Trainz/AM&C/Third Party Content

What is 3rd Party Content
Third party content is any Trainz compatible asset made available by private communications or publicly available channels that you have not written the software for (created) yourself nor which is offered by N3V Games as official content in one release or another. Third party content is the magic in the box, since there are thousands of us contributing to the rich panoply of resources, most of it freeware, that enrich and make the Trainz modeling experience untouchable relative to the occasional short-lived competing product. Other simulators run faster, have less quirks, better graphics, but none offer either the huge asset library that is the Download Station, the community camaraderie nor the world building ease and capabilities of Trainz Surveyors toolset in any version since UTC.

Using the DLS website
The TRS2004 pre-release days (2003) saw the establishment of the, a shopping cart based website with search tools which many of us still find to be very useful to search out and explore the Content on the Download Station without CM getting between us and the lists, which are more like typical web-based shopping sites.

Auto-ContentManager Downloading
Trainz releases ever since UTC beta tested the nascent DLS have made two or more data ownership entries in the  which allow the Download Station's shopping cart via your browser (which can see the registry) to open and use the installed local computer installation's downloader, the FTP protocol handler parts in post-CMP ContentManager.exe modules.
 * Why ContentManager's name won't change
 * Further, in August 2015, Auran/N3V Games has instituted 'appropriate version' checks into the Trainz download sequence and the DLS itself is now limiting the downloads to appropriate TBV versions.

Notes, Footnotes & References
{{#if:||