Train Sim World: Great Western Express, arriving August 24th on Steam for Windows PC, now available to pre-order!

The Great Western Main Line, one of Britain’s oldest and busiest railways, the birthplace of British high-speed travel, is making its way to Train Sim World!

What is known today as the Great Western Main Line was built by the famed engineer, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, between 1835 and 1841 in a grand effort to connect London to the Southwest of England. The “Great Western Railway” was opened in stages, the first three of which connected the line from Paddington, London to Reading, Berkshire, via the Thames Valley. For the first few decades of the Great Western Railway’s life, it was built to Brunel’s ingenious yet controversial 7ft Broad Gauge track, however, despite the benefits this had over “Standard Gauge”, the entire GWR would eventually be re-laid after Brunel’s passing.

The Great Western Railway was quickly established as a major link for both businesses and residents, in and outside the capital, all thanks to Brunel’s hard work. The line became known as Brunel’s Billiard Table, as it was his goal to lay a railway that was as flat as possible, all while connecting principal towns. It was this goal that saw the cutting of 1.4 Miles of hillside between London and Reading, an impressive feat for the time. As years went by, the GWR expanded drastically, and this included the quadrupling of the GWML.

Ever since the Churchward days of locomotives, the GWR has always been home to unique and pioneering steam and later diesel power. But perhaps most notably in recent decades, the Great Western Main Line has been the definition of high-speed with the InterCity 125 ‘High Speed Train’, a British icon in and of itself that has sped passengers between London and the west at 125mph, with ease.

Today, the Great Western Main Line is appropriately operated by “Great Western Railway”, a rebrand of the former First Great Western, and GWR provide both inter-city and local commuter services, the former with the iconic HST, and the latter with Networker Turbo DMUs such as the BR Class 166, which were ordered by Network Southeast to replace ageing 1st generation stock. In recent years, the GWML has been undergoing major modifications, including electrification, and it is the largest engineering project on the former GWR since Brunel built it over 175 years ago.

Today, we’re opening the doors for you to pre-order, click the image below to get your ticket to be the first to play when it goes live on August 24th.

Today, we have released an update for the Class 375 Southeastern Livery Pack Add-on, and in doing so, introduced a plethora of reskins and variations to make your Kentish experience the best it can be!

Originally, the Class 375 Southeastern Livery Pack Add-on consisted of only a direct reskin of the London-Faversham Class 375 into the new Dark Blue livery, but today’s update has changed that spectacularly, see below…

Liveries

Class 375/3, Class 375/6, Class 375/7

• Southeastern Dark Blue (original version updated to match Chatham Main Line version)
• Southeastern Grey Stripe with Yellow Doors
• Southeastern No Stripe with Yellow Doors
• Southeastern No Stripe with Blue Doors
• Southeastern Blue Stripe with Blue Doors
• Southeastern No Stripe with Royal Blue Doors – 375610 Only – Named Royal Tunbridge Wells
• Southeastern Gold Stripe with Royal Blue Doors – 375610 Only – Named Royal Tunbridge Wells

Class 375/8 and 375/9

• Southeastern Dark Blue *

* Notes – no custom made passenger view for the 375/8 and 375/9 as these are extra.

Named Variants – SE Grey Stripe / SE No Stripe + Yellow

• 375304 Medway Valley Line 1856 – 2006
• 375608 Bromley Travelwise
• 375611 Dr. William Harvey
• 375619 Driver John Neve
• 375623 Hospice in the Weald
• 375624 White Cliffs Country
• 375701 Kent Air Ambulance Explorer
• 375703 Dickens Traveller

Named Variants – SE Dark Blue

• 375619 Driver John Neve
• 375623 Hospice in the Weald
• 375701 Kent Air Ambulance Explorer
• 375710 Rochester Castle
• 375714 Rochester Cathedral

Other notes

• 3 Different Textured Passenger views (one as original Chatham Main Line version)
• Consists that should appear on Various routes – including Chatham Main Line, London to Faversham, 2012/2016 London Victoria & St Pancras to Faversham & Sheerness Workshop Routes

If you own the Class 375 Southeastern Livery Pack Add-on, the update will download automatically from Steam. If you have any problems/queries with regard to the update, leave a comment below or submit a ticket to our support site where our Support Team will be ready to assist.

If you do not yet own the Class 375 Southeastern Livery Pack Add-on, why not Pick it up now and explore the many liveries now included! Note; you must own the London-Faversham route before you will be able to use this add-on.

The Class 375 Southeastern Livery Pack Add-on update will be approximately 140 MB in size.

No Updated Content? Steam File Verify

In the unlikely event that Steam fails to update the Add-Ons listed in the article, you’ll need to perform a file verify and ensure Steam provisions your installation properly. Follow the instructions listed at this link to perform a file verify to reset your installation to default. Note that this process can take some time to complete and, if you have a high number of Add-Ons, we’d recommend you do this overnight.

If you find that after the file verify has completed, you are confident you have not received the update, please contact our Support Team by submitting a ticket to our support site where someone will assist you directly ■

In response to your important feedback on a variety of add-ons available for Train Simulator 2017, we have today released an update for the Chatham Main Line: London – Gillingham route.

Here’s a list of what has been addressed:

• Fixed Rochester platform issues
• Adjusted the English manual
• Adjusted the Class 375 nameboard colouring to more closely match real life
• Fixed numbering on the Southern Class 377 so that it shows as black instead of blue/white
• Fixed, Southern and Ex-Southern variants now have a Southern cab instead of Southeastern
• Fixed Southern interior seating texture
• Fixed no power sounds when units were running under 3rd rail (with pantograph on HUD turned off)
• Added Southern Class 377/1 variant with different light clusters – to cover 377140 – 377164

If you own the Chatham Main Line, the update will download automatically from Steam. If you have any problems/queries with regard to the update, leave a comment below or submit a ticket to our support site where our Support Team will be ready to assist.

If you do not yet own the Chatham Main Line, why not? It’s 50% off right now! Pick it up and experience the classic Kentish countryside!

The Chatham Main Line update will be approximately 500 MB in size.

No Updated Content? Steam File Verify

In the unlikely event that Steam fails to update the Add-Ons listed in the article, you’ll need to perform a file verify and ensure Steam provisions your installation properly. Follow the instructions listed at this link to perform a file verify to reset your installation to default. Note that this process can take some time to complete and, if you have a high number of Add-Ons, we’d recommend you do this overnight.

If you find that after the file verify has completed, you are confident you have not received the update, please contact our Support Team by submitting a ticket to our support site where someone will assist you directly ■

CSX freight, Amtrak passenger, and Miami commuter operations are all featured in this new scenario pack!

Train Simulator’s Miami – West Palm Beach route is a contemporary rail route along America’s scenic Atlantic coast and is home to Amtrak intercity passenger trains, CSX freight operations, and Miami-area commuter services. And now, Miami – West Palm Beach Scenario Pack 01 brings the full diversity and challenges of busy south Florida railroading to vibrant life!

The latest release in partner programme member High Iron Simulations popular series of scenario packs, the new Miami – West Palm Beach Scenario Pack 01 features ten new career scenarios based upon authentic railroad operations that will put you at the throttle of CSX freights, Amtrak intercity streamliners, and South Florida commuter trains.

Miami – West Palm Beach Scenario Pack 01 brings you the opportunity to take the controls of Amtrak’s famed long-distance “silver sisters” – the Silver Meteor and Silver Star; you’ll be called to duty for CSX manifest freight, stone train, local, and switching duties; and you’ll handle demanding Miami-area “push-pull” commuter assignments.

The realistic career scenarios of Miami – West Palm Beach Scenario Pack 01 will take you from end-to-end (Mangonia Park to Miami’s Airport Station) on the multi-track Miami – West Palm Beach route, and put you at the controls of seven types of locomotives and equipment, including Amtrak’s stylish P42DC “Genesis” diesel; powerful CSX Dash 8-40CW, AC6000CW, SD80MAC, and SD40-2 freight locomotives; and the unique EMD/Morrison-Knudsen F40PHL-2 and bi-level Bombardier cab cars used in bustling South Florida commuter operations.

In Miami – West Palm Beach Scenario Pack 01 and its ten new career scenarios, more than eight hours of challenging and diverse railroading, based upon actual operations, await you – and with the screenshots below, let’s take a look at the Amtrak passenger, CSX freight, and Miami area commuter railroading that is brought to life in Miami – West Palm Beach Scenario Pack 01, now available at the Steam Store!  – Gary Dolzall ■

Get ready to jump on Great Western footplates and go to work in the heart of Wiltshire, as Just Trains’ challenging and scenic Malmesbury Branch is available now!

Set in the steamy 1950s, the Malmesbury Branch route for Train Simulator recreates the sedate trundle north from Little Somerford station, of the South Wales Main Line, up to the historic market town of Malmesbury. As simple as it may seem, the gradients make mastering the Wiltshire countryside no easy task, and making sure you’re on time too, as to not disrupt the busy main line, makes for a thrilling and immersive journey, no matter what your duty!

The locomotives at hand, GWR’s iconic Pannier Tank and reliable Grange Class, are perfectly suited to the day-to-day challenges of the Malmesbury Branch; Light freight, heavy freight, passenger, mixed train. What better way is there to recount the classic steam era than by mastering the workhorses of the GWR?

To get you up to speed, 5 Career scenarios will have you run up and down the Malmesbury Branch, and even the disused line to Great Somerford, in varying weather conditions, be careful not to slip in the snow! As you approach Little Somerford, both you and your passengers have the joy of watching the express trains run by, but don’t get too distracted, you won’t want to stall on the junction. And, with Quick Drive compatibility, you can take whichever GWR locomotive you desire on a little Malmesbury trip!

From Partner Programme developer, Just Trains, the Wiltshire ‘Wonder’, the Somerford ‘Spectacular’, the ‘Magical’ Malmesbury Branch is available now for Train Simulator!

The Malmesbury Branch for Train Simulator includes:

• 4.5 Mile long route from Malmesbury to Little Somerford and Great Somerford
• GWR 6800 Grange Class
• GWR 5700 ‘Pannier Tank’ Class
• GWR 4073 Castle, 6959 Modified Hall & 6000 King Class (AI Only)
• BR Centenary Coaches
• Collett “Sunshine” Coaches
• 3,5 & 7 Plank Wagons
• Fish, Milk & Parcels and GW Standard Vans
• Milk Wagon
• Diagram AA3 “Toad” Guards Van, with passenger view

The Malmesbury Branch is available now for Train Simulator, head to the Store for more details! ■

Robert Urie’s freight-hauling masterpiece, the S15 Class, has arrived for challenging Train Simulator service!

The S15 Class was originally formed from the mind of the London & South Western Railway’s Chief Mechanical Engineer, Robert Urie, as there was a need for a new locomotive to fulfil heavy freight duties in the early 1920s. Urie’s original mixed-traffic H15 design, which helped the LSWR in the midst of the war effort, would serve as the basis for his future locomotives.

With a more modern requirement – that would see a locomotive capable of serving south coast ports and running express dairy trains in and out of London – still in place, Urie changed key aspects of his H15 Class to produce a freight-dedicated locomotive. The result rolled out of Eastleigh Works in February 1920 as the S15 Class, and it was quickly established that this locomotive would be a very successful worker.

The first batch of LSWR’s S15 locomotives was 16-strong and finished production by May 1921. Two years later, the LSWR would be amalgamated into the Southern Railway as part of the Grouping Scheme, creating the “Big Four”. With this, Urie stepped into retirement and left Richard Maunsell to take over as Chief Mechanical Engineer, and with his new position, Maunsell took the opportunity to further develop the quickly proven S15 Class before a second batch was produced, and the resulting modifications were continued to see the class excel in service.

Based across the Southern Railway’s Western Region, from London to coastal ports of Southampton, Weymouth and beyond, the S15 Class was a well-abled freight locomotive that could shift heavy loads, at speed, with relative ease – and would often find itself at the helm of nightly express goods. Surprisingly, despite the specific design, and classification, that make the S15 a freight locomotive, the fleet was also found to be very capable at passenger work when required. This would make the S15s the longest lasting LSWR 4-6-0 engine in service.

The S15 Class held onto regular duties far into the 1960s, with the last being withdrawn in 1966. All 45 locomotives were sent to South Wales for scrap, but thankfully, a total of 7 were rescued and were only 2 of those have yet to be operational in preservation. Akin to being the longest lasting, the S15 is also the most prolific LSWR 4-6-0 to have survived the end of steam, and many enthusiasts get to enjoy a hint of yesteryear behind the powerful S15 Class.

The Southern Railway S15 Class, from Partner Programme developer Bossman Games, features the 4-6-0 locomotive in both Southern Olive Green and Southern Black liveries, both with optional smoke deflectors, accompanied by the Maunsell 8-wheel tender in both liveries. Additionally, Bulleid 59ft Brake Third, 64ft 6in Brake Third, 59ft Composite and 64ft 6in Composite coaches are included in Southern Malachite Green livery.

Three career scenarios are included for the West Somerset Railway route that will put your skills to the test, let you take charge of preserved S15 locos, and get to work hauling some lucky passengers through the sedate and beautiful countryside.

The Southern Railway S15 Class is available now for Train Simulator, head to the Store for more details