Oct. 22nd Open House?

Any photos or comments from the people who attended the open house? Wish I could have joined the fun. -Brent Christy

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LAST EDITED ON Oct-24-04 AT 02:28 AM (EDT)

I was there. I had a great time. Our digital camera went south a week ago so I used a disposable of questionable vintage. I'll use up the rest of the shots as quickly as I can and get it developed and if the shots turn out I'll post a few as soon as I can.
The first thing you'd have had to notice was the SD40 cab in the parking lot. That was truly impressive. Then there was the full size mock-up/simulator next to it. Then as my wife and I were about to go into the offices we had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Tim Lewis who promptly and graciously showed us around the place starting with a few chilly moments in the SD40. Moving indoors out of the autumn chill we had the opportunity to see some of the upcoming products coming from PI Engineering. There we met Mr. Tim Court and were introduced to the RailDriver console. I had a chance to see it operating both MSTS (I got my first good look at Rich Garber's Canton-Suddenly and I will be adding it to my collection soon) and Auran's Trainz Railroad Simulator 2004. I also saw the RailDriver operating a small N-gauge layout with realistic sound and physics.
I also had the opportunity to see their new full-size AAR control stand which was very real looking. It may be a little too expensive for my uses but I can see anyone with a need for full size training simulation jumping at the product.
I had a chance to speak to both Tims about the development of the new Train Master Train Simulator. For obvious reasons not too many details were forthcoming this early in the development cycle but the guys were showing a great deal of enthusiasm for the way the development is going. The heartening thing to me is that it is clear that the company's future isn't dependant on this program so there is no rush to get a product to market that isn't "right". I expected that the development of such a product would take 1 to 2 years and I believe that I'm in the ball park. I look forward to seeing TMTS in good time and that it will be a truly functional platform without the compromises of MSTS to build on the trainsim hobby.
Of course, I had to try the full size cab and control simulator in the parking lot. Funny, you play with the sims for quite a while but I had to have Tim Lewis explain the operation of the real controls before I could get it to "move". Once I got it working I was amazed at how real it 'felt'. It really felt like I was moving in response to braking and accelerating. I even felt the bump when I hooked up to the flatcar. I saw the images before on the web site but it looks even better on the big screens outside the cab windows.
I had wanted to go to PI with the intention of seeing for myself what the people there were like and what there products were like. I thought maybe I'll grab a copy of the most recent Train Master and save the shipping costs but when I saw the ease of use of the RailDriver console and the multiple uses (I trainsim and I am planning a G-gauge layout in my back yard) even my wife encouraged me to buy one. I think it's a good deal for the price.
My wife and I spent a pleasant couple of hours in Williamston and after warm good-byes we headed home.
Again a big thankyou to the two Tims and the rest of the staff at PI Engineering who appeared to be having a good and busy day. I'll be keeping watch for whatever comes up.Bill Alder

Resurrecting the KVR one pixel at a time.

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Bill,It was very nice to meet you and your wife. I am very glad that you both came to check us out and view all the things that we have made thus far.
I knew that once you got in the cab of our simulator, that you would have to try your hand at driving it. I am glad to see that you were not disappointed! It can be addicting for sure! We did have a busy day that day and I was actually surprised by the number of people that did turn out for us. Nice to see such interest not only in TMTS, but the Raildriver and the other software that we sell. Thanks again for stopping in, it was a pleasure to meet you and your wife and hopefully you can stop in some time in the near future.-Tim Lewis ("Raildriver's" very own "Train Troll")

Tim Lewis
Email: timl@raildriver.com
Web: http://www.raildriver.com

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