Route Chiltern Main Line: London To Birmingham

2 suggestions in the space of two days, what's this about huh? Hello all, I'm TrainGeek08 and today I'm suggesting the Chiltern Main Line between London Marylebone and Birmingham Snow Hill set in the early 2010s

*NOTE*: I am aware that companies owned by Arriva are reluctant to give out licenses but who knows, DTG could make something happen...

Route Information:
The Chiltern Main Line is a railway line which links London (Marylebone) and Birmingham (Moor Street and Snow Hill), the United Kingdom's two largest cities, by a 112-mile (180 km) route via High Wycombe, Bicester, Banbury, Leamington Spa and Solihull.

Route Map:


Stock included in base route:


The British Rail Class 168 'Clubman' in Chiltern Railways livery




And the British Rail Class 67 'Skip' in Chiltern Railways and EWS liveries + Mk3s in Chiltern Railways livery + Class 82 'DVT' in Chiltern Railways livery

Training (In Training Center):
Class 67 Introduction
Class 168 Introduction
Chiltern DVT Introduction

Scenarios:
The Chiltern Club: (Difficulty - 2)
Drive this Chiltern Class 168 from Gerrards Cross to London Marylebone on a semi-fast service

Birmingham Peak: (Difficulty - 3)
Drive this peak-time loco-hauled service from London Marylebone to Birmingham Moor Street, hauled by a Class 67

Cut Short: (Difficulty - 2)
Engineering works have plagued the Chiltern Main Line between Birmingham Snow Hill and Banbury so drive this Chiltern 168 from Princes Risborough to Banbury and back in the rain

Early Riser: (Difficulty - 1)
Drive this early morning Chiltern Railways service from Birmingham Snow Hill to London Marylebone in a DVT


Timetable:
Here is the May 2012 Working Timetable for this route:
(You are interested in sections CG01 & CG02 for the Chiltern Main Line)
2012-05 WTT CG | Network Rail Corporate Archive

Potential DLC, Layers, Stations & POI on Pages 2 & 3...

 

Page 2:

Potential DLC:


The British Rail Class 165 'Networker Turbo' in Chiltern Railways livery

Training (In Training Center):
Class 165 Introduction

Scenarios:
Suburban Turbo: (Difficulty - 1)
Drive this Class 165 from London Marylebone to West Ruislip then change trains and drive another 165 from West Ruislip to London Marylebone

Banbury Shuttle: (Difficulty - 3)
A snow storm has arrived on the Chiltern Main Line, drive this 165 from Birmingham Snow Hill to Banbury and back in the snow

Through The Chilterns: (Difficulty - 2)
Drive this Chiltern Railways service from London Marylebone to Birmingham Moor Street on a stopping service

Timetable:
Incorporated into base routes' timetable

Layers:


The British Rail Class 66 'Shed' (SEHS/ECML) for freight operations and RHTT seasonal services along the route



The British Rail Class 47 (NTP) for a special railtour between London Marylebone and Banbury (where the train disappears for a while), then returns to head back to Marylebone in the evening



Stations & POI on Page 3...

 

Page 3:

(Principal) Stations:
London Marylebone:


Marylebone station is a Central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in the Marylebone area of the City of Westminster. On the National Rail network it is also known as London Marylebone and is the southern terminus of the Chiltern Main Line to Birmingham. An accompanying Underground station is on the Bakerloo line between Edgware Road and Baker Street in Transport for London's fare zone 1.

Gerrards Cross:


Gerrards Cross railway station is a railway station in the town of Gerrards Cross in Buckinghamshire, England. It is on the Chiltern Main Line between Denham Golf Club and Seer Green and Jordans.

High Wycombe:


High Wycombe railway station is a railway station in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. The station is on the Chiltern Main Line between Beaconsfield and Saunderton stations. It is served by Chiltern Railways.

Princes Risborough:


Princes Risborough station is a railway station on the Chiltern Main Line that serves the town of Princes Risborough in Buckinghamshire, England. It is operated by Chiltern Railways.

Banbury:


Banbury railway station serves the town of Banbury in Oxfordshire, England. The station is operated by Chiltern Railways, on the Chiltern Main Line, and has four platforms in use.

Leamington Spa:


Leamington Spa railway station serves the town of Leamington Spa, in Warwickshire, England. It is situated on Old Warwick Road towards the southern edge of the town centre. It is a major stop on the Chiltern Main Line between London and Birmingham, and is the southern terminus of a branch line to Coventry.

Birmingham Moor Street:


Birmingham Moor Street, also known as Moor Street station, is one of three main railway stations in the city centre of Birmingham, England, along with Birmingham New Street and Birmingham Snow Hill. Today's Moor Street station is a combination of the original station, opened in 1909 by the Great Western Railway as a terminus for local trains, and a newer Moor Street station with through platforms, a short distance from the original, which opened in 1987, replacing the original. The two were combined into one station in 2002, when the original was reopened and restored, and the newer station rebuilt in matching style.

Birmingham Snow Hill:


Birmingham Snow Hill, also known as Snow Hill station, is a railway station in Birmingham City Centre. It is one of the three main city-centre stations in Birmingham, along with Birmingham New Street and Birmingham Moor Street. Snow Hill was once the main station of the Great Western Railway in Birmingham and, at its height, it rivalled New Street station with competitive services to destinations including London Paddington, Wolverhampton Low Level, Birkenhead Woodside, Wales and South West England. The station has been rebuilt several times since the first station at Snow Hill, a temporary wooden structure, was opened in 1852; it was rebuilt as a permanent station in 1871 and then rebuilt again on a much grander scale during 1906–1912. The electrification of the main line from London to New Street in the 1960s saw New Street favoured over Snow Hill, most of whose services were withdrawn in the late 1960s. This led to the station's eventual closure in 1972 and its demolition five years later. After fifteen years of closure, a new Snow Hill station, the present incarnation, was built; it reopened in 1987.

Points of Interest (POI):
Wembley Stadium:


Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium hosts major football matches including home matches of the England national football team, and the FA Cup Final. Wembley Stadium is owned by the governing body of English football, the Football Association (the FA), whose headquarters are in the stadium, through its subsidiary Wembley National Stadium Ltd (WNSL). With 90,000 seats, it is the largest stadium in the UK and the second-largest stadium in Europe.

The Chilterns:


The Chiltern Hills are a chalk escarpment in the UK northwest of London, covering 660 square miles (1,700 km2) across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, and Bedfordshire, stretching 45 miles (72 km) from Goring-on-Thames in the southwest to Hitchin in the northeast. The hills are 12 miles (19 km) at their widest. In 1965, almost half of the Chiltern Hills was designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The northwest boundary is clearly defined by the escarpment. The dip slope is by definition more gradual, and merges with the landscape to the southeast. The southwest endpoint is the River Thames. The hills decline slowly in prominence in northeast Bedfordshire.

Tyseley Locomotive Works:


Tyseley Locomotive Works, formerly the Birmingham Railway Museum, is the engineering arm of steam railtour promoter Vintage Trains based in Birmingham, England. It occupies part of the former Great Western Railway's Tyseley depot, built in 1908 to accommodate expanding operations in the West Midlands, particularly the opening of the North Warwickshire Line as a new main line from Birmingham to Bristol. As well as supporting the trust's operating wing Vintage Trains, it is home to an extensive collection of steam engines, from small industrial builds to Great Western Railway 'Castles' and 'Halls', and large ex-mainline diesel engines.


I hope you have enjoyed this suggestion, if you have, put your thoughts below on this one, I've been TrainGeek08 as always, enjoy the rest of your day, and goodbye

 

Arriva no longer own Chiltern & Cross Country so a licence for them may be on the horizon

 

Well then... that's great, makes getting a licence that little bit easier at least

 

Yes please. Throw in the Class 68 too. As a side note, the Class 165/0 should be built alongside the GWR Class 165/1 to add to GWE. Great suggestion.

 

Great suggestion! We need more modern DMUS in TSW

 

Class 68s weren't in service until two years later so a 2012 setting wouldn't be appropriate. It is hard to imagine the line without them though.

 

I agree, but as jack#9468 has already said, the 68 wouldn't make sense for a route set in 2012 hence why I included the Class 67 instead

The 165 could be built into a 165/1 for GWE, great idea

 

Thanks, I definitely agree, we only have the 158 and 166 representing the modern DMU scene so adding a 168 would be great

 

Yeah, I just wanted to have something a bit different to the route as it is today so that's why I set it in 2012 compared to 2023

 

67, 68 doesn't really matter. We just need this route in some form or other.

 

Yeah, just get this route in first then consider a 67 or 68 for loco-hauled services after

 

seems odd to have the class 165 as a potential dlc since they are usually on most stopping services and are really common, especially compared to the class 67 where only a few sets operate. but otherwise i love the suggestion and the idea of a chiltern mainline. hopefully they get the license.

 

That's a really good argument, my thought process is that until a 165 is made for this route, that the 168 would cover the stoppers as well, okay it isn't like reality but it would be a good replacement but I see your point

 

A point during the transition between Class 67 and 68 would allow the option for both types and make better use of the route which is (although interesting) limited in variety with only around 5 different regular classes.

 

That sounds great, it really gives you the choice in what loco you prefer which I think might benefit this route a bit more

 

Let's not forget the earlier version of the Clubman dmus which were more akin to the Turbos in design. The final type is of course the Turbostar (Class 172?). This would give us all of the recent classes that use the line regularly.

 

Yeah, the 168/0 would look great as well on this route alongside the 168/1 + 168/2

 

Excellent idea overall and this was made by Just Trains in TSC. If they were to re make it for TSW 4 it will get the Blackpool Treatment by taking time.

 

Yeah, it would be great if JT made this as their next project, and they can take as much time as they need to develop this route to it is completed to the best of their ability

 

I agree sort of like how ATS is taking time for their TSW 4 route. JT is doing that to Blackpool to Ormskirk via Preston

 

Yep, it's nice to see third-party developers actually taking their time when developing routes

 

Just as a thought would love to see if there was a Chiltern Mainline route dlc I think it’s a must have be implemented to TSW4.

 

I highly agree with this and I think this route should be Just Trains' next project as they were the original developers of the route in TSC

 

And it's right near the West Ruslip branch on the Central Line.

 

Yeah, if a Central Line route comes to TSW before this, then the 1992 Stock would layer onto this route

 

I would prefer WCMl for a London - Birmingham line. Though it would be awesome to have a Chiltern class 67 in the game!

 

Yep, that's understandable, but a 67 or even a 68 in Chiltern colours would look awesome

 

It would make the game be next level as I’m a huge big fan of chiltern trains especially the class 168 and the prominent turbo noises they make. Hope there is a potential DLC for this on TSW4 when the roadmap comes upon the update.

 

It would be nice to see the Chiltern Main Line on the Roadmap some day and the Class 68 and their Caterpillar engines sound glorious

 

Meant this one

 

The 168 still sounds glorious, Turbostar/Clubman sounds of any kind are fantastic, especially when they are idling

 

Just bumping this thread up
I think this would make a really good dlc, plus before on justrains chiltern railways had its own company and does not necessary has to be Arriva company for a license

 

You are correct furthermore this was originally a TSC Just Trains route. If they were to redo it for trains sim World 4 it would look like the same way as how they made Blackpool to Ormskirk via Preston route. Which is taking time

 

Would it be worth going to Stratford-Upon-Avon?

 

That would be included as part of a Snow Hill Lines DLC where the trains from this route would layer into Snow Hill Lines

 

It would be a nice add-on I guess but I've never really enjoyed the TSC version, though it was never Just Train's best release. I just found the route a bit samey once I'm out of London.

 

If that was to release, JT would probably take their time like with Blackpool Branches so it will be a good route and hopefully you would enjoy it more than the TSC version

 

I hope so, I had very little interest in Blackpool to Ormskirk or Pacers to be honest but it's now my favourite TSW route.

 

Yes. If this was released as a starter pack for TSW5 I’d be queuing up. I’ve seen the video 125 dev of the route and think it’s probably the nicer of the routes to Birmingham from London. What collectibles would you include?

 

Thanks, I mean it is a great alternative to the WCML from London to Birmingham

Collectibles eh? I'll make a list of some examples that could work:

• Route Maps
• Posters
• Bulls
• Ticket Machines being fixed

 

Lol, bulls? XD
Care to elaborate? Lol.

 

The flower planters like on Birmingham Cross-City , actual bulls at stations would not be practical

 

But fun

 

Instead of putting up posters or picking up rubbish it's:
Wrangle a bull out of the station

 

Now that would be interesting

 

Just bumping this thread to take on board with DLC class 168 clubman chiltern railways and yet again the game should implement into TSW4
had its own company and does not necessary has to be Arriva company for a license

 

We're getting a 170 but no sign of its hybrid Networker/Turbostar predecessor.