Wind the clock back to the 1990s and tackle Cajon Pass in old-school style! Take a trip through time on 13th November aboard classic 6-axle motive power in striking Santa Fe schemes. Introducing: High Iron Simulations High Iron Simulations have been a Partner developer for Train Simulator Classic since 2016, producing a variety of TSC products ranging from scenario and locomotive packs to routes. This is their first release for Train Sim World. Their team represents an experienced group of developers including Michael Stephan, Rick Grout, Cesar “Mannu” Pach, Ricardo "Reppo" Rivera, Jonathan Lewis, Martin Velozo and Gary Dolzall. In May 2024, we announced their intentions to develop a Santa Fe themed Gameplay Pack, with gradual updates coming over the course of subsequent months. High Iron Simulations also has a U.S. freight route and a Locomotive Pack in active development, and additional products in planning. The Setting: Cajon Pass, early 1990s Cast your mind back to Californian railroading of the 1990s and picture the scene; the former ATSF, known simply as Santa Fe, was one of the most prominent Class 1 Railroads of the United States. Since its inception in 1859, Santa Fe had amassed over 13000 route miles and was the operator of some of the most famous trains in the US, as well as of course, a vast freight network. In this Add-on for Train Sim World 6, the lavish colors of the ATSF repopulate the rugged Cajon Pass route, recreating the experience of the early 1990s - the final years of Santa Fe operations. Embark on a variety of duties with 2 classic examples of ATSF equipment; the C40-8W and SD40-2, in iconic Warbonnet and freight liveries. Utilizing a new trio of freight cars from ATSF’s roster, as well as contemporary variations of existing equipment, get to work hauling locals, switching in yards and running mainline manifests, as well as hefty intermodals across an all-new timetable based on real Santa Fe schedules, and 5 new scenarios. Scheduled services will include player-drivable services featuring mainline intermodal and freight trains, switching, and locals. The services are closely based on actual Santa Fe freight schedules and horsepower assignments of the era and include more than 250 train movements per 24-hour period. Additionally, Union Pacific freight movements across Cajon Pass will be represented in an extra layer using UP equipment from the Sherman Hill route Add-on. The Rolling Stock SD40-2 AT&SF blue-and-yellow freight livery The SD40-2 is an all-American hero which is nationwide-renowned for its yesteryear mainline service. Now considered a veteran, the SD40-2 is kept to secondary duties in charge of local working and switching in yards and industries. This turbocharged, 3,000-horsepower six-axle locomotive was part of the heart and soul of the Electro-Motive Dash 2 line, along with other locomotives types like the GP38-2, seen in other Train Sim World Add-ons. Santa Fe-specific details have been modeled on this rebuilt variant of the SD40-2, including the distinctive inset lower headlight. The inclusion of Union Pacific layers for players of Sherman Hill adds even more SD40-20 action! Anyone new to the SD40-2 can get familiar with the controls of an unbranded version in Train Sim World 6's Training Center. C40-8W Warbonnet red-and-silver livery General Electric’s C40-8W (also commonly known as the Dash 8-40CW) was produced at GE’s Erie, Pennsylvania plant from 1989 through 1994. GE constructed 847 of the 4,000-horsepower, six-axle (C-C) diesels powered by the builder’s capable 7FDL16 four-cycle power plant. An evolutionary refinement of GE’s advanced line of diesels begun with the “Dash 7” series, the C40-8W is visually notable for its use of the stylish “North American Cab.” Previously a CSX version of this locomotive was released as a separate Add-on for the Sand Patch Grade route. Like the SD40-2, specific Santa Fe features have been modeled on this variant for the Santa Fe Gameplay Pack, such as the unique “gull wing” cab. There will be a new tutorial to play guiding players through the controls of the C40-8W as part of this Add-on. Wagons and Freight Cars The pack also features three entirely new AT&SF freight cars and three existing TSW freight cars repainted in Santa Fe liveries. The new items of rolling stock are: Santa Fe two-bay cement covered hopper Santa Fe three-bay ribbed-side covered hopper 86-foot auto parts boxcar Train Sim World 6: Santa Fe on Cajon Pass will release on 13th November for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, Epic Games Store, and Steam for $17.99/£14.99/€17.99 Please note that Santa Fe on Cajon Pass will be released on PC and 9th Gen Console platforms only. The Route: Cajon Pass The Cajon Pass route Add-on is required to make use of the gameplay in the Santa Fe Add-on. The standard route and schedule is set in the early 2000s, featuring the bold livery of BNSF. 85-miles (136 km) of route between Barstow and San Bernardino, California offer stunning scenery and challenging gradients for long freight consists. Unlike the Santa Fe pack, the Cajon Pass Add-on features the state-of-the-art ES44C4 diesel electric locomotive in addition to the BNSF variant of the SD40-2. Players of passenger-focused California route Add-ons San Bernardino Line and Antelope Valley Line can expand their operations with both layered services and Route Hopping with the Cajon Pass Add-on. Train Sim World 6: Out Now Free Starter Pack available until 11th November 2025 You can still upgrade to Train Sim World 6 via the Train Sim World: Free Starter Pack, which is available to download to your collection permanently until 11th November 2025. Whilst this won't grant you any new routes or trains, it will allow you to then purchase the Santa Fe on Cajon Pass Add-on, for use on the Cajon Pass route (if you own it). Find out more about Train Sim World 6 by following @trainsimworld on Twitter/X, Instagram, Threads, Facebook, YouTube, Twitch, and TikTok.
Nice for the people who appreciate this, but I'm pretty sure the sales of this product will disappoint. I rarely read anything on this forum about Cajon Pass or US freight content in general. I don't want to sound negative, but US freight content really feels dead for TSW. I've never understood what's fun about it no matter how good it looks, it's just too much of the same.
£15 for a timetable and some liveries is absolutely absurd. If this is the benchmark for tsw6 prices then I’m very concerned. Of course I hope that those who purchase this enjoy it and feel like it’s money well spent, but I can’t ever justify the price for this amount of content
Yeah thats not a price to bring people back to US freight. This whole product price is way to high for a few skins and a few cars.
Well, it's my turn! First-day purchase! I really hope the release is top-notch! I'm sure the guys at High Iron Simulations did a fantastic job. I'm really looking forward to seeing more of your work! Please give us more and more American routes and rolling stock.
You can pretty much enjoy this already in Run 8 with more gameplay features (Industry, Hump yards at Barstow and West Colton) plus if you have all the SoCal network installed, continuing on to LA, Bakersfield, Fresno or even Seligman. What was needed to revitalise this route was some actual new loco types maybe more vintage stuff, or some Amtrak long distance equipment.
No wander people find freight boring in current neglected DTG interpretation. Fake DPU, no RCL, broken EOT, no OCU and finnaly very poor physic state (couplers failures at minumum) . It could be very engaging type of game with proper attitude. But no, we have arcadish freight gameplay becoming boring quite fast...
The reason for that is DTG has realized that very few people actually enjoy driving freight trains just sitting there, occasionally adjusting your speed, and doing that for two hours or more. You can see that more urban-related trains, especially U.S. commuter trains, sell much better. The package looks beautiful, but this is simply too small a market for such products, and the price doesn’t help promote it either.
The problem is actually the opposite it sold very poorly, which is why DTG didn’t make any effort to fix it. After all, doing so would be a waste of money. American passenger trains don’t sell massively either, but they do perform better (the recent NJ Transit was very well received) than U.S. freight trains alone. Additionally, DTG's largest user base is actually from Europe, not the U.S.
And the red German trains and the UK toy trains with their pretty liveries are not? It's a bit more than that, I would say. I agree, a new loco or two would be preferable, just like Birmingham- Crewe, but that's not happening in TSW these days. Yes!!
I'm not concerned with the colors of the train, but rather what you can actually do with those trains besides riding from point A to point B for two hours without needing to stop anywhere. So whether a train is DB red or Santa Fe yellow isn't what I meant.
The elephant in the room is, of course, why DTG isn't doing this kind of content. They keep telling us that they can't get access or the sounds aren't good enough. Yet here we are with HIS pulling the load for them using assets from DTG's back catalog, something we've been begging them to do for years.
That's a bogus argument too. If that were the case, practically all routes would be disqualified, because they rarely manage to find truly high-quality sounds. I'm not talking about sounds that were recorded while a train was stationary in a depot.
18 dollars is kind of steep in my opinion. But, with the amount of new rolling stock we’re getting I guess it’s kind of justified. Will definitely consider getting this with the drought U.S content is in! A locomotive pack is definitely something I’m looking forward to. Hopefully it’s not a bunch of reskins. Hopefully the route is a good one. Saluda Grade will always be my dream route for TSW.
I agree. That's why every time a route is released, whether it's US, European or UK, there are complaints about loco or emu/dmu sounds. Are developers really making the effort to get authentic sounds? Don't know, though trips to California and the European continent suggest they sometimes do. Unfortunately, we have to take what we can get.
I wish Dovetail would start working with sound modders. There’s some very excellent sound mods for various U.S locomotives like the ES44AC on horseshoe curve that replace the awful horn and engine sounds. I know there’s the problem of licensing and yadda yadda. One can only wish..
Yes, there are definitely people who enjoy it, and my goal is absolutely not to discourage them. But I do want to make the point that a price of £14 isn't going to help attract more people to U.S. freight train content. Anyway, I've made my point and I don't want to block others from sharing their opinions, so I'll leave it at that!
Well, I don't think this release is going to attract a large influx of people to American freight. I think it appeals mostly to those of us who are already fans of this segment and who have suffered through a long winter of drought and discontent. You can't blame US fans for clutching at straws at this point. I doubt that we are suddenly going to see any new US freight content from DTG. The drought will continue.
I'm going to remain blindly optimistic about this. Especially with how DTG seems to be highly against doing American freight now, I'll take any American freight DLC that comes our way, especially from a new third party developer. Personally, I can't see much wrong with it just from screenshots alone either, but we'll only really be able to judge its quality once we see live gameplay. If it delivers what it says it's going to deliver, I think it's going to be pretty fun. Having some "retro" American freight for a change is going to be pretty fun, especially with such an iconic road, and it'll add a lot more to do on a route that has been out for a few years at this point.
Comparing a bus to a train on a steep grade are very different. The average U.S freight train weights between 3 to 18 thousand tons (18 thousand tons is about 39,683,207 million pounds). The average bus weighs 25 to 36 thousand pounds. Now, imagine having to take a freight train with over 100 cars down a grade of 2-3%. Most trains that go down Cajon have to use the dynamic brakes along with the automatic. Also, the Cajon pass section alone is around 20 miles long, so take into account the weight of your engines, loaded cars, and weather, your in for a rough ride if you aren’t experienced and know what your doing. A bus can stop on a dime pretty much. Freight trains take anywhere from 1-3 minutes, and that’s on a flat track.
Sorry, but is that really the only thing you have to wait 1.5 hours for? Not very inspiring if you ask me! But fair not everyone has the same inspirations about this route and i will respect that!
I'll be getting this unless initial impressions are terrible. Waited a long time for some US Freight content, and it mentions High Iron is developing a route and loco dlc as well, which is a good sign. This article didn't really give a ton of detail for something that's releasing in less than two weeks, though. Are UP services playable? How many services are switching vs mainline, etc? I think a preview stream would be a good idea
Juggling the three braking systems on the way down keeps you pretty much constantly engaged. Recovering control of those giant trains is difficult at best and impossible at worst, so you really need to keep on top of what's happening now and what's coming up.
While I won't pick this up straight away as I got the special edition of TSW6 and a few routes (new to me) to blast through scenarios and explore, this comes to the cost of a couple of pints in central London so I'd be quite happy to pick this up somewhere down the line and enjoy a quiet night in rather than 2-3 drinks in the pub.
Or wait for it on sale for half off. It's definitely worth it for that. I would like to see more layering though, since Santa Fe stock would fit on historically at least a couple maps, and even if not "accurate" would offer some spice by substituting in on other routes with the SD-40-2 and C40-8W (Sand Patch) Not sure if it's a "first day" purchase for me, but I'd pick it up on sale. Cajon Pass isn't great but Santa Fe stuff is fun nostalgia. For the people whinging about there being "more boring US freight content"... well that's entirely a matter of opinion. I find commuter, urban stuff as boring as watching paint dry and very monotonous. Different people enjoy different things. As we've discussed before, the player base does skew European and modern urban EMU. Doesn't mean the other fans aren't there (maybe..20%?) but the majority are happy to keep whizzing around in modern EMUs in cities. So that's what you already see over and over and over. Giving the 20% what they want on occasion isn't going to hurt that 80% still being covered in the game for the majority. My only concern is the limited implementation in TSW when so much more value could be had for such little extra work. But that's not just in HIS it's across TSW. It's just... weird implementations. This pack in particular seems decent for what it is, but still limited. I think instead of a whole timetable for example they could have just gone for substitutions of locos and used the extra workload by NOT doing a separate timetable into maybe developing another loco or doing layers on other routes... something with more innate value to more players. The extra timetable is a lot of work for what I don't see as additional value for me. It's an odd choice. Maybe there's more to it from a behind the scenes perspective, but more locos you can just easily "swap in" for a similar model even if it's not entirely "accurate" would be a lot more useful and less work than a whole new timetable. An SD-40 is an SD-40 realistically, no matter the livery. There's nothing game breaking on just swapping it in for any other SD-40.
Well, its finally here, though there is still some nitpicks here and there with it. One thing is this manifest, its still too uniform. The bar was set with Boston Worcester with Freight Manifests, and should be the bar for it going forward. Quality wise, guess we'll see if HIS cuts as much corners here as on TSC, or if they actually put effort into this.
For £15 it is a bit steep but l will buy it. I presume that this will only work in TSW6 and will not be compatible with TSW5
