Train Simulator: LNER Peppercorn Class A2 'Blue Peter' Loco Add-On DLC

Oh wow possible one of the best engines that has been made soo far. Love the sounds, the textures are beautiful and the coaches are very good looking. The one thing it needs now is a re-skin into LNER apple green with British railways on the tender and then the model is pefect :)

A brilliant and challenging loco to drive! My only complaint is that the steam chest keeps flickering on and ff resulting in driving problems.

Highly Recommended Locomotive for Detail. It's A nice Locomotive to have in your collection, as you can just go back and forth to play with it a lot. The Quick Drive Consists of 10 Mk1 Coaches and 13 Mk1 Coaches Produce a good bit of wheel slip off the Mark, but will pick up a bit of speed once it gets going. I would Recommend it, since you can always make a custom consist to cut down the Wheel Slip.

This loco is absolutely spot on. The sounds are excellent and it'll continue to accelerate at 12% cutoff on about 1:200 gradients even with 13 coaches on. I reccomend it thoroughly, and if you can get it on sale you're getting an absolute bargain. Edit: This piece of DLC just got more viable due to the release of the A2 Livery Pack addon. For £2.99 you get a few more locos represented; and weathered and clean variants. If you want to shell out for a bit more variation, pick up that alongside this.

PROs What can I say about this locomotive? It is truly the best locomotive I have ever driven in Train Simulator. I was hesitant to purchase a DTG DLC due to their usually bad attention to detail, but the A2 Peppercorn 'Blue Peter' exceeded all of my expectations. The sounds the locomotive makes are very realistic, you can sense when the locomotive is accelerating by the noise it makes. If feels like a living machine, a true locomotive. The engine sometimes has a mind of its own and it's rather quite difficult to master this thoroughbred. The reason this point isn't in the CONs section is that Blue Peter historically was difficult to control if you weren't an experienced driver. Just ask the 1994 crew. However, once you mater the old girl, she offers you a wonderful experience. "During an unscheduled stop at Durham station, the inexperienced footplate crew overfilled the boiler. As the train departed south across Durham viaduct an initial slip was poorly controlled by the driver, who then reopened the regulator too early, probably worried about stalling on the bank up to Relly Mill. The force of the initial slip caused the boiler to prime, carrying water over into the regulator valve and jamming it open. This allowed passage of steam through to the cylinders, perpetuating the slip and accelerating the driving wheels. When the driver attempted to wind the reversing gear back into mid-position to halt the slip, the force of the motion spun it into full-forward position, and the driving wheels reached a rotational speed of 140 miles per hour before the cylinder covers blew off and the motion disintegrated." Source: Wikipedia The smoke coming out of the engine is also realistic. It matches the chuffing the engine makes. The cab is also a work of art, interior lights and windows you can open add a sense of realism that many DTG DLC's lack. CONs Although you can open and close the driver's side window, the fireman's window is not movable to my knowledge. I've tried several times. This may or may not be a con, but this is a warning for low end PC users. The A2 Peppercorn 'Blue Peter' takes a toll on your computer. It is a very detailed model, and with that, comes frame rate drop. I sometimes have to run the locomotive on a lower setting and or turn off the cab lights to increase frame rate. However, if you have a decent computer, this shouldn't be an issue. Those looking for a locomotive you can easily control, this probably isn't the engine for you. As I said above, it is difficult to master. It tends to kick easily and is prone to wheel slip. The slightest push of the regulator causes it to speed up rapidly, so it is difficult to remain under the speed limit in a yard setting. (If you tick the bell, you can turn on legacy driving mode and the locomotive will be a bit more responsive) Overall, this locomotive is truly an amazing piece of art. Hats off to DTG for releasing an amazing locomotive. Although this came out in 2015, its age does not show and it is honestly better than some of the newer models out there for Train Simulator. I give it a solid 9.5/10, a would recommend for anyone's roundhouse! Especially people who are a fan of Blue Peter.

This is probably one of the highest quality steam locomotives I've seen come from Dovetail. The textures are extremely good. Inside and out everything looks great! The smoke is very nice as well - it changes shades of grey and white correctly and smoothly when there are changes to the firebox/boiler. The only oddity I ran into was when looking at the passenger view, it actually placed you outside a window. I'm not sure if that was just me, but it didn't bother me as passenger view isn't important to me. I can't tell you exactly how realistic it is, having never actually driven a steam locomotive, but it definitely feels nice. The scenarios can be fairly difficult. Particularly the first and third. The second is quite easy and all work perfectly. Care seems to have been made in these scenarios to make them realistic as well. There is a lot of AI, something that isn't always the case. As this is a steam locomotive running in modern times, there would be a lot of people out to get a peek... that's also depicted in the scenarios. The achievements all trigger properly as well. Highly recommend. 10/10.

PROS: Pretty nicely detailed locomotive, sounds seem decent too. Can reach 70mph easily and eventually will reach 90mph. Has modernized AWS which responds to modern signals. Cablight and instrument light can be switched on. CONS: Pretty much no visibility on trackside signals from in-cab camera.

The best Steam loco for Train Simulator 2015 yet. The model is excellently done and the sounds are superb. When driving, you can close your eyes and actually hear the smallest speed change. I've not heard that on any model, be it steam, deisel or electric. Very much recommended. I bought it in the summer sale, however, I would gladly have paid full price. Marks 9/10

Undoubtedly one of the best steam loco add-ons made by Dovetail Games. The detail of the model is 100% spot on and the sounds are perfect. Thank goodness it doesn't have the crap RSC Tornado sounds.

Well I am impressed. These locomotives are beginning to get on par with JustTrains Locomotives such as the Clan Class. This loco is highly detailed and is a pleasure to drive. As with everything though, the price is ridiculous for an add on, but sadly DTG will continue to charge these amounts and that will never alter. Aside from the price though, this is a lovely Locomotive. All we need now is the P2.