New Steam Route: Peak Forest Ambergate - Buxton And Chinley

It's announced!

Really, really looking forward to this. Lots of questions though, particularly around the timetable. Discuss!

 

I assume there is no 9f,as people have been discussing? No mention of it in the stream.

 

Looks great so far and I am glad there is a new steam route but Ambergate is an odd place to start! It would be like starting the Cross City line at Barnt Green!

Will it feature the Buxton to Millers Dale branch, if so what will run the local passenger service which would have been a 1F or 2F 0-4-4T with a motor train?

I am sure it will be great and the scenery will be lovely but feels like half a route to me. For immersion it would be far better if at one end there was a major or terminating station, Derby would be the obvious one.

The 4F could possibly layer in on Liverpool to Crewe, I was disappointed that no DLC has been announced for that route.

 

Wow! Did you take these screenshots from the stream, or did they post them separately somewhere else? They seem to be in a really high resolution.

 

TSW Twitter account

 

Thanks!

 

Yes, but as the route is set in 1963 it would have been a 2-car DMU. Class 111 or 104 seem to have been the most common but there are some photos of 101s on this section so I'm really hoping we get a gameplay pack with BR Green 101 (with whiskers) and Class 45 too.

 

I am especially looking forward to the 4f in the new BR pink livery!

 

Okay I hadn't realised that service every went over to DMU's. A 104 would be lovely. By 1963 I am sure Peaks would have been ousting the steam engines on the St. Pancras expresses so a green Peak would be essential I would say.

I am sure I will but it buy it seems like part of a route rather than a complete one. Ambergate is an odd starting place.

 

My understanding having done quite a bit of Googling since the leak is that the following would be quite realistic:

Jubilee on express passenger and Class 45 for random substitution would be good if a gameplay pack follows
? on local passenger (probably Jubilee again as per SoS, although I have found at least one photo of a Jubilee out of Buxton with 4x Mk1s on what would appear to be a local service so could be prototypical)
Class 101 would be the only appropriate thing we have in-game for the Buxton shuttle
8F on heavy limestone ICI trains between Buxton and Chinley as well as mixed freight along the whole route
4F on lighter freight duties and banking (question over how this will happen in game as I don't think it's supported yet)

The passenger timetable can be found on Table 182 at the below link, with the Buxton shuttle being Table 187:

Timetable World

 

So will they put in the Buxton shuttle I wonder?

Also it seems most expresses don't stop at Ambergate so are we to start a service already moving or starting from there, which won't be realistic?

 

So are you guys essentially saying a DMU should be doing some of the services if it’s set in 1963? That’s very interesting, I doubt DTG would want to pass on the opportunity to run diesel and steam together. Surely a gameplay pack must be on their minds in this case.

 

What makes this route interesting

 

I have found a photo of one of the original Derby Lightweights running the Buxton to Millers Dale shuttle in 1956 so presumably it would have remained a DMU after that. Not convinced a class 101 would be accurate but better than nothing I guess. It would have likely been a power trailer set which we don't have modelled in TSW.

 

Steam + cool scenery + new loco & (freight?) wagons + detailed walkable areas.

 

The scenery is lovely some of the finest in England.

The major terminus at Ambergate junction it interesting too. For some trains you would have to jump off whilst it is moving!

 

Well this is the route I am totally pumped for. Really great to see a line that only partly exists in the current day being recreated for the sim and probably with hindsight would have been a better first choice for SoS, but there we are.

I do agree with theorganist above that Ambergate is a rather strange starting point, I was looking through some old maps today and apart from the junction and the main line there's not a whole load of railway there even back then. I'm guessing Derby would have involved too much work but really should have been a logical end point.

However there will be a lot of magnificent scenery to enjoy what we are getting so still a Day 1 purchase for me.

I'm presuming the 4F will layer back into Crewe - Liverpool too. And I can't not post that we do need a buffet and restaurant Mark One making to give some proper express formations.

I take it there was no estimate on likely release date either?

 

I agree. Although the branch line starts at Ambergate, the route should start at Derby. I’ve mentioned in another thread, it would be great to drive from Leicester or Nottingham to Derby in the present era then change routes and train and carry on to Buxton in the steam era.

 

I can see why they started there, especially with Derby having so much railway but for immersions sake it just doesn't work! Half the expresses didn't even stop at Ambergate so how is that going to appear in service mode. Why do so many UK routes have odd sections of route.

 

Very pleased about this one as the area has been a holiday location for all my life so I know it quite well! I do hope we get a green peak and 101 on the services they would have taken as it will just add more depth to the route and I adore the peaks so it would be the best route in game for me. The only slight annoyance is, as mentioned above, the start point but I suppose not much can be done about that now.

 

My only worries with this is the current state of steam workings and physics in TSW3. I hope these get some work before this route comes along such as manual full firing features to control those safety valves. As well as all the current outstanding SoS bugs and issues such as the lack of AI sounds.

Anothering worrying issue is the 4F, were are sounds going to come from? there are only x3 4F's in preservation and NONE of them are in service.

 

This looks like a 101 to me although could be a 111 (I understand them to be essentially identical but the 111 having a smidge more powerrrrrr for hilly routes)



And the 1963 passenger timetable for reference - seems to rely on two DMU sets to provide the full service.

 

The expresses seem to stop first northbound at Matlock so that may be where the player takes over.

To be honest, I think they've definitely prioritised the most interesting bit of track here, if going all the way to Derby wasn't realistic for whatever reason. It's going to be a stunner.

 

Understand your point but Derby probably would have taken up half the allocated building time, so Ambergate not a logical place to start but hopefully they put that extra project time into the scenery. Please don’t forget the fences and lineside clutter this time guys!

 

They mention in the stream that this route will only include Steam.

 

I suspect that is a class 101 so that is a good sign. The class 111's were mainly in the Eastern region and had more powerful Rolls Royce engines. The first four went to the LMR around Manchester but later went to the ER.

 

Well then what about the Buxton to Millers Dale local service or are they going to forget it even existed!

They bend over backward on modern routes to even make sure the ballast is the correct colour, but for anything historic it seems realism takes a back seat!

 

Well maybe they could have looked at a different route until they can find time to build large rail centres. Derby is not really any larger than Crewe and certainly not as much work as Crewe, Liverpool and Edge Hill combined.

 

Yes, I did notice that - which I thought was odd considering that one of the distinctive services of this route relies on a DMU (and one that we already have represented in a different era too).

My bet is on a BR Green pack featuring the 101 and 45 coming fairly soon after launch, especially as the 45s were pretty synonymous with this route during the early diesel period. I'm sure DTG Matt has been saying that he's wanted BR Green for a while now too, so maybe this is his way of hinting...

 

I see one person was paying attention and not letting themselves worked up in a hype state mess lol...........

 

It looks like I was wrong according to Railcar.co.uk as of January 1963 Buxton had the four class 111 power trailer sets, i.e. one a non powered driving car and class 104 sets.

The class 101 would suffice I guess, although it sounds like we will not be getting any diesels. So we can imagine that the Buxton to Millers dale line has closed and Ambergate is a new metropolis!

 

Would also like to see an all-green 40 on SoS, and the 4F and maybe a nice vacuum-only braked 08 will layer nicely for shorter duties or shunting.

 

I wonder if SOS will be forgotten now they have this new route? It desperately needs some DLC.

 

TBH the timetable really needs looking at, possibly even starting from scratch. It's a bit of a mess, sadly. That's the one area that I hope is super tight on Peak Forest to make up for it - DMU aside, we've finally got enough rolling stock to create an essentially realistic timetable.

Personally I'm really hoping that a multi-part pick-up / drop-off local daily slow freight service is included with the 4F, utilising some of the small station yards on the route.

 

I don't know if the 4F would have every worked locals from Crewe to Liverpool, they certainly did work passenger trains in their lives. The Peak Forest is going to be missing a complete passenger service (Buxton to Millers Dale) unless there is something they haven't revealed or we will get a 4F with a couple of mark 1's which will hardly be representative of reality.

This route has gone from day one purchase to we will see if anything changes as far as I am concerned.

 

Really looking forward to this one. I'm still doing nightly summoning circles for a Great Western route with a Castle, but this will do nicely in the meantime. The route looks beautiful, and will be a welcome change of pace.

I'm looking forward to the 4F a great deal, should be a pleasent experience. I also like that in some ways, this route is more appropriate for the Jubilee than Liverpool to Crewe is. I certainly associate the Jubilees more with the Midland route than the WCML.

Speaking to my Dad however (who was alive at the time), he said he always associated Britannia Pacifics with this route. Now that would be a fantastic DLC, but not as fantastic as a Duchess or Princess Royal for SoS.

 

Well, it's nice to see a new steam route coming soon, a different change of scenery, and region, compared to Liverpool - Crewe, which is nice and lovely. Of course it's still in the steam era nonetheless (with maybe some BR Greens, which might happen one day, due to the time period it's at).

While both the Jubilee and 8F return for this route, which is expected, glade that they added in the 4F to the roster to make services more varied between locos (even though I wanted to see the Jinty to happen, but mix-traffic loco is still a mix-traffic loco I guess), so I do hope there will be some use for the 4F in SoS when the time is right. Not to mention a new hopper for some heavy-duty runs.

This might indeed sound like a day-one to me, but I'll wait and see what else is offered on this route, even if it'll be quite a while until it's ready to be release. Still, looking forward for more steam in the future.

 

If we get that the Green Peaks 101 will count for the Huddersfield Line NTP versions too. For me the Class 101 is a pain in the arse to drive due to its vacuum brakes which can cause you to undershoot or overshoot a stop

 

I pretty much agree with what most are saying on here. The MML route should have gone to Sheffield and not Derby and this route should have gone to Derby and not Ambergate

 

Really looks exciting, but i really hope they sort out the safetys constantly blowing before release, as its the thing that puts me off most from current TSW Steam.

But nice Network and a new loco, hopefully a good timetable too.
Almost all new announcements are a must have

 

So does this route include either of the existing SoS locomotives? Or are they just gonna sub in? Seeing them show off the 8f front and center gave me the impression it's gonna be included, but listening to the stream gave me doubts about that.

 

I guess thats coming with the manual firing, which i really hope is coming to tsw with this addon.
As long the player cant "control" the coal mass directly due adding thr coal, the safety will go off.
I think currently the boiler generates steam in a way, like a firemen would keep his fire on powered condition.

 

I will need to look in one of my old Bradford Barton books, Diesels In The Landscape, later but fairly certain there's a couple of pictures of Peaks on this route in the early 60's. This route will be glorious with steam but even better if the basic timetable featured mixed traction from the get go. The 45 is probably my favourite UK loco in TSW so a bit of retcon and relivery would be magnificent. That and my RMB buffet car. How about it, DTG Matt ?

 

Looking at Openrailwaymaps.org, I do not see what you mean. The route is called "Ambergate to Buxton and Chinley", so there must be rails from Millers Dale to Buxton. How else are you gonna get there? Buxton and Chinley are two seperate towns, on different branches of the line that come together at Millers Dale Junction...

 

TSG are building Derby anyway for MML so with a bit of negotiation (DTG are publishing it after all) and a paint job to make it look like 1963, they wouldn’t need to start from scratch.

 

There was a branch line between Millers Dale and Buxton which had a passenger service between the two places, which should be included.

However if there is to be no DMU included then what will run the passenger service between the two places?

 

just did some research and a bit of the line is a heritage railway line albeit only 4 miles so we might get a modern timetable with class 45s on a heritage railway part of the line. Also the heritage railway is planning on a expansion which could mean the whole line could be getting relayed.

 

Of all the routes I have ever known on a train simulator, from a game play and simulation point of view Ambergate is the daftest start point I have ever seen!

 

Ngl I thought this was a fictional railway until I did some research