Getting Back Into MSTS After More Than a Decade

Hello from across the pond!

I recently got back into MSTS over the past few weeks after feeling particularly nostalgic and deciding to give OpenRails a try. So far I've been pleasantly surprised with how well OR presents MSTS on a modern machine.

MSTS was my first train simulator when it released in the early 00's and I spent much of my pre-teen years using it as a learning tool and a gateway to igniting a flame for a passion that was always in me but I never realized its full potential. I always loved trains... riding them, watching them, looking at pictures... but I couldn't tell you locomotive types, what trains ran in which country, etc. And then my parents brought home that big cardboard box with the pumpkin-orange Dash-9 bursting through the front, and "Microsoft Train Simulator" written on the header in big, bold, white lettering. Suddenly I was learning not just how to drive trains, but the history and technical information of trains from the US, the UK, Europe, and Asia. After discovering file libraries on Train-Sim and UKTrainsim my desire for furthering my knowledge only burned hotter.

And then one day I saw a banner ad for Just Trains' new Severn Valley Railway add-on... beautiful steam locomotives in shades of deep glossy green, odd-shaped diesel locomotives with strange horns, and gorgeous countryside stations glowing in golden dawn sunlight. This route and these trains were nothing like the ones we had in the US, and I deeply wanted to learn more and see what trains in England and the rest of the UK were like. Christmases and birthdays saw Royal Mail packages filled with DVD cases with names like Making Tracks, Europeanbahn, and Just Trains scrawled upon them. I started learning about Southern Region EMUs, diesel and electric locomotives in a rainbow of colors, small steam engines in Wales, and an enormous amount of heritage railways sprawled across such a small nation. It was truly like nothing we had here in the States, and my journey into becoming a wealth of encyclopedic knowledge of railways and railroads across the planet was all thanks to that one computer game.

Through my teens I learned more about sources for freeware and payware, modifying ENG files to provide default trains with better sounds and cab-views, and even got one of the fantastic Raildriver controllers. I also dabbled in Trainz for a long time, reskinning trains and route-building, but MSTS was always my sim of choice for a realistic driving experience. Unfortunately, when I turned 18, family circumstances saw me forced from my home and both of my parents. I was on my own, and scrambled to find a good job and a clean and safe place to live. Over the years I had rented rooms from friends and families of friends, most of my possessions in storage, including my PC and all of my MSTS content. Eventually by my mid-20's I had saved enough and started making enough to afford my own apartment and truly live on my own. However once I got a new PC and my Raildriver back up and running, DTG's Train Simulator had become the new player in the industry. I was quick to adopt it and to this day have accumulated a massive collection of content for both TSC and TSW.

Now, in my 30's, recently married, and feeling nostalgic, I have decided to bring out MSTS again and go back to my roots with adult eyes and knowledge. I even dug out my collection of add-ons from my teenage years...


My next adventure will hopefully be getting across the water and driving my wife crazy with all of the heritage railways we visit!

I came across this site in search of old Making Tracks content, and I truly appreciate it being hosted here. I look forward to being apart of a community that keeps this great sim alive!

- Jesse -