Celebrating over a decade on the Forums

jordon412

33 Year Old Railfan
2022 means I've been a regular member of The Forums for a decade. Now you may be wondering, "But wait on your profile it says you joined November 9th, 2006." Well, yes, but I wasn't on the Forums on a regular basis until Trainz 2012 came out and I found third party websites such as TrainzProRoutes, JointedRail, and Subpar Productions. Subpar Productions was the website that introduced me to problems with texture files and resulted in me reaching out to the Forums for help, and I received that help. I have since learned how to use AssetX, Image2TGA, PM2IM, TrainzMeshViewer, and a little bit of GIMP, but have not yet figured out how to use PEV's QuickShadows or Attachment Maker. I've also figured out how to fix errors regarding typos in the config file, which would have been warnings in previous versions of Trainz. Since joining the Forums, I've seen a lot of people come and go, such as sniper297, whose modified models were my first creations, cincysouthernrwy, normhart, and Bendorsey. I want to give a big thank you to everyone who has helped me over the years and have a Happy New Year. I look forward to what the next year brings to Trainz.
 
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Congratulations, Jordon! July 10 this coming summer will be my ten years. I have learned a lot and like to help folks here when I can, but with a half dozen or more partials and not near enough patience I have yet to finish a route! :hehe:
 
Congrats, I joined the forums back in 2009, but have been playing trainz since 2002 when things were really small. it's amazing how fast the time has gone. I was 24-25 years old then, and now 45. I plan to be around the forums and trainz another 20-30 years at least.
 
Coming up on two decades for me. I joined before "The Great Forum Meltdown" which reset everybody's join date. At 80, things tend to slow down a little.

Bill
 
Coming up on two decades for me. I joined before "The Great Forum Meltdown" which reset everybody's join date. At 80, things tend to slow down a little.

Bill

When was "The Great Forum Meltdown"? I've also been playing Trainz since the very first retail edition of Trainz came out on CD. Also, one thing I used to do early in my time searching third party websites, I had a policy of 'Freeware Only', as I was wary of payware. However, Virtual Motive Division's model of the Southern Ps-4 4-6-2 pacific was very tempting to break my policy. However, by the time I had abandoned this policy, VMD and their model of the Southern Ps-4 4-6-2 pacific was gone. However, I'm glad I didn't get it because of K&L Trainz's gorgeous Southern Ps-4 Mega Pack, which came with three whole trains and was much better than VMD's model.
 
Right after I posted that, I tried to remember when it was. Not sure. Someone else will probably have the answer. It was a mess for a while, but it eventually got sorted out. Nobody mentions waffles any more.


Bill
 
Right after I posted that, I tried to remember when it was. Not sure. Someone else will probably have the answer. It was a mess for a while, but it eventually got sorted out. Nobody mentions waffles any more.


Bill
Seems to me that it was between 2006 and 2009, being that TRS 2006 was the last version before the forum glitch.
 
Just thinking out loud a bit here

Right after I posted that, I tried to remember when it was. Not sure. Someone else will probably have the answer. It was a mess for a while, but it eventually got sorted out. Nobody mentions waffles any more.


Bill

Hello Bill,

Wishing you a Wonderful and Healthy New Year, I read your Historical from 2006 to present. That is a long time to be in the Game. :cool:

I was in Modern Warfare Game (Military) for about 5 yrs and figured out how much I was spending a month ! Ouch.......And needed a diversion as I had just retired 2011 from 50 yrs of working several jobs. In 2014 switched over to Trainz, actually found Trainz by accident, as I was playing some Game Simulation in Valve with Microsoft and other Games.

So at present, I have 8 yrs in need 2 more with Trainz to get my 1st Decade........However, I have played with both Simulation Trains Wood to Real Life Trains for 66 yrs. It is something to think about, the changes in Real Life Trains and from Wood Toy Trains to where I am now, with Virtual Trainz...:sleep:

Congrats to all the Rest here, in the Decades of accomplishment you've made and continue to make.;)

Thinking out loud here, as I watch it start to Rain again, and much welcomed with our prolonged Drought issues in 11 Western States, Pacific Coast side.:)

One of the other reasons I went to Virtual Games for Hobby reasons, my back issues with pinched nerves, arthritis etc, just general aging of body, I wasn't going to be able to play, repair, build a Platform Layout, my last being in the garage, size was 22' x 7.5' feet long with hundreds of feet of track, multitude of wires, switches and actual signaling, took over 5 years to build with 1x2,2x3,1x4 boards and heavy plywood. ;)

Model Railroading is not cheap either, I estimated the initial investment was way over 10,ooo$ and upwards to 15K$. Remember this was in mid 70's so that was a chunk of Change to spend. I remember saving money each month to buy Nickel Silver Tracks, new Train Rolling Stock, and all the other things you needed for Automation of said layout.:eek:

https://www.google.com/search?q=nickels+silver+train+tracks

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=model+train+companies


  • Athearn.
  • Atlas Trainman.
  • Arnold by Hornby.
  • Bachmann.
  • Broadway Limited Imports.
  • Fox Valley Models.
  • Intermountain.
  • Kato.


Played with Lionel down to Z Trains, really small trains, got very expensive, if you had Brass, well it was almost like buying Gold......So there's that! Never bought Brass, but had a lot of friends that did. I didn't like the look, what can I say.......

Took my beloved Layout apart about 3 some years ago, very hard thing for me to do, but I had reached the conclusion that this period in my life had to come to a closing for health reasons. And then it was Trainz, a decision even today, I feel was the best of all things and no regret. Everything takes work, be it Physical, Mental or construct of both.


Looking forward in my Geeky Computer mind, OOPS what a Nerdy person I am, EEK,

I'm following AI Development Trends and what it is doing to our Social Construct, this includes VR and Metaverse Technology. (Think about all the amazing Science Fiction movies, Star Trek for example, that we have watched)

https://about.meta.com (We’re moving beyond 2D screens and into immersive experiences in the metaverse, helping create the next evolution of social technology.)

Looking into 2023, there most likely, and it is already started this year, amazing and scary changes with the way we deal with Computers, Simulation, Metaverse, VR Technologies. It will be interesting to see where Trainz and other Railroad Simulators evolve too?

https://www.google.com/search?q=visual+technology

Technology and the way we view things is on Fire, too hard for me to keep at my age, but I try to be aware of it......Are World as we know it, may become unrecognizable in the next Decade.

Happy New Year :wave:
 
I still have the Lionel trainset I got for Christmas of 1949. It's a little bent from moving from country to country every three years before I retired, but it has survived. Most of my model trains were purchased when I lived in Japan. I tiny little hobby store tucked down a small alley in Hachinohe.

Happy Holidays to everyone out there.

Bill
 
Seems to me that it was between 2006 and 2009, being that TRS 2006 was the last version before the forum glitch.

The forum crashed in June of 2006. Efforts to restore it and or fix the issues went on for 5 months before Auran threw in the towel and declared it unrecoverable. That is why some of us have Nov 2006 as our join date due to having our accounts reset.
 
I've been here since December 2003. I bought TRS2004 SP0 at CompUSA a day or two after Christmas. I couldn't wait to install it and I've been Trainzing since. My original route still exists. I found it backed up on a CDR a couple of years ago. I installed it and laughed at my route construction but the gist of it was there. I had set a goal which more or less still exists in its current incarnation. Parts of the original route still exist in the current form but much of it has been replaced with newer construction.

When I first built the route, I got the compass mixed up and what was supposed to be east became west. I built around that issue and used that as a reason for the sheltered harbor at one end of the route. I also didn't know at the time that everything was meters even though I set the rulers to imperial! With that error, my heights were way off causing some really deep canyons instead of a regular river valley. Using TransDEM, I was able to rectify that issue many years later, but there's still a big height discrepancy near the harbor. Using some artistic license, I've been able to make that less noticeable in most areas with a lot more work to go.

Trainz for me has become a love-hate relationship. I suppose it's the same for everyone. The new features, while looking awesome on paper and in the forums, don't always pan out for easy-to-use operations, making for some really frustrating times. The fact that many things still haven't been updated or fixed that should be, makes things irksome such as the ever so tiny merge route interface without the ability to hold the mouse down to fast move a route into place. The vagueness of the layers, even in S20 is annoying, the fact that we can't lasso and add a group of assets to a layer instead of having to click on the properties of each and every one, and so many other simple things we've requested but never fixed, but we get new features instead.
 
I too have been around since TRS2004, in which I created my first Route "Rhubarb Junction". I recently had a look at that Route and had to wonder "What was I thinking?" It would be impossible to run more than a couple trains on it without poor signaling and "creative" trackwork bringing everything to a standstill! But it was fun to do and I was very happy to upload it to DLS! "Rhubarb Junction" does have its legacy however, in that it formed the basis for most of the Routes that followed.

I have not been impressed with TRS22 to date , but I am happily moving my recent Routes from T-ANE to TRS2019. As is my habit, "moving" a Route to a later version of Trainz always includes a major overhaul ... but it's always fun, and the end result worthwhile. Regards to all. Colin.
 
As my avatar shows, I've been a member of the forum since Nov 2001. I still have the disk's for all of the retail versions of Trainz with the first Trainz simulator coming out in 2002 for distribution in America. Didn't get to try the community version before the first retail CD was available. I still remember Highland Valley as one of the first layouts released with an automated session (called scenarios back then) where you watch the trains do their thing. This is truly a lifetime hobby.

Jack
 
Seems to me that it was between 2006 and 2009, being that TRS 2006 was the last version before the forum glitch.
The system crashed in 2006 and all the data was lost for the members. On restart there was no other way but for everyone at that time to seem to have joined in 2006. We go on from there to now.

Doug
 
Started out on the original Auran red forum, joining in June 2001. I own all the main versions since CE, plus a few side lines like Paint Shed, Treez and TC3.
 
Dunno when I joined but it was before 2006. See my sig.

My first experience with Auran was actually a set of rolling stock for MSTS. Once I started seeing how you could build your own routes, I decided to grab a copy for myself.
 
When was "The Great Forum Meltdown"?

As someone said, it was in mid 2006. There was wailing and a gnashing of teeth. Computers were unplugged by infuriated owners, whole cities burned to the grid, some weaklings re-installed Microsoft Train Simulator, parents sacrificed their children hoping to appease the Great Server and get their threads back. But it was not to be. The knowledge lost allowed a lawless age of syntax errors, large uniform textures, thoughtless poly counts and the curse of SketchUp assets to ravage Trainz world. During the 6 months of terror that followed the crash, conspiracy theories ran riot as to who or what caused the digital apocalypse. A delayed millenium bug from China, an insurance scam by Auran, a takeover bid by Bill Gates, a Queensland versus New South Wales thing, a cosmic ray from the Andromeda black hole? We will probably never know.
 
Here is a trivia question. What was different about entering Driver in the Original Trainz and UTC Trainz that was totally changed in TRS2004?
 
Another year has passed since my last post in this thread. I joined somewhere around early-2003, I think it was. The first person to answer one of my questions was Peter (Narrowgauge). As it turned out, he and I were the original members of the push to produce the DHR for TS2004. That rolling stone gathered a lot of moss. By the time we were finished, almost four years later, there were around fifteen of us in our group. I still have all the original disks for every game that came with them sitting on the shelf above me. A tidy pile, to be sure.

I seriously doubt I will go beyond TS2019, though. While still competitive, my computer wouldn't give me the performance I need. Since I'm on a fixed income, upgrading either (or both) isn't in the cards. I'm not all that enamored of Windows 11 anyway.

Bill
 
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