Train Simulator: Norfolk Southern Coal District Route Add-On DLC

I've played on this route for a good few years since it come out. I enjoy it and say its a great way to got Interdicted to Eastern Railroading and the railroads of Norfolk Southern and CSX. But the Coal District has a problem its with the activities. They order you to arrive at some point that a set time or you lose points. That is not how railroading works. Yes there are schedules but freight railroading is about transporting cargo safe and efficiently and treating it like its a race is not how railroading works. Ether the points system needs fixing or it should be removed. Railroading is not about racing its a about moving the freight to and from its place of origin to its its final destination. If this was fixed Coal District would be much better. I like Norfolk Southern, I like train siming, I like any new thing to come from DTG. Its just the points and activities need to be fix or overhauled

Absolutely one of the best routes in Train Simulator to date. Being a native to Pittsburgh, PA, I've been to locations that are on this route in-person, and they're represented very well in-game. The GEVO is pretty well made and the coal gondolas are nice, and the route gives an authentic taste of the western PA railroading experience. Even though the description of this add-on says that the C40-9W is AI only, you can still create custom consists with it and run the locomotive as normal, which is a nice hidden bonus. One of the largest issues with the route is one of the scenarios being impossible to complete since a C44-9W blocks your path at the very start, and it's impossible to fix due to the career mode scenarios being uneditable.

Czech/English: Jde o velmi pěknou nákladní trasu mezi West Brownsville a dolem v Emeraldu, respektive v Bailey. Jak již bylo uvedeno, jedná se o nákladní trasu, tedy bez osobní vlakové dopravy. Trať je využívána těžkými vlaky vezoucími uhlí a další zboží a materiál. Je kompletně bez elektrifikace a vede skrz venkovské oblasti, obsahuje standardní signalizační systém. Krajina je velmi pěkná, plná lesů, křovin, ale i městeček a továren podél kolejí. Zvláště pěkná je část kolem řeky a největší výzvou je pak dostat těžce naložené vlaky z dolu v Bailey přes průsmyk. Většina trasy je jednokolejná, místy rozšířená na koleje dvě pro míjení protijedoucích vlaků. Traťová rychlost je cca. 15 – 30 mph, tedy nic pro vyznavače rychlosti. V základní nabídce jsou moderní silné lokomotivy ES44AC, Dash 9-40C a v rámci DLC další typy (zejména AC6000CW, SD80MAC, Dash 8-40C/CW, GP-38-2) . Velkou výhodou je i obrovské množství fanouškovských misí a několikadílných kampaní. Časově je DLC zařazeno v současnosti a jde o pěknou ukázku moderní trasy pro těžký nákladní provoz. xxxxxxxxxxx This is a very nice freight route between West Brownsville and the Emerald or Bailey mine. As mentioned, it is a freight route, so no passenger train service. The line is used by heavy trains carrying coal and other goods and materials. It is completely without electrification and runs through rural areas and contains a standard signalling system. The scenery is very pretty, full of woods and scrub, as well as towns and factories along the tracks. The section around the river is particularly nice, and the biggest challenge is getting the heavily laden trains from the Bailey mine over the pass. Most of the route is single track, in places widened to two tracks to allow oncoming trains to pass. The line speed is about 15 - 30 mph, so nothing for speed freaks. The basic range includes the modern, powerful ES44AC, Dash 9-40C locomotives and other types within the DLC (notably AC6000CW, SD80MAC, Dash 8-40C/CW, GP-38-2) . The huge number of fan missions and multi-part campaigns is also a great advantage. The DLC is timed in the present day and is a nice example of a modern heavy freight route. Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

Where to start with this interesting route. It's a slow paced run 'max speed is 25mph I think' there is alot of twists and turns and a chance to drive down a town street but saving is ideal with the slow and long runs. The scenery is lush and vibrant and disused structures add to the atmosphere. Included are the expected coal cars, the ES44AC in NS livery and the Dash 9 in NS livery but is Ai only. Seven scenarios are included but two are tutorials so they don't really count but all up there's over 300min to keep you busy. There's a reasonable amount of DLC and scenario making possiblities. There are some down points but some mostly involve recent updates to the route not long ago. First is the brakes, as an attempt to add realism and or challenge DTG has started to re-do the brakes on US loco's and wagons with an adjustable difficulty of between 1 and 3. With this in place the trains can be harder to control on the rollercoaster grades to be found and rough handling will result in a broken coupler. This is effectively a game over as most attempts to rejoin the train result in the stationary wagons suddenly gather speed and slam into the player derailing them. The second involves a recent update causing one scenario to become unplayable as a AI loco refuses to move blocking the player. So far a fix to this hasn't come forth yet or ever will. Despite it's Classic label the $19.99 is still hard to justify considering the problems and numerous additional DLC. I wouldn't really recommend this route unless you need the assets for the workshop or if you are a determined scenario builder. Since I got it for free I did save a few bucks as there's is no way I would have bought this route on my own accord. 5/10

As American routes go for Train Simulator, the Coal District is quite a bit smaller than most others. There's no passenger service to be found here and you'll find most of your freight runs are slow, solitary affairs as much of the route is single-tracked and <30mph. That said, there's a lot of great scenery here and tons of potential for building interesting scenarios. It's a must-grab if you like making your own content for the game or are fond of the region, but you can pretty easily skip this if you're looking for a route with more variety off the bat.

There is an AI locomotive blocking the way on the one scenerio I have tried so far. According to some of the reviews, you have to nudge it out of the way. Unacceptable. Apparently the rest may be quite buggy as well, which is ridiculous for PAID content!

This is an interesting route and the loco sounds have improved since cajon pass/US Loco and asset pack. But there are good and bad things to talk about here. PROS- The route is highly detailed and the loco looks awesome anywhere. The route is split into to lines and is incredible each way The scenarios are good and fun. CONS- The coal wagons are very laggy and makes everything go slow Scenario MOMUMENT PART1 has a lot of faults in its coding Would I recommend? Just

I have a bit of mixed feelings. The route itself is great, but some of the career scenarios are not playable, which is a pity. Even though I think I played well, I was 21 seconds late at the first go via point. DTG blew it when they updated this DLC. I filed a bug, but I it is completely unclear if they will change. At least one scenario is not playable. Thefore I changed my recommendation to negative

I have just recently purchased this route (4/24/15), and I must say that ALREADY this is one of my favorite routes, and let me tell you why! Route itself: The route itself is a perfect length, not to long, not to short! The speeds on the line vary anywhere from 10 MPH (the town of Brownsville) to 40 MPH. The slow(ish) speeds in certain places really give you the chance to look around and admire the scenery that RSC apparently took their time with. The scenery looks very full, with lots of trees and small details. The route does require a fairly decent system, due to the detail, but I tweaked my graphics a little and managed to get it to around 25 FPS average. As pointed out by a real-life engineer, the route also features prototypical super-elevation on the corners. Rolling Stock: This was where the route took a downturn. The locomotives included are the Norfolk Southern C44-9W (most of you probably have this already from the orig RSC D9 pack), and a Norfolk Southern ES44DC (basically a reskin of the NS Heritage GEVO). The Dash 9 has, of course, the default ES44 sounds that we have all come to know and hate. The ES44 has the same soundset as the Heritage ES44's, which is not great, but far more realistic than the origional ES44 sounds. The worst feature of the rolling stock is that the route comes with only 1 TYPE of car, and that is a coal hopper. I know that there is alot of coal on this line, but there is definitly MORE than just coal in real life. Scenarios: The scenarios were okay, to start. There are 5 career scenarios, no standard scenarios, and no free roam scenarios. The 5 scenarios that are included utilize JUST the ES44, and there are no scenarios using the Dash 9. The scenarios themselves were alright, though they seem to be very similar to each other, and were very rushed. For example, I was going the speed limit on one scenario, and I ended up being 45 seconds late and getting 36 points chopped off my score :P. Good thing there are quite a few workshop scenarios for this route. Overall, I do like this route, but I do wish that it came with a little more variety. If you are more into the scenery than the rolling stock, then this is a must have! I give this route a total score of 8/10.

Just like my review on Marias Pass, the Norfolk Southern Coal District is definitely a tru masterpiece by DTG. Amazing scenery, detail and loads of fun to drive! Starting at West Brownsville Yard, you run across Main Street then all the way to Emerald Mine then the 15 mile Mannor Branch to Bailey Mine. A shorter 10 mile track on the other side of the Monongahela River is featured along with the Alicia Rail to barge coal transfer facility. Rolling stock is an ES44AC, Dash 9 and G11 Coal Hopper all with the Norfolk Southern livery. The ES44AC has the new braking system first introduced with Canadian Mountain Passes route. It iis pretty much the same as the NS Heritage ES44ACs, has the flashing ditch lights, same horn, bell ETC. The Dash 9 according to the store page is AI only but it is drivable to the player and as for the coal car, it is well designed. The scenery is great including the street running through West Brownsville, PA featuring a huge church that is accurately desgined! The main freight traffic on the route is coal with a few local freight operations between Brownsville and Waynesburg. One minor flaw with this route is that quick drive always crashes so don't use is on this route unless DTG fixes it. Other than that this route is just amazing!