This is a route suggestion inspired by Blackpool Branches with 51 miles of track going from Colchester to Clacton-on-sea, Walton-on-the-Naze, Harwich Town, Colchester Town and Ipswich. 5 lines in just 51 miles of track. I can't get a route map with all the lines together so I'll leave a link to the OpenTrainTimes map and just explore that: https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=aa68ab0dea8fc8c666d3f6c6a87b3e97fff41ae3af5d96d915aae5cec89413a7JmltdHM9MTc3OTkyNjQwMA&ptn=3&ver=2&hsh=4&fclid=010ada6f-9e07-6db7-1b88-ccbd9fc96cc6&psq=OpenTrainTimes:+Live+map+of+Marks+Tey+(exc.)+to+Clacton,+Walton,+Harwich+and+Mistley&u=a1aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cub3BlbnRyYWludGltZXMuY29tL21hcHMvc2lnbmFsbGluZy9nZW1sNA I'll give motive power options 3 time periods: 2025, 2015 and 1995. I'm not asking for this route to be set in all three, I just don't know which one I'd prefer. 2025: - Greater Anglia Class 720, 745 and 755/3 and /4 2015: - Greater Anglia Class 360, 321, 90 + DVT (if ATS can release some much needed fixes for the 90) 1990: - Anglia Railways Class 86/2, Class 312, Class 309 Stations on this line (at least in the modern day) are as follows: - Colchester - Colchester Town - Hythe - Wivenhoe - Alresford - Great Bentley - Weeley - Thorpe-le-Soken - Clacton-on-sea - Kirby cross - Frinton-on-sea - Walton-on-the-Naze - Manningtree - Mistley - Wrabness - Harwich International - Dovercourt - Harwich Town - Ipswich There are also some emu sidings at Colchester, Clacton-on-sea, Ipswich and in between Wrabness and Harwich International. You can drive shuttles like Colchester to Colchester Town, fast services between Colchester and Ipswich, long-ish services between Colchester and Clacton-on-sea and Walton-on-the-Naze and ECS moves at Colchester, Clacton, Ipswich, and Harwich. Timetable layers in the 2025 and 2015 time periods would only be the class 66 on a few freight services from Felixstowe or a few RHTT services. For the 1990 period, whatever existing BR era motive power that's appropriate for the region would be viable for timetable layers. I think this route would offer the too rare change from a to b routes with a decent amount of service variation, varying more on the time period.
2025 would be preferable im not a huge fan of routes being in the 1990's The route sounds great though. Id love to see a GEML from Ipswich to Liverpool Street and have this route be linked to it via route hopping
I'd like to see this if it was done like the GWE branches. With maybe DTG doing the mainline from Liverpool Street to Ipswich (or Norwich if I'm being greedy) and with two smaller developers doing 1. This suggestion and 2. The Wherry Lines from Norwich. As for era. In order of preference. 1. Early nineties - Classes 86,309,312,321. 2. 2003 - Classes 86,90,170,312,321,360 3. Loosely based on 2020/21 with Classes 90,321,720,745,755 4. A Just Trains style 1987 version - Classes 47,86,309,312 Obviously needing a 315 or 345 for the mainline version.
I would really like to see the wherry lines too in TSW but preferably set in 2015 because loco hauled services were still a thing then
