Train Simulator: Pietermaritzburg - Ladysmith Gift Steam GLOBAL

The latest route for Train Simulator captures the rugged beauty of South Africa. This route will take you on a 3’6” Cape gauge line through twenty six stations or halts on the way. Experience a range of terrain, from lush green plantations, winding rivers, traversing gorges, numerous tunnels, mountain sides, deep valleys and open plains. Travel through the rolling green hills of Pietermaritzburg at a height of 672 m and end approximately 191 km further north at Ladysmith, 1037m above sea level. The route starts at Masons Mill’s huge railway yard and depot just outside Pietermaritzburg in the KwaZulu Natal province of South Africa. From there it winds with double, electrified track to the first major station on the route, Pietermaritzburg. Travelling north from Pietermaritzburg, it forms two complete balloons (loops) at Boughton station, in order to negotiate the narrow valley at the foot of the first mountain range, then climbing to the first tunnels at Cedara, two single bores each 6km long. After Cedara, the line continues to progress through more tunnels, river crossings and a few major stations, surrounded by plantations, factories and the occasional traditional village next to the line. Between Merrivale and Tweedie is the huge wall of the Midmar dam, a spectacle to tourists, which can be seen from the line. The product features Class 6E1 Series 4 3Kv DC electric locomotives, designed and built for the South African Railways (SAR) by Union Carriage and Wagon (UCW) in Nigel, Transvaal. One hundred locomotives were delivered in 1973 and 1974, numbered E1446 to E1545. The South African Class 6E1 was produced in eleven series over a period of nearly sixteen years, with 960 units produced altogether, all built by UCW. This makes the 6E1 the most numerous single locomotive class ever to have seen service in South Africa and serves as proof of a highly successful design. The locomotive is presented in four livery variations, Blue, Red, Red with yellow stripes and Orange. In addition, a selection of wagons is included along with a passenger car.