Great Western Express is a short route and I can understand why with the GWML being so long. But an extension to Oxford would go well as it's not too long but not too short of a route. Especially at the line speeds on the mainline.
Better to create a new route in a different section with Oxford due to when gwe is set. It's electrified now
Well it's almost like GWE is a really short route and could easily and practically be extended and has been around since the first TSW..
Also they can't really extend it. The preversation team - a fairly short team that relies on updating old tsw routes. They can't really do extentions.
The main team is responsible for it, not pres team. Extensions are possible but aren't easy. Sehs was extended but they had to rebuild the timetable, update the scenery, add brand new features and build the new tracks. It's like building a brand new route.
I would love if they extended GWE but if they did they'll also have to fix DLOTGW as that is a very inaccurate dlc for the route. Plus the 165 night need to be added for some services on the branches.
Seeing as how this was the first UK route on TSW at launch, it is now very lacking when compared to recent releases. There are a few issues which really deserve to be remedied as follows. 1. Complete lack of proper locomotive dlc with DLOGW being nothing more than a out of place throwback. DLC that should have been released are Class 165/1 and Class 180 plus a possible freight locomotive such as Class 60. 2. A really awkward period of 2015 chosen as the setting. The route would've been far better if set either pre 1993 as a diesel only route or post 2019 as a fully electrified route. 3. Complete omission of the multiple branches, both freight and passenger which I have listed on many previous occasions. Having not included them at the start, it seems like it is now impossible to ever include them without a full rebuild which is a serious letdown. 4. The terminating point of Reading was likely far enough at the start of TSW, but at only 36 miles of near straight flat route, it is now very underwhelming. A point such as Oxford and Didcot would be far better by later standards. I think it is high time to ditch the lacklustre current GWE in favour of a complete rebuild as practically all other routes are much more satisfactory in each of these 4 areas. I would hate that this route should ever become the poor relation in the TSW universe. Perhaps we could group together as paying customers to petition DTG to rebuild GWE.
I agree, a line to oxford set either post retirement of the class 43 or pre electrification would’ve made it much better
I actually like this transition era we have GWE in, it's fun to see the construction sites and the half-finished catenary. And with the FGW enabler mod it's really great to see both liveries running around. Depsite it's short length, I really like GWE. And I also think it would deserve an extension, if they were to ever start making those.
The current GWE seems somewhat left behind by more recent content. With the launch of TSW2, NEC was left out due to it not being of the same ilk as other routes but is imminently to be re released for TSW3 pretty much. As I have stated so many times, as a local to the real GWE, I feel it is a must to include the branch lines along the existing route as they each have their own character and offer interesting gameplay options which cannot realistically be implemented without a rebuild. If we were to ever finally get the freight and passenger branches, perhaps we could receive throwback minipacks of when these branches were even more extensive than at present, ie pre 1962..
I imagine it would be particularly difficult to extend gwe given the age of it. And in all honesty, I wouldn’t really want it anyway, gwe is the most overrated route imo
I would love a modern GWE, as far as cardiff , but tsw won’t incorporate it so maybe as far as didcot/oxford is ok
If the following branch lines were to be included, we would have a total of around 43.5miles of additional route... Acton to Northolt line between Old Oak Common and South Ruislip (11 miles) Greenford line between West Ealing and Greenford (2.5 miles) Brentford freight line between Southall and Brentford Waste Terminal (3 miles) Colnbrook freight line between West Drayton and Thorney Mill/Colnbrook (2 miles) Windsor line between Slough and Windsor and Eton Central (2.75 miles) Marlow line between Maidenhead and Bourne End/Marlow (7.25 miles) Henley (Regatta) line between Twyford and Henley on Thames (4 miles) Basingstoke line between Reading and Basingstoke (11 miles) If the Heathrow branch were also able to be licensed and included, this would add another 2 or so miles. You could replace the Basingstoke branch with a extension to Oxford instead and include the Basingstoke branch in a future SW main line route which would keep mileage reasonable. I truly believe that this option must be seriously considered so that GWE keeps up with newer releases.
Excellent idea but it might be better to bring it to current day pattern using Class 70 freight that includes dedicated Freight wagons for Trash towards Brentford From Existing TEA Tankersfor Colnbrook 802/800 1xx Express Newbury services Class 387/2 for the branch line services these will be served by Class 165 lastly Crossrail 345. 2015 version layers in Class 166.
Fully modernised would be good. We have the diesel legends pack and the ability to remove the overhead wires and even backdate things a bit with a couple of mods. Did dtg originally intend the route to be fully electric then run out of time or something? I've never really understood why they would make the route set halfway through the electrification?
It is a really curious choice. It would've been better if set before 1992 for diesel only operations (to include Westbourne Park Station) as 1992 was the year that works first commenced on electrification for Heathrow services, or alternatively after 2018 once electrification was completed and fully operational on this section. A full rebuild could remedy this curiosity.
I would have preferred pre electrification originally yeah, on the other hand even after electrification the hst and 166 still used the line for a while I belive. Some of the options dtg chose for a route just don't make sense. It's like they intentionally close the door for any future rolling stock dlc.
They did it because in 2016, when this was set, the route wasn’t electrified past Hayes & Harlington. So it wouldn’t have been possible to even have made a fully electrified route then since there wasn’t one yet in real life at the time. So they really only added the 166 and the 43. The Class 360 couldn’t be added because in 2016 Heathrow Express were using the Heathrow Connect units. The only unit in passenger service I believe was class 360 205 which was branded as Heathrow Express. The class 332 wasn’t added because of Heathrow Express licensing issues. The class 180 wasn’t added or a reason I don’t know of. The class 387 however is something that can be added because in 2016 they started operating between Hayes & Harlington and London Paddington unlike the 800 which started operating in late 2017.
I believe that the Class 180 was left out because we already had 2 trains for the launch and they were only available in FGW Dynamic Lines livery which was not permitted for use because First Group were rebranding as GWR at the time. The Class 165s were likely left out due to the vast similarities with the Class 166s. However, these should have both been renegotiated for inclusion as DLCs as GWE NEVER received a proper DLC.
In my opinion due to watching paddington 24/7 GWE shoudl be set in 2018 so we can IETs, 387s, 333s, 166s, 165s and hsts all working together.
It did seem odd and the route literally seems to have been built based on the “on the day” research that was undertaken. So west of Airport Junction we have a potpourri of random electrification masts and the odd bit of wiring. They should have stuck with an earlier period as per original Rail Simulator route and of course run the whole thing through to Oxford. As it stands, it’s either a 25 minute dash or 60 minute stop fest which just as you get going, comes to an end.
