We’ve also got an update for you on the forthcoming second part of the Winter Core Update. If you want to skip ahead, this is found at the bottom of this article.
West Somerset Railway: Remastered
The remastering of this route comes as a result of the passion and enthusiasm of our Development Team, with much of the work being done by Game Designer Liam. The work involved has resulted in this route Add-on from a few years ago being brought fully up to Train Sim World 4 standards, including the following:
- TOD4 Lighting and Dynamic Weather
- Volumetric Fog and Chained Paths in Scenario Planner
- Scenery Updates, including Minehead town, Watchet Harbour and the yard at Bishops Lydeard
- Audio improvements to the route, Class 47, Class 09 and Class 33 and Class 52 loco Add-ons
- Short extension to the track scenery at Norton Fitzwarren to include part of the Bristol – Exeter Main Line for AI traffic.
- Coal loading, functioning water towers and AI whistling at whistle board locations.
- A new, additional timetable based on the real-world gala timetable from 2022 allowing for steam services, shuttles, winter specials and rail tours for players with relevant Add-ons.
The results will see this popular route tie into a host of Add-ons from the wider Train Sim World back catalogue, including more recent releases like the Flying Scotsman loco Add-on. A full break down of additional layers and the specific services they add to the new timetable can be found further down in this article.
The new steam gala timetable pivots mainly around the Peak Forest Railway route Add-on and the addition of Jubilee, 8F and 4F steam locomotives, all of which have visited the real-world railway in recent years. Coal loading is functional at Minehead Station (players can pull into a designated spot, where coal will automatically load) as are existing water towers and a newly modelled one at Bishops Lydeard.
Even for those playing the native route with the preserved Class 47 and Class 09 in the existing timetable can enjoy the upgraded visual features whilst operating heritage trains between Bishops Lydeard and the seaside town of Minehead, with shunting moves at either end of the line.
There are also some audio improvements, from the locomotives themselves and their reaction to the environment (under bridges for example), to the sounds made when finding collectibles and the rain hitting canopies.
Both Class 33 and Class 52 loco Add-ons (available separately) also get a refresh, with the new Train Sim World 4 rain effects implemented on the windscreens and audio improvements to their horns. These then layer into the original timetable. The West Somerset Railway route Add-on is required to make use of these loco Add-ons.
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If you want learn more about the upgrades and content, the remastering process and get an insight into the real-world West Somerset Railway, join Matt, Liam and Joe for tonight’s livestream at 1900 UTC on YouTube and Twitch where they’ll be showcasing the West Somerset Railway: Remastered route Add-on to kick off the Festival of Rail!
Train Sim World 4: West Somerset Railway: Remastered route Add-on is available now for Xbox One,
Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Epic Games Store, and Steam for £19.99/€24.99/$24.99.
Train Sim World Compatible: Peak Forest Railway route Add-on is available for £29.99/$39.99/€35.99
Train Sim World Compatible Class 33 / Class 52 Loco Add-ons are available for £11.99/$19.99/€13.99
Scroll down for a full list of content required for playable and AI service layers.
Timetable and Layers Deep Dive
The updated layering, timetable and environment for the West Somerset Railway route Add-on takes much of its inspiration from the real-world railway and the various guests and unusual operations that it has seen in recent years.
Railway Galas – Events for Enthusiasts
Railways Galas have run on heritage railways since their first appearance following branch line closures in the 1960s and 70s. Often these events were celebratory occasions run by volunteers and locals without much need for profit or visitor attendance. Today however they form vital parts of the events calendar and with 20 miles of track to play with, the West Somerset Railway takes great pride in hosting two or three per year, normally themed around steam or diesel traction.
Both the original and new timetables represent diesel and steam gala operations, with the latter hosting full length runs, shuttles, visits to Norton Fitzwarren (not normally visited by service trains) and freight moves! This is based on the real-world gala timetable from 2022.
Steam Locomotives (Playable Layers)
Today, the real-world WSR is known primarily as a tourist steam railway. As a result, the new timetable layers in three steam locomotives from the Peak Forest Railway route Add-on as well as the iconic National Railway Museum locomotive: LNER Class A3 60103 Flying Scotsman, available as a loco Add-on or as part of Train Sim World 4: Deluxe Edition.
Flying Scotsman last visited the WSR in 2017, providing one of the busiest events ever held in the railway’s history. Every seat on the trains that it hauled along the line were full and last minute ‘no shows’ quickly had their seats taken up by those on a last-minute waiting list! Photographers and railfans lined the lineside and a commemorative booklet was produced documenting the occasion. The locomotive does make occasional appearances on rail tours down in Devon and Cornwall, running along the stretch of main line past Norton Fitzwarren on its way there and back.
Similarly, main line LMS Jubilee locomotives often visit the line during rail tours, with loco swaps occurring at Bishops Lydeard. No.45596 visited as recently as 2023, with others making an appearance on the line in 2021 and 2016.
2016 also saw an LMS 8F visit the line in the form of no.48624 for that year’s Spring Steam Gala. This included some double-headed trains with other visiting locomotives.
Players that have completed the Tier 2 Mastery Challenges on the West Somerset Railway will have seen an LMS 4F scenery tile being unloaded at Dunster Station. Now, this locomotive can form part of the timetable, recreating the occasions that no.44422 visited the railway in 2006, 2016 and 2017.
Steam services also form the backbone of the Winter Specials and Santa Trains that make up a crucial part of heritage railways’ business in the ‘off’ season and players that own the West Cornwall Steam Railtour Add-on will be able to recreate those, complete with festive lights and music!
Class 150 (Playable Shuttle Services)
The West Cornwall Local route Add-on allows for the running of Class 150 shuttles from off the map at Taunton, through Norton Fitzwarren to Bishops Lydeard. This important main line connection has run shuttles over many years, including the 1992 GWR 150 celebrations. More recently, a full trial of services was run in the summer of 2019 with the hope of one day justifying regular connections to Taunton in the future.
HSTs (AI and Free Roam)
Great Western Express owners will see AI services running along the stretch of main line at Norton Fitzwarren, as was the case during the route Add-on's era of 2017 / 2018. Today these are more often run by more modern IETs, but GWR HSTs have run the length of the WSR as recently as 2023, when the operator was required to store them at Minehead. Players can recreate their running between Norton Fitzwarren and Minehead in Free Roam.
Class 66 Movements (AI and Free Roam)
Despite being a heritage railway, the connection to the main line at Norton Fitzwarren facilitates a number of different freight moves by other operators, including regular ballast cleaning trains that use the Norton Triangle to the benefit of the WSR. These are almost exclusively run by Class 66 locomotives, which have also appeared on the line to haul specials, such as one at a 2016 event hosted by model railway company PECO.
Players with any of the Class 66 Add-ons (Southeastern Highspeed, East Coast Main Line, Great Western Express, Engineering Express Pack) can make use of this locomotive in Free Roam mode. Southeastern Highspeed and the RHTT Add-ons result in AI / static stock appearing.
Additional DMU Running (Original Timetable Layers + Free Roam Options)
Though the Class 101 has never ventured onto WSR rails, players with Northern Trans-Pennine or Tees Valley Line can enjoy using this DMU in the original timetable to represent 3-car services that run during events. In reality, these are run by the similar Class 115.
Midland Main Line players may also wish to use the EMT Class 158 in Free Roam to recreate the Class 158 rail tours and charters that have used the WSR over the years, including some in the mid-2000s SWT livery that was very similar to that of EMT’s.
And for some fun (but non-prototypical) running, those with Blackpool Branches can see what a visiting Class 142 Pacer would do along the line in Free Roam. Pacers used to be seen on the main line stretch of track at Norton Fitzwarren running down to Devon but have not yet run onto WSR rails.
Blackpool Branches also allows players to run different liveries of the Class 47, including specific, named examples.
Diesel Gala (Original Timetable Layers + Free Roam Options)
Class 08, 09, 20, 31, 33, 37, 40, 45, 47, 52 and 66 Locomotives
The original West Somerset Railway timetable makes plenty of use of the diesel locomotives available from other Train Sim World releases to create a real mixed bag of visitors for the in-game gala experience. The Class 47, Class 33 and Class 52 represent the WSR’s home fleet from circa 2017 / 2018, owned and run by the DEPG (Diesel Electric Preservation Group) whereas the 09 represents the WSR’s Bishops Lydeard-based shunter, which occasionally sees action at Minehead too.
Beyond this, services can be run with substituted locomotives from other route and loco Add-ons, all of which have seen action on the line at Diesel Galas over the years. Tandem 20s visited in both 2017 and 2018 whereas a Class 40 and 45 guested during September of 1995 and again in 1997. Class 08 no.08377 was a regular shunter on the line before moving on to another heritage line in 2013 and Class 31s have appeared, like Class 37s, as both guest locomotives and main line visitors in the past. Class 31s also hauled the notable Butlin’s Express services from Bristol Temple Meads to Minehead and have brought departmental test trains to the line between 2012 and 2014.
Whilst only the original timetable still makes use of some of these as playable content, players can use Train Sim World 4’s Free Roam feature to operate them within the new timetable too.
Required Content
All of the Compatible Layers that can be implemented into West Somerset Railway: Remastered can be found below. All players require Train Sim World 4 to make use of the upgrades and new timetable.
Playable Layers (in the NEW timetable)
- West Somerset Railway
- Flying Scotsman
- Peak Forest Railway (8F, 4F, Jubilee)
- West Cornwall Local (Class 150)
- West Cornwall Steam Railtour
Playable & AI Layers (in the ORIGINAL timetable)
- WSR Class 33
- WSR Class 52
- Northern Trans-Pennine (Class 101 / 47 / 45)
- BR Heavy Freight Pack (Class 40 / 08)
- Tees Valley Line (Class 37 / 101)
- DSN Class 20
- BR Class 31
AI Layers (in the NEW timetable)
- BR Heavy Freight Pack (Class 40 / 08)
- Tees Valley Line (Class 37 / 101)
- DSN Class 20
- Great Western Express (HST)
- Northern Trans-Pennine (Class 101 / 47 / 45)
- Rail Operations Group BR Class 37/7
- RHTT
- Southeastern High Speed
- WSR Class 33
- WSR Class 52
Optional Content for some Free Roam fun!
- Midland Main Line (Class 158)
- Blackpool Branches (Class 142 Pacer + 47 / 08 liveries)
Winter Core Update – the next release
We hope you all enjoy the new lease of life given to West Somerset Railway, and it’s at this stage we wanted to let you know what’s happening with the next part of our Winter Core update, which is due next week.
We’ll provide a full Patch Notes list with the update, but to whet your collective whistles, here are some highlights which we’re currently testing and hope to release:
- Improved PIS Brightness for more visibility and readability in day/night
- Multiple Free Roam fixes for locos that weren’t able to move after spawning
- Scoring adjustments so achieving a Platinum medal is more in line with expectations
- Added option to disable Traction Lock icon in the Minimal HUD
Formation Designer – Open Beta
Alongside next week’s update, we’ll be offering Steam players the opportunity to try out and feed back on perhaps the most exciting of our upcoming Core updates, Formation Designer. However, we’ll be doing it a little differently to normal.
Formation Designer will allow you to assemble your own consists and formations for use in Scenario Planner and Free roam. This will increase customisation options to create the perfect Scenario and remove the need to spawn different preset formations into the world and rearrange them manually (although that can be quite fun in itself). In its final release, Formation Designer will also allow for your created consists and combinations to be share via Creators Club, similar to Livery Designer and Scenario Planner.
Because of the sheer number of permutations and options players will be able to combine, testing every possible option is very challenging – so, rather than hold the update any longer, we’re looking for your help. We’ll open up a bespoke feedback forum with details on how you can get involved with the beta, and you can let us know what you think. What you enjoy, what you don’t enjoy, any issues you encounter and any combinations of rolling stock which are proving challenging. Please note: this beta is only available for Steam players. For players of other platforms, we’ll release Formation Designer when we’ve had a chance to review initial beta feedback, and we’re happy it’s ready.
We want it to be a cornerstone of player creativity going forward, so want to bring you into the fold as we shape it up for full release. More details to come next week, but we thank you all in advance – we can’t wait to see what you think!
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