I'm trying to download a route from train-sim and I'm haveing problems with getting it to work.  Can someone give me some help with this?

Which route?  All are a little different.

Thanks,

Steve

I downloaded "Seaboard Route Full" into my MSTS but every time that I try to run it I get a message:  Faild to open texture file.  I believe that I have all of the downloads that are needed for it, "New Roads, XTrack, Frieght Activite and a couple of others.  It starts to open then fails.

Thanks

Pat

That is very strange, I have never seen this happen.  The "Seaboard Route Full" should really have everything you need.  Did you run the "installme.bat" that's in the \ROUTES\SAL folder?

If so then you should check the route with RouteRiter.

Thanks,

Steve

Did you make sure to run the Installme.bat file that was placed in the directory for this route?  If this file was not run, there are quite a few files that would be missing.  Most of those files would come from the 6 original routes that were installed with TrainSimulator.

Let me emphasize:  You MUST have all six original routes installed in the ROUTES folder in MSTS.  If you don't, not all files will load via the installme.bat and you WILL get errors.

I don't know a lot about downloading files, this is the first time that I tried to download something like this.  I am learning as I go.  I'm not sure just what six original routes you are talking about.  I installed the Salfladiv, Salflall, Salrspk 1, Salespk 2, Saltplt, New Roads and three xtracks.  I have noticed that there is a folder with a zipper for all of the files except for the Salfladiv.  There is only a plain folder for Salfladiv.  Did I miss something that I should have downloaded?  What are the six that you are talking about to make sure that I have them all?  I'm not sure what the RouteRiter is and where to find it.  I believe that I have installed all of the installme that there is. 

The six routes which come with MSTS.

I assume that all six of the original routes were installed.  I installed everything that the instructions said to.  I show Europe 1 & 2, Japan 1 & 2, USA 1 & 2 and Tutorial Route.  If everything wasn't installed from the original MSTS wouldn't I have had problems with it?

You have all the routes you need.  So, as Jim and I asked, did you run "Installme.bat"?  Not running that will cause a lot of these very problems.

Thanks,

Steve

I ran "installme" MS-Dos Batch File.  That is the samething isn't it?  I didn't see anything listed as "Installme.Bat."  I did a little checking and yes I ran the "Installme.Bat."  I left clicked on it and it ran through a hole list of files.  It was very fast and I wasn't able to read what they were.  I have not seen anything run like that before.

I ran it again and then tried to open Seaboard Route again.  I got the following; No extended shape data for A1lXOVER90d.s

Pat

That is an XTracks object I believe, do you have XTracks installed?  If not, install it.  If so NOW would be a good time to run Route Riter on it.

Yes installme is the same thing, it is really "Installme.bat" but you have your file system set up to "hide extensions of known file types" -- a windows default behavior that I hate. 

Thanks,

Steve

There is a similar file in the Global\shapes directory called A1tXover90d.s.  Next question is which Xtracks file did you download and install?  The self installing version, XTracks.zip, or the version that you would have to copy all the files to the correct location which is Xtracksf.zip.  The file latter would require a little more work to install.  It sounds as if Xtracks is not correctly installed.

Jim

Yes I installed xtracks.  There was three and I didn't know which I needed so I installed all three.  Could that be the problem?

I have gotten a message that there was "No extended shape data for A1tXover90.s

What does Route Riter do, where should it be installed, how does it run?

Pat

Check the directory c:\program files\microsoft games\train simulator\global\shapes for these two files, A1tXover90d.s and a1tXover90d.sd.  If you don't see them, you might not have installed Xtracks properly.  I am assuming you have installed Train Simulator to the default setting.  Also, you should check to make sure that you have the proper tsection.dat file installed to the directory c:\program files\microsoft games\train simulator\global\.  You can open that file with Wordpad to see what the build number is.  It should say Build 35 and a minimum.  If you don't want to open it, the file date is 11/13/2006.

Jim

I'm not sure were Train Simulator it's been years since I installed it.  I just ran the install and let it put it were it wanted.  I will check to see about the ones that you said.

Pat

I checked and I did not see "A1tXover90d.s and a1tXover90d.sd."  I did see "tsection.dat."  I didn't see "Build 35" but I did see "tsection.dat-build 00033 of the standardized\global\tsection.dat file.

Pat

Should XTracks have been downloaded into c:\program file\microsoft games\train simulator\global\shapes.  Did I download it to the wrong place?

ALL RIGHT!  I got it running!  Evidently I downloaded XTrack into the wrong location.  After some of the questions that you'll have asked about this and where to find it I thought that I might have.  I downloaded it into train simulator\global\shapes and it started running.  I can run #7, #8 #58 and the juice train.  I am having trouble running the others.  I still might have something downloaded into the wrong place.  I want to thank you'll for all of your help.  I might still have a few questions later.

Pat

Glad you got it running!!!!  The wrong location will do that.  My guess is if an activity does not run, some thing is usually missing.  I would double check the required files again.

Jim

Route-Riter does a great job checking activities.  If it passes R-R, then it will almost surely run.  But sometimes . . .

Does anyone know the person that did the Seaboard Route and how to contact him?  I have seen single freaight cars and motors listed in Train-Simulator.  Are these for downloading into MSTS for creating your own consists as in the MSTS Editor & Tools.  If so what is needed to dowonload them and where do you download them to.  I have looked for Editor & Tools but have not found it yet.

Pat

Carey Stevens' contact information is on the same page as the route download.

Rolling stock downloads for the SAL route are also on that same page.  You can use the MSTS Activity Editor (AE) to place these items in either the route template or a generated activity.  It is much simpler (and safer), however, to use Activity Master (AM) to make substitutions.  ConBuilder (CB) can also make safe substitutions.

A typical shortcut to AE might be "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Train Simulator\launcher.exe"-runeditor

Pat,

You can go to our Seaboard Air Line page at http://www.skylinecomputing.com/seaboard_air_line.htm and download the route, the rolling stock packs for it and activities for the route (the route includes activities that use the rolling stock in this rolling stock pack).  All is straightforward, you don't have to use the MSTS Activity Editor.

Also if you have our Activity Generator program you can generate activities for Carey's great route using a template we have posted on our site, at http://www.skylinecomputing.com/downloads/SALTplt.zip

Finally there are also some items of rolling stock posted on the Seaboard Air Line page of this site.  These were just contributed by fans of the route and are not needed to run the template or the included activities.  I will probably stop hosting those files soon as I am running out of room on this site.

Thanks,

Steve