Update log
Full Train Sim World® 6 update
The complete published notes, normalized for clean reading and source attribution.
Extracted changes
- Maps
- Gameplay
As unveiled in Season of Reveals 2025, the Medway Valley Line is heading into Train Sim World 6, created by a conglomerate of community modders turned official partner developers; Firefly Simulations. By chance, 2026 marks the 170th anniversary of the completion of the line, and the route is ready to be in your hands on March 26th! So, to get in the right spirit, let’s take a deeper look at the route, with info on its real-world background, and marvel at how Firefly have captured this picturesque slice of Kentish countryside. I suggest you get tea and biscuits for this one.
Medway Valley Line Preview Stream
Make sure to tune in on Wednesday 25th March (if you’ve finished reading this by then!) to get your first live glimpse at the Medway Valley Line ahead of its release the following day - hosted by Executive Producer Matt, Community Manager Jamie, Adam and Charlie from Firefly, and yours truly, James!
South Eastern Origins
Please click on the images to read their captions (there’s enough text here as-is).
In the earliest days of the steam era, there were already some considerable ambitions to link key locations together by rail. A railway line from London to Dover would unlock the potential for cross-channel traffic to reach into the heart of the country, and the first proposals go back as far as 1825. These ideas were hindered by land ownership, and the difficulties of crossing the River Medway, so little progress would be made in the subsequent decades.
Fast forward a decade and the odds were starting to shift, thanks to one of the most notable early railways; the London, Brighton & South Coast Railway. This new route, which is known today as the Brighton Main Line, offered the chance for the South Eastern Railway to be incorporated and explore route options which would briefly share LBSC territory, then branch off and make way eastbound for Dover. The eventual route resulted in the SER diverging at Redhill, running some 40 miles in a near-straight line towards Ashford, before rounding the southern crest of the Kent Coast to reach Dover in 1844.
Our attention turns to 5 miles of this 40-mile stretch, the section of South Eastern Main Line between Tonbridge and Paddock Wood, where our connection with the Medway Valley Line begins. But first, a little on Tonbridge itself.
Tonbridge, or as it was originally known, Tunbridge, was first opened in 1842 and originally resided east of the road upon which it now sits west of. It started life as a terminus, until the line eventually reached Ashford, and then it started to grow connections to Tunbridge Wells, and more lines from London were established. The station was rebuilt at its current location in 1864 and became a vital junction station. Also situated nearby is Tonbridge West Yard, and Engineers Sidings on the site of the former East Yard - this makes Tonbridge a hive of activity, being a pivotal point for freight and engineering trains, as well as the home of Rail Head Treatment Trains for the South East during the Autumn.
Hop to Maidstone
When the SEML was built, Paddock Wood station was in fact named Maidstone Road, despite being some 8 miles further south than the County Town. Bypassing the town ensured the line could get to the coast as efficiently as possible, but this did ultimately leave out the largest and most significant town in Kent - which had expanded over time owing to its big industrial links along the River Medway.
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