A few years ago a few friends and myself attempted playing this game, only to have an abundance of crashing issues. What little game time we got in we enjoyed, however we simply couldn't deal with the frustration and promptly gave up.

Recently I discovered the 3GB enabler patch, which completely fixed all of the previous crashing issues. Finally we'd be able to give this game another shot! Unfortunately it wasn't so simple...

After many attempts on GameRanger to get the game to work (it wouldn't) I started sifting online for alternative solutions to play the game LAN over the internet (since the GameSpy network no longer exists). Many websites claimed the best methods involved GameRanger (no luck), Evolve (shut down a month prior) or even Tunngle (also shut down earlier this year), with the same sites claiming that these were the only alternatives as Hamachi did not work.

They were wrong, and that's where this guide comes in.

First step being the most obvious, install the game via Steam or whichever method you choose (whether it be the gog.com version, the DRM free version or even your old Railroads! CD if you happen to own one).

Once complete, you can head on over to this website[smrsimple.com] which details essentially how the 3GB enabler works and how to install it. The website basically goes through all the necessary steps, but please note if you have a 32 bit system (for whatever reason) there are a couple of extra steps.

Test that the game has loaded and play a test game just to confirm you have no crashing issues. If you do happen to have any issues, an alternative to this method is to follow this guide on steam. It is essentially a manual version of the fix listed above, however if the script from the Simple! guide does not do its job, this is the alternative option.

For much of this part of the guide I will be ripping some information and images from this[wiretuts.com] guide, simply changing some things for ease of access.

First start by going to https://www.vpn.net/ and going to the top right of the page to create an account. You can skip this step if you already have one by simply logging in.

Once at the home page, hit "Add Client" and select the option to download Hamachi. Again, if you already have the program installed, you can skip this step.



Next, you want to select "Create Networks".



Choose a name for your network, and ensure 'Mesh' is the type of network selected.



Set the network to accept people automatically and add a password if you wish. Ensure you select the Free option (Railroads only supports 4 player anyway) before selecting Continue.



The page should then go to a summary page, all you have to do is select finish

You should then be taken to a page which allows you to edit your network, the only information you want from here is the ID from the network. This is the code that will allow other people with Hamachi installed to join your server.

Once Hamachi has finished installing it should open up straight away. Close it for now and make sure you exit the program in your toolbar (icon at the bottom right on Windows 10).

Next, while still at the toolbar, find your network icon (it will look either like this or a wifi symbol) and right click, selecting the 'Open Network and Internet settings" option.

Once there, select 'Change adapter options' and it should open a new window.

Right click the 'Hamachi' adapter and select 'Properties'.




Next, you will need to uncheck the IPv6 option.




Now select the IPv4 option and click 'Properties'...




...select 'Advanced'...




...the uncheck 'Automatic metric' and set the value to 1.




After all of these steps are complete, you will need to restart your computer.

Thats all for setting up the adapter, now we need to set up Windows Firewall.

The last step of this process involves adding exceptions to Windows Defender Firewall. Please note that we will only be changing settings on the Hamachi adapter itself, so provided you only have trusted people on your Hamachi network you shouldn't have any issues.

Hit the Start button and type 'Windows Defender Firewall", it should be the first option that appears.




Afterwards choose 'Advanced Settings'.




Then select the 'Action' option and then 'Properties'.




Under the 'Domain Profile' option you will want to hit 'Customize'.




You will then want to uncheck Hamachi. Windows Firewall may start yelling at you at this point, but feel free to ignore it.




Repeat the last 2 steps for both the Public Profile and the Private Profile (unchecking Hamachi). Once done, you can close the window.




Now all of the steps are finished, we are finally ready to connect to the same Hamachi network and play!

Now all that is left to do is connect to your Hamachi server that was created earlier. Once you're logged into your account, select 'Join an existing network'.




Enter the code and password from setting your Hamachi network earlier and hit 'Join'.




You should now be connected to your Hamachi server.




Once all your friends have followed the steps above, including the network and firewall settings, you should be ready to play! Boot up Railroads and host up a LAN game. If you can all join, you're all set to go!

If you have any complications, I will provide a couple of potential solutions to fixing this in another section. If not, HAPPY RAILROADING!

Solution 1: Port Forwarding

If you are the host you may need to port forward for Railroads. Every router is different so you may need to look up the instructions on how to do it for yours, but I will provide the ports and protocols for Railroads down below.




Solution 2: Firewall exception for Railroads app.

Railroads may not have the required exemptions. Go back to your Windows Defender Firewall screen and select the option shown below.




Once at this menu option, ensure Sid Meier's Railroads! is selected for both Private and Public