happening or me winning the lottery in my own personal view as I'm pretty sure it's been stated that Kings Cross will receive no more updates from the powers to be ..........

That said as sone Sims have up to 5 different eras, it's not beyond the impossible.

Maybe some background on eras would help, purely from my testing / suggesting additions on sims with them.

The number of eras does not matter.

The complexity certainly does. Lopping off a siding or two, changing a goods line to a platform is fairly easy.
Adding wiring is trickier as there's always gaps left in error and takes a lot of testing and fixing to get right (CSCOT).

Often many of these are dealt with by a degree of flexibility on the exact sim date, as NR leave sidings lying around for years so can the sim. That allows many 'older' timetables than the nominal sim date to be run with little loss of accuracy, and clearly a 'steam' or 'diesel' timetable can run on a sim that happens to be wired.

The real difficulty comes when larger areas are different with a lot of reconnections to the 'always there' parts of the sim. Same with platform renumbering, which is also an issue for real on NR hence all the Platform 0, -1, A etc.
To get to examples, Motherwell has eras affecting level crossing type and stations on plain track (easy) and yards (big changes but relatively limited interconnections onto plain track). There are no conflicting platform numbers for timetabling so locations just grey out by era.

When you consider Edinburgh and Kings Cross these are large changes, a platform renumbering at Edinburgh and a very large number of 'joining ups' on both. Simply not viable as it is far more work than as a new clean sim, although some blocks of the basic data can be reapplied, say Alex Palace to Langley.
As a point of interest, I am at the moment working on a May 2022 King’s Cross timetable. It will be interesting to see how today’s service will be handled on the old King’s Cross layout. I’ve no idea how it’s going to pan out until testing. Clearly there are going to be conflicts, but how much of an issue this will cause remains to be seen.

The two things which would be wonderful on King’s Cross would be a “Thameslink” era, with the Canal Tunnels interface and also Stevenage platform 5. One can but dream, however adding Biggleswade and Royston to complete the panel would also be a nice to have. All this and make it payware?! :-)

Last edited: 05/03/2022 at 20:57 by DavidSplett
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Update on West Hampstead PSB changes 05/03/2022 at 21:21 #145604
ajax103
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DavidSplett in post 145602 said:
bill_gensheet in post 145587 said:
ajax103 in post 145582 said:
[quote=Dionysusnu;post=145580]

I would say there is a far better chance of flying pigs happening or me winning the lottery in my own personal view as I'm pretty sure it's been stated that Kings Cross will receive no more updates from the powers to be ..........

That said as sone Sims have up to 5 different eras, it's not beyond the impossible.

Maybe some background on eras would help, purely from my testing / suggesting additions on sims with them.

The number of eras does not matter.

The complexity certainly does. Lopping off a siding or two, changing a goods line to a platform is fairly easy.
Adding wiring is trickier as there's always gaps left in error and takes a lot of testing and fixing to get right (CSCOT).

Often many of these are dealt with by a degree of flexibility on the exact sim date, as NR leave sidings lying around for years so can the sim. That allows many 'older' timetables than the nominal sim date to be run with little loss of accuracy, and clearly a 'steam' or 'diesel' timetable can run on a sim that happens to be wired.

The real difficulty comes when larger areas are different with a lot of reconnections to the 'always there' parts of the sim. Same with platform renumbering, which is also an issue for real on NR hence all the Platform 0, -1, A etc.
To get to examples, Motherwell has eras affecting level crossing type and stations on plain track (easy) and yards (big changes but relatively limited interconnections onto plain track). There are no conflicting platform numbers for timetabling so locations just grey out by era.

When you consider Edinburgh and Kings Cross these are large changes, a platform renumbering at Edinburgh and a very large number of 'joining ups' on both. Simply not viable as it is far more work than as a new clean sim, although some blocks of the basic data can be reapplied, say Alex Palace to Langley.
As a point of interest, I am at the moment working on a May 2022 King’s Cross timetable. It will be interesting to see how today’s service will be handled on the old King’s Cross layout. I’ve no idea how it’s going to pan out until testing. Clearly there are going to be conflicts, but how much of an issue this will cause remains to be seen.

The two things which would be wonderful on King’s Cross would be a “Thameslink” era, with the Canal Tunnels interface and also Stevenage platform 5. One can but dream, however adding Biggleswade and Royston to complete the panel would also be a nice to have. All this and make it payware?! :-)
Kings Cross also has the new approaches into the terminus itself with the Eastern bore reopened to trains last year within Belle Isle and also Platform 10 being no more as the track has been lifted but Platform 9 and 11 remains with Platform 11 renumbered to Platform 10.

Also the two junctions north of Hertford North between there and Langley Junction would need doing too so the above and making it payware I think would be best priced at £30

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Update on West Hampstead PSB changes 05/03/2022 at 21:39 #145606
Edgemaster
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Any idea of the date proposed for this change? (I knew something was happening at West Hampstead, but not exactly what).
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Update on West Hampstead PSB changes 05/03/2022 at 22:14 #145607
ajax103
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Edgemaster in post 145606 said:
Any idea of the date proposed for this change? (I knew something was happening at West Hampstead, but not exactly what).
I don't have a branch meeting this month so won't find out until next month but as soon as I know I will advise here.

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