Driving past and present UK vehicles on simulator games

[Mitchell Hurd]

Hello. I've been dying to post something on here but have just had to be bothered .

Incase anyone's looking to download 4 fantastic simulators, if you have a kindle, here's what I'd highly recommend...

1. Train Sim - you can drive the green LNER Flying Scotsman steam locomotive (4472) - max speed 100mph, blue Mallard A4 steam locomotive 4468 (max speed 123mph), a 9-car InterCity 225 (no DVT) in the InterCity swallow livery - the '91' is 91017 (max speed is around 140mph. You can drive also a 1995 London Tube stock plus a Virgin Trains Class 390 Pendolino and a Class 66 EWS locomotive.

2. 2010 Trainz engineering edition - as regards former British Rail vehicles, you can drive a Class 37, 2 Class 55 Deltic's (one green and one blue) and an HST in the old blue and grey livery with blue and yellow power car (same as 'Sir Kenneth Grange' 43002). The Mark 2 coaches are Mark 2A's.
You can select how many coaches you want - there's no rule.

3. There's an Uphill bus simulator - you can drive 2 former London buses - an RT and B-type bus (1920's model).

4. Public Transport simulator - UK vehicles (all are left hand drive though) are 2 Citaros, a Ford Transit (late 2006-2013 model) a Mercedes or VW sprinter (2006-2017 model), a 7.8m ish size Optare Solo, an E200, E400, Wright Eclipse Gemini, a Wright New Routemaster, an SUV land rover. Not entirely sure on other UK vehicles.

Worth downloading!

 

[Peter C]

I would add Train Simulator 2020 (some people on here may remember it as Railworks) to this list.

It's not free (around £20) and it is only on computers, and only available from Steam. However, I would call it the best simulator for trains/railways. There is an expected Steam Halloween Sale at the end of this month, so go and get it then and get 3 routes for the price of 1, bundled with a fully-fledged train sim.

-Peter

 

[causton]

Can't mention bus simulation without OMSI 2 - although it has a few flaws and isn't perfect, the vast array of foreign material (so much I planned a holiday abroad and got a passport and around a third of the reason was to see these places in real life!) and some recent UK Masterbus additions and some freeware and paid routes are wonderful.

 

[Mitchell Hurd]

I would add Train Simulator 2020 (some people on here may remember it as Railworks) to this list.

It's not free (around £20) and it is only on computers, and only available from Steam. However, I would call it the best simulator for trains/railways. There is an expected Steam Halloween Sale at the end of this month, so go and get it then and get 3 routes for the price of 1, bundled with a fully-fledged train sim.

-Peter

Thanks - I'll have to think about that then. Daft question this probably but can literally any UK train be driven - including past British Rail, British Railways and British Steam Trains liveries?

I'd love to drive an HST on that - I think that must be most peoples favourite train to drive if I'm honest !

 

[Peter C]

Thanks - I'll have to think about that then. Daft question this probably but can literally any UK train be driven - including past British Rail, British Railways and British Steam Trains liveries?

I'd love to drive an HST on that - I think that must be most peoples favourite train to drive if I'm honest !

Yep - but be warned that they cost money. However - the TS2020 (Train Sim 2020) out on Steam currently comes with Classes 450 and 444, and an LNER/BR A1 as one of the routes. I would highly recommend having a gander at the following sites for TS2020 content, mostly payware, but some freeware:

https://uktrainsim.com (freeware content - search under "Train Simulator 2013" for some free steam locos someone made)
https://alanthomsonsim.com (freeware and some payware content - I make content for this site. You'll need to check the "requirements" for each of the scenarios and reskins available on there)
https://www.armstrongpowerhouse.com/ (payware content - "AP" as they are known make Enhancement Packs, Sound Packs, and Scenario Packs. These Enhancement Packs always make the engine they enhance better. In some cases, like the Class 91 from Steam, they make them usable (it was always driveable, but the extra features make it so much better))
https://store.dovetailgames.com/uk (payware content - first party stuff for TS2020 - buy with caution. Content quality varies greatly.)
https://justtrains.net (payware content - again, content quality varies, but nowhere near as greatly DTG content)


And then have a butchers at these bits of content for TS2020 (prices will vary - check them before you buy):

-DTG (Dovetail Games, 1st party developer and creator of TS2020) Intercity Swallow Class 91 (available from Steam)
This is a good Class 91 for the East Coast Mainline routes for TS2020. Needs the AP Enhancement Pack to make it really usable though. Comes in East Coast and Intercity Swallow liveries.

-AP (Armstrong Powerhouse, see above) Class 91 Enhancement Pack (available from their website)
This pack makes the above Class 91 usable. It adds a load of liveries and functionality. Requires the Class 91 from DTG.

-DTG Portsmouth Direct Line Extended (available from Steam)
This route covers the PDL as it is known from London Waterloo to Portsmouth Harbour (and the branch to Hampton Court), and includes the Class 450, Class 444, and Class 455.

-JT (Just Trains - also known for making Trainz things) Western Mainlines (available from their website)
This route covers the Great Western Mainline from London Paddington to Cardiff and Exeter, with the branch to Oxford and the "new" platform layout at Reading. Includes an AI train (a train which is not driven by the player) version of the London Underground S8 stock.

-DTG East Coast Mainline South (available from Steam)
This route covers the East Coast Mainline between London Kings Cross and Peterborough, and comes with a HST (in East Coast livery) and Class 365 (in First Capital Connect livery). The route on which the Class 91 is used most, I'd say, by the community.

-DTG Great Western Mainline (available from Steam)
This route is an older version of the GWML from DTG, and is good if you just want to drive a train. The HST included is in FGW livery, and the route, like the ECML South (I think) comes with the European Loco & Asset Pack, which makes the routes such as the JT Western Mainlines and other such routes (from third-party developers) work. It is just one of those things it's good to have.

-DTG Portsmouth Direct Line (available from Steam)
This route, like the above GWML, is good if you want to drive a slightly older model of a 450 on a slightly older route. It includes an old Class 450 in the SWT livery, and only goes from Woking to Portsmouth Harbour. Also includes the European Loco & Asset Pack.

-AP Class 43 Enhancement Packs (available from their website)
These enhancement packs cover the three versions of the HST - the Valenta, MTU, and VP185 engines. They are three different packs, but buying one gives you a discount on the other two. They make the HSTs usable, as the original version released with the first ever version of Train Sim was getting seriously boring and outdated.


I hope this post makes it easier for you when getting into TS2020. I'm not sponsored by any of these people, and I am happy to give more help if you want it.

-Peter

 

[LUYMun]

I would recommend Diesel Railcar Simulator. It is an early access game still under development, but the new features such as timetable editor, route editor and a train editor in the near future! This is an indie game, therefore a single developer is working on this.

 

[365 Networker]

The openBVE cross-city line is a very good free simulator.
Simulator:-
https://openbve-project.net/download/

Route:-
https://railsimroutes.net/x-city_south/