Figure Pen Corr needs a rolling stock augmentation. But which? Generally I prefer freight and shunting, and dislike commuter. But that doesn't mean I never drive passenger services - except on Pen Corr, because I can't stand driving the F40PH in that role (it was a fine mainline intercity loco, but all wrong for stop-and-start commuter service). The Baby Bullet might make those services palatable-- or might not. Which loco adds the most play value?
Mp15 adds a lot imo, an extra service for the f40 with 2 loco's (putting it together and when it returns splitting it up again) adds light engine run all the way to san jose, picking up ballast, taking it all the way back, a rescue service for a failed train and local depot shunting (though i must say i also really enjoy the baby bullet, super fun to drive and has limited stop runs)
Passenger wise I was in the same troubled situation as you, I really driving the F40. I bought the MP36 today, and it is much more enjoyable to run down PC with this loco, the braking is so much more convenient to handle.
The Baby Bullet is a fun ride. The cab is like something a Bond villain would operate from. I'm considering picking up the MP15 because of the variety of services - seems to have a bit of everything. Just seen your post KoeleKoen. That does sound good, thanks!
Well if you hate driving the F40PH that much, then getting the Baby Bullet might be a great alternative. I mean it's understandable if you find the lapped brakes difficult to use in frequently stopping runs, though I enjoy the challenge it gives, and you get used to it after a while. But personally I will also vote for the MP15, as it gives more variety gameplay wise, and increases traffic on the route with the new switching services, and I don't have a problem with the F40PH anyway (I actually prefer it over the Baby Bullet). You also said you prefer freight and shutning anyway, so the MP15 might be a better deal for you, I think?
I think the MP15 gives you a lot more diversity for the money, where the MP36 is just the same services as you already can do with the F40. (As much as I LOVE driving the Bombardier cab car compared to the Gallery cab car, I think the MP15 is still the more interesting DLC.) Of course, the best answer is really to get both
This is a tough one. The MP36 (+cab car) is great. Its brakes are a lot more simplistic to operate and the cab is awesome. Additionally, it‘s not quite as sluggish as the F40 but it‘s also not a night and day difference. Since it only does substitution, it won‘t add a lot of new content to SFJ apart from more visual variety. You should keep two things in mind though: First, the cab desk has that horrible texture problem of turning all blue sometimes. Second, it‘s extremely quiet. There‘s almost no engine sound to be heard, even with the windows open. Whether any of these are a deal breaker is up to you, but I felt the need to point out the current issues. On to the MP15. The best thing about it is that SFJ feels a lot more alive. A lot of sidings gain cars (for services with the MP15) which makes the route feel more lived in. The service variety is great. There‘s switching coaches, rescuing trains, mainline runs, as well as mainline switching. The MLK special train is also added to the service roster for the F40 (+cab car). You‘ll do some switching with this as well. The MP15 itself looks nice. It‘s got some nice sound design going on - when you pick up speed (let‘s say >30mph), the cab starts to rattle a lot. Almost sounds like the loco is falling apart. It‘s a bit too loud (louder than in TSW2020 at least), but fun regardless. Overall, this would be my verdict: If you want to be able to enjoy the passenger runs (since you don‘t like the F40), get the MP36. If you want the route to feel more alive, closer to the real deal, get the MP15.
With both DLCs being 50% off... honestly... consider getting both. MP15 adds a brand new layer, but MP36 and Bi-Level cab car are fun to drive and pretty well modelled and sounded. The main thing is that these two together practically complete the route, that's all that runs there normally (minus the meets in San Jose with different operators). The MP15 offers new gameplay, MP36 makes the route overall a lot more interesting ("Is it galleries or Bi-Levels train coming towards me?" kind of thing). Especially if you don't like driving F40, MP36 truly feels like made for frequent stops. I personally have both and wouldn't easily be able to tell which one I prefer. The whole combination of PC+MP15+MP36 is definitely great though.
If you go for variety of tasks, go for the switcher. The baby bullet is nice, but it is more of the same, driving up and down the line.
Just a few days ago, I purchased both of these locomotives. While I do like the passenger services with the MP36, I personally prefer the MP15DC, as it has some really fun freight services and scenarios. The entire reason I wanted to buy the MP36PH is because I wanted something different from the F40PH. But honestly, it’s just alright. Sounds nice, drives nice, but it’s simply another train to drive. So my love of freight trains has decided that the new freight services make the MP15DC the better option. But this could just be personal preference. If you like passenger trains, get the MP36PH-3C. If you like freight trains, get the MP15DC.
The MP36 is very good loco in its own right and I'd generally recommend if over the former as it has more services that it can be used on, even if they're not new. But if you don't care for the F40PH I tend to say you're not gonna like the MP36, the latter is a slightly better performer, but it's still a slug compared to modern units you'd see in Europe. The big thing I'd consider though is the sounds, the MP36 sound set is recorded from the actual loco, and said recordings are high quality, outside of some mixing issues it's a very solid. The MP15 does have a accurate horn, but I believe the bell's a generic one, and the engine sounds while good quality and aren't reused also aren't accurate. It sounds more like the SW1500, and while the locos look similar the MP15 sounds very different from it in real life based on recordings I've seen and heard of it. There's also the fact it which can't be used as much, as it has less services, and said services are shorter than the ones the MP15 has. But on the upside it brings a entirely new set of services, and they're pretty different from those on other routes, at least in the US at any rate. Plus said services are all different from each other, as opposed to the commuter services which are often times just copy and pasted versions of the same service just in different times of day.
I think Matt mentioned somewhere they were out of luck making MP15 because when they went to San Jose for a recording session, one of them was out "in the wild" and the other one was being repaired, so they couldn't get an engine sound from them. Just a sidenote for the sounds of it.
