Been awhile since I've played TS, but got back into it again after recently discovering the NY-New Haven segment, and the Metro-North M8 equipment. As my luck would have it, 2 days after I downloaded both, they went on sale.
No matter -- I am very pleased with the result, especially compared to Trainz Classic's attempt to simulate part of the Harlem Line with M7s a few years back. While I will give credit to Trainz for including more than one type of equipment (the M7 was the highlight, but they also included the 1100-series MUs, Bombardier coaches, various diesel locos including MNR and NH liveries, and even the SPV-2000), I think that TS2014's simulation plays much better. I've run a few other TS routes, and a few other Trainz routes, and overall, I just think TS is easier to play.
TS2014 also wins for including both Grand Central and Penn Station, compared to Trainz only running from Southeast to Bronxville. They even included the Hudson Line as far as Yankee Stadium, and the New Canaan Branch. (The other two branches, from what I gather, are not included -- though for now that's OK, as TS2014 only has electrified locomotives... it wouldn't be realistic to run M8s up to Danbury or Waterbury.)
Oddly, none of the "default" scenarios included with the route involve Yankee Stadium or the New Canaan Branch... and all these stations are also excluded from the list of possible origins and destinations when you enter "free play" mode (run between any 2 stations you choose). After finding that several users had created their own custom scenarios and made them available for free download from Steam Workshop, I was able to run a New Haven Line train originating at Yankee Stadium... the game's designers did a pretty good job of modeling the surroundings. Using "free camera" you can leave the train and see that they included the entire station structure and many details from the neighborhood including the giant baseball bat sticking out of the ground, and the stadium itself. It's puzzling that they made such an effort to simulate the vicinity, yet the only way to get a train there is to create a custom scenario or download someone else's. Same thing for the New Canaan branch.
Still, I was very pleased with what's available so far, and I hope support from me and other users will encourage further development. Within Steam, I saw some screenshots from TS2014's creators, showing some Gennies and Bombardier coaches. Hopefully it won't be too long until they're available for purchase. Perhaps the presence of diesel equipment will bring about an upgrade to the route, to include the two non-electrified branches. As long as they have M8s simulated, you'd think it would be relatively easy to take some parts away, change the reds to blues, and have M7s ready to go. Maybe I'm being too optimistic in hoping that more variety in equipment could lead to expanding the route pack to include the Hudson and Harlem Lines... but even if not, it would be a touch more realistic just to see some M7s on the "shared" part of the line south of Woodlawn Junction. It's kind of odd to be driving an M8 and seeing absolutely nothing else on the other tracks but other M8s.
A few other minor inaccuracies (like Rye's station signs having blue stripes across the top, rather than red) but considering the TS2014 folks are in the UK, I'll let that slide. It's just nice to see more Metro North (and NEC) trackage simulated and I hope they keep adding more. Having grown up near the Hudson Line, that's the one I've always wanted to see the most. The line I'm "second" most familar with would be the upper Harlem. I've never had a chance to ride the New Haven for real, so it's been neat to see it virtually.
.