Route Mid-cheshire Line: Chester To Manchester Piccadilly

Hello all, TrainGeek08 here and today I am suggesting the Mid-Cheshire Line for TSW4 as it would be nice to have another UK modern day diesel-based route in game

Route Information:
The Mid-Cheshire line is a railway line in the north-west of England that runs from Chester to Edgeley Junction, Stockport; it connects Chester with Manchester Piccadilly, via Knutsford. After Chester Northgate closed in 1969, the section between Mickle Trafford Junction and Chester was used for freight trains only until it closed in 1992; from Mickle Trafford, passenger trains use the Chester–Warrington line to Chester General instead. The route taken by passenger trains has changed over the years and now differs considerably from the original. Between 2001 and 2014, passenger journeys on the line increased to over 1.7 million per year. A near doubling of the passenger service was expected to occur from December 2018, however this did not materialise.


Route Map:


Stock included in base route:


The British Rail Class 150/1 'Sprinter' in Northern Trains livery



And the British Rail Class 156 'Super Sprinter' in Northern Trains livery


Training (In Training Center):
Class 150/1 Introduction
Class 156 Introduction


Scenarios:
Manchester Shuttle: (Difficulty - 1)
Drive this Class 156 from Manchester Piccadilly to Stockport as the Mid-Cheshire Line is closed today due to engineering work

Chester to Chester: (Difficulty - 3)
Drive this Class 150 in a torrential rain storm from Chester to Manchester Piccadilly but a landslip near Altrincham could put a stop to your journey...

Double the Sprint, Double the Power: (Difficulty - 2)
Drive this double Sprinter formation from Northwich to Chester then switch ends and drive back to Knutsford, where another driver is waiting to drive to Manchester Piccadilly via Stockport

Northwich Rescue: (Difficulty - 2)
A Class 150 has failed at Northwich, meaning all trains to Chester have been suspended, drive a spare Class 156 to retrieve the failed set and drag it back towards Manchester where another driver will take it to Newton Heath for an examination

Last One: (Difficulty - 1)
Drive the last service of the night to Chester, you are taking over at Lostock Gralam and taking the train forward to the terminus of Chester, calling at all stations


Timetable:
Here is the May 2019 Working Timetable for this route:
(You are interested in section CF03 for the Mid-Cheshire Line)
2019-05 WTT CF | Network Rail Corporate Archive


Potential DLC, Layers, Stations, POI & Mastery Rewards coming up on Pages 2 & 3...

 

Page 2:


Potential DLC:


The British Rail Class 195 'Civity' in Northern Trains livery

Training (In Training Center):
Class 195 Introduction


Scenarios:
Leeds Diversion: (Difficulty - 3)
Drive this Class 195 from Chester to Stockport as the normal route this train would take has been closed due to a snowslide near Helsby

Short Hop: (Difficulty - 1)
Drive this Class 195 on a quick run from Manchester Piccadilly to Stockport working a Sheffield-bound service

Empty CAF: (Difficulty - 2)
Drive this Class 195 empty back to Manchester from Chester as it has completed all of its duties for today


Timetable:
Incorporated into base routes' timetable


Layers:


The British Rail Class 323 'Hyper Networker' (MGP) for Glossop, Styal and Stoke-on-Trent Line services



The British Rail Class 158 'Express Sprinter' (MML) for AI layers at Manchester Piccadilly



And the British Rail Class 66 'Shed' (GWE, ECW, SEHS, RHTT, EDN, CL, ECML) in EWS livery for freight/RHTT operations on the route



Stations, POI & Mastery Rewards coming up on Page 3...

 

Page 3:

(Principal) Stations:
Manchester Piccadilly:


Manchester Piccadilly is the principal railway station in Manchester, England. Opened as Store Street in 1842, it was renamed Manchester London Road in 1847 and became Manchester Piccadilly in 1960. Located to the south-east of Manchester city centre, it hosts long-distance intercity and cross-country services to national destinations including London, Birmingham, Nottingham, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Bristol, Exeter, Plymouth, Reading, Southampton and Bournemouth; regional services to destinations in Northern England including Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield, Newcastle and York; and local commuter services around Greater Manchester. It is one of 19 major stations managed by Network Rail. The station has 14 platforms: 12 terminal and two through platforms (numbers 13 and 14). Piccadilly is also a major interchange with the Metrolink light rail system with two tram platforms in its undercroft.

Stockport:


Stockport railway station in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England, is 6 miles south-east of Manchester Piccadilly on the West Coast Main Line to London Euston.

Altrincham:


Altrincham Interchange is a transport hub in Altrincham, Greater Manchester, England. It consists of a bus station on Stamford New Road, a Northern Trains-operated heavy rail station on the Mid-Cheshire Line, and a light rail stop which forms the terminus of Manchester Metrolink's Altrincham line. The original heavy rail element of the station was opened by the Manchester, South Junction and Altrincham Railway as Altrincham and Bowdon railway station in April 1881, changing to Altrincham railway station in May 1974. The Metrolink element opened in June 1992. The Interchange underwent a complete redevelopment, at a cost of £19 million, starting in mid-July 2013. The new bus station opened officially on 7 December 2014.

Chester:


Chester railway station is located in Newtown, Chester, England. Services are operated by Avanti West Coast, Merseyrail, Northern, and Transport for Wales. From 1875 to 1969, the station was known as Chester General to distinguish it from Chester Northgate. The station's Italianate frontage was designed by the architect Francis Thompson. Work on a £10 million regeneration scheme, the Chester Renaissance programme was completed in 2007; the development includes a new roof, improved customer facilities and improved access to the station. A plaque commemorating Thomas Brassey is installed on the wall opposite the booking office. The station marks one end of the Baker Way; this is a footpath leading to Delamere railway station. Scheduled services from Chester station are operated by Avanti West Coast to London Euston and Holyhead; Merseyrail to Liverpool Central; Northern to Manchester Piccadilly and Leeds; and Transport for Wales to Liverpool Lime Street, Manchester Airport, Crewe, Birmingham New Street, Cardiff Central, Llandudno and Holyhead.

Points of Interest (POI):
Ardwick Depot:


The Ardwick train depot is a passenger multiple unit maintenance depot in Ardwick, Greater Manchester. The depot was opened in 2006 for the servicing of Siemens-built Class 185 DMUs, which are used on the TransPennine Express franchise. It was electrified in 2012–13 to allow the servicing of Siemens Class 350/4 EMUs.

Longsight Depot:


Longsight Electric TMD is an AC electric railway locomotive traction maintenance depot situated in Longsight, Manchester, England. It is one of the largest train depots in the United Kingdom and can hold 179 carriages at any one time.

Stockport Viaduct:


Stockport Viaduct carries the West Coast Main Line across the valley of the River Mersey in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. It is one of the largest brick structures in the United Kingdom and a major structure of the early railway age. It is immediately north of Stockport railway station. The viaduct was designed by George Watson Buck in consultation with the architect John Lowe for the Manchester and Birmingham Railway. Work began in March 1839 and despite its scale and flooding from the Mersey, the viaduct was completed in December 1840 and services commenced the same month. Roughly 11 million bricks were used in its construction; at the time of its completion, it was the world's largest viaduct and a major feat of engineering. The viaduct is 33.85 metres (111.1 ft) high. Since March 1975, Stockport Viaduct has been a Grade II* listed structure; it remains one of the world's biggest brick structures.Several alterations have been made to the viaduct, in the late 1880s it was widened to accommodate four tracks by the London and North Western Railway. In the 1960s, overhead catenary lines were installed by British Rail for the West Coast Main Line electrification scheme. In the second half of the 20th century, the M60 motorway was built, passing through two of the viaduct's arches between Junction 1 (A5145 road) and Junction 27 (Portwood Roundabout). The viaduct has been subject to renovation and remedial repairs over the years.

M56 Motorway:


The M56 motorway serves the Cheshire and Greater Manchester areas of England. It runs east to west from junction 4 of the M60 at Gatley, south of Manchester, to Dunkirk, approximately four miles (six kilometres) north of Chester. With a length of 33.3 miles (53.6 km), it connects North Wales and the Wirral peninsula with much of the rest of North West England, serves business and commuter traffic heading towards Manchester, particularly that from the wider Cheshire area, and provides the main road access to Manchester Airport from the national motorway network. Between junctions 9 and 16, the motorway forms part of the unsigned European route E22 on its route in the UK between Holyhead in Anglesey and Immingham in Lincolnshire.


Mastery Rewards:
Stage 1 - 12 Bee-Themed Decals for use in the Livery Editor
Stage 2 - You will see working Metrolink trams at Altrincham and heading into Manchester



I hope you have enjoyed this suggestion, if you have, put your thoughts below as per usual, I've been TrainGeek08, enjoy the rest of your day, and until next time, it's goodbye

 

Excellent idea and if you are wondering what is below the Stockport Viaduct it's the M60 Motorway think of it as the Manchester equivalent of the M25 which we can drive under in game the Dartford Crossing. I wonder if this is a new route or an existing train simulator classic route. If it's the latter one have the developer of the train simulator classic version remake it for TSW4. Your Suggestions Fen Line and Hope Valley Line were TSC routes

 

Yeah, the M60 would be modelled if it goes under the Stockport Viaduct. Like yourself, I'm not sure if this is in TSC or not

 

Anything which brings northern DMUs into the game is a win. It will enable layering of the ECML at Doncaster and of the Glossop line at Piccadilly both these stations feel like a strike day with no layering northern DMUs.

 

I agree, Northern has a huge fleet of DMUs so surely it's time for Northern DMUs to enter the game as the 323 is already in game with Northern branding

 

Nice suggestion! I'm sure you know anything with a class 156 gets my vote!

 

Oh of course

It would be a nice route to have as it covers part of England which isn't included yet

 

Thanks, it gives the community (or any potential developers) who read the Suggestions subforum and want to know what is included in the route.

The scenarios are ideas for the developers to use if the route is developed in the future