Gameplay

Gameplay:

The objective of this game is to haul cargo from industry to industry, while keeping your railroad in tip top shape. Money and Speed are your best friends here, due to the game's rerail mechanic that can magically fix any mishaps and disasters with two simple clicks. The player is able to build track, buy locomotives and wagons, and serve the various industries located across the game's maps.

Remember: Uphill slow, downhill fast, tonnage first and safety last!

Mechanics and Interface:

The player is presented with four sliders:

The reverser, which controls the direction of travel as well as the "cutoff" (the timing of the admission of steam into the cylinders). This is best kept near the center in most situations to allow the steam to fully expand in the cylinders before being exhausted, which is the most efficient use of steam. Keeping the reverser near either extreme will give a slight boost in power, but also waste a ton of boiler pressure and fuel and often results in excessive wheelslip.

The throttle which controls how much steam is allowed to be admitted into the cylinders per piston stroke (and thus your locomotive's acceleration). This should almost always be kept at full throttle unless you are trying to move slowly.

The locomotive brake which allows the engine to slow down and stop. Heavier locomotives have better brake performance than lighter ones.

The whistle which can be used to warn other players that your train is approaching or about to move from a standstill.

The player is also presented with two gauges and a firebox interface: The upper gauge says "Slide Box" if translated to German, in English this is typically referred to as the "Steam Chest". The steam chest is where steam is collected to be sent into the cylinders, and should be kept at a high pressure to maximize efficiency by keeping the reverser close to the center. The lower gauge says "Boiler pressure" if translated to German, this gauge tells you how much pressure the boiler is under. A boiler pressure of at least 5 BAR is optimal. If the boiler pressure reaches its maximum, the safety valve will open periodically to relieve it.

Under the gauges, there is text in front of the gaping depths of a firebox: Shovel, pressing it fuels the inferno that gets your locomotive going, behind the text is a simple fire decal that gets more excited and aggressive the more pressure it suffers. Behind the fire, there's a simple coal decal, the higher it is the more fuel the locomotive has to build steam pressure. Behind the coal, there's a simple firebox decal, the brighter it is the hotter the fire is. The firebox builds up pressure fastest if it is only filled to a barely visible level, as overfilling the firebox will choke off airflow into it.