How to Restore Deleted Assets

The information in this Wiki Page applies to TRS19, Trainz Plus and TRS22 and describes the methods that can be used to restore assets deleted by Content Manager and the Content Store.

Notes: Base, Built-in, Packaged and Payware assets cannot be deleted using Content Manager. Not even those that have been made Obsolete by more recent updates. Packaged and Payware assets can only be deleted by Uninstalling the DLC Package that installed them. This is done from the Content Store option selected from the Trainz Launcher.

Restore DLS Assets

Deleted assets that were originally Installed from DLS can be easily restored by installing them again from the DLS

Deleted assets that were installed from the DLS are the easiest of all to restore. Simply use Content Manager to locate the assets and download them again.
	Select the Download Station filter from the Filter drop down menu
	Optional: Type part of the asset name in the Search box to narrow the search
	Right Click  on the asset name in the displayed list and select the  Download  option

However, if for some reason you are unable to access the DLS and the deletion occurred during the last 7 days, then the assets can still be recovered from the automatic backups that Content Manager creates when assets are deleted. These backups are only held for 7 days. See  Restore Deleted Assets from the Backup for the details.

Restore .cdp File Assets

Deleted assets that were installed from .cdp files can be easily restored by reinstalling them from the same .cdp files

Deleted assets that were installed from .cdp files can be reinstalled from the same files. Steps: To install an asset or assets from a .cdp file:- From the Content Manager File menu select the  Import Content Files...  option Navigate to the location of the .cdp file or files Select ( Left Click  or  Ctrl  +  Left Click ) each file to be restored Click ( Left Click ) the Open button However, if for some reason you are unable to locate the .cdp files and the deletion occurred during the last 7 days, then the assets can still be recovered from the automatic backups that Content Manager creates when assets are deleted. These backups are only held for 7 days. See  Restore Deleted Assets from the Backup for the details.

Restore Payware and Packaged Assets

	Payware and Packaged assets that were installed from a DLC package can be restored by reinstalling the same DLC Package
	If the identical Packaged asset is also on the DLS then it can be restored from there

DLC packages can be uninstalled and later reinstalled without any extra costs for an unlimited number of times. Each DLC package contains all the dependant assets in the one download even if those assets are already on the DLS.

Steps: To Reinstall a DLC Package:- Open the Content Store from the Trainz Launcher. Make sure that the Purchased icon has been selected (is coloured blue). This will show all the DLC Packages that you have purchased or previously installed. Items marked with the Uninstall button are currently installed in your copy of Trainz Items marked with the Install button have been purchased (or are available for free) but are not installed in your copy of Trainz If you have Uninstalled a package then it will show the Install button Scroll down the list to locate the package to be reinstalled. You can enter a partial name in the Search box to help narrow the search  Left Click  on the Install button of the package. The install may take some time depending on the size of the package and the speed of your internet connection

Restore Assets from the Automatic Backup

	Assets deleted using Content Manager within the last 7 Days are stored in the Backup Folder for the date they were deleted
	Deleted assets are stored using their <kuid> code(s). Knowing their <kuid> code(s) is very helpful but is not vital

When an installed asset is deleted by Content Manager a backup copy is automatically stored in the same location used by the Trainz Automatic Backup System for backing up any routes or sessions that you are editing in Surveyor. These backups are only kept for 7 days before they are permanently deleted. The backup copies can be restored into Trainz by following the procedure described here.

Notes: Backups are only kept for 7 days from the day of deletion. Beyond that they cannot be restored The asset backups are stored as .tzarc files and a Database Repair (DBR) is one of the steps needed to restore them The 3rd party freeware utility program, TZArchiver which can open and extract .tzarc files, does not support the files created by Trainz Plus and TRS22

Assets that you have created yourself, or cloned and modified from other assets, and have never been backed up to a secure storage are the ones most likely to require this recovery action. As always the better preventative solution is to perform regular backups of your work using .cdp files. See the Trainz Wiki Page  How to Manage Backups for the details.

Locate the Backups Folder

The Backups folder where deleted assets are held is a subfolder of your Local User Data Folder

Steps: To Locate your Backup Folder:- Open Trainz Settings from the Trainz Launcher Select the  Install  tab. The location of the Local User Data Folder will be shown. This is an Example Address Only The Local User Data Folder is usually in the C: drive User folder that is normally identified as %LOCALAPPDATA%\N3V Games\trs22\build xxxxxxx (where "xxxxxxx" is a random sequence of characters) but it can be moved to any location (and given any name) as shown in the image left If you need to move this folder then instructions can be found by clicking the button labelled Instructions for moving your content... below the address bar or on the Trainz Wiki at  How to Move Your User Data Folder Highlight and copy the address shown:-  Left Click  inside the address box press  Ctrl  +  A  to select the entire address press  Ctrl  +  C  to copy it to your OS clipboard Open File Explorer. This can usually be found in your Windows 10/11 Task Bar  Left Click  in the Explorer Address Bar - it is better to click in the empty space at the end of the displayed text if the contents are not already highlighted then press  Ctrl  +  A  paste ( Ctrl  +  V ) in the address from Step  3  above press the  Enter  key The end result, unless you have moved your data folder, will look something like the image show below. Where:-  idname  is your Windows User name (abbreviated), and  random  is a sequence of random characters. This, the build  random , is your Local User Data Folder  Double Left Click  on the last item in the address list to open your current Local User Data Folder. One of its folders will be the Backups folder

Locate the Asset Backup Files

	The backups of deleted assets are kept in folders identified by the date (during the last 7 days) when they were deleted
	The backups are stored as .tzarc files

If an asset was deleted more than 7 days ago then it cannot be restored by this method

Steps: To Restore Assets from their Backup Files:- In File Explorer  Double Left Click  on the Backups folder to open it up. Depending on how often you have used Surveyor during the last 7 days, and depending on your File Explorer display settings, you may see something like this... each folder is named using the date it was created (in yy-mm-dd display format) days where you did not use Surveyor will be missing folders only folders upto 7 days ago will be present If you are unsure of the date then you may have to open and examine each folder  Double Left Click  on the folder for the day when the asset or assets were deleted. This will display all the backup files created that day. Many, or nearly all, will be the automatic backup files created for the route and session that you were editing that day. These will have the same <kuid> ids in their folder and filenames as the route/session (e.g. the folder kuid 45176 105218 SAR Peterborough-Quorn and the file kuid 45176 105218.tzarc_3680667504 shown left). The files will have a sequence of numbers following the .tzarc file type extension Any assets that you opened for editing that day will also appear as backup folders. These will usually have the name, or part of the name, of the asset along with its <kuid> in the folder name (e.g. kuid -1 6338 Lightning shown left) Assets that you have deleted will be shown using only their <kuid> ids as their filename with no numbers after the file type extension (e.g. kuid2 106916 10213 1.tzarc shown left) Since it is unlikely that you will know the <kuid> of each asset that you deleted one strategy would be to restore every deleted asset in the folder and then later use Content Manager to again delete those that you do not want Select ( Left Click ) on the asset backup file to be restored. If more than one file has to be restored then use  Shift  +  Left Click  or  Ctrl  +  Left Click  to select them all  Right Click  on one of the selected files and select the option  Copy  to copy the file(s) to your OS clipboard. The backups can remain in the folder until the 7 days have passed when they will be deleted

Restore the Asset Backups

The backup files of the deleted assets have to be copied into the Editing folder and a DBR perfomed

Steps: To Restore the Deleted Assets:- In the File Explorer address bar  Left Click  on the name of the Local User Data Folder build  random  in the example shown above where random = a sequence of text characters  Double Left Click  on the editing folder to open it up  Left Click  inside the editing folder and paste ( Ctrl  +  V ) the file(s) into the folder Start the Trainz Launcher, open the Developer menu and select the  Rebuild database  option

Check the Restored Assets

Use Content Manager to check that the assets have been restored

Steps: To Check the Status of the Restored Assets:- Open Content Manager and select the Filter  Open for Editing  If any of the assets are listed then select and Submit them Select the Filter  Installed  and sort the list on the column Modification Date into descending date order ( Left Click  once or twice on the column heading) The restored assets should appear at the top of the list

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Trainz Wiki

More Tutorials and Guides to Using Trainz How to Guides Driver Commands List Session Rules List (Alphabetical) with Parameters Session Rules List (Categories) With Parameters

Related Links How to Manage Backups How to Perform Database Repairs Understanding Content Manager Status Labels Using Content Manager to Update Assets

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This page was created by Trainz user pware in April 2025 and was last updated as shown below.

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