I'm back... yay... **Quick Note: Images will be added in Later. For now this is practically just a wall of text.** I've tried twice to bring a new suggestion recently, with the Glasgow Southwestern Line and Glasgow - Perth Line both being fully written up, only for the save draft feature to fail... They'll be back soon though. The Fife Circle. Featured in TS2021 and Scotland's second Circle line (after Everyone's Favourite in Glasgow - the Cathcart Circle Line), this has a unique spin. It would be our first modern traction, diesel-only route since GWE (not counting Cornwall or Somerset), and the first from Scotland. Shall we take a look into the Kingdom of Fife, and it's rail network? I think we should. Contents The Route Rolling Stock Services Conclusion The Route The route takes a circular fashion, with it's head (or foot, in this case) at Edinburgh Waverley. Services often run all the way round between the Capital and... The Capital, however many often terminate at stations such as Glenrothes, Cowdenbeath and such. The Route has 20 Stations, and runs about 50 miles. Let's take a deeper look at our stations, and some landmarks. Edinburgh Waverley Copied from ECML North and Borders Railway Threads; both by me. Eastern End of the station, looking over the platforms. Edinburgh Castle is also visible here. Edinburgh Waverley. Located near Princes Street, with taxi ranks coming off the seperate Waverley Bridge - where Bus connections are available - in Edinburgh's New Town (newer than the old town, having been built in the 18th and 19th centuries). The station was opened in 1846, as part of the North British Railway, and went by the name of North Bridge. On 17 May, 1847, two stations - General Station (Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway), and Canal Street (Edinburgh, Leith and Newhaven Railway) - opened. In April 1866, the North British Railway demolished the existing stations, and formed Edinburgh Waverley. 100 years later, in 1966, the station was renamed Edinburgh. At a later (unknown to me) date, the station was renamed to include Waverley once more. The grand glass roof protecting the station from the (harsh, very harsh) Scottish weather, and the wonderful ticket hall, preserved to hold it's traditional looks, are only part of what give this station character. Most services to/from the station terminate, with all services (ScotRail) from the west terminating, bar a few exceptions. Many LNER services terminate here as well. The station is the northern point of the East Coast Mainline, the primary connection between the capitals of Scotland, and England and the UK. However, there is just far too much to put in here, however, if your interested, read up on the history of the station, it's very interesting, and the station is truly grand. The station's wikipedia article has a good amount of information, to start you off: Edinburgh Waverley railway station - Wikipedia Waverley Approach Heading East from Haymarket, we have the Waverley Approach area. Towered upon by Edinburgh Castle and the Old Town to the direct south, whilst the New Town and the wonderful Princes Street Gardens run parallel at the north side. Landmarks such as the Scott Monument are also visible in/around the gardens. As we enter the tunnels to Haymarket, we are treated by the National Galleries of Scotland sited above the tunnel. Haymarket The Second Station out of Waverley, Edinburgh's Haymarket serves the Haymarket area of the City, and is a key stop, located where the Lines to Carstairs, Glasgow and Dundee (our one) diverge/meet. Near enough... The Station has five platforms, numbered 0-5, meaning the station has another of our Platform 0's. This platform primarily takes services in/out which have originated from, or are going to, Haymarket Depot. Haymarket Depot The Primary Depot for ScotRail Class 170 and 43's, Haymarket is the only Depot (as far as I'm aware) on the route depicted in the Fife Circle. The Depot is located alongside the Lines to South Gyle and Falkirk. South Gyle The first Station we can call "unique" to our line, South Gyle serves the suburban areas of the same name, and is a new station, having opened in 1985. The station sees ~.4 of a million passengers a year, and has two platforms. Most services go on the Fife Circle, with most terminating at Edinburgh, with some in peak hours continuing to Tweedbank on the Borders Railway. Edinburgh Gateway for Edinburgh Airport Edinburgh Gateway is a station/interchange in Gogar, Edinburgh, located near Edinburgh Airport. The Station was opened in 2016 to connect to the (then-new) Edinburgh Trams network, and provide an easy interchange between travellers from Fife and Further up North and Edinburgh Airport. The National Rail Platforms have a modern footbridge and station buildings, and the Trams are linked by an overpass, and are located next to the platforms, but lower down. Dalmeny Our Final Station before we cross the iconic forth bridge, Dalmeny is located in Queensferry, to the south of World Heritage Site. The Station is elevated, and is in close proximity to Dalmeny itself. Forth Bridge The Forth Bridge. UNESCO World Heritage Site and an icon of Scotland. Voted (2016) as Scotland's greatest Man-made landmark. Running for 8,094 feet (just shy of 2.5km), the bridge is an icon, towering over the River and Firth of Forth, and it's neighbouring towns. North Queensferry Located on the North Bank of the River, and just off the Bridge, we have North Queensferry. Not much to note to do with the station, however it has the Mural from 1990, which was unveiled to celebrate 100 years of the Forth Bridge. Inverkeithing At Inverkeithing the line splits, with the Inner Line going via Dunfermline, and the outer going via Kirkcaldy. The station is not only the town's main one, not only is it an interchange, however it also doubles as a bit of a park & ride, due to it's proximity to the M90 Motorway, and the links it has to Fife and Beyond. We're going to stick by the Coast, and head to Kirkcaldy and such first, then we'll loop back around and end up here. Dalgety Bay Opened in 1998, Dalgety Bay serves the same town, and is located at on the Fife Coast. The station is very much so a pleasant one, with the ability to look down the track over the sea, and the inherent benefits of anywhere near the water. Also is located near Scouts HQ in Scotland. So that's something. Aberdour Nice Station building. Had a camping coach until 1957. Next. Burntisland Ok, the station building here is something else for the small station it is today. However it's testament to it's history. Burntisland was the Southern Terminus of the Edinburgh & Northern Railway, with boats going to Edinburgh's Granton areas, and the railway went up to Leuchars and Perth. The station was intended to be the southern terminus on a permanent basis (think about it - the Forth Bridge didn't come until 1890, this is the 1840s), and therefore recieved some ... grand, design features. Kinghorn I like this station. It has a viaduct to take it over the town's roads and such to it's north, and the station is located at the perfect height and position to get a great view out to the sea. 10/10. Kirkcaldy Dating back to 1847 - when, along with Burntisland and Aberour - it opened on the Edinburgh & Northern, Kirkcaldy is now a major station on the line. Firstly, it's the last station before the line to Dundee and the Fife Circle split. Secondly, Kirkcaldy is a major town in itself. The Station has a modern station building on the southbound platform, and the BTP also have an office at the station. There is also a mounted version of "Boy in the Train", a poem by Mary Campbell, which is about returning to Kirkcaldy by train, and smelling the industrial smells of the town (long gone now, mind you.), this can be found above the stairs to P1. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Markinch Whilst not technically on the Fife Circle, it's a good idea to have it. It's a more sensible place to end Perth/Dundee services, and means we don't have to leave trains as AI when they have a decent distance left to go. It's also probably closer to Glenrothes than Glenrothes with Thornton, as the latter is in Thornton instead, although that's a guess. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Glenrothes with Thornton This is the First Terminus station on the line, with many services "terminating" here - terminating is in quotation marks because most then do a service on the other side of the circle, meaning it's basically just Edinburgh - Edinburgh, but anyway. The station opened in 1992 and is by far secondary to Markinch (in terms of Glenrothes traffic anyway), and is now more or less just any old rural station. Cardenden Opened in 1848 on the Dunfermline branch of the Edinburgh & Northern Railway, Cardenden was a terminal station from 1969 until 1989, when the line to Thornton re-opened, allowing the Fife Circle to exist. Most services didn't even make it here though, as most terminated at Cowdenbeath. Lochgelly Rolling Hills, I guess. Seriously, I'm not milking a paragraph out of this. Cowdenbeath Opened in 1890, Cowdenbeath is another major station on the line. Despite it only seeing around .15 of a million passengers a year, the station has Terminating services to/from Edinburgh, with trains reversing at points to the north of the station. Prior to 1989 when the lines became a circle, this was the primary terminus on the Dunfermline Branch. The station, despite surviving the Beeching Cuts prior, slowly continued to lose services. Dunfermline Queen Margaret The Station with the longest name in Scotland. Dunfermline Q.M. (That's my abbreviation) opened in January 2000 on the 26th, and took it's name from the nearby Queen Margaret Hospital. The station is the secondary station in the town, seeing about a third of Dunfermline Town's, which has ~0.6m, and this has ~0.2m. Dunfermline Town The bigger station in the Fife Town of Dunfermline, hosting 0.699m in 2016/17, although it has declined since, Dunfermline Town is probably also the main station on the Inner Section of the line. Opened in 1890 as 'Dunfermline Lower', the station became simply 'Dunfermline' in 1968, before attaining the 'Town' suffix when Queen Margaret Opened. Rosyth Known for it's ports and Naval Yards/Docks, it's fair to say Rosyth has had a significance in the Modern UK. Rosyth Station dates back to 1917, when it opened to serve the nearby Naval Bases by rail, and it was known as Rosyth Halt. The station is actually located a fair distance inland, however it is still located in good distance to the docks. Rolling Stock Now the Stations are out the way, we'll take a look at Rolling Stock. It's all ScotRail, thanks to LNER only doing 4tpd to Aberdeen, so I'll skip it. Class 43 Adapted from GWR's outgoing HSTs (Which we do have already, in GWE), the Class 43 forms ScotRail's new 'Inter7City' services, connecting the 7 Cities (Glasgow, Edinburgh, Stirling, Perth, Dundee, Aberdeen & Inverness) of Scotland, and proving fast and reliable (usually) services through the Scottish Network. The HSTs run in smaller sets than many on GWE, however. Class 170 The Class 170 'Turbostar' is one of ScotRail's DMUs, primarily found in the Highlands. However, when it's not in the Highlands, it's often here, on the Fife Circle, although I believe the 170 is more common. Constructed between 1998 and 2005 by Bombardier/ADtranz, as the core of the Turbostar family - similar in aspects to the Electrostar's, especially the 357 - the 170 has serves operators up and down Great Britain, and ScotRail is one of those. Class 158 Similarly, the Class 158 is often found in the Highlands, but also can be found here in Fife. Build for British Rail for Express/Regional services, the Class 158's origin is in Scotland, as it was first introduced here, before spreading across the isle. The 158 'Sprinter Express' is also found on operators across the country, from GWR to Northern, SWR to ScotRail. Services Driveable Regional 1tph • Edinburgh - Glenrothes via Kirkcaldy Calls at: All Stations except South Gyle Class 170/158 1tph • Edinburgh - Edinburgh (Anti-Clockwise) Calls at: All Stations Class 170/158 1tph • Edinburgh - Edinburgh (Clockwise) Calls at: All Stations Class 170/158 1tph • Edinburgh - Cowdenbeath Calls at: All Stations except Ed. Gateway Class 170/158 1tph • Edinburgh - Arbroath (Markinch) Calls at: Haymarket, Edinburgh Gateway, Inverkeithing, Kirkcaldy, Markinch Class 170/158 1tph • Edinburgh - Aberdeen (Markinch) Calls at: Haymarket (yeah, it's pretty much AI) Class 43 1tph • Edinburgh - Inverness/Perth (Markinch) Calls at: Haymarket, Edinburgh Gateway, Inverkeithing*, Kirkcaldy*, Markinch ( *Most, not all, services stop here) Class 170/158/43 So Why this route? I'm keeping this suggestion short and sweet as I know many people are aware of the Fife Circle. I've seen loads of suggestions for it, and it really would be a nice route for TSW. It could do it more justice than TS, especially the Forth Bridge. I think everything to be said, has been said. So, I'll leave it to you: What do you think? As always, Thanks for reading, and the rest of the ScotRail suggestions are available via the thread in my signature ↓.
I would love to see this route. It would add more Scottish rail to tsw2 and would add the capital city of Scotland, Edinburgh to the route selection. Overall I would love to see this route so much.
Absolutely need it and the easy way to make Scotrail HST is take the existing GWR Model rekin them to Scotrail paint and take out some Mk3 coaches. You can probably consider making Class 68 DLC then it layers to London Marylebourne to Oxford Birmingham children main line if popular demands wants it for train simulator world 2.
Personally this route is one of my less driven TS routes, so I wouldnt rush out to buy a TSW version of the route.
Just curious, the TS2022 version of this route includes a Class 68. Do those actually run on the Fife Circle, and if they do, what services do they operate?
They did, having left service in 2018, and they were brought in to cover peak services on the Fife Circle. Although there were only two units that served ScotRail, with a fairly limited service.
Thank you for telling me about that because I'm thinking of US GP38-2 Germany DB BR146.2 DB BR143 & doppelstockwagen receiving that
Oh, only the peak services? That's such a shame, I would've loved to see good use of a Class 68. I really like those locomotives.
Whilst only 2 received the Saltire livery others did occassionally sub in (mostly DRS liveried), and ScotRail did indeed operate Class 68s upto May 2020. Interesting if brief article for those who want to read more about North of the Border Class 68's http://www.scot-rail.co.uk/page/Class+68
Thanks for telling me about this and the question is this Is DTG willing to do that or Do it cheap for this route? The cheap option for DTG to make Scotrail HST is to take the GWR model then reskin it as scotrail
This "Cheap Option" isn't an option - the Coaches need remaking. The "cheap" option (it's their choice really, so not actually very cheap) is to not have the HST. Even the HST on the ends technically needs more than a reskin, just to sort a couple of things like the FGW Papers in the Cab.
Having driving the route in Train Simulator, I wasn't really impressed with the scenery. Not much special to see. I don't quite understand the appeal of the route. Altough I gotta admit that ScotRail livery looks pretty awesome.
I've ought to agree, I didn't really enjoy the TS Version. However, I didn't really enjoy SEHS/BML on TS, and now I love them on TSW, I feel like the same could happen here. TS hardly does scenic routes much justice, compared to TSW, at least, and also TSW's more, in depth, simulation could provide for an interesting experience, considering it's a (roughly) 50-mile circular route.
I didn't like SEHS on TS because I couldn't figure out the in-cab signalling system. :P Well, I did quite enjoy the scenic views of the West Highland Line in TS, and even the good old Woodhead Line had quite scenic views, using a bit of imagination because that DLC was pretty old... and lets not forget the Riviera Line, that one looked pretty good in TS too. But who knows, perhaps the Fife Circle Line proves to be much more enjoyable in TSW.
Thank you for telling me about this because what I was thinking was Hamburg-Lübeck Copy and Paste trains.
