West Coast Main Line: Preston - Carlisle

So, for our final In-dev update of the series we are covering the feature locomotive In the route, the iconic and powerful Class 87/0 and the much-anticipated Mk.3a and NHA Coaches!

A little bit of background on the real-world Locomotive. The Class 87 was designed and bult by British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL) between 1973 and 1975 with 35 of the type being constructed. They were designed to run on the WCML hauling both Passenger and Freight services.

The Class was developed to give additional capacity to the Express Passenger Electric traction fleet. As well as allowing that to happen it gave an increase in performance over the earlier Class 86 machine. The Class 87 was British Rail’s flagship Electric powered locomotive until superseded by the Class 90, which itself was an improved version of the Class 87.

The Class 87 had an impressive 5,000 Horsepower (3,728 kW) to handle the demanding gradients on the northern half of the WCML, such as Shap summit. The top speed was 110 mph (180 km/h), which is the fastest speed allowed on the West Coast Main Line for trains that are unable to tilt.

The Just Trains Class 87/0 carries on the power and magnificence of the real thing in Train Sim World 5 having the iconic purposeful look, authentic controls and authentic performance captured by reference to real-world data, being carefully and expertly worked into the SimuGraph dynamics engine. All of the real fleets 34 Nameplates are included.

The Locomotive sound set is based on sounds captured from the real-world 87 and so you are assured of an authentic audio experience that ranges from the gentle, slightly non-rhythmic clacking of the external pressure relief valve to the iconic sound of the Tap Changer moving as you power up and down.

The 87 looks fantastic both inside and out due to the careful and painstaking creation of its BR Blue and BR Intercity Executive liveries. These liveries are not only authentic but have been painstakingly weathered to show the typical daily appearance these Locomotives had from the dust and dirt down the sides to the grease on the buffers to the bugs and muck on the front and rear sections. The accurate modelling and attention to every detail both externally on the underframe and bogies with the massive suspension springs to the look and feel of the cabs to the unique access to the corridor captures the 87/0 to a tee!

Internally the cab shows the effects of daily use from normal wear and tear along with more practical signs such as tape wound round the Power Controller and Master switch handles to aid with grip. In the cab you will see a set of operational Instruments, levers, buttons, indicator lights and controls to enable you to drive this advanced machine. It even has a working Bardic Lamp!

One of the unique features is the Machine room area. This is a corridor that runs between the two cab ends. In many DLC Locomotives you are unable to access this area, but in the Class 87/0 not only can you access the Machine room from both cab ends but you can walk from one cab end to the other, so no need to climb down and then up to change cab ends anymore, however aside from that feature you can actually access and operate the vast majority of the controls that live in the Machine Room!

In this area, the Heart of the Loco, there is a plethora of Circuit Breakers, Indicators and Switches that are not only animate and so move, but in operating them they actually have an affect of the operation of the locomotive, however, being fair, there are a very small number that do animate but have no affect. So, from the Auxiliary Compressor, via the Parking Brake, the Taillights up to the Fire Alarm system and to the large Traction Motor Main Circuit Breakers (MCB’s) and others, you have a lot of control.

It has been our clear aim to make the Class 87/0 as authentic as possible and one of these aims is the implementation of Neutral Sections operations. On West Coast Main Line: Preston-Carlise the Neutral Sections await your driving skill! As you approach each Neutral section you will need to wind down the Tap Changer to ensure that as you enter that section you have no power applied as if you do you face the real risk of Circuit Breakers tripping and coming to a halt. We appreciate that this procedure may be unfamiliar or new to some and so the procedure covering Neutral section operations is included in the extensive manual that comes with the route. But don’t worry! We have included an Introduction to the Class 87/0 that covers the basic operations in the TSW5 Training Centre.

The Class 87/0 is featured in two of the included Scenarios and features extensively in the included authentic and intensive 24-Hour Timetable that covers both Passenger and Freight operations.

One of the Coaches that the 87/0 will be pulling is the Mk.1 NHA Guards and Parcels van which includes the Guards Compartment which is located in the central area and is flanked by an open area at either end where the parcels would be stored. Also housed here are the Guards controls. The NHA also comes with audio announcements. The Passenger Coaches are the Mk.3a FO, RFB and TSO.

All the coaches, including the NHA Guards and Parcels van and the RFB Restaurant Car come with interiors with different coloured fabrics and furnishings between the liveries. The Coaches are supplied in two liveries which are Inter-City Executive and BR Blue-Grey. An authentic sound set recorded from the real-world stock adds to the authenticity.

Driving the Class 87/0 whilst pulling a set of mixed coaches is much more of a ‘hands on’, ‘seat of your pants’ experience than a modern touchscreen near fully automatic locomotive one. Are you up for the challenge?

Here's a privileged first-look video showing off the Class 87 and a set of screenshots that should help to whet the appetite further.
 

Welcome to the next Development update for our WCML: Preston - Carlisle route.

This update will showcase all of the other rolling stock included with the Preston-Carlisle route, outside of the Class 87, Mk3’s and Mk1 NHA. We’ve taken time to add further additions to the Class 47/4 fleet to allow for more options when driving or passing one of these locomotives along the route, included are a number of extra variants and liveries. The Class 101 has seen a considerable amount of work from Ed Fisk to bring it more into line with newer TSW rolling stock. The venerable Class 08 shunter has also seen further updates including more livery variants that were seen around Carlisle at the time the route is set. The BBA steel wagon also features to provide further freight variety as steel trains between Wales and Scotland were a regular sight on the WCML north of Preston during the 1980’s. In addition to improved existing rolling stock we have also included a set of FFA and FGA container wagons to provide extra work for the Class 87’s outside of the express passenger turns.

Class 08

As seen in Blackpool Branches the Class 08 provides a key part of any BR Era route. Their ability to move coaching stock and wagons around with ease makes them perfect for station pilot duties. At Preston you will once again find that the Class 08 is seen shuffling parcels stock throughout the night, but it also now gains a couple of daytime duties. This includes the complex operation of shunting involving 1S45 and 1P22. 1S45 ran as the 07:50 from Manchester Victoria whilst 1P22 operated as the 07:45 ex Liverpool, these services both arrived at Preston, diesel hauled and would see their locomotives removed. Following this the station pilot class 08 would then couple up and join the two trains together, thus forming a single rake of coaches up to Carstairs, where the train once again split with a section for Glasgow and the other, for Edinburgh. We have recreated this shunt in game and it will certainly keep you on your toes!

Away from Preston the Class 08 features heavily at Carlisle with both a north and south end station pilot in action, the North end pilot takes care of shunt releases for services arriving into the bay platforms from Glasgow, whilst the south end pilot mainly sees use during the night. Upperby Depot features an 08 for shunting of coaching stock and Kingmoor sees a number of the class in use on a variety of trip workings into Carlisle itself. We’ve included a number of minor variations of the BR Blue livery in this pack, these include differences such as rod colouring, bufferbeam paint and a version with a red solebar.

Class 47/4 

The Class 47/4 has seen further minor improvements, but from a visual perspective includes new livery variations and over twenty extra nameplates to ensure you continue to see a number of different locomotives across the route, just like real life! Whilst all the original Blackpool Branches 47’s are included (BR Corporate Blue, BR Large Logo Blue and Intercity Executive), you will see new liveries and variations as follows. 47520 and 47562 ‘Sir William Burrell’ feature in standard BR Corporate Blue with black headcode boxes, the latter also displays a small “Scottie Dog” decal above it’s nameplate, a signature of Eastfield TMD in Glasgow, where 47562 was based during this era. Intercity ScotRail is a variation of the Intercity Executive livery featured in Blackpool Branches with a number of changes, chiefly the BR era ScotRail decal on the bodyside, but also split colour headcode boxes. A number of the IC ScotRail locomotives also feature snow ploughs and these appear on the correct engines seen carrying these in photos during 1986/7. Additionally further decals have been applied such as Scottie Dogs above nameplates.

Finally we have also made an additional variant of the BR Large Logo Blue Livery. This one carries black headcode boxes. Depending on what locomotive you spawn (or pass in timetable mode) you might see a plain black headcode box Large Logo loco, such as 47457 ‘Ben Line’ or you may find a surprise, such as 47644 ‘The Permanent Way Institution’ featuring it’s large red nameplate, large Scottie Dog decal and snow ploughs, setting it aside nicely from a standard Blue 47/4! Finally we have also added Inverness allocated ‘Highland Rail’ variants of the 47/4 in large logo livery. We’ve decided to recreate the Scottish based locomotives on the basis that they regularly strayed away from the Central Belt (in the case of Eastfield) but also from Inverness meaning that you’ll never be sure what might “drop” onto any of the 47 hauled services across the route!

Class 101

The Class 101 has seen a number of updates to bring it more in line with TSW 5 content, this of course includes suspension but also a raft of further visual improvements to warrant its inclusion in the product. This includes enhanced exhaust effects, you’ll now see that typical blue haze on idle and a cloud of exhaust behind as you accelerate through the gears. Changes to the interior have taken place, new lighting makes the passenger interior look much more in keeping with current TSW content whilst changes have also taken place to the cab, including the removal of the wooden window surrounds evident on the Northern Transpennine version of the unit. The passenger interior itself has been retextured to give it a subtly different and more accurate feel, whilst also improving the visuals. The wiper bug that saw strange strobe like colours on the front end at night has been fixed and new destination blinds specific to the WCML Preston-Carlisle route now feature. Summary of changes to the Class 101 are as follows:

• Full Pneumatic simulation for gears, throttle and final drives as well as other revisions to vacuum brake system to bring it closer to reality
• Some new audio including new vacuum brake sounds
• Deadman’s system implemented
• Interior texture improvements
• Minor exterior texture changes
• Roller blinds appropriate for the Preston-Carlisle route (included Blackpool N/S)
• Guard to driver buzzer on departure • Guard mode
• AWS Change end and Isolation implemented (Previously used one lever instead of two)
• New exhaust effects
 

Other Coaching stock: The Mk1 BG and Mk2 FK/TSO feature once again, changes on these are less notable but they provide an important part of consists across the route. The Mk1 NHA (a variant of a BG) will be discussed in our next in dev entry as this has seen more considerable work consistent with real life modifications.

BBA Steel Carrier: The BBA steel carrier is included to allow more than one variation of freight traffic for Class 87 lovers. Whilst the Mk3’s will see you racing across the landscape at 110mph, the BBA will have you lumbering around with over 1000 tons on the drawbar, making for an entirely different challenge when using the tap changer to gain momentum!

FFA/FGA Freightliner Container flat: The FFA/FGA container wagons run in sets, these are randomised in our consists meaning you may see multiple “inner” FFA wagons before you see one of the “outer” FGA wagons, providing a more varied and interesting scene in timetable mode. We have included both 20ft and 40ft container versions in various colours, whilst licensed containers in the original “Freightliner” red and white livery are also seen. Again these all spawn in random formations so you’ll never see the same Freightliner train twice! Aside from their looks, these wagons also make for a challenging drive, much like the BBA, except the FFA/FGA can travel at speeds up to 75mph! This proves to be a handful with services once again weighing upward of 1000 tons in some cases, whilst you’ll find a couple of the Freightliner trains feature two Class 87’s for motive power, just as they did in real life. Try driving one of these trains in heavy snow and master the wheel slip, it really is a totally different experience to the passenger services!

That's that for now. We’ll aim to be back in a couple of weeks for a look at the Class 87, Mk3 coaches and Mk1 NHA!

Welcome to the latest In Development entry, this one focuses on Carlisle and surrounding areas. – Carlisle Region

Carlisle is a famous railway city, the meeting point of four lines in the 1980’s it is a constant hive of activity no matter what time of day or night you visit!

Carlisle Citadel station and the surrounding area will be the key hub on our West Coast Main Line: Preston to Carlisle route, should you choose to spend some time trainspotting here you’re bound to see a wide variety of movement and traction!

Citadel station itself features three through platforms, making it something of a bottleneck in busier periods, whilst it also features three south end and two north end bay platforms. The south end bays provide terminating points for trains from the Cumbrian Coast, Newcastle and the Settle to Carlisle line, though that particular route saw less than five trains a day during the 1980s! At the north end of Citadel station you will find two north facing bay platforms, these are used by trains from Glasgow, most of which will have travelled via the route through Dumfries. You’ll find that a Class 08 pilot is present here to assist with “shunt releasing” inbound trains so that their locomotive can return the service northwards.

Outside the station with it’s impressive overall roof you will find the Citadel itself and many of the shops and streets surrounding have been faithfully recreated by our team to give Carlisle a realistic feel.

Moving away from Carlisle city centre to the north we find Kingmoor Traction Maintenance Depot and marshalling yard. The depot is a core area of the route where locomotives are sourced throughout the day for a variety of services. In 1986 the depot was in its final year of BR use and was also utilised by empty stock trains from Carlisle, which would arrive in service from London Euston (for example) before running up to Kingmoor to run round and then in some cases return back to Upperby Depot for stabling! A bizarre series of moves, all taken from the working timetable which is sure to keep you entertained in the area!

Aside from the TMD you will find the marshalling yard, this huge complex located about ½ mile north of the depot was a source of much freight in the 1980s, from limestone trains to Hardendale quarry to the vast array of trip workings, which we have represented in our route. You’ll find these Class 08 hauled services take you to a number of locations across Carlisle including London Road Coal Concentration Depot, Currock Wagon Works, Upperby Cement Terminal and Petteril Bridge Oil Terminal. The trip workings provide a fantastic challenge, particularly when you have a fully loaded rake of TEA tankers or PCA cement wagons in tow!

To the south of Carlisle station you will find the signal box, this controls movements as far south as Carnforth and north towards the end of our route at Kingmoor, as well as the myriad of signals to the south of Citadel station. A complex network of lines encompasses the south side of the City with London Road Coal Concentration Depot and Petteril Bridge Oil Terminal in close proximity alongside the S&C and Newcastle lines, whilst Upperby Cement Terminal dominates the lineside. Aside from this, Currock Wagon Repair Depot is featured whilst Rome Street Goods sidings house the Metal Box Factory. This is located along what was formerly Carlisle avoiding line, this having closed in May 1984 following a derailment on the Caldew River Bridge, thus forcing all freight trains through Citadel station instead. You can still see clear signs of this line in our 1986 based route. Another interesting location to the south of Citadel station is Upperby Depot. This provided a stabling point for both electric and diesel traction in Carlisle city, but was more notably used for the holding of carriages for both services on the WCML and Settle to Carlisle lines. You’ll be able to form services of empty stock here ready for movement Into Carlisle. This includes the accurate and interesting propelling movements which used to take place!

A high number of landmarks have been extensively recreated by our custom asset team, these include, among others, Carlisle Cathedral, Carlisle Castle, Dixon’s Chimney and Mill, London Road Goods Depot, BT Carlisle Harraby Mast and the Milton Hotel overlooking Upperby. This wide variety of buildings provide a fantastic backdrop to a truly historic and vibrant railway city. We are sure you won’t tire of things to do in or around Carlisle. Whether its shuttling around in the Class 08 or preparing to charge south at the helm of the Class 87, there are always things to do!

That’s it for now. Enjoy these latest screenshots featuring Carlisle and the surrounding area, each screenshot is captioned to offer further detail and information.

Welcome to this special Dev Entry where we take you back to the area where it all began when we released our first ever teaser image for the route which was of a non-descript location on the Morecambe Branch. Many of the community managed to work the location out which really was impressive to see! It’s amazing that the knowledge in the community always shines through!

This 2½ mile section of route begins its journey at Morecambe North & Hest Bank Junctions on a triangular style arrangement which is located just north of Lancaster Station on the Main West Coast Main Line. You then travel through the suburbs of Bare Lane where the first intermediate station resides. A fully explorable London Midland & Scottish Railway Company Type 11c signal box at the station waits there for you to enjoy whilst watching stopping services trundle by.

Upon leaving the station you will continue to move further through the local suburbs of Morecambe. Players who own our Blackpool Branches Route will notice a similar feel here as the Blackpool South Branch offered with the roads running along both sides of the line with housing along the way. This is evident in many of these screenshots.

As you move further towards Morecambe Promenade Station you will reach the junction where the line from Heysham Port joins. Please note that the Heysham Branch itself is not provided in this route. The line from Heysham Port was not serviced by passenger trains during the era our route is set in.

Upon arriving at Morecambe Promenade, you are greeted by another explorable signal box. This is a Midland Railway Company Type 4b design and it is the largest of the interior explorable Signal boxes. Another feature similar to one shown in Blackpool Branches, is the Frontierland Theme Park. You will notice the Ferris wheel and rollercoaster dominating the view as you arrive on the left side of the station.

The Morecambe Promenade Station was built by the Midland Railway Company as the terminus of the North Western Railway which came from Skipton and first opened to passengers in 1907. This line was known as the “Little” North Western Railway to help avoid confusion over the similarly named London and North Western Railway. Over time the scene has changed here. It once hosted the overhead railway that ran between Lancaster Castle and Green Ayre and if you look carefully you might just find a couple of the remains of the Overhead Stanchions.

An explorable area has also been provided around the Seafront of Morecambe. You will find features such as: views across the Morecambe Bay, a Lighthouse, Central Pier, The Midland Hotel and more! Visiting Morecambe can be an illuminating experience! This interesting branch features regional stopping and shuttle services from locations such as Leeds, Lancaster, York and Barrow.

Finally, an interesting fact for you! The station featured in this route is no longer in use as a rail terminus and is now a music venue! The current day station was opened in 1994 and is located 440 yards (402m) further West!

That’s it for now. We hope you’ve enjoyed this look at the Morecambe Branch. More dev entries to follow soon.

Welcome to the next Development Update covering our West Coast Main Line: Preston - Carlisle route for TSW 5.

In this route we’ve authentically recreated the 1986/1987 timetable using the correct working timetable and photographs of said services to provide as realistic an experience as possible, including formations and train lengths accurate as close as possible to that of the real trains.

Electric dreams

Most of the passenger services on the Preston – Carlisle section of the West Coast Mainline were formed by electric locomotives which were either on the London to Scotland Expresses or the Cross Country diagrams which came from all around England and Wales going onwards to Scotland. The trains from London Euston used the more modern Mk3a coaching stock as they were capable of higher speeds (110mph when combined with a Class 87 and Mk1 NHA) whereas the Cross Country diagrams instead used Mk2’s which were limited to 100mph maximum.

Chop and change

Both Carlisle and Preston feature numerous locomotive changes throughout the day from diesel to electric traction and vice versa with some diagrams requiring the station pilot(s) to help facilitate a locomotive change.  All locomotive changes only require the included class 47 but for added variety if the player owns any of the below packs these locomotives will also be able to spawn:  

Northern TransPennine: Manchester - Leeds Route Add-On (Class 45/1)
BR Heavy Freight Pack Add-On (Class 40) B
BR Class 31 Loco Add-On.  

Don’t trip!

Carlisle was well known for its trip workings between the multiple industries and Carlisle Kingmoor Marshalling Yard. For players who own the appropriate wagons you will be able to shunt to your hearts delight taking wagons from Kingmoor Yard to various locations around Carlisle using the Class 08 shunter. For players to be able to drive these diagrams you will require all of these addons:  

Tees Valley Line: Darlington - Saltburn-by-the-Sea Route
West Cornwall Local: Penzance - St Austell & St Ives Route
Spirit of Steam: Liverpool Lime Street - Crewe Route
Northern TransPennine: Manchester - Leeds Route
Blackpool Branches: Preston - Blackpool & Ormskirk Route
BR Heavy Freight Pack
BR Class 31 Loco 
BR Class 20 Loco   

Gearing up

The only station on this route which sees no DMU services is Penrith as it is only served by Intercity and Cross Country traffic but the rest of the route is a hive of activity for them. From Preston you will be able to drive as far north as Carnforth with DMU’s, whilst Lancaster is a constant hive of activity with the Class 142 seen regularly alongside the Class 101 on Leeds and Morecambe workings.  All DMU diagrams are playable by the player without any additional stock but to be able to use the Class 142 you will require:

Blackpool Branches: Preston - Blackpool & Ormskirk Route

Heavy Loads

At night and during quieter periods the West Coast Main Line carried a high quantity of non-passenger traffic which varied from Intermodal and mail trains to heavy steel and limestone trains which provide a real challenge climbing up the gradient to Shap. Intermodal and trains hauling steel wagons are included in the route but for other services like Limestone, Coal and Speedlink you will require these addons to get the full experience:  

Tees Valley Line: Darlington - Saltburn-by-the-Sea Route
West Cornwall Local: Penzance - St Austell & St Ives Route
Northern TransPennine: Manchester - Leeds Route
Blackpool Branches: Preston - Blackpool & Ormskirk Route
BR Heavy Freight Pack
BR Class 31 Loco
BR Class 20 Loco 

Getting steamy

To enhance the experience even further we’ve added several railtours and additional excursions running on the route featuring a variety of traction including both steam and diesel. One such highlight includes the Mid-Day Scot which is hauled by an LMS Jubilee from Preston to Carlisle which is a challenge, especially in the wet.

AI Services

The route features a ton of AI only services along the route from the DMU’s going to and from Blackpool to the locomotive hauled diagrams coming into the bay platforms at Carlisle. These diagrams needed to be shunt released by the station pilot so the train loco could change ends.

Below is a timelapse video set at around 1AM showing just how much went on during the night with locomotive changes, coach swapping and general shunting of locomotives. The screenshots below are all taken from various services included in the timetable. 

We hope you've enjoyed that lengthy update. Look out for the next one, in a couple of weeks or so.



Screenshots taken from various services within the timetable:

Welcome to our next In-Dev entry for West Coast Main Line: Preston – Carlisle. This one features some of the stations you can explore on the route by way of text below and a set of screenshots from each of the stations.

Preston Station: Preston station is approximately half-way between London Euston and Glasgow Central Stations. The current station in the centre of the city was built in 1880 and extended in 1903 and again in 1913, at which time it had fifteen platforms. By 1986 this had reduced to eight operational platforms but by no means did this make Preston a quieter station. In 1986, the year our route is set in, Preston featured six through platforms, with two south facing bays, which were used by trains to Ormskirk and Colne, as well as for shunting of parcels coaches. Platform Seven in this era was only used by freight trains and was a glorified goods loop with trains often stopping to change crews, but sometimes they stayed for longer periods as they waited for a path to join the busy West Coast Main Line. On the west side of Preston station is the Mail Platform which sees little activity in the middle of the day but come the night it is a hive of activity with a stream of mail trains arriving and departing in both directions. Our Class 08 shunter is kept busy during the overnight period as coaches are added and removed from trains at regular intervals, giving a totally different feel to the station. No matter what time of day you are at Preston you will find something going on, whether it’s a train heading towards the Fylde Coast, a local stopper service waiting to head out of the bay platforms for Colne or Ormskirk, an Express passenger service heading north to Scotland or South to London or even a heavy freight train. You’ll never find yourself waiting more than a couple of minutes for activity at this location.

Lancaster Station: Lancaster’s main railway station was opened on its present site on 21st September 1846. Originally built as the southern terminus of the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway, an extension, southwards was constructed between 1852 and 1855. These fine buildings survive in use in the era that the route is set in. This was the city’s second station as the Lancaster and Preston Junction Railway built a Terminus in 1840 on Penny Street. The city also had a third station at Green Ayre which had a direct line to Morecambe Station. You will have plenty to see at this busy station throughout the day with Stopping Express Trains and Local DMU services calling here. You will also find Express Services speeding along the through lines that are not booked to stop here and if that was not enough a variety of mail and freight services too.

Carnforth Station: Carnforth Station was opened on 22nd September 1846 by The Lancaster and Carlisle Railway. It originally had a single platform. It became a junction on 6th June 1857, when the Ulverston and Lancaster Railway arrived from the north-west. The station was enlarged during the 1870s and in 1880 it began receiving trains from the Midland Railway, following the commissioning of a south-to-east direct curve to the Furness and Midland Joint Railway, creating the triangular junction featured in the route. The Furness Railway erected a distinctive stone-built signal box to the north west of the station in 1882 which saw use through until 1903. This still survives to the present day and is Grade II listed. In May 1970 the West Coast Main Line platforms were closed following the withdrawal of local stopping passenger services between Lancaster and Carlisle two years earlier. The platform walls facing the fast lines were demolished, cut back and fenced off before the commissioning of 25kV overhead electrification took place in 1974. These actions made Carnforth a secondary line station and despite it being situated on the main line West Coast Main Line services no longer stop here, however you can still find plenty of local stopping services to drive to and from this location on the route from places such as Barrow in Furness and Leeds.

Oxenholme Station: Oxenholme Station, formerly named Kendal Junction was constructed as part of The Lancaster and Carlisle Railway in July 1847 and now forms part of the West Coast Main Line from London to Glasgow. This station has three platforms. Two for the main line north and south and the other for services two and from Windermere Station. At this station you will see a variety of Stopping Express and Non-Stop Express services pass through during the day. Freight is a common sight too as it clatters along. This station is a popular interchange with many visitors changing to services to the destination of Lake Windermere & Bowness and further afield.

Penrith Station: Penrith Station opened on 17th December 1846 is now a Grade II listed building. Although the station is now relatively quiet at one time it served as a terminus for the Cockermouth, Keswick and Penrith Railway along with the North-Eastern Railways Eden Valley Branch. In the period that our route is set in you will find a variety of high-speed services which stop or run straight through along with the various parcels and general freight services that frequent the station. With an elevated curve running through the station this makes it quite the location for photo mode fans.

Carlisle Station: Carlisle Citadel Station has a rich and vibrant history, so much so that instead of trying to cram It all in here it will be featured in great detail in a future in-dev entry, however we have included some screens shots here just to whet the appetite.

We will also be covering Morecambe Branch Stations in a future In-Dev entry. Look out for that one!

 

Welcome to the first of our Development Updates, focusing on our first TSW 5 route, West Coast Main Line: Preston – Carlisle.

All the exciting product details can be found above but this first entry is simply designed to give you a flavour of what to expect and offers a good first-look at various areas of the route. Please remember, all aspects of these images show work that is In-Development and may not be final.

If you click on any image, you'll get a closer and more detailed view.

We hope this introductory Dev update has served to whet your appetite. Look out for regular updates as we progress further.