Hamish Weir

It has been over four years since the last Dava line update. In that time I graduated University, got my first "proper" job, met my amazing partner, and moved aboard a narrowboat! Suffice to say, route building fell to the wayside and little progress was made after 2022.

However, the route was never forgotten and this year I was finally able to start putting aside time to re-start work on it.

Scenery along the Forres end of the line seemed like a natural place to start, with it being the most spartan. This is now complete and means I can turn my attention towards touching up the few remaining areas and consolidating my techniques used for a more consistent look and feel throughout the route.

I hope you will enjoy this selection of screenshots which show some of the most recently completed areas, and the standard to which I intend to finish the entire route.

The yard in Forres, showing coal bunkers in the foreground and goods shed behind. The locomotive shed is just out of sight to the right. There are plenty of shunting and marshaling opportunities here.

Forres Junction, looking south towards Aviemore. The station had a triangle of platforms, with the one on the left curving towards Elgin and the other towards Inverness.

The line on approach to Forres - a town which has grown significantly since the railway closed. This is all housing now.

Railway sidings at Dallas Dhu Distillery.

Farmland quickly turns into forest, as the climb begins in earnest.

And there is plenty to see from the window.

Dunphail Station, half way to Dava summit

Between Dunphail and Dava, the views really begin to open out.

And before long forests are replaced by open heather moors.

There is plenty more to do now to get the remainder of the route up to scratch and all the other pieces in place.

To help justify the development time, my intention is now to release the route as a paid for addon. This will require some additional work to replace freeware assets with those of my own before the route can be released.

Looking further beyond, I hope to release an overhauled Speyside Line incorporating all of the improvements I have developed for the Dava route. These will be joined together, allowing you to drive from Craigellachie to Forres via Boat of Garten. Who knows, if all goes well the connecting line via Elgin may be modeled one day! But for now, the focus is on getting the Dava Line completed and released for you to enjoy.

Separately, I have launched a Custom Sign Builder which you can use to very quickly create your own station signage for Train Simulator. This is very much in its early stages, so if you would like to try it and have feedback afterwards I would much appreciate it.

Along the same lines, I am currently available to take on bespoke scenery orders. To see examples of what I can make, please take a look at my Simulation page and get in touch to discuss your requirements.

Okay that is all for now. Many thanks for reading and for taking an interest in this project,
Hamish