Metrolink San Bernardino Line Discussion Thread

The Southwest Chief goes on the BNSF San Bernardino sub. This is the Metrolink San Gabriel Sub serving Metrolink only.

 

When I get home, I'm gonna try and see what can be done about freight around Fontana, I know BNSF has a small yard behind the speedway there and serves alot of steel customers there.

 

I like this route. Not really into US freight, but enjoy the NEC and also AVL Metrolink runs, so this is right up my alley. Even more so as these routes have much relevance in current US rail developments, especially the San Bernardino Line

If you're following railway news, you'll sooner or later come across this line as it is the one that will connect LA to the first high-speed railway of the US that is in early stages of construction, Brightline West to Las Vegas. The high-speed line starts directly in Las Vegas and will initially only run to Rancho Cucamonga, over the Cajon Pass. From there, passengers have to use the San Bernardino Line to reach LA. I believe Metrolink wants to increase the line's frequency and sync it with the HSR schedule to facilitate this connection. There are also plans to build the High Desert Corridor, a section that branches off Brightline West at Victor Valley Station and goes to Palmdale, where it links both with the Antelope Valley Line and the California High-Speed Rail that's also under construction. Once (if?) CAHSR is done, Brightline might also be able to use its tracks to go all the way to LA Union via Palmdale.

So yeah, San Bernardino Line, Antelope Valley Line (and Cajon Pass, though just as a landmark, not the freight tracks itself) all touch some of the most interesting US rail development projects at the moment, which is why I like routes in this area

 

Licensing can always change. The operator can pull out at any time they want and not give permission for whatever reason that is.

 

My guess for licensing is either Kawasaki (M9/C3) or NYAR (freight service on the Lower Montauk branch).

 

So, one major area DTG should look into is Kaiser Yard in Fontana for BNSF on this route.

Believe this is where most of the locals based in the area work out of...



The yard I believe is served by the Kaiser Hauler, which runs between Barstow and Kaiser Yard.


Stock from Cajon could easily sub in to represent some of these, but we don't have any Geeps that BNSF has assigned here to do any actual work.

 

No, the closest is the Sunset Limited, which runs on the short 3 mile portion where the line runs along Union Pacifc's Sunset route near the El Monte station. Not enough for anything aside from an AI train.

 

i just want to say that this is a missed opportunity to do a Pacific Surfliner

 

As previously stated, Surfliner has been done over multiple platforms. Matt has specifically stated they’re trying to focus on new stuff that hasn’t been done before.

This doesn’t mean Surfliner wouldn’t come at some point but I wouldn’t count on it anytime soon if I had to guess. Not to mention, the Metrolink DLC just requires one single license. It makes sense that they expanded on that license. To do Surfliner would require a license from Amtrak as well as one from Caltrans for the Chargers and some stuff on the bi-level cars. I’d imagine getting a license from Caltrans would be a bit challenging. It’s not as easy as it seems.

 

Most TSW routes aren't set at the exact present day, they focus them on a specific time where they can get the best reference material for timetables, liveries etc. They are probably setting this slightly in the past like most of their other routes.

The only exception I can think of actually is AVL which was technically set in the future and included a station that wasn't finished yet IRL.

 

Hey Matt,

In the stream you mentioned that with the San Bernardino line, there will be mixed consists with the Bombardier and Rotem cars, as there is in real life.

Are there plans to add the same mixed consists back to AVL once the Bombardier cars are available?

I know from my understanding on the technical side in TSW it is easy enough to let the MP36 appear in AVL as a sub for the F125, we see loco subbing all the time on various routes. But is it as easy/simple to do that with the coaches? Or would somebody need to manually go in and change the consists for each service in the timetable?

Also in regards to the mixed consists in general, is it possible that they be randomized in any way or does it have to be a fixed consist, i.e. if I pick service #123 will it always have 2 Rotem and 3 Bombardier for example in the same order, or would it be a different makeup each time I pick that service and spawn fresh?

From what I am aware this will be the first time there are mixed passenger consists in the game, in the past its usually pretty standard trainsets we get so I am curious to know what is doable.

 

Don’t get your hopes up you need to temper expectations this scenario no different than the 150/2 that was at the time first sprinter for tsw title that was hyped up and as people know what a total balls up implementation of that was common sense thing to do is expect little but live in hope for half decent quality

 

Even then, the station is only used on race days and no other time, so unless the timetable has a set day for the Auto Club 400, the station will be unused except for scenarios, so its odd its listed on the route to begin with (Metrolink doesn't even list it in their timetables)

 

Also, the lack of some unique landmarks on AVL makes me wonder if DTG will model Auto Club Speedway properly, or just generic, or not at all....

 

Still no new US freight? Back to the shooter genre.

 

More than likely a Day One purchase. Fairly certain this route is part of Run 8’s SoCal network so need to fire that up and take a look. It will be interesting to compare. Ironically we will now end up with three standalone western USA routes that technically could all join into one mega route.

 

I hope that it has more than just alerter and sth passive going on - I would like to actually have to pay attention to speed and signals and have some action in that department... dunno what kind of signalling or safety systems are used on that route/trains

 

lol, so secretive are sometimes companies in US... as if US freight locos were the pinnacle of tech that everybody wants to steal *laughs in EU electrified freight like Taurus, Vectron or EuroDual* ... what they dont realize is that it is a game like this that helps to "groom" ppl into liking railroads, with some eventually deciding to become real engineers... to have enough engineers who actually enjoy their job, you need ppl who fall in love with trains, also via TSW and similar games

 

A bit of a shame as my understanding was the previous intransigence by companies like BNSF and UP had been considerably relaxed. Certainly not going to make the job easy. Could explain why Run 8 haven’t delivered much new on the traction side either, apart from the rather dinky tractor light switcher and a few reskins.

 

lol they are afraid someone is going to steal their universe-ground-breaking tech based on sound and cab config as if the Chinese were stupid enough to steal things from games

 

That's the thing though, Railways don't want rail enthusiasts as employees. It's been said time and time again, certainly in the UK to keep that fact hidden if you are trying to get a job.

 

Was it a huge surprise how Metrolink seemed to really be engaged? They seem to have really gone above and beyond.

 

Looks like a fair amount of action in that yard and variety of power used be nice if they added freight layer for this and give us freight train fans at least something maybe add a coil car for steel loads from kaiser steel plant

 

I don’t think this route is the worst choice that could have been made for a new US commuter line. It gets us away from the NEC which is where we seem to end up a lot for loco hauled passenger stuff.

Here we get a decent speed & a couple of good options for rolling stock. AVL is nice, but it’s a slow slog & you can feel the F125 urging to be let loose - this route does offer that. The MP36 has needed a rework for sometime, it was once my favourite US loco in TSW, but then the sounds got borked & I haven’t been able to use it.

Of course the issue then lies in the timetable, it’s not very busy & having the 2 locos to use across just a handful of services means it won’t be long until you’re replaying the same runs.

As I understand it, there is a potential timetable which adds a service diagram with a 30 minute frequency. Hopefully DTG will add that in. AVL was more acceptable to me as it was included in the TSW4 launch bundle, I certainly wouldn’t of bought it at £30 as a standalone - there just isn’t enough gameplay value in these types of routes to justify it.

 

That is absolutely not a blanket rule...

 

Unfortunately this is another one of Matt’s statements that became written in the bible for people.

No offence to Matt because he wasn’t wrong in what he said & the context he said it in - but people take things he says as blanket rules & regurgitate them unnecessarily.

 

Yes, I would say my primary concern is with the timetable but as you say, there is at least the potential to use the most recent, busier one. I also agree that this line is more attractive than AVL in regards to running speeds. Perhaps some freight can be worked in as well. However, I'm also not sure if "better than AVL" and "the best choice DTG has outside the northeast" are big selling points for me, especially as a full-priced DLC. If it starts at a lower price point, then, fair enough.

 

It really shows the difference that the companies being open has. The Amtrak and Metrolink stock is some of the best in the game in my opinion. The Caltrain stuff looks excellent as well.

 

Of course better is always going to be a subjective thing. Personally I find running these massive locos on 25mph routes a waste - but then I get that this is just how the US works. IMO you get 3 things when it comes to US commuter stuff in TSW.

1) electrified NEC
2) NY based EMU
3) diesel crawlers

The 2 times we’ve seen something outside that was with Caltrain & the T services on NEC. I think San Bernardino will finally cement into TSW that a US commuter line doesn’t have to be an ACS 64, M7 or low speed running.

I agree that ‘not the worst’ is not a selling point, and as I said I certainly won’t be inclined to pay full price for a route with a 2-3 hour service pattern. However if they deliver this route with the high frequency service pattern then I’ll be on board.

Given the issues that DTG have with the US side of things, if they can deliver this route to its (at the very least) full Metrolink commuter potential, it will deserve its place IMO.

 

I've seen that said elsewhere by railroad people to those asking for tips on getting hired. The railroads don't want yard workers who might geek out over the trains and get distracted from their own or others' safety.

I imagine that like many unwritten rules of thumb, this one was arrived at through unhappy experience.

 

I beg to differ. It was one of the first things I was told when I joined the railway in 1977 and when applying for promotion etc. You did not wax lyrical on the application form or at the interview about train spotting, bashing for mileage or anything like that.

I have probably mentioned the old Diagramming Section at Paddington which in the 1980's (and for a few years after transfer to Swindon) was run by the formidable Alan Sweetnam aka "The Colonel" (RIP). He had a very low tolerance for "cranks" despite the fact when I actually succeeded in getting a job over there in 1983 more than 50% of the staff in the two offices (Permanent and Supplementary) were uber cranks!. At the interview I focused on the logistics of train crew and traction resource diagram, manning agreements, route availability, things to avoid in a train plan such as cross light engine moves. If I'd let on my geographic knowledge of the Western came from bashing up and down behind Class 50's etc., would have been shown the door.

 

Sad, sad news for US freight players. I got into the TSW specifically for US freight. I played Sand Patch Grade non stop when I purchased TSW2. Absolutely loved this game. But, with no new US freight, it's a wrap for me. It was a great run though. All good things come to an end.

 

Me too pal, me too...

 

There’s a difference in expressing an interest & telling a potential recruiter you have skills from experience in a simulator.

I’ve personally progressed pretty far into my own rail career of the last 6 years & at no point have I been held back by my making known of using train simulators. The thing you’re not supposed to do is tell them your existing skill set belongs to that hobby.

There is a huge difference between knowing what something is & knowing how to use that something. The latter is the part that is relevant to the issue of rail enthusiasts. For all intents & purposes you absolutely do not know how to operate within a safety critical environment. Telling a trainer you do because you did it in a sim is where you will encounter issues.

Anyway, the whole thing comes down to common sense & even then results will differ from ToC to employees. My point was that it isn’t a blanket rule.

 

US railroads are a very special case and any information about them absolutely cannot be assumed to apply to other countries.

I'm not sure how anecdotal evidence is meant to argue against someone saying something isn't a blanket rule...

 

So is US freight content on-hold for the foreseeable future? Like similar to Steam content?

Not trying to start a whole thing, here, just looking for clarification. Thanks!

 

I think some people are setting to high of expectations as far as sounds ..even if the sounds aint perfect in freight on US routes i still enjoy playing US freight ..sad that this is preventing more us freight rotes paks from TSW tired too people think US freight is boring find it enguaging challenging i got into TSW on console because of the US freight

 

I mean, there is still potential for freight layer for Kaiser yard, right?

 

I think they need to do something for freight with Kaiser yard could layer es44c4 sd40 2 in for it may we need to push that expectation to at least have a little freight representation

 

Only thing is I'm unsure is if the old steel coil car we used to have was owned by BNSF, they look similar but not 100% sure.

 

This is the route map for all Line from their homepage

 

Absolutely no offense intended, but the examples you've mentioned were 40-50 years ago. Times have definitely changed, it's not quite as black and white anymore as it was back then, at least in some companies/countries.

For example, Deutsche Bahn was missing 3,700 drivers in November of last year, a lot of TOCs can't afford to exclude people who are actually interested in railroading nowadays because barely anyone wants to do the job in the first place. Of course if you're going into it thinking that you already know everything they could teach you, you'd be out the door faster than you could say PZB, but from what I've been told you're definitely not gonna be turned down just because you like trains or have played a train sim before.

It seems like they're even actively allowing train enthusiasm at this point. For example, there's been quite an uptick in German cab ride videos in recent times because some departments of DB have started giving permission to their drivers to upload them to YouTube, including those where the entire cab is visible for the whole ride, something which would've been almost unthinkable just a few years ago. Some examples being IC-Lokführer (whose videos are officially authorised by Deutsche Bahn AG Public Relations / Sponsoring) and RegioTf206.

 

That's matching my first-hand experience. The closer the job position is to driving trains, the more you encounter enthusiasts.

 

Fair enough, perhaps the culture has shifted with the passage of time. I guess so far as the UK is concerned, there's not so much to get excited over - either spotting, bashing or route coverage - now that we have moved on from the loco hauled era.

Anyhow back on topic, I think of all the routes coming out this is No.2 on my wish list, with the UW Japanese route No.1.

 

It’s the same safety systems on all of Metrolink’s territory. It’s the exact same thing as on the AVL. They don’t cherry pick certain safety systems for each of their 7 different lines. Whether DTG is improving upon the safety system we already have in the cabcar or F125, we’ll have to wait and see.

This is simply not true, at least here in the US. While yes, it’s encouraged not to go into an interview acting like an obsessed railfan/foamer, the idea that they won’t hire someone with an interest in trains is mistaken. Amtrak for one encourages people with an interest in trains to apply, likely because they make better employees over someone who’s attitude is “it’s just a job” and constantly acts like they don’t want to be there.

 

I mean, it wasnt totally bad, the game still deducted pts if I went over track limit, but didnt enforce slowing down when showing yellow, for example... so... if the game doesnt enforce me (I am sure IRL there would be some kind of control over that), is there like a speed limit to it when I see lets say yellow? y know, that kind of signal before either more yellow or red

if the game doesnt enforce this, I might try to find out stuff like this to make it a bit more real and challenging/engaging... this isnt some UK route to be so benevolent I want some more evil German spirit to punish meeeaaaah