Back from the National Train Show

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 02:01:32 GMT

I recently got back from the National Train Show where we finally had a public hands on demo of Microsoft Train Simulator 2.

I must say I am completely jazzed by the turnout and the feedback. Below are a couple of shots from the show taken by Keith Thompson. He is one of the guys on the team. You may or may not know him. He used to be the editor of Model Railroader Magazine.

In the top picture my back is to the camera and the bottom picture I am the one facing the camera talking up a storm.

The pictures were taken during a setup of the booth. Vendors were coming over because we had the bass speakers cranked and the diesel engines were rumbling. You could feel the vibration of the engine noise all the way across the hall.

Soon I should be able to get back to more posts and responding to people in a much more timely manner. Getting ready for a show is always stressful and busy and we have one more big one coming up. Hopefully I can get back to doing tutorials and demos soon.

Still Alive

Thu, 29 May 2008 18:19:50 GMT

Hello All,

We are quietly working away at getting ready for some upcoming events. Sorry for the long delay in posts. I am sure you would rather see cool stuff than hearing me drone on and on about work. So here goes.

Here are some pictures from our travels to various locations.

The picture below is from a cab ride on the Horseshoe Curve route in Pennsylvania. Here we are just turning the curve. As you can see it was a foggy day. The day before this we walked a portion of this area to get a picture of the greaser units used to keep the wheels rolling smooth. There is an observation area just to the left of the track and you can see a large black thing near the track. That's a locomotive on display in the railfan observation area.

Next up is the Stevens Pass route. This picture is looking down from the hillside into one of the yards in Wenatchee. One side of the Cascades is a nice lush green, with pines and ferns and the other side is high desert with scrub and small trees. As you can see from the picture below, it's a busy place. Lots of produce is grown in the Wenatchee area so this place is always bustling.

Here's a picture from Switzerland. This picture was taken from the road next to the station in Spiez. The BLS facility where we were able to crawl around and on the locomotives is a short distance from this idyllic scenery. I wouldn't mind working there if I got to see this view all the time.

And the final place we went...

Well you will learn that soon enough. Back to the grindstone!

Just kidding!

Mike's space: Travel

Back from the National Train Show

Still Alive