Trains

Good news for Rail Simulator fans outside the US. Just Trains are about to release an official Expansion Pack covering the Cajon Pass route:

We’re very pleased to announce the imminent release of Rail Simulator – Official Expansion Pack, coming soon on DVD-ROM and as a Download.

For the first time outside the US, Just Trains brings you the complete and highly acclaimed Cajon Pass route that was included in the US release of Rail Simulator – but with unique bonus extras. UK train enthusiasts will love the highly detailed models of the Class 08 Shunter in 12 period liveries! ‘Free Roam’ the existing UK routes in Rail Simulator or take on the challenges of Class 08 shunting in the six included scenarios.

The Cajon Pass route runs over 80 miles of track, from San Bernardino in Southern California to Barstow in the north, and you can negotiate this famous route either in Free Roam mode or in the seven challenging scenarios. Here are just some of the great features included:

• Highly detailed Union Pacific ES44AC and SD40-2 locomotives
• Bonus content -black reskins for the ES44AC and SD40-2 locomotives
• 11 unique rolling stock wagons including 2 all-new hoppers
• 7 scenarios including 3 new bonus ones!
• Detailed and accurately placed landmarks and notable buildings
• Realistic sounds
• Authentic terrain mapping and track placement
• AI Train operations

You’ll find all the details here along with a selection of great screenshots. This package is the first official expansion pack for Rail Simulator and has been developed by Rail Simulator Developments (part of the original Rail Simulator development team) – it has to be one of the most realistic train sim expansions ever and we’re sure you’ll be impressed with the level of detail!

Price for both the DVD-ROM and Download is £19.99/€29.95/$39.99. Release of the Download is scheduled for the end of February, and the DVD-ROM version will be rolled out at the end of March.

Rail Simulator has received its first patch, which includes a vast number of fixes and improvements. It’s a pretty hefty 61Mb download.

Visit the official Rail Simulator site for more information and a list of available download sites.

Electronic Arts has made Rail Simulator available to the US market this week.

The product has received mixed reviews on Amazon, but it seems it’s the best available at the moment. The release of Microsoft’s Train Simulator 2 could change all that, though. You can watch a video trailer over on Gamespot, where you can also find a number of tutorial videos.

Microsoft have updated their Train Simulator 2 site, copying much of the structure from their Flight Simulator X web site. They’ve also included a few more screenshots. It’s shaping up to look pretty good.

One thing that I’m sure will appeal to fans is the statement “Train Simulator 2 will model almost all of the world’s railways using sophisticated processing techniques and real-world track data.” At last, near whole word data.