Train Simulator: Midland Main Line London-Bedford Route Add-On DLC

This is a good route with nice scenery and good trains but the physics are not so good. Anyway I highly reccommand this route for new players.

A good DLC, with nice stations, nice scenarios, and it's quite fun to drive on. The only thing that's bad is the train you get, the model is terrible, with awful sounds, and it feels nothing like a real class 319. So if you want to drive on this route i recommend you purchase the Armstrong Powerhouse Class 319 EMU Pack, as that model is a lot more accurate.

Well, where do I begin with this one. I'll start off by saying that this route is a huge disappointment, to put it mildly. I am a big fan of the Thameslink line, and since we have the London Bridge to Brighton section in the game, I was hoping that someday the northern section would be done (London Bridge to Bedford via Farringdon). So I was excited to find out this route was being made, but early on I got the impression that Dovetail had made some very questionable decisions. For starters, they made Bedford the northern terminus of the route. This was a stupid idea in my opinion, as the Midland Mainline actually goes much further north to places like Sheffield, Leicester and Nottingham. If the line had gone north of Bedford - to any of the aforementioned cities - then there would be a large amount of scenario variation, and you would also have to make an East Midlands HST and Class 222 Meridian. But "Lol, no." says Dovetail. "We're going to cut the route at Bedford and leave Just Trains to make the Meridian." (But that's a very different story). Next up is the side of the route that annoys me most - the Thameslink side (or lack-there-of). The route ends at St Pancras Thameslink, and this has enraged me ever since I purchased the route. I was really hoping for the entire Thameslink line to be made for TS, but for some reason Dovetail decided to just cut off the route at St Pancras, and not bother to add the line through Farringdon onto Blackfriars and London Bridge. If the route ended at London Bridge, it would have been a perfect opportunity for scenario creaters like FelixTrain, who would finally be able to make a Thameslink scenario going the full length of the route without missing out the Central London portion. And that's not even talking about what we got in the route. Driving along it, I felt the scenery to be very bland and generic, making the route look pretty much exactly the same as most Dovetail routes (e.g. - South Wales Coastal). The stations all look very similar, with the obvious exceptions of Luton and Bedford. Most of the time, DTG actually make an attempt to get the route looking as good as possible - presumably to trick the fanboys into thinking that it's a good route. But what do good looks matter at the end of the day when there is bugger all to do. Like I said earlier, you only get St Pancras to Bedford, and the lack of East Midlands stock or any other Thameslink trains makes the default scenarios the most boring scenarios I have ever played on this game. Not to mention, the included rolling stock (or lack-there-of) is an absolute joke. What do we get - ANOTHER Class 66 rehash, and the Class 319 - AGAIN. Having driven both trains, and comparing them to the originals (FCC Class 319 and EWS Class 66 v2.0), I can say that nothing has changed on either the 319 or 66. How many versions of the 66 do we have in Train Sim now? It must be getting up to around 8 at the most. There are absolutely no improvements to the sounds on the 319 (or the 66 for that matter), and it's not helped by the fact that Armstrong Powerhouse still haven't bothered to make their 319/325 sound pack compatible with this version of the 319. The wagons themselves are the same as what we've already had thousands of times over. I'm fairly certain we've had the PCA and FSA/FTA wagons ever since the days of Kuju Rail Simulator. I don't understand why we are constantly getting the same wagons over and over again, especially when some of them have been around for 10 years. There were also quite a few trains missed out on the Thameslink side. There are three trains used by Thameslink that weren't included with this route; that being the Class 377, 387 and 700. Granted, Thameslink doesn't used 387s anymore - they were flogged off to Great Northern after the arrival of the 700s - but having a proper 387 (instead of several 375 reskins into the 387) would have offered some form of variety. The same goes for the Class 700. This train is somewhat popular and I guarantee this route would be so much better if the 700 was included. But "LOL, no." said Dovetail. "We're going to omit those trains and have next to no variety what-so-ever. And we're also going to make you pay for two trains you already have." In conclusion, the Midland Mainline - London to Bedford route had great potential, but the pretty major missed oppurtunties (only goes to Bedford and has no Thameslink line through to London Bridge) coupled with the lack of rolling stock and re-hashed stock that we got (319, 66 and PCA, PGA, FSA wagons) makes this my personal least-favourite route in Train Simulator. I never thought I'd be saying that. Under no circumstances can I recommend this route, unless you are mildly curious and can afford the $48.00 (New Zealand dollars) or 25 pound asking price.

The route itself is lovely. Despite not being updated completely (some stations have seen some pretty major changes since this route was made), it is still a lovely drive and I would totally recommend it...if the train was any good. The train has no door sounds and the destination blind seems to be the same no matter what scenario you do. Furthermore, the Class 700 DLC that I purchased alongside this one doesn't work with it, despite apparently being compatible. This was, overall, a let down.

Most parts of the route that I proposed were true. (The article was removed unfortunately due to Engine Driver being on the new trainsimulator.com website) This is a another Thameslink part of the route. With the Class 319 (still on FCC livery) and the Class 66 (first 66 I had). It is an addon for my chance to create scenarios like Bedford to Rochester. There are some disapointments about this route: - There is no EMT (East Midlands Trains) Class 43 and 222 units. - Theres no St Pancras to London Bridge / Loughborough Junction (unless if you want the South London and Thameslink (still WIP [Work In Progress] and requires South London Network and London to Brighton routes. - Overused trains which is the 319 and 66 which are both in another DLC packs... I still recommend this route and a another welcome addition to my TS (Train Simulator) collection for me to create scenarios.

Do not buy if you are expecting any accuracy! Been waiting for this DLC for quite some time. During "rush hour" scenarios i'd be lucky to pass 5 other services on the line... that should be tripple. Most of the signals are green, when at rush hour most should be amber. This feels like an un-finished route. Should have been released with the inclusion of East Midlands branded class 222's and HST's that run beyond Bedford, considering at least a third of trains operating on the route are now East Midlands. Bought the FCC branded class 377 pack with this, to find that none of the pre-loaded scenarios actually enclude this train. Again, considering the heavy use of 377's on this route, it's quite dissapointing. With the useless scenario editor, it's too tedious for me to create vaugly realistic scenarios with a descent density of traffic on the line. BIG shame for a route that looks SO GOOD. Also the splitting of the 319's used for the Brighton route and ones used for this route has caused my Armstrong Powerhouse class 319 sound pack not to work with any of the scenarios. Considering the pre-loaded sounds for the 319 are fairly poor, this is extremely irritating. This route, like most for Train Simulator, has amazing potential but never gets there due to lack of vital features and functionality.

A very high quality and enjoyable route. I agree that it would have been nice to go a bit further into London - Blackfriars maybe? The 319 is a joy to drive, with its notchy controls - responsive, with no accidently running into emergency braking. I bought it with the 377 bundle, but no scenarios or AI traffic for the 377 - I guess I will get the benefits from Steam Workshop scemarios. All in all a good buy!

Again, this is another instance where we really need a third 'neutral' option to rate something with so to clarify, I'll say this. It is worth a thumbs up IF bought in a sale or as part of a package. On its own for full price however? No. The route itself is fine, good even with good details, plenty of portals and the addition of plenty of freight track as well and includes the Class 66 in EWS livery with a selection of freight waggons to take advantage of them as well. On the subject of stock, you also get the Class 319 which to be fair, is NOT just a copy of the the London to Brighton one but is actually better! Certainly the cab has been improved with a little more functionality anyway and I noticed that you get offered 'AC' and 'DC' versions for AI in the scenario editor. Now for my main gripe and why I don't think this deserves a thumbs up at full price, good as the above two trains are, that's ALL you get. To have one entire 50+ mile mainly commuter route and only include one passenger train is mean. The GWML has at least two, as does the GEML, South London network, London to Brighton and no doubt many more. Hell, even the relatively short Riviera line comes with a DMU and an HST!! What would have been the harm in including the HST in the correct EMT livery? The class 43 has been around since the birth of Railworks and I'm sure most of his have it already so why no reskin? If you're going to call it Midland 'Mainline' then to not include the 'mainline' stock is just silly and St Pancreas looks awfully empty without it. If this was called 'London to Bedford Thameslink', I could forgive it but it isn't. To make this route work properly and look how it should, you need two things. An extra commuter train, the FCC377 fits in nicely and is available as a twinpack with this route and you need to find an EMT reskin for the HST but the only one that is any good also requires a payware soundpack to work. The addition of these two items brings the total required for this route to around 35 pounds and that is a LOT to expect, hence my first statement, ONLY buy this with a discount!

Overall a very nice simple route, good coverage. I wish it could have gone down to London Bridge or even up to Sheffield of Leicester but for now a nice start with this route which willl hopefully introduce the class 222 and HST in East Midlands livery prehaps? But again good solid route!

The Midland Main Line. It had the potential to be such a good route but the choice of trains put it into the OK category. The Route: The level of detail is good. For scenario makers, there are enough portals ; for non-scenario makers, there will be more scenarios for it because it is easier to make scenarios for the route with the portals. A good route to drive and look at. Big thumbs up! The Locos: This is where all the "Dovetail Games is just trying to take money from us" and other such lemanting reviews come back to say "Yes, that is true". The 2 trains that come with the route are ALREADY IN THE GAME. The 319, that came out for the London to Brighton route a year or so ago - a decent add on it was too. Now it has been recycled with THE SAME LIVERY, I just feel resentful. The 66 EWS is also already in the game. About 6 different versions of the 66 now exist (Settle to Carlisle, Freightliner v2, EWS v2, Freightliner v2 Powerhaul, Class 266 and now this one) and for people to buy all 5 of them is unrealistic and unreasonable. It's not even like there wasn't a choice of trains for the MML. The 387 is not in the game, that would have been good. The 222 Meridian Voyager, that would have been good. Even the HST with an East Midland Trains livery would have been fine or the 319 with another livery except the old FCC one. It's one of the times where you are frustrated at the failure because otherwise, this route would have been near perfect (apart from the price). So I would say buy it. But for the route and not the trains. Felix.