Introduction Hi, welcome to another post in my series "Improving Lineside Industry". I'm going to be looking at various routes in Train Sim World and highlighting what we have, and what we could have, in regard to railways that serve the various industries along them. I find these to be very interesting, and I think maximizing opportunities for players to use them in TSW would greatly enhance our game. I've tried to limit any suggestions to what is just about already within the scope of the route, and might just need some extra modelling of scenery, and perhaps a few new wagons. It must be said that I haven't been a fan of railways for very long, and I'm from Australia, so I'd love for you to add your knowledge about these far-flung routes and correct anything I get wrong. I have speculated at times, as information can be hard to come by. (Some of the screenshots here of the in-game map are rather poor-looking as I couldn't do any better with their resolution when zoomed out. Some areas do not have 3D buildings on Google Maps so only some locations will have those images included.) Route In this post, I'll be looking at Sand Patch Grade. I believe the route is set in 2017. Here is a map of the route as represented in game, numbered with each location that I will be highlighting. Industries Location 1 Beginning at the north of the route in Rockwood, there is a coal facility operated by the Corsa Coal Corporation. They describe it as a preparation plant rather than a mine, so perhaps coal is trucked in from their nearby self-described mines for washing, crushing, storage and loading onto trains. Players can currently load consists of gondolas using a tipple. Location 2 About three miles northeast of Rockwood and just outside the modelled route, Bognar & Co is a manufacturer of carbon products for the steel industry. Players could deliver and remove covered hopper cars and spot them for the unloading of raw materials as well as the loading of the finished commodity. Location 3 Heritage Coal & Natural Resources operates a coal mine in Meyersdale with a rail spur. The site is served infrequently. Players can currently load gondolas with a tipple. Location 4 Berry Global in Cumberland is a plastic packaging manufacturer with a rail-served factory. Players could spot covered hopper cars and unload them with the game's hose function. Location 5 Also south of Cumberland is a siding that serves a waste disposal site. Trains are loaded here with a variety of unwanted materials by material handlers. Players could shift open-top mill gondolas between the yard at Cumberland and this location. Conclusion I hope this was interesting. Please feel free to add to this and let me know what I've got wrong. Thanks for reading!
I'd like these extra industries and a couple of new CSX locos for working them. The GP40-2 from NEC would be great to see brought back. An ET44AH, ES44AH, ST70AH, C60AC, SD70ACe, or SD70MAC could be added for more variation on heavy coal and mainline freight trains. An MP15 or Genset Switcher are needed for Cumberland Yard and some of these industries. GP40-3, GP38-3, or SD40-3 rebuilds would be nice to see as well.
