07-03-2013, 07:47 AM
It isn't a substitute for real modeling, but it was surprisingly engaging, and a good substitute for the military scenarios I usually play to fill in dead time late at night. When you begin actual operations, especially switching,your score suddenly becomes a matter of great concern, and you get scored on everything from operational ability to on-time record to speed control to passenger comfort (sudden stops and starts) to locomotive wheel slippage if you neglect to use the sanders on grades. I also discovered the hard way that you must check your own switch settings when leaving the yard to insure that they are set properly in order for you to depart by your assigned route, and this must be accomplished while you are lumbering through the yard at 15 mph. 
The cab is a very busy place.
I wish I had the skills to create these sims. I would love to do the Rockies narrow gauge railways, especially routes like Phantom Canyon, the Alpine Tunnel and the rest of the real high country gold mine servers. Taking the Argentine up to 11,000-pluis would be fun, and using the covered turntable to move ore cares would be a real challenge. After that, operating a geared loco on a steep mountain lumber operation would be even more challenging and interesting. Maybe the sim folks will wake up to that one of these days.
I have learned one very essential fact: drifting down the long grade from the Cajon pass with eighty loaded ore cars behind me and maintaining the speed and safety limits is a real attention getter. The dynamic brakes seem almost useless, and if you crest the pass at too high a speed, they aren't much use when you start down. 8-)
And do NOT get me started on the steam locomotives.
The cab is a very busy place.I wish I had the skills to create these sims. I would love to do the Rockies narrow gauge railways, especially routes like Phantom Canyon, the Alpine Tunnel and the rest of the real high country gold mine servers. Taking the Argentine up to 11,000-pluis would be fun, and using the covered turntable to move ore cares would be a real challenge. After that, operating a geared loco on a steep mountain lumber operation would be even more challenging and interesting. Maybe the sim folks will wake up to that one of these days.
I have learned one very essential fact: drifting down the long grade from the Cajon pass with eighty loaded ore cars behind me and maintaining the speed and safety limits is a real attention getter. The dynamic brakes seem almost useless, and if you crest the pass at too high a speed, they aren't much use when you start down. 8-)
And do NOT get me started on the steam locomotives.