How to keep demand high?

[theo20185]

On the expert economic model, stations rate their demand with a number. The lowest I've seen is 0 and the highest I've seen is 7. I know demand affects prices paid for transport. If a city has a demand of 7 for food, it's going to pay nearly double than a city that has a demand of 1. Mass deliveries of 5 or 6 cars absolutely crushes demand. A train with 5 food cars and a caboose will bring demand down to 0 from 7 with two deliveries. On the third delivery, the demand may have recovered to 1 or 2.

I tried running less cars to the cities to keep demand and prices high. The problem is that I'm making much less money and my bonds are killing me.

Running tests on the Heartland, USA scenario in 1935 usking the Mikado (and then later GG1). Running a single express train between Columbus and Cleveland with 5 passenger cars and a dining car gets good profit until passenger demand collapses. Running a train with 2 passenger cars, a mail car, and a dining car keeps demand higher, but there is less revenue to cover the maintenance expenses of the train.

This game is old and lacks many features of modern logistical transport sims. In modern games, cities clearly tell players how much of a cargo is needed over the course of a year, and most do not accept deliveries past this amount or just shut off production to break the supply chain. Passengers usually have a destination they need to go. RT2 does not do these things.Consumption for each city is unclear. Time for the train to complete the route is unclear. Passengers are treated like cargo; they have an expiration date and do not have specific destinations.

How do you balance volume of deliveries with demand?

[mrraleigh98]

Mass hauling isn't exactly the greatest strategy at the beginning. Mass hauling generally only works over long distances, as there is more time for demand to recover. At the start, use a smaller locomotive like the Prairie to haul passengers and light freight (like 3-4 cars). When you have demand consistently at 1, that means you've oversaturated demand, and you need to rearrange to haul cargo elsewhere rather than the city in quesiton. Also consider not doing passenger shuttles but rather have one train visit three or four stations in it's run.

When you are established, then you can use the more expensive trains like the Mikado, GG1 and Hudson to haul large quantities over long distances. IMO though, the Mikado is a horribly expensive locomotive for it's speed, and you should only use it where it's really mountainous. You should use the cheaper Prairie or USRA 0-8-0 instead.

The things you mention are certainly kinks within the game that you have to get used to, the game is 20 years old after all. Things that appear unclear to you are things that experienced players are used to just knowing through intuition. I'd say play a scenario that has an earlier start date like 'Britain' or 'Western USA'. It tends to be easier to make money in earlier times, and you can build your craft and experience on those before trying harder more modern maps. The game is also played at a slower pace which is always a help. Maps past 1950 are especially difficult since all trains are super expensive, and it's tough to sustain a profit while being expansive with your railroad.

Hope this can help!