New article at the VR Reading Room

New at the VR Reading Room: "A Complete Down East Fishing Village From the Download Station" by John D'Angelo.

Cheers,
-- Al

Vintage Autos For TRS2004

I don't normally comment on the many, many items that show up at the various train sim download sites. In fact, I only see a small fraction of those items. I DO want to take note of the beautiful vintage autos that recently appeared at the Trainz Download Station. There are 14 in all: 5 color variations of 1947 Buicks, 5 1955 Oldsmobiles and 4 1955 Buicks.

All are by Kee8tiviT and have the KUID 404071. Since they were created for TRS2004, they should work with TRS2006, Trainz Classics and TS2009.

Cheers,
-- Al

Gotham Tower article and DL at VR Reading Room

See our newest article "Action At Gotham Tower" at the VR Reading Room. It's a rapid transit train watching sim using the animated signal box (aka switch tower). The route and session are for TRS2006 with SP-1, but should work with TS2009.

You can also download the route and session from the VR Downloads page. Everything you need is included except the scenery. We're letting people add their own. Let us see what you come up with.

-- Al

New at the VR Reading Room

I know, it's been awhile. John D'Angelo has come through with another of his great articles. This one is titled "Let's Bring Life to You Signal Box." Read it here.

Cheers,
-- Al

NMRA National Convention Show

The National Model Railroad Association National Convention took place last week in Hartford, CT. The hobby show part began on on Friday for members only and continued on Saturday and Sunday for the general public. I dropped in on Saturday since Hartford is only an hour and a quarter from my home. That gave me a chance to chat with old friends still on the train show show circuit and also had a chance to see the show. (I missed last year's show in Anaheim for obvious reasons.)

First let me say the Connecticut Convention Center, where the show was held, is extremely easy to get in and out of. It's right off Interstate 91, a stone's throw or two from the I91-I84 intersection. The center itself is new, clean and attractive.

Several things jumped out at me. First, there were more beautifully built modular operating layouts than I have ever seen in one show. They were certainly a high point, ranging from Z-scale to tinplate and Leggo. Participants came from Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and New York State. There was quite a lot of Z scale this year. Noticeably more than I've ever seen at a show before. There was also a dearth of large scale. (Is it the economy, stupid?)

One constantly expanding presence is that of electronics - control systems, sound systems and lighting. I've said it in the past, and I'll repeat it: sound adds more to realism than any other sensory factor. (I can't comment on smell since we haven't figured out how to do much of that with our virtual models.)

Where does VR fit in? The only presence was Chris Cordes, who is the US rep and distributor for Auran Trainz. No other train simulator was represented, nor was RailDriver. Chris, who is a friend from past NMRA shows, was doing a good business, though I didn't see the customary lines of kids waiting to get on a terminal that you see at some shows. To be fair, I wasn't at Chris's booth for that long, since we had time after to the show to congregate. I am struck by the fact that Trainz was selling for $25 a copy. By comparison, junk HO freight cars (used and in varied condition), were selling for $10. Decoders for sound go for $99 and up. A beautiful O scale tug boat kit - had me drooling - was going for $98. If there's a money shortage out there, maybe no one was buying much. I think they should have noticed what a bargain Trainz is.

-- Al

Doug Johnson completes his P-scale steam locomotive cab simulator for MSTS and RailDriver

Doug Johnson completes his P-scale (aka Prototype scale) steam locomotive cab simulator for MSTS and RailDriver. This is an amazing project. Read about it at the VR Reading Room.

-- Al

The Never Ending Operation

John D'Angelo's latest article at Virtual Railroader, "The Never Ending Operation," describes how he modified his United Central route in Trainz for operation that spans multiple sessions. While he was at it, he updated the route for Train Simulator 2009 and made the route available at the VR Downloads page.

Cheers,
-- Al