What a load of Nostalgia this is! Was digging around my old storage drives and came across these two photos, they are from the original TSW and TSW2020, a much simpler time for this game, at a time where the community was much smaller. I was 13 years old when I took these photos. Now I'm 19, in my third year of college, it's extraordinary. Despite its problems and hiccups, it's easy to see how much this game has grown since this time. Stuff such as 1000 service timetables, random events, customisable liveries and formations weren't even thought possible during this period. TSW has evolved into a much larger and growing game now, and it's sometimes refreshing seeing old photos of what the game used to look like years ago, compared to now. truly a piece of of the games history.
I remember the first time I played Sand Patch (or CSX Heavy Haul as it was back then ). It was a revelation. Still is. Yes the game is " bigger ", but there's been little if any progress in TSW since then, particularly in relation to freight and US railroading. Perhaps the skybox is better and there are more gimmicks. But in some ways the game has shrunk with the loss of steam and freight. I still play it and there's fun to be had here and there. But I'm not hanging out any flags or putting up bunting.
