The marshlink is a single/double track line that runs from Ashford international to Hastings. You would be able to drive the class 171 and also you might be able to drive the old slam door class 205. This would be fun because you would get the experience of having to wait at rye for the train to pull up so you could continue. Also you could do fast, semi-fast or stopper services. Some would stop at stations like Doleham, Three oaks and Winchelsea while some will only stop at the major stations. Overall this would be a fun route and very eventful.
8 stops, mostly rural, 18 return trips in 24 hours... The countryside out there is great but I don't think this line would be on the priority list. There's just not enough going on... If you did the whole route from Eastbourne to Ashford, maybe and at least then you could have the Victoria to Hastings layer using the 377 for those who have the BRI or ECW routes. Eastbourne to Ashford is 43 miles or so long and other than the above mentioned, the only interesting thing is an engineering train once a day (ie no freight, IC or regional services by anyone else)
Voted for Class 171 and 205 because you can operate a Modern DMU and 1950s era DEMU on the route. The engineering train might be your West Cornwall class 150 Network Rail Yellow. This route forms a link between East Coastway Eastbourne and SEHS if the missing ebbsfleet Ashford section were to be made as a bundle. That's called Southeast Network
Engineering train is a specialist model out of Tonbridge, but yellow 150 or 37 would do in a pinch I would leave "Southeast Network" to something involving the "networkER" so Orpington to Victoria or even better the North Kent Lines
I would have the Class 205 but only if the route were backdated to the 1990's with a Class 411, 421 or 423 thrown in. Class 33 could feature too, resused from WSR but modified into the 33/1 series for operation with multiple units for rescue scenarios.
For that Class 33/1 needs the SR EMU MU system equipment as listed on wikipedia. WSR Class 33 uses Blue Star MU system to MU with NTP Class 45 DLC Class 40 TVL Classes 37 DLC 31 & 20. Therefore Class 33/1 is not compatible with WSR Class 33 due to different MU system. The Class 205 should be equipped with Class 33/1 MU system
