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Sand Patch Grade is the first route in Train Sim World. The route was first released as a beta in December 2016 and became part of the CSX Heavy Haul Edition released in March 2017. It eventually received a few improvements, as well as becoming available on console in August 2020. The AC4400CW, SD40-2, GP38-2 come with the route in CSX Transportation livery. Sand Patch Grade is also included as standard in Train Sim World 2.


Introduction[]

Sand Patch Grade, a vital link in the sprawling 21,000-mile rail system of CSX, crosses the Allegheny Mountains, climbing from Cumberland, Maryland (at an elevation of 627 feet above sea level) to the line’s summit at Sand Patch, Pennsylvania (elevation, 2,258 feet), then beginning a westward descent to Rockwood, Pennsylvania (1,837 feet). To climb over the rugged Alleghenies, Sand Patch Grade’s tough east slope ascent culminates with a 1.94 percent gradient near Manila, then a plunge through 4,475-foot-long Sand Patch tunnel.

It was the famed Baltimore & Ohio – America’s first common-carrier railroad – that fathered Sand Patch, opening the line in the early 1870s as a key route west to Pittsburgh and, eventually, to America’s railroad capital of Chicago.

Today, as CSX’s Keystone Subdivision, Sand Patch Grade serves as a busy conveyor of diverse freight tonnage, including intermodal traffic, coal, coke, minerals, grain, steel, oil, autos and auto parts, and other manufactured products. Locally-originated coal tonnage is loaded at Rockwood on the adjoining S&C Sub and drawn from the Salisbury Branch. And Sand Patch Grade is also host to Amtrak’s daily Washington (D.C.)-Chicago Capitol Limited.

Cumberland, Maryland, at the eastern foot of Sand Patch Grade, is home to a major CSX classification yard and engine terminal facilities.

CSX Heavy Haul Beta[]

Two sections of the sand patch grade route were featured in the beta; Cumberland Yard & Sand Patch Summit.

Cumberland Yard[]

The Cumberland Yard section focuses around the yard at Cumberland and came with one shunting scenario (Clear Cut).

Sand Patch Summit[]

The second section was Sand Patch Summit. This section focuses around the main line at the summit and the steep slopes around it. This section also came with one scenario "Sand Patch Summit".

Route[]

The route covers the Keystone Subdivision from Cumberland, Maryland to Rockwood, Pennsylvania. The route was originally built by the Baltimore & Ohio railroad as their main route through the Allegheny Mountains. In 1972, the route became part of the Chessie System before becoming part of CSX in 1987. Currently, the Amtrak train 'Capitol Limited' runs along the route stopping only at Cumberland. The route includes the freight yard and operational turntable at Cumberland along with Sand Patch Summit, the Rockwood Mine and Salisbury Branch. The route has a maximum gradient of 1.94%.

Locations[]

  • Cumberland Terminal - A large CSX yard located in the town of Cumberland, MD. This terminal acts as the eastern terminus of the route.
  • Sand Patch - The location of Sand Patch Tunnel and where the Keystone subdivision passes over the summit of the Alleghenies.
  • Shaw Mine - A coal mine located on the Salisbury branch where coal can be loaded.
  • Rockwood Mine - A coal mine located on the Rockwood branch where coal can be loaded.

Locomotives[]

  • AC4400CW - Built between 1993 and 2004, CSX Transportation owns more than 600 of the 4400 horsepower locomotives. Available in both yn2 and yn3b liveries in the CSX Heavy Haul Edition of Train Sim World.
  • GP38-2 - Part of the Dash 2 range of EMD locomotives, the GP38-2 was introduced in 1972, 2222 of these 2000 horsepower locomotives were produced, of which CSX gained many from it's predecessor railroads.
  • SD40-2 - Nearly 4000 of these Dash 2 series locomotives were produced between 1972 and 1986, many of which CSX gained from it's predecessor railroads. Available as part of the CSX Heavy Haul edition of Train Sim World, the SD40-2 comes in both yn2 and yn3b liveries.

Rolling Stock[]

Training[]

In the beta version, 3 tutorials were included.

In the full version of the route, 9 tutorials are included.

Scenarios[]

In the beta version, 2 scenarios were included.

In the full version of the route, there are 8 scenarios.

  • A Helping Hand - It's your first day on the job. Some cars were recently taken out of a westbound train due to a faulty brake hose not detected before its departure. The cars have been repaired on site at Hyndman and they need to be returned to Cumberland for insertion to another train.
  • Clear Cut - There's work to be done in Cumberland Yard. Switch and service all the required locomotives.
  • Fully Fuelled - You're part of the crew in charge of running an Intermodal train westbound from Cumberland Terminal.
  • Cumberland Charge - A unit coal train has just come out of Shaw Loading Facility on the Salisbury Branch and the crew have reported that one of their motors is not developing full power. Take the locomotives over to Salisbury Junction and meet the train in the loop. While the other crew assist the descent, it's time to shine as you level the train down the grade.
  • Ice and Snow - Having settled into the operations over Sand Patch, you're now getting regularly rostered out on the road. Today you're assigned to the crew of a manifest train.
  • Powering America Part 1 - Having travelled up to Rockwood, you're quickly put to work at the nearby mine. Finish loading a train with coal and prepare it for its journey east to Cumberland Terminal.
  • Powering America Part 2 - With the coal train ready to depart, take to the controls and drive it back to Cumberland Terminal. A congested line and worsening visibility make for a challenging run.
  • Cumberland Switchback - Free to play around Cumberland Terminal. There are no objectives to complete.

Timetable Mode[]

Service mode

In the beta version, 2 services were included.

  • Eastbound Coal Train
  • Westbound Autotrack Train

In the full version of the game, there is a 24 hour timetable. The full timetable is in the image below. Also, players can select certain locations along the route to spawn their character and railfan or take over a service.

See the full service timetable here: Service Timetable: Sand Patch Grade

Train Sim World 2[]


Train Sim World[]


Westbound[]

Loco GP40-2

SD40-2

GP38-2

GP40-2

SD40-2

AC4400CW AC4400CW GP38-2

GP40-2

SD40-2

AC4400CW GP40-2

SD40-2

GP38-2

GP40-2

SD40-2

GP40-2

SD40-2

AC4400CW GP40-2 AC4400CW AC4400CW GP40-2

SD40-2

GP40-2

SD40-2

GP40-2

SD40-2

GP40-2

SD40-2

GP40-2

SD40-2

Service Q249 Q355 Q015 Q130 Q353 Q217 K145 Q640 Q261 Q115 U876-A Q137 X790 Q359 K143 Q250 Q375 K557
Type

Autorack

Manifest

Intermodal Intermodal

Manifest

Autorack Oil Manifest Autorack Intermodal Empty Coal Intermodal Light Engine Manifest Oil Autorack Manifest Manifest
Cumberland 00:25 00:56 01:33 07:56 08:33 08:44 09:36 11:53 12:15 12:47 14:32 16:05 16:57 17:30 17:56 18:21 19:10 20:50
Hyndman 00:50 01:24 01:58 08:21 09:01 09:09 09:59 12:21 12:40 13:12 14:58 16:29 17:20 17:53 18:19 18:46 19:35 21:19
Mance 01:20 01:57 02:28 08:51 09:34 09:41 10:27 12:54 13:10 13:42 15:26 16:58 17:47 18:21 18:47 19:16 20:04 21:45
Salisbury 01:38 02:16 02:45 09:08 09:53 09:58 10:45 13:13 13:28 13:59 17:19 18:04 18:38 19:05 19:34 20:21 22:03
Shaw Mine 15:56
Rockwood 01:50 02:28 02:57 09:20 10:04 10:20 10:57 13:24 13:40 14:11 17:32 18:15 18:50 19:17 19:46 20:32 22:15

Eastbound[]

Loco GP38-2

GP40-2

SD40-2

GP38-2

GP40-2

SD40-2

AC4400CW AC4400CW AC4400CW AC4400CW GP40-2

SD40-2

GP38-2

GP40-2

SD40-2

GP40-2

SD40-2

GP40-2

SD40-2

GP40-2

SD40-2

AC4400CW GP40-2

SD40-2

AC4400CW
Service Q358 Q352 N536 Q276 Q008

Q116

Q226

I368

Q368 U876-C U876-D Q138 Q394 Q016
Type

Manifest

Manifest

Coal Autorack

Intermodal

Intermodal

Autorack

Manifest Manifest Branch Coal Coal Intermodal Manifest Intermodal
Rockwood 00:51 06:57 08:10 08:42 09:33 13:32 13:58 15:27 16:47 17:38 19:01 22:05
Shaw Mine 17:00
Salisbury 17:17 17:30
Mance
Hyndman 01:46 07:52 09:06 09:38 10:29 14:28 14:54 16:29 17:42 18:17 18:34 19:56 23:01
Cumberland 02:09 08:15 09:29 10:01 10:52 14:51 15:19 16:56 18:08 18:43 18:57 20:18 23:24

Short Operation[]

Loco GP38-2

GP40-2

SD40-2

GP38-2

GP40-2

SD40-2

GP38-2

GP40-2

SD40-2

GP40-2

SD40-2

Service X528 X592 X575 U876-B
Type Switching Car Move Power Move Coal Loading
Cumberland 11:15 14:30
Shaw Mine 16:00
Rockwood 11:15
Becomes

Journey Mode[]

There are 4 chapters included with the Sand Patch Grade route:

Signalling[]

For the signalling used in Sand Patch Grade, see Signalling (Sand Patch Grade).

Route Diagram[]

Map[]

Loading map...

Route Table[]

Location Image Miles
Cumberland Terminal CTT02 272.7
Hyndman 20180128183203 1 286.1
Sand Patch Tunnel 20170525191930 1 304.0
Meyersdale 20180128183257 1 309.3
Salisbury Junction 20180128183415 1 310.7
Rockwood 20170904171650 1 321.1

Achievements[]

  • Centurion: Travelled 100 miles in any locomotive
  • Switcher: Changed a track switch
  • Trailblazer: Travelled 1 mile on foot
  • Rookie: Completed the introduction
  • Mega Train: Travelled 1000 miles in any locomotive
  • Unstoppable: Travelled 10000 miles in any locomotive
  • Pilgrimage: Travelled 100 miles on foot
  • Exodus: Travelled 1000 miles on foot
  • Making Connections: Coupled to your first wagon
  • Miner Achievement: Loaded a coal car
  • Qualified Engineer: Complete all tutorials on Sand Patch Grade
  • Railfan: Took a screenshot
  • Going the distance: Complete a full service
  • If you build it...: Build a consist of 100 cars
  • Hinge Breaker: Use 1000 doors
  • Ventiltor: Use 1000 windows
  • Carbon Overload: Loaded 1000000 tons of coal
  • Switch it up: Changed 500 track switches
  • Casey Jones
  • Powerhaul Prep: Coupled to 1000 cars
  • Connoisseur: Collected all collectables on a route
  • Workaholic: Completed 100 full services on any route
  • Gas Guzzler: Refuel 100 times
  • Mission Possible:Completed all services on a timetable in Sand Patch Grade
  • Super Sand Patch Grade: Completed all scenarios on Sand Patch Grade
  • Wheelhouse Master: Rotated the turntable 360 degrees without stopping


Version Differences[]

Table[]

Version Differences Table
Version Beta TSW and TSW 2020 TSW2
Released in Dec 2016 March 2017 August 2020
AC4400CW No Yes Yes
GP38-2 No Yes Yes
SD40-2 Yes Yes Yes
Livery designer No No Yes
Platform Step-up No No Yes
GP40-2 Addon No Yes No
C40-8W Addon No No Yes
New Journeys Expansion (SD40 CSX) No No Yes
Timetable Beta

Timetable

Full 2017 Timetable


CSX Heavy Haul
Locomotives AC4400CW - GP38-2 - SD40-2
Rolling Stock BethgonII® Coal Gondola - Husky Stack® 53-foot Container Car - 89-foot Bi-Level Auto Rack - 5201-Cubic Foot Covered Car - 30,500 Gallon Tank Car - 50 foot Plate C Boxcar
Locations Cumberland - Sand Patch - Shaw Mine - Rockwood Mine
Operators CSX Transportation
Tutorials Intro Sequence Tutorial - Yard Switching - Locomotive Turntable - Locomotive Refuelling - AC4400CW Introduction - Coal Loading - Train Brakes: Theory - SD40-2 Introduction - GP38-2 Introduction
Scenarios Sand Patch Summit - A Helping Hand - Clear Cut - Fully Fuelled - Cumberland Charge - Ice and Snow - Powering America Part 1 - Powering America Part 2 - Cumberland Switchback
Journeys GP38-2 Engineer - SD40-2 Engineer - AC4400 Engineer
Guides Driving the SD40-2, GP38-2 and GP40-2 - Driving the AC4400CW - The Alerter - Switching/Shunting - Loading Coal - CSX Collectibles
Miscellaneous Signalling - Service Mode Timetable
DLC CSX GP40-2 - CSX C40-8W
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