New guy here

[Wynthorpe]

Hello Chaps,

My name is Simon, im 31 and from Blackburn (sounds like an internet dating start here lol), Ive never had a rail simulator beofre but come across RW2 on Steam and just decided to buy it, its downloading now as I type and i cant wait, im from a Flight Sim background and spent many thousands of hours on the VATSIM network flying.

Now this RW2 looks like its going to be a lot of fun! Any addons etc i should know about and be looking to get? or just stick with it as "standard" for now?

Anyway nice to meet you all.

Simon

[Acorncomputer]

Hi Simon

Welcome to the forum.

Where to begin ...

Most people would say that the Isle of Wight add-on route is a must as so many freeware routes require it. Apart from that it is a delightful little route and worth getting anyway.

After that the decisions get a bit more difficult but a browse through the UKTS RailWorks (and Rail Simulator) library will give you a good choice of freeware to keep you going for a while.

[jp4712]

Hi Simon

Welcome to the forums. There's plenty to keep you amused for quite a long time in the default stuff: I suppose one thing you can get is 'The Port Road', it's on Steam and isn't default content but is a freebie.

After that, well a lot depends on your interests - modern day, British Rail blue era, steam? You could spend an AWFUL lot of money and frankly never get round to it all. And don't forget that there's a huge wealth of excellent freeware on this site to download. One tip on that front - in the download library here you'll see 'Rail Simulator' and 'Railworks' - BOTH will work in Railworks.

Paul

[RyanT001]

Welcome to UkTrainSim and welcome to RailWorks, good luck with getting used to RailWorks after playing flight sim

[Wynthorpe]

Thanks very much indeed for th welcome, I think what "intrigues" me the most is Freight hauling, not sure why buts its what i enjoyed doing in Flight Sim also. THats another hobby that cost me a lot of money in addons! But as my old nan used to say "you cant take it with you"! haha... i'll take a look at the addons suggested I really cant wait to get on and have a good old play! one hour left for download, the Wifes out with friends and im off work tomorrow, could be a late night!! haha.

Simon

[RSderek]

Welcome, I hope you enjoy RWs and the banter here.

regards

Derek

[dean1986]

Id agree with Geoff Isle of Wight add on is a good start. Assets from Isle of Wight are used on my free routes. You might also want to look at the class 66 add on aswell as the class 37 pack both which are on steam, Id say these are two of the most popular payware add ons used in activities created by the guys on here. Id also look at downloading RW tools it is free to download but can only be used a certain amount of times if you make a donation you can get the full version. Rw tools will allow you to swap trains in a scenario that you dont have with trains you do have. hope this helps. IF you need any help or advice please pm me

Dean

[Wynthorpe]

Thanks again for the welcome and advice guys.

[ihavenonamenoreallyidont]

Blackburn? I am living the high life in a hotel in Blackburn as I type. Actually, I say "high life"...

Many of us think the best route is West Coast Main Line North (styled as WCML North). It was launched a couple of weeks ago at 20 squid and comes with a rather wonderful Class 86. It IS a system hog, however, which some would argue exposes the limitations of the RW engine (computing, not choo choo).

Anyway, have fun!

[gypbrc]

I would recommend WCML North too for it's sheer scale and operational ability and detail compared to the default routes.

Also, you may find that some of the sounds of the stock locomotives are not that representative if the actual thing. You may wish to have a look here:
http://www.armstrongpowerhouse.com/
AP do sound packs for many of the locomotives available for RW and are certainly some of the best add-ons you can buy in terms of quality and immersion factor. AP also do scenario packs for the default routes as well as add-on routes such as WCML North and Newcastle-York Modern. The also do special freight-operations only packs which you might enjoy.

As for free stuff; well there are lots of downloads of liveries available here at UKTS. Note that you do need the base model for the reskins to work; but they add excellent variety to your route. As regard to routes; Wales & Borders (W&B) is an excellent route, with huge scope for operations with all the yards available for freight movements. If you have IOW then you surely need to spend some time gathering the other (free) assets required to run W&B. Cresston is also a great route, with lots of scope for passenger and freight operations.

[Wynthorpe]

Blackburn? I am living the high life in a hotel in Blackburn as I type. Actually, I say "high life"...

Many of us think the best route is West Coast Main Line North (styled as WCML North). It was launched a couple of weeks ago at 20 squid and comes with a rather wonderful Class 86. It IS a system hog, however, which some would argue exposes the limitations of the RW engine (computing, not choo choo).

Anyway, have fun!

Hmmm not really a high life in Blackburn Hotels lol, I didnt even know we had any really. Im from the erm posh end of town haha.

I'll look into that one deffinately, im just purchasing the IOW addon now and will look at WCML North this afternoon! Where would i purchase that from?

Specs wise i hope i should be ok, im running an i7 950 @4.2Ghz and a GTX470, if it hammers that then something might be wrong

[Acorncomputer]

Hi

Both the Isle of Wight and the West Coast Main Line can be purchased by download from Steam.

The Port Road is also a download from Steam but is free.

[ihavenonamenoreallyidont]

Specs wise i hope i should be ok, im running an i7 950 @4.2Ghz and a GTX470, if it hammers that then something might be wrong

Your PC is more than enough for everything, as you'll know! But RW does not take particular advantage of faster CPUs or mutliple cores or speedy graphics cards. Try WCML and you'll see what I mean

BUT, it's still good fun and will turn out to be well worth the money you spent it.

[Wynthorpe]

I'll give it a go tomorrow! Spent best part of the day messing about and getting used to RW, just come for another play now for an hour or so whilst the wife watches soaps....grrr!