Scenario 4 - Northwest U.S. | Game scenarios Railroads Guide

Last update: 11 May 2016

Important! Following hints are based on these scenario settings:

Time limit - 1850-1930; Number of AI Players - 2. Randomize landscape and Randomize locations features have been deactivated.

The game won't force you to do anything. As a result, you will be able to customize the gameplay. For example, you have an opportunity to play each scenario without having to worry about the competition.

Here's the list of main mission objectives. You will have to fulfill them in order to succeed:

LEVEL 1 - In the Land of Green

You will have to complete all of these tasks by: 1899.

Level one objectives:

1) Stimulate the region's economy by growing two Villages into Metropolises.

I'm sure that you're going to have A LOT of problems with the objectives from the first level of the scenario, mostly because you won't have much time to finish them. As for this task, your goal is rather obvious. You will have to grow two villages into metropolitan areas. If you're planning on starting your game in Portland, you should focus on growing Salem and Olympia. Sadly, you won't be able to choose any larger towns, like Seattle or Vancouver. Otherwise you would only lose more time, trying to expand them without any visible results. It would be best to ignore these cities for the time being, as you won't need them in the early part of the game. The first thing you have to do here is to connect all of these villages together. Next, you will have to check the demand window. Sadly, you won't be able to transport passengers and mail right away. Instead, you will have to start carrying resources. For example, I had to deliver grain and oil to Salem. Thankfully, I was able to find the needed factories in this area of the map, so I was able to proceed with this action right away. Either way, make sure that you have checked this entire sector for valuable objects. Add these factories to your existing grid. I would also recommend selling some of your stocks, as you'll need a lot of money to lay down new tracks. As you've probably noticed, all of these objects aren't too close to each other, so the lines are going to be quite expensive. Take your time and plan each action carefully, so you won't have to spend too much money on them. The second main city is Olympia. I had to supply wood and fishes there. This second resource wasn't a problem, however I was forced to build a couple of tunnels and one bridge. As a result, you should consider earning some money on the previous connections before you decide to proceed with this town. Also, make sure that both of these cities have factories and that they're manufacturing new goods. Once they've grown into towns, you will be able to proceed with the passengers and mail. Remember that you already have larger Portland here, so you'll be able to use this town to fulfill this goal. Well... that's about it. You will now have to wait for both of these cities to expand. Just make sure that the goods are supplied and that there aren't any problems with the trains.

2) Gain a foothold in the local forestry industry by buying or building a paper mill in the area.

You shouldn't try completing this objective right away. Instead, concentrate on growing the villages. It may seem that buying a paper mill should be enough, however this goal is connected with a third mission objective. It would also be wise to plan your each action carefully. Use the goods window in order to locate some of the nearby sawmills. Next, you will have to locate at least one town that will demand these goods to be delivered. Furthermore, such a city should already be equipped with a paper mill. It's very important, because otherwise you would have to build this factory from scratch. I was able to find a paper mill in Boise. All I had to is to participate in an auction. Make sure that you win it. Thankfully, winning the paper mill will allow you to save up a lot of money (buying it would require you to spend 500000 dollars on the construction).

3) Take advantage of the finest lumber in the nation by shipping 50 carloads of lumber to your new paper mill.

As you've probably suspected, the objective here will be to ship 50 carloads of lumber to one of your factories (you should own such a building in Boise). It may seem that this task should be very easy, however you will have to remember about a few things. First of all, make sure that you have a complete grid and that there's at least one line coming out from your paper mill. Don't worry if you have to spend more money on this. The objective here is to speed up the shipping process. Now you will have to find a sawmill and connect it to the city with the paper mill. It shouldn't be much of a problem, especially since there are at least 3-4 sawmills in the area. You should also consider selling some of the manufactured paper. Thankfully, you won't have any problems finding towns that demand this good to be delivered to them. You could also add a second sawmill to your existing grid, however you won't have to worry about this right away. Nevertheless, you should know that shipping 50 carloads of lumber will take a lot of time and the first level of this scenario is very short. Adding new sawmills would also allow you to help them grow. This means that these factories would be able to produce more lumber. The choice is yours. Just make sure that you're not late.

Take your time and look for a city with a built paper mill. You will have to participate in an auction, however you will also have to make sure that there's at least one sawmill in this area of the map.

LEVEL 2 - Prospectors, Papers and Profits!

You will have to complete all of these tasks by: 1930.

Level two objectives:

1) Make headlines by building or purchasing a newspaper in Boise.

I would recommend that you take your time completing this objective. It would be wise to complete all previous assignments (from Level One of the scenario) in the first place. As for the newspaper building, you will probably have to buy this factory. Furthermore, it will possible later during the game. Boise must expand first, so the game will unlock a new production slot (the third one), allowing you to purchase this building. There's nothing else for you to do here, however it would be wise to start selling the paper. There are a few large cities in the area, so make sure that they're connected to Boise. One of them is located to the south-west (Bend) and that's where you'll probably want to sell these goods.

2) Transport 100 carloads of new workers to Seattle, and 40 carloads of paper to your newspaper in Boise.

First of all, you should know that you will have to do two separate things there. There aren't any common elements, except for the tracks that need to built. Let's start with Seattle, mostly because it'll be easier to fulfill this task. You will have to create a new connection that will allow you to connect Olympia and Portland with Seattle. Now you will have to buy at least one locomotive and proceed with the transportation process. Olympia might still be growing, so it would be wise to choose Portland or Salem for your destination. You will probably have to create a larger number of parallel tracks, but that shouldn't be much of a problem. You could also create a second line that would connect Seattle with Vancouver that's located in the northern part of the map. This is not necessary, however creating such a line would allow you to speed up this process. Additionally, you will be able to create a few other lines here. Notice that there are some factories in this area. It would be wise to add some of the refineries or farms to your existing grid. These buildings will provide you with extra cash, especially since the citizens of Seattle and Vancouver will demand a lot of different goods to be delivered to them. Completing second part of this objective is going to be much more difficult. I had to deal with another difficulty, because Boise was already manufacturing paper! As a result, I had to create to choose another town and build a paper mill there. Olympia seemed like a good idea, especially since it had already grown. You could also take a look at the northern part of the map. Lewiston should also be able to produce paper, however you would have to let this town grow. Either way, I'm sure that you'll have a lot of options. Make sure that the production chain isn't interrupted by less important connections. You will also have to watch out for the time limit.

3) Do something your banker can be proud of. Attain a net worth of $25 million.

I guess you know exactly what has to be done here, so I won't have to add anything else. Just make sure that you're creating profitable connections. You could also try and create additional production chains. This would allow you to manufacture food, steel or even automobiles. Don't forget to upgrade or modify your connections. You should also get rid of older locomotives. I'm sure that you'll be able to fulfill this mission objective without any other problems.

You should consider taking a closer look at the small village of Lewiston. It would be wise to help it grow into a town or metropolis, especially if there are some sawmills in that area. Doing this would allow you to supply Boise with more paper.

This picture shows the most important cities of the region:

1 - Portland; 2 - Olympia; 3 - Seattle; 4 - Vancouver; 5 - Salem; 6 - Bend; 7 - Boise; 8 - Lewiston; 9 - Spokane

You won't have to connect any particular cities during this mission. As a result, you will be able to complete all objectives using various approach methods.

Additional hints for the entire scenario:

This scenario is a little bit different from the previous missions of the game. It's also much shorter, however you shouldn't be happy about that, because it'll be a lot harder to finish up with some of the objectives. As you've probably noticed, there are only three large towns at the start of the game - Portland, Seattle and Vancouver. The rest are fairly small villages that will only demand certain types of goods to be delivered, instead of transporting passengers or mail. All of this will require you to act differently, especially in the early part of the game. You won't be allowed to proceed with the transportation process right away. This will have to wait. Instead, you'll focus on finding and supplying different kinds of resources.

Just as before, you will have to start off by choosing one of the available towns. I would recommend that you choose between two different approach methods. Both of them seem to be equally interesting. If you decide to choose Portland, you will be able to fulfill some of the mission goals much faster. Sadly, you're going to have a lot of problems in the early part of the game. It's mostly because there aren't any interesting factory facilities in the vicinity of Portland. As a result, you will have to plan your first connections very carefully, because they'll be quite expensive. You won't be allowed to make any major mistakes here. If you decide to choose some other town, then you'll probably have an easier start, but it'll take more time to fulfill some of the crucial mission objectives. The choice is yours. Just make sure that you don't spend too much money on unnecessary investments. You can also consider selling some of your stock, however this is optional.

The mission map is filled with a large number of small towns and villages. As a result, the start of the scenario will be much more challenging than before.

One of the most important things for you to do will be to fulfill demands of nearby villages and towns. You WON'T be able to proceed with the transportation process right away, because the villages are too small for that. Make sure that you're using 'goods' window to locate farms, refineries and other factory buildings. Start off by creating two or three connections. They will have to be very profitable, so you'll be earning additional cash very soon. This will allow you to expand further into this territory. You should also remember that the first level of this scenario is going to be very short. This means that you won't be allowed to have any unwanted delays.

Try focusing on two villages. I'm sure that you remember that you will have to help them grow into metropolitan areas. This is going to be quite difficult. I'd strongly recommend that you locate at least one sawmill. Supplying towns with lumber seems like a good idea at the moment, however you will have to watch out for computer players. For example, one of the AI players was trying so steal my lumber. If this happens, you will have to buy additional locomotives or order your trains to wait for the full load before proceeding to nearby villages. You should also focus your attention on finding untouched factories, so you won't have to share the resources with anyone else.

Reaching one of the nearby sawmills is going to be very important.

You should try and focus all of your attention on satisfying demands of the growing villages. Ignore Portland for the time being. You won't have to do anything particular with this town. Just make sure that the two chosen villages are expanding. Once they've reached a town status, you will be able to proceed with the passengers and mail transportation. This will allow you to earn some extra money. You should also consider supplying new goods that weren't needed before. For example, you should be able to supply the towns with a lot of fishes, however building these connections is going to cost you a little more. Nevertheless, you shouldn't be trying to avoid these kinds of possibilities. Starting new production chains is also a good idea. If you're lucky, you should be able to manufacture luxury goods - paper, steel or even automobiles. I'm sure that you know how all of this works. Keep expanding your grid, especially since there are a lot of different factories and villages on the map.

Make sure that all primary objectives have been completed. Once this is done, you may focus on expanding the main part of the grid. You should be able to connect Seattle and Vancouver without any additional problems. Moving to the eastern side of the map is also very important. You will have to build several expensive connections here (a lot of bridges and tunnels), however I assure you that it'll be worth it. Also, don't forget about the possibility of creating parallel tracks. This is very important, especially near big cities. You shouldn't have any other problems with the second level objectives of this scenario.

Sadly, some connections are going to be very expensive (especially near Boise). Nevertheless, you shouldn't be avoiding them. Reaching other areas of the map will allow you to earn some extra dollars.

You mustn't forget about other ways to earn some money. For example, you should try and participate in several contests. I'm sure that you remember these from the previous missions of the game. If you manage do fulfill these kinds of tasks, you will be rewarded with 100000 dollars.

The final phase of this scenario will require you to repeat most of these actions. Keep expanding into other areas of the map. Don't worry about the competition, however you shouldn't sell too much of your stocks. Try and invest some of your money into new factory buildings. You could grow other villages to become towns. Also, make sure that you have reached most of the sawmills. They will be very important. You won't have to participate in most of the invention auctions, but you could try and acquire some of these upgrades. Remember that growing towns will have new types of demands. This means that you will have to expand or modify your existing connections. Thankfully, the third level of this scenario isn't so difficult, so you won't have any problems completing it.