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Well, ok, completely out of subject here, but, what the hell, don't tell you never played toy trains (or at least dreamed of it once in your life), 'cause I wouldn't believe you.

After MS discontinued the planned project for a Train Simulator #2, I felt growing a love/hate relationship with MSTS: too many bugs, graphic features getting older and older as years went by, and possibility to create your own stuff too much complicated... it was getting boring.

Just a couple of months ago by chance I discovered an Australian software house named Auran was on the market with a competitor, and constantly upgrading it with huge service packages (the last one 713 MB!). Well well, let's give it a try - after all, it can't be worse, judging from the screenies I saw.

The only thing left me some doubts was that "seriour" simmers were snobbering it in the past, 'cause Trainz Railway Simulator (this is the name) wasn't a true train sim, but rather a "model-train" sim. That is, playing toy trains!

Anyway, as releases followed releases, Trainz added more realistic features, like coupler-straining, derailements, and more accurate vehicle physics. Moreover, here you can drive from a fully working virtual cab.

In the end, I'll add some screenshots of mine, case they may tempt you when you're tired of fresh air and want to breath some coal. Ehr, the game includes tons of diesel and electric locos, but I love steamers, so you'll see them exclusively, here.


Marco

Given a season with no snow at all, better to begin with this "Winter in the Alps", which is a stock layout; the locos and rolling-stock are freeware add-ons, instead, and of the sweetest quality.

A German Br64 with a set of Donnerbuechsen passenger-cars shares the scene with a lovely little Prussian T-3 in DRG livery. After passing over bridges and trough galleries, they'll cross each other somewhere.








Marco

Intersting, Marco. More steamers, please. Locomotive cab interiors? (Maybe not, if it's model train based).

Ascout,

all the stock locos have fully working virtual cab interiors; that is, no 2d sights like in MSTS, but virtual cabs you can pan around, with working gauges and working valves and levers. You can also shovel the coal, and see the personnel doing the job.

Of the add-on freeware and payware stuff, some have their proper cabs, but many just alias to other existing stock cabs - it seems modelling a cab here is a bit tricky.

I'll post screenies taken from the cab of an impressive Union Pacific Big Boy - which is stock asset in Trainz.

One nice thing in this sim is that you can drive up to 7 trains on the same layout, directly or through AI drivers you can give orders (there are rules and scripts for this). So far, I've been always able to avoid collisions, but, who knows?

Marco

P.S.: no multiplayer, sorry.

From snowy Alps to the pale sun of Yorkshire; this scenery is realistic, and a freeware. The beautiful Crab is payware by a designer named Gary Price (£. 3,00), instead, and no cab, but it's gorgeous! The coaches are all freeware, and they load and unload passengers at stations.

steam is for sissies. Diesel is for real men but im biased cause all we use is diesel where i work

Granpappy Skwirrell use to drive steam until the lectricks came in when he retired rather than switch.
Used to work out of Nine Elms and Covent Garden (or vice versa... my London history's not up to snuff).
Pappy Skwirrell shovelled coal for him a few times while he was doing his Engineer's apprenticeship and a very young Skwirrell (I wasn't quite red in those days) got to eat his brekkie from the fireman's shovel once upon a time.
Best brekkie ever, including the coke! lol

Are the stations modeled well, like Heidleburg, Köln, Stazione Centrale Milan or Sta. Maria Novella Firenze? I use a lot of those and it would be cool to see them in the sim.

It depends on the intentions of the designers, Ascout.

Many layouts are fantasy ones, and they just try to reproduce a general environment, but some are quite accurate.
For instance, I have an Italian located scenery where Brescia's station is well replicated, as well as the general surroundings, as they were in the '70s.

The first pic of the previous post depicts York's station, but I couldnt' say how much accurate it is; it also depends on the era where the layout is placed.

The fact is: if you want to reproduce a particular station, you can. There's a full stock of buildings, vehicles, objects of any kind you can use, including any sort of trees, flowers, waterfalls, brigdes, and, of course, tracks, roads, turnouts and so on. If you're looking for something particular that's not available as stock, you can easily find it around on the web.


Marco

P.S.: to my knowledge, there's not a Milan station in Trainz (while there's more than one for MSTS), but I know there's an ongoing project for the "Porrettana", a panoramic route joining Bologna Centrale - Firenze S.M. Novella.

PP.SS.: these same designers are about to release an ambitious project (but this one is payware) named "West of Denver". I saw some astounding previews, and they say it's as realistic as it can be.

Just a couple I had ready at hand, but more will follow.
The scary impression can give you an approaching monster, the Union Pacific Challenger (this is a sort of repaint of the stock one), and a look at the cab:




Maybe it may be helpful to know that the stock "Railyard" includes dozens and dozens of steam, diesel and electric locos from several European countries, USA, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, South America. All the rest can be found mainly at Auran's download station.

Marco

coupla fifty cals on the roof and I might be interested! LOL

Sold in U.S.?

Lol! Well, they're modelled in GMax, so case you want to add some extra payload, you know the way.


More pics of the Big Boy's cab, and a detail:





And for those who really don't like smoke, here's a GG1 of PennsylvaniaRR and a classic F7A of MilwakeeR




A serious drawback in Trainz, is that electric locos are like diesel ones: they run as well on not-electrified lines, and you can spare the effort to raise the pantographs, as they don't care at all.

Marco

In the U.S.?
-> www.amazon.com/PC-Trai...videogames

It's cheap, too.

Get more info at Auran's, before doing something you can repent.

-> www.auran.com/TRS2006/index.php
-> forums.auran.com/trainz/index.php

Some of my favourite alternative web-sites:
-> www.trainzone.co.nz/
-> www.virtual-motive-division.com/
-> www.trainzlocomotiveworks.com/
-> www.rail-sim.co.uk/
-> lms-man.tripod.com/index.html
-> web.ibertrainz.com/
-> www.trainzitalia.com/v.../index.php


Marco