The GAUX Dispatcher

Trainz 2009 Beta, Windows Vista & The Auran Helpdesk… WTF?

I am an avid railfan, and the Auran Trainz series has played a big role in my hobby. I have even devoted personal funds and a massive amount of time developing a website (GAURC) dedicated to the popular railsim.

As you might imagine, I was very interested to hear of the pending release of a new version of Trainz, and even more interested when I received an email from Auran inviting me to beta test the new software.

The email contained a link to download the software, and also a CD Key which was to allow me access to the software for a limited perod of time. I registered the key as required in my Auran profile, and proceeded with the massive download.

Once complete, I installed TS2009b and immediately encountered an error when I ran it for the first time. “Unable to register Trainz URL,” Windows Vista advised repeatedly, before the software eventually started.

Part of the first-run process involves entering the CD Key into the Trainz software, which I did by copying and pasting directly from the Auran email… and was immediately advised that my CD Key was invalid.

Like a good Trainz Community member and Auran worker-bee, I immediately searched the forum for information and sent a message to the Auran Helpdesk; and was shocked at the robotic and unrelated, non-helpful response from the company in which I have invested for so long:

“The serial number,
BETA-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx
is correct and valid and you have even registered it in your profile.

Regards,
Auran HelpDesk”

Well, no shit, I thought… I am the one that registered it in my profile. Thanks for that news flash, but it has nothing to do with the fact that TS2009b won’t accept it. I sent a clarification reply within minutes:

“That means you have not entered the CD key correctly. Make sure to enter it correctly to access the Beta version.” Replied Auran.

Ok, I guess more clarification is needed… So I replied that I did a copy/paste of the CD Key from the original Auran email. And then it came; the reply that knocked me to the floor:

“OK, no problems, the game is due for release on the 14th December.” Said Auran.

I am sure this would confuse and irritate anyone as much as it did me, so I responded:

“So, am I to understand then that the fact of a beta version with some sort of error which won’t allow a user to register a valid key is ‘no problem?’

This concerns me and makes me question my excitement about running a new version and investing in Auran yet again.

I have run several versions of TS, consider myself to be an advanced user and am quite comfortable with the concept of entering registration keys.

What I am suggesting is that there is either an error in the software, or some sort of anomaly between TS and WinVista causing this problem.

Because I really do care about the TS series and Trainz Community, perhaps I should put my own projects on hold and dedicate all my efforts to diagnose and fix the situation…”

This passionate message generated an equally simplistic and useless response from Auran:

“…This would seem to be a PC or user specific issue that we cannot possibly resolve…”

Where I come from, this translates into “Sorry, you are screwed,” but a bit more polite. It felt the same though. It wasn’t the first time, but I was glad however to have received it this time without having suffered the shame of spending good money on the software first.

I did eventually solve the problem, without any constructive assistance from the game developer. The issues lie within Windows Vista. The solution is to manually locate and modify the properties of every .exe file in the program files/Auran folder to ‘Run as Administrator.” …pretty simple actually, but potentially far beyond the abilities of many beginners and even novice users. This is a problem of which Auran will not have heard the last from customers.

I can’t begin to express how disappointed I am with TS2009b, for reasons I have agreed not to discuss when I signed-on as a beta tester; but also how extremely disappointed I am with Auran and the Helpdesk. So much, that I have completely lost interest to explore TS2009b any further, and I am seriously questioning my endorsement for Auran products. (Just so you know, my Community friends continue to talk me away from MSTS2.)

I guess only time will tell for sure, but presently I am disgusted with the whole thing as a direct result of Auran’s complete lack intelligence in the support department or interest in it’s true investors… the consumer.

Unfortunately for now, I feel honesty is in-order and I must urge the Community and especially new members to stay away from TS2009 and in particular from Auran. A better choice may be a lesser product by a different company that has professional, compassionate staff with interest to solve problems of every customer… A company that cares about your gaming experience slightly less than your credit card number.

GAUX says: I would add that it saddens me to make this report, as I truly believe in the Trainz series; I just wish it were produced by someone else. I’m sticking with the several versions of Trainz I’ve already paid for.

Norfolk Southern Yard Job Derails On-Camera In Raleigh, NC

As the 07:00 am Norfolk Southern Yard Job was returning to Glenwood Yard from downtown Raleigh, North Carolina on Saturday (Nov 15 2008), it was being filmed by a railfan.

The light engine consist cleared a grade crossing, and then the lead engine promptly derailed at full yard speed limit upon reaching a switch point.

“We just hit the ground hard… we hit it hard!” the engineer called over the radio.

No one was injured, and the consist remained upright. The yard throat was blocked for a period of time.

Note: You can double-click on the video while it is playing to watch full-screen.

GAUX Thanks: DHayward for finding and sending me this great video.

Railroads & Fire Departments Work To Improve Safety

I’ve held two distinct and normally un-related passions for most of my life; Railroading and Emergency Services. There are however, rare opportunities for them to meet… Most often the circumstances are unpleasant, but sometimes they work together in positive ways to make the world a better and safer place for railroaders, emergency workers and citizens especially.

As a firefighter and avid railfan, there are few times more golden for me than when ‘big red’ meets rail. I have, on more than one occasion, battled brush fires along the tracks, and even responded to urgent requests to refill locomotives low on coolant water.

Firefighters crave information about equipment and situations they may be faced with in an actual emergency. Equally important, is the chance for railroads to better understand what emergency services need from them in order to do their job better and safer.

I am very pleased (and envious) to have found these following examples of railroads and fire departments participating in education and training with each-other.

With a main rail line running directly through downtown Rochester, Minnesota, the Rochester Fire Department continues to stay prepared in case of a rail emergency.

As part of the Rochester Fire Department’s Hazmat training, Fire Station Four brushed up on their rail training.

On Wednesday (Nov 12 2008), railroad experts from the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad gave instruction to local firefighters on how to be better prepared for emergencies involving rail cars.

The firefighters were introduced to various types of valves that they could possibly encounter in the field if called to put out a leak or fire.

Rod Steggerda, Station Four Captain, says, “Great training prop for us, which just shows us one of the features for us, and should we ever have an incident that involves those it really helps us get a sense of what we’re going to expect out in the field.”

The two day training session will conclude Thursday (Nov 13 2008) with a mock disaster training exercise incorporating everything the firefighters learned the past two days.

The Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway’s Hazardous Materials Department taught a continuing education course for members of the Edmond Fire Department along the tracks near downtown Edmond, Oklahoma on Wednesday (Nov 12 2008) morning.

After going through the material including train cargo and what to do on the scene of an accident involving a hazardous material situation, firefighters went into a “class room” inside a BNSF tank car.

GAUX Thinks: Maybe one day my department could get together with our local railroad and do something really cool like this? Hmmm… hint, hint!

GAURC Subdivision: RSJ Gets a Makeover

For months now, Rail-Sim junction has been providing users with quality content for Kuju Rail Simulator. RSJ started off as just a place to host some locomotives for GAURC member Nikos Kavoori, with a sweet name. “Rail-Sim Junction.” As time progressed, the RSJ team got larger and more skilled.

So recently, GAURC Member Dillon Hayward decided to give the site a new, cleaner and user-friendly look. Thus, the new Rail Sim Junction was born. More features are going to be added as time progresses. Users of the old site will find that the downloads are basically ordered the same way, though, we’ve added a route section. Keep your eyes peeled for our upcoming Southern Switching route!

DHayward says: Rail-Sim Junction is a sub-division of, and graciously hosted by GAURC!

Winter Comes Early In Maine For Railroad Crews

New England, especially Northern Maine, is famous for extreme Winter seasons. Even though Winter isn’t even officially begun, some areas have already seen substantial snowfall.

These images of a snowbound locomotive and it’s train were taken in Northern Maine during the 2008 Fall season… yes, just recently; and Winter hasn’t even started yet.

So what is it like to be a railroader in the extreme Northeast USA? Take a look, and decide for yourself…

Sunday Action In Maine On Guilford (PanAm) Rail

So what’s a railfan blogger to write about at 10:00 am on a lazy, rainy Suday morning in Maine during the Fall? This is the question I was asking myself as I rose from my bed and went outside to see what the day had to offer.

And then I heard it… train horns way off in the distance, headed my way. This was my chance, I thought. So I raced back into the house for the camera and then directly to the truck and hit the road, calling out “be right back!” to my confused wife.

Satellite image showing the grade crossing at Station Rd. in Etna, Maine

I knew the local 25mph track speed limit would provide enough time for me to make it to the grade crossing at Station Road before the train passed, but not enough time for me to change out of my night clothes first.

I had only moments to spare as I setup the camera on the mini-tripod and found a good spot. The lighting was terrible, and the weather would quickly get worse… but that’s prototype railroading in Maine. At least the sound would be no problem.

MEC #517 is an EMD GP40-2LW built in 1976 as CN #9660

I imagine the engineer of MEC #517 must have been amused as waved to the nut-job in pajamas standing in the rain as he passed by my camera!

Naturally, the best place to set the camera was on the opposite side of the tracks from my truck and shelter from the rain that began just as the locomotives passed. Oddly, the heavy rain lasted only as long as it took for the entire train to pass. I was soaked when I returned to the truck.

It is funny, the things we will do to pursue a passion; Railfans are certainly no exception…

NOTE: You can double-click on the video while it is playing to watch full-screen.

TrainzStation.com Re-directs To GAURC

Anyone who has been involved with Auran’s Trainz Railroad Simulator series for any length of time will certainly recognize the name…

Among 3rd-party content and Trainz fansites, Mike Cyr’s TrainzStation is a long-established and well-respected member. The popular website has offered many items of interest to serious railsim hobbyists for years. The site also hosted a quality forum which was a favorite of many.

Like anything, TrainzStation has experienced many changes over time. Mike has become involved in several different projects, and has found less time these days to administer the site. Recent developments have also taken a toll upon the basic principal on which the site was founded.

On the positive side; a great working relationship and equally great friendship has developed between the owners of TrainzStation and GAURC. Several unrelated projects have made excellent progress as a result, and plans are on the table for some exciting new Trainz projects.

In the interim, Mike has entrusted GAURC with TrainzStation’s hard-earned reputation and has re-directed his domain to us. This will allow him to continue to serve the Trainz Community while he focuses on some of his newer projects already in development:

MLC Productions Tampa
Responsible Railfans
Railfan Photography
Shortline Series
Folkston Webcam
Plant City Webcam

Mike would like for everyone to know how much he appreciates the Community’s patronage, and that TrainzStation will return… even better than before!

DigitalRailroad.net Goes Off-line Suddenly And Permanently

If the news about bank collapses hasn’t devastated you enough, I have another depressing one. This time it comes from the Internet, but is no less devastating for a good number of people, hopefully not including you.

As of Wednesday (October 29, 2008), if you go to the Web site of Digital Railroad you will be greeted with this:

“To our valued Members and Partners:

We deeply regret to inform you that Digital Railroad (DRR) has shut down.

On October 15th we reported that the company had reduced its staff and was aggressively pursuing additional financing and/or a strategic partner. Unfortunately, those efforts were unsuccessful. Therefore Digital Railroad has been forced to close all operations.

Digital Railroad has attracted a loyal set of customers and partners, and we regret this unfortunate outcome. Without sufficient long-term financial support, the business had become unsustainable.

Thank you for allowing us to serve the photographic community these past few years.”

The once popular Web site, where professional photographers archived and sold their photos, is now gone, completely. As it turned out, at about 5 p.m. EDT on Monday (October 27, 2008), the Web site alerted existing customers about the shutdown and gave them a 24-hour window to download their photo archive. However, just about 10 hours after the alert, the site was shut down completely.

It’s unclear now if customers can still somehow retrieve their photo archive or will get money back for the undelivered services.

In the meantime, PhotoShelter is offering Digital Railroad customers a special offer, three month’s credit for their Digital Railroad account. The offer is set to expire November 4.

Take the offer or not, but definitely take this as lesson that you can’t rely 100 percent on online archiving services. It’s best to keep a copy of your data offline as well.

BNSF Police Shoot ‘Armed’ Man In Portland, OR

A BNSF Railroad Police officer shot a wanted man Saturday (October 25, 2008) after a foot chase near railroad tracks in north Portland, Oregon authorities said. A BNSF Railway Company police officer spotted the man at around 3:53 p.m. near North Portland Road and North Columbia Boulevard.

The officer began a foot chase after learning the man was wanted on an outstanding warrant, authorities said. Officers from the Portland Police Bureau responded to help and they tracked the man to a transient camp about one mile away.

Police said the man approached the railroad officer and two Portland officers while he was armed with a weapon in one hand and a gas can in the other.

It appeared the man had an igniting device and was lighting the can on fire, police said. He dropped the can and charged the officers while still armed with his weapon, leading the railroad officer to fire his gun and the Portland police officer to deploy his Taser, according to the Portland Police Bureau.

The man was immediately taken to Legacy Emanuel Hospital with gunshot injuries that didn’t appear to be life-threatening, police said.

The gas can caught fire, but police were able to extinguish it.

Susan Adams said she was bicycling through the area when she heard the commotion.

“I heard what I thought was some trains coming together in a crash, but I was thinking it was just a crash or some sort of car accident,” Adams said. “But a shooting is a whole other story. That’s definitely a scary thing to hear.”

The officers involved weren’t injured and homicide detectives from the Portland Police Bureau were called in to investigate.

GAUX Writes: There are several things about this story that I find confusing and slightly disturbing…

OK, so the BNSF officer spotted the man off of railroad property (and therefore out of his jurisdiction), I’ll bet there were probably several people wandering around the public way; what was so special about this guy? How did the officer determine the man’s identity and warrant status without talking to him?

If the man was holding a gas can in one hand, and an ‘igniting device’ in the other, how was he holding a weapon also? The man managed to light the gas can, so he must have been holding the weapon with a third hand so he could threaten police with it.

If the Portland Police think non-leathal force is appropriate, why does the BNSF Police think lethal force is necessary in the same situation? I’m guessing BNSF Police don’t get to use their guns much, since they can’t seem to place a lethal shot either. And since when is it good practice to Taser someone holding combustables anyway?

I still wonder what the ‘crash’ noise was all about, and what it has to do with this event? But It’s nice to know that Portland residents don’t get all worked-up about loud crashing noises; only BNSF Police with guns scare them.

I think there is a lot more to this story than what has been released.

Did Teen Run METRA Train? Railroad Investigates MySpace Videos

Image from one of the MySpace videos in question

Train enthusiasts routinely post their videos on the Internet. But images on MySpace.com reportedly showing an 18 year old in restricted cab and locomotive areas. and possibly operating a Metra train at least once, have led railroad officials to suspend three veteran engineers and conduct an investigation.

“Anytime there is a distraction to the engineer it’s very serious, and certainly allowing somebody who’s not a licensed engineer to operate a train is going to be of great concern to us,” Metra spokeswoman Judy Pardonnet said.

Metra is still investigating when the incidents occurred and whether they involved trains that were transporting passengers at the time. Metra does confirm the incidents took place on two of its 11 lines.

Sources say one is the Milwaukee West line. Unlike local transit systems, rail systems are subject to a web of federal guidelines that strictly govern who has access to the cabs and locomotives that pull and push the trains.

“It’s a dangerous area; there are high voltage electrical boxes,” said Doug Davidson, chairman of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen. He said these areas are no place for visitors, let alone someone operating the train. “In my mind it would distract and possibly create a situation where a signal is overlooked,” Davidson said.

Metra passengers expressed their concerns Thursday. “It makes me upset why it got that far, that he got even in the cab,” Rob Gurly of Chicago said. “To hear that is like appalling because I have come to trust the Metra, so it’s kind of scary,” Delena Turman of Evanston said.

A Metra spokesperson said the teen likely does not face any criminal charges. The three suspended engineers could be terminated. A displinary hearing has been scheduled for the first week of November.