Southern Railway (U.S) W-Line Spartanburg - Asheville 3259 is leading as they pass through downtown Saluda to go down the hill for the third section. What is the W-Line? The W Line is a railroad line that was owned and operated by the Southern Railway (1894 - 1984) in the U.S. states of North Carolina and South Carolina. It runs from Asheville, North Carolina southeast via Spartanburg, South Carolina to Columbia, South Carolina, but the portion northwest of Landrum, South Carolina (over the Saluda Grade) has been closed since December 2001. History of SOU (Southern Railway U.S) "The Southern Railway (reporting mark SOU) (also known as Southern Railway Company and now known as the Norfolk Southern Railway) was a class 1 railroad based in the Southern United States between 1894 and 1984 it merged with the Norfolk & Western to form Norfolk Southern. The railroad was the product of nearly 150 predecessor lines that were combined, reorganized and recombined beginning in the 1830s, formally becoming the Southern Railway in 1894." Spartanburg - Asheville Spartanburg to Asheville will take 1 hour and 13 minutes to run. Drivers will experience amazing scenery and tough grades around the route. Also, Drivers must use pusher locomotives (Like in CSX Sand Patch) since trains can't run without them (Only for coal trains.) Most pushers at least have 4 or more locomotives on it. History of Spartanburg Spartanburg was formed in 1785 and was named after a local militia called the Spartan Regiment in the American Revolutionary War. The Spartan Regiment, commanded by Andrew Pickens, participated in the nearby Battle of Cowpens. In 1831, Spartanburg was incorporated, later becoming known as the "Hub City": railroad lines radiated from the city forming the shape of a wheels of Ashe History of Asheville The town of Asheville began in 1784 when Colonel Samuel Davidson settled in the area. ... Buncombe became an official county in 1792 and the county seat was named “Morristown” in 1793 and renamed “Asheville” after the North Carolina Governor Samuel Ashe. Why did I suggest this route? Reason why I suggested this route is because I think routes should have some more challenges like battling up the grades and uncoupling the coal trains. The three-mile-long grade that crests at Saluda is the steepest mainline, standard-gauge stretch of track in the nation. It rises an average of 4.7 feet for every 100 feet in length. This far out distances its nearest rival, the 3.5 percent Santa Fe Grade in New Mexico. Also, there are tons of sharp curves for the route such as Sand Cut for example. You must go 8 MPH to cross the 11 degree curve. "Sou 3254 eastbound, at Melrose" Also, I also suggest for some interesting scenarios for the route. Push'em Pushing a train along the grade so we can get the Southern coal up the Saluda Grade. Running the Belmont The driver will experience running the 13,000 tons Belmont coal train for at-least 1 hour during the trip. The Belmont coal trains will have 50 or more coal. The power will have 3x SD40-2's with 2x GP35's in the position. Always be Safe! The W-Line was known for its train accidents in Saluda. Down in Melrose, there's a safe runaway track. This will lead the train going up the runaway track with the tracks covered in Sand to stop the drivers from any runaway accidents. So In this scenario, you'll be running a Southern Railway Unit coal train down the Saluda Grade. But your train is NOT under control. Since your train is a runaway train. There's an electronic detection circuit that measures train speed. If the train is going too fast, the switch in Melrose switches the runaway track. If your train is under control, the switch will still be switched on the mainline. Locomotives. EMD SD40-2 EMD SD40-2's was known for handling coal trains back at The W Line. These Southern SD40-2 will have highhoods and have to insert a key to keep the dynamic break from releasing. SOU EMD SD40-2 Mostly had Old Cast P5 Horns on them. Also, these engines will have at least 4x SD40-2's on the front and on the pusher side. Road numbers are listed from 3201–3328. #171 arriving at the west end of Saluda Siding with the first section of their train. EMD GP50's SOU GP50's were commonly used for the W Line in 1981. These GP50's can be used for locals and switching in Spartanburg and Asheville. SOU GP50's will be mostly manifested, but it can also be on coal trains which will need 5x engines to pull the coal train. Just like SOU GP50's they're also highhoods and have an Old Cast P5. Road Number are 7003-7092. GE B23-7 The GE B23-7 is a diesel locomotive model that was first offered by GE in late 1977. Featuring a smaller 12 cylinder version of the FDL engine, it is the successor to GE's U23B produced from early 1968 to mid 1977, but at 62 ft 2 in (18.95 m) long is exactly 2 ft 0 in (0.61 m). longer. It competed with the very successful EMD GP38-2. Southern Railway's 54 units had Southern's "standard" high-short-hoods and were numbered to 3970-4023. Just like every Southern horn. it has a Old Cast P5 on it. Train Cars Coal trains These coal trains have to be at least a mile long or longer. Southern coal trains have 13,000 tons of coal for every trip. These coal trains will be challenging for drivers and players to run. The coal trains pull 96 loaded 100 tons aluminum hoppers cars. With a rare weight of only 24 tons. These cars are a real asset to unit coal trains. Manifests Manifests are commonly seen like coal trains. These manifests will usually have 3x SOU EMD GP50's and SOU EMD SD40-2's with 80m. These locomotives can also be seen using pushers but not alot. Woodchip Cars Railroads are designed to handle heavy loads, but not every load breaks the scales. Wood chips are one of the least-dense loads commonly carried by rail. Because of their relatively light weight, the chips can be hauled in large volume in very big cars. Timetables SD40-2's Timetables SD40-2's will have 30 available services in the game. Most of them will be Unit Coal trains from Asheville, NC to Spartanburg, SC. But some of them can be manifests too since SD40-2's were also used for it. GP50's Timetables GP50's will have 20 available services for switching and running from Spartanburg to Asheville. GP50's will mostly have 4x locomotives on the mainline and 2x for switching duty for either Spartanburg or Asheville. B23-7 Timetables B23-7 will have the same thing as GP50's but with 3 or more coals trains for services. So in conclusion, The Southern Railway W-Line will be great and challenging for players to do.
Fairly certain there aren't any 700 mile long trains ANYWHERE in the world, or ANYWHEN either. But anyways, fantastic suggestion for a fantastic route.
Excellent idea but the SD-40-2 uses Sand Patch Grade CSX base model time to make it different base model use the Norfolk Southern pre Southern Railroad and Norfolk and Western merger to form Norfolk Southern SD-40-2. CSX was Baltimore and Ohio Railroad merging with clinchfield seaboard lines
YES. I would purchase this in a heartbeat! TSW2 needs more US freight routes, especially ones with steep gradients like Saluda.
Thank you, Aaron. I appreciate the feedback that I'm getting on this thread. My goal is either to hit 10 likes, if I ever get the chance.
