sleeper

Actually, I thought this would work in the original RT2 as the fixed flag setting is green & yellow (i.e. the default setting in RT2 Platinum) meaning that the cargo will be sold at the next station unless it is demanded at a future station. Provided you set up the whole route in advance and there was no demand for logs at the intermediate stations, all 6 loads should be dropped off at the final station that includes the lumber mill in its catchment area. Once the train has set off with its 1st 2 loads of logs, see what value is shown for the cargo. If it is

I don't think there was one (only appeared in RT3). I always used to save game before track-laying and reload if I made a mess. I still use save game in RT3 before tracklaying in case placing a station or water tower messes up my nice new track.

Is this the War Effort senario (4 days to deliver supplies to ports)? If so, then the line speed has been limited to 40mph - I think this is in order to create a more level playing field between steam and electric loco's though I always prefer electrics as they don't need to stop for water. Later on you get an option to increase speeds, I think, but I always go instead for the third loco. It's ages since I played that one - I ought to see how it plays with the 1.05 patch that I recently installed. Wonder if the trains still crawl around Baltimore?

Well, I finally got a gold in Prince of Steel, though I had to play the full thirty years to get it (I had reached PNW of $100 at the end of Feb '07). I wasn't too put out at having to play a extra couple of years as I felt that this had been deliberately intended so as to prevent an induced hiking of PNW by manipulating the stock market to create an artificial win by temporarily hitting the goal. I bought stock (in A.I.'s) early, bought heavily (surviving a couple of margin calls early on) and built an empire on personal debt (over $17 million by the time I had cleaned up on all available shares). I then concentrated on clearing my debts and in the closing years managed to set up 3 new companies to generate extra paper profits (PNW reached $130 by the close). I was fortunate that after going into a boom at the end of Feb '07, the economy remained there (no cheating, honest!). I'm not sure if I would have received the gold if the ecomony had slid into a depression but I would have used some dirty tricks in an attempt to keep PNW above the required level. One question: Where was the auto industry? I was waiting for it but it never showed up. Only one tire factory appeared and it promptly vanished just as it was about to receive its first load of rubber. It reappeared a year later but outside of the station's radius so I never bothered with it. I assume that auto industries are enabled (it is Prince of STEEL) so maybe the map was already too cluttered to allow them to appear or else the computer dice never fell the right way. I'm now torn between starting again from scratch or else staying with the completed senario and jumping into chairing one of the smaller companies and seeing how that pans out. Hmmm...perhaps I'll do both. :)

I do play to win, but sometimes just enjoying myself is good enough. I am also playing Prince of Steel and am enjoying it very much. It's early days yet so I can't tell what medal (if any) I'll end up with. I do have a few (minor) questions about this senario, which I'll ask here if that's OK: 1.) Since it's a PNW senario, is it possible to win without starting your own railroad, or have the winning goals been set too high so as to prevent this method of winning? 2.) Has anyone tried to win without hauling a single load of steel - there seems no reason why you can't, it'll just make it that little bit harder. 3.) I've never fully understood how Goodwill is influenced - I presume it depends on how many loads you haul and how much demand you satisfy. 4.) I do like the semi-random events and connection offers. I got New York - Chicago which is random offer No.1 (out of 7). Please tell me that this random thing does work and that some of you received one of the other offers. Stuff like this increase the replay value of such a map. Thank you

Well it all depends in what time period I'm playing - Early one, each new loco. is usually an improvement over what went before. The one that I'm always happy to see become available is the 2-8-0 Consolidation as I now have something that is acceptable on moderate grades. By the early 1900s, I'm looking forward to the 2-6-0 Camleback, again for grade handling performance. One, probably unsung, loco. that I like is the 2-6-2 Prairie. When it becomes available in 1912, there does not seem the need for it - the Pacific is faster; the Camleback is better on the hills. However the Prairie comes into its own later on, as its running costs compare favourably with later steam locos. The fact that it remains available for over 40 years means that for me these engines are often the last steam locos. to be retired. The 2-8-2 Mikado deserves a mention for combining speed with grade handling, but its high maintenance cost means that it must be carefully monitered to ensure that it remains profitable to run. The GG1 is of course, the best of the lot - it's appearance in 1935 shouts out to me, 'electrify now!'. Its performance is probably too good since I tend not to buy many steam locos. once it has become available, and none of the later steam locos. since they are just too expensive to run. In RT3 the hill climbing ability of this loco. was lessened, probably to give other engines a look in. The GG1 is the only loco. that I struggle to replace, since by the time the first of the class are life expired (mid 1950s), the best available electric loco. is - another GG1. I can't comment about diesels since I don't often play into the modern era and whenever I do, my main lines are usually electrified by this time. I suppose another question that could be asked is: What do you look for when choosing a locomotive? For all round performance, I tend to look for decent grade handling, low maintenance cost, and reliability. Funny that - I use the same criteria when women are concerned!!! :-*