Route Proposal: Dedicated Fallen Flag Routes

Discussion in 'Route Suggestions & Proposals' started by Blacknred81, Jan 4, 2020.

  1. Blacknred81

    Blacknred81 Well-Known Member

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    So far we have a good amount of route based on Fallen US Railroads such as Horseshoe Curve (PRR), Springfield Line (NH), Feather River (WP), Donner Pass (SP) etc. But there are many more Railroads with great history and great locomotives that can be used as routes for Train Simulator. Here's 4 examples.

    -Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad

    The CBQ, or the Burlington Route was operated from 1849 to 1970, it ran primary in the Midwestern States.
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    One thing the Burlington Route was known for, were its streamlined passenger trains known as Zephyrs, which ran from 1934 till the creation of Amtrak. These Zephyrs would make for a great route and possible locomotives that could be used would be the following.

    -CB&Q Class S-4a
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    -Budd Pioneer Zephyr
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    -EMD E-Units
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    Unfortuantly , 1 thing that would plague a CB&Q route is the BNSF licensing, which means the route would be unbranded outside the US.

    -Chicago Northwestern

    The CNW was one of the last railroads to fall, being bought out by Union Pacific in 1995, They operated in the midwest as well, and at most has over 12k miles of track, though that number shrank to appx 5,000 miles in '95.
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    One of the CNW's most well known trains were the 400 trains, which the 1st one being ran between Chicago and St Paul/Minneapolis, later being renamed the Twin Cities 400. The 400 name came from the train scheduling, which traveled 400 miles in 400 minutes. The CNW also ran LD trains in conjunction with the UP and SP till 1955. The CNW was also one of the 1st railroads to use the Nippon Sharyo gallery cars.
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    If the CNW were to get a route in Train Simulator, it would most likely be based around their passenger services. The following locomotives could be used.

    CNW Class E4
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    EMD E-Units
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    M10004-M10006 (Could also be sold as joint UP DLC)
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    -Denver Rio Grande Western (Narrow Gauge)

    While we do have the Rio Grande with Soldier Summit, I feel like the Narrow Gauge part of the DRGW could be a good focus for a route. While G-Trax did make the Durango & Silverton route for the Durango Railroad Historical Society, it lacks a lot of what would be featured in a full length route.
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    The route could feature any part of the Rio Grande's Narrow Gauge Network, and locomotives could be any that still run today (Or those that I do not know about). This would also allow players outside the US to have access to a Narrow Gauge route set in the US, as Clear Creek NG isn't available worldwide due to the BNSF licensing.

    K28
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    K36
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    K37
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    -Conrail

    Probably one of the last Class 1's to fall, Conrail started operation in 1976, and was created by the Federal government to run potentially profitable lines of multiple bankrupt carriers, such as the Penn Central, Erie Lackawanna, among others, and lasted till 1999, when its assets were split between CSX (42%) and Northfolk Southern (58%).
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    While we do have a few routes that could have scenarios set in the Conrail era (Horseshoe Curve,
    NS Coal District) , it would be nice to explore more parts of the Northeast, these routes would be set in an area that could also double as a CSX or NS route as well.

    Locomotives would be mainly the units that were common during this time (SD's,GP's,GE Dash Series,SD70/80MACs, etc.)
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    There are also a few more railroads I could add as well (Such as the NYC)
     
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  2. Buynot

    Buynot Well-Known Member

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    I'd love to see any of these come to Train Simulator! Especially the CB&Q and C&NW. I've been wanting to see a route set in 1950s Chicago for ages now, and those two railroads would be great candidates for such a route. The Rio Grande Narrow Gauge idea I also really like. I proposed the line from Antonito to Chama a while back, but it would also be really cool to get the full line from Alamosa to Durango. The routes would also be a good excuse to give us some mainline US steam, which I've said it before and I'll say it again, has been severely lacking as of late.
     
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  3. Random Railfan

    Random Railfan Well-Known Member

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    I would love Conrail. Personally, I think the area in Northern New Jersey with all of its industrial branches would work well with Conrail during the 80s and 90s. If I'm not mistaken they had a whole network of short branch lines in the Newark/Hoboken/Jersey City area. A lot of those branches along with some yards and portions of the River Line and Lehigh Line would probably have enough to do to have a good value for money. If DTG didn't want to do that they could always do the Lehigh Line during the Conrail era with a yard and a decent bit of trackage on the line itself.
    Here are some pictures:
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  4. jedi247

    jedi247 Well-Known Member

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    Conrail is great. I'd love the burly SD80MAC, plus a couple other diesels. NYC with Hudsons, Niagaras, and Mowhawks sounds great, too. I'd also like to suggest the N&W RR with J-Class 4-8-4s, Y6b-Class 2-8-8-2s, and A-Class 2-6-6-4s.
     
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  5. Average_Joe57

    Average_Joe57 Active Member

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    All of these would be great additions! Some Chessie System trackage could be good as well, could even have some interchange points with Conrail.
     
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  6. Buynot

    Buynot Well-Known Member

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    Just thought of a few other fallen flag railroads that would also be nice to have:
    Western Maryland
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    St. Louis Southwestern (Cotton Belt Route)
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    Louisville & Nashville
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    Nashville, Chattanooga, & St. Louis
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    The Milwaukee Road
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    Illinois Central
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    Missouri Pacific
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    St. Louis, San Francisco Railroad (Frisco)
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  7. jedi247

    jedi247 Well-Known Member

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    I'd also like to suggest the Duluth, Missabe, and Iron Range RR.
     
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  8. andrew.umlauft1

    andrew.umlauft1 Member

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    The Soo Line would be great addition as well
     
  9. StratPlayer62

    StratPlayer62 Well-Known Member

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    Nice proposals!

    While any of these would certainly be welcome, my first choice would be the Missouri Pacific, in particular the line between St. Louis and Kansas City. The Illinois Central would be awesome, I grew up in Southern Illinois, the main route through this part of the state would be a blast to run!
     
    Last edited: Feb 2, 2020
  10. NEC Railfan

    NEC Railfan Well-Known Member

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    Has anyone suggested the Penn Central??
    [​IMG]
    The Super-Railroad was a merger between the failing Pennsylvania and New York Central RRs. It is one of the largest, if not, the largest
    fallen flag ever to exist in terms of track miles. Routes spanned throughout 18 states, I believe. It unfortunately though, was a catastrophic failure. The two previous railroads were so big, the income generate couldn't support the large system. The ICC also forced them to integrate the New Haven as well. It entered bankruptcy with only 2 years of service, in 1970. In 1976 Conrail took it over, along with the Erie-Lackawanna, Lehigh and Hudson River, Central of New Jersey, and Reading.
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    My ultimately desired locomotive would be the ALCo Century C636! And perhaps an SD45 in PC colors.
     

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  11. 777Gaming

    777Gaming Well-Known Member

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    *cough* SAL, ACL,
    SCL, L&N *cough* ;)
     
  12. Random Railfan

    Random Railfan Well-Known Member

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    Come to think of it some of those railroads would be cool. Unfortunately Florida can be kinda boring because of how flat it is but other parts of the South like Georga, Tennessee, Kentucky, etc. are quite underappreciated. Personally I'd rather have an Eastern railroad like Conrail or Penn Central, but that's just because most of the routes I live around hosted both of those.
     
  13. 777Gaming

    777Gaming Well-Known Member

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    These roads aren't just restricted to Florida. Heck, most of these had a prominent presence all over the southeast, especially SCL and L&N. Also, Florida (mostly) ain't flat. There is 1.5% grade in Lakeland that many a train have stalled on, and the Florida Ridge is notorious for some steep(ish) gradients like in Lakeland and Bushnell. Seaboard also allowed trains to go 70+ miles per hour on some of the flat, straight sections in Florida, for example, the line between West Palm and West Lake Wales, which is roughly 100 miles, and all of the mainline from Baldwin to Hampton, which is roughly 40 miles of straight running (with some hills). These scenarios would put the E7’s 110 MPH gearing to the test!
     
    Last edited: Mar 22, 2020
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  14. Blacknred81

    Blacknred81 Well-Known Member

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    So we got the Clinchfield Railroad coming, so I'll take that as a win in my book. Hopefully the future is open to more fallen flags.
     
  15. 777Gaming

    777Gaming Well-Known Member

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    Clinchfield? Who's making the Clinchfield? And what part of the US?

    Edit: Just check Dovetail Live. I'm totally picking this up when it comes out!
     
    Last edited: Apr 24, 2020
  16. NEC Railfan

    NEC Railfan Well-Known Member

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    FINALLY!!!! THE CLINCHFIELD!!!! FINALLY A HERITAGE AMERICAN ROUTE FROM DTG!!! I'm sorry I'm doing caps, I'm very excited for this. Sure it's not in the 60s, but the 80s is a real step toward what I truly want.
     
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