A very warm hello to you all, I'm sure I'm not alone in the love of all things narrow gauge as well as standard. I have built and driven narrow gauge routes in TS classic almost more than I've used my standard gauge material recently. The Corris route and locomotive were absolutely superb when released in TS classic, and the locomotive physics means she's quite a realistic drive. Additionally, the freeware Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland is fantastic. My only wish is that the locomotives were more realistic to drive. As freeware though, they are absolutely superb. As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the addition of more miniature railways. Perhaps in TSW? In my mind, a 15-inch gauge line would be most welcome. It is yet to be explored in TS and of course TSW. I know MSTS had a version of the Ravenglass and Eskdale and the Romney Hythe and Dymchurch via third-party content. Of course, graphics and simulation have come a long way since those early days. Similar to a post I've seen from another community member, some of which I will use down below, I completely agree with his recommendation for why the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway or Romney Hythe and Dymchurch Railways would be a great addition to TSW. Firstly, the R&ER. This line is 7 miles long and a great tourist attraction all year round. There are also lots of different ways to set up the railway with 3 passing loops, many carriage sidings and the main shed and workshop. Not to mention the absolutely amazing rolling stock, the stunning views and the challenging gradients. Locomotives: I propose that while I'm sure there could be options for heritage eras, this line would be done in the modern era. This would allow for the 5 main steam locomotives and 2 main diesels to be included in the base pack. These are; River Irt (0-8-2) River Esk (2-8-2) River Mite (2-8-2) Northern Rock (2-6-2) Whillan Beck (4-6-2) Lady Wakefield (Bo-Bo) Douglas Ferreira (Bo-Bo) Addons could then include other locos like: Bonnie Dundee Synolda other guest engines to the railway and of course the other working diesels, Perkins and Cyril. Coaching Stock: As there are many pieces of rolling stock on the line, only the main coaching stock needs to be added. Open Top Coaches Closed Coaches Semi-Open Coaches Disabled Guard Perhaps additions of the Eskdale Belle, La’al Ratty Coach and the newer luxury coaches I think that the price should be around £24.99 but, I would be willing to pay more if the quality and finish of the product was superb. This price would also be fairly suitable as at only 7 miles, it isn’t a long line but the scenery and locomotives are brilliant. However, with the 100-year anniversary of the Romney Hythe and Dymchurch Railway coming up in 2027, wouldn't it be superb to honour that with an add-on for TSW? "The one-third full-size steam & diesel locomotives have powered their way along the 13½ miles of track" to quote the website, and a maximum speed on the line of 25mph a scale speed of 75mph. This certainly would be a beautiful and interesting route to drive too. Locomotives-wise, there are eleven steam locomotives and two diesels that run in regular service. A wonderful variety too, and I would think perhaps not too demanding to build the whole fleet eventually, as the five A1 style Pacifics could simply be copied, all sharing the same basic shape and then a few unique things on the models changed for their individual elements, whistles, tender variant, cab, etc. You'd then have the two mountain class engines, The Bug, Black Prince, and of course the two Canadian-style pacifics too. Then the two diesel locomotives too. Altogether that's: No.1 Green Goddess (4-6-2 Pacific Locomotive) No.2 Northern Chief (4-6-2 Pacific Locomotive) No.3 Southern Maid (4-6-2 Pacific Locomotive) No.4 The Bug (0-4-0 tender Locomotive) No.5 Hercules (4-8-2 Mountain Locomotive) No.6 Samson (4-8-2 Mountain Locomotive) No.7 Typhoon (4-6-2 Pacific Locomotive) No.8 Hurricane (4-6-2 Pacific Locomotive) No.9 Winston Churchill (4-6-2 Pacific Locomotive) No.10 Dr Syn (4-6-2 Pacific Locomotive) No.11 Black Prince (4-6-2 Pacific Locomotive) No.12 JB Snell (Bo Bo Diesel) No.14 Captain Howey (Bo Bo Diesel) It's also double-track for most of the route until the single-track section from New Romney to Dungeness. There would be plenty of opportunity for scenarios and of course, a great area to explore on foot if it were in TSW. I'd love to hear your thoughts, I think it'd be great for people to join the discussion with your ideas and whether you'd be interested, no matter if positive or negative. If you haven't heard of these railways, I highly suggest you check them out on youtube, and of course, if you're ever nearby, visit them. Now of course the steam simulation would hopefully have improved by then. Perhaps the Auto Fireman should remain an optional feature, but it would be nice to see firing and injecting water working more effectively in TSW and of course more user operational... not to mention the long-awaited editor. Overall, I think either of these railways would be an excellent addition to TSW and think they would sell well. It'd be an excellent tribute to the smaller aspects of locomotion and of course, for the RH&DR, its 100th birthday celebration of the 'mainline in miniature.' I've posted this in the UKtrainsim forum too. Best wishes to you all, W.
Definitely would be nice to see some Heritage railways (with Tank steam locomotives added such as the LB&SCR A1X Class) Personally I would like a railway from the Isle of Man added (likely the Isle of Man Steam Railway from Douglas to Port Erin) as they have the Beyer Peacock 2-4-0 locomotives that were built between 1873-1926 but again that's just my personal thoughts. Overall it would be great to see some heritage railways added to TSW. Darren
Thank you for your response. Excellent suggestion! Seemingly TSW steam is in its infancy, so who knows what may be 'down the line' in future years. When we compare the first years of the original train sim steam traction to the eventual output of developers like Bossman Games in more recent years, they are simply worlds apart. Time will tell how far steam simulation will go. I do hope that DTG will not alienate their original audience (who were actually interested in simulation) over the idea of a train-type game which is simple to operate. Admittedly the simpler approach allows more people to access it, which is a good thing and provides more revenue for DTG. Even so, I believe there's no reason we cannot have both. A simple mode for those who are more casual about their experience, and a more advanced mode for those who want to feel like it is a simulation and bought the game for that reason. Not much point in calling it a simulator otherwise. I live in the hope that one day soon we'll see narrow-gauge steam in TSW. ATB, W.
