The (1st) Just Trains Route: Preston - Blackpool And Omskirk

It could be the Glossop Line. Certainly wouldn't be wise to rule it out.

 

Wouldnt have thought an announcement was due soon for JT with the scenery at half way stage as per the last Roadmap.

 

Usually when its TBC that usually means either an announcement of sorts that week or if things slip (which they usually do) the following week.

 

Whatever it is I'll be buying it as it's a half decent length and a UK route. Bring it on. My personal preference would be for Wherry Line.

 

I think the summer release has to do with a route with the 700, most likely the MML, since it has the HST and would basically lack the 222...

 

Realistically, I guess we could be hoping for an initial route announcement with the next roadmap, and more infos in the weeks after, possibly for a release in late June?

 

Summer Games Fest is in June too. I reckon we might see something there as Focus are attending.

 

Might be just me or am I praying it gets announced to some extent at the start of June in the roadmap or anytime before July. As I don't want the route to be canned or production halted for any reason.

 

This route is the one I am looking forward to most.

 

A proper BR Eastern Region route since TVL was a BR North Eastern region route

 

Not in the time it was set. BR NER ceased to exist in 1967 when it was merged with the ER

 

no roadmap this week so have to wait a bit longer i wonder why no roadmap this week

 

The roadmap is once a month and its already been done this month

 

its june next week it gets posted on the frist tues/thurs of ever mouth the 1st is next week thurday so i would assume its going to to the week after

 

The 1st day of a month is just a pretty pointless time to post a roadmap, as it means there's not really a month's gap.

 

A little birdy has told there will be a "lets model a loco" stream on the 1st of June this Thursday. So, we could be given a possible hint especially if what's being modelled isn't in tsw3 yet.

 

No. It's just Alex modelling something random for fun, and talking with chat. It means absolutely nothing.

 

He's done this same exact stream before creating a sd40-2. Did a route release with a sd40-2 right after he created? No. It has zero to do with a release

 

We have a first image from today's roadmap:

The question is, where is this location? and is it from the route we all think JT's first route is going to be?

EDIT: It is indeed for that route. Looking on google maps, I found that this is located along the North branch between Kirkham & Wesham and Poulton-le-Fylde (it might look completely different today, but the general area looks quite similar).

Coordinates: 53.819310, -2.956879

Roadmap: https://live.dovetailgames.com/live...les/article/train-sim-world-roadmap-june-2023

 

100% the JT Route.
Less likely it's that location.

 

Just reading this quote from the JT update section has gotten me a lot more excited for this route!

"Our aim with this product is to recreate the days of British Rail with a focus on a busy and varied timetable providing an immersive experience, with our full timetable featuring passenger, parcels, freight, and shunting operations. When driving our route, you will find that the timetable changes significantly depending on what season you are driving in, thus providing a wealth of possibilities, alongside this, our use of layers which will interact with other Add-ons that you own, will mean you will never be certain on what might turn up, just like the good old days of BR!"

Can't wait to see what Just Trains have come up with!

 

So what route would it be?

 

Wherever it is, the era is great and Day One purchase to show support.

I'm still thinking Wherry Lines with a Class 105 Cravens DMU (as the 31, 37 and 47 for loco hauled trains are already in game). Really hope we can run all those Summer Saturday extras to and from Yarmouth. The Fylde lines will be okay but not quite in the same lwague as Norwich to Yarmouth and Lowestoft (or Sheringham).

 

My guess, from scouring some old OS maps, is that it's taken next to the location of the old (presumably demolished by the 80s) Lytham St Annes gas works on the southern branch. If it's taken at sunset then we're presumably facing between south-south west and south, depending on if the shot is taken in summer or autumn (hard to tell because of the lighting).



FP = Foot Path
SP = Signal Post

There's also the board that indicates 80's BR at the earliest and the curious and slightly awkward mention of the world 'caper' in relation to the rail vehicle - that's Pacer with the letters swapped around for those who aren't playing at home. They were common on this line in that time period.

EDIT: The map above is from 1955 - I'd imagine the gas works and associated sidings there were gone by the 80s.

EDIT 2: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO: You can see a dashed line with dots just below the footpath - pretty sure this represents the telephone wire and poles that you can see in the screenshot crossing the track.

 

If it is the Blackpool area, how does that manage to pull 46 miles out the bag? It's seeming, at least based on the hints towards layers from other mainline BR Diesel DLC (NTP, TVL - possibly WCL), that this route will be post-Fleetwood Line Closure.

Would the line to Burnley from Preston allow for a 46mi route or is something just not quite adding up?

 

The Fleetwood line (or at least 2/3 of it) was open for freight well into the 90s and the trackwork still exists. There's also potential track mileage north and south of Preston, around the Preston docks area or continuing the line towards Blackburn.

 

Manchester Victoria to Blackpool North is around 45 miles which they could make 46 and this would make sense as 25s could be the new engine on freight, parcels & passenger and they could layer 40s, 47s, 45s, 101s & 08s.

 

The Fleetwood branch was open up to Burn Naze well into the 90s and would also be one of the few logical points for any freight operation in the area, so would guess it must be that.

 

ManVic - Blackpool North is 48 mi, and the Blackpool South branch brings another 10 or so to that. So definitely not a return to Victoria.

 

Wherry Lines, Bungalow Lane crossing, near Whitlingham?

 

I’m convinced, yes.

 

If it's involving Preston in BR time could we see a BR Intercity HST to provide traffic in Preston station?

Anglia was my first impression however on seeing the screenshot.

 

I wouldn't rule out Grantham to Skegness....

 

Almost as good as the Wherry Lines and maybe a Class 108 DMU.

 

Whatever is coming is probably either Yarmouth, Skegness, Scarborough or Blackpool bound by the looks of seasonal traffic extras, once you add freight in that gives Boston on the Skegness line or Burn Naze (Toward Fleetwood) on the Blackpool lines. I dont recall the Wherry lines having much freight even in the 80s but I stand to be corrected....

 

I would say it's Norfolk but I can't help but notice the hill in the background not looking very Norfolky, the foreground however I would agree looks more like Norfolk.

EDIT:
The hill in the background seems to have disappeared and must have just been in my imagination. So it does now look more Norfolky than Northern!

 

Where's the hill?

 

You may be right here, those Signals could be Singleton Box which is just beyond the crossing pictured and is good for the eras represented. The Pacer also I think is likely given the Caper wording in the article. My Money is on a Blackpool area Network of routes. That could be fantastic if done properly. Loco hauled trains propelled out to the Carriage sidings and ranround then propelled back in. Proper railway ops. Its would be good to see something harness the timetable mode and give us all a break from the one handled monotony of late. Definitely following this with interest.

 

Blackpool would also explain the big variation in seasonal traffic although this would be the same for many resort based routes

 

Um ok, good question. The answer, after another look, is, rather embarrassingly, in my imagination and is not so much a of a hill as I thought it was. I can't even think of an excuse either.

 

I still think it is Preston to Blackpool with either both Blackpool lines and the Fleetwood line or maybe Manchester to Blackpool North. It is a part of the world certainly one of the JT creators knows very well and they have build a freeware TSC version.

I did think the screenshot looked quite Anglian but the area around Blackpool isn't very hilly if I recall. Also the freight working timetable I have of the Anglia region in BR days shows no freight on the Wherry Lines at all.

 

Must admit if it is a Pacer, well yes we need one but bearing in mind they were introduced in 86, that takes us out of the real classic diesel era. Certainly by then the 40’s were gone on service trains, though I think Blackpool did get some Class 31 hauled Regional Railways traffic.

Of course Pacer could also mean 143 which at that time would give us something on or around Tyneside. Seems unlikely though as the screenshot too flat for the Hexham line and going towards Sunderland and Middlesbrough would introduce the complications of representing Tyne & Wear Metro. Another possibility might be the line from Lancaster then Carnforth to Barrow.

 

Does the WM relate to anything?
Welsh Marches ?

 

Well if the unit we’re getting is a Pacer, these only worked to Hereford from Cardiff and not until the 143’s were transferred from Heaton to Canton which was in the early 90’s, rather later than the classic diesel era which is being hinted at.

 

WM was confirmed by JD on Discord to mean 'watermarked' which is why it appears on all the screenshot names.

The date of the route must be post-1980ish due to the signage in the teaser screenshot.

There's a very heavy-handed reference in the roadmap article to the new loco being a Pacer, which would fit with the Blackpool route.

I've done some track measuring on Google Maps over a cup of tea this morning and Blackpool North / South to Blackburn plus the Burn Naze freight line comes to 46 miles. Someone else on Discord found a convincing location for the crossing on the North branch that was better than my earlier suggestion as well.

This also fits strongly with the idea of a route that sees much more summer traffic. Blackburn is a logical extension point beyond Preston as local trains would have continued to Colne. Leeds - Blackpool expresses via Blackburn and Preston were common in the peak holiday season.

So my guess would be:

+ Blackpool North and South to Blackburn including the Burn Naze line
+ Class 142 Pacer in Provincial livery (new loco)
+ Existing diesel-electric loco, likely in new livery*
+ Class 08 (as the article mentioned shunting, possibly in a new livery - Railfreight grey?)

Whatever it ends up being, I'm really excited for a BR-era route with the busy and varied timetable that they've suggested in the article that makes full use of our existing collections.

*Class 20 or 37 in knackered BR blue, Class 31 or 47 in Railfreight grey - given the need for this loco to presumably perform express passenger and freight operations I'd lean slightly towards the BR blue 37, or possibly a high-intensity headlight version of the existing 47

 

My guess would be Riviera Line In The --s Exeter-Plymouth And Paignton. Or it could be without Plymouth idk. I have lined up the images and this one looks really close to the screenshot. Would love some old diesels. I could be very wrong. 50°39'46"N 3°28'15"W. This screenshot is situated between Exeter St Thomas And Starcross.

Not the best pictures to judge.

 

Will we get new stock though I haven't seen any mention of something new unless I have missed it? JT routes for TSC in the early days just used default stock. They have not produced much of their own for TSC and nothing for a long time. That might have changed for TSW of course. EDIT: I had missed that nugget of information it seems.

 

It's been confirmed that JT are working on one new train for their route.

 

Ah okay then thanks for that, that is good news. I clearly somehow missed it.

A Pacer is most likely then I would say, unless maybe they are working on a class 104 as there were a dedicated fleet of those for the Blackpool service in blue with a white band.