Cajon Pass: Prediction, Speculation, And Nit Picking Thread

So, going thru todays announcement, I've been picking apart photos and things to see what is and could be coming in the route itself.


The 2 locomotives that are coming to the route are the GE ES44C4, and the EMD SD40-2. For the most part the GEVO seems mostly correct, the road numbers look correct, though the side of the cab is missing the ES44C4 designation.


As far as the SD40-2 is concerned, the road numbers are from about mid 2000's to about early 2010's. BNSF's SD40-2s that are still on the roster now fall around the 1591-1999 (Someone correct me if I'm wrong on the roster).


Cajon Pass, does NOT look good......


This is my 1st concern with the route, the vegetation in this shot of Cajon doesn't look very good. It looks way too arid and missing a bunch of plants. This is kind of a bit concerning......


Rolling Stock.

So the Maxi IV is coming to TSW, which is nice. This car is more appropriate for a modern stack train than the older very uncommon 56ft car. Its also a 3-Unit car, and seems to be in BNSF's Swoosh Paint.



The boxcar seems to be of a Hi-Cube Variety, but no clue if its a 50ft or 60ft boxcar.



No visual on the Autorack or Bulkhead Flatcar.

Snow
So while it does indeed snow on Cajon from time to time, I'm wondering how far is it restricted on the route, because it barely snows any if at all in Barstow.


Can't think of anything else to talk about atm.

 

I would like to know if we will get working hump yards at West Colton and Barstow.

Also will we get the ability to serve industries with local traffic as can be done in Run 8?

 

Thinking about this, I just realized we are not getting any 2 bay covered hoppers for the route, which would be needed for the Oro Grande Calportland Plant, and the CEMEX Victorville Plant. So how would those industries even be served?

Also I don't think West Colton is included in the route, and I predict the Barstow hump will be like Cumberland's Hump, there but not in use.....

 

All I want to know is if the dynamic brakes will work on the 44. They were unbelievably bad in HSC version and not good at all in SPG version. The sounds were horrible in HSC as well so I’m hoping they won’t be used by DTG. I’m expecting the SD40-2 will be fine though, there’s not much wrong with that in other routes. I also want to be able to see the full length of my train in the distance (on PS5) because that’s an issue on Sherman Hill, only being able to see around 40 cars behind the locos.

 

As I feared then. Probably A to B runs with a few move these wagons from Track 3 to Track 5 then those on Track 6 to Track 4 and you’re done style scenarios.

 

My biggest gripe for this route only is just the locos themselves. But, I'm sure that's not gonna bother anyone for that, just the same repeated modern locos like Sherman Hill and Horseshoe Curve.

 

I look forward to taking out the F7 and C40-8W for a spin in ATSF livery.

Cheers

 

I have to say, for myself, I am disappointed in have Cajon since this is the 4th mountain route for the US. How about some flatter terrain freight route. With having the BNSF license, there is a lot of miles along the transcon that they could have modeled and given us a 85 - 90 mile route.

 

I would use the F7 in scenario planner but all the consists have locos at each end and no Banking Comm to make that work. Unless they have changed the formations since I last looked but I don’t remember CRR having an update to do that

 

no word on real DPU operations with those new ES44C4's with MFD's at least functional at Run8 level?
4 traction motors, would be interesting to find out the new dynamic weather influencing adhesion, as it does rain and snow on Cajon Pass once in a while

 

No surprise the models look fantastic. Re the lack of the "ES44C4", I wonder if they purposely left that off for livery designer repaints? A good point is brought up about the scenery though. It's definitely more brown than green in the game screenshot and I hope this isn't another Sherman Hill scenery disaster.

#1 thing for me is the audio of the ES44. I'm really hoping for the first time in TSW US freight, DTG was able to secure a realistic sound set for it, and maybe even the SD40-2 also. The MFD in-cab also needs to look like it belongs in a GEVO and not the AC4400, preferably with new functionality besides just cutting in the brakes - but that's just a wish at this point. The horn should also activate the bell (which hopefully will be an e-bell this time) automatically as is prototypical - not sure why this seems to have been dropped in recent past DLC.
Substitution into other routes without needing scenario planner would also be nice since its not uncommon to see mixed operator locos on trains in the US.

And since this is a freight route, I really hope its not just 85 miles of driving through green signals. I've gotten enough practice with other routes and trains that I know how to manage it up and down a hill. I'd like to see some other "interesting" bits that make the drive more interesting.

 

So you know how on intermodal trains on Sherman Hill and Horseshoe Curve, there were often well cars that had a long container on the bottom, and short on the top? Which looked ugly and unrealistic? These ones?


I haven't seen any of those in Cajon Pass screenshots, which is a very good thing. It's a small thing that makes the intermodal trains look significantly better.

 

But... it isn't wrong. They're compatible, and you can see different length containers on each other.

It is rare, but it happens.

 

Ah. Didn't realize that was a real thing. But to be fair, the key word there is "rare". I've never seen containers stacked this way on an intermodal train in my entire life, so seeing a bunch of these on each intermodal train really bothered me on Sherman Hill.

 

Its actually there, I think it was missing in the pre release shots, but you can clearly see it in this shot in another video

 

TBF, the only real steep portions of Cajon IIRC is the Pass itself, its decently flat between Barstow and Victorville, and the bottom of Cajon to San Bernardino.

EDIT: Between Frost and Barstow is less than 1%.

 

I know I'm repeating another post, but that lower pic is uncharacteristically green; it was taken after recent substantial rain. Most of the year the area is really brown and very arid.

Here is more typical terrain coloration:

 

At the end of the day this is still a game/entertainment and not a job. The fun/challenge in US freight for most people is managing the train up and down a challenging grade. I think pretty much any US freight route ever added to TSW will be based around a steep grades. I guess Cane Creek was an exception but it’s also probably the least popular freight route.

 

Having been to that area of Cali many times, the game screenshot is closer to the normal reality of the area than the photo you shared. That photo shows the region far, far, far greener than it normally is.

 

I only used that photo because its the closest photo to the angle DTG chose to show in that photo. Either way the scenery is still sparse. (Which could be down to draw distance) But maybe IMO DTG should of chosen a better picture to showcase Cajon than a faraway picture with no shubbery anywhere on the ground.

 

Good point but When going towards the other way around you don't want to end up like what happened in 1989 Cajon Pass where the SD40-2 SD50s crashed

 

That was caused by faulty dynamic brakes, and incorrect train weight. And the locos involved were 2 SD40T-2s, 3 SD45R's and 1 SD45T-2.

Not sure why you needed to bring that accident up. 4 people died in that accident, including 2 kids.....

 

Back on topic of the route, found 2 more photos stolen from the video posted earlier


This is another view of Cajon Pass itself, with UP's Palmdale Cutoff and Canyon Siding in the foreground. The scenery is still way too sparse for the area, it needs more ground cover, not to mention Mormon Rocks to the left don't look entirely accurate.....


I know this still isn't the correct time of year, but you can still see how much more shrubbery there is in the landscape vs the WIP shot.

 

Shame, Mormon Rocks was an awesome photo spot irl, sucks that it isn't great

 

Well it has to do with downhill Freight because if you're used to European freight trains you can simply apply train brakes to slow your self down. Some TSW2 locomotives have weak Dynamic brakes like AC4400CW Sand Patch grade

 

Scenery affects frame rate.
Remember the effect of too much grass on Sherman Hill.
This will have to run on older machines.

 

Yeah, it makes me concerned about other notable locations and landmarks on the route

 

Perhaps someday we'll get Dash 9-44CW DLC for this route, since BNSF still operates couple hundreds of them to this day i believe.

 

That would've been a lot better choice than another GEVO at this point. I mean, what is so special with the C4, it just looks like any other GEVOs on the outside.

 

The C4s are A1A since they are missing the traction motors from the center axle on each truck, as well as the variable traction control system they are equipped with.

Weather or not DTG will include these features as accurate as they are IRL is a different story.

 

2 more photos from today's roadmap...

1st photo is from around Hesperia, it actually doesnt look too bad and is much better that Cajon itslef IMO.

2nd photo I believe is San Bernardino, though it's quite odd seeing THAT much snow there....

 

Is it just me, or did they choose more realistic colors for the intermodal containers? For the most part, these all look like the kind of colors one would see on a regular intermodal train.

 

Used to love running Big Boy on the old TS version.
This would make an awesome DLC

 

IIRC, roadmap part 1 says that yes the variable TCS is simulated and fully animated.

I don't recall any mention of safety systems unfortunately.

Of the three routes, Cajon seems to have the most unanswered questions at this point.

 

And after the stream, I'm just gonna take a grain a salt with the GEVOs now, more so than ever. Even I don't care if the C4 is special anymore, a GEVO is still a GEVO.

 

I feel like they could of included both a Gevo and Dash 9 if they wanted to, it probably wouldn't of taken them THAT long to modify the AC44 into a Dash 9 since the only MAJOR different between the 2 is the AC inverter cabinet behind the conductor side of the cab. Would of also been a nice mix of H3 for the GEVO and H2 for the Dash 9 to give a nice BNSF mix in consists. Hell could of incuded a ES44AC and ES44DC for more bang for your buck.

 

I would have preferred the ES44DC tbh. Their track record with AC locos isn't the greatest as of yet, especially the dynamic braking.

 

True, it wouldn't really take that long to modify the AC44 to a Dash 9 (which I wouldn't mind for this), and it would indeed be lovely to add in the H2 livery to the mix as well.

And while Cajon Pass does look like a very decent US freight to drive on compare to the other routes so far, I'm not denying that, but may still have the same problem of having 1/2 locos as a base per route (1 new, 1 reused pattern) with not many varieties to include (even if Sherman Hill gets layered in) depending on a route. Not to mention, there haven't been another US loco DLC in nearly 2 years now.

So whether or not TSW3 will change that, with the decoupling method for future loco add-ons, may remains to be determined for now.

 

Huh? It's been less than two years.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1418841/Train_Sim_World_2_CSX_C408W_Loco_AddOn/

Cheers

 

TBF looking at my photos of Cajon it's mostly Dash 9s and C4s

 

Right, my bad. Fixed it.

 

So, hopefully DTG can nail a good chunk of unique visual assets and locations. I already have some worries with how Mormon Rocks were modeled, so we'll see over the coming month to see what else is modeled or isn't.....

Santa Fe Smokestack (San Bernadino)


Sullivan's Curve


Memorial Site, track 3, 1996 Cajon Pass Runaway.


Hill 582


Summit



Frost Flyover


Mojave/Victorville Narrows


Western America Railroad Museum (Barstow)

 

One other issue I also have is Cajon Pass included stock, or what's not included....

These would be 2 Bay and 3 Bay Covered hoppers, reason being these would of been used at industries along the route.

The 3-Bay Covered Hoppers could of been used for Ardent Mills plant in San Bernardino, so no unit trains are going there.....


The 2-Bay Covered Hopper would of been used for the cement plants...

CEMEX's plant in Victorville.


And CalPortland's plant in Oro Grande.


For some reason DTG seems allergic to local freight services.....

 

We need passenger on this route.

 

It is indeed weird that they would add in a new well car and a bulkhead to the mix, but not a single hopper (open or covered) included as well for industry sidings like these. This would beg the question on what would the SD40 do for both yard switching, as usual, and for locals, if it has any, on this route.

 

Yeah, there really isn't any other industry along the route aside from Hesperia, but looking at satellite images, those take Covered Hoppers (Weather grain or plastic pellets) So those really cant be accurate served either...


There is an auto ramp facility in San Bernadino, so maybe that? (Which could explain the autorack) but there really isn't any other industry out there.


I think its safe to say DTG really needs to model a BNSF 3-bay covered hopper for the route, they already have the 3-Bay available from other routes, so maybe if we are loud enough they could get it done before September, but I doubt it.

 

Beautiful route and it adds to the current collection of us freight routes. Because um we wanted more :/

 

Not counting SHG routes, its a pretty even split between freight and passenger.
-Peninsula Corridor
-Long Island Railroad
-Boston Sprinter
-Harlem Line

-Oakville Sub
-Sand Patch Grade
-Clinchfield Railroad
-Sherman Hill
-Cajon Pass

 

Yeah I mean i feel like it's become a meme with the US freight routes but yeah it's more even than I thought. I think it just annoys people when they ask for certain routes and dovetail are like ha no

 

IIRC, Cajon Pass was a top 25 candidate on the most requested routes for TSW a few years ago, so......