Coming soon from expert developer Milepost Simulations is the Union Pacific’s bustling and historic crossing of Wyoming’s Green River Basin. Green River, Wyoming. It is an America town virtually synonymous with railroading. Situated snugly in the great land basin which bears it name, Green River has, for more than a century-and-a-half, evoked railroading – big-time Union Pacific railroading. Soon, famed Green River – and the modern Union Pacific’s busy and scenic crossing of the Green River Basin of western Wyoming – is coming to Train Simulator Classic with the Green River – Kemmerer Route developed by Milepost Simulations. The Green River – Kemmerer Route is set in the 1990s and extends from Green River via Peru and Granger to Moyer Junction at Kemmerer, Wyoming, a distance of 72 route miles. The segment of the upcoming route westward from Green River to Granger was a part of Union Pacific’s original transcontinental line of 1869. From Green River, it crosses the river which bears the same name, then climbs from the river valley on a .82 percent grade to the line summit at Peru. In the 1990s, this portion of the route was the eastern end of Union Pacific’s Salt Lake City Subdivision. Thirty miles west of Green River – at Granger – the Sall Lake City Subdivision swung west-southwest toward its own namesake city and connected with Union Pacific’s Pocatello Subdivision. From Granger, the upcoming Train Simulator Classic route will re-create the segment of the Pocatello Subdivision extending northwest 42 miles to Moyer Junction at Kemmerer, Wyoming. In history, this was the eastern end of the Oregon Shortline Railway, which came under Union Pacific control in 1898 and served as UP’s gateway to the Pacific Northwest. The two sections of the route offer distinctive operating experiences, as the Salt Lake City Subdivision is primary double track and fast-paced (with track speeds of up to 70 mph). The Pocatello Subdivision is single track with passing siding and has curves which often limit track speed (although it too features 70-mph running). First and foremost, Union Pacific’s crossing of the Green River Basin was (and is) a steel artery for priority and heavy tonnage. But the line has also been a major tonnage producer, with soda ash deposits east of Granger and coal mines in the area of Kemmerer proving the Union Pacific with traffic. Coming soon, the remarkable Green River – Kemmerer Route will include four modern Union Pacific General Electric and Electro-Motive diesel types and both the husky motive power – and your skills as an engineer – will be put to the test by the route’s mix of moderate grades, heavy tonnage, and mile-a-minute running. The Green River – Kemmerer Route for Train Simulator Classic will feature: • Union Pacific’s rugged, scenic, and fast-paced main line across Western Wyoming from Green River via Granger to Kemmerer, 72 route miles. • The rugged, remote scenic beauty of the majestic Green River Basin. • Union Pacific yards, facilities, and lineside shippers at locations such as Green River, Solvay, Westvaco, Granger, and Kemmerer • A quartet of modern Union Pacific diesel locomotives, including the General Electro Dash 8-40C and Electro-Motive SD90MAC, SD40-2, and GP38-2. • A variety of freight equipment ranging from intermodal equipment to boxcars and covered hoppers, with many in Union Pacific and predecessor liveries. • Seven challenging and authentic career scenarios, featuring Union Pacific freight operations of the 1990s across the length of the busy route. Milepost Simulations’ Green River – Kemmerer Route as created by accomplished developer Milepost Simulations will put you in the cab and at the throttle to experience Western railroading across the scenic and memorable Utah Basin on one of America’s busiest and most historic railroads – and it’s coming soon to Train Simulator Classic! Union Pacific’s busy and scenic crossing of the Green River Basin of western Wyoming is coming soon to Train Simulator Classic with the Green River – Kemmerer Route developed by Milepost Simulations. Westbound from Green River, a Union Pacific grain train crosses the Green River with famed Castle Rock looming in the distance. The Green River – Kemmerer Route is set in the 1990s and extends from Green River via Peru and Granger to Moyer Junction at Kemmerer, Wyoming, a distance of 72 route miles. At the eastern end of the upcoming route, a pair of Union Pacific EMD GP38-2 tend to switching duties in Green River’s sprawling yard complex. From Green River to Peru, the double-track Union Pacific’s Salk Lake City Subdivision climbs out of the Green River Valley on a .82 percent grade. The upcoming Green River – Kemmerer Route features four locomotive types – the General Electro Dash 8-40C and Electro-Motive SD90MAC, SD40-2, and GP38-2. In addition to being an artery for transcontinental tonnage, UP’s Green River – Kemmerer Route is a major tonnage producer, with soda ash deposits east of Granger and coal mines in the area of Kemmerer proving traffic. At Westvaco, a UP EMD SD90MAC is on the point of a soda ash unit train (above), while a pair of GP38-2s (below) switch the massive soda ash facility. West of Granger, the upcoming Green River – Kemmerer Route re-creates Union Pacific’s Pocatello Subdivision (historically the Oregon Shortline Railway), a single-track, often curving route which nonetheless frequently features fast running. At Opal on the Pocatello Subdivision, a GP38-2 powered local is in the clear as an eastbound hot Union Pacific intermodal train rolls past. With the Green River – Kemmerer Route, you’ll handle intermodal, manifest, unit train, and local operations. The town of Kemmerer rests at the western end of the upcoming Train Simulator Classic route and features a yard and nearby Moyer Junction. With heavy coal tonnage trailing behind, a trio of powerful Union Pacific EMD SD90MAC diesels depart Kemmerer eastbound on a wintry day. Milepost Simulations’ upcoming Green River – Kemmerer Route as created by accomplished developer Milepost Simulations will put you at the throttle to experience Western railroading across the scenic Utah Basin on one of America’s busiest and most historic railroads!
This sounds like a fantastic route. The C40-8W is a cool addition, as is the SD90-43MAC. I still want to see a C40-8W, SD60 Spartan Cab, SD70M, SD90MAC-H (including Phase II unit with SD70ACe-style cab), GP60, and AC6000CW.
Looks cool, happy to see. Some parts look a bit too much like Soldier Summit scenes, but the rolling stock seems nice for sure, and of course the route building itself, hopefully. If there is room for one wish, can you reference a different skybox? The one used in the screenshots is the #1 best classic DTG offering, but there were lighter skies in 2011 PDL and the new 2D clouds in the 2018 PDL which would be lovely to be included. (Ideally those could be copied to the core, but I know that's kind of out of scope.)
Have to ask, how is it we are seeing these magnificent routes for TSC yet the EP for TSW continues to tell us how difficult US freight is in that game? Surely the same access is required for research to produce the TSC route, any new locos etc. as would be for TSW - even if done by a third party on behalf of DTG?
From what I gather from those on the TSC. Milepost has been reusing alot of assets from his past routes, as I guess some things are dated as far as his Raton Pass route. As far as the locos are concerned (Which is TSW's biggest issue), most are just reused ones that we already have in game. -GP38-2 is most likely the DTG one from Peninsula Corridor -SD40-2 is either Mileposts old SD40-2 or the RSC one with new paint -The SD9043MAC is the same one that Reppo did for DTG when Granger Heartland released, just without the slogan on it. -The C40-8 is most likely a modified version of the Norfolk Southern one DTG made in 2014. So no new research is needed for locos aside from minor changes.
Even though generic assets are reused, the more import specific assets are new here. From the screenshots in the article, Green River station is definitely new, as is the bridge just outside of it, and a lot of the soda ash structures look new to me as well. Arguably, these are the assets that require actual research, generic assets are just that, generic, and can be made just looking at a single photo or even without any 100% accurate base; whereas things like depots and bridges usually require blueprints or diagrams to make correctly, and if they don't exist online a trip to document such things is almost certainly necessary. That's one of the big reasons I think DTG doesn't really want to develop US content, as that can get very expensive very fast. That said, Milepost manages to get out to US fairly often, following his railfan blog reveals he's visited the locale for all of his recent routes a year or two before he made them. This is true for this route, but for his last three routes, he's scratchbuilt three locomotives, one of which has been extinct for 70 years, so really this seems like a moot point to me. A lot of this to me points toward DTG just not having the desire to make freight NA content for TSW. HIS has said they are working on a route for TSW (although if I were to hazard a guess I would say they're making on of their TSC routes in TSW) so clearly they can get access/ have the ability to research (although, if it's anything like their TSC offerings, there will be no research).
