The General Electric U25B, as it first rolled out of GE’s Erie (Pennsylvania) factory, was destined to be one of the most significant diesel locomotives in North American railroading history. It was the U25B – introduced in 1959 and nicknamed “the U-Boat” – that set General Electric on a long path to end the locomotive market domination of the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors.
Now, the ground-breaking and much-admired, 2,500-horsepower, four-axle General Electric U25B – together with its six-axle (C-C) U-Boat sister, the U25C – comes to Train Simulator Classic in the liveries of six legendary BNSF predecessor railroads!
General Electric had long been a fixture in railroading, but it was the innovative U25B, which mated the company’s potent FDL-series four-cycle, 16-cylinder diesel power plant with GE’s time-proven electrical equipment which took General Electric head-long into the competition for sales of North American mainline diesel locomotives.
Rated at 2,500 horsepower, the new U25B quickly became a major player in the diesel “horsepower race” of the early 1960s. In 1962, GE sent a quartet of U25Bs on a barnstorming tour of the U.S., and the railroads signed on. During the next four years, through February 1966, General Electric would construct 478 U25Bs for sixteen Class 1 railroads.
With curved carbody and long, low nose (a few early U25Bs were constructed in high-nose configuration), the U25B was as stylish as it was innovative. If anything, the U25Bs popularity among railroads was exceeded by its appeal to train-watchers, who welcomed both its distinctive style and the pounding cadence of its FDL diesel power plant.
In 1963, a six-axle, six-motor sister, the U25C, joined the GE catalog and through 1965 seven buyers inked orders for 113 six-axle examples. The U25C’s largest purchaser was Northern Pacific, and three of the famed “Hill Lines” (all soon to be merged into Burlington Northern) were buyers of the U-Boats. In addition to Northern Pacific, Great Northern acquired 24 U25Bs and Burlington Route (CB&Q) sampled both the U25B (six units) and the U25C (12 units). When created in 1970, Burlington Northern thus inherited a robust U-Boat fleet of 82 locomotives.
Masterfully created for Train Simulator Classic by accomplished developer DTM, the General Electric U-Boats in this remarkable DLC wear Burlington Northern, Great Northern, Burlington Route, and Northern Pacific liveries. The Frisco (St. Louis-San Francisco), which rostered 24 U25Bs, was merged into Burlington Northern in 1980 and Frisco’s red/orange-and-white U25Bs are included in the pack as well. Burlington Northern merged with Santa Fe in 1996 to form today’s BNSF and thus joining this pack’s U-Boat menagerie is also the classic blue and yellow U25B of the AT&SF!
The U-Boat locomotives for Train Simulator Classic are rich in authentic operating features, deliver road-specific details, and are equipped with advanced air brakes. Also included in this extraordinary DLC are steel cabooses in the liveries of five BNSF predecessor railroads, plus a diverse selection of boxcars, gondolas, covered hoppers, cement cars, and Thrall coal gondolas, many in multiple liveries.
The DLC includes four scenarios on the Train Simulator Classic Marias Pass route and is Quick-Drive enabled. With its extraordinary variety of locomotive liveries and equipment, the pack will be an ideal way to realistically put General Electric’s landmark U-Boats to work on a variety of superb Train Simulator Classic routes.
The locomotive that helped change the face and history of North American railroading – the remarkable General Electric U25B “U-Boat” (along with its six-axle sister, the U25C) – is now available for Train Simulator Classic!
Included Scenarios
The U25 Loco Add-On includes 4 career scenarios for the Marias Pass route:
- The Scrap Train
- Woodchips
- The Grain Train
- Cement Train
More scenarios are available on the Steam Workshop online and in-game. Train Simulator’s Steam Workshop scenarios are free and easy to download, adding many more hours of exciting gameplay. With scenarios being added daily, why don’t you check it out now!
Key Features
- General Electric ground-breaking 2,500-horsepower four-axle U25B diesel locomotive
- U25B in Burlington Northern, Great Northern (2), Burlington Route, Santa Fe, and Frisco liveries
- General Electric 2,500-horsepower six-axle U25C diesel locomotive
- U25C in Burlington Northern, Burlington Route, and Northern Pacific liveries
- Locomotives feature authentic operating characteristics, road-specific details, and advanced air brakes
- Steel cupola cabooses in BN, GN, NP, CB&Q (2), and Frisco liveries.
- Freight cars in multiple BNSF-predecessor liveries, including boxcars, gondolas, covered hoppers, cement cars, Thrall gondolas
- Four career scenarios on the Train Simulator Classic Marias Pass route
- Quick Drive compatible
- Download size: 873 MB
