Companion for Railroader

Less effort, more railroading.

Your railroad's dispatch desk, in its own window or in your web browser, even across several screens. Connected to your Railroader session, it helps you plan services, follow your trains and keep track of the day's operations.

Required

Railroader Mod

It also serves Companion in your web browser.

Download Railroader Mod
Optional

Desktop App

The full application in its own window, Windows x64. Needs the Railroader Mod.

Download Desktop

Windows 64-bit · Work in progress

Main features

It reads your running game and shows the network, trains, rolling stock, timetables, freight and finances in a separate window, with supported game actions one click away.

1

Network

Dispatch diagrams (CTC console), the physical map and Track Atlas, in independent windows for several screens. Jump to a vehicle or a location in the game.

2

Rolling stock

Locomotives and wagons with condition, loads, supplies and brakes. Rename cars, show a whole train, select or view a vehicle in the game.

3

Reminders and alerts

Time-based reminders, locomotive conditions and operating events.

4

Finance and statistics

Statements drawn from the game's ledger, and an automatic circulation journal for each save.

And much more

  • Clear ahead Clear the road ahead of a train, by hand or automatically for the timetables you tick, with alerts for trains held at a signal.
  • Timetables and routes Edit the game's timetables in a table or on the train graph, build routes, attach routes and crews.
  • Locomotive catalogue Every model in your game, installed mods included, with traction estimates.
  • Freight Switch lists by crew, orders, waybills, waiting passengers, and locations by zone with their tracks, contracts, stock and shops.
  • Services Repair shops and refuelling points.
  • Weather and graphics The game's weather and graphics settings, with exposure, contrast and saturation following a curve over the game day.
  • Saves without a CTC panel Trains and stations are still listed and usable.

Companion talks to the game through its own mod, and it does not replace the game's simulation, signalling or save system. This version is a work in progress and keeps evolving: features are added and refined from one version to the next.

Screenshots

Installation

Two files, from the same release:

  1. Install and configure Unity Mod Manager for Railroader if you have not already done so.
  2. Close Railroader. Extract the Railroader Mod ZIP and copy its RailroaderCompanion folder into the game's Mods folder. Info.json and RailroaderCompanion.dll must be directly inside Mods/RailroaderCompanion.
  3. If an older RailroaderBridge mod folder exists, move it out of Mods.
  4. Start Railroader, check that the mod is enabled in Unity Mod Manager, and load a save.
  5. In a browser on the same PC, open http://127.0.0.1:17865/. Nothing needs to be forwarded on your router.
  6. Optional The desktop application: extract the whole Desktop ZIP into a separate folder, keeping its files together, start Companion for Railroader.exe, then open Connection and connect.
Updating

Replace the files with those of the same release and restart Railroader completely.

Removing

Delete the RailroaderCompanion folder from Mods and the desktop folder. Your preferences stay in %APPDATA%\RailroaderCompanion until you delete them too.

Web access

Open Companion in a browser: on this PC, or on a phone, a tablet or another PC of your network.

  • On this PC the page is open as soon as the game runs with the mod.
  • For other devices, switch on Web access on the Connection page of the desktop application: it gives a control link (reads and commands) and a view-only link (reads only). Making new links stops the old ones from working.
  • The mod listens only on your private network addresses, never on a public one. Windows may ask about its firewall: allow private networks only.
Good to know

Anyone on your network who has the control link can command your game, and the connection is not encrypted. It is switched off every time the game starts, and the mod answers nothing from the Internet. The page is not laid out for small screens yet. Automatic Clear ahead and automatic weather stay in the desktop application.

Safety of commands

  • Reading the game never changes it.
  • A command needs a save loaded as host and is tied to the current session.
  • A timetable is written only if it is still the document Companion just read, and the previous timetables are backed up before each write.
  • A reading that fails is shown as unknown, never as an empty roster.

Requirements and compatibility

  • Windows 64-bit, Railroader, and Unity Mod Manager (available separately).
  • The Railroader Mod file. The Desktop file is optional.
  • Built and tested with Railroader (Steam build 20238526) and Unity Mod Manager 0.32.4.0.
  • Locomotive mods you have installed appear in the catalogue. For Waypoint Queue 1.5.x, Companion reads the queue and never changes it.
  • Multiplayer and other combinations of mods have not been fully tested.

The interface is in English. No Companion account, Node.js or development tools are required.

Current limitations

  • Traction results are estimates, not guaranteed route capacities.
  • Test commands on a copy of your save first.
  • The Windows application is not digitally signed, so Windows may show a warning. Download it from the official download page only, and do not disable your antivirus.
  • Preferences and recorded history are stored locally on your PC. The mod records a circulation journal for each save in %LOCALAPPDATA%\RailroaderCompanion\journal; an empty file named journal-record.off in the folder above stops it.

Feedback and support

If something goes wrong, a screen is confusing, or you have an idea that would help with your railway, I'd like to hear about it. Describing what you were trying to do is often just as useful as suggesting a feature.

A dedicated feedback site is on its way. In the meantime, send an email for questions, bug reports and suggestions.

support@mentorrailroad.com

All aboard!

Free, for Windows 64-bit.

Required

Railroader Mod

It also serves Companion in your web browser.

Download Railroader Mod
Optional

Desktop App

The full application in its own window, Windows x64. Needs the Railroader Mod.

Download Desktop
Free, now and always

Companion for Railroader is free to use, and it will always remain free. Voluntary donations are not ruled out, but none will ever be required to use the application.