I have been thinking about this one for some time and finally decided to post. My suggestion is for the Cotswolds Line from Reading to Worcester Foregate Street via Oxford. At 86 miles it is on the longer-side, although the gameplay unlocked I think would be excellent with plenty of variety, I would suggest basing this in 2017/2018 during which time GWR were introducing IET’s alongside phasing out the existing HST and Adelante services, making best use of a number of existing Loco’s including: GWR Class 802/1 - Long Distance services from Reading to Worcester Foregate Street, services from Reading to Oxford continuing on to Banbury with AI, Reading to Didcot Parkway continuing West with AI. GWR Class 165/166 - Local GWR stopping services from Reading to Didcot Parkway/Oxford. Local stopping services along the Cotswolds line from Oxford including limited stops at Combe and Finstock. Chiltern Class 165 - Potentially using a re-skinned version of the GWR Class 165 to include AI services from Oxford to London Marylebone via Bicester. GWR Class 150 - Worcester Foregate Street to Bristol Temple Meads, playable between Worcester Foregate Street and Worcester Shrub Hill continuing with AI. XC Class 220 - Playable services between Reading and Oxford continuing with AI towards the South Coast/Birmingham, and AI services crossing Worcestershire Parkway (opened in 2020) so services wouldn’t stop there, but the infrastructure would have been near completion in the period set between Birmingham and Cheltenham Spa. XC Class 170 - As per Class 220, AI services crossing Worcestershire Parkway (opened in 2020) so services wouldn’t stop there, but the infrastructure would have been near completion in the period set between Birmingham and Cheltenham Spa. London Midland Class 170 - Playable between Worcester Foregate Street and Worcester Shrub Hill continuing with AI towards Birmingham upto Norton Junction using a reskinned version of the WMR Class 170. My suggestions for new stock would include ‘another IET’ bringing the Class 800/3 which is mainly used on the Cotswold Line by GWR, alongside a flagship Class 180 Adelante also used by GWR along the Cotswold line during this era. This route gives a huge range of gameplay including long distance services from Worcester Foregate Street to Reading, alongside shorter style stopping services. Freight is limited on the route, but there is some potential to include this. The route offers single line working, making another interesting style of gameplay, alongside the magnificent Cotswold scenery. Given the era it would also offer an extension of the existing London Paddington to Reading route, offering the opportunity to route hop at Reading to continue services to/from Paddington. Would be interested to know if anyone else would like this route to become a reality, or if there are any other benefits to this route I may have missed.
