I would like to suggest an extension for the Midland Mainline route, taking it through Newark Castle and onto Lincoln Central. Whilst other extensions are also popular by request, such as Sheffield & Matlock, I believe Lincoln would be the better option as it would introduce the opportunity to run a full end to end service, something which isn’t currently possible with the current route. The Route The route is approximately an additional 30-35 miles in length, and includes 12 new stations. (13 should you choose to include Newark Northgate.) Services / Timetable The current timetable wouldn’t need any major changes. This extension simply provides the players with longer and ‘more complete’ service to run. These will be: Leicester to Lincoln (and return) services will no longer begin / end at Nottingham. As mentioned beforehand, it allows full end to end running. The current Nottingham to Derby services which represent the Newark Castle to Matlock service can be extended to Newark Castle. This also provides the opportunity for the short platform shunt move at Newark. For those who own it, the services included in the Cargo Line expansion pack could also extend to Lincoln for the relevant & appropriate services. A new addition to the timetable could be the Lincoln Central to Newark Northgate services, operates both by East Midlands Trains. ~ I would have also suggested the LNER services, however we don’t currently have an 80X which sufficiently operates under diesel power. As we don’t currently have an official ‘Northern’ branded DMU yet such as the 195, the class 66 hauling various wagons such as containers, JNAs etc. could be added as AI to increase traffic around Lincoln Central. Likewise with the Class 158 operating the Peterborough / Lincoln / Doncaster services. Additional Stock? In an ideal world, should this extension come to light, an additional unit would be included. My suggestion is the BR Class 156 Sprinter, as these were the predominant DMUs around the East Midlands during this time. The Class 153 is also a possibility, but I believe the Class 156 to be the better option as they were more common. Similarly, the Class 156 & 158 could substitute for each other across the entire route, not just the extension.
Completely agree with the above, The route already exists in some form on TSC lets get it merged into TSW
It would be great, however unfortunately it isn’t just a simple job of merging and porting assets over
Sheffield is probably more logical, as that's the terminus for all Midland Main Line services, but I wouldn't argue if we got Lincoln instead.
Possibly. But without any CrossCountry services, any official Northern DMU stock or without the Erewash Valley line the line north of Derby would be virtually almost silent. Sheffield would become another Birmingham New Street in terms of emptiness. Sheffield extension would be great at a later date when we have the sufficient stock to fill traffic, but even then it still doesn’t allow for an end to end run.
The 222 would be great, and has already been requested. This post focuses more on a route extension, and the 156 would fit this extension opportunity perfectly.
