Category: General interests

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Frustrated passport application

Passport processing difficulties

“I recently applied for a passport online. At first, I faced several barriers, including difficulties with the online system and challenges uploading the required documents. I worked through these issues by reviewing the guidance provided, correcting the problems, and resubmitting the information. Despite the initial obstacles, I successfully completed my passport application online.”

Medway Valley Line from Firefly Simulations

Medway Valley Line from Firefly Simulations

DTG James adorns his unofficial Firefly Simulations hat to bring you the team’s latest progress on the Medway Valley Line, coming soon to Train Sim World 6!

James: “Since the initial announcement in Season of Reveals, work has been apace with some of the remaining stations going in, particularly Paddock Wood and Tonbridge. As the largest stations on the route, these can often provide the greatest challenge in capturing the correct dimensions and layout and achieving the right level of detail – I’m pleased to say that both are looking stunning so far! One can already picture all the virtual trainspotting opportunities Tonbridge will provide.”

“With the bulk of the work on the Medway Valley itself wrapping up, attention has been turned to updating the existing North Kent & Chatham Main Line areas to a higher standard. This includes tons more detail on roads, a wider range of more accurate buildings and clutter being placed, all new foliage and more. Please note these updated sections are for MVL only, SEHS itself remains unchanged, but it’s still a remarkable improvement!”

Another key area of focus across the route has been the night lighting, ensuring driving after hours is just as, if not more enticing as enjoying the scenery during the day! Here’s other James/aka ‘JetWash’ takes you through some of the details, and there’s even a preview compilation of some nighttime scenes:

JetWash: “When we set out to do the night lighting scene I had a good think about what it was that we wanted to achieve. I looked at other sim games, at how they did night lighting and then at whether it was feasible to use those techniques within UE4. Ultimately, it was to make it so that players would be just as happy to drive the route at night (maybe even actively look forward to it) as they were during the day. The dark, and particularly the transition from dawn to dusk, is capable of giving the player some of the most spectacular lighting effects in the game when combined with the right weather settings. Further developing some of the techniques I have used previously I’ve really been able to dial down on where and when to put light sources both ‘real’ and for effect, making the route feel alive and lived in. Having access to the full range of TSW Unreal tools has also given me the opportunity to learn new techniques and apply them to Medway Valley.”

“One of the things I really wanted to add was distant lights at ground level. Drive down any dark road at night and in the distance you will see lights from houses, industry, commercial areas, roads etc. The reality, however, is that we can’t just throw hundreds of lights all over the map as there has to be a balance between performance and visual fidelity. I’ve co-opted a technique for distant lighting, where we have detailed lights immediately where the player is, a mixture of detailed and ‘fake’ distant lights in the medium distance then in the far distance entirely ‘fake’ emissive sources.”

“In addition to this I can use the same technique for boat lights, structure lighting, carparks and so on. Completing the night-time scene we have various other inexpensive light sources (traffic lights for example) that all contribute to you not driving a train down a dark track, only seeing lights when you come to a station. In addition, we have applied our own lighting setup to the route which also carries over into night time, where I’ve tuned the darkness of the sky, the brightness of the stars, the moon, clouds etc so it all sits together harmoniously and looks as realistic as I believe it is possible to get in a dynamic UE4 game like Train Sim World.”

“Finally, one other area I wanted to mention is that we have put a lot of effort into adjusting the day/night cycle as best we can and have really refined the sunrise and sunset times so the environmental lighting doesn’t just switch off at an arbitrary time, whether it remains dark or not. We’ve tested the route an awful lot and I think, within the scope of Medway Valley, we have achieved our aim. It goes without saying though, it’s only the tip of the iceberg of where we want to go next.”

DTG James: “The detail on the route at night is going to be incredible to explore – hopefully you watched the video with audio on as well to get a sneak peek at the new sounds, platform announcements, and even the first snippet of GSM-R audio! You may have also noticed that the Class 375/3 is in the route too now with its distinct 3-car formation, we will have more information on the Class 375s in next month’s roadmap.”

Lastly for this update, the gameplay is also shaping up nicely – the timetable features most Southeastern services at this point, including the Class 395 peak time services to Maidstone West, and some freight action courtesy of Skyhook Games’ Cargo Line Vol. 2. In a nice use of free will, a bonus layer has also been implemented for the Class 700 which depicts a what-if nighttime test run along the full length of the valley and back. This lets you give the 700 an extra stretch of its legs, but the panoramic window is also the perfect way to enjoy that stunning night lighting!


So many details shared and still only scratching the surface; you best be expecting some hefty deep dives from me in the future…

Thanks James, and James! We’re excited to show you more on the Medway Valley Line from Firefly Simulations in the coming months!

Great Western Express Remastered – Releasing This Friday!

Here we go – the date is booked, it’s almost time to get your hands on the Great Western Express Remaster, arriving just in time for Festival of Rail, and on all platforms this Friday 6th February, with an update at 10:00am UTC.

Here’s what you can expect to land with the upgrade:

New Timetables

  • New 2017 Timetable (4,674 services & 1,335 playable). Layers up to 23 UK Add-ons to cerate the second-largest Uk timetable in TSW.
  • Full London Underground Timetable. All Circle and Hammersmith & City line services playable using a Class 484.
  • Full Heathrow Connect Timetable using a Class 350 in a Heathrow Connect inspired livery to represent the Class 360

Remastered Updates

  • Full lighting overhaul
  • Route scenery and texture overhaul
  • 2 new stations with full London Underground branding; Royal Oak Station and Westbourne Park.
  • New London Underground platforms at Ealing Broadway
  • Massive audio upgrade, including brand-new rail singing sounds
  • All GWE and Diesel Legends stock upgraded (New wheel blur, guard mode, suspension, reworked lighting/weather vfx).

Once the GWE Remaster goes live, we’ll be opening a new thread in our Player Feedback Forums to gather your thoughts and opinions, and help us support the release as best as possible.


WW1 Armaments production Newcastle Upon Tyne

During World War I, Newcastle upon Tyne was a global hub for armament production, primarily through the industrial giant Armstrong Whitworth. The company’s massive Elswick and Scotswood works produced a vast array of war materiel, making it the largest munitions company in the world at the time. 

Key Armaments and Production

The factories along the River Tyne manufactured a wide variety of armaments and related equipment: 

  • Guns and Artillery: The Elswick works had a long history of making naval and field guns. During the war, the Scotswood factory alone produced 13,000 guns.
  • Ammunition: Production included 14.5 million shells, 18,000 fuses, and 21,000 cartridge cases.
  • Warships and Shipbuilding: Armstrong Whitworth built complete warships and their armaments at their Elswick and Walker naval shipyards, playing a major role in the naval arms race.
  • Aircraft: The company also built aircraft on Newcastle’s Town Moor.
  • Other Equipment: This included searchlights, hydraulic machinery, and components like trench periscopes and clinometers produced by smaller local firms such as N.F. Ramsay & Co.. 

The Industrial Landscape

  • Elswick and Scotswood Works: These were the primary sites of production, stretching for over a mile along the River Tyne. By the end of the war, Armstrong Whitworth employed 78,000 people, with 60,000 working on the Tyne.
  • Lemington Munitions Factory: Known locally as “Canary Island,” this isolated factory at Lemington Point produced cordite, a yellow-coloured explosive, traces of which often remained on workers’ skin and hair.
  • Birtley National Projectile Factory: Due to a national shell shortage and a lack of skilled workers, the government established a National Projectile Factory in Birtley, South Tyneside (then County Durham), specifically recruiting skilled Belgian armament workers who lived in a purpose-built village called Elisabethville. 

The vast scale of the Newcastle armaments industry meant the region had a disproportionately large impact on the war effort and its eventual outcome. 

WW2 Nazis Nuremberg Trials for war crimes

Judges’ panel

In the Nuremberg Trials, the Allies indicted and prosecuted leaders of Nazi Germany after World War II ended. The trials lasted from November 1945 to October 1946 and took place in Nuremberg, Germany.

In total, 199 defendants were tried at Nuremberg; 161 were found guilty, and 37 were sentenced to death. Each trial had a combination of judges from the United States, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, and France.

First, the Allies charged 24 top Nazi leaders for their crimes. The judges found most of them guilty of war crimes, starting wars of aggression, crimes against humanity, and conspiracy. Evidence about the Holocaust played a major role in the trial. The judges called the Holocaust one of the worst crimes in history.

After the first trial, the Allies held 12 additional trials. These included separate trials for Nazi physicians, members of the Einsatzgruppen, and German judges.

The Nuremberg Trials weren’t just about punishment. They were also about showing the world what happened during the war and making sure people understood how serious these crimes were.

These trials were important because they created new rules to prevent such crimes in the future. They also showed that even powerful leaders would face justice if they broke international laws.

The main trial

Göring and Hess during trials

The International Military Tribunal was opened on October 18, 1945, in the Supreme Court Building in Berlin.

Nazi leaders

Judge Nikitchenko from the Soviet Union presided over the first session. The prosecution brought criminal charges against 24 Nazi leaders. The indictments were for:

  1. Working with other people to commit a crime against peace (legally called “taking part in a conspiracy”)
  2. War crimes
  3. Crimes against humanity
  4. Planning, initiating and waging wars of aggression and other crimes against peace

The 24 accused were:

“I” indicted      “G” indicted and found guilty      “O” Not Charged

Name  CountSentence    Notes
 1    2    3    4      

Martin Bormann		IOGGDeathSuccessor to Hess as Nazi Party Secretary. Sentenced to death while not being at the courtroom. His body was found in 1972.[5]

Karl Dönitz		IGGO10 yearsLeader of the Kriegsmarine (the Navy) from 1943. Started the U-boat campaign. Became President of Germany after Hitler’s death.[6] In evidence presented at the trial of Karl Dönitz on his orders to the U-boat fleet to breach the London Rules, Admiral Chester Nimitz stated that unrestricted submarine warfare was carried on in the Pacific Ocean by the United States from the first day that nation entered the war. Dönitz was found guilty of breaching the 1936 Second London Naval Treaty, but his sentence was not assessed on the ground of his breaches of the international law of submarine warfare.[7]

Hans Frank		IOGGDeathReich Law Leader 1933–1945 and Governor-General of the General Government in occupied Poland 1939–1945. Expressed sorrow.[8]

Wilhelm Frick		IGGGDeathHitler’s Minister of the Interior (1933–1943) and Reich Protector of Bohemia–Moravia (1943–1945). One of the writers of the Nuremberg Laws.[9]

Hans Fritzsche		IIIOAcquittedPopular radio commentator and head of the news division of the Nazi Propaganda Ministry. Tried in place of Joseph Goebbels.[10]

Walther Funk		IGGGLife ImprisonmentHitler’s Minister of Economics. Succeeded Schacht as head of the Reichsbank. Released from prison due to ill health on May 16, 1957.[11]

Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring		GGGGDeathCommander of the Luftwaffe (1935–1945), Chief of the 4-Year Plan (1936–1945), leader of several departments of the SS, and Prime Minister of Prussia. Committed suicide the night before his execution.[12]
Rudolf HessGGIILife ImprisonmentHitler’s deputy, flew to Scotland in 1941 to try to make peace with Great Britain. After trial he was sent to Spandau Prison and died there in 1987.[13]

Generaloberst Alfred Jodl		GGGGDeathWehrmacht. Keitel’s deputy and Chief of the OKW‘s Operations Division (1938–1945). Later exonerated by a German court in 1953.[14]

Ernst Kaltenbrunner		IOGGDeathHighest surviving SS leader. Chief of RSHA 1943–45, the central Nazi intelligence office. Commanded many of the Einsatzgruppen and several concentration camps.[15]

Wilhelm Keitel		GGGGDeathHead of Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW) 1938–1945.[16]
Gustav Krupp von Bohlen und HalbachIII—-Major Nazi industrialist. CEO of Krupp AG 1912–45. Medically unfit for trial. The prosecutors attempted to substitute his son Alfried (who ran Krupp for his father during most of the war) in the indictment, but the judges ruled it was too close to trial. Alfried was tried in a separate Nuremberg trial for his use of slave labor, thus escaping the worst notoriety and possibly death.

Robert Ley		IIII—-Head of DAF, The German Labour Front. Killed himself on October 25, 1945, before the trial began.

Konstantin Freiherr von Neurath		GGGG15 yearsMinister of Foreign Affairs 1932–1938, succeeded by von Ribbentrop. Protector of Bohemia and Moravia 1939–43. Resigned in 1943 after a dispute with Hitler. Released from prison because of ill health on November 6, 1954.[17]

Franz von Papen		IIOOAcquittedChancellor of Germany in 1932 and Vice-Chancellor under Hitler in 1933–1934. Ambassador to Austria 1934–38 and ambassador to Turkey 1939–1944. Although acquitted at Nuremberg, von Papen was classed as a war criminal in 1947 by a German de-Nazification court, and sentenced to eight years’ hard labour. He was acquitted following appeal after serving two years.[18]
Erich RaederGGGOLife ImprisonmentCommander-in-Chief of the Kriegsmarine from 1928 until his retirement in 1943, succeeded by Dönitz. Released because of ill health on September 26, 1955.[19]

Joachim von Ribbentrop		GGGGDeathAmbassador-Plenipotentiary 1935–1936. Ambassador to the United Kingdom 1936–1938. Minister of Foreign Affairs 1938–1945.[20]


Alfred Rosenberg		GGGGDeathRacial theory ideologist. Later, Minister of the Eastern Occupied Territories 1941–1945.[21]

Fritz Sauckel		IIGGDeathGauleiter of Thuringia 1927–1945. Plenipotentiary of the Nazi slave labor program 1942–1945.[22]

Dr. Hjalmar Schacht		IIOOAcquittedProminent banker and economist. President of the Reichsbank 1923–1930 and 1933–1938 and Economics Minister 1934–1937. Admitted breaking the Treaty of Versailles.[23]

Baldur von Schirach (standing)		IOOG20 yearsHead of the Hitlerjugend (Hitler Youth) from 1933 to 1940, Gauleiter of Vienna 1940–1943. Expressed sorrow.[24]

Arthur Seyß-Inquart		IGGGDeathHelped the Anschluß (joining Germany and Austria). Was briefly the Austrian Chancellor 1938. Deputy to Frank in Poland 1939–1940. Later, Reich Commissioner of the occupied Netherlands 1940–1945. Expressed sorrow.[25]

Albert Speer		IIGG20 YearsHitler’s favourite architect, personal friend, and Minister of Armaments from 1942. As Minister of Armaments, he used slave labour from the occupied territories in weapons production. Expressed sorrow.[26]

Julius Streicher		IOOGDeathGauleiter of Franconia 1922–1945. Incited hatred and murder against the Jews through his weekly newspaper, Der Stürmer.[27]

“I” indicted      “G” indicted and found guilty      “O” Not Charged

Criminal organizations

The Allies also tried seven Nazi organizations at Nuremberg:[28]

  1. The Gestapo (the Nazi secret police)
  2. The Schutzstaffel, or SS (a Nazi paramilitary organization)
  3. Reichsregierung, (the Reich government or Cabinet)
  4. The Leadership Corps of the Nazi Party
  5. The Sicherheitsdienst, or SD (the intelligence agency for the SS and the Nazi Party)
  6. The Sturmabteilung, also called the SA, Storm Troopers, or Brownshirts (the Nazi Party’s militia)
  7. Oberkommando and Generalstab der Wehrmacht (the High Command and General Staff of the Armed Forces)The judges ruled that the Leadership Corps, the Gestapo, the SS, and the SD were criminal organizations.[29]

Sentences

The death sentences were carried out on 16 October 1946 by hanging using the inefficient American “standard” drop method instead of the long drop.[30][31] The executioner was John C. Woods. The French judges suggested the use of a firing squad for the convicted military officials, as is standard for military courts-martial. However, Biddle and the Soviet judges did not agree. They said that the military officers acted so badly that they did not deserve to be treated as soldiers.

The prisoners sentenced to imprisonment were transferred to Spandau Prison in 1947.

Legacy

Nuremberg principles is a document created as a result of the trial. It defines what a war crime is.

The medical experiments conducted by German doctors and prosecuted in the so-called Doctors’ Trial led to the creation of the Nuremberg Code to control future trials involving human subjects.

Nuremberg execution

The Nuremberg executions took place on the early morning of October 16, 1946, shortly after the conclusion of the Nuremberg trials. Ten prominent members of the political and military leadership of Nazi Germany were executed by hanging: Hans Frank, Wilhelm Frick, Alfred Jodl, Ernst Kaltenbrunner, Wilhelm Keitel, Joachim von Ribbentrop, Alfred Rosenberg, Fritz Sauckel, Arthur Seyss-Inquart, and Julius Streicher. Hermann Göring was also scheduled to be hanged on that day, but committed suicide using a potassium cyanide capsule the night before. Martin Bormann was also sentenced to death in absentia; at the time, his whereabouts were unknown, but it has since been confirmed that he died while attempting to escape Berlin on May 2, 1945.

For their last meal, the condemned men were served sausage and cold cuts, along with potato salad and black bread, and were given tea to drink. Starting at approximately 1:10 am, they were led one at a time to the execution chamber to be hanged. The death sentences were carried out in the gymnasium of Nuremberg Prison by the United States Army using the standard drop method (instead of the long drop method favored by British executioners). Three temporary gallows had been erected in the gymnasium, with the execution team using two in alternating order and reserving the remaining gallows as a spare.

The executioners were Master Sergeant John C. Woods and his assistant, military policeman Joseph Malta. Woods’s use of standard drops for the executions meant that some of the men did not die quickly of an intended broken neck but instead strangled to death slowly. Some reports indicated some executions took from 14 to 28 minutes. The Army denied claims that the drop length was too short or that the condemned died from strangulation instead of a broken neck. Additionally, the trapdoor was too small, such that several of the condemned suffered bleeding head injuries when they hit the sides of the trapdoor while dropping through. The bodies were rumored to have been taken to Dachau for cremation but were incinerated in a crematorium in Munich and the ashes scattered over the river Isar.

Kingsbury Smith of the International News Service wrote an eyewitness account of the hangings. His account, accompanied by photos, appeared in newspapers.

Footnote

Do not miss Russell Crowe new film about these trials. He plays the part of Hermann Goering who cheated the hangman by taking cyanide pill on hearing his sentence. The film comes out on Saturday 15th November 2025.

Promoting my Independence

“I recently used my new washing machine for the first time and have now familiarized myself with its operation. To access the user instructions, it is necessary to scan the code located on the machine.” I am really pleased with myself given I have a Learning Disability. This is all about promoting that we can lead constructive lives and manage day-to-day activities.