Now Available: The Pipestone Pass: Three Forks – Butte Route

Milepost Simulations now brings the famed Milwaukee Road’s crossing of the Montana Rockies to Train Simulator Classic – with the superb Pipestone Pass: Three Forks – Butte route!

Three legendary American railroads, the Great Northern, Northern Pacific, and Milwaukee Road, crossed the Rockies of Montana to link the Upper Midwest and the Pacific Northwest by rail – and now the Milwaukee Road’s legendary electrified Rocky Mountain Division crossing of the Rockies comes to Train Simulator Classic with the Pipestone Pass: Three Forks – Butte route!

Created by accomplished developer Milepost Simulations, the Pipestone Pass: Three Forks – Butte route extends from Three Forks, Montana, across the Rockies via Pipestone Pass and west to Butte, Montana, a distance of 70 route miles. Utilizing lengthy grades of up to 2 percent, high trestles, and numerous tunnels, the line crossed the U.S. Continental Divide at an elevation of 6,347 feet above sea level.

Born in 1874, the much-admired Milwaukee Road (formally, the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad) in the early 20th century boldly pursued its “Pacific Extension,” an initiative to stretch westward from the Upper Midwest to the Pacific Northwest. Between 1905 and 1915, at a cost of $60 million, the “MILW” extended its rails westward through South Dakota, Montana, and Idaho to Washington State. The extension included crossing five mountain passes, among which was Pipestone Pass and its high elevation crossing of the Continental Divide.

To power its trains in this remote and daunting mountain territory, the Milwaukee Road chose to electrify significant portions of its route in the Rockies, Bitterroot, and Cascade Mountains, including the 440 miles of railroad between Harlowton, Montana and Avery, Idaho. To toil under the wood-pole catenary of its new extension, the Milwaukee Road in 1915-16 acquired 42 burly double-unit General Electric boxcab electric motors rated at 3,340 horsepower. Truly built for the ages, the big electrics would toil for well more than a half-century, with the last of these potent GE electrics remaining in service into the 1970s (the Milwaukee Pacific Extension itself closed in 1980).

The Pipestone Pass: Three Forks – Butte route for Train Simulator Classic features:

• The Milwaukee Road’s tough and memorable Rocky Mountain Division crossing of Pipestone Pass and the Continental Divide. The heart of the pass extends from Piedmont to Butte with a ruling grade of 2 percent westbound and 1.7 percent eastbound.
• Milwaukee Road’s distinctive General Electric boxcab electric motors constructed in 1915-16 in three lash-up configurations (EF1, EF2, and EF5) and two (unbranded) Milwaukee liveries typical of the 1950s and 1960s.
• The versatile Electro-Motive GP9 diesel road-switcher in Milwaukee (unbranded) and Northern Pacific liveries.
• A variety of period-authentic freight equipment, including the Milwaukee Road’s distinctive home-built, ribbed-side steel bay-window caboose.
• Milwaukee Road yards and facilities at locations including Three Forks, Piedmont, Janney, and Butte; classic high trestles; ABS signals; and track signage.
• Authentic Milwaukee Road catenary with variable voltage.
• Eight challenging career scenarios, featuring Milwaukee Road freight operations across the length of the route.

The Milwaukee Road’s great “Pacific Extension” created a railroad of extraordinary appeal and challenging operations that would endure for three-quarters of a century and call countless railroad enthusiasts to the remote and majestic Montana mountains. Now, this remarkable experience awaits you with the Pipestone Pass: Three Forks – Butte route for Train Simulator Classic, available at the Steam Store!

Available now from expert developer Milepost Simulations, the Pipestone Pass: Three Forks – Butte route brings the Milwaukee Road’s legendary electrified Rocky Mountain Division crossing of the Rockies to Train Simulator Classic! Atop the Continental Divide, Milwaukee Road GE motors emerge eastbound from Pipestone Pass Tunnel.

The Pipestone Pass route extends from Three Forks, Montana, across the Rockies via Pipestone Pass and west to Butte, Montana, a distance of 70 route miles. Near the east end of the route, a set of motors is rolling westbound tonnage across the high plains at Willow Creek (above), while on the west end of the route at Butte Yard, GE-built motors and an EMD-built GP9 diesel stand together (below). Especially in the Rocky Mountain Division’s final years, diesel power frequently saw service on the line.

To power its trains across the Rockies, the Milwaukee Road acquired General Electric boxcab electric motors which were delivered in 1915-16 and would serve the railroad for more than five decades. Delivered in two-unit sets, the electrics would over the years be configured in three- and four-unit lash-ups. Classified as EF1, EF2, and EF5 by the Milwaukee Road, the electrics are featured in the new route wearing the railroad’s orange, maroon, and black livery typical of the 1950s (above) and orange and black livery (below) as worn in the 1960s and into the 1970s.

With the Pipestone Pass route, you’ll climb into the cab of the EF-series electrics for an utterly unique operating experience. The motors can be driven in series or parallel. Series is used for slow speed and parallel for faster speeds, followed by a shunt setting. The throttle has 17 series notches, of which 1-16 are resistance notches; there are two blank notches before moving to 12 parallel resistance notches followed by a full parallel notch. Then the final notch is the shunt.

West of Three Forks, the Milwaukee Road initially traced a path close to the Jefferson River (and in the process, often ran alongside the Northern Pacific Rocky Mountain Division’s Second Subdivision). A westbound Milwaukee Road freights rolls along the river’s south bank, while on the opposite side a Northern Pacific freight rumbles east.

The Milwaukee Road Pipestone Pass route is primarily ABS-governed single track with frequent sidings for trains to meet, such as here at Piedmont. For the westbound freight led by motor E34A, the long 2 percent gradient climb of the east slope of Pipestone Pass is about to begin.

At Vendome, Milwaukee Road GE-built motor E36A ducks under Montana Highway 41 as it heads a westbound freight. Despite the relatively open nature of the land here, the westbound grade is already at 2 percent.

Among the compelling features of the Milwaukee Road’s crossing of Pipestone Pass was a long horseshoe to gain elevation between Vendome and Cedric. Eastbound on a wintry day, the freight in this scene is just clearing the horseshoe and was a few moments prior easing down the trackage in the immediate foreground.

Near Grace, Montana, as the railroad clung to the rocky cliffs above Fish Creek, the Milwaukee Road’s battle with the Rockies was truly dramatic. Westbound on the 2 percent grade, motor E36A is on the point as its train emerges from Tunnel No. 10 and eases atop a concrete retaining wall.

Having only briefly before crested Pipestone Pass, an eastbound freight has begun easing downgrade on the steep right-of-way bound for Piedmont. On the rear of the freight is one of Milwaukee Road’s unique home-built (in its Milwaukee, Wisconsin, shops) ribbed-side bay-window steel cabooses.

The west slope of Pipestone Pass was less demanding than its eastern counterpart, but only marginally so, with variable grades up to 1.7 percent. Between Janney and the summit of the pass, Milwaukee Road motor E49A hums over one of the line’s many towering steel trestles.

Snow is dusting the Montana landscape as a set of Milwaukee Road General Electric EF-series motors wearing the railroad’s classic orange, maroon, and black livery prepares to depart Butte Yard eastbound and do battle with Pipestone Pass.

The Milwaukee Road’s Rocky Mountain Division across Pipestone Pass was a railroad of extraordinary appeal and tough railroading challenges – and now, this remarkable and memorable experience awaits you with the Pipestone Pass: Three Forks – Butte Route for Train Simulator Classic, available at the Steam Store!