What’s Next For All Aboard Studios?

i’m sorry, but aabs have publically stated before that they wouldn’t do that section ‘out of respect for JT’. not my words

 

IIRC, the comment was along the lines of "we wouldn't want to go north of Crewe, as that's JT's territory"

However, that may change if JT moves on from WCML at some point

 

Pretty sure it utilises a TSC model, which is completely fine as distant scenery you most likely will never see but doesn't hold up in 2026. It's definitely 10+ years old now.

 

However on the topic of AABS I would love to see them conquer the Chiltern Mainline. It runs up to Bham so I think it would be perfect for them. Also a great chance to bring in the 68 and Mk5 + DVT (I assume Mk3 DVT would be JT or ATS territory) alongside the 168s, 165s and 170s.

 

I’m sorry, but aren’t AAS making the Trent Valley route? Would it not make more sense to have that finished, working and bug fixed before moving onto another project?

 

It’s a speculative thread on what they might do once they’ve finished their current project of WCMLTVL and out to the masses….

just like firefly I’m interested to know what they are working on next after their great work on Medway

 

To be fair, Trent Valley was being developed and was announced barely after Birmingham to Crewe was released. They are also working on the Class 70...

But I'd imagine there may be a shift away from the WCML in any future routes. Personally I hope they would extend Birmingham to Crewe, all the way to Liverpool Lime Street so I could run end to end services, but I think that looks unlikely at the moment. (Also hope that Alan Thomson sees sense and extends MAC to to Crewe).

I'd think with everything AABS have going on, they may have their hands full for a while so no new routes may be on the horizon for the next few months at the very least.

 

They should be working on Trent Valley, making sure it works properly and giving that the attention until such time as it’s released and works as it should.

Almost a year after release Birmingham Crewe still is bug laden and there’s no sign of any fixes. Possibly because there’s far more interest in whatever new shiny route may come along than fixing what’s already out there and is broken.

 

does 7 months equal
"Almost a year" to you? Just curious

 

Has it only been seven months?

Damn...

 

Still way too long for a fix of course. Just checking the facts.

 

Hopefully nothing to do with the WCML as its completely bloated and boring to have the same line just being an extension of the last route and different time periods (JustTrains) Plus the Class 350 has become the new Class 377

Maybe modern Trans-Pennine Huddersfield or Hope line.
Midland Man line starting from St Pancras.
Great eastern main line from Liverpool street to Ipswich
Or a route where we can get the most out of the Thameslink class 700 instead of rely solely on SEHS to get a decent playtime out of it when we cant even use it for the Brighton mainline

 

Yeah, it just seems like a much longer time than seven months.

 

It does! Feels like the saga of Birmingham Crewe has been going on for a lot longer than 7 months.

 

https://forums.dovetailgames.com/threads/aabs-next-route-should-be.98139/

 

I actually hope they do release at least 1 or 2 more wcml routes as I love driving end to end. We have so much of the wcml now but we’re still unable to drive from euston to Birmingham, Manchester or Liverpool (I’m not counting spirit of steam). I much rather have a route that’s completely done than a lot of small sections of all kinds of different routes.

 

As much as I'd like to see the ATS route extended to Crewe, with how long it took them to make the route (we were well aware of them making a route for quite a long time, and JT released BPB and Shap in the same timeframe) and how messy of a launch the 90 was I don't really see ATS going back to it. Maybe it's best to work on a new slate.

 

I know its a long shot, but going back and extending MAC to Crewe might help them more publicity wise considering what we have seen out of them! Yes different game but many developers in Flightsim regularly go back and make changes to their airports especially if major works have occurred which is always welcomed for that community!

 

Absolutely not. Fix it. Make it actually work. There have been numerous comments about speed change issues and other problems with MAC.

Fix what’s there first.

 

Would like to add:

Crewe to Derby - 42 miles
Crewe to Nottingham - 54 miles

If AABS were to ever pursue a network from their current projects, Crewe would be the likely choice. They’ve already said they won’t venture north in fear of stepping on JT and DTG toes, so maybe it’s time for the East Midlands to shine.

Both routes would be using the EMR 153, 156, 158, 170 and 220 Voyagers, plus the occasional the Avanti 390’s.

 

So they've gone on record to say they are done with the WCML and their next route won't be 100 miles. As other people have noticed, there is a replacement bus at Crewe with a destination for Shrewsbury. If Shrewsbury is a hint for their next project then there are some interesting lines they could make.

 

Is Chirk on the Crewe to Shrewsbury line? That’d make good use of the Class 70 for the log trains.

 

Also on the trainsimsociety YT Q&A with AABS, they've clarified that they wont be doing backdated and the team prefer to build to a modern day scene since the group as a collective enjoy the modern day workings, with accessibility a lot easier to come by. So whatever they decide to choose next it'll be current time period..
Was and interesting interview and worth a watch

 

If the route is Crewe to Shrewsbury, it’s perfectly doable clocking in at 29 miles in length.

Depending on the year in which it’s set it could feature a new train from TFW. The Class 197.
It would also use the 150’s, 158’s and 175’s.


Certainly a possibility if Shrewsbury was a hint for their next route.

 

I have yet to buy Trent Valley Main line got every intention of buying but i reckon it will something out of DTG train simulator classic catalogue re developed for train sim world

 

If they are going for 30 mile routes then that makes Birmingham to Shrewsbury favourite I would think. Or maybe Crewe to Derby.

 

Please no more Crewe... (or Birmingham)

 

I know how you feel, Crewe is getting a bit over-kill now.
I suggested Crewe as a start or end point as I would like to see AABS routes all linked up.

 

Tbh let them knock out Crewe to Shrewsbury and beyond. I'm sure it'll be fantastic.

 

Looks like until DTG can fix the core and the game can be stable across all platform longer routes might be a thing of the past, while it was also mentioned about less busy routes as well, which is a shame for myself as I enjoy the 60mile+ drives with high volume traffic, especially in the Pendo or 80x series....

Would like to see the Hope Valley come into TSW as it has a good variety of rolling stock with the 195, 185, 158, 156, 150 + 170 but guess that would require building new trains which seem to be a difficult process for most, but AABS with their 70 are obviously learning to from where they started from.

 

The last rail replacement bus service indicated a missing link between routes, not driveable route in game. I suspect that this one might indicate similar, so I wouldnt be surprised if the route was Shrewsbury to South Wales. Cardiff is around 90 miles from Shrewsbury so probably too far but the station is already built albeit not to a great quality but it is a start.

Could we see the Welsh Marches finally in TSW?

 

Totally agree, Welsh Marches would be a nice change of pace, but those plastic-made, oddly-driving 197s... It should bring in the 175s and Premier sets instead!

 

Going off the Q&A, majority of the AABS team are from the north of England and trying to look at new operators, so we could possibly see more around the Leeds, Skipton, Newcastle and even greater Manchester area? I did find it encouraging that they plan on more releases next year to this as they've expanded, learnt more as a development team and looking at smaller routes, so I'll take that at least if it means more content through the year!

 

It would be hilarious if they did their own version of MAC but you know, actually had it run right through to Crewe...

My money however would be on either MK-Northampton-Brum or the Welsh Marches/Heart of Wales.

 

Didnt some from that team have a hand in building MAC before branching off to AABS

 

I would love to see that. Skip out the airport branch line as that’s exclusive to MAC.

So many options to choose from though.
Manchester P to Stoke-on-Trent
Manchester P to Liverpool Lime Street
Manchester P to Crewe
Manchester P to Sheffield
Manchester P to Chester

That’s some routes off the bat I’d personally like to see

 

I believe they said in the TVL stream that they wouldn't do WCML again

 

It could be Shrewsbury to Wolverhampton as that is a complete line

 

With Shrewsbury they could do Birmingham to Shrewsbury via Stour Valley and Bescot incorporating Soho and via Aston to Walsall bringing in the 730s and 196s

 

If they are going after 30 miles then something like Birmingham to Leicester could be top of the list. They already have New Street and now Nuneaton and ought to be able to negotiate with Skyhook to use Leicester. I also wondered about Nuneaton - Coventry - Leamington, but it's a bit of a nowhere to nowhere route unless part of a larger network.

 

First of all, a big thank you and well done to the developpers. I enjoy longer routes. I think it would be wortwhile in terms of variety to have the line via Northampton and Rugby to Birmingham.

 

Hopefully they do Kings cross to Peterbrough.

 

That’s a bit beyond the 30 mile or so less complex routes they have said they now want to focus on.

Possibly already speculated on, but another potential project could be the Snow Hill/Moor Street suburban network around Birmingham, either east or west. Snow Hill to Leamington and Stratford on Avon would provide another route or part of to run the Class 70 on. Though personally going west to Kidderminster and Worcester would be more interesting.

 

Chase lines probably? Would be a good addition but it’s too WCML-y

 

I'm guessing something midland related as they did say their class 70 addon will be bringing a new timetable to MML so if they're focusing on that area that'll be great.

 

This route will happen one day, but not from a 3PD team. This is a project for DTG official to handle though.
Personally, my moneys on a BML remake this year for one of the three core routes.

 

Blasphemy

 

I reckon the ought to carry on bringing Birmingham to life, they did such an excellent job with Birmingham-Crewe - such an atmospheric place to drive around.

 

They could throw a real curved ball and do West Midlands Metro!

Or the Severn Valley Railway. Technically still current day, albeit a heritage line!

 

Ohhhh, you never know, we might just get the Stourbridge Junction branchline with the Class 139. Definitely no blurring issues occuring there!

On a more serious note I wish them the best of luck with whatever route or project they are working next. They've certainly made a hugely positive impression with me with how hard they strive to add quality, detail into the game and put blood sweat in tears into the routes they produce. They are a very talented bunch of lads.

I personally hope that someone will make use of the XC Class 170 on its own dedicated route (I mean excluding the the new Class 70 timetable). An interesting proposal I'd like to see is not an actual specific route (like a dedicated mainline), but possibly a mix and match route that you can run end to end services on that doesn't necessarily follow a single mainline. That would be interesting... From what I hear though we haven't got to long to find out what their next project is, they mentioned on Train Sim Societys interview that we will find out on the summer announcements what projects they have in the pipe line... So possibly only 8 weeks away?