Class 390 Sold Separately, Bit Cheeky Isn't It?

Yes very!. I'd be more interested if it was included in the route with the Class 350, because 350 and 377 are pretty similar - yawn!

 

It is certainly a clever move from them and one which makes sense in a business perspective. As one of their most requested trains of course they are going to try and make extra from it.

 

It’s pretty simple really.

The WCML:S isn’t a route built for the 390, it’s built for the 350 & 377, with the other commuter layers.

Think of it like Boston-Providence with the Acela.

A WCML route bundled with both a 390 & 350 was never going to happen & you need both of those to make a southern WCML work. If we weren’t paying more for the 390 then it would have just been the 350 instead & as many have pointed out, a 50 mile run in the 390 isn’t really a routes worth experience.

JT are going to have the benefit of the 142 being in place, aswell as their stretch being non urban. You probably won’t see half of the buildings & infrastructure across 90 miles as you will in 30 miles of WCML:S.

 

Agreed, couldn't say it better myself!

 

so as anything further outside London suburbs??????????

what did you mean by over shap?

yea cough island line in TSW cough so its not in the impossibility. (Because well that means we wont ever get the modern rendition of the Preston to Carlie route.

 

Well said. I find the EMU trains soul less.

 

The route between Preston and Carlisle has Shap Summit hence it is known in TSC as WCML over Shap.

 

oooooh i see.

 

They didn't release them at the same time.

Do you honestly think if JT said to DTG we are making Preston to Carlisle set in 1989, it would have been sensible for DTG to say, we will make it too, but a modern version! The forums would have been agog!

 

Preston to Carlisle

 

yea i mean fair point. But that kinda kills the possibility of getting the class 390 between that section if u want to get to glasglow due to the time taking place not correct.

 

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Hopefully they'll do another section in the future. I agree it would be nice to have a longer run to stretch the 390's legs/bogies/wheels or whatever part you are stretching!

 

Sounds like a good one for Scenario Planner, drive a 390 up from Preston to Carlisle with AI driven 390s and 66s coming the other way.

Can't really do it in free roam, all the BR Blue would look a tad out of place.

 

At least we're getting one new train in the base game. All the Americans get are hand me downs with a new coat of paint.

 

i meant that as in we wont be able to run preston to Carlisle in the correct setting. And by any magical means that we got some other parts of WCML that can possibly link up to Glasglow from London. Preston to Carlisle section wont be included due to it already have that as a route in TSW and set in the time where Class 390s doesnt even exist.

 

So you are complaining you are ONLY getting 2 free locos in a sweet deal, and not 3?
No that's not greedy at all.....

 

DTG offered three locomotives last year though in the base bundle, the EMD F125, the Class 801, and the ÖBB 4024. Considering that the US offering this year doesn't have fully new locomotive it's not unreasonable to have expected the 390 to be included, that certainly was what I was expecting going in.

 

Last I checked they actually do cost money…

 

The route costs money, at a far reduced price. That route has 2 locos included. You can try to be pedantic if you want, but you're getting them for a steal already and you want a third for even less. It's arguably a better deal than last year and you're upset.

 

Are you comparing across all 3 routes included? Because this year that'd be 2 for WCM (250 and 377), 2 for San Bernadino (F125 and MP36) and 2 for Cajon Pass (ES44 and SD 40) That to me is 6 locos if you are counting the same way you appear to be for last year. Plus you want a 7th. You're asking for MORE than last year and expecting it as "standard."

So yeah, that does seem a little unreasonable.

 

My hope is because they are selling the 390 separately, they will take the effort to layer it into existing routes as AI. We now have several routes that include snippets of the WCML. I appreciate DTG have been getting better at layering new DLC into older routes to keep them fresh and alive. It puts my older purchases back on the rotation.

I doubt Cathcart is on the list since it's so new and the timetable is already bursting at the seams. But it would be the cherry on top to see the 390 snake it's way in and out of Glasgow throughout the day.

 

I have a feeling Cathcart is already "390-Ready" looking at the timetable. It seems in GC there are main line trains represented by joined 380s that will likely be substituted for 390 once added.

 

It’s just been said on the stream that the 390 will be able to be purchased separately from day one.

 

But there are 3 new locos.
The 350 and 377 are new for UK. The 114 is new for Germany.

And you're assuming that EVERYONE already has the "old stuff."
Ton of new people do not, so those would be new locos to them, even if they're not new to YOU.

 

The 377 & 114 are variants of the existing Class 377 and DB BR 155 respectively, those really aren't new in the same way as the locomotives I mentioned. And in regards to more straight forward examples like Class 66 whether new people have them or not is irrelevant. If they're using versions from older routes as a base then that's still saving DTG time and resources over making a new locomotive.

 

Again, that's assuming people already have the other routes. And isn't the 390 based on the same design as the ICE-T which will be reused too? Bottom line is you get 2 locos on a route and it's not enough.... if you want to make the argument that the US routes should get another loco then sure. However, I think the content in the new "standard" pack is sufficient. We can agree to disagree if it's not enough for you.

 

Bugger off is the 377 new. Its anything but bloody new and we have suffered it and its other Electrostar types many times before. Even the sweetness of having a pantograph doesn't make it much sweeter.

 

Yeah. Electrostars are definitely not new for the TSW franchise.

 

Re the 377, pondering whether they will provide a different sound set for running on AC?

And back OT for the 390, let’s hope we don’t have the near silent experience of the Azuma or Class 700, buff the cab sounds a bit to give us entertainment factor, please!

 

I think they're more or less the same as DC, the only difference I can think of is that there is a transformer buzz while on AC.

 

Personally I think the addition of the 377 is most welcome and I'm not going to be complaining about it. I probably won't use it to drive services, but I like all the possible AI there can be!

The way I look at it is, the 390 would of been released as a add on at a later date anyway. I don't think it's cheeky at all. I'm happy it has released along with the route, rather then having to wait months on end for a separate release. I welcome this more then teasing a route and and then teasing a loco or unit that is due to be released months apart, much like what happened with Fife Circle and the Class 158.

 

Is it already known how many services it adds to the route?

 

in game no. But in reality 103 pendolino services stop at mk each weekday.

 

It's a bit cheeky yeah. But considering most routes only release with one new train and some recycled stock, it don't come as a shock. Its going to be quite a busy route without the 390. I guess those who don't wanna pay the 14.99 for it ain't gonna miss it.

 

Stretching the tilting mechanism one way and the counter tilt for the pantograph the other?

 

How many stations will the 390/Pendolino stop at? Is it only Easton & Milton Keynes or are there also other stops in the timetable such as Watford Junction?

 

I have my bday coming up in a few months and I want to do other things than just play train sim so will wait until this is on sale I think (that's the UK bundle I mean). I regret getting tsw4 full price as all the other routes it came with I didn't actually want and believe I should have just gotten what I wanted which was the UK bundle as they did one I believe didn't they?

 

Tried getting into German routes but just don't have any interest at all. I understand the UK signals etc much better than German signals. Even if I am still learning more and more each day

 

Some go straight to Milton Keynes, others stop at Watford Junction in the middle. For most 390s, their first stop is after Milton Keynes, but they won't be drivebale.

 

I fear it's also a bit of a shot in the foot selling the 390 separate as it may strangle attempts to make another section in future, particularly if the 390 is the main train in that section. It may look very dodgy selling the 390 separately then including the exact same train with a route.

 

Remember what happened with the 465 on SEHS? That was a separate DLC on TSW2 but was included with TSW3's extension.

 

Yes, but the Class 465 was no longer on sale, and since all Class 465 owners had Southeastern Highspeed, it was safe for DTG to merge the loco DLC into the route.

The Pendolino, now that it is separate, must stay separate. There is a chance (although unlikely), now, that someone buys the Pendolino without buying Euston - Milton Keynes. If DTG were to make another part of the West Coast Mainline, what loco should it come with? If they put the Pendolino in it, we would be buying the train twice, and how would someone who wants a Pendolino on West Coast Mainline South get it if they can't get the WCML section that has the Pendolino in it. Also, which Pendolino should layer into other timetables?

Is there a section of the WCML that is served exclusively by Pendolinos (like Peterborough-Doncaster is served exclusively by Hitachi AT300s)?

 

If you exclude Caledonian Sleeper, then Wigan - Weaver Jn.
Carlisle - Carstairs too if they can't get the TPE licence.

 

It's the same problem they created for themselves with the 700, they couldn't really do London - Peterborough without including the 700 in the route.

For the WCML all they could do is a section that is served locally by something new, then layer in the 390 for those who already bought it.

In reality, Euston - Milton Keynes is probably all we will see DTG make for the modern day WCML, at least for the forseeable future, there are a lot of UK railways yet to be made.

 

Occasionally Watford but usually just Euston and Milton Keynes.

 

Even that section of the EC still has the likes of 91s and 180s operating fairly regularly throughout the day on it. There are very few sections of line as busy as the East and West coast which only see one form of traction. Even the Weaver to Wigan section would still have 221s/80xs run over it on the way to Glasgow I should think. I may well be wrong there, my knowledge of the WCML is fairly limited as I am from the better side of the country.

 

Good shout but it's not many services. They're the former XC services to Edinburgh via WCML