The Clovis Sub is my current work in progress.  The modelled route will depict nearly 120 miles of continuous high speed modern Class 1 railroading.  The western end of the route will be just west of Belen NM.  The eastern end will be east of the Union Pacific junction at Vaughn NM.  It is yet to be decided if the route will be released in one part or two.  Most likely it will be a single large release, but it just may be released in two sections - Belen to Willard and Willard to Vaughn.

This route will be challenging on two levels.  Do you fancy driving an 8000 foot intermodal train headed by a trio of BNSF SD70ACEs with a pair of SD40-2s shoving on the rear over an undulating route at speeds up to 70 mph?  Or would you rather leave the driving to the Trainz AI and concentrate on keeping trains running as seven different Portals produce and consume over 100 trains in a 24-hour period?  Either way this one is for you.

As stated the route is still in production and is not even close to testing.  Current plans are to have it released in the second quarter of 2008, but as always, such plans are subject to change without notice!

BNSF CLOVIS SUB

...miles and miles of not a lot...

Screenshots - click the thumb to open a 1024x768 image in a new window....

Mountainair NM is the summit of the route between Belen and Vaughn.  In late ATSF days an eastbound drag of empty hoppers grinds to a stand after the long climb from Belen as a hot Westbound autoparts train thunders through town while a trio of helpers wait in the siding behind the depot to drift back westwards in its wake.

Mountainair again as a UP manifest down from the junction at Vaughn works westwards.

More UP action at Mountainair.

West of Mountainair.

Ditto :)

This one is a few miles East of Mountainair.

A westbound thunders past the disused depot at Abo...

... and is caught again a few moments later as it nears the small town.

Union Pacific in Abo Canyon.

  Too many UP skins on this page!  A large rail-served industrial area at Madrone near Belen is just about the only switching opportunity on this route.

Norfolk Southern power is regularly seen in prototype photos.  This eastbound has just crossed the Rio Grande between Belen and Madrone,

NS again,

  ATSF westbound on the long fill approaching the Rio Grande bridge.

  Irrigated farmland between the Rio Grande and Belen.

Belen NM is the only major station on the route.  'Pit-stop' refuelling is a feature of the line.  This rack serves eastbound trains, a similar rack at the other end of the station serves westbounds.  Just about every train stops at Belen for fuel and/or inspection.  I have kept the length of the station as per the prototype, but in the interests of decent frame rates the model of Belen is much narrower than in reality. A pet peeve of mine is rail yards modelled full size, but left empty to conserve computer resources. 

Southern Pacific power is pretty inappropriate, but SP_OR_BUST's unreleased SP C44-9W is hard to resist.  A trio of them are seen here leading an eastbound through that photogenic bend between Belen and Madrone.

The same train passing the Alastair Dussart memorial located at the Madrone junction.  This is the spot where I was working when HJP passed away.

The memorial seen in close-up.

The same SP train again, passing the tiny hamlet of Becker.

An El Paso - Albuquerque freight passes through Belen yard with the Eastbound refuelling racks in the background.

Texturing and detailing proceed at Belen Yard and the basic town of Belen (much reduced in size as compared to the prototype) is sketched in.  The town is behind the camera in this shot - no screenies till it is more-or-less done!  This shot of Belen Yard looks almost directly south from about the centre of the yard.  The train on the left is by-passing Belen using the Belen Cut-Off which leaves the Main just west of the Rio Grande Bridge and approaches Belen almost directly from the east while the Main swings away in a long reverse curve before approaching Belen from the south.  The cut-off forms a wye as it enters Belen yard.  In the distance above the locos is the Eastbound fuel rack.  The train on the far side of the yard is about to pass the Belen Depot.  The scene was set up to test frame rates - another couple of trains were approaching from the west with all four timed to pass the town area together.  Framerates are OK at this stage, but lots more ground texture still to be put down.  So far so good...

Much the same shot, but from the opposite side of the track.  Texturing and detailing assumes a low camera angle - the route is definitely not at its best viewed from a helicopter!

Much the same shot as above, but from a better angle..

... but low shots are best :)

A westbound ATSF freight approaches Belen Yard on the cut-off.

Way down the other end of the route near Willard an eastbound trailer train eases around the last bend on the Stage 1 route - from here it is all straight running to the Eastern Portals.  The train is 8000 feet long, weighs over 6000 tons and is headed down an 0.7% downgrade at 70 mph.  How the heck do they stop.....

Back at Belen texturing is pretty much completed in the yard.  A westbound auto rack passes the yard loco service area as it slows for the westbound fuel rack...

... where it will pause for refuelling and inspection.

An eastbound ex Albuquerque bound for Vaughn passes below the highway bridge at the western end of Belen yard.

Union Pacific southbound on the single track line from Belen to El Paso.

Eastbound Q-LACKCK3 (Los Angeles to Kansas City) approaches Belen from the West with part of the much-reduced town in the background...

...and a short while later passes through irrigated farmland between Blen and the Rio Grande.

The next three shots show an overview of the pretty-much-completed Belen yard.  In this shot an eastbound stack train enters the yard under the Interstate Highway bridge as an unlikely Rock Island consist pauses for fuel at the west-bound fuel rack.  The much-reduced Belen loco service area can be seen in the centre distance,

  The same stack train a few minutes later with the loco service area immediately above the train locos.  The local fuel depot is the only rail-served industry in town.

  The east end of Belen yard with the 8,000 foot stack train drawing to a stand at the east pit-stop fuel rack.  The scope of the yard can be seen in this shot - the fuel depot and the sanding towers at the loco service area can just be seen through the distant haze.  Also visible is the disused depot building across the yard and the wye access to the Belen Cut-off.  The locos in the screenie are facing south, the wye and the cut-off head straight east.  As the train leaves Belen on the main it will swing through two long reverse curves and rejoin the cut-off track at Jarles.   Draw distance about 2 km.

CSX power in the form of Nikos1's new skins of Sp_or_busts C40-8's works hard against the 0.7% grade getting underway west of Belen.

A little farther along the line the train is just a mile or so from the California Portals.

Eastern coal westbound through Belen yard.

Way down at the other end of the route an eastbound thunders through the small settlement at Willard with just another mile or so to the Eastern Portals.

Near Madrone, just east of Belen.

Westbound entering the single track section through Abo Canyon.  The billboard is based on an actual sign in the area.

View of a deserted Belen Yard from the front platform of an old Geep.

Just east of Belen.

The disused Belen depot - the model is chosen from what is available and bears no resemblance to the prototype.

Westbound at Madrone.

Three wide angle views following an eastbound freight between Abo Canyon and Mountainair...

C44's westbound at Mountainair.

Westbound climbing the grade to Broncho.

Another westbound passing Willard.

Eastbound hoppers east of Mountainair...

,,, and passing Willard.

Westbound auto racks in Abo Canyon...

... and approaching Belen.

Belen Yard again with an Eastbound off the Albuquerque line avoiding the yard ...

... by taking the cut-off to Jarles.

Two Westbounds pause for fuel and inspection at Belen as an Eastbound trailer train rumbles past.

Probably my favourite rail-fanning spot on the route, along the line near the small town of Abo.

  View from the front platform of an old Geep as a westbound trailer train thunders past.

This and the screenie below are about an hour into the session 'Belen Dispatcher' which will be released with the route...

Belen's pit-stop fuel racks are filling fast to get these trains back on the road.

Early morning congestion at East Sais, the Eastbound start of the Abo Canyon single track section.

A long westbound mixed freight crosses over from M2 to M1 at Kayser.

Long shot across the fields towards Belen.

Download Clovis 1 from checkrail.com