Route ideas. Sierra Nevada/Donner Pass and/or Rocky Mountains

[JonMyrlennBailey]

Have any of the following Trainz routes, including payware, been authored?

1. Sparks, Nevada to Sacramento, California through Truckee and Donner Pass via Roseville UP yard?

2. Transcontinental RR at Promontory Point, Utah where golden spike ceremony was held?

3. Grand Junction, Colorado to Denver over the Rocky Mountains via Granby and the Continental Divide?

This is the grandest railroading in America over two major mountain ranges in the west. I took a Denver, CO/Oakland, CA round trip on the Amtrak California Zephyr in 1986.
Went through Winnemucca, Nevada and Salt Lake City/Provo/Helper, Utah. This would be a grand mountain/desert masterpiece for a Trainz route to simulate. The Zephyr ran from Oakland, CA to Chicago, Illinois.

 

[Forester1]

TrainzItalia did Donner Pass very well. It was payware for about 50 euros. But they ran into a snag with changing laws in Italy and aren't able to offer it for sale at this time. They have been working on a TRS19 or TRS22 update for Donner Pass that I think will be awesome, but I think they are in limbo for a time to be able to offer it for sale.
TRS22 comes with the "West of Denver" route that goes west as far as Moffat Tunnel and a ski area, but I am new to TRS22 and haven't tried it yet, so can't say how far. I do not think it goes to Grand Junction.

 

[JonMyrlennBailey]

TrainzItalia did Donner Pass very well. It was payware for about 50 euros. But they ran into a snag with changing laws in Italy and aren't able to offer it for sale at this time. They have been working on a TRS19 or TRS22 update for Donner Pass that I think will be awesome, but I think they are in limbo for a time to be able to offer it for sale.
TRS22 comes with the "West of Denver" route that goes west as far as Moffat Tunnel and a ski area, but I am new to TRS22 and haven't tried it yet, so can't say how far. I do not think it goes to Grand Junction.

Been through Moffet Tunnel on Amtrak's California Zephyr. Long and dark. Got held up at Salt Lake City due to freight train derailment ahead we were told. Freight trains owned by the railroads along with the track they run on have priority over any passenger trains. Union Pacific provided helper service to the Zephyr in some parts of Utah. Could see the big yellow UP engine up front hooked up to the F40PH double header. My Zephyr also pulled a private passenger car behind. The Amtrak Zephyr was lousy though. Moldy odors. Dirty windows in observation car. Not much fun to travel 36 hours coach straight each way from Denver to Oakland. I did not want to pay for a ticket with a sleeping compartment.

Here is a nice modern Colorado excursion train that gets held up by freight trains a lot. I don't know if it stops at Grand Junction as the Zephyr does.

<iframe width="1020" height="574" src="

" title="Rocky Mountaineer passenger train various locations in Colorado." frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[Forester1]

Thank you for the nice video. I did not expect to see UP locomotives pulling that train, and I guess I expected the taller "Dome" type cars for viewing, so that is a little disappointing. As I understand it, it is not that freights take priority over passengers now (although that may be true by now), but that the long freight trains they run now are too long for the sidings, so the passenger trains have to get out of the way for them because the freight trains can't. BUt again, thanks for the video, I enjoyed it!

 

[ricomon35]

Thank you for the nice video. I did not expect to see UP locomotives pulling that train, and I guess I expected the taller "Dome" type cars for viewing, so that is a little disappointing. As I understand it, it is not that freights take priority over passengers now (although that may be true by now), but that the long freight trains they run now are too long for the sidings, so the passenger trains have to get out of the way for them because the freight trains can't. BUt again, thanks for the video, I enjoyed it!

and the fact that freight moves at 20 mph on grades, or slower. Passenger trains much faster = lot's of waiting, LOL

 

[JonMyrlennBailey]

and the fact that freight moves at 20 mph on grades, or slower. Passenger trains much faster = lot's of waiting, LOL

American railways often cheap out on the number of locomotives they supply for heavy freight trains. This compromises speed, timeliness and safety and also accounts for stalling on grades and delays because one or more engines broke down underway and not enough locomotives in numbers for insurance purposes. The 1989 SP wreck in San Bernardino, California was grossly heavier than it was accounted for in error. Not enough serviceable engines were on that train for its massive load. Some locos had defective dynamic brakes.
There is amazing power in numbers!!

<iframe width="584" height="561" src="

" title="Safety In Numbers" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[dangavel]

My Uintah route contains a tiny portion of the main line from grand junction, but its only about 2 miles of it ! it ran past Mack station , so I've made a loop to allow consists to run through every now and again .

 

[clack45]

Rollins Pass (Winter) made by trainzitalia is available for free here: https://www.trainzitalia.it/forum/i...-pass-winter-1910/&_fromLogin=1&_fromLogout=1

You'll have to register to download the files.

 

[rwk]

Donner Pass looks to be vaporware now, and the creator Jango passed away. I missed out on so much Trainz stuff that is no longer available and the creators passed away. One example is jfweaver's payware stations from NJ, NY, New England, etc. He had stations on there that nobody else made yet. Like Fort Edwards, NY and Wolfeboro, NH. I had to have somebody make a Wolfeboro station for me a few years ago because jfweaver's is no longer available. Big Boy 4014 ran a public excursion on Donner Pass in July 2024 from Roseville, CA to Sparks, NV with a bus return. There is a Cajon Sub route though that is unfinished, 4014 ran a public excursion on that in fall 2019 from West Colton yard to Barstow. I wonder if Fishlipsatwork made any DEM's for the Donner Pass? I thought I saw Sparks, NV somewhere, maybe on his old site. I can get to it through Wayback and see if the file download works. EDIT: I found it! It's called Donner Summit and goes from Sacramento, CA to Reno, NV. About 140-50 miles or so. I can just build my own route. Here is the link for the blank route cdp if anybody wants it. http://web.archive.org/web/20040209115816/http://www.fishlips.net/Trainz/Donner Summit/ The last posts on this thread were made when the Big Boy 4014 ran a public excursion from Roseville, CA to Sparks, NV with a bus return in July 2024. The Big Boy is going to Roseville, CA this April for the western leg of it's coast to coast tour but UP said on their site that there won't be any public excursions on the western leg. I wonder if there will be any on the eastern leg on NS? I hope to see it in eastern PA if it comes near me even if there are no excursions offered. I want to simulate some Big Boy 4014 excursions in Trainz though on realistic routes. I think there is a DEM from Denver to Cheyenne as well and 4014 has run public excursions on that route already. There are ground textures for Donner Pass on the DLS. There's also a DLS route by jrfolco from Oakland to Reno. I guess that is the route of the Amtrak California Zephyr as well.