I am suggesting a new steam route, other than LMS. The 69 (70)-mile section of the Southern Railway from the busiest London Terminus: Waterloo to Southampton Central in the 1950/60s. The Southern Railway took a key role in expanding the 660 V DC third rail electrified network begun by the London and South Western Railway. As a result of this, and its smaller operating area, its steam locomotive stock was the smallest of the 'Big Four' companies. Locomotives (most common): SR V Class (Schools Class) SR West Country and Battle of Britain SR Merchant Navy Class SR USA Class Rosie SR Q1 Neville Operations: The lines inherited in 1923 were divided into three geographical sections: The Western Section (former LSWR routes) included the South West Main Line, the Portsmouth Direct Line, one quarter of the West Coastway Line (between Portsmouth and Southampton) and the West of England Main Line, both serving destinations popular with holidaymakers. It stretched into Devon and Cornwall as the line ran via Exeter, Okehampton and Plymouth, and this circuitous route was known derisively as the Southern Railway's "Withered Arm" because the GWR had a stronger presence in this region. The Central Section (former LB&SCR routes) included the Brighton Main Line (the most profitable and heavily used main line), the East Coastway Line, three-quarters of the West Coastway Line, the Arun Valley Line and the Sutton & Mole Valley Lines. The Eastern Section (former SECR routes) included the South Eastern Main Line, the Chatham Main Line, the Hastings Line, the Kent Coast Line and the North Downs Line. Passenger Operations: Passenger services, especially the intensive London suburban services, constituted the key breadwinner of the Southern Railway. The railway also served Channel ports and a number of attractive coastal destinations which provided the focus for media attention. This meant that the railway operated a number of famous named trains, providing another source of publicity for John Elliot. The Eastern and Central Sections of the network served popular seaside resorts such as Brighton, Eastbourne, Hastings and the Channel ports, whilst the Western Section catered for the heavy summer holiday traffic to the West Country resorts. Passenger services on the Southern Railway consisted of luxury Pullman dining trains and normal passenger services, which gave the railway a high total number of carriages at 10,800. Pullmans: Pullman services were the premier trains of the Southern, reflecting the pride felt towards the railway. These luxury services included several boat trains such as the Golden Arrow (London - Paris, translated as Flèche d'Or for the French part of its route), The Cunarder (London - Southampton Ocean Liner service) and the Night Ferry (London - Paris and Brussels), the Brighton Belle on the Central Section, and the Bournemouth Belle and Devon Belle on the Western Section. The Golden Arrow was the best-known train of the Southern Railway, and was introduced on 15 May 1929. The train consisted of Pullmans and luggage vans, linking London Victoria to Dover, with transfer to the French equivalent at Calais. The Brighton Belle, which had its origins in 1881 with the 'Pullman Limited' of the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway, which renamed the service the 'Southern Belle' in 1908. The train was steam-hauled until 1933 when electric units were introduced after the electrification of the London-Brighton Main Line. On 29 June 1934, the train was renamed the Brighton Belle and continued until withdrawal in 1972. The SECR had introduced a Pullman train called the "Thanet Pullman Limited" from Victoria to Margate in 1921. The service was not a success and ceased to run in 1928. The service was however re-introduced by British Railways as the Thanet Belle in 1948. Freight Operations: Passenger traffic was the main source of revenue for the Southern Railway throughout its existence, although goods were also carried in separate trains. Goods such as milk and cattle from the agricultural areas of the West Country provided a regular source of freight traffic, whilst imports from the south coast ports also required carriage by rail to freight terminals such as the large Bricklayers Arms facility. The railway operated three large marshalling yards for freight on the outskirts of South London, at Feltham, Norwood and Hither Green, where freight could be sorted for onward travel to their final destinations. It also handled a large volume of cross-London freight from these to other yards north of the river via the West London and East London Lines, which were jointly owned by the Southern Railway. As locomotives increased in size so did the length of goods trains, from 40 to as many as 100 four-wheeled wagons, although the gradient of the line and the braking capabilities of the locomotive often limited this. The vacuum brake, which was standard equipment on passenger trains, was gradually fitted to a number of ordinary goods wagons, allowing a number of vacuum "fitted" trains to run faster than 40 mph (64 km/h). While typical goods wagons could carry 8, 10 or (later) 12 tons, the load placed into a wagon could be as little as 1 ton, as the railway was designated as a common carrier that could not choose what goods it could carry. Conclusion: Overall, I think this would be a suitable route for TSW 3 and will allow others to experience the driving of steam locomotives from another railway company, part of the “Big Four”.
Let's do it and for the SR locomotives might as well add in SR Q1 Neville and SR USA Class Rosie to the roster since you have a Battle of Britain Rebecca locomotive.
Yes please, perhaps a rebuilt Merchant Navy or West Country and something smaller like a Schools, or a BR Standard 4.
Great suggestion mate I've always had a soft spot for the light pacifics so would be nice to have them in game.
