Hey everyone! Been awhile since I've posted here. I'm deciding to repost my favorite route suggestion I've done. I believe this route is more relevant than ever due to the longer and longer routes were getting plus the 2hr+ runtime were getting on these routes. This repost will have some changes to it when it comes to rolling stock, added info + typo corrections. So any way here goes! So why the Martinez subdivision? The Martinez subdivision while not a challenging railroad to cross is very special with the amount of services on the line both passenger and especially freight. Being the start of Union Pacifics Overland Route the line sees a lot of local and mainline freight. The route also has a ton of history going through Sacramento and Roseville being 2 major current and historic rail hubs in CA because of the first trancon railroad in the 1860's. Mainline freight is intermodal and auto racks. Local freights usually consist of tanker cars from the Benicia and Martinez power stations. A healthy amount of manifest trains also run on the line along with covered hoppers filled with various crops.. The line as a whole starts in Oakland at the Port of Oakland and Jack London Square Amtrak station. In Oakland there is Amtrak's maintenance facility and UP's intermodal facility + a yard at the port. The route from Oakland heads north towards the Sacramento River Delta where it passes the Martinez refinery. It then crosses the delta and passes the Benicia refinery before turning east to Sacramento. The line then runs at 70mph for freight/79mph for passenger all the way to the Sacramento river over the flat picturesque CA Central Valley. The line then crosses the Sacramento river and passes Sacramento Valley Station and finally makes to way to UP Davis yard in Roseville where it ends. So in total plus possible small tracks servicing local industries the length comes out to roughly 110mi (173km). Here is a map of the route: Now lets talk about freight services on the route. Being a part of Union Pacific's transcon to Chicago the line is very busy. The intermodal facility in Oakland can play a part in loading scenarios. That freight can then be run up to Roseville and vice-versa. There is an auto rack facility in Benicia where you load cars there and take them up and down the line to either Oakland or Roseville. Tanker scenarios can take place in Oakland, Sacramento port, Martinez and Benicia refineries. Grain operations take place at the Benicia port where grain is offloaded onto ships and in Roseville or Dixon where grain can be loaded. And all mainline operations would end in Roseville or Oakland. Next up passenger services. The only passenger operator is Amtrak. Amtrak operates about 35 daily services between Oakland to Martinez and than the majority go to Sacramento and 4 service's continue to Roseville. The 4 Amtrak services that operate on the line are the mighty California Zephyr has its start in Emeryville, Coast Starlight passes through from Oakland to Sacramento Valley Station but the thing that makes Coast Starlight different to the Zephyr is it operates at night and during sunrise. Capitol Corridor operates the entire route, and the San Joaquins Operates from Oakland to Martinez before heading onto the BNSF line. Several scenarios could be made with Amtrak including forming a consist at the Amtrak facility in Oakland and rescue trains. Now to the rolling stock for UP and the freight services. I think the route should come standard with 2 locos, the ET44AC: And the SD70M: And of course hopefully layers from Cane creek and Sherman Hill including the GP38-2, SD40-2, AC4400CW, and the SD70ACe would all really make the line come alive with freight. We all know what Intermodal and auto racks look like so I won't be posting pictures of them here but as I said before that's the type of freight plus manifests, and tankers that you'll see on the route. Now for Amtrak's rolling stock. firstly Capitol Corridor/San Joaquins: Capitol Corridor and San Jaoquins both use the F59phi and sc44 charger however I am only suggesting the sc44 as the f59's are being phased out. They both use the California Coach car with the only difference between Capitol Corridor and San Joaquins is that Capitol Corridor runs with one more California Coach car than San Joaquins. I believe Capitol Corridor and the UP locos + rolling stock from above should come standard with the route. The Zephyr and Coast starlight should come as a dlc as the route is NOT complete with those trains. The difference between the two on this route is the Zephyr on operates during the day on the line while the Coast Starlight southbound operates in the morning with a sunrise and northbound operates with a sunset getting to Sacramento at midnight The California Zephyr and Coast Starlight both have almost the same rolling stock with both using a pair P42's and normal long distance superliner consist but Coast Starlight has the Addition of the "Pacific Parlor" car: Stunning P42DC loco Now for cool sights along the route. Jack London station in Oakland is unique because not only is it in the heart of downtown but as you pull out of the station you have 1/3mi running on the street Port of Oakland with UP's intermodal facility were you could build a trancon intermodal consist Martinez refinery which can be used for local industry services Benicia-Martinez Bridge crossing the delta with the Zephyr. Much of the route his high speed running through the stunning Central Valley The I Street Bridge crossing the Sacramento River entering Sacramento. Sacramento Valley Station. This is were playable Coast Starlight services and most Capitol Corridor services would terminate Davis yard in Roseville + Roseville Amtrak station. This is were The playable zephyr and Capitol Corridor services would terminate. CC continues on to terminate at Auburn I would love to see this route in TSW4 because of the history it has, the amount of services it has being it would be the first route using the P42 and having a long distance Amtrak train. The route while not geographically challenging is different because it's high speed running through the California Central Valley, something we haven't really had before. In conclusion I can't state how much I would love to see this route and how amazing and cool it is and I hope it comes to TSW4. Feedback and editing suggestion are welcome! Thank you for reading my suggestion and have a great day!
Good suggestion, but if you haven't already read it there is a post in the main forum where DTG have indicated US freight routes are on hiatus until further notice.
ah well hope they're back sooner rather than later. Do you have a link to the post where this is mentioned?
As a Bay Area native, I would love to see the Martinez Sub put into TSW4. I am more of a passenger train-centric player, with emphasis on commuter services, but also love to see variety when running routes. I mainly play the Peninsula Corridor, so it would be cool to see train operations on the other side of the Bay. Plus, I like the idea of seeing the units for the Capital Corridor and Coast Starlight, as well as the occasional LA-bound UP freight train, make appearances at San Jose Diridon since they come off this route, even if the line from Oakland to SJ is not playable.
No modern Union Pacific Train uses the coast line anymore aside from locals stuff, most of that traffic is sent thru the central valley and Tehachapi
Now that you bring it up, I guess I haven't seen a long haul UP freight train goin through San Jose / South San Jose in a long time. Though I remember as a kid I could catch long manifest and unit trains rolling through south of Tamien; autoracks and intermodal stacks. When did UP make that routing change, if you know?
This sounds like a great route. The California SC44 Chargers (and the ALC-42s for the California Zephyr) are a must for me, as are the P42DCs. The ET44AC (C45AH on the UP) is also a must-have loco for me. The SD70M would be great, too. I'd also love a UP ES44AC (C45ACCTE on the UP), SD70ACe-T4 (SD70AH on the UP), and/or SD59MX rebuild for heavy freights and a GP60/GP60E/GP62, 3GS-21B Genset, and/or GP40N for local/yard switching duties.
