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Train Simulator: The Racetrack: Aurora - Chicago Route Add-On Full Crack [Password]

About This Content

Widely known as the “Windy City”, Chicago has now been brought to life in Train Simulator, in the famed route The Racetrack Aurora - Chicago. The route begins under the skyscrapers of Chicago at Union Station, making its way through the urban landscape and out into the western suburbs, journeying along past yards, stopping at 24 commuter stations before arriving at Aurora.

This route is a bustling conveyor of tonnage. The Racetrack is the eastern anchor to BNSF’s sprawling 32,500-mile route system. Approximately 50 daily BNSF intermodal, auto, manifest, crude oil, grain, and coal trains traverse the route. Additionally, The Racetrack is a vibrant people mover, home to Amtrak intercity trains (including the California Zephyr and Southwest Chief) and the Regional Transportation Authority’s ‘BNSF Line' Metra commuter operations. When all these movements are combined, it is common for the Racetrack to host upwards of 150 trains daily.

The route has several rail yards. The Hill yard, adjacent to Aurora station, is used to hold commuter trains for eastbound runs and Eola yard, east of Aurora, is used for general freight operations. The BNSF intermodal yard in Cicero also has engine-service facilities and a freight-car shop. BNSF also has yard in the Western Avenue area, running parallel to the main line. On the approach to Union Station, is the 'Chicago' commuter coach yard on the west and Amtrak's coach yard and service facilities on the east.

There are several interchange points along the racetrack with connections to Canadian National, Norfolk Southern, CSX and Union Pacific. The St. Charles Air Line, a small connector line, begins as a long ramp near the Canal Street Wye, then crosses over the coach yard on its way eastward where it connects (off route) to another CN line near Lake Michigan. NS has trackage rights over the Racetrack as does CSX and occasionally CP. Historically so have CN and UP.

To complement the bustling main line, the route also includes the BNSF’s West Chicago Branch, a scenic and historic branch line that traces the east bank of the Fox River north from Aurora approximately 13 miles to West Chicago and is dotted with industry switching opportunities, which was originally built in 1849.

Accompanying the route is a host of locomotives and rolling stock, including a Chicago commuter F40PH with fully operable cab signaling, authentic bi-level “gallery” commuter coaches, and an authentic bi-level cab coach for push-pull operations (Amtrak P42DC and Superliner stock is also included for AI-use).

Included are eight career scenarios that are authentic to operations on the line, including commuter and freight operations on the Racetrack main line along with a local run on the West Chicago Branch. The route is Quick-Drive enabled. a09c17d780

Title: Train Simulator: The Racetrack: Aurora - Chicago Route Add-On
Genre: Simulation
Developer:
Chicago & Southwest Productions
Publisher:
Dovetail Games - Trains
Franchise:
Train Simulator
Release Date: 13 Aug, 2015

Minimum:

OS:Windows® Vista / 7 / 8
Processor:Processor: 2.8 GHz Core 2 Duo (3.2 GHz Core 2 Duo recommended), AMD Athlon MP (multiprocessor variant or comparable processors)
Memory:2 GB RAM
Graphics:512 MB with Pixel Shader 3.0 (AGP PCIe only)
DirectX®:9.0c
Hard Drive:6 GB HD space
Sound:Direct X 9.0c compatible
Other Requirements:Broadband Internet connection
Additional:Quicktime Player is required for playing the videos

English

Hands down, this is a great route, the attention to detail is amazing. I rode the 5:25am out of Aurora for 5 years and I can say that it is spot on (really cool that it had the exact train that I use to ride). The Aurora to Chicago Pt 1 and Pt 2 I even cloned and changed the weather to autumn instead of winter and snowing so that I could enjoy the realism. The scenarios that I have played so far are full of AI. This is the first DLC that I purchased without a sale and have not been disappointed. Salute to the developers of this route!. Pros of the route:
*High-quality tracks
*Includes the whole BNSF Railway Line from Chicago Union Station-Aurora
*Has almost every single yard and siding according to real life standards
*Comes with scenarios which make the Racetrack live up to its name
*No wheelchair ramps as that is how it is in real life
*Comes with a detailed manual
*Comes with plenty of intermodal and manifest rolling stock

Cons of the route:
*Not the most optimistic rendering, as framerates drop.

Pros of the METX F40PH-3 and Nippon Sharyo Bilevels:
*Accurate modeling for both locomotive and cab car
*Decent sounding P5 Horn for the F40PH-3
*Outstanding K3LA for the Cab Car
*HEP "Screamer" mode for F40PH-3
*In-cab signaling for both locomotive and cab car
*Exterior braking sounds
*Blended Braking
*Ability to turn on and off the in-cab signaling
*Audible and visible alerter
*Option to turn off alerter

Cons of the METX F40PH-3 and Nippon Sharyo Bilevels:
*Unbranded for both locomotive and rolling stock
*Inaccurate physics
*Crappy-sounding bells for both locomotive and cab car
*Both parts in "All Stops to Aurora" are way too tight on schedule (especially with Fan Railer's Comprehensive Fix)
*Inside the cab car, when an F40PH-3 passes by, there are no prime mover sounds coming from it (may apply to locomotive as well but I didn't check)
*Draw Distance of sounds are bad
*When releasing the independent brake from the cab car, the train brake sounds instead of the locomotive brake

Pros of the BNSF GP38-2 and rolling stock:
*Accurate modeling for both locomotive and rolling stock
*Two paint jobs: H3 and ex-BN
*Exterior braking sounds for both locomotive and rolling stock
*Outstanding 16-645 naturally aspirated sounds
*Branded for both locomotive and rolling stock
*Decent-sounding bell

Cons of the BNSF GP38-2 and rolling stock0:
*"Chicago Yard Duty" said I did not complete scenario the first time I went through it
*Crappy sounding RS2M (also it should be an RS3)
*Jumpy throttle

There are too many pros and cons for me to say anything so here are the fixes:
METX F40PH-3 and Nippon Sharyo Bilevels:
*Fan Railer's Metra EMD F40PH-3 & Gallery Cab Car Comprehensive Mod (NOTE: IF YOU TRY TO RESTART A SCENARIO, THE CAB CAR SOUNDS MAY DISAPPEAR; RESTART THE ACTUAL GAME): www.youtube.com\/watch?v=eVHz1Yb0mFc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" id=\"dynamiclink_0\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=eVHz1Yb0mFc<\/a>
*Buzz456's Metra Sinage and Logos: http:\/\/railworksamerica.com\/index.php\/download-library\/accessories?view=document&id=1858:metra-signage-logos&catid=24:accessories<\/a>

BNSF GP38-2 and Rolling Stock:
*BNOV's BN RS3K: www.railworksamerica.com\/index.php\/download-library\/sounds-enhancements?view=document&id=1815:bn-rs3k&catid=25:sounds\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" >http:\/\/www.railworksamerica.com\/index.php\/download-library\/sounds-enhancements?view=document&id=1815:bn-rs3k&catid=25:sounds<\/a>

. Really like this route, great use of VLP (very low poly) stock to populate the yards. Player locos are very good and a nice detailed manual.. This is a really nice route i cannot deny. It has everything you want for an american commuter route. But lets look at the pros and cons first

PROS:
Detail is amazing
Many different stations if you enjoy commuter workings.
Fcae paced
Simple but enjoyable scenarios
2 GP38-2 Liveries
The only source of BNSF left avaliable to the UK
Large Branch Line
CAB CAR!!!

CONS:
Comes with a boring F40
A bit conusing when making scenarios
Laggy

In total i think this is a decent route. I will rate it

8\/10
. As I begin my journey from Union Station on a very rainy day, I notice my passengers are not being rained upon which is rather disheartening. I see them all walk on the luscious platform that is nonexistent in real life. By no means do I feel as if I am in the real run-down Union Station. I depart heading west-bound and along the way I notice how closely the developers followed the real line. However, during my travel I notice that the locomotive I am operating is not exactly the Metra locomotive I believed I was in. There are handrails in places that they shouldn't be and other little odd pieces. Eventually, I arrive at Aurora only to have to travel back to USC. On my journey backwards, I come to find out that many of the crossing gates do not emit the sound I so dearly love to hear as I wait several minutes in my car for the silly train to depart a station. I later arrived at the USC and decided the route wasn't so bad.

Overall, this isn't a bad route. There are several things that need to be changed for this to be an exceptional job well done. I really do enjoy the crossing gate sound as it is the noise along every crossing gate in the suburbs. I hope the east-bound route is fixed for that issue. The F40PH isn't so bad but the misplaced handrails do slightly bother me. The Union Station isn't so much of a problem as it is just a fun little addition that would be great. Besides Union Station, downtown is a little out of scale giving you an skewed view of the city as you are coming in. Oh how I wish the rendering distance could be greater. In the end though, this route is great and is a must buy if you live in that area or just enjoy Chicago and its suburbs.

By the way, someone should create a repaint for the F40PH so that we may all have actual Metra engines with the correct livery.. this is the best route but I wish they put the on the Metra writing on the side. Like a few of the other reviewers have said, this is the first time I've purchased an addon at full price. Well worth it: the amount of detail here is extreme, and all of the west suburban downtowns are lovingly crafted, especially Naperville and Downers Grove.

If you're familiar with the BNSF\/Metra, this is a must-have. Period.. In short, this is a great route, truly excellent. Let me explain why.

EDIT - I forgot to mention something in my original review. For customers outside the U.S.A, Metra and BNSF branding is missing because of licencing issues. Although I understand that having branding is nicer than not having branding, I didn't find the misssing branding an issue and hence I forgot to mention this in the original review. Also a branding patch is available online.

The route is incredibly detailed, especially around stations. This combined with a truckload of new assets make many of the locations along the route very recognizable. Signage is also very nicely done, especially the whistle signs. I'm really hard pressed to find any faults with the route.

Now how about the included locomotives and rolling stock. Well, those are really rather good as well. I really love that the head-end power mode and the speeding and vigilance alarms are simulated on the F40PH. The only gripes I have with the F40PH is that the brake pressure gauges are a bit wonky (the brake cylinder pressure gauge always pops up to 64.5 psi even with the smallest possible reduction of pressure in the brake pipe, however if you check the F5 HUD, the actual brake cylinder pressure does rise with a reduction in brake pipe pressure properly istead of immedately popping up to 64.5 psi. After some reading on some forums, I learned that this might be a bug in the core simulator. If that is true, I can't really fault this DLC for that) and the cab signalling display seems a bit wonky as well. The cab signalling works great on relatively simple track layout, but as soon as the track layout becomes a bit more complex, the indicated aspects are all over the place and more often than not don't correspond with the wayside signal aspects. Because the cab signalling works pretty well most of the time, I didn't think this was a huge issue, just a minor gripe. The cab car is nicely modelled as well and, strangely enough, doesn't suffer from the same wonky pressure gauges.

As far as sounds go, I'm not that familiar with the real life sounds, but as far as I could tell the sounds are quite recognizable.

In conclusion, I only have a few minor gripes and I really can't recommend this route enough!