Download > Versions

Three Versions of Open Rails

Three versions of Open Rails are readily available to users, as shown below:

For first-time users, we recommend the Stable Version which comes with an installer.

Updater

Whichever version you choose, Open Rails has a mechanism to notify you of new versions and to update Open Rails for you. You will find the settings for this mechanism in Menu > Options > System

Open Rails will check for updates at most once a day. When it finds one, it raises a red flag in the Notifications icon.

Use the "What's new" button to find out more about an update or the "Install" button to launch the automatic update process:

Testing Version

If you follow the Open Rails project on the forums, then you will hear about bug-fixes and new features. These are included in the Unstable Version for developers and testers to try out. Once they have been checked and approved, they are published (on most Fridays) as the latest Testing Version. Any user can easily update to the current weekly Testing Version and benefit from these improvements.

For reference all the Testing Versions (executable and source) can be found in our archive.

Recent Code Changes

• T1.6.1-549-g1a2db439b Merge pull request #1287 from SteelFill/multi_sounds
  Thanks Roger, merging Fix Sound Variable Parsing Error
  • d34956c6 Make sound variable indexing more resiliant
• T1.6.1-547-gcb6d90e19 Merge pull request #1272 from SteelFill/wheelslip_protection
  Thanks Cesar, merging Wheelslip Refactor
  • 5e2cdd23 Attempts to reduce Polach instability at low speeds
  • 3be3e15d Sanding documentation updates
  • 0de1f96d More sanding reorganization
  • fc8562a6 Clean-up
  • 3f12d7dd Hybrid algorithm for calculating wheel slip threshold
  • fb6328ef New iterator for wheel slip threshold computation.
  • 07f1b849 Restore incorrectly removed sanding parameters
  • e29a66fc Improve effectiveness of full slip control system
  • 15fd5991 General clean-up
  • e7ea60b0 Improve efficiency and accuracy of slip threshold calculation
  • 1d9738b7 Even more sander refactoring
  • b1d70dfc Refactor traction force update for general tidyness and to support individual axle control
  • 19e2ea35 Correct sander documentation
  • 38b91011 Relocate IsPecisionHigh, un-trainline WHEELSLIP cab view control
  • de2f9ecc Refactor slip indicators
  • c5fae701 Fix misspellings of "warning"
  • e1f23fc2 Refactor axle integrator substep behavior for improved accuracy and responsiveness
  • 9dcc2fd6 Clean up code and adjust performance of wheel slip detection
  • 2fa68aaf Properly initialize sander values
  • 53811976 Refactor implementation of adhesion precision switch
  • 8aed4506 Refactor slip control implementation
• T1.6.1-525-g17e2cf39a Merge pull request #1288 from SteelFill/engine_rpm
  Thanks Cesar, merging Fix Diesel Engine Parsing Error
  • 74215eda Continue parsing diesel engine even after encountering unknown token
• T1.6.1-523-g90cafd70a Merge pull request #1286 from rwf-rr/fix-multiplayer-flip-null-ref-exception
  Fix null pointer exception in multiplayer with long trains.
  • eb0df9ac Fix null pointer exception in multiplayer with long trains.
    The arrays were created with the train size, but the copy was maxed at
    20. This left the tail of the array at null.
    I don't know how correct or appropriate the limit to maximum 20 cars is.
• T1.6.1-521-g43469db43 Merge pull request #1285 from rwf-rr/fix-multiplayer-uncouple-cars-vanish
  Fix multiplayer bug: cars vanishing on uncouple.
  • 297b89f9 Fix multiplayer cars vanishing on uncouple.
    Addresses issues reported in bug #2171546.
• T1.6.1-519-g5e29e7acb Merge pull request #1263 from SteelFill/particle_emitter_fixes
  Thanks Carlo, merging Harmless Part of Particle Emitter Overhaul
  • b14a110f Adjust diesel particle behavior
  • 276db2ae Handle occasional infinite values produced by particle system
  • 99c71ca6 Add non-visual changes from particle emitter overhaul
• T1.6.1-515-g2db35ddc5 Merge pull request #1280 from RB211/fix/wine-wmi
  Viewer: do not stop the game when WMI is unavailable
  • 90204e79 Viewer: catch any exception while reading the adapter memory
    As suggested in review: the three catches did the same thing, and the
    value is only informational, so one catch of Exception covers them,
    as SystemInfo already does.
    Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5
  • a96536f5 Viewer: do not stop the game when WMI is unavailable
    On .NET 6, System.Management loads wminet_utils.dll from an installed
    .NET Framework 4. Under Wine (Proton) there is none, so querying the
    video controllers throws PlatformNotSupportedException and the run ends
    as the viewer starts. SystemInfo already treats this as a warning;
    UpdateAdapterInformation now does too and leaves the adapter memory
    unknown.
    Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5

See more code changes

The current Testing Version can also be downloaded as a Zip archive:

06 November 2026, 98MB

• Installation Guide (English)

The documents included in the Testing Versions downloads can be found on-line at:

• Architecture Diagram V1.pdf
• Contenct checker.pdf
• How to Provide Track Profiles for Open Rails Dynamic Track.pdf
• Installation Guide En.pdf
• Localization Manual.pdf
• Manual.pdf
• ORTS Trackviewer manual.pdf
• Processor Flow Chart.pdf
• timetable-editor_de.pdf
• timetable-editor_en.pdf

Note: Multiple versions of Open Rails will not interfere if they are saved to different folders.

Unstable Version

To support development, the latest unstable version is also available, which is updated whenever a developer publishes a change. The unstable versions are more likely to contain serious bugs and are only recommended for users wishing to help with Open Rails development.

The Manual for the Unstable version is not included in the download, but is available on-line.

For reference all the Unstable Versions (executable and source) can be found in our Unstable archive.

Improvements

Improvements to Open Rails are drawn from several public sources as shown here:

We try to make sure that these changes all work and fit together by reviews as marked in orange in the diagram.