Delticfab- Sorry for your troubles. I must say something about Windows 8 and building routes. I say this to you. (and for anyone in Windows 8), just in case all is working again and the your son is busy making routes and finds himself back at the desktop/or start screen for Windows, (depending on your personal set-up)...... Unless you see a box saying (basically) that the Trainz program had to close, Windows will try to repair the problem blah blah.... If you do not receive that box, or something similar from Windows, then it's a problem I have frequently. It's caused when making routes and using the mouse, as I do, with enthusiasm, spinning my track ball around as camera view, choosing content, making tracks etc. But with Windows 8, your mouse pointer becomes like your finger on a tablet I pad-type thingey, bringing things into the screen from the top and bottom ,and in from both sides at will. Depending on where the mouse pointer left the screen, Windows can default to the start menu or the desktop. The Trainz program IS STILL open...... and still at the same place in the route building process. It took me a while to figure that out, as well as how to get back there (thanks Windows....). I have the desktop icon which I sometimes use to open Trainz. But I also have the TS2010. exe (the open me) file, as a 2nd shortcut in the Windows taskbar (for me the line of icons at the bottom of my screen, NOT set to auto hide). I had the icon/shortcuts "pinned to the taskbar" from the fancy new start menu - the first thing to open in Windows 8. (I always go to the desktop from there, which is where I go, from there, to everywhere as I HATE the new start menu screen). The point is, the taskbar icon, when I found myself out of my route building and back at the desktop/start menu, had a box around it in the taskbar. When I clicked once on the con, I was right back in my route building like I had never left. This happens to me a lot. it's annoying but doesn't stop me for long. If you or your son have this happen, without a Windows 'crash' type box, this might be what has happened. And thanks to the folks who have been trying to help you in this thread. I'm quite new at this and these kinds of answers, really teach me a lot. Good luck Delticfab. Rebecca