Horseshoe Curve, one of America’s – and the world’s – greatest railroading showcases is now available for Train Sim World 2!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1664930/Train_Sim_World_2_Horseshoe_Curve_Altoona__Johnstown__South_Fork_Route_AddOn/
“High Green!” In railroading terms and by signal indication, it means the switches are set, the line ahead is clear, and it’s time to pull open the throttle. And now, there’s a “High Green” for legendary Horseshoe Curve as meticulously created and available on multiple platforms for Train Sim World 2!
The Route:
As developed for Train Sim World 2 by Skyhook Games, the new Train Sim World 2 Horseshoe Curve route brings to vibrant life Norfolk Southern’s contemporary multi-track crossing of the rugged Alleghenies from Altoona, one of railroading’s most historic cities and home of renowned Juniata Shops, to Johnstown, Pennsylvania, a distance of 40 route miles. And the Train Sim World 2 route also includes the rugged, steep (with grades of nearly 3 percent), and coal laden ex-PRR South Fork Secondary, stretching some 15 additional miles from a connection with the NS main line at South Fork to a remote coal loading facility near Windber, Pennsylvania.
The new Train Sim World 2 Horseshoe Curve route takes you to all the classic and famed locations of the famed Allegheny crossing – Altoona, “MG Tower,” Gallitzin, Allegheny Tunnel, the daunting “Slide,” the helper station at Cresson, South Fork, Johnstown, and of course the famed curve itself. To lift its steel pathway across the daunting Alleghenies in the 1850s, the builder of the line, the great Pennsylvania Railroad, had been required to set down a torturous path with a 1.85 percent westbound ruling grade, tight curvatures, 3,612-foot-long Allegheny Tunnel at the route’s summit, and the line’s masterstroke, the great horseshoe-shaped curve at Kittanning Point, which itself carries the line from an elevation of 1,473 feet on its east end to 1,706-feet on its west side.
In 1999 this extraordinary rail line became a vital part of the 19,500-mile Norfolk Southern and today serves as the heart and soul of NS vibrant Pittsburgh Line, a constantly humming polished steel artery over which tonnage of every description moves between America’s Northeast and Midwest. As an engineer on the new and beautifully detailed Train Sim World 2 Horseshoe Curve route, you’ll be called to handle trains ranging from hot intermodals and stacks to heavy coal movements, urgent manifest freights, and ponderous unit trains.
The Power:
To keep endless heavy tonnage moving 24/7 and year-round up and over the Horseshoe Curve route’s unforgiving mountain path, you’ll climb aboard a pair of American diesel workhorses of two generations – Norfolk Southern’s third-generation, six-axle, 4,400-horsepower General Electric ES44AC and the veteran NS Electro-Motive 2,000-horsepower, four-axle GP38-2.
The behemoth GE ES44AC is, arguably, the most successful North American diesel of recent decades, with more than 3,700 such units constructed, of which Norfolk Southern rosters 185 examples. The GP38-2, meanwhile, is a member in good standing of Electro-Motive’s long and renowned line of versatile “Geeps.” Each of these meticulously re-created Train Sim World 2 locomotives will deliver the full and exhilarating experience of working aboard modern diesel motive power, with complete and realistic cabs and interactive controls as well as authentic operational characteristics and sounds. Joining the ES44AC and GP38-2 on the route is a selection of modern and diverse freight rolling stock.
The Experience:
With the rigors of the rugged Allegheny Mountains awaiting and an endless and varied flow of tonnage to tote, the Train Sim World 2 Horseshoe Curve route is certain to keep you busy at the throttle (or, if you prefer, to witness all the action from the conductor’s seat or from trackside).
The route includes four helpful training tutorials, five challenging and realistic scenarios, and 75 timetabled services based upon actual Norfolk Southern operations and train symbols.
The wait is over, and the “High Green” is up for Horseshoe Curve! The new Train Sim World 2 Horseshoe Curve route is available now!
The Horseshoe Curve route, one of America’s – and the world’s – most famous rail lines now comes to Train Sim World 2! Developed by Skyhook Games, the new Train Sim World 2 Horseshoe Curve route extends 40 main line route miles across the daunting Allegheny Mountains from Altoona to Johnstown and also includes 15 miles of the rugged and steep South Fork Secondary between South Fork and a coal facility at Windber, Pennsylvania. Note: Screenshots may depict content in development.
Providing the power to move heavy tonnage on the new Train Sim World 2 Horseshoe Curve route are realistic re-creations of Norfolk Southern’s veteran 2,000-horsepower Electro-Motive GP38-2 (left) and third-generation GE titan, the 4,400-horsepower, six-axle ES44AC (right).
A pair of versatile Norfolk Southern EMD GP38-2s are departing Johnstown and beginning the climb of the west slope of the Alleghenies (above), while nearby a duo of GE ES44ACs are leading a double-stack intermodal train (below). Today a key component of Norfolk Southern’s always-busy Pittsburgh Line, the Horseshoe Curve route for Train Sim World 2 is also bustling and offers a selection of four training tutorials, five scenarios, and 75 timetabled services.
Railroading on Norfolk Southern’s Pittsburgh Line is a relentless 24/7, 365 days a year endeavor and night has fallen on Kittanning Point and famed Horseshoe Curve as a trio of NS GE ES44ACs grind up the steep east slope of the Alleghenies with a manifest freight. As an engineer on the Train Sim World 2 Horseshoe Curve route, you’ll climb aboard and take the throttle of meticulously and authentically re-created locomotives with realistic operating characteristics and interactive controls.
The superb and highly detailed new Train Sim World 2 Horseshoe Curve route features diverse operations and challenging train movements, with tonnage ranging from coal and manifest trains to unit grain and oil consists to priority intermodals. At Conemaugh, Pennsylvania, coal and manifest trains meet (above), while at Windber on the historic and rugged South Fork Secondary, coal pours into a modern NS gondola (below).
Coal and stack trains meet on the ever-busy Norfolk Southern Pittsburgh line. The wait is over, and the “High Green” is up for Horseshoe Curve!