As a huge railfan/ foamer of Amtrak (and hopefully conductor as an adult) I really would like to see some more Amtrak routes in TSW2. With Rush Hour around the corner bringing the Providence- Boston route into the game, im hyped. But there are many other opportunities for Amtrak to come into TSW2. Examples I think would work come as the following. Capitol Corridor: San Jose- Sacramento. NEC: Washington- Wilmington or Baltimore are some good options for TSW2. Just my opinion.
Northeast Corridor Washington to Baltimore/Wilmington because it can be linked up to Boston to Providence if these segments are built Baltimore/Wilmington Philadelphia Philadelphia-New York Penn Station New York Penn Station New Haven and the final missing section it's Northeast Corridor New Haven Providence.
I would really like the capitol corridor, we havent had a western US passenger route in a while. I would like to see some more diesel passenger locos such as the F59s, P42DC, and maybe an SC44 as dlc. If we get this route then we could have these trains as AI traffic on Peninsula Corridor in San Jose Diridon station.
I vote Keystone Corridor, especially if they could get the SEPTA license (seems like a longshot, but it's still fun to speculate). It would bring a nice mix of new and old equipment to TSW2. It's 104 miles from Philadelphia-Harrisburg, PA, which is probably too long, but ending at Lancaster is 68 miles, which is plausible. IIRC, it's Amtrak's only electrified line outside the NEC. Scenery is dense urban to suburban to rural w/small cities. Date 2016-20 (pre-COVID to avoid schedule reductions/suspensions). Amtrak (uses Philly 30th St. Station lower level): Keystone Service- pre-COVID was 13 daily roundtrips using the ACS-64, and ex-Metroliner cabcar in a push-pull config. Service continues east to NYC (it's the very same train you get to drive for like 1 stop in NEC:NY). Pennsylvanian- 1 daily trip in each direction using P42 Genesis and Amfleet coaches (service continues east to NYC and west to Pittsburgh). SEPTA Paoli/Thorndale line- commuter rail (uses 30th St. Upper level): Services terminate at Malvern, Paoli, and Thorndale (appx 35 mi.) depending on day/time. Service is planned to extend to Coatesville (38 mi.) once the station renovations are complete. There are ~20 intermediate stops. Rush Hour/Express services use the ACS-64 and Bombardier coaches and cabcar in a push-pull config. Local services use Rotem Silverliner V EMUs. There might still be some 70's-vintage GE Silverliner IV's mixed in, but I haven't ridden since COVID, so not sure. SEPTA Cynwyd Line- commuter rail also starting at 30th St, but diverges at 52nd St- since we're speculating let's include the whole line, which is about 6 miles, and stops at Wynnefield, Bala, and Cynwyd. Uses the same EMU's. Very quickly transitions from dense urban to suburban landscape. Maybe 1 train/hour, but has been suspended since COVID. Used to ride it about 20 years ago when it was still using rickety old Silverliner II/III's. Norfolk Southern: Train H84 "Coatesville Local"- originates at Abrams Yard and runs eastbound on the corridor from CP Glen to Coatesville, then reverses off to interchange with the plate steel mill there (daily round trip). Uses mostly SD60's but I've seen C40-9's as well. Uses an ex-CR caboose (!) to navigate down the steep grade to the mill. Train H26- once a week from the same mill westbound to Enola Yard near Harrisburg. Uses GP38-2's and apparently sometimes has trouble getting back up the grade. Not my video, but I live right near that unguarded crossing at around 4:00, and it's TERRIFYING as you can't really see, especially up the grade- no idea how it's allowed tbh. He also has other videos showing a lot of what's described above, if you're interested. There used to be overnight mainline freights through to the Trenton cutoff, but everything goes through Reading and Allentown now AFAIK. My knowledge west of Coatesville is very limited. It marks the transition from suburban to rural, and i do know there's a junction to the Strasburg Railroad in Paradise (near Lancaster), which is a very popular Steam excursion line, and could be a TSW possibility itself. Wow sorry for the very long post!
Well done and for ACS-64 600-670 NEC Boston Providence & Newark Airport New Rochelle just needs a Reskin into SEPTA ACS-64 901-915. The Bombardier Coaches are comet IIs 2400s & Comet III/IV 2500s. For DLC AEM-7 2301-2307
Capitol Corridor, NEC from Philly to Baltimore, and the Capitol Limited for SPG would be my preferences. And yes, we would. As well as Santa Clara Jct.
