World of Subways

World of Subways appears to be a terrific, if high powered, subway simulator from Germany. It costs 29.95 Euros to DL or for the boxed version (plus shipping). My Christmas stocking is already filled with Trainz 2009, so I'll have to wait on World of Subways, but I'm definitely interested.

Does anyone out there have any experience with this sim?

Cheers,
-- Al

Operations at Wayward Junction

Just posted: "Operations at Wayward Junction" by Yours Truly describes a 30-inch gauge route and session now available at the VR Downloads page.

Article is here.

I've also reposted a pair of Christmas stories from years gone by. See the VR Reading Room for "Christmas Eve on the Third Avenue El" and "The Blizzard of '47."

Cheers,
-- Al

Interactive Display Case for Trainz

Just when I think I've seen it all, John D'Angelo comes up with yet another innovative way to use Trainz. In his latest article "Creating a Living Rolling Stock Display," John describes his development process and includes the finished product for free download at the VR Downloads page.

See here.

Cheers,
-- Al

Catskill Coal article and route for TRS2006/SP1

Just posted: Catskill Coal by John D'Angelo. This route for TRS2006 with SP1 requires no additional downloads. It relies entirely on content packaged with TRS2006. SP1 is required. See the article here.

Cheers,
-- Al

BVE 5 Under Construction

BVE 5 is under construction. Get out your Japanese translator and check this link. The biggest part of the update for me is the promised Windows Vista compatibility, though I solved that problem quite awhile back by adding the missing DLLs for Windows XP (see DLLs for Vista download here).

Cheers,
Al

Trainz Simulator 2009 Close To Delivery

Now that the American elections are behind us I have some time to devote to train simulation.

The BIG news is that Auran's latest, Trainz Simulator 2009, is very close to delivery. You can read about it here and even pre-order it (which I just did) until November 25 at 10 AM GMT). The release is scheduled for November 26, at which time you will be able to download it (2.6 GB) or have your packaged hard copy delivered.

Take a look at the TS web page. The detail and realism look spectacular. At $29.95 USD, it looks like a huge bargain.

Cheers,
-- Al

BVE5

See Mackoy's site for BVE5 (under construction). From the discussion at Trainsimcentral, it would appear the BVE5 is at least an attempt to deal with Windows Vista. Time will tell what else BVE5 entails.

Al

New at the VR Reading Room

Just posted: John D'Angelo's article "Working at the Federal Street Yard" and free downloadable route for TRS2006 SP1 here. No further downloads required.

Cheers,
Al

BVE Revisited

Mackoy may be quiet, but the third-party developers have been busy with BVE. Read about the latest developments in my article "BVE Revisited" now at the VR Reading Room.

Cheers,
Al

Trainz DLS on a roll

There have been times this year when there would be no activity at the Trainz Download Station for weeks on end as Auran's stretched staff was busy elsewhere. When they finally did catch up we would be inundated with thousands of new assets to wade through. Things appear to be getting closer to the good old days when there were new assets nearly every day (except on weekends, of course). There are now about 1300 or so new assets since my last post on this subject, which seems like just the other day. I especially like the NSW RailCity 7200/6200 DMU railcar set. It's beautiful!!!! .. and I like railcars anyway.

Cheers,
Al

Second Extension to Lincolnpin Rail Road

See my article "Lincolnpin Rail Road Extension 2" at my VR Reading Room page and download the route and session. Trainz TRS2006 and Service Pack SP-1 are required.

Cheers,
Al

Another batch of items at the Trainz DLS

As soon as I turned my back the folks at Auran uploaded several hundred more items to the Download Station. Happy hunting, Trainz fans!!

AL

Trainz DLS Update

Since Auran has taken to updating its Download Station in big blocks of items rather than the old way of daily updates, it has become a chore to check for updates and an even bigger chore to scan through the new items when they arrive. That said, how can we complain when the items are still free?

I spotted the latest update today: 1200+ items ranging from 30-inch (760 mm) logging caboose and track and trestle to standard gauge railcars and railbuses and - at last - a US interurban car. There are some big and small steam locos and a kazillion signs, among other things to numerous to mention.

Enjoy.

Al

New at the VR Reading Room

Hot off the virtual press:

Traveling on the Orient Express by John D'Angelo. Learn all about this famous train now available for Trainz. It's all at the VR Reading Room .

Cheers,
Al

BVE and Vista

I spoke too soon. There IS a way to get BVE to work on Vista. Here's the link that provides instructions.

So far I've tried it with BVE 2. It should work for BVE 4 as well.

Cheers,
Al

Open BVE Project

Fans of the popular BVE train simulator have been disappointed by its lack of support for Windows Vista. Moreover, it appears that BVE's creator, Mackoy, has turned his attention to other matters - as one might expect from a young man in his twenties. (Of course, it is also possible that he is working on the next killer version of BVE, but so far we have had no news of anything in the pipeline for quite a while.)

The new Open BVE Project, launched in April 2008, may be the answer to Vista problems and carry some good news as well. The new Open BVE is already available as a demo for Windows (including Vista) and is expected to work on Linux as well. (I'll be trying it once I get my Linux machine.) I didn't see anything about Macs, but Mac fans can get on the OpenBVE forum (at the web site) and make their wishes known.

Open BVE is all new coding - no copyright infringement on Mackoy's work - and recognizes BVE add-ons. So far, only BVE 2 routes are usable with Open BVE. In my limited trial, I had success with the Uchibo route but found some of the scenery objects for the Flushing Line not working. I haven't gone back to examine the list of non-fatal errors associated with the Flushing Line. I am happy to report that the trains I tried ran well and the sounds were all there.

Open BVE will be adding new features as well, including animated objects and external view. The underlying code structure is less restrictive and said to be more efficient than BVE, so route designers will have more flexibility in setting track curves and placing objects.

In short, Open BVE is still in its early stages, holds lots of promise, and is available at the Open BVE home page here.

This is indeed good news for BVE fans and others who have not yet experienced the great sim qualities of BVE and its available add-ons.

Al

Trainz is back on track!

As announced on the Trainz forum by Tony Hilliam:

"We are very pleased to announce that n3vrf41l Publishing (N3V) have licensed two new versions of Trainz to be released world-wide over the next two years. These two releases will continue the evolution of Trainz from a simple piece of fun software to an in-depth and serious simulation. Trainz is a virtual hobby that combines the raw power of railroads with the digital power of computer simulation. As more and more people become connected via computer, the audience for train simulation continues to grow and as the longest running railroad simulation series, Trainz is set to capitalize on this growth.

"These two new releases will deliver many of the enhancements and additions Trainz fans have been asking for and will reaffirm the position of Trainz as the most flexible and extensible rail simulation platform ever created.

"We have elected to make this initial announcement on the Trainz forums to allow our regular community members the opportunity to comment and give their feedback on our plans. A more detailed public announcement will be made later in June to coincide with the launch of the new TS2009 website and forums as well as the new TrainzExchange community portal and the new TrainzDev site which is designed to further support the content creation community.

See here for the full announcement and thread.

The most important part of the announcement for me is the acknowledgment that virtual railroading is a hobby. This sets VR apart from most computer games, which basically come and go. Virtual railroading requires a different mindset on the part of publishers and developers, one that requires a long perspective and all that that entails. This announcement is a most encouraging development for me. Way to go!!!!!

Al

New subway sim coming

There is a new simulator on the way. See World of Subways web site. This is to be a standalone subway simulator. The first route is NY PATH to be released 3rd quarter 2008.

Cheers,
Al

New at the VR Reading Room

Now at the VR Reading Room: "Amazing Animated People For Your Route" by John D'Angelo.

Al

Bus Driving in Trainz

New article at the VR Reading Room, "Bus Driving in Trainz," examines the potential and provides a demo bus route for TRS2006 w/SP-1.

Cheers,
Al

Kuju/EA Rail Simulator Review

New review at V-Scaler: "Kuju/EA Rail Simulator: Now There Are Three."

Cheers,
Al

How to put new trucks on a GG1 in Trainz

John D'Angelo shows how to put new trucks on a GG1 in Trainz. See "Let’s Add New Trucks to Your GG1" here.

Cheers,
Al

Darjeeling Himalayan Railway in Trainz

After 31 months of group effort, the 50+ mile simulation of the DHR is now ready for Prime Time. Read all about it in John D'Angelo's article "The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway for Trainz: The Final Spike" at the VR Reading Room .

Congratulations, guys!!!!

Al

LPRR Expansion Route for TRS2006 Released

See here.

Cheers,
Al

LPRR Extension Beta for TRS2006

I've placed a beta version of the LPRR Extension plus 4 sessions here. LPRR is the Lincolnpin Rail Road 30-inch gauge layout released not too long ago. I've expanded it from 1 baseboard to 6 and fixed some problems that prevented drivers from taking commands.

As far as I know, the only non-DLS items are a few log camp huts by Narrowgauge, which are at TrainZone. I plan to tinker a wee bit with scenery adjustments and will add a session to include Curtis's boxcar when it's available.

This will be a good time to let me know what doesn't work. I know at least 6 items are considered faulty by CMP. Too bad. They work fine and I'm keeping them in, the Black Screen of Death (TM) be damned!!!

Cheers,
Al

Celtics Nation map for Locomotion

New at the VR Downloads page:

Nation landscape and Celtics Nation 1900 scenario. Two maps are provided:

1. Nation: place in Locomotion/Scenarios/Landscapes folder
2. Celtics 1900: place in Locomotion/Scenarios folder

Celtics Nation contains 37 towns/cities, each named for a past or current Boston Celtics player or coach. See if you can connect them all into a single passenger transportation network. Be sure to customize it in the Scenario Editor to include the vehicles you want and start date you want. I've classified it as Easy.

Cheers,

Al

Licolnpin Rail Road for TRS2006

Finally, the Lincolnpin Rail Road is available. See the VR Reading Room article "Operations on the Lincolnpin Rail Road." The route and sessions are available free at the VR Downloads page. This is a 30-inch gauge single baseboard route with beautiful scenery and plenty of operation.

Cheers,
Al

And Another Map for Locomotion

OK, three's the charm This one is called Neighborhoods because it places a series of small towns in relatively close proximity to one another. It is perfect for building transit and commuter systems on both sides of the dividing river. It's available at the VR Downloads page in the Locomotion section.

Next up will be the Lincolnpin Rail Road - a 30-inch gauge line for TRS2006. It's finished except for the sessions. I've already submitted an article on it to Railroad Model Craftsman. (I also have an article on my M-Line in the queue there, so we'll see which one gets the nod.) I expect to have a simple article and downloadable route and sessions available before long.

Al

Another map for Locomotion

Moving east along the coast from Shoreline (posted a few weeks ago),
we now have Ocean State (aka Rhode Island) maps for Locomotion.

I've added a landscape and scenario to my Downloads page

The map, called Ocean State, covers Rhode Island and a tiny bit of
Massachusetts. The scenario is for beginners.

The landscape map is a raw landscape with no cities or industries; the
scenario uses default content set to begin in the year 1900. You can
use the landscape map to create your own scenario or generate random
scenarios. You can use the scenario to play a game or you can modify
the scenario to suit your preferences as to beginning time, available
vehicles, and so forth.

There's more Trainz on the way. We have a 30-inch narrow gauge route
in the works. You can see a screen shot at the Virtual Railroader home
page .

Cheers,
Al

United Central 2008 for TRS2006

See John D'Angelo's article "Union Central 2008" at the VR Reading Room. The article describes his update to this venerable route. The revised route for TRS2006 with SP-1 is available for free download at the VR Downloads page. No additional assets are required.

Thanks, John.

Al

New at the VR Reading Room

Sanford Mace completes the cycle of building the same route in four simulators: BVE, Rail3D, MSTS and now Trainz. See his latest "Trainz Dogbone Traction Lives Again" at the VR Reading Room. All routes are available at the VR Downloads page.

Cheers,
Al