Railwaystation.com presents downloads and add-ons for Microsoft Train Simulator:

Microsoft Train Simulator Works - Tips for Skins, Etc.

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I've barely scratched the surface of this complex program, so I do not have much to offer yet. Thanks to Nels Anderson at http://www.train-sim.com/ for information on how to add new freight car skins!

Ian Morgan has created a tutorial: "Tutorial - Build a 4 wheel wagon using 3D Canvas Pro". Click here to go to the main page of that site: TrainSimFiles.net"

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How Do I add the Modern Porto Potty download to my Train Simulator route?

Modern Porto Potty

FIRST Make a backup of your route folder!
1) Copy portopotty.s and portopotty.sd to your route's Shapes folder.
2) Copy portopotty.ace file to your route's Textures folder.
3) Modify your routes .ref file so that it is aware of the new object:
Static (
Class ( "New Buildings" )
Description ( "Port-o-Potty" )
Filename ( "portopotty.s" )
)
Add the object to your route using the Route Editor.

Model and texture Copyright 2001 by Railway Station Productions, LLC. It may not be distributed in any form, for profit or as part of a commercially available add-on product for Microsoft Train simulator or any other media, print or electronic, without the express written consent from Railway Station Productions, LLC. Contact Ron Paludan for redistribution requests.

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How Do I add Flat People download to my Train Simulator route?

#1 Flat People

This is a collection of 32 "2d" people. Each figure is transparently mapped onto single-sided 2 meter high polygons.

For best results, do not place the figures near the tracks - otherwise the "Flatness" of the figure will be too obvious. Keep in mind that only one side of the polygons are visible so make sure that they are facing so that they can be seen.

All 32 figures use the same .ace file - each figure is 128 pixels high and 64 pixels wide. If you have experience with a imaging program like Paint Shop Pro or Photshop, you can edit the flatpeople.tga file and replace the images with your own. Keep in mind that you will need to edit the Alpha channel if you make any changes.

All of the characters were computer generated using Poser 4 from Curious Labs.

1) Make a backup of your route folder!
2) Copy the .s and .sd files to your route's Shapes folder.
3) Copy flatpeople1.ace file to your route's Textures folder.
4) Copy and paste the the contents of the "AddUS.ref" file into your route's .ref file so that it is aware of the new objects:
Add the objects to your route using the Route Editor.

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How Do I add a new model download to my Train Simulator route?

#1 Building

1) Copy mybuilding.s and mybuilding.sd to your route's Shapes folder.
2) Copy mybuilding.ace file to your route's Textures folder.
3) Create a .sd file (shape description) for your object in your route's Shapes folder.
4) First, create a backup of your .ref file in another directory. Then, modify your routes .ref file so that it is aware of the new object, like this:
Static (
Class ( "3D Canvas Objects" )
Description ( "My building" )
Filename ( "mybuilding.s" )
)
Add the object to your route in the usual way.

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How Do I add a new Locomotive download to Train Simulator?

Adding a new consist to "Explore"

1. Unzip the new files into a new directory in the "Train Simulator\Trains\Trainset" folder
2. Click on the "Start" button on taskbar and scroll up to "Programs/Microsoft Games/Train Simiulator/Editor and Tools". Click on "Editor and Tools" and select Activity Editor
3. In the Activity Editor:
- Open the Activity editor and once it opens go to file and click open.
- Open USA2 for Marias Pass.
- Open ACTIVITES and you will find "itr_e1_s1_w1_t1.act". This is the EXPLORE ROUTE file. Double click it.
- Now on the right side of the window click on the down arrow next to "Player Service"
- Scroll down until you see "Whitefish - Shelby" and click on it.
- Click the Edit button under "Player Service".
- A window will appear on the Left. Click the "New" button under "Consist".
- Go to the drop list in the middle and select Engines (Diesel, Electric or Steam), the list should have your new locomotive.
- Double click on the Name and it will appear in the blue box or dragged from the blue box to the long box at the bottom. To remove an item, drag it to the square coupler icon on the left. Right clicking will change an item's direction
- Other locomotives and rolling stock can be added as well.
- In the upper left corner, enter a "Name" and a "Display Name".
- Click on "Save & Exit"

Note: Once the consist has been saved, you can just exit the rest of the activity editor without saving If you only wanted to make a consist for future use.

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WHERE ARE THE TECH DOCS?

The tech docs can be found on Disc 1 under the \TECHDOCS folder. They are Word files in a self-extracting zip archive called TECHDOCS.EXE

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HOW DO I MAKE A SCREEN SHOT?

Press the 'PrintScrn' Key, The screen shots are stored as .PCX files in the C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Train Simulator folder.

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HOW DO I CREATE A NEW "SKIN" FOR FREIGHT CARS?

Creating new skins requires a bit of skill with a good paint program.

I start by loading a similar type of car from the \SAMPLES folder into Paint Shop Pro. You can use a different program, such as Photoshop, but it must support .TGA format. I try to find photographs of models or actual freight cars that are taken as close to perpendicular to the car side as possible. Crop the image and resize it to match the car in the sample .tga file. I then cut and paste the image of the car side onto the sample image and save it with a new name into a new folder in the TRAINS\TRAINSET folder. Pictures of the ends and top of freight cars are rare, so I usually re-color and edit them manually if necessary. Be sure to save the image as a .TGA file to preserve transparency for items like wheels.

After you have created a new .TGA file for the skin, you will need to go through some additional steps to make the car available in Train Simulator. I have adapted the following instructions from Nels Anderson's http://www.train-sim.com/ site.

1) Create a new folder under \Program Files\Microsoft Games\Train Simulator\TRAINS\TRAINSET with whatever name you want.
2) Copy all the files from another folder of a similar type of car into your new folder.
3) In your new folder rename the files that end with .wag, .s and .sd to a new name, otherwise Train Simulator doesn't recognize it as a new car. Make all the prefix parts of the name the same, i.e.:
- mycar.wag
- mycar.s
- mycar.sd
4) Load the .wag file into WordPad.
- a) Look for the line that starts with "Wagon" and give your car a unique name
- b) Look for the line that starts with "WagonShape" and change the file name here to the name of your .s file, as you named it in step 3)
- c) Save the file.
5) Edit the .tga file as desired to create your new car image.
6) Convert the .tga file to a .ace file. You should use the original name of the .ace file that you copied from the other folder. To convert, use the "makeace.exe" program that is in the
Program Files\Microsoft Games\Train Simulator\UTILS directory as follows:
makeace mycar.tga us2freight8.ace
Note: This is just an example, use the correct names for your .tga and .ace file.
I found that due to the long file paths, it speeds things up to copy all the files and the MAKEACE.EXE program into the C:\ directory. After creating the .ACE file, I copy it to the new folder in the TRAINS\TRAINSET folder.
Use the consist editor portion of the activity editor to include it in a consist.

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Installing the Great Northern "Empire Builder" skin for 3DTrains F Unit 3.0

1. This set requires a previous installtion of the 3DTrains F-unit AB set demo (version 3.0c or later), available at: http://www.3dtrains.com/downloads/

2. Extract the zip into your Train Simulator\Trains folder. There are two folders added to the TRAINSET subfolder:

3DTrains_FSkin_GN352AB 3DTrains_FSkin_GN352C

3. Open 3DTrains_FSkin_GN352AB folder and run Install.bat

4. Open 3DTrains_FSkin_GN352C folder and run Install.bat

The default MAIN texture for the units are 512x512. 1024x1024 textures are available in the options folder by running Large_Textures.bat

GN 352C is the trailing A unit of the set (no crew, no flags)

I added a green flag option for the lead A unit. Run Show_Green_Flag.bat on the \3DTrains_FSkin_GN352AB\options folder.--------------

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This page was last modified on Sunday, 17-Feb-2008 08:56:58 PST