If you think, like I did, that the London Underground 1938 Stock is a pre-war antique then you'd only be half right. Amazingly it, in various updated and modified forms, was used on the London Underground as recently as1988! During an extraordinary lifespan they were used on the Bakerloo, Northern, Piccadilly, East London and Central lines–although we obviously only have the Bakerloo line in TSW2 as yet. When the time finally came to 'pension the 1938 stock off', several sets were refurbished and used on the Isle of Wight, redesignated as Class 483 (another DLC route for TSW2), making them the oldest passenger rolling stock in operation on regular services on the British rail network at the time of their withdrawal early this year (2021.)
The main difference between the Metro-Cammell & BRC&W 1938 Tube Stock and the familiar '72 Stock from the TSW2 Bakerloo line is the separate power and brake systems, other than that they behave in similar ways and have similar profiles. This is obviously mainly due to the strictures of the London Underground's tight tunnels.
The interior looks authentically 'art deco', although the green paint is the wrong colour green according to experts on the subject. The cab & controls all look brassy and old, and feel right. The door apertures are lower because the platforms used to be lower, and this means you actually have to stoop to enter the driver's door!
As far as routes go, you can only use the '38 Stock on the Bakerloo line. It has its own tutorial, 32 scenarios and 184 timetabled services, but you can of course drive it on several other routes with the scenarios editor by using the 'Off the Rails' option, which offers several interesting and/or amusing possibilities, that are impossible in real life.
There is a second variant but that only means you get a black roof and a tiny aerial, presumably for radio communication in the real thing. The interiors and controls are identical.
The '38 Stock is nice to drive, and slightly more demanding due to the separate brake controls. There are services, a tutorial and scenarios to play through.
At a price of £11.99 this would appear to be a purchase for completionists only, but it's undeniably a stylish, historically important addition to the TSW2 fleet.
Thanks to Lick PR, Dovetail Games & Rivet Games.