Congrats on JT for making progress on the Class 86! I get why some people want the 86... but I just don't see a point if I have the 87. They're not (to me) that much different. If anything it's the diesel freight lacking on the line, not a similar loco to the one we have. Shunting to me doesn't equate to full "freight." It's the equivalent of driving your truck around the parking lot and saying you went on a "truck delivery." I'd even spring for a new timetable and/or scenarios for especially diesel powered freight (25, 37, 47, etc) on the route for proper freight runs. The cost would depend on how many services you get, but if it's something that I could play regularly and had a few dozen (especially daytime) runs I'd pay $10-15 for it. I WANT to love the route. It's amazingly made, but it just kinda feels empty that it's effectively all passenger stock on the line itself. The WCML is a backbone logistics artery for the UK. Could even bundle it with an extension to the Morecambe or Windmere branches to make it more palatable for people and justify a higher cost if you want. The line itself is nice to look at, just... sort of empty compared to what it could be. Some of the branches are even started quite a bit, and much of the stock is already in game to add layers.
Or for something entirely different, how about the Class 370 APT-P units just prior to their withdrawal. The Heysham and Windemere branches appear to be laid but incomplete and would be fantastic extensions.
There's just one problem with the idea of those diesel services - it wouldn't be very historically accurate. It seems strange for us today where you see things like 66s everywhere or Voyagers running near full length WCML services, but in 1986 BR was in the thick of an era where they had a near unbreakable rule which basically told them to run diesel power under cables as little as possible. This is why at major stations you would often see trains coming in pulled by diesel, then the locomotive would actually be swapped out before it progressed onwards. This is actually depicted in the game too - just look at the sheer number of diesel ECS moves and light loco 87 moves at Preston and Carlisle. They went so crazy on this rule that there is one quarry line on the route where they actually electrified the track into it, which is still there today, just so that they could use AC locomotives there instead of having to regularly send diesels over Shap. On the daytime subject, it's a high speed line. It's accurate that sauntering 75mph intermodals wouldn't have been set out on the line in the day when 110mph intercity trains would end up chasing reds behind them. This was exactly the same then as it is on the WCML and ECML today, and parcel trains or others that used 100mph certified coaching stock were basically the only exception. The reason this isn't the case on other mainlines like MML and GWR is because they have the separated slow and fast lines, so a freight run can be put on those and not risk slowing down the high speed services. 25s could have been seen on shorter distance stopping services, so that perhaps could be an option for making things a little bit busier. The biggest addition I think would actually be a Class 56, big time intermodal trains at the time. With a few more freight runs added, these could perhaps be substitutable with the 87s and a 86/4.
It would benefit from some Mark Three sleeping cars for the night trains. The seated accommodation on those tended to be Mark II's both aircon and non aircon not Mark Threes. To make them worthwhile we also need a Class 108 DMU which was more common in Lancashire and Cumbria than the 101's and could also layer on BPO.
Isn't that the 104? They were more common around South Manchester though definitely worked to Blackpool. In fact I have memories of cramming into the vestibule of one from Preston heading to Blackpool for some tram bashing.
Wouldn’t be surprised if the next JT route is the Cumbrian coast line with a 108 and a 25 (Although I would much prefer them to move away from the west and do a 1970s rendition of the ECML from York to Newcastle.)
I would love Cumbrian Coast but fear traffic levels are not high enough to give a varied timetable. There’s also the niggling issue of whether BNFL (or whatever they were then) would allow any depiction of their rail operations at Sellafield. However there’s lots of scope for freight at the top end between Workington and Carlisle Kingmoor when the steelworks was still operational. Set back a little earlier than WCML, in say the late 70’s, Class 25 and Class 40 heaven.
