Going a little off the beaten path this week, we’re going to talk about trains. More specifically, train simulators.

I’ll be the first to tell you that I know very little about the specifics of trains, aside from the differences between diesel and steam engines (thanks in no small part to watching “Thomas the Tank Engine” endlessly as a child).

But growing up in Central Pennsylvania, at some point, we all learned of the engineering marvel that is the historic Horseshoe Curve, bringing us to this week’s topic.

Train Sim World 2, developed by Dovetail Games and available on PC through Steam and Epic Game Store and on console for Playstation and Xbox, released a new paid downloadable add-on recently on the Horseshoe Curve, and with great thanks to Mirror staffer Pat Waksmunski, I was able to check it out for a little bit this week.

The update features a 40-mile route from the railyard in the Juniata section of Altoona to Johnstown, and also includes an additional 18-mile line from South Fork to Windber.

With the free-roaming camera feature, Pat showed off some of the important landmarks along the way, including the attention to detail on the bridge near the 11th Avenue train station and the dome of the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament behind it, as well as some of the other important buildings nearby. Further along, we got to see the Curve itself as well as the famous Gallitzin Tunnels and some of the lush, beautiful forests of Blair and Cambria counties.

One of the cool things Pat pointed out with the free-roam cam was that if you zoom in on the informational signs near the tracks at the Curve, you can read the actual text as you would in person.

If you’re a local rail fan or just looking for something new to do, this is something you definitely want to check out.

But there are some small things to keep an eye on.

Firstly, as news editor Holly Claycomb pointed out in her observations, you may notice that there are cars driving on the left side of a two-lane American road.

This can be accounted for by the fact that Dovetail Games is based in the United Kingdom, where drivers do that.

What that doesn’t account for are cars driving in opposite directions on 11th Avenue, or the goofy way the character models at the Horseshoe Curve were holding their cameras. The people were holding them upside down and they glitched through their hands.

As Pat pointed out, it’s a train sim, and the graphical fidelity of character models doesn’t take precedence over the trains themselves and overall scenery and experience.

At the end of the day, people who play simulators — trains, planes, roller coasters, farms or even just mowing the lawn — are looking for that authenticity, an almost real experience without all the hassles of purchasing equipment, acquiring licenses and worries about personal safety.

And yes, Lawn Mower Simulator is a thing. Go check it out on your system of choice if you don’t believe me.

For myself, I look at gaming as an escape from the troubles of the real world. I’m looking for a good story, characters that I can invest in and gameplay that is fun. For some, that means saving Hyrule from Ganon for the umpteenth time. For others, it’s booting up an island on Animal Crossing or a good old demon slaying session in DOOM.

And for others, its trains. As the old adage goes, to each his own.