[BNSFfan]

Here's a small group of shots i grabbed while testing out my just installed copy of Paul's well done Pacific Surfliner version 2.2, I have been blown away by the attention to detail put into this rendition of one of my favorite routes. Paul, you have blown my expectations sky high with this rendition. I tip my hat to you sir, Here is Amtrak train #14 the Coast Starlight at 8th street yard undergoing final preparations for departure before heading to LAUPT to pick up the passengers for the run to Seattle.

Her's a close up shot of P32-8BWH #505, which will lead the train north today.

Here is a shot taken from the fuel racks while the locomotives are topped off with full tanks. 505 will joined by P42DC #206.


A side shot of the train facing from the front towards the back.

One last shot facing towards the front end of the train from topside while cars pass overhead on the nearby bridge. In a few minutes the train will make the short backup move to Union Station for boarding.

[thegrindre]

Great shots, Jason. Looks like a fantastic route.
We want more shots! http://www.elvastower.com/forums/public/style_emoticons/default/sign_thank_you.gif

http://www.elvastower.com/forums/public/style_emoticons/default/oldstry.gif

[BNSFfan]

thegrindre, on 22 July 2017 - 04:07 AM, said:

Great shots, Jason. Looks like a fantastic route.
We want more shots! http://www.elvastower.com/forums/public/style_emoticons/default/sign_thank_you.gif

http://www.elvastower.com/forums/public/style_emoticons/default/oldstry.gif

Thanks Rick. And don't worry, there will be plenty more coming. If anyone else has pictures, please feel free to chime in and show them off.

[hiball3985]

Nice shots. I'm not sure how that operation works today but years ago they used a switcher to move the consist between 8th street and the station.

[BNSFfan]

hiball3985, on 22 July 2017 - 06:30 AM, said:

Nice shots. I'm not sure how that operation works today but years ago they used a switcher to move the consist between 8th street and the station.
coast star.JPG

Nice shot Jim. regarding the switchers, they don't use them to move the trains to and from the station anymore, they haven't done that for years. These days the trains make the move under their own power, I've seen them do that in person.

[hiball3985]

BNSFfan, on 22 July 2017 - 06:52 AM, said:

Nice shot Jim. regarding the switchers, they don't use them to move the trains to and from the station anymore, they haven't done that for years. These days the trains make the move under their own power, I've seen them do that in person.

Thanks Jason, I haven't been on the Coast Starlight in years. I still have some old pictures buried somewhere when they used the switcher. I guess I can scrap that one now.

[Mike B]

Agree - great shots! I've downloaded the route and am working on installation...

As for the real Starlight, it's still referred to as the "Starlate" in some circles. Looking at it in http://asm.transitdocs.com, it's almost always late per schedule. As a long-distance train, "late" should probably be considered more than 30 minutes, or even an hour, at a major stop - using that definition, it's "late" arriving at LA probably 3-4 times a week. Rarely (perhaps a few times a month) it's early. Seems to have more problems northbound than southbound, but everything's relative really. Winter delays are often weather-related. Summer delays (other than normal dispatching issues) seem to be track work related. Best time to ride for timekeeping is probably spring (though not this year) and fall.

If you want to ride it again, be prepared for expensive tickets (Amtrak has airline pricing model fully dialed in) and difficult-to-find reservations (despite what the critics say, it usually runs full, especially in First Class/sleepers); and ... do it soon, because the proposed federal budget will kill the train (along with all other long-distance Amtrak) at the end of the federal fiscal year (Sept. 30).

[hiball3985]

Thanks Mike, no plans on riding it again. Never have done the whole coast route, I would only use it as far as Jack London Square back when you could transfer there to the Zephyr and then on to Denver, did that countless times..

[Sid P.]

A very impressive update to one of my favorite routes!
I can't currently run MSTS on my Win 10 system because of my particular video card, so I was initially worried that the route needed to be put through MSTS initialization as mentioned in the first part of the README.txt, but that turned out to be unnecessary. The route works like a charm in ORTS, right out of the box.
Thanks for all the effort.

[Railroad Librarian]

Enjoyed a pleasant few hours last night exploring the updated route...simply amazing!

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