Burton's Bytes: Reliving train driver dreams

Heck, even a pocket calculator was a novelty in those days. It was also the size of a small suitcase.

Maybe that's why I always put a train set down as Santa's number one priority on my Christmas list.

At one time or another, every young boy wants to be a train driver. But nowadays, the power of the PC means kids and adults can enjoy all the fun of standing on the foot-plate steamin' and a rollin' (with apologies to Casey Jones) without getting their hands dirty.

Railroad Tycoon 3 and Trainz Railway Simulator 2004 take things to the next level. You don't just drive the trains - you own them.

Trainz Railroad Simulator 2004 puts you in control of building, controlling and managing a variety of railways around the world, from the golden era of steam, through the change to diesels right up to modern day electrics.

You take on one of several different personas. As an engineer, you choose from high-speed passenger runs, shunting cars in a busy industrial yard, or carefully navigating a 200-ton logging train down a steep mountain range.

As Yardmaster, it's your job to manage your drivers as they go about their daily routine. Ensure your trains are in the right place at the right time to keep pace with supply and demand of the interactive industries.

As Route Builder, you can create your own stunning routes and worlds.

Finally, if you want to be Operations Manager, you can set industry production levels, commodity requirements and passenger schedules.

There are more than 50 different trains including legends such as the Flying Scotsman and the LNER Mallard. No wonder this title is endorsed by the National Railway Museum in York.

It's also very flexible - allowing the enthusiasts to build their own virtual world and drive the train of their dreams. What's more, you can download thousands of extra items from the publisher's website (known as the download station). I loved the ability to create my own train company livery with a few simple clicks. With so many things to choose from, it's fair to say that no two game worlds will ever be the same.

The system requirements are pretty hefty (a 1.4 GHz processor and a 64MB video card are the absolute technical minimum) but the results are a joy to behold.

The game's ultimate goal is to run a successful railroad company and, as you'd expect, there's a lot more to it than just linking together a few bits of train and shovelling some coal into the loco. If you want to be a successful railroad manager you have to juggle passenger numbers and freight with the pace of technological development. Provided you make enough profit, the game allows you to move on to the next goal.

Get things wrong and the board of directors will have no hesitation in kicking you out.

Thankfully there's a full tutorial mode to ease you into the game proper and it's essential you follow the instructions if your business is to be a success. There's also a difficulty mode that allows you to tweak the game parameters to suit your style.

There are 28 different scenarios, all closely based on railway history.

If, however, you can't be bothered with all that management nonsense and just want to play with your trains, then the "sandbox mode" dispenses with the administration and concentrates on fun.

Players have a wide choice of locos at their disposal. They range from the early days right through to modern bullet trains. Whatever mode you decide to play it all looks terrific, with meticulously modelled trains and detailed landscapes. The sound effects are complimented by period music too.

As with Railway Simulator, Railroad Tycoon 3 also allows you to play against other would-be tycoons online. Essentially, the aim is pretty much the same as the single player experience. The goals are more easily achievable, though, to avoid contests lasting days at a time.

You can either compete against someone over the Internet or on a LAN set-up. Up to seven players can compete against each other during a game.