after a month with tsw3 on xpass it seems Im a fan of very long and heavy mu freight trains. i played cajon so far. which one dlc would U recomend first? sandpatch? horseshoe? something else which one is the longest? the hardest? etc. thanks
Tees Valley Line is excellent especially if you get the 20 and 31 loco DLCs. There is never a dull moment and I don't know anyone who does't love the sound of a growler working.
All of the American freight routes offer some great gameplay. I personally would recommend Cajon Pass and Sand Patch Grade. I'm currently playing a lot of Horseshoe Curve and thoroughly enjoying it.
Here is my review of the freight routes. Note that I don't really play a lot of freight so I don't know all the small details and stuff so at the end of the day, it is up to you to decide which dlc is for you. American Sherman Hill: It is a decent route and was the first to have realistic braking mechanics. You have to know how to use dynamic brakes and automatic brakes, how fast to go, etc. If you are on a next gen (xbox series x/s), you will get consists that are 100 freight cars long. Loads can go up to 12000 tons. The sd70ace has decent sounds (uses beefed up class 66 sounds cuz they couldn't get actual recordings), the horn is really well done and with the realistic braking and driving experience compared to other freight routes, makes it a nice locomotive to drive. You will have full length runs runs that go part of the way. It is an extremely busy freight route. You will see trains running up and down constantly during certain times. The sd40-2 has a new horn and does various shunting services. There is an uphill and downhill gradient of around 1.5%. It is mostly flatland/desert so scenery wise, there is not much to see. I like it for the more realistic freight operations. Cane creek: In simple words, beautiful but a snooze fest. It is a total of 40 miles with 5 being a branchline. Your top speed is only 25mph. Some places you go even lower. The branchline is 60mph but given how it takes a while to speed up and how short it is, it is over quickly. The route includes an ac4400cw and an sd40-2. There are only like 28 services I believe. Mostly full length runs and some loading/unloading. The gradients change constantly so you have to pay attention while you are driving. Scenery is beautiful in some areas, but the gameplay is where it lacks. It is not really a great route and you definitely get more value for money in other routes. Horseshoe curve: The same devs who made cane creek made this route and it is much better. It is colorful with different shades of green and a nice route. The es44ac sounds like a gevo, but not really, so it is poorly implemented. The horn sounds weird. The engine sounds are too loud and does not have the iconic gevo traction motor sound at speed. It sounds really muddy. The gp38-2 has some updated sounds and a new horn and does shunting and some mainline runs. The es44 does full length runs, runs to cresson, runs on the south fork branch (it is slow). Gameplay wise, there is lots of variety. It does not have the realistic braking mechanics that sherman hill has. However, the gameplay and the environment make up for it. Clinchfield: includes a f7 which is a well known locomotive. Great sounds and horn. There is an sd40 which got a new horn and drives/operates differently. The scenery is really well done, but it is very monotonous. You get multiple branch lines and spurs and you can do services in each of them. There are steep gradients along the route. The main problem is that nights are dark, no banking comm (some services have trailing locos, so the only way to play them is to use rear camera and control rear locomotives), you have to speed in some services otherwise you will be held to a red light/path blocked, etc. Takes 90min to go end to end, so it can be easy to fall asleep if you are not careful. There are 48 services. Sand patch: Definitely recommend. Comes with the gp28-2, sd40-2, ac4400cw, c40-8w (dlc). There is switching, mainline runs, coal loading, loco preparation services, refueling, etc. The scenery is well done and it changes. One part of the route will look different from another part of the route. Lots to do on this route. The dash 8 adds in a new freight car and subs into the ac44 services. The main problem people seem to have with this route are random derails. There is also the new journeys pack sd40 which adds in scenarios and the train just subs in. UK Tees valley: It has passenger and freight services, but the freight services are good. You get the class 37 which does loading/unloading, mainline runs. The 08 does shunting. You can buy the class 20 and 31 which sub in/add in new freight cars I believe. They are all nice locomotives to drive Northern trans pennine: mostly passenger, but has freight moves. the heavy freight pack being a standout. Germany Almost every route has freight services. They layer on. And freight locomotives sub into each other. Ruhr sieg nord: it is mostly a freight centered route. It is twisty, scenic and has some gradients. You can also buy the 363 and 155 as dlc. The 363 adds some nice shunting moves to the cement plant and stuff. The 155 just subs in I believe, but it is an older and sort of more challenging to drive. The 143 also does freight moves. Main spessart bahn: passenger & freight. This is like the base route to have in order to have freight layers on most german routes. The interesting thing about the freight services are the banking ones to go up the steep spessart rampe. You drive a locomotive down the track and hook up to the rear. Then you turn on banking comm in the driving loco and go up the ramp. It is a unique experience only found in msb. You can also buy the 204 shunter which allows you to access the docks. New gameplay, but poorly made locomotive (wrong physics, poor sounds, only 8 services). The 204 also subs into other german freight routes. br 187 for koln-achen: It is not great and I would not recommend. It is a nice locomotive for sure and different from the 185 we got for almost every german dlc. However, it has poor sounds and physics. g6 shunter for rhein ruhr osten: It is an excellent shunter. Every service is unique and made by train sim germany who sets the quality bar high. Other german routes have freight services, but are generic a to b runs, so it isn't like anything special
Summed up beautifully and I was about to do a similar thing: Best/Worst Freight Routes in TSW Best US: Sherman Hill Worst US: Either Sand Patch or Cane Creek Best UK: Tees Valley Line and NTP Worst UK: N/A Best European: Schnellfahrstrecke Koln-Aachen Worst European: Hauptstrecke Rhein-Ruhr as HRR is a passenger based route with very minimal freight
