Train Simulator - TV Tropes

Welcome to the ultimate railway hobby! (Boxart for the 2022 edition shown)

Train Simulator is a vehicle simulator game developed and released by Dovetail Games originally in 2009 under the title RailWorks: Train Simulator. Since its original release the game has gotten updated every year since with the series changing its name to simply Train Simulator in 2012. In 2018 Dovetail released a sequel title Train Sim World which also gets annual re-releases.

In every version, the player takes on the role of a train conductor. They have the option to drive steam, diesel, or electric trains, and are tasked with transporting both passengers and cargo to different locations on the game map. The player may choose a train, or also have the option to build a custom train by snapping cars together. They also choose departure time and the season and weather at time of departure. Once en-route the weather and time of day change dynamically. The game can also have features added via Steam Workshop.

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All aboard for the following tropes!:

• Bland-Name Product: Averted, as the rolling stock are real-world replicas, down to the interior. It's certainly not Product Placement though, which may explain why the DLC costs so much.
  • The branding on the shipping containers found on wellcars do this, likely because licensing wasn't done for the logistic companies involved with said containers.
• Cool Train: Rolling stocks do include steam trains, as well as the modern German InterCity Express.
• Department of Redundancy Department: The opening video for the 2017 version starts off with "Precision: the quality of being precise." In their defense, most definitions of the word do start off something like that.
• Downloadable Content: The first thing most people find out about this game is that it has over $5000 worth of DLC, which only increases over time as content is still being made for this game.
• Guide Dang It!: A few things that stand out
  • It's highly recommended to run through the tutorials if you're not familiar with how to interact with the traffic controller system, as the traffic controller rules in any career mode scenario are enforced.
  • Nobody tells you that going to a higher speed limit is in effect when the last car passes the speed limit sign and that going to a lower speed limit is in effect when the first car passes the speed limit sign.
  • The manuals themselves are vital for pretty much any and all Pro Range locomotives.
• In-Universe Game Clock: The player is able to set departure time for all rides they create along with setting the season and weather. Afterwards time moves dynamically during the trip such as changing from day to night.
• Just Train Wrong - Provided the route can support it, you can put any train on all manner of routes, regardless of whether the train or the route could run on the route or carry the train in real life. If you wanted to, you could have a bullet train or Amtrak speeding down the Isle of Wight's Island Line, something which normally only takes old London Underground units from 1938^note  and the occasional steam train.
  • Some locomotives don't behave or even sound like their real-life counter parts, though that's to be expected.
  • You are also able to operate BNSF SD70ACEs, the dreaded thundercabs, as lead locomotives despite BNSF strictly prohibiting their use as lead locomotives. 
  • Some routes have incorrect details or are outright missing things that their real-life counterparts have. An example of this is in the Norfolk Southern Saluda Grade route, which is missing a safety feature for runaway trains.
  • Some locomotives also have incorrect functions that generally don't actually affect operation of them in game but would definitely affect operation of them in real life.
• Loads and Loads of Loading: Due to having to load to-scale worlds, starting a map can take minutes to load even from an SSD.
• Marathon Level: Because maps are to-scale, it can take hours to run a complete route.
• Nintendo Hard: Trying to get a perfect score involves being attentive even small details that you would think were unimportant, as well as a few instant game over actions (like failing to acknowledge an AWS warning). The most common deduction you'll have is wheel slippage... which isn't even obvious it's happening without the score indicator telling you.
• Scenery Porn: Details of the map extends out up to a mile or so from the rail line, but don't expect accurate detail beyond the immediate line of sight. So once you get the train going and you don't need to pay attention to TCS, sit back and enjoy the scenery.
  • The Amtrak Acela takes this up to eleven since it has cruise control. One can just let the train do all of the work while the player takes some time to notice the route.
• Space Compression: Averted. Routes are to-scale and traveling from one station to another happens in real-time. Traveling across the map? Expect to play for at least two hours.
• Steam Never Dies: You can stick a bunch of steam locomotives in St Pancras station if you feel like it. And pretty much justified in that Steam Locomotives still exist. Big Boy 4014, X-844, Southern Pacific 4449, Nickel Plate Road 765, and Norfolk And Western 611 still run to this day, so one can justify putting Big Boy and UP X-844 on Tehachapi Pass and/or Cajon Pass.
  • MachineRail's Western Maryland H9 can be run on pretty much any CSX route you can acquire.
  • This is definitely the case with UP 119 and similar Smokebox Locomotives. Why not stick UP 119 on Wasatch Grade or Cajon Pass?
  • Since MachineRail has a Western Maryland I-2 in the works (it's still put on hold however), one can definitely have fun with the current CSX routes as well as the Clinchfield route.