Despite the Southern Railway’s revolutionary and widespread electrification schemes, there were still routes which were not of significance enough to warrant the cost, and the struggles of the Second World War had put a stopper on other efforts.
An order was placed for a brand-new steam locomotive that would fill the gap and Oliver Bulleid, CME of the Southern Railway, quickly went to work in designing a loco for a post-war Southern Railway, where infrastructure was weaker, and not capable of handling big locomotives.
Bulleid decided to develop a lighter version of his Merchant Navy Class, which would be able to perform to a similar standard, yet have an increased route availability for a war-torn Britain. Remarkably, Bulleid managed to shave off some 5 tons when compared to the Merchant Navy, bringing mixed-traffic pacific power to previously unthinkable locations.
In service, the Light Pacific locomotives, known as the West Country or Battle of Britain Class, earned a reputation for being a powerful and versatile worker, and could be found almost anywhere. They shared their positives with the sister Merchant Navy Class, as well as their negatives, but overall the 110-strong fleet worked hard and did their duty, and would continue on in the south after British Railways took charge.
Much like the Merchant Navy Class, many Light Pacifics would go under a rebuilding scheme to improve their flaws, vastly changing the appearance of the locos. But cosmetic changes aside, the elegance of Bulleid’s Light Pacific locomotives cannot be ignored. Be them named after Battle of Britain or West Country insignia, they changed the face of Southern Region operations, and are steaming gracefully into Train Simulator thanks to the efforts of Bossman Games!
Included Scenarios
A selection of career scenarios are provided for the Welsh Marches: Newport - Shrewsbury route:
- Welsh Borders Express - Part 1
- Welsh Borders Express - Part 2
- Welsh Borders Express - Part 3
- Welsh Borders Express - Part 4
More scenarios are available on the Steam Workshop online and in-game. Train Simulator’s Steam Workshop scenarios are free and easy to download, adding many more hours of exciting gameplay. With scenarios being added daily, why don’t you check it out now!
Key Features
- BR Rebuilt West Country & Battle of Britain Class steam locomotive in BR Green livery
- Multiple nameplates and tender variants
- Authentic sounds
- Advanced simulation covering:
- Vacuum Brake Leak
- Reverser with Lock
- Sanders with appropriate delay
- Prototypical injection and firing/stoking
- Multiple brake modes
- And much more
- Vacuum Brake Leak
- Custom Automatic Fireman
- Various levels of optional assistance
- Player selectable headcode discs and lamps
- Performance Mode for less powerful machines
- Career scenarios for Welsh Marches: Newport - Shrewsbury
- Quick Drive Compatible
- Download size: 246.1mb
