Everyone knows that Microsoft Flight Simulator is tremendously popular. Likewise the youngster in the Microsoft Simulation family, Train Simulator, is also very popular. But why is this so? Well the reason for their popularity is not solely down to the product itself. When you purchase Microsoft Flight Simulator or Microsoft Train Simulator you are simply purchasing the game engine with a few extra trimmings, so the game is fully customisable. This may seem like a strange comment but when you think about it, it makes sense.

Both products ship with extensive editors that let you create new aircraft/trains, design new routes and customise just about anything you could wish. Almost all purchasers of these simulations will dabble in using the editors at some stage. For those who fear to mess with the editors, and I am one of them, there is a world of customised add-ons that can transform your game. Of course the quality of these add-ons vary greatly. Microsoft Flight Simulator is a well-established simulation and there are thousands of online and retail add-ons for the product (some of which we hope to look at soon). However it is some of the add-ons for Microsoft Train Simulator that we intend to look at in this article.

One of the big players in publishing add-ons for Microsoft Flight Simulator is Just Flight Limited. Thankfully they have created Just Trains in order to publish expansion sets for Microsoft Train Simulator. Over the next few days we will be looking at four of their expansion sets. These are American Classics, TGV, Euro Loco and Train Sim Activity Pack. After around five days of looking at these we are very impressed. In total there are around 21 new locomotives, well over 50 new activities and a whole new 500-mile route that takes you through the Channel Tunnel. The quality of the locomotives in all of these sets is truly outstanding and at least as good as those in the original game.

All of these sets are wonderfully presented. They all come in a small cardboard box. Inside the box you'll find your CD and a brilliant manual that explains everything you need to know about the expansion. There are even hints and tips to help you when driving the new locomotives. All in all, they are very polished products.

Reviews so far:

American Classics
Euro Loco
TGV
Train Sim Activity Pack