As odd as it might sound, railroads are romantic. They offer magical views as they wind through rugged mountains while hugging high cliff sides or roll through misty valleys at dawn. They call to mind bygone eras: steam locomotives rattling over wooden bridges in the Old West as they carried precious silver and gold from the mountains or passenger trains bringing GIs back to their sweethearts after World War II. Even today, the sheer size and massive power of locomotives can evoke the same type of awe that powerful planes and race cars can. And while there are plenty of racing and flight sims, the only train games available so far have focused on strategic empire building. In Train Simulator, Microsoft has created a realistic simulation of the iron horse--one that can hold its head high next to its racing and flying peers.

The game looks highly authentic, and includes variable weather conditions.

Train Simulator puts you in the cab and in control of six different railway routes, covering more than 600 miles of track. Thanks to the developer's partnerships with the railways featured in the game, you'll get accurate presentations of both the terrain and the locomotives. Each cab view features animated controls and readouts that you'd find on the real-life counterparts. For the hard-core train enthusiast, you'll be able to operate the dynamic brakes, locomotive brakes, and train brakes separately. You can sound the horns, whistles, and bells at crossings, turn windshield wipers and headlights on and off, and operate sanders to increase the wheel grip on slippery rails. On steam trains, you can change the coal-shoveling rate, open and close the firebox doors, and increase and decrease the injector flow and blowers. Numerous other detailed control options are at your disposal.

If all that sounds a bit daunting, an extensive manual with illustrations and definitions clarifies things, and an online help system and a number of tutorials will also ease you into the game. A reference card lists your controls, as well as the unique track signage of each line, which you'll want to obey to avoid nasty derailments or time penalties when working against the clock. If you'd like to keep things simple, there are driving aids, such as track monitors and a heads-up display, as well as realism options that can reduce controls to just a few keys for a stress-free ride.

The trains themselves are reproduced with exacting detail.

You'll experience the great diversity of railroading through the varied routes and engines at your disposal. Train Simulator covers freight and passenger lines, both historic and contemporary. Amtrak's high-speed rail service in the Northeast Corridor gives you a taste of a bustling American commuter line. The Odakyu Electric Railway takes you through the heart of urban Japan. In Japan, you'll also visit the island of Kyushu via the scenic Hisatsu Line of the Kyushu Railway Company. Back in America, you can haul massive freight trains through the Marias Pass in Montana for Burlington Northern and Santa Fe, one of the biggest freight carriers in the world. If you want old-world luxury, head back to the 1920s and take the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express through the Alps. During the same era, you'll dash across the English countryside in the famous Flying Scotsman. Included editors let you alter the routes or create your own.

In the contemporary era, you'll control the Dash 9, GP38-2, and KIHA 31 diesel locomotives, as well as the Odakyu 2000 and 7000 LSE series electric engines and Amtrak's Acela Express and Acela HHP-8 electrics. On the historic lines, you'll control the Flying Scotsman and Gölsdorf Series 380 steam locomotives. While that's certainly a decent selection, it doesn't fully capture the huge diversity of locomotives that have been produced since railroading began. Many rail fans will undoubtedly wish for favorites such as the gargantuan "Big Boy" steam locomotive, the sleek J Class, the tiny narrow-gauge locomotives of Colorado and Maine, the classic F7 diesel--the list can go on and on. While you can alter the interior cab views of the trains, including the control layouts, the editing programs don't let you import or create completely new locomotives, which reduces replay value.