Work in progress - slowly updating as I have time.
The Iron Seed
Goal: Gold Metal
Connect Baltimore to Washington, Harpers Ferry, and Philadelphia and haul 12 loads total.
Strategy
Of the three starting options, getting the John Bull early provides the most benefit:
Begin by issuing a bond for $500k. You should now have around $890k with a starting station in Baltimore.
Create a Single Track connection to Washington with a Large Station.
Purchase a John Bull train. Fill the cargo with 5 passenger and 1 mail car, and set the train to wait for full cargo.
Purchase a second John Bull, starting in Washington. When the trains arrive, you will have enough money to complete the connections to Harper's Ferry and Philadelphia, using Small Stations for each.
The end results should be a Gold metal in around 1 minute.
Handle on the Breadbasket
Bridging a Nation
Goal: Silver Metal
Connect New Orleans to Los Angeles and haul 12 loads between them.
Have a company equity of $10 million.
Strategy
New Orleans is located near several large cities, allowing us to generate money quickly to cross the desert to LA in one go.
Start your company with maximum player and outside investments.
Place a Large Station overlapping New Orleans and Baton Rouge, but connected to New Orleans.
Similarly, place a second Large Station overlapping Houston and Beaumont.
Purchase a Water Tower, Sanding Tower, and Roundhouse at the Houston station.
Then connect the two stations and purchase trains carrying passengers and mail. These trains will supply us money as we build the primary New Orleans - LA line.
Place a Medium Station in Los Angeles. This will prevent the AI players from competing for LA resources as we build our lines and allow Passengers to build up in the station.
Wait until you have $2500k, then build the line from LA to Houston.
Follow the Saltone Sea near LA, then try to route to keep grade low.
Place Small Stations at regular intervals with Sanding and Water towers, especially before/after steep slopes.
Purchase multiple trains between LA and New Orleans set to wait for full cargo.
Wait until the Gold Metal time passes, then we should immediately get the Silver Metal.
Silver Booms and the Market Busts
Goal: Gold Metal
Have a personal net worth of at least $20 million.
Strategy
Start with the option for increased security, reducing the number of train robberies.
You may need to restart the map multiple times to get favorable cargo spawns. Specifically, you want good groupings of Cattle Yards in the midwest, a Meat Packing plant in Kansas City and/or Tulsa, and preferably access to one or more Gain Silos. Here is an example of a good start:
From here, start by making a Single Track connection from Kansas City to Denver for the quick $700k bonus and a 30% increase in security.
With the money you get from Denver, create stations to haul Cattle to your Meat Packing plants in Kansas City / Tulsa. If possible, create train connections in the following order:
Grain -> Cattle -> Food
If you also have access to Sheep Farms and a Textile Mill, you can make the connection:
Grain -> Wool -> Goods
As soon as you have enough money, purchase the Grain Silos, Cattle Yards, Meat Packing Plants, Sheep Farms, and Textile Mills you're using in your production lines to gain additional profits. You can also upgrade to Double Tracks eventually and continue adding trains.
With profits flowing, you can start purchasing company stock and raising the dividend. BE CAREFUL to not completely exhaust your purchasing power, as the stock price tends to drop in the months after buying.
With the high dividend and high profits, we should be able to achieve the target $20,000k net worth before 1895.
Whistle Stops and Promises
Goal: Gold Metal
Visit at least 16 stations.
Strategy
Start with the option for the Atlantic, the fastest available train:
Once the scenario begins, start by opening the train loadout and using the Cargo Mode screen switch to empty the train cars.
Create a route of at least 16 cities, again with empty cargo. You should be able to achieve the gold metal well before the scenario time limit.
Crossing the Great Divide
Goal: Bronze Metal
Connect Vancouver to Halifax and haul 6 loads between them by 1896.
Strategy
Begin with the option for reduced track building costs.
Begin by issuing a bond, then build a section of track between Quebec and Montreal. Set up trains between the two to start making money.
Once you've earned around $1,000k, expand to Ottawa and Toronto.
Wait until you have $4,000k, then create a station at Vancouver and build a Single Track line.
