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Well, it's happened. I've made the jump. In my quest to find the geekiest games around.
From wargaming, to Star Trek online to further geekery with downloading Train Simulator 2012. There are so many DLC for this game it's insane. I'm thinking of buying the Pennsylvania horseshoe line with the old Back to the Future 3 train avaliable. The reason is the graphics look lush as.
I even hesitated to tell you lot my wargaming friends about it as I feared it was too sad. Now that is saying something if you have to hide it from your wargaming buddies.
I'll let you know how I get on tonight when I play it for the first time. First Great Western. Paddington to Exeter via Tiverton Parkway. Let's hope I'm not sitting for 3 hours at Tiverton with signal failure like in reality.
This could be either the most boring or most invloved and intensive gaming session of my life. We shall see.

Model trains > train simulations

Tenorikuma has the right of it.

I play a train simulation everyday.
And by play I mean ride and by train simulation I mean a real train.
So sorry, but I cant see the appeal all that much myself, but by all means have fun with it.

I'm going to need a bigger boat. My dynabook PC is two years too old so the cpu is a couple of ghz off being able to run the thing. Doh. Plan shelved until I'm at least 40 and have a new PC. Phew.
The draw for me really would have been the graphics but you need a beast of a machine to run it.

I quite liked Sid Meiers Railroads if you can find a copy of that. Doesn't take much to run and not a bad game. About as realistic as Thomas the Tank Engine, but fun.

Got it! I managed to remove the blue cache files and got the game working nicely all of yesterday afternoon and evening. I've got to say I now get what the train anoraks are in a fuss about. Not saying I'm going to go out and start memorising timetables and taking photos of rare carriages just saying I can understand the train attraction now.
The game is brilliant there are no two ways about it. If you like shooting games, this game is not for you, if you like action, platform, stealth, rpg then no this game is not for you. If you like video games in general and want to play something a bit different and ultimately very relaxing then yes this game is for you.
It's so boring it's untrue. Let's not beat around the bush here. It is nothing exciting per say or fantastical. But. It is that very attention to detail and the real feel of a train that makes it so entertaining and addictive.
If you have a certain line or train you would like to see that you know from real life than that is the pull to be honest. Or at least it was for me. The attention to detail is spot on. Even if you run it on a lower graphic quality this game works well.
The logistics of train driving are complicated if you set it on the advanced mode. The easy mode allows you to kick back, hash it up a bit and enjoy the scenery.
There is plenty to do be it passenger routes or freight, or shunting in the yard and enough scenarios for each route and train to keep you busy. You also choose between steam locomotive, diesel and electric trains so you can appreciate how different trains are operated.
I realised the attraction for trains must be this level of concentration it takes to get everything running on time and in line. You have to get to the stations on time to pick up freight and passengers without breaking the speed limits. This is harder than it sounds and a lot more fun than it sounds trust me.

Anyway, yesterday I had a really relaxing time driving several familiar routes in Britain and America. Wow those American diesel trains are loud! I had no idea. There is no real grading of how well you are doing, you have the responsibility to take care of the train and if you are late or mess up than the shame of it is enough to feel the importance of the task assigned. There is a career mode setting where you can receive a score as such but if you spend the whole time speeding and using the train break the result doesn't get recorded at all. I thought that was quite funny. You messed up your result wont be recorded this time.
I probably wont spend every evening playing this as it would get obsessive especially with all the expensive DLC available for the game. It might be good to load it up and chill out next time I'm feeling burnt out.
Anyway thanks for reading this far. I give Train Sim 2012: 9/10 Shame there aren't more than 5 people in London as the video geek says below.

This shows the nice graphics http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMn_nlpfMDw and is some nostalgia for MIJ on the Glasgow run.

This guy is hilarious and does a really funny review of how to play with no knowledge of the game, have a cup of tea for 10 minutes and watch this for laughs if nothing more: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3N6EFlZMtg

Not saying I'm going to go out and start memorising timetables and taking photos of rare carriages just saying I can understand the train attraction now.

There's a large sub-culture of Japanese train enthusiasts who do that sort of thing. Any time a rare train goes on a special run, crowds of train watchers will take up positions along the route to take photos and video. Doctor Yellow, the all-yellow Shinkansen loaded with track diagnostic equipment and sensors that JR runs every few months is a good example.

Yes we have that culture in Britain too. Train anoraks I think they used to be called. Only train enthusiasts is the preferred title. Like I mentioned above in the review for this game, I get it now. I always wondered how anyone could spend their time on all that. Maybe that is why it's popular in Japan as they are big fans of things running on time and to a structured set of rules. That is the way of the anorak perhaps.

Very relaxing, that video, like taking a couple of valium and washing it down with Horlicks. I may even look into this for my Mac.. I wonder if they do steam?