I’m interested to hear everyone’s comments about their favorite railroad software. What do you use and why do you like it. i personally use both railroad simulator and Trainz.
Me, personally, I just use a copy of Trainz (I want to say 1.2) with the paint-shop edition. (the one you can get for $10.00 from BJ’s)
I also use Microsoft Train Simulator, with several free downloads.
That’s all I use
I am new to this and have no space for a layout. I am wondering about a computer program that will allow me to build and run a system (within reason)??
I am using T/S 2009.Realy I was a model trains railroader with a n “N” layout of a good size,but a move cut everything and I was forced to dismantle a work of 15 years.Then a found the simulators and now Im just enyoig the facility of just close a session simply swithching off the cp.is great.
lokmotoro frm Madrid(Spain)
I feel your pain. 15yrs and had to dismantle your layout Wow! Well I built one and had it looking pretty good until I started playing trainz and now railworks 3. I enjoy free roam and also the screnarios on rw3. Just yesterday I took apart my HO scale 16ft long by 8ft wide model layout and boxed it up. I hadn’t played it in about 8months. I fully understand you and I to enjoy simply turnings the computer off or on to start or end a session. Maybe put it back up when I retire in 30 years. The computer versions are stress free and cheaper plus lots of fun.
I run both Trainz 12 and railworks hopefully MSTS soon.
The last post was in 2010, so II thought I’d update this topic. Microsoft Train Simulator is still alive and well. Free routes on MSTS.com have been uploaded, such Horseshoe Curve, Pennsylvania Eastern Region, the New Haven Branch of Metro North, and my favorite, the Bernina Bahn. The newest routes do require some serious computing power though. Now there is the Open Rails project which uses MSTS content, but utilizes the power of the GPU, whereas MSTS itself utilizes the CPU, thus affecting frame rates. Open Rails is open source and is developing progressively. I have used Trainz and Railworks, but stick with MSTS for the content availability.
Thanks for the update on the MSTS content. The unofficial patches to MSTS make it a really good simulator that uses your computer’s GPU for accelerated graphics.
More often, though, I use RailWorks Train Simulator 2013 which has alot of downloadable content on Steam. Also, there is a vibrant and active community on Steam producing content that they call the “Workshop” which is really good, too.
I also sometimes use Trainz but for ease of use and ultra-high-quality graphics, Railworks Train Simulator 2013 is the best, by far.
Does anyone make a train simulator for X-Box? My ten year old grandson would love that. He loves trains and he loves his X-Box Connect.
Train Frontier Express (worldwide) and A-Train HX (Japan release only).
Cheers!
Marc - Riverside
I use ThirdPlanIt Layout software’s 3d simulation mode. I get to build any layout I want at what ever detail I want. Then run trains on it and have a wonderful one may operating session.
MSTS.com doesn’t exist anymore. MS doesn’t have this obviosly.
TS 2014. It gets better everyday. Just got the New Haven To NYC which has both Penn and Grand Central. MNCR M8’s, AC 64’s and HHP - 8 for Amtrak. They did a god job on the CP rail Passes route and their AC4400, Stevens Pass for BN and the Surf line San Diego to LA with BN equipment and FP 59’s for Amtrak.
Just wait until the next new thing comes out and they stop supporting it. READ and heed the warnings in the Steam forum about Railworks.
After years of struggle to decide, I keep BOTH Trainz 2010 and Railworks 2012 on my PC. I like each for different reasons. Switching back and forth seems to help me keep from being bored as I’m always having to re-learn things again, which I like.
Both have obviously gone toward the money now, so I just ignore the ads.
Trainz 2014 just won’t cut it on my PC. Perhaps if there were a switch to turn the moving trees off. [:'(]
I use Trainz and a simulator from Germany called EEP-X. They have converted the software to English and it’s marketed by Steam under the name Railroad-X. Unfortunately the updates to the English version happen way after that of the German one, especially since the latest plugin will give us a scripting language.
I am new to this forum. I have been using TS 20xx for two years now. There have been some major improvements in that time. The two that help me the most are the Google Earth linkage, it is so much easier than the tile procedure that I used before. The other is the adjustable asset block for scenery.
Yes there are issues, but the program doesn’t crash nearly as often and there is a robust and active group of users that can be reached on the RailworksAmerica.com and the uktrainsim.com forums.
I live and travel in a motor home and I am no longer able to have even an “n” gauge pike. Instead I have created a model of the United Railway branch of the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway in the 1940’s in the TS 20xx simulator. I am a volunteer at L. L. “Stubb” Stewart State Park near Vernonia, Oregon and I use the simulation as a visual aid for a weekly talk about the Banks Vernonia State Trail that comes through our park. After my talk I turn the simulation on and let prospective junior (and senior) engineers take a train out for a spin. It is a great visual aid for giving folks a delightful dose of local history.
If any of this forum’s members are local to Banks or Vernonia, or even the greater Portland Oregon area I would love to hear from you.
If you want the most user friendly PC set up TRAINZ is brilliant . . . you’ll be running in no time. Microsoft Train Sim is so convoluted it will put you off sims altogether . Speaking from experience over the years ! I still use Trainz 2004 as the new ones don’t copy over the tracks made with 2004 into them properly. Stick to 2004 version it’ll last you years !
Well, not sure where that came from, but all of my DLC still works from the first release of Rail Simulator to the current release of Train Simulator 2015. Much of it has been enhanced, like the Northeast Corridor pack and the enhanced P42/P40 and electric Amtrak assets, and I didn’t have to pay anything extra for those.
I play trains simulator deluxe, engineers edition, for the pc. It freezes sometimes when you go too fast but, if you have