The information in this Wiki Page applies to TRS19 and Trainz Plus. This page is intended to provide you with an overview of the properties and features of Routes and Sessions when creating layouts for Trainz. More detailed descriptions of these various features plus instructions on getting you started with creating Routes and Sessions can be found in the Trainz Wiki How To Guides - a link is provided at the end of this document.

What is a Route?

A Route (also known as a "Layout") consists of most of what you will see on the screen when using Surveyor and Driver. A Route consists of two parts:-

Route Data and
Route Layers.

When you save a Route, all the items in the Route Data and Route Layers will be saved

Route Data:

This covers all those assets that are "painted" into the Surveyor environment with a brush tool.

Route Data

Route Data consists of:-

Landforms or Terrain - baseboards and ground height
Water
Ground Textures
TurfFX and Clutter - found in the Effects Layers

Route Layers:

Layers give you a way of organising or grouping the assets displayed in your Route. All scenery assets are held in layers.

Route Layers

Route Layers have those scenery items that you want to always appear. Route Layers contain:-

Track and Track Objects (such as signals, switches, bridges, tunnels, speed signs, etc)
Most (or all) scenery items
Rolling Stock (including locos) - Note: In TRS19 Platinum Edition and Trainz Plus it is recommended that all rolling stock be placed into a Session Layer
Lineside and Fixed Cameras
Trackmarks, Triggers, Direction and Priority Marks
Measuring Rulers

A detailed description of Layers can be found on the Trainz Wiki Page How to Use layers

Loading (and Creating) a Route

Creating a New Route

From the Driver/Surveyor screen the Route options are shown as a set of buttons at the bottom of the screen.

Click Create Route . This will start Trainz Surveyor and open the New Route Dialogue Window.

New Route dialogue window

It is strongly advised that you enter some details before clicking the tick icon the create the new route. This will save you time and hassle later.

Route name:	Enter the name of your new Route (keep it simple)
Session name:	Enter a name for your new Session (again keep it simple)
Geographical region:	Select a region from the drop down list. If none of the installed regions are suitable you can download others from the DLS or create a region of your own - see How to Create a Region Asset

	Notes:
	You do not have to add the name of a Session but when you save a new Route without a named Session a default Session will be automatically saved with the name Default. This can later cause confusion if a multitude of different Default Sessions appear so it is recommended that a unique Session name be entered at this point.
	A Session can always be deleted later if you have no interest in creating one for your Route but a Route without a Session does have some disadvantages - see What is a Session? below.
	Setting a Geographical region sets some basic features of the Route - such as its latitude and longitude (only used to determine the season of the year), the altitude (in metres) of the first baseboard, the number and types of moving road vehicles (if any), the default junction switch lever.

Loading an Existing Route

You must first find and select the Route to load from those already installed. At the top of the Driver/Surveyor screen the Route search options are shown as a set of buttons.

Type:	ROUTES is the default selection. No need to change this.
Source:	PURCHASED is the default selection, Click and change to MY CONTENT for a Route you have created (or already modified) or to INSTALLED for one you have downloaded from the DLS.
Region:	ALL is the default selection. You can select a particular geographic region if required.
Search:	You can narrow down the list of Routes by typing the first few letters of its name (e.g. SA) as shown in the image above.

This will produce a display of thumbnails at the bottom of the screen.

Existing Routes

Click on the thumbnail for the Route you want to load, then click on the EDIT ROUTE button to load the Route into Surveyor.

Editing a Route

When a Route is loaded or a new Route is created all the assets you add will be automatically placed into a Route Layer

When you create a new Route (with or without a named Session), or load an existing Route without a Session, and start adding scenery assets they will automatically be placed into a Route Layer. See How to Use layers for more details.

Any ground textures, water, effect layers (turfFX and clutter) you add, or terrain changes (including new baseboards) you make, will be added to the Route Data.

What is a Session?

A Session is always a part of an existing Route - you cannot have a Session that does not belong to a Route

A single Route can have multiple Sessions, or none, but a Session must always belong to a Route. To put it into Trainz terminology, a Session has a Route as a dependency.

In general the Route provides the physical structures (or "hardware") while the Session provides the services (or "software") for the Route. While you can easily have a Route without creating a Session, it could be a very limited (or even a boring) experience.

If you create a Route without a Session then ALL the active industries and rolling stock, time, environmental conditions, etc, will revert to their original (default) values. There will be no AI drivers and drivers will have a very limited set of available commands for manual driving

A Session consists of two parts:-

Session Data and
Session Layers.

When you save a Session, all the items in the Session Data and Session Layers will be saved

Session Data:

Session Data are often the "invisibles" that control the operation of a Session.

Session Data

Session Data contains:-

Drivers (names, AI commands and assigned locos)
Driver Commands - those available for AI and manual driving
Session Rules
Environment Settings (weather, lighting, time of day)
Industry Settings (commodities consumed and produced)
Consist Settings (commodities carried)
Consist Locations (TRS19 Platinium Edition and Trainz Plus only)
Switch Settings (left or right) - but the default switch direction is stored in the Route

Session Layers:

Session Layers have those scenery items that you want to appear in that particular Session only.

Session layers

Session Layers can contain:-

Scenery
Rolling Stock (including locos) - Note: In TRS19 Platinum Edition and Trainz Plus it is recommended that all rolling stock be placed into a Session Layer
Trackmarks, Triggers, Direction and Priority Marks

The Session Layers can be left empty.

A detailed description of Layers can be found on the Trainz Wiki Page How to Use layers

Notes:

Scenery, Rolling Stock, Triggers and Markers (Track, Direction, Priority) can be used in both Route Layers and Session Layers. Assets placed in a Route Layer will appear in all Sessions that are based on the Route. The vast majority of (if not all) scenery items will be placed in Route Layers. Assets placed in a Session Layer will only appear in the Session where they have been saved.

Examples of assets that would be placed in a Session Layer instead of a Route Layer would include:-

products waiting at a factory for pickup in an industrial Session
signallers holding lanterns in a night Session
trackmarks and triggers that are only required in one Session and not in all Sessions
crowds of onlookers alongside the track in a Session recreating an historic steam train run, together with
historic rolling stock in a vintage train Session running on a modern Route

Loading (and Creating) a Session

Creating a New Session

To creating a new Session you must first create a new Route or identify an existing Route

A new Session can be created in two ways:-

Automatically when a new Route is created. Follow the steps shown in the section Creating a New Route above by entering a Session name for the new Session.

From an existing Route (remember that a Route can have many individual Sessions). The first step is to find and load the Route as described in the section Loading an Existing Route above.

Once you have selected the Route from its thumbnail, click the VIEW SESSIONS button.

Then click the CREATE SESSION button. If no Session exists for this Route then this will be the only choice available to you.

Loading an Existing Session

The easiest way to load an existing Session is to use the search tools at the top of the Driver/Surveyor screen.

Type:	ROUTES is the default selection. Change this to SESSIONS .
Source:	PURCHASED is the default selection, Click and change to MY CONTENT for a Session you have created (or already modified) or to INSTALLED for one you have downloaded from the DLS.
Gameplay:	ALL is the default selection. There is no need to change this
Search:	If required you can narrow down the list of Sessions by typing the first few letters of its name.

This will produce a display of thumbnails at the bottom of the screen.

Existing Sessions

Click on the thumbnail for the Session you want to load and then click on the EDIT SESSION button. This will load BOTH the Route and the Session into Surveyor.

Alternatively, you can also select the Route first as described in the section Loading an Existing Route above.

Then click the VIEW SESSIONS button.

This will display a list thumbnails for all the Sessions in that Route. Select the Session thumbnail you need and then click the EDIT SESSION button.

Again, both the selected Route and its Session will be loaded into Surveyor.

Editing a Session

When a Session is loaded or a new Session is created from an existing Route, all the assets you add will be automatically placed into a Session Layer

When you create a new Session, or load an existing Route without a Session, and start adding scenery assets they will automatically be placed into a Session Layer. See the Trainz Wiki Page How to Use layers for more details.

Any changes made to the Session Rules (including drivers and their commands), the Environment Tools, Industry or Rolling Stock settings, will be added to the Session Data.

There are other changes that will be added to the Session Data.

Saving a Route and a Session

Routes and Sessions are saved from the System Menu on the Surveyor screen.

	Selecting Save or pressing Ctrl S will save the Route, or the Route and the Session, with the previously entered name(s) when they were loaded or created. You will be asked to confirm both the names (and can change them) and the Save command.
	Selecting Save As... will save the Route, or the Route and the Session, with the previously entered name(s) when they were loaded or created. You will be asked to confirm both the names (and can change them) and the Save As command.

Notes on Saving:

If you decide to create a new Session and leave its name as Default then a new Default Session will be created to add to any others that may already be present in a Route - this is possible because they will all have different <kuid> values. This is why it is not a good idea to use Default as a Session name.

Many scenery assets actually have their properties stored in the Session Data even when the assets themselves are in Route Layers. Editing the properties of these assets is considered to be a change to the Session and will result in a Save command requesting that the Session be saved as well as the Route. You can decide whether or not to save the Session.

These assets include:-

junction switches - the left/right switch direction is stored in the Session (but the switch default direction is stored in the Route)
industries - the commodities and quantities loaded/unloaded are stored in the Session
industry enabled wagons - the commodities and quantities carried are stored in the Session
consist locations - this is stored in the Session (TRS19 Platinum Edition and Trainz Plus only). See the Trainz Wiki Page How to Use the UDS Interface for more details.
named route objects - while the name is stored in the Route, adding or changing the name is treated as a change to the Session

It is possible for Trainz to request that the Route and/or Session be saved when no obvious changes have occurred. This can happen when a Route/Session with an earlier asset build number has been loaded into Surveyor. For example - loading a Route with an asset build number of 3.7 (from TRS12 SP1) into TRS19 SP3 which uses asset build number 4.8 for all its Routes and Sessions.

Saving a New Route and Session

If you have created a new Route and select Save or Save As..., then you will be presented with the following Save Route Dialogue Windows.


In both cases the name of the Route that was entered when it was created will be shown and you can change the name, even in the Save option. However, there is no option in either case to change the name of the created Session.

Saving an Existing Route

If you have loaded the Route only and not the Session and HAVE NOT edited any Session Data or Session Layers, then selecting Save will produce the following Save Route Dialogue Window.

The Overwrite existing route and Do not save session options are automatically selected. The Route will be saved (Overwritten using its current name) but no Session will be saved.
You can select the Save new route and session option and enter a new name for the Route. The Route will be saved with its new name (the original Route will not be changed). A new Session will be created using the name Default and it will be added to the new Route. Because you did not originally load a Session, the Session will be saved with the Default values for all settings.
You can select the Overwrite existing route and Create new session options and enter a new name for the Session. The Route will be saved (Overwritten using its current name). A new Session will be created using the name you enter and it will be added to the Route. Because you did not originally load a Session, the new Session will be saved with Default values for all settings.

If you have loaded the Route only and not the Session and HAVE edited Session Data or Session Layers, then selecting Save will produce the following Save Route Dialogue Window.

The Overwrite existing route and Create new session options are automatically selected. Enter a new name for the Session (do not leave it as Default). The Route with be saved (Overwritten using its current name). A new Session will be created using the name you enter and it will be added to the existing Route.
You can select the Overwrite existing route and Do not save session options. The Route with be saved (Overwritten using its current name) but no Session will be saved. Any changes you have made to the Session Data or Session Layers will be lost.
You can select the Save new route and session option and enter a new name for the Route. The Route will be saved with its new name (the original Route will not be changed). A new Session will be created using the same name as the original Session and it will be added to the new Route.

Saving an Existing Route and Session

If you have loaded a Route and a Session and have edited the Route (Data or Layers) then selecting Save will produce the following Save Route Dialogue Window.

The Overwrite existing route and Overwrite existing session options are automatically selected. Both the Route and Session will be saved (Overwritten using their current names).
You can select the Save new route and session option and enter a new name for the Route. The Route will be saved with its new name (the original Route will not be changed) and a new Session will be created for that Route using the same name as the original Session.
You can select the Overwrite existing route and Do not save session options. The Route with be saved (Overwritten using its current name) but no Session will be saved. Any changes you have made to the Session Data or Session Layers will be lost.
You can select the Overwrite existing route and Create new session options and enter a new name for the Session. The Route will be saved (Overwritten using its current name) and a new Session (with its entered name) will be created and added to the Route.

If you have loaded a Route and a Session and have edited the Session (Data or Layers) only and not the Route then selecting Save will produce the following Save Session Dialogue Window.

The Overwrite existing session option is automatically selected. The Session will be saved (Overwritten using its current name). The Route will not be saved.
You can select the Create new session option and enter a new name for the Session. A new Session (with its entered name) will be created and added to the Route. The suggested (optional) name shown includes the current name, time, date and runtime for the Session.

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More Tutorials and Guides to Using Trainz

This page was created by Trainz user pware in September 2021 and was last updated as shown below.

Route and Session Basics

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