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A train simulator is a computer based simulation of rail transport operations.
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Industrial train simulations
Like flight simulators, train simulators have been produced for railway training purposes. Driver simulators include those produced by Ongakukan in Japan, EADS in Germany,[1] Bentley Systems in the UK,[2] and Lander in Spain.[3]
Signaller training simulators have been developed by The Railway Engineering Company (TRE) in the UK,[4][5] and OpenTrack Railway Technology in Switzerland,[6][7]
Railroad operation games
There are two broad categories of train simulation video games: Driving simulations and railroad-themed strategy simulation games.
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.
- Densha de Go!
- Microsoft Train Simulator
- Rail Simulator
- Train Simulator series
- Trainz
- BVE Trainsim (Freeware)
- openBVE (Open source)
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 is a programmable desktop cab controller with throttle, brake lever and switches designed to work with Trainz, TrainMaster, Microsoft Train Simulator and Rail Simulator.[8]
Railroad-themed strategy simulation video games are focused mostly on 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,[9] spawning remakes such as Simutrans (1999), OpenTTD (2004) and Sawyer's own Locomotion (2000). 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).[10]
Some rail simulation games focus on railroad switches rather than economics. Examples include The Train Game (1983) and SimSig.
See also
- Flight simulator – contains reference to flight simulators
- Strategy computer game
External links
- 2TRAIN Benchmarking Report on computer-based Railway Training in Europe
- RailServe.com (Directory of train simulator sites)
- Train simulator at the Open Directory Project
- VR Reading Room: Hundreds of articles covering all train simulators
References
- ^ "EADS - Very High Speed, Intercity and Suburban Train Simulators". railway-technology.com. SPG Media Limited. http://www.railway-technology.com/contractors/professional/eads/. Retrieved 2009-03-14.
- ^ "First Great Western - Investment in driver training with new lifesize simulator". www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk. 4 March 2004. http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/NewsItem.aspx?id=291. Retrieved 2009-03-14.
- ^ "LANDER Simulation & Training Solutions - Training Simulators - Railway Technology". www.railway-technology.com. http://www.railway-technology.com/contractors/professional/lander-simulation/. Retrieved 2009-01-24.
- ^ Ryland, H (November 10-11, 2005). "Operations - the value of training simulators [railway signaller training]". Safety Assurance, 2005. The IEE Seminar on (Ref. No. 2005/11081) (The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers). ISSN 0537-9989. http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/freeabs_all.jsp?arnumber=1575269. Retrieved 2009-03-14. ""Since the Cullen Report into the accident at Ladbroke Grove, there has been increased pressure to improve the training of railway signallers. The Railway Engineering Company has responded to this situation by providing comprehensive signaller training systems. These have been installed for all workstations at all the IECC installations on Network Rail."".
- ^ "TRE_CORPORATE_BROCHURE.pdf (application/pdf Object)". www.theraileng.co.uk. http://www.theraileng.co.uk/pdfs/TRE_CORPORATE_BROCHURE.pdf. Retrieved 2009-01-24.
- ^ Hürlimann, Daniel (20 September 2007). "OpenTrack presentation" (in German). The 12th Conference of the railML Initiative. RailML.org. http://www.railml.org/documents/events/slides/2007-09-20_otrt_huerlimann-opentrack.pdf. Retrieved 2009-03-14.
- ^ "OpenTrack Railway Technology - Railway Simulation". www.opentrack.ch. http://www.opentrack.ch/opentrack/opentrack_e/opentrack_e.html. Retrieved 2009-01-24.
- ^ "Train-Sim.Com Review: RailDriver". www.train-sim.com. http://www.train-sim.com/review/raildriv/raildriv.htm. Retrieved 2009-01-17.
- ^ Daniel Emery (10 March 2009). "Inside Games: Creative Assembly". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7932414.stm. Retrieved 2009-11-09.
- ^ Scott Osborne (Oct 12, 2001). "Rails Across America Review". GameSpot. http://uk.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/railsacrossamerica/review.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=gssummary&tag=summary;read-review. Retrieved 2009-11-09. "While admittedly inspired by the hit Railroad Tycoon series, Rails Across America takes a broader approach to rail empire building and offers some novel, entertaining features."
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