Why are 150s doing what 158s have been doing for 25+ years (and are still doing)? For 25+ years and counting, 2 carr 158s from Aberystwyth and Pwllheli have joined up to form 4 car 158s in Machynlleth which have gone via Shrewsbury to Birmingham International and/or Birmingham New Street. At no point in that time has the route been done by 150s Might as well replace one of the big US diesels with the Flying Scotsman on the next US freight line or have Pendelionos where there should be Azumas To top it off, TfW was formed in 2018 (when this line is set) meaning the trains were likely either a mix of TfW and ATW livery or were still in ATW livery. I know it's their first route but, that should be even more reason to make sure you get these things right. The route looks good but, this with 150s instead of 158s and not even the right liveries makes it feel a little slapdash.
The branding of TfW issue is the same you could say about Avanti which only officially took over at the end of 2019. TfW 158s are quite different to the others in game as they have ETCS for running on the Cambrian Line. So it would need a completely re-modelled cab. Not to mention that any branded models you see in the game are subject to licensing approval.
In that case they should have left it out until someone has built the correct 158 instead of running the very incorrect 150.
You can always disable the layer. Artistic license has long been part of the game but at least with the layer selector you can decide what is to your taste. I don't have the Cardiff route but also holding back on getting Birmingham-Crewe on PS5 until I know they have at least got the right build out.
You can turn off the layer! Why do rivet-counters insist on taking gameplay away from the rest of us?
Before the layer selector was a thing I would have whole heartedly agreed with this sentiment (I massively objected to the TGV and ICE3 on SEHS). But now we can disable layers as we wish I don’t see fictitious and artistic layers as a problem. Those who enjoy it can and this who don’t can turn it off
Each to their own... But the relevant TfW 158 doesn't exist, so using the TfW 150 is the next best thing... I'd much rather some 'artistic licence' be used for AI such as the 150 in this instance, rather then a irrelevant ScotRail or EMT 158 variant sub in. It just makes sense. But that's just my opinion.
for some balance on a couple of occasions I have been suck on a very packed TfW 150 from Birmingham to Shrewsbury so hey have occasionally run when TfW were struggling for units.
Yep, don’t see what the issue is, 150’s and 153’s made an appearance on these services not a regular occurrence but not something that was unusual, usually they’d be swapped out at Shrewsbury heading towards Machynlleth for a 158, happened a lot when TfW were short of units.
There isn't a tfw 158 in tsw, so they used a 150 which does exist. Not that big of a deal, in my opinion.
Why would they use a unbranded 158, when you have a fully branded 150 in actual TfW livery? I'd understand the resentment to some extent if there was a complete jump in different traction such a 150 subbing for a 67 + Mk5 set, but a 150 and 158 are both DMUs? Not that it's relevant to this thread as such, but one of the prototype Class 150s (150002 specifically) was used as a testbed for the Class 158 development in the late 1980s...
its a layer currently, using an unbranded 158 means it’s no longer a layer and would need to be included with the route. And given that the 158 is a SHG model would mean getting their permission (and presumably paying royalties) and if SHG said no then they’d be no 158 at all.
The are more examples of incorrect trains on routes. For me, one of the worst is the train from maintalbahn, used on multiple routes with Westfrankenbahn logo on it. On Koln - Aachen this train is a layer with the revamped timetable, but fist it's the wrong EMU, in game it Siemens, irl it's a Talent 1, secondly the Westfrankenbahn logo is so out of place. On Frankfurt - Fulda it's also used, I believe the train itself (Siemens) is correct, but not the Westfrankenbahn livery. Why not make a normal red livery without Westfrankenbahn logo on it? The BR628 from Niddertalbahn also has 2 liveries or even 2 versions included, I believe the cab is also slghtly different/more modern in the red version. So the Class 150/158 use is not even that bad to be honest, but yes it would be nice if devs put a little more effort in the game/routes.
Exactly, his name is Jim and he's definitely acting dim. Class 150's stopped running services for Tfw to Birmingham Intl in 2024.
I am a vocal stickler for the correct layers but I think this is being a bit unreasonable. It would have been a lot of work putting the correct 158 on the route and the 150 is ready to go. If you can turn the layer off which I imagine you can (I don't have the route yet) then disable it if it's appearance spoils the immersion.
The 158 is indeed the main stock allocation these days, but to say the 150 is “very incorrect” is quite false & is much more accurate than a SR or EMT 158 with no livery.
The question you need to ask yourself isn’t whether a different but similar unit is less realistic than a correct one we don’t have, but whether it’s less realistic than not having those services at all. For me the 150/153 at Birmingham New St is far far less immersion breaking than when the station was deserted. I would much rather have a full, but slightly adapted timetable at Aachen, Doncaster, Dresden, Glasgow C, etc etc. And if you disagree just disable the layer. Everybody wins!
