Microsoft Train Simulator for PC

Overview
Microsoft Train Simulator brings the power and excitement of some of the world's most famous trains to your PC, placing you in the role of engineer with unprecedented realism, exciting real-world rail challenges, and the tools to recreate almost any railroad experience in the world. By Recreating hundreds of miles of routes with realistic scenery, equipment, and operations, Microsoft worked in close cooperation with six of the leading railroads from around the world to bring you the "As Real As It Gets" experience you've come to expect from Microsoft Simulators. There is a magic and mystique about trains that is difficult to explain... It touches people in many different ways. For some it is a simple awe-inspiring respect they feel when they stand near a rail crossing and feel the earth shake as tons of steel rumble by at over 60 mph. For others it is a historical connection, tying them to a place or an era that the railroads helped birth and shape. Still others marvel at the engineering systems of such machines. And finally, many people are drawn to the romance of the rails -- a means of travel that keeps them close to the earth while sending them to far-away places. Whatever the reason, for nearly 200 years, railroads have captured the hearts and minds of thousands. Microsoft Train Simulator brings the power and excitement of some of the world's most famous trains to your PC, placing you in the role of engineer with unprecedented realism, exciting real-world rail challenges, and the tools to recreate almost any railroad experience in the world.

Features
Six highly-detailed train routes from around the world with over 600 total miles of rail, carefully recreated with accurate elevation and terrain data, to mirror the real-world scenery, industry, and towns along the routes. Routes include both historic and contemporary rail operations. The most realistic experience of rail equipment ever brought to the PC - placing you in the cab of each detailed locomotive, with accurate, fully-functional gauges and working controls that you manipulate. Whether it's working the regulator on a steam engine or the air brake system on a modern diesel, you are in control. Real-world rail activities based on operational events unique to each route. Players can choose from a variety of challenges, such as keeping to a strict passenger timetable amidst unforeseen obstacles, or using helper engines to get a 50-car intermodal train over Marias Pass during a winter storm. Alternatively, you can enjoy any of the routes from a passenger or observer view - just sit back, let the computer control the realistic rail operations, and enjoy the sight and sounds of your journey. An open architecture, and tools that encourage enthusiasts, railroad clubs/historical societies, and third-party developers to customize and extend the product by creating new trains, routes, scenery, and challenges, many of which will be available for download from the Internet. Key partnerships with major railroads around the world who are assisting Microsoft in recreating the trains and operations to provide an authentic rail experience.