Honestly I like the Auran Trainz series the best, because of the ease with which one can create a new route. Trainz got its start as a MODEL railroad simulator. But it has a tremendous facility to import real world digital elevation maps, which also makes it easy to recreate real-world routes.
There are some neat features like "portals" that give trains an off-world destination. The portals can spawn trains too. And there are animated industries and loading stations that I would think might be a real hit with the Lionel crowd. There's also a huge library of detailed North American steam.
For many years the lighting, shadows, etc., were flat and unrealistic. However, in the very latest PC version, Trainz Railroad Simulator 2019, they finally have a light and shadow treatment that matches what I think MSTS has had since the beginning. No opinion on physics. Again, I think MSTS was better when they both launched during the first decade of the 21st Century; Trainz may have since caught up.
I like to dispatch and watch the trains in the third person view, so the controls and cab view are less important to me. YMMV.
