Train simulators are better than model railroads because...

[Tony_Hilliam]

Arguably, the virtual hobby of train simulation is gaining ground on the older more mature model railroad hobby. Obviously affordability and space are major factors but what is the key for you? Is it the ability to hop inside the cab? What features of playing with Trainz really appeals to you over the "real world" model train hobby?

 

[pommie]

The biggest factor is that my daughter can't grab the 'brass' and throw it on the floor.

Well you did ask :hehe:

Cheers David

 

[spacemarine88]

Train Simming over Models in terms of it is easy to make changes, wanna build a track, a few click of the mouse later you have done in mere seconds what would probally take hours

 

[patchy]

it's hell of lot cheaper
what i've built would cost a KINGS ransom

cheers,
patchy

 

[angelah]

Modeller

From a modellers point of view and one that built three exhibition models of large proportions, there are several factors.
Firstly, space, even storing a model has its own set of problems unless you live in a mansion...

Secondly cost. To create anything worthwhile is extremely expensive, even moreso if using DCC.

Third is time. In view of the second consideration it is necessary (unless you have won the lottery!) to space out buying stock over a long period of time so results are also a long time in coming. With a simulation it is almost immediate, almost because you still have to 'make' your route, but that's great fun too.

The fourth item. Again we can look at size because a model is by its very nature going to be limited, my biggest was 21 feet x 11 feet in N Gauge (Horse Cove) and Hayling Island 22 feet by 3 feet (if my memory serves me correctly).
With Trainz it is possible to build whole routes with full scenery, demonstrate very ably by several Trainzers including myself (blush, blush...).

Fifth. Weight, not wait. As an exhibitor of several years experience I know only too well what it's like carting a model to shows, getting up at the crack of dawn or often before it even thinks about cracking, lugging it off the vehicle and into the hall and then setting up, the process to be repeated at the end of a couple of days. Hayling was in Birch ply and weight goodness know how much. But Horse Cove was made almost entirely of foam core board so I could lift two sections around fairly easily.

But give me the Trainz sim every time. I can do much more with it, build bigger and better without worrying about space or cost, and then share my creations much more easily by uploading them. And if I don't like what I have just done it is far simpler to undo!

Hooray for Trainz and long may it 'live'!

And thank you Auran for producing it.

Angela

 

[0099]

Well i prefer modeling than traim-simming * Ducks from objects*:hehe: .

 

[Midland]

Even though the company won't let me drive again at least I can still cause cyber-havoc...

... and I don't have to do any more early shifts.




Cheers

Nix

 

[collinsl]

Well i prefer modeling than traim-simming * Ducks from objects*:hehe: .

What's a traim?

Anyway, the main reason I went down the simulation route was that I am rubbish at modelling anything, and with a virtual world, I can download the great work of others and use it for my own pleasure.

Also, I think that trains running round in endless circles is a bit stupid.

*Puts flame proof suit on*

 

[psycho_aussie]

Not needing a lot of time, space and money to collect the models that I want are key items, but being able to create models that I want is a great reason as well.

Chris

 

[john259]

In a trainsim you seem to be actually in the world, not just looking at it from outside.

John

 

[big_b]

Train Simming or My main Retirement Hobby

Never really been interested in model railroading ( too costly )

But than along came Trainz

The game works at my speed & I control what happens

The reflexes don't have to be razor sharp anymore
Don't need the eye sight of an eagle just glasses
And I know the Grandson won't drop the train on the floor & break it.

Dave

 

[johnwhelan]

I like the way you can create something and its clones are then available for others to use, or conversely I can use others creations.

Also the store never runs out of stock, older items can be updated. When I'm creating if it isn't quite right then I can go back and update it. A bit hard to do with something that is soldered. If some one else updates their work my copy gets updated as well, Hornby never were very good at sending out new copies of things.

Also there is an element of interaction as I work with others quite often in other parts of the world to accomplish things.

Cheerio John

 

[QR1408]

A train sim enables me to make a route that is more like the real thing than a model. I've made a few routes of 100km, impossible to do in a model in any scale. Also ability to follow prototype fairly closely. Have built 4 model railways in N scale since 1970 in DB and US prototypes. Really enjoyed scenery building and making scratch-built buildings and bridges. But even a fair sized model layout has only a short run of a few minutes. With a train sim I can build routes for several countries to realistic lengths and drive trains on them like a real railway. All at far less cost and less time than a model railway.
Cheers Will

 

[freightcar2]

Train Simulators are better than model railroads because...

They're cheaper

and my immature little brother can't grab trainz and throw it on the floor:hehe:

 

[0099]

What's a traim?

Its a train designed for people who can't spell .

 

[Euphod]

....it's portable.

 

[magicentro]

my top five reasons why I prefer Trainz over a model railway:

1. Cost

2. Space - only limited by the size of ones hard drive !

3. Being able to 'ride the rails' - be an engineer or ride as a passenger under AI

4. Ability to easily undo mistakes - try doing this after the plaster has set

5. Ability to share your work with the community.


Steve.

 

[bchester]

my top five reasons why I prefer Trainz over a model railway:

1. Cost

2. Space - only limited by the size of ones hard drive !

3. Being able to 'ride the rails' - be an engineer or ride as a passenger under AI

4. Ability to easily undo mistakes - try doing this after the plaster has set

5. Ability to share your work with the community.


Steve.

Pretty much sums it for me too but with one other addition. When I was creating my N guage empire, I never had the ability to create anything "truely Canadian". I was limited to purchasing engines and then cutting up the plastic skins and making modifications so they would look close to correct but were never close enough.

Trainz, GMax, Paint Shop, and the miriad of other tools has enabled me to re-create my local "real world" trains, stations, industries, etc. I can make them as detailed as I want or as simple objects for distance scenery.

You just can't beat this type of sim!

Thank You Auran,

Brian

 

[Vern]

1. Cost and space constraints. I buy Railway Modeller occasionally and am horrified by how much a small loco or passenger coach costs (makes me wish I'd kept my old equipment instead of selling cheap at swopmeets, I could make a killing on Ebay). The initial outlay on a PC and/or laptop is quite high, but it's being used for things other than train simming. Space - even though "Moorhouse Towers" is a reasonably sized 3-bed, there's nowhere to really put a model railway. What would have been the model room is now the PC room.

2. Sociability - I can develop routes or play trains on the laptop while the missus is watching her favourite TV. Can't do that if the model pike is in the loft, garage or garden shed.

3. Rip it up and start again - You can have more than one project on the go with a train sim. With a model if you're unhappy it's a horrendous process to dismantle all the laid track and scenery, particularly if already wired and ballasted. With a train sim you just start over or mothball the project for a few weeks while looking at something else. My bare baseboards also had a tendency to become an unofficial shelf for "junk".

4. Expansivity - no matter how clever a modeller you are, a cut down 6 car train chasing its tail on a 12' x 10' set of shelves with 18" radius curves doesn't look much like the prototype.

Disadvantages:
Well the main one is the 2D restriction. With a model you can view from different angles, you can exercise all your senses including touch and smell (the latter usually when the motor succumbs to all the track pins stuck to the magnets).

Collectability - software only really declines in value and in terms of the licence cannot be resold (with Trainz this is further protected by the DLS once off serial reg). A model you no longer require can usually be sold on for a profit and fund further purchases of new stock. Must immediately point out that doesn't mean I favour a return to Greg Lane's once wacky idea of "virtual" collectibles that could be bought and sold on line. Please keep that idea dead and buried and the TRS business model broadly as it is.

 

[ish6]

Arguably, the virtual hobby of train simulation is gaining ground on the older more mature model railroad hobby. Obviously affordability and space are major factors but what is the key for you? Is it the ability to hop inside the cab? What features of playing with Trainz really appeals to you over the "real world" model train hobby?

I feel the endless opportunity to really create a functional world where industries can operate in producing and consuming products. Only in a computer world can such factors can happen! That's what really appeal to me!! In a sense, if you're the type to put time and effect Trainz can become more than just a game!

Ish