Hi all! I'd like to suggest a route I have been researching for a bit. It is actually two routes, connected at Weymouth station: Weymouth to Bournemouth via the South West Main Line (including the Hamworthy branch) Weymouth to Yeovil Pen Mill via the Heart of Wessex Line Set in 1993, in the final years of British Rail. South West Main Line (Weymouth - Bournemouth) Route length: 60 miles (96,5 km) Number of stations: 12 By 1993, the whole SWML had been electrified using the Southern Region's 750v DC third-rail system, allowing electric trains to run between Weymouth and London. Included in the route would be the Hamworthy Freight Branch, which diverges from the SWML at Hamworthy station and runs to Poole Docks. This is a 2,1 mile long freight only branch, as the name implies, and will add some additional freight services to the timetable. Heart of Wessex Line (Weymouth - Yeovil Pen Mill) Route length: 27,5 miles (44,3 km) Number of stations: 7 The Heart of Wessex Line diverges from the SWML just before Dorchester, serving Dorchester West station before running north towards Bristol. This line, by 1993, was an unelectrified and mostly single track railway, served by both DMU's and locomotive hauled trains. The rolling stock I've chosen for this route to be set in 1993. This was the final year of BR fully operating the railway system in the UK, with privatisation commencing from the next year. During 1993, sectorisation was in full swing, which is reflected in the rolling stock. British Rail Class 442 (5WES) Wessex Electric Type: EMU Number of cars: 5 Build date: 1987-1989 Livery: Network SouthEast The main unit for the SWML services in 1993 was the British Rail Class 442, also known as 5WES under the old Souther Railway naming system and nicknamed Wessex Electrics. These 5-car units replaced earlier diesel-hauled services, mainly cosisting of Class 438 or 4TC coaching stock with Class 33/1 diesel locomotives in push-pull operations. The Class 442s continued to serve in preservation, but have now sadly all been scrapped apart from a single driving trailer. British Rail Class 117 Type: DMU Number of cars: 3 Build date: 1959-1961 Livery: BR Regional Railways The Class 117s were a derivate of the extensive British Rail 'first generation' DMU family. Originally built for the western region, many continued to serve in the west of England throughout their careers. By 1993, they were old and outdated, but some would nevertheless remain in service until 2000!. They still served the Heart of Wessex line, alongside newer DMUs (Sprinters) and locomotive-hauled trains. I decided to include the Class 118 because 1. we need more first generation DMU's in TSW and 2. the Class 150/2 already exists as part of another route, and as such I chose to use that as a layer rather than include it with the route. As for the livery, I am not entirely sure whether Bristol-based 117s used NSE of Regional Railways livery, I went with RR for now, but if anyone has more info feel free to correct me British Rail Class 47/3 Type: diesel-electric locomotive Build date: 1962-1968 Livery: Railfreight triple-grey (with sector logos) The Class 47/3 was a variant of the very numerous Class 47, built with no train heating equipment which meant they were mainly used as freight locomotives. By 1993, they were serving the Railfreight sector of British Rail and most had been repainted in Railfreight's 'triple grey' livery. As for the wagons inlcuded, these would be mainly stone/aggregate wagons (as on the second picture) with other wagons layered on from other routes. Please share opinions and/or further suggestions for these routes with me!
I have considered putting it back to the '80s, but then I would prefer the route from Southampton Central to Weymouth, with 33/1s and 4TCs between Bournemouth and Weymouth and 4REPs and 4TCs between Bournemouth and Southampton. However, for the sake of variety and what I prefer personally, I decided to go for the 442 and include a section of the HoW line. It is unfortunate there is not a realistic way to get both, as the introduction of the 442s meant the immediate end of the 4TCs
