North American mainlines: What hasn't been done?

[eric]

For the Proviso guy, several of us mentioned the limitations in MSTS track. Among other things the spacing in multiple track was larger than prototype. M-tracks is closer but in both cases, if the yard is on a curve you don't have enough values of multiple track curves

Proviso is definitely a challenge. I've got portions in my CNW Chicago route... several are modeled except for the main hump, which I chose to omit because it's mostly out of view.

The east yards are 11 and 18 tracks wide respectively, and fortunately Scalerail had individual curves that could be pieced that wide and still line up with the multiple track widths in the straights. I set the 18 tracks as 3 x 6tStr_Y_xxx at both ends of the curves, and then used the a/b/c/d/e/f/g etc. variations of the yard curves to join it up. Took about a week to get it right.

11 tracks is probably more than I could fill up with cars for an activity, so doing the full width of the bowl would be ridiculous.

[CSRX]

I will be making KML files for routes in the New England region, for anyone interested in maybe taking on something different.
Overall I had plans, but I may just create the KML files for anyone interested in setting up the Demex terrain for the routes and maybe track laying. I can always supply track charts as well for various eras.
My overall goal was the following. Yes, I know, a lot...

MEC Mountain Subdivision - Portland, ME to Saint Johnsbury, VT. (1978-1981 era, in progress)
NB&M Mattawakeag Subdivision - McAdam, NB to Brownville Jct, ME. (2024 era, in progress)
VTR Rutland Division - Burlington, VT to Hoosick Jct, NY and Bellows Falls, VT to Whitehall, NY, both via Rutland, VT. (2019-2022 era, in progress)
Guilford Rail System District 1 - Mattawamkeag, ME to Portland, ME.(2008 era)
Guilford Rail System District 2 - Portland, ME to Ayer, MA.(2008 era)
Guilford Rail System District 3 - Ayer, MA to Rotterdam Jct, NY. (2008 era)
NB&M Maine Northern Division - Brownville, ME to Fort Kent, ME (2024 era)
NB&M NBSR Division - McAdam, NB to Saint John, NB (2024 era)
CDAC Maine Division - Searsport, ME to Jackman, ME (2000 era)
MEC Calais Branch - Bangor, ME to Eastport, ME (1976 era)
D&H Canadian Mainline - Saratoga Springs, NY to Rouses Point, NY (2018 era)

I believe I have track charts for others too, but I have to sort through and figure it out..

[jbtower]

I think that Chicago to Galesburg via both the former ATSF and BN would be an interesting route. You could throw in the Illinois Railways lines from Montgomery to Streator and the line from Zearing to LaSalle. And if the route creator wanted too they could possibly even throw in the Barstow sub and part of the Brookfield and Ottumwa Subs. Making it more of a BNSF Illinois mega route.

That would be a fantastic route

[jbtower]

Are you sure? ChicagoLand existed from last I checked.

That's a fine route for it's time but needs updating and OR conversion

[ChandlerBranchRailfan]

GusTheGator is working on the Washington, DC-New York Penn segment of the Northeast Corridor. He actually works on the route in real life, so he's got the idea. Haven't heard from him in a while.

Ya mean like he has a dayjob on Amtrak?

[Amtrakman2105]

I feel like this, the Marias Pass V5, the ATSF TransCon subs, and a few others all need upgrades, kind of like what we saw with the Pokey V2.0.

I agree with you on that and even both the TS BNSF and ATSF Seligman Sub along with the DRGW Green River Route would need to be upgraded to the Mullan Pass and Shasta Route Standards as well!

[muskokaandtahoe]

I'll add another vote for the former SP Cal-P lines from Oakland out to San Jose, Tracy, Sacramento, and Woodland....or further.

AA

i'm sitting on 15+ years of work on the Cal=P, ca. 1950. I'm so burnt out I can barely bear looking at it... but I will say the smoke is clearing and my ash is blowing away. In teh meanwhile I do work on the MILW Rd's Goose Island Project, ca. 1947 and continue to make progress on that.

Going towards Vacaville
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The kind of detail I model:
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Typical urban depth of scene: From Emeryville looking NE
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I'd say the most unique thing about the route is view distance. Along the bayshore and out in the valley you can see quite far so I've added 10km of near terrain on each side of the mainline and 100lm distant mountains

[spoony1999]

The unreleased Illinois Central route in Illinois is something I would love to see become available. Just seeing the screenshots through the years always wetted my appetite

https://www.trainsim.com/forums/foru...-icg-slingshot

[landnrailroader]

It beats me how they were able to do it. Using the Southern track geometry car we tested this route in 1978 when SR considered acquiring the IC. The track was TERRIBLE and even though we reduced speed, we still had some broken springs, not enough to be dangerous, but the running gear was overhauled and inspected at Hayne Shop after the test was finished. We tested New Orleans to St. Louis, St. Louis to Chicago, Chicago to Council Bluffs, IA, and then after I returned to home base in Alexandria, VA my crew deadheaded back to Chicago and then tested the freight line south to Memphis where the car was returned to SR.

Jerry Sullivan

[Amtrakman2105]

BNSF Red Rock Subdivision is another one because there’s no routes to run the Heartland Flyer on!

[mikeebb]

Second (third) ((fourth)) for the Cal-P. We have the Roseville Sub now - but those Auburn Cap Corridor trains need a place to go once they get to Roseville...

And a few others:
SP/UP Coast of course. ET has a little route covering Cuesta (SLO-Santa Margarita) with beautifully done scenery; extending that northward would be a great start. Actually, I think both Cal-P and the Coast *were* being developed as shown by several pix at ET, but nothing much seems to have happened recently. SLO is a good point to break between Coast and the Surfliner; SLO is a division/crew change point. Might be nice to include (or do separately) the Monterey & Santa Cruz branches.

EDIT: of course, ninja'd by the Cal-P, Cuesta, and Coast route builder, muskokaandtahoe, above. Thanks!!

North of San Jose, you can decide whether the Caltrain line or the East Bay lines would be more appropriate - or could be done separately - as extensions of the Coast. Caltrain, I think, has been done for one of Those Other Simulators, but not MS/ORTS. Rolling stock for the pre-electrified trains would be fairly simple, with F40s and MPi units in the library for reskinning and rolling stock being Chicago clones and Bombardier cars, but also in the library here. Building it with wire for the new cars that entered service in 2024 would be a bigger task. Caltrain, at least, is only about 50ish miles long between SF and Tamien just south of San Jose; the commute-only extension to Gilroy on UP is probably optional. No steep grades.

The Central Valley lines in CA, BNSF of course but also possibly SP/UP. Yes, it's flat. But there's lots of ag scenery to do and the distant mountains on both sides, then at the north end you have the Delta and the different lines fanning out: Altamont, BNSF across the Delta, UP west side line from (Fresno if old-time, Los Banos now) through the Carquinez strait meeting the Cal-P at Martinez, Sacramento/Roseville 2 ways from Stockton. Connects with the Tehachapi route (3DTS) at Bakersfield. For that matter, 3DTS needs to update Tehachapi a bit. A Really Modern version could even include the Valley segment of High Speed Rail.😉

Extend the Shasta Route south to Redding? There's a very nicely done vignette route of Redding here that would be a great endpoint for the route extension.

Somebody's got to do the Sierra. Probably not a simple project with the curves and grades. If you want to make it fiendishly difficult, include the (gone by the 1950s/60s) Hetch Hetchy RR and Angels Camp (with switchbacks!) branches.

Connect Feather River with UP in Sacramento and east from Portola to Winnemucca? That would be a job, and I haven't seen anybody talking about doing the SP/UP Overland route yet.

Hey, an olde fogey like me can dream a little. What are the chances of even one of these getting done before...?

[mikeebb]

I think you will find the Moffat line in the library, and I know that the old line over Rollins Pass is there. One of our very best route builders did those several years ago as well as most of the narrow gauge in Colorado. Just before his death he sent his Mega route to me to complete and I did, and it is in the library. Don't know about the joint line.

Jerry Sullivan

There is a Joint Line route, and I think I got it from the Library here some years ago.

[Keystoneaholic]

It's a relatively short route, but I'd love to see San Bernadino to Los Angeles via Pasedena in Santa Fe days. Bob Wirth gave us the main lines from Chicago to Barstow and San Bernadino to LA is available but there is that hole which stops us running the LA to Chicago 'Slver Street to the East'.

I don't expect to see it happen as most route builders these days seem to be more interested in what we have currently. I can still dream.

[rfranzosa]

New England is under-represented. We do have Paul Charland’s exquisite Conn River Route, and bits and pieces of the MEC and B&M, some with questionable accuracy, plus Metro North. I would love to see the New Haven RR in the 50’s, extension of the Conn River north to Saint Albans, or south to Springfield, MA….


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[wwhall]

I feel like this, the Marias Pass V5, the ATSF TransCon subs, and a few others all need upgrades, kind of like what we saw with the Pokey V2.0.

I wholeheartedly agree. There are several older routes other with "good bones," but desperately need to be upgraded to look even remotely realistic. Unfortunately, there are far too many routes out there where detail and accuracy have been nearly totally sacrificed just to "make mileage." I'm really interested to see how TS's Sandpatch turns out. The reality has been that MSTS simply did not allow the level of scenery detail that, say, densely forested mountainous routes require to be even remotely realistic. Even the well-done Feather River Route's forests were, by MSTS necessity, too sparsely forested to look much like the prototype. Many simmers (me included) like mountain routes, but in what's out there today in U.S. and Canadian Routes, only Surfliner 2.3, Mullan, Shasta, Cima, Northwest Line V6 (please Rory, release V7) and Horseshoe do a good job of rendering them. I believe that a lot of talent in route building is also squandered on making big railroad yards. First, even when done well, most such yards will "choke" a computer if populated with enough rolling stock to make them look authentic. Second, the track detail of the yard itself often leads to the surrounding scenery and structures to be sparse and unrealistic, particularly in urban areas. Third, many simmers don't have the time or desire to run complex yard activities, especially if one runs them prototypically rather than as a "game." Urban areas are another challenge that few route builders have met very well. Of all of the routes that I run, Surfliner 2.3 is about the only one that has met that challenge fairly decently. While I'm not personally a "fan" of Southern California, Surfliner 2.3 captures the "feel" of its prototype better than most any other route out there--and pretty much does that for its whole length. Another favorite of mine is Blackfoot 3--it also captures the "feel" of its prototype exceptionally well.

As for the future, I would like to see some more Great Plains routes that are actually faithful to the prototypes and not the "cartoonish" unrealistic versions that are out there now.