I just picked up a digital copy of Run 8 and am in the process of figuring it out. As a train simulator it's touted as having superior physics and several more degrees of 'realism'. For now I have their BNSF Mohave Sub (they also have the BNSF Needles Sub) that has the base Run 8 sim engine. So far I've managed to set my power units up, climb into the cab, flip some breaker switches, start the engine from cold/dark. Figured out how to set EOT and release brakes, apply power and move through the yard at Barstow. The braking, coupling, engine ops all just feel more correct...I've broken couplers as well because of a 'dumb' moment where I caused a lurch-- bad habits from a trazillion hours driving Railworks/Trainsimulator are gonna haunt me I just know it.

I have no plans at the moment to jump into the multiplay offering...I need practical driving experience first and then to get to grips with their RTC/Dispatch boards before I'd consider it.

From reading the Run 8 web site it looks like future projects include some cool CSX stuff and UP Yuma. They have some DLC as well, mainly rolling stock and a set of Amtrak engines and passenger cars. So far it seems strictly American but I may have missed other areas.

Anyway, I avidly run Trainsimulator 2014, enjoy Trainz 12 (and have 10 EE), and now have another rail simulator to sim away at. You can check out Run 8 on YouTube or on the Run 8 website here Run 8 Site

Lucky for us train simmers we have some choices. It's akin to having a basket of fruit; apples, oranges, and say...grapes. All fruit, all good in their distinctive way.

So far my Run 8 experience has been fine. Eye-candywise it's not in the same league as TS2014, but is somewhat more equal to Trainz 12. The thing is after about two minutes of selecting your engine and beginning the procedurals you don't really notice. A three hour run yesterday out of Bakersfield kept me occupied enough that I never left cab view (excepting the couple of times I got out of the cab to stretch lol). Here you have to watch your numbers- brake pipe, amps, engine temp, DPU's, coupler strain, slack/no slack, speed, signals, crossings etc. Oh and with no HUD needed (I'm not even sure there is a HUD- I haven't needed one anyway)If you had a live conductor you'd be jawin' too. When I run long in TS2014 I rely on saves, scenery gawking, line-side viewing because the numbers and in-cab activity don't have the same impact or meaning if that makes any sense.

Right now I am enjoying the narrowed scope of Run 8's offerings and have added the Needles Sub route, joining the two together in one seamless route. Lots to explore and learn here.

Kind regards,
Dave

I participated in my first real MP action yesterday having signed on with the RTS group that run a server 24/7 as a prototypical operation. It's also a very international little community which is great.

There were four of us on during the afternoon; one fellow dispatching, I think one guy was switching in Barstow Yard getting manifests/trains ready for the next days runs. Two of us were off running freight. The train I selected to run had an ES44DC as lead power and three DPU's along to provide extra power. With 6200 feet of double stacks I had a decent horsepower to tonnage ratio.

I was the crew change guy so headed to my train tied down at a turnout near Troy to set it up. Destination was Needles Yard. 130 miles later I was there...barely lol. At one point I passed through a detector that discovered I had a hot box axle fault and I needed to stop immediately. Unfortunately the detectors message couldn't be replayed back by yours truly (inept) so I had no idea which axle was involved out of hundreds. So I had to do this the old fashioned way. This meant I had to get my avatar to physically get out of the locomotive and walk back, inspecting each car. I was about 2/3 of the way through the length of the train when I found the offending piece and managed to repair it (all of this is actually simulated by Run 8). Dispatch allowed me to proceed and going through the next detector was fine- no defects.

Going from about milepost 716.2 through to milepost 586.2 was an interesting drive as the region is somewhat hilly, with dips and rises that call for continual throttle and brake juggling (which in turn means watching coupler strain, amps, brake cylinder air supply etc). I was completely occupied by what was happening throughout the drive, plus a bit of banter along the way via the text box helped pass the hours. Convos with the Dispatcher were all professional (at least from my experience listening to train radio stuff live while running Trainsimulator 20xx). I had a blast. Lots of learning, friendly fellow simmers willing to help out when I inevitably had questions. Best trainsim driving experience I've had yet.

Thanks for the reports, Leaf. It's been a while since I last checked in on this sim, good to hear how it's progressing.

Thanks Adlabs. I'll add stuff from time-to-time

The sim is expanding a bit more with the CSX A line coming along with a couple of others, and they've got some DLC out-- mainly a variety of rolling stock sets, three sets of SD40's, and an Amtrak package. Doc Machinist has a couple of good mods out, including a signals lighting mod that is well worth investigating (I use it) and can be had at Run 8 Depot site. Currently there is no generally available SDK, so modding, model building, painting, route building etc. is difficult or done by 'official' 3rd Party groups.

Now that I've got a few RTS multiplayer runs under my belt I will say that the experience has been fantastic. I did a couple of short hour-long runs late last week, hauling a coal drag and later a consist of double-stacks from Daggett to Cajon Sub. Both runs were interesting just in the difference of how the different freight felt and acted with similar power. Yesterday I plunked down for a five hour run from Needles to Cajon Sub, hauling 90 piggy-backs and autoracks...one flask/thermos of java and 144 miles later I arrived. Good conversations with a fellow engineer helped pass the time and we were both listening in to the real-life area on RailroadRadio.net. Eerie event happened; as Jan was passing the detector at milepost 377 on his long slow climb up the pass, the ingame detector announced it's findings milliseconds before the real-life detector at that location annunciated over the radionet. Too funny.

In SP mode I tried a night session to test out Run 8's night capability. Since the somewhat poor night-lighting in various other train simulators used to be a detraction from operating a night-time scenario for me, I wanted to see what was up with night runs in Run 8. In the desert darkness you can stumble about blindly, however, the Run 8 devs saw fit to provide you with a flashlight which allows you to find your train along the tracks. You'll also likely want to use the torch to shine on the controls in the cold, dark cab so you can see to go through the start up and get cab lighting on. Then as you leave the comforts of the cab to walk or more likely stumble-bum your way down the track to set up DPU's and or EoT, the flashlight becomes a must have device. I found the night runs to be well worth doing and are a blast with headlamps blazing away...you just have to be wary of drunks driving their pick-ups through the road crossings.

Kind regards,
Dave

Ok, never have I done this in a train sim. This evening I was hauling a priority freight consist out of Barstow, bound for Mohave Sub (and on to Vancouver, WA). I'd reached my own personal Hog Law (had driven some distance earlier in the afternoon on a day off from work) and decided to tie down at the Bissel siding.

Luckily Jan was on and was willing to do a crew change in order to take the consist onwards. He met up with me at Bissel just after I had started to prep the tie down. We changed out and he was ready to depart except the loco and DPU's wouldn't move- plenty of amps, just no moving.

What was different was I was able to climb up into the cab, be in the conductors area and help him troubleshoot- both of us shining our handy flashlights all over gauges, switches, eyes..(I'm blinded lol). Together we managed to get the train operational but the situation was pretty novel. I jumped back down onto the gravel rail bed and waved him into the night before logging. Pretty cool if you ask me

Kind regards,
Dave

Alrighty, the Run 8 team have just released Cajon Sub DLC adding 120 or so miles to the simulator. You need at least the Mohave Sub (core sim). Mohave, Needles Sub and Cajon Sub nicely mesh together. There is also a small patch. I haven't had a chance to run it yet so can't comment. RTS boys have added it to the server. Note that you don't need the add-on routes to use multiplayer but you are restricted to the route(s) you have (which is still plenty of mileage!).

Kind regards,
Dave

Is this an add-on to Train Simulator or a totally different product?

Completely different, Ice. I believe a couple of the devs involved were Kuju devs but it is a stand alone sim and has nada to do with RSC/DTG(Trainsimulator 20xx) or Auran/3NV (Trainz). Run 8 is part of 3D Trainstuff Co. (who do a lot of really top notch stuff for MSTS).

Interesting.

Is this a standalone or do I need some base program to run with this ?

[edit] Answered my own question LOL. This is very in depth. I'm tempted to dust off my Raildriver for this.

Hi Harry, I believe that Raildriver is well supported in Run 8. You can check out Run 8 Depot, a fan site, that has some excellent bits and pieces on it. Doc Machinist (who did a ton of stuff for RWA and Trainsim20xx) has some nifty add-ons,, including a Raildriver script (check for Doc's tools under the downloads tab). I recommend his SEP (signals enhancement pack-- makes the signals easier to see) as well.

Also, while on the Run 8 Depot topic, there is a series of maps that are brilliant and well worth downloading. I've used these extensively and printed them off so I could add notes to them (helps me with route familiarization). The maps have everything you need on them, from mileposts, to detectors, to showing the all-important gradient changes. The maps also list the lengths of sidings in feet so when you've reached the end of your driving day and need to tie down that 9200' of rolling stock behind you that enticing siding which is only 5400' long just ain't gonna cut it.

Run 8 depot link ----> Run 8 Depot


Kind regards,
Dave

Thanks Dave.

You should know however that I am still a rookie to train sims and only possess a limited knowledge on the realistic operating procedures for trains and railyards.

Though this is actually one area of simming I am quite keen to invest some time into. Is there some place I can get detailed operating guides on how to get started on serious train simming ?

How does this compare to Train Simulator ? IS Run8 the absolute king of realistic train simulator at the moment?

I bought the Raildriver to play Trainz back in 2005 (or thereabouts), but somewhat disappointed with Trainz. The physics is simplistic though to be fair, it was really made to be a digital model railroad rather than a full blown sim. And I wanted something that had railyard and switching operations so I can learn about railways. But Trainz fell short in a lot ways that made me abandon train games for a number of years.

Hi Harry,

Train simming's a lot like apples, oranges, grapes-- all fruit but each different. As a train sim fan I enjoy aspects of all of the ones I use to varying degrees. I use Run 8, Trainsimulator 20xx, and Trainz 10EE & Trz 12.

I decided to try Run 8 because I'd heard and read a lot about how good the physics were and how well it captures North American rail operations. It's my current train sim of choice as I found a great group of people at RTS who multiplay car forwarding operations in a casual environment (and are very kind and helpful). I've learned quickly and am still learning every time I load up Run 8.

Getting started in train simming is easy once you've selected a sim to start with. Trainsimulator can usually be had quite cheaply if you wait for the next Steam sale. Note that a brand new version using the UT4 engine will be coming out sometime and that the current 2014 version will get the yearly update this fall. The new version is supposed to have better physics. Doubting highly that the new Trainsimulator using UT4 will be backwards compatible with the plethora of DLC.

Auran is now taking pre-orders for T:ANE (Trainz: A New Era) and its advertised as having better graphics, better physics and some backwards compatibility.

Run 8 already has superior physics and operations and being continually developed will likely add more useful bits (such as AI, DLC routes etc). The sim itself is a good one to get started on-- the learning curve is a bit steep, however the payoff is in the higher fidelity of the driving/physics. I found after years of driving in TS20xx I was making some bad mistakes as I started Run 8 due to what I see as the unrealistic and rammy driving I developed using 'career mode' scenarios. When real life locomotive engineers talk about how good Run 8 simulates operating multiple power units and 2 mile long consists of loaded rolling stock (given the limitations of desktop PCs of course) I decided this was what I was looking for.

I'd recommend starting small, with a core sim of your choice. TS20xx is a good choice if you like the appeal of great graphics and interesting scenarios (plus there is a plethora of free content available on Steam Workshop). Get in game, drive a few scenarios and get a feel for the style. You can do the same in Run 8, load up and run your chosen train. If you screw up in single player, learn from it. Both Trainsimulator and Run 8 have youtube channels that have tutorial type videos available. Best way to learn is jump in and get your feet wet. Operational questions can be googled or feel free to ask me and if I know I will give you an answer. If you would like to multiplay Run 8 is currently your only choice (yes Tz12 has MP but the Auran connecting server is often down)there are a few Run 8 servers around which are very well moderated-- Run 8 depot often posts host links to open sessions.

Hope that helps a bit-- please ask more questions as I'm always happy to help as best I can.

Kind regards,
Dave

Thanks again Dave.

I have decided to get Run8. I might as well get serious with a studysim and be satisfied from the gitgo on issues of fidelity. I like North American rail operations and I like sims, so it's a natural choice. Don't mind the learning curve. I'll put in the effort. It would also appear Run8 is developed from one core code (engine) that evolves with updates rather than get replaced with a new engine. Hopefully I won't need to deal with the backward incompatibilities I had with the other titles which get a new rendition every so often.

I spent money on both Rail Simulator and Trainz (circa 2006) both of whom are now obsolete. In the case of Trainz, it felt like they keep coming with new titles within a short span of time and I notice the community was having to uproot itself everytime. I spent a lot of time coming to terms with their bloated interface, hunting for missing assets on many downloaded scenarios, only to have all that rendered incompatible when they keep putting out new sequels of Trainz. So I'm done with Auran for the forseeable future. And yeah, I wanted a sim, not a digital railroad model. I can try playing Auran's as realistically within my limited knowledge of railways but it still does not have the underlying physics and I don't think I have seen any equivalent simulation of railyard and hump operations as the one currently in R8

Good one Harry. I hope you enjoy it!


I managed to spend about 12 hours operating locos today (on days off and got permission from the Missus!) on the RTS server. I was helping clear out some of the crew-change/tied down trains so started with a short run. When that was done I opted for a long run, taking a V train (vehicles in autoracks)that originated in Richmond, CA headed for Clovis, NM. I was the crew change, so boarded at Bissel (came out of Bakersfield on the Mojave Sub) and the trip was to end at Needles Sub yard some few hundred miles away.

Getting her down to Barstow was fairly routine except for a hot box defect that I had to stop and repair, and then the dispatch decided I needed to enter the inspection yard at Barstow for 45 minutes. That was okay because as they were inspecting I got to help with the yard crew, shifting power around and adding it to a couple of trains being put together. Once that was done, with sandwich in hand, I was able to run my consist out of Barstow and head for Needles.

I had just passedDaggett when another detector caught a dragging equipment fault and I was delayed agin while repairing. Wasn't long after that when I started chatting with one of the other traincrews which turned out to be an excellent experience. The fellow is a real-life conductor here in North America and offered a ton of advice, monitored my cab for a bit, and genuinely was teaching me stuff I had never seen in a train sim before (e.g., brake actuating, uses of the counter etc). Pretty awesome experience. In the end I made it to Needles yard with 10 minutes to spare on my hog law (12 hour max. working time)having delivered without any real mishaps. Yeah, I spent pretty much a full 12 hours operating trains today...never done that before but will deffo do that again (with permission of course!).

Kind regards,
Dave

Okay, I’ve had Run 8 now for almost a month and a half. I’ve come to grips with it enough that I’m fairly competent operating the ES44’s and SD-40’s (I’ve not tried running Amtrak stuff yet) between Bakersfield and Barstow, from Barstow to Needles, and Barstow to San Bernardino...and back (contiguous as all are joined up!). I’ve moved a heck-of-a lot of freight. Did a speck of yard work and thrown a lot of hand-switches. I have pumped quite a few hours into this sim and I ain’t remotely tired of any of it.

I was one of those ‘on-the-fence’ types regarding multiplayer. I felt swayed one way and the other; many seem to feel MP is doomsauce when it comes to rail, others feel they can’t run any sim without MP. I was more concerned with the potential for meeting up with idiots that want to ruin serious sessions with their numbnutz type behavior, crashing, racing and causing other problems etc. I was lucky and found RTS first; multiplay with these folks has been a fantastic experience. I’ve heard similar about the great group at DAMS. Run 8, with a good group is far beyond what I thought it could be. Far beyond.

As to the sim itself I asked myself what is so compelling about it and what makes me use it pretty much every day? I enjoy simulations (RoF, WOFF, ARMAx, FSX etc) by themselves for a period of time, but if I can somehow find a ‘purpose’ for staying with the sim then suddenly the sim has life. In milsims a deep campaign (inhouse or add-on) usually keeps me going. In civsims like FSX the one single add-on that had me from the start was Air Hauler...hours of cargo hauling and building a company was very compelling. I’m finding the same thing with RTS in Run 8. RTS isn’t just a group for MP, but the founder developed some software (available to anyone) that provides a car-forwarding system for Run 8 and hence, for me, a purpose.

When I log in to RTS it’s because I’m there to move freight. Whether short hauls or long hauls, the cargo has got to get moved, trains have to be run, cars have to be switched, industry serviced and so on. It’s like I’m part of a live railroad company, made especially brilliant by the MP aspect. At any given time 24/7 there is potentially some action. I had been a part of OVS (Ohio Valley Systems), a virtual RR for MSTS and Trainsimulator 20xx and really enjoyed that and it was as close to MP as I could get using TS20xx.

I love Run 8 and what it offers to the train simulation world.

Anyway, enough blather. I’m off to climb back into my cab.

Kind regards,
Dave