With two trains you're faced with jams and obstructions. This gets complicated the moment you introduce a second train. The first step on the journey to becoming a train savant is constructing stations and tracks, as well planning the actual routes trains will take. It's a series of disconnected, time-jumping scenarios but also a large five-part tutorial that digs into the sim’s many nooks and crannies. The inherent complexity of creating a transport network from scratch makes beginning with the campaign a necessity. Even then, though, there are plenty of logistical and engineering conundrums to solve. Constant tweaking is the greatest weapon in the fight against dodgy terrain.Īs exciting as monumental feats of engineering might be, the main objective of Railway Empire, whether you’re playing through the campaign, a scenario or one of the game’s sandbox modes, is to create the fastest, most lucrative routes, and that often means avoiding obstacles and racing to swallow up all the flat ground. At least it did after I spent 15 minutes tweaking it, trying to reduce the incline and thus ensure the trains passing through maintained a consistent speed. That one tunnel cost about the same amount as my entire rail network, but with it, Baltimore and Pittsburgh had a direct link, and quickly the money started to flow. Going over them was nearly as unlikely, as the steep incline would make it hard for even the most advanced locomotives of the era to make much headway. Going further west means going through those mountains, but that wasn’t possible. Instead of heading north through the cluttered web of routes, signals and side tracks to New York, this new line headed west, a tricky path following a meandering waterway, until it hit the mountains. Huge mountain ranges and serpentine rivers ensure that flat ground is highly coveted, but if you’ve got enough cash in your bank account, then even the Alleghenies can be conquered. But in 1834, the Baltimore & Ohio Rail Company, my company, finally had the funds to embark on an audacious project: a really big tunnel.īroadly covering the first century of North American railway expansion, Railway Empire is a battle against geography. For years, the people of Baltimore had to content themselves with the long, winding route through New York, Albany, Syracuse and Buffalo to get themselves to the fabled city of Pittsburgh, where steel grew on trees.
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