Just Trains recently released the Mk1 Buffet, a highly requested variant of the Mk1 carriage. This leaves only one type unrepresented in TSW currently - The Suburban Mk1s. These carriages were built between 1954 and 1956, and primarily operated on local services out of London Kings Cross, which would be the main traffic on this route. The route also includes the Metropolitan Widened Lines from London York Road (next to Kings Cross) to Moorgate, which features gradients of up to 1in40 along the 3 mile stretch of underground line. This route would be set in 1962, with Maroon and Green being the most popular liveries at the time. A picture of a Mk1 Suburban 3rd Brake coach which is based at the North Norfolk Railway as part of a 4 car set of Suburban Mk1s Proposed Rolling Stock Class 31 in BR Green livery with small yellow panel and white stripes Built between 1957 and 1962, the Class 31s were the main diesel locos on suburban workings out of Kings Cross until they were displaced by EMUs in the 1970s. 263 of these locos were built and examples of the class managed to get almost everywhere in the country during their careers. Class 55 'Deltic' in BR 2 Tone Green livery with small yellow panel The first Deltics entered front line service for BR during 1962, with their distinctive sound, horsepower and smoke output rivalling the very best steam engines running on the East Coast Mainline. Whilst there would only be around 20 to 30 Deltic services drivable on this route, it helps the route feel more alive as their exclusion would leave no express services (a bit like Birmingham Cross City when it first released) Class 105 'Cravens' DMMU in BR Green livery The Class 105s ran local services out of Kings Cross that weren't operated by 31s and suburban coaches, often running in 4 or 6 car formations. Over 300 carriages of the class were built but only 3 have survived into preservation due to asbestos issues with the units on withdrawal.
damn, would be crazy to have a ECML route in the 1980s but the class 55 Deltic is one of my favourite BR locomotives so..... approved!
Let's not forget the Class 23 "Baby Deltic" please. Back in 1962 they looked like this and were a common sight on commuter trains. Most were temporarily withdrawn by the end of 1962 because of reliability issues with the aforementioned Class 31s taking-up their duties. Yellow warning panels weren't applied until they were rebuilt in 1964-65 (with centre headcode boxes and the rather fetching two-tone green scheme as applied to Classes 17, 66 of the 25s, 35, 47, 53, 55). While the rebuild improved their reliability a little they were still considered a failure and all 10 were withdrawn again between September 1968 and March 1971. All were scrapped but a preservation society is currently building one using an adapted Class 37 body and the one Napier T9-29 power unit that was saved. Which means DTG should be able to get some sounds from it. I found a photo of the rebuilt one at the recent Great Gathering event.
This could be a really interesting route, maybe it could be moved forward slightly to the late 60s or early 70s so you could get a mix between BR Blue & Green locos running with a mixture of all Blue or Maroon Mk1 suburbans. You would be realistically be able to run a diesel only timetable (although the route changed so little pre GN suburban electrification, future steam content could appear if steam is back on the cards). 105s would be useful on other routes, especially if there was a BR blue version available.
