British Rail

**British Rail**, originally known as **British Railways**, was the nationalised operator of railways in the UK from 1948 until the 1990s, when the network was privatised, a process which was completed in 2001. BR was created from a merger of the four main railway companies in 1998, the GWR, LMS, LNER & SR. During the 1950s and 1960s, the network underwent modernisation with steam traction being replaced by diesel and electric along with major cuts to services and the network size as part of the Beeching Axe. Many British Rail locomotives are still used by privatised operating companies today, and new rolling stock still features British Rail as part of their official names.

## Routes

* Northern Trans-Pennine - Set in 1983, Northern Trans-Pennine covers the route from Manchester Victoria to Leeds, a distance of 43 miles. This route is set in the BR Blue era and comes with the BR Classes 45, 47 and 101
* Tees Valley Line - Set in 1989, the Tees Valley Line covers the route from Darlington to Saltburn in North-eastern England, a distance of 27 miles. Along the route are many industries, primarily steelworks and coal mines.
* Isle of Wight - Set during the 1990's, the Isle of Wight route depicts the Island Line after the introduction of the British Rail Class 483 EMUs.
* West Cornwall Local - Set during the 1990's during British Rail's sectorisation era, the West Cornwall Local route includes a Regional Railways British Rail Class 150/2 *Sprinter* DMU, and a British Rail Class 37 locomotive.
* Spirit of Steam - Set in 1958, during the last decade of steam revenue service in the UK, this route runs from Liverpool Lime Street to Crewe, and includes the LMS Jubilee Class and Stanier Class 8F steam engines.
* Peak Forest: Ambergate - Chinley and Buxton - Set in end of steam in 1963, during the last decade of steam revenue service in the UK, this route runs from Ambergate to Buxton And Chinley, includes the LMS Jubilee Class and Stanier Class 8F steam engines from Spirit of Steam & the Fowler 4F making it’s debut.
* Blackpool Branches -

## Locomotives and Rolling Stock

### Diesel

* British Rail Class 08 - The most numerous locomotive built by British Rail, the Class 08, also known as the 'Gronk', carried out shunting operations across Britain and is featured in the Northern Trans-Pennine, Tees Valley Line, Diesel Legends of the Great Western & Blackpool Branches.
* British Rail Class 37 - Built in the 1960s, the Class 37 operated passenger and freight services for British Rail. By the late 1980s, most were operating freight services and often worked in pairs due to the heavy weight of freight trains. As a result of the locomotive's loud engine noise, which has a distinctive throaty tone reminiscent of a large internal combustion engine, Class 37s are often nicknamed 'Tractors' by enthusiasts. It is featured in the Tees Valley Line in Trainload Metals Sector livery, and in West Cornwall Local in the Railfreight livery.
* British Rail Class 40 -
* British Rail Class 45 - Originally designed for services on the Midland Main Line, these locomotives operated Trans-Pennine expresses during the 1980s and is featured in the Northern Trans-Pennine route.
* British Rail Class 47 - One of the most common British Rail locomotives with over 500 built, the Class 47 operated both passenger and freight services across the country. It is featured in Northern Trans-Pennine & Blackpool Branches where it operates InterCity passenger services.
* British Rail Class 101 - A first generation Diesel Multiple Unit built in the 1950s, the BR Class 101 operated local commuter services across the UK until replaced by second generation DMUs in the late 1980s. It is featured in Northern Trans-Pennine, Tees Valley Line & Diesel Legends of the Great Western.
* British Rail Class 142 -
* British Rail Class 150/2 *Sprinter* - Designed for use on rural lines across the country, the 150/2 Sprinter is a class of DMU introduced in the mid-1980's to replace aging first-generation DMUs introduced during the 1950's and early-1960's. The units featured in the West Cornwall Local route DLC depict the Sprinters as they were during British Rail's sectorisation era of the late-1980's and 1990's, and wear the Regional Railways livery that was commonplace at the time.

### Electric

* British Rail Class 483 - Originally built in the late 1930's as London Underground 1938 Tube Stock, the Class 483 is a class of EMU that continued the life of the 1938 stock for a further 32 years on the Isle of Wight, with an operational history that lasted well into the post-privatisation era. These units, which were the oldest EMUs in mainline service at the time of their retirement, were finally replaced in 2021 by the Vivarail-built British Rail Class 484 EMUs.