Computer-based simulation of rail transport operations
A train simulator (also railroad simulator or railway simulator) is a computer-based simulation of rail transport operations. They are generally large complicated software packages modeling a 3D virtual reality world implemented both as commercial trainers, and consumer computer game software with 'play modes' which lets the user interact by stepping inside the virtual world. Because of the near view modeling, often at speed, train simulator software is generally far more complicated software to write and implement than flight simulator programs.
Industrial train simulations.
Like flight simulators, train simulators have been produced for railway training purposes. Driver simulators include those produced by:
Signaller training simulators have been developed by Funkwerk in Germany, The Railway Engineering Company (TRE) in the UK, OpenTrack Railway Technology in Switzerland, and PS Technology in the US.
Types of train simulators.
There are various types of train driving simulators that are adapted to varying training needs and can be combined to meet operators' training needs in the most efficient way.
Full-cabin simulators.
Similarly to flight simulators, train simulators can be a replica of a full driving cabin, on a one-to-one scale. This type of simulator is opted for when a train operator needs an immersive training tool for particularly effective training sessions.
Intermediate, more compact simulators.
Certain simulators can uphold a certain level of immersion while optimising the space of a training room. When a certain balance between immersion and scalability is needed, this type of simulator is chosen by instructors.
Portable simulators.
When a train operator has various training centres, it is sometimes easier and more logical to invest in smaller simulators that can be transported from one centre to another. The company Transurb Simulation was the first to propose such a tool, which has now been adopted by many operators around the world and is becoming of a growing interest for smaller operators.
Consumer train simulation.
Many consumer train simulations have been produced, often focusing on different aspects of real-life railways.
Driving simulation.
Train driving simulation games usually allow a user to have a "driver's view" from the locomotive's cab and operate realistic cab controls such as throttle, brake valve, sand, horn and whistle, lights etc.
Train driving simulation software includes:
The PC game "3D Ultra Lionel Traintown", amongst some others, give a different experience to driving, by being in a 3rd person omniscient perspective, controlling the trains from a bird's eye view.
Peripherals specifically designed for use with driving simulations include RailDriver by US manufacturer P.I. Engineering. RailDriver is a programmable desktop cab controller with throttle, brake lever and switches designed to work with "Trainz", "TrainMaster", "Microsoft Train Simulator" and "Rail Simulator. There are also numerous Rail simulators on Roblox such as Stepford County Railway and British Rail."
Strategy simulation.
Railroad-themed strategy simulation video games are focused mostly on the economic part of the railroad industry rather than on technical detail. The "A-Train" series (1985 to present) is an early example. Chris Sawyer's "Transport Tycoon" (1994) was an influential game in this genre, spawning remakes such as "Simutrans" (1999 to present), "OpenTTD" (2004 to present) and Sawyer's own "Locomotion" (2004). Sid Meier designed two railroad simulations: "Railroad Tycoon" (1990) and "Railroads!" (2006). The "Railroad Tycoon" series itself inspired other rail games such as "Rails Across America" (2001).
Other genres.
Some rail simulation games focus on railway signalling rather than driving or economics. Examples include "The Train Game" (1983), "SimSig", "JBSS BAHN", "Train Dispatcher", and the series of signalling simulations produced by PC-Rail Software.
History.
Train simulators are particularly popular in Japan, where rail transport is the primary form of travel for most citizens. Train video games have been developed in Japan since the early 1980s, with Sega's arcade action game "Super Locomotive" (1982) being an early example, before more realistic train simulators emerged, such as Ongakukan's "Train Simulator" series (1995 debut) and Taito's "Densha de Go" series (1996 debut), as well as train business simulations such as the "A-Train" series (1985 debut). Non-commercial Japanese sims include the freeware BVE, first released in 1996, which was later remade as the free and open-source "OpenBVE".
One of the first commercially available train simulators in the West was "Southern Belle", released in 1985. The game simulated a journey of the "Southern Belle" steam passenger train from London Victoria to Brighton, while at the same time the player must comply with speed limits, not to go too fast on curves and keep to the schedule. It was followed with "Evening Star" in 1987. The first two train simulators to achieve large sales in the West, "Microsoft Train Simulator" and "Trainz", arrived within a few months of one another in 2001. These featured differing design philosophies - "Microsoft Train Simulator" focused on providing a realistic driving experience, whereas "Trainz" focused more on the ability of the user to create their own content such as trains and routes.
The developers behind "Microsoft Train Simulator", Kuju Entertainment, later released a spiritual successor called "Rail Simulator", which was later purchased by a separate company and rereleased as "Railworks".
References.
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