Hello all, TrainGeek08 here back again with another suggestion, this time it's the GEML but the section between Ipswich and Norwich in modern times with some FLIRTs running about Price: GBP: 29.99 EUR: 34.99 USD: 39.99 Stock included in base route: The British Rail Class 745 in Greater Anglia livery Training (In Training Center): Class 745 Introduction Scenarios: FLIRTing between the Wiches: (Difficulty -1 ) Drive this GA service between Norwich and Ipswich worked by one of their new FLIRT units Rescuing another FLIRT: (Difficulty - 3) A FLIRT has broken down at Stowmarket however the lines are quite busy around this time so it might be a challenge to tow this unit back to Crown Point in Norwich The Greater Anglian: (Difficulty - 1) Drive this special FLIRT express service between Ipswich and Norwich called 'The Greater Anglian' Start of the Day: (Difficulty - 2) Start this unit from cold at Crown Point Depot in Norwich and drive this FLIRT ECS to Norwich ready for the next service to London Liverpool Street Timetable: Here is the May 2019 Working Timetable for this section of the GEML: (You are looking for section LA02 if you are interested) 2019-05 WTT LA | Network Rail Corporate Archive Potential DLC, Layers, Stations & POI coming up on Pages 2 & 3...
Page 2: Potential DLC: The British Rail Class 755 in Greater Anglia livery Training: Class 755 Introduction Scenarios: Short Stopper: (Difficulty - 1) Drive this short 755 service from Needham Market to Ipswich on a Peterborough-Ipswich service A Rare FLIRT Experience: (Difficulty - 3) A Class 745 has broken down on the outbound run so GA have assembled three 755/4 units to make a 12-car train at Crown Point, drive this newly-formed set between Norwich and Ipswich to replace the failed 745 FLIRT Positioning: (Difficulty - 1) This FLIRT needs moved from Cambridge Depot to Crown Point Depot and you are driving this positioning move between Ipswich and Norwich where another (shunter) driver will drive it into Crown Point Layers: The British Rail Class 66 'Shed' in EWS livery (from SEHS/RHTT/ECW/GWE) for freight operations at Ipswich Stations and POI on Page 3...
Page 3: Stations: Ipswich: Ipswich railway station is on the Great Eastern Main Line in the East of England, serving the town of Ipswich, Suffolk. It is 68 miles 59 chains (110.6 km) down the line from London Liverpool Street and, on the main line, it is situated between Manningtree to the south and Needham Market to the north. Ipswich is also the terminus of the East Suffolk Line to Lowestoft, a branch line to Felixstowe and a branch line to Ely, Cambridgeshire. Its three-letter station code is IPS. The station is operated by Greater Anglia, which also operates all trains serving it, as part of the East Anglia franchise. Needham Market: Needham Market railway station is on the Great Eastern Main Line (GEML) in the East of England, serving the town of Needham Market, Suffolk. It is 77 miles 7 chains (124.1 km) down the line from London Liverpool Street and is situated between Ipswich to the south and Stowmarket to the north. Its three-letter station code is NMT. The station is currently operated by Abellio Greater Anglia, which also runs all trains serving the station. It sees regular services between Ipswich and Stowmarket, whereafter trains branch off to Cambridge via the Ipswich to Ely Line. No main line London trains call. The station appears in Britain's 100 Best Railway Stations by Sir Simon Jenkins. Stowmarket: Stowmarket railway station is on the Great Eastern Main Line (GEML) in the East of England, serving the town of Stowmarket, Suffolk. It is 80 miles 9 chains (128.9 km) down the line from London Liverpool Street and is situated between Needham Market to the south and Diss to the north. It is also the junction where the Ipswich to Ely Line joins the GEML. Its three-letter station code is SMK. The station is currently operated by Abellio Greater Anglia, which also runs all trains that serve the station. Diss: Diss railway station is on the Great Eastern Main Line in the East of England, serving the town of Diss, Norfolk. It is 94 miles 43 chains (152.1 km) down the line from London Liverpool Street and is situated between Stowmarket to the south and Norwich to the north. It is approximately 20 miles (32 km) south of Norwich. Its three-letter station code is DIS. The station is currently operated by Greater Anglia, who also operate all trains serving it, as part of the East Anglia franchise. Due to its location, Diss is the only station on the Greater Anglia network (and, by extension, one of the only stations in the UK) to be served exclusively by inter-city trains. Norwich: Norwich railway station (formerly Norwich Thorpe) is the northern terminus of the Great Eastern Main Line in the East of England, serving the city of Norwich, Norfolk. It is 114 miles 77 chains (185.0 km) down the main line (measured via Ipswich) from London Liverpool Street, the western terminus. It is also the terminus of numerous secondary lines: the Breckland Line to Cambridge; the Bittern Line to Sheringham; and the Wherry Lines to Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft. The station is currently managed by Greater Anglia, which also operates the majority of the trains that serve the station. East Midlands Railway operates the services to Liverpool Lime Street via Nottingham, Sheffield and Manchester Piccadilly. Points of Interest: River Gipping: The River Gipping is the source river for the River Orwell in the county of Suffolk in East Anglia, England, which is named from the village of Gipping, and which gave its name to the former Gipping Rural District. The name is unrelated to the name of Ipswich. Although the County Town takes its name from Gippeswic. It rises near Mendlesham Green and flows in a south-westerly direction to reach Stowmarket. From there it flows towards the south or south east, passing through Needham Market and a number of villages to reach Ipswich, where it becomes the Orwell at Stoke Bridge. The river has supplied power to a number of watermills, several of which are still standing. None are operational, although the mill at Baylham retains most of its machinery, and is the only complete mill on the river. Norwich Crown Point Depot: Crown Point TMD is a train maintenance depot in Norwich, England. That's it then folks, hope you enjoyed this GEML suggestion, as always, put your thoughts, I've been TrainGeek08 as always, enjoy the rest of your day and goodbye
Brilliant suggestion mate! I love this one, I don't think I've seen someone suggest an Ipswich - Norwich section of the GEML yet, but I love it. Also a big fan of the class 745's, and 755's. As much as I would love Liverpool Street in game, bringing Suffolk and Norfolk together like this sounds amazing. I feel like an Eastern route within Norfolk and Suffolk is needed as growing up there it's beautiful on the trains.
Just a thought is well, I think adding the branch going to Felixstowe would also be a nice little feature to add as it can also give the class 755 a run from Ipswich. I also saw you added a scenario with coupled up 755's, would be cool to have some coupled 755's in timetable mode as well as they have quite a few that run on the GEML due to a shortage of 745's I'm pretty sure.
Great suggestion mate, this is my favourite part of the GEML and often the forgotten part. I would much prefer to see it at least with the 90s on the expresses though as the FLIRTY things don't work their magic on me one bit.
Cheers mate, glad you enjoyed the suggestion and I definitely agree that the area needs covered in TSW sooner or later The Felixstowe branch isn't a bad idea at all and would give the Class 66 some drivable services between Ipswich and Felixstowe
Thanks as ever mate, I agree as often people think of the Liverpool Street to Ipswich section as it was in TSC from TS2013 I believe Class 90s are another option for modern times or you could set it in a transition period between the two so you get two different driving experiences along the same section of the GEML
Aren’t the Flirts known as “Basils”, as in Basil Fawlty? My preferred era would be silver roof Stratford Class 47’s with 31’s and 37’s as the backing vocalists.
The 90 could work, however the 321 and 360 would only be seen as AI at Ipswich, so if you wanted a 321 or a 360 in game, the Liverpool Street to Ipswich section would be better suited for those two units to run alongside the 90
Yes, though some seem to think it only applies to the 755s and others both the 745s and 755s. No matter what, from what I have been told both the classes are not pleasant to work with at all, though a pinch of salt is required as I have only ever spoken to a handful of GA staff about it and they have all been doing whatever job they do for at least 10 years so there is probably a bit of bias towards their beloved 90s. The point still stands they aren't at all the most reliable things on the network today.
The route in TSC from Liverpool Street London To Ipswich so i would think that would be great as well but i like this one but i think if we getting ECML South is all but 100% coming apart of the 2023 core update AKA TSW4???!! the i think more so WCML will follow hope dovetail does do this one know sounds very good and something i think ill enjoy thanks for sharing with us buddy ill be down on voting this one in
The whole GEML can be done in one go however the route length is 133 miles end to end but it might work for the next TSW title (TSW4), I wouldn't mind if something like ECML South or WCML South gets made over this, but this route is a contender for a DLC if it isn't a core route No worries and glad you enjoyed the suggestion
Would much prefer this to be set in the class 90 era.. But also, Would be nicer to do Ipswich to Felixstowe town with a 153 and freight from the docks. But otherwise, a good shout.
Thanks, yeah if you do it in the 90 era, you have more variety along this line with Class 156s, Class 153s and Class 170s on the Felixstowe/Lowestoft services plus the Cambridge/Peterborough services as well as including the Class 90s on intercity traffic too
To make this attract me it would have to be set before the 745s and 755s (and 720s?) started on the network. They are ugly.
Fair enough, it does seem the pre-FLIRT era is the preferred option in the community but we'll see what traction would be provided if this route was to be made
I really want to drive greater Anglia class 321 with the navy blue doors and greater Anglia class 360 And refurbished greater Anglia class 90
No, Colchester and Colchester Town are before Ipswich Fair enough, the better option would be a Liverpool Street to Ipswich route like I said previously Yes, they do
From what I recall of the 321's they had a nice conventional AC traction sound, not unlike their Class 310 and Class 312 predecessors.
Anything in East Anglia (I'll include C2C,GEML,Anglia Rural, WAML) would be brilliant and it's interesting to see the Ipswich to Norwich section suggested. It would need a branch I think or even the Wherry Lines as the GEML north of Stowmarket isn't very challenging. In terms of stock, the Flirts are coming to TSC so it would be great to have them in TSW as they are unlike any other UK train from a driving point of view. Going back, 317s and 321s have had regular workings north of Ipswich but 360s weren't cleared for passenger services north of Stowmarket for the same reason that they didn't work to Southend Victoria, because the OHL circuits couldn't cope with the amount of power they drew. 720s don't venture north of Stowmarket because Crown Point drivers haven't been type trained on them. Personally, I think Ipswich to Norwich would be a good extension to have once GEML London to Ipswich is in TSW.
Yes, totally agree, I have suggested the London to Ipswich section before so thought why not complete the GEML? Appreciate the insight about why the 317s and 321s have seen rare appearances to Norwich and how the 360s and 720s can't operate north of Stowmarket Fair enough, it would be great for either section of the GEML in TSW as it is in TSC already
One thing that may favour your suggestion is that the southern half of the route would need more rolling stock to look realistic. For the modern era it would need 345s and 720s too which may be too much new traction for one release.
Excellent idea overall and for Class 755 it needs a scenario where you activate the diesel engine due to the Pantograph OHLE system failing. In TSC one can go Norwich to Liverpool St pre Class 745 on Class 90
My London to Ipswich suggestion was backdated though but if it was suggested in the modern day, then yes
Having a mix of 90s and 745 would be interesting though that was a very small transition period with the 745s entering service on the 24th January 2020 and the last Class 90 intercity service running without fanfare exactly two months later while the country was in lockdown.
We had to wait 7 years for GEML in TSC and it remains the only product they've made for East Anglia in 17 years of building routes for the sim and at the start it just wasn't worth buying as it only included the least common trains on the entire line, the 360. So the most likely response at the moment is that it will be neither for the foreseeable. DTG for whatever reason, don't seem so excited about what goes on over the other side of the Thames.
More then twice the length alone makes it significantly more complex/time consuming, then you have to factor in all the heavily built up area's the route passes through. Then there's the rolling stock that all has to be made from scratch, Bml had the advantage of the 377 already being in Tsw. Then there's all the new stations (many of them quite large) again Bml had the advantage of Brighton station and Lover's Walk depot already existing thanks to Ecw, Geml enjoys no such luxury.
If anything I'd say that at the moment the most we could expect from the Geml in Tsw is Liverpool Street - Colchester.
Yes, once passed Stowmarket it's all pretty generic (but nice) English Countryside. The complex bit is between London and Shenfield but no worse than what they had to contend with on GWR or BML, just longer.....please. I think we're all looking for improvements in UK TSW. The microstutters first of all then longer more immersive routes with more traction variety. At some point DTG will surely want to show what their sim platform can really do.
The only built up area on the GEML is between London and just before illford. There’s not that much built up scenery compared to BML on the GEML. The only valid argument you have is length and rolling stock. The big stations are Norwich, Stratford , Colchester and Liverpool Street which are all less built up than Clapham junction. BML has a lot more built up areas than the GEML.
I'm guessing you've never travelled through area's such as Romford, Chelmsford etc then? I have travelled through those area's on the Geml and I can assure you that they are very well built up, so I'd say that all of my arguments are valid but hey each to their own I guess.
Yes, I agree, GEML doesn't have any long tunnels meaning more trackside assets, it's a suburban sprawl until rows of houses and businesses give way to green fields just before the M25 between Harold Wood and Brentwood. Luckily much of the section through Brentwood and Chelmsford is in cuttings so less to model there but the locations around Romford, Chelmsford and Colchester stations will require a lot of modelling as they're all high on embankments. It would be a lot of work.
The early fifties would be good , quite a few older types of loco still available. J15, D16, B12, J39, B17.B1.. Britannia....
*cries in Romford, Shenfield, Witham, Marks Tey, Ipswich* GEML is a fair mix of urban sprawl and open terrain. Realistically, I'd rather see the GEML to Shenfield and then the Southend and Southminster branches. That was we have a mini network not out of the realms of possibly, plus, a nice throw-in of the Rom-Upminster shuttle. A good excuse for the 321, 90, (66 and when it ran here 70) 86 (freightliner) with a tie in of the 360, 318.
