Woah, that's a lot of big words! Hello and welcome to Southern England; especially SWR territory; the SWML between Bournemouth and Basingstoke, and the western leg of the West Coastway from Southampton to Portsmouth. A third-rail paradise; that isn't in the Southeast of England! Well, what does this have in store? Let's see... The Route The route is a huge 71 miles; with 31 stations. Split into sections, that is: The SWML (Southampton Docks - Basingstoke) 33.50mi / 10 Stations WCW (Southampton - Portsmouth/Havant) 27.75mi / 17 Stations The Eastleigh - Fareham Line 9.70mi / 4 (2 shared with WCW/SWML) So, it's a big route and would be a big undertaking to make. But here's why I think it should be TSW's first return to the Third-Rail regions of England. Rolling Stock So, we've established what the route is. It's a section of the SWML between two major stations, and the WCW between two other major stations, with a connector in between. So, what runs the route? Included - Class 450 We're getting the Class 350; so why not get it's Third-Rail twin, the 450. Much the same trains at the end of the day, but one is powered by Third-Rail, and the other by AC Overhead Wires. Seems a bit of a no-brainer. Included/DLC - Class 444 Another Desiro and it's the Class 444! Used typically for Express Services, the 444 can do quick runs along the SWML. More on that soon. - The 450 could substitute for this, with the 444 coming later as a DLC; or vice versa. That's fine by me. Included - Class 158 Rounding out SWT with a train we already, kind of, have: the Class 158 - already in a very similar EMT livery, too. Included - Class 377 A simple one; two trains an hour run between Brighton (starting for us at Havant) and Southampton. Quite a big player here. Layer - Class 166 From GWR, the Class 166 runs a few services. Layer/Included - Class 66 Everyone's favourite... I've included Southampton Docks in the route; so something is needed for freight. Services So, onto Services. All stations shown in "Calls at" are on-route. If a service's stop listing starts at Basingstoke and ends at SAP; that's what would be in this TSW route. To be clear; Start and End points are in Italics. SWT - SWML The SWML is fairly linear, so I'll simplify things a little bit. London <-> Poole/Weymouth (Slow) 1tph | Calls at Basingstoke, Winchester, SAP, and Southampton Central Class 444 London (Winchester) <-> Weymouth (Southampton) (Fast) 1tph | Calls at Winchester, SAP, and Southampton Class 444 Winchester <- Southampton <-> Bournemouth 1tph | Calls at Shawford, Eastleigh, SAP and Southampton. Class 444/450 Romsey <-> Salisbury 1tph | Calls at Eastleigh, SAP, Swaythling, St Denys, Southampton Central and Millbrook Class 158 SWT - WCW The West Coastway is a bit simpler. London <-> Portsmouth H via Winchester 1tph | Calls at all stations except Shawford Class 444/450 London <-> Portsmouth H via Guildford 2tph | Calls at Havant, Bedhampton (1tph), Hilsea (1tph), P&SS, P'Harbour Class 444/450 Southampton <-> Portsmouth & SS 1tph | Calls at All Stations Class 450 SWT - AI London <-> Basingstoke 2tph | Appears at Basingstoke Class 450 Southern - WCW London Victoria <-> Portsmouth Harbour 2tph | Calls at Havant, Hilsea, Fratton, Portsmouth & SS, and Portsmouth Harbour. Class 377 Brighton <-> Southampton 2tph | Calls at Havant, Cosham, Portchester (1tph), Fareham, Swanwick, Woolston, and Southampton Central. Class 377 Brighton <-> Portsmouth & Southsea 1tph | Calls at Havant, Fratton, and Portsmouth & SS Class 377 GWR - Playable Cardiff Central <-> Portsmouth Harbour 1tph | Calls at Southampton Central, Fareham, Cosham, Fratton, Portsmouth & Southsea, and Portsmouth Harbour. Class 166 GWR - AI Reading <-> Basingstoke 2tph | Visible at Basingstoke Class 166 Freight Using Southampton Docks, there's plenty of opportunity for freight along the SWML towards the North. Overall This route has a lot going for it, I think. There's the SWML section which, for the most part, is quite fast-paced, with some slower service patterns mixed in. Then there's the WCW section which offers variety in stopping patterns between three different operators. As you can see in the above graphic; the three operators combine to offer 4/5 tph along the WCW section. You'll have 8tph to drive in the Portsmouth approach from Havant (4tph) or from Southampton/Winchester (4tph), or skip it all together with Southern, - and Southampton will be a trainspotting paradise with 8tph passing through; all drivable, too. Overall, there's plenty to do and see. I also think, if it's SWT era, that the GWR service to Brighton will still exist? I've not put it in, just to be safe. Other Stuff Route Hopping Go for a nice island holiday with Route Hopping to Isle of Wight / Island Line 2022; or keep going past Havant to London or Brighton; or past Basingstoke to London or Reading. Layers Out SWT Stock, namely the 450 - while not always the trains on that line - could appear at Reading (GWE) and, if it ever becomes possible, Clapham Junction (BML). Era I have specifically went with South West Trains; because I suspect the license will be easier to get. If it's like EMT for Midland Mainline, then it's a case of going to the DfT. The era also ties in with GWE, with the SWT layers (at Reading) fitting the GWE setting. GWR itself ties in here, as it also means the new debranded FGB livery for the 166 can come into play; which will offer even more variety. I also personally think the SWT livery looks a bit nicer than SWR, although the latter is very good. My Thoughts I personally am not a big fan of going back to the Third-Rail southern region... So long as it's Southern or Southeastern. I don't think there is anything they can offer that will feel any different to what we have (I blame SEHS for this, as it covers all bases of SE content.) On the other hand, if it's SWR (or the not-so-southern Merseyrail), then I'm all for it. A difference in style from the Electrostars, a more sparse mainline (but not too sparse - looking at ECML) with a more regional-style line in the form of the West Coastway. Making use of our existing 377 (BML) and 166 (GWE); there is plenty of opportunity for a multi-operator, diesel and electric, varied experience. Also, it's big and non-linear, but still in a doable range; and with reasonable end stations. What's not to like? Thank you.
One word: Yes! However, both the 444 and 450 should probably be included from launch, as the sounds are more or less the same, the only difference I can think of is the traction cooling fan.
If set in the SWT era then there's actually some more variety potential there. GWR used to run a daily Cardiff/Bristol to Brighton service which would branch off at Cosham towards Havant instead of going down to Portsmouth (these services are already a little AI-only easter egg on Brighton Main Line). Southern also operated a handful of services to Eastleigh which run via the Hedge End/Botley line, but I'm not sure if these were London Victoria or Brighton bound services. The Class 313 could also layer on, operating services to Brighton and Littlehampton from Portsmouth Harbour. Route hopping from Portsmouth Harbour to Ryde Pier Head pretending you're taking the ferry would be quite fun!
I knew about the Brighton one but wasn't sure about the frequency. Hadn't heard of the Eastleigh Southern services, interesting. I avoided the 313 because it would either require a 2nd timetable or a separate layer; which would exclude some services from the base layer (in case of option 2). If DTG were willing to make a duplicate with the 313; sure! But I doubt that (especially as, unlike ECW, there isn't a clear or reasonable split between the 313 and 377's uses.) Boat Sim World inbound IMO.
This could maybe be extended to the reading line fully so you can get xc as a potential train dlc (class 221/220 pack) used with avanti for wcml routes and XC for This one.That would be a nice branch
Also if DTG adds more freight trains the class 70 will make it less bland with Freightliner and Colas Rail Freight services
Like it, anything to get swr in-game but I'd much prefer if they would do a route from Waterloo to get more London Terminus' into TSW
I prefer portsmouth and southampton - basinstoke because its way more intersting , also I think they should also have SWR livery's
Waterloo would be best to come later IMO; solely because it would have more stock. If this route came, then you have the 450, 158 and maybe 444 off the bat - which is a solid selection. Then, a possible 455/456 for the suburban lines and boom - a fairly busy Waterloo. This route also makes more use of existing stock (166, 377 and 313) than a suburban route would - so it's not just SWT.
This a great suggestion, reminds me of something I wrote some 5 years ago…https://forums.dovetailgames.com/th...basingstoke-to-bournemouth.18166/#post-641131
I would rather have a more london network with swr (as u will see in my forum post, waiting to be confirmed) as more service variation and far more branches
DISCLAIMER-this is a huge suggestion and isn't likely that the whole thing will be there if it was made. Main route(Blue) Really high 45stations £29.99 - £34.99 Exstension DLC/Reading DLC (Green) 26 stations £24.99 Southampton-Bournemouth and salisbury extension 23 stations £15.99 This is really long so may need a cut of 10 stations Era 2021(SWT-SWR crossover) Trains are the 450/444/158 for SWT/SWR GWR is the 165/166 - probably unbranded XC is the class 220/221 And for freight its the class 66 and 70 For the "Exstension DLC/Reading DLC (Green) 26 stations" It would also have the same as the main route + Class 43 At reading (probably unbranded) and unbranded GWR 80x sets. Potentially also the class 458's Like I said before though this is a huge suggestion and isn't likely that the whole thing will be there if it was made.
Please stop bumping before you get the thread locked. I'd also suggest making your suggestion in it's own thread as it's quite different to mine.
