Antshire 3 - The Current Version
System Requirements
This version of Antshire has been developed using TRS2006 (version 2.6 build 3092), and has not been tested in any other version of the program.
It was developed and tested on on an Athlon 64 3700+ system with 3GB of emory, a nVidea GeForce 8600 GT video card and RAID 0 striped disk drives. The performance is pretty jerky, I have to admit.
Route Map
Gazetteer
Antchester
Founded by the Romans, the Cathedral city of Antchester has grown to dominate the surrounding county of Antshire. From the train, however, little of its historic heart can be seen. The main station, Antchester General is situated in the largely industrial Victorian outskirts to the north of the town, not far from the Power Station. To the east it is mainly housing, whilst to the west the Antchester Oil Refinery dominates.
Bethampton
The once sleepy village of Bethampton, has expanded greatly in recent years and is now largely a dormitory suburb of Samington. It has still retained many attractive features, however, and is a popular starting point for walks around the lake and in the surrounding hills. Don't miss the waterfall, on the far side of the lake.
Bugglham Farm
A large farm close to the busy Buggleham Junction
Bolton St Margaret
The picturesque village of Bolton St Margaret, boasts fine views down the valley towards Houghton St Anthony. It can be reached by bus from Samington or by steam train along the Ronny Valley Railway.
The nearby stately home, Bolton House, is now home to a Safari Park, and the incongruous site of elephants roaming the Antshire countryside can sometimes be seen from the train.
Dumplingham Farm
A small farm close to the impressive Dumplingham Viaduct.
Fyd-yr-Mwlir
The mining village of Fyd-yr-Mwlir, still has one of the few working coal mines in the area, but for how much longer? It boast a fine choir, who can often be heard singing in the chapel.
Haunted Valley
So called because of strange noises that used to be heard around the tunnel mouth at the top end of the valley. These seem to have stopped sometime around 2004 and have not been heard recently. A place of wild and remote beauty, whose peace is only shattered by the occasional train thundering through.
Hepzibah Hall
Ancestral home of the Dukes of Moorcroft, Hepzibah Hall, can be seen from the train on the south side of the single track line from Bethampton to Valton. The fifth duke was a great supporter of the railways, and even had his own private halt built for the hall. It it said that the remains of this halt are still visible in the undergrowth.
Houghton St Anthony
Whilst there are still a few houses clustered around the church and the remains of the old castle up on the hill, the village of Houghton St Anthony migrated down into the valley with the coming of the railway. Now days it is largely a dormitory suburb of Samington.
Houghton St John
The hamlet of Houghton St John, is chiefly famous for its restored water mill (open when the Ronny Valley Railway is running). The RVR built a halt on hillside opposite the settlement, which is popular with walkers as well as visitors to the mill.
Port Katherine
A small harbour on the east coast of Antshire. As well as the car ferry to the Isle of Lilies, Port Katherine does a brisk trade in oil, wood and containerised goods. It is also home to a cruise ship line, and occasionally a boat train can be seen running along the south side of the harbour.
The old Port Katherine MPD closed some years ago, and is now home to the Port Kate Rail Centre, the staring point for many mainline rail tours.
Ronniton
The old market town of Ronniton, boasts many picturesque features, but is chiefly famous for Gold Hill, the road leading down into the town from the north. It boast two railway stations: Ronniton Low Level (soon to be renamed just plain Ronniton), is the main line station in the heart of the town right next to the busy market square. Ronniton High Level on the hillside opposite, is now part of the Ronny Valley Railway.
The valley to the east of Ronniton was flooded when the Ronniton Reservoir was built. This severed the railway line that once ran from Ronniton to Antchester West. The area around the dam is now popular with walkers and picnickers.
Samington
Residents of Samington will tell you it is the most important town in Antshire, although it is unlikely the those living in Antchester would agree. Despite being on the edge of the high mountain country in the north of Antshire, Samington is a largely industrial town that grew from a tiny hamlet with the coming of the railways.
Boasting good transport links, with the airport, and motorways, Samington Intermodal is a major distribution centre for the area.
Valton-on-Sea
Once a busy Victorian seaside resort, Valton-on-Sea, has been looking a bit down on its heels recently. However new investment is coming to the town, which is becoming an important local shopping centre. A new booking hall is being built on the town side of the station, and the newly refurbished Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Land theme park is breathing new life into seafront area.
Widdlington Nursery
A market garden is situated close to Widdlington Junction.
The Session
As with the original Antshire, but using the built in functionality of TRS2006, all trains are full automated. The drivers are assigned as follows:
| Driver | Engine | Consist | Start From | Route |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eric | Class 37 | Passengers | Antchester MPD | Boat Train from Antchester General to Port Katherine Harbour South. Calling at Ronniton Low Level, Valton-on-Sea and Port Katherine Town. |
| Sean | Class 43 | Passengers | Samington MPD | Samington to Valton-on-Sea. Calling at Samington Airport, Antchester West and Port Katherine Town |
| Geoff | Class 508 | Passengers | Samington MPD | Samington to Ronniton Low Level. Calling at Bethampton, Valton-on-Sea (via Haunted Valley) and Port Katherine Town. |
| Damon | Class 43 | Passengers | Antchester MPD | Antchester to Samington (via Widdlington Junction) non-stop. |
| Ami | Class 117 | Passengers | Antchester MPD | Fyd-yr-Mwlir to Valton-on-Sea. Calling at Antchester General, Antchester East, Antchester Bettidean (for the Ronny Valley Railway), Houghton St Anthony and Bethampton. Then via the Hepzibah Hall line to Valton. |
| Paul | Class 4MT | Passengers | Antchester Bettidean | Steam service from Antchester Bettidean to Bolton St Margaret on the Ronny Valley Railway. Calling at Ronniton High Level and Houghton St John Halt. |
| Charlie | Class 37 | Coal | Fyd-yr-Mwlir | Fyd-yr-Mwlir Mines to Antchester Power Station. |
| Vaughan | Class 66 | Containers | Samington Intermodal | Samington Intermodal to Port Katherine Harbour North. |
| Phillipe | Class 35 | Wood | Port Katherine Harbour North | Port Katherine Harbour North to Samington Works. |
| Alistair | Class 31 | Oil | Antchester Refinery | Port Katherine Harbour South Oil Terminal to Antchester Refinery. |
| Adair | Class 31 | Oil | Antchester Refinery | Antchester Refinery to Samington Airport |
| Tasha | Bus | Passengers | Samington Airport | Samington Airport Park and Ride Service |
| Andrew | Bus | Passengers | Antchester East Estate | Antchester town service form the east estate to the out of town shopping mall via Antchester General. |
| Louise | Class 31 | Goods | Samington Intermodal | Samington Works to Antchester Factory. |
| Thomas | Bus | Passengers | Samington | Samington to Bolton St Margaret |
| Hentis | WC/BoB | Passengers | Port Kate Rail Centre | Cathedrals Express from Port Kate Rail Centre. Circular via Valton-on-Sea and Antchester General. |
| Stenke | Helicopter | Passengers | Port Kate Rail Centre | Circular trips round the bay. |
| Moira | Class 31 | Oil | Antchester Oil Refinery | Antchester Oil Refinery to Fyd-yr-Mwlir Mines |