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New Arrivals

Steam Locomotive Cab Simulator, Part 2
By Doug Johnson, 9 June 2009

Doug Johnson completes his P-scale (aka Prototype scale) simulator for use with MSTS and RailDriver. PDF



The Never Ending Operation
By John 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. HTML


A Lionel Layout for Virtual Railroader
By John 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. HTML


Wayward Junction 3
By Alfred Barten, 10 March 2009

Wayward Junction 3 is a minor update to Wayward Junction 2. The key change is the addition of a turnatable and roundhouse. The turntable lets you turn steam locos for sending back out in the direction from which they came. Admittedly, the tank locos run backwards as well as frontwards, but the 2-8-2 locos with tenders are definitely more appropriately run forward. HTML


John Allen's Gorre & Daphetid Railroad For Trainz
By John 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. HTML


Wayward Junction 2: The Update
By Alfred 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 SPp-1 are required. HTML


Exploring the Wellsville, Addison & Galeton
By Alfred Barten, 2 February 09

If you like operating short lines, with the wealth of switching activity involved, you’re sure to like the Wellsville, Addison and Galeton (WAG) or the "Sole Leather Line" route for MSTS by Paul M. Raynes. The current version, 2, of the route was released in 1907 and is available at Train-Sim.com. HTML


Stop Already, I Need To Get Off! Coping With The Technology Spiral
By Alfred Barten, 12 January 09

Tired of the technology spiral? Don't give up. There's plenty of affordable, modest-spec train sim software out there and it's not going away any time soon. HTML


Operations at Wayward Junction
By Alfred 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. HTML


Creating a Living Rolling Stock Display
By John D'Angelo, 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 Rolling Stock Display Case route and UP session are for TRS2006 SP1 and are available at the Downloads page. No additional content is required. HTML


Catskill Coal
By John D'Angelo, 4 December 2008

John D'Angelo describes his latest coal hauling route featuring lots of interactive action. The Catskill Coal route and basic session are for TRS2006 SP1 and are available at the Downloads page. No additional content is required. HTML


Working at the Federal Street Yard
By John 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


BVE Revisited
By Alfred Barten, 3 July 2008

Mackoy may be quiet, but the third-party folks have been busy. HTML


Lincolnpin Rail Road Extension 2
By Alfred Barten, 29 June 2008

This is the second expansion to the original single baseboard layout for TRS2006. HTML


Traveling on the Orient Express
By John D'Angelo, 15 June 2008

Adventure! Intrigue! Opulence! John D'Angelo describes the beautiful Orient Express available for Trainz. HTML


Amazing Animated People for Your Route!
By John D'Angelo, 30 May 2008

John D'Angelo shows where and how to get Neoklai's fabulous animated people for Trainz. HTML



Bus Driving in Trainz
By Alfred Barten, 26 April 2008

Bus Driving in Trainz explores the possibilities of bus simulation using Trainz and links to a demo layout. HTML

Let’s Add New Trucks to Your GG1
By John D'Angelo, 20 April 2008

John D'Angelo shows how to change the trucks on a GG1 in Trainz. HTML


The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway for Trainz: The Final Spike
By John 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. HTML


Lincolnpin Rail Road Expansion
By Alfred Barten, 6 March 2008

LINCOLNPIN RAIL ROAD has been expanded from 1 baseboard to 6. HTML


Operations on the Lincolnpin Rail Road
By Alfred Barten, 11 February 2008

LINCOLNPIN RAIL ROAD was designed to take advantage of Pecil42's new 30-inch gauge equipment for Trainz. HTML

UPDATED article (pg 2) 15 Feb 08; download 2 Mar 08

United Central 2008
By John 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. HTML


Trainz Dogbone Traction Lives Again
By Sanford Mace, 10 January 2008

Sanford Mace completes the cycle of building the Dogbone Traction route in BVE, Rail3D, MSTS and now Trainz. HTML


Payware for Trainz
By John D'Angelo, 27 December 2007

A review of some of the great payware websites and items available for Trainz. HTML


Trouble in River City
By Alfred Barten, 20 December 2007

Briefly, for those who haven’t yet heard, Auran has voluntarily filed a chapter eleven for its Fury developments segment of the organization. Trainz is a separate branch. However, the umbrella part of Auran employs all the personnel. As a first step, all personnel were fired last week. Some were hired back to continue work on the next delivery of Trainz Classics 3. HTML

FEEDBACK letters here

Operations at Grand River Junction
By Alfred 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. HTML


White Mountain Winter, a Holiday Gift
By John 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. HTML


Shooting the TC Harlem Line
By Alfred Barten, 14 November 2007

Grab your virtual camera and join us in photographing the Trainz Classics Harlem Line. HTML

FEEDBACK letter here

Meet John D'Angelo
By Alfred Barten and John D'Angelo, 11 November 2007

Meet John D'Angelo, author of numerous articles here at the VR Reading and its predecessors, Virtual Railroader e-zine and Virtual Model Railway Journal. John is also the creator of a number of very popular Trainz routes. HTML


VR Railfinder
By Alfred Barten, 25 March 2006

If you're looking for concentrated rail action, look no further than the New York Transit Authority (NYCTA). It's the largest component of New York's Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA). The system combines subway, surface, and elevated running, with an emphasis on subways. For the virtual railroader and subway modeler, the NYCTA is as close to Nirvana as one could come. (OK, the London Underground is another worthy candidate, but today we're talking about the NYCTA.) HTML


Train Sim Webfinder
By Alfred Barten, 2007

UPDATED FOR FEBRUARY 2009 (PARTIAL). We’ve compiled two listings: Part 1 – Train Simulators and Part 2 – Train Simulation Support. We don’t want to leave anyone out, so we’ll be adding to the list as we go along. Feel free to send suggestions (and corrections). HTML


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