There still isn't route hopping in the secondary stations of Aschaffenburg between their rendition in Maintalbahn and Main-Spessart Bahn...
Since I’ve only recently gotten back into TSW with version 6 (not having used or even seen versions 2 - 5) one of the features that intrigued me the most was this thing called route hopping. I thought it was a great idea, given all the effort that goes into modeling large mainline stations, it means they can get used a second time in another route to head off in a different direction. So once I realised Great Western Express allows hopping to other major stations within central London (in my mind I pretend I’ve either walked or taken a taxi between them, lol) I quickly started my network collection. And as pure luck would have it, the last few months have had some awesome routes released. So my “London” network currently is as follows: Mildmay Line … Goblin Line [Euston] WCML South … WCML Trent valley … WCML Birmingham to Crewe … Birmingham Cross City Line [St Pancras] Southeastern Highspeed … Medway Valley Line [Victoria] Brighton Mainline (would love a bit of a remaster) … East Coastway [Paddington] Great Western Express … and now the Thames Valley Branches and I must say the route hopping between them, when an option is available, has worked flawlessly every time. Of course there are some missing nodes on some routes, but I’m really looking forward for those to be added. So now I can literally play free roam in timetable mode for hours without seeing the main menu. Different trips to different parts of the country from a central hub, what’s not to like about that.
It’s a great feature, but one that, in my opinion, could be improved. This is particularly apparent when you want to run a service from London to Crewe, or vice versa.
"Please Sir, can I have some more"... (Route hopping nodes that is) Given we just received the nodes on GWE, to be able to hop onto Thames Valley Branches, I've spent a couple of hours trying to identify what's missing from the list I previously put up. It basically boils down to... Goblin Line: Desperately needs a route hopping node at Gospel Oak to jump to Mildmay Line. WCML - Birmingham to Crewe: Route hopping nodes needed at Stafford and Crewe to jump to WCML - Trent Valley. The node at Crewe should also then allow a connection to WCML - Preston to Crewe. South Eastern High Speed: Route hopping nodes needed at Gravesend and Rainham to be able to jump to Medway Valley line (as it already has nodes at those stations). But I can't help but wonder whether Strood would be a more logical location to go from SEHS to Medway Valley. At the moment I can take a Javelin (class 395) from St Pancras to Ebbsfleet Intl. and just "fast travel" to Northfleet (on the other line which heads towards Gravesend), but would rather use a marker like what was done in Paddington station to get to the underground platforms and back. Finally, a node at Stratford Intl. would be great to jump back onto the Mildmay Line. Regards.
a couple days ago I decided to do an epic journey - Crewe to Milton Keynes in 390, then hopped onto Milton Keynes to London Euston in 350... then hopped onto London St. Pancras to Faversham in Javelin... then 375 from Faversham to Rochester... from Rochester I took another train as passenger to Strood... where I hoped I could jump onto Medway 375... but couldnt ... so I had to quit to main menu to get onto Medway... anyway, I like the higher speed section around Tonbridge, would love to drive that stretch of mainline in future route, thanks
One of the few (if not the only) section in the world electrified by third rail and cleared for 100mph / 160km/h running !
...here is another place a route hopping node would be greatly appreciated... WCML - Euston to Milton Keynes: Route hopping node needed at Willesden Junction to be able to jump to the Mildmay Line. I am not sure how much effort goes into adding these nodes, but it would be a nice addition to the routes I've highlighted, especially if it coincided with the release of the extended Mildmay line. The London trunk lines and inner city lines "Network" would then be complete for a massive free roam sandbox in timetable mode.
I was once curious about that 100 mph limit... turns out that various tweaks got tried to enable third rail to be used more frequently for 100+ mph, but all of those failed... and I am fairly positive that in reality trains there rarely go above 90 or 95 cos going full tilt could mean losing grip with those shoes
anyway, yesterday did an epic journey - Tonbridge to Strood with 375, then took over a Javelin to Rainham... route hopped to SEHS, took over a Desiro service to Dartford ... such a blast
Personally, that’s something that has always surprised me... Nowadays, test runs are conducted beforehand at 10% above the intended maximum speed to certify a route for that limit (that would mean 110mph here). They must have been quite optimistic at the time, as you suggested, since it exceeds the all-time record for third rail running (set later, I imagine)... Don't forget the Eurostars in the 90's ! I was actually lucky enough to be on board one of them back then, and it really felt like... we were crawling along (after traveling along the LGV from Paris) ! Incidentally, President Mitterrand made an ironic remark on the subject, alluding to a leisurely stroll through the Kent countryside...
