What about historical routes?

[transadelaide]

I hadn't thought about the military angle. Of the three major routes that could have been of great use during WWII in Australia, the most important one (north-south transcontinental) was only completed nine years ago!

There is something to be said for having an island when it comes to defence. Especially one with a great big desert in the middle.

[USRailFan]

The same could be said about the legion of different BR diesel locos. You would probably have many more loco-hauled services these days if there were a smaller number of classes, but all with large enough orders that they could be perfected and the improvements retro-fitted to the earlier batches.

Hmm... I don't know about that actually... For passenger services, these days acceleration and speed seems to be the key factors, and MUs are better suited there. Most development when it comes to passenger locos these days, seem to be for use with double-decker regional services - and due to the loading gauge, those wouldn't really be feasible in the UK... For freight traffic there's a different story, of course, but then again, there's an advantage there too in as much standardisation as possible, to save on training maintenance personell, having spares stores for umpteen different types, etc.

[stuart666]

I hadn't thought about the military angle. Of the three major routes that could have been of great use during WWII in Australia, the most important one (north-south transcontinental) was only completed nine years ago!

There is something to be said for having an island when it comes to defence. Especially one with a great big desert in the middle.

You would almost think Britain had planned it!

The Irony with the UK Rail system is that, in it not being planned, the pre Beeching railway was perhaps best suited of all for what Britain required in WW1 and WW2. As it went everywhere, it was easier to plan large troop movements without choke points, or avoid areas devastated by bombing. A pre internet superhighway if you will. Even duds such as the Midlands and Southwestern Junction Railway, which had failed to make a profit in peacetime, became incredibly useful in wartime. Ditto the Great Central, that became a massively useful line feeding all the American and UK Bomber bases up the East Coast. The lack of consideration over its construction in some ways was exactly what Britain needed as it turned out.
The UK Motorway network, planned as it was, is arguably massively less flexible. Thats why it jams all the time.

This map may give some people some ideas for routes. I find it absolutely fascinating,
http://www.systemed.net/atlas/

[johnrossetti]

I would love to see the Great Central Route, preferably with the Marylebone to Aylesbury section and a bit of London Transport too..

[maddog989]

As has been said, along with harder to obtain research material, older routes tend to consist of difficult trackwork, signalling the routes is difficult, and EVERY station has it's own yard pretty much. I've managed to lay track from salisbury to Exeter which is about 100miles, but laying the main track is easy in comparison to laying out the track work in the stations and yards, not to mention the numerous branchlines. Then you've got the scenery to add which requires it's own research as to the extent of towns, and key features. And everything else a route requires. If you like routebuilding though it's quite rewarding, but some parts aren't so fun.

[stuart666]

As has been said, along with harder to obtain research material, older routes tend to consist of difficult trackwork, signalling the routes is difficult, and EVERY station has it's own yard pretty much. I've managed to lay track from salisbury to Exeter which is about 100miles, but laying the main track is easy in comparison to laying out the track work in the stations and yards, not to mention the numerous branchlines. Then you've got the scenery to add which requires it's own research as to the extent of towns, and key features. And everything else a route requires. If you like routebuilding though it's quite rewarding, but some parts aren't so fun.

Yep, wore that T Shirt a few times. I cant deprecate modern routebuilders, many of them really have their work cut out, particularly on intercity routes (look at Wales and Borders for an example e in extensive routebuilding!) But in many cases, sometimes modern routes are easier than the days when historic routes slip junctions, reverse points, every station having a loading dock, cattle dock, goods shed, some even had their own engine shed for branch services. These are the things that take the time. The breadth of the infrastructure in the old days was breathtaking, a fact I think we often forget when most modern stations have stuff buried under car parks.

Fun when you get them done, decidedly NOT fun when you are doing it.

[whittaker]

Got to be the waverley route ,

ive had thoughts of doing a revamp of Newcastle to York 60s style to run long side my Blyth a Tyne project .

the buildings would be a bit of a task

joe whittaker

[malkymackay]

Got to be the waverley route ,

ive had thoughts of doing a revamp of Newcastle to York 60s style to run long side my Blyth a Tyne project .

the buildings would be a bit of a task

joe whittaker

If you ever get round to that Joe & want to see the 1951 signalling diagram for York, then PM me. I wouldn't know if Waterworks Crossing would be more of a nightmare than the diamonds at Newcastle.

[tnleeuw01]

Hello,

I'd love to see something a little older chosen from our long British railway heritage. Though I fully appreciate that the further back you go, the harder it is to find sources of information.

Although I'm not much of a steam fan, there are two or three periods that I would love to see:

Early 1940's WWII or 1914 WWI era's would be brilliant, though possibly a little melancholy. The only thing I could think of against it would be if someone thought it in some way disrespectful to those that gave their lives. Personally, I'd see it more of a homage and the railways played important roles in both eras. The idea of driving a troop train down to Portsmouth or Dorset is would be a powerful experience I feel. It certainly gave me pause for thought before I wrote that last sentence, especially at this time of remembrance.

I'd also love to see something a little further back, the 1880's. One of the things I loved about Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes was the occasional rail journey. I found the settings very evocative and now wonder what the rail network would have been like to dive during that period.

On the subject of available assets, I believe that the biggest hurdle would be people to populate the platforms, as far as I know, there are absolutely none available at this time.

Best regards,

Shad.

Hi,

Something old, yes I would love that too. Something 1880-1890ish, that would be fantastic. I've posted before that I would be really excited about that. British, continental Europe. Interbellum would be great too, in the alps with big steam and really early electrics. Interbellum period British route would also still give opportunity for scenarios set in the war, with the troup trains

--Tim