Message Areas - "Marias Pass from 35,000 feet"

Train-Sim.Com Message Areas

"Marias Pass from 35,000 feet"

Email this topic to a friend
Printer-friendly version of this topic
Bookmark this topic (Registered users only)
Previous Topic | Next Topic Conferences Microsoft Train Simulator (Protected) Original message
avallillo (15 posts)
Aug-23-01, 05:23 PM (EST) "Marias Pass from 35,000 feet" The other day, whilst plying my regular trade (you know, the other stuff I do when not using MSFS or MSTS!) I had what is, up to this point at least, a special opportunity. The normal jet routes between the east and northwest tend to miss Marias Pass by about 60 miles or so on either side. This day, however, we received a long direct path (Duluth to Spokane direct, as I recall) and I began to wonder if we would overfly the nascent virtual railroad world's most famous prototype Rocky Mountain crossing. A quick glance at the "Captain's Atlas" (a special overprinted Rand McNally designed for geographically challenged airline pilots making those poetic PA announcements about the route) confirmed that indeed we would be right over the route. This called for a quick search for Shelby, which turns out to be easy to find due to its' position on a prominent river and an Interstate highway. Notwithstanding the old saw about early aviators navigating by the "Iron Compass" (the Railroad), nowadays, from almost any altitude, roads are much easier to spot than railroads. Fortunately, the BNSF runs very close to US highway 2 here, just as it does in its' other magnificent crossing, Stevens Pass, in the Cascades. Rte 2 is easy to spot out of Shelby. Aided by memory of the excellent topographic map of the route availble on these very virtual pages, we finally picked out the rail line.Of course, in Train Sim one cannot maneuver the trackside camera to an altidude of 35,000 feet. Likewise, I could not, in all conscience, take the 757 down to an altitude approximating that of the camera! (Not enough MSTS fans on board, no doubt!) The first thing that strikes you as you look down on the real BNSF, is the sheer magnitude of the challenge the original builders faced. The second thing that strikes you is the sheer magnitude of the digital challenge that the developers faced in digitizing all of this! Although I probably don't have the experience on the route in Train Sim that many of you do, I have in fact been the full length of it once (at over 100 mph with derail turned off!) Even from 35,000 feet there are a lot of things that looked familiar, the yard at Whitefish principal among them. Unfortunately, I lacked a camera, or this missive would have been illustrated. All in all, I have to say that my hat is off to the artists who put this all together for us. They have done an excellent job.If you happen to be on a flight transiting the northwest, you have several options for trying to locate the route. In terms of navigation facilities planes use, Shelby lies around 30 (plus or minus) miles north of a fix called Great Falls. Whitefish lies around 10 miles north of the Kallispel airport. If the plane you are on has the newer entertainment system, it may include a moving map, which should help you orient yourself a bit. Otherwise, a request passed thru a flight attendant to the cockpit for the exact routing may get a response. Be mindful of the fact that portable GPS receivers, which would otherwise be the best way to locate yourself, are generally prohibited in flight, since they can, believe it or not, interfere with the same equipment in the airplane.As I said, you don't always get routed right over the pass. But it is worth a peek if you do. Alert Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top
Table of Contents

Subject Author Message Date ID RE: Marias Pass from 35,000 feet MATE Aug-24-01 1 RE: Marias Pass from 35,000 feet avallillo Aug-24-01 2

Lobby | Topics | Previous Topic | Next Topic
Messages in this topic
MATE (11 posts)
Aug-24-01, 01:48 AM (EST) 1. "RE: Marias Pass from 35,000 feet" That would have been great seeing it laid out beneath you. As you said you enjoy F/S as well ,do you know if anyone has made the pass as terrain in flight sim so you can fly over it there ? Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top
avallillo (15 posts)
Aug-24-01, 01:17 PM (EST) 2. "RE: Marias Pass from 35,000 feet" LAST EDITED ON Aug-24-01 AT 01:18 PM (EST)Actually, the default scenery in MSFS2000 is quite good for sightseeing. To fly the pass, start either at Kalispel airport on the west side (KFCA) or the airport at Shelby (yes, Shelby has an airport!), the identifier for which escapes me at the moment. Just use the GOTO AIRPORT feature and search on Montana, Shelby. Of course, the railroad is missing, but highway 2 shows up fairly well. It's easier from Shelby - head out on around a 275 heading until you pick up the highway near Cutbank (river) and follow it west. When you come to an area where the road splits off, follow the one with a heading of around 225 or so. Use a very fast plane or the slew mode to keep from getting bored! It's a good idea to have a road map nearby. MSFS scenery is nowhere near as detailed at ground level as train sim is - the roads and rivers are just "painted" on, sometimes on the sides of the hills. Altitudes above 8,000 feet yield a better looking view.I had taken soome representative screenshots, but I see no way to include them in this message. C'est la vie!One trip through in MSFS though, and you will know why FS scenery would be of little use in train sim, even if they were compatible!
Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

Lock | Archive | Remove

Lobby | Topics | Previous Topic | Next Topic