General Electric established itself as an independent builder of mainline diesel locomotives in 1959 with its 2,500-horsepower U25B, and throughout the 1960s and into the 1970s, GE produced an ever-expanding – and more powerful – line of “Universal”-series diesels, which came to be widely nicknamed as “U-boats.”
From the debut of the U25B until GE introduced its “Dash 7” series in the late 1970s, approximately 3,500 U-Boats of various designations were constructed, and the best seller of GE’s U-boat line was the 3,000-horsepower, six-axle (C-C) U30C. First delivered in 1967 and produced through 1976, 600 U30Cs were constructed by GE for 22 original buyers.
Almost universally, the husky U30C was put to work hauling heavy tonnage and, often as not, coal. In 1967-68, the Chesapeake & Ohio purchased 13 U30Cs which saw use throughout the railroad’s system. With the introduction of the “Chessie System” livery in 1972, the C&O U30Cs took on that distinctive and colorful livery until the locomotives were retired in the mid-1980s.
Virtual Rail Creations (VRC) now brings the Chessie U30C to Train Simulator in a highly authentic model with advanced controls and a variety of interactive cab and operating features. The U30C offers standard and advanced cold start-up features and is provided in clean and weathered Chessie System livery editions. The locomotive is representative of the U30C “Phase I” carbody style which was virtually identical to its immediate predecessor, the U28C.
The Chessie U30C pack also includes a 100-ton coal hopper in Chessie System and generic liveries and four career scenario for the Norfolk Southern Coal District route (available separately and required to play the scenarios). The U30C is Quick Drive compatible, giving you the freedom to use the locomotive on any Quick Drive enabled route for Train Simulator.
The Chessie System U30C Loco Add-On includes four challenging scenarios for the
route (available separately).
More scenarios are available on Steam Workshop online and in-game. Train Simulator’s Steam Workshop scenarios are free and easy to download, adding many more hours of gameplay. With scenarios being added daily, why don’t you check it out now!