Since I’ve done one of these for every other DLC, I wasn’t not going to do one for Cathcart! What can I say, DTG have raised the bar yet again, this is a very, very high quality DLC, and is now one other DLC’s have to live up to! Cathcart Circle is a pretty unique route, because of the network nature and the circle services included, it may not have been a requested DLC by the community, but I’m really pleased to see it, it’s a different kind of route! Positives: The route feels very custom built, with the amount of unique and custom assets, the station detailing probably the best we’ve ever seen, the stations are beautiful. Cathcart, Neilston, Glasgow Central are the highlights for me. Services, a very good variety of services, taken from the current 2021 TT by the look of it. Someone mentioned missing services? I don’t think that’s right, there should be a 30 min Neilston service, a 30 min Newton service, with 1 an hour via Maxwell Park and 1 an hour via Queens Park, this is as per the current timetable so is accurate and well as the additional inner and outer circle services at peak times. And there are some adverse signals as well, which is really good, hopefully this sets the scene for “Rush Hour”! The 314 is stunning, an absolutely fantastic model, accurate sounds, no issue with sound levels from me, and accurate physics, because of my real life job, I know the PEP units very well, and it felt like you were driving a PEP, the look and feel, was very immersive. The new signal types in the game and fantastic as is the Overhead line modelling! The flange squeals, crossing and track joint noises are really good, much better than what we’ve had in the past! The approach to Glasgow Central with all the signals, is just absolutely beautiful! I think my favourite run is the Neilston branch, you go from a suburban feel to out in the country, I love the reservoir view between Neilston and Patterton. It’s nice to see some improvements to distant scenery too, the scenery doesn’t just end or feel empty from a distance in parts. This really does feel like a route that because of the smaller nature had a lot of attention to detail! I love the complex junctions at Cathcart, showing North, East and West junctions, and the dive under at Cathcart North Jn, things like that, are what we’ve been missing from DLC in the past, the complex nature of a route! Negatives: There aren’t many, but while I’ve said there’s a good variety of services, there still isn’t enough. I’m happy with just the 314 alone, that wasn’t an issue and Glasgow Central is empty, that’s to be expected, but there still should be more services around the Circle itself, hopefully a future DLC will fix that! There are some slight stutters and pauses on the route, which is a shame, other than that though, performance is very good! I haven’t tried a night time service so can’t really comment about the lighting issue? Overall, what a route! I love network style route, and I’m glad DTG went with Cathcart Circle as it’s something a bit different, the route has plenty of custom assets, and really feels like there’s been plenty of attention to detail. I’m made up with the route! I would like to see more services included, as the circle can feel empty at times. Hopefully a future DLC (318, 320, 380 can fix that?). I’m very satisfied and I hope that DTG, don’t just leave the route as is, and come back with more services and more DLC, this could be a community favourite in my opinion! Maybe this is where DTG thrive, smaller routes, with more attention to detail, it worked well with this route! Overall, 9/10! Well done to everyone involved with the route, down to the community managing team (Nat, Sam, etc) for listening and answering questions about the route! A few pics to finish;
Completely agree, absolutely loving this route so far. Tried the Neilston branch for the first time yesterday after mostly staying on the main circle for the first two days, and it was breathtaking! I really like the size and service variety of this DLC. I’d rather have 3 completely different 30 minute “main” services (Glasgow-Glasgow, Glasgow-Neilston, Glasgow-Newton) instead of only one 45-60 minute service (which is often the case on other routes). Feel like that massively increases the longevity of the route.
One thing I will add too, and this is for Matt and whoever created the timetable! The inclusion of “half minutes” so instead of stopping and departing at a station at eg: 12:06:00 and departing at 12:06:30, for the first time you can arrive at 12:06:30 and depart at 12:07:00 which is a welcome first and more accurate!
I absolutely agree, Cathcart Circle is one of the best Routes so far. There is a huge variety of services compared to other routes (you can do the circle clockwise and anticlockwise, go to Neilston, or to Newton via Pollokshaws East or Queens Park.) All of which have different routes, on Hamburg Lübeck you can only drive on the mainline, sometimes futher, and sometimes you terminate earlier, but you are always driving on the same line. I also love the subsitution on GWE due to the FGW Mod, the class 314 is also a loco DLC for the Greenford Services. And on ECW, you can pretend to drive a 313.
A good summary of valid points. My biggest agreement with you is the lack of services. I also feel they missed an opportunity to add all platforms for Glasgow on Scenario Planner. Other than that, the route and the 314 (now my favourite train) is superb!
