I've tried searching online, but couldn't find anything, so here I am. What is the Flying Scotsman's Support Coach? In the game it is represented as a Mk1 from Northern Transpennine, although I've heard that is it a different coach in real life. What is it? Why is it there? Does the Scotsman need it to run? Is it to provide compatibility between the Scotsman and the Mk2 coaches? Why couldn't the compatibility go directly onto the Scotsman as opposed to on a standalone wagon? I've had these questions since the Flying Scotsman was announced for TSW4, but was simply too afraid to ask.
It's used by the people who operate and maintain the loco. They can keep spares and emergency maintenance equipment in there for if running repairs are needed en route, as well as using it as a 'staff accommodation' during the day (take breaks there, etc). The loco itself would be perfectly capable of working and hauling trains without it.
Ahhhhhhh! Got it, thank you. That also explains the gangway in the tender. Do train crews swap while the train is moving through that gangway, or is that never used? What is inside the support coach?
Some locos which operated long non-stop services in the days of steam were fitted with tenders with gangways in order to facilitate crew changes, as the time between stops was too long for one crew to work the whole way. The LNER used to operate some trains non-stop from London to Edinburgh - 392 miles, taking over 6 hours. It wouldn’t be possible with a steam loco today, because it relied on having water troughs to pick up water, and they were all removed at the end of steam in 1968. Whether the corridor on Flying Scotsman is still used today, I don’t know. The corridor looks big, because the actual connection on the rear of the tender has to fit the corridor connection on a coach. However, as soon as you’re inside the tender the corridor becomes extremely narrow with a very low ceiling (I’d imagine it’s very claustrophobic). This is in order to use up the smallest possible proportion of the tender’s capacity. In terms of what’s in the support coach - it’s a pretty normal coach really. I think it’s a compartment coach, with some of the compartments used for the crew to sit in, and some used for storage.
