Amtrak HHP-8, Acela Express, and the workhorse E60 electric locomotives. Marias Pass (United States) Location: Montana Rocky Mountains Era: Modern Freight
: Legendary California mountain passes featuring heavy freight, steep ruling grades, and massive horseshoe curves. Europe & United Kingdom
Always read the included readme.txt file for specific installation instructions.
Today, while the original 2001 MSTS game engine struggles to run on modern operating systems, its routing system lives on seamlessly. The open-source engine known as Open Rails fully preserves and enhances legacy , allowing players to experience historic and contemporary rail lines with advanced physics, better graphics, and unlimited modern performance. 1. The Six Default MSTS Routes: Where It All Began msts routes
Understanding how an MSTS route functions requires a peek into its folder architecture. A typical route installation package contains several interconnected subfolders that tell the simulator engine exactly what to render.
While has become the modern standard for running these simulations, its ability to utilize MSTS content ensures that the vast library of MSTS routes created over the last two decades is still fully playable. 1. The Anatomy of MSTS Routes
Creating an MSTS route was notoriously unforgiving. The (RE) crashed constantly, had a 2,000-object-per-tile limit, and could corrupt hours of work with a single misclick. Route builders learned arcane rituals: Amtrak HHP-8, Acela Express, and the workhorse E60
The base MSTS game included six routes that served as the foundation for the community's early efforts. Many of these have since been remastered by fans as high-detail freeware. Northeast Corridor (USA): Philadelphia Washington, D.C. Marias Pass (USA): BNSF's route over the Continental Divide in Montana. Settle-Carlisle (UK): A scenic 72-mile stretch of the Midland Railway. Innsbruck–St. Anton (Austria): A mountain crossing via the Arlberg Pass. Hisatsu Line (Japan): A challenging mountainous route on Kyushu island. Tokyo–Hakone
The starting point for most players, including the scenic Settle-Carlisle Line (UK), the historic Innsbruck-St. Anton (Austria), and the bustling Northeast Corridor (USA).
A premier source for German and European MSTS routes. Today, while the original 2001 MSTS game engine
The process of creating an MSTS route was, and remains, a labor of love bordering on obsession. It involves plotting the track path, sculpting the terrain, setting the track interactive objects (like signals and speed limits), and populating the world with vegetation and buildings. For many, the "game" ceased to be driving trains; it became the act of replicating the real world in binary code. This shift created a new identity for the user: the "route developer."
Though somewhat inactive, it holds a vast archive of British routes.
What do you prefer? (US, UK, Europe, Asia)
If you discover a new route labeled "for MSTS" on a forum today, the creator likely expects you to run it in Open Rails.