When Dovetail dropped the Hudson line from New York to Croton-Harmon for Train Sim Classic, it felt like a missed opportunity to include the full line, well I believe this can be dovetails chance to get back on that opportunity, by the full extension of the Metro North Hudson Line. For Metro North, we have the P32-ACDM with the Shoreliner Cab Car leading towards NYC and the recent SC-42DM along with the regular service M7A running between GCT and Croton Harmon. I feel these trains should be added onto the route because it serves as a Semi-Express between New York and Croton Harmon before going completely local all the way to Poughkeepsie, and I feel these should be included because of the diesel switch going past Croton Harmon. I do think the player would be nearly an hour 33 on the typical metro north train heading to/from Poughkeepsie with 11 stops (Does not include breakneck ridge) going express between Tarrytown and 125th, with another stop in Ossining before becoming a local train, a good blend of local and express in my honest opinion. There are also multiple railroad crossings for the player as well to keep himself to look out for, as well as the mandatory horn blaring for Breakneck Ridge, excluding the beautiful Hudson scenery. The trip would take an hour 14 minutes approximately on the M7A and M3A with 21 stops between Croton Harmon and Grand Central, with some services starting at Greystone as well. Grand Central would look busy enough with M7A's and M3A's and some P32AC-DM's and some SC-42DM's idling by, some of them can be used for AI Service on the existing Harlem Line to help make Grand Central look busy, and this does not yet even include the possibility of the layering of the M8 on the upcoming New Haven route, which will be chefs kiss. For Amtrak we have the P32-ACDM as well but going to Penn Station, with unique scenery of New York City before heading into the tunnels in Penn Station. The Amtrak P32's can be layered with Amfleets for all services if Dovetail feels they do not want to add Viewliners for the Lake Shore Limited and Amfleet II's for the Maple Leaf Service. Amtrak Services include the Ethan Allen Express, The Lake Shore Limited, The Empire Service (The most common one), The Adirondack, and the seasonal Berkshire Flyer. This service would be layered as the most express option, with trains having an option to stop at Yonkers before continuing to Croton Harmon and Poughkeepsie. Penn Station itself will be a bit of a challenge to layer as a standalone as we all know Penn Station is a unique station that needs layers from NJT trains, LIRR trains and the ACS-64's to add a full experience. The top speed on this line would be 80 mph, a typical commuter train service. I would vouch for a full service to Albany but given the limitations of Dovetail and how long this section between New York and Poughkeepsie, I felt it would make sense to end it at Poughkeepsie, although these P32's can go 110mph, you would only get a limited amount of stops and there would be a point where the player would be getting bored. Freight would be an amazing addition to this route, as there are some CSX freight trains that run from New York all the way to Selkirk Yard that carry some of New York's trash. The player can operate these trains, while also being able to see some AI trains of freight on the other side of the Hudson River on the CSX River line subdivision, which gets a lot of traffic. The player freight service would be a night service as this is when traffic is usually low for the Hudson line. Some Scenarios I think would play lovely would be a scenario where an Amtrak train has to diverge to Grand Central like it did in the past before the connection to Penn. I would also like a scenario where the player can drive a Yankee Clipper service, this can even be an M8 from the Stamford Line. (GO YANKEES), storms like hurricanes and blizzards can also play a factor in scenarios, or even have freight involved in some rescue. I think if Dovetail wants to finish this trifecta of Metro North, I feel it should be a complete hudson line route that could not be done in TSC. This is a good New York City route mixed with the urban crawl and suburbs with New York City with amazing scenery of the hudson and the catskills. Here are some clips and photos of the Hudson line to enjoy.
I definitely agree with this suggestion and really want to see it be a reality in TSW. Like you said, this would complete the trifecta for Metro North routes in TSW, east of the Hudson River that is. I really hope DTG considers recreating this route for TSW and bringing it up to Poughkeepsie as the upper Hudson, well all the Hudson in general is very scenic. It is my home line and would be fantastic to operate in TSW. With all the possible layers, and services with CSX, LIRR, NJT, Amtrak and Metro North, there will be lots of cool traffic in and around the Big Apple and points north. this would make for a very busy, realistic route to operate on. We can finally have one of the variants of Genesis locomotives with the Shoreliners I-IV coaches, even featuring the heritage liveries for the P32AC-DM. A modern spin on the push pull equipment featuring the SC-42DM would be amazing as well. I recall Candace in the US routes section mentioned as well that the Hudson line is a highly requested route too so hopefully the devs keep a close eye on this route and the potential that it brings to TSW. Lol, however long it takes, I hope if DTG considers this route, that lots of time is allocated to creating the full Metro North Hudson line. I will also throw in some pics as well from what I have CDOT Shoreliner II cab car on the express track bypassing Riverdale View of Beacon station on the upper Hudson line Metro North P32AC-DM #225 approaching Croton Harmon Metro North P32AC-DM in Penn Central heritage livery making a station stop at Croton Harmon. This train is bound for Poughkeepsie CDOT Shorliner II cab car #6202 approaching Croton Harmon More pictures to follow in another post
Holiday themed Metro North M8 stopping at Marble Hill station. This train was bound for Grand Central Terminal While I was cycling one day last summer, I caught this neat shot of the Croton Harmon facility with a variety of Metro North equipment Amtrak P32AC-DM #715 approaching Poughkeepsie Mix of Amtrak and Metro North equipment at Poughkeepsie
