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 > Update

Open Rails will check for updates at most once a day. If an update is found, then you can install the update just by clicking on the link in the top, right corner:

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 Friday) 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

T1.5.1-1928-gacd714487 Merge pull request #1106 from twpol/feature/1.6-unrevert-1
Special merge from release/1.6 to master due to reverted commits
- b669f093 Make control confirmations fade out in real time
  (cherry picked from commit 55111e97f5723d3b57a19d462cb41868ce426e90)
- d0c2856d Merge pull request #1102 from SteelFill/dpu_brakes
  Fix Stuck Locomotive Brakes After Initialization
- 35a8982f Merge pull request #1100 from cjakeman/translate-de2
  Updates to German translations
- 848dab47 Merge pull request #1099 from cesarBLG/fix-tcs-pantographs
  Fix TCS orders not being sent to pantographs
- 08d1e2f7 Merge pull request #1097 from SteelFill/particle_emitters
  Fix For Delayed Particle Emitter Spawning
T1.5.1-1913-g74ecafa7f Merge pull request #1093 from openrails/release/1.6
build: Update version numbers to 1.6
- c1de846b fix: Correct invalid characters in manual
- da10def3 build: Update version numbers to 1.6
T1.5.1-1910-gafcdfe10c Merge pull request #1098 from SteelFill/wheel_speed_consistency
Correct Use of Wheel Speed vs Ground Speed in Locomotive Physics
- 34bd6a76 Steam locomotive specific adjustments
- 6bbd2c6a Remove forgotten debugging output
- 1ca03af7 Merge branch 'openrails:master' into wheel_speed_consistency
- d366ab73 Correct use of wheel speed vs ground speed for traction calculations (always use wheel speed in order to obey conservation of energy)
T1.5.1-1905-g2db0eb726 Merge pull request #1096 from sweiland-openrails/mouse_cursor_not_visible
When the OR main form does not have the focus, hovering above the main OR form makes the mouse cursor disappear.
- 7a4f055b See https://bugs.launchpad.net/or/+bug/2111749: When the OR main form does not have the focus, hovering above the main OR form makes the mouse cursor disappear. To get the focus again on that form, you have to click the mouse on that form without knowing where. Risking clicking on some control by accident.
T1.5.1-1903-gfdcc8898c Merge pull request #1085 from cjakeman/manual-updates
updates key commands for Train Operations window and also Daylight Offset
- 37e2817f updates key commands
  And also a typo
T1.5.1-1901-g6b9e971dd Merge pull request #1084 from TheGwyd/Calculate-Delay-While-At-Stopped-Stations
Timetable: Calculate Delay While Stopped at a Station
- 70ab3524 Merge branch 'master' into Calculate-Delay-While-At-Stopped-Stations
- 13454ed6 Add Delay Calculation for Stopped Trains
  Add a delay calculation for trains stopped at stations when they are delayed past their departure time (trains that are meant to be waiting for more than 1 minute shouldn't get negative delays).
  Add comment explaining why existing delay calculation remains.
T1.5.1-1898-gdbddf2606 Merge pull request #1101 from sweiland-openrails/help_simulation_options
Added help buttons on Simulations options in Menu
- 296d878e Add help buttons for Experimental tab
- 9224ecc3 Add help button for Data Logger tab
- 7031be96 Removed unused fields
- 3d54395d Raildriver help added
  To be tested when not available: in OptionsDriver.cs remove // from line #if !DEBUG and #endif in function InitializeRailDriverSettings
- 5db26e39 Added help button for Keyboard tab
- 6813c065 Added help buttons on Simulations options in Menu
T1.5.1-1891-g8228f3523 Merge pull request #1094 from SteelFill/blended_brake_tweaks
Blended Braking Compatibility and Effectiveness Improvements
- b9b4843b Tweak default values
- e6e95f1d Add parameter for minimum speed of blended braking
- 18c3e9c5 Improve blended braking response when using advanced brake cylinders and dynamic brake ramp up
T1.5.1-1887-g07be04456 Merge pull request #1095 from SteelFill/control_confirmation
Make Control Confirmations Fade Out in Real Time
- 55111e97 Make control confirmations fade out in real time
T1.5.1-1885-g12b1a74d5 Merge pull request #1092 from cjakeman/manual-update-timetable
Adds $gradient, $req, depart-early and passing-time to Manual
- 344634b2 Adds a second link
- 7cc63cb6 Adds link to #speed description
- d5816e47 Adds gradient command to Manual
- 18238f45 Adds $req, depart-early and passing -time to Manual
T1.5.1-1880-gcf1e59399 Merge pull request #1062 from rwf-rr/train-forces-popup-window
Train Forces popup Window.
- 9a76b26d Properly use IsMetric for formatting forces.
  Addresses PR review comment.
- 1ec3dc63 Add to user manual, info about text line.
- 34847efb Update user manual for the Train FOrces window.
- c8ac68d7 Minor cleanup.
- ef2b07be Show combined brake force, air and dynamics.
  Based on comment in PR.
- c7db858c Merge branch 'train-forces-popup-window' of https://github.com/rwf-rr/rwf-openrails into train-forces-popup-window
  Manually fixed same conflict again in
  Source/Orts.Simulation/Simulation/RollingStocks/TrainCar.cs.
- 3b663d2d Merge branch 'master' into train-forces-popup-window
  Manually fixed conflict in
  Source/Orts.Simulation/Simulation/RollingStocks/TrainCar.cs.
- b96d6fa6 Also show dynamic brake force for engines.
  Dynamic brake force is show in the same blue color that is used to
  indicate engines.
- de91cc4e Fix bug with calculating limits when switching trains.
  When switching from a train with low limits for the coupler strength and
  derail force to a train with higher limits, the limits in the popup
  window text line were not updated.
- 3b18c48a Train Forces popup Window.
  New window that shows the coupler force, derail force, and brake force for each car in a bar graph.
  Minor changes in existing code to add conversions and access to member variables.
  This is a squash-merge from the prototype branch, train-forces-popup-v1.
T1.5.1-1868-g9d945d08c Merge pull request #1064 from rwf-rr/help-add-train-info-tab
Add Train Info tab to Help window (F1)
- 1be1fc48 Update user manual for Train Info tab in Help window.
- fb4a5001 Address comments in PR:
  * Typo in method name.
  * Calculating min coupler strength.
- 6a5b9f51 Minor cleanup and formatting fixes.
- 701cb276 Merge branch 'help-add-train-info-tab' of https://github.com/rwf-rr/rwf-openrails into help-add-train-info-tab
  Manually fixed conflict in
  Source/Orts.Simulation/Simulation/RollingStocks/TrainCar.cs.
  I should have pulled help-add-train-info-tab from origin first (as it
  had a merge fix from someone else), instead if trying to fix it in the
  merge from master.
- cc5379f9 Merge branch 'master' into help-add-train-info-tab
  Manually fixed conflict in
  Source/Orts.Simulation/Simulation/RollingStocks/TrainCar.cs.
- 52410f9e More changes suggested in PR review.
  Show total (max) and continuous tractive effort.
  Use trailing tons for all calculated ratings.
- a57d23d3 Update calculation of Operative Brakes and Tons per Operative Brake.
  Brake Force alone is not sufficient to determine if the car has
  operative brakes. BrakeValve (BrakeEquipmentType) does not work well for
  the Content Manager, and even some newer rollingstock has it incorrect.
  Thus BrakeSystem (BrakeSystemType) not being "just a pipe" or manual
  braking seems to work best.
  Also corrected TpOP to only use trailing tonnage (as defined by BNSF).
- 9b3415e9 Use continuous tractive effort, not peak tractive effort.
  In particular, the continuous effort makes much more sense for the Tons
  per EPA.
  Also rename variable names to reflect this.
- 53dd604f Add TpEPA and TpEDBA, when units are imperial.
  TpEPA = Tons per Equivalent Powered Axles.
  TpEDBA = Tons per Equivalent Dynamic Brake Axles.
  These metrics are more accurate than HP per Ton, as they are based on
  tractive effort.
  The calculations are based on Union Pacific practices. UP uses a
  standard axle of 10'000 lbf tractive effort or dynamic brake force.
  For example a GP40-2 is 5.0 EPA, an SD40-2 is 7.1 EPA. Both have the
  same HP (and thus result in the same HP-per-Ton).
  Also renamed one variable.
- 77728847 Add Max Dynamic Brake Force to Train Info tab.
  Also max tractive effort variables.
- c5711ade First version of TrainInfo tab in Help window.
T1.5.1-1855-g9d6ee3561 Merge pull request #1090 from cesarBLG/null-check-tcs
Add null check to avoid crash on corrupt signal files
- 9e0bfe8a No comments
- 33d25821 Add null check to avoid crash on corrupt signal files
T1.5.1-1852-g24537f48e Merge pull request #1087 from rwf-rr/improve-signal-error-message
Improve warning message for signal location mismatch.
- 1f64f024 Improve warning message for signal location mismatch.
  This is a warning logged for the BNSF starter route.

See more code changes

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

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Three Versions of Open Rails

Updater

Testing Version

Recent Code Changes

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Unstable Version

Improvements