Following on from my SFS Köln-Frankfurt suggestion, I'll just go with it and do a "my ideal TSW6/2026 / best three routes IMO" bundle of suggestions. Wouldn't mind this as a JT DLC, either, though. Note: This suggestion uses Spoilers to make the suggestion quicker to read, but with the option of detail. The WCML is getting two installments with TSW5 - the released WCML South, and Just Trains' WCML Preston - Carlisle. So, in the interest of doubling down and, ultimately, offering the ability to run from Glasgow to Preston, with a route hop/pause in the middle - this is WCML North, in the same year (1986) as BPO/WCMLOS. The Route The route runs across the border with only one station - Lockerbie - in the southern section of the line. After Carstairs, the line forms the backbone of what we now know as the "Argyle Line" routes - with some omissions. The Argyle Line section is missing the following: • Larkhall Branch (Opened 2005) • Shieldmuir Station (Opened 1990) • Whifflet Station (Opened 1992) • Airbles Station (Opened 1989) Overall, there are 21* Stations, and 127.4 Miles of track. *22 if counting Glasgow Central LL as seperate. Spoiler: WCML Section The West Coast Mainline section, from Carlisle to Glasgow Central High Level, runs for 102.1 Miles, with the following stations; - Carlisle - Lockerbie - Carstairs - Carluke - Motherwell - Uddingston - Newton (Not Directly Connected) - Cambuslang - Glasgow Central High Level Stations in bold are what typically see InterCity services calling at them from England. Newton and Glasgow Central both feature in their modern forms on the Cathcart Circle route, the former of which allows you to watch as WCML traffic passes the station. Newton is where the various lines branch off, and Motherwell is where they meet. Spoiler: Hamilton Circle The Hamilton Circle (Hamilton Branch line, Hamilton Loop) is a 7.5 Mile branch line which diverges from the WCML at Newton and returns at Motherwell. In modern times, the route also has Airbles station, as well as the Larkhall Branch departing from it just after Hamilton Central, but in 1986 none of those existed. The stations are: - Newton - Blantyre - Hamilton West - Hamilton Central - Motherwell Spoiler: Argyle Line (Core) The Argyle Line Core runs from Partick to Rutherglen, although this section would end at Glasgow Central Low Level. Running for 3.5 Miles, the route opened in 1979, leaving it at only 7 years old when the route is set. The route was opened to connect the North Clyde Line to the south-west of Glasgow, effectively an earlier version of London's Elizabeth Line. The route was also the reason for the Class 314's introduction to scotland's rails. Stations are as follows: - Rutherglen - Dalmarnock - Bridgeton - Argyle Street - Glasgow Central Low Level Bridgeton and Dalmarnock stations are both in trenches, while Argyle Street and GCLL are both underground stations. Spoiler: Branches In addition to the above lines, there are a couple of short spurs to consider. 1. Lanark First, there is the 2.6 Mile branch to Lanark from the WCML. Lanark is the only station here and is (usually) the furthest terminus for suburban trains. 2. Wishaw Wishaw station sits between Carluke and Holytown, on a 2.7 Mile spur. There is a connecting line to it's west, allowing trains to rejoin the WCML and arrive at Motherwell. 3. Shotts Line (Carfin) The Shotts Line would be in the scope of this route, as far as Carfin. Carfin station is just off of the Wishaw/Holytown junction, likely in sight, so including it would be a bonus. Holytown sits on the line, so would be there anyway. Moving west, Bellshill station is also on the route. From Uddingston Junction (where the WCML is met) to Carfin, this line measures at 5.2 Miles. 14.8 4. Coatbridge Finally, the line to Coatbridge Central. At the time, Coatbridge Central was the only station on this 4.3 Mile branch - and as such a terminus - as the links to Cumbernauld and the North Clyde Line didn't yet exist. However, the Gartsherrie Container Terminal, located just north of the station, was present (which is why the line was electrified in 1981). Coatbridge, operationally, was fairly interesting, too. Depots & Yards As mention in the Branches section (under Coatbridge), Gartsherrie Container Terminal was present at the time. Mossend Euroterminal was not. As for depots: Motherwell TMD, Polmadie TMD and (Possibly) Shields Road Depot could be featured on the route. Spoiler: Depot Details Motherwell TMD Motherwell TMD typically stored diesel locomotives. In 1987, it was home to Class 08, Class 20 and Class 37 locomotives, and sometimes Class 26, Class 27, and Class 47s, too. 37s, in Scotland, mainly operated the West Highland Line, so could be seen here for AI reasons. Polmadie TMD Polmadie, just like today, primarily looks after InterCity stock. So, 87s, 47s, and a lot of coaches. Shields Road TMD Shields Road - featuring in it's modern form in Cathcart Circle - is home to Scotland's EMU fleet, which at the time was quickly growing with the Argyle Line and a number of electrification projects. The Trains The route would have a variety of trains, but, fortunately, we have a lot of them, in one way or another. This is my suggestion: InterCity Included: Class 87 Taken from JT's Preston - Blackpool Route, this would operate the InterCity services of the WCML. Layer: Class 47 An option for InterCity trains. Suburban The Glasgow suburban network, inadvertently, is the focus of this route as it has a lot more to offer in gameplay than the rest. Included: ST Class 303 The fully new train with this route: The Blue... er... Orange... Train. A stalwart of the Glasgow network for around 40 years, these have served virtually every route you can think of in Glasgow and, as such, are quite an obvious pick for this route. Between 1984 and 1990, the fleet was undergoing refurbishment, removing Asbestos, the window behind the cab (allowing passengers to see out the front), adding the Strathclyde Transport livery, and so forth. So, for this route, we could have two variants: Old Variant: BR Blue/Grey, Unrefurbished Oh, hello there Mr. 314! New Variant: ST Orange/Black, Refurbished Included: ST Class 314 Already existing in it's 2014/19 form with Cathcart Circle, the 314 was the stock of choice for Argyle Line operations at the time, in two liveries as well: Strathclyde Orange & Black: And BR Blue/Grey: Included/Layer: Class 101 A number of 2-car Class 101s were used in Scotland, on non-electrified lines. For lack of other options (this may be accurate, I can't say for sure), this would be useful to cover the Shotts Line section. Class 101 (ST Livery) - also found in BR Blue/Grey Other (Layers) Other layers are the aforementioned 08, 37, as well as other appropriate BR Stock. No existing ScotRail stock (other than, technically, the 314) would come here. Services InterCity This is quite self-explanatory; services from London, between Carlisle and Glasgow - some services to Carstairs (for Edinburgh/ECML) with stops in Lockerbie, Motherwell or occasionally elsewhere. The main thing of interest is Coatbridge: 1987 was the end of the station's InterCity services. These (some of which were gone by 1986) were: 2× London Euston -> Inverness 1× Perth -> Motherwell 1× Carlisle -> Perth So, you'd have three irregular services from Carlisle which avoid Glasgow - and one which is quite similar to a commuter hop (in-game, at least.) Push/Pull services would often split at Carstairs: half to Edinburgh; Half to Glasgow, but this is a declining practise at this point in time. Suburban It's a bit harder finding info on this. What I can gather: - Hamilton: 1/2 tph to Motherwell/Lanark (303/314) - Coatbridge: "Regular" (probably hourly) to Motherwell/Hamilton Line (Glasgow?) EMU Operated (303/314) - Shotts (Carfin)-: Appears to have been hourly. DMU Operated (101) - Lanark: 1tph, I think. - Carstairs: Not much, either. Some services to Edinburgh. Freight Services to the freight yard north of Coatbridge; plenty running up/down the WCML to England as well. Conclusion I know that "services" section wasn't the best ever but it's harder to find stuff for older operations. All i'm able to say for sure is: InterCity: Plenty, Suburban: Busy. But, I think that this is an excellent route to continue the WCML / Preston Network. It, using route hopping, would allow for a continued run from Glasgow to Preston (or even Blackpool/Ormskirk, if you so wish) and would bring Glasgow to the game in a new era. The 303 was a classic of the SPT Network - as was the 314 - and to have both, in one route, would be amazing. It's a long one, obviously, and it has a lot of stations. It is, a bit like Frankfurt-Köln, an effort for the annual release (or JT), but would be absolutely worth it. It's a high-density, 1980s suburban route with a branch line to Carlisle, if you want to look at it that way. That's all I have to say, though. Hopefully I'm not the only one who sees the value in this. Anyway, take care. Cheers.
Great suggestion, would love to see a backdated Scottish route and if was included in the next iteration of TSW would be even better. I would most likely spend most of my time on the Argyle line, but open to try attempting the Class 87.
Given what Just Trains have done with Blackpool Branches and what they are doing with Preston Carlisle, I really hope this will be their next project. My favourite EMUs all time are the 303s and 311s and would love to see them in TSW, along with the old platform 11a at Central, where I stood many a time over the years. True story but one of the reasons I never got TSC was because I felt the 303s in it were not good enough. That was enough to put me off. The Glasgow-Carlisle route in MSTS was a project of mine, taking it on from the original author and extending it across the suburban network. The best thing I have ever done in train sim games.
I’d love a route like this but, this time round I’d prefer it to be done in the late 80s/ early 90s and have the likes of the class 90, MK3 and DVT included. Would also be nice to have the class 91 included as a layer in its Intercity livery.
