In the Shadow of Shasta

Jan 26, 2022

Written by Gary Dolzall

Tough mountain railroading, and fast open country running aboard classic diesels, awaits you with the upcoming Southern Pacific’s Mount Shasta Line for Train Simulator!

The steel rails twist and climb relentlessly upward from the heart of the Sacramento River Valley, cross ancient lava fields under the shadow of 14,179-foot Mount Shasta, then descent through the wide-open high plains of the Lower Klamath Basin. Famous and quite fabulous, the railroad is Southern Pacific’s Mount Shasta Line – and its coming soon to Train Simulator!

Stretching 108 route miles between the railroad towns of Dunsmuir, California and Klamath Falls, Oregon, set in 1983, and created for Train Simulator by accomplished developer Milepost Simulations, the upcoming Mount Shasta Line: Dunsmuir - Klamath Falls route brings to life a demanding and scenic section of Southern Pacific’s busy main line connecting California with the Pacific Northwest.

Southern Pacific was legendary for its mountain crossing and passes – Donner, Tehachapi, and Beaumont among them – and SP’s Mount Shasta Line stood solidly among the railroad’s pantheon of tough mountain railroading. In the 1980s, the line was part of SP’s Oregon Division and the section between Dunsmuir and Klamath Falls was the Black Butte Subdivision (or District), the name coming from a town in northern California where the line connected with SP’s noted Siskiyou Subdivision. Black Butte is also the name of a towering volcanic lava dome that stands nearby and adjacent to Mount Shasta.

Constructed by the historic Central Pacific beginning in 1870 and part of the Southern Pacific since 1885, the line was improved in the early twentieth century during the tenure of SP’s energetic E.H. Harriman. From Dunsmuir, at an elevation of 2,290 feet, the route follows the path of the Sacramento River Valley to eventually reach its 5,063-foot summit at Grass Lake, California. To achieve its ascent of more than 2,700 feet, the line calls upon gradients of two percent and a renowned double-horseshoe – the Cantara Loop – south of Azalea, California. Then, once over its summit, the route proceeds under the gaze of volcanic Mount Shasta as its descends on grades of approximately one percent into the sprawling plains of the Klamath Basin. Today, the line is a key portion of Union Pacific’s “I-5” north-south rail corridor.

With Train Simulator’s upcoming Mount Shasta Line: Dunsmuir - Klamath Falls route, you’ll experience everything from tough and unrelenting mountain railroading on the southern portion of the line to fast-paced, 60-mph running in the north. Tonnage on the route, by tradition, has keynoted by lumber and lumber products from the Pacific Northwest and Canada, but the line also hosts priority intermodal traffic moving between the Pacific Northwest and Southern California. To move all that freight, you’ll climb aboard SP’s potent and distinctive Electro-Motive SD40T-2 “Tunnel Motor” and much-admired EMD SD9E first-generation diesels, the latter of which were nicknamed “Cadillacs” by Southern Pacific crews for their fine riding qualities. Joining the motive power will be a selection of eight types of freight rolling stock in multiple liveries, including an SP steel bay-window caboose. And you’ll be ready to get right to work, thanks to seven realistic career scenarios and a selection of free-roam scenarios, plus the route will be Quick-Drive enabled.

Get ready to climb aboard and experience legendary and challenging western railroading – with the upcoming Southern Pacific Mount Shasta Line: Dunsmuir - Klamath Falls route for Train Simulator! – Gary Dolzall

To move heavy tonnage over the upcoming Mount Shasta Line, the Train Simulator route will include SP’s distinctive Electro-Motive SD40T-2 “Tunnel Motor” (right) and much-admired EMD SD9E first-generation diesels (left), the latter of which were nicknamed “Cadillacs” by Southern Pacific crews for their fine riding qualities.

The south end of the upcoming Mount Shasta Line is Dunsmuir, California. A trio of Southern Pacific EMD SD40T-2s have tonnage is tow as they work through Dunsmuir (above), then a brief time later, in an engineer’s eye view looking through the unit’s large “L-windshield,” the SDs overtake a Southern Pacific local freight (below).

Approaching Cantara Loop, a set of SP EMD SD9Es are sandwiched between the Sacramento River and a slide-fence protected cliff. Overhead, another freight can be seen on the upper part of the horseshoe (above). The consist of the SD9-powered freight is dramatically wrapped around the lower horseshoe as the train makes its climb on a two percent grade (below).

Fifteen miles north of Dunsmuir on the Mount Shasta Line stands the scenic town of Mount Shasta, California, which, quite naturally, gets its name from the towering mountain that looms nearby. Mount Shasta, standing 14,179 feet tall, is considered a potentially active volcano and is monitored by the United States Geological Survey.

The rugged and remote country in the area of Mount Shasta and Black Butte is at times other-worldly with its remnants of ancient lava flows. A southbound Southern Pacific manifest is kicking up wintry snow (above), and then curls below the twin towers of the Black Butte lava dome and Mount Shasta (below).

The northern end of the Mount Shasta line is open high plains country. Working a local freight, a pair of Southern Pacific SD9Es are making a lineside pick-up (above). As an engineer of the SD9E, you’ll work from a traditional first-general diesel control stand (below). Southern Pacific was the owner of 149 EMD SD9s (the most by any railroad) and upgraded many of the veteran units at its Sacramento (California) shops, thus the “SD9E” designation.

A quartet of snow-dressed SP SD40T-2s hustle freight south through Midland, Oregon. Southern Pacific rostered 229 of the distinctive Tunnel Motors. On the north end of the railroad, you’ll be able to stretch the legs of the big EMDs with 60-mph running.

Joining the SD40T-2 and SD9E on the upcoming Shasta Line route will be a selection of eight types of freight rolling stock in multiple liveries, including an SP steel bay-window caboose.

At the north end of the upcoming route, Klamath Falls, Oregon, SP SD9E 4431 eases off the turntable bound for the roundhouse. Get ready to climb aboard and experience legendary and challenging western railroading – with the Southern Pacific Mount Shasta Line: Dunsmuir - Klamath Falls route that’s coming soon to Train Simulator!