Summer Vacation

Goal: Single-player:

Bronze - Connect the four beach resorts (Rehoboth Beach, Bethany Beach, Ocean City and Assateague) to Baltimore and Philadelphia. Haul 20 loads of tourists to each beach resort.

Silver - Also haul 100 loads of tourists to, and have $1,000,000 revenue in, three of the four beach resorts.

Gold - Also haul 150 loads of tourists to, and have $2,000,000 revenue in, two of the four beach resorts. In addition, have an average express train speed (all trains that carry any passengers, mail, or tourists) of 25mph or more.

Multi-player:

Gold - At the end of 25 years, own the company that hauled the most tourists.

Author's Comments: Historical Background:

People took trains for travel almost from the beginning, but tourism as a mass phenomenon, as opposed to a handful of individual travelers, only began in the 1860s. Starting in the 1880s, railroads began to put much more of an effort into attracting vacationers to their routes, often building their own resort hotels in remote towns, among beautiful but sparsely populated landscape, to increase passenger traffic.

In this scenario map, you will be in charge of a railroad that aims at developing seaside resorts as destinations for tourists. The cost of buying into the beach resorts reflects the efforts involved in developing a place as a tourist location.

Strategy Hints:

When building track on the sandbanks along the shore, consider placing maintenance sheds and water-towers first, then connect them with track. Often you won't be able to place these support structures alongside existing track in locations where the ocean is nearby.

To keep your express speed up, separate freight from express trains, as soon as there is enough express traffic volume. Consider running Eight-Wheelers with two-car trains, and replace them with Atlantics as soon as they become available, since their faster acceleration makes up for their lower nominal top speed.

Don't ignore those tourists who decide to travel between different beach resorts, perhaps because they want to find out whether the ocean is bluer elsewhere - they may not pay much, but help you increase the number of tourists hauled.