Welcome back! This week in the Trainz newsletter, you can read about the interesting history of some of Australia's famous railways. We have some fantastic discounts for you, including one for the most popular downloadable content we've released! Read on to find out more.

Screenshots of the Week - Run by the Trainz Community. Each week on the Trainz Forums you can find a competition asking for the best screen shots that you can produce! This competition is run by members of the Trainz community, with the best images chosen (by voting in the appropriate forum thread) by the community. Below are the winning screen shots for the 22nd of January to the 29th of January by Fanzl and the 20th of January to the 4th of February with Mezzoprezzo and Octls2 screenshots both being voted best for the week.

Screenshot by Fanzl.

Screenshot by Mezzoprezzo.

Screenshot by Octls2.

The Spirit of Progress.

With this newsletter, we will be introducing a new series, which will give a 'spotlight' on various areas of real railway history, as well as current railway activities. This will be a regular addition to our newsletter. To start this series off, we have below a history of the Spirit of Progress, which operated in the Australian state of Victoria from 1937 till 1983. Be sure to remember to leave your feedback in the comment section! "During the 1920 and 1930s, the Victorian Railways in Australia were improving their services with the introduction of new services, new trains, and new technology. The 1920s saw the introduction of the famed 3 cylinder 'S' class pacific locomotives to haul the express services between Melbourne to Albury, the break of gauge station where passengers then changed to a New South Wales railways 'standard gauge' train to Sydney. These, along with the introduction of the 'automatic staff exchange' equipment (a 'staff' is the token that gives permission for a train to enter a section of track), upgraded track, and the testing of air conditioning in carriages lead the way for a brand new express service to be introduced on the main line to Albury." Read the full story & see the photos here...

Community News Wanted!

If you think you have a great idea for a community news segment, or know of any events or upcoming projects we should be covering then get in touch with us! Email cmccraterson@n3vgames.com with your suggestions, and "Community News Suggestion" as your subject and we'll get onto it. But make sure to use that subject, we don't want your emails getting lost!

Trainz iPad - Share Custom Routes!

It is great to see all our Trainz (mobile) fans sharing their custom made routes with the new upload / download route feature that just released for Trainz iPad (version 1.1). Be sure to grab your copy to checkout all the new custom made routes while Trainz iPad is at a very low price of $0.99c as the price will return back to normal after this weekend!

USLW Content Blowout!

Lastly, the good folks over at USLW.net are having a MASSIVE content blowout this week, and they would love it if you stopped by to see what they've got on offer. You'll be sure to find some great add-ons.

We've decided to drop the price to one of the most popular DLC packs available. Not only have we slashed the price by more than half, but for being a newsletter subscriber, you'll also get a further 25% off! The Blue Comet add-on pack recreates the excitement and splendour of this remarkable train. Stunningly detailed and making use of up-to-date smoke, sound, physics and script features, the Blue Comet promises to be a satisfying addition to your Trainz collection. The package includes the Baldwin G3s pacific locomotive in early condition, in both blue and black liveries, and a custom cab interior. Features Include: 5 Different Passenger Cars to create prototypical 'Blue Comet' passenger consists. Detailed interiors on all carriages. Working brake pipes on both the Locomotive and Carriages. Interior lights switchable from a driver command. CNJ P47 Steam Locomotive in unlined black livery. CNJ G3s Steam Locomotive in lined black livery. CNJ G3s Steam Locomotive in blue livery. Click here to claim your voucher!

Start out as the owner of a recently founded up-and-coming railway company on the east coast of America. Technology and materials are still in their infancy; however, a great research breakthrough and the development of fantastic railway technologies are imminent. Do you have what it takes to make the right decision and expand your railway network across an emerging frontier?

Only very few towns have had the benefit of being connected to the expanding rail network. Under the lee of the increasing possibilities resulting from the most advanced means of transport at the time, metropolises and powerful business empires emerge. By rail construction and trading YOU decide which industries will develop and which towns will profit! Features Include: 25 historical locomotives with individual upgrading systems. 22 expandable industries from farms to weapons factories. 10 different wagon types for transporting 18 different kinds of goods. Multiplayer via LAN or internet with up to 4 players. 5 completely different scenery settings ensure a varied and interesting atmosphere. Various game modes for long gaming fun. Click here for system requirements and to read more.

If you've been putting off upgrading to the latest version of Trainz, don't wait any longer. Trainz Simulator 12 is quickly becoming the most popular train simulator on the market! With real world physics and the ability to control multiple trains/switches it's no wonder Trainz Simulator 12 is the best version yet. Features Include: Feel what it's like to put your hands on the controls of powerful locomotives as they power through towns, cities and rolling countryside. Design and Build your own railroads with the versatile Surveyor editing tool and access hundreds of thousands of user-create assets from the Trainz Download Station. Share your enthusiasm with other rail fans as your combine your efforts to operate a working rail line in the new Trainz Multiplayer. Zoom all the way out to the altitude of a satellite to see more of your railroad Many new realistic SpeedTree assets to use in your routes. Backward compatible with TS2010 content. To Claim your voucher for a digital copy, click here. To Claim your voucher for a boxed copy, click here.

If you're a regular user of the Download Station, then a First Class Ticket is something you should consider and here's why: There's no limit to how much or how often you download! Priority Download Station access! Only 1 FCT needed per account, not per product! Increased download speeds! They're 20% OFF this week! There are four kinds of First Class Tickets on offer, and each one lasts for a set number of days. You can pick from 90 Days, 180 Days; 365 Days, or a Lifetime subscription. Each of these tickets does the same thing; the only variance is the number of days it lasts before expiring.

Note: All prices are listed in Australian Dollars (AUD). If you do not wish to receive the Trainz Newsletter, go to the Newsletter page, click 'view your current subscriptions' and select which newsletters you wish to unsubscribe from.