Overview The Amtrak Downeaster is a route that goes between Boston, Massachusetts and Brunswick, Maine. The entire route is 145 miles (233 kilometers) long, and takes about 3 hours, which might not be practical, so we can look at ways of shortening it later if needed. It’s also worth mentioning that this route goes to Boston North Station instead of South Station. The beginning of the route will be like RRO and HRR where there are two lines, those being the Lowell and Haverhill lines, next to each other. I also live near this line so I will have some backhand knowledge about the route. Amtrak Amtrak runs the Amtrak Downeaster, which typically consists of a P42DC facing north, 5 amfleets including a cafe car at the end, and an F40PH NPCU aka Cabbage. (Sometimes it just uses two P42s) The F40s had there engine removed, and the space is used for baggage. The cab was kept to be used as a control car (cab + baggage = cabbage). The service leaves Boston on the Lowell line until Woburn, then goes on the Wildcat branch to the Haverhill line. Route Map GE P42DC EMD F40PH NPCU MBTA MBTA has two lines that can be represented in this route, the Lowell line and the Haverhill line. There are plenty of other lines that go from Boston, making it busy for ai traffic. As of now, we already have the F40PH-3c and BTC/CTC-3 coaches from Boston Sprinter, those can be re-used for this route. The GP40MC and HSP-46 commonly run north of Boston, but also run south, so they can sub in for BP. The BTC/CTC-4s are also occasionally used here, but are more common on the southern lines, but for variety, they can be added as well. GP40MC (I ran out of photos, I’ll post the rest in a different post, DTG, please raise the limit of photos you can post) CSX CSX operates occasional freight on the former Pan Am line past Haverhill. Freight is much more common at night when there are no passenger trains, much like Kassel - Wurzburg. There is a small yard outside of Boston North Station where the Boston Sand and Gravel company loads hopper trains with various aggregate. Typically GATX GP38s are used in this area, I am unaware who leases said locomotives, but they can also be included as we already have plenty of GP38s to work off of. Mainline CSX freight is mostly found north of Haverhill. I don’t have too much knowledge on where the freight goes after it passes Haverhill station, but there is a small yard south of Bradford station on the Haverhill line, so players can deliver some trains there. There is a pretty big yard near Portland, which can be used for freight deliveries. CSX tends to operate lots of GE C40-8s on the line, which are literally C40-8Ws but with an SD40 like cab. There are also a few Pan Am patched units running since CSX acquired the railroad fairly recently. So the C40-8, both in CSX, and Pan Am liveries can be added, along with all the locomotives from Sand Patch Grade, but with safety systems installed. Conclusion I think it would be best to start off with adding the P42DC, F40PH NPCU, GP40MC, BTC/CTC-4, and C40-8. The F40PH-3c and BTC/CTC-3 coaches could either be copied over, or simply layer on for owners of Boston Sprinter, and vice versa with this routes MBTA stock. The P42 also hauls the Lake Shore Limited from South Station. In TSW, it’s represented with ACS-64s, which is inaccurate as the line it runs on isn’t electrified, so owners of this dlc will have the P42 spawn in instead of the ACS-64. All locomotives on Sand Patch Grade can layer on, vice versa for the C40-8. The only problem is that the SPG locomotives don’t have safety systems, so they can either be remodeled for the route and added in as base content with the safety systems, or they would just have to be driven without them. But future dlcs could include an HSP-46, GATX GP38, or even MBTA MP36. It’s also worth mentioning that the MBTA Orange Line Subway runs parallel to the Haverhill Line for a good portion of the line. It could either be included as a dlc for the route, or as a standalone dlc. If the full line is too long, I think running to Portland would be the best. Although it’s still far away, it has an interesting section where the train has to back out of the station and back onto the mainline. Not to mention it has the best freight potential. Let me know what you guys think and if there is anything I missed.
No problem with this route, I kind of want to see it but I do want some route that goes to Washington DC more
Well, marc was unbranded in tsc because dtg couldn't get it so I doubt it. Unless marc decides one day they will allow their branding to be used
Anything with more MBTA and the P42DC would be an instant purchase from me. Would love this, especially as the new loco's could layer onto Boston Sprinter to further improve an already great route.
