Route over the Rocky Mountains available for Train Simulator Classic
Dovetail Games[1] has released Milepost Simulations Train Simulator[2] Classic version of Milwaukee Road's Rocky Mountain Division Three Forks to Butte Route over the Pipestone Pass. Three legendary American railroads crossed the Rocky Mountains in Montana between the Upper Midwest and the Pacific Northwest - the Great Northern, Northern Pacific, and Milwaukee Road, with the Milwaukee Road's line over the Pipestone Pass using electric haulage.
GE motors emerge eastbound at Pipestone Pass Tunnel. // Credit: Dovetail Games
The Milepost Simulations route extends for 70 miles from Three Forks, Montana west to Butte, Montana and includes 2% gradients and high trestle bridges, and crosses the US Continental Divide at 6,347 feet above sea level. Electric traction was used over significant parts of Milwaukee Road's route in the Rockies, Bitterroot, and Cascade Mountains, including a 440-mile stretch between Harlowton, Montana and Avery, Idaho.
In 1915, the railroad acquired 42 double-unit General Electric boxcab units rated at 3,340 horsepower; they remained in service into the 1970s. Included in Train Simulator Classic route are:
- The Milwaukee Road's route over the Pipestone Pass and the Continental Divide
- Milwaukee Road's General Electric boxcab electric motors dating from 1915-16 in three configurations and two unbranded Milwaukee liveries typical of the 1950s and 1960s.
- A GP9 Electro-Motive diesel road-switcher in unbranded Milwaukee and Northern Pacific liveries.
- Period-authentic freight equipment including the Milwaukee Road's distinctive home-built, ribbed-side steel bay-window caboose.
- Yards and facilities at Three Forks, Piedmont, Janney, and Butte; high trestles; ABS signals; and track signage.
- Authentic Milwaukee Road catenary with variable voltage.
- Eight scenarios featuring Milwaukee Road freight operations across the length of the route.
A westbound train across the high plains at Willow Creek. // Credit: Dovetail Games
The EF-series electrics can be driven in series or parallel, with series for slow speed, parallel for faster speeds, and a shunt setting. The simulation includes the line west of Three Forks where the Milwaukee Road initially traced a path running alongside the Northern Pacific Rocky Mountain Division's Second Subdivision close to the Jefferson River.
This allows a westbound Milwaukee Road freight to travel along the river's south bank, while a Northern Pacific freight travels east on the opposite side. Control of the Pipestone Pass route is primarily ABS-controlled single track with frequent crossing loops. At Vendome, the Milwaukee Road passes under Montana Highway 41, and despite the relatively open nature of the land, the westbound gradient is 2%.
Another feature of the Milwaukee Road line over the Pipestone Pass is a long horseshoe between Vendome and Cedric to gain height.
The western side of the Pipestone Pass is slightly less steep than its eastern counterpart and has many towering steel trestle bridges.
GE and an EMD GP9 diesel in Butte yard. // Credit: Dovetail Games
The Pipestone Pass: Three Forks - Butte Route for Train Simulator Classic is available from the Steam Store at https://store.steampowered.com/app/2956070/Train_Simulator_Pipestone_Pass_Three_Forks__Butte/[3]
This simulation pack adds to others including AT&SF Scenario Pack 01[4] which enables players to drive Santa Fe streamline trains, freights, and coal trains, and a USA Flying Scotsman Pack from Blast Pipe Productions[5] that represents how Flying Scotsman looked during its tour of America.
References
- ^ Posts tagged with Dovetail Games (www.railadvent.co.uk)
- ^ Posts tagged with Train Simulator (www.railadvent.co.uk)
- ^ https://store.steampowered.com/app/2956070/Train_Simulator_Pipestone_Pass_Three_Forks__Butte/ (store.steampowered.com)
- ^ AT&SF Scenario Pack 01 (www.railadvent.co.uk)
- ^ USA Flying Scotsman Pack from Blast Pipe Productions (www.railadvent.co.uk)