When Trainz was released in 2002, it was a hit among railroad enthusiasts. Half simulation and half creativity tool, Trainz let you build the virtual railroads of your dreams with a very user-friendly set of editing tools. Then you could ride the rails across your newly created routes or those created by other fans. For all of Trainz's strengths, the program was limited in many ways. The focus tended to be more on simulating model railroading than simulating real-world railroading, at least until ambitious fans learned how to push the program's boundaries. There was no easy way to simulate real railroad operations; trackside industries didn't actually produce anything; and there were no steam engines, among other flaws. With Trainz Railroad Simulator 2004, fans can start checking items off of their Trainz wish lists. This new version incorporates features from patches to the original Trainz while adding major new features, like steam engines and dynamic railroad industries. Trainz 2004 could have used more polish and improvement in some areas, but overall it's a welcome addition to the growing Trainz franchise.

Stoking the fire on one of the new steam locomotives.

As far as the basics go, Trainz 2004 is quite like its predecessor, which is definitely a good thing. It's a modular system with a few basic components. The Surveyor module lets you create railroad routes, replete with detailed scenery and operating switches and signals. The Driver module lets you drive across the routes. The Railyard module lets you view all your cars and engines. In Railyard, you see that developer Auran has addressed one of the biggest flaws of the original Trainz. Now you get steam engines--and some glorious ones at that. Along with diesel and electric engines from all over the world (not to mention many kinds of railroad cars), Trainz 2004 includes steam locomotives like the famed Flying Scotsman and the massive Union Pacific Big Boy. Some relative obscurities, like an Italian engine from the 1920s, make appearances too.

While the new steam locomotives are a cause for rejoicing, you only get a small handful of them. Then again, what you don't find in the game, you should be able to find online soon enough. Auran's "Download Station" hosts over 15,000 free user-created locomotives, routes, scenery objects, and other items for the various Trainz programs, with new items appearing all the time. (Many items created and properly configured for the original Trainz should work with the 2004 version, too.)

Trainz 2004's Driver module offers many of the same basic features as before. Here you drive trains by using a simple model railroad-style controller or more complex controls and physics that are modeled after the real thing. You can view the action from multiple angles: a 360-degree interior cab view, dramatic tracking shots, a dynamic external view linked to specific engines or cars, and now--prayers have been answered--a true free-roaming view that lets you skip all across a route. Along with the trackside views, a map mode lets you watch and control the overall action from on high, though it can sometimes be hard to read the small station and industry labels easily.

Coal pours into hopper cars at an interactive mine.

While many of the fundamentals still apply in Trainz 2004, there are some major differences in the Driver mode. In the past, you set up a Driver session by selecting a route, then creating and placing trains on it, choosing the weather, and so forth, all from within the Driver module. It was easy and straightforward. Now you have to choose from ready-made sessions where everything is preset for you. Otherwise, you have to go into the Surveyor module, place trains, add or edit a series of little rule scripts, and then save it all as a new session before playing. This makes things more time-consuming and complicated than before, so the new system might be a turn-off to casual players who just want to throw a train together, set the weather, and ride the rails with ease.

Still, sessions can now offer something that makes Trainz 2004 far superior to its predecessor in one regard. Now, certain interactive industries create waybills detailing their commodity requirements, and it's up to you to keep all the industries working by shipping goods to and fro. For example, with one train you'll pick up fuel at a refinery and unload it at a mine. Meanwhile, another train will pick up coal from the mine and drop it off at a power plant, which, in turn, keeps other industries running. There's no support for interactive passenger service yet, though Auran says a free patch with these features should be out in the near future.