PlayStation Train Enthusiasm

Discussion in 'TSW General Discussion' started by Aufzug, Jan 7, 2021.

  1. Aufzug

    Aufzug Active Member

    Joined:
    Aug 21, 2020
    Messages:
    122
    Likes Received:
    168
    Hey everyone,

    I don't know if this is the case for any of you, but has TSW reawakened the train lover in you or has it kept your interest about the same? I was a huge train enthusiast when I was a child and my first train sim game was Microsoft Train Simulator, over time I moved over to Trainz and eventually I got bored of it. Then a few years ago I bought TSW 2020 on discount and fell in love with trains again.

    Now I find myself constantly watching cab-rides on youtube and now I want to trainspot some freight locomotives nearby where I live.

    That's why we're all here, right? We love trains and TSW gives the most immersive driving experience we could ask for (so far). Despite the gripes and moans we have about the game, I hope TSW gives you as much joy as it gives me. :)
     
    • Like Like x 8
  2. Mkdog45

    Mkdog45 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 22, 2018
    Messages:
    853
    Likes Received:
    1,156
    I only got in to trains in 2015 when a video by moleman978 popped up in my YouTube recommended, I liked it and watched more and eventually bought TS which I enjoyed although not having a very powerful computer and it constantly stuttering (it was one of those all in one computers). Then I moved over to TSW on the PlayStation. It is one of the best games I have played and played regularly too. I normally by games like planet coaster and get bored off them around a month later but tsw and bus sim 18 has kept my interest.
     
    • Like Like x 5
  3. lukereynolds1

    lukereynolds1 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Apr 25, 2020
    Messages:
    165
    Likes Received:
    420
    I was interested in trains during my childhood... probably because our house overlooked the Bristol to Exeter mainline. I lost interest during my late teen years, but during the March covid lockdown, my son suggested that I should try TSW out on his Xbox. I'd never played games before. Not only did I get as close as possible to living my dream of driving trains, it also totally reignited my interest. I'm now hooked. If anything, Dovetail Games saved me during a difficult 50 days of not being able to leave our small apartment in Spain during a hard lockdown. I've now got a hobby I love, and I continue to learn more and more about it through research, the community, and Railfan TV. I'm very grateful to this game and it's developers for allowing me to live my dream from the comfort of my chair.
     
    • Like Like x 9
  4. byeo

    byeo Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Nov 13, 2018
    Messages:
    1,315
    Likes Received:
    2,392
    As a child I loved trains, my Great Grandad used to take me down to Rotherham Masborough Station to watch what I called the "banga bangs". I didn't know what AWS,DRA, SIFA or ever a SPAD was. The only trains I knew as a child was an Intercity 125 which I wanted for my train set, a Pacer and Sprinter because they were the trains I rode on. I had no idea what class a train was, to me a train was a train, nothing more, nothing less.

    When I was a little older I was given a Hornby set for Christmas but as I grew older that love faded away as my tastes and interests changed.

    I picked up TSW2020 in 2019 on a whim and haven't looked back since. It's relighted a love for trains which I've always had, even more so that as a father/step-father of two at 35 years old, I got a Hornby Coca Cola train set for Christmas (it's to go around the tree).

    So I'd like to thank everyone at DTG for making this game which has reintroduced me to a childhood love I can't get enough of.

    TrainSim-Matt
    DTG Protagonist
    DTG Natster

    Rotherham Masborough Station:

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
    • Like Like x 13
  5. Dougyhowzer

    Dougyhowzer Member

    Joined:
    Jun 26, 2017
    Messages:
    23
    Likes Received:
    32
    I fell in love with trains in my childhood from watching Thomas in the 80's . My grandfather also gave me his black antique trainset from Hungary.

    Also in my childhood I would stand in the front cart on the ttc subway so I could look out the window at the tracks and see other trains coming in the opposite direction.

    I am just glad to know I am not the only one who loves trains .
     
    • Like Like x 5
  6. stujoy

    stujoy Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Aug 29, 2019
    Messages:
    6,478
    Likes Received:
    17,341
    TSW means I’m more interested in trains than I’ve ever been. I used to go trainspotting with my brother when I was younger and have always liked trains but was never very knowledgeable about them. I didn’t stick with spotting trains because it was more about seeing as many different trains as possible, and I just wasn’t interested in that. My brother carried on until he’d seen every locomotive in Britain and then moved on to spotting planes. I moved on to guitars and writing music. My interest in trains tailed off steadily as I got older.

    After briefly looking into the potential of driving trains for a living and finding out I’m just the wrong kind of person to be put in the driver seat for real, I got itchy to drive virtual trains as a hobby instead. After a few years using Trainz, and not getting the right level of satisfaction from it, I discovered TSW2020 and got just what I wanted. I’ve now started reading up more on trains in general again, watching more cab rides, really getting into TSW, the forum and the live streams, so trains have become my number two hobby now, after guitars.
     
    • Like Like x 7
  7. Aufzug

    Aufzug Active Member

    Joined:
    Aug 21, 2020
    Messages:
    122
    Likes Received:
    168
    I really enjoyed reading these, guys. I'm glad I'm not alone!
     
    • Like Like x 4
  8. Stueyboy43

    Stueyboy43 Member

    Joined:
    Dec 26, 2018
    Messages:
    39
    Likes Received:
    80
    I have always loved trains. I have grown up with them, and have them in the blood as it were. My grandad was a fireman and great grandad was a driver. My Dad sadly did not have a career on the railways, but gave me the passion to enjoy all about them. Growing up in the 80s and 90s I got to see a wealth of variety on the railways, and can remember many times we were welcomed into various depots (those were the days) to see the locomotives and trains up close. A memory I have is starting up a class 37 in a Scottish depot (cannot remember which one, but near Glasgow I think) and I still have a loco depot transfer now (Scotty Dog).

    Not having the means to buy and home a dedicated gaming pc has always kept me away from enjoying train (and aircraft) simulators, but when TSW was announced for PS4 I was very happy.

    Yes there are issues, and there are many improvements that can be made, but I am happy I can sit on my sofa and choose to drive or ride a train on a variety of routes. What would complete the experience for me would be steam locomotives but I am hopeful and patient enough it will come.

    Thanks to DTG for bringing a love of mine and my Dad's into the living room
     
    • Like Like x 8
  9. Northerner

    Northerner Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 16, 2020
    Messages:
    482
    Likes Received:
    671
    I've been interested in trains the railways in general for as long as I can remember. But a few years ago, when I started having more regular train journeys, my passing interest grew greater and I'd say at that point I became an actual rail enthusiast. Since then I've spent a lot of time researching the history of the railways and also spent countless hours reading RailUK forums, which is an absolutely fantastic to place to widen your knowledge and understanding of the railways. I now try to get on trains as much as I can and absolutely love seeing parts of the network I've never visited before and I even became a bit of spotter (something I'd thought I'd never become).

    I first got TSW just under a year ago when I had much more free time due to lockdown and was instantly hooked. It made it possible to spend time on railways even though I couldn't in real life, which it is now doing once again. The TSW community is also fantastic, with the forums being an excellent place to discuss the game and learn new things. For me personally, TSW is only going to get more and more interesting as routes are produced, giving us far more of the rail network to explore and I'm excited about the future and seeing what's round the corner.
     
    • Like Like x 5
  10. lukereynolds1

    lukereynolds1 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Apr 25, 2020
    Messages:
    165
    Likes Received:
    420
    What a great and positive thread to read. Really interesting and nice to be able to share our interests, especially when a lot of people just don't understand the enthusiasm. Thanks everyone :)
     
    • Like Like x 4
  11. stephen220378

    stephen220378 Active Member

    Joined:
    Jan 4, 2021
    Messages:
    119
    Likes Received:
    219
    I had almost zero interest in trains until I bought and played TSW 2020 for the first time two weeks ago. Since then I've bought TSW 2 and even find myself reading through the locomotives Wikipedia pages and watching train related videos on YouTube. I think my train knowledge has went up around 1000% since finding TSW.
     
    • Like Like x 3
  12. Lamplight

    Lamplight Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Aug 20, 2020
    Messages:
    3,720
    Likes Received:
    6,164
    Pretty much my story. Huge fan as a kid, played a lot of MSTS, then it all sort of went into the background. As I moved to the console market, no Trainz or TS for me. I discovered TSW around a year ago, I think, and it reawakened my interest. Now I‘m even working on my first real H0 layout after not really touching it for all this time.

    TSW may have some issues, but I‘ll always be grateful for DTG reawakening my passion.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  13. tallboy7648

    tallboy7648 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Apr 9, 2020
    Messages:
    6,567
    Likes Received:
    10,793
    Personally, I'm not a train enthusiast at all. I don't do railfanning although my dad is a train operator for the nyc subway and I did ride with him one time while he was driving a R160 N train. I don't love trains per se but I just like simulators in general. Train sims, bus sims, farming sims, racing games etc and I do enjoy this game despite issues with the game and some business decisions dtg have made in the past. I tend to be critical of the game because I want this game to do well
     
    Last edited: Jan 15, 2021
    • Like Like x 1
  14. Mr heff

    Mr heff Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 10, 2018
    Messages:
    613
    Likes Received:
    732
    The release of TSW got me interested, but when TSW2 came out I became truly in love.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  15. Nick Y

    Nick Y Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Nov 13, 2020
    Messages:
    2,049
    Likes Received:
    1,765
    I wasn't really interested in trains except for a few (Flying Scotsman, Mallard etc) and I knew about a couple of types of trains but didn't know their class numbers.
    When TSW2020 appeared on sale I decided to purchase it as I like sim games (I mostly played flight sims). Now I know about class numbers, traction types, shunting and other things that I never knew before. It also helps that one of my online gaming friends actually works with trains/locos on a preserved line so he can help me.
    Before I started playing TSW2020, trains were just trains to me. Playing the sims has brought up an interest in trains but not turned me into a spotter.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  16. bassman612

    bassman612 Member

    Joined:
    May 23, 2019
    Messages:
    74
    Likes Received:
    66
    I grew up in Altoona, PA, 4 blocks from the famed Juniata locomotive shops. I used the LOUD steam whistle that blew at 7 am as an alarm clock all through my school years. I watched Conrail trains everyday. My friends and I used to get onto the yard ( illegally ) and play in the boxcars and old cabooses. All of this led to my love of trains. My last gaming computer was built in 2004, and I played MSTS on it, but have been a console player since that computer became obsolete. So I bought TSW when it came out and then TSW 2 on its release day and play everyday.
     
    • Like Like x 1

Share This Page