GM&O Northern Lines

[J.A.V.]

Anywhere Amtrak serves on this route? I'm getting all the routes I can that has places that Amtrak serves or just runs by.

[tbundy1982]

Yes, this is the present-day route of the Texas Eagle and Lincoln Service trains between Chicago and St. Louis. It was also part of the 'higher speed rail' initiative several years back and was upgraded for 110 mph service. Unfortunately, I think the short run from Pontiac to Dwight is the only section so far that runs 110 mph.

IIRC, the Northern Lines was a WIP route that was not finished. It was a truly ambitious project. Unfortunately, there are many areas that have yet to receive scenery. I had a v2.0 ScaleRail version of the route at one time, but I don't think the scenery had progressed much further in that version.

It is, however, the full route all the way from Union Station in Chicago to St. Louis Union Station, set back when the B&O-era signals were still in place. The B&O owned the Chicago & Alton before 1947 and had installed their unique Color Position Light signals along the double-track route. The GM&O purchased the Alton in 1947 and single-tracked the line in, I think, the mid-1960s. CTC was installed at that time along the whole route, but they reused the existing signals. I think the CPL signals lasted into the 1990s before being replaced. The GM&O Springfield Switch route is the same line, but just a short, well-detailed section in the Springfield, IL area.

The previous operators of this route were: Chicago & Alton(-1947), Gulf, Mobile & Ohio(1947-1972), Illinois Central Gulf(1972-1987), Chicago, Missouri & Western(1987-1989), Southern Pacific Chicago St. Louis SPCSL (1989-1996), Union Pacific(1996-present).

You will find that the St. Louis area has errors in the 1.8 release in the file library. Search the forum for the fix, I think it was renaming a backup world tile.

Tyler