Just found Trainz, some questions

[Degas]

Sorry for the newbie post! I just found and downloaded the Trainz 2006 demo. I've only ever played Sid Meier's Railroad Tycoon and Railroads. I used to work for the Illinois Central as switchman, brakeman and conductor. I've only started looking at the manual .pdf, but I was hoping some of you could answer some general questions.

First, I'm really not all that interested in an "in the cab" simulation. I don't really care about ringing the bell and blowing the whistle. I'm hoping Trainz lets you get more into the nuts and bolts of switching your rolling stock, making up train consists, scheduling, managing routes and track layouts...while trying to make everything work efficiently so that your company can make a profit. I guess what I'm saying is that I'd like to see something a lot more "realistic" than Sid Meier's work. I enjoyed his games, but they're a lot more about building a virtual model railroad than they are about managing a real one. Watching an engine swap ends magically and then pull 8 cars out of the ground like rabbits out of a hat is not really what I'm looking for

I guess the best way to express myself, is to say that I would like a good economic game based on the way a railroad company really works. If I buy the full version of Trainz 2006, is that what I'm going to be getting?

 

[Lucrativus]

There is no money involved in Trains, it is purely a simulation program.

 

[johnwhelan]

Sorry for the newbie post! I just found and downloaded the Trainz 2006 demo. I've only ever played Sid Meier's Railroad Tycoon and Railroads. I used to work for the Illinois Central as switchman, brakeman and conductor. I've only started looking at the manual .pdf, but I was hoping some of you could answer some general questions.

First, I'm really not all that interested in an "in the cab" simulation. I don't really care about ringing the bell and blowing the whistle. I'm hoping Trainz lets you get more into the nuts and bolts of switching your rolling stock, making up train consists, scheduling, managing routes and track layouts...while trying to make everything work efficiently so that your company can make a profit. I guess what I'm saying is that I'd like to see something a lot more "realistic" than Sid Meier's work. I enjoyed his games, but they're a lot more about building a virtual model railroad than they are about managing a real one. Watching an engine swap ends magically and then pull 8 cars out of the ground like rabbits out of a hat is not really what I'm looking for

I guess the best way to express myself, is to say that I would like a good economic game based on the way a railroad company really works. If I buy the full version of Trainz 2006, is that what I'm going to be getting?

No.

Having said that Trainz is extremely flexible. There is a system of products, that can be arranged such that logs get generated (any product can get generated) transported to a saw mill which then accepts logs generates lumber based on the amount of logs that arrive. You can take it further with coal for power stations etc. lumber going to furniture etc.

You should be able to create a product called money which is generated when goods arrive at the store or where ever and gets transported to a bank.

Thinks must talk to LARs about this. A couple of Brinks trucks on invisible track no problem.

Cheerio John

 

[DoubleVeteran]

I have Sid Meier's RailRoads! and Trainz 2006 is nothing like that. It is a true train simulator, on par with Microsoft's Train Simulator. You can do switches, manage schedules, give the AI engineer's route instructions, etc.

Enjoy!

DV

 

[Degas]

Thanks for the quick replies. Yeah, the money isn't that big a deal. It's basically just a yardstick for how well you are managing your operation. I'm sure there are other indicators in the sim that will give you the same type of feedback.

Now...I just need to figure out where I can get this in the US. It's not even listed on Best Buy's site. Oh, yeah...about the demo: anyone know where the heck they are hiding the coal cars you're supposed to take up to Cooper Power?

EDIT: Apparently, the demo I downloaded is broken. In the one session you're given, you are supposed to make up a train consisting of 5 tank cars from one lead (in the engine yard), and then go into the switchyard to pick up some coal cars to take to Cooper Power. The info at the beginning shows where the coal cars are supposed to be, but they aren't there. No way to achieve success on that session. For informational purposes, the demo came off nVidia's Nzone demo site (Trainz_US_Demo_ DriverChallenge.exe).

 

[ess1]

Thanks for the quick replies. Yeah, the money isn't that big a deal. It's basically just a yardstick for how well you are managing your operation. I'm sure there are other indicators in the sim that will give you the same type of feedback.

Now...I just need to figure out where I can get this in the US. It's not even listed on Best Buy's site. Oh, yeah...about the demo: anyone know where the heck they are hiding the coal cars you're supposed to take up to Cooper Power?

EDIT: Apparently, the demo I downloaded is broken. In the one session you're given, you are supposed to make up a train consisting of 5 tank cars from one lead (in the engine yard), and then go into the switchyard to pick up some coal cars to take to Cooper Power. The info at the beginning shows where the coal cars are supposed to be, but they aren't there. No way to achieve success on that session. For informational purposes, the demo came off nVidia's Nzone demo site (Trainz_US_Demo_ DriverChallenge.exe).

Degas, Welcome to our fascinating hobby. Trust you enjoy.

May I suggest that you order direct from Auran shop. Reason: many of those ordering from the UK distributer have to have the DVD/CD in their player. This may also be the case elsewhere.

Happy shunting!

 

[Degas]

Thanks very much

 

[Mouse84]

As a railroader, you'll like TRS2006. You can switch/kick cars in the yard, build a train, run a local, servicing customers along the way. You can run on routes that come with the sim, edit them to suit your likes, or create your own. As an engineer, I, like you, have no interest in running from in-cab, I spend all my time in the cab, I like to run in DCC mode. I enjoy switching and building trains, then giving them to the AI to run over the road to the next terminal. One things that I like about 2006 is the iPortals, which let you send and receive trains over the internet.

You can buy new copies of this game thru various places online such as Amazon.com, Target.com and even ebay, but make sure you purchase a NEW copy, because if it has already been registered, you can't register it.

 

[lewisner]

Degas as a "real" railroader you"ll have a better understading of how real railways operate than an enthusiast.My own route is strictly prototypical and it throws up a whole raft of problems such as placing signals correctly and getting them to operate as they did in real life.I"d suggest playing with the builtin routes first then considering vey carefully before you start to build your own route.Don"t be afraid to ask questions here, as I"ve often found that only by considering other peoples problems have I found the answer to my own....

 

[Tokkyu40]

Now...I just need to figure out where I can get this in the US. It's not even listed on Best Buy's site...

Best Buy, Walmart and Frye's Electronics all carry it, although whether it's listed on the website or on the shelf in your area is always a question.
Target has Trainz Driver, which is just the driving function without the route building capability.
You might consider ordering Trainz Classics (that's the latest version of Trainz) or waiting until it hits the stores (another month or so). It has all the features of Trainz 2006, plus a few new features.

Claude