Favourite Runs On Ts Classic As Of Summer 2022

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by SJA, Jul 25, 2022.

  1. SJA

    SJA Active Member

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    Thought it might be a bit of harmless fun to list our current favourite runs/sections of routes on TSC and the reasons why, including some of the excellent recent additions over the last year or two.

    Mine are:

    - Virtual District Line: Ealing Broadway/Richmond - Gloucester Road (quality scenery, accurate use of weak field/coast flags on applicable stock and sections... bonus colours at Gloucester Road :love:)

    - WCML Missing Link: Birmingham New Street - Wolverhampton (lovely industrial scenery, urban decay, future opportunities for Class 87 fun, etc)

    - Wherry Lines: Brundall Gardens - Norwich (amazingly depicted scenery, varied speed limits according to stock driven over overbridge going over A47, realistic Class 37 scenarios from not too long ago...)

    - WCML South: Watford DC Lines - (all action, loads of scope for passing AI on AC/main lines, etc - despite LO stock with sound issues. I use the AP stock in lieu, despite era clash)

    - Chatham Mainline to Dover: London Blackfriars - Catford (offices, tenement blocks and gentrification in equal measure, opportunities to run AP Thameslink 700 as far as Swanley...)

    What are yours and why?
     
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  2. Pookeyhead

    Pookeyhead Well-Known Member

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    OTS: Cumbrian Coast Line
    ATS: WCML Midlands and Northwest (Missing Link)
    ATS: Chat Moss
    4 Aspect: The Fen Line Phase One
    AP: Wherry Lines V2
    OTS: Northern Lines
    OTS: Northern Lines Electric
    OTS: Harrogate Loop
    Pennine Pacer: Manchester Stations to Huddersfield
    M Mortimer/ATS: Leeds Lines Phase 2
    DTG: WCML Over Shap...
    Showing it's age now, but it's all we have.

    So many more, but lately, this is what I have mostly been messing with.
     
    Last edited: Jul 25, 2022
  3. SJA

    SJA Active Member

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    Lovely stuff Pookey. That reminds me that I REALLY need to get into OTS Northern Lines Electric. The OHLE isn't everyone's cuppa tea but I am going through a bit of an overhead electrics phase atm.

    Also Chat Moss is excellent.

    What are some of your favourite things about your selections?
     
    Last edited: Jul 25, 2022
  4. Nick Y

    Nick Y Well-Known Member

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    I will add JT's Midland Mainline + extensions to this list.
    Scenery wise it's great and there are many custom created assets in the route. All the stations are modelled well and some even have little notice boards that you can read giving details of the area.
    MML is one of my most run routes apart from Leeds Lines phase 2 (ATS) which uses the fantastic Harrogate loop (OTS) route for the Leeds - York section.

    One more that I run often is the North East England V3 freeware route which can be used for the ECML merge on ATS.
     
  5. Pookeyhead

    Pookeyhead Well-Known Member

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    Both Northern lines (pre and post electrification) is because I live on that line. I'm a stone's throw from Layton station, so it's a line I know well.
    Cumbrian coast just looks amazing, and it's a nice route to drive with lots of semaphore signaling to keep you awake.
    Manc/Huddersfield is fun to drive and I know it well.
    For me I enjoy routes best if I have some real life context to judge them by. This is why I never play any US or European routes. I have no context by which to judge them. I have no idea if they are accurate, or useless... It all means nothing to me, so I only play UK routes.
     
    Last edited: Jul 26, 2022
  6. andy.malcolm

    andy.malcolm Active Member

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    the line goes under the A47. the road under the bridge with the varied speed limits is a bit less busy :)

    upload_2022-7-26_18-34-40.png
     
  7. SJA

    SJA Active Member

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    The MML has some lovely sections on it. I especially enjoy the section to Matlock and am going to give that a little drive tonight. I really like the Lincoln extension as well, even if I do get slightly jumpy frame rates on it. I don't have Leeds line yet, but am tempted.

    North East England V3 is excellent. I don't know the route in real life but I love his work on it.
     
  8. SJA

    SJA Active Member

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    I'm similarish. I tend to like routes that I at least have some inkling as to the landscapes around them. The only exception for me is Kiel-Lubeck, which I just like the landscapes on per se (might need some proper stock for it though).
    The German route I've travelled on the most is the Stuttgart S-Bahn. I haven't searched very hard, granted, but I haven't found it for TS anywhere yet.

    I have Manc-Huddersfield... and a week off next week. I'll include it on my to-do list :)
     
  9. SJA

    SJA Active Member

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    Whoopsie. Got myself in a muddle haha. Surprised I wasn't picked up on it sooner :D

    I'm glad it's not just one or two of us that love the detail that has gone into the Wherries though. I recently installed the update, and it remains to this day my most caned TS route lol.
     
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  10. DrTrenchcoat

    DrTrenchcoat Well-Known Member

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    S-Bahn Bad Altburg, Main line and both S-Bahn Lines: Still in open beta but is already excellent, great tracklaying, scenery, and signals, is also one of the few routes in east germany
    24010_20220629182058_1.png
    Kladské pomezí Koridor: One of the biggest Czech routes just got an update that chops the route into smaller segments, which is great for route stability, especially for a route that literally goes from Praha to Brno and includes branch lines as well)
    24010_20220705161753_1.png
    M900 Balota-Orsova-Ceransebes: regardless of their issues, RailStudios puts out some cracking routes, M900 (specifically the Orsova-Ceransebes section) is a great place to run their excellent 060-EA through some of the best scenery in game.
    24010_20220716153133_1.png
    Montana Hi-Line: one of the few US routes with functional signaling is a great place to drive Searchlight's incredible BNSF SD40-2
    24010_20211212144721_1.png
    some honorable mentions:
    Brennitzer Linienstern: The new SAD route is fun and has some really lovely scenery, but the tracklaying is poor and the track and signalling layout really suffers from 'fictional route syndrome,' there's also limited opportunity for freight.
    JT Metropolitan Line w. Enhancement Pack: The route now feels really nice to drive, most of the dated scenery on the old met line has been heavily upgraded and the announcements are nice, that said it still desperately needs a stripped down AI S8 to fix its performance issues on my pc.
     
  11. SJA

    SJA Active Member

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    I've been to the Czech Republic - especially Moravia and areas around Brno - many, many times. I was unaware of the routes from there (my bad!). I'll need to check this out, seriously. If it includes branch lines as well, then I am even more interested. One of the cornerstones of a good TS route is operational variety :)
     
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  12. Doomotron

    Doomotron Well-Known Member

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    I haven't done it for a while but I really enjoy long runs on Cresston. I did one a few years back in the Superalbs GWR Class 800, and that was a really relaxing journey. I also did an end-to-end run of the WCML North in one of the Class 390 scenarios, and that was very relaxing. At the moment though I love driving on the Mannheim-Karlsruhe route. I like the trains and the route is very pretty in places, so usually the scenarios on it take a lot longer than intended because I'm too busy taking screenshots!
     
  13. DrTrenchcoat

    DrTrenchcoat Well-Known Member

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    this is basically the route map in total if I remember correctly
    upload_2022-7-27_19-19-4.png
    there's also a number of other great freeware czech routes. Most of them (including KP Koridor) require massive amounts of freeware, but one dev (kamat) makes routes as all in one bundles. Czech freeware locomotives and rolling stock are also great, they're of similar quality to German payware.
     
    Last edited: Jul 28, 2022
  14. SJA

    SJA Active Member

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    I did the full Brno-Praha run once, back in the late 2000s after a trip there to see some good friends. The locals ensured I'd had enough beer the night before, that I barely knew which train to catch at midday the next day :D

    Honestly, Brno-Praha is the route that interests me the most, as I can relate to it from personal experience.

    Thanks again for the link to it. I am off work next week, so I'll be using the time wisely ;)
     
  15. IsambardKingdomBrunel

    IsambardKingdomBrunel Well-Known Member

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    Any part of the Wycombe Joint Line v5. But in particular the Taplow - Oxford section. As real world i know it like the back of my hand.
     
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  16. SJA

    SJA Active Member

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    I downloaded that route a few weeks ago. It's a cracker and probably deserves more plaudits. It tends to fly under the radar....

    Edit: the Chiltern Line was actually my local line growing up. In those days it only ran as far as Banbury (out of Marylebone) using Class 115s, but soon after my earlier memories, the chord to Birmingham was utilised again. This time using Class 165s, and later Class 168s and LCHS.

    I like the old links though.
     
    Last edited: Jul 28, 2022
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  17. SJA

    SJA Active Member

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    I feel the same way about Kiel-Lubeck. I don't know the route, but it's believable enough and looks nice.

    With UK routes, I tend to be a lot more critical as I know more of them. DrTrenchcoat posted a route above that I am very interested in, but I have the benefit of having been so hungover when I used it, that I'll just spot the key elements. The smaller details will pass me by. However, I am very enthused by the prospect of trying a Czech route that runs through all manners of cities, towns, villages, hamlets and countryside :)
     
  18. JJTimothy

    JJTimothy Well-Known Member

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    One of the scenarios that comes with Weardale and Teesdale is a run from Bishop Auckland up to Wearhead on a sunny day and the only thing wrong with it is that it ends there instead of having you change cabs and driving back.
     
  19. theorganist

    theorganist Well-Known Member

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    The Bala to Blaneau branch on the RBLR Facebook page is a lovely creation and really captures the barren wilderness well.

    The Liverpool to Crewe section of the South Lancs and Cheshire route is a really good run. A well detailed route with quite varied scenery and using the class 303 with the GMPTE reskins and AP sounds is a very good experience overall.

    Another favourite run is the Middleton in Teesdale branch on the Weardale route, captures that NER branchline well especially with the Caledonian works G5 and Matrix Trains NER carriages.

    My favourite longer distance run currently is WCML South which I think is a very well made route and is fun to drive with a AC electric on a busy scenario, just with they had included the Northampton loop.
     
  20. Doomotron

    Doomotron Well-Known Member

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    Kiel to Lubeck is one of my favourite route scenery-wise although I believe it is still quite buggy. The part where you drive through the woods and the little towns is idyllic; if I owned the BR86 steam loco it would be a perfect run. I remember a DVD I used to have and may still own, which had possibly German steam locomotives running around in snowy mountain towns. It was a beautiful sight. I might look for my old train DVDs in the future...
     

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