Train Simulator: The Racetrack: Aurora - Chicago Route Add-On DLC

Recommended, even with some flaws. The Racetrack: Aurora- Chicago Route is really good for players who like both stop-and-go commuter traffic and long stretches of high-speed running. Locomotives included are the Metra EMD F40PH-3, Nippon-Sharyo 8500-class Bi-level Cab Car, and for switching operations, the EMD GP38-2, in BNSF and patched BN liveries. Overall, the route is pretty good but could use slight improvement. Pros: - Chicago & Southwest Sims did a nice job on modeling the route, which serves passenger service from Chicago-Aurora (with 23 commuter stops), and freight service from Montgomery-Chicago. - Chicago Skyline looks amazing at night - BNSF and 'patched BN' GP38-2s also included - Very nice horn on the Geeps - Lots and lots of steam workshop scenarios are available - F40PH has a new, modernized cab with functioning HEP, new speedo, and TMS systems (a precursor to PTC) - 12 mile West Chicago branch included as well. Back in the 1800s, before the CB&Q owned the Racetrack, the West Chicago branch was actually the mainline before there was a line built to Chicago in the 1850s or so. Cons: - Without 3rd-party mods, the F40 and Cab Car physics are highly questionable. The Cab Car can accelerate on its own (without a loco). There is also a really annoying brake glitch on the F40 and the Cab Car where the brakes are stuck on 25 psi. - The bells on both engines are best described as mediocre. The F40 horn is okay, just standard DTG stock. I believe the K3 is a new recording, and it's pretty good. The bell just takes away from the whole experience. - No logos on Metra equipment - Lacking equipment. More commuter equipment should be provided, like an EMD F40PHM-2, or the original Budd 4-window gallery cars. They should have added either some ES44s or SD70s for mainline freight service. The geeps are fine for the branch line and yard work but are really unsuited for the heavy hauling often seen between the Cicero and Montgomery yards. Physics mod: https://www.railworksamerica.com/index.php/download-library/accessories?view=document&id=1980:emd-f40ph-gallery-cab-car-mod&catid=24:accessories Horn mod: https://railworksamerica.com/index.php/download-library/sounds-enhancements?view=document&id=3325:jr-ns-sd40-2-p5-horn&catid=25:sounds Signage and Logos mod: http://railworksamerica.com/index.php/download-library/accessories?view=document&id=1858:metra-signage-logos&catid=24:accessories Overall, decent, but try to get at a sale. Since I live in Chicago, I love this route even with its shortcomings.

Ah, the Racetrack. Once home to the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, aka the Burlington Route. This route for Train Simulator is very fun to play, even without the METRA branding. I find myself enjoying the route due to the fact that it's the Midwest, a region of the USA often overlooked in train simulators. We have a good collection of METRA and a couple of BNSF scenarios, which allow some variety since BNSF does move freight over the route. Only negative I have is with the static Amtrak consist. Good lord, they're not awful, they just feel so unrealistic. It may be nitpicky, but, I wouldn't have minded an actual Amtrak locomotive and consist for Quick Drive or scenarios. But, I'm not going to bash the creators over that, because I found some scenarios on the Workshop that give me the Amtrak fix I needed. Well worth the price and no need to deal with the harsh winters the Midwest of the USA is known for. So, if you like commuter trains, and freight in and around Chicagoland, here's one for you.

Don't bother unless you have additional DLC content like the $20 (seriously?) BNSF ES44DC. This DLC's scenarios will not run without it. Pretty annoying (but somewhat expected) of DTG to also not include this detail below, had to refund this because I'm not paying more to use content I otherwise rightfully purchased.

There is good DLC and there is great DLC. This one definitely falls into the great category. It truly has something for everyone. One thing I really enjoyed about it is that this someplace I have actually been and I was able to recognize things on this route that I had seen in real life. The scenarios are good and cover freight, passenger and switching duty. Highly recommended.

I'm a Chicago-area native so a bit biased, but this route is absolutely fantastic and a "must-buy" for anyone who likes commuter railroads or passenger railroads in general. As others have commented, the developers put in an incredible amount of time and detail into this route. Let me add that it's high time that Chicago has a route in TS 2015/2016. Given the area's importance in rail travel throughout North American history, it is a shame that more routes have not been built for this area. I certainly hope that the developers see fit to develop other commuter lines in the Chicago area, especially some of the UP (old C&NW) lines. Very, very well done and well worth the investment.

I have to say this route is amazing!! Lots of interesting trackageand yards to explore and hours of fun of both passenger and freight trains. One of ym favorite locations is Cicero Yard, BNSF intermodal terminal on the route with engine service and freight car repair area. The passenger train yards and Union Station are featured as well along with UP Global Yard, CN Hawthorne Yard and NS West Avenue if I remembered that name right. The route is great for using in the days of Burlington Norther since the line is Ex-BN. Not only does it feature great locos but also interesting scenery clutter such as hy-rail trucks, container flatbeds at Cicero and new crossings! I recommend this route alot!! You will enjoy it!

Great route! Great Stocks! Nice buildings! I recommand it! Some bugs have been found at the release and they have been fixed right after! Thanks! :)

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!

I reccomend this route as a must-have for railroad enthusiasts who live in the area. If you live elsewhere, I'd get it on a sale, maybe 30% off or so. It's definitely better than most DTG routes these days, and the route itself is very well made. The problems come in when you start to look at the locomotives and their rolling stock. [h1] Pros [/h1] - Very detailed - New horn and bell sounds - Some new and decent rolling stock, with exclusive BNSF coal hoppers - Loaded and unloaded versions of double stack well cars - Decent FPS throughout most of the route, running on low graphics on a lower-end laptop - Plenty of rail yards throughout the route - A 20 mile branch line, perfect for local trains - Locomotive/Coach shops around Chicago have interiors which you can drive through - Locomotives from companies like CSX, NS, CN, and UP can be used and it doesn't look out of place, based on the shared trackage and mainline crossovers throughout the line [h1] Cons [/h1] - All of the Metra and BNSF rolling stock and signs are unbranded - Relatively shorter than most of other US routes, with about 40 miles of mainline plus the 20 mile branch line - The VLP (Very Low Poly) Amtrak P42DC is used as mainline AI, which looks very unrealistic and ugly. I mean they're meant for filling up yards, aren't they? - The front of the VLP F40PH-3 is very poorly modeled, looks very ugly when you run a normal Metra train by a VLP Metra consist - Most of the BNSF rolling stock is recycled from Stevens pass, but with no branding on the sides - The horn and bell's volume is the same when being heard from 1m and 100m away - For some reason some of the crossings sound while others don't - The VLP Superliners are white, while it should be silver - Only freight hauler included is the GP38-2, which is a road switcher - In the NS Cab Car, you can't look down much, neither can you look behind Overall this is my review after playing a few of the scenarios in the NS Cab Car and the F40PH-3. Here are some addons from Railworks America that will probably help increase your enjoyment of the route: [u]Pack that adds the Metra logo to station signs and rolling stock[/u] http://railworksamerica.com/index.php/download-library/accessories?view=document&id=1858:metra-signage-logos&catid=24:accessories [u]Pack that adds the BNSF logo to the rolling stock[/u] http://railworksamerica.com/index.php/download-library/accessories?view=document&id=1866:usa-textures-for-the-racetrack&catid=24:accessories

After buying this route, I can't believe the effort these devs put into this. The horns and bells (besides the locomotive's) felt so fresh, and the crossing bells were amazing too! The cars even had good detail put into them! It was a shame you couldn't get the logos, but everything was amazing! I'd recommend it to everyone! I also compared this to real life because I went on a round trip to the end, and everything looks exact to the real thing! Even the burlington caboose I saw irl at the Aurora station is there, and the Dupage Children's Museum is actually there in Naperville! This is amazing! Update as of August 17: A modder on RWA (Railworks America) has released a logo mod, for others to enjoy it to its fullest.