Trainz Railroad Simulator 2006: The Driver Challenge

While train conductors do not have too much to worry about outside the city, the locomotives are not nearly as easy to drive as you might believe. Beside having to maintain a constant speed in order to reach their destination on schedule, there are various other obstacles that await with each ride, all of which can impact the train's performance.

Trains Railroad Simulator 2006: The Driver Challenge allows you to drive one of the available locomotives in the true sense of the word, meaning that you have total control over every valve and lever inside the cabin. Moreover, you also have to take into consideration various speed limits and terrain inclinations, since they all have a role to play in the missions.

To start off with, you find yourself into the cockpit of a locomotive, with all sorts of strange controls spread all around, depending on the type of engine. Thus, the controls are much more complicated and they require a lot more than just holding a specific key to move forward and gain speed. Beside the obvious engine power levers, there are also the water control valves, as well as various types of breaks and injectors that determine how much power to be sent to the wheels.

The same amount of detail went into the modeling of the locomotives and the wagons, since they are all closely designed to depict real trains, along with every curve and line that's part of their specific look. Hence, in case you are an enthusiast, you can be sure that the models are accurate and detailed enough to really make you feel like you're on board the actual vehicles.

The railroads and the landscapes that comprise the surrounding area received a lot of attention as well and you can easily change the camera view mode to free roam and explore the maps unhindered. Moreover, the trains can also be controlled automatically, by simply enabling the function from the right-click menu. This is also a good way to learn how to manage the controls, although the best source for learning are the actual tutorials included in the game, which give you an exhaustive course in everything you might need to know.

Trains Railroad Simulator 2006: The Driver Challenge contains a few real courses as well, which are practically taken from the real world and placed into the game for you to enjoy. Thus, you can complete missions and deliver cargo from one point to the other for hours at end, as well as choose from a large array of locomotives from all periods.