Looking at the title of this thread, if you're unfamiliar with the area you're probably thinking 'How does the route go to Oxford and Banbury, as well as between Oxford and Banbury? Let me explain. On the map above, the blue and black line join together at Bicester. These lines head to London Marylebone and head to Oxford and Banbury from 2 seperate stations, Bicester Village (Oxford) and Bicester North (Banbury). The blue and black lines are operated by Chiltern Railways. The red line is a direct route from Oxford to Banbury, doing this via the other routes would require reversing at a junction just south of Bicester. It is operated by Great Western Railway and is also used by Cross Country services. When the mileage of all these lines is put together, it comes in at around 115 miles. This route would be set at somepoint within the last 2 years, so that Banbury depot could be properly used. Proposed Rolling Stock Class 165 in Chiltern Railways and Great Western Railway livery Operates all Chiltern local services in addition to services to Oxford. GWR units operate services from Didcot to Banbury. The GWR service operates every 2 hours out of Banbury, with one train a day coming through from London Paddington, although I don't think this would warrant an 800 being included with this route. The Chiltern fleet of 165's consists of 28 2 car units (165001-165028) and 11 3 car units (165029-165039) and GWR fleet consists of 20 2 car units (165118-137) and 17 3 car units (165101-117). Class 165/0's have a top speed of 75mph and the 165/1's have the same top speed as a 166 of 90mph. Class 168/0 in Chiltern 'Mainline' livery Operates express services between Marylebone, Birmingham Moor Street, Snow Hill and Kidderminster. Most common stopping pattern for these services on the section this route covers is: High Wycombe, Haddenham & Thame Parkway, Bicester North & Banbury. Class is formed of 5 units which are 4 coaches long. Top speed of 100mph Class 168/1 in Chiltern 'Mainline' livery Operate express services between Marylebone and Birmingham in addition to occasionally working services to Oxford. Class is formed of 2 4 car units (168106 and 107) and 6 3 car units (168108-113). Top speed of 100mph. Class 66 in Freightliner & EWS livery + intermodal wagons & MWA wagons Operate a variety of freight services along the section between Oxford and Banbury, as well as to the freight terminal just north of Oxford Parkway station on the line towards Bicester from Oxford, with 2 trains a day to and from Whatley Quarry near Frome. Class 66's and intermodal wagon's have a top speed of 75mph whereas the MWA can do 75mph when not loaded, but is limited to 60mph when it is loaded. Depot Working Something that there isn't currently a lot of in TSW2 is moves around the depot to get stock into the correct place to either head out onto the mainline or to have other work be done to it. I believe that doing this would make playing TSW2 more interesting as currently in TS1 you can't walk around and switch between trains. Whilst I don't have access to timetables for moves around the depot, I'm sure DTG would be able to create a depot timetable of their own. DLC Potential Obviously, DLC's are an important part of the game, as it allows for more variety on routes as well as some extra services. The DLC listed below are ranked in how much of an obvious difference they would make to the timetable. Class 68, Mk3's and DVT in Chiltern 'mainline' livery The most obvious DLC for this route behind a Voyager, the Chiltern Class 68 loco hauled sets. Currently, these operate on 2 or 3 diagrams per day, depending on what day it is. These sets are usually kept at Wembley, with one set staying overnight at Stourbridge to form the early morning service from Kidderminster. Sets are usually formed of 6 coaches, with 5 of these being standard class and the coach next to the DVT being the first class 'Business Zone'. Top speed of 100mph Class 220 in Cross Country livery Operates XC services between Manchester Piccadilly and the South West. Unlike the Avanti fleet, these can't tilt. They have a top speed of 125mph. Class 800 in Great Western Railway livery Seen frequently at Oxford coming on and off the sidings as well as the one a day service to Banbury from Paddington. Probably not the most ideal route for the unit to appear on.
Awesome suggestion. Chiltern Mainline is a good choice with a fair bit of variety. This route could include the line from West Ruislip via Greenford to West Ealing to add the GWR branch line trains as well as the Chiltern Railways ghost/parliamentary train.
Probably too long in its entirety, Marylebone to Aylesbury with Baker Street for the Met would just about be doable. As regards era, then Class 115 DMUs and A60 on the Met would make me happy.
Sometimes I think “why are there so many modern London routes?” And then I realise. Because they’re all SO GOOD.
What's the reason for that and for TSW2 version Class 68 standard Mk3 coaches Class 168 & 170 DMU DLC 9F steam locomotive