10/06/2016
http://store.steampowered.com/app/376953
The California Zephyr – the train many enthusiasts and railroaders alike considered the single-most magnificent passenger train to ever journey across America – is now available for Train Simulator! Featuring the train’s complete consist of eight unique car types, the DLC also includes highly authentic Western Pacific and Rio Grande Electro-Motive diesel power.
The California Zephyr made its first run in 1949 and was the ultimate expression of America’s post-World War II “streamliner era.” On a journey of 2,532 route-miles, the streamliner crossed the American west between Chicago and San Francisco’s Bay Area. Nicknamed the “Silver Lady,” the luxurious train carried travelers, riding in dome cars and comfortable sleepers, across the plains of America’s Heartland on the Burlington Route, through the Rocky Mountains on the Rio Grande, and over the Sierra Nevada via Western Pacific’s Feather River Canyon rails.
The Budd Company built the California Zephyr’s passenger equipment. Eight car types would eventually become standard on the train, and each is included in this DLC: a streamlined baggage car; vista-dome coach; vista-dome buffet-lounge-dormitory car; 10-roomette, 6-bedroom sleeper; 48-seat diner; standard coach (converted from 16-section sleeper); 5-compartment, 6-double bedroom sleeper; and the train’s signature vista-dome bedroom-lounge-observation. All the California Zephyr cars were individually named with the prefix “Silver” and each lived up to that shimmering image, being constructed of fluted stainless steel.
Western Pacific powered its leg of the California Zephyr with EMD F-units, and beginning in 1950, FP7s became the standard lead units for the California Zephyr on the WP. Train Simulator’s FP7 California Zephyr set includes Western Pacific FP7 and F7B units for use on the Feather River Canyon route, and also included are Rio Grande EMD F9A and F9B diesels which served as regular power for the streamliner on the D&RGW.
The “Silver Lady” made its last transcontinental run in March 1970, but even then its tradition carried on, as Rio Grande elected to continue (through 1983) the Denver-Salt Lake City leg of the train’s schedule, with the streamliner renamed the “Rio Grande Zephyr.” The new Train Simulator DLC includes passenger equipment both with and without California Zephyr markings, so that both California Zephyr and Rio Grande Zephyr consists can be created.
The California Zephyr, a cherished fixture of the American railroad scene, is now available for Train Simulator – and it delivers the unforgettable experience of taking the throttle of one of America’s greatest, most stylish, and most iconic passenger trains. The Train Simulator FP7 California Zephyr pack includes a trio of career scenario for the Feather River Canyon route, and additional scenario – both for the Feather River Canyon route and Train Simulator’s acclaimed D&RGW Soldier Summit route – are available at Steam Workshop!