There can be sometimes small, even weird things or reasons why you love this iron world So lets hear it Here is mine: 1) Changing tracks, the joint sounds and how the train snakes around when doing that - especially with longer trains... usually you also have to slow down, do the thing and then speed back up 2) Departing large station or approaching one - soaking in the majesty of a big station, also tied to the previous point, since departure/approach usually means changing tracks and lots of clinking 3) Speed changes - like, slowing down, having to read signals, then getting through a slower section and speeding up again 4) Learning acceleration of this or that train - one of the most satisfying things is when you learn how the loco/MU behaves and are able to speed up nicely and consistently 5) Nailing station stop - when you learn the braking capabilities of a consist and are able to modulate it so you stop right where you should 6) Camera 8 in this game - when you turn that fly-by camera on and watch and listen to the train passing by, maaan So what do you love about trains, railways in general and in this game ? Dont be shy, we are all mostly Sheldon here
One of my favorite things in the world is getting up extra early to catch an Amtrak Empire Train out of Rhinecliff on the Hudson River on a nice Spring morning. Standing on the old New York Central low-level platform, fog floating just above the river as the sun has just started rising in the East and casting a glow on the Catskill Mountain Range. The sound of the water lapping up against the nearby shore and a small fishing boat motoring upstream as fish break the surface to chance a bite at nearby flying insects. The smell of the creosote from the old wooden ties filling my nostrils with the promise of adventure and escape, steam from my breath floating in front of me in the cool morning air as the lonely horn from a CSX freight rumbling through Kingston echoes solemnly across the river valley. The sound of a GE FDL engine chugging away in the distance as a silver and black locomotive pops into view rounding the curve beneath the Kingston-Rhinecliff bridge. Sometimes, it's the little things...
well, if speaking of stuff like this, then... I dont have many really fond memories of trains as a kid, I mostly remember liking trains and enjoying the rides, but they would often be without air conditioning, the machines not really neat and clean, and old so when they started introducing modern Škoda EMUs or push pull-s from them, it looked so nice ... and I like em to this day... also, when I first travelled to Vienna after years of not going there... I remembered those old 4020s... and when waiting at Hbf, one of the S-Bahn platforms, Siemens Desiro ML in CityJet livery stormed in, and I was like #daaaaaaamn ... also once it got out of Vienna, the acceleration pushed me into the seat )) then once the Covid thing started going away (finally) and I would go to Vienna 1-2x a week, which I do to this day (like 3rd or 4th year now), I would go about discovering the transit majesty of Vienna, and OBB railways... and still, every time I get off REX6 from Bratislava (since REX8 will only be reinstated in its full route in like, July) at Wien Hauptbahnhof, I always stop and look around and see those many trains, especially Austrian Railjets <3 and when I cant think of a place to go and explore, sometimes I take city transport to Kledering with its big classification yard and watch the passenger trains go around it and the classification action as well ... back a couple yrs ago when I would still regularly see my ex gf, I would often travel from Wien Floridsdorf all the way to Hainburg, and I loved the route, especially the final stretch in Hainburg (river Danube being very near) so yea, always liked trains, but only have fallen deep into it once Covid lockdowns happened... and it stays with me to this day ... actually trains are one of the things keeping me at least so so sane these days with the world kinda going to sh..
also, kinda forgot one of my fav memories when I was like in my early teens, and at school we would learn about electric motors during Science/Physics lessons... and that when I finally understood how come those giant steel behemoths can move and at speed... or when I learned (quite recently actually lol) how come the rails/tracks stay in place despite not being bolted down ... those small science-y wonders
I love it when I'm at a train station and a train goes past at full speed. There's just something about a train whizzing past you at 125mph that excites me (unless I'm on a train when it happens, that's when there is a bathroom emergency). Can't quite put my finger on it, although the longer the train the better.
heh, you just reminded me of a couple nice tho a bit scary memories ... some time last year I was waiting for a train to Vienna from Baden... the "station" there is basically just two platforms on an elevated portion of track... and the yellow safety line is a tad further than usual... found out why when I was still behind it, capturing ČD RailJet whizzing through the station, safe distance even behind the line... the boom was insane and it was probably going "only" like 140 kph other time I was done trainspotting from a safe spot at Kledering, so I would go down to Zentralfriedhof station to wait for a train to the center... that pair of tracks is also used by CAT train (City Airport Train, made up of a Taurus and 2+ Wiesel dostos in CAT livery)... as it was going to pass through, I quickly took out my phone to capture that, the thing was tho that I was at the part of joint platform that has lift on it, so literally the narrowest portion, just centimeters behind the safety line... not sure of the speed of that train, but I just planted my feet firmly, one hand holding onto the glass and the other capturing footage ... the boom was also insane oh, and one more, tho this one is nice - riding a CityJet Xpress 5 from St. Polten to Wien Westbahnhof... it is basically Siemens Desiro ML unleashed for 160 almost all the way to Vienna... and since the air-sealing isnt as good as on full blown highspeed trains, my eardrums were dying... but 100% worth it
1. Rods of Steam locos I really love to watch the rods of Steam locos or other locos with rods, like some shunter or the SBB Krokodil. There ist something really fascinating and satisying about the movement of the rods, at least for me. In TSW, I love to place Cam 3 right under the cab, so I can geht a good Look at all the wheels while driving. 2. Overtaking while driving I absolutely LOVE it, if I overtake an slower Train or geht overtaken by an faster one on a Route with more than 2 tracks. The slow moving, parallel to the other train to finally leave it behind after a while, just great. Or driving out of a big Station parallel to another Train is just as great either. P.S.: You're absolutely right about changing tracks. I love the slow driving through big Yards or out of Stations like Frankfurt Hbf, it's awesome.
There are a couple of small things that I really enjoy include... 1.) The sound of horns/whistles. Especially older horns or horns that aren't very common anymore, I really enjoy hearing them while I can before they get replaced 2.) The smell of diesel exhaust. 3.) Catching older locomotives still in service. Catching some of the older locos on mainline freights really makes me happy. It really reminds me of my childhood and watching trains then. (They also tend to have the older horns and aren't up to emission standards making them dump exhaust) 4.) Heavy trains starting from a red signal/stop. There's something about the train getting up to speed with the throttle in notch 8 and listening to the engines roar is just majestic 5.) Friendly engineers and/or crew. Met some pretty cool railroad employees and getting a little toot of the horn and a wave will always bring a smile to my face.
Over the years I have picked up a few things which I would say apply to this thread. The first and one that I have loved before even having any care for trains themselves were watching the train 2, 3, 4 mile away across the fen, when visiting family who live on slightly higher ground just off the fens themselves. Another which still to this day I love, especially with the long TL 700s is overtaking another train, I would have thought the novelty would wear off by now, but there is still that childish side in me somewhere! I'll make this the last and it is when you have to start braking from 125 for a station and you get the stop inch perfect, again you would have thought the novelty would wear off but there is still something so pleasing about this that I still crack a smirk now!
heh like me a couple days ago I managed to stop like inches away from red ... anyway, racing trains ... when I had taken one of my joyrides to St. Polten, when I transferred to a CityJet 4024, as it departed from Tulln and was making its way along Tullnerfeld railway, there is this triangle where tracks converge/diverge from Tulln, the next station on the line and Stockerau across Danube... and an express heading to Prague was racing this 4024 before it diverged across Danube and yeah, speaking of inner child, as I have mentioned somewhere in previous comments here, it still amazes me how much science goes into making these steel behemoths move so swiftly and all... like, how humans have learned to harness electricity and use it to haul tons, thousands of tons across continents, amazing
Stopping perfectly at stations only using the min brakes (notch 1) is probably one thing that most satisfied me
I like to watch the tilting mechanisms do their job, also with cam 3 ... Acela is fascinating in the fact that only passenger coaches tilt and power cars dont, which creates unique movement when in curves yeah, but also any time I drive a route and I pass other trains or blast through stations thats also why I love Koln Aachen to this day... the long approach and then the web of tracks <3 for me it is not that much about weight, but I love watching loooong trains whizz by with Cam 8 like pew pew pew pew ... pew ... thats the reason why I have recently done a couple freight services on Cajon Pass
I enjoy the learning process with each loco/unit... like, learning how to get it moving, how to stretch the train, then kick off acceleration, managing speed, then playing around with brakes, and the stopping procedure, like lets say German trains (example) - going 120, so I zero throttle at around 1 km, then at around 800 m start braking hard to be around 60 when nearing platform and then gradually softening the brakes, and when around 15 kph letting em go and gently bring the train to a perfect stop ... of course trains and all differ, so it is immensely satisfying learning these things as you go recently I have changed by driving style a bit to mimic more the rapid acceleration some trains have IRL (like slight force to get moving, then high percentage throttle to kick off to some speed and then gently nudge it along to more speed)... what I want to learn also is how the drivers can effectively brake on such small distances - like that one time I would wait at Wien Franz Josefs Bahnhof and a push pull train with dosto cab car (it was arriving cab car first) was going fairly fast like I was thinking damn he will bust that buffer, but he stopped like 2m from it as if it was nothing ... like, man, respect \m/
I think the thing I find the most fascinating about railways is the history. And the architecture. Some of the platforms buildings and bridges have stood in place for nearly 2 centuries. Before the railways the fastest form of transport on land was the horse. It completely changed the world. Sorry that was a lot bigger than small.
I am weird in this aspect... I like to learn about history, but I have never been very fascinated by steam locos or very old diesels... I love modern electrics and recently I have grown to respect modern diesels, as they are very fast, fuel and such efficient and nimble to accelerate, mainly thanks to better diesel-electric stuff, y know, like Siemens Chargers for the US, F125 for Metrolink routes... I like highspeed trains, various units, push-pulls, locos like Taurus, Vectron and such modern powerhouses ... my fav train is still Siemens Desiro ML, thats like a Ferrari on tracks to me, even if it is "just" a humble commuter/regional train and the more I think of it, the more I am fascinated and also thankful to all the ppl who plan and build the railways and the equipment as well... so many things, so much science and engineering to make it work as well as it does... and like, one of coolest things when lets say I explore Vienna is walking around some random part of the city and then seeing a train crossing the view on some viaduct or bridge, so majesti, especially with these bad boys:
I do like a bit of both old and new trains. Speed has always fascinated me although traveling on hs1 it doesn't feel that fast. From what I've seen In pictures Vienna looks full of history.
Vienna is great cos it has tons to check out if you are a trains/transport enthusiast, and while it is big, it is nowhere near as big as Paris or London... it also has a great commuter network: View attachment upload_2025-3-16_15-4-51.jpeg and thats just passenger stuff... there is tons to check out at Kledering, Inzersdorf, various industries, maintenance facilities, oil refinery etc etc etc ... Austria in general is in very good spot railways-wise atm, and it is making huge strides towards becoming really one of the top countries for rail
Quite often at work, I watch my train come in (well, any train for that matter) and I like how I've predicted exactly where the doors will be, and look in awe at how perfect the stop was. It's one of those things that's strangely satisfying.
heh yeah, like when I can tell which direction the train is going cos I know white lights are headlights and red are taillights (usually) ... or I see H sign and know thats probably where the front of the train will be ... simple things that I know cos I play this game and read/watch train/transport content ... like you are in on some top secret insider knowledge ... or a train stops and it is there for a couple mins, and you know it is cos of some obstruction or train ahead etc
In TSW I hope! Yes, I agree with you there mate, that is always a good start to a trip. I always compare the feeling to making that perfect pass in football, something you do so often, but every time you just feel that dash of pride, before focusing on the next task.
Sitting in a steam heated Mark One coach on the evening southbound train from Wick to Inverness, climbing up to County March Summit with the sound and smell of the Class 26 drifting back mingling with aroma of said steam heat. Sadly over 40 years since that could be enjoyed.
and there is also tons of trams and busses in Vienna, so even if you "get lost", if you just walk in whatever direction for a couple mins, you will eventually find at least a bus stop... and a bus will take you to some tram or U-Bahn stop... and U-Bahn gets you to Hauptbahnhof or other big station, eventually
and this is pretty much the face of Vienna S-Bahn Siemens Desiro ML in CityJet livery and then there is this one, that railfans still love, class 4020, still in use today... I mainly see it doing S3 and sometimes S40 stuff
I believe there are railway museums in Schwechat (near Vienna) and Strasshof (somewhere on the route between Vienna and Marchegg via Ganserndorf)... and there is a very cool transport museum near Schlachthausgasse in Vienna, called Remise (I believe thats a German word for a tram depot, which it used to be and kinda still is)... they also have a gift shop with very cool items - got myself keychains of U4, U6 and all-lines cube, also a keychain strap with U5, aand a couple copies of Gesamtnetzplan ... I have actually gotten two copies, cos one side is regular lines and the other is nightlines... it is basically a BIG foldable map of the whole Vienna transport network, aka S-Bahn, U-Bahn, Badner Bahn, trams, buses, and such the exhibition I saw at Remise was pretty cool... whats also damn cool is that the majority of exhibits are still in working condition ... they even rent some of those historic trams, of course it aint cheap tho
there is also a transport museum right next to main station in Bratislava (I know it aint Vienna, but there are trains REX6 and REX8 running between the two (although REX8 only goes to Marchegg and from there you have to take bus replacement service, cos they are doing reconstruction/upgrade and electrification on the section between Bratislava - Devínska Nová Ves and the state border + the bridge/viaduct over river Morava, that should be done sometime this July) as for 4020, it still runs some S3 services and some partial services between Wien Franz Josefs Bahnhof and some stations along the S40 route)... sometimes they also use it for S45, which is a super busy suburban line from Wien Hutteldorf to Wien Handelskai, and pretty much serves as a "subway/metro" style service for communities along its route which arent served by U-Bahn yet (that will change once U5 is done to its full extend according to plans), where it serves alongside 4024/4124 units... even though its vmax is "only" 120 kph, it is quite nimble, has cool sound and all before 2015 it was mostly 4020 that was the backbone of commuter/S-Bahn traffic around Vienna and such, but then they got Siemens Desiro ML, which is better in almost every conceivable way (4020 is a blazing inferno in hot weather lol and is very hard to get onto if you are disabled or with pram)... 4020 is cherished mostly for its cool and vintage factor, as many such units and locos are
