Some 60+ years ago I was very much into model railroads which today being retired I could neither afford or probably accommodate but Trainz makes a perfect substitute at a fraction of the cost and space where the likes of the 'Miniature Wunderland' is only limited by the imagination. Peter
Yes. Gone are the days where the "World's Greatest Hobby" resides now exclusively with the rich and affluent; not the "common man" ! Shame on you NMRA and model train maker's; this is one of the chief reasons Trainz; Railwork's... OpenRails are drawing your customer base away... too much money involved! Yes, the "common man" can still afford to complete an HO, or N scale layout...
but certainly not the one of their dreams! A regular 4X8 slab of wood on stilts;
compared to a "Club Sized" layout the size of a Walmart store... I mean c'mon!!!
Who'd you think gonna win ultimately! What does even a set of four tree's cost in the hobby store now-a-days? $25 USD! Trees come w/ the Trainz platform -and certainly look far better than any "Woodland Scenic's" tree
-and hell, they don't even sway in the wind! :hehe:
We have close to 400,000 free content/asset's available both w/ the purchase of Trainz, and online [the DLS] ! And a host of quality routes, and payware one can pay but a fraction of the cost for! And for
free content, we have on board many extremely imaginative, gifted ... and prolific quality content creator's such as (in order):
BenDorsey (known primarily for his exquisite bridges);
BNSF50 (known for crossing gates and signs primarily);
BobSanders (known for his creations of people; of British trains, buildings, and structures);
BTVFD (known for his re-skins of loco's and rolling stock of: DaveSnow primarily);
ClintClassic (known for nothin' but gab!
);
Coutumariee (known for his lively creations of the more unusual content for Trainz; and his: "Working People");
DaveSnow (known for just about
anything -except on Mars! :hehe: );
DMDrake (an earlier Trainz content creator of building's primarily; who's quality work (at the time), now-a-day's is considered perfect for buildings placed in background scenes
-due to their low poly-count);
Euphod (known for buildings; and now rolling stock);
GFisher (known for buildings primarily);
JohnWhelan (known for British trains, buildings, and structures); then there's:
Ish6 (known for his
completeness of everything you'd find at an airport... coalmine
-and on Mars! :hehe: );
JRFolco (known primarily for his routes around the rich coal mining regions of the Northeastern USA; and his
fantastic model railroad adaptation of John Allen's: "Gorre & Daphetid" MR -the most revered Model Railroader of all time! You can pick-up these beauties online at: "Glenwood Shops"); "
Lilb (known primary for his work w/ the "unseen"; he's responsible for most of the "scripts" that make things run/work from signals to Trains, within our Trainz world);
LotharHake (known primarily for his route: "Marias Pass" within the Rockies of the US; buildings, people and loco's);
Majekear (known for creating every single piece of rolling stock known to man...
including that one your thinking of -right now! :hehe: );
MatthiasGose (known for his realistic "3D" animated people);
MsgSapper (known primarily for his routes, and various content; not to mention the "bringing to life" of other content creator's assets);
NarrowGauge (known obviously for his Narrow Gauge content, and routes);
Neoklai75 (known for his animated people primarily);
NorfolkSouthern37 (known for his locomotive content [both payware and free -on the DLS] and a prestigious member of the most respected 3rd party Trainz site: "JointedRail" and for the innards found within almost any loco "created" by anyone);
Olegkhim (known for his Russian and Ukrainian content, and routes);
Pencil42 (known for his work primarily on trains, buildings, and structures of ninetieth century North American RR'ing);
PhilSkene (known primarily for his cyber Model Railroad routes/layouts, and routes);
SteveFlanders (known for his work on the earliest steam locomotives/"Pot Boiler's" and passenger carriages/wagons of 19th century Britain, and Ireland);
TLanders (known for his earlier creations of houses);
Vulcan (known for
any content that hasn't basically been done -at the time- for our world of Trainz
-with the exception of DaveSnow);
WhitePass (known for various models of Diesel, Electric, and Steam Locomotives; rolling stock, and older passenger car equipment); and
22Alpha (known as the CEO over at Trainz' most revered 3rd party site: "Jointed Rail Productions" and for his various realistic buildings and structures).
This is but a small handful of a host of other quality content creators, equally "extremely imaginative, and gifted" as those aforementioned!
But there are three notable "payware" content creators, most worthy of mention too; all of which are "equally extremely imaginative, gifted ... and prolific in quality"! Barn700 (known as the owner over at "PaulzTrainz" (a Trainz 3rd party site), and for a host of Steam Locomotive's and passenger equipment from around the world);
RoysTrainz (known primarily for his enormous, painstakingly crafted, and pristinely beautiful routes of the Canadian Rocky Mountains; and -now more recently- for his tree content -both free and payware!); and last, but certainly not the least:
SteveLerro (known as the owner over at: "K&L Trainz" (a Trainz 3rd party site), and thee very best content creator of 20th century North American Steam Locomotive's within the world of Trainz!)
Now with all this excellent content available [and a very first, in the history of the "World's Greatest Hobby" BTW -whether it be cyber Model Railroading, or a regular Model Railroad] Trainz has the most content to build that "route of your dreams" of any era; with any train, on this here' planet Earth and Mars EVER available -LOL!!! Even if you had Bill's Gates' money, why would anyone create a regular Model Railroad anymore? Well, as my cousin [Wayne] a typical "Model Rail" would say "There's just somethin' special when you can actually physically touch a model -whether it be a locomotive or a boxcar!" Oh, whatever... ! Spock would say "Totally illogical" -LOL!
(If you like that "physical" aspect my cousin would say;
well, you can create a modest sized MR too!
I've longed to "finish" one myself!) As
Realhead001 (a well respected cyber MR'er in the Trainz community), would say: you can also make a cyber MR w/ the Trainz platform: complete with bench work, a simulated basement -incl. walls, a door et al!
Ok. So you say "I don't have the time to create a route of my own!"
Well again, their are numerous routes to chose from of: Msgsapper; Philskene and RoysTrainz. as well as a host of other great routes! All you need do is place a couple of trains on the track; and you have a whole RR/MR at your fingertips!
(Besides the content creator's) who do we ultimately have to thank for this now 15 year old enterprise? Why' our very own Tony Hilliam: CEO of (N3V Games) Trainz -of course!!!
I will be in Hamburg on Sunday for my 4th visit now that the Italian exhibit is open. Can't wait for the Monaco section in a few years time complete with a fully operating F1 circuit!
You're so lucky...
and to have seen it 3 times -my God!!! It's certainly on my "Bucket List" and one of the first I'd execute!
