Alaska Narrow Gauge Rw

[Gwizz]

I was looking to see how I had evented a narrow gauge Rw map.

I found a remake of an Alaskan map.  I don't remember how it plays.  It looks easy.

It has simple events with a limit of 20 locomotives.  It has reduced costs as a narrow gauge RR.

The goal is to connect two cities, haul 12 loads of steel and earn 4 million in PNW.   

It has many more cities then it needs to meet these goals.  It is only a 16 year map.

It starts by using a souped up Shay for 3 1/2 years then switches to 3 other steam and one Electric loco.

Is anyone interested in playing this map?  If so I will post it.

[djf01]

I'll have a crack.  But I don't exactly know when I might a  chace to play it next!

[Gwizz]

Playing the Alaska Narrow Gauge Rw.

I had Daniel Drew start two RRs.  That was the first time that had happened to me.

He spent very little on his own stock; but kept shorting my stock.

Each time he did this I bought more of my own stock until the last time when he did a number on me. 

But he had two poorly constructed RRs but kept make money by owning stock in other RRs.

Well It rained all day so I had more time to play the game.

The Super Shays are now gone.  I had to returned their super chargers.  I replaced with the 2-6-0 camelback.

Have about 22 camelbacks and 20 of the AI locomotives left.

I had connected the two required cities just before I lost the souped up shays.

I had one AI chairman that gained control of his own RR. 

I placed 3 of my stations next to his three.  This was not needed for a win.

The sailing ships are not yet hauling steel so I went after this AI Chairmen to stay busy.

Took a while but he finally sold some of his stock and I took over.

I had earlier gained control of another AI and spent its money building connected stations for this AI.

I kept control of his stock and returned to my RR.  The AI bought a total of 19 locos to serve these stations.

I then merged the AI and it about sunk me.  Mr. Drew sold 21 of my stocks short.  I was helpless to stop him.

This was the point when he started another RR.

Well I almost have all of my locos rerouted. Only some AI locos need to be rerouted. 

Tomorrow I will just run for a while while I wait for my order of steel to arrive on one of those new steam sail boats.

[Gwizz]

It looks like some of those steam powered sailing ships got caught in a storm.  The steel should be on time.

But, the 2-8-0 steamers won't get to Seattle soon enough. 

But that soaped up Electric BoBo can run as fast as the 2-8-0 anyway. 

It is a good thing to have all those rivers and water falls that can generate power to feed that little Hercules.

You might want to stock pile some Iron and coal near the docks for when the steel does arrive.

The steel could arrive without notice while you are out hunting moose or poler bears.

[djf01]

It looks like some of those steam powered sailing ships got caught in a storm.  The steel should be on time.

Well, that was a pretty frustrating game :-(.

I had a lot of trouble in the start of the game as I thought the 20 train limit was for the whole game!  I haven't used that even much.  I thought it used the train number as shown in the editor, not the game menu.

I thought I was going to have to deliver the steel using one of the 20 original engines in the game!

After I realised I could have more than one loco that wouldn't disappear at the end of the month, the game seemed a bit easier.  In a few years I was a really sound financial position.  I just had to wait around for the steel.  Not till 1856!!!!  I could have won the game 10 years earlier.

So, by 1856 I'd stockpiled 30 loads of iron and coal (would have been more but I'd breached the limit that can be stored at a station) which was near Seattle.  I chose there because I didn't know if I was going to get steel at a port or had to rely on a mill popping up.

AS soon as I had steel, I bought a fleet of BoBos, zipped them to a port (4 cars on the flat), 3 cars up the hill and I stopped them at the top of the hill to attach a caboose.

It was touch and go as to whether or not the 4th train was going to reach Fairbanks by the end of 1858, after the lead BoBo crashed on the uphill in about the only place I couldn't build a deviation  around it :-(.  But I was still optimistic and let the game run but ....

Unlike the briefing notes:  The game stopped and told me I'd failed at the *start* of 1958.  So I'd been sold up the river.

I think it would be hard to deliver the 12 loads of steel from Seattle in 2 years available on a "normal" route.  But there are a few things which I think would speed it up:

1) It should be possible to build a large station at Whistler on top the escarpment that captures the Vancouver port.

2) I could overclock the throttle on the BoBos.

But even so, I thought the whole thing was a bit silly in the end.  Too much Republican logic in it for mine.

Still, the premise and the early part of the game were pretty good.  I enjoyed most of this game, even though I was a bit peeved at then end!

[djf01]

Sorry GWIZZ, forgot the most important bit of feedback:

Thanks for publishing it!

[Gwizz]

I finished a game that took 5 days because I spent so much time on political research.

Gold in Nov. of 1858.  I gained control of the AI's stock early but had to wait until I could buy enough of my RR stock.

The AI built over the ridge from Spokane and did very well.  I didn't do very well until I completed the line between Spokane and Fairbanks.  I built feeder lines and drop shipped cargo into these two cities.  Money started gushing in.

With control of my own RR I was able to move to the AI and buy AI locos to run on the feeder lines and connected the AI to my line for more AI drop shipping to my RR and steel mill to produce steel.

I built a line from Fairbanks around the mountain to Anchorage on the coast where there was a pier.  I stock piled iron and coal close by and built a couple of stations at iron and a coal mines and let the stations fill up.  Both of these lines went directly to Anchorage with there own rails and stations that also touched the pier.

I just let the money pile up.  When the Bobo came along it change the speed of the game.  Every thing was moving fast now.  Then the ports opened and steel cars became available.  Each January I bought 10 more locos than I was allowed.  I started 20 steel cars from Spokane and 20 from Anchorage.  I had to drop ship the steel cars each Nov/Dec, to save the cargo.  In Jan. I bought 10 more Bobos and loaded the steel cars for the final leg of their journey.  The ones from Anchorage got to Fairbanks in first in just under 2 years and I won Gold.