Route Hounslow Loop: London Waterloo To Windsor And Weybridge Via Staines

Discussion in 'Suggestions' started by blibbles#5319, Jul 4, 2026 at 6:03 PM.

  1. blibbles#5319

    blibbles#5319 Active Member

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    This route is like the Southern Region equivalent of the Cathcart Circle line.
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    [Image doesn't show the entire route suggestion]

    This route runs for just 11 overall miles between London Waterloo and Hounslow, coming along the line via Kew Bridge and Brentford, the line loops back around just after Hounslow going back to London via the Waterloo-Reading line. Due to the loop aspect of this route, the total route coverage is 16 miles.

    Because 16 miles is quite short, though somehow there are shorter British routes in the game, there should be the branch lines from Hounslow to Windsor & Eton Riverside and to Weybridge via Virginia Water. Those branch lines both follow the Waterloo-Reading line until the Windsor branch diverges at Staines and the Weybridge branch diverges from Virginia Water. There could - could, not should - also be the spur from Twickenham to Strawberry Hill CSD. Those three extra lines would take the total route coverage to 32 miles beating Cathcart Circle and Cardiff City Network in mileage whilst not being anything too memory intensive (performance shouldn't be an issue).

    Motive Power
    I would prefer this route was set in 2024 so not too much motive power would need to be included to make a full rail scene, besides between Waterloo and Clapham Jn. Motive Power would have to be the SWR Class 450 and Class 458/4 with at least 2 variants of the SWR Class 455 made as an add-on.
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    End to end services:
    London Waterloo - London Waterloo via Hounslow clockwise
    London Waterloo - London Waterloo via Hounslow anti-clockwise
    London Waterloo - Weybridge via Staines and back
    London Waterloo - Windsor & Eton Riverside and Back
    ECS moves eastbound to/from Strawberry Hill CSD
    ECS moves to/from Staines EMU Sidings

    Other drivable services:
    SWML services between Waterloo and Clapham Jn
    Kingston Loop services between Waterloo and Strawberry Hill clockwise
    Kingston Loop services between Waterloo and Strawberry Hill anti-clockwise
    Hoo Jn to Eastleigh freight between Clapham Jn and Addlestone Jn
    Aggregate freight between Clapham and Kew East Jn

    Ai only services:
    SWML services not stopping at Clapham Jn
    BML services through Clapham Jn
    LO services at Clapham Jn and Richmond
    LU services at Richmond
    SWML services at Weybridge


    Stations:
    London Waterloo
    Vauxhall
    Queenstown Road
    Clapham Junction
    Wandsworth Town
    Putney
    Barnes
    Barnes Bridge
    Chiswick
    Kew Bridge
    Brentford
    Syon Lane
    Isleworth
    Hounslow
    Mortlake
    North Sheen
    Richmond
    St. Margaret's
    Twickenham
    Strawberry Hill
    Whitton
    Feltham
    Ashford (Surrey)
    Staines
    Wraysbury
    Sunnymeads
    Datchet
    Windsor & Eton Riverside
    Egham
    Virginia Water
    Chertsey
    Addlestone
    Weybridge

    33 stations on 32 miles of track.

    Notable points of interest:
    London Waterloo is the biggest station in the UK
    Clapham Jn is the busiest station in Europe (by train count)
    London Waterloo used to serve Eurostar services on platforms 20-24 with the original canopy unchanged
    Twickenham has the famous Twickenham Rugby stadium
    Heathrow Airport traffic is visible between London and Windsor
    Windsor has Windsor castle
     
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  2. vep3417!

    vep3417! Member

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    Nice ideas here mate, but I really think anything NSE/SWT/SWR that runs out of Waterloo will need curtailing at a station prior. For example, you could run to Richmond from Reading/Hounslow instead and allow the train/AI trains to continue to Waterloo so as to keep the framerates solid. I really believe Clapham and Waterloo is a no go currently for TSW6.

    My previous suggestion for example was Wimbledon to Guildford with the option of branching off to Basingstoke or Alton. Drivers sometimes change over at Wimbledon anyway and crucially it leaves out the Waterloo bottleneck
     
  3. vep3417!

    vep3417! Member

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    oh and by the way, also agree we NEED a class 455
     
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  4. Wivenswold

    Wivenswold Well-Known Member

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    Can't see Clapham Junction being an issue for TSW 6/7. It worked okay in TSW2. Would Waterloo be that much more memory intensive than Victoria?
     
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  5. blibbles#5319

    blibbles#5319 Active Member

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    Politely, I feel, while it's not in any way a small station, Wimbledon would be a very strange place to end the route coverage given that only TFL trains terminate/start there and no fast trains from the South West stop there. The same goes for Richmond, just because it's one of the bigger stations on that line doesn't mean the route coverage should just end there.

    If you absolutely had to emit Waterloo from a South Western region route, then the route coverage should go to Clapham Jn at least since that station is already in the game as part of the London Commuter/Brighton Mainline route
     
  6. blibbles#5319

    blibbles#5319 Active Member

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    Agreed, Waterloo is the biggest station in the Uk, but not he busiest, that's not to say it's quiet, but it's similar in busy-ness to London Victoria, which is already in game

    The only problem with this route is the current lack of an SWR license for TSW, which baffles me since the Portsmouth Direct Line (Waterloo to Portsmouth via Guilford) is in TSC and is set post SWR introduction
     
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  7. Wivenswold

    Wivenswold Well-Known Member

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    This one may have to wait until there's a sizable number of SWR units in the new GBR livery or back-date it to the end of the SWT era if it's getting 455s.
     
  8. blibbles#5319

    blibbles#5319 Active Member

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    I would much prefer a Class 455 over a class 701, the 701s have no character compared to the Class 455, but I could now see DTG bringing a Class 701 because those are part of the Aventra family, as is the LO Class 710
     
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  9. Wivenswold

    Wivenswold Well-Known Member

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    I tend to agree with you, it's about time we had a Mk3-derived EMU in TSW and the 455 would be a good first option, especially if it's from the first batch as they could also be used on London to Brighton for London-area services.

    I think we'll see more Aventras but not because we have another version in-game already. Each version would require a complete new 3d model and scripting. The sounds are the same and the modular parts of the design are the same but that would only save a developer a little time when building a 701.
     
  10. vep3417!

    vep3417! Member

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    Given that it’s now been confirmed the South West Trains livery has been licensed, I suspect we may see something exciting soon!!!!
     

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