I’ve been diving into Train Simulator Classic a lot recently, and something that keeps coming up for me is how tricky it can be to stay on top of all the different routes, signals, and track layouts. There are times when I’m driving and suddenly find myself second-guessing whether I’ve taken the right junction or if I should have stayed on the main line. It’s not that the game is unclear, but rather that my brain starts juggling too many things at once. I keep thinking about how others deal with this, because it feels like the more complex the network, the easier it is to get disoriented. When I’m running through longer sessions, especially on a route I don’t know well, I notice that remembering every connection point becomes a challenge. For example, certain sidings lead to freight yards while others swing you back toward passenger platforms, and unless I’ve memorized them from repetition, it’s easy to forget where each line is actually heading. Even with signals to guide me, I sometimes don’t feel fully confident until I’m already committed to the track. I keep wondering if I’m the only one who feels like this or if most players just eventually build that knowledge into muscle memory. A line map, in the simplest terms, is a schematic-style representation that lays out stations, routes, and connections in a clear, uncluttered way. It doesn’t try to show detailed geography or scenery, but instead focuses on the relationships between lines and stops. I came across an Interactive map tool for straight line distance calculation [EDIT - Jan - Link removed, potential spam], and even though it’s not something built directly for Train Simulator Classic, the way it showed routes and spacing was really interesting to me. I inspired from this idea positively because it made the concept of routes and distances much easier to digest, and it immediately clicked in my head how useful something like that could be when getting familiar with new routes inside the game. I like the idea of having a quick reference, especially before I jump into a scenario. I tend to picture the route in my head, thinking through the major stops and how they’re connected. But when I finally run it in-game, things don’t always line up with what I expected. Sometimes I’m surprised by how much longer a stretch feels compared to how I imagined it, or I miss a small junction that shifts the direction completely. Those moments are both exciting and confusing, and they make me think about ways to prepare better before actually driving. Something else I’ve been thinking about is how much route clarity affects the way I drive. If I’m not confident about what’s coming up, I notice myself slowing down earlier, hesitating more at signals, and basically overthinking decisions that could have been smoother. It’s not that I want the simulator to be simpler, but more that I’d like to have some kind of reference that reduces the load of constantly trying to hold everything in memory. Having a simple line overview would let me focus more on enjoying the driving itself instead of worrying whether I’m missing something important ahead. I’ve also wondered whether players here make their own references for routes. Do some of you sketch out diagrams, save screenshots, or maybe use community resources for simplified maps? I haven’t tried making my own yet, but after experimenting with that line map idea I mentioned, I started thinking it might be worth doing. The bigger the network, like on the German routes with multiple overlapping lines, the more helpful something like that would be. It feels like one of those strategies that might not be necessary for everyone but could really enhance the experience for those of us who like to see the big picture before diving in. So my main curiosity is hearing how other players keep track of route structures in Train Simulator Classic. Do you learn them strictly by driving over and over, or do you use outside references like line maps or diagrams to give you a clearer picture?
Except for free roam you as a driver, have no control over your route, which is decided by others - just as in real life. You only need to worry about the signals and line speeds in front of you, which you can see in the HUD. The rest of the network is irrelevant to you. If you do want to place yourself, just call up the 2D map as needed and centre it on your train. I have never found any need to have other reference tools. You also (like real life) need to drive a route a few times to get familiar with it and gain route knowledge.
I have a feeling that the post is AI generated, it even contained a link that is probably spam. I just follow the signal indication and speed limits
