webDotTrainSim

Train Simulator 2 announcement at Game Conference, Liepzig

Thu, 23 Aug 2007 12:01:12 GMT

Via The Little Wheel Goes in the Back (tdragger):

Sorry it's been so long since my last post but there's been a lot happening. Nonetheless I thought you'd like to hear about what I'm up to this week. I'm in Leipzig, Germany at the massive Game Conference--the biggest is Europe--meeting with journalists to discuss Train Simulator 2. Despite the conspiracy theorists that claim we're not really working on it I've been talking to press and showing screens and videos from the game. Each one walked away with a DVD of content so hopefully you'll start seeing examples of TS2 on the web really soon.

In fact I'm in between press meetings now, which run every 30 minutes from 0900 to 2000! It makes for a very long day. Nonetheless the facilities are superb and the German staff has been amazingly accomodating. I'll try to share more when I have time. But for now, I've got more journalists to amaze...

and Major Nelson:

Today at the annual Game Convention in Leipzig, it was announced that Ubisoft has joined the Games for Windows program, with their first title 'Settlers: Rise of an Empire.' Plus, Microsoft Game Studio announced 'Train Simulator 2.' These announcements join the hardware news from yesterday. Speaking of hardware, did you know that the Microsoft Hardware division is 25 years old?

"Photos" (screenshots) on Marias Pass 3.1 (May 2007)

Sun, 03 Jun 2007 05:59:30 GMT

A new album added - SD70ACe locos on Marias Pass 3.1 taken May 2007 during an intermodal run from Shelby to Whitefish (as far as Cutbank - oops, path yet to be fixed after derailment) and an intermodal run from Whitefish to Shelby (not completed as yet - having a "rest" at Summit).

Best of U Railways Live Maps collections

Thu, 26 Apr 2007 09:50:24 GMT

Here are four Live Maps collections of lines, freight yards, some trains (should be able to find more at a later date) and towns and cities of prominence.

To find these locations, webDotTrainSim has made extensive use of excellent maps in many issues of the Trains magazine (published monthly). See www.trainsmag.com.

Best of U.S. Railways Part I - Pennsylvania and plenty of freight yards in Chicago
Best of U.S. Railways Part II - Detroit, St. Paul/Minneapolis
Best of U.S. Railways Part III - Omaha, Council Bluffs, Powder River Basin Wyoming
Best of U.S. Railways Part IV - Donner Pass, Mt. Shasta, Ports of Oakland and Long Beach (containers), Cajon, St. Louis, Long Island NY

New webDotTrainSim activities on Wupper Express 10.1

Sat, 20 Jan 2007 06:02:25 GMT

Over the past couple of weeks webDotTrainSim has put some time (again) into a couple of activities for you to try.

He's re-timed the traffic and two can be downloaded from downloads.webdottrainsim.com. You can read about them on their respective pages:

He's got another one ready to upload for you to try:

Freight service W-Langerfeld to DU-Rheinhausen

and it should be available in a day or two.

Technorati tags: Microsoft Train Simulator, activities

Microsoft announces new train simulator

Sat, 20 Jan 2007 05:06:29 GMT

Yesterday (January 19, 2007) Microsoft announced it's going to work on a new version of our well-loved (when it does what it's told; frustrating is the nice word used when tools such as the Activity Editor misbehave) Train Simulator.

The announcement is here.

There are a number of blogs by the Train Simuatlor team members:

Mavyryk's Place: mavyryk.spaces.live.com
Sim Elations: simelations.spaces.live.com
The Little Wheel Goes in Back (Mike Gilbert, Program Manager First Class, Aces Studio): blogs.msdn.com/tdragger/
TSEngineer - Rolling (Jamie Osborne, Dev Lead, programming, for Train Sim): tsengineer.spaces.live.com (no content yet, as of today)
Yard Limits (Rick Selby, Lead Game Designer on Train Sim): yardlimits.spaces.live.com.

You'll find these in the Favorites list for future reference. It's worth subscribing to feeds from each of the above so it's easy to follow what's happening.

There are links to various threads on the MSTS forums at www.webdottrainsim.com.

Technorati tags: Microsoft Train Simulator, announcement

Soapbox video gadget added

Sun, 19 Nov 2006 05:26:31 GMT

For the record, webDotTrainSim added the Soapbox on MSN Video gadget today.

The idea is to let visitors view videos from Soapbox that show some train action - he's just tried the Tags search function in the player, but didn't get any results. Let's give video uploaders some time.

If you've got your own Live Space, the simplest way to add the Soapbox gadget to your own Space is to click the + at the top right of the module on this Space and follow the prompts. Otherwise you can get it from this page at Live Gallery.

Trains on London lines - Live Local collection

Sun, 17 Sep 2006 10:29:47 GMT

Here's a start to my collectio of trains spotted on lines around London (it'll probably expand to include the UK if webDotTrainSim doesn't see more at the location he's currently up to).

Zoom into 25m for better viewing in Aerial view if the map doesn't come up with that resolution when it loads.

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My Live Local collection

Waterloo Station, London
Waterloo will lose its status for the arrival and departure of Eurostars. Presently it's still called "Waterloo International". St. Pancras is being refurbished and will become the Eurostar terminal.

Eurostars
Eurostarts at Waterloo Station. They won't be departing and arriving at Waterloo for much longer, once Section 2 of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link is completed to St Pancras (just across the river).

Domestic trains at Waterloo
webDotTrainSim is not up to date with all the liveries of U.K. trains.

Eurostar?
From the white/yellow colours on the nose, this is probably a Eurostar. It'd still be running from electricity picked up on the third rail at 750V DC.

Up to here.

Live favorites added

Sun, 17 Sep 2006 01:32:34 GMT

There's now a Windows Live favorites module for you to more easily check out MSTS sites - and others, too, inlucding webDotWiz Online and webDotWiz Space (there's a feed on here for the latter).

More activities for Wupper Express 10

Mon, 07 Aug 2006 10:53:16 GMT

The three latest activities that webDotTrainSim has tested for the first time (and now require more traffic at the end of the activity) are RE6 service (Westfalen Express: Dusseldorf - Dortmund), RE6 service (Westfalen Express: Dortmund - Dusseldorf) and IC (RE1) service (NRW Express: Dortmund - Essen - Koln). For a full list of webDotTrainSim's Wupper Express 10 activities, see Activities on Wupper 10.

More photos (well, ok, screenshots)

Mon, 07 Aug 2006 10:32:48 GMT

More screenshots have been uploaded to expand the number of albums: RE6 Dortmund to Dusseldorf, RE6 Dusseldorf to Dortmund, IC(RE1) Dortmund to Koln, ICE 819 Dortmund to Koln and RE5 Oberhausen to Koln.

Wupper Express Route Live Local collection

Mon, 12 Jun 2006 10:30:17 GMT

Here is the latest version of webDotTrainSim's Live Local Wupper Express Route collection. More stations and locations have been added since yesterday. More locations now have a screenshot and some have links to the page at www.webdottrainsim.com where you can read about a particular activity, see more screenshots and get the link to download the activity. Note that the links are to Wupper Express 10.1 activities. You can click the picture for a larger view (but still only 320x240, the same as at www.webdottrainsim.com) and click the More info link to open a page describing an activity.

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My Windows Live Local collection

Line to Neuss
...and then onto Dusseldorf, and from there either to Duisberg or Wuppertal.

Line to Viersen and Krefeld
...and then onto Rheinhausen (where we cross the Rhine), Duisberg, then either Oberhausen and Dortmund or Essen and Dortmund.

Viersen station
Usually there's some traffic here when we pass through.

Line to Venlo
This line is used in activities to begin some traffic to Monchengladbach and most times you pass through Viersen there'll be a train using this line.

Krefeld station
About here. The line from Monchengladbach and Viersen comes in from the south-west and webDotTrainSim uses the line from the north-west to begin and end traffic. Note: photo and link is to one of the few WE9 activities webDotTrainSim created while waiting for WE10.

KR-Oppum station

Line to Meerbusch-Osterath
This line continues towards Neuss and then joins the main Monchengladbach - Neuss - Dusseldorf line.

Line from Meerbusch-Osterath
This line is used for traffic to/fro Meerbusch and Xanten.

KR-Linn station
Approximately here.

KR-Uerdingen station
A guess as to its location. Siemens have"

Your scratch pad has been truncated.

Wupper Express Windows Live Local collection

Sun, 11 Jun 2006 10:12:16 GMT

Here's the link to a start webDotTrainSim has made to locating all the cities, towns and main industries that make up Graphics15's Wupper Express route. Watch for updates as more detail is added.

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My Windows Live Local collection

Windows Live Local - great tool for Trainsimmers

Thu, 01 Jun 2006 10:23:47 GMT

We've now got a much improved version of Windows Live Local to locate different MSTS routes modelled on the real thing and trainspot from the air. For example, if you search for Waterloo station in London and zoom in, you'll see the noses of three Eurostars poking out from the trainshed and panning around, following the tracks, you'll see trains in transit. For better viewing, watch for the Bird's Eye view indicator to come up. For Australia, at present, we're not so lucky - we can only view with a resolution of one mile - hopefully it won't be long before we get better resolution. Anyway, webDotTrainSim is off to try to make a collection of places on the Wupper Express route in Germany. Currently resolution is not that great there either so we'll have to be patient.

RE5, Rhein Express, Oberhausen to Koln activity ready

Thu, 11 May 2006 09:32:06 GMT

webDotTrainSim's RE5 Oberhausen to Koln activity can be downloaded from the downloads section of webDotTrainsSim.com. The RE5 Koln to Oberhausen activity is the next one to be created and tested. Hopefully testing will go as smoothly as for Oberhausen to Koln (would you believe only one test run was needed).

Graphics15 new locos

Thu, 11 May 2006 09:24:39 GMT

Graphics15 have added a download section to their ">site and the first items are revisions of the three electric locos that were part of the route download and another three new locos. webDotTrainSim has had a quick look at one archive and is going to just update the texture files because he's already made revisions to each ENGine file and doesn't want to over-write his changes. File names and sizes are in the Line News for May 9 at www.webdottrainsim.com.

Activities available as of 27-Apr-2006

Thu, 27 Apr 2006 09:51:42 GMT

Here's the most up-to-date list of webDotTrainSim's activities for Wupper Express 10.1:

ICE Service #747: Koln to Dortmund - Ready as of 08-Mar-2006.

RB33 service (Rhein-Niers-Bahn: Mönchengladbach - Oberhausen) - Updated 23-Apr-2006.

RB33 service (Rhein-Niers-Bahn: Oberhausen - Mönchengladbach) - Ready as of 25-Apr-2006.

RB40 services (Ruhr-Lenne Bahn: Essen - Bochum - Witten - Hagen) - Ready as of 26-Mar-2006.

RB42 & RB43 services (Haard Bahn: Essen - Gelsenkirchen - Wanne-Eickel/ Herne Castrop-Rauxel - Dortmund) - Testing 20-Feb-2006.

RE2 services (Rhein-Haard Express: Wanne-Eickel - Essen - Monchengladbach) - Ready as of 12-Feb-2006.

RE3 service (Rhein-Emscher Express: Dusseldorf - Gelsenkirchen - Dortmund) - Updated 08-Feb-2006.

RE3 service (Rhein-Emscher Express: Dortmund - Gelsenkirchen - Dusseldorf) - Ready as of 16-Feb-2006.

RE4 service (Wupper Express: Dortmund - Monchengladbach) - Trial version ready as of 19-Mar-2006.

RE4 service (diverted) (Wupper Express: Monchengladbach - Dortmund) - Trial version ready as of 19-Mar-2006.

RE10 services (Niers Express: Krefeld - Meerbusch-Osterath - Dusseldorf) - Ready as of 12-Feb-2006.

RE16 services (Ruhr-Sieg Express: Hagen - Essen) - Ready as of 23-Mar-2006.

S2 services (Dortmund - Castrop-Rauxel - Herne - Duisburg) - Ready as of 28-Feb-2006.

S6 services (Essen - Ratingen Ost - K-Nippes) - Ready as of 04-Apr-2006.

S6 services (K-Nippes - Ratingen Ost - Essen) - Ready as of 05-Apr-2006.

S9 services (Bottrop - Essen - E-Steele - Velbert-Langenberg - Wuppertal) - Ready as of 01-Feb-2006.

Activities - what's available at the moment

Sun, 19 Mar 2006 08:17:31 GMT

webDotTrainSim has been somewhat slack at updating here - however he's been creating and re-creating WE8 activities for Wupper Express 10.1 and here's the latest list (all of which can be downloaded from the webDotTrainSim downloads page:

ICE Service #747: Koln to Dortmund - Ready as of 08-Mar-2006.

RB42 & RB43 services (Haard Bahn: Essen - Gelsenkirchen - Wanne-Eickel/ Herne Castrop-Rauxel - Dortmund) - Testing 20-Feb-2006.

RE2 services (Rhein-Haard Express: Wanne-Eickel - Essen - Monchengladbach) - Ready as of 12-Feb-2006.

RE3 service (Rhein-Emscher Express: Dusseldorf - Gelsenkirchen - Dortmund) - Updated 08-Feb-2006.

RE3 service (Rhein-Emscher Express: Dortmund - Gelsenkirchen - Dusseldorf) - Ready as of 16-Feb-2006.

RE4 service (Wupper Express: Dortmund - Monchengladbach) - Trial version ready as of 19-Mar-2006.

RE4 service (diverted) (Wupper Express: Monchengladbach - Dortmund) - Trial version ready as of 19-Mar-2006.

RE10 services (Niers Express: Krefeld - Meerbusch-Osterath - Dusseldorf) - Ready as of 12-Feb-2006.

S2 services (Dortmund - Castrop-Rauxel - Herne - Duisburg) - Ready as of 28-Feb-2006.

S9 services (Bottrop - Essen - E-Steele - Velbert-Langenberg - Wuppertal) - Ready as of 01-Feb-2006.

S2 activity - Dortmund to Duisberg

Tue, 28 Feb 2006 11:40:00 GMT

Testing has finished for the time being and the S2 Dortmund to Duisberg activity will be available for download as soon as webdottrainsim.com comes alive again (after changes on the hosting server). There are some photos from the activity in the photo albums.

webDotTrainsim.com offline - back soon

Tue, 28 Feb 2006 11:37:30 GMT

www.webdottrainsim.com is offline due to DNS changes on the server hosting the site (if you don't know anything about DNS settings, don't worry but when changed, they take a day or two to propagate around the 'Net and let us access the site).

Wupper Express 10.1 Activities

Mon, 20 Feb 2006 11:04:58 GMT

You can see where webDotTrainSim is up to with his WE10.1 activities by visiting his main site, specifically his Activities on Wupper 10 page.

Photo Album: SD70ACe locos on Marias Pass 3.1 (May 2007)

Sun, 03 Jun 2007 05:55:40 GMT

SD70ACe locos on Marias Pass 3.1 (May 2007)

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More Photos...

Photo Album: RB33 Oberhausen to Monchengladbach

Mon, 07 Aug 2006 10:45:48 GMT

RB33 Oberhausen to Monchengladbach

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Photo Album: ICE 819 Dortmund to Koln

Mon, 07 Aug 2006 10:29:17 GMT

ICE 819 Dortmund to Koln

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Photo Album: RE5 Oberhausen to Koln

Mon, 07 Aug 2006 10:17:08 GMT

RE5 Oberhausen to Koln

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Photo Album: IC(RE1) Dortmund to Koln

Mon, 07 Aug 2006 10:06:53 GMT

IC(RE1) Dortmund to Koln

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Photo Album: RE6 Dusseldorf to Dortmund

Mon, 07 Aug 2006 10:02:43 GMT

RE6 Dusseldorf to Dortmund

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Photo Album: RE6 Dortmund to Dusseldorf

Mon, 07 Aug 2006 09:58:10 GMT

RE6 Dortmund to Dusseldorf

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Photo Album: ICE 747 Koln to Dortmund

Sun, 19 Mar 2006 08:08:08 GMT

ICE 747 Koln to Dortmund

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Photo Album: S2 Dortmund to Duisberg (1277)

Tue, 28 Feb 2006 11:43:18 GMT

S2 Dortmund to Duisberg (1277)

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Photo Album: Wupper Express 10 S9 service

Mon, 20 Feb 2006 10:55:51 GMT

Wupper Express 10 S9 service

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Photo Album: Wupper Express 9

Sat, 10 Dec 2005 04:18:11 GMT

Wupper Express 9

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Photo Album: Stadtbahn U79

Thu, 07 Apr 2005 10:35:25 GMT

Stadtbahn U79

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More Photos...

Photo Album: Wupper 8 screenshots

Sun, 13 Mar 2005 00:02:54 GMT

Wupper 8 screenshots

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More Photos...

Custom List: wDTS line news

Sat, 20 Jan 2007 05:35:01 GMT

wDTS line news

webDotTrainsim Online
All the latest Microsoft Train Simulator news from around the world.

Blog list: MSTS Spaces

Sat, 10 Sep 2005 05:46:21 GMT

MSTS Spaces

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Blog list: My other Spaces

Sat, 27 Aug 2005 05:32:30 GMT

My other Spaces