Ich bin eine Berliner

*Ich bin eine Berliner'* is the sixth mission of the Second Century campaign in Railroad Tycoon II and the final scenario of the World War II and Aftermath act. The premise is preparing Berlin to be blockaded by the Russians at the beginning of the Cold War.

 Overview

### Introduction Spiel

> "Tensions are rising between Russia and the western allies. There're rumors of a blockade, Berlin could be cut off! Walls of every kind are going up, people are scrambling to escape the closing Iron Curtain. Berlin will need all the supplies it can get to outlast the seige. It won't be easy, as borders are tightening everywhere and as we speak!"
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### **Victory Conditions**

* **Bronze:** Deliver 8 loads of food, 5 loads of diesel, and 4 loads of troops to Berlin by the end of day on June 25.
* **Silver:** Also deliver 3 loads of steel.
* **Gold:** Also deliver 2 loads of ammunition and 2 loads of weapons.

### **Available Bonuses**

* **Choice 1:** +25% Safety
* **Choice 2:** +10% Engine Speed
* **Choice 3:** +15% Acceleration

### **Starting Situation**

* **Starting Year:** June 18 12:00am

You begin this scenario with a full rail network and two trains: a 4-4-4-4 T1 in Berlin and a Class A4 Mallard in Gottingen Crossing.

### Ending Spiel

> *Look at those beauties. The F-class diesels; they're somethin' ain't they? Big ol' workhorses. Well, you served the beginning of the second century pretty darn well, I'm impressed. You survived a very dark time in history too. That's all behind you now, a new era awaits you. One filled with new technologies and more cunning competitors. As you enter this new era, it seems your politics haven't been compromised by the Russian experience 'cause the French are calling your name!*
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## Strategy

#### Bonus Choice

The strongest choice in this scenario is likely the increased acceleration. Safety is definitely a problem in this scenario, but can be mitigated with cabooses, careful management of train throttles, and some luck. The second and third choices are roughly equivalent, but the increased acceleration is probably the strongest--there will be a lot of cargo pickups and twisting tracks, so your trains will rarely get to top speed.

#### Starting Out

This scenario, like The Battle for Britain and Mother Russia, is a route-planning mission—more of a puzzle than a mission. Resources are static so you only need to visit each station once. There are also slightly more resources than you need in order to complete Gold, so it's possible to skip a few stations.

It's also worth noting that both trains start out the scenario stopped. You must remember to change their priority to allow them to start moving.

#### Setting the Route for the Class A4 Mallard

The Mallard has a high top speed but poor grade performance, making it ideally suited to collecting resources from the plains of Northern Germany. It also has a lower reliability, so a caboose is highly recommended on all trains, as is traveling with multiple short trains instead of a few long ones. Remember, too, that reliability decreases over time, so it's important to carry your heaviest cargo at the beginning.

First, send it to pick up food at Hannover and Osnabruck and carry it to Berlin. Next, pick up diesel, steel, and troops from Cologne, Duisburg, and Bremen, repectively. After that, collect diesel from Bremerhaven and ammunition from Hamburg. Finally, pick up food from Kiel.

#### Setting the Route for the 4-4-4-4 T1

The T1, in contrast to the Mallard, has a lower top speed but excellent reliability, haluing power, and grade performance. This means it's perfect for long trains in the hilly Southern Germany. However, this path also has several large gaps between stations that will result in your train running out of sand and water, so this must be managed carefully with short detours to refill the train's consumables.

First, send the train to Linz, Munich, Augsberg, and Nurnberg to pick up the cargo there. Your train will run out of consumables on the path to Berlin, but by the time it does this it will be on the relatively flat terrain of the north, so it won't slow your train too badly.

After this, pick up cargo in Saarbrucken, Strasbourg, Karlsruhe, Mainz, and Frankfurt. This will necessitate a 6 car train without a caboose, but fortunately the base reliability of the T1 should mean this isn't too much of a problem. Make sure you make a short detour to Gottingen Crossing on both the outbound and return trips to refill consumables, otherwise your train will slow to a crawl.

#### Managing the Throttle

Once you've set up the routes, the rest of the scenario becomes a matter of carefully managing the throttle of your trains. The T1 has a high enough reliability that it can be left on max throttle for the length of the mission, but the Mallard requires a bit more babysitting. Carefully monitor the breakdown chance over the course of the mission, and pay extra attention whenever it picks up new cargo. Ideally, you should try to keep the breakdown chance somewhere in the 5 to 10% range. Breakdowns are somewhat inevitable, however, but fortunately you can absorb one or two without ruining your chances of completing the scenario. With a little luck, you should get Gold easily!