How do I adjust shadow and graphics settings in Trainz 2019?
To adjust shadow and graphics settings in Trainz 2019, open the simulator's settings or launcher display options, then change the graphics quality, resolution and any shadow-related options before applying them. In some builds, the most important display changes need a restart or must be made from the main menu rather than during a session.
Where are the graphics settings in Trainz 2019?
In Trainz 2019, graphics options are usually found in one of two places:
- the launcher or settings window before the game fully starts
- the in-game settings menu from the main menu or pause/options screen
The exact wording can vary a little by build and update, but you are looking for sections named things like Display, Graphics or Performance. Shadow controls are often grouped with other visual quality options rather than sitting on their own.
If you do not see the full set of options while driving, back out to the main menu or close the simulator and open its launcher/settings panel first. Trainz has long handled some display settings outside an active session.
How to change shadows and graphics in Trainz 2019
- Open Trainz settings from the launcher or main menu options screen.
- Find the graphics or display section. Look for resolution, fullscreen mode, quality presets and advanced visual settings.
- Adjust shadow settings. If there is a direct shadow option, reduce or raise it there. Depending on the build, this may be labelled as shadow quality, scenery shadows, dynamic shadows or similar.
- Change general graphics settings such as texture quality, anti-aliasing, view distance, lighting and post-processing if those options are available.
- Apply or save the changes. If Trainz asks for a restart, do it. Some visual changes will not fully take effect until you reload the game or reload the route.
- Test on a demanding route with lots of scenery, yards, AI traffic and low sun angles. That is where shadow and lighting settings usually hurt performance most.
What should you change first if Trainz 2019 is running slowly?
If your goal is better frame rate rather than prettier visuals, start with shadows. In Trainz, shadows are one of the first settings that can make a decent-looking route suddenly become much heavier, especially in dense scenes with lots of assets.
After that, reduce view distance and anti-aliasing if those controls are exposed in your version. Resolution also matters, but lowering it has a bigger effect on image sharpness than most people want, so we normally treat it as a later step unless performance is genuinely poor.
| Setting | Visual impact | Performance cost | What we usually recommend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shadows | High | High | Lower first if frame rate is unstable |
| View distance / draw distance | High | High | Reduce on large, busy routes |
| Anti-aliasing | Medium | Medium to high | Lower a step if GPU load is high |
| Texture quality | High | Medium, also uses VRAM | Keep higher if you have enough video memory |
| Resolution | Very high | High | Only lower if you need a bigger performance gain |
| Post-processing / extra effects | Low to medium | Low to medium | Trim if you want easy savings with minimal visual loss |
Which shadow setting affects Trainz 2019 the most?
Any option that enables real-time or dynamic shadows tends to be the expensive one. The exact label is not always identical across Trainz releases and updates, but if you see separate controls for shadow quality or distance, lowering those usually helps without making the whole image look flat.
If there is only a simple on/off shadow control, that is still useful for troubleshooting. Turn shadows off briefly, load the same route in the same weather and compare performance. If the frame rate jumps noticeably, you have found the main bottleneck.
Signs your shadow setting is too high
- frame rate drops badly near stations, yards or forests
- performance gets worse around sunrise or sunset
- camera movement stutters even when the route is not loading new terrain
- GPU usage is high while CPU use does not seem maxed out
Best-looking balanced settings for most systems
We would usually aim for a balanced setup rather than pushing every option to maximum. Trainz benefits more from consistency than from one or two flashy settings turned all the way up.
- Keep resolution at your monitor's native setting if possible.
- Set textures to a level that keeps scenery looking sharp.
- Use medium or high shadows rather than the highest shadow option if performance is marginal.
- Trim view distance slightly on very large routes.
- Use sensible anti-aliasing instead of the strongest setting available.
That usually preserves the look of locomotives, track and nearby scenery while avoiding the biggest performance penalties.
Why are some graphics options missing or greyed out?
This can happen for a few different reasons in Trainz 2019:
- you are trying to change them inside an active session rather than from the main menu or launcher
- the simulator needs a restart before advanced options can be altered
- your current display mode limits available settings
- the game has chosen a simplified preset based on detected hardware
If options are greyed out, close the running route first. If that does not help, exit Trainz completely, reopen the settings panel from the launcher and try again there.
Why do the graphics look different after changing settings?
Because several Trainz settings interact. Shadows do not only affect shadows; they can change the overall sense of depth, contrast and time-of-day lighting. Anti-aliasing affects how clean the track, overhead lines and distant scenery look. View distance changes how much of the world is being drawn at once.
That is why it is better to change one or two options at a time, test, then continue. If you change everything together, it becomes hard to tell which option helped and which one caused a problem.
A simple way to tune Trainz 2019 without guesswork
- Start from your current settings and note them down.
- Load the same demanding route each time for a fair comparison.
- Lower shadows one step and test.
- Lower view distance or anti-aliasing only if needed.
- Keep texture quality as high as your system comfortably allows, since it affects clarity more than raw speed in many cases.
- Restart Trainz after bigger display changes to make sure the result is genuine.
This approach is slower than using a low preset and hoping for the best, but it gives a much cleaner result.
If Trainz 2019 still runs badly after lowering shadows
At that point, the issue may not be shadows alone. Large routes, heavy asset counts, complex rolling stock and background tasks can all affect performance. Trainz can also be limited by storage speed and CPU workload depending on the route and what is happening in the session.
If lowering shadow quality barely helps, try a lighter route as a comparison. If the lighter route runs well, the problem is likely the route or scenario load rather than a broken graphics setting.
Quick answer
To change shadows and graphics in Trainz 2019, open the game's display or graphics settings from the launcher or main menu, adjust the shadow and quality options, save them, and restart if required. For better performance, reduce shadows first, then view distance and anti-aliasing before lowering resolution.