OF all the ones I've played, MSTS is still my favorite. But I'm not one looking for realistic operation. I loved MSTS for the ability to just jump in, pick a train and route, and go. Controls were simple too. My understanding is Train Simulator 20XX (XX=year, current being 19) is the spiritual successor, having been made by ex-MSTS team members, and even being built on the MSTS2 code that never was released. I got it in a Steam sale years ago and messed with it for a bit, but never really enjoyed it like I did MSTS. The main reason is it's simple controls are not simple. They still put some realism into what they called simple controls that took all of the fun out of just driving a train around. In MSTS you had bell, whistle, lights, brakes, throttle, and reverser. But in TS20XX even in simple controls you had to mess with the train break and locomotive brake, and you had to move handles in the correct order or you couldn't get the train moving, and it shut the train down in you over speed. So I haven't touched it in years.
I haven't heard of some of these other games, so I'll have to check them out and see if I like any of them. About that very real steam locomotive one, it reminds me of an old DOS based text only steam locomotive sim I found once and messed with.
