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Stepford Express, sometimes simply referred to as Express, operates rail services to various districts around Stepford County, such as Stepford Central, Benton, Leighton, Morganstown and Llyn-by-the-Sea. With the release of SCR Version 1.9 on 15 May 2022, the operator began serving the Newry Zone, Eden Quay and Westercoast. It is also the most expensive operator in the game to unlock, as trains start at 2,250 points.

Stepford Express is classified as a Category III high-speed rail operator by International Union of Railways (UIC) definition.[1] Rolling stock is specially designed for high-speed operation, capable of reaching the maximum line speed of 125 miles per hour. The majority of the network also uses dedicated or specially upgraded tracks suitable for running at 125 miles per hour, although some sections (such as the Newry Branch) have lower maximum speeds, in part due to geographical constraints and its urban nature.

A full journey on the main line, from Stepford Central via Benton to Llyn-by-the-Sea takes between 21 and 23 minutes. If taking the route via Morganstown, the route takes 20 minutes on stopper routes, while the fastest route, only stopping at Leighton City, takes 16 minutes for the journey.

This operator bears a  pink rose (#FF0080)  colour scheme as of Version 1.7. Before that, the brand was simply Express and bore a  deep violet (#6B1E6B)  colour scheme.

History[]

2018[]

  • 7th January: First traces of Express could be seen, where a new express line was built. The works included new Platforms 5A, 5B, 5C, 6A and 6B at Benton, passing tracks through Coxly and Bodin, and Platforms 1 & 2 at the pre-V1.1 Stepford East abandoned, later removed to make way for the passing line. The platforms were shifted. Stepford Connect was rerouted via Angel Pass due to the cancellation of Metro and the old line that bypassed Angel Pass was allocated for Express. Works also happened east of Benton, where a linking line from Benton to the fast lines near Hampton Hargate was built.
  • 22nd December: BanTech mentioned that Express would not be coming in V1.1 as they prioritised AirLink instead, hinting that Express would be coming in future updates.

2019[]

  • 11th May: BanTech unveiled the roadmap. Under Q3 of 2019, it mentioned the Express line, which got people hyped because they would be getting Express over the summer.

2020[]

  • 3rd October: A sneak peek was released on the SCR Official Discord server of a small snippet of the map presumably for V1.7. At a quick glance, it looks like Express will be rebranded and going via Morganstown starting in that update and Morganstown will become the first station to serve all 4 operators in the game.
Express New Livery

The sneak peek posted by tpx_jm.

  • 10th October: Head of Brand Design tpx_jm released a sneak peek of the new express livery of the rebranded Express logo.

2021[]

  • 19th February: Version 1.7.2 was released, which brought along an upgrade of the Class 43 to NGv3, as well as adding a buffered HST variant and the first 7-car train, the 5-car HST variant, making it the longest train in the game at the time, beating the Class 185. Unique stop markers for these trains have been added at Benton and Westwyvern.

2022[]

  • 27th February: A sneak peek of the updated Class 220/Class 221 was released. Later that same day, Version 1.8.3 released, containing mesh-upgrades of the Voyager, making Stepford Express the first operator in SCR to have a fully meshed fleet.
  • 1st April: A photo was released, showcasing an HST stopping at Newry Harbour. Despite players thinking it was just a joke, as the photo was released on April Fools, Stepford Express began serving Newry Harbour in V1.9.
  • 12th May: A sneak peek showed a Voyager and a HST at a Waterline station (presumed to be Newry), leading players to believe that Stepford Express will receive an extension over the Newry Branch (which is highly speculated to receive a full overhaul) in the near future.
  • 1st September: A new map was released, having been delayed and supposed to release in V1.10.

2023[]

  • 2nd April: Version 1.10.7 was released, bringing a revamped St Helens Bridge.
  • 17th July: Version 1.10.8 was released, bringing a re-meshed Class 801, alongside the Class 802.
  • 31st August: Version 1.10.9 was released, introducing the Class 397.

Rolling Stock[]

Current Fleet[]

Class Number Image Top Speed (mph) Price (Points) Carriages Manufacturer Train Family Date Put Into Service Date updated to NGv3 Routes Operated On
HST (Class 43) HSTout 125 3,000

(800 per variant after unlocking)

4 (Standard and Buffer)

5 (5-Car)

British Rail Engineering Limited InterCity 125 17 December 2019

(5-car and buffer: 19 February 2021)

19 February 2021
EX43HSTStandard
Class 220 220meshext 2,250 4 Bombardier Transportation Voyager 15 April 2020 27 February 2022 All routes
SCR Ex 220 Game Livery Drawing
Class 221 221meshout Purchased along with Class 220 5 Bombardier Transportation Super Voyager
SCR Ex 221 Game Ver
Class 397 397 EX Ext 2,250 5 CAF Civity 31 August 2023 All routes except R086
EX397Drawing
Class 801 801v3-ext 2,250 5 Hitachi A-Train 17 December 2019 29 October 2020 (17 July 2022 remeshed) All routes
SCR Ex 801 Game Livery Drawing

Former[]

  • None at the moment

Future[]

  • None at the moment

Train Models[]

Train Models NGv1 NGv2 (CSG Model) NGv3 (Mesh Model)
Percentage 0% of fleet 0% of fleet 100% of fleet
Number 0 0 5

*Main train and variants are considered one train.

Depots[]

Current[]

Former[]

  • None at the moment.

Future[]

  • None at the moment.

Sidings[]

Current[]

Former[]

  • None at the moment.

Future[]

  • None at the moment.

Stations[]

The map below is interactive: click the stations to see the pages.


Current[]

Former[]

  • None at the moment.

Future[]

  • None at the moment.

Routes[]

Benton Express
Route Code Calling at
Stepford Central to Benton (fast) R075 Stepford Central and Benton direct.
Stepford Central to Benton R079 St Helens Bridge.
Benton to Llyn-by-the-Sea (via Morganstown) R085 Morganstown, Leighton Stepford Road, Leighton City and Northshore.
Leighton Express
Route Code Calling at
Stepford Central to Leighton City (via Benton) R076 St Helens Bridge, Benton and Leighton Stepford Road.
Llyn via Benton
Route Code Calling at
Stepford Central to Llyn-by-the-Sea (via Benton) R077 St Helens Bridge, Benton, Leighton Stepford Road, Leighton City, Edgemead, Westwyvern and Northshore.
Stepford Central to Llyn-by-the-Sea (via Benton) (fast) R078 Benton, Leighton Stepford Road, Leighton City and Westwyvern.
Llyn via Morganstown
Route Code Calling at
Stepford Central to Llyn-by-the-Sea (via Morganstown) (fast) R080 St Helens Bridge, Morganstown, Leighton Stepford Road, Leighton City, Westwyvern and Northshore.
Stepford Central to Llyn-by-the-Sea (super fast) R081 Leighton City.
Westwyvern Express
Route Code Calling at
Stepford Central to Westwyvern (via Morganstown) R082 Elsemere Junction, Morganstown, Leighton Stepford Road, Leighton City and Edgemead.
Newry Express
Route Code Calling at
Newry to Llyn-by-the-Sea (via Morganstown) R083 Benton, Morganstown, Leighton Stepford Road, Leighton City, Westercoast and Northshore.
Newry Harbour to Llyn-by-the-Sea (via Benton) R084 Newry, Benton, Leighton Stepford Road, Leighton City and Westwyvern.
Newry Shuttle
Route Code Calling at
Newry to Leighton City (via Benton) R086 Eden Quay, Benton and Leighton Stepford Road.

Criticism[]

  • The release of Stepford Express has been criticised by some players for being "rushed". Originally there were only 2 trains available: the Class 43 which was very blocky and under-detailed and the Class 801 which uses the same model copy-and-pasted over from AirLink's Class 802.
    • The livery was often criticised for not seeming to make any sense and being different on each train, with an LNER-style purple line along the side of the Class 801 while a fading angled edge was used on the Class 43, with a completely different style used on the Class 220 and Class 221.
    • However, lots of the criticism diminished with the 1.7 update and future updates as the livery was refreshed to look much more modern along with the Class 43 and 801 being updated to much more detailed mesh models, as well as Stepford Express running through the Morganstown Branch.
  • With the release of V1.9, Stepford Express now serves Newry and Newry Harbour. This was criticised by some players for being unreasonable as these services share the same tracks with Waterline.
  • Express via Morganstown Docks isn't logical as the Morganstown Flyover is not electrified, so the only train that can actually run on that line is the Class 43 as it uses diesel and electric power.

Trivia[]

  • All of the 15 stations that Stepford Express serves are also served by other operators making Stepford Express the only operator to not have any uniquely served stations.
  • Many people in the community believed that a Class 91 (InterCity 225) was actually supposed to run on the line, evident in a showcase of future SCR trains made by former Product Developer OverheadWires.
    • He later clarified that the showcase of the Class 91 is just a part of his PDV application where he tries to demonstrate a style of train that could work for SCR.
    • He stated that this model was never intended to be used in SCR.[2] However, this model can be added to other games.
      • If this train was put into service, it would be the third locomotive-hauled train in the game, as well as the first push-pull train, as the Class 43 locomotives are technically power cars, and the Class 68 involves a locomotive at either end instead of a locomotive and a Driving Van Trailer (DVT). However, it is planned to include a DVT with the Class 68 in the future.[3]
  • This is the only operator in SCR where all trains share the same maximum speed of 125 mph.
  • This is the second operator to feature First Class sections in trains, the first operator was AirLink.
  • This is the only operator where all trains were Next Generation from the initial release.
  • The colour of this franchise was planned to be orange, but it received a dark magenta colour scheme upon release. The orange franchise is AirLink.
  • There are platforms for Express at Millcastle Racecourse and Millcastle, however, no services call there. This could be changed in a future update, either with services or the platforms being removed.
  • This is the only operator in SCR to have no trains with double doorways and commuter-style trains.
  • This is also the only operator to have no trains with 3 coaches or less.
  • This operator used to pass at least one station on every route on an in-use platform, but when V1.4.6 was released, R079 was added, and that route doesn't skip any stations on in-use platforms.
    • Before V1.10, AirLink also had this trait until the Class 345, along with R060 was released, and the aforementioned route does not skip any stations.
  • This is the only operator with trains without functioning cab doors for Guards.
    • It is also the only operator without a train where the local door is the penultimate door of the last car of the train. The Class 801 does not use its dummy door in its first class compartment so it is not counted as a functional door.
  • Before V1.7, this was the only operator where tracks do not split off in different branches.
  • This is the only operator where the line splits into two separate lines and rejoin at a separate point.
  • This was the last operator to get a rebrand, after AirLink.
  • This operator serves the route with the most stations being skipped; R081, which only stops at 3 stations covering a total distance of 24.3 miles.
  • This is the only operator where all their routes were named instead of using their two terminating stations.
  • The least used station on the line is Elsemere Junction with only one route serving this station.
  • This is the only operator that does not serve the Airport Zone.
  • Prior to V1.7.2, Stepford Express had no headquarters. After V1.7.2, it got its own headquarters, at Llyn-by-the-Sea, as part of the latter's upgrade.
  • This is the only operator to not have any depots/sidings that exclusively spawns its trains.
  • Stepford Express operates the lowest amount of rolling stock types in their fleet, with only 5 different classes (excluding variants).
  • The conversion of the Class 220 and Class 221 to NGv3 in V1.8.3 makes Stepford Express the first operator to have an exclusively mesh-only fleet.
    • This trait was soon followed by AirLink after the conversion of the Class 755 in V1.10.7.
  • It is the most expensive operator in the game at the starting price of 2,250 points.
  • Between V1.9 and V1.10.8, the Class 220 was the only train that can operate on all routes in Stepford Express, as R086 can only be operated by this train.
  • Before V1.9, all Stepford Express routes stopped at Stepford Central. This could be considered as the operator's hub.
    • After the aforementioned update, no stations have all routes stopping at it, though Stepford Central still has 70% of Stepford Express routes terminating there.
  • The Class 801 and the HST are the only two Stepford Express trains to utilise special stop markers at stations.
  • Most routes of this operator that go onto the Newry branch do not have Faraday Road TMD as an available spawning point. The only exception to this is R086.

Gallery[]

Notes[]

  1. *R076
  2. Platform 7-10 only

References[]

  1. Pyrgidis, Christos N. (21 April 2016). Railway Transportation Systems: Design, Construction and Operation. CRC Press. ISBN 978-1-4822-6216-2. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  2. Toby [@OverheadWires] (1 June 2022). "I did indeed make a 91 ... However, it is/was never intended to be in SCR" (Tweet). Retrieved 5 June 2022 via Twitter.
  3. 68 DVT Evidence (SCR Assistance)

    The message from Innovations Director BanTech showing the plans to include a DVT with the Class 68

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