Agreed! (Except the WSR part) whilst it would be good to include on that route it needs to stretch its legs!!!! London - Brighton would be good!
Yep, I agree. We need something like this as we don't have a demu in the game so this would add a new variety.
Used to love travelling on these in the late 70’s and early 80’s. Whether the Oxted Lines, Salisbury across to Pompey, Ashford to Hastings or the crème de la crème, the Hastings units from Charing Cross to, erm, Hastings. Oh and not forgetting the Tadpole Class 206’s from Reading to Redhill and Tonbridge.
Something like that down in Salisbury would be a lot nicer than the 159s we have now which I see every day.
Absolutely. Class 201 to 207 are all pretty similar apart from some being Hastings narrow loading gauge or a mixture of gauges (206). All had EE power units. A must have group of stock.
Bring on the North Downs Line to connect GWE and BML. Various other classes to choose from for this route.
Matching route would be 1986 Hastings Line where the Thumper is working alongside a 4 CEP 4CIG 4REP which were brought to the route for the purpose of electric services. That's a bonus you can run them on Brighton main line ECW SEH as a southern region railtour
I reckon having a 80s timetable for BML would be fantastic. Have a 205/207, VEP or CIG then a Blue 33 and a 73 and that’s do it.
Hastings Units would make for a great railtour DLC, I would 100% be up for it Courtesy Wikimedia Commons
I wasn’t overly impressed with the AP sounds on their Thumper. To me, they didn’t quite capture that full on throaty burble when under load on full power. There are several period BR routes where the Class 205 could shine, subject to DTG being prepared to do something a bit historical. Oxted Lines the obvious candidate though a Class 207 might be more appropriate. Salisbury across to Portsmouth was solid Thumpers prior to electrification from St Denys to Fareham. Reading to Basingstoke back in the day, or even onward to Salisbury though the stoppers only ran every two hours from Basingstoke to Salisbury IIRC. A real treat would be to do the Watercress Line as it was prior to BR closure with Thumpers working the service through from Alton to Winchester. A lovely rural ride.
It's been many years since I rode a thumper on the mainline. Comparing the sounds to spa valleys 207, ap's sounds are on par with that. As much as I would like to see any of the lines you mentioned come to tsw, I have a feeling we would be in for a very long wait. Hastings diesels have operated tours all over the country over the years, they could slot in nicely to some routes on tsw, although they have the class 201 I believe.
A massive yes to the BR era Watercress Line. Such a shame that you you can't get to Winchester via Itchen Abbas today owing to the line stopping short just beyond Alresford.
Other variants of the Thumpers would be most welcome. I would personally like to see the Tadpoles on the North Downs Line from Reading to Tonbridge via Guildford and Redhill. A good shout would be just as the Tadpoles were finishing up and the Class 119s started taking over.
The Tadpoles were hellfire though could get a bit crowded as not all the Guards would open up the ex EPB Driving Trailer.
Yeah I'll take any variant. Fond memories of riding them, used to love the noise. Everyone else hated them. I'll take any route they come with.
