Train simulators a big draw at railway museums

[bikkuri bahn]

From the Daily Yomiuri.  The Usui Pass course looks especially interesting (it's been around for awhile, but apparently with the "boom", applicants have surged.

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T100905002186.htm

[dickturpin]

I wish my 'mamatetsu' took an interest in my model layout.

[IST]

When I was London, one of my target was the London Transport Museum, which has a BVE simulator based London Underground simulator with a normal sized cabin. First time the museum was closed because of renewal, and second time it was open but the simulator did not work. I could make only a photo about it. 
Maybe next time...

[David]

...it was open but the simulator did not work.

I'm confused. Do you mean the simulator could not be used, or that it perfectly simulated the London underground?

[Nick_Burman]

He meant that the museum was open to the public but that the simulator was not operating on that day.

If I can remember well, the museum has/had 3 simulators: one of the City & South London Railway's early electric locos, a second one representing 1938 Tube stock and a third simulating the cab of a new Jubilee line train. This last is the dullest...you just open and close the door and press the starter button, the train just about runs itself...

cheers NB

[to2leo]

...it was open but the simulator did not work.

I'm confused. Do you mean the simulator could not be used, or that it perfectly simulated the London underground?

Funny hahaha, they should add the strike mode too! 

[IST]

I'm confused. Do you mean the simulator could not be used, or that it perfectly simulated the London underground?

LOL. 
I was only 3 times in London but I have already learned that never ever fly on the weekend, its quite challenging to go to the aiport through the city.

[cteno4]

this is the big issue in my biz (exhibits), fancy interactives like simulators are really really popular, but they are also really expensive to build and maintain as well and they break a lot! not for the feint of heart. you really need your own staff to keep them going, but with how complicated some of these get noways, even really good trained tech staff cant fix a lot of issues and the vendor has to come back in to repair them. really frustrating when you try to visit a museum for something specific like this and its down...

as a vendor who builds stuff like this you would like to have lots of call backs if you got paid for each, but usually its on a service contract at a flat fee so you dont want to come back often... not good all around.

the other issues is that something like a simulator usually takes at least 5 minutes and only 1 (sometimes 2) visitors really get to use it at once (others can watch the interaction on display screens, but its really not the same) this means in a normal day you might get maybe 120 people though it. for even a smaller museum on a busy day thats a fraction of your audience so many went away w/o getting to do the simulator which can be frustrating. also have to allot a lot of extra floor space to something like this as it draws crowds that are either in line or wanting to see what the fuss is all about. this draws eyeballs away from other exhibits w/o giving them much in return many times and also can really really muck up your crowd flow through the museum.

cheers

jeff

[bikkuri bahn]

A museum can have a whole wall lined with train simulators with no lines, but I just ignore them and go straight to the rolling stock exhibits and technical displays, which, in the way they are displayed and explained and their comprehensiveness, really determine the excellence of a museum. If you like train simulators, just buy densha de go, IMO.  But I'm just a weird railfan interested in the nuts and bolts of railway operations and rolling stock design, so what does it matter?

[IST]

I like to play with train simulators on my computer, have a lot of different softwares and add-ons (around 70 pcs). But the feel to drive in a cab is totally different. I was lucky to try the newly built simulator of Hungarian State Railway in 2007, see the picture below, and the feeling was better because of the real equipment, but the software looked worst than the games on PC.

[westfalen]

When I was London, one of my target was the London Transport Museum, which has a BVE simulator based London Underground simulator with a normal sized cabin. First time the museum was closed because of renewal, and second time it was open but the simulator did not work. I could make only a photo about it. 
Maybe next time...

I had a go on that one when I was there last year. I wanted to try out the steam simulator at Saitama but the line to get on stretched round the room.