| A Complete Down East Fishing Village From the Download Station (D'Angelo, 23 October 2009) |
 John D'Angelo describes a Maine-flavored route for TRS2006 you will not want to miss.
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| Action At Gotham Tower (Barten, 6 October 2009) |
 Gotham Tower is a rapid transit train watching simulation based on the interactive signal box that John D'Angelo has written about several times. Every thing is ready to go except the bulk of the scenery, which we have left for you to complete as you see fit.
Gotham Tower is available for free download and requires TRS2006 with SP-1. It should work fine with TS2009.
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| A Busy Day at Union Station (D'Angelo, 4 October 2007) |
 John D'Angelo builds a perfect train watching route complete with signal box that lets you view all the action and control routing.
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| A Christmas Gift For TS2010 Users (D'Angelo, 9 December 2010) |
 A surprise layout for TS2010 users.
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| A Lionel Layout for Virtual Railroader (D'Angelo, 9 April 2009) |
 Step back in time to the glory days of Lionel electric railroading with this modern day simulation in Trainz. The layout and session for TRS2006 with SP1 are included.
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| Adventures in Trainz Artificial Intelligence (D'Angelo, 2006) |
 John D'Angelo comes to grips with some of the intricacies of Trainz AI rules. This is MUST reading for anyone exploring Trainz AI.
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| All Aboard the Broadway Limited (D'Angelo, 22 April 2010) |
With a bit of ingenuity, you can build the Pennsylvania's flagship train, the Broadway Limited, in Trainz.
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| Adventures in CMP (D'Angelo, 2007) |
 John D'Angelo explains how to deal with an uncooperative CMP.
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| A New Idea For Ferry Operations (D'Angelo, 7 January 2010) |
 John D'Angelo uses iPortals in imaginative ways for his ferry boat operations in TS2009.
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| A New Look at LARS (D'Angelo and Ljungberg, 25 November 2006) |
 Lars Ljungberg has advanced his LARS freight operating system for Trainz with the new, compatible ProtoLARS system. This article describes both systems.
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| Automating the M-Line (Barten, 2007) |
 Describes use of the automated features incorporated into M-Line PE, which is an enhanced version of the M-Line 2006 route.
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| Bearpaw Lumber Company for TRS 2006 (Barten, 8 August 2007) |
 THE BEARPAW LUMBER COMPANY ROUTE is a simple switching layout designed to demonstrate the workings of Trainz dynamic industries. You may find it addictive.
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| Boston's M-Line in N Scale and Trainz (Barten, 2007) |
 An expanded sequel to Dogbone Traction, this route fills a single Trainz baseboard and adds plenty of scenery and action. Read the description here and download the route.
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| Building the Canal at Windsor Locks (Barten, 2007) |
 Second in our NEW Hartford & Springfield Street Railway series. This article describes playing in the sandbox and arriving at a solution for building a canal in Trainz 2006.
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| Building The Island Rapid Transit System (Barten, 21 Jan 10) |
*** SERIALIZED ARTICLE ***
This is an ongoing series of installments describing the building of a rapid transit / commuter line in TRS2006.
Day 1 - An Idea Is Born (21 Jan 10) [HTML]
Day 2 - The Test Bed (21 Jan 10) [HTML]
Day 3 - A Few Sketches (23 Jan 10) [HTML]
Day 4 - Breaking Ground (1 Feb 10) [HTML]
Day 5 - First Run (10 Feb 10) [HTML]
Day 6 - Interactive Stations (10 Feb 10) [HTML]
Day 7 - Double Tracking (2 Mar 10) [HTML]
Day 8 - Placing The Bascule Bridge (13 May 10) [HTML]
Day 9 - Adding Some Interest (8 Oct 10) [HTML]
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| Bus Driving in Trainz (Barten, 26 April 08) |
 Bus Driving in Trainz explores the possibilities of bus simulation using Trainz and links to a demo layout.
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| Catskill Coal (D'Angelo, 4 December 2008) |
 John D'Angelo describes his latest coal hauling route featuring lots of interactive action. Catskill Coal route and basic session are for TRS2006 SP1 and are available at the Downloads page. No additional content is required.
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| Colorado Narrow Gauge: Rebirth of an Old Friend (Barten, 14 October 2007) |
 An update to John D'Angelo's Black Canyon route, adding Portals and interactive logging, lumbering, mining and passenger service.
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| Converting DEM Files to Trainz Maps (Slack, 3 April 2006) |
 When you want to create a Trainz model based on actual terrain, you may need to use DEM (Digital Elevation Modeling). My approach is certainly not the only way to do it, but I like the method I learned, and I can do it fast.
In the beginning, you have to have an idea of just what terrain you want to duplicate. There are a couple of sources of DEM for the area in which we are modeling the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway - NASA, GIS Data Depot, and MapMart. All three sites allow free downloads, some with restrictions. Of all of them, I find that Mapmart is the easiest to specify what you want.
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| Creating a Living Rolling Stock Display (D'Angelo/Trenena, 7 December 2008) |
 John D'Angelo comes up with another innovative idea for having fun with Trainz. This time it's an interactive "display case" for viewing collections of Trainz rolling stock. The VR Trainz Display Case route and UP session are for TRS2006 SP1 and are available at the Downloads page. No additional content is required. File size is 13 KB.
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| Creating the Virginia & Truckee for Trainz (D'Angelo/Trenena, 15 June 2007) |
 Collin Trevena describes progress on a Trainzer group project: The Virginia & Truckee Railroad. The Trainz route currently stands at 1000 baseboards.
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| Crib Notes: Trainz Railroad Simulator 2006 (Barten, 2006) |
 This set of crib notes covers Trainz. The hallmark of Trainz is its ease of use, which is not to take away from its many other features. For example, driving can be in one of two modes: Cab or DCC. The former uses controls inside the cab; the latter uses a controller similar to a model railroad. Uncoupling cars and throwing track switches in Trainz are done visually, using the mouse. HTML
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| Downloading & Installing With CMP (Olsen, 2006) |
 Trainz Railroad Simulator 2006 has a new way of getting third-party content from the Trainz Download Station to you computer. It’s a nifty bit of programming that needs some explanation. Jarl Olsen created this “how-to” for his father, Norm, who passed it along to us. – Ed. PDF
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| Getting And Keeping Their Attention:
A Good Use For iPortals (Barten, 27 September 2007) |
 THERE'S NO BETTER WAY to sell a train simulator than by demonstrating it. When at a train show I make sure at least one of our laptop computers is being used to properly convey the concept of what a simulator is all about. That requires keeping personal or tight control over the activity on that computer.
The National Narrow Gauge Convention in Portland. Maine last month gave me a good reason to try out iPortals.
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| Go West, Young Man! (D'Angelo, 2006) |
 This Christmas season we received a big treat from some of our very creative contributors to the Trainz Download Station (DLS). Elvenor made a batch of new items for those of you who love to model narrow gauge operations and/or enjoy modeling the old west of the United States. Bdaneal also made some great old time narrow and standard gauge locomotives. Combining these items with the great old west equipment by Cowboy and Prowler really can help you create excellent western scenes. PDF
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| Hawes Junction (Barten, 2006) |
 With many thousands of available add-ons at the Trainz Download Station, it's easy to overlook the gems that come with the game. Here we have a look at Hawes Junction by rail-sim.co.uk.
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| Into the Hills of the Himalayas, an Exotic Adventure (D'Angelo, 2006) |
 The Himalayan Mountains, India, Darjeeling tea; these are words that make me think of novels written by Rudyard Kipling. There is one word that I would use to express the feeling I get when I read those words, and that is Exotic. Along with those words there is also a railway that is one of the most exotic little railways you can find. HTML
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| Jamesport, A Seaside Railroad Railroad (D'Angelo, 11 August 2007) |
 JAMESPORT IS A FICTIONAL SEASIDE SWITCHING RAILROAD that can be used in modular fashion to be added to any route or operated on its own using portals.
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| John Allen's Gorre & Daphetid Railroad For Trainz (D'Angelo, 4 March 2009) |
 This article describes the transformation of John Allen's three layouts into Trainz versions. The routes and related sessions are available for free download. TRS2006 and SP-1 are required; no additional downloads are needed. You can discuss the article and routes here.
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| Let's Do the Run Around! (D'Angelo, 2006) |
 Recently I've been having lots of fun doing the run around with my local trains. When you perform a Run Around you bring in a passenger train to a terminal station, load the passengers, then uncouple the locomotive from the train. You pull forward, then take a passing track and reverse past the consist, switch back to the track the consist is on, and re-couple to the consist. After doing this procedure you head back out on the main line going in the opposite direction. PDF
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| Metro North Harlem Line: A Trainz Classics Original (Barten, 15 July 2007) |
 THROUGH THE YEARS my approach to route design has been to imagine a type of operation and then create a route to go with it. The opposite approach, and one that has found much favor on the MSTS and BVE platforms, is to replicate - or at least be inspired by - the prototype. The new Metro North Harlem Line by Auran is an outstanding example of the latter approach, an authentic modeling of about 38 miles of this busy former New York Central commuter rail line.
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| Lincolnpin Rail Road Expansion (Barten, 6 March 2008) |
 LINCOLNPIN RAIL ROAD has been expanded from 1 baseboard to 6.
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| Lincolnpin Rail Road Extension 2 (Barten, 29 June 2008) |
 LINCOLNPIN RAIL ROAD has been expanded from 1 baseboard to 6 and now to ten.
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| Mix Up Those Passenger Runs (DiAngelo, 2006) |
 These days most of our trains have a unified appearance. The Long Island Railroad that I commuted to New York City on was, for the most part, composed of aluminum sided commuter trains. They had no locomotive, as each car was self-powered using third rail electricity. Only the trains heading out to the forks of the island were not electrified and used diesel equipment. All day long sliver snakes went into and out of Manhattan on a regular basis. The sameness of their appearance made train spotting a bit of a dull experience. PDF
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| Modeling an HO Scale Railroad Using Trainz: Where the Ruler is King! (D'Angelo, 2006) |
 John D'Angelo describes the building of a basement-size simulation in HO scale using Trainz.
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| Modeling Prototype Freight Operations in Trainz Using the Car Movement and Traffic Management System (Petersen, 15 January 2010) |
 Here's a terrific freight operations modeling system for use with Trainz.
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| Northbay County (Barten, 2007) |
 Second in our Straight from the Box series. Northbay County is a Trainz 2006 route featuring 2-foot and 3-foot narrw gauge railroading.
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| On the Road to Darjeeling (D'Angelo, 15 April 2007) |
 John D'Angelo brings us an update on the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway simulation project underway from Trainz Railroad Simulator.
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| On the Road With Trainz (Barten, 5 December 2006) |
 The Trainz on the Road program has made it possible for me to get out and meet many train simmers and would-be train simmers. It has also given me a glimpse of the future by seeing today’s kids in action. They line up waiting to try their hand at one of the two (sometimes three) terminals we have running TRS2006. When I send in my application for tables at a train show, I truthfully advise the show director that we draw a crowd and need to be positioned accordingly. “Don’t put us on a narrow aisle unless you want to hear complaints from the other vendors,” I tell them.
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| Operations at Grand River Junction (Barten, 12 December 2007) |
 GRAND RIVER JUNCTION was designed to demonstrate the use of Portals and iPortals. It also works as a standalone module that will keep you busy switching cars and monitoring train movements indefinitely.
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| Operations at Wayward Junction (Barten, 8 December 2008) |
 A busy junction on a 30-inch gauge common carrier route for TRS2006 with SP1. This article describes the route and operation, both of which are available for free download.
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| Operations on the Lincolnpin Rail Road (Barten, 11 February 2008) |
 LINCOLNPIN RAIL ROAD was designed to take advantage of Pecil42's new 30-inch gauge equipment for Trainz.
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| Operations on the Rockbottom & Beatte 2007 Railroad (D'Angelo, 8 June 2007) |
 Here's a Trainz layout with loads of action. It's based on an HO gauge layout but takes advantage of the features that only virtual railroading can provide.
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| Shooting the TC Harlem Line (Barten, 14 November 2007) |
 Grab your virtual camera and join us in photographing the Trainz Classics Harlem Line.
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| The 20th Century Limited (D'Angelo, 27 Sept 2010) |
John D'Angelo describes the world famous 20th Century Limited and how you model it in in Trainz.
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| The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway for Trainz:
The final Spike (D'Angelo, 14 March 2008) |
 AFTER 31 MONTHS of group effort, the full-scale 50+ mile long railway with about 200 baseboards filled with over 2,000 custom items has been completed.
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| The Hampton Subway: Creating a Model From a Myth (D'Angelo, 25 November 2010) |
 John D'Angelo brings fiction to another level with his Hampton Subway for TS2009.
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| The Never Ending Operation (D'Angelo, 27 May 2009) |
 Like most of us, I have used the Save option in Trainz to save a session in progress for later playback in order to pick up where I left off, but I really wanted to do more.
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| The NEW Hartford & Springfield Street Railway (Barten, 2007) |
 Part one of a series describing the building of this new route for Trainz.
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| The Trainz Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Project: First You Build a Mountain (D'Angelo, 2006) |
 As I write this article, Bill Slack is virtually sitting on a very steep hill in the Himalayan Mountains waiting for a map to arrive. Rest of paragraph. Or should I say Bill is sitting on a virtual reality Himalayan hill waiting for that map! Right now he is trying to figure out the best route to continue laying 2' narrow gauge track, and he really does need that map. Hopefully, by the time I get to the end of this article, he will get the map he needs. If you're confused about all this, don't worry, we'll just go back in time a bit.
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| Trainz: A Modeler's Paradise (Barten, 2006) |
 Less than six months after Microsoft released its
Train Simulator
(MSTS) in June 2001, Auran, released
Trainz in time for the Christmas rush.
There was much anticipation, as Auran had been issuing press releases on a
regular basis, touting the ease of building routes in its new simulator, and
displaying the results of its accompanying utility,
Paint Shed, which let just about anybody
reskin a model in their favorite livery.
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| Traveling on the Orient Express (D'Angelo, 15 June 2008) |
 Adventure! Intrigue! Opulence! John D'Angelo describes the beautiful Orient Express available for Trainz.
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| United Central 2008 (D'Angelo, 19 January 2008) |
 John D'Angelo upgrades his United Central and provides a free download at the VR Downloads page. The route requires TRS2006 with SP-1, but does not require any additional assets.
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| Using SCABs for the Darjeeling Himalayan Model Railway Project (D'Angelo/Pardoe-Matthews, 2006) |
 "The model of the route Bill Slack created is over 50 megabytes in size and the large size created problems when it came time to share the file for detailing. It just is not easy to send and receive a 52 megabyte file amongst a group of different people. Something had to be done to create a system where folks could work on sections of the route, then contribute that work to the main body."
This article describes a creative solution to the problem of collaborative work on LARGE routes. It is being successfully employed by the Trainz Narrowgaugers on their DHR project.
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| Wayward Junction 2: The Update (Barten, 15 February 2009) |
 This article describes the update to the original Wayward Junction. The route and three sessions are available for free download. TRS2006 and Sp-1 are required.
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| White Mountain Winter, a Holiday Gift (D'Angelo, 1 December 2007) |
 Here's a holiday route filled with snowtime fun. The route and session are downloadable at our Downloads page and require no additional assets.
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| Winter on the Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes Railroad (Eckard, 2006) |
 Work continues on the layout for the next version, which will include the line from Strong to Bigelow. I thought it would be fun to release a winter version of the layout, and I also wanted to write a description of a typical freight run on the Sandy River. I believe it is important to imagine how a freight run would happen in real life, and then use that storyline to perform the operating session on the Sandy River layout. PDF
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| Winterizing a Trainz Layout Using TrainzObjectz (Eckard, 2006) |
 Do you have a favorite layout that you would like to transform into a winter themed layout? Have you found foliage that would look great on your layout, but you simply don’t want to put the time into replacing all those trees? Fortunately, we can easily transform layouts in Trainz using a great utility application called TrainzObjectz. PDF
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| Working at the Federal Street Yard (D'Angelo, 27 July 2008) |
 John D'Angelo describes his latest switching layout, the Federal Street Freight Yard. This route for TRS2006 SP1 is available at the Downloads page and requires no additional content. HTML
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