Marias Pass

Description HereWelcome to the Super Highway of the North! Although Marias Pass is among the lowest railroad crossings of the Continental Divide in the United States at 5,213 feet, nothing is small about BNSF Railway’s route through northwest Montana. Built by James J. Hill’s Great Northern Railway in the 1890s, the line across Marias Pass remains a critical transcontinental route to the Pacific Northwest as well as a spectacular place to enjoy mountain railroading. This super rail highway, owned today by BNSF, is a vital artery for the movement of freight and passengers passing through the Rocky Mountains. Though its mainline is primarily single track, it utilizes numerous sidings and amazing feats of engineering to make this passage possible. Map Features and Challenges Highly detailed real-world topography (1/3 arc second detail) Mainline Connection Game Play™ Real world proportional freight types and directional demands, placement and naming of local industries, and road placements Ballast out cropping and small roads/tunnels marking where the line travels, tunnels, and crosses areas at various points Operate the Amtrak Empire Builder serving cities along the line Serve the region's local industries and subdivisions via imported region freight and ship finished products down line Conquer terrain and engineering challenges Mainline Connection Game Play™ This is a new style of map gameplay I have developed that primarily focuses on the transportation of items from Point A to Point B vs. the standard TF logistics of connecting and completing all of the building steps and processes. Locations on each side of the line's exit of the map are called "Portals". Portals reflect real world freight types and proportional good demand in their various directions of travel. Portal Import/Export Examples: Intermodal traffic heading east is roughly double the number of west bound goods on the Marias Pass. Crude oil from the Dakota oil fields travels west to coastal refineries an