Hello, whilst I was sitting having a cup of tea with the wife, trying to ignore the nonsense she had on the television, I had a thought: What would be the perfect steam route? I had a few ideas but I they were all routes that I didn't really know well enough to make a proper judgement, so then I closed in the search nearer to where I am from in the East (specifically Lincolnshire) where I found the answer to my question. And so I am suggesting the East Lincolnshire Line in lovely Lincolnshire. The East Lincolnshire line was a railway which ran through Lincolnshire between Boston and Grimsby. It ran for approximately 48 miles across the pleasant Lincolnshire countryside and will really help to fill in another part of England missing from TSW. Along with the double track mainline I think the branch to Skegness should be included as it adds approximately 10 miles to the route taking the mileage overall up to about 58 miles. However there are other branches which could be included instead such as the Mablethorpe branch/loop. The route would be set in the early 50s before the roof at Louth station was removed. The locos I think that should be included are the LNER V2s and LNER B1s. Both of these locos provide a good starting point for both the passenger services and the freight ( V2s were known for working the fish vans) as they are both versatile and will operate both types of service. The rolling stock used would be LNER teaks as mk1s were introduced in about 51 or 52 (if my memory serves me right) and so wouldn't really be as common as what they later became but also the teaks are just beautiful coaches. Also as mentioned earlier the line was well known for it's fast fish services which would (believe it or not) require fish vans to operate these services. Sadly after 120 odd years of service the line shut to passengers in 1970 but stayed open as a single track line for freight until 1980 with the track being lifted soon after. Some potential DLC would be LNER J11s, LNER C12s, LNER N5s, LNER K3s and really most other any widespread LNER stock. Overall I think this mainline with the Skeggie branch would be a great addition to TSW and will give us a route in a beautiful part of England we have nothing from currently. If I have forgot anything please let me know as this is based of my childhood memories of the line in the 60s and family stories I've remembered so a few of the details may be slightly wonky. Also it is one O'clock in the morning and I am being called by my bed so I am much more likely to have made mistakes. Thanks for reading I will put a few pictures of the locos below. I am only going to put a picture of a V2 and B1 but if you want to see some pictures of this route and other railways of Lincolnshire I would highly recommend visiting Dave's Rail Pics which can be found here if you are interested. Above: Sadly I couldn't find any pictures of V2s on the East Lincolnshire line but I can assure you they did operate services over it. Instead this is an image of a V2 on the ECML from a key model world article which can be found here. Below: This is a B1 at Louth station on the East Lincolnshire line in the early 50s before the station roof was removed. This picture is from the Lincolnshire Wolds Railway history page which contains more detailed information about the old East Lincolnshire Line but also the heritage railway who run over it now. They are the only standard gauge railway in Lincolnshire and if you want more detail on this route or the heritage railway themselves click here.
No as I state in the suggestion it is a double track mainline. The Skeggie branch was/is double track as well because of the high amounts of summer traffic.
Very good suggestion mate. It is a wonderful area and would bring back memories for me too as when I was younger we always went to Skeggy or Mablethorpe for our holidays ( if we didn’t go Sunny hunny ) and always wondered what the railways in this, as you say, pleasant area of land looked like. Also the V2s are my favourite steam locos. It would be the best steam locos in the best county!!
Thanks mate! You haven't been on holiday if you haven't been to Skeggie or sunny hunny (which had a railway line there once too)! The V2s are brilliant locos and were incredibly versatile and of course like you say we are dealing with the finest county in England with some of the finest locos as well.
Sorry to quote your post again mate but I just reread it and I never realised there was a line to sunny hunny. It would make sense though as there is a signal in that car park near the sea front.
It's alright mate. It is in that area where the station used to be. Anyway I suppose we should really get back on topic as I could go on all day about lost lines!
Yes sorry for going on that tangent mate! I have just looked at the website with the pictures and wondered if you could include the section to Cleethorpes as well because it is like less than 5 miles I think.
First of all I want to congratulate you on somehow linking a mainline in Lincolnshire in the far east of England to a group of branch lines in the West of Scotland! On a serious note there are a few reasons why I chose this route. 1. This route is a mainline (so we can push the needle quite high) where the majority of traffic operating on it can be convincingly remade with two locos so we don't end up with a load of missing services due to the appropriate locos not being in game. 2. If the timetable is based on the summer there will be no shortage of passenger runs to both Skeggy and Grimsby and also plenty of freight mixed in so there would be plenty to do and would give loads of playtime 3. The route is localish to me and when I was a lad we used to go on holiday to either Skeggy or Mablethorpe and before the line closed we used to go by bus into Peterborough (I am still traumatised by it) and then get on the train which would take us along this line to our seaside destination, so it would mean a lot much to me to see it in game. 4. The Eastern Region is still yet to see a route in TSW even though it is by far the best. The old phrase best till last applies here I suppose!
Sorry to bump this but it has been on my mind since Peak Forests announcement makes this line a lot more likely to come to game because this and peak forest are both currently shut lines for the most part!!! Again sorry to bump but I have been holding myself off doing it since peak forests announcement!!!
That's alright mate, no harm done in my book. Yes I must admit I thought the same thing and I mean the scenery hasn't changed too much apart from a few new buildings and maybe a few extra trees!
Excellent suggestion. I have always wanted to drive a LNER V2 like no. 4771 (60800) Green Arrow and B1 Thompson locomotive like no. 61306 Mayflower. They are two of my favourites.
Thanks mate, I tend to be more of a diesel fan but both these classes, especially the V2s, are some of my favourite out there.
