Brown Streak Railroad

Revision as of 12:29, 25 February 2010 by gtw>DarkHedge
File:MorningTrainfromLosSantos.jpg
A Brown Streak leaving Los Santos for Las Venturas

The Brown Streak Railroad is a fictional railroad entity within Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, meant to mimic that of the Silver Streak Railroad, California's Metrolink, Amtrak(?), and CalTrain systems. Its slogan is "Go for the Brown". The Brown Streak Railroad also shares its tracks with non-passenger freight services.

Overview

File:BrownStreakAdvert.jpg
An advert, found in San Fierro
File:Freight1.jpg
A Brown Streak Freight Train leaving San Fierro for Los Santos

The Brown Streak Railroad is a combination of passenger and freight rail operating within the State of San Andreas. It is most likely named after the Silver Streak Railroad. The name could also be a reference to a brown spot of feces on the underwear due to inadequate wiping of the buttocks. The service is based off of California commuter railroads such as Caltrain and Metrolink.

The passenger train is the Brown Streak, usually operating with one locomotive and two passenger cars, with an occasional three-car set. These locomotives are based on the EMD F40PH and the cars are based off of Amtrak Superliners. Service is operated 24 hours a day, and tickets can be purchased from ticket windows, vending machines and aboard trains. The freight train consists of a locomotive and three or four flatcars, and is based on the EMD SD40-2. All locomotives are diesel powered, with no electrified tracks.

Trains are totally indestructible. It is impossible to damage a train by any normal means, even attacking it with a Rhino. It is, however, possible to derail a train. This is done by hijacking the train and accelerating it until the train leaves the tracks, usually done while taking a turn too quickly. At this point the main locomotive will break apart from the cars and will slide until it finally comes to rest. If the player was in the process of a train mission, that mission is now considered a failure.

As in Grand Theft Auto 1, players can hijack a train and drive it themselves. Additional sub-missions also involve operating the train and delivering cargo to stations within the allowed time limit. If one has successfully completed the freight train sub-missions, the player can take train rides free of charge.

Stations

Los Santos

  • Unity Station in the El Corona district, a play on Union Station in Downtown Los Angeles. This station has two side platforms and vending machines.
  • Market Station in the Market district, possibly referring to a station on the Metro Red Line. Also has a side platform, but only on Track 2. Ticket Machines are available.

San Fierro

  • Cranberry Station, in the Doherty district, with 2 side platforms and 1 island platform. Features a glass atrium, ticket offices and vending machines. A San Fierro cable car line is located directly in front of the station's entrance. The station is right across the warehouse in San Fierro. Inside the station, in the bottom-right corner, is a camera.

Las Venturas

  • Yellow Bell Station, in the Prickle Pine district, with side platforms. Ticket offices and vending machines are also available. Free parking is also available for those who wish to use the lots.
  • Sobell Rail Yards in eastern Las Venturas near Linden Station. It has a little platform which is not required in sub-missions.

Route

The Brown Streak Railroad runs a full circuit throughout the entire state of San Andreas, with two tracks providing service. At two points, the rails combine into a single track and run for a couple of miles before parting back into 2 tracks. In Los Santos, a track connects to the main circuit and is a more industrial line. This line cannot be driven on in the game and is merely for show. In San Fierro, a track connects to the main line and leads to the docks in Easter Basin. This is also an unusable track, although a path file for it exists within the game's programming. In general, all trains use the inner track, with a few exceptions: during the Introductory Mission, Wrong Side of the Tracks and Snail Trail.

There are several Railroad Crossings all around the state of San Andreas. The crossings have red flashing lights and barriers that come down when a train approaches, except in Los Santos where all but 3 crossings, 2 of which are on the unused freight depot siding, have no alarm systems at all. Depending on the speed of the approaching train, the barriers may not be fully down by the time the train gets there, causing players to drive through and getting hit by the train, which usually causes cars to explode and kill you. Pedestrians still walk across the crossings regardless if the barrier is down, and if the barrier is down for more than 15 seconds the cars will drive through the barrier anyway (causing it to fall off).


File:SobellRailYards.jpg
The Sobell Rail Yards in Las Venturas

Frequency of Service

Trains will usually depart within thirty seconds of arriving on a station platform. Trains can also be spotted en route between stations.

Freight Missions

After the Yay Ka-Boom-Boom mission, freight missions are activated. Completion of all freight missions is rewarded with free train rides. To start a freight mission, simply hijack a train, either freight or passenger.

Trivia

Another proof of Rockstar's risque humor, the name Brown Streak may refer to excrement, and the slogan "Go for the Brown" may imply that the passengers are riding on poor, crappy trains.