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[Anonymous]

I've tried many times before but I can never get +40 car trains behind Dash 9's over that one hill east of Essex coming from the west. Is it even possible????

[james saunders]

absolutely floor it

[ddechamp71]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Sancho1

I've tried many times before but I can never get +40 car trains behind Dash 9's over that one hill east of Essex coming from the west. Is it even possible????

It looks like the first releases of MSTS were having bad orders, one of which beeing the west slope of Marias Pass having a 5 % slope. Myself I'm encountering the same problem.

I've been told Microsoft solved this problem on subsequent releases, and for those who own the first releases I've also been told one can find a patch to solve this problem on Microsoft MSTS website.

But myself I've never found this patch.

Any information to share here?

Dominique

[chad thomas]

I have no idea what release I have but I came to the conclusion that the Marias Pass route (all the stock routes for that matter) just plain suck. And I have not been able to run the whole Marias Pass in one run. Something always crashes, either the train (for no reason) or the game. Cajon Pass, Tehachapi, and the North Coast Railway are my favorite routes. The Carrizo Gorge route is another favorite, but is very challenging and will not work with many peices of equiptment.

[ddechamp71]

QUOTE: Originally posted by chad thomas

I have no idea what release I have but I came to the conclusion that the Marias Pass route (all the stock routes for that matter) just plain suck. And I have not been able to run the whole Marias Pass in one run. Something always crashes, either the train (for no reason) or the game. Cajon Pass, Tehachapi, and the North Coast Railway are my favorite routes. The Carrizo Gorge route is another favorite, but is very challenging and will not work with many peices of equiptment.

I agree with you about the Marias: at the location Essex (the place where the double track becomes single track to cross a trestle above a river) I've always problems of derailments whichever the speed I run my trains (I've already seen my poor Dash9s falling into the river) and unwanted uncoupling. This associated with the roller coaster profile and the apparent 5% slope on the west side of the Marias, I don't run anymore this route (and neither the others on the original program, on the other hand, as I've no interrest in passenger trains...).

But there are a lot of interresting add-ons:
-3dtrainstuff:
*Cajon-Pass + secondary add-ons
*Tehachapi Pass + " "
*Donner Pass (transition era, including terrific AC12s Cab Forward for you steam buffs)

-Mapple Leaf:
*Kicking Horse Pass
*C&O Cumberland sub
*the Bridge Line (D&H)
*Michigan Iron Ore

-and others (including ATSF Needles to Seligman - terrific details on trains and totally prototypical sounds - horns, diesel engine noise, etc...)

Have you got a link for the Carrizo Gorge? I'm fully fascinated with this line (and very sad it's closed - "thanks" to the storm that tore it down[:(]).

Dominique

[StillGrande]

There is a better version of Marias Pass, 3.1, on Train-Sim. The grades are corrected and some of the trackwork is fixed. Individuals have also tweeked the physics of the locomotives and cars to be more realistic in their responses.

There is also another version of the NEC (4.0). You can also get the RF&P route from DC to Richmond (starts on the bridge over the Potomac) which includes a little of the DC metro system.

[Anonymous]

I just go into the activities editor and add mid train and pusher locos to the consist. That gets em up and over the hill. 

[oakpalms]

Go to www.train-sim.com and download the Marias Pass 2.1 route.  All of the route is prototype with actual grades.  Make sure you have downloaded the patch for MSTS at the Microsoft support webpage for MSTS.  Check out the support forum at train-sim.com where there are thousands of comments to help you with such problems.

 

Bob Edwards

[Chris30]

I Haven't used MSTS in a while... maybe two years now because I never got around to installing on my new computer. It's not that I didn't like it; I just didn't like the stock routes. The issues with the stock Marias Pass sim sound familiar... I've got three Dash 9's in run-8 with only twenty cars trailing and I'm crawling up the pass at 7mph! At first I thought it was me and that I didn't know what I was doing. The derailment issue also sounds familiar. I might have been more upset about this issue if some of the derailments//crashes weren't so spectacular. Again, I thought it was me and that my real train handling talent was sending a stack train flying in every direction! If I remember right, everything that went up (east) Marias Pass on the original stock route would derail and nothing going down (west) the pass would derail even if you let it go as a runaway.

Are there any midwest add-ons??

Thanks,

CC 

[trainboyH16-44]

You have to admit, that particular hill is good for runaways....once got a 200 car grain train up to 130MPH with 7 engines on it, then crashed - Now THAT was a spectacular crash! It was about 2FPS at lowest resolution and graphics, of course...I wisht he stock routes were better, like everyone else...

[Anonymous]

Train-Sim has the updated Marias Pass with correct (proto) grading.

Also, there are big discussions at 3-D Train in their forums regarding changing the settings for couplers and other tidbits. I have yet to have a derail since I tinkered with the settings.

Just a thought.

[Anonymous]

Are there any midwest addons?

Thanks,

CC 

There are some in the train-sim.com file library. We (WLw) will also be making some, see www.geocities.com/trainsim1 and http://s7.invisionfree.com/trainsim1_MSTS_forum

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by chad thomas

I have no idea what release I have but I came to the conclusion that the Marias Pass route (all the stock routes for that matter) just plain suck. And I have not been able to run the whole Marias Pass in one run. Something always crashes, either the train (for no reason) or the game. Cajon Pass, Tehachapi, and the North Coast Railway are my favorite routes. The Carrizo Gorge route is another favorite, but is very challenging and will not work with many peices of equiptment.

I agree with you about the Marias: at the location Essex (the place where the double track becomes single track to cross a trestle above a river) I've always problems of derailments whichever the speed I run my trains (I've already seen my poor Dash9s falling into the river) and unwanted uncoupling. This associated with the roller coaster profile and the apparent 5% slope on the west side of the Marias, I don't run anymore this route (and neither the others on the original program, on the other hand, as I've no interrest in passenger trains...).

But there are a lot of interresting add-ons:
-3dtrainstuff:
*Cajon-Pass + secondary add-ons
*Tehachapi Pass + " "
*Donner Pass (transition era, including terrific AC12s Cab Forward for you steam buffs)

-Mapple Leaf:
*Kicking Horse Pass
*C&O Cumberland sub
*the Bridge Line (D&H)
*Michigan Iron Ore

-and others (including ATSF Needles to Seligman - terrific details on trains and totally prototypical sounds - horns, diesel engine noise, etc...)

Have you got a link for the Carrizo Gorge? I'm fully fascinated with this line (and very sad it's closed - "thanks" to the storm that tore it down).

Dominique

 

Carrizo Gorge is available on www.train-sim.com in the file library.

[StillGrande]

There are a bunch that represent the same area, all of which are free.

Marias Pass 3.1 (improved original route)

Whitefish 3, 5.1, 6.1, and, as of this month 7 (Extend the original Marias route).

GN High Line

Several Miliwaukee Road division (1, 2, and 4)

 

The NEC route is improved too.  There is the NEC 4.0 which adds in a bunch of the missing stops and allows you to go to Benning Yard (CSX in East DC)

 

[sfrr]

this is the first patch that came out it might help

 

http://www.microsoft.com/games/trainsimulator/downloads.asp