I would love to see amtrak superliner cars including the sleepers, dining cars, observation cars, coaches, business class, and the Siemens Alc-42 charger locomotives added for amtrak long distance routes such as the coast starlight, empire builder, and California zephyr are the top 3 routes I'd love to see get added and hopefully get all amtrak long distance routes added eventually
Any of those would be lovely, but with the standard route length being <>50 miles, the development time and budget for routes of 1508, 2256, and 2438 miles respectively would be prohibitive.
We do need some Amtrak long-distance routes, and of course, Amtrak P42DCs, P32-8BWH "Pepsi Cans," and/or ALC-42 Chargers and Superliner Cars. The ALC-42 Charger would be my first choice. As for routes, here's what I would suggest: -Route Idea #1: Pacific Surfliner: LA-San Diego: Amtrak does use Superliners on this route, and the PS Coaches are similar to the Superliners. For this route, the locos would include a PS SC44 Charger, maybe a Coaster SC44, and a BNSF ET44C4, C44-9W, and/or GP60/GP60M for freight operations on this route. -Route Idea #2: BNSF Steven's Pass/Scenic Sub: This route is part of the ex-Great Northern line between Chicago and Seattle. The line is now owned by BNSF. Amtrak runs their Empire Builder train on this route. This would be the perfect route to recreate the 1st run of the new ALC-42 Chargers on the Empire Builder. Locos included in this route would be the ALC-42 in Day 1, Phase 6, and Phase 7 liveries, a BNSF GP60/M or GP39-3, and BNSF ET44C4, SD60M-3, SD75M/I, or C44-9W. Amtrak P42s or P32-8BWHs would be cool to see, too. Plus, we'd get the awesome BNSF Boeing Fuselage Trains, which are needed in TSW5. -Route Idea #3: BNSF Marias Pass: Shelby-Whitefish, MT Amtrak's Empire Builder uses this scenic route through Montana from Shelby to Whitefish, along with BNSF freights. The locomotives would be the same as the other route suggestions. Montana Rail Link (MRL) locomotives (an SD70ACe and SD40-2) could also be included for more operations). -Route Idea #4: Pacific Northwest: BNSF Seattle Sub, Amtrak Cascades, BNSF Fallbridge Sub in the Columbia River Gorge, and/or UP Portland Sub in the Columbia River Gorge: These routes in the "gorgeous" (pun intended) Pacific Northwest would be great for running both Amtrak's Empire Builder and Coast Starlight trains. Plus, we'd get UP and/or BNSF freight trains. Also, Portland, Oregon is where SP #4449 is stored, so she could be added as a DLC in the future if DTG or a 3rd Party wanted to do more steam locos. The Seattle Sub would also give players the Seattle Sounder Commuter line and Amtrak Cascades. As for BNSF, an SD75M/I (commonly used out of Seattle for trash and manifest trains), a GP39-3, a GP60/M-3/B, and/or an ET44C4/ACH or C44-9W/AC44C4M would be great to see. -Route Idea #5: UP Donner Pass: Roseville-Reno: Another scenic mountain route idea is UP's Donner Pass. Along with long UP freights, Amtrak runs their California Zephyr over this route. -Route Idea #6: CSX Harper's Ferry Route: Like the CSX Heavy Haul Sand Patch Grade Route from the original TSW, this is a former B&O route. Along with CSX freights, Amtrak runs their Capitol Limited on this route. Plus, we could get a CSX AC6000CW, ES44AH (including heritage, military, and 1st responder units), ET44AH, SD40-3, GP40-3, GP38-3, Genset Switcher, and/or SD70AC. -Route Idea #7: BNSF/Metra Chicago Racetrack: Chicago-Aurora: I know what you're saying. Not another BNSF route! This one has everything we want in a route, though: Metra Commuter trains, Amtrak Midwest and Long-distance trains, and lots of long BNSF freights. The speeds are higher, and the route is very busy. For locos, I'd suggest a BNSF GP39-3, GP60/M/B, ET44C4, C44-9W, and/or SD70MAC, Metra F40PHM-2 or F40PH-2, and Amtrak P42, P32-8BWH, or SC44 Chargers in Midwest livery, and ALC-42 Chargers. Amtrak runs their SW Chief and CZ out of Chicago Union Station on this route. Best of all, this route is only 37.5 miles long, which is very doable in TSW. The problem is that DTG doesn't have a Metra license.
Honestly, for me personally. I wouldn't mind if they just made amtrak DLC's to use on other routes. The reason why is because of just how damn long these amtrak diesel routes can be, which could be a bit of an obstacle for development time. However, having the trains themselves be a DLC would allow developers in the future to add Layer slots for these trains. You could also spawn them in if you'd like as well, giving a larger amount of uses for this. It's definitely not the best idea but its better than waiting another couple of years for a slight chance to have a P42.
I've recently been trying to bash together my own custom scenarios like running the Pennsylvanian over HSC, and honestly, yeah. Just releasing a solid Amtrak pack with a P42, maybe a recoloured F40PH, and some superliner cars, and then gradually adding them as layers with a couple of services as and when any appropriate routes get a remaster, while having them available to use in any future US routes.... It's easily a day one purchase for me. Right now I am banging my head against the frustration of not being able to combine the correct Amfleet consists in the editor with my homemade Amtrak livery for the F40PH for my scenarios.
Cool thing is, is that if you're on PC it might now be too long till you can get a P42 albeit, it's a community mod under development.
