The Train Simulator 2 team had the opportunity to attend two days of classes at the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) in beautiful Vancouver, British Columbia, our neighbor city to the north. Following the classroom days, we also explored a Canadian Pacific rail yard and repair facility.

Come along with Josh Lindquist, one of the Train Simulator 2 software engineers, as he gets classroom and hands-on instruction about operating diesel locomotives and then gets his hands dirty messing around with locomotive parts, all in the interest of making Microsoft Train Simulator 2 “As Real As It Gets.”

Day One: Classroom Time

Our ragtag group of Train Simulator 2 game designers, project managers, artists, software developers, and software testers arrived at BCIT fully caffeinated and ready to learn. We spent almost all of the first day in the classroom, talking about operating rules, how brakes work, how dispatching works, why braking works the way it does, and lots of other stuff. We tested the limits of our hosts’ patience by peppering them with interruptions and questions, but they seemed to really enjoy it.

During breaks between class sessions, we got to spend some quality time with some of the instructors on random topics of interest. Here a bunch of us are talking to a gentleman from GE about the merits of four-stroke vs. two-stroke diesel engines.

For me, the biggest eye opener of this day was learning that the air brake system on the trains uses the same line for signaling and charging, thus making the engineer’s job much trickier than it otherwise would be. It blows my mind that this system is still in use all over the world, despite its obvious limitations. Of course I understand that the amount of legacy rolling stock that’s out there makes this a virtual no-brainer, but how did this design decision get made in the first place?

Day Two: Hands-on Learning

We spent the next day trading off between their simulator and the locomotive the guys at BCIT keep running on a small spur out behind the classrooms.

In this shot I’m clearly asking an incredibly intelligent question, because I’m making that hand gesture that means, “I have an incredibly intelligent question to ask.” Pat’s just as clearly thinking, “I wonder what it takes to get Josh to close his mouth.”

This simulator was really nice; it’s basically a full size cab interior with a screen up front, and tons of really great instrumentation. This is where we really got to see the concrete examples of all the buff and draft forces, the spring-like behavior of the consist, the brake pipe lag and false gradient stuff, etc., that we heard about in class the day before.

We each got to drive the simulator along a route under the watchful eye of our instructor. The passenger scenarios were the most hectic, as we were constantly having to adjust the speed and stretch of the train, and react to all the crossings, grade changes, and speed limit changes that seem to show up way too fast. It was cool to learn about taking a reduction on the brakes just to stretch the train out and keep the ride smooth. The guys from BCIT have a great, dry sense of humor, which I think served them well while I was at the controls.

Working with the real locomotive was even more fun. We all got to drive the loco back and forth a bit and then couple up with a car in front of us. Then they had us practice some hand signal coordination for coupling, with one person down at the business end signaling to the person driving.

I actually got to start the loco since I was the first one there.

Rick and I discuss the finer points of the coupling mechanism. Me: “See, the coupler does this, and then it’s stuck together because of the things.”
Rick, thinking: “Wow, he’s observant and articulate.”

Anyway, time for my turn at the controls. After a brief run-through on procedures, I got to drive. It was really good to sit at the controls and get a feel for the kinesthetics of driving one of these things. One of the things I find interesting about the locomotive is that it’s conceptually very similar to fly-by-wire. There’s no muscle required for control inputs, and further, there’s no control you can influence by pushing harder. Yet this very clean separation of interface and machine is belied by the very rugged controls themselves. Sorry; yeah, I was an Art History major in addition to computer science.

A brief run-through on procedures

Backing up the locomotive. I was on the lookout for ninja attacks
(can’t be too careful), but none materialized.

Here I’m either actually ringing the bell, or pretending to ring the bell
for the camera...I can’t remember which.

You know, you try to get some hard-earned rest, but there’s a joker in every pack.

Day Three: Touring the Canadian Pacific Railyard

The last bit of our trip was taken up mostly by a tour of one of Canadian Pacific’s yards. It was really nice of them to let us all traipse around and ask lots of annoying questions.

Here’s how you can tell we’re not just any-old visitors

At one point, we walked past an axle sitting on a pair of rails, and I couldn’t resist. When I asked our guide if I could push it around, he had this sort of tolerantly amused look on his face...I imagine similar to the look Dad gets when little Johnny asks, “Can I make a fort out of this cardboard box?”

This picture was composited by one of the artists. We weren’t actually pushing against each other, although that probably would have been even more fun.

It was really cool to get a feel for the incredibly low rolling resistance of the wheels on rails, coupled with the high inertia. I imagine that’s what moving stuff around in orbit must feel like. You know, except there’s ground and air here. And instead of spacesuits we’re wearing orange reflective vests. Well, you know what I mean.

We got some inside information on one of the more modern GE locos, and more questions were asked. I particularly enjoyed hearing about the differences in locomotive designs. If I remember correctly, this GE loco re-uses the electric generator as the starter motor for the diesel, an elegant solution that saves on weight and complexity.

I like to ask questions. And point at things.

We also got to check out the repair facility.

Traction motors are cool. And heavy. Really, really heavy.

We all had a great trip, and the folks at BCIT and Canadian Pacific Railway were great hosts. I leave you with our group shot and my best Napoleon impression.