The Game and The Life

Based on the 1980 UK railway timetable this game captures the spirit of what “bashing” was like in the early 80s. You play through the eighteen Summer Saturdays and the days inbetween, selecting which trains to travel on as you try to get "haulage" from many of the locomotives usually reserved for freight services but pressed into passenger train action during the hectic summer months. You will need to get the ‘gen’ to find out what is working and then plan to get the rarest of them. The aim of the game is simple, to become recognised as a Top Man, but to do so will require a combination of skill, luck and determination to keep going right up to the end of each day.

What is Railrover80?

About the game andi ts history.

Progress

How far have I got and what I have still got to do. A discussion about the inbuilt compromises.

1980 revisited

What did I actually do on those weekends? Exerpts from my diary and moves book.

The game, originally released in the 1990s, recreates the manic days of the 1980 Summer Saturdays when hundreds of loco haulage enthusiasts would travel throughout country in search of the elusive "no train heat" locomotives that could only work passenger trains during the summer months. The aim of the game is to become recognised as one of the Top Men in the hobby but to do so you have to be as good or better than those who have already obtained that accolade.

You can select which trains you travel on each Saturday and as you gather information from the major stations your plans will change to take into account the locomotives you need or can get to travel on. Just as it was for us in 1980 you will be faced with exhaustion, wrong information and trains running late or breaking down. Will you play it safe or go for that two minute train connection which will might be missed? Your opponents, the Top Men, always seem to get it right but then they don’t need as many locos as you do and will not be as ‘desperate’ as you have to be.

Then after a hectic Saturday’s ‘bash’ you get to relax throughout the week with just the evening trains around the Midlands to look forward to before doing it all again. You have 18 weeks to claim the title of Top Man and if you fail, your mates may look upon you as a Bit of a Clown.

There are three links on this page. The first “What is Railrover80?” gives more detail about the game and its history; it was originally released in the late 90s. The second “Progress” explains how far I have got with it, the problems I face and how I think I will overcome them. The third “1980s revisited” is a history blog combining my own personal diary from those days with the actual haulages I did. Even if you never play the game you may enjoy reading history.