Hi guys today I’m gonna be suggesting this route for TSW 4, this route is quite scenic, This route starts in England and ends on the border of Wales. This suggestion is going to be set in 2015, years before TFW took over, as this is set in 2015 this was operated by Arriva Trains back then. The trains included is the Class 175 and 158. Let’s start with the Class 175. This is the Class 175 DMU. These trains were took out of service last month which means you wouldn’t be expecting Class 175s to arrive to stations in real life. Well it will be part of the suggestion as this route is set in 2015. The British Rail Class 175[10] is a type of diesel multiple-unit (DMU) passenger train from the Alstom Coradia 1000 family. In service 20 June 2000 – 17 October 2023[1] Manufacturer Alstom Built at Washwood Heath, Birmingham[2] Family name Coradia 1000 Replaced Class 101 Class 309 Constructed 1999–2001 Refurbished 2019–2022[3][4] Number built 27 Successor Class 185 Class 197 [1][5] Formation 2 cars per 175/0 unit: DMSL-DMSL 3 cars per 175/1 unit: DMSL-MSL-DMSL Fleet numbers 175/0: 175001–175011 175/1: 175101–175116 Capacity 136 seats per 2-car unit Owner(s) Angel Trains Operator(s) Arriva Trains Wales First North Western First TransPennine Express KeolisAmey Wales Transport for Wales Rail Depot(s) Cardiff Chester [6] Specifications Car body construction Steel Car length DMSL vehicles: 23.71 m (77 ft 9 in) MS vehicles: 23.03 m (75 ft 7 in) Width 2.73 m (8 ft 11 in) Doors Single-leaf sliding plug (2 per side per car) Maximum speed 100 mph (160 km/h) Weight DMSL vehs.: 56.51 t (55.62 long tons; 62.29 short tons) MSL vehs.: 55.80 t (54.92 long tons; 61.51 short tons) DMSL vehs.: 57.50 t (56.59 long tons; 63.38 short tons) Axle load Route Availability 1 Prime mover(s) 2 or 3 × CumminsN14E-R (one per vehicle) Engine type Inline-6 4-stroke turbo-diesel[7] Displacement 14 L (855 cu in) per engine[7] Power output 340 kW (450 hp) per engine Transmission Voith T 211 re.3 (hydrokinetic, one per vehicle) Braking system(s) Electro-pneumatic[a] Safety system(s) AWS TPWS Coupling system Scharfenberg Type 330[8] Multiple working Within class, and with Class 180 Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge The fleet of 27 sets was ordered from the French train manufacturer Alstom during July 1997 and were constructed between 1999 and 2001 at Washwood Heath, Birmingham. Early plans for some of the fleet to be capable of 125 mph (200 km/h) were in place but subsequently abandoned. Driver training and extensive testing of the new fleet was performed at the Old Dalby Test Track from November 1999. The first Class 175 entered revenue service with the train operating company First North Western on 20 June 2000. Ownership of the fleet is held by Angel Trains, who has leased the fleet to various train operators. The first operator of the Class 175, North Western Trains (later known as First North Western), did not operate the fleet for long before Wales & Borders was created and inherited it. During December 2003, the new franchisee Arriva Trains Wales took over the Class 175s, by which point early reliability problems had been mostly resolved. First TransPennine Express also briefly operated several. In February 2018, the entire Class 175 fleet was temporarily withdrawn from service for safety checks. During October 2018, the fleet was transferred to the Transport for Wales Rail Services (KeolisAmey Wales) and then to the government-owned Transport for Wales Rail during 2021. This is the driver cab of the Class 175. It’s a little bit different and this unit features TMS which is a good option for trains, Class 158s don’t have a TMS. This is the passenger interior of the Class 175. The seats have the arriva pattern that you normally get when travelling on a arriva bus.
Now let’s have a look at the Class 158. This is the Class 158 DMU. This unit is in an arriva livery aswell. These trains are still running on TFW but the 175s stopped running last month. The British Rail Class 158 Express Sprinter is a diesel multiple unit (DMU) passenger train. It is a member of the Sprinter series of regional trains, produced as a replacement for British Rail's first generation of DMUs; of the other members, the Class 159 is almost identical to the Class 158, having been converted from Class 158 to Class 159 in two batches to operate express services from London Waterloo to the West of England. In service 17 September 1990 – present Manufacturer British Rail Engineering Limited[1] Built at Derby Litchurch Lane Works[1] Family name Sprinter Replaced Locomotive-hauled trains BR First-Generation DMUs Constructed 1989–1992[1] Number built 180 (8 converted to Cl. 159/1) Number in service 171[2] Number scrapped 1 Formation 2 or 3 cars per unit Fleet numbers (See § Fleet details) Capacity NT: 138 or 142 seats per 2-car unit, 207 seats per 3-car unit[3] SWR: 125 seats per 2-car unit[4] TfW: 138 seats per 2-car unit[5] Operator(s) East Midlands Railway Great Western Railway[6] Northern Trains ScotRail South Western Railway Transport for Wales Rail Specifications Car body construction Welded aluminium[1] Car length 22.57 m (74 ft 1 in)[1] Width 2.70 m (8 ft 10 in)[1] Height 3.73 m (12 ft 3 in)[7] Doors Double-leaf plug (2 per side per car)[1] Maximum speed 90 mph (145 km/h)[1] Weight 38.5 tonnes (42.4 short tons; 37.9 long tons) per car[1] Axle load Route Availability 1[1] Prime mover(s) Units 158701–158814: Cummins NTA855-R1 Units 158815–158862: Perkins 2006 TW-H Units 158863–158872: Cummins NTA855-R3 Units 158901–158910: Cummins NTA855-R1 (one per car, unit numbers as built) Engine type Inline-6 4-stroke turbo-diesel[8][9] Displacement Cummins: 14.0 L (855.00 cu in)[8] Perkins: 12.2 L (742.64 cu in)[9] (per engine) Power output NTA855-R1: 260 kW (350 hp)[1] 2006-TWH: 260 kW (350 hp)[1] NTA855-R3: 300 kW (400 hp)[1] Transmission Voith T 211 rz or T 211 rzz (hydrokinetic)[1] Acceleration 0.8 m/s2 (2.6 ft/s2)[10] UIC classification 2-car: 2′B′+B′2′ 3-car: 2′B′+B′2′+B′2′ Bogies Powered: BREL P4-4 Unpowered: BREL T4-4 Braking system(s) Pneumatic (disc)[1] Safety system(s) AWS TPWS ETCS (158818-158841 only)[11] Coupling system BSI[12] Multiple working Within class, and with Classes 14x, 15x, and 170[12] Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge The Class 158 was constructed between 1989 and 1992 by British Rail Engineering Limited(BREL) at its Derby Litchurch Lane Works. The majority were built as two-car sets, some three-car sets were also produced. During September 1990, the first Express Sprinters were operated by ScotRail; the type was promptly introduced to secondary routes across the Midlands, Northern England, Wales and the South West. The Class 158 enabled the replacement of large numbers of elderly DMUs but also several locomotive-hauled trains as well; this was partially accomplished via the cascading of existing Sprinter units onto other routes.[15] To capitalise on the Class 158's improved onboard amenities in comparison to other rolling stock in use for regional services, the Alphaline branding was launched during the mid-1990s; it was also used for a time in the post-privatisation era. As a result of British Rail's privatisation in the mid 1990s, the Class 158s were divided amongst various newly-created operators broadly along their existing routes. Due to their relatively young age at that time, most operators elected to retain them for the following decades. Several, such as Northern Rail and Arriva Trains Wales, had their Class 158 fleets modernised and refitted with various new facilities, such modifications often including greater accessibility, onboard passenger information systems, Wi-Ficonnectivity, and toilet retention tanks. By the 2020s, many Class 158 operators have started to or have replaced the type with newer rolling stock, such as the Class 170 Turbostar, Class 185 Desiro, and Class 197 multiple units. This is the driver cab of the Class 158. It’s different to the 175. The driving mode on the 175 is the power break that has the brake and release section. But on a 158, they are both separate. The brake handle is on the left, but the power handle is on the right of the left side. There is no TMS on this train, Both Class 175 and 158 both have the GSMR. A sub-system of European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS), it is used for communication between train and railway regulation control centers. The system is based on GSM and EIRENE – MORANE specifications which guarantee performance at speeds up to 500 km/h (310 mph), without any communication loss. GSM-R could be supplanted by LTE-R,[1] with the first production implementation being in South Korea.[2] However, LTE is generally considered to be a "4G" protocol, and the UIC's Future Railway Mobile Communication System (FRMCS) program[3] is considering moving to something "5G"-based (specifically 3GPP R15/16, i.e. 5G NR),[4] thus skipping two technological generations.[ This is the interior of the Class 158. It has the same arriva pattern as the Class 175 and looks more modern than the 175 interior. The passenger section of the 158 makes a big change to the 175s.
This is the route map for Chester to Birmingham International. The stops on this line are Chester, Wrexham General, Ruabon, Y Waun/Chirk, Gobowen, Shrewsbury, Wellington, Telford Central, Wolverhampton, Sandwell & Dudley, Birmingham New Street and Birmingham International. The route journey is 2 hours long but it’s also quite scenic at the same time. It’s a good idea to make a route that goes from England and then half of the journey is in Wales and then the end of the journey is on the Welsh Border. Now let’s move onto the services. There wi be different routes. Chester to Birmingham International in this route will use Class 175s and 158s. Let’s have a look at scenarios. Scenario 1: a stormy night, In this scenario you will be driving a Class 175 from Birmingham International but there might be delays expected due to heavy rain and wind further into the route. This scenario would take quite long due to delays from the storm, there will be floods between Shrewsbury and Gobowen so I recommend you drive a little bit slower between that section of the route. Scenario 2: Summer Heatwave. In this scenario you will drive a Class 158 from Chester but will finish at Shrewsbury as the heatwave has caused a track fire further down the line. All trains going from Chester will terminate At Shrewsbury to keep passengers safe. And passengers are bringing bottles of water with them to cool down while in the train. Scenario 3: Part Closure down the line, In this one your driving a Class 175 from Birmingham International to Shrewsbury, the route is part suspended as an accident has happened at the next stop after Shrewsbury. Scenario 4: Long journey: in this scenario you will drive a Class 158 from Birmingham Interior to Chester and the journey is expected to be good as planned. So there’s no delays in this scenario. At Birmingham New Street there will be AI Class 323s going to Bromsgrove, Redditch and Lichfield Trent Valley. In the route you would come across scenery like this, fields with trees and bushes. You would also drive past small villages. The journey from Birmingham International to Chester is 2 hours long. But that’s the end of the scenario. I hope you enjoyed and remember to put your thoughts down below of this scenic route.
This looks like a nice route and I hope all I'm seeing isn't just Fields. Idk about you but perhaps completing this sort of loop around Crewe to Shrewsbury and Chester, maybe south to Stafford too so you can get to Chester in either direction. Otherwise perhaps extends further north to runcorn to connect to the Crewe - Liverpool (I'm not sure this would be viable as they're different era's either way)
I think only 2 services were 175’s on this line back in the time you’re talking and now it’s primarily 158’s however with 197’s taking over rapidly now I doubt you’ll see the route in question with 158 or 175’s the route itself probably needs splitting down a little right now something like a Hereford to Chester or Crewe or both would work better we don’t have 350’s 390’s 220/1’s or 170’s which would kill the route between international and Shrewsbury, DTG struggled to argue cross city and how quiet new street this route would really struggle to capture imagination without those other units in first
