So after watching the 5th anniversary stream, an idea have popped into my head for odd reasons. Not sure why, but it had to be done for this kind of suggestion. [And yes, that's gonna be the title for this idea, not taking it back either (but may regret it later on though)] And since New Journeys was released a while ago, thought, might as well think of adding in a new timetable for this route. While there's already suggestions for the Chessie System, and its predecessor B&O (somewhere around in the forums), thought I do more of a backdated age of the CSX instead. Yep, I'm talking about the infamous Grey and Blue liveries that were from the early years of CSX Transportation. And here's the locos that would fit well into this time period. GE U36B (Ex-SBD/SCL) Built: 1970-1972 (Ex-SCL) Units: 108 Yes, the loco that sparked this idea to begin with. From the stream I mentioned, they mentioned they ported over a few models from TS1 as prototypes at the time (which some were never seen afterwards. So NO speculations on this part). And showed among them, besides a Yn2 looking Dash 9, was the mighty U-Boat, the U36B (in a stunning CSX-B I might add). While it is smaller than the U36C counterpart I listed for CRR, this U-Boat will also be suitable for long hauls across Sand Patch summit also, which will be liveried in CSX-B 'CSX Blue' as well. EMD GP40 (Ex-CSS) Built: 1966, 1969-1971 Units: 161 (Ex-B&O), 50 (Ex-C&O), 5 (Ex-WM) Though, I wasn't just gonna leave it there, however. So, I thought what else to make the route with this decade more unique to the pack, and this was the answer. Now, I know what you're thinking; "another GP40-2, really?" But much like the SD40/SD40-2 differences, so does the differences between the GP40 and GP40-2. Plus, I wasn't just gonna do all the locos ex-Seaboard (plus the Family Lines) now would I. And as an added bonus, the GP40 will also be having the CSX-S 'CSX Stripe' as well. GE C40-8 Built: 1989-1990 Units: 147 And last but not least for a Trifecta of a pack (if possible), the Dash 8. So to throw in some good and the bad for this. For the Good, thought I would do be the Standard Cab version that many wanted for the Dash 8 (including myself, guilty for that). But for the bad, many from day one were in one of, if not the most infamous livery out of them all, the CSX-G or the recognizable nicknamed, 'Stealth.' Many of these units do have this livery at the time before, luckily, switching over to the Stealth's cousin, CSX-YG. And then later, the more common, Yn2 livery. And why Stealth you ask, well why not is the question. Sure, some of these liveries were not the best from both railfans and employees of the company at the time. But if DTG manage to put a CSX-S livery on a reused loco for their expansion pack, then why not for this period for CSX as well. EMD SD40 (Ex-CRR) And as an added bonus, for those that have the New Journeys pack, the SD40 in CSX-S can also be subbed into this timetable as well (hopefully without the SD40 in CRR Black attached to it). I know, it sounds bad. But, it's there just to make this loco with this livery feels more like it's in the right era for once, and not just as a fictional Heritage unit in the modern days. Nevertheless, that is my idea for this suggestion. As for rolling stocks for this kind of period, I will let you folks suggest on that to see what would be appropriate for this kind of era (as I did not think of that at this moment, my bad). Hope you enjoy the read, though.
So after a bit of thought, might as well expand this idea a little further as alternative locos for this pack. Just in case this wasn't enough from the known 3 liveries that were seen commonly back in the early CSX days. Of course, after researching a bit, seems there were a lot more GE models with the CSX-B and CSX-G liveries. Whereas, there were many EMD models that wore the CSX-S livery. So, I hand-picked a few of these unit that would be suitable with the liveries, and this is the results. EMD SW1500 or MP15AC (both Ex-L&N) Built: 1970-1972 (SW1500), 1975 (MP15AC) Units: 30 (SW1500), 10 (MP15AC) Was a little surprise to see these switchers with the Grey & Blue look, though both of them were in CSX-G at the time. But, it would not be a bad idea to have some switching activities at Cumberland Yard, and these switchers will do the job for sure. EMD SD60 Built: 1989 Units: 10 For an alternative for the Dash 8, just in case. Much like the SD60 I listed for Sherman Hill, these units would also be fitting for some heavy haul action on the route in CSX-G. GE C30-7 (Ex-SCL) Built: 1979-1981 Units: 56 And last but ultimately the least, the Dash 7. Now granted, this loco was a bit tricky in terms of liveries, as some of them were in a semi split between CSX-B and CSX-G. And I was hoping for at least one model for one livery as oddly enough, there were a lot in CSX-G then in CSX-B. But one way or the other, at least it'll be here (though I was thinking of another U boat as an alternative, but just realized there's already enough GE models in here just to balanced out the EMD models for this). EMD GP38-2/GP40-2/SD40-2 (SPG) And as a last resort (if DTG plans for this part). The EMD locos that's already in Sand Patch Grade, can be repainted into the CSX-S and can be subbed into this separate timetable like the SD40 from the New Journeys pack. And yes, I did list the GP40-2 to this in case they want to rebuild it for this pack (like I said, as a last resort). And that is that, these are the locos that would work well for this pack. Might also be thinking other liveries in CSX's Grey and Blue colors, but that might be for another time for now, who knows for sure.
