I saw TS2021 on sale and got it. Then I saw few more on sale and got them too. That included some routes and locos. 1) TS2021 2) Train Simulator: SD70 V2 Volume 2 Loco Add-On 3) Train Simulator: Amtrak Acela Express EMU Add-On Now immediately I tried to run acela and it says not the right location/no electrification. however the other trains BSNF/Norfolk Southern works I am lost between loco, scenarios, routes, etc.... seems there is no clarity in the pages/info. I feel like I need to be a rocket scientist to understand this lol Before I fall into this crappy situation.. what do I look for before buying anything so that I can play and use the things I buy efficiently. I hope the game company is not banking on making buy stuff like this lol any info is appreciated thanks
Well, what route did you try to run the Acela on? For all electric locomotives, you need a route with overhead wires or a 3rd rail to run them on, they will not work without it.
The Acela is an electric loco and needs an electrified route to run (one with either overhead wires or a third rail) - as far as I know there are no electric routes that come with TS2021, you would need to buy another route to run it properly. I would advise New York - New Haven or New York Philadelphia for the Acela. (Edit - oops, sorry Blacknred, you must have posted while I was typing) (Edit 2 - it seems short sections of Kiel - Lubeck in the Lubeck area and Fife Circle near Edinburgh are electrified - you could use that for now)
Having bought the TS2021 you can run the SD70 on the Clinchfield route if you wish in a Quick Drive or a Free Roam A Quick Drive is where you pick a train then a route and between which stops you want to drive between There are no points to gain or lose so if you just wish to get used to a train this is the easy way. A Free Roam is where you place trains on the track and you just drive where you want. Size Matters TS2021 came with three routes, The Clinchfield, the Lubeck - Keil and the Fife Circle UK trains from the Fife Circle can be run on any of the routes but the US and Germ locos won't run on UK Routes Scenarios The routes come with Career Scenarios You are given a task and then you carry out that task and points are given - but DTG have you driving like an idiot to score points There are also Standard Scenario and these don't give you points (points don't mean prizes) but are more satisfying. it is a Simulator so a number of features found on real trains will be found in the game So its a bit of a learning curve - Peter
Blacknred / TrainBraint - thank you for your quick responses. I tried the Acela with the routes that came with the basic game. So it makes sense that it didnt work. New York - New Haven / New York Philadelphia are not on sale and expensive. I want to test waters and show my kid a working Acela. I got this route - Train Simulator: North Jersey Coast Line Route Add-On. Does Acela work in this route?? Also how do I understand / learn what works where.. i see they could prompt me that this works for only follow routes/scenarios.. btw - what are scenarios vs routes? Do I need to buy both I think if I read more I will know but looking for some jump start info Thank you for your explanation 749006 about the scenarios and i am almost there
The acela should work fine on that route. If you want realism, in reality the Acela runs along the fast lines from New York Penn as far as Rahway where they carry on along the main Northeast Corridor, but in TS the NJCL branches off. Edit: also, routes are sort of the base route to run trains on itself, scenarios are sort of the services that come with the routes that you can drive. They vary in difficulty and can be very different. Most routes come with scenarios but you can purchase extra scenario packs as well. You can also download free, community made routes and scenarios (mostly scenarios) from the workshop. Scenarios and routes require you to have bought various packs, but I'm sure there would be some that just use the ones you have bought.
The North Jersey Coast Line is a nice route to run and the Acela will work without a problem You won't be able to go at the full speed of the train but that is not a problem And the NJ Coast Line has a unique Electro Diesel which works away from the wires Virtually all route you buy come with trains and scenarios so you can start running trains. Think of it like a train set where you buy a starter set and then you add on trains separately Most Download Pages have a link to the Manual for the route - https://store.steampowered.com/manual/325970
Thank you so much Peter. Appreciate it. Makes sense. this is as real as it gets to model trains. Sorry to keep on bugging.. trainbraint , 749006 , Blacknred81 .. - I dont see anything in free roam. Its just empty. what am i missing
If you need help to create free roam scenarios to use the Acela Express in, this video tutorial will show you everything you need:
Free roam Scenerios were pretty common on older routes from back in the day, however, alot of newer routes only contain Career Scenerios with them. As stated above, you can create your own free roam Scenerios in the route builder menu.
You can create your own Free Roam Scenarios Start the Game > Build > Scenarios Find the Route and click New Scenario > pick Free Roam > choose a start location > Give it a name the Create The Game will take you to that location with NO trains on the tracks You have to pick the trains you wish to place and add a Driver Icon Easier to watch than explain - Matt talks about TS 2015 but the game is the same and the core software is a free update each year so everyone has the same
You will see in the description of the product if the train you're buying includes scenarios and for which route. In the case of the Acela, scenarios are included for New York-New Haven and for New York-Philadelphia, but as stated before here, you can use it in any route that has electrified tracks (like the North Jersey coast line) in quick drive. You just chose your train, your start point and your ending point and you're ready to drive
Nacho thank you. However by buying Acela - scenarios were included but not the routes for New York-New Haven and for New York-Philadelphia. They need to be bought separate. thats what I missed initially. Then later with the help of everyone in the thread - i also realized I can use it in any electric line (with initial package + acela ; i had no electric)
