With the release of the Peninsula Corridor, I am happy so see west coast routes finally coming to Train Sim World. While playing the Peninsula Corridor, I thought to myself what other west coast routes could DTG bring to TSW. I then thought, maybe DTG will bring another classic into TSW, which is why I am proposing Cajon Pass as a route in TSW. I-15 passing over Cajon Summit in the Cajon Pass area Route Summary Cajon Pass is a mountain pass between the San Bernardino Mountains and the San Gabriel Mountains in Southern California. It was created by the movements of the San Andreas Fault. Located in the Mojave Desert, the pass is an important link from the Greater San Bernardino Area to the Victor Valley, and northeast to Las Vegas. Cajon Pass is at the head of Horsethief Canyon, traversed by California State Route 138 (SR 138) and railroad tracks owned by BNSF Railway and Union Pacific Railroad. Improvements in 1972 reduced the railroad's maximum elevation from about 3,829 to 3,777 feet (1,167 to 1,151 m) while reducing curvature. Interstate 15 does not traverse Cajon Pass, but rather the nearby Cajon Summit, elevation 4,260 feet (1,300 m). The entire area including Cajon Pass and Cajon Summit is often collectively called Cajon Pass, but a distinction is made between Cajon Pass and Cajon Summit. In 1851 a group of Mormon settlers led by Amasa M. Lyman and Charles C. Rich traveled through Cajon Pass in covered wagons on their way from Salt Lake City to southern California. A prominent rock formation in the pass, where the Mormon trail and the railway merge is known as Mormon Rocks. Rail Traffic The California Southern Railroad, a subsidiary of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, was the first railroad to use the Cajon Pass. The rail line through the pass was built in the early 1880s to connect the present day cities of Barstow and San Diego. Today the Union Pacific Railroad and BNSF Railway (the successor to the Santa Fe) use the pass to reach Los Angeles and San Bernardino. Due to the many trains, noteworthy scenery and easy access, it is a popular location for railfans, and numerous photographs of trains on Cajon Pass appear in books and magazines about trains. The Union Pacific Railroad operates and owns one track through the pass, on the previous Southern Pacific Railroad Palmdale cutoff, opened in 1967. The BNSF Railway owns two tracks and began to operate a third main track in the summer of 2008. The railroads share track rights through the pass ever since the Union Pacific gained track rights on the Santa Fe portion negotiated under the original Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad. The original BNSF (ATSF) line was constructed in the 1880s and later roads, U.S. Route 66 and I-15, roughly followed this route. The 3.0% grade for a few miles on the south track is challenging for long trains, making the westbound descent potentially dangerous, as a runaway can occur if the engineer is not careful in handling the brakes. The second track, built in 1913, is 2 miles (3.2 km) longer to get a lower 2.20% grade. It ran through two short tunnels, but both were removed when the third main track was added next to the 1913 line. Trains may be seen traveling at speeds of 60 and 70 mph (97 and 113 km/h) on the straighter track away from the pass, but typically ascend at 14 to 22 mph (23 to 35 km/h) and descend at 20 to 30 mph (32 to 48 km/h). The third track enables a capacity of 150 trains per day on the BNSF lines. Amtrak's Desert Wind, which ceased operation in 1997, used the pass. Currently, the Southwest Chief runs daily between Chicago and Los Angeles, through Cajon Pass on the BNSF line. Rolling Stock Cajon Pass has seen a lot of railroads use its tracks, railroads such as Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe, Southern Pacific, Union Pacific and BNSF. There's a bunch of interesting choices in terms of choosing a time period for Cajon Pass, it could either be in modern present day or the older Santa Fe and Southern Pacific era. If we were to have Cajon Pass in TSW be based in the older Santa Fe and Southern Pacific era, I would suggest SD40-2s, F45s, C30-7s and F40PHs. If we were to put Cajon Pass in present day, I would say that GE Evolutions, GE Genesis', GP38-2s and SD70ACes. GP38-2 GE Evolution SD70ACe (Tier 4) GE Genesis SD40-2 (photograph copyright & courtesy of R. L. Dengler) F45 (photograph copyright & courtesy of the Oklahoma Railroad Museum) F40PH C30-7 (photograph copyright & courtesy of Sid Vaught) My Opinion I would think that Cajon Pass would be a great potential route for Train Sim World getting more into the west coast of America. Cajon Pass is a classic route in the original Train Simulator and bringing it to TSW would give DTG a chance to revise it and make some improvements getting it more up to date. I would love the route whether it be set in the modern era or the older era. Thank you for reading my proposal!
Update: I just found out about BNSF's licensing restrictions outside the US, so I am now aware that it would be difficult for DTG to have BNSF and maybe even Santa Fe in Train Sim World because of these restrictions. In the mean time, there's still Southern Pacific and Union Pacific that can work for Cajon Pass Knowing that the F45s in this case are exclusive to Santa Fe, I'll swap it out with the SD45 which was present in both Union Pacific and Southern Pacific services. Union Pacific SD45 (photograph copyright & courtesy of Roger Lalonde) Southern Pacific SD45 (photograph copyright & courtesy of R. L. Dengler)
I want the ATSF or BNSF diesels. UP and SP are great, too. What about ATSF's 4-8-4 #3751? It is located in San Bernardino, California.
