Milepost Simulations now brings the famed Milwaukee Road’s crossing of the Montana Rockies to Train Simulator Classic – with the superb [LINK] Pipestone Pass: Three Forks – Butte route! Three legendary American railroads, the Great Northern, Northern Pacific, and Milwaukee Road, crossed the Rockies of Montana to link the Upper Midwest and the Pacific Northwest by rail – and now the Milwaukee Road’s legendary electrified Rocky Mountain Division crossing of the Rockies comes to Train Simulator Classic with the Pipestone Pass: Three Forks – Butte route! Created by accomplished developer Milepost Simulations, the Pipestone Pass: Three Forks – Butte route extends from Three Forks, Montana, across the Rockies via Pipestone Pass and west to Butte, Montana, a distance of 70 route miles. Utilizing lengthy grades of up to 2 percent, high trestles, and numerous tunnels, the line crossed the U.S. Continental Divide at an elevation of 6,347 feet above sea level. Born in 1874, the much-admired Milwaukee Road (formally, the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad) in the early 20th century boldly pursued its “Pacific Extension,” an initiative to stretch westward from the Upper Midwest to the Pacific Northwest. Between 1905 and 1915, at a cost of $60 million, the “MILW” extended its rails westward through South Dakota, Montana, and Idaho to Washington State. The extension included crossing five mountain passes, among which was Pipestone Pass and its high elevation crossing of the Continental Divide. To power its trains in this remote and daunting mountain territory, the Milwaukee Road chose to electrify significant portions of its route in the Rockies, Bitterroot, and Cascade Mountains, including the 440 miles of railroad between Harlowton, Montana and Avery, Idaho. To toil under the wood-pole catenary of its new extension, the Milwaukee Road in 1915-16 acquired 42 burly double-unit General Electric boxcab electric motors rated at 3,340 horsepower. Truly built for the ages, the big electrics would toil for well more than a half-century, with the last of these potent GE electrics remaining in service into the 1970s (the Milwaukee Pacific Extension itself closed in 1980). The Pipestone Pass: Three Forks – Butte route for Train Simulator Classic features: • The Milwaukee Road’s tough and memorable Rocky Mountain Division crossing of Pipestone Pass and the Continental Divide. The heart of the pass extends from Piedmont to Butte with a ruling grade of 2 percent westbound and 1.7 percent eastbound. • Milwaukee Road’s distinctive General Electric boxcab electric motors constructed in 1915-16 in three lash-up configurations (EF1, EF2, and EF5) and two (unbranded) Milwaukee liveries typical of the 1950s and 1960s. • The versatile Electro-Motive GP9 diesel road-switcher in Milwaukee (unbranded) and Northern Pacific liveries. • A variety of period-authentic freight equipment, including the Milwaukee Road’s distinctive home-built, ribbed-side steel bay-window caboose. • Milwaukee Road yards and facilities at locations including Three Forks, Piedmont, Janney, and Butte; classic high trestles; ABS signals; and track signage. • Authentic Milwaukee Road catenary with variable voltage. • Eight challenging career scenarios, featuring Milwaukee Road freight operations across the length of the route. The Milwaukee Road’s great “Pacific Extension” created a railroad of extraordinary appeal and challenging operations that would endure for three-quarters of a century and call countless railroad enthusiasts to the remote and majestic Montana mountains. Now, this remarkable experience awaits you with the Pipestone Pass: Three Forks – Butte route for Train Simulator Classic, [LINK] available at the Steam Store! Available now from expert developer Milepost Simulations, the Pipestone Pass: Three Forks – Butte route brings the Milwaukee Road’s legendary electrified Rocky Mountain Division crossing of the Rockies to Train Simulator Classic! Atop the Continental Divide, Milwaukee Road GE motors emerge eastbound from Pipestone Pass Tunnel. The Pipestone Pass route extends from Three Forks, Montana, across the Rockies via Pipestone Pass and west to Butte, Montana, a distance of 70 route miles. Near the east end of the route, a set of motors is rolling westbound tonnage across the high plains at Willow Creek (above), while on the west end of the route at Butte Yard, GE-built motors and an EMD-built GP9 diesel stand together (below). Especially in the Rocky Mountain Division’s final years, diesel power frequently saw service on the line. To power its trains across the Rockies, the Milwaukee Road acquired General Electric boxcab electric motors which were delivered in 1915-16 and would serve the railroad for more than five decades. Delivered in two-unit sets, the electrics would over the years be configured in three- and four-unit lash-ups. Classified as EF1, EF2, and EF5 by the Milwaukee Road, the electrics are featured in the new route wearing the railroad’s orange, maroon, and black livery typical of the 1950s (above) and orange and black livery (below) as worn in the 1960s and into the 1970s. With the Pipestone Pass route, you’ll climb into the cab of the EF-series electrics for an utterly unique operating experience. The motors can be driven in series or parallel. Series is used for slow speed and parallel for faster speeds, followed by a shunt setting. The throttle has 17 series notches, of which 1-16 are resistance notches; there are two blank notches before moving to 12 parallel resistance notches followed by a full parallel notch. Then the final notch is the shunt. West of Three Forks, the Milwaukee Road initially traced a path close to the Jefferson River (and in the process, often ran alongside the Northern Pacific Rocky Mountain Division’s Second Subdivision). A westbound Milwaukee Road freights rolls along the river’s south bank, while on the opposite side a Northern Pacific freight rumbles east. The Milwaukee Road Pipestone Pass route is primarily ABS-governed single track with frequent sidings for trains to meet, such as here at Piedmont. For the westbound freight led by motor E34A, the long 2 percent gradient climb of the east slope of Pipestone Pass is about to begin. At Vendome, Milwaukee Road GE-built motor E36A ducks under Montana Highway 41 as it heads a westbound freight. Despite the relatively open nature of the land here, the westbound grade is already at 2 percent. Among the compelling features of the Milwaukee Road’s crossing of Pipestone Pass was a long horseshoe to gain elevation between Vendome and Cedric. Eastbound on a wintry day, the freight in this scene is just clearing the horseshoe and was a few moments prior easing down the trackage in the immediate foreground. Near Grace, Montana, as the railroad clung to the rocky cliffs above Fish Creek, the Milwaukee Road’s battle with the Rockies was truly dramatic. Westbound on the 2 percent grade, motor E36A is on the point as its train emerges from Tunnel No. 10 and eases atop a concrete retaining wall. Having only briefly before crested Pipestone Pass, an eastbound freight has begun easing downgrade on the steep right-of-way bound for Piedmont. On the rear of the freight is one of Milwaukee Road’s unique home-built (in its Milwaukee, Wisconsin, shops) ribbed-side bay-window steel cabooses. The west slope of Pipestone Pass was less demanding than its eastern counterpart, but only marginally so, with variable grades up to 1.7 percent. Between Janney and the summit of the pass, Milwaukee Road motor E49A hums over one of the line’s many towering steel trestles. Snow is dusting the Montana landscape as a set of Milwaukee Road General Electric EF-series motors wearing the railroad’s classic orange, maroon, and black livery prepares to depart Butte Yard eastbound and do battle with Pipestone Pass. The Milwaukee Road’s Rocky Mountain Division across Pipestone Pass was a railroad of extraordinary appeal and tough railroading challenges – and now, this remarkable and memorable experience awaits you with the Pipestone Pass: Three Forks – Butte Route for Train Simulator Classic, available at the Steam Store!
Presumably they were unable to get the licensing from the milw historical society. It's unfortunate but I'd rather an unbranded route than no route at all
At least there are links to some emblems at RWA https://railworksamerica.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=25908 and at TSCommunity. https://www.trainsimcommunity.com/search?query=milwaukee Boxcabs logos: https://railworksamerica.com/index....milw-boxcab-textures&catid=18:engine-repaints
Agreed, unfortunate but there's already plenty of reskins and mods which include the MILW logo, and of course there will inevitably be someone who adds logos to the Boxcabs, caboose, GP9, freight cars, etc.
Here is another run through of this new DLC: Going FF through the videos, I am still not convinced this is a compulsory purchase for me. It is yet another single track 'up and down the mountain' route but this time under catenary and driving a 'motor'. Typical of Milepost (like with Tennessee Pass), the texturing of the cab seems poor in the videos. Anybody already purchased this DLC and is willing to post some more full resolution screen shots? Last but not least, since winter last how many months in this part of the USA, how are the winter textures, always a kind of touchstone of dedication?
They're different railroads with no trains that ran through over each other, I don't think there's much point
Currently reinstalling TSC and thought this might appeal as a fan of classic electrics. But got to agree, everything looks a bit lo res, Sean was having all sorts of trouble getting the reverser to engage and the locos hardly making any sound at all. Dunno, maybe they were like that IRL, but I would have expected boxy old DC electrics to be whining away, not making less sound than a TSW Electrostar!
The internal electrics would make little noise other than the contactors clapping in, noise would be from the traction motors or to be more accurate their gearing and on these locos there is a large space between the position of the motors and the cabs mitigating (but not eliminating) that noise. Maybe that's the reason? These Boxcabs are not like many which had steam engine size drivers with the motors mounted much higher.
I'm tempted with this route. Could somebody who has this route and one of the North East Electrics place one of those on the track? Either the New Haven E33 or an Amtrak Electric - I'm curious what height the OH wire is. I would run an E33 over this route or a Boxcab on the New York - New Haven as a Railfan special. If the OH wire height is the same I will get this route.
Thanks John. I was hoping to use E33s on the line but if the wires are so different I will give it a miss.
My main critique is the signalling. It looks like generic US signal indications were used. One has to remember that Milwaukee Road past Aberdeen, SD, was Timetable-Train Order Authority with ABS-APB protection, with very limited aspects. You basically had Clear, Approach, Stop and Proceed, and Stop at places like trailing point switches like sidings protected by block signals, or Interlockings. When I was running the first scenario following #263 West, I expected a signal sequence meeting 264 on the main with the switch open to go something like Clear>Approach>S&P>S&P at occupied block. Instead I got all clears to the occupied block and an approach into the siding. I understand there are limitations to how one can do signals in TSC to allow for AI traffic to do it's thing, but proper sequencing is critical. I have communicated this with Jonathan, hopefully something comes of it? https://www.lundsten.dk/us_signaling/abs_apb_cmstp/index.html
I haven't had this experience. They have a nice noise for me, so long as I don't move the camera away from the train with the arrow keys. If I do, even when I use the mouse wheel to zoom in, they're quieter based on the distance the camera was set at. If I get closer with the arrow keys instead, the volume comes back as you get closer.
Honestly, I could use a little more of that. So many people posting about train games seem hell bent on proving anything they don't like is the worst product ever produced to the point of posting pictures of pantographs slightly askew from wires (not talking about the photos above), incorrect number sequences, flaws in scenery etc. and announcing that anything the makers have ever done is **** that I now consider "Eh, it's not to my taste" to be a breath of fresh air. I thought it was focused on Dovetail, but other train games seem to get it just as bad, DTG just has a larger customer base and thus a louder percentage of it who are as described. That said, I don't see how anyone can not love those boxcabs.
Because of their horriby bright green cab interiors. Is that prototypical? Sitting in that for hours will drive me mad!
It actually is correct, however Milepost's cab textures is mediocre at best and something about it just looks off.
I wanna say I've seen that green on other equipment from the first half of the 20th Century, but I can't pin down where. I keep thinking of farm stuff.
I think the details are too flat, such as the gauges have a single colour while in reality the light comes from somewhere and that tends to give them a gradient effect and more. Like on the photo. It's probably a bit too saturated, too, which might be with cab lights on. And of course instrument lights on which probably weren't such a perfect distributed light but more like on the BR 155, coming from the edge, supplied by a small incandescent bulb and reflected I guess. That said the textures aren't entirely flat, more like lo-fi, and of course generic, so one might attempt to replace them with near-identical ones with a higher resolution and more random features. I guess the one is as good as it can get at this specific resolution. Plus of course TSC has its own limits, I'm just judging by the photo attached in OP, it might look nicer with fancy shaders.
It is a boxy train because it WAS a boxy train. This is a great rendition of what the actual outside of the train looks like. Being an older model it isn’t for everyone (I personally don’t care for steam locos - though I do tolerate them ).
Could this be a Trainz'12 conversion? With the seen in some video Little Joe as well? It doesn't look like a real TSC model with such coarse texturing.
Could well be, most of the Milwaukee Road electrified networks are freely available. Boxcabs, Bi-Polar's and Little Joe's, Olympian Hiawatha and some more unique rolling stock. I haven't played MSTS in years, only occasionally fire up ORTS to keep it up-to-date, since development seems to have stalled. Good opportunity to check that scene out and get the latest from Elvas and Trainsim and save myself the purchase of the TSC equivalent alltogether.
I've admittedly not purchased the route in ts1 yet, but from everything I see it looks far better than the orts milwaukee route, so I wouldn't write it off just for the stock having exterior models ported from msts.
A large freight train is about to leave Butte for Three Forks, the Boxcabs alone are not enough, so a Little Joe's duplex (GE 750) is being hooked up to the multi-traction cables to get more power to pull this huge train.
