I do have a slightly negative tone but I try to constructively criticise by describing what features I’d like to see. To begin with, I think the route will exciting for the first few hours especially for people who use the Bakerloo line in real life so it will appeal to a lot of people. Like on the release of TSW, they have picked a route that they know will be eye catching for those vaguely interested in trains (although I personally found GWE to mine much more exciting with 3 traction including the iconic HST). I have no doubt the developers will do a fantastic job in the aesthetics, sounds and physics but it won’t take long before it becomes extremely monotonous for several reasons. I know you can say the same about any route but I think this will get boring a lot quicker than any other route: A single traction and that being very, very simplistic certainly compared to mainline traction. It makes a pacer look high tech. Very basic signalling system, and track layout (until you get to the North side of Kilburn). No warning systems, not many buttons and no screens in the cab The underground platforms, South of Queens Park in the tunnel, are almost identical certainly in terms of length and stopping positions and I’d say design Being in a single bore tunnel for most of the route- there is nothing atmospheric about tunnels; that’s not to say night time can’t be atmospheric but not a tunnel If wheelslip/wheelslide is a feature, this isn’t exactly a route to showcase that with most of the route being underground. I’m also curious to know the following/here are some features I’d like to see. As there is only one simple traction and a short route, it would be nice to see some of the below to make up for it. What is train traffic going to be like? Are there going to be lots of trains per hour like in real life so you’re seeing adverse signals or is it just a skeleton service? The biggest challenge for a train operator (that’s their job title) on the tube is not the physical handling of the train from A to B itself but dispatching the train via the OPO monitors especially during rush hour. If someone gets trapped and dragged, as a driver/operator, not only could you get sacked but you could face prosecution. (OPO= One person Operation which are very similar to DOO monitors on the mainline). Are the monitors going to be working? Are there going to be lots of passengers getting on and off making dispatch a challenge? Or is it going to be the same as TSW, just wait 20 seconds (or whatever specified) and close the doors. Some stations, at certain times of the day, do have a platform dispatcher to assist. How much of the station is going to be accessible? Just the platforms and area in between linking the platforms or are we able to go up the escalators and all around the station, other lines, etc... Some tube stations are quite large such as Baker Street, Oxford Circus and Waterloo. The route is very short so it will be nice to see some effort gone into the stations and possibly setting up for the future such as being able to access Waterloo or Paddington mainline stations or even just the rest of the tube station (even if there are no trains). Is the route going to be all the way to/from Harrow and Wealdstone or just Queens Park? (Edit: I think the route is all the way to Harrow) While I would usually say North of Queens Park would be the best part of the route in real life, I’m not so sure on TSW 2. No trains running on the mainline and no London Overground trains running on the DC lines. Mix that in with lack of passengers and it’s really going to appear like a ghost town. Is all the mainline going to be modelled including Sudbury sidings? If so, it will be a lot of effort to develop something the Bakerloo line doesn’t even use especially when there aren’t many trains that even go to Harrow and Wealdstone as a lot terminate at Queens Park or Stonebridge Park so a lot of services you do, you won’t get to see and appreciate all the effort gone into it. From my understanding of the underground, they usually approach a red signal at the end of the platform and then it will clear once you get close to it or once you’ve stopped. And the distance between the stopping point and the red signal is not much... a few metres if that...so there are going to be a lot of SPADs on this forum. Presumably the tripcock for the emergency brake will be working but will that be the end of the service or scenario like on TSW? There needs to be a way where you’re able to continue. The tripcock will ensure that the emergency brakes apply if you go past a red signal so you couldn’t go much past it even if you wanted. If you’re a silly goose who wants to crash the train in front, they should set it so if you reset the tripcock and then continue forward by more than 100 yards, for example, that should end the service/scenario. Are the automatic announcements going to be working on the train and at the station? I was going to say it would be cool to hear the old ‘Mind the Gap’ announcement at Embankment station by Oswald Lawrence. But I realised it’s only on the Northern line platforms at Embankment. Part of the atmosphere at each station is lots of commuters, a lot of chatter, a station announcer/platform dispatcher with a megaphone trying to be funny, the musicians in concourse areas usually near the escalators playing music for money, travelling beggars... you’re just not going to get this on a game. Even if there are a lot of passengers simulated, are they going to just all stand there in silence like in TSW? In other threads, I’ve always said that I’m not really bothered with lack of passengers or announcements. But on the tube, I’d say it is essential. The cab being low and having a flat and large window makes you feel very much attached to the platform compared to the say on the Peninsula corridor where both locomotives you feel very much detached from the platform as you’re so high up and don’t have as much visibility of the platform. Not my video/photo (by Lukas Ruediger) Description of video (by Lukas Ruediger): The original 'Mind the Gap' announcement by Oswald Laurence can now only be heard on the Northbound Northern Line platforms at Embankment Station. This announcement dates from 1969, when London Transport first started to tell passengers to 'Mind the Gap'. The original announcment was reinstated by TfL in 2013, after hearing the story of Oswald Laurence's widow, who liked hearing his voice there. Here, a Northern Line service to High Barnet approaches Embankment. You can just about see the OPO monitors circled in red. Although you can’t see the starting signal, it’s only just inside the tunnel and usually displaying red until you approach it so you can see how very little margin for error you have. This isn’t a picture of the Bakerloo line but it shows how busy the tube can get and this is common during the week at peak times. Bakerloo can also get extremely busy.
