An Amtrak Capitol Corridor train skirts the shores at Pinole, CA.
The San Francisco Bay Area and in turn, Northern California are home to some interesting, scenic, and historic operations. From Capitol Corridor trains totting passengers from the tech capitol of America to the state capitol (San Jose-Sacramento), to CalTrain commuter services operating over what was once the fabled Southern Pacific Peninsula Commute (San Francisco-San Jose) to Union Pacific and BNSF freight trains hauling seemingly endless container, autorack, coal and manifest trains over the former Southern Pacific, Western Pacific, and Santa Fe through places with names such as Niles Canyon, Altamont Pass, Stockton, Sacramento, and Roseville as well as Amtrak long distance passenger trains with names such as the California Zephyr and the Coast Starlight. Of course not forgeting the Northwestern Pacific or NWP freight operation and the upcoming SMART commuter service (Cloverdale-Larkspur Landing) with a small portion operating over what was once the revolutionary NWP electric commute (San Rafael-Larkspur Landing).
Our trip begins at San Jose Diridon Station. Built in 1935 as the Cahill Depot, the station served its share of SP commute trains as well as named trains such as The Lark and The Coast Daylight. Today Diridon Station serves as the terminus for southbound CalTrains, Capitol Corridor, and Altamont Commuter Express (ACE) trains which ferry passengers through Niles Canyon and Altamont Pass for Stockton as well as a stop for Amtrak's Coast Starlight.
(Above) Amtrak and CalTrain at San Jose Diridon.
North of Diridon is the CalTrain yard and maintenance facility where service on the fleet is performed. Between San Jose Diridon and Santa Clara Station, both CalTrain and Capitol Corridor share the main line, at Santa Clara Station the two lines split with CalTrain turning left (north) to serve San Francisco through places such as Mountainview, Palo Alto, Readwood City, and Milbrae. The Amtrak owned Capitol Corridor splits to the right (east) to serve Sacramento. We will now follow the Capitol Corridor.
Heading north or timetable east, the Capitol Corridor makes stops at Santa Clara Great America, Freemont-Centerville, Hayward, Oakland Coliseum, and Oakland Jack London Square. Oakland Jack London is a stop for trains heading east-west to and from Sacramento as well as a terminus for certain Capitol Corridor trains and a stop for the Coast Starlight. Compass north from Jack London Station the line runs in the middle of Embarcadero West. The only street running in the Bay Area outside of San Francisco's streetcars.
Further north we pass Union Pacific's Desert Yard, formally Southern Pacific's West Oakland Yard. The yard is home to numerous tracks as well as a sprawling intermodal facility along with Amtrak's passenger yard where the Capitol Corridor fleet is serviced along with national passenger equipment and locomotives. Further north we make our stop at Emeryville. The station along with Oakland Jack London, were both built in the mid 1990s to replace the aging 16th Street Station damaged in the 1989 Loma Preita Earthquake. Emeryville is also the starting point for Amtrak's Emeryville-Chicago California Zephyr as well as a stop for the Coast Starlight, Capitol Corridor and San Joaquin (Oakland Jack London-Bakersfield) trains.
North of Emeryville we make stops at Berkeley, and Richmond before skirting the shores of San Pablo Bay en route to Martienez. The Richmond area is home to BNSF's ex Santa Fe Richmond Terminal as well as the Port of Richmond and Chevron Oil Refinery. East of Richmond the UP and BNSF operate on seperate tracks. UP's Martienez Subdivision skirts the shores of San Pablo Bay while the BNSF mainline takes a slightly more inland route heading south on the former Santa Fe.
(Above) Amtrak's Coast Starlight is southbound into Oakland Jack London. (Below) Oakland Jack London Station. Photograph copyright and reproduced courtesy of Michael Layefsky.
(Above) UP's Desert Yard. (Below) a Capitol Corridor train arrives in Emeryville.
(Above) BNSF's Richmond Yard. Photograph copyright Steven M. Welch and reproduced courtesy of RailPictures.Net
East of Martienez, trains cross a massive steel span over the Sacramento River. The span was built by the SP and features a lift bridge to allow maritime traffic to pass. Martienez is also the point where San Joaquin trains leave the Capitol Corridor and begin their trip south. Heading east we pass through mostly marshlands before reaching our next stop of Suisun Fairfield. Suisun Fairfield is the junction for UP's American Canyon branch to Napa Junction. West of Napa Junction the line is owned and operated by the NWP. The NWP portion extends west through Schellvile, Black Point, and Ignacio where the NWP connects with the county owned SMART system running north-south between Colverdale and Larkspur Landing, SMART plans to begin service in late 2016.
(Above) A stack train crosses the Sacramento River Bridge at Martienez.
East of Suisun Fairfield the line passes through Cannon, Elmira, Batavia, Dixon and Sucro before the next station stop at Davis. Davis is home to a classic spanish style depot built by the SP and is a stop for Capitol Corridor, Coast Starlight and California Zephyr. We continue east to our final destination of Sacramento, the capitol of California. The station serves a menagerie of trains including Amtrak's Capitol Corridor, San Joaquin, Coast Starlight and California Zephyr. Sacramento is also home to the California State Railroad Museum. The museum houses various pieces of railroad history including the Gov. Stanford, the first steam locomotive in California as well as SP 4294 the last remaining Cab Foward steam locomotive. Near the station also lies SP's once mighty Sacramento Shops where locomotive building and repairs once took place. Now the old buildings are storage for the museums equipment and the sight of a future muesum.
(Above) The Davis Amtrak station. (Below) An Amtrak train prepares to depart Sacramento.
East of the station, the UP mainline passes through Haggin Jct. where the ex WP BNSF line meets the ex SP UP line and runs east to Oroville and the Feather River Canyon. The line then turns east on the Elvas Wye, crosses the American River, and heads into the massive Roseville Yard. Roseville was the beating heart of Northern California during the SP days. It is home to a hump yard, a plethora of yard tracks and a locomotive facility which once housed SP's famed Rotary Snowplows.
(Above) An overhead view of the massive Roseville Yard.
We will now follow the San Joaquin Southbound from Sacramento. Heading east from the station the train then turns south on Elvas Wye to begin its trip towards Bakersfield. Heading south we pass through the farmland of California's Central Valley before making stops at Lodi, Stockton Downtown and San Joaquin St. From here the train continues south towards Bakersfield. A train bound for Oakland Jack London would make stops at Stockton Downtown, San Joaqun St. and Antioch before rejoining the Capitol Corridor at Martienez. BNSF and formally Santa Fe operate freight over the line.
(Above) The Amtrak station at Stockton CA.
The Train Simulator version should encompass Amtrak's Capitol Corridor from San Jose to Sacramento as well as the CalTrain line from San Jose to San Francisco. The route should also include the American Canyon branch, NWP and SMART lines from Suisun Fairfield to Cloverdale and Larkspur Landing. Roseville Yard should also be included along with the ex Santa Fe line south as far as Stockton. Also the ex Western Pacific line from Oakland to Sacramento through Niles Canyon and Over Altamont Pass should be included.
Stock content for the route should include an Amtrak California EMD F59PHI and bi-level coaches with cabcar along with a CalTrain EMD F40PH-2CAT and Gallery consist. Also SMART's Nippon Sharyo DMUs for use with the NWP/SMART section along with UP and BNSF GE ES44ACs for freight operations, 3GS21B GenSet for yard work, and EMD GP38-2 for local operations, also a selection of freight stock should be included such as container well cars, TOFC flats, boxcar, tankcar, grain hopper, autorack, and centerbeam flatcar.
(Above) An Amtrak California EMD F59PHI with bi-level cars. (Below) CalTrain EMD F40PH-2CAT's with Gallery Consists.
(Above and Below) UP and BNSF GE ES44ACs. (Above photograph copyright Matt Smith and reproduced courtesy of RailPictures.Net. Below photograph copyright Michael Rujak and reproduced courtesy of RRPictureArchives.NET).
(Above and Below) Examples of UP and BNSF 3GS21B GenSet locomotives. Perfect for yard work on the route.
(Above) Examples of UP and BNSF EMD GP38-2's prefect for local operations. Photograph copyright Joe Ferguson and reproduced courtesy of RRPictureArchives.NET
I believe that the Bay Area Network would make a beyond exellent route for Train Simulator because of its scenery, history and countless options for operations. Everything from commuter services to long distance passenger trains to local and long distance freight. In all, this route would be one of the best ever made for Train Simulator.