Train Sim World 3 Blackfriars To Sevenoaks And Orpington For Thameslink 700/0 + Lots Of Se 465 And Freight Services!

Hello,

For Train Sim World 3 I recommend the London Blackfriars to Sevenoaks and Orpington route for Thameslink and the Class 700/0. However, as this route travels via the Catford Loop Line, Chatham Main Line, Maidstone Line and South Eastern Main Line (sounds confusing I know, but all should be more clearer explained below!), this means plenty of playable Southeastern services too - with the likes of the awesome Class 465, which deserves more new routes other than just SEHS - as well as plenty of freight and AI traffic. This should mean a very busy timetable with a nice mix of longer and shorter services and lots of interesting variety thanks to the aforementioned freight with the Class 66 etc. While I'll mention all the specific route info below, I think this would be a suitable route for DTG to bring to TSW thanks to the perfect combined length of around 38.8 miles, plus a bulk of the services by the much-anticipated Class 700 and already much-loved 465!

All photos taken by myself; please note these only depict the rolling stock, not the route itself

With the Class 700 being one, if not, the most-anticipated loco DLC for TSW, combined with one of TSW's most popular existing examples, the 465, a route like this featuring both is surely a win-win!

Timeframe = Anywhere from 2019 to present day.

Route Length = 38.8 miles (62.4km) - This was calculated when combining the track distance from Blackfriars to Sevenoaks via Bat & Ball (27.5 miles/44.2km) - which is the Thameslink route - with the section of South Eastern Main Line which goes via Orpington to Sevenoaks (11.3 miles/18.2km) - mainly served by Southeastern with exception of peak-time Thameslink services which only go as far as Orpington.

Locos = Thameslink Class 700/0, Southeastern Class 465 and 375, EWS Class 66 for freight, plus RHTT, Class 37 ROG and more!

Stations = I'll list the stations below, however as the Thameslink service to Sevenoaks goes via many different Southeastern lines, I'll note in brackets which one they are from:
Thameslink Route to Sevenoaks
1 - London Blackfriars
2 - Elephant & Castle
3 - Denmark Hill (Catford Loop Line)
4 - Peckham Rye - see above
5 - Nunhead - see above
6 - Crofton Park - see above
7 - Catford - see above
8 - Bellingham - see above
9- Beckenham Hill - see above
10 - Ravensbourne - see above
11 - Shortlands (from here the route has since joined the Chatham Main Line)
12 - Bromley South - see above
13 - Bickley - see above
14 - St Mary Cray - see above
15 - Swanley - see above
16 - Eynsford (from here the route has now joined the Maidstone Line)
17 - Shoreham - see above
18 - Otford - see above
19 - Bat & Ball (Thameslink services have now since diverged away from the Maidstone Line and call at just Bat & Ball before terminating at Sevenoaks below)
20 - Sevenoaks

As mentioned above, Thameslink serve Orpington during peak hours, so it's logical to have this included. Meanwhile, this route to Orpington is separate to the stations listed above, and this stretch of line actually continues to Sevenoaks as well as part of the South Eastern Main Line, albeit served by just Southeastern services, so worth including too (you'll see why from the list of playable services further below):
Extra route to Orpington + extra Southeastern stations to Sevenoaks; for reference this section of stations/track would diverge after Bickley (see number 13 above, and arrive at Sevenoaks via an alternate route:
- Petts Wood (after Bickley the route diverged to now join the South Eastern Main Line from Petts Wood onward)
- Orpington - see above
- Chelsfield - see above
- Knockholt - see above
- Dunton Green - see above
- Sevenoaks

Thameslink Class 700/0s (yes I know this picture is of a /1 instead of a /0) operates between London Blackfriars and Sevenoaks twice-an-hour in each direction, with additional peak-time services also going to Orpington


The appeal of a Blackfriars to Sevenoaks/Orpington route is a super-busy timetable with a plethora of longer and shorter services with many different start/end points by several different trains

Playable Services with Route, TOC/Rolling Stock, Duration and Frequency
Passenger:
- London Blackfriars to Sevenoaks; Playable for entire service; Thameslink Class 700/0; Duration = Approx 1hr 10mins; Two trains per hour (all listed in each direction)
- St Albans City to Sutton; Playable between London Blackfriars and Elephant & Castle; Thameslink Class 700/0; Duration = Approx 5mins; Four trains per hour
- London Blackfriars to Beckenham Junction; Playable between London Blackfriars and Elephant & Castle; Southeastern Class 465; Duration = Approx 5mins; Limited Peak-time only
- Orpington to London Blackfriars/Luton/Kentish Town/West Hampstead TL; Playable between Orpington and Blackfriars via Petts Wood; Thameslink Class 700/0; Duration = Approx 50mins; Peak time-only during early mornings and from late afternoon onward
- London Blackfriars to Dartford; Playable as very limited peak time-only services between Blackfriars and Nunhead; Southeastern Class 465; Duration = Approx 20mins; Peak time-only
- London Victoria to Gillingham; Playable between Denmark Hill and Swanley; Southeastern Class 465/375; Duration = Approx 25-30mins; One train per hour
- London Victoria to Dartford; Playable between Denmark Hill and Nunhead; Southeastern Class 465; Duration = Approx 7mins; Two trains per hour
- London Victoria to Orpington via Herne Hill; Playable between Shortlands and Orpington; Southeastern Class 465; Duration = Approx 15mins; Two trains per hour
- London Victoria to Ashford International; Playable between Bromley South and Otford; Southeastern Class 375; Duration = Approx 20-25mins; One train per hour
- London Charing Cross to Maidstone East; Playable between Swanley and Otford; Southeastern Class 375; Duration = Approx 9mins; One train per hour
- London Cannon Street to Orpington; Playable between Petts Wood and Orpington; Southeastern Class 465; Duration = Approx 5mins; Two trains per hour
- London Charing Cross to Sevenoaks; Playable between Petts Wood and Orpington; Southeastern Class 465; Duration = Approx 20mins; Two trains per hour
- London Charing Cross to Hastings/Tunbridge Wells; Playable between Orpington and Sevenoaks; Southeastern Class 375; Duration = Approx 10mins; Both Two trains per hour, although Tunbridge Wells services not present around mid-day?

Freight:
There are a lot of different freight routes and service lengths. While there are most likely more, these are some examples of a few different common start/end points for the Blackriars to Sevenoaks/Orpington route, such as:
- Denmark Hill to Nunhead; Duration = Approx 8mins
- Denmark Hill to Sevenoaks via Orpington; Duration = Approx 50mins
- Denmark Hill to Otford; Duration = Approx 55mins

The Blackfriars to Sevenoaks/Orpington route would feature a busy freight timetable with services plied by the iconic Class 66, which would please many UK freight fans to give more gameplay instead of just passenger examples

AI-only Services:
Due to some passenger services which are fast and, hence lack hardly any station stopping points, these mean some services might only call at one station en-route, thus resulting in being available purely as AI-only traffic:
- All Thameslink traffic at London Blackfriars going to/from Thameslink Core for services from the BML, ECML and MML South
- Chatham Main Line = London Victoria to Dover Priory, London Victoria to Ramsgate (both only stop at Bromley South)
- South Eastern Main Line = London Charing Cross to Dover Priory, London Charing Cross to Ramsgate (both only stop at Sevenoaks)
- South London Line = At Peckham Rye, Southern Class 377s would be AI-only traffic

LAMP Process
Licensing
The Thameslink Class 700/0 is scheduled to come to TSW while Southeastern, with the Class 465 and 375, as well as the EWS Class 66, already exist in TSW.
Anticipation
Players should well receive this route as for several big reasons; namely it's a brand-new route for TSW's most-anticipated loco DLC ever, the Class 700! Meanwhile, the Class 465 is one of the most popular locos in TSW, and thoroughly deserves so much more services away from just SEHS; come on DTG, you've now given the Class 323 a brand-new route, so please follow suit with the highly popular and very much-loved Class 465! Meanwhile, this route should also be very popular considering how well received SEHS and London Commuter are, especially thanks to their super-busy and varied timetables; another bonus of these and the Blackfriars to Sevenoaks/Orpington route is that they feature lots of freight to provide a more varied timetable and, importantly, gameplay longevity. Finally, it would be nice to see more modular routes to have a large overall network for Thameslink, Southern and Southeastern; as there is a lot of existing content from these in TSW, this should not be seen as negative or saturation, but meaning newer routes here would mean much better and busier timetables with no one-loco routes or empty stations thanks to a plethora of existing locos (SEHS is a great example of why this is popular).
Mix
This route would provide a lot of varied gameplay, from longer stopping Thameslink services which are more than an hour, to shorter- and mid-duration and/or local/express Southeastern services from 5-30mins etc. Importantly, as this route covers the Chatham Main Line, South Eastern Main Line, Catford Loop Line, Maidstone Line etc, there are many different start/end points for services, so it won't get too repetitive (again, why London Commuter and SEHS are so popular!). As mentioned, the rolling stock of the older 465 vs the more newer 700 is an interesting variation, not to mention these are some of the most popular trains in TSW! Finally, many want to see more UK freight, so this route would provide many services of both longer and shorter duration for exciting gameplay. Additionally, the RHTT can be included, as well as the ROG 37 for a more detailed timetable. Finally, with my proposed route having two separate routes to Sevenoaks (via Bat & Ball with Thameslink and via Orpington with Southeastern), it means more non-linear gameplay and variety.
Prominence
With this route being in London, this has a worldwide, global appeal - one great example is the iconic station at London Blackfriars across the River Thames with all the scenery and famous landmarks around such as the City of London, Tower Bridge and Tower of London etc which would be fantastic to have represented in TSW. Many may also be more familiar with such routes/rolling stock thanks to the popularity of London Commuter and SEHS, or of those who may of visited London in real life as a tourist. Again, as already stated, the 700 is one, if not, the most anticipated loco for TSW, while many also love the 465 too which should be in more routes - so to have a route that features both trains very prominently in the timetable which are very high in demand is surely a win-win!

If the Class 376 ever came to TSW, this route would be perfect for such to complement the 465s

 

Yes a big thumbs up from me for this

 

Excellent suggestion gets my vote % very well detailed a lot of research went into that

 

Many thanks! Indeed, it took a while but I actually really enjoyed doing it.

 

Excellent idea and regarding elephant and Castle why not make a passageway between that and the bakerloo line that way you can walk from this route to another without using the Main menu to switch routes. For Class 465 make it the BREL version since everyone has the Metro Cammell 465/9.

 

This I would like. Thanks for suggesting.

 

Indeed, plus how about perhaps maybe even the 2-car Class 466 too which could also be used for SEHS as AI for the Sittingbourne-Sheerness services etc.

No worries, glad to hear.

 

Spot on and if you want to drive it to London Victoria from Sittingbourne you might as well couple 466 with SEHS 465/9 due to the class 466 being non RVAR 2010 compliant. Which makes the requirement of coupling them to a 465 mandatory to meet RVAR 2010 requirements.

 

This route would be lovely to see. Plenty of variety in service patterns. Also, a good route because all of the licensing is already available (Southeastern, Thameslink, EWS and also southern)

 

This route would be great but it would only include end-to-end runs with one service pattern. The Class 465 definitely deserves another route but it would be nice to drive it on a full length journey. Something like the Dartford Metro lines or the South Eastern Main Line from London Charing Cross and Cannon Street to Tonbridge with the Sevenoaks/Orpington stopping services would be more ideal.

 

Instead we could get a South Eastern Main Line route which would make more sense to utilize Southeastern and Thameslink

 

Indeed, I just love routes which have a decent timetable - how busy and how much variety etc - and this certainly would be a great route.

I totally understand your point with this route having a single end-to-end service pattern, however, I would argue this would be enough considering it's a lengthy Thameslink service at around 1hr 10 mins duration for the much-anticipated 700 (which was actually the main reason for this specific route suggestion); it's also worth noting that the 700/0 will only get shorter 40-minute Rainham services with SEHS which is quite limited initially in comparison. Moreover, the Blackfriars-Sevenoaks route would have a pretty epic timetable with a plethora of shorter-to-medium services from Southeastern and quite a bit of freight, so again, I'd argue this would be worth it and maybe more than one end-to-end service pattern is not needed to still have a great route/timetable (similar to London Commuter in some aspects). However, I totally agree with you though that a new, full route for the 465 would be very welcome as it deserves so much more than just SEHS.

I'd be happy for any new route featuring Thameslink and Southeastern which is why I thought Blackfriars-Sevenoaks would be great considering the plethora of different services from both.

 

I kinda agree with this suggestion.
So what it could do is you walk thourgh the ticket hall and walk down to the Bakerloo line and when you get underneath a gui will appear asking if you want to stay or leave to go to the Bakerloo line.