Welcome back for the 24/25 TSW World Cup! It's a much more passenger-focused setup for the US as we have the recent additions of San Bernardino Line and MBTA Commuter - as well as the LIRR Commuter route, which replaces Long Island Rail Road in the route list. >> This will run from 12:00 UTC, 15/12 to 22:00 UTC, 16/12. The poll will be added at this time. << Format: Reminder Unlike Europe/Britain where two routes go through per group, in North America this is one. North American routes are excluded from the Third-Place competition this year, but instead get their own - with the 5th and 6th NA routes being selected on votes, with no regard for their group. Anyway, let's check the roster. Group A (Passenger) MBTA Commuter NEC New York - Trenton Harlem Line NEC Boston - Providence A shootout between two New York routes, two Boston routes, two NEC Routes, and two commuter routes. A very interesting group. Group B San Bernardino Line Peninsula Corridor LIRR Commuter Antelope Valley Line Alexa, play Hotel California. All three Pacific Coast (passenger) routes plus LIRR Commuter, which is slightly further East, in this half of the passenger side. Group 1 (Freight) Sherman Hill Cane Creek Clinchfield RR Cajon Pass A dual appearance from UP, joined by the historic Clinchfield RR and BNSF's Cajon Pass. Group 2 Sand Patch Grade Oakville Subdivision Horseshoe Curve 'The OG' that is Sand Patch Grade takes on Oakville Subdivision, the solitary Canadian route, and Skyhook's Horseshoe Curve meet here in this Eastern battle. Links Master Thread - https://forums.dovetailgames.com/threads/the-tsw-world-cup-season-2-back-for-2024.77086/page-3 Round 2 -
We are live here in the American conference, so all systems are a-go! Done voting here? Go and vote in Europe and Britain too! EU: https://forums.dovetailgames.com/threads/tsw-world-cup-24-25-group-stage-europe-live-now.87769/ UK: https://forums.dovetailgames.com/threads/tsw-world-cup-24-25-group-stage-britain-live-now.87766/
Pretty straight forward voting here.... Group A -MBTA Commuter Obviously the newest route is here, but it is probably one of the better US routes DTG has put together, especially with the extra care for the scenery and freight layers. Group B -San Bernardino Line Again, one of the newest routes, and one that would be pretty well completed once the F59PHR arrives, not sure how it compares to LIRR, as I haven't touched it, so thats why my vote goes to SBL. Group 1 -Clinchfield Railroad Despite being one of the older routes for TSW, I still prefer Clinchfield over the likes of Cajon and Sherman. Its decently put together, unique enough to be interesting, and really wish it wasn't left in the dust due to poor sales. Group 2 -Sand Patch Grade Really no contest here, SPG is still the OG, and still sets a high standard in routes for scenery, content, and timetables, its just fallen behind in places like sounds and train lengths.
Pretty straightforward for me too. Don't have Boston- Worcester so have to go with Providence. Plus LIRR, Clinchfield and, of course, SPG.
I think Cane Creek, whilst the timetable isn't very lively is a surprisingly good route for scenery, this route shocked me in terms of it
Not crazy about US passenger routes. Boston is all I have in Group A, mainly as it seemed the best, so it got my vote. I only have Pen and Antelope in B(and the old LIRR which shall not be spoken of) and, despite its injuries over time, Pen wins. Love all the freight. Group 1 has the adorable Clinchfield, but US haulage is all about very heavy metal going up and down big slopes, so Cajon has all the aces. Horseshoe and Oakville are both quaint in 2, but Sandpatch is BOSS!
As it stands... With Six Hours to go, we've got some runaway trains alongside some close races, so let's take a look at the current position here. Group A: NEC: Boston - Providence is the clear leader at the moment, on 44 votes. The rest of the group has a combined 47. Within that rest of the group is a TIE between MBTA Commuter and NEC: New York - Trenton, both on 21, with Harlem Line - a strong player last year - on a mere 5. Group B: A slightly less tight one here but more balanced. LIRR Commuter leads on 33 votes, with San Bernardino chasing on 26. Fellow Californians Peninsula Corridor and Antelope Valley Line trail on 19 and 8, respectively. Freight Group 1: Cajon Pass leads on 37, just scraping by the strong showing of Clinchfield (33). It's a wipeout for Sherman Hill (8) and Cane Creek (4) and, subsequently, Union Pacific's hopes of stealing British Rail's crown. Freight Group 2: The Smallest group has Sand Patch Grade on 58, the highest of any US route, and it's a runaway win by the looks of it with Oakville on 9, closely followed by Horseshoe Curve on 8. So, all in all, the following routes go through: -------- LEADERS -------- 2 | Sand Patch Grade (58) A | NEC Boston - Providence (44) 1 | Cajon Pass (37) B | LIRR Commuter (33) --------- RUNNERS UP --------- 1 | Clinchfield Railroad (33) B | San Bernardino Line (26) --------- CONTENDERS --------- A | MBTA Commuter (21) A | NEC: New York - Trenton (21) (Numbers accurate as of posting, 16:25 UTC)
If Oakville were in any other group, I would probably have chosen it. It's a favorite of mine, especially because it sports the GP9rm, the best loco in the game.
