I was inspired by the recently announced ATS route to look for TFW routes leaving Piccadilly that would be a good fit for the game and I found something that really fits the bill for TSW. The route is Chester to Manchester Piccadilly set around 2022 with the Class 175, a journey of about 40 miles give or take, and an average journey time of around an hour. One of the key features of this route would firstly be the introduction of the Class 175 DMU doing the run from Chester to Manchester. Other key features of this route include semaphore signals at Helsby, Weston Viaduct, Halton Curve, parallel running to the WCML, Acton Grange Viaduct, freight galore at Warrington, Great views of Manchester coming in from the west, a great blend of countryside and suburban scenery. The line itself isn't particularly busy however when driving alongside the WCML you could potentially see a Class 350 or 390 running an AI service, as well as freight of course. Piccadilly itself should be relatively busy with the addition of Avanti, Northern, and EMT trains layered from other routes. Originally I was going to propose the idea of including the branch from Chester to Liverpool Lime Street which would add another 27 miles and give it a more network-style feel however I felt it would be too ambitious considering LLS is a major station that would take time to make. So what do you think? Would you like this route? Let me know. Class 175 Diesel Hydraulic Multiple Unit Route map (in pink) Driver's eye view video for reference If you're wondering why I chose the 175 over the 197 which now runs the route, I think the 197 is one of the ugliest trains on the network and the 175 is more preferable in my opinion.
