The title says all, but i mean the route you always come back to, the one you would keep if only one route was allowed ? And why ?
Well I haven't bought HSC yet (maybe in a sale if the physics get fixed) but on mileage driven (not accurate): Sherman Hill 17 miles (which I know is wrong, at least 60 miles). Clinchfield 136 miles. Cane Creek 16 miles (again wrong, more like 40 miles). SPG 156 miles. Oakville 15 miles. The most pointless and tedious route released for TSW thus far. So the clear winner at present is Sandpatch.
For me it was always CRR, but now HSC is making an impression on me so think it will be right up there.
Clinchfield, although Sherman Hill is growing on me now that it runs at an acceptable framerate. Haven't bought HSC so I can't judge it. In general I like all of the NA freight routes except Oakville (dull) and SFSJ (afterthought on a straight-shot commuter line).
Sand Patch Grade. It hasn't been equalled. I have all the routes except HSC, which I will likely pick up in a sale at some point. If they patch up the errors and add one more new loco, it might reach 2nd place. I hear the scenery and gameplay are good. But oh how I wish it had been set 70 years ago.
You know, sometimes i had a dream where the original Sand Patch Grade get the same physic treatment as Sherman Hill. More realistic locomotive operational handling & physic, more train cars, more train weight, and having rear or mid DPU. Hopefully one day that would happen.
SPG. I have about 500 miles on it. Few reasons: 1. Love the scenery… there’s lots to look at as you’re driving around and the wide valley gives you a good view. Towns are accurate to real life. I prefer that to the western ones (Sherman Hill/Cane Creek) which are more wide open desert type. Also like it more than Clinchfield which is tight in valleys hugging mountains. 2. It’s a great challenge up and down the hill. Took me a lot of work to master it and to be able to handle different trains and weights. 3. Locos are all good and have a variety of liveries. AC44, SD40, GP38, C40-8W… lots to choose from and different services. 4. I find the route looks great in winter. I have all the freight routes and like them all for different reasons but this one I always go back to. I think HSC will meet or exceed SPG if they fix some issues with the train power to weight ratios which I have posted about on other threads. I’m getting a bit more into Clinchfield lately. I love the 70s era and the locos, the route itself hasn’t totally grown on me yet. I really hope they do more 60s-70s US routes with the F7 in a new environment and maybe a few more locos from that era.
The one thing I like about OSD and SFSJ are that if I feel like doing some US freight and don’t have 1-2hrs to spend on a full run on the big routes there’s stuff to do in 20-30 minutes.
Actually, I'm not that much of a fan of US freight. But I usually find it quite relaxing and sometimes I really enjoy driving. My stats so far: SPG 411mi Great track! OSD 85mi (without TSW2020) Find the route quite scenic but it lacks variety. And I like the trains. Always enjoy playing it but it needs an update. CRR 158mi The F7 is awesome! CC 118mi Feel the desert around me. SH 370 mi Despite the barren landscape, it has an attractive atmosphere for me. I would love to come back here. HSC 15 mi Just completed a scenario... Apart from the landscape, these DLC are basically very similar. There's not much variety either. The trains and locomotives are mostly the same. I can't name a clear favourite. Which route I like to drive or not just depends on my mood. For me it needs more variety on these tracks, not just more of it. That's why I love freight and shunting in Penninsula.
Sand Patch for sure - the inaugural classic Route in TSW2. Clinchfield a close second, Sherman Hill honorable mention, and HSC seems good once the initial bugs get fixed.
I for sure have to pick Sherman Hill. I freaking LOVE the Union Pacific, and the SD70ACe is probably my favorite freight locomotive in North America. Allow me to drive a UP SD70ACe on a big fancy route, I’ll be happy. And the trains are very long, too. Very long. So long. Oh my goodness. Then there’s the Wyoming scenery, which allows me to appreciate the small points of interest. There’s switching too! I like switching! I love Sherman Hill so much. If I could name a purely freight route that I think I’d like more than SMH if it were in this game, perhaps the Cajon Pass would be one of the only ones to do that.
The physics, realistic train lengths, and scenery are strong arguments for SMH. However, I’ll go with CRR for one simple reason: F7s - legendary and beautiful machines.
I'm a heretic who doesn't like NA freight, but I found surprising enjoyment out of CRR with the varied timetable mode.
Main problem with CRR and why I haven't played it nearly as much as it deserves, is that many of the runs and scenarios are, how can I put it, very fragile. Just slightly off on either location and/or time and the next scripted event fails to trigger. Well that and the fact for much of the time you appear to be running through a steep sided tree lined valley with no distant vistas. I didn't list routes like SFSJ or Boston Sprinter as these are primarily passenger runs.
Best to Worst CRR - the journey mode on this should be the template for all DLC. HSC - really enjoying this it's a beautiful route and decent line speeds CC - again a really beautiful route and the constant change of gradients keeps you on your toes. SPG - for the age it's a decent route although the end to ends are a bit boring. SH - no working distant counters and the up hill runs are boring as anything.
I really really really want to see the another DLC for the 60s-70s with the F7 (and some other locos from that age). I do love Clinchfield but I also would love to have that loco on another period correct route, especially if it’s one where you can get some speed. Clinchfield is one of the slowest routes for obvious reasons but the lines of an F7 just look like it’s meant to get out and run.
That’s the one thing I don’t like about that route. Not a knock against DTG because I’m sure that’s how it is in real life but it feels claustrophobic vs SPG and HSC which are also tree lined but where you can look way down across a wide vista.
I'd quite like to see some Alco's in the game, along with a suitable route, break the monotony of EMD and GE.
Absolutely. A streamlined passenger train with E- or F-units would be a dream come true for me. Either that or one of the classic electrics (GG1 or one of the Milwaukee electrics) with a suitable route. Also a good call. I’d be partial to a Baldwin as well.
Agree, that DLC out of the ones I've played (and granted I've avoid some of the routes considered true stinkers like LIRR or Cane Creek) it's the one that has the most issues from personal experience. I've had probably half a dozen services break on me, plus add in one or two service ending from overshooting badly placed waypoints. Also the SD40 didn't (and I think still doesn't) have its brakes set up properly off the bat, which makes it roll downhill on grades at the start of services if you aren't quick on the draw. Add to those the reused sounds on the locos and the meh scenery (I think Sand Patch manages to look better despite being older) it's honestly not a fantastic route. I do like it better than Sand Patch or Oakville purely because of the timetable, and I do like the F7 a lot, despite the reused TS era sounds. But honestly I can understand why people prefer Sand Patch over it, and with a more objective eye I think I might have to agree it's better, even though I'm not a big fan of it myself.
I miss it everytime I load up SPG. I get (disagree, but get) their reasons for taking it off the AI substitutions- but why remove the player-driven option? I wish they had done a CSX SD70ACE repaint for the expansion pack instead of the SD40. Yes, they were all sold off in 2017, but that's close enough in my book.
If Cane Creek has been "judged" a true stinker, then the judges are way, way off. Aside from the notorious reversed truck, and the fact that granted there isn't much variety in the runs, Cane Creek is a fine route: gorgeous to look at, especially at the Potash-Moab end, and because the gradient is always changing you have to drive the engine, not just set throttle and ride.
With modeled interiors? I'd love to walk through one and ride as a passenger. I don't expect the interiors of the sleeping car rooms to be modeled, but I do want to see the bunks in the dorm cars and be able to walk in the baggage car. I'd also want to sit in the diner as well as in the lounges and vista domes! The only thing better than all that would be service runs where you cut-in and cut-out cars mid-route to form parts of other trains.
The other advantage of Cane Creek is that once off the main line there are no signals and your train (generally) is the only one about, the save game usually works. So definitely not a stinker in my book either, only reason I haven’t done more on it is getting distracted by other routes in the collection.
TSW really isn't the best looking game, if I wanted eye candy there's other games and simulators I'd pick well before it. And even if I was a massive fan of the visuals I could just watch a YouTube playthrough of it to get that part of the experience. You might consider lack of service variety a minor point, but in my case that's half the point of buying a route, the other half being loco quality and variety, which isn't a strong point either. Your point about the shifting gradient is a decent one, but if it doesn't have interesting locos or services to back it up then that only does so much for me. Granted maybe once the price hits $3 like on Oakville I'll reconsider, but for now I get the impression I really wouldn't like it that much.
Clinchfield, surprise surprise! It's the only historic/fallen flag route, has the beautiful F7 and a caboose to boot. Although the route is in need of both TLC and DLC... PS. They really need to bring back the poll/voting function. Doesn't make sense to me to remove it permanently just because one user "abused" it.
Woah difficult question, but for me it is SPG, here I learned everything I needed to know for Clinchfield In Oakville I had so much fun learning but was so dissapointed with the state of the DLC ... Adam and his team might change something about it but boy, Ethanol Tankers, Canada, totally cool! I never finished the Clinchfield Journey because I thought maybe one day the night darkness gets fixed. Silly me but here in the forums I learned it's actually cool for roleplaying so I'm not that grumpy. I skipped Cane Creek because I read so much bad about the loco but got myself the Sherman Hill - very US for me, wiiiide plains of nothingness and the 2 miles long train
None. Although I love the feel of American freight trains and I bought TSW2 solely for the Sand Patch Grade route. I'm so disappointed in what I got with Sand Patch Grade that that I don't want to risk losing any more money buying another add-on. Especially since, judging from what I read on the forums, the bugs that bothered me the most are consistently repeated in new releases and it's doubtful they'll ever be fixed. I made an exception for one UK route because I had the opportunity to test it beforehand.
For me is Sand Patch Grade! Due to it is challenging - of course mainly to the pass, both going up and down -, but also for the variety of freight cars, the locomotives, the scenery. But also the "special" features: - AC4400 Real reflecting effect on the yellow reflective markers at the side of the locomotive (Must be included on all "new" USA locomotives too - Audios of dispatcher communications (Must be included on other US routes too!) - Coal loading procedure (Looks similar to real one!) - It has 2 crew members on the locomotive as real USA ones. ( Must be included on other US routes too!) - With Scenario planner you can run UP SD70ACE there as well, and the other newest GE locomotives from Cane Creek, Sherman Hill and now Horseshoe curve. Note: I only have SH. Do not even have Clinchfield one, as I likes more "modern" locomotives - The really big Cumberland terminal with lot to do there, including refueling. Please notice considering locomotives, my favorite is the SD70ACE! Hopes CSX and NS ones be available too. Sherman Hill route is also growing on me, mainly if you make a "creative" scenario making it more challenging. But unfortunately there are some issues, like the worst tunnels visuals of all TSW2 routes I have - more than 10! -, the fact the locomotive always have the "boogie" light turn on, which is wrong! I have seen lot of daytime videos where this locomotives does not have it on! Or if yes, it is not so noticeable as in the game. DTG is wrong about it. Furthermore the trail locomotives does not have the low beam lights on for the rear of the train. Then each time I start to drive one, I have to change all the setups of the light for each locomotive. Even the in cab signal device does not work properly is another ugly issue. So SPG for me is the best up today.
Criticism doesn't mean hatred. On the contrary, we usually criticise something that we care about, something that we'd like to see fixed. In one European country no one criticises anything. This country has 146 million citizens who are happy and agree on everything with their "developer". In all other European countries, people don't hesitate to criticise harshly things that do not suit them. Do you think they hate their countries? Because I think it's called freedom, free market and democracy. Do you like the first model of society better or the second?
You care that much you download illegal versions of the game, talk about contradicting yourself... Call me old fashioned but I dont steal from people or things I care about.
Sandpatch is mine. I'd like longer trains to fight but Sherman is visually dull and. It being able to have any real variety In route it's a bit boring
121 mi Sand Patch Good track for US Hevy Freight Spoiler: If not used to US heavy freight and Clinchfield SD40 CSX s You will get a Stop Signal Overrun US terminology for a UK SPAD on Rockwood end. SD40 Clinchfield Dynamic brakes aren't as good as AC4400CW. Use AC4400CW all brakes Dynamic Automatic and Independent Brakes to slow you down from Sand Patch to Cumberland. Then regain control of Clinchfield SD40 CSX-S paint.
Sandpatch still is the best route, if the bugs in Clinchfield are moved, it may win though. The best route missing is Maria's Pass in the migration era of BN to BNSF.