The next day, he uploaded the entire collection to a new archive.org page: MSTS TCDD Turkish Trains Add-Ons (Full, Fixed) . In the description, he wrote: “These models were built between 2005–2012 by railway enthusiasts who believed every country deserves its trains in a simulator. My father never saw Eskişehir in this game. But maybe you will. Install, run, and sound the horn at Köseköy.” Within a week, 3,000 downloads. A month later, a younger modder contacted Emre to help finish the route east of Arifiye.
And on a cold December night, the Boğaziçi Express finally arrived at Eskişhir—virtually, but for the first time—with Emre’s father’s name in the credits.
He clicked Drive .
The last file was a text note from his father, dated 2012: "Emre, I never finished the signaling east of Arifiye. But if you ever find this, run the Boğaziçi Express one more time for me. The add-ons are stable. Use the DE24xxx for pulling. Don’t forget the whistle at Köseköy." msts tcdd turkish trains add ons
Finally, at 2 a.m., he launched the game.
This time, he started from Haydarpaşa, the full consist: DE24000 + six Pullman cars + a dining car with a tea glass icon on the side. He pulled out of the virtual station past the old Bosphorus shoreline, under the Marmaray tubes that didn’t exist in 2011.
He plugged it in. Folders spilled out like forgotten memories: Routes, Consists, Trainset, Sounds . And there, buried under a subfolder named “Yüklemeler” , was the holy grail: . The next day, he uploaded the entire collection
Inside were dozens of repaints and scratch-built models: the iconic TCDD E6800 electric locomotive, affectionately called the "Flo" ; the German-origin DE22000 diesel; and the legendary Turquoise Express passenger cars with their red-and-cream stripes. There was even a partially completed route file: Istanbul–Haydarpaşa to Eskişehir , with hand-drawn track diagrams scanned from a 1997 timetable.
The route was incomplete—the scenery blurred beyond the tracks, and some signals were missing—but what was there felt alive. Turkish pop songs from 1998 crackled on a simulated radio. As he passed a level crossing, a hemşehri with a sheep stood waiting, exactly as his uncle had described.
He relaunched the game. The error didn’t appear. But maybe you will
End of story.
Emre’s fingers hovered over the dusty external drive. It was labeled in faded marker: MSTS BACKUP – 2011 . He hadn’t touched it in over a decade. But tonight, after a conversation with his uncle—a retired machinist from the TCDD (Turkish State Railways)—he felt a pull he couldn’t explain.
He pressed the spacebar. The air brakes hissed. He released the independent brake, eased the throttle to notch 2, and the locomotive lurched forward.
Ankara, 2023 — The hard drive graveyard
The screen faded in. He was sitting in the cab of a DE24000 diesel—a model so detailed he could read the warning sticker near the throttle. The cab swayed subtly as the engine idled. Outside: Arifiye station, with its concrete platform, a lone TCDD bench, and a fading Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Devlet Demiryolları sign.