In West Coast Mainline: Preston-Carlisle, developers Just Trains have built the longest route of any in Train Sim World, but following their highly regarded Blackpool Branches DLC last year we're expecting more than just length...
Those of us used to jumping into a diesel-electric loco and slamming it straight to notch 8 or 10 are going to have a bit of a culture shock–drivers of German locos with tap changers less so. The Class 87 has 39 notches and a red line cut-out approx 5/6ths of the way up the Amp gauge. If you abuse and overload, it will cause a cut out (although this is easily reset on the dashboard.)
As well as the the iconic Class 87/0 Electric we get the Class 47, 08 and the classic 101 DMU. New rolling stock includes Mk 3a Coaches, FFA/FGA Container Flats and BBA Steel Wagons, as well as familiar rolling stock from previous DLCs. The Class 87 comes in 2 different liveries and with several different name plates.
Sound FX by AP (Armstrong Powerhouse) are the industry standard, and as good as they get, so engine samples, horns and even ambient sounds are amazing.
All the included locos and passenger coaches come with enhanced interiors, suspension physics, smoke effects and audio. All of the locomotives have their own character and control well with a bit of practice–the all-new Class 87 being the quirkiest drive, although the wonderful Class 101 DMU's gear changes take a bit of getting used to. The only addition to the HUD is that Just Trains have again used their own accelerometer, which is better than the standard TSW5 one.
The route also gets extra service layers if you own Blackpool Branches, West Cornwall Local, Tees Valley Line, Northern TransPenine, Spirit of Steam, BR Heavy Freight Pack, BR Class 31, BR Class 20, the LMS Jubilee and the LNER Class A3 "Flying Scotsman". This means there are actually hours and hours of extra services for owners of these DLCs. With ALL relevant add-ons installed, here's what you can expect to see: hundreds of passenger services, dozens of shunting jobs and over a hundred freight services!
There are several interesting freight and shunting services, but it's a shame they put a painful 5mph limit on parts of the Kingmoor Yard, which may have been realistic, but feels like the fun police are on duty. It was during a shunting scenario that a bug we'd previously experienced in TSW4 reared its ugly head–getting temporarily stuck on the map screen when changing points, which is obviously regularly necessary during a shunting/sorting scenario. We also noticed on the map that the new signal aspect tags overlay some points and render them impossible to change–which is obviously a design fault that needs to be fixed.
The scenery, just as we expected, is as good as it gets with this game engine. As always, the trains are the graphical highlights, but the undergrowth and trackside detail is second to none. As well as looking good, Midland Mainline is a busy route too, with AI driven or static tràins appearing at very believable rates. The train's exteriors are excellent, but the interiors also look very realistic, with wear, knocks and rust just where they should be. This is another outstanding addition to the TSW5 network.
Many thanks to Just Trains, Dovetail Games and Lick PR