Although I like European trains more than American ones, there are some American routes even I would be interested to see in TSW. One of my favourite routes in the US is probably Donner Pass through the Sierra Nevada, between Sparks, NV and Roseville, CA; totalling 140 miles. The route has already been recreated by DTG in TSC, and while many suggest that a route like this should take place in the 1990s, I think it would be more interesting to see American steam for the first time in TSW and set the era as the ‘50s. Here is the map: First, a bit of history: the Donner Pass is part of the Overland Route (aka the first transcontinental railroad) and this particular section was built in 1868 by the Central Pacific and later operated by the Southern Pacific by 1885, who still operated it by the ‘50s (when this route is set) until absorbed by the Union Pacific in 1996, who owns the line today. The Southern Pacific still operated passenger traffic by this time, as Amtrak had not yet been formed, adding another layer of complexity to this route. The name ‘Donner’ comes from a group of settlers who traversed this pass in the 1840s, getting stuck in the harsh winter; ‘Donner’ is also German for thunder. The route is very scenic, if being in the Sierras is not enough, there is the beautiful Donner Lake and the famous Tunnel No. 41 — a particularly long tunnel under Euer Saddle, Donner Pass’ summit. Now let’s get to what I would say is everyone’s favourite part, the locomotives; as I mentioned earlier, this would be the first non-British route to feature steam locomotives, and I think a pretty notable loco to start off with is the Southern Pacific AC-12, a unique articulated 4-8-8-2 cab forward loco built in the ‘40s, of which there was 20, with No. 4294 still visible in the California State Railroad Museum. They could frequently be seen on freights (they could make good use of the 2 yards on the route) and mainly worked this line due to their configuration allowing for better navigation through the pass’ numerous tunnels. Another famous locomotive that could be spotted hauling freight through the pass in the ‘50s was the immensely popular EMD F7, the postwar diesel locomotive that revolutionised rail power and is actually already in the game, in its Clinchfield and Santa Fe guises. Considered a timeless classic, I would consider this as another good addition. Finally, there is the sole passenger loco for this route, which would haul the City of San Francisco from Chicago through the route’s 7 stations, the ALCO PA, another ‘40s classic from the ill-fated American Locomotive Co., although parts of the design were from General Electric. These engines were painted in SP’s spectacular ‘Daylight’ livery, and I would imagine they were amazing when still in service. As many of you may know I’m sort of against TSW4 and would like to see this in TSW3, although I realise that is likely not going to happen, but I’m fine with that as my prejudice has for the most part worn off and I don’t really give a LOVEk about what anyone wants to buy or not anymore; but I think that this route would be a neat addition to the TSW4 lineup, and I would personally like to see it in the game.
An SD7/SD9 for yard switching and occasional snow-clearing action would be great to see. I'd love to see SP spreaders and rotary snowplows clearing heavy snow over the pass. The Cab Forwards are really cool, and should be included in a Donner Pass route. As for other steam power, an SP 2-8-0 Consolidation, 2-10-2 "Santa Fe", and/or 4-10-2 "Overland" 3-cylinder steam loco would be great to see. Maybe a GS-Class 4-8-4 could be added as well. For a more modern (1970s-90s) version, an SP GP38-2, SD9E, and SD40T-2/SD45T-2 would be awesome to see. I would prefer to see the 1940s-50s version with the Cab Forwards.
