Since the TSW 5 era has ended, I was wondering which 3 TSW 5 routes were everyone's favourite? Please cast your votes in the poll below, and I look forward to an engaging discussion.
Shap No. 1, little or no contest there. Runner up Mittenwald as it’s a lovely route albeit I haven’t been back in a while. Number 3 Ludwigsbahn which surprised me after buying on a very heavy discount. Pleasant route to drive particularly once you reach the hilly section.
WCMLOS top Mittenwaldbahn a close 2nd 3rd place is tougher as a handful all have strong arguments but eventually I opted for Zwolle although on another day I could have gone Mildmay, either Frankfurt route or Manchester Commuter. Each having their strengths but also their weaknesses
WCMLOS, Manchester Airport Commuter & MBTA Commuter in that order... WCMLOS just holds its own, no more needs to be said on that one!
I voted WCML south as it's the line were I live the closest to in real life. It got of to a bit of a rocky start in the beginning with a questionable timetable,but has since been patched ,now a more solid but not perfect representation in my opinion
I went for WCMLoS. Don't own any of the non-UK routes and don't have MAC. Haven't played CCN, Mildmay, or WCMLS enough.
I also voted for WCML South as one of my choices as I really like the route inspite of it's rocky launch.
WCMLos is in my opinion the best route in TSW 5. WCML South is also really good. Cardiff City Network and Manchester Airport Commuter are also pretty good as well. I don't own Mildmay Line but in terms of non UK routes, Mittenwaldbahn is truly excellent!
Preston-Carlisle my #1. Frankfurt S-Bahn #2 - had some fps issues - first route I've had that on, but so many layers and different trains to drive. Manchester Airport Commuter #3 - just a shame it's so short, don't have a great deal of services left to drive. Frankfurt-Fulda just misses out. With the exception of JT's Preston Carlisle, all bought in sales as well. Frankfurt-Fulda and S-Bahn pretty cheap too! (Correction, but only for me lol. I didn't pay full-price for MAC as was a discount at launch and I used a steam gift voucher which covered most of cost).
Interesting how the 3rd most preferred route is flipping between WCML South and Frankfurt S Bahn. Manchester Airport Commuter and Zwolle Groningen are also tied and catching up with one another. Which one will ultimately come 3rd...? I'm looking forward to the results
With all due respect to Just Trains' creation, the route is very boring. We're just going forward. And then we can go back. You can choose a passenger train or a freight train, but it's still equally boring. The locomotives are magnificent, no doubt about it. But the route has so many branches, and the number of services on them is very limited. I prefer riding the Class 08 – it doesn't make you sleepy. Frankfurt S Bahn is much more diverse. The S1 is fairly fast and even a bit rural. There are many stops on the S8 and S9. Long-distance trains have a separate route. Short haul freight transport. The only downside for me personally is the very limited work done in the freight yards at BR363/G6. It feels like they were hastily added, and everything looks like a copy-paste job. But they exist and there are quite a lot of them.
Shap #1 for me. Beautiful route and the Class 87 (or 86) makes for constantly engaging gameplay with the tap changers and managing the gradients.
I would depends on which Platform you play Frankfurt S-bahn.... It's great on PC, on Gen 9th, missed opportunity with out all the layers of the PC version.
The core timetable remains on consoles. Only freight traffic and minor wagon movements at freight stations have been cut. Judging by what is written on the forum, freight transportation, and especially small locomotives like BR363 and the fact that they pull 3 cars somewhere for several kilometers, is of no interest at all for The majority. Therefore, for me personally, it's completely incomprehensible that people complain about the supposedly incomplete schedule on consoles, but only 3.5 people play the expansions included in the PC version of timetable.
well I have both and I can tell a huge difference with traffic totally different experience. lots of cuts which I can get you a list
There is 0 ai only traffic. And only a two hourly class 411 service despite there being a lot more services calling at Frankfurt Flughafen Fernbahnhof. Its not just a few freight services. Wiesbaden is empty and so is frankfurt. I believe some s bahn services were cut too
As I said I have both and I can tell you is about half the services on Gen 9 than PC. but I will verified the numbers tonight once I get home
You have literally just described all express routes in real life and I get the impression that they're just not your cup of tea in TSW (which is fine). As the OP though I agree with the high votes for Preston to Carlisle as it stands out over other express routes. It is the most beautiful section of the WCML and the rolling hills and gorgeous scenery around the Cumbrian countryside stands out over flat boring terrain. Most express routes in TSW are boring linear routes like Kassel Würzburg or Peterborough to Doncaster. Preston Carlisle is not however linear thanks to the addition of the Morecambe branch and it's ability to drive pacers and 101s over the WCML. Depot mooves at Kingmoor are also a great addition. My only issue are the omissions of the lakes line and the Heysham branch. The latter is a short sighted addition given the release of the Nuclear cargo line pack since nuclear flask trains came from Heysham. Frankfurt S-Bahn on the other hand I don't own as I'm on console and not prepared to pay for the reduced timetable. It looks really good on PC and I'm sure is a great route but is unfortunately ruined by it's console timetable and TSWs core problems. That's a shame as I think it has the potential to be one of TSWs best routes.
Unfortunately, that's all. For those same German linear routes, I have a huge selection of rolling stock, but here there are only a few locomotives, albeit beautifully crafted ones. DTG could have simply called it standard. And on PC, it could have been called extended.
I see your point and indeed many of the German trains are also beautifully made like the ICE 1. However if you own Blackpool Branches, Tees Valley Line with the class 31, Northern Transpennine and the BR heavy freight pack, you do get extra diesel layers on the route. The class 37 layers from Tess Valley Line are especially great as they run very slowly on WCML and hold up 87/86 services which creates many challenging services. I mean yeah they could have marketed it better but either way DTG are still making a silk purse out of a sow's ear. The default timetables should be the same between PC and console and if that's not possible then the price shouldn't be the same. DTG need to sort out their memory and optimisation issues on consoles to stop a similar thing from happening again and allow Frankfurt S-Bahn to realise it's full potential on console.
What bothers me is that very few of them start from a place without overhead power lines. Otherwise, what's the point of traveling by diesel locomotive? To be honest, I liked the Blackpool circuit better. The sessions weren't as long. I certainly like the 37 class, but it's a two-hour ride... Maybe someday I'll get around to it. I'll let you in on a terrible secret: it's even cheaper on PC on Steam.
It's because most of them have started their journeys off map in a non electrified section. It is unfortunately quite common to find diesel freight locomotives (useally class 66s) working freight services under the wires in the UK. The most egregious example is the class 66s on Peterborough to Doncaster. That wasn't DTG being lazy as class 66s really do operate under the wires on the ECML in real life! I'm not surprised, I'm currently try to save up for a gaming laptop for my birthday to try and play Frankfurt S-Bahn's full timetable and to play TSW even when I am working away as I often do.
I understand that. But damn, the route has so many branches without wires, and there aren't that many flights starting from there. Just Trains did such a great job on the main line, but They didn't have enough enthusiasm for minor work. I understand that there are very few enthusiasts like me, especially those who work with freight trains. However, I feel somewhat deprived of this route. The main line is magnificent, but doing anything off the main line is not today. This isn't just a problem for Just Trains. Stuttgart Heilbron suffers from the same thing. There are many places along the route where various enterprises are simply not used. You can't get there using the standard schedule, only with the help of Noir's task generator. You won't regret it. I usually go through the journey mode and then rarely return to the route. 45 services flew by pretty quickly, but I still occasionally launch S1 to get through the fast section of the line. And And even the temporary speed restrictions that appear on the longest stretch with a 160 km/h limit do not spoil the impression. Or I just want to do short-haul cargo transportation on a BR363.
Thank you for the info on Frankfurt S Bahn. Regarding the Preston to Carlisle, the freight services do not actually start any of their journeys on any of the branches on the Preston to Carlisle section. Many start in Guthrie in Scotland and others start in Clitheroe and other destinations. I think the only exception are the services from Cargo line Nuclear which start in Heysham. It is a shame that Skyhook and JT couldn't have work together to add that branch in for Cargo Line Nuclear.
