Thomson Interactive’s definitive Arosa Line is available now for Train Simulator, it’s time to explore the stunning Alpine Peaks!

The Arosa Line, a mountain railway that spans 25km through the Swiss Alps, is home to some of the most challenging yet scenic terrain out of all the RhB network. Whether you’re climbing high hauling freight or easing your way down with eager tourists aplenty, the Arosa Line never ceases to captivate and will put your skills to the test at every turn. For Train Simulator, the Arosa Line is packed with features for you to enjoy:

• Metre gauge track system with 3D sleepers, animated junction levers and illuminated indicators covering the line.
• RhB signalling system with custom designed signal models and features including:
  • Arosa group signals unique to this line.
  • Animated Brake Test and “Abfahrbefehl” (departure indicators).
  • Operating “Besetztes Gleis” indicators for entering occupied platforms.
  • Three state ground signals that function correctly between main signals.
  • ZSI-90 Safety System track magnets and in-cabin equipment.
• All new request stop features designed especially for the Arosa Line.
• Over 100 overhead line equipment and catenary models.
• Dynamically operating pantographs for the ABe 8/12 Allegra. Player locomotives have pantographs that dynamically follow the height of the overhead wires and lower through tunnels.
• Over 50 custom bridge and tunnel portal models designed to accurately represent the stunning engineering of the route.
• Highly detailed station models designed from Thomson Interactive’s survey of the route in early 2017 along with many other feature models along the line.
• Animated ski lift models in Arosa.
• Detailed rock face models to capture the breath-taking scenery of the route.
• All new ABe 8/12 Allegra Electric Multiple Unit in branded RhB livery with correct body side nameplates for all fifteen set numbers (3501 – 3515). Dynamic and selectable pantographs with sparking feature. Animated wing mirrors and exterior driver character that automatically moves to the driving end of the train. Player selectable destination system. Automatic speed control system and a host of other in cabin features.
• Passenger view for the EWA coach of the Allegra where you can take in the breath-taking scenery and observe the driver’s cabin through the glass partition.
• Lb-v container wagons, Sp-w timber wagons and all-new Fac hopper wagons are included.
• Route fully configured for Quick Drive scenarios and Allegra trainset compatible with our existing Albula route Quick Drive.
• 7 x Career scenarios including a guided tutorial for the ABe 8/12 Allegra train.
• 3 x Railfan mode scenarios.

Go All Swiss!

To celebrate the release of the Arosa Line, Thomson Interactive’s previous venture into Switzerland, the Albula Line: St Moritz – Thusis route, and its accompanying RhB Enhancement Pack, are both 30% off, exclusively on the Steam Store, for a limited time only!

In response to your important feedback on a variety of add-ons available for Train Simulator 2017, we have today released an update for the BR Class 150/1 DMU.

Here’s a list of what has been addressed:

• Completely rewritten throttle physics to match prototype
• Completely reworked brake performance to match prototype
• Fixed an issue with the headlights
• Fixed an issue with a number of missing audio assignments
• Added bonus “Ex-Silverlink” London Overground Livery

If you own the BR Class 150/1, the update will download automatically from Steam. If you have any problems/queries with regard to the update, leave a comment below or submit a ticket to our support site where our Support Team will be ready to assist.

If you do not yet own the BR Class 150/1, why not? It’s perfect for not only Great Western territory, but also now the popular North London and Goblin Lines route! Pick it up and experience classic Sprinter action!

The BR Class 150/1 update will be approximately 130 MB in size.

No Updated Content? Steam File Verify

In the unlikely event that Steam fails to update the Add-Ons listed in the article, you’ll need to perform a file verify and ensure Steam provisions your installation properly. Follow the instructions listed at this link to perform a file verify to reset your installation to default. Note that this process can take some time to complete and, if you have a high number of Add-Ons, we’d recommend you do this overnight.

If you find that after the file verify has completed, you are confident you have not received the update, please contact our Support Team by submitting a ticket to our support site where someone will assist you directly ■

• Train Simulator
  
• FSX Add-Ons
  
• FSX Complete my Collection Special Sizzling Sale
  
• Euro Fishing

RSSLO’s advanced DB BR 642, of Siemens’ popular Desiro Classic family, has come to Steam and Dovetail Games Stores for authentic regional service!

Built to serve the rural rails of Germany, the DB BR 642 introduced significant benefits over the previous loco-hauled stock, namely, shorter journey times, higher standard of comfort and reliability, and able to work under a plethora of conditions.

Each car features a low floor, providing step-free access from platform to train. From there, one car would be fitted with first class seating, and the other a multi-purpose area, where the W/C and wheelchair facilities were situated. Both cars shared a common bogie, this articulated design was not only safer, but reduced the overall noise and drag produced by the DB BR 642 when in motion. With a diesel engine under the floor, behind each cab, the DB BR 642 can quickly get up to its top speed of 120 km/h, and effective braking can ensure a rapid yet gentle stop, every time.

For Train Simulator, the DB BR 642 arrives in DB Traffic Red livery, complete with DB Regio branding, ready for service wherever required. RSSLO have packed the DB BR 642 full of complex features for you to master, including the step-by-step cold start sequence. Both a simple and advanced SIFA system are featured, so you can really step up your game if up for a challenge. PZB is also fully implemented, you’ll be changing modes directly from the control panel. Additionally, you’re even able to set up your radios.

Before you’re ready to start your journey, setting up the destination displays are an essential step for the passengers’ benefit, and then of course you’ll need to unlock the doors, without forgetting to lock them again!

What better way to test out the Desiro Classic than with a trio of Career scenarios for the Munich – Garmisch-Partenkirchen route, which is currently 50% off, you’ll have plenty of opportunity to put the 642 through its paces, and you’ll have to endure some inclement weather along the way.

The DB BR 642 for Train Simulator is suitably present in the Pro Range, and is available now, so head to the Store for more details! ■

Bulleid’s Southern workhorse, the Rebuilt Light Pacific, is out now!

An order was placed for a brand new steam locomotive that would fill the gap left by deferred electrfication, and Oliver Bulleid, CME of the Southern Railway, quickly went to work in designing such a loco. Thinking ahead was Bulleids’ game, in particular, he was considering the requirements of a post-war Southern Railway, where infrastructure was weaker, and not capable of handling big locomotives. A Pacific design was chosen, in particular, Bulleid simply went for a lighter variant of his Merchant Navy class.

In service, the “Light Pacific” locomotives, known as the West Country or Battle of Britain Class, earned a moderate reputation for being a powerful and versatile worker, and could be found almost anywhere. They shared their positives with the sister Merchant Navy Class, as well as their negatives, but overall the 110-strong fleet worked hard and did their duty, and would continue on in the south after British Railways took charge.

To improve upon their shortfalls, R. G. Jarvis of British Railways was assigned to rebuilding the entire fleet to a more conventional standard. Jarvis had already done this to the Merchant Navy Class with resounding success, and BR wanted the Light Pacifics to follow suit. The rebuild would completely strip the class of its iconic ‘Span Can’ design, instead, the locomotives would look more like a BR Standard locomotive with a Southern twist.

Despite the cosmetic changes later in life, the elegance of Bulleids’ Light Pacific locomotives cannot be ignored, be them named after Battle of Britain or West Country insignia, they changed the face of Southern Region operations.

For Train Simulator, Partner Programme developer Just Trains’ Rebuilt Bulleid Light is represented in British Railways Brunswick Green livery, and a total of 10 nameplated versions are included from both the ‘West Country’ and ‘Battle of Britain’ variants, they are:

• 34001 Exeter
• 34016 Bodmin
• 34022 Exmoor
• 34026 Yes Tor
• 34027 Taw Valley
• 34039 Boscastle
• 34046 Braunton
• 34059 Sir Archibald Sinclair
• 34062 17 Squadron
• 34101 Hartland

Advanced lighting and headcode features are present aboard the Rebuilt Bulleid Light Pacific, along with characteristic particle effects and changeable numbers and shed plates.

The Rebuilt Bulleid Light Pacific also features additional coaching stock; Maunsell’s Brake Composite (BCK), Composite (CK), Brake Third (BSK) and Third (SK) coaches are all included in British Railways Southern Green livery.

A trio of Career scenarios for the Somerset & Dorset Railway are the perfect way to display the Rebuilt Pacific’s potential to operate practically anywhere, the sharp grades of this line will put your skills to the test.

The fabulous Rebuilt Bulleid Light Pacific is available now, head to the Store for more details! ■

Train Sim World: Great Western Express, arriving August 24th on Steam for Windows PC, now available to pre-order!

The Great Western Main Line, one of Britain’s oldest and busiest railways, the birthplace of British high-speed travel, is making its way to Train Sim World!

What is known today as the Great Western Main Line was built by the famed engineer, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, between 1835 and 1841 in a grand effort to connect London to the Southwest of England. The “Great Western Railway” was opened in stages, the first three of which connected the line from Paddington, London to Reading, Berkshire, via the Thames Valley. For the first few decades of the Great Western Railway’s life, it was built to Brunel’s ingenious yet controversial 7ft Broad Gauge track, however, despite the benefits this had over “Standard Gauge”, the entire GWR would eventually be re-laid after Brunel’s passing.

The Great Western Railway was quickly established as a major link for both businesses and residents, in and outside the capital, all thanks to Brunel’s hard work. The line became known as Brunel’s Billiard Table, as it was his goal to lay a railway that was as flat as possible, all while connecting principal towns. It was this goal that saw the cutting of 1.4 Miles of hillside between London and Reading, an impressive feat for the time. As years went by, the GWR expanded drastically, and this included the quadrupling of the GWML.

Ever since the Churchward days of locomotives, the GWR has always been home to unique and pioneering steam and later diesel power. But perhaps most notably in recent decades, the Great Western Main Line has been the definition of high-speed with the InterCity 125 ‘High Speed Train’, a British icon in and of itself that has sped passengers between London and the west at 125mph, with ease.

Today, the Great Western Main Line is appropriately operated by “Great Western Railway”, a rebrand of the former First Great Western, and GWR provide both inter-city and local commuter services, the former with the iconic HST, and the latter with Networker Turbo DMUs such as the BR Class 166, which were ordered by Network Southeast to replace ageing 1st generation stock. In recent years, the GWML has been undergoing major modifications, including electrification, and it is the largest engineering project on the former GWR since Brunel built it over 175 years ago.

Today, we’re opening the doors for you to pre-order, click the image below to get your ticket to be the first to play when it goes live on August 24th.