New map "James Hill in Mexico (hard)"

[djf01]

Game ended when buying locomotives.

That has happened to me a few times.  I'd use the enter key to buy another loco. and to speed up the process.

OK, so a known bug of sorts :-(.  Thanx.

[Gwizz]

Well I restated the game to the same startup map I used before.

I'm into the 4th game year + 6 months.  Started two trains of sugar.  My first required loads.

10 AI companies started.  I went after the wealthy AIs first.   I merged one AI early to expand my rails.  I merged 2 more last year.  One restarted in Iron and coal country. Where I needed track built.  I control 6 more AIs.  Two more I don't control.  these last two I'm watching.  One was very strong so I connected another AI to its large big city station assigned 3 2-6-0s to rob it of cargo.  It is now loosing money.  I'm a bit short of enough cash to take control of these last two AIs for a while.  Two chairman didn't build a railroad, they only bought stock which they loss their shirt on. 

I was able to aquire 9  2-8-2s from the AI that bought them before the State department shut them down and I bought 8 1020s before they shorted out, killing their builder.  Both locos went off the market in the same month.  I was not able to buy as many of these locos as I wanted.  So I will send my army of 2-6-0s to deliver required cargos on short hauls.  I've set up the AIs that I now control to deliver required cargo after I merge them.  Now I have to keep earning the money necessary to merge them.  Fewer main line locos may be an advantage since I'm not expanding to as many new cities as I would like.  I locked up many cities with small AI stations, most of which I removed so they would be out of the way for a straight line run of rails and to force the AI companies to build where I wanted them to build.   

I hired Mr. Mayer the bridge and track laying manager.  Now if my main line locos don't wear out too soon on the long hauls, I should be able to meet the goals. 

If the rain holds up I may have more time, to run this map tomorrow.

[Gwizz]

My "to do" list keeps getting longer.  Being retired is work.

I've only continued play on the Mexico map for a short time.

I was planning to open up the US and when I tried I found the cost had greatly increased. (from under 500K to over 2.5 million)  Together with building rails and stations, I was going to be a bit short. I'm in my fifth year and need to start steel production.  The US steel plant is somewhat close to my iron and coal and my rails were built to use this steel plant.

I had burned some money to merged some AI companies and had a new AI start up without building any rail.  So I took control of it and used it to buy access to the US. (just over 500K)  I ran its' track to the steel mill.  The other end of track crossed the river into Mexico to one of my stations that I only used to supply sand and water for my trains. I Placed two IA trains to wait for 2 iron and 2 coals cargos on a red flag.  They will take these to the mill and return steel to this station where I will pick up for final delivery.

I don't know if I will get credit for the coal but when I haul the steel to the final demand area, I should get that credit.  I have lots of coal on this map and can haul coal loads elsewhere.

I also have 2 oil wells and a diesel plant and 3 sugar farms in the US. I plan to us the same AI company to move this cargo across the border to where I can pick it up.  I should have enough AI money to build isolated trackage for these but if not I will used some of the steel haul trackage.

Now the rain is stopping and the radio say I will have some warm weather for a few days.  Even 90 degrees is possible.  That will help my garden.  So there may be another delay in finishing this game as I move outside again.

[djf01]

I don't know if I will get credit for the coal but when I haul the steel to the final demand area, I should get that credit.

You definitely *won't* get credit for hauling that coal, even if you later merge in that company :-(.  But an imaginative solution none the less!

[Gwizz]

Well I missed Gold by 18 loads of Diesel.  Diesel has always been easy to achieve, so When I finally noticed I was short on Diesel it was too late.

I'm quite sute I did not get credit for coal delivered by the AI in the USA to his AI station, even though I dropped shipped the coal at the border transfer station. But, I'm not sure.  I didn't keep track close enough and the AI trains were slow on the turn around.  Another problem was if I didn't drop the correct cars, 2 coal and two iron the AI would change to what ever I dropped at the transfer station. The train would just wait for 4 cars of anything. If I delivered 4 iron cars, the AI would drop the 2 coal cars assigned and haul 4 iron cars to the steel mill.

The AI did well in dropping diesel for me to deliver and spotted Sugar for me as well.  There was three dairies close together in the USA so I had the AI run a milk route using mostly the track for the other cargos.  Being a more valuable cargo I think this is what slowed the other AI trains down.  The Milk run kept getting in the way on the single track.  I won't do that again.  Some how this AI in the USA stayed profitable as did a few others AIs.  I ended up merging some AI companies with other AI companies. 

The third AI, I used to build small stations where I didn't want an AI running.  I wanted to use his tracks for other AIs to run on and to limit building the track in less desirable locations. Some times I had to run parallel track when I could not control an AI for a while, but not too often.

I was using my locomotives on short runs to only deliver required cargo from mostly transfer stations.  The AI locomotives out numbered mine by about 4 or 5 to 1 with about half running on my track or another AIs track. This is the reason some AIs made a profit while other went into the hole quickly.  I would check them from time to time in case an AI bought more locos.  Only one extra loco was bought. Maybe I didn't need to pay that broker to buy than sell stock as often. I even tried to look for AI locos on the map.

I even changed their flag if it was hard to see.

The only problem I had was with break downs.  I replace one loco that had a 3.1 percent chance of break down and I must have gotten a used loco as the new one started with a break down percentage of 1.7 though most new locos were around 0.7

I merged the AI with the 2-8-2 locos when this AI loss that 2-8-2 contract.  I ran some electric trains with the few 1020s I had. They seemed to come available early and I was low on cash at the time.  I rode through about 6 to 10 months of depression about this time.  The AIs that I had running on my track didn't seem affected by the depression.  I not sure on that. I just enjoyed that expense free income.

I had a couple of 2-8-2 and a couple 1020s running as high as 10 percent chance of a break down.  I funneled these away from busy track to less used track. 

[Gwizz]

Last night I went back to a saved game to fix the congestion I had at the twin cities of Reynosa and Metamores. I added two small stations, one for milk and one for fertilizer.  This area now has 8 stations and 6 bridges going into the US.  One is mine, so I can generate a bit of passenger business in the US.  I crossed the AI trackage on the diagonal so as not to stop any trains crossing at the same time.

I rerouted all the trains using this area so that none will have to turn around at a station.

I also used routing dots so that two trains could use a crossing at the same time without stopping.  The AI congestion cleared.  My trains use the same stations but go through them in the opposite direction.  It was fun watching the AI trains all going West and my trains all going East thought these stations.

I did have a problem with the engineer of one AI train when I rerouted him. His train would pull into the sugar transfer station with 4 sugar cars, but fail to unload them and then head back to the US still with the sugar cars in tow.  I would turn him around and he would do the same thing again.  I took away the US station so that he only had one station.  he then set out the sugar cars and waited empty for another station, which I then gave him.

 

[Gwizz]

I finally won GOLD on this Extra Hard Map my the skin of my teeth, with 4 months to go.

I did not change my over all methods very much.

I did restart the map, until I had enough of the required cargo's needed for a win.

I did not worry about distance between supply and demand since distance paid better.

Distance was sometimes a problem for good AI support.

I did refrain from expanding the railroad to areas not needed for a win.

I tried to keep the AIs out of my stations where they might cause congestions.

I tried to run AI trains from a supply station to a demand station.

Their stations were normally next to a supply industry or a demand industry.

That way, I only hauled the higher priced cargos produce by their cargos from my stations.

I ran the AI trains to my tracks, on my track, then off my tracks to their own stations.

I reduced service to small cities unless I needed a cargo at that station for a win.

I tried to reduce the number of trains I was running and increasing the number of AI trains.

Doing the above reduced micro management a lot. 

I kept control of 51% of stock in the AIs that hauled cargo, most important for a win.

Now I will try to take control of the AI with the 2-8-2 loco and run it to a win.

The 2-8-2 is more long lasting with less break downs then the 1020 and electric track is expensive.

In this last game I ended up 10 million in debt.  I was going to make one of the goals being debt free.

But, that may have made the game unwinable.  It almost is now.

[djf01]

I finally won GOLD

Congratulation!

by the skin of my teeth, with 4 months to go.

Is there any other more worthy way ;-)?

[Gwizz]

Gees.  I tried playing the extra hard Mexico map by starting a second company on day one, since the 2nd company gets the 2-8-2.

I never made it past the 2nd year.  I was only able to control 2 of the 7 or 8 AI Railroads that started. Bankruptcy was written on the station's wall.  My mistake was to sell my stock in the old company before I used up its' cash buying back its' own stock.  Doing that gave me about 1 million less cash.  I will try again when the rain starts again.  Back to my chores.

[Gwizz]

Gees, I think I've tried 8 or 10 methods toward a gold win.

I only won Gold that one time.

I still think better players then I can't win using different methods.

[djf01]

Ok Gwizz, I'm going to try and put you out of your misery.  I played a game and wrote down a synopsis for you:

0) Pause the game

1) Issue a bond

2) Buy back shares until you run out of cash

3) Change manager - shares should now be ~$400 each now

4) Sell 3 parcels of your shares

4.1) Sell an industry owned by Mexican railways, buy back some more stock.

4.2) Sell 1 more parcel of shares, sell another industry sell your remaining parcel of stock. 

You should now have about $2.2mil in cash and no stock.

5) Sell *all* remaining industries owned by Mexican railways (there are a lot, and they can be hard to find!)

6) Retire you one and only starting train.

7) Extend your track northwards to Zacatecas (or Fresnillo if it's bigger)

8) Manager shop to get a station builder, he build a station at Zacatecas with a large hotel, large  restaurant  & saloon.

8.5) [i forgot to do this, bulldose the station at Guadaloup]

9) Buy back stock in Mexican Railways until you have $200-$300k left.

You should now be ready to unpause the game.

10) Unpause the game.  As the Ai companies start, buy a stake in them.  You should try and get twice what the AI chairmen have, except where the AI starts with 25% of the stock on issue.  You won't have enough to buy this for all companies that start, but there are some which can be safely ignored until later. 

Tepic Beach and Tepic rarely takes off, as do any which have an excessively hilly starting route.  Roads on the flat north east of the map tend to go well.

11) Lay single track next to the AIs track with the best routes.  You only need to lay a dashed pattern, not connecting track, just so that half a cell in in the adjacent cells. Just lay straight track if you don't know what I'm talking about....

You won't have enough cash for all the railroads, so just pick the ones with the best routes (for an AI)

12) Issue stock (I think this should have been step 9.5, but I forgot).

13) Over the next year periodically review your portfolio.  You need to keep buying AI stock to keep ahead of the AI chairmen, focusing on the more profitable railroads.

14) In Jan 1922, you are ready to claim control of Mexican railways.  By now, he share price should have tanked.  (It won't drop much below 50% of the company Book value) 

15) Pause the game!

16) Pick the flattest AI railroad with the most cash.

16.1) Buy up the remaining stock till you have 50% of the target AI.

16.2) Assume chairmanship of that AI.

16.3) Build 2 new trains and assign them to run between Mexico City and Zacateas

16.4) Re-build the track of it's starting route to run over the track Mexican Railways laid next to it.

16.5) As the AI chairman, duplicate the Mexico City - Zacatas line owned by mexican railways (3-4 cells at a time).

16.6) Float off 1 bond, then buy back stock, sell a parcel of your personal holdings, buy back stock, sell a ... until you run out of AI company cash. 

16.7) Sell down some of your holdings in the AI company - but not so that you have less than the leading AI chairman

17) You *may* have enough cash to buy back most of Mexican Railway's stock now, but if you are not sure, pick the weakest AI you have an interest in - and has some cash and a >C credit rating, and essentially repeat the 16) sequence.

18) Buy up as much Mexican Railways stock as you can, at least 50%, but leave a buffer in your purchasing power.

18.5) Re-assume Chairmanship of Mexican railways

19) Restart the game.  Mexican Railways will start earning cash from the AI trains running over your tracks.

20) By ~Dec 1922/Jan 1923 (I think best to wait to Jan as your credit rating will skyrocket after the Annual report)  build a single track line to Chihuahua, with a large hotel, large  restaurant  & saloon.

21) Pause the game

21.1) Buy a controlling interest in various AIs

21.2) Complete the parallel track owned by Mexican Railways next to the AI's routes

21.3) Take control of the AIs, re-build their main routes to run over Mexican Railways' track, bulldosing their original route.

21.4) Take control of the AI (assume chairmanship).

21.5) Buy trains to run from Mexico City to Chihuahua

21.6) Duplicate Mexican railways' Mexico City to Chihuahua (not necessarily all of it)

21.7) Issue bonds (as many as can be sold without going >10% interest rate)

21.8) Buy back stock (2 parcels), sell your holdings, repeat until you run out of cash - don't see down to less than an AI chairman

21.9) Retake control of Mexican Railways

22) Repeat 21 with as many AI companies as you can.

23) Restart the game and watch the cash roll in!

24) At around late 1923/1924 - when you get the 1020 - (but it's not essential) start setting up the medal earning haul routes.  Sugar and Diesel first.  You need to connect at least 3 oil wells and sugar farms, but 4 is better.  I used all electric. 

In this game I got a good track laying manager by this point.  But I spared no expense.  It all goes into book value.

25) By Late 24/Early 25 set up the runs to link iron & coal to one of the steel mills.  2-3 of each mine should be enough, but I went overboard in my last game and connected both mills.

25.5) By now you should have enough purchasing power to buy up 50% of all the AI stocks.  Any that haven't been damaged need to be raided for cash.

26) Watch and wait.  I get board and complete the connection goals here.

By 1927 I have the steel and coal goals done.  By may 1931 I had the diesel and sugar goals. 

My company was worth $70bil.  All I needed to do was merge out the AIs.

Luckily I saved the game at this point because it didn't quite work as planned :-).  Afte merging in all those companies with now negative value, my CBV fell to 48, and 3 new AI railroads started :-(.

After re-starting, I let the game run till 1933.  My company was worth ~$80bil, and after buying up and merging out everything, go the gold medal.

[Gwizz]

That seems like such an easy play through.

Like I said there are players better than I.

[djf01]

I wouldn't say better (except perhaps in Lco-motive's case), just different.