Hello all and DTG. I present my new route suggestion: MBTA Commuter: Lowell Line. I feel as if the US route space has been dying in favor of UK routes. Since I'm from the US, seeing a new US route would be awesome. This route includes passenger (MBTA) as well as freight (CSX) services as it does so in real life. I feel as if myself and many others would like to see something like this implemented in game since the most recent US route to come out is the upcoming SP route by HIS. That route is freight only and for the latest passenger route, it's the Stamford route. Since the MBTA was very cooperative in previous trips, this shouldn't be too hard to implement as the licensing is already there. We already have 2 south side routes from South Station so a north side route out of North Station would definitely add some variety. Name: MBTA Commuter: Lowell Line Map: Line Length (North Station - Lowell): 25.5 Miles Rolling Stock: GMD GP40MC-3 (Numbered 1115-1139) The -3 variant signals that this is the third rebuild of this locomotive. The main differences is the LED Headlights/Ditch Lights, refurbished frame, prime mover, HEP generator etc... This locomotive was already modeled for TSW 5 and the Boston-Worcester route (non -3 variant) but it never made it into the game and the MPI HSP46 replaced it. Here's the model and how it would look in game as a reference: Kawasaki CTC-4 (Numbered 1700-1724) Kawasaki BTC-4 (700-749), BTC-4A (750-766), BTC-4B (767-781). Interior wise, these Kawasakis are similar to the Rotem cars and I couldn't find any interior shots of these cars online. Now I wanted to include all of the single-level cars but for now, only the Pullman cars since the Bombardiers I plan to make another suggestion thread and include them as an add-on DLC. Also these Pullman cars run exclusively up north (with the exception of the CapeFLYER train). These are rebuilt from 1300 cab cars by Amerail in 1996. They are the only car to have double doors on the interior and they resemble the bi-level cars in the interior (pink walls, pink seats etc...). They also have a grey exterior whereas the other single-level cars have a more beige look with a darker purple stripe. These can be used as filler cars to mix into sets since there isn't a cab car variant. Pullman-Standard BTC-1C (Numbered 200-258) Now that we are done with the MBTA stock, let's move on to some freight rolling stock with CSX. For the CSX locos, we can re-use sand patch grade locomotives since they run on this line for the most part. GE 8-40C Now this loco is actually modeled in the game (in YN2 livery) and can be spawned in but it's not driveable. So all that would be needed is to model the interior better and add a YN3 livery for it to be included with the route as a "new" locomotive. For the next rolling stock to be added, I will just list them since they are already included in game. All of these are included sand patch grade with the exception of the wide cab Dash 8 which is a separate DLC add-on. So these will just be layered into the route and timetable. Layered Over: GE AC4400CW GE 8-40CW (Separate DLC add-on) EMD SD40-2 EMD GP38-2 3-Bay Covered Hopper 50ft Boxcar Bethgon II Coal Hopper Bi-Level Autorack DOT-117 Tank Car Gunderson Husky-Stack Layered Over: EMD F40PH-3C MPI HSP46 Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm CTC-3/BTC-3 Hyundai Rotem CTC-5/BTC-4D That's all for the rolling stock and for the route! It's pretty much all sand patch grade stuff and some new MBTA stuff as well. I really do hope that we can get not just a new US route, but an MBTA one would be awesome. I truly hope DTG can do an MBTA route out of North Station in the future, maybe even a launch route for an upcoming TSW game! Either way, I know it'll do well with the players and it can be a great opportunity to work with the MBTA again to create another amazing route. Thanks for taking the time to read through my thread!
Unfortunately the map, GP40MC model images and Kawasaki cab interior photos aren't showing up but you can find them online pretty easily. Sorry about that.
I definitely like the sound of this. The addition of the MBTA GP40MC-3 would all but complete the rail scene that one can expect to see at Boston South Station on any given day, with layers. And being a huge sucker for US freight myself, having freight trains make an appearance on a route like this really spikes my interest. The CSX C40-8 would definitely be a really interesting locomotive to add, as it would be our first standard cab GE locomotive. I also think Dovetail would see major benefits from adding a CSX ES44AH since we already have multiple ES44 models in the game. The GEVo and the AC4400CW make up most of CSX's motive power today, so I think a GEVo would make the most sense for them to add to broaden the motive power used on SPG as well. I would prefer if the route were a bit longer, as I am also a sucker for long routes with extended driving periods, but all around, I like this proposal, and I wouldn't be opposed to a route like this!
