Train Simulator has seen many fantastic steam locomotives from the UK added to it over the years. These range from express passenger engines all the way to heavy freight locomotives and shunting engines.
Still, with Train Sim tracing its roots back to 2007, some locomotives are now quite outdated and deserve an all-new model being created. We have seen this with the Bossman Games Black 5, bringing an all-new example of the class and replacing the old Kuju example from 2007.
So, here are some UK steam locos that we think should get a similar refresh in Train Simulator 2021.
Somerset & Dorset 7F
Original Model: 2007 Rail Simulator Release
Enhancement Link: Steam Sounds Supreme
The S&D’s famous 7F locomotives ran on the aforementioned line from Bath to Bournemouth, and the ten built were done so exclusively for the line. They were heavy freight locomotives and were one of the few classes of the engine that could tackle the line’s steep gradients – especially the one heading out of Bath Green Park and through Combe Down Tunnel. Amazingly, two of the ten built have survived into preservation.
The model in Train Sim is from the original Rail Simulator release of 2007, and while Steam Sounds Supreme did a great job of enhancing the pack with new reskins, sounds, scripting, and particle effects, it is still some way behind the latest crop of models. Indeed, the best thing now is to have a completely new 7F for Train Sim.
Standard 4MT Tank
Original Model: Digital Traction
Enhancement Link: Steam Sounds Supreme
This is another model that has gone through a refresh, and an excellent one at that, by Vulcan Productions and Steam Sounds Supreme. The Standard 4MT tanks were designed for a mixture of goods and passenger services, being most famous for more local and suburban workings, and they have proved ideal for heritage railways.
Digital Traction’s model was released some years ago now, and the updates by Steam Sounds and Vulcan have done wonders for the model. Still, like the 7F, the 4MT is showing its age. A new example would please many players of the game.
Standard Class 9F
Original Model: Iron Horse House / Dovetail Games
Enhancement Link: Steam Sounds Supreme
The 9F 2-10-0 freight locomotives were originally released by Iron Horse House in the Railworks and early Train Simulator days. When IHH shut up shop, the models were sold to Dovetail, who re-released them after a refresh on the Steam store. Later, they again went through a major enhancement by Vulcan Productions and Steam Sounds Supreme.
The 9Fs are the most powerful freight locomotives ever built for Britain’s railways, and proved themselves equally at home on passenger workings. Plus, they were pretty much the only locomotive that could rival the 7Fs on the Somerset & Dorset line. Nine of the class have been preserved.
It’s potentially contentious to call for a new model of this class as the enhancement pack created for it is pretty much a new piece of DLC, such is the amount of content. Even so, the model isn’t quite there with the likes of the offerings from Bossman Games or Caledonia Works. So, an update would not go amiss, especially with more advanced and detailed scripting.
Fowler 4F
Original Model: Kuju / Dovetail Games
Enhancement Link: Steam Sounds Supreme
The Dovetail Games and original Kuju Fowler 4F model was updated slightly in the Train Sim Academy pack included with later releases of the game. Plus, Steam Sounds Supreme have enhanced the loco and various reskins that utilise those released improvements.
The 4Fs were one of the most common classes on Britain’s railways for many years, being part of the equally common 0-6-0 wheel arrangement type. They were eventually superseded by classes like the Stanier 8Fs, which were much more powerful and could pull longer loads.
This is one locomotive that really does deserve a new model. The 4Fs are incredibly popular and have a lot of character. So, just imagine a totally new example crafted to the standards of a model like MeshTools’ Super D.
Bulleid Light Pacifics (Streamlined)
Original Model: Digital Traction (now with Steam Sounds Supreme)
Another class of engine that has had a big Steam Sounds Supreme refresh; that pack added new examples of the class to the original, had new sounds and particle effects, and was a significant upgrade. It was also released as a brand new loco, meaning that you didn’t need the original pack, and free reskins added more members of the class.
The Light Pacifics were the smaller versions of the Bulleid Pacifics and were made up of West Country and Battle of Britain locomotives. The larger types were the Merchant Navy locomotives, which were primarily aimed at hauling the Southern Region’s fast expresses and semi-fast passenger workings, but were also found on freight traffic in their later years.
While the current pack is still not bad, only a few examples of the class can be driven: there isn’t dynamic numbering to replicate every member of the class. Bossman Games have now released new versions of the rebuilt Light Pacifics, Merchant Navy models, and brought the streamlined Merchant Navys to the game for the first time. If they do the original Light Pacifics, too, we’ll have the whole set.
Standard Class 8P Duke of Gloucester
Original Model: Iron Horse House (Currently Unavailable)
The No.71000 Duke of Gloucester was a one-off prototype Class 8 Pacific built by British Railways, which sadly did not have the longest service life before being withdrawn from service.
Some of this was attributed to design issues, but recent interviews with footplatemen suggest that it might have simply been down to how it was operated. Regardless, it remarkably survived into preservation and has shown what it is capable of on numerous occasions.
The Train Sim model was released by Iron Horse House years ago, and while it was probably bought up by Dovetail Games, along with the other IHH models, it’s still not been made available. So, an enhancement pack hasn’t even been made (a private reskin is pictured above).
Who knows if ‘The Duke’ will ever be done justice in Train Sim, but it is a locomotive worthy of the treatment.
Thompson B1s
Original Model: Dovetail Games
Dovetail Games released a version of the mixed traffic B1s quite some time ago, and since then, only a handful of reskins have enhanced the appearance of the class in Train Sim. The B1s were, in effect, the LNER’s version of the LMS Black 5 and were just as good as their counterparts. Only two of the class have survived to this day.
Nicknamed ‘Bongos,’ the B1s have almost become celebrities in real life due to how rare they are, much like the S&D 7Fs. The LNER hasn’t really been done much justice in Train Simulator, for whatever reason, so perhaps the B1 could change that.
There are plenty of other locomotive classes that could do with a reboot in Train Simulator, so this is not a full list of what could be made afresh. That said, these are some key locomotives that are popular in real life, with there having been demands for new examples for some time.