Now that the cat is out of the bag, with London Victoria to Brighton being one of the chosen routes for the ‘rush hour’ add-on, I’ve a few questions that have popped into my mind. I’m not expecting any literal or concrete answers today, however this thread would be used as the release date ever gets closer. Below shows what rolling stock we’ll get with the route: Questions: - Given that we will only be provided with the 377/4, what is the workaround to provide an adequate amount of services? In ECW we had the issue of the 377/4 numbers ‘running out’, which is why we had no London AI traffic from Lewes. A possible solution would be to repeat the numbers of the trains - something which very few will notice unless side by side. - Will the SE side of London Victoria be populated with 375 and 465 AI traffic, for those that own SEHS? I think this would be a sensible idea, as it’ll make the station feel a lot busier. Services don’t have to be 100% accurate, and the portal would only have to be around the corner, out of sight. So not a huge amount of work for pathing. - At the Brighton end, will we get ECW & WCW portal traffic? Now I’m not expecting the two routes to be merged, however will we still see AI traffic for these lines? At this moment in time, this thread is pure speculation and suggestions for any questions, until any official information has been released and/or answered.
Probably won't happen but it would be nice to see the Class 377/6 for the suburban services out of London Victoria since we're not getting a Class 455/8 I presume? They are essentially identical to the Class 387 with minor interior changes (without the extra luggage racks) plus an extra intermediate coach (5 cars per set). Might help prevent the numbers running out and give a little more variety. Edit: Or add the Class 377/1 (different headlights) for an extra 64 trainsets.
AirbourneAlex According to the small description, we’ll only be getting the 377/4 (from ECW). It’s highly unlikely we’ll get any new rolling stock with this route apart from the GX 387.
If this is all true then very interesting though I can’t imagine we are going to see it as busy as it really is, like has been said there are not the different types of rolling stock available for others services then can you imagine at Clapham Junction with all the SWR trains, we won’t see them. Even if all the different EMUs were available I can’t imagine TSW2 being able to handle all the AI services smoothly or could it?
They should seriously consider a BML+ECW merge. Brighton would greatly benefit from this becoming a nicely busy station and the timetables probably wouldn't collide a whole lot. It would create a truly unparalleled network and would basically be a nearly free test of extending routes.
I’ve got some questions to ask about this route: 1. Will you be able to drive services to Reigate but as far as Redhill 2. Will they include ai East/West Coastway services at Brighton for extra realism 3. Why is Thameslink not included as that runs down the Brighton Main Line between Brighton and East Croydon.
To be a ‘rush hour’ route, there must be a substantial amount of traffic or there won’t be many adverse signals etc. Maybe more will be revealed as we get closer to launch or we are underestimating the amount of traffic that’ll be on the route. If there are going to be more adverse signals, I hope the scoring system is revamped so we aren’t overly penalised for being late.
I know, I don't expect we'll see anything else. Just seems logical (and very easy) to add a couple of Class 377 variants for variety (after all they've bothered to make the Class 387 so why not?).
One thing is for sure is that BML will offer so much DLC potential. Here’s just some ideas of possible loco addons for the future. 455, 442, 460, 700, 319, 73. If they ever chose to do a DLC like GWE diesel legends, they could add a 421, 423, or 422 as part of a historical addon.
Just added that thought to the rush hour thread. I would happily pay £30 for a 70's retro EMU pack. Also potential to throw in a Thumper or three with Class 205's and Class 207's working to and from the Oxted Lines.
i now feel that although likely minimal I’d be paying (if I decided with my wallet) for reused assets. I do wish they’d join the dots round some of the routes
How much of a dream would it be for the class 442 to come as a add on for BML if bakerloo can get retro stock that isn’t used anymore I’m sure a 442 could be possible
I wonder if clapham junction will just include some of the platforms. I hope London victoria is the whole station
Route extensions are not going to happen. Matt has said it. Sam has said it. JD has said it. They're off the table. Route linking might just happen at some distant time in the unknown future, but there are no current plans to implement it.
I think for once there is enough information to not justify getting hopes up re cross-over stock i.e. there are no portals in or out of the TSW universe so any trains you would like to see would have to start and stop ON the BML map. So if there are no stations/depots/sidings to both start and stop in a prototypical fashion on BML for that service (AI or otherwise) I think this is then unlikely. Furthermore IMHO what turns this slim possibility into 'not going to happen' is the bigger headache for DTG and the fact that not only would this put a bigger strain on the new/improved despatcher -read play value vs immersion cost but it would also impact on available space for core services to start and stop on BML. I think rush hour without crossovers from other routes is going to be tricky enough for DTG to pull off tbh.
How different is the 387 from the 375/377 that we already have in SEHS/ECW? With the MRCE 187 and reused DoStos on Hamburg-Lubeck, the Class 314 on Cathcart, now the 377 and 387 on Brighton Mainline... is this the standard now for DTG routes going forward? One reused loco and one loco that's just a modification of an existing one?
I think it’s inevitable that we’ll eventually get interconnected routes. I could very well be barking up the wrong tree, but with Brighton to Victoria on the horizon (assuming the leak is accurate), is Clapham Junction, the UK’s busiest station, going to stay a ghost station forever? Will it be filled with AI? Or will it be used as an interconnect point joining Victoria and Waterloo (eventually). Whatever DTG is planning, I really hope that such possibilities are still a possibility and not completely off the table, forever!
It has a max speed of 110mph and is dual voltage, but to drive it will basically be the same as the other electrostars.
I was a at clapham the other day, off peak. It's totally insane, a train leaves every 30 seconds and there's always at least 4 platforms filled. As soon as a train leaves, another comes to fill in the gap, and you can see all of this from an overpass, which is really cool. I would be very sad to see this station completely empty in the game, but we have to be realistic here and realise that having over 5 trains at the same station already makes the game hardly playable (try Essen HBF in the morning), so I don't see a scenario where Clapham is anywhere near realistically busy. It also doesn't seem like DTG is making an effort to join routes, and a busier timetable means worse framerate, so I really don't see any of this coming to fruition ever. However, if the Southwestern Mainline or London Overground ever make it to the game, I hope DTG adds some 455s, 450s, 444s, 458s, and 378s to Clapham as AI, to make it feel more alive.
The through services from Victoria to Eastbourne via Lewes would definitely from the definitely benefit from the merging of BML and ECW. So I wonder whether the bit of line between Lewes and Wivelsfield will be included to make these services driveable for the whole way, though I'm not sure it will be as there wouldn't be much point if the routes aren't merged.
Its quite a bit different compared to the 377/4 and 375/9, as they’re pretty much identical to each other, so more of a change this time round. Class 387 GX differences: - Significantly newer despite similar design - Round windows as opposed to square ‘ribbon’ designed windows. - Dual voltage - Both AC and DC - 2+2 high back seating throughout - Frontside camera and LED light for track monitoring and recording - Minor cab changes including position of buttons - External PIS display and text smaller - More
Well they also said NEC would not likely ever get reworked and added to tsw2,well as you can see NEC may have just been brought back.Just useing a slightly different part of the route.
I think route linking may be something that will happen one day now they have figured out how to do multiple timetables per route...it's def a step towards it. I would like to see ECW & BML linked up for sure.
Well that’s not really a fair comparison. When they were talking about the NEC, they were talking about the TSW2020 route, which is not being reworked and ported. This new route is completely different in most senses, and should not be seen as them reworking the old nec route. It would be like calling HRR a reworked RRO, simply because they are both part of the S-Bahn Rhein-Ruhr network.
I was just pondering that, really ought to be in there along with traffic off the Oxted Lines and all the other branches. In fact producing an authentic timetable for this route could be almost the same challenge as the real life train planners face!
Seeing your forum name immediately reminded me of another EMU type that can go in the retro pack. And while on that subject we absolutely must have the Brighton Belle 5BEL set as a special. I always regret when I was modelling never having the inclination or more likely money to buy the old Wrenn model of this. Being able to run in pixel form would provide some belated satisfaction.
I was thinking about that, as I can't think of many reasons why GTR would chose to license the Southern and GatEx brands but not Thameslink, unless there's some added complexity with the ownership of the Thameslink brand.
