RRT STRATEGIES, TIPS AND NOTES.

MicroProse's "Railroad Tycoon" is a fun, complex game which will bear many
playings and considerable study along the way.  The following notes are from
my own experiences with the game, and those of the other GAMERS forum members. 
At the risk of leaving someone out, I want to acknowledge Ed Leonard and Carl
Woods' contributions -- thanks guys.

MAP CHOICES AND DIFFICULTY LEVELS
Each of the four maps is quite different from the others and presents unique
challenges.  Eastern US and England are similar in that they are both small
areas and begin in the earliest time periods.  Because of the weaker, slow
locomotives available, it's more difficult to generate large incomes.  This is
compounded by the smaller, less numerous cities, especially in the East US
map.  These factors, combined, make freight traffic an important revenue
source.  The European map begins in the latest time period, has many large
cities and has good locomotives available soon.  It is consistently dominated
by mail and passenger traffic with freight being much less important.  Western
US has a large map and a good mix of medium-to-large cities.  Good locomotives
are often available immediately, and always very soon.  Freight traffic and
passenger/mail traffic are both important and a balance of each is important. 
This map is unique in its bonus ($1M) for a transcontinental RR -- a railroad
from near the East edge to near the West edge.  Also, this map is unique in
that revenue rates are strongly biased in favor of East-West movements.  Avoid
building a railroad which has lots of all North-South routes.  However, a
track even a single square longer E-W vs N-S will be get the E-W rates.

For each map choice there are four choices of difficulty level, with the
further refinement of being able to turn on/off several difficulty factors. 
The lowest level is intended as an introduction to the game.  The next level
would be rated as `easy,' with revenue per carload set high, the computer
opponents aren't too aggressive and the rate of bad events is quite low.  The
next level would be rated `normal,' with revenue rates down somewhat, nasty
events more common, and formation of slums is introduced (see however the
section on RRT `hacks' below).  Opponents will now be more aggressive and with
`cut throat competition' turned on, will commonly attack you.  The highest
level, `Tycoon,' would be rated as `hard' with revenue rates much lower, nasty
events still more common, and opponents who now routinely cooperate to stifle
your expansion and attack at every opportunity.

INITIAL SETUP.
Regardless of the map or level of difficulty selected, your success in the
game is heavily influenced by your initial choice of location.  A good
location is a compact area that will generate lots of revenue quickly, and
have good expansion paths out of it.  If playing Western US, look particularly
for expansion paths on East-West lines, preferably with a good path all the
way across the map.  Look for an area with at least three good cities that can
be connected with two routes of not more than about 20 track squares each. 
Mail and passengers will be your primary revenue source to start with, but
finding a city with a power plant is a big plus for eventual freight revenue. 
Put your first station as much toward the middle of your planned expansion as
possible.  That way you may be able to delay the need for another engine house
for a while.  If possible, avoid initial routes that will require bridges,
your limited funds now should be conserved for revenue producing items.

OPENING TRAIN BUILDS.
Once the initial two stations are in place, build your first train.  If
playing on the Western US or Europe map, this first train should have 3-4
passenger cars assigned.  Let it run to the other end while you attend to the
stock market moves noted below.  It should set a speed record and become a
named train.  Start another train with 1-2 mail/pax cars and let it run, it
should set another record and become a named train also.  Adjust the number
and mix of cars to suit the locomotive and traffic requirements.  If using the
"no collisions" option, double track this segment to keep the trains moving.

OPENING STOCK MARKET MOVES
Your initial goals are to buy up enough of your own stock to protect against
takeovers, and generate the cash to expand.  If you're going to play with
'cut-throat' competition on, or you're just the cut-throat type anyway, then
you'll also want to quickly gain control of an opponent or two and exploit at
least one for cash!  There are lots of ways, but here's one that works.

- Once your first train is running, sell $1.5M of bonds, which should leave
  you with $1.2M - $2.0M in cash.
- Buy up as much of your own stock as you can without going below $1.2M in
  cash.  At least 20K shares should be possible.
- Do a game save.  Now wait for the first opponent to pop up.  IMMEDIATELY
  hit the 'A' key and select the broker.  You may get there before he can buy
  up any of his stock or you may not.  What happens now is a tough choice. 
  Generally, if the opponent is a 'Builder' type, then I want to control him! 
  If he's a mix and I got to the broker first, then I'll control him.  If I
  got there second, or if he's a 'Stock' type and I got there first, I may go
  after him or I may wait for the next opponent to show up -- depending on
  where his initial city is.  (If his starting city is one I need soon, then
  he'll have to go away now!)  If he's a 'Stock' type and I got there second,
  I'll usually ignore him and target the next one to pop up.  (See section on
  controlling opponents.)

- Once I have control of an opponent, I now have a 'cash machine'!  Using the
  buy-sell-loot strategy (below), I'll drain off $1.5M - $3.0M, then dump
  him.

- The resulting cash can be used to expand & improve your RR, pay off your
  bonds, and/or get control of another RR -- this time as a 'keeper'.  Now's
  the time to add that third city and/or put in a raw materials pick up point
  or two.  Add the needed trains to service everything and let it run while
  you tend to keeping your controlled RR alive and expanding.

STATION & ROUTE SELECTIONS.

- Don't fall for the temptation to put a station at every city and resource
  area you see -- you'll run out of stations too fast.  Except early in the
  game or during a rate war, resource areas with less than 3 active areas
  aren't worth going out of your way for.  Make sure you have both a way to
  process the raw material (e.g.: wood) AND a demand for the finished product
  (e.g.: paper).  Areas with 2 active squares are ok if right on or very near
  the main line.  Resource areas which are well away from cities with a
  demand for the raw materials and/or the finished products are only
  worthwhile if very rich and nothing else is better placed.

- Plan your routes across rivers carefully.  Minimize the grades on the
  approaches to both sides, but elevation changes across the bridge don't
  seem to matter.  For cost reasons, use wooden trestles at first.  But if
  you can afford it and its available, if a trestle washes out even once,
  replace it with an iron bridge.  Masonry bridges are rarely worth the
  expense.

- Place your stations very carefully.  Think about the possible need to build
  out of this station from the other side.  Place it to include as many
  city/village squares as possible.  Consider whether you will want another
  station nearby so you can keep them from overlapping (but see the signal
  tower trick below).  Consider whether you want to include or exclude any
  resource areas and industries.  Both are a mixed blessing -- great if you
  can carry the cargo away or satisfy the demand the industry generates, but
  bad if you end up with lots of unsatisfied demand and wasted cargo (both
  seem to contribute to the formation of slums at Mogul and Tycoon levels). 
  If you can afford it, use Terminals or Stations even if a Depot would do;
  on a cost per square of coverage basis, they're cheaper and will take care
  of any later growth.  When building into a rich resource, don't worry too
  much about any upward grades -- the locomotives should climb them 'caboose
  only' and the grades don't hurt going 'downhill' while loaded up with cars.

- Plan for how your controlled RR(s) will expand.  They aren't bound by the
  32 station limit, so don't lock them out of expansion routes.  Let them
  build into a key city first, then go ahead and build into it yourself for a
  Union Station.  That's also a way the two RR's can cross over each other.

- If using the 'no-collisions' option, double track virtually all mainline
  track.  Most spurs to small cities and resource areas can be left as single
  track.  Any track segment used by three or more trains should be double
  tracked unless very lengthy.

COMMODITY TIPS AND NOTES
Each map's economy is different and you must adjust your strategy for it. 

- The single best commodity is coal.  Commonly available in quantity, a coal
  mining area often grows over time.  Coal can be processed into steel at a
  power plant, steel mill, or a port; it can also be sold at a river
  'landing', but will not produce steel there.  Because of the coal-
  steel-goods (armaments in Europe) chain, a train of coal will generate
  revenue three times and stimulate economic growth in at least two cities. 
  However, it's not always easy to find the needed chain of demands within a
  reasonable distance; consider building a powerplant, or factory if need be.

- The food group (grain, livestock, wine, grapes, etc), can be useful early,
  when carload revenue rates are high.  However, these sites are very likely
  to disappear or change industry type.  They rarely appear in groups, so
  putting together large 'unit trains' is unlikely.

- Oil and nitrates are good choices.  They occur commonly, often in groups
  and oil will often grow over time.  Each can be processed by two types of
  industry and the resulting products are demanded by all but the smallest
  cities.  Oil is somewhat more likely to dry up than coal, but it is often
  possible to maintain large unit trains from a good oil or nitrates site.

- Wood is often useful, but not as much as oil or coal.  Commonly occurring
  in small groups, the individual resource sites are more prone to disappear. 
  Paper is not demanded by small cities and not always by medium cities.

- The wool-textile chain is very useful in Europe, but finding a textile mill
  nearby can be a problem, and they cannot be built by the player.  Wool is
  generated by both sheep farms and by sea ports, so it is possible to
  assemble sizable trains of wool/textiles.
    

GETTING CONTROL OF RR'S AND USING THEM.
Gaining and keeping control of your opponents is a key to the game.

- In the early years of control, it will probably be a financial drain on you
  just to keep it alive and healthy.  Don't be afraid to transfer the money
  to him, it will more than be repaid in the later years.

- Controlled RRs are useful for many reasons.  They can build into areas you
  can't reach so those opponents you don't control can't get there.  By
  building between you and the others, they can shield you from the rate-war
  attacks of the others.  During rate wars or late in the game when staying
  profitable is hard, they can be a source of additional cash.  Perhaps most
  importantly, there is a large addition to your retirement bonus for each
  controlled RR, often enough to ensure you get to the President/PM level.

- Basically, you should get control when he first appears, and there are two
  ways to do it.  If you can beat him to the broker when he pops up and have
  at least $1.1M on hand, you can win the stock purchase race and get 60,000
  shares.  If you don't get there first, you should still buy 50,000 shares.

- If you won the broker race, you're now in control and the controlled RR has
  high priced stock, a significant debt load, and probably needs to build a
  second station right away.  Get the station built and wait.

- If you lost the broker race, you'll need to wait until next fiscal year. 
  The stock will drop sharply, making it more affordable to take him over. 
  Use your on-hand cash, sell treasury stock and/or sell bonds to raise the
  needed cash to meet the buyout price.  Now sell back 40K shares to recover
  some of your investment.  If he hasn't built a second station yet, get it
  built now.

- Either way, at the end of the next fiscal year, his stock will plummet --
  probably below $5 per share.  Now buy up all the stock and then sell back
  40,000 -- be sure to retain control!  Below the $10 price there will be
  some level (often $10) where the price will stay even when you sell the 40K
  shares back.  So, repeat the buy up and sell back process until you've
  pumped it up to whatever the 'supported' level is.  In the process you'll
  make a significant profit as well.

- Manage the controlled RR closely, transfer cash to him if you can afford
  it. You want to keep his stock up and return him to profitability by
  reducing the bond debt load.  Also get him expanding as the cash situation
  will permit to snatch key cities before the other opponents get there.

- Watch for opportunities to seize control of more opponents.  The guy we
  used the buy-sell-loot strategy on will probably dissolve a couple of years
  later.  When a replacement pops up again, you might well have the cash to
  grab him and certainly if you can, you should do so.  Sometimes you can
  manipulate an opponent's stock so that it will take a sharp drop at the
  same time that you've forced him to buy up large quantities of his own
  stock.  This can result in a case of heavy debt, and little or no cash.  
  Now you can grab him since his stock price is low and he will be unable to
  keep up with you in a race to buy up his stock.  At the end of a rate war,
  the loser's stock (his of course!) often drops.  You may be able to 'help'
  such a drop along, resulting in the same situation you can use to grab him.


THE BUY-SELL-LOOT STRATEGY.
(I first saw this general idea published in Computer Gaming World).

- The game's handling of stock market transactions and controlled railroads
  has a feature (flaw?) which can be exploited by the player.  Whenever you
  control another RR you can transfer money to or from it.  If you lose
  control of a RR, the computer player will then attempt to regain control by
  selling bonds to raise cash so he can buy up his own stock.  Put the two
  together and you have a way to loot the bank.

- This works best if you get control early in the 2 year fiscal period, but
  if you get control late in a fiscal period, you can simply wait until the
  next period, or continue across a fiscal boundary.  But you'll lose a lot
  of money when his stock drops at the end of the period.

- Once you're in control, concentrate on these transactions, the quicker you
  move, the more money you take in.  First repeatedly use 'operate' to
  transfer as much cash as possible from the controlled RR.  Then sell one
  block of 10K shares.  IMMEDIATELY after this RR buys up a block of its
  stock, go back and rebuy 10K shares -- you're back in control, he's sold a
  bond and has cash again.  Fine, take the cash!  Repeat the process until
  near the end of the fiscal period or until he stops selling bonds.  Now
  dump all his stock at the inflated prices.  His stock will now crash and
  he's stuck with a huge bond debt load!

- Normally, its not worthwhile trying this trick again on the same RR because
  he'll soon stop buying bonds (limited by the state of the economy). 
  Normally, this RR will hang around for a few years before dissolving,
  occasionally it will stick around forever, piling up huge debts--but at
  least then he's not an active competitor!  And if he's close by and you
  must eliminate him, just start a rate war with him.

- Depending on how 'cut-throat' you want to be, this process can be repeated
  when the computer creates a new competitor later to replace him -- if you
  keep the required $1.1M to $1.3M on hand to buy him up.  Usually, however,
  by then I want to get control of him, but keep him healthy to help thwart
  the fourth guy who I don't control.

LONG TERM MANAGEMENT TIPS.

- Watch out for changes in demand and in resources.  Often an industry will
  go out of business or change type.  If you're using that industry, then you
  need to immediately make adjustments in train routings and/or cargos
  carried so you won't be delivering car loads the city won't pay for.

- Watch for increases and decreases in passenger and mail traffic.  Adjust
  the length, number and routing of trains so that you capture as much of the
  available traffic as possible.  Carloads of mail and pax not carried are
  lost revenue and also seem to influence the creation of slums.

- At Mogul and Tycoon levels, you should try to provide each city with more
  than just passenger and mail service.  A mix will promote the city's
  economic growth, and failure to do so will promote formation of slums which
  neither produce nor consume anything.

- Don't be afraid to rip out stations and retire trains that become
  unprofitable.  As time goes on, resource areas will dry up and no longer
  generate enough carloads to be worth allocating a train.  Expect it, watch
  for it and take action.  Otherwise, not only will you be wasting money on
  train maintenance, but also on the track and station involved.

- Particularly with the Western US map, you may end up with a continent
  spanning railroad which has two heavily populated areas separated by a
  long, unproductive span of track across the central and western US. 
  Although it will complicate your management somewhat, you can tear up this
  segment and save the significant maintenance cost for this track.

- As the newer passenger-type locos come along, introduce them first on
  trains which are NOT named trains, so that more named trains can be added
  when the new locos set speed records.  On the US maps you should end up
  with 3-5 named trains, maybe a couple more in Europe.

- As the newer freight engines come along, add a car or two to the consist
  when there's enough traffic to warrant it.  Also look for opportunities to
  combine two freights into one, especially later in the game when profits
  per carload drop and the engines can handle more cars.

RATE WARS.
Rate wars can be useful, but they can be a real problem when used against you. 
Watch out for an opponent who has stations near your large cities.  If he runs
out of easy, profitable expansion, he'll probably attack.  You can sometimes
shield yourself by keeping a controlled RR's track between you and the others. 
The computer opponents will occasionally gang up on you and attack in several
places at the same time.  I have had as many as four rate wars on-going at
once, three (!) by one opponent and one by another.

- The trick to a rate war is to win quickly.  As soon as one is started, do a
  game save, but do NOT overwrite your last, pre-war position.  If things go
  awry, you'll need fall back positions.
- Remember that the fiscal period in which the war is initiated doesn't
  count, use it to prepare, but don't totally disrupt normal operations yet. 
  Plan your new, temporary trains and/or which ones will be preempted for the
  war.  If you'll need a new station in the area, build it now.  Get trains
  of commodities loaded and moving to the city, use 'hold' orders, if needed,
  to keep them from delivering now, but poised for the next fiscal period.

- The key to winning a rate war is understanding the 'scoring'.

- What counts inbound is the NUMBER of deliveries of a commodity, NOT the
  quantity.  So, change your freight deliveries to maximize the number of
  deliveries with as many different commodities as possible.  Consider
  upgrading to faster engines and change routes to bring in a greater variety
  of goods.  Consider adding a nearby station to pick up a resource the rate
  war city demands, but which you don't otherwise have available.  Use
  'priority' assignments to temporarily route other trains into this station
  to increase the number and types of deliveries.

- What counts outbound is the QUANTITY (carloads) of a commodity picked up,
  including passengers and mail.  It doesn't matter whether you deliver
  what's picked up, just that you picked it up.  So, build an extra train and
  park it (wait until full order) at the station with a large quantity of
  mail and passenger cars.  For a large city, you may need two trains (new,
  or preempted from other routes) in order to keep one in the station at all
  times.  Similarly, put one or more trains in the station that can pick up
  all resources that the city produces (whether you want those commodities or
  not!) and just leave them there with 'wait until full orders'.

- Segments of any RR which become severed from the mainline because of the
  loss of a city in a rate war (or any other way for that matter) will remain
  operational IF they contain a least two cities.

PRIORITY SHIPMENTS.
Priority shipments can be a major source of income, especially early in the
game.  IMMEDIATELY after getting the message, freeze the game.  Look for
existing trains that can be easily used to carry the shipment -- this is one
case to ignore the advice about mixing types of freight or mixed passenger and
freight trains.  For a lucrative assignment, its worth while building a new
train just for that shipment.  It may pay to even put in an new engine house
to start the new train at the pickup point, especially if there isn't an
engine house nearby now.  Use the fastest engine you can and use a 'limited'
assignment to get it there as quickly as possible.

END-GAME TIPS AND NOTES.
The last 10-20 years of the game can be difficult because profits per carload
will be way down and you've probably now reached the 32 train and/or 32
station and/or the 64 station plus signal tower limit.  Lots of work is needed
to keep profits up and net worth growing, tho' you may have already reached
the President/PM level some time ago.

- Be ruthless, retire trains and rip out stations that aren't making good
  money.  Use these available trains and stations elsewhere for slow, but
  continuing growth.

- Watch your engine maintenance costs carefully.  Use diesels and electrics,
  their maint costs are about 50% of the steam engine costs.

- Thoroughly review your pax and mail routes.  Lengthen them out and use fast
  engines to max the time/distance revenues.  Use mostly 'limited'
  assignments to control where and when stops are made and to make long runs
  possible.  Speed isn't as important on freight runs, but the faster they
  go, or the shorter the distance, the more runs that are completed in a
  fiscal period.

- To hold profit margins up, finance a rate war or pay for an expansion, you
  can transfer money from the RR(s) you control, but be careful not to hurt
  his stock too much or your net worth (and retirement bonus) will suffer.

- If you're cash is running too high, use it to build industries, these are
  credited to your balance sheet, so they'll help your net worth but reduce
  the cash in hand.  You can also upgrade bridges and make lots of
  improvements to stations, especially for hotels, restaurants and yards.

MISCELLANEOUS TIPS AND HINTS

Hotels and restaurant revenue.  At 100% difficulty, West US map, hotels earn
$1,000 per group of 8 pax (round up) or $5,000 per carload of 40 delivered. 
Restaurants earn $2,000 per full carload, $1,000 for 20-39 and nothing for 1-
19 pax.  None of this appears influenced by distance, speed, or the economy.

Station maintenance is $4K per terminal, $3K per station and $2K per depot.

To block a competitor from building up the coast or along the lake shore,
build a track one square into the water.

Where you have enough freight to justify a train longer than the Consolidation
can handle, don't wait for the Mikado, use a Pacific.  With 6 cars, the two
are equally fast and with less the Pacific is faster and more flexible (could
be effectively switched to pax/mail service later).

When you can afford it, use switching yards anywhere cars are added, dropped
or changed.  Yards should always be used where there is a change in the
consist of pax/mail or fast freight trains.

************************* 
ODDITIES, BUGS AND TRICKS
*************************

THE SIGNAL TOWER TRICK.
In placing stations, you'll occasionally want to put one somewhere only to get
the "Too Close To <name>" message.  Ordinarily, this would keep two (of yours,
or yours and an opponent's) stations' coverage from overlapping.  However,
there's a sneaky way around this, exploiting a flaw in the program.  Build a
signal tower on the spot you want a station, then improve it by building a
depot/station/terminal on top of the signal tower! 
 
EASTERN US TRAINS FROM NOWHERE.
On the East US Map (only), you can set up a 'Twilight Zone' situation!  Find a
nice sized city that will have demand for lots of products (2 or 3 city
squares).  Make your first build a signal tower a few squares away from the
city -- don't build in the city first!  Now extend track to the city, double
track the line.  Create a train. Notice that the signal tower now behaves as
the "Hills" station with the initial engine house.  Give the train a mail car
and a passenger car or two.  Create another train with one freight car each of
every type the city will buy.  Now sit back and watch the fun and the cash
roll in!  When you extend your track and build a second station, the strange
behavior seems to disappear and normal payments will resume.

LARGE NUMBER BUGS.
Watch out for the large number bugs.  There are several bugs in the program
that will cause large numbers (e.g.: over $32M cash) to suddenly reverse sign
and become negative values.  Invest the cash in stock and/or buy hotels
everywhere.  Keep your controlled RRs' cash levels below the $32M level by
transferring money to yourself and/or using it to expand.

THE 45 CARS FROM THE EAST BUG.
On the US maps and the European map, sometimes if you build a terminal on the
East edge of the map so that part of its coverage would be entirely off the
map, you'll create a station with 45(!) cars/year of goods (US) or wool
(Europe).  This one doesn't always work and the station may later revert to
normal, but when it happens you can easily dedicate 2-3 trains of 4-8 cars
each and generate considerable revenue.

UNION STATION BUGS.
There are a number of quirks that can arise after you've built some Union
Stations.  Some complex, highly interconnected patterns of builds will drive
the routing code crazy and the program will lock up completely when you try to
access a train going to one of the Union stations or examine one of the
stations on the Routing screen.  Building into the corner of station to create
the Union Station will sometimes result in a station that will go into
'limbo'.  It will show up on the routing screen, but you may not be able to
send trains to it, or trains will just report "impossible route".  You may be
unable to build out of the Union Station, and you may be unable to remove the
station and track leading to it.  More weird things can happen to Union
Stations if you lose control of the other railroad, especially if you then
tear out the station and ever try to build back in.  None of these bugs are
consistent, nor should they keep you from using Union Stations -- but if one
strikes, you'll be very glad for a recent save (you do have one, don't you?).

TUNNEL QUIRKS.
Ever notice the strange icon for the iron bridge that shows up if you tear out
a tunnel?  If a tunnel overshoots where you want the station, tear up the
tunnel back to one beyond the spot and start laying track and build the
station.  

----------
comments and/or additions are welcome, send to
Dick Knisely 75046,473
