Welcome back to the TSW WC, it's time for the Penultimate round. Only Six (6!) routes remain, out of a total pool of 52. 46 have fallen. Three more will here. The pairings are a direct result of the pathways found in Round 3, and they are as follows: A Dresden-Riesa vs Sand Patch Grade The only tie that isn't all-British: DRA takes on SPG. Who will make the final? The Americans, or the Germans? B Blackpool Branches vs Midland Mainline The Battle of British Diesels is upon us! NTP, TVL, WCL, WSR and GWE have all fallen in the TSW WC, and only Blackpool and Midland Mainline remain! It's also the battle of the Third Parties! Every other route is a Dovetail one, so, will Skyhook's HST Extravaganza progress, or will the place in the final go to Just Trains' Network full of Pacers? C Southeastern Highspeed vs Brighton Mainline Don't lie, you've all wanted to see this. Southeastern vs Southern 375 vs 377/387 Only one makes the final in this all-UK, Third-Rail, clash. Voting As with all other rounds, it is requested that you vote Once per tie. This makes it more fun and ensures your vote doesn't just cancel itself out. You are allowed to vote Three (3) times; once per tie. You do not have to vote in every tie, and can vote for the Filler entries ( . ) instead, if you dislike or don't know both routes in a tie. The winner of each tie progresses to the final. This poll will run for 23 Hours - To allow me to launch the final at 14:00 (UTC), and allow 20 minutes to get it set up. The Main thread can be found here. For updates and to be informed when the Final thread launches, follow the thread there. Once the competition is over, I will be doing an overview of all things voting and pathways: https://forums.dovetailgames.com/threads/the-tsw-world-cup.77086/ And, don't think it's over yet- we still have Trains to do! Anyway, enjoy the show!
Out of these, BPO and MML are the two I like most so that were a challenging, but at the same time easy choice. BML vs SEHS left me pondering as both routes aren't my cuppa tea but in the end variety is the spice of life so SEHS took it.
BPO vs MML was hard as I love the 158, the route just lets it down. BPO overall is the better experience & the 142 is just as good. SEHS vs BML is a tough one, with SEHS having unmatched variety, but as much as I dislike Electrostars, the timetable & end to end running is another thing that is unmatched. BML takes it for me. SPG vs DRA, despite SPG being surprisingly feature rich, DRA just has more playability, more options & of course the Vectron & 101.
Same here. SEHS gets my niggle every time with that slow section around Rochester. BML is also a complete route from terminus to terminus.
SEHS is simply too empty. The timetable involves virtually none of the branchline traffic entering and exiting. BML's timetable still rules (esp. with the Class 700 mod)
I'm sorry but in BML there are only electrostars and nothing else (And the 700 with the mod). I find it pretty boring to be honest
Dresden-Riesa Y Very, very good after the recent upgrade, no issues with it whatsoever. Sand Patch Grade N My favourite US freight route, love the coal loading. But is in dire need of a ToD4 Lighting overhaul. Blackpool Branches Y Pretty much perfect, not much else to say. Midland Mainline N Very good after the update, but it needs Ratcliffe Powerplant updated and included in freight gameplay. The quarry loading at Mount Sorrel would also elevate it as a mixed route even further. Southeastern Highspeed Y Very good route, unmatched service variety. Brighton Mainline N While very busy, it is again in dire need of a ToD4 Lighting overhaul. The recently made modded timetable for it also shows how much better the route would be with the Class 700 included. Also really needs the short London Bridge branch added in to be perfect.
I like BML for its timetable, but there’s no denying that it has a problem with traction variety. Those you mention are peripheral, on a handful of services. When you actually drive the route is feels awash with 377s, and the sense of realism suffers as a result (the real thing has much more variety). The other frustration with BML is it has so many junctions which are not dealt with correctly from a signalling perspective. You get greens all the way up to a slow speed crossover, with nothing but a route indicator on the last signal (giving nowhere near enough time to brake). The only way you can drive it is by following the speeds on the HUD, which means you tend to spend all your time staring at the HUD, not what’s in front of you. The route was a big step forward at the time, but it would really benefit from some work.
Of course, I don't disagree and was just responding to point out that still it's not entirely Electostar completely though. Much agreed about BML needing more variety in TSW, the 700 being most obvious, however would like to see more recent DLC for it too such as the RHTT, 37 ROG and more rolling stock for some interesting steam/diesel railtours etc. I hope DTG takes inspiration to finally have an upgraded route/timetable for it some day, so everyone on console (well Gen 9 at least) can enjoy.
