Esk Valley & North Yorkshire Moors Railway Discussion

Starting a thread for this route as I know it is currently under development by a lone dev (an official DTG partner) as per the Mildmay Line. Hoping to see it added to the official roadmap soon so we know it is on it's way for sure.

It would be great if we could hear some updates and maybe some work in progress screenshots from the dev working on it if possible.

The prospect of having a route with a mix of mainline and a heritage line is very appealing to me and I hope it could also open up the scope for a resumption in steam loco development.

 

Having seen the cost of the year pass (from £50 last year to £180), this might be the only way I'll experience that railway anytime soon! If done well, this could be epic. It's a long old stretch at 25mph from Whitby to Pickering though.

 

I suspect there’s a long path from getting something up and running in the editor to it being approved by DTG for sale or even free distribution (yeah right).

Also ISTR the NYMR being a bit protective of their licence when it comes to simulation products, particularly payware.

This is why, again IMHO, offering the public editor was a bit of a sham as there is no real practical method to produce something from personal interest and offer it as freeware.

 

Judging by the route map, the route is unremarkable - the most ordinary (except for the Middlesbrough station)

 

Oh the Whitby line is quite scenic, well once you reverse at Battersby and head towards the coast. The NYMR is also a scenic route, albeit mainly moorland in nature and has some challenging gradients. Probably a more interesting and varied drive than WSR, IMHO.

 

I agree. I've taken the train from Marton to Grosmont several times and I love the changing scenery. And then it's always nice to end up at the seaside at the end of it. The NYMR gradient profile will definitely make for a challenging drive, particularly the Grosmont to Goathland Summit section.

 

Very excited to see this

 

I thought that this was being done as ‘Esk Valley’ rather than ‘NYMR’ so as to not upset them.
They can’t really protect a line on its own, if its not called ‘NYMR’ in the game.

 

A grey area of it ever got to the point of being released as a commercial venture, though. It can only be sold through DTG and they are cautious to the point of paranoia where licensing is concerned.

 

Depends on when it was dated.

If done as 50/60s and BR, then wouldn’t need any licences from NYMR.

We have Steam in game, and 1st Gen DMUs, along with early Diesels and Mk 1 coaches.

 

Is it a steam route or diesel route or both

 

Both, Esk Valley is Northern 156 & 158’s.

Then you have NYMR which is preserved diesel & steam.

(assuming current era here of course)

 

The one route I've been excited for since the guy first started posting the building updates for it last year I believe?

 

I think it was last year and there was some work in progress images of the work on Whitby station which looked amazing. I believe all of the track and terrain had been set down, just the scenery and line side items to be worked on. It must be a massive job for one dev.

I am the same as you, very excited. I often look forward to many of the new routes that come out but this one in particular is one I can’t wait for.

 

I wonder the price? Doesn’t seem to be too many services but it seems to be a long route.

 

I am a volunteer on the NYMR, please pm me if I can help with any information

 

2022/2023. Last time I checked.

 

So what stock will be used for the Mainline services?

Northern was 156/158s by then, as the 142s had gone, and 150s would be (extremely) rare.

 

I’d prefer a 156, but guessing that working out a deal with SHG for their 158, is easier than making a new unit.

 

Likely it'll be the 158. But I can imagine it'd be set up so that if we get a 156 in the future it can be used.

 

Honestly, I imagine that the class 156 would come with the route. If incredible trains could do it I don’t see why Andy can’t.

 

Another interesting sounding project.

 

It is and it will bring a mix of mainline and heritage together which should be uniquely brilliant. If that works then a Devon riviera line with the Dartmouth line included would be what I’d love to see next.

 

I think it would be a safe guess that the NYMR section is the main focus of the route, not the mainline part. Andy has a fair few videos of the heritage line on his YouTube.

I'm hoping we'll get a brand new heritage locomotive to the game, something mainline certified so that it can be layered on future railtours on modern routes. With mainline reusing something fitting, depends what year the route will be set in.

 

Both Scotsman and multiple Black 5's have been on the route in the past/present and so there's already steam stock that could be layered in.

 

True, but there is still a need for more heritage stock and seeing how it’s likely that the NYMR is the main part of the route, it would make sense to make a preserved locomotive to go with it. Certainly the more interesting choice for new stock, let’s put it that way

There is a desperate need for more steam locomotives in TSW. The current physics might not be brilliant, but they work alright at slower speeds. A heritage line would be a good choice to add a new one. Still think the WSR should get a GWR steam locomotive too.

 

The NYMR is now operating exclusively with Mk1 coaching stock, so coaching stock is available. It also planning to return a class 101 to service so that is also available.
For diesel haulage it has a class 37, a couple of class 31s, a class 47 and a class 25, the class 25 is undergoing maintenance at present so the diesels are available.
Steam is a different matter, to give an appearance of something like a realistic timetable a black 5, a 9f and a schools class would be needed, all lacking.

 

Would kill for a schools class in game

 

Yes please.

 

Repton, the schools class on the NYMR is magnificent if not a little incongruous

 

A scene I can’t wait to replicate one day in the future

 

I’m feeling myself a bit of northern diesel a bit.

 

I love the NYMR, I used to spend a lot of time there with the deltic preservation society. Some incredible memories!

 

Personally I'm looking forward to recreating something like this.

 

A Black 5 in the sim would be amazing. Constantly wishing that there's movement behind the scenes at DTG to resume steam traction soon. Do you hear us Matt and DTG?!

 

Apparently a one handle EMU sells better than historical stuff.

Personally I've always believed that's nonsense.

 

It would just be nice to have a little more variety as it seems like the traction offering is a little stagnant and set in its way too much. I obviously bang on about having more steam all the time but I think its also about time we had something different in the diesel/electric traction field like the slam door EMU/DMUs and for more modern times a Voyager. When Just Trains gave us the class 87 last year it was a breath of fresh air!

 

I rode this route a few years ago. Sounds interesting. And you get Aidensfield AND Hogsmeade station (OK, they are both Goathland )

Where did people hear about this as it is not on the roadmap?

 

https://forums.dovetailgames.com/threads/esk-valley-and-nymr.77097/

 

It is, Matt even said after the release of SoS that it were a best seller!

 

but it's shorter then the WSR which is a win in my book

 

The whole route if made would be £30 though wouldn’t it?

 

I honestly can't wait to see this in game. I hope we at least get 1 new steam locomotive & 1 new diesel locomotive to run on the NYMR section

 

I would pay £40 if it had the entire line from Middlesbrough to Whitby with the NYMR to Pickering. Has the potential to be one of the best DLCs in TSW if that’s what we get.

 

most likely. The default price for routes these days is £29.99

 

I would pay quite a bit for new steam but hell I would probably still buy it even if it doesn’t ,because this route looks to be same high quality as just trains, mind you we really only seen very early progress photos, I honestly hope for more

 

If they'd actually put in the effort and developed more steam content, maybe it would have sold better.

Two half-baked routes - one representing a weirdly quiet busy main line (which even in steam days was the busiest in the country) and the other having illogical end points - with little effort will obviously sell less as time goes on, especially when the only other options are modern trains.

 

Totally agree

Remember when SoS was pre-release and we were promised various DLCs which would help build the route.

 

If another developer tried to go into steam I would buy it 100%. I want to support steam content and even if it maybe wasn't the best opener or was similar to what we already have I'd still take it on that premise at the moment.

 

Me too!

I did a run from Preston to Carlisle with the Flying Scotsman last night and loved every second of it.

I have never driven a steam loco nor do I completely understand the physics but what I do know is that the locos we have are fun to drive and they look great.

Sure there may be some purists who aren't happy with them but I bet the majority who aren't are the same as me and just enjoy driving what we've got.

As I've said before I am praying hard that new steam locos are being developed on the hush hush and we will get an exciting announcement sometime in the near future, perhaps for TSW6.

I wouldn't even mind if they didn't create new routes specifically for them, just loco packs with railtour services added to existing DLCs would suffice.