Hello and welcome to what is a very special route suggestion. Now over the past few years, I've done a lot of route suggestions (mainly for 'Rush Hour' style routes, but I'm now starting in dig into more period and generally interesting stuff) but this route suggestion I have for you today, might end up being the most ambitious one to date. This suggestion is going to be for another steam route, set in the UK and is centred around one particular loco that recently came to TSW, and that is the Flying Scotsman, which came as part of the deluxe edition of TSW4. Where I'm going with this is that it might seem cool that we have this loco in TSW, where you can run on the ECML, in the modern day, hauling railtour services, but I think there's a way to top that... …what if you were able to drive the Flying Scotsman, out on the mainline... in it's heyday? What I mean by that is when it was hauling mainline, revenue-earning services during the age of steam. Would something like that be awesome to see in TSW? Well that's what this suggestion is all about! ...and after digging around some potential options, I think I found the perfect route for it, one that long time fans of Train Simulation might be familiar with. So without any further ado, let's dive into this suggestion for a steam-era East Coast Main Line, focusing on the section between York and Newcastle, with a time-period of around 1955 to 1958. Background Now like I've just mentioned, many of you who have been fans of Train Simulation for a long time might be familiar with the section of the ECML between York & Newcastle. In fact, this route was one of the original routes that was able with TS Classic, back when it first launch as Rail Simulator all the way in 2009. I even played with it myself and one point and it quite a fun route, even if is showing it's age after all these years. However, the version of York-Newcastle that I have for you here bares very little resemblance to that route, because with that OG TS Classic route, that was a BR Blue Diesel-era route, featuring Deltics and BR Blue HST's and more and while I'll admit, that would be quite a promising route to see, it would be nothing compared to what it could be if it were a steam route, as I'm suggesting the route as today. You see, the whole point of suggesting this route as a steam route, is not only do I feel like it would have way more potential if it was made this way, but it's also to allow you to drive the Flying Scotsman during it's day of operating regular services on the main line. In fact, I would say bringing the Flying Scotsman to TSW has opened the door to more potential steam routes beyond just doing another LMS style route, like what we've had with Liverpool-Crewe or even Peak Forest. As much as it might be nice to have steam routes like those in TSW, you always have to mix things up at some point before these route become too repetitive. Even if there might be other options for a route like this such as Doncaster to Leeds or any other route like that, but I felt like York-Newcastle would be the best choice here, as we will get too. Now at this point, I would show you what this route would look like on and map, and that is the case, all I have to say is brace yourselves. Because this is the most ambitious map that I have created for any TSW route suggestion to date. Even if this route is a straightforward A to B route, one glance at it will quickly make you see why it's so ambitious. So without further ado, here it is. Map of the Whole Route Area around York Area around Darlington Area around Durham Area around Newcastle Since it's a very big map, it's impossible to show it all on this forum. If you do want to see it in full, simply click on the link here. Now, where do I even begin with this map?... Actually, I think it's best to begin with the stats. Now the total length of all the track age that you see on this map comes to 95 Miles (152.9 km). However, the main end-to-end route is only 84.4 Miles (135.9 km) long, which also includes a small section down to Dringhouses Sidings around York, the Darlington station bypass and a diversion towards a three-way junction around Gateshead, on the approach to Newcastle. The remaining 10.6 Miles (17 km) makes up the vast amount of trackage you can find at various locations along the route, ranging from engine sheds, to yards, goods sheds, engineering works and even two branches, along with so much more to be found here. The route also has 20 stations, 5 depot like areas (4 engine sheds (two around York) and one engineering works) and a record 20 other locations which could include massive yards, small sidings, freight depots, freight only stations, and so much more. But being honest here, I don't even think the map I've made even does justice to how utterly insane this route is trackage wise. I mean, it covers the route A to B and some of the other areas in it's basic form, but it doesn't even begin to cover how much trackage there actually was in these areas around that time, and that's not even the mention all the AI lines coming on and off the route at various points, which I've decided to include, like with my Camel Valley suggestion, in order to show where they are, as many of these AI lines that existed around this routes time frame don't exist any more, and I feeling that some of those disused AI lines would actually get used by services on this route, but more on that later. Now before we go too far here, let's just a step back for a minute. Beyond all the trackage you see on the map and beyond any unique features this route may have, the bets way to describe this route is two words... …Race Track! Simply point, the main objective here is to provide a route where you can probably thrash a steam locomotive up the main line at full chat. While we may have had this a bit with the WCML section of Liverpool-Crewe, I feel like with this route, you will be able to run at high-speed for pretty much the whole duration of the route and for a long time too, as this would be the longest steam route in TSW to date if it were to be made, even longer than the two current steam routes combined! As we are in the era of steam with this route, the maximum speed limit would technically be 90 mph (145 kph), but of course, if you want to break the speed limit and go a little faster, you can. But even if the most of the way, it's a high-speed route, it's really divided into two halves. The first leg heading north from York to Darlington is really where you push a steam loco to it's limits as it's mostly straight, along with being a 4-lane highway for most of the way (changing to a two-lane from Northallerton). But that doesn't mean it's totally flat. Infact, the route heading north is mostly heading uphill. However, I wouldn't say it's a route with a lot of steep gradients, it's just something to keep in mind as you head towards Newcastle. From Darlington onwards, the route becomes a bit more twisty, with a few light curves, but I think it would still be pretty fast paced at this point, as you head further north past Ferryhill, Durham & Chester-le-Street, before coming into Newcastle station and the general area around it like Gateshead. The route in general also has quite a nice mix in terms of scenery, where you have areas of long open countryside on the main high-speed sections, mixed in with large built-up industrial areas, like at the three big locations along the route (York, Darlington & Newcastle) not to mention offering several large bridges, including two around Newcastle and the viaducts at Durham & Chester Burn, which these locations, while pretty spectacular looking nowadays, would probably look even better with a sight of a steam train racing across them during the mid to late 1950's. It's pretty pointless telling you what's different about having this route setting around the 1955-1958 time frame as compared to now because the answer would be loads. In fact, it was probably a completely route back then. Now I won't go through every single difference otherwise we will be here forever, plus I wasn't around back then, so I don't know what it was actually like. But using what I was able to find online, let's try and find out about some of the more major differences. One of the first major differences, just by looking at the map, is the number of stations along the route. For some perspective, out of the 20 stations that are featured on that map, only 7 remain today (York, Thirsk, Northallerton, Darlington, Durham, Chester-le-Street & Newcastle). The majority of those disused stations lie in the first half of the route between York & Darlington and most of them are quite small-ish. The largest station that doesn't exist any more I would say is probably Ferryhill, as it serviced as a major junction for various other railways coming from Middlesbrough, Hartlepool, Sunderland & Bishops Auckland. That station ended up closing to passengers in 1967, before being burnt down and demolished two years later and funnily enough, many of these disused stations didn't really last much longer than the time-period I chose for this route. In the case of 8 stations (Beningbrough, Alne, Raskelf, Pilmoor, Sessay, Otterington, Danby & Cowton), the end year for the time-period, 1958, was also the closing year for these stations, with 4 of them being for passenger and then closing for freight later on (Beningbrough, Alne, Raskelf & Sessay) and the rest was completely. Furthermore, one station would only appear if the route was set in 1955, as it was it's closing year (which that station was Birtley, on the approach to Newcastle). I should also mention that there are two stations in the upper half of the route that, while not part of the official station count, where still around at that time, but weren't open for passengers, as they were freight only stations, which are Plawsworth & Lamesley, which even at that, they didn't last much longer than the routes time-period, as Plawsworth closed completely in 1963 & Lamesley only lasted one more year until 1959. If anything, it's like this route is set during a time of decline. When stations began disappearing left, right and centre, and when the amount of trackage began to be cut down, with various lines joining onto the route begin to evaporate not long after the chosen period. Speaking of trackage, let's get into that, as that would be the biggest difference compared to what this route is today. But before getting on the really big areas, I do want to point out that this route has two small freight branches. One that heads up to a coal depot Croft from Darlington and another down to the Colliery at Kimblesworth, located north of Durham. I'm entirely sure that services would use these sections right away, but I would include them as a future proofing measure, in the event that we do get appropriate stock that could operate on these sections. Plus it also enables plenty of opportunities for exploration either on foot or via the new free roam feature in the meantime. But then you come to the three big areas of the route; York, Darlington & Newcastle. While these areas still might offer a vast amount of trackage in today's world, but back in mid-to-late 1950's, the amount of trackage around these areas was truly colossal. Firstly around Newcastle, you have the massive engine shed at Gateshead, along with offering an traditional station in a very unusual location, as it's not on the main ECML route that you would know, but rather it's on a section that loops around and then eventually leads into Newcastle station from the eastern end. A little weird I know, but definitely worth including as it could offer plenty of interesting opportunities, both in terms of services or even scenarios that divert you down this section. Then there's York, probably one of the more icon locations along the route. Home obviously of the iconic train station, but also some vast yards/sidings, including one location to the south of York station at Dringhouses, which I feel again is worth including in order to start/end services here that eventually take the bypass line via the south sidings onto the main route, and of course, how could I not mention the iconic north engine sheds, located where the National Railway Museum is nowadays. A location like this has the potential like has the potential to look absolutely spectacular in TSW, seeing the various locos stored here in-between shifts and seeing them eventually entering and exiting the shed in service mode, and of course, being a popular hot spot in photo mode possibly. There was also another engine shed located just below around the southern end of York station, but I don't know if it would actually be used by anything that runs on this route. But again, it would still be worth including for exploration/free roam opportunities as well as future-proofing just in case we do find something that does use it. But then you have Darlington, for me, the true highlight area of this route. Measured from the end of the Croft Junction Yard in the south to the RSH Works in the north, this area measures around 3 Miles (5 km) lengthways end-to-end and is packed with so much stuff. I already mentioned the massive yard at Croft Junction at the southern end and the RSH works at the northern end, but you also have locations such as a Reclamation Depot, a Bridge & Engineering Works, an Iron & Steel Works and even an engine shed right around the centre near the main station. Whether all this is done up and fully accessible depends on how much time and effort is willing to be spent on an area like this, and I will admit, not every piece of track around this area was featured on my map. Just across to the west of the Steel Works, north of the station, is actually where more track once existed serving more industrial areas, but they didn't seem to be connected to the main route, so I decided to leave that out. But it doesn't take away from how vast the Darlington area was trackage-wise back then, it truly was utterly colossal and would provide a real challenge to bring into TSW, along with some of the other large areas we've already talked about. Now we've talked about the route for a bit, time to see what this route looked like back in the mid-to-late 1950's Pictures of the route in real life As always, please remember that these images wouldn't be exactly from the 1955-1958 time-period, but more around that time. It's again just being able tom work with what images I could find online. But any ways, on with the images! Available Locos With the racetrack nature of this route, we obviously need some locos that fit the bill as well as being appropriate for the region and time-period that this route is set in, and thankfully, I've thought up of two locos that are more than up for the task. Thanks to new additions in the past weeks, one of them already exists in TSW, it would just be heavily modified for this route, but I would also bring a brand new steam loco to this route to help support it, and I was able to find one that was a perfect companion for it. Obviously, there could be way more locos added to this route than the two that I'm about to suggested here, but we'll talk about that when get to talking about potential loco add-ons for this route. But first, let's get the obvious one out the way... LNER Gresley Class A3 4-6-2 Ah, of course. The main reason why this suggestion exists in the first place, to have a place where you can drive the Flying Scotsman in it's heyday. However, it wou;dn't just be the Flying Scotsman on it's own, this would also be the A3 Class in general, with several members of the class represented here. The class was designated A1's are were first built under the Great Northern Railway between 1922 & 1925, with Flying Scotsman being the third one built after 4470 'Great Northern' & 4471 'Sir Frederick Banbury'. It's designer, Sir Nigel Gresley, took inspiration from the K4 pacific's of the US Pennsylvania Railroad, incorporating many design features such as the tapered boiler design and the downward profile of the firebox, but unlike the K4's, the firebox was a round-topped design inline with other Great Northern designs, compared to the K4's flat-topped belpaire variety. The A3's that we know today first appeared in 1928, which were capable of slightly more boiler pressure, more heating surface, increased superheating, improved lubrications and a modified weight distribution. 27 of these new A3's were built up until 1935, with all the original A1's being rebuilt in a drawn-out process up until 1949 (except for the original, Great Northern, which was rebuilt into an A1/1). By the time of this route setting, they still had a monopoly of express services on the ECML, but by around this time, they were starting to receive a new double Kylchap exhaust system, which helped reduce exhaust back pressure and made the locos more economical and free-running. But this lead to the engines getting german-style smoke deflecters as the new exhaust caused smoke and steam to drift into the drivers view. All were eventually withdrawn by 1966, with the sole survivor being well... you know who... In terms of the A3 that would come with this route, it would be the engine in it's mid-to-late 1950s guise, which would be in BR Green with late crest, no smoke deflecters, no corridor tender and with the front number higher up on the smokebox door. The most divisble aspect of the engine would probably be if it's the single-chimney or double-chimney variant, which would depend on whether the route is set more towards 1955 or 1958. This would also be the mold for all the other A3 members represented as part of this route. While there might be the possibility of include a Great Northern tender variant as well, for the sake of keeping things simple here, it would just be the non-corridor tender variant. These locos obviously would be the main passenger-express loco of the route, taking charge of the main end-to-end services, along with the possibility of having some that divert off at various points, possibly at lines that don't exist nowadays. LNER Gresley Class V2 2-6-2 Helping support Scotsman as it's relatives is a engine that could be best described as the smaller sibling of the A3 Class. These locos were one of three types of 2-6-2 tender loco to ever be built in the UK, but were easily the most numerous with a total of 184 V2's being built in 14 batches between 1936 & 1944. They were derived from the A3's that we just talked about, with smaller driving wheels and a shortened boiler, but still kept the 3-cylinder arrangement that was favoured by it's designer, Nigel Gresley. The main purpose of these locos was to be an express mixed-traffic loco, working on both express passenger trains and fast fitted freight trains and were perfectly able to almost match the performance of a larger pacific, with one engine once being recorded to have reached a maximum speed on a test train of 101.5 mph (163 kph). Like with the A3's, they were all withdrawn by 1966, with again one surviving into preservation, which ended up being the original member of the class, 60800 (4771) Green Arrow and before anyone asks, yes it would feature as on the number variants available with this route (if you going have a route centred around Flying Scotsman and it's second loco happens to be it's smaller sibling, you might aswell not waste the chance). But Green Arrow being one of available numbers is also a clue to the main variant featured with this route, which the V2 with the original monobloc cylinder casting. This is for the sake of including Green Arrow, as well as the fact that it was the most numerous variant at that time. Around this route time-period, this type of cylinder casting was in the process of being replaced with a separate castings due to cracks constantly forming in them and being expensive to replace with 71 of the 184 engines receiving this modification. It's also this reason why Green Arrow hasn't steamed since 2008. But back to this route, as well as that cylinder casting, the engine would also be in BR Green with late crest. For services, like I've already said, they would add some extra express services, but would primarily bring the freight aspect to this route, working on a variety of fast freight services. Some of them would be fitted and some of them wouldn't be, which they were perfectly capable of, up to a speed of 60m mph (97 kph). So now we have our engines, let's move into the rolling stock that each of them would be pulling, which there is a ton of it. So for passenger stock, it would be the typical BR Mk1 coaches, similar to what can be found on the current steam-era routes. I did try to see if it would be possible to bring LNER Teak coaches of something similar, but from what I could find, it seemed like Mk1's were the norm for many passenger services in the North Eastern region around that time. If more evidence comes up, maybe I'll add them as a second coach type, but otherwise, they would probably be better off coming with any loco add-on that comes to this route later on. In the meantime though, this does give the option to maybe bring more Mk1 variants to TSW, possibly even a restaurant/buffet car, which would be quite appropriate for the long-distance nature of this route. In terms of freight stock though, this route would bring two new pieces to the table, which would be: Bogie Bolster Wagon BR 8-Plank Wagon The remaining freight stock would some that have appeared in past steam-era route such as: 16t Mineral Wagon BR Conflat Wagon BR Standard Van Wagon 20t Brake Van Most of this freight stock would be used by the V2's, but I did see that there might be the small possibility of an A3 taking on a freight services every now and then (and yes, I did find some evidence that this actually happened). Additional services from other routes Believe it or not, if this route was made, it would be the first steam route to a layer, as there was one piece of existing content that did show up on this route around this time and that was the LMS Jubilee from Spirit of Steam/Peak Forest . From what I could gather, it would mainly appear around York as both static stock and operating AI services around the general York area. Now I did find that the Jubilee's did operate on Newcastle bound services, but whether they went all the way there, or whether the they were changed for another loco before then is still something I'll need to do some research on, and even if I did find so, it would probably be as AI only services and not as something that could be drivable along the main route. Continues on next post...
Future Loco Add-Ons Oh boy, this is going to be fun. Let me tell you, maybe the route only comes with two locos as standard, a maybe a few layers for those who already own some of the existing steam routes, but when looking into potential loco add-ons, the possibilities are truly endless. I'm not going to go through every single one, as we would be here forever. So for this section, I will look into 4 of the most interesting ones, which of them would add a lot of variety of locos and a lot more interesting experiences compared to the two that already come with the route, not that the route is already incredibly interesting as is. It's also worth mentioning that all of these locos have shown up at some point during the timeframe, so they would feel appropriate for this route in question. LNER Peppercorn Class A1 4-6-2 This originally was a joined A1/A2 suggestion, but since it seemed like the AI were the more prevalent loco on this route around this period (not to mention that there were more of them compared to the A2's) I thought they were better offer taking centre stage here. This would best be describe as an evolution of the original A1's that the A3's were rebuilt from, and while there was one A1/1 rebuilt from the original, Great Northern by Gresley's successor, Edward Thompson, the engine you see here was on by the man who succeed him, Arthur Peppercorn, with a total of 49 being built between 1948 & 49. While they designed to work on express passenger services on ECML and used various features found previous LNER Pacifics like 3-cylingers and a double kychap exhaust, the big thing with these loco is that they were designed to haul the heaviest of passenger trains, with them being able to haul 15 coach, 550 ton train on a flat gradient at a speed of around 60-70 mph (95-110 kph). All where again withdrawn by 1966, with sadly none surviving into preservation. But of course, we do have the new-built 60163 'Tornado' that is carrying the legacy of these locos for many years to come (and before you ask, non. Tornado would not feature with this add-on as it didn't exist back then. That would have to be saved for another add-on on a more modern route). This engine would again feature in BR Green with late crest, like the locos already available here. But along with subbing into existing services operated by the Gresley A3's, they would also add a new named service called Tees-Tyne Pullman. Which would of course bring Pullman carriages to along side them, which I feel would be quite fitting for a loco such as this one, along with bringing something different to look out for amongst all the Mk1 operated passenger services. LNER Gresley Class A4 4-6-2 Of course, how you could do a route suggestion based on a steam-era ECML and not talk about this truly magnificent machine? The LNER a4's quite simply need no introduction, an engine that topped 35 in total, being built between 1935 & 38. An engine that set the world record for the fastest speed loco in the world with Mallard reaching 126.mph (202.8 kph). An engine that is practically recognisable the world over for it's streamlining and stylish look. Even by the time of this routes setting, they were still going strong on top link services on the ECML, and were constantly capable for running at high-speed more so an any other loco built in the UK. Like with most engines of the LNER, these ended up being withdrawn by 1966, but thankfully, 6 of them still live on today, including the record-holder Mallard, three that worked up in Scotland towards the end of their working lives (Sir Nigel Gresley, Union of South Africa & Bittern) and two that were even exported aboard (Dwight D Eisenhower & Dominion of Canada). The engine featured here would again be in BR Green with late crest, as it seemed to be the case for LNER express engines around that time. But they would perfectly fit into the style of the route that this is, subbing into many services already operated by the A3's, along with maybe adding some new opens aswell, Allowing you to really push this loco all the way to it's limits and even if you really want to, you could even try and go break the speed record yourself! Either way, regardless of whether this locos comes for a route like this or any other route for that matter, it would a hugely popular addition to TSW and something that this game, in terms of steam, isn't really complete steam without so. LNER Thompson Class B1 4-6-0 Going for a change of pace from large scale express locos to something more mixed traffic, this is was actually a contender for the second loco alongside the A3's, but I gave it to the V2's because it felt more fitting as that is technically a smaller sibling to the A3's, but these locos are still worth giving a mention. Out of all the locos designed by Edward Thompson, this was arguably his most successful, with 410 being built between 1942 & 1952 and where the GWR Hall Class/LMS Black Five equivalent that the LNER so desperately need around that time. Unlike most of the engines we've talked about so far, this one only comes with two-cylinders, being the first one built under LNER since the grouping of 1923, which was due to the need to save costs around that time, obviously because the first batch of 10 where built during wartime. These locos could have been found right across the North Eastern/Eastern network and helped replace many of the ageing North Eastern Railway locos that were way past their economic lift. They lasted until 1967, with two surviving into preservation (61264 & 61306 'Mayflower'). The loco that would come to this route would be available in BR Black livery, making a change from the Green locos that we've been talking about here and since they are a Thompson designed loco, why not give them Thompson style coaches to go along with them? Available in BR Blood & Custard livery. These locos would help bring a change of pace to the route, offering something that is more designed for medium sized work. Working on semi-fast to more local services that probably wouldn't be best appropriate for either the A3's or the even the V2's. LNER Class J27 0-6-0 Ending this section with something significantly smaller and much more designed for freight work. Originally built under the North Eastern Railway as P3's, they were actually based on a NER P2 with modifications, with the most noticeable being a deeper firebox with a shallower sloping fire grate, achieved by raising the boiler slightly and reducing the clearance between the firebox and the rear axle. The NER built an initial 80 P2's were built between 1906 & 1909 in five batches. A further 25 where then built between 1921 & 23, followed by a final 10 in 1923 by the LNER, by which point, they had been classified J27's. These locos were a freight engine first and for most, and were often used for hauling long freight trains across various parts of the LNER network. While they weren't really a freight engine any more by the mid/ate 50's, they were still being used for mineral and coal duties. All of them would eventually be withdrawn by September 1967, with one luckily surviving in preservation (65894) which you can find running on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. For this route, the loco would come in BR Black, but with very heavy weathering to reflect the hard working nature of this loco. They would also provide a new wagon type with a 21t LNER coal hopper wagon. The main reason for bringing this loco to this route is provide traffic to the coal branches at Croft and Kimblesworth Colliery, along with also possibly serving the quarries at Aycliffe. This loco would really serve as a reminder that not everything in the route is massive, high-speed, glamorous Pacific's, as locos like these would help complete the day to day tasks that would be require on the railway around that time, serving some of the smaller locations that many people probably wouldn't even notice at first sight. Conclusion You know, at this point, all I can say is... what a route. What a route this has the potential to be. You can see, from all that we have talked about, why this is the most ambitious route suggestion that I've made to date. Because despite being a 80+ mile section of the East Coast Main Line, it is packed with so much stuff. This would really be a Liverpool-Crewe in steroids, with a route that is both long and fast for most of the way, offering tons of locations big and small to go and explore. You have what could a really interesting timetable, mainly made up of fast express and semi-fast services, along with a few fast freight trains. You have two locos, very alike from each that would perfectly fit into the life on this route and give a place to drive the worlds most famous steam loco in it's heyday. You also some existing TSW steam locos making a surprise appearance at one end point at York, adding more life and diversity to that area to really enhance it even further and not to mention all the possible loco add-on that come after release, both from what we've talked about, and what other possibilities that I'm sure could be brought up in due. But perhaps the biggest thing this route would bring, above anything else, is not bringing a steam route that is different from the current LMS-style routes we already have, but it also bring a steam-era route that I feel most people would want to see come to TSW. Now this is not to say anything against the current crop, but I kinda feel like, while they provide interesting opportunities and I'm sure some people may have suggested them in the past, they not the kind I think that people were really demanding for. Now there could be other steam routes that I'm sure people would what to seem come to TSW as well as this one, but this would be much more the kind of route that people would love to see, as well as possibly making a powerful impact as well, more so than any other steam route so far, or even any other route out there in TSW to date. It's amazing what kinds of opportunities that bringing the world's most famous steam engine to TSW provides, but from what we've just gone through, it could open the door to one of the most legendary, spectacular and iconic route that has come to TSW so far. …and breath. As always, if you any ideas that you would like to see in TSW, or there's something that you feel can be done differently here, then feel free to let me know in the replies down below. That's all from me, and I'll see you all next time! 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What a suggestion! Absolutely brilliant mate, I'd imagine your brain is still jelly! This would be a great section of track for steam in TSW and the V2 arriving would overshadow the A3s for me. Brilliant suggestion which we can only hope comes into a reality.
