Trick:

Build a tunnel from one side of the map to the other, as long as humanly possible. The money counter should now begin to count the wrong way.

 

********************************************
*** FAQ for Transport Tycoon by Microprose *
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*** compiled and edited by Peter Elfers ****
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
 
0 Introduction
0.0 Sorry
0.1 Abbreviations
0.2 This FAQ's version
0.3 About Transport Tycoon
0.4 The demo
0.5 Cheats
0.6 Patches
 
1 Installation
1.1 Hardware requirements
1.2 Software requirements
1.3 Problems during installation
1.4 Problems during gameplay
1.5 Serial link with TT
 
2 Options
2.1 Difficulty level
2.2 Other game options
 
3 Gameplay
3.1 Building stations
3.2 Connecting two stations
3.3 When to use what type of transportation
3.4 Changing train layout/selling vehicles
3.5 City menu
3.6 How trains and signals work
3.7 Reliability of vehicles
3.8 The monorail system
3.9 Disasters
3.A Anything becomes more expensive
 
4 Strategies
4.1 Starting strategies
4.2 Strategies during the game
4.3 Fighting against opponents
4.4 Cities growth
 
5 Tables
5.1 Resources
5.2 Trains
5.3 Road vehicles
5.4 Ships
5.5 Airplanes
5.6 Limitations
 
============================================================================
 
0 Introduction
 
0.0 Sorry
    Sorry for not so good English. I am German and using a German version of
    Transport Tycoon. So please send me corrections where translation is
    incorrect or language is *+%&$&.
 
0.1 Abbreviations
    RMB  Right Mouse Button
    LMB  Left Mouse Button
    TT   Transport Tycoon
    MS   Microsoft
    FAQ  Frequently Asked Questions
 
0.2 This FAQ's version
    This is now version 1.1 of the Transport Tycoon FAQ.
 
    Anything added since the last version is marked on column 1 with a '#'.
    Creation and administration by: Peter Elfers (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)
    Any hints, corrections, and additions are very welcome.
 
0.3 About Transport Tycoon
    Transport Tycoon was programmed by Chris Sawyer inspired by Railroad
    Tycoon as mentioned in the manual.
    TT is distributed by Microprose.
    The main idea of TT is to develop a universal transportation system in a
    randomly created world using road vehicles, trains, ships and airplanes.
    The games time range is between 1930 and 2030. The game is 'real time'
    so the speed cannot be changed (but it can be paused).
    Is it worth the money? Well I think you will need about 120 hours
    (depending on your machine speed) to complete one game.
    If you pay 60$ / 100 DM / 330FF for the game you are entertained 120
    hours for only 0.50$ / 0.83DM / 2.75FF per hour. Than you can start a
    second game.
 
0.4 The demo
#   There is an official Microprose demo available on several ftp-sites.
#   The demo should be on ftp.std.com in the /vendors/COMPUTER_EXPRESS
#   directory.
#   Filename is ttycoon.exe.
#   The demo works only with trains (no airplanes, ships or road vehicles).
#   You never find oil wells. The number of years you can play is limited.
 
0.5 Cheats
    "[...] Start a new game, and before you build anything else, go to one
     coast and try to build a tunnel all the way through to the other. It
     doesn't have to go all the way, just has to be really expensive.
     Instead of telling you that you don't have enough money, it gives you
     about 400 billion! I've tried this a couple of times and it worked, but
     I didn't try messing with my settings to see if that made a difference.
     [...]" provided by Dave Calvin (calvid@rpi.edu)
 
    In my German version that doesn't work (perhaps its better this way).
 
0.6 Patches
    There are rumours about a patch available from MicroProse but as far as
    I know, nobody is really informed what it will be for.
 
    I send mail to Brian from MicroProse to get information about a possibly
    existing patch. If I get an answer I will post it and write it down
    here.
 
 
1 Installation
 
1.1 Hardware requirements
    IBM PC AT  min. 80386DX25 with 4 MB (as said in technical guide)
#   Bert Paul Rauhut (hz262ra@rs1-hrz.uni-duisburg.de) told me that even
#   a 386SX with 16 MHz and 4 MB is possible (for patient players :) ).
    You will need about 6 MB on your HD and perhaps lots of additional space
    if you want to store lots of saved games (they take up to 250K each).
    A mouse is also required.
    The game is in 640x480 256 colors so you need a SVGA card.
[T  On a normal ET4000 (1MB) the game runs without any VESA-driver and using
    TLIVESA the mouse cursor leaves trailers on the screen.
 
1.2 Software requirements
    MS-DOS 5.0 or higher (I'll never tried other DOS versions like Novell or
    IBM DOS).
    MS mouse driver 8.2 or higher.
    (requirements taken from the manual of TT)
#   Further notice from Bert Paul Rauhut is that TT is playable with OS/2.
 
1.3 Problems during installation
    There are no known problems.
#   "TT will not install if you haven't a mouse driver installed." (Bert
#    Paul Rauhut, mentioned above).
 
1.4 Problems during gameplay
    During the game the mouse pointer can leave trails behind.
    Some people mention that a VESA driver works. Especially that one coming
    with SimCity 2000 should do well.
 
    Mark Dobie (mrd@ecs.southampton.ac.uk) wrote:
    "I have also had one solid lockup. It happened when two of my trains
     collided in a station. The game froze during mid explosion..not even
     ctrl-alt-del would work."
 
    And at one time I had a cold reboot during the game without any
    noticable reason (which means: the game reboots my PC without any action
    from me).
 
1.5 Serial link with TT
#   Bert Paul Rauhut tried to connect two machines via a null modem cable
#   but failed.
#   I never heard of an existing connection controlled by TT so if anyone
#   did it, please email me.
 
 
2 Options
 
2.1 Difficulty level
    There are three preset and one custom difficulty levels.
    The following difficulty settings are possible:
                                                         Custom      Custom
    Option            Easy       Medium      Hard        easiest     hardest
    ========================================================================
    number of oppon.  2          4           7           0           7
    opponents start   aft.6 mon. aft.3 month immediatly  aft.9 month immed.
    number of cities  normal     normal      many        few         many
    number of firms   many       normal      normal      many        few
    max. start. loan  1,200,000  600,000     400,000     2,000,000   400,000
    interest rate     2%         3%          4%          2%          6%
    vehicl.work.exp.  low        medium      medium      low         high
    opp.build.speed   medium     fast        fast        slow        vy fast
    opp. intelligence low        medium      high        low         high
    vehicl.breakdowns reduced    normal      normal      never       normal
    subsidies         x3         x2          x1.5        x4          x1.5
    building costs    low        medium      high        low         high
    area              flat       hilly       mountain.   flat        mount.
    numb.of lakes/sea low        low         medium      low         high
    economy           constant   uneven      uneven      constant    uneven
    Train change dir. station &  end o.track end o.track end o.track end o.
                      end o.track                        & station   track
    disasters         off        on          on          off         on
 
#   Description of the options:
#   Number of opponents:
#     This value indeicates how much opponents will try to make a bigger
#     transport empire than yours.
#     With this value increasing you harder find a good area to build a
#     station. Furthermore you will sooner reach the vehicle limit.
#   Opponents starts:
#     This is the time you have to find a good place to start before your
#     opponents crowd the map. But even if you select 7 opponents starting
#     immediately they won't. They need time to search for good place, too.
#   Number of cities:
#     Few cities are about 17 or so. In normal condition there were 29 and
#     many means about 40.
#   Number of firms:
#     This indicates how much facilities there are. If you select 'few' you
#     will hardly find two facilities to connect in the beginning (because
#     of the big distance between them).
#   Max. starting loan:
#     This value will change depending on the currency option. I saw it on
#     a minimum of 400,000 DM and 200,000 $. This option is a heavy one
#     because in the beginning you will need lots of money and (like in real
#     life) the bank won't give it to you. Later on you have enough money
#     but could take loans of x millions.
#   Interest rate:
#     Well, the interest rate?
#   Vehicle working expenses:
#     How much you have to pay to keep your vehicles running.
#   Opponents building speed:
#     Here you can decide whether you want to can see the opponents laying
#     track after track (so you can hinder them building) or fast enough
#     to build (for example) their stations just on that place that you
#     have prepared to build a statioin (but you can't because they were
#     faster).
#   Opponents intelligence:
#     Uhm. All selections are synonyms for: _really stupid_
#     I know AI is hard work for a programmer. But I would never sell a
#     game with such a crappy AI.
#   Vehicle breakdowns:
#     Tired of burning or smoking vehicles? This option reduce breakdowns.
#   Subsidies:
#     The first player connecting two facilities/cities mentioned in the
#     subsidies messages gaines an extra profit for delivering goods.
#     This option is the factor.
#   Building costs:
#     You have too much money? Don't care. Set this to the maximum and your
#     tracks, roads etc. are very expensive to build.
#   Area:
#   Number opf lakes/seas:
#     These two options are for the area layout. The amount of water on the
#     map is of course increasing if you select a flater terrain. A hilly
#     area has more and bigger land masses as a very flat area even on equal
#     lakes/seas-settings.
#   Economy:
#     The only noticable thing turning this switch is that sometimes
#     facilities decide to close (without a reason). So all your stations
#     addicted to these facilities are very needles. The faclities declare
#     their closedowns a few days before so you have time to react.
#   Train change direction:
#     It can be very hard to build tracks so that trains never need to
#     change their direction except at track end. You should try that out.
#     Changing direrction in stations is very useful but only at track end
#     is a _challenge_.
#   Disasters:
#     Look at chapter 3.9 for details.
 
2.2 Other game options
    There are some options for the game. Some can be set before AND during
    the game and some must be set before a game is started.
    Here is a short description of the options:
 
    Option          Description                                      bef dur
    ========================================================================
    city names      switches the signs with city names on and off     x   x
    station names   switches the signs with station names on and off  x   x
    signs           switches player signs on and off                  x   x
    animation level can alter the level of animation                  x   x
                    (I cannot see a difference)
    buildings       switches between solid and transparent buildings  x   x
                    to see what is behind them
    details         switch between high and low details               x   x
                    the only differnece I notice is that you can see
                    the colored fence along the track or not
    what the heck is this button for?                 x   x
    road vehicles   let them drive on the correct [right:)] or left   x   -
                    side
    currency        switch between pounds, dollars, francs, marks or  x   x
                    yen (of course the game will not convert really)
    distance units  miles or kilometers                               x   x
    city names      switch between english (or british?), european    x   -
                    that means german in the german version) or
                    american city names
 
3 Gameplay
 
3.1 Building stations
    There are six different types of stations that can be build in TT:
    - railway station  (passenger, mail, all goods)
    - bus station      (passenger)
    - lorry station    (mail, all goods)
    - dock             (mail, passengers, all goods)
    - airport          (mail, passengers, all goods)
    - oil platforms    (act as airport + dock for passengers & oil)
    On some stations it is not possible to pick up some goods because there
    are no suitable transportatiopn units available (at that time).
    For example early in the game you can only pick up passengers and mail
    at airports because the planes can only transport them (and no goods).
    For efficient use several types of stations can be combined. For example
    you build an airport to make fast delivery of passengers. Your airport
    is near a coal mine and the coal at your airport is up to 1000 or so and
    your rating in coal is down to 11% then just build a train station next
    to your aiport and pick up the coal with a train. This also saves one
    station.
    Saving stations can be very important as your transport empire will
    grow.
 
    +--++--+       AP = Airport
    |AP||TS|       TS = Train station
    |  |+--+
    +--+
 
    An additional advantage is that you can use the existing store in an
    older station. But do not wait too long. The store will shrink if you
    never start to pick up some of it.
 
    Docks can only be built on shore lines: one field on water and one on
    the shore.
    All other stations require flat terrain to be built.
 
#   Station layout can be very interesting. A station can be spreaded into
#   two or more areas. Markku Tuovinen & Chuck O'Toole wrote this:
#
#   ">A nice feature is that you can build different stations adjacent to
#   > each other and get a "mega-station".  I built an airport, truck
#   > platform and bus station all touching.  This resulted in 1 station
#   > single sign with all three services) and then the passengers and mail
#   > became a pool that the planes and busses/mail trucks could draw from.
#   > This seems to be better than having separate stations where, for
#   > example,the bus passengers could get mad and leave because of poor
#   > service while the airplanes fly with open seats.
#
#   Also, you can build separated single stations with this feature. Build
#   an airport. Build a long station facing away from it towards the center
#   of the town (stripmine houses or, rather, a road). Build a bus station
#   or a truck stop on the other end of the railroad station. Bulldoze the
#   station. The bus stop is still part of the airport.
#
#   Also, I moved a truck stop affiliated with a farm railroad station about
#   halfway to the center of the map and put trucks to carry farm produce
#   (livestock, grain) to a nearby factory (like 10 squares away). An
#   instant $10,000 per load, since the station sign (and the actual
#   station) were on the edge of the map, about 50 squares away so the
#   price on produce was calculated using that figure... I rationalized it
#   by using the warrior-scientist explanation. One day between breakfast
#   and lunch my company president just figured out a way (a costly one,
#   though) to transmit matter instantly... (so I'm a sci-fi buff). Of
#   course, all components of a scatter station have to be on the same
#   level, so your ability to develop mattermission is kinda cramped by huge
#   hills etc."
 
3.2 Connecting two stations
    To stations can be connected by laying a track (for trains), a road (for
    busses and lorries) or using an existing road system laid by opponents
    or cities (very cheap). Of course airports and docks do not need
    a special track.
 
    If you connect two stations by road be aware of rail crossings. Lots of
    busses and lorries die every year killed by reckless trains.
    Building bridges over tracks is cheaper on the long run.
 
    On the other hand lay YOUR tracks over roads which are used by opponent
    players and watch the newspaper for further reports.
 
    For ships with complex routes (around a peninsula for example) buoys are
    necessary. Place them one the turning points on the ship route and
    insert them in the ship schedule (for both directions of course (!)).
    But buoys count as a station (someone mentioned that on the news but I
    can't remember his name. Thanks to him and sorry.)
 
3.3 When to use what type of transportation
    That depends on the distance, type and amount of the goods. Use
    airplanes for very fast and long distance mail and passenger service.
    Use trains for fast and middle distance mail and passenger service. Use
    busses and lorries for not so fast short distance mail and passenger
    service.
    Ships are only interesting for additional service because they can't
    carry very much load (An oil tanker can carry up to 220 t of oil. A
    A train with 8 oil cars can carry up to 240 t of oil). You can make
    more money using a train.
    "Ships will sometimes give a more direct route across a river or a bay
     where a land route would be much longer. Remember that lots of bridges
     can slow a train down to less than half of its top speed.
     Hovercraft can be very profitable too." [Mark Dobie
     (mrd@ecs.southampton.ac.uk)]
 
    But if that area is very developed and there is no room for additional
    tracks a ship service can be added without bigger problems.
 
    Ships are very useful if later in the game the first oil platforms are
    introduced. For those platforms helicopters can be useful too because
    there is a helipad landing place on it and an oil platform accepts and
    supplies passengers (also accepts mail).
 
    A large lake (distance between shores >16 squares) can't be crossed by
    a bridge. Using ships can be solve such problems. And bridges with more
    than 8 squares can't be used with high speed (except from monorails).
 
    Since most of the goods can only be carried by train or lorry these two
    transportation systems are commonly used. Trains are faster a safer than
    lorries (too many lorries die on level crossings).
    But be aware of the train limit (see chapter limitations). It is very
    annoying to replace an existing track because you really need a train on
    the other side of the map but you have already 80 trains in service.
 
    Road service is very interesting for inner city service where a track is
    not possible (because you cannot clear those fields in the middle of the
    road). Besides road service is interesting as an additon to an airport
    or a train station the plane/train service is poor rated (e.g. mail
    service on airports).
 
    Dave's (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) method:
    "...it's useful to ferry goods to/from the train station/docks from/to
     the city by lorry/bus. Kind of a linked service. Obviously the last
     link in the service gets paid though.
     I use such a strategy if I have say multiple mines on one side of a
     refinery. I unload ore from the furthest away onto the closer station,
     so that I only need a single train going the whole way (the same method
     can be applied to anything else of course)."
 
3.4 Changing train layout/selling vehicles
    If you want to sell a vehicle or change the layout of a train or replace
    an older model with a newer one click with LMB on the depot symbol in
    the vehicle window to direct it to the nearest depot. Once arrived in
    the depot you will get a message. Now click on the depot to open the
    depot window. Your vehicle is shown there. If you want to scrap it press
    and hold the LMB on it and drop it to the trashcan on the right. The
    value of that vehicle should now be added to your funds.
 
    "Sometimes it says 'Can't sell vehicle'. I've only ever had this with
     trains and I haven't worked out why yet. In this case you have to buy
     the new train and set up route manually. Usually you can sell the old
     train a while later." [Mark Dobie (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)]
 
    If you want to build new cars for your train scrap the old cars or move
    them to the next line. Buy new cars and (if necessary) connect them to
    your engine.
 
    If you want to replace an old fashioned model with a newer one scrap
    the engine leaving the cars where they are. Buy a new model and connect
    the cars (if necessary) to the new engine. The orders of the old engine
    should be already transferred to your new engine.
 
    Orders can only reused in the same depot.
 
3.5 City menu
    By clicking on a cities name with the LMB you will see an information
    window about that city. Choosing the city government button you gain
    access to a lot of possible actions (if you have enough money).
    The available options are:
 
    little advertising campaign
      raises your ratings a bit
    medium advertising campaign
      raises your ratings a lot
    large advertising campaign
      raises your ratings to the top
    give money for road improvement
      look the other players lorries standing in a tangled mass of roadworks
    build a statue of your company
      nice, isn't it? I don't know for what it is good for.
    give money for house building
      let them build office buildings (mail support and acceptance)
    buy exclusive transport rights on city terrain for one year
      you are the only one who gets goods, mail and passengers for one year
 
3.6 How trains and signals work
    Because sometimes the computer AI seems to be stupid while controlling
    a train network, this chapter is added to explain how trains and signals
    work.
    Of course I do not know how the programmer did his work, but observation
    gives a clue on how a track has to be laid.
 
    Every train needs a track, two stations and a depot to work properly.
    On a track there can be only one train at a time (a few exceptions are
    explained later). A track can be separated into different parts. Signals
    and depots are valid separators, stations aren't. If you want to use a
    station as a separator, place signals on all ingoing tracks in front of
    the station.
 
    Trains try to use the shortest route to their destination station. So if
    two different tracks are possible it will take the shorter one.
 
    On a switch a train (A) must choose which way to go. Before it chooses
    the way the computer is looking for the shortest route to the
    destination.
    If this route is occupied by another train (B) it will choose the longer
    route. If there is no other route to the destination it is possible that
    it will choose a track going to anywhere but never to the destination.
    I think this is done to go away from a point where it could block the
    path of the train (B).
    When two trains meet each other at a signal on a single track from
    different directions, they will both stop at signal blocking each other.
    After a short while one of them is timed out and that one will change
    directions to go back.
    To avoid this situation a train can choose the 'wrong' (that means wrong
    direction) track at a switch.
 
    The easiest way is to build one track for one train. Expensive but very
    effective because even a blonde [:)] train can use a simple track
    without getting lost.
    If you are not experienced start with this method. Later in the game you
    will usually have enough money for experiments.
 
    You can also set up two trains on one track using short parts of double
    tracks.
 
    "[...]I build tracks in this way and it works well with two trains,
     insert more parts with double track if you want more trains.
 
     SSSSSS-------<=|========|=>------SSSSSS
 
    Where
      S : Station
      - : Single track
      | : Signal
      = : Double track
      < : Split one track into two
      > : Join two tracks into one
 
    [...]" provided by Martin Nilsson (d90mn@efd.lth.se).
 
    This is also mentioned in the manual:
 
        /S-------------S              - /    = track
    -----S-------------S---------      S       = signal
 
    This will work well with one exception. Both trains tend to use the same
    part of the double track, the straight one. A better design is:
 
    -----S-------------S
        S-------------S---------
 
    because if one train is after the switch but before the signal while the
    other train coming from the other side must choose a track on the switch
    they will both take the same track because the next part of the track is
    not occupied by another train. But they will end up on a signal as
    described above.
 
    This happens rarely but I saw it more than one time.
 
    The method above can be expanded to a system with three trains on one
    track using stations with three tracks and a part of triple track some-
    where.
 
    Hint1:Its more efficient to place the double/triple track near the
          station where trains are loaded because on that station they will
          need more time at the loading station and less time for the rest
          rest of the track. If they need nearly the same time for loading
          and unloading place it in the middle of the track.
    Hint2:(again from Dave (davidl@cs.uq.oz.au)) Also you should build these
          "overtake" sections of tracks so that trains can use them to turn
          around (like the computer does), so that a train heading down the
          wrong track can turn around without having to go all the way to
          the end.
 
    Sometimes train behavior seems to be strange when a train has reached
    its maintainence date. And they always seek for the nearest depot.
 
    ---------------------T>-------------------------------------STATION
             D-/
 
    So if the train T driving in direction > in the example above reaches on
    that position its maintanence date it will drive to the station, changes
    direction and went to the depot. After the maintanance it will go back
    to station for the daily work.
 
    If you set up a network connecting more than two stations together with
    lots of trains and switches, watch for the locations of your depots.
    A train will even use other trains track and depot if that depot is
    nearer. Placing depots on each connected side of a station and near
    switches which are used from more than two trains give best performance.
 
    If your network layout is buggy you will get a mess. And it is very
    difficult to clean up a corrupted track net. In that case building
    additional tracks just to let the trains to their own part is useful.
    Destroy those tracks after use.
 
    Sometimes it is useful to tell a train to went on on a red signal. Use
    the button in the train information window to do that.
 
    This is one exception where two trains can use the same part of a track.
    Watch carefully for your trains or tell them good by.
 
    It is no problem as long as they have enough room. Even this situation
    works well:
 
    ---T>S-------A(with train)
            ----A(empty)
 
    A is a station with one empty place; T a train waiting on the signal S.
    If you know that the train in the station needs more time for loading
    than the other for entering the station you can tell the waiting train
    to go on. It will not use the occupied part of the station.
    (no signals in front of the station)
 
    I noticed that sometimes in the mid game it is difficult to find a place
    to lay a track. Sometimes lowering the terrain and build long tunnels
    under a city or lots of tracks and stations of other players can help.
    The tunnel can even be on sea level without being flooded.
 
    "I've also noticed that if you are runnning a line with multiple
    routes that include lots of stations (using a junction to split the
    routes), it's sometimes necessary to explicitly include in the schedule
    the station order for both directions of the route (e.g. a route going
    from A->B->C->D and back may need to be scheduled as A->B->C->D->C->B.
    I've seen one such train service where the train refused to take the
    correct branch of a track junction until I exlicitly scheduled the
    return section of the route as above!
    In this case the lines looked something like:
 
      E---------------------/-------C-------------D
                           /
                           !
      A-----------B--------/                                    "
    (from David (davidl@cs.uq.oz.au))
 
    [The section above contains a lot of information from others]
 
    There was an interesting posting by Chuck O'Toole in the NetNews which
    I added without cutting.
 
    "Well, I got hooked on the Transport Tycoon (TT) demo during the
     Thanksgiving holiday.  I know what I want for Christmas ;-)
 
     I've seen lots of posts about train behavior and I think I have part of
     it figured out.  I hope the manual is more clear about it.  What
     follows is my current (working) theory about train movements, signals,
     and the like.  Please excuse me if I incorrectly attribute a post to
     the wrong person.
 
     First off, signals do *not* work like Railroad Tycoon (RRT). In RRT,
     signals are places where trains could pass.  Not so with TT.  Signals
     indicate a clear or busy path/section of track to the next down the
     line.  Additionally, RRT treated each station as a signal, no such
     notion in TT.
 
     Having two trains meet at the same signal (and stop!) would
     result in a deadly embrace, each train waiting for the other to move.
     Apparently, there is some timeout which causes a train to reverse
     course if it waits too long at a signal.
 
     Someone (traynor@bostech.com (Pat Traynor) I believe) wrote:
     > I believe that the following scenario has be deemed unworkable:
     >
     > You have set up two routes.  One from A-C and one from B-C.
     >
     >    +---+
     >    | A |--
     >    +---+  
     >                    +---+
     >             >-------| C |
     >            /        +---+
     >    +---+  /
     >    | B |--
     >    +---+
     >
     > As I've found out, and then seen other people report, the trains
     > will just go all over the place.  The A-C line will spend a lot of
     > time at the 'B' station, and so forth.
 
     Someone (I forgot who) suggested placing 3 signals in this config, on
     each track leading to the junction.
 
         +---+
         | A |--
         +---+  
                 S        +---+
                  >S------| C |
                 S        +---+
         +---+  /
         | B |--
         +---+
 
     This would create 4 sections of track, the A section, the B section,
     the C section (please hold your puns), and the common junction.  This
     arrangement is almost totally non-functional.
 
     Should the A-C train and the B-C train approach the junction at the
     same time, one would wait and the other proceed to C.  Once the last
     car clears the signal leading to C, the other train would enter the
     junction.  There, it would find the signal to C set Red.  Here, the
     B-C train could either wait at the signal or take the A section which
     is clear.  Waiting at the signal would lead to an eventual deadly
     embrace since the A-C train needs to use the junction to return to A
     and the B-C train is blocking it.
 
     When a train is confronted by a red signal, it appears to take an open
     track if one is available, stop, or sometimes reverse direction (if a
     train is on the other side of the signal).  Hence, the B-C train would
     take the A section, which on the surface seems stupid, but is the only
     open path available to it.  Many of the odd behaviors of my trains were
     due to signals placed close to branches or depots so that the train
     would turn rather than stop.
 
     The B-C train will go to the A station and reverse direction, allowing
     time for the path to C to free up.  You can see how this would
     oscillate until the A-C train returned to the junction.  Which way it
     went would depend on which section the B-C train was at that time.
 
     To correct this route, the C section needs a passing siding, thusly,
 
         +---+
         | A |--
         +---+  
                 S                    +---+
                  >--S---------S------| C |
                 S  S---------S/     +---+
         +---+  /
         | B |--
         +---+
 
     Note the placement of the signals on the siding.  The space *between*
     the signals needs to be long enough to completely capture the train.
     A section of track is not considered clear until the last car passes
     the signal. I had two trains pass at a siding and both stop because the
     last car was on the same square as the signal and hence, not clear.
     This arrangement will work for the original stated purpose.  Until....
 
     Trains become very single-minded when the service date arrives.
     Regardless of where they are, they head straight to the nearest depot,
     get serviced, and return to whatever they were doing.  It's this
     obsession with getting serviced that sometimes puts more trains on the
     section of track than you designed for.  In the above example, if the
     only depot was near B, at some time, the A-C train would try to use the
     B section to get to the depot, causing the odd reversal behavior until
     they finally sorted themselves out again.
 
     As a general rule, I do not place signals on single sections of track
     (except for X crossings) and place depots near each station.
     Additionally, the depot should not be adjacent to a signal as red would
     cause the train to enter the depot instead of stop (and then it would
     most likely reverse direction).  Instead I place the depot a few
     sections down the line.
 
     Multiple platform stations need signals at the entry to the platform
     and crossing track to permit trains to enter the "switching yard" and
     go to either platform or the depot.  E.g.,
 
        P1-S--------------[and later down the line]--S-------------S-----
             X            [depending on how near  ] S-------------S/
        P2-S----Depot     [you need the siding    ]
 
     (the arrangement for 3 or more platforms is an exercise for the reader
     or for when I get the real version and have more time to play).
 
     Once I had some basic observations and a working theory of how the
     trains work, all the behavior makes sense.  When I saw something
     unexpected happen, I looked for problem with my signal setup and have
     been able to correct everything so far.  I've been going under the
     assumption that the game is working correctly and that I just have to
     deduce the rules of operation.  Something I hope the manual will clear
     up.
 
     Hope this helps folks out there. "
 
    This article is mentioned here ignoring some review of previous stuff
    in this FAQ because it was the first posting I think which fits computer
    AI in TT best. And the auther has only got the demo(!). Good work Chuck.
 
    An example: Building a 4-track station and use it for 8(!) trains
                without getting confused
 
    On some places there are so many facilities near to each other that you
    want send lots of trains to the same station. I tried the following and
    it works well.
 
             XXXX
             XXXX
             XXXX                X = airport (optional)
         D   XXXX    D           D = depot
    ----S*S[STATION]S*S----      S = signal
    ----S*S[STATION]S*S----      - = normal track
    ----S*S[STATION]S*S----      B = bus station (optional)
    ----S*S[STATION]S*S----      L = lorry station (optional)
         D   B   L   D           * = track system looking like:  /|
                                     (all on one square)         -+-
                                                                 |/
 
    Don't build further depots in the near. All eight trains can share the
    four depots in the picture. And don't connect a track going to the left
    in a big circle to a track coming from the right.
 
    If you decide to add an airport, a bus station and/or a lorry station
    all those together are of course only ONE station.
    And be sure there si some traffic in that area.
 
3.7 Reliability of vehicles
    As time goes by (sounds sentimental, eh?) newer vehicles will be
    available. But never trust a 1.0 version you know. The first ones are
    so susceptible to breakdowns that you should wait a year (or two) before
    you start using it in your transportation system.
    Look in the 'build new vehicle' window where the technical details are
    mentioned. You will find a value of reliability. Than you can decide
    whether you want to buy a vehicle which is 45% of its time out of order
    or stay using your older model.
 
    But do not wait too long. Don't build vehicles which are introduced 30
    years ago because of their high reliability value. Lots of vehicles can
    be used 20 to 30 years. If the design is old fashioned it will become
    less reliable in the following years.
 
    After a vehicle was maintained it gains its maximum reliablity back.
    But this maximum can change with the years. You will not be informed!
 
    Best performance have models which are designed ca. 5 years ago (+/-2).
 
3.8 The monorail system
    In the year 1998 the first monorail will be developed.
    Monorails are something completely new. A new submenu is available under
    the 'build track' button in the menu line. Of course you cannot use the
    normal track to run monorails. And you cannot use the old stations,
    signals, depots etc.
    After playing for 68 years there are normally no more vehicles
    available. I started to rebuild my complete railway system to use only
    the monorail because of its advantages.
    Top speed is now 255km/h (railway: 249km/h). The X2001 monorail engine
    has got 10000PS (railway: 8000PS).
    More important is the maximum bridge length of 16 squares can be crossed
    with a top speed of 241km/h (railway: 112km/h) and new cars are
    available usually carrying 5t more than the ones of the railway (see
    tables below).
 
    The disadvantage: no more level crossings.
 
3.9 Disasters
    In the options you can set the parameter 'disasters' either on or off.
    Disasters are not normal accidents like plane crashes or traffic
    accidents. The following disasters I saw in my game:
 
    - The land under a coal mine collapses.
      When this is happen, the terrain under and around a coal mine can be
      affected. Normally lots of roads and tracks are destroyed in that
 
      area.
 
    - Collision with an UFO
      From time to time a little UFO flies over your cities searching for
      a road vehicle of the human(!) player. When a suitable vehicle is
      found the UFO goes down and destroys the vehicle.
 
    - Factory or Refinery was destroyed under mysterios circumstances
      In this case a flying military object (helicopter or conbat aircraft)
      destroyed a factory of refinery. I saw no other facilities destroyed
      by them.
      Don't bother about your trains or other vehicles going to the ruins.
      The production rate remains and the facilities will be rebuild soon.
 
    - UFO landing near a city
      A large UFO lands somewhere in the area. Sometimes the only thing
      happening is the start off of the UFO going to where it came from.
      But sometimes a combat aircraft attacks and destroys the UFO leaving
      a 4x4 (or was it 5x5) square of wasted land.
      If there are no facilities or tracks in the adjacent squares you can
      ignore it.
 
    - Zeppelin crashes on an airport
      A huge zeppelin is flying to an airport of the human player and than
      goes down, exploding in a tremendous fire.
 
3.A Anything becomes more expensive
    Like in the real world (ther is one outside your monitor) anything you
    wish to buy becomes more expensive in TT. I think there is an inflation
    model included in TT. Remember the 'starting interest rate' in the
    options? And the constant or uneven economy factor?
 
    You will notice soon that your engines, cars, stations etc. and building
    tracks and roads become more expensive.
 
    In my opinion an econmy factor is created by chance so your interest
    rates and price increases are calculated. If you choose constant economy
    this factor won't change. You can see this on the amount of payment of
    interest for 400,000 (for example). You have to pay the same every year.
 
 
4 Strategies
 
4.1 Starting strategies
    To make lots of money fast watch for subsidies. Build only those
    connections and wait until the next subsidy is published.
    After two or three years you have a basic transportation system which
    can be expanded quickly.
 
    To start with a transportation system based on railroad transporting
    only passengers and mail between nearby cities needs more time at first
    but later on you will receive lots of money for those trains, the cities
    love you and they will grow extremely fast. And you never have the
    problem finding a good site in a big city where you can build a railway
    station (that can be difficult). To add a lorry station or a bus stop
    should never be a problem.
 
4.2 Strategies during the game
    Build as fast as you can. Always use the credit limit to build more more
    more. You will soon reach the point where additional building is not
    longer possible (see chapter limitations). Then you can fight against
    your rivals (see next chapter).
 
4.3 Fighting against opponents
    There are some ruthless methods to sabotage and hinder an opponent. I
    wouldn't use these methods during a two-player game because it could be
    annoying to always look at all tracks and roads (but who cares about
    the computer?).
 
4.3.1 Building tracks over roads
      Trains can run over lorries and buses destroying them. So laying a
      track over opponents roads can cause lots of damage (trains never be
      destroyed).
 
      You can even build a track to the crossing, sending a train and
      destroying the track after the train arrives at the crossing. No lorry
      will ever cross that track!
 
4.3.2 Building tracks over roads and destroying the track
      This is a (buggy) way to destroy a road of your opponent because after
      you build the track the square will be yours.
 
4.3.3 Building diagonal tracks
      Since diagonal tracks can't be crossed with bridges or crossings
      building them is a good method to prevent an area or some fields to be
      used by other players.
      In earlier years you need an 3x4 field for a small airport. Later when
      bigger airplanes are available you will need a big airport on a 6x6
      area. With diagonal track segments you can keep the needed area clean
      and later there is no need to destroy the houses or the roads of the
      city or, let another player use that area.
      Hint: Two stations of different players cannot be built next to each
            other. There must be a one square gap between them.
 
4.3.4 Buy transportation monopols
      If you have enough money you can buy a transportation monopol in a
      city for one year (see 3.7). Use this to let your opponents routes
      become no longer profitable.
      This seems to decrease your overall performance rating in the stats
      but I don't know why.
 
4.3.5 Roadworks for your opponents profitable routes
      Pay those cities to improve their roads (that means a lot of roadwork
      without any improvement) where an opponent have profitable road
      service (see 3.7).
 
4.3.6 Build depots at rear panel of enemy stations
      Building depots on the rear side of your opponents stations is a very
      good method to get rid of his trains. Build a Jinty in your station
      and wait for an opponents train. Now start your engine...boom.
 
4.4 Cities growth
#   It is very difficult to say what things effects cities growth.
#   All cities start between 10 and ca. 750 inhabitants. They grow even if
#   they aren't affected from any players station or vehicles. But picking
#   up or delivering goods seem to increase their growth.
#   But constant building in the near city area will hinder growth. A city
#   with the possiblity to develop the area around it without beeing
#   disturbed by building tracks and roads (or scratching houses of the
#   city) develop best. The more goods transported from/to the city the more
#   money the city will get. In end game I saw a city with more than 16,000
#   inhabitants. Lots of cities start growing fast a few years after I stop
#   building new tracks or reconfiguring my transportation network.
#   In some cases I was able to _see_ the city growing. In two years from
#   5,000 inhabitants up to 10,000 - 14,000.
#
#   There was an interesting article in the NetworkNew from Chris Smith:
#
#   "I think I figured out how cities grow.  It tends to make a lot of 2x1
#   and 1x1 blocks, but you can get much higher densities if you lay out the
#   streets yourself.
#
#   The rule seems to be that buildings need to be next to 2 road squares,
#   or one road and bare land.  ('next to' as in king moves -- n,s,e,w.)
#
#   If you just let it grow, it will make a pleasing but inefficient city.
#   If you want lots of passengers, make Manhattan -- lots of 1 x n blocks
#   to grow skyscraper canyons.  If this is too boring, you can do the
#   same thing with L-shaped or S-shaped blocks, as long as they're
#   a bent form of a 1 x n strip.
#
#   The roving stadiums are neat because they leave behind 2-wide blocks
#   which keeps the city density from deteriorating even worse.  I have
#   no idea what makes banks grow, but I think they tend to appear out
#   in the boonies because they just don't fit anywhere else in a homegrown
#   city layout.
#
#   I think bus and truck stations count as roads -- this works
#
#           +---------+
#           | x x x x |
#           | x B M x |
#           +---------+
#
#   Same idea for tiling around an obstacle like an industry, station,
#   tracks, lake
#
#           +-----------------+
#           | x x | x x | x x |
#           | x # # # # # # x |
#           +-- # # # # # # --+
#           | x # # # # # # x |
#           | x x | x x | x x |
#           +-----------------+
#
#   Stupid ASCII pictures part 2: if all the conditions are right you
#   can run double tracks one space apart and make crossovers like this
#   (RRT-style, kind of)
#
#           ---------------:V:-----------
#                           :
#           ---------------:A:-----------
#
#   It requires 5 signals but trains can pass without stopping.  They
#   still turn around when blocked but it could be worse.  You need a
#   REALLY long run for it to make sense, and the blocks are pretty large,
#   and it requires a space between the tracks, but it's useful
#   when it applies.  You have to be very careful with diagonal segments --
#   if one side is shorter than the other then all the trains try to run
#   on that side."
 
 
5 Tables
 
5.1 Resources
    Resource         accepts                  supplies
    ==============================================================
    Coal mines         -                        coal
    forest             -                        wood
    oil well           -                        oil
    oil platforms    mail,passengers            oil,passengers
    lumber mill      wood                       goods
    refinery         oil                        goods
    power plant      coal                         -
    city             passengers,mail,goods      passengers,mails
    bank             valuables                  valuables
    factory          cattles,grain,steel        goods
    farm               -                        cattles,grain
    steel mill       ore                        steel
    ore mine           -                        ore
 
5.2 Trains
    Name                weight  speed   capacity  power   constr. life exp.
    =======================================================================
    Jinty-class           45t    56km/h ---        250PS  1924    14 years
    Stanier 'Crab'        75t    96km/h ---        600PS  1927    20 years
    Gresley 'A3'         150t   112km/h ---       1100PS  1928    20 years
    Collett Pannier Tank  47t    64km/h ---        300PS  1931    15 years
    Gresley 'D49'         77t   104km/h ---        900PS  1931    20 years
    Stanier 'Jubilee'    131t   128km/h ---       1200PS  1934    21 years
    Gresley 'A4'         162t   144km/h ---       1400PS  1936    20 years
    Bulleid 'Q1'          89t   112km/h ---        900PS  1943    20 years
    BR '8P'               70t   152km/h ---       1800PS  1954    23 years
    Metro-Cammel     DH   64t   112km/h 76 pass.   600PS  1956    12 years
    EE '37'              101t   144km/h ---       1750PS  1960    20 years
    BR/Sulzer '25'        72t   144km/h ---       1250PS  1961    18 years
    Brush '47'           112t   160km/h ---       2580PS  1963    22 years
    BR '86'               84t   160km/h ---       3600PS  1965    23 years
    BR '87'               82t   177km/h ---       5000PS  1974    23 years
    BREL '56'            129t   128km/h ---       3300PS  1976    20 years
    BR 'IC125'       DH  140t   201km/h 8 mail    4500PS  1977    20 years
    'Sprinter'       DH   76t   120km/h 80 pass.   700PS  1984    15 years
    'T.G.V.'         DH  180t   241km/h ---       7000PS  1984    25 years
    'Eurostar'       DH  190t   249km/h ---       8000PS  1993    25 years
    X2001 (monorail) DH  190t   255km/h ---      10000PS  1998    20 years
    Note: DH means DoubleHeaded (Engine at front and rear side of train)
 
5.2.1 Normal train cars
    Type        weight empty/loaded    capacity
    ==================================================
    passengers     25t / 27t           40  passengers
    coal           18t / 48t           30t coal
    mail           21t / 28t           30  mail
    oil            24t / 54t           30t oil
    cattles        20t / 24t           25  cattles
    goods          21t / 33t           25  goods
    grain          19t / 49t           30t grain
    wood           16t / 46t           30t wood
    iron ore       19t / 49t           30t iron ore
    steel          18t / 38t           20t steel
    valuables      30t / 50t           20  valuables
 
5.2.2 Monorail cars
    Type        weight empty/loaded    capacity
    ==================================================
    passengers     25t / 27t           45  passengers
    coal           18t / 53t           35t coal
    mail           21t / 29t           35  mail
    oil            24t / 59t           35t oil
    cattles        20t / 25t           30  cattles
    goods          21t / 36t           30  goods
    grain          19t / 54t           35t grain
    wood           16t / 51t           35t wood
    iron ore       19t / 54t           35t iron ore
    steel          18t / 43t           25t steel
    valuables      30t / 55t           25  valuables
 
5.3 Road vehicles
    Name                speed   capacity          constr.  life expect.
    =====================================================================
    Leyland Lion Bus     48km/h 25  pass.         1925     10 years
    AEC Mail Car         48km/h 22s mail          1925     15 years
    Scammel Oil Car      48km/h 21t oil           1925     15 years
    Dennis Cattles Car   48km/h 14p cattles       1925     15 years
    Bedford Goods Car    48km/h 14b goods         1925     15 years
    Scammel Woord Car    48km/h 20t wood          1925     15 years
    AEC Iron Ore Car     48km/h 22t iron ore      1925     15 years
    Bedford Steel Car    48km/h 15t steel         1925     15 years
    Bedford Coal Car     48km/h 20t coal          1926     15 years
    Leyland Grain Car    48km/h 20t grain         1926     15 years
    Armored Car (Bedford)48km/h 14s valuables     1926     15 years
    AEC Regal Bus        56km/h 31  passenger     1929     12 years
    Leyland Leopard Bus  96km/h 35  passenger     1963     15 years
    Ford Coal Car       112km/h 25t coal          1975     15 years
    Renault Mail Car    112km/h 28s mail          1975     15 years
    Volvo Oil Car       112km/h 25t oil           1975     15 years
    Ford Cattles Car    112km/h 16p cattles       1975     15 years
    Fiat Goods Car      112km/h 16b goods         1975     15 years
    Peugeot Grain Car   112km/h 25t grain         1975     15 years
    Ford Iron Ore Car   112km/h 25t iron ore      1975     15 years
    Volvo Wood Car      112km/h 22t wood          1976     15 years
    Ford Steel Car      112km/h 18t steel         1976     15 years
    Armored Car (Ford)  112km/h 15s valuables     1976     15 years
    Volvo Bus           112km/h 37  passengers    1985     15 years
 
5.4 Ships
    Name                speed   capacity          constr.  life expect.
    =====================================================================
    ferry                32km/h 100  passenger     1925      30 years
    mail ship            32km/h 100  bags mail     1925      30 years
    goods freighter      24km/h 100  goods         1927      30 years
    oil tanker           24km/h 220t oil           1928      30 years
    coal freighter       24km/h 200t coal          1929      30 years
    coal freighter       40km/h 220t coal          1965      30 years
    oil tanker           40km/h 250t oil           1967      30 years
    Hovercraft          112km/h 100  passengers    1968      25 years
    mail ship            64km/h 150  bags mail     1968      30 years
    ferry                64km/h 130  passengers    1971      30 years
    goods freighter      40km/h 190  goods         1975      30 years
 
5.5 Airplanes
    Name                         speed    capacity         constr. life exp.
    ========================================================================
    Junkers JU52                 476km/h  25 pass.& 4 mail 1929    20 years
    Douglas DC-3 Dakota          476km/h  30 pass.& 6 mail 1933    30 years
    Vickers Viscount             476km/h  65 pass.& 8 mail 1948    24 years
    Aerospatiale SE310 Caravelle 952km/h  90 pass.&10 mail 1955    18 years
    Sikorsky Helicopter          321km/h  40 pass.&15 mail 1957    20 years
    McDonnell Douglas DC-8       952km/h 200 pass.&30 mail 1958    23 years
    British Aerospace BAC 1-11   952km/h  95 pass.&10 mail 1963    22 years
    Boeing 727                   952km/h 170 pass.&35 mail 1963    25 years
    McDonnell Douglas DC-9       952km/h 100 pass.&15 mail 1965    26 years
    Boeing 737                   952km/h 110 pass.&15 mail 1967    22 years
    Boeing 747                   952km/h 250 pass.&50 mail 1967    25 years
    BAC Aerospatiale Concorde   2330km/h 110 pass.&20 mail 1968    25 years
    McDonnell Douglas DC-10      952km/h 220 pass.&40 mail 1970    20 years
    Lockheed Tristar             952km/h 240 pass.&35 mail 1970    20 years
    Airbus A300                  952km/h 225 pass.&30 mail 1972    24 years
    McDonnell Douglas MD80       952km/h 150 pass.&30 mail 1978    25 years
    British Aerospace BAe146     952km/h  80 pass.&10 mail 1980    25 years
    Airbus A310                  952km/h 210 pass.&25 mail 1981    24 years
    Boeing 757                   952km/h 200 pass.&25 mail 1982    25 years
    Boeing 767                   952km/h 220 pass.&25 mail 1982    25 years
    Fokker 100                   952km/h  85 pass.&10 mail 1987    20 years
    Airbus A320                  952km/h 160 pass.&20 mail 1987    24 years
    McDonnell Douglas MD-11      952km/h 230 pass.&25 mail 1989    25 years
    Airbus A330                  952km/h 220 pass.&20 mail 1993    24 years
    Boeing 777                   952km/h 240 pass.&40 mail 1994    25 years
 
5.6 Limitations
    The number of stations, road vehicles, trains, airplanes and ships is
    limited.
 
                    player   city    game
    Stations          48      ??      ??
    Road vehicles     80      NL       -+
    airplanes         80      NL        | not more than ? vehicles
    trains            40      NL        |
    ships             50      NL       -+
 
    NL = no limitation
    ?? = there is a limitation but I do not know the number.
 
    (information taken from news from David Skreiner
     (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) and Robert Court
     (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.). Many thanks)
 
    If you reach the maximum number of vehicles you cannot build additional
    cars for existing trains.
 
    For the maximum number of vehicles this seems to be valid:
          1 plane        = 2 road vehicles
          1 train engine = 1 road vehicle
          1 train car    = 1 road vehicle
          1 ship         = 1 road vehicle
    So a train engine with three cars is equivalent (number of vehicles)
    with 4 lorries.
 
    Watch for trains with engines at front and rear side of the train. Those
    count for two vehicles. If you build them if only one vehicle is
    possible, the back car doesn't appear.
 
    If you reach on of the limits, your difficulty options were set too easy
    for you. Try harder settings.
 
    Due to very crappy service a city can prohibit further buildings of your
    company on its area. Do better service and try again.