WCML a bit confusing

[hermannk13]

Being from South Africa the WCML from Glasgow to London seems a bit confusing. I have read quite a bit, watched cab ride videos done by Don Coffey, Ben Elias, Rail Mart etc., but still not quite sure of the correct route.
I assumed that from London Euston the route goes via the Trent Valley Line to Stafford and from there follow the WCML via Crewe and others to Glasgow.
Is it possible to drive the whole of the WCML from London to Glasgow in Train Simulator? I've got WCML North, WCML over Schap, Trent Valley Line, but still it seems as if I am missing pieces of the puzzle.
I have done the ECML from Edinburgh via Newcastle, Peterborough to London. Great route although I had to use a few route setups to do that.
Info would be appreciated.

[Highball Simulation]

Originally posted by hermannk13:

Being from South Africa the WCML from Glasgow to London seems a bit confusing. I have read quite a bit, watched cab ride videos done by Don Coffey, Ben Elias, Rail Mart etc., but still not quite sure of the correct route.
I assumed that from London Euston the route goes via the Trent Valley Line to Stafford and from there follow the WCML via Crewe and others to Glasgow.
Is it possible to drive the whole of the WCML from London to Glasgow in Train Simulator? I've got WCML North, WCML over Schap, Trent Valley Line, but still it seems as if I am missing pieces of the puzzle.
I have done the ECML from Edinburgh via Newcastle, Peterborough to London. Great route although I had to use a few route setups to do that.
Info would be appreciated.

I find it confusing myself, and I live in Britain! Put simply, the route splits in several places and goes off in lots of different directions. WCML South goes from Euston to Birmingham New Street. Partway along, it meets the Trent Valley line (modelled in WCML Trent Valley). WCML over Shap picks up at Preston, and goes to Carlisle, where it meets WCML North for the rest of the journey.

If it interests you, ATS are currently working on the gargantuan task of building the entire WCML as one route.

[hermannk13]

Thanks for the info. Would be great to do the route in one run!
Currently I am missing the part from Stafford, via Crewe to Preston on the WCML.
WCML South (Euston to Birmingham) is available but did not get very good reviews. Do not know whether that have been fixed.

[jimoates014]

If you restrict yourself to the output of DTG you will not find the whole route. There is a superior version of WCML South on Alan Thompson Sim which include the loop via Northampton, the "Missing Link" Birmingham to Preston via Stafford and Crewe ( which in the fulness of time include the routes to Manchester) also from ATS.

[DIFFLOCK66]

Be advised that the ATS routes, whilst a labour of love, require a boatload of DLCs and dependencies...

[hermannk13]

Originally posted by DIFFLOCK66:

Be advised that the ATS routes, whilst a labour of love, require a boatload of DLCs and dependencies...

That is what I hate about some DLC in general. Apart from purchasing the DLC, you have to download and even purchase tons of other DLC to get the original package up and running.

[hermannk13]

Originally posted by jimoates014:

If you restrict yourself to the output of DTG you will not find the whole route. There is a superior version of WCML South on Alan Thompson Sim which include the loop via Northampton, the "Missing Link" Birmingham to Preston via Stafford and Crewe ( which in the fulness of time include the routes to Manchester) also from ATS.

I suppose this is not freeware and requires a purchase or pay-registration.

[Keith]

Originally posted by hermannk13:

Originally posted by DIFFLOCK66:

Be advised that the ATS routes, whilst a labour of love, require a boatload of DLCs and dependencies...

That is what I hate about some DLC in general. Apart from purchasing the DLC, you have to download and even purchase tons of other DLC to get the original package up and running.

Problem is that TS doesn't have any standard, centralised scenery assets. Yes, it comes with some routes but those change each year and, even though DTG obviously reuses a lot of the same assets (how many times have you seen those trees), if another add-on wants to use them, they have to reference them from a *specific* route. Freeware route developers in particular aren't going to have a lot of time to make all their own assets, hence they have to rely on people having particular DLC. (A lot of them bite off more than they can chew just putting together the route, and many over-ambitious projects are never released or finished.)

Obviously if a route is fundamentally several routes stitched together (like some in the workshop), rather than something that's been made from scratch, then it is *going* to require those routes - it can't be a way of avoiding buying them.

There are some "standard" scenery packs that are usually bundled with other (mostly older) routes, but these are now quite old and tend to make one route look pretty similar to another.

EDIT: the same also applies to rolling stock, and some add-ons only require a lot of DLC for the trains that are used in their scenarios. There are tools available to swap trains in scenarios, so often it is not essential to have the correct DLCs for scenarios, as long as you have something similar.

[inversnecky]

Originally posted by DIFFLOCK66:

Be advised that the ATS routes, whilst a labour of love, require a boatload of DLCs and dependencies...

Is this all covered if you subscribe?

[Phase3]

I
I doubt it as it needs lots of paid DTG/JT/AP DLC such as :
RSC Great Eastern Mainline
WCML Over Shap
DTG Liverpool to Manchester
DTG North Wales Coastal (Currently discontinued but available in copies of Train Simulator 2018)
DTG West Coast Mainline South and for scenarios ONLY
Class 390 Pack - Steam (Discontinued)
Class 390 Intercity Pack (S9BL) - Steam
Class 159 Pack - Steam
Class 350 EP* - Armstrong Powerhouse
Class 170EP* - Armstrong Powerhouse
Class 175 EP* - Armstrong Powerhouse (Currently Unavailable as of Dec 2020)
Class 66 EP - Armstrong Powerhouse
Class 156 Pack - Armstrong Powerhouse
Class 150/2 - Armstrong Powerhouse
Class 153 - Just Trains
Class 158 Perkins EP - Armstrong Powerhouse
Class 220/221 - Just Trains (Updated)
Class 319 Pack Volume 1 - Armstrong Powerhouse
Class 325 Pack - Steam
Class 66 Pack02 - Steam
Class 66 Pack03 - Steam
FTA Wagons - Armstrong Powerhouse
JPA Wagons - Armstrong Powerhouse
JNA Wagons - Armstrong Powerhouse
HKA Wagons - Armstrong Powerhouse
IPA Wagons - Just Trains
TTA’s from WCML over Shap
Class 70 - Steam

[Highball Simulation]

Originally posted by Phase3:

I
I doubt it as it needs lots of paid DTG/JT/AP DLC such as :
RSC Great Eastern Mainline
WCML Over Shap
DTG Liverpool to Manchester
DTG North Wales Coastal (Currently discontinued but available in copies of Train Simulator 2018)
DTG West Coast Mainline South and for scenarios ONLY
Class 390 Pack - Steam (Discontinued)
Class 390 Intercity Pack (S9BL) - Steam
Class 159 Pack - Steam
Class 350 EP* - Armstrong Powerhouse
Class 170EP* - Armstrong Powerhouse
Class 175 EP* - Armstrong Powerhouse (Currently Unavailable as of Dec 2020)
Class 66 EP - Armstrong Powerhouse
Class 156 Pack - Armstrong Powerhouse
Class 150/2 - Armstrong Powerhouse
Class 153 - Just Trains
Class 158 Perkins EP - Armstrong Powerhouse
Class 220/221 - Just Trains (Updated)
Class 319 Pack Volume 1 - Armstrong Powerhouse
Class 325 Pack - Steam
Class 66 Pack02 - Steam
Class 66 Pack03 - Steam
FTA Wagons - Armstrong Powerhouse
JPA Wagons - Armstrong Powerhouse
JNA Wagons - Armstrong Powerhouse
HKA Wagons - Armstrong Powerhouse
IPA Wagons - Just Trains
TTA’s from WCML over Shap
Class 70 - Steam

The pack may soon be updated to use the Class 175 Enhancement Pack Mk2.

[Highball Simulation]

Originally posted by hermannk13:

Thanks for the info. Would be great to do the route in one run!
Currently I am missing the part from Stafford, via Crewe to Preston on the WCML.
WCML South (Euston to Birmingham) is available but did not get very good reviews. Do not know whether that have been fixed.

That section is yet to be released on Steam. Krossrails may be interested in doing that, although a short section of the WCML can be driven in the now-discontinued North Wales Coastal.

[DIFFLOCK66]

I believe WCML South has been updated so it's better than it was.

[hermannk13]

Originally posted by DIFFLOCK66:

I believe WCML South has been updated so it's better than it was.

Finally put the hand in the pocket and purchased WCML South route. Did a Quick Drive from London Euston to Birmingham with the Class 390 Pendolino just to get the feel of the route. No problems whatsoever. Haven't tried anything else yet, though.
Now just to wait to get the Stafford to Preston part...maybe one day.
I would rather drive the WCML in stages with different route packages than having to download tons of DLC to make one piece of DLC to work.
No Pendolino in South Africa :) Our train system used to be good, but has fallen into utter decay. Pity.

[Keith]

Originally posted by hermannk13:

I would rather drive the WCML in stages with different route packages than having to download tons of DLC to make one piece of DLC to work.

In real life there is a driver change anyway - on the WCML I understand this is at Preston.

Even once the routes are put together, creating scenarios with realistic AI trains all the way along (and testing them) would be a mammoth task.

[dknowles801]

Not really, when u can go up to 10x faster with the speed button...LOL!!!