Just Trains’ Next Uk Route

Another thing
Using scenario planner and livery designer, we will be able to rereate this run

 

Ah now I see why there's no Class 66, etc.
But surely there'd still be Class 47 doing the same sort of runs, like Blackpool.

 

Hoping the 87 gets AI’d back onto Blackpool Branches for WCML services.

 

Haven’t seen the Direct yet and apart from the German Stuff, I’m not over excited.

This however, I am really excited about. Can’t wait to find out more. With the news that TSW5 Starter Pack is Free. I don’t have much to complain about and will very much look forward to this.

 

So far all we've had is the tease that it's the Class 87, that doesn't mean they aren't reusing old stock as well.

 

2 WCML routes man what a day

 

The Free Starter Pack is a good call by DTG to deflect some of the ire of the change.
Not sure now if I'd get the standard edition or not. All three of the new routes bundled to it aren't my taste. However, San Bernadino supposedly enables "Route Hopping" but we still don't know what that is exactly.

 

I remember when Blackpool launched the JT guys said they would be able to swap out the AI to an electric loco if one was made in the future.

 

Having digested the news and the 87, I think my brain is struggling with the fact there is only 35 87s and that they may feature on all trains. That's going to stretch the fleet.....

 

Is pretty cool and I know i'll tick off the "BR Blue" lobby a bit but I do wish this was modern day with the new Pendolino.

 

Add the Morecambe, Heysham and Windermere branches and a perfect route we have! Sprinkle an 86 or a 370 DLC and an absolute masterpiece it will be.

 

Morecambe is a distinct possibility. The original teaser image they showed was narrowed down to being in that area by a few of us on the forums. We put some Geoguessr skills to use and managed to pinpoint it.

 

You have a route already, and Free Roam will put the Pendolino on the Carlisle route.

 

I am pleasantly surprised its all the way to Carlisle, this gives long runs at speed and challenging gradients. Also freight end to end and out of the quarries on Shap. A bigger fleet of AC electrics would be a great addition to this route and hopefully an 86 or a 'Take my money right now Class 85.' Will wait further details with interest.

 

Haven't even played blackpool branches yet!

 

I've never used free roam, prefer the timetable mode. I'll deffo have a look once I have them both!

 

That sounds like some fun freight runs.

 

Don’t forget the parcel runs they mentioned back in July! Route Hopping feature means we’ve probably got the two JT routes combined as best as possible now too

 

I wonder if the timetables for both routes are the exact same.

 

Very pleased with this, although I were expecting 86 I am over the moon with an 87 as they are the best of the 8x bunch in my opinion, as I never warmed to the others really. This is the highlight of the stream and blows DTG's attempt of the WCML out of the water. This will be a proper mainline, express run with lovely traction, as I assume the 47 will layer heavily too.

 

So, to recap. Between Penrith and Lancaster there are/were three companies/plants with dedicated track:
- Cement
- Lime
- Aggregates (sand/gravel)
Considering that this route will most likely be set in 1987/89, the BR Freight Sectorisation could be introduced for freight services. I wouldn't be surprised if they updated the 37, perhaps introducing sector livery on 47? There will definitely be collection/delivery jobs along this route!
The liveries involved would be:
- Trainload "Construction"
- Rail Express "Parcels"
Imo, JT was working on it in parallel with BPO. With that route, they raised funds to develop their real project... And here we are! I wouldn't be surprised if there will a lot more underneath, like multiple liveries (47/37s and 87s) and maybe some new freight cars! These guys are crazy, really!!

 

36 if you include 87101 that worked alongside the main fleet until 1989 / 1990 when it was allocated to freight. It would be good if that was included, but it was quite different to the rest of the fleet. Hopefully each has its original nameplates!!!

 

Just posted on X

Lune viaduct in Lancaster with Lancaster castle in the background

 

Surely the highlight of this route will be trying to get a Pacer over Shap

 

Couldn't agree more. Hopefully we'll get an 86 as DLC although I note the 87 in the picture is unnamed so that puts it early in their careers so any 8X is a possibility!!

Edit: I've subsequently noticed the jumper cables for push pull so I'll shut up!!!

 

From what Ik Rail express's parcels livery wasnt around in the 80s it only started in the early 90s.

 

Got few questions what year dose this route set in and dose the 87 have a DVT

 

No DVT if the route is set in 1986 like BPO as they weren't invented yet.

 

That’s an interesting point, actually. I wonder if the Class 47/4 will sub in on inter regional services. IIRC the actual WCML service north of Preston in the early 80’s was not that frequent. Roughly hourly but with a few gaps and the odd Scotland to WoE/South Coast service now and again. While the 87 is iconic and a crowd pleaser, an 86 would have been more practical.

But my wallet is already open for any follow on DLC that adds a Class 86, 81 to 85 and a Class 25.

Also wonder how they will represent the overnight services. If my hamfisted attempts at playing the SimSig Carlisle simulation (which is free BTW) are anything to go by, there were numerous Ango Scottish overnight services in the late 70’s and early 80’s. You cannot do the route justice without building some sleeping cars for these consists.

 

So there might be a chance the 87 will be seen as a.i on the existing blackpool route.

 

A lot of the line speed variations between Preston and Carlisle are between 100mph, 105mph and 110mph, so if the loco is limited to 100mph as the 86s were (aside from a small sub-fleet) then some of the driving interest would be lost. The 87’s 110mph capability would have been a consideration, I suspect (note that they’ve also gone for mk3s, not mk2 d/e/f, perhaps for the same reason).

The down-side is that the 87s worked a lesser variety of trains on this section of the WCML. However, aside from the Anglo-Scottish services they predominantly worked, they did also appear on occasions on freight trains, and also on what later became known as cross-country services as far as Birmingham. In that era, these could include mark 2 a/b/c vehicles, so hopefully those will appear on some services in the timetable, rather than it all being mk3s.

It does feel, though, as if the door is wide open for an 81, 85 or 86 in the future. Having worked out how to make the tap-changer controls work successfully, the temptation to use that knowledge to do another such loco of that type would be over-whelming if it were me!

 

I’d imagine we’ll get 47s (and 40s?) on Manchester-Barrow services, driveable between Preston and Carnforth.

If it had been me designing the route, rather than doing Morecambe or Windermere branches, I’d have been tempted to do Carnforth to Grange-over-Sands. That would have given a longer run with the diesels, and would have included Arnside Viaduct. I suppose it would make it more difficult to do the Barrow line in the future though (Grange - Barrow would be a bit of an awkward add-on from a sales perspective) so perhaps they wanted to leave the whole of the Barrow line available as a future route (hopefully!)

 

Can we get class 90 for this route or it the wrong era

 

Absolutely! The sounds would be the hardest part IMHO - the 86 would be an easy win, as they sounded pretty much indistinguishable from 87s, coming into Carlisle station at least

85s were the next most common on passenger, sounded like souped-up road sweepers. 81s not so common, louder than 85s, more like a hovercraft 82s were pretty rare on passenger, can't remember what they sounded like at all. 83s were also quite rare - pretty rough riders IIRC - I do remember one lively trip with 83006 back from Preston to Carlisle, still have the bruises

84s were the prize - rarer than hen's teeth - only 002, 003, 008 and 010 were running (and not often!) by 1980 I think. 001 was already in the NRM, 004-7 were rusting at Crewe Electric, 009 was at the RTC. I remember one summer 003 was quite busy around Preston, and 010 would pop up from time to time on freight around Carlisle. Last time I saw it was double-headed with 87035 in fact, which I guess had rescued it.

I'd love to see an 84 in the game, but it would hardly be representative of real life. 86 would be the obvious, if slightly dull, win for JT I guess. Some livery variations too, with the almost large-logo Rainhill Anniversary pair...

 

Most of the Pilot Scheme AC locos ended up on ECS shunting duties in the 80s, certainly at the London end. Their 87-89 era sidesteps APTs and DVTs though the Class 90s were entering service by 1989.

 

I was going to bring this up too. To me it seems like a no brainer to have a 2nd timetable with modern traction. The Pendolinos will look far more at home on an 80s version of this route than the Westerns and 101s did on a modern version of GWE. 350s won't be present as they don't run north of Weaver Junction.

Dare I suggest they go a step further? Could they perhaps do a separate modern version of this route with the EPS limits for the 390s? They may have to spruce up the stations a little bit but there's only 5 of them. Have there been any other major infrastructure changes between the 80s and now to prevent such an idea from being feasible?

 

Closure of the freight bypass at Carlisle, Upperby CSD and transfer of Steamtown to WCR are the major changes that spring to mind. Currock wagon works too, come to think of it, although I doubt they'd model that in the first place.

Got me wondering now if they'd go part Carlisle station a bit and model Kingmoor shed and the yard... oooo.... that'd be awesome

 

It was a common sight, having the electric locos on Blackpool services, being replaced by a 47 at Preston. This would be fantastic, but I cant see how its possible to implement without creating an alternate timetable. JT could add a specific tag to the Euston-Scotland formations (maybe) to get an 87 subbing in there, but you’d be stuck with mk2as as the coaching stock. Or maybe there is just enough room to layer in a Shap DLC 87 and mk3s into the existing BPO timetable.

 

Looking at Carlisle Simsig (Signalling Simulation),
There appears to be so much to offer on the route, including:
Kingmoor Complex
Shap and Hardendale Quarry
Harrisons limeworks
Tebay
Upperby TMD

 

Thanks for those great memories of the early West Coast electrics. I only have a very distant memory of an 85 bringing ECS into Euston. Apart from that, all of my West Coast memories are 86s and 87s. I travelled a lot on the West Coast in the 1990s. 87s (and 90s) on the Londons, with mark 3s and (latterly) a DVT. 86s on the cross countries with 7 a/c mark 2s. That was a lot of power for 7 coaches - on a dry rail the acceleration was phenomenal - or what we thought of phenomenal at the time! The fact that they had to brake for the 80mph PSR at Shap summit, having held 100mph all the way up the 1 in 75, was amazing back then. The distinctive brake-rub sound of the tread brakes on the mark 2s will stay with me always.

With the 87s on the London sets I particularly remember the jolting back-and-forth starts when the loco was at the rear - that initial shove opening up all the couplings, then the retardation once they were fully extended. You knew the loco at the rear was still accelerating as your coach lost its momentum and sure enough - whack! The two came tougher with another great shove forward causing passengers to make a grab for their coffee cups. You’d go around this cycle a couple of times before things settled down as speed rose and you were able to benefit from the - otherwise excellent - ride qualities of the mark 3s.

I also remember HSTs on cross countries, and they performed impressively over Shap, but I never considered them as interesting as an 86 or 87. So much power, wielded with such basic technology. There’ll never be anything like them again. It’s great that they’re coming to TSW.

 

If it's set in the early 80s there'd be a ton of stuff to do just around Carlisle itself, like ECS to and from Upperby, departmental movements between Kingmoor and Petteril Bridge, wagon repair movements between Kingmoor yard and Currock WRD etc. Again, a 25 would be a good choice for those, but I'm daydreaming again

Later 80s diminishes the scope a bit, but Carlisle was rarely dull!

 

West Coast Main Line: Preston - Carlisle from Just Trains
The Just Trains team are excited to announce; West Coast Main Line: Preston to Carlisle.


Just Trains: “Following on from our highly acclaimed Blackpool Branches: Preston – Blackpool & Ormskirk Route Add-on, it’s full speed North as our next route departs from the City of Preston and runs through detailed and highly immersive scenery through Penrith to the City of Carlisle, which along with the option to drive the un-electrified Morcombe branch, gives you a total of over 100 miles to drive!


Set in the late 1980’s the route features the electrified core of the West Coast Main Line from Preston to Carlisle, however you can operate DMU services on the Morcombe Promenade branch to the seaside. We have also extended the main line north from Carlisle Citadel Station to Kingmoor Yard and Depot.


Just like Blackpool Branches there is a wealth of content for you to enjoy. The feature loco is the impressive, iconic, and complex Class 87/0, along with the BR Mk3a Coaches and FFA/FGA Freightliner Wagons. This 110mph rated locomotive provided power for the main services between London Euston and Glasgow during the 1980’s and will look at home as it storms through the Lune Gorge and onwards to the summit of Shap. 


An exciting and vibrant timetable along with an impressive mix of Express, Freight and Passenger services coupled with the Class 87/0 means that you will not want to miss West Coast Main Line: Preston to Carlisle! Development has also started on our first loco add-on, which itself will be for WCML and add even more highly anticipated variety.” 


(Pulled this from the August Roadmap!)

 

Just shunting in the Station and Yards, even cross-Yards and depots will keep you busy enough! However I'm not sure about those services that ran from Kingmoor to the electricity Substation and Currock Wagon Repair depot would be playable considering part of the avoiding lines closed in '84 iirc

 

I really like how they’re including a branch line too

 

JT's first update:
https://www.justtrains.net/in-development/train-sim-world-5-west-coast-main-line-preston-carlisle


The 47 is included again.
The 87 comes with two liveries.

The Morecambe branch does go to Heysham Port.

Interesting times indeed.

 

Route hopping to BPO? Nice!

 

I could never master the 87 in TSC

 

5 liveries on the 47 as well!!!!!

 

Is one of those signal boxes the clue to the port being included?

 

Do wonder what they mean by Mk1 NHA coaches as idk if NHA is an actual coach classifcaiton so we could be getting something new with the mk 1 coaches.