RailTerrain

Turn real places into new railway possibilities.

RailTerrain is a route-creation utility for Trainz Railroad Simulator 2022 that transforms real-world locations into terrain-based Trainz routes.

Choose virtually anywhere in the world using the interactive map, select the area you want to recreate, and RailTerrain takes care of the terrain generation process for you. Using real-world elevation data, it builds the landscape and creates the files required for a Trainz route, giving you a geographical foundation on which to build your own railway.

Whether you want to recreate a familiar railway, explore a location on the other side of the world, revive a long-closed route or simply use real geography as the starting point for something completely new, RailTerrain removes much of the groundwork involved in getting started.

Important Notice about the Railway Guide Data

RailTerrain v1.1 includes an improved railway guide download system, giving users greater control when external OpenStreetMap/Overpass servers are slow or unavailable.

RailTerrain now allows users to maintain their own list of railway data servers through the RailwayServers.json configuration file. There is no fixed waiting-time limit: the application displays how long it has been waiting, and users can press Q to skip the current server and try the next one.

Railway data is provided by independent third-party services, so availability and download times cannot be guaranteed. If railway data cannot be retrieved, RailTerrain can still generate terrain and Trainz route files normally, without the optional painted railway guides.

Select your location

Explore the built-in interactive map and position it over the part of the world you want to use. Select your route area directly on the map and RailTerrain calculates the geographical coverage and the Trainz baseboards required.

Generate terrain from real elevation data

RailTerrain automatically selects an appropriate supported terrain-data source for the chosen location and uses real elevation data to construct the landscape. Terrain smoothing can be adjusted before generation, allowing you to choose how closely you want the resulting terrain to follow the source elevation data.

Follow the real railway

Where railway mapping data is available, RailTerrain incorporates a visible rail guide in the form of painted terrain into the generated route. This provides a geographical reference for laying track and developing the railway after importing the route into Trainz.

From map selection to Trainz route

Give your route a name, choose its location and settings, and generate. RailTerrain handles the terrain processing and creates the Trainz route files in the output folder you specify. The resulting route can then be imported into Trainz Railroad Simulator 2022 and developed using Trainz's own route-building tools.

Designed for route builders

RailTerrain provides the starting landscape rather than attempting to build the finished railway for you. Track, signalling, stations, scenery, buildings, roads, vegetation and other route details remain in your hands. You get real-world terrain as your canvas while retaining the freedom to decide what the finished railway becomes.

Key features

• Interactive world map for selecting route areas

• Terrain generated from real-world elevation data

• Automatic selection of supported terrain sources according to location

• Adjustable terrain smoothing

• Railway guide data where available

• Automatic creation of the required Trainz route structure and configuration files

• User-defined route name and KUID details

• Route-area and Trainz baseboard information before generation

• Generated routes ready for import into Trainz Railroad Simulator 2022

• Terrain data is cached where appropriate, reducing the need to download the same source data again

Real places. New possibilities.

Start with somewhere real. What you build there is up to you.