Usa Routes

Discussion in 'TSW General Discussion' started by Delta David, Dec 1, 2020.

  1. Delta David

    Delta David New Member

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    Would to see something east to west and back. Denver to Seattle or San Diego to Seattle. And if the rules of the sims Am trak maybe Dallas northbound or west. Just some ideas I have.
     
  2. JGRudnick

    JGRudnick Well-Known Member

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    As great as it would be to have hundred plus mile routes, it isn't really feasible. It takes months just to do a 40 mile route, and they cost quite a bit. If they were to do a much longer route like you are suggesting, it could take years to do just one route, and the cost could be enough that it would be the only Christmas gift under the tree that year.
     
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  3. davidh0501

    davidh0501 Well-Known Member

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    Just think of the Sandpatch route, but twice as long.
    The computer alternative to water boarding...
     
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  4. OldVern

    OldVern Well-Known Member

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    If you want long US routes then your best option is Run 8 - you can now drive all the way from LA (or Fresno) to Seligman. But miles of that is just featureless desert with not much to do apart from trot along in light power or light dynamics, while reading a book and occasionally checking the DS boards to see how your AI services are getting on. It's magnificent but I doubt that concept is going to appeal to the average casual train simmer or even be practical in TSW2, for all the reasons mentioned and more.
     
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  5. michael hooley

    michael hooley Well-Known Member

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    I think a 50 mile route is long enough, the trick and selling point would be the option to join them together, a bit like a jigsaw, then the choice would be the customers.
     
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  6. Rudolf

    Rudolf Well-Known Member

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    The time to drive Sandpatch from A to B is good enough. With Trainsimulator the Donner Pass route is very long. Also Soldier Summit, if you buy the extension as well is quite long. So there are some possibilities. Personally it does not make me very happy. Driving for hours at low speed through the mountains is not really fun for me, but you may think different.
     
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  7. BigMountain555

    BigMountain555 Well-Known Member

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    I enjoy driving the Canada Mountain Passes route in TS2021 but in no way would I attempt to drive the over 200kms at anything other than high speed. I just can't sit for hours driving these things. That being said, I find that route quite relaxing as opposed to passenger runs. The route I drive depends on the mood.

    But 200 kms at 10mph would kill me. Lol
     
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  8. LeadCatcher

    LeadCatcher Well-Known Member

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    With respect to making longer routes - I have found for me, an activity should take between 60 - 90 minute to complete. Looking through my TS20XX scenario collection, for the various routes, I have run all scenarios with a time of 60 minutes or less - but scenarios over 90 minutes mostly are unattempted. I just do not have the time to devote to those scenarios - especially when saving progress is a question in TS20XX as it is in TSW2.

    So it isn’t the length of the route that is a concern, but the length of the activities. I am all for longer routes IF the services run time would be in that sweet spot of 60 - 90 minutes or saving a partially completed run wouldn’t be problematic. In TS20XX, Cajon, Marias and Steven pass are fun routes - but I seldom have the inclination to make runs on them but of the length of the scenarios. For those that have the time and inclination to devote to longer runs, I would hope DTG would oblige that request in the future.
     
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  9. Yerolo

    Yerolo Well-Known Member

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    Regarding route lengths....in recent memory West Somerset comes to mind. There we have one of the shorter routes in the game (23 miles); but due to being restricted to 25mph for the most part it creates the illusion of being much longer. For one, it did show that a route does not need to be long to be interesting (As long as you think not being able to go faster than 25mph isn't too boring)

    I am also in the camp of not wanting to drive for 2+ hrs in featureless terrain...I think DTG created a good ratio of route length:interesting scenery for most of the routes

    The shorter routes in TSW (ie RRO, HHR, ECW etc) are actually some of my favorite ones, I know I can jump in and complete a run in about 30-45mins but I also appreciate there are those out there who want the long haul journeys.

    For me, SPG for instance felt a little too long...trundling along a 48mile route in a freight loco at low speed (The amount of times I have done the whole route on 1 sitting isn't many).

    The upcoming US freight routes Cane Creek & Clinchfield (both around 35 miles) may be more to my liking, plus I am a fan of streamliner locos so it'll be nice to see their TSW debut at long last on Clinchfield
     
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  10. Lamplight

    Lamplight Well-Known Member

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    I‘m in the same camp as you two. Don‘t get me wrong, I love SPG and slow North American freight, but I just don‘t always have the time and/or energy to spend two hours on a single service. ~60min is the perfect sweet spot for me. And shorter routes (like HRR, RRO) are a nice complement if you just have the time or energy for half an hour.
     
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  11. Crosstie

    Crosstie Well-Known Member

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    I agree. My attention span for anything these days is about an hour. A 50 mile route is about my limit, especially with the lack of a reliable save function. SPG and Clinchfield are perfect. Boston - Providence or a Metra route would also fit nicely.
     
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  12. Blacknred81

    Blacknred81 Well-Known Member

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    I feel like i would enjoy a long run more if I was familiar with the area.

    For example, I really have no idea about the area around Cumberland or Sand Patch Grade, so everything looks like a mostly a giant neverending forest for me....

    However, I would most likely enjoy a run over Tehachapi, as Im more familiar with the area, and can point out landmarks along the line
    (Sandcut, Caliente, Bealville, Woodford, Walong, Cable, Tehachapi, Monolith)
     
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  13. OldVern

    OldVern Well-Known Member

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    Actually Cajon, where I'm currently descending the steep 3.4% grade in Run 8, would be quite a good option too. Not too long if going from Mojave or Barstow to San Bernardino but plenty of challenge in terms of operation with multiple routing options and the gradients.
    Guessing the issue would be the elephant in the room again though, BNSF - DTG really need to hammer out some sort of agreement even if it is just to represent their routes historically or with unbranded equipment.
     
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  14. Blacknred81

    Blacknred81 Well-Known Member

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    They could also stick to the Palmdale Cutoff, but that would remove 3 out of the 4 mainlines in the pass....
     
  15. uvm0902

    uvm0902 Well-Known Member

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    It's bad for me if the route is less than 50 km long. One gets the feeling that the route is not completed. Optimum -80 km (50 miles). Scenarios lasting 1-1.5 hours pass comfortably. I love the idea of creating 75-100 km routes that can complement each other and combine into long routes and create long-term scenarios. It is good to have a uniform train schedule and the ability to implement short and long scenarios.
     
  16. uvm0902

    uvm0902 Well-Known Member

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    In TS2021 NEC Washington-Baltimore was announced. Maybe soon this route will appear in TSW2?
     
  17. LeadCatcher

    LeadCatcher Well-Known Member

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    It would be nice to get some Amtrak action once again inTSW — but I am sure the 41 mile length would raise some hackles — though that length would be about par for TSW and the time to complete runs would be in my sweet spot of an hour or less.
     
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  18. JGRudnick

    JGRudnick Well-Known Member

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    Hopefully with out the horrendous unbranded MARC trains.
     
  19. Disintegration7

    Disintegration7 Well-Known Member

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    I'll just never understand the choices they make with the NEC. It's not as bad as New Rochelle-Newark Liberty, but still...that's just an uninspiring section of the route.
     
  20. Lamplight

    Lamplight Well-Known Member

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    Well, with SPG (as a new release on console) and the upcoming Clinchfield route, we get two North American freight routes in a row. It wouldn‘t surprise me if the next NA route after Clinchfield was a passenger-only or at least passenger focused one.

    Edit: typo
     
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  21. davidh0501

    davidh0501 Well-Known Member

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    Hope you're right.
     

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