Train Simulator: Bessemer & Lake Erie Route Add-On DLC

For those who love the steam era this route is definetly for you . The scenarios have realistic challenges like the the 2-10-2 expects a very gentle throttle to prevent wheelslips , and having to whistle at the whistle posts . the only downside to it is the recycled sound of the locomotives . Other than that I would recomend this route for those who love steam era roues or those who love a challenge of operating a steamer.

Rick Grout from G-TraX simulations has outdone himself with the B&LE Route Add-On. In the past, I haven't been much of a fan of his work on the steam engines for TS20xx, but this time around, there is a certain amount of detail that starts to come in to same tier as Smokebox's steamers. Having purchased the donationware RWA Lakeside addon from Railworks America, I see a bunch of similarities in assets, but that isn't nessecarily a bad thing. Pros: Locomotives/Rolling Stock - This route comes with an amazing amount of rail vehicles, including the 0-6-0 Switcher and the 2-10-2 Santa Fe type. In a way, the 2-10-2 and 0-6-0 start to compete with Smokebox's models, albeit not quite. The locomotives are quite versatile and easy to operate. When operating the 2-10-2, make sure to pay close attention to the cab when outside, as you can see the reverser and throttle moving, as well as their respective linkages, when making adjustments. Route/Assets - For someone fascinated by trains from before/during the Great Depression, it includes a bunch of assets that set the time period quite nicely. Scenarios - There are several scenarios that allow you to explore the route in detail, and rumor has it that a lot of them are based off of an actual 1920's B&LE timetable. Cons: Detail quality - Despite the amount of work Rick put in to this route, it still looks cartoon-ish compared to the RWA Lakeside route or Smokebox's Cheyenne 1869 route. Sounds - Same old sounds from the Cab Forward and other packs. You can find fixes for these sounds, rest assured, but for the average joe who doesn't know the file structures in the installation directory, you simply can't use them. Overall/Thoughts Overall, this truly is a great route, despite the minor setbacks mentioned. For $40, it really isn't that bad of a deal, and if you own the RWA Lakeside route from Railworks America, it's fun to use some of the assets/railcars from this route on that. I cannot be more sincere when I say this, but it truly is a 10/10 route.

If you like Steam Locos, you should enjoy this route, as it has the typical servicing facilities, ample opportunity for shunting and a good variety of rollingstock. Con. I did find the 2-10-2 loco a bit light on its feet and easily prone to wheel slip. {Maybe they were in real life?}

A decently made route with some nice motive power. The Santa Fe seems quite slippy, which is odd for a a locomotive of its size. The Six Coupled is a nice drive, though the break guage shows different pressures when set to release, sometimes it'll be 90 others it's as low as 87, as well as this the Six Coupled uses steam much faster than it seems to be able to generate. My reasoning for not reccomending this route is the fact that it's just stopped working. I've made no changes to my system or the game, yet it's just started to crash the game when I try to load the route.

It is awesome to have more US steam era routes. This is one of them. The route is set in the twenties of last century and comes with two steam engines (both rather easy to drive) and a large number of wagons and coaches. Ther route supports some passenger traffic, lots of shunting and also it has 76 miles of track, enough for a two hour run. It also has a coal warming installation, shed doors that open when you try to enter them, an animated fair ground, working turn tables, coal, coal and sand trestles, water and sand facilities, a number of mines, some industry yards and maybe I missed some attractions. The sometimes steep grades can be challenginging. I like the steam atmosphere at the route, though I do not thing the twenties are representend well in all aspects. Too much electric lights for that era and clothing of the passengers may be a bit fancy for the time. There are a number of nice career scenarios and als I found several very interesting workshop scenarios. The workshop scenarios do only require the route and no additional DLC, which is a great advantage. It has two issues: you need to blow the whistle before level crosisngs. Something is wrong with the penalty system, so you may get a penalty you don't deserve in career scenarios. So, altogether you get an interesting route is you like this early steam era. Recommended!

Completed all scenarios and I must say it is absolutely the best ever steam engines scenarios ever! This is what TS 2018 core can do! "It Is Amazing! from me 10/10" Thanks it has been a complete pleassure! Every one should get this for a contribution to there TS collection! Thanks to DTG for publishing it and G-TRAX you really are brilliant developers! More Please! The only down side the Roller Coaster Should be going around the track?

The addon is fantastic. I've been in love with this since it was added. We need more Steam Era American routes like this. I will gladly pay more money for more stuff like this. My only complaint is that there is only 2 locomotives and the 0-6-0 sounds like a traction engine at low speed. Entirely, I love this and FULLY recommend it!

Best way to describe it is this route is simply fantastic. American steam era routes are few and far between just like the steam locos themselves on TS so this add-on is very welcome from the usual modern routes with the same diesels with different liveries or the large availability of Amtrak coaches. The attention and detail to scenery is great but also included are plenty of yards, mines, industrial buildings which also have un/loading points which are usually overlooked these days plus stations dotted along the way, these's even a fairground included. Two manuals are included with one covering the assets and the second covers the route, yards and their intended use plus general rules used by the railway which will be mentioned in scenarios. You get two loco's, a 0-6-0 switcher and a much larger 2-10-2 which does wheelslip if you're not careful. Plenty of wagons are included ranging from hoppers, gondolas, box cars, pickle wagons and passenger coaches. The part with the effort made by G-Trax is that there's even low resolution wagons to be used in freight yards or Ai trains to ease fps which is something rarely done by other developers. Hopefully extensions to the route or even extra loco's become available in future as finding and installing reskins can become tedious very quickly to some and off putting to others. Some of the other steam loco's used by the B&LE included the 2-8-0, 2-10-4 Texas type and the 0-8-0, as for diesels there's the F7, SD7, SD9, SD18, SD38, SD38AC, SD38-2 and SD40T-3. Certainly a must have. 9/10

I love this route. Absolutley love it. I love the look, I love the feel. I love the heavy ore traffic and the laid back wayfreights. I just wish there were some more local freight scenarios. I love the 2-10-2 because we FINALLY have a good american freight hog that can haul tonnage at speed.Don't get me wrong, AT&N connie is a great little loco, but she really doesn't have the power for the heavy tonnage trains I so love and I end up having to doublehead, or even triplehead them. the Smokebox Northern is a mixed traffic loco, so while she can haul tonnage, she isn't what I am looking for. I am looking for a non-articulated (like the GTrax Cab Forward or the god awful Big Boy and Challenger), heavy duty freight loco. the Santa Fe is exactly that. I now have a good, high tonnage locomotive that I can put through its paces on the B&O Kingwood branch, or the NS coal district. and the 0-6-0. FINALLY A US STEAM SWITCHER. The Connie no longer has to pull double duty as a switcher and a freight loco. Granted, that loco did that IRL, but it is nice to finally have a locomtoive suited for yard work or tight industrial trackage. She is a great little switcher, able to really pull strings of cars around a yard and bustle about from this track to that track, moving surprisingly long strings of cars for her size. She accellerates quicly, as a small switcher should, but what came next amazed me. To my surprise, this little firecracker can do 45! It kills your boiler pressure to do so, and she can't keep it up for long, but it can do it! Both locomotives have a wonderful amount of steam effects, as well. The cylinder co cks release large clouds of steam, the dynamos (small turbines used to generate power for the lights) have steam coming out of them. The pop valves (safety valves) emit a large amount of steam as well. I don't think they do, because I am not usually looking there, but I think the pops lift in sequence, as well, just like in real life. The cab windows open on both the locomotives, as does the roof vent. when the bells ring, the clapper swings and hits the side of the bell. Not to many locos have that, or animated bells for that matter. Some may complain about the recycled sounds, but that doesn't bug me. They aren't the PRR K4's sounds, which are ripped from MSTS IIRC, so there is that. At least they are from other Gtrax locos, so we have some quality. The train brakes have a small quirk to them, where after you make an application and release the brakes, the pressure doesn't rise back up to 90 at times. Don't know if this is intended or not, but I like it because it keeps me from making too many heavy brake applications too close together and, as the real railroaders put it, pi$$ing away my air. Keep the brake lever in the "running" position and it will slowly build back up to 90 over time. the Independant (locomotive) brake doesn't have this quirk. However, it is not meant to stop an entire train and is meant more as a brake for when you are moving light (without a train) or with a very short train, like 1-2 cars short.

This is a route I have been waiting for since it was announced, and I can say I am very satisfied with it. This is the first standard gauge American route to be officially released for Train Sim that is set in the steam era. The route depicts the Bessemer and Lake Erie railroad, and its ore hauling opperations from Conneaut Ohio, to Bessemer Pennsylvania, as it would have been in the 1920's, the golden age of steam, and american railroading. Pros: Includes 2 steam locomotives (an 0-6-0 and a 2-10-2) Both look great and preform well. Large amount of high detailed rolling stock, great for scenerio creators. Ore docks allow for unique opperations, including opperating polling trams for shoving cuts of ore hoppers. Great scenery detail, and trackside industries to make the run on the route enjoyable (a run is about an hour and a half up to two hours) Cons Although the real life Bessemer route is 138 miles end to end, this route is only 75, as GTrax cut parts in the middle to "reduce the boredom factor". Its not very noticeable, but if you look around, you can find innconsistent mile posts. Both steam locomotives recycle sounds from previous GTrax DLC's (engines use sounds from the Berkshire, Cab foward, and SP&S 4-8-4 DLCs) AI Traffic doesnt always make sense (trains can be seen carrying ore to the docks, where it would come from the docks in reality) Semaphore signals display lower quadrant when they should display upper (The semaphores point down for green instead of up, this is more comon on british railroads. Probably ripped from the SN route, as that route used these signals) Thoughts Overall I think this is a great route, for all its errors, it still looks great and is a blast to play on. Although the sounds arent up to par, it is very to replace the whistles with other engines whistles, and arent that noticable for most. If you are a fan of american railroads, steam railroading, ore haulling, or are just up for a change in pace, this route is for you.