West Somerset Railway - A Quietly Brilliant Route

I haven't really played much of this route an awful lot, however, since its remaster, I must say it's looking absolutely fantastic. Liam has done a fantastic job at bringing this route up to TSW 5 standards.

The use of unique and hand placed assets really does make it feel like a route which was made with a lot of passion and love for it. Particularly in large, open areas, such as fields, this has been modelled really well, with the use of mixed visuals and correct materials. It doesn't have that shiny looking terrain, with a copy and paste look to it, which other routes can suffer from.

Nothing about this route screams 'rushed, generic or lazily done', which I think certain other developers and routes could take a note or two, from this.

If you're up for a nice, relaxing and slow drive, I highly recommend this route. Some screenshots I took during a light engine move with the Class 33:

 

It's not even my style of gameplay (I prefer fast routes), but I am coming back to it more and more recently because it's so beautiful. An outstanding job by Liam!

 

We need more Liams around.

Haven't had a chance to play yet due to work, but I do plan on a few runs on my day off.

 

It certainly is a great route now, the only reason I don’t play it very often is the heritage railway speed limits as even with the 33, it’s basically a quick blip of power then shut off and coast or holding at around 33 or 50% on the climbs. It’s also a route crying out for some more steam traction, a couple of GWR locos and I believe they have the Somerset and Dorset 7F at the railway too.

 

Had a look last night. It is very well put together. Can't wait to see gwe.

 

WSR is one of my favourites right now just the care and attention that's gone into it is wonderful! As said the Scenery is beautiful now and the 33 especially is great fun! (Although it needs it's own route really!). It really has become a shining gem of a route up there with some of the best TSW offerings!

Although I do wonder, does anyone happen to know how you'd set the headcode boxes typically on the 33?

 

Loved this route even prior to the remasters - it’s one that kept me sane during Covid lockdown, have very fond memories of playing this on summer evenings in 2020 and it being a nice little escape.

Managed to visit WSR in real life a couple of years ago and felt like I’d been there before, was very clear how well it had been represented in the game.

 

as far as my opinion goes, the only thing that i wish they could've added are steam locomotives... like locomotives that are based at the WSR.

 

I did have this, but for whatever reason when I crossed over into TSW5 it didn't come up on my available DLCs. This a common issue with an easy fix?

 

You're in luck because they redid it in preparation for Thomas and Friends =-)

Seriously though it's really my relaxing chill "go to" route. The scenery is second to none and now the slightly better physics really make it the best of the lot. Yes there's the slower speed limits, but if you want to go faster no one is stopping you and the tracks can take it. It's more of a slower speed limit to reduce maintenance on the track and rolling stock since it's a museum essentially,

Having said that, as a "museum" the amount of stuff that will roll on it in a timetable is quite a bit above average too.
Steam

4F, Jubilee, 8F, Flying Scotsman

Diesel

08, 09, 20, 31, 33, 37, 40, 45, 47, 52

DMUs

101, 150

That’s 16 locos you can put on one route to actually run without having to go to free mode.

I might be missing one but that’s the ones I recall offhand.

(That’s also just listing the base models, not each livery difference, like the different Jubilee colors or different 47 liveries)

I like taking the huge number of locos down it because at that speed you get to "stop and smell the roses" so to speak. You appreciate the level of detail which you just can't do at 90 mph or faster.
The run time comes out about the same as if the line was much longer in the end. If' I'm spending 90 minutes on one or 90 minutes on the other, the slow route is just more rewarding to me since I can "sight see" along the way and it's not a stuttering blur whipping by.

It's not just that you can't see as much "blink and it's gone" because of the speed, but the game issues people report with HSTs doesn't really happen on the slower routes because the game/computer has a lot more tme to load assets in smoother. So it's a LOT more immersive to me.

 

I'm really enjoying it not fussed about the speed limits its just a nice run and the scenery is lovely Liam and the team have done a fantastic job i would like to see more heritage railways especially the Severn Valley being someone not far from Kidderminster

 

Agree with OP, and the suspension updates are really nice for the Class 33, etc.

The slow pace of the route means i don't fire it up all the time, but it's really nicely made.

Makes me even more excited for the GWE remaster.

 

It is a beautiful route for sure. If they ever do a new heritage railway route, I'd love to see more specific passenger actions - taking photos, walking to platform ends, carrying pints of beer, dressed for a day out rather than just a commute.

 

NYMR+Esk Valley is coming, not sure when though, probably will be a TSW6 DLC I imagine.

 

Question is, are these screenshots from the remaster itself? Any visual mods? Also, PC, or consoles? These look great. WSR is one of the routes that I don't own but planning on picking it up with the Thomas DLC bundle whenever that releases.

 

These are straight out of the route and it was played on PC, with graphics maxed out. I used the built-in photo mode feature to adjust the time and weather conditions, so everything you see here you’ll experience yourself when playing the route.

 

Have a great time playing WSR on Thursday then. Release date's just been announced on the socials

 

Agree here, wsr is very atmosperic, especially since the rework.

I prefere the sunny saturday morning to drive, or into a summer sunset. Timetable is also good with all the variety and substitution.

 

Did a short run this morning before bed in the 33. Only went between Minehead and Dunster before I fell asleep. But I found that, even in that short time, it was relaxing. A nice change of pace compared to the runs I usually do.

All the upgrades have made it worth it.

 

It is a lovely route, as I have said many times, which does stick out to be a shining star of DTG's route collection after Liam & Co's treatment of it. Spectacular!

 

Couldn't resist not sharing this one - another one from tonight's gameplay

 

PS5
The track is probably good, but the connection between the locomotive and the wagons was not fixed even in the last update, although I pointed out this problem a few months ago.... one example for all....

buffers go through each other

 

It should be available for you. I know on some platforms if you came to TSW5 from a previous version of TSW but not TSW4 you need to download the TSW4 versions of your DLC to then unlock the entitlement to the TSW5 versions. If that’s not the issue or it doesn’t work the best thing to do is contact Dovetail Games support and they can advise you on how to get it.

 

Initially, being a preserved railway with a 25mph limit to it, and the type of services it provided was not my cup of tea in the slightest...

However, since the 2 major updates it's received not only is this a scenic masterpiece, but the variety of services available really add to the charm of the route. Also, this is one of the routes you can really utilise the steam traction available in the game in a really engaging way.

Charming, beautifully scenic, and a real good route now! And the new suspension added to the locomotives on the route was a really nice bonus that only adds to the engagement.

This is a perfect example of what can be made in TSW with the right amount of love, time and attention to detail.

 

I'm on PS5 - I suspect the last time I played West Somerset was on TWS3 on my old PS4, which may complicate matters. I guess I'll download TSW4 and hope the DLC pops up!

 

In the end, I had to download TSW3, then 4 again - but finally got there in the end and can give the Somerset remaster a whirl. Phew! Thanks for the advice.

 

Do you mean, what was usually put there or how to physically change it?

 

I personally haven’t really played WSR too much but it is one I love. Speaking of which I must use it again… possibly with the new 153 and just explore the line. What’s everyone’s favourite section of the route?

 

A couple of new things I noticed:
Firstly the marina at Watchet is now fully explorable on foot so you can see all the boats and secondly at Minehead you can sometimes spot a cyclist riding down the path next to the tracks.

 

As it what to put in there as in the letters/numbers for the headcode.

 

AIUI, UK law restricts heritage railways to 25 mph. That's mostly because they're exempt from having to install modern safety systems and brakes.

 

Exactly. Which we can safely ignore in TSW =-)

 

Yes, in order to comply with the Light Railway Order. I think the only exception is the Great Central Railway at Loughborough who have dispensation to run some trains up to 45 MPH and private test trains at 60 MPH.

 

Believe East Lancashire Railway can run test trains up to 60mph also.

 

I haven’t run this route in years but given the glowing reviews here I’ll have to give it a go!

 

Have to give it to Liam, he really has turned West Somerset into one of TSW’s best. I would love to see DTG give other TSW2020 routes this sort of treatment going forward. Even if they take the LIRR 2.0 approach, adding some extra mileage and a new loco for a cost to fund additional remasters.

I say DTG above because Liam has given so much of his personal time to remastering these routes and I’m grateful to him for going out of his way to do them, but it’s unfair to expect him to do every route. Saying that, I am really looking forward to GWE Remastered

 

I agree it's looking fantastic i love driving the 33 with it's new suspension and the scenery is amazing we definitely need more remastered routes Liams work is brilliant im looking forward to GWE

 

BTW, whatever happened to the Class 33 Journey? It's an empty menu now.

 

I've always enjoyed the WSR and if you have a smaller loco like the 31 or 20 you can really get some thrash on the inclines.

 

I ran the Western t'other day after the updates. You can turn one of the engines off for extra thrash!

 

Is there normally a journey for it?
I didn't have the 33, so never saw it anyway.

 

Yeah I do that quite often. I even "flail" at times during the thrash lol.

 

Shhh me too!

 

25 mph isn’t my cup of tea but I can certainly appreciate what Liam did. The route looks fantastic now.

 

There's no train police in TSW.
Open the throttle if you want! ;-)

 

True!
Actually, anyone familiar with some of the old speed limits on that line? Maybe I can dig up an old map somewhere

 

The 33 is an underappreciated gem- whoever modeled it did an absolutely wonderful job. It perhaps didn't get the attention it deserved because it came at the end of a whole string of vintage BR diesel DLCs. EDIT: It also was possibly hampered by the fact it only runs on WSR, and not the BR Blue routes (NTP and TVL) released at around the same time