The South Western Mainline Central section from Basingstoke - Bournemouth, it’s the centre of the South Western Mainline with many commuter and express journeys running the whole length, and also includes the busiest freight area in the south of England, Eastleigh and Southampton. Scroll down for images and a description of the route, and why I think this route would be perfect for Train Sim World Drivers eye view: Basingstoke to Southampton (from 41 minutes) Southampton to Bournemouth (until 31 minutes) Couldn’t find a drivers eye view to Lymington, but here is a video of the pier and town stations Here are some images of the stations, yards, depots and scenery: Basingstoke and Southampton Central: Bournemouth, Lymington Pier and Brockenhurst: Scenery in the New Forest: Eastleigh Yard, Southampton Eastern Docks and Southampton Container Terminal Eastleigh Station and Northam Depot: Why THIS Route: I believe this would be a great route for Train Sim World as it is one of the most beautiful routes, with such variety as you traverse the 50 miles through the countryside and seaside. Also, the South Western Mainline is one of the most used railway lines in the UK, including the busiest station in the UK, London Waterloo. Although this route does not feature Waterloo station, it features the same trains, the Class 444, Class 450, and if added, the Class 158, making the route appeal to a larger market. Let me just add, this route has probably the best sounding trains in the UK, the Desiros Also, the Cross Country Class 220 runs all over the UK, so will be very recognisable, and this is one of the most beautiful locations that it runs on. For Train Sim World, this Route would be a great way to implement the ability to be a train guard as it has been requested many times and this route uses guards on all its services. This route also includes the central hub of freight along the whole South Coast of the United Kingdom, giving the player many options, freight or passenger. Also, this opens up an opportunity for the future when Dovetail Games decides to expand past routes. As this is the centre of the South Western Mainline there is options for expansions in each direction. For example, the route can be expanded to Weymouth and Poole, Portsmouth and Brighton, Salisbury and Romsey, and even London Waterloo. This route has so much potential, not only in the quality of the route, but also how much it can sell. I really hope DTG can consider this. The Route: The length of the route is 50 miles from Basingstoke to Bournemouth, with an optional extra 4 miles from Brockenhurst to Lymington Pier. There are a total of 21 stations on the mainline, and another 2 for the Lymington Branch. The route itself is very picturesque, with locations such as the historic city of Winchester, the port city of Southampton, and the seaside town of Bournemouth, with the 23 mile section between Southampton and Bournemouth being along the coast. Also, Northam traincare depot is between St Denys and Southampton Central and serves the South Western Railway fleet. There is a large freight yard at Eastleigh, and the Southampton Container Terminal, where containers from overseas are transported North, with freight services going the 29 miles to Basingstoke. Trains: The South Western Mainline serves South Western Railway / South West Trains, Cross Country, and for freight, DB, EWS, Freightliner and GBRF. South West operate the Class 444 and Class 450 Desiros, and for the 8 miles from Eastleigh to Redbridge, the Class 158 Express Sprinter. With the South West Trains, the livery is different to SWR. I prefer the old SWT livery as it is more colourful and has been serving this line for many years, however the SWR livery has only been around for a couple of years, and is quite generic, but it all comes down to licensing. Cross Country operate the Class 220 Voyager. DB, EWS and GBRF operate the Class 66, with Freightliner operating the Class 70. Also, the Freightliner and EWS Class 08 is used in Eastleigh and Southampton for shunting. With the route, there are a lot of options for wagons, hoppers, box wagons, flatbeds and many others. Of course I’m not expecting it all, but having maybe a class 70 as it would be new to TSW, and have the class 66 and 08 which can be reused from past routes. Services: South Western Railway operate 4 services per hour the full length of the route, with a 5th and 6th service running 33 miles between Winchester and Bournemouth. They also run a service from London to Portsmouth via Eastleigh, covering 24 miles from Basingstoke to Eastleigh. Cross Country runs 2 full length service per hour and a 27 mile service from Basingstoke to Southampton every other hour. In Eastleigh, you can often get 5 or 6 freight services passing through per hour. If there are any services you would like a timetable for, please leave a comment below. I am open to any additional suggestions for the route so please put any ideas you have in the comments below. Thank you for taking the time to read this, and please share it where you can to try and get this through to DTG Disclaimer - none of the photos in this thread are owned by me, I found them all of the internet
Also, here are the pictures of trains and wagons on the route: Class 444 Desiro: (SWT) https://images.app.goo.gl/56GY41t9SXwD5qkr7 (SWR) https://images.app.goo.gl/xty6NQkYiMRrBumt8 Class 450 Desiro: (SWT) https://images.app.goo.gl/hqbRpv7xNMyRTNzQ9 (SWR) https://images.app.goo.gl/XqpHdm2mcroVwQyk7 Class 158 Express Sprinter: (SWT) https://images.app.goo.gl/iBT414SPFMZEXGxL6 (SWR) https://images.app.goo.gl/HCkxjfw4PcSRiwUWA Class 220 Voyager: https://images.app.gr5Gs8hj1CqND45VJ7oo.gl/ Class 66: GBRF https://images.app.goo.gl/T9sLjLFaK24qNARQ9 EWS https://images.app.goo.gl/tYWpr4KYWXvswJ1d9 DB Schenker https://images.app.goo.gl/p3bbVRakRKsdd4qJA Class 70: https://images.app.goo.gl/aK8WrQTnTBLqdBPCA Class 08: Freightliner https://images.app.goo.gl/M1XUXuh755jeeY6fA EWS https://images.app.goo.gl/7S2kXksfaRtf3rnB6 Wagons: https://images.app.goo.gl/aAzzFuotBq1JXWSJA
Your presentation is interesting and qualitative, I especialy like the scenic single line terminal station and the rich shunting possibilities in the harbour.
I like it. I'd especially like the Southampton, Basingstoke, Salisbury triangle done over time. Think that would add a nice dimension in timetable mode giving a choice of direction/traction at each corner of the triangle. Also a good route for that WSR 33 to run some railtours!
Also on the route, you may get Great Western Railway Class 158s and Southern Class 377s and Class 313s
Very much approved! Both 444 and 450 were love at first ride in TS2019, and I have a soft spot for Southampton anyway, so yeah, what more to ask for?
I know this is being said months later, but with ECW and the Class 377, this route could benefit from even more services with it!
I too like these ideas. I agree about the 33, which like various other classes, could operate railtours but this should be across several of the other routes too.
Love the idea of this route! I would love to get the class 444/450 as there my favourite units. And if I was gonna choose would prefer the swt era the trains are more colourful and unique but I wouldn’t complain if we got swr
With the recent release of the Midland Mainline route, containing the same Stagecoach colours of South West Trains, and after seeing the 158 being modelled in similar colour, my want for a Class 444 and 450 has increased massively!
If you want to do this correctly you should add freight Class 70 DMU Class 158 Electric 444 & 450 this includes services that are combined 444 450 EMU.
It would be cool to see a ‘Diesel Legends of the South West’ DLC potentially featuring Class 33s, 37s, 47s, 50s, 73s, 421s & 442s; similar to the “Diesel Legends of GW”.