A 4 hour 20 minute scenario covering the 172 miles between London Waterloo and Exeter St Davids.

Drive the 12:20 departure from Waterloo; calling at Clapham Junction, Woking, Basingstoke, Andover, Salisbury, Tisbury, Gillingham, Templecombe, Sherborne, Yeovil Junction, Crewkerne, Axminster, Honiton, Feniton, Whimple, Cranbrook, Pinhoe and Exeter Central. 

Starting from the busy capital, you’ll leave the SWML at Basingstoke and travel through the rural counties of Wiltshire, Dorset, Somerset and Devon, dropping off the rear two coaches at Salisbury.

Unusually hot weather in summer 2025 dried out and shrunk the clay soil embankments along parts of the West of England route, disturbing track levels and making normal operation of the railway unsafe. As a result, 40 MPH speed restrictions are in place between Gillingham and Templecombe and Yeovil Junction and Crewkerne. Most of the line west of Salisbury is single track with limited passing opportunities. This has necessitated the introduction of a temporary timetable, cutting trains beyond Yeovil to a single train every two hours. In addition, the irregular passing opportunities forces long wait times at stations and passing loops. This adds an extra hour onto the existing 3 hour 20 minute journey. 

This timetable remains in place as of October 2025.

Requirements

AP Class 158/159 Vol 1/2

Route: Portsmouth Direct Line to London Waterloo (part 1), Southwest England UKTS file 36863 https://archive.org/download/ukts-archive-files-36001-37000 (parts 2 & 3) and Berks & Hants to Bristol & Penzance (part 4)

AP Class 444/450

Class 444/450 SWR Reskin Pack

AP Class 700/707/717

Class 700/707/717 EP Patch

AP Class 455 Vol 2

AP Class 375/377

Class 377 Aurora Refurb

AP Class 377/379/387

Class 387 SN ex GN Reskin

JT Southampton – Salisbury

S7 District Line destination Patch.

Installation guide:

Simply copy the ‘Content’ folder into your ‘Railworks’ folder.

Known issues/inaccuracies

• Class 701s and Class 458s are replaced by Class 707s.
• Some signals on passing loops incorrectly show a green aspect when the track ahead is occupied. When departing Tisbury Passing Loop, please check to make sure the station ahead is clear.