Mini routes?

[steamsim]

Hi all, I have been using MSTS for a few years but never come across mini routes until now! (slow i know).

I want to buy and install the Black Country route but not sure what mini routes are and how much they can mess up your existing installation of MSTS.
Can anybody advise how mini routes change the original installation, if any? can you still load MSTS as normal with one installed?

My installation startup (train.exe) is modified & currently very stable, crashes are almost non-existant, so Im nervous to upset anything!

Thanks.

[michaelhendle]

A mini route is a complete stand alone set up with all it's own folders, including it's own routes folder trainset folder,and it's own start exe, it doesn't even go into your main msts folder,all it requires msts for is the default routes similar to a ordinary addon route.
I've got the route on my D drive and MSTS on C drive and both work perfictly ok.

Michael

[steamsim]

Thanks,

Do you know if the Black Country mini-route still runs as train.exe?

[Tonysmedley]

There is another advantage of a miniroute which is not obvious.
If you install a route and its activities in Train Simulator but decide that you really didn't want it. it is easy to delete the route but rather difficult to delete associated stock without risk of causing problems with other routes which may use that stock.
You can install or delete a miniroute as a complete entity. Once it has been loaded it is also easy to create a DVD of the route, as has happened with BC1. It can then be re-installed at any time for any reason on this PC or any other.
Tony

[michaelhendle]

It is completly stand alone to MSTS to get it to work you click on the BC1 mini Loader then you choose the activity from the list and away it goes.

Michael

[gswindale]

The mini-route setup copies the core MSTS files to an alternative location, so any amendments to your train.exe file or to things like the F4/F10 displays will be copied across from your main installation.

[steamsim]

Great, will order the route and give it a go then! Thanks.

[eholly]

Hi Gentlemen

I have owned Black Country 1 for several months now and have NEVER been able to see it running! The mini-loader never lets me in. It always says things like "You do not appear to have chosen a route!" or "if I finally do manage to get to select an Activity, it says "File not found" and cuts me off!

Can anyone help?

Eric

[eholly]

Hi Mr Moderator

Thanks for pulling me up short earlier, when I was guilty of "trashing" someone else's work, but if you were sitting here trying to get the damn thing to work ...................

Anyway, enough said. Why not give me a clue as to how to operate the mini-loader?

Regards

Eric

[gswindale]

I don't have Black Country installed at present, but do have other mini-routes.

To start with, in the left hand pane; navigate to wherever Black Country is installed (c:\bc1 I think is the default?). Then navigate within that tree to the routes folder and double click on Black Country (or whatever it's called - it should be the only one there). Then click "confirm route".

From there; you should be able to navigate down to the activities folder and simply highlight one of the activities; select "activate selected activity" and then "run route".

[slipperman12]

Hi Eric,

how to operate the mini-loader

1. Double left click on Black Country Desktop icon
2. Left click 'OK'
3. Double left click on BC1 (left hand box)
4. Left click on 'Confirm Route' - See Note
5. Left click on the Activity (in right hand box) you wish to run
6. Left click 'Activate Selected Activity'
7. Left click 'Run Route'
8. You will now be in Train Simulator - Explore Route will be highlighted, to run the selected activity, left click on it

Note - If you get an error message at this stage, double left click on 'ROUTES' (in left hand box) so that the right hand box is blank. Now double left click on BC1 (left hand box) and you will get a list of files in the RH box; left click on 'Confirm Route'. Continue from 5. (above).

This is my routine after initially having problems getting BC1 to run.

Hope this works for you

Cheers,
Ged

[ashgray]

Hi Mr Moderator

Thanks for pulling me up short earlier, when I was guilty of "trashing" someone else's work, but if you were sitting here trying to get the damn thing to work ...................

Anyway, enough said. Why not give me a clue as to how to operate the mini-loader?

Regards

Eric

Not a problem, and Ged's advice above is very sound. Often, when people just cannot coax an item of software to work, the impression may well be that it's somehow flawed. It's usually the case however, on closer inspection, that the install instructions either haven't been read or understood properly...

Happens to us all.

Ash

[steamsim]

It maybe a daft question, but can you not relocate the files into MSTS file structure and load it as a normal route?

Thanks, Steve.

[Easilyconfused]

It maybe a daft question, but can you not relocate the files into MSTS file structure and load it as a normal route?

Thanks, Steve.

See http://forums.uktrainsim.com/viewtopic. ... +miniroute and have a read through that for the rationale behind the mini-route concept and discussion of it.

[dkightley]

There's no such thing as a daft question. A daft questioner, perhaps.......only joking!!

Yes, you can relocate route data from a mini-route installation back into the main MSTS configuration.

The only problem is you may not be able to get the route to run...as will be explained by the link above!! There's probably a good reason for the route to be supplied/installed as a mini-route.....usually because it won't run if there are any other routes in existense, or some other strange technical reason like not liking the standard "Tsection.dat" or other such files.