Route Suggestion: ECML NorthEast - Darlington to Newcastle, 2019 To add an ECML route is hardly a new suggestion, however I’ve always thought north of Darlington is where the ECML really starts to look good; the countryside becomes more scenic and the stations are almost all impressive. There’s also a bit more in the way of curves and varieties in permissible speed. The length covered is about right for a TSW route, being a bit under 40 miles, and the end points make sense with most services stopping. I've chosen 2019 for the route to be set is chosen because it’s a transition year for the ECML, this means there’s an excellent variety of potential rolling stock that could be added. The Route: Heaton TMD Starting at the northern tip of the route you have Heaton TMD, the region’s primary Depot. While this is operated by Northern all of the main TOC’s on of the route make use of the Depot. Manors (unused) Manors Network Rail (not to be confused with the Metro) station is largely unused and only included because it’s on the track between Newcastle station to the Depot. The only service calling here is a Northern service to Morpeth, about 17 miles north, also stopping at Cramlington Newcastle Newcastle is a grand and busy 12 platform station. It is a classic Victorian structure with a large train shed and is typical of the great Victorian stations. From one end of the platforms you have a good view of the eponymous castle, and on the Southern approach you cross the four track 1906 King Edward VII bridge, getting a great view of Newcastle, Gateshead, the Tyne bridges and the approaching station. Tyne Yard & Arriva Train Care Tyne Yard Gateshead Heading south from Newcastle there is the Tyne Yard in Gateshead, which acts as the primary freight yard for the region and is used by both DB and Freightliner, along with Network Rail. Opposite the freight yard is Arriva Train Care where maintenance and overhaul of rolling stock is carried out. Just south of here you can see the Angel of the North from the tracks. Chester-le-Street Chester-le-Street is primarily serviced by the Transpennine services, with one stopping CrossCountry service and infrequent Northern service. The station is a fairly standard 2 platform British station, and the ECML is carried over most of the town on the Victorian Chester Burn viaduct. Durham Durham Station is a small 2 platform station but is serviced by most of the diagrams on this route, at the time of setting the platform has just been extended to accommodate the Azuma services. Built on a hill, just south of the station the track passes over a viaduct with one of the best views on British railways, as you can see the bulk of Durham including the River Wear in the valley below, and on a hill opposite Durham Castle and Cathedral. Ferryhill TARMAC Aggregates Just north of Darlington opposite the town of Ferryhill there’s a quarry with a siding for loading aggregates. Hitachi Newton Aycliffe Just north of Darlington is the Hitachi assembly facility, where the trains purchased under the Intercity Express Programme, and a variety of follow up classes, have been assembled. Sidings full of the trains are very visible from the ECML tracks, and while it’s not a depot its use as a base for testing around this time could be used in timetables or scenarios. Darlington Darlington station is of course already featured in the Tees Valley Line, and looks much the same now as it appeared in the late 80’s, with the exception of the overhead lines. Northallerton (stretch) One comment from the livestream covering how routes are chosen was that if there’s spare time during development there may be some extension of the route. Given this route has a small number of stations relative to most that are done by DTG this is included as a potential stretch option. Northallerton is a basic station following a segment of fairly straight track from Darlington. Its inclusion would take the route to about 50 miles end to end. Slightly awkward as an end point however due to not being a major station, but a further extension to York (via Thirsk) is probably unrealistic. Locos: LNER Class 91 The workhorse of the ECML. The Class 91 is a 140mph designed (though not used in service due to signalling constraints) electric loco that conducts the bulk of LNER’s services at the time. Due to gearing it takes some time to get up to speed but it’s recorded a maximum of 161mph, making it the fastest electric loco in the UK. A seldom seen flat cab makes it drivable from either end. It leads the Intercity 225 sets which consist of Mark 4 TSOE, 4 TSO, 1 RSB and 3 FO carriages along with a Driving Van Trailer allowing push-pull operation. LNER’s interiors on its Mark 3 and 4 fleets were recently refreshed under VTEC having a red themed interior and including in first class some of the (IMO) comfiest seats on the network. LNER Class 43 You don’t need me to introduce the Class 43, already known to TSW players through the GWE pack this was in regular service on the ECML, particularly for north Scotland services until its retirement with LNER in December 2019. Compared to the GWR service we’re used to the LNER has some small interior differences and is longer, having an extra TS carriage. Class 67 I must admit I don’t know much about freight, however while the Class 66 is a fairly standard modern UK freight train, and it would work well on this route too, it's now been included in both of the UK's modern routes (and realistically if you own either of them you could just make services on scenario planner and DTG could integrate it into the timetable anyway). So my proposal is the Class 67, in EWS and/or DB Schenker livery. This is used for light freight services, and could be timetabled for intermodal work, and (the reason I’ve included it) acts as a Thunderbird loco on the ECML, which would make a good scenario. It's also commonly used for charter services, which could be unlocked on the route using the Mark 1 or Mark 2 coaching stock if you own the Transpennine or West Somerset routes respectively. Add on DLCs: CrossCountry Pack Class 220 The class 220 is a 125mph 4 car DEMU, with 3000hp and distributed traction it is known for its high acceleration for a diesel train. This makes up the bulk of Crosscountry services, and is occasionally run in pairs. A number of services run across the route throughout the day including the UK’s longest train service from Aberdeen to Penzance. CrossCountry Class 43 The other train operated by Cross Country is the HST, with a 7 car unit used. Compared to the LNER model this would have a reskinned exterior and some modelling changes (e.g. seats) to the interior. Modern Express pack Class 800 ‘Azuma’ Class 802 ‘Nova 1’ I believe these would be the first bi-mode units in TSW, though when first introduced EC interference issues meant they would run on diesel in service on this route* (though testing using electric could be a scenario). LNER’s Azuma (introduced 1 August, though commonly seen on mile accumulation and route learning runs before this) comes in 9 and 5 car variations, with the latter running in pairs. TPE’s Class 802 (introduced in September) is a 5 car unit. In terms of handling the classes have become largely identical since the class 800's de-rating was undone, though the Class 802 is slightly heavier due to an increase in fuel tank size. Otherwise the TPE would require a small interior model change as it lacks the cafe bar and has a smaller kitchen. Class 185 The Class 185 is a 100mph DMU. Heavy but powerful, the class was designed for Cross Pennine work. There is the option for eco running where one of the three engines would be turned off, which on this route you are likely to make use of. Timetabled services relevant here are Edinburgh to Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester Airport. One final thing to note is that the route would offer good opportunities for future extension if DTG decides to start doing them; Newcastle to Berwick in particular would be interesting, with extensions of the high speed services covered here, and Northern stopping services. *I’ve tried to find articles on when this was resolved, but no luck so far.
Sounds amazing. Would be one of my dream routes, however having it only go as far as Darlington makes it feel incomplete. I think if you're doing that stretch of the ECML you gotta have it go to York. It's far too iconic to leave out. I don't think it would be too long, some of the new routes revealed in the roadmap are longer than anything we've had yet, and the route is already in TS, so I'd imagine they already have something to work with.
York's my home station so I would very much love to see it, adding Northallerton, Thirsk, and York would take the route to about 80 miles, I think that would make it longer than any on the roadmap (I may well be missing something, but Marseille-Avignon at 64 miles seems to be the longest there). Now it would still only take the route to 8 stations (plus an extra depot, as you'd need to model Transpennine's Leeman Road Depot) though there's quite a lot of scenery, including landmarks to model. I'd imagine York Station itself would be quite demanding to create (though you'd get the UK's best station for the work). Ultimately it's up to DTG on whether that would be realistic, I'd have no complaints if it was.
