Hi folks! A while back when Sherman Hill was first released, I made a post on the forum to say I was honestly having a good time. I decided I'd do it again with Spirit of Steam. I preordered Spirit of Steam and just today finally had some time to sit down and play with it. I can honestly say with this route I'm honestly having a good time. In fact, I'm having a great time! The tutorials for driving the locos and the signaling system, while nothing new for veteran players like myself, is good information for a newcomer just stepping onto the footplate for the first time and will have them driving down the mainline in short order. I know some people are probably disappointed that there is no manual-firing option YET, but I'm satisfied knowing that it will come in a future update once the team have managed to properly model and implement the more complex aspects of firing. It is better to take more time and make it great than shove it out while it's half-baked and it wind up not working at all, and from the nice time I've had just in the driver's seat I trust that once the firing side of things have been figured out it will be just as good. After finishing the first 2 tutorials with the 8F and driving the first service in Journey mode I decided to jump ahead to running the Manxman from Crewe on a Jubilee, on this trip being at the throttle of 45752 "Repulse" with 10 on. I'm used to driving Bossman Games' Jubilee locomotives in Train Sim Classic and I expected a similar experience. I never managed to hit 90mph with a Jubilee in Train Sim Classic, and I didn't think I'd do it on my first run with a Jubilee in TSW2 but down the line from the flyover I managed to hit 90mph and it was a magical moment with full reg and 19% cutoff, the engine roaring and rocking and the fireman shoveling away. Flying down the mainline at speed is a wonderful experience and I'd encourage everyone to have a similar experience on your own. Admittedly I got carried away and didn't process that I'd passed the distant for the flyover junction until I saw the leftmost arm on the home signal indicating I was about to be switched off the mainline and I slammed on the brakes. I hit the junction at 75mph but we made it around alright. Like I said about Sherman Hill this is another big step in the right direction for TSW2. We finally have steam in the game, and with that the 3 main forms of locomotion (steam, diesel, and electric) are all here and the possibilities for the future have just gone through the roof. The advent of steam in TSW2 has been a long time coming and now that it's here in my opinion it was worth the wait. This really is a whole other beast from what we're used to in Train Sim Classic and I appreciate that very much. So what would I like to see next? I'm sure there's already bets going around that the next loco to show up in TSW2 will be the almost too well known Black 5 and honestly I'd be all for that. Brdatabase.info shows there were a ton of Black 5s at Crewe North sheds throughout 1958, and in addition there was a sizable allocation of Jinties at Crewe South and Edge Hill to shunt the good yards and handle piloting duties. Honestly given the size and scope of the various yards along the route and while the Jubilee and the 8F are great there is a noticeable hole operationally because there's as of yet no shunter. This route is almost purpose-made for shunting puzzles plus the general need for shunting coaches to the platforms at Crewe and Liverpool Lime Street. I'd recommend the Jinty be the next loco for the route as it would be the ideal loco for the task, followed closely by the Black 5. The singular Duke of Gloucester was also around at this time and given its dubious original-build condition before being properly developed during preservation it would make for an interesting challenge to manage this loco once manual firing is implemented. I had a great time thundering down the line at 90mph and I found myself wanting specifically more of it. Maybe we could go somewhere on the East Coast Mainline with Gresley A3s and A4s in the future, or somewhere on the Great Western Mainline with Castles and Kings. Just somewhere where we can stretch our legs and just run for a while at high speed. I eagerly await to see where TSW2 will go next now that steam is finally here!
There technically is a basic manual mode currently. You can tell the fireman when to add coal, and you control the dampers and blower.
