Route Airedale And Wharfedale Lines

These 2 short distance but beautiful commuter routes located in the counties of West and North Yorkshire run between the cities of Leeds and Bradford to the towns of Skipton and Ilkley through the scenic countryside of Yorkshire.

AIREDALE LINE:
The Airedale line as the name suggests runs along the river Aire and is roughly 26 miles with 11 stations including Leeds, Kirkstall Forge, Apperley Bridge, Shipley, Saltaire, Bingley, Crossflatts, Keighley, Steeton and Silsden, Cononley and Skipton. The current Skipton Station opened in 1876 and it is a grade II listed building. It receives services from LNER, NORTHERN and Rail charter services using the HST. This is the more well known line and is the gateway to the Settle - Carlisle line, the line to Morecambe and runs next to the Keighley and Worth Valley Heritage Railway (you can find my suggestion for this here Train Sim World 3 - Keighley And Worth Valley Railway | Dovetail Games Forums), in addition to this the Airedale line sees many rail tours heading up to Carlisle and above.
Skipton Station Building:

Skipton Station:

WHARFEDALE LINES:
Just like the Airedale line the Wharfedale line runs along the river Wharfe and follows the same route as the Airedale line until the Junction at Shipley where it diverges and follows the river Wharfe, from there the stops are Baildon (Baildon can only used by the Bradford Forster Square - Ilkley services and the return journey because the Leeds - Ilkley services leave the Airedale line shortly after Kirkstall Forge), Guiseley, Menston, Burley in Wharfedale, Ben Rhydding and Ilkley. Ilkley railway station opened in 1865 and is currently served by NORTHERN, It is roughly 10 miles from Shipley to Ilkley with 6 stations along the way.
BRADFORD-SHIPLEY LINE:
This short section of route connects Leeds with Bradford's 2nd station, as Bradford Interchange is not electrified this is the route used by LNER services on their infrequent service from London Kings cross - Bradford Forster square but also sees a regular service from NORTHERN heading to Leeds, Skipton and Ilkley.
The stations from here are: Bradford Forster square, Frizinghall and Shipley
Bradford Forster Square Station Building:

Bradford Forster Square Station:

ROLLING STOCK
Class 333 (at Skipton):

The class 333 electric multiple units were built by CAF (but uses siemens traction equipment) between 2000 and 2003 as 3 car units (to replace the asbestos ridden old slam door class 308s and increase capacity on this busy metro service) and entered service in 2001 and then between 2002 and 2003 these were upgraded to 4 car units. To be used exclusively on these routes, they have a top speed of 100mph but are limited to 90 mph on all lines because that's all they permit.
Class 331 (at Ilkley):
The class 331 electric multiple units were built by CAF as part of their Civity family between 2017 and 2020 then it entered service in 2019, to replace the class 321 and 322 EMU's, as 3 and 4 car units or /0 and /1 variants respectively. They have a top speed of 100mph.
LAYERS:
Class 801 (already in game) and 91 (not already in game), Class 158 (already in game)
There is also opportunity for rail tours because there are many that use the Airedale line to access the famed Settle - Carlisle line or some ECS runs to Keighley Platforms 3 and 4 for some guest Loco's to appear at the KWVR.
Class 801's (At Skipton):

Class 91 (At Bradford Forster Square):

Class 158 (At Keighley):

ALTERNATE ERA FOR THE ROUTE:
This route has seen many Trains in the past few years so this could alternatively be done with the 322/321 and 333 in the old red and purple WY Metro Northern Liveries and a 158 in the beautiful visit Yorkshire livery which in my completely biased opinion all look very nice and would be a welcome addition as these liveries really add a splash of colour that the railway scene so desperately needs .


CONCLUSION:
Personally I think this is a great route in the Leeds Metropolitan and Yorkshire Dales areas with short distances before your next stop, fast commuter trains with top speeds of 90 mph and lots to see. If you liked Birmingham Cross City but wanted a faster, more scenic line then you would love this.

 

I'm in

 

Me too I hope this will come to the game there are more edits yet to come

 

Bring it on and I do see this happening if Preston Blackpool has Class 158 then it can layer here. Alternatively I do see them making my suggestion Calder Valley Line giving 150/2 Northern 195 155 156 170 to here

 

Those trains can be ai services at Leeds, currently they don't operate on the airedale/wharfedale lines. But yep the 158 can be a layer doing Leeds to Carlisle services (as far as skipton)

 

Thanks for the answer and I do see them bundling this as Northern Rail Adventure Calder Valley Line Leeds City to Manchester Victoria & Preston via Halifax Bradford Interchange Todmorden Burnley Airedale line and Preston Blackpool.

 

calder valley line does not see the 155 and 170 and the 156 and 150/2 are rare sights it should be 158, 195, 150/1

 

would love to see the CVL so the more suggestions the better

 

it would be expensive but I would like to see a network of routes coming out of leeds