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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,...

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...

I've been having an interesting time re-creating the Class 47 hauled Cross Country services of the 1990s on the Brighton Mainline, using Free...

For many years Intercity, and then Virgin Cross Country, operated class 47-hauled services from the North-West to Brighton, running via Reading...

I’m not always a fan of polls but I think this is a nice idea and will hopefully trigger some good, positive discussion. For me it’s an easy one...

I generally find a reason to buy everything UK based but I’m struggling a bit with this one. Yet another modern EMU. As far as I’m aware every...

GSW set in the era of 27s and Mk1s…now we’re talking! Sadly, for me it was already 156s by the time I was watching trains at Carlisle in the...

I hadn’t thought of that. I tried coupling an extra vehicle to a 7 - which didn’t work - but your suggestion sounds much more sensible! I’ll give...

A New Challenge: Leicester to Derby Browsing through the logs on the 'loco performance' website (which is a fantastic site, featuring the many...

Drivers of Deltics - which were notoriously loud - were issued with hearing protectors. I don’t know whether any Drivers use them in the modern...

I wonder whether it helps a bit in terms of research. Quite a bit of the time spent building a route must be gathering information on what the...

For those on PC the below mod extends the times the lights are on:...

Blackpool - Preston is good at night. There’s ambient lighting in urban areas. In rural areas it’s pitch dark (UK trains of the era having lights...

No, all Greater Anglia diesel services are now operated by 755s. The 321s are gone from Anglia too - replaced by 720s. They’d have to go back a...

Mind you, some of those early HST schedules on the Western region were brutal - quicker than the 800s are timed today, despite the 800s having...

Thanks, Matt - good to hear from someone with experience on this route. You ‘top link’ guys obviously get a better run! Apparently it all comes...

From a Driver perspective there are a handful of isolating cocks and whatnot that are in different positions, but otherwise they’re the same....

My experience on Peterborough - Doncaster is that you see the double yellow, but it clears to green before you reach the AWS. This is very much in...

I was on a train which stopped at Godley Junction once. It was long after it closed. As the train approached the station the Driver noticed there...

East Coast was part of a bundle from day 1.

Unfortunately the bundles appear to be set up to encourage you to buy DTG routes so Blackpool-Preston isn’t included. If you get the Standard...

A couple more things I’ve particularly enjoyed about this route, a few weeks into playing it: Firstly, having taken one out in the rain, the...

Yes. Very nicely done as well. The brake steps and power notches are perfectly spread through the movement of the relevant levers. As with...

I think it has to be blue/grey - maroon is just going to look wrong for that era - so I’d use the Mk2s. It’s not implausible to have Mk2s on such...

I’ve only ever calibrated my RailDriver once and it works for all trains so I’m not quite sure what the individual calibration by train is about....

Great analysis, Lamplight. I tried 0/50 on the 8F on Preston - Blackpool - as a direct comparison with my 25/25 run yesterday, and it steamed a...

Sounds good. I’ve checked back to Jetgriff’s post and he says the front damper was never opened, and 50% maximum on the rear - so perhaps 0/50 is...

I’ve never really sussed out an effective use of the blower on TSW. Logically, if our issue is getting airflow to the fire at lower speeds, it...

Really interesting run, Lamplight - thanks for the account. My overall feeling is that the 25/25 combination probably restricts the amount of...

I ran the 8F on Preston - Blackpool North today. The load was 8 mark 1s, and it was a warm, clear day. Departure from Preston was scheduled at...

Such a shame about the Scotsman. I’d been looking forward to trying it on various of our challenges to see how it performed versus the Jubilee,...

Yes, the 33 has tempted me - the only BR diesel I don’t have, because I have nowhere to run it! Now that TSW4 has free roam I might have a look at...

I think it's that the 4F is massively over-powered. Someone did some comparisons on the bank out of Liverpool Lime Street (can't find them now)...

Really interesting challenge and run - and some great pictures - thank you. I don't own WSR (never having been able to build up much enthusiasm...

I haven’t looked closely at the Peak Forest timetable as I only bought it recently, but the one train I did check - a St Pancras to Manchester...

The biggest issue for me is that the sectional running times are completely unrealistic - closer to something a Pendolino could achieve than a...

I’m not at home so can’t check - does the slider in the settings which adjusts the lateral movement also affect the bounce? I have it set on 50%...

A minute would be too much for some locations. In real life, at the major London termini, ARS (Automatic Route Setting) clears the signal 20...

This has been a problem with the 47 since a game update a few years ago. It only seems to happen on some runs, not others, but it means you have...

I’ve seen a few references to signals which clear when you close the doors (something I hate) but I’ve experimented a bit and noticed something -...

Just echoing what everyone else has said really (running out of superlatives) - a superb route, which perfectly captures the feel of the railway...

It should be said that route learning on a simulator is more difficult then in real life, because on a simulator there are fewer small, unique...

It’s really interesting to hear all the different perspectives in this discussion. As someone working in the UK rail industry currently, I can...

DRS is great, but I must admit I drive the TSW 101 more. I love the photorealistic cab - it just places me right there, back in the 1980s. While I...

Yes, by the sound of it all of the other trains will work fine.

For me it just confirms my intention to drive the locals primarily with the 101 (which is brilliant with RailDriver) and still very much a day-one...

There’s also a guide to how to drive the class 101 which people may find useful. As others have said, once you get used to it, it’s a very...

He’s referring to the manual, which is out, and worth a read.

I think the way it was driven the very low speed acceleration looked too quick, but that was because it was driven by putting is straight into...

That brings back some memories. You’re right - fold up side-ways facing bench seats and a lockable section for parcels, although I don’t remember...