This route is a regional line which goes from east to west across the north of England. It is operated by Northern and ScotRail and includes the following stops: Newcastle Central Station Dunston Metrocentre Blaydon Wylam Prudhoe Stocksfield Stocksfield Corbridge Hexham All of the stations except for Newcastle, Hexham and Metrocentre are served by a limited number of trains a day. The trains which operate on this route are: Class 156 Super Sprinter Class 158 Express Sprinter Pacers (which were recently removed from service) The journey time from Newcastle to Hexham is just over an hour but some services are quicker as they don't stop at as many stations. The top speed of the line is 65mph and has a total number of 2 tracks. The line is also known as the Tyne Valley Line as it follows the river Tyne along to Hexham. The line actually travels all the way to Carlisle but that takes over 2 hours! The Tyne Valley Line is a 58-mile (93 km) route, linking Newcastle upon Tyne with Hexham and Carlisle. The line follows the course of the River Tyne through Tyne and Wear and Northumberland. Five stations and two viaducts on the route are listed structures. The railway was built by the Newcastle & Carlisle Railway, with the requisite Act of Parliament gaining Royal Assent on 22 May 1829. The line was built in sections from 1834 onwards. The first section of the line (running between Hexham and Blaydon) opened in March 1835. Services were soon temporarily suspended, until May 1835, after a local landowner objected to the use of locomotives (this being specifically prohibited by the Act of Parliament). The entire route between Carlisle London Road and Redheugh in Gateshead was formally opened to passengers on 18 June 1838. A temporary bridge over the River Tyne was built at Scotswood, in order to allow trains to reach a terminus at Forth Banks in Newcastle, with this section of the line opening on 21 October 1839. The line was later extended to Newcastle Central, with the first service operating on 1 January 1851. The Newcastle & Carlisle Railway was absorbed into the North Eastern Railway on 17 July 1862. From 1864, trains ran to Carlisle Citadel station, with Carlisle London Road closed. In 1870, the temporary bridge at Scotswood was removed, and a new iron Scotswood Bridge was built to replace it. In 1982, British Rail closed the Scotswood Bridge, which had become uneconomic to maintain. Trains on the Tyne Valley Line from Newcastle were diverted to use the present route, crossing the King Edward VII Bridge to the south-west of the station, before running through Dunston and Blaydon, on an upgraded section of the original route along the south bank of the Tyne that had previously been freight-only since the 1850s After leaving Newcastle, the line originally ran along the north bank of the River Tyne for around 4 miles (6.4 km), serving the Sir W. G. Armstrong & Co. works at Elswick, before crossing the River Tyne at Scotswood, and rejoining its current route along the south bank from Blaydon. Since 1982, after leaving Newcastle, the line crosses the River Tyne using the King Edward VII Bridge, before then diverging from the southbound East Coast Main Line, and running west through Gateshead, with stations at Dunston, MetroCentre and Blaydon. At Wylam, the line enters Northumberland. The station house at Wylam was built in 1835, and is now a Grade II* listed building. The line continues along the south bank of the River Tyne, with further intermediate stops in Northumberland located at Prudhoe, Stocksfield, Riding Mill, Corbridge, Hexham, Haydon Bridge, Bardon Mill and Haltwhistle. A diversion at Corbridge, opened on 27 May 1962, allowed straightening of the line to remove a 45 mph (70 km/h) speed limit and the closure of the 510-foot (160 m) long Farnley Scar Tunnel, which was in need of further reinforcement. In Cumbria, the line serves Brampton (Cumbria) and Wetheral stations, before joining with the Settle and Carlisle Line just before Carlisle. For this route I am suggesting just from Newcastle to Carlisle. This would be a really good route to see in TSW2 as it is a key example of the beauty of the Northumberland countryside. As always if you have any questions, please place them in the comments section. Thanks
Would be a nice route. I actually prefer this line to Settle and Carlisle because it's just as scenic and much more busy. Might be interesting to get a timetable simulating East Coast diversions with HSTs running non-stop via the Tyne Valley Line. Also a lot of freight action with both Kingsmoor Yard and Tyne Yard as possible inclusions. Heaton depot maybe too.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I completely agree with how you would like to see the route go along to Carlisle.
I have been BEGGING to see this in Train Simulator! We already have every other line in this circle, and we need to finish that circle so we can make a nice network in the Workshop for that game! Of course, I'm not against it here as well, but we REALLY need it over there. Wouldn't mine it extending beyond Carlisle, also. Whitehaven waits on the western side on the water.
Excellent route idea and if Abbreviated this might become TyVL because TVL means Tees Valley Line. There's only two trains that TyVL Tyne Valley Line can give to Tees Valley Line Class 156 & Pacers via a reskin into 1989 paint which is a Blue and White Regional.
I think DTG are very open to making the same route for both within a short time because of the whole Covid thing and it will still be popular on both, so it may just happen. It’s a popular suggestion and could go all the way to Carlisle instead of just to Hexham for both sims.
Carlisle is the transportation hub, as it's known in the area. It pretty much has to run through. Carlisle to Barrow-in-Furness via Whitehaven - i.e. the Cumbrian Coast Line - is also needed, but I think the direct Newcastle to Carlisle link takes precedence. Why? Because both are major places on the line while Whitehaven is more of a minor place (though it's the city or at least large town over there, I believe) and would be the likely midpoint terminus for two sections of line instead of the middle of one large stretch. And frankly, I could see Just Trains or someone else deciding to tackle that to connect to the line we're proposing someday. Let's not forget that using the East Coast Main Line from Edinburgh or places along the coastal part of the line can also be a good freight option, turning at Newcastle towards Carlisle. Normal passenger service? No, but if it's part of a larger network, you can see the timetabled trains all over the lines. Worth having.
This route is probably ideal for both simulators being about 55 miles long. I would probably prefer it on TS too just because we have so much more rolling stock to choose from to use on the route, but TSW definitely needs a modern route up north too.
I know that route but the thing is this it has a class 101 people multiple-unit dating back for the 1950s even though it should have 1989 era Dmus Pacers and sprinters.
Scenario makers should be able to use Sprinters on the existing route if they came into existence. Perhaps the DLC for the Sprinters can even add a set of Sprinters to the timetable, or otherwise modify the timetables for the route to include a few. However, if the route is dated for a certain era, I can see why they are not included.
Thanks for your comment, I agree with what you have said. It would be nice to see Sprinters in the game and it could possibly be a DLC if this route is created. It would also be nice to see the modern day trains on the route too.
Thanks for your comment. I agree with your suggestion and hopefully there could be a nice mix or modern day trains and 1950s trains.
I proposed Newcastle to Carlisle a while back, not beyond the realms of what could be done in TSW2. My preferred era would be BR Blue, but more recent just as good.
I am surprised this route hasn't appeared in a simulator yet. I feel it would be a shame if it didn't go the full length from Newcastle to Carlisle. I too would prefer an 80's setting but would be very happy with a modern setting.
Reason for it is very simple is that Class 156 and Pacers are ordered to replace the ageing Class 101 DMUs.
I suspect for freeware would be a huge challenge at both ends doing two complex locations, but yes it’s surprising the resources of the payware groups haven’t come up with something.
Hi, thanks for the comment. Unfortunately last year Loganair (who were the only airline operating out of Carlisle) seized operations from Carlisle due to a lack of passenger numbers. Previously, there were routes to Dublin, London and Belfast from Carlisle but they no longer exist. The distance between Carlisle and Newcastle is too short to operate a commercial flight, and after Loganair stopped serving Carlisle, no airline would be willing to do the route. This is why most people use the train route I am suggesting or the lakes bus. Thanks for your comment, please vote on the poll
Scotrail operates occasional services that continue from Carlisle across to Newcastle semi-fast. These are essentially extensions of the Glasgow Central to Carlisle services via Dumfries operated by a Class 156.
Thank you so much to everyone who has commented and liked this post. I am glad that you support the idea of this route. Please, if you haven't already, comment and like this post if you want to make it a reality.
