Train Tunes

Music that travels with your trains. Add your own songs to the locomotives from VladasZ's Railroads mod for Valheim.

Gameplay Video

Watch the Train Tunes gameplay demonstration on YouTube

A moving locomotive plays a shuffled playlist that you can hear from nearby. As the train approaches, the music grows louder; as it moves away, the sound fades naturally into the distance. You can hear unmanned/automated trains too. It is a local audio effect, not a player-specific riding soundtrack.

No songs are included. Train Tunes is an audio player only. You supply your own locally stored music.

Features

• Train-mounted, positional 3D music: sound moves with locomotives, including automated trains.
• Shuffled playlist: each locomotive draws from its own randomized queue; all songs play before that train repeats one. Adjacent shuffle cycles avoid an immediate repeat.
• Continuous trips: as one song finishes, the next song starts automatically.
• Distance fading: hear approaching trains and gradually lose their music as they travel away.
• Independent client playback: nearby players with the mod installed hear their own local playlist. Songs and timestamps are not synchronized.
• Configurable volume and range: set local volume, fade distances and minimum train speed in BepInEx config.
• No extra assets: works alongside Railroads; does not replace locomotive steam audio.

Requirements

• Valheim with BepInEx.
• VladasZ / Railroads installed and working. Railroads is a separate mod with its own server/client installation requirements.
• Locally supplied .mp3 or .ogg music files. The music is not included here or in the dependencies.

Installation with a mod manager

1. Install TrainTunes through your Thunderstore-compatible mod manager. Ensure Railroads and BepInEx dependencies are installed.
2. Launch the game once, then close it.
3. In your active mod-manager profile's BepInEx/plugins folder, find the folder containing TrainTunes.dll. There should be a Music subfolder next to that DLL.
4. Copy your own .mp3 or .ogg music files into that Music folder (not inside subfolders).
5. Restart Valheim. Move a locomotive to begin hearing music.

Mod managers may use a package-specific plugin folder name, so find TrainTunes.dll first rather than assuming the folder is named TrainTunes.

Manual installation

1. Install BepInEx and Railroads separately.
2. Open the Thunderstore ZIP. Copy the folder under BepInEx/plugins/TrainTunes to your game's BepInEx/plugins/ folder, preserving the Music subfolder.
3. Copy your own .mp3 and/or .ogg songs into BepInEx/plugins/TrainTunes/Music/.
4. Start Valheim with BepInEx enabled.

Important: Do not install a second copy of TrainTunes.dll when switching between manual installation and a mod-manager profile. BepInEx should load only one copy of this plugin.

Configuration

After launching once, edit BepInEx/config/local.traintunes.cfg and restart Valheim for changes to take effect.

The older MusicFile setting, if present from an early prototype, is ignored by v0.2.0. All supported music files directly inside Music are discovered at startup.

Notes and troubleshooting

• The train must be moving. When it stops, the music stops; the next departure draws the next unused track from that locomotive's shuffled playlist.
• With only one song, that song loops.
• A moving train outside hearing distance may continue advancing its playlist silently; playlists are not synchronized across users.
• Songs added during gameplay need a restart to be discovered.
• If no music plays, verify that your Music folder is next to the active TrainTunes.dll and check BepInEx/LogOutput.log for Train Tunes messages.
• Each player who wishes to hear music needs the plugin and their own music files. This music add-on is designed to run client-side; Railroads' own server requirements still apply.

Compatibility and development status

v0.2.0 was tested successfully by its creator with their Valheim installation and Railroads 0.1.7. Long-route coverage, fresh mod-manager installs, and compatibility with later Railroads versions have not yet been verified. The Thunderstore manifest currently requests a newer published Railroads version; verify this combination before treating it as a stable public release.

Train Tunes is an independent add-on and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Railroads author. It does not redistribute Railroads.

Music and recording rights

The package intentionally ships without any music. Please use audio you have permission to use, especially if you stream, upload videos, or redistribute recordings. Having a local MP3 does not necessarily grant redistribution or streaming rights.

AI assistance

The source and packaging for Train Tunes were developed with substantial AI assistance. Please use Thunderstore's AI Generated category when publishing.