Computer Train Simulators - Does anybody use them?

[Philip Jackson]

I dabble with Trainz every now n then, it was cheap on steam. I had MSTS back in the day. What got me back into model railways (after the usual, music, women and beer growing up) was Hornby virtual railway in 1996. I played around building a layout on it and within a year I'd got most of my old stuff from my parents attic and built it for real (a 6x4 roundy I gave to my nephew a few years later when I moved to Malta)

[Dunsignalling]

I'm just testing the "Lite" version of this on an i-Pad. It's very addictive.....

One of my mates has packed in model railways altogether in favour of these things (on PC) but I don't find them at all convincing.

 

John

[Robuk1981]

Just got myself a pack of class 40s covers just about every nose type from roller blind head box to the corner boxes and dominos

[lakeview770]

Just bought my first PC in 15 years so I can play Train Simulator 2016 and have ben impressed so far, enough so that Im contemplating building a gaming pc to run the game maxed out. The quality is much improved over the original MSTS version.

 

Andy

[wombatofludham]

I used to do content for MSTS, both free and payware, and have tried RS2014.  The Dublin-Belfast add-on for MSTS was a project I was heavily involved in doing most of the sounds and a lot of the graphics.  I haven't used any sims for a while although hopefully when I reorganise my front room I intend to resurrect my old XP PC and connect it to the TV so I can rekindle my MSTS and Flight Sim addictions.

[Reorte]

I play around with Train Simulator. Learning to build routes is one of the things on my "to do" list (I've a few ideas I'd like to realise but it would be an awful lot of work). I can't comment on how realistic it is, although there are some things that I'm pretty sure aren't, such as having to do what I think are excessive speeds with unfitted freights in order to make the timings, and semaphore signals on single lines have an alarming habit of showing clear to oncoming trains. I'm fairly sure that "controls in one hand, beer in the other" is something that isn't permitted in reality too! (I'm never getting on a train again if it is)

 

Come to think of it, is modelling routes, stock, locos, scenery etc. in a computer arguably just another facet of model railways?

Edited March 16, 2016 by Reorte

[Horsetan]

....The Dublin-Belfast add-on for MSTS was a project I was heavily involved in doing most of the sounds and a lot of the graphics.....

Ah, that was you, was it?

 

I had both parts of "Irish Enterprise", and it's quite good until you get to the very end in Dublin, at which point it looks a bit half-finished. DART line is very easy to drive, and would have been good if there had been a Part 3 to allow it to terminate in Greystones.

 

Not seen any other attempt at Irish routes for MSTS.

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

Is there an available simulator that really 'does it' for steam driving? I tried one years ago and it wasn't nearly well enough featured. For example you couldn't just apply the tender hand brake while running to 'build up' the fire and superheater temperature for maximum power output on the bank you were approaching. Attempts to skilfully fill the boiler to the top of the glass, and then mortgage the boiler while on the gradient were defeated too, the auto fireman was keeping the injector on to perfectly match consumption at all times. Very frustrating, took all the fun out of it.

[Reorte]

I've not got any experience at all of driving or firing the real thing so I'm in no position to tell how accurate they are, but anyway... You can turn the auto fireman off on Train Simulator, and some locos (more likely third party ones) certainly account for gradients on the water level in the boiler, and model the risk of priming. Injectors can be left to the auto fireman, turned on or off and left to the computer to determine exactly how to use them, or controlled entirely manually (including separate water taps, again only on some locos). Some controls may just function cosmetically (I don't know if it actually matters with any whether you ever open the cylinder drain cocks or not).

 

One that's supposed to be one of the more feature-rich is the Just Trains Clan, have a Google for that and see what you think (just gets blocked when I try to check from work for "games").

[wombatofludham]

Ah, that was you, was it?

 

I had both parts of "Irish Enterprise", and it's quite good until you get to the very end in Dublin, at which point it looks a bit half-finished. DART line is very easy to drive, and would have been good if there had been a Part 3 to allow it to terminate in Greystones.

 

Not seen any other attempt at Irish routes for MSTS.

 

We struggled with the then computer technology and the game architecture which couldn't cope with what we were building.  That's partly why it was released in two parts, although the project took longer to complete as the core team were effectively building the route in our spare time.  For example I had prepared some lovely environmental sounds for Dublin, the countryside and the coastal stretch which you would have heard in "helicopter view" but adding them caused the game to crash on all but the top end machines.  We deliberately tested the route on lower spec machines to test robustness and we ended up having to de-spec the route in places just to allow it to run.  Part of the issue was I did try to make the sounds as good as possible using real life recordings and as a consequence some of them were a bit processor-hungry, and when I did the skins for the stock again I used quite complex layering to get the weathered effects and where possible used photo-real textures at the maximum possible size, again hogging memory.  It was a conscious decision that pushed the boundary of the game architecture and technology to prioritise the immediate route corridor, rolling stock and features which could be seen from the cab which left some parts of the more complex urban areas a bit less "populated" than we would have liked.

 

Sadly although the route sold well, it wasn't as popular as the other UK based routes so that, plus the fact we were all drained dry after the Enterprise route, is why no further Irish routes were done.  I've never quite understood the parochialness of UK enthusiasts with regard to the Irish system, before the mass unitisation that has occurred in recent years you had the fascinating mix of American traction and British coaching stock, interesting operation and loco haulage even on local routes, plus in the North the best DEMU BR never had, the 80 class which if they had been built by BR in the 1970s to replace the 1950s DMU fleet on their own services could have bought about the kind of service and patronage improvements to regional networks the later "Sprinters" did some ten to twenty years later.

 

The only other "Irish" route is the fictional "Ballyshannon" route I converted (with his blessing) from Gordon Mackenzie's freeware "Balahub" Ruabon-Barmouth and Blaenau route.  Ironically I ended up moving to the "Balahub" area a couple of years later and every time I drive through Penmaenpool I can't help but remember renaming the village "Droichead na Dola" for the "Ballyshannon" project!

Edited March 16, 2016 by wombatofludham

[jamie.dunn]

I've got train simulator 2016 (TS16) and MSTS. I use TS16 quite often but I have spent a lot of money on downloadable content as well as a quite expensive laptop to run the game

[Zomboid]

I used to play MSTS a bit, but found it very dull. Not much interest when the next station stop is 20 minutes away, and whilst everyone and his dog was building routes, there was no one building interesting "activities", so I ditched it.

 

I did enjoy a primitive looking signalling sim though. It only had a couple of scenarios, but I remember getting properly snarled up trying to keep a rather busy Penzance moving.

[lakeview770]

Ive really enjoyed TS2016 so much so Ive purchased a gaming PC to play it and it hurt me to say that as a Mac user. Ive also been looking at Sigsim this week which looks interesting.

 

Andy

[phil gollin]

.

 

I've never found a train sim that does what I want.  I "like" shunting and shunter problems.  My idea would be something like a model railway on a PC - a top down 3D simple representation of a branch line where a pick-up goods could waddle up and down dropping off and picking up wagons whilst doing a bit of switching around in each yard.

 

A long, long time ago there was a very simple screensaver which showed a very diagrammatic train movement.

 

So, what about some freight - particularly shunting ?

 

.

[RJS1977]

The original MSTS Cambrian Coast add-on included an activity for shunting Aberystwyth station yard, and I'm pretty sure there were others. Shunting activities appear to be harder to write than passenger ones though!

[melmerby]

.

 

I've never found a train sim that does what I want.  I "like" shunting and shunter problems.  My idea would be something like a model railway on a PC - a top down 3D simple representation of a branch line where a pick-up goods could waddle up and down dropping off and picking up wagons whilst doing a bit of switching around in each yard.

 

A long, long time ago there was a very simple screensaver which showed a very diagrammatic train movement.

 

So, what about some freight - particularly shunting ?

 

.

Trainz 2006 (yes, ancient!) has the Garsdale to Hawes branch (as well as a section of the S&C) and a selection of locos (e.g. 4F, Diesel) which you can potter around with, along with a selection of wagons, unfortunately no stations are situated between Hawes and Gardsdale.

 

Keith

[Black Sheep]

I've got trainz but don't seem able to keep to schedule or spot stations coming up to stop in time!

 

Not got the hang of creating my own routes either

[melmerby]

I've got trainz but don't seem able to keep to schedule or spot stations coming up to stop in time!

 

Not got the hang of creating my own routes either

It's quite a comprehensive program. I don't run mine very often but I keep finding extra features and it only cost me £5 new.

It also works on Win 10 which ain't bad for an oldie and it runs much, much smoother than it did on XP.

 

 

Keith

[lakeview770]

.

 

I've never found a train sim that does what I want.  I "like" shunting and shunter problems.  My idea would be something like a model railway on a PC - a top down 3D simple representation of a branch line where a pick-up goods could waddle up and down dropping off and picking up wagons whilst doing a bit of switching around in each yard.

 

A long, long time ago there was a very simple screensaver which showed a very diagrammatic train movement.

 

So, what about some freight - particularly shunting ?

 

.

 

TS2016 does have quite a few shunting scenarios and quite a few that are in "The Workshop" an online area where users upload their creations for others. You can even create your own with a simple program within the game itself. The view can also be changed from cab view to side view, line side view and overhead view.

[Legend]

I love Trainz but unfortunately it doesn't seem to run on Windows 10. I've got Trainz 2004 . I have subsequent versions but that's the the one that I've got most downloaded content on, and created routes

 

To me Trainz is very good for route creation. You can shunt the yards on it, after creating it yourself

Edited April 24, 2016 by Legend

[melmerby]

I love Trainz but unfortunately it doesn't seem to run on Windows 10. I've got Trainz 2004 . I have subsequent versions but that's the the one that I've got most downloaded content on, and crested routes

 

To me Trainz is very good for route creation. You can shunt the yards on it, after creating it yourself

Can't you transfer files?

As I said before T 2006 works flawlessly on Win 10 even though it was meant for Win XP/Vista etc.

 

Keith

[Reorte]

TS2016 does have quite a few shunting scenarios and quite a few that are in "The Workshop" an online area where users upload their creations for others. You can even create your own with a simple program within the game itself. The view can also be changed from cab view to side view, line side view and overhead view.

I find that pretty much essential, to the point where I'm in awe of real drivers who manage to shunt without such a benefit (but they'd have had a shunter directing them perhaps?)

[Horsetan]

.... Ive also been looking at Sigsim this week which looks interesting.

SimSig is great fun, and has expanded to loads more scenarios and locations than when I first started playing it almost a decade ago (yes, it has been around that long).

 

Very frustrating if you get it wrong!

[Legend]

Can't you transfer files?

As I said before T 2006 works flawlessly on Win 10 even though it was meant for Win XP/Vista etc.

 

Keith

Thanks . i 'll maybe give it a go rather than trying to get 2004 to load. Annoyingly it did work on Windows 8 but not 10. I think I have Trainz 2010 which does run. I'll try transferring files but it did look like file structure was different between versions.

[steve1023]

I used to do content for MSTS, both free and payware, and have tried RS2014.  The Dublin-Belfast add-on for MSTS was a project I was heavily involved in doing most of the sounds and a lot of the graphics.  I haven't used any sims for a while although hopefully when I reorganise my front room I intend to resurrect my old XP PC and connect it to the TV so I can rekindle my MSTS and Flight Sim addictions.

How bizarre. I was driving 80 class DEMUs on IE this afternoon and then Dorset Coast. Now I've just stumbled across your post.

 

Steve