Download > Versions

Three Versions of Open Rails

Three versions of Open Rails are readily available to users, as shown below:

For first-time users, we recommend the Stable Version which comes with an installer.

Updater

Whichever version you choose, Open Rails has a mechanism to notify you of new versions and to update Open Rails for you. You will find the settings for this mechanism in Menu > Options > System

Open Rails will check for updates at most once a day. When it finds one, it raises a red flag in the Notifications icon.

Use the "What's new" button to find out more about an update or the "Install" button to launch the automatic update process:

Testing Version

If you follow the Open Rails project on the forums, then you will hear about bug-fixes and new features. These are included in the Unstable Version for developers and testers to try out. Once they have been checked and approved, they are published (on most Fridays) as the latest Testing Version. Any user can easily update to the current weekly Testing Version and benefit from these improvements.

For reference all the Testing Versions (executable and source) can be found in our archive.

Recent Code Changes

• T1.5.1-2139-g21d9ada29 Merge pull request #1167 from rwf-rr/bugfix-runactivity-slow-exit
  Fix: RunActivity slow to terminate because of long sleep in Host Process
  • d5c0d641 Use interruptable sleep.
    Was suggested in PR review. Avoids the extra counter.
  • 115325f9 Fix typo in variable name.
  • 2c028a4c Reduce sleep to respond to terminate more quickly.
• T1.5.1-2135-g8951c4e76 Merge pull request #1177 from cjakeman/fix/avoid-type-initialization-exception
  Fix: Avoid fatal type-initialization exception at start-up
  • f1881285 Fix: Avoid fatal type-initialization exception at start-up
• T1.5.1-2133-g9962874dd Merge pull request #1130 from mbm-OR/bugfix/Fix-F9-CarId-bug
  Fix F9 points to an incorrect car ID.
  • d517b5b6 Attempts to fix failures during build.
  • 6b0f1dae Merge branch 'master' into bugfix/Fix-F9-CarId-bug
  • ad19b305 Restored colour of the large handbrake pictures
  • 0f4342d3 Merge branch 'master' into bugfix/Fix-F9-CarId-bug
  • 4a0a6575 Fix the lack of sync between camera 2/3 and F9.
  • 30bcba48 Merge branch 'master' into bugfix/Fix-F9-CarId-bug
  • 38aa3fdb Update the TrainOperationsMap32.png file.
  • 8ae6bb7a Fix the issue with the behaviour of Camera 2 after closing F9.
  • abe7c8ad Fix the issue with the behaviour of Camera 3 after closing F9.
  • fb8a24dc Fix F9 window turns black, selecting the last car of a large train.
  • 736c3f51 Fix bug when switching from cab camera to camera 2.
  • 251a6774 Fix F9 points to an incorrect car ID.
• T1.5.1-2120-g1c0dfc6fa Merge pull request #1174 from openrails/release/1.6
  Merge pull request #1172 from twpol/feature/add-pr-1163
  • 23281b95 Merge pull request #1173 from twpol/feature/add-pr-1164
    Lift #1164 into 1.6.1 release
  • 6a78178f Merge pull request #1172 from twpol/feature/add-pr-1163
    Lift #1163 into 1.6.1 release
• T1.5.1-2115-gf00dec792 Merge pull request #1171 from sweiland-openrails/no_internet_no_manually_installed
  no internet connection is available, not possible to open the Menu Content Form
  • 50efb5bc Error message changed to "Failed to access the content repository (check Internet connection); automatic download not available. Error: {0}" As sugested by Roger (rwf-rr)
  • 8fd2066c When no internet connection is available, trying to start the Menu Content form gives an error message.
• T1.5.1-2112-gc78746b34 Merge pull request #1170 from rwf-rr/bugfix-command-log-time-zero
  Fix Command Log Time for Commands that had it at 0 (zero).
  • 83a049e7 Fix Command Log Time for commands that had it at 0 (zero).
    Bug #2128993.
    This may not be a complete fix. I fixed the commands that I have found
    to have the wrong time.
• T1.5.1-2110-g84be72cd5 Merge pull request #1157 from cesarBLG/dynamic-brake-authorization
  Dynamic brake authorization by TCS
  • 39cd994e Dynamic brake cut for default TCS
  • 805221ee Fix condition to activate blending
  • 71283ab1 Dynamic brake authorization by TCS
• T1.5.1-2106-g62070ada6 Merge pull request #1156 from cesarBLG/control-operations-enable
  Fix incorrectly disabled options in train operations window
  • f46d5f27 Invert angle cock warnings for end cars
  • c1f443e5 Do not use localized strings for core operations
  • bddc6e72 Fix bug
  • 78fd9572 Do not check DPU status for MU wire
  • c5f1627c Fix incorrectly disabled options in train operations window
• T1.5.1-2100-g31e3fe251 Merge pull request #1168 from rwf-rr/bugfix-exception-exit-mapwindow-open
  Fix exception when exiting with MapForm or SoundDebugForm open.
  • 6e2942ff Fix exception when exiting with MapForm or SoundDebugForm open.
    Bug #2127145.

See more code changes

The current Testing Version can also be downloaded as a Zip archive:

09 December 2025, 107MB

• Installation Guide (English)

The documents included in the Testing Versions downloads can be found on-line at:

• Architecture Diagram V1.pdf
• Contenct checker.pdf
• How to Provide Track Profiles for Open Rails Dynamic Track.pdf
• Installation Guide En.pdf
• Localization Manual.pdf
• Manual.pdf
• ORTS Trackviewer manual.pdf
• Processor Flow Chart.pdf
• timetable-editor_de.pdf
• timetable-editor_en.pdf

Note: Multiple versions of Open Rails will not interfere if they are saved to different folders.

Unstable Version

To support development, the latest unstable version is also available, which is updated whenever a developer publishes a change. The unstable versions are more likely to contain serious bugs and are only recommended for users wishing to help with Open Rails development.

The Manual for the Unstable version is not included in the download, but is available on-line.

For reference all the Unstable Versions (executable and source) can be found in our Unstable archive.

Improvements

Improvements to Open Rails are drawn from several public sources as shown here:

We try to make sure that these changes all work and fit together by reviews as marked in orange in the diagram.