Every railfan comes to the hobby with a different goal. Maybe you want a quick evening run with pop-up hints, maybe you’d rather spend a weekend hand-laying tracks, or perhaps you demand the same rules real engineers follow. The market now covers that full spread, but sorting the storefront screenshots into “easy,” “deep,” and “downright serious” is tricky.
The guide below groups the nine strongest options into three tiers—entry, enthusiast, hardcore—so you can buy (or download) in the right order instead of learning the hard way.
Platform 1 – Smooth Boarding (Entry-Level)
Train Sim World
This is the only sim on this list that is available on consoles. First-class visuals, console support, and a HUD that calls out speed limits and braking points. TSW simulates the driving experience well, with train start-up and refueling processes being simulated in a digestible manner.

Step-by-step tutorials explain signaling, dynamic brakes, and more, and the Scenario Planner lets you write your own services later. Major drawbacks are pricey DLC and a closed mod system.
JR East Train Simulator
4K cab video of real Chūō, Keihin-Tōhoku, Utsunomiya, and Narita runs, wrapped in a light game layer. This arguably makes this the most realistic-looking sim out there in terms of visuals, but you are limited to interior views.

Controls are just power, brake, and horn; timing windows are tight but fair. Most menus are in Japanese, yet icons and fan guides get you rolling fast. Runs on almost any PC.
Transport Fever 2
A transport tycoon game rather than a cab sim. You lay track, buy rolling stock, and link factories to cities from 1850 to today. You are also not just limited to trains, as there are other forms of transport for you to explore.

Signals, junctions, gradients, and vehicle choice all matter, but you can pause, rebuild, and fast-forward at will. The focus is more on the economic aspects of the operation. The Steam Workshop adds thousands of mods with one click.
Platform 2 – Hobbyist Siding (Enthusiast)
Train Sim Classic
Made by the same developers behind TSW, this sim runs on an old engine (2009) but remains a solid choice. There is an abundance of free and paid add-ons for you to choose from, with trains and routes from all over the world.

The route editor is powerful but cranky; expect to watch a few YouTube guides. However, the sim is notorious for its DLC scheme, with the Steam store page listing being a daunting read-through.
Trainz
Trainz is admittedly less of a driving simulator and more of a railway operations sandbox. As of right now, this is my main train simulator, owing to its customizability. The Surveyor world editor and Content Manager ship with the game, and assets are moddable and tweakable in Notepad or GIMP.

The official Download Station, as well as external sites, offers hundreds of thousands of free items. The quality varies, though, so be prepared to do a lot of content management. The Download Station’s speeds are also capped, unlockable with a subscription-based payment scheme, so the “free” content label comes with an asterisk.
Derail Valley
Free-roam freight running—mouse, gamepad, or full VR. Start in a yard switcher, earn cash, move up to steam and heavy mixed freights. Couplers and brake hoses are handled by hand, so expect to climb on and off the loco a lot.

This is the game’s strength, as you participate in the game’s open world not just as a vehicle locked to the route but as a full-fledged engineer/conductor that interacts with the trains. There is also a sense of progression, providing a more gamified simulator that retains the immersion of railway operations.
Platform 3 – Mainline Proving Ground (Hardcore)
Run8
Pure U.S. freight physics—no scoring system, no cinematic cutaways. Sand, slack, dynamic brakes, and tonnage all behave like the real thing, and linked routes exceed 400 miles. There are no pre-made scenarios, and the simulator is purely about the operation of U.S. freight trains on 1:1 scale recreations of real-world routes.

Run8’s multiplayer servers run full eight-hour shifts on Discord voice chat. There is a steep learning curve, so expect lots of reading and documentation. Graphics are plain, but the operational realism is maxed out.
Zusi 3
Similar to Run8, this simulator is focused on simulating real-world railway operations. Instead of a U.S. backdrop, however, this is focused on German railroading and is even used by Germany’s Deutsche Bahn for staff training.

Every signal aspect, PZB/LZB rule, and timetable second is modeled; mismanage the Sifa vigilance pedal, and the run ends. The interface is spartan, graphics basic, but the accuracy is unmatched.
Open Rails (free and open-source)
Open Rails is the successor to Microsoft Train Simulator (MSTS)—my first ever PC game, so it holds a soft spot. Install Open Rails, point it at old MSTS assets (or thousands of freeware routes online), and gain 64-bit stability plus higher frame rates.

The difficulty comes from setting it up—content is all over the internet and forums, and the simulator is really finicky to get going with. The sim thrives on MSTS content, but that content is hard to come by. Open Rails’ art is dated, but physics and editing freedom cost nothing.
Last Call: Picking Your Ticket
Match your hardware to your ambition before you click “Buy”: graphics-heavy titles like Train Sim World want a modern GPU and an SSD (or a current-gen console), while Run8, Zusi, and Open Rails cruise on older rigs. A keyboard works everywhere, though an Xbox-style pad helps in TSW, and a USB throttle shines in the hardcore sims. Some train sims run hundreds of gigabytes in size, with my Trainz installation ballooning up to 400GB in content.
Choose the tier that feels fun now; you can always step up once the whistle codes and signal aspects start to make sense. Alternatively, you can step down if the sim you’ve picked up is rather daunting or if you want a more relaxed experience. Good luck, and make sure to stay on the rails.
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