Top pic is a Class 87 or and the bottom is a 31, notice how the 87s gauges illuminate the controls while everything is in darkness in the 31, for "grab the controls with the cursor" player like myself this is huge and the difference between needing to drive with the cab light on at night and not. I picked two JT locos to show improvement is possible over time, but everything BR blue not by JT is like the bottom image.
Everything about 86/87 is fantastic, it amazes me they don’t get more love. Perhaps because they’re harder to drive?
I think a factor of this might be that the Class 31 hasn’t actually been updated for proper TOD4 compatibility, its lighting is still in TOD3. Tees Valley is overdue a remaster to be fair, it and NTP should be next in line if you ask me
And if anyone should be given the job of remastering BR Blue era stuff, it should be JT. They've shown what can be done with that era, and I think the community would only trust them to get it right. If there's any missing traction they can develop to pay for a remaster, day 1 purchase for me (as is anything from them, to be honest).
oh man imagine if they remastered Tees Valley or NTP with extensions to Newcastle & Liverpool respectively? The stuff dreams are made of
Man the 56 would be fantastic, the pre-existing routes it could layer onto make it a no-brainer in my book, it would even work on both modern and older routes (with small model changes) I'm just surprised none of the third parties have done it already.
I find the 86/87 kind of a snooze fest, but at the same time semi interesting with the gauge system it has going on. Maybe it’s the route that’s boring, I don’t know. I find Blackpool Branches a lot more interesting with the pacer and other available stock to drive.
I've to add to this. It's not the 86/87 that is the problem. Spawn it in free roam and drive a stopping commuter service with them somewhere along a dense route and you'll fall in love with them.
I mainly enjoy the 86/87 timetable runs on Preston Carlisle which are set to stop at all stations. I find an end to end run without stops a bit boring TBH. Unfortunately there are only a few timetable services which stop at all of the intermediate stations and they’re hard to spot by simply looking at the list.
I love driving the 86 and 87 stimulates the old noggin a bit. Even on a fast run you are constantly up and down a few notches on the tap changer to hold speed. I also make it more of a challenge by knocking out one if the traction motors as I get a feel both locos are a bit too powerful.
The 86 and 87 are fun to drive, keeps me on my toes. Whether it's the constant use of the tap-changer, the neutral sections or making sure I slow down in time for the platform, I don't get bored driving them.
I prefer the 86 to the 87, having a bit less power really makes the difference for me. It's nice you have to manage the neutral zones yourself as well. To be honest I've been playing HUDless and have found it to make the driving experience more fun, I always find myself managing the tap changer to avoid exceeding the speed limit as you go across the route. I do avoid fast runs though, I much prefer the stopping services where you have 10-15 minutes of running then coming to a stop. Hopefully the 86/4 layers onto WCMLOS ASAP.
Amen there mate, love the 86, and as a fellow hudless driver (mainly on WCMLos I'm still learning the other routes) managing when to start running down due to speed changes or neutral zones, also when you know you can get away with running back up so you don't lose too much speed on the inclines, it just adds a new lvl of fun to driving.
I will take your advice on that, there’s plenty of electrified AC routes in the game to choose from. Personally I wouldn’t mind giving it a run on the WCML, but I’d prefer to create a scenario and make it an “all stop” service. I don’t hate the 86, I think it’s the route that bores me. I do prefer commuter driven routes, which is why Blackpool Branches gels better with me.
Does it even say if it’s an “all stop” service on the description? This is where I’m going wrong then as I seem to pick either the semi fast or express services.
No I don’t think theres much of a clue in the timetable list. I tried to work it out by looking at the total time allocated for each run but that doesn’t necessarily work. The only way to be sure is to load a service and then press “T” to see the timetable details. Of course I haven’t got round yet to making a list of the best stopping services.
Easiest way to check is the times, i think the stoppers are 1hr 7mins off the top of my head, but don't take that as gospel LOL
All stations is a bit of a misnomer on this route as, unlike DTG’s preferred electric bus stop suburban routes, none of the main line stations is less than 15 miles apart.
Aye my only wish was that speed limits on the routes were not so tied into the signalling and physics systems so tightly, would open up a lot more options for moders doing modern route add-ons.
This is where Preston/Crewe will excel, ok so there is a decent long stretch between Crewe and Warrington but then it's a ten minute dash from Warrington to Wigan then 15-20 minutes up to Preston, most passenger runs will be stopping at Warrington and Wigan so that should please some, maybe less so those who want to do an express though there should be a couple of them too
