Silver Booms and Market Busts

**Silver Booms and Market Busts** is the fourth mission of the classic campaign in the game Railroad Tycoon II. The premise of this scenario is the development of the railroads in the Southwest of the USA throughout the 1880s, with the player taking control of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railroad. The map used in this mission is representative of the Southwestern USA.

## Overview

### Introduction Spiel

> *Heard there's some valuable ore to be had up in the mountains. You need to make quick work of gettin' your lines up there to be THE primary transport. Some areas are pretty remote, and would require ya to be as resourseful as possible. The business is THERE! You just gotta get in there... Now GIT!*
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### Victory Conditions

* **Bronze:** Personal Net Worth of $5 Million by 1905
* **Silver:** Personal Net Worth of $10 Million by 1900
* **Gold:** Personal Net Worth of $20 Million by 1895

A loss will be triggered if the player's personal net worth is less than $5 million at the beginning of 1905.

### Available Bonuses

* **Choice 1:** +20% stock price, 15% lower track building cost
* **Choice 2:** +20% security, +10% steam engine speed
* **Choice 3:** 2-8-0 Consolidation available early, +15% cattle revenue

All three choices are good enough to be recommended, and it may depend on what strategy the player opts for. Choice 1 is solid. The 15% lower track cost does add up over time, but this is not a scenario where a building is a big railway is of utmost importance. The 20% increased stock price is also decent, but the bonus isn't as strong as it sounds, as you only own 20% of your company at the start, and the increased starting stock price in fact makes massing up stock at the start of the game slightly more challenging. Choice 3 also doesn't sound too bad, but the availability of the Consolidation is only brought forward by 30 months, and in reality, the Eight Wheeler is just as good of a locomotive as the Consolidation in most situations (especially at the start of a map). Besides, the cattle revenue bonus isn't a great one either in this scenario. Though cattle is a prominent resource on the map, it isn't pivotal; there are many other industry chains as well that can be hauled, and the extra revenue over time ends up being insignificant.

Choice 2 is the best choice to pick normally, due to the 10% engine speed being able to greatly increase revenues in all types of play. The 20% security is also valuable in this scenario. The robbery level is set high in this map, and the 20% decrease in robberies will ensure that there is much less lost revenue occurring.

### Starting Situation

* **Starting Year:** 1875
* **Player Name:** Cyrus K. Holliday
	+ **Starting Player Cash:** $25K personal cash
	+ **Starting Player Stock:** 2,000 shares of Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe (20% of the company)
* **Company Name:** Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe
	+ **Starting Company Cash:** $800K

The player starts with a double track medium station at Kansas City (with no station facilities). Since unconnected track is allowed in this scenario, the player doesn't have to initially base themselves out of Kansas.

### Ending Spiel

> *OK... Now maybe you're ready to step up to the plate and play with the big boys.*
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## Strategy

This mission is far harder than the previous scenario. The starting position isn't the greatest, though there are enough surrounding towns to build a decent-sized network. Because the goal is purely financial, the strategies one can use to win this scenario is rather fluid. The below strategy is one that works for gold, but there are many others that can work just as well.

### Starting Out

$800K isn't a lot to get you going, and the area doesn't have many big cities around. The initial goal for the company is to reach Denver from Kansas with the initial money, in order to receive the $700K stipend and the security bonus that is given on connection, and then use that extra money to establish a route to Tulsa. Consider issuing a bond, and build a single track out west, via Topeka, Great Bend, all the way to Denver, building a medium station there covering at least 5-6 houses. A message will pop-up and say that you have got the $700K bonus, and that all the trains of your company will be safer. At this stage, add sanding/water/oil facilities at both Denver and Kansas (doesn't start with them). Using this newly acquired cash, also build southwards from Topeka towards Tulsa (again using single track), building a medium station there, also with sanding and water facilities. Purchase a couple of passenger trains (use the Eight Wheeler) to run between Denver and Kansas, while one more train can run from Kansas to Topeka to Tulsa. These trains will slowly generate revenue, which can be used to link up nearby industries to the network. There should be cattle and grain supply nearby which should be hauled to make food at any of your cities that demand them. There may also be wool further west towards Denver, but the presence of a Textile Mill is not common in this area.

In terms of building personal wealth, one should always buy your own company shares aggressively, because the profitability and stock price of your company will largely be in your hands, and then also keep the dividend high (again up to 25% of profit). The computer companies (especially the two existing ones) are usually unprofitable, and struggle to generate revenue. Their stocks are not worth investing in, at least for now. The goal at this stage is to build a sustainable network that will be able to produce profit even during economic depressions. When you reach $1,000K, it's time to expand again. Again, consider taking a bond, and build single track east this time to St. Louis. In most cases, a medium station will catch everything in the city, but a large station is fine if required. Remember to build sanding/water/oil facilities, and the purchase a couple of trains to run express between St. Louis and Denver, and also St. Louis and Tulsa. Also adjust a few of the existing trains to run to and from St. Louis. If St. Louis has a textile mill, then haul some of the earlier mentioned Wool there, remembering to gradually buy up the industries that are used.

### Expansion Points

At this point, you'll probably have found money should be rolling in regularly, and congestion may start to become an issue, gradually double track all of the busy sections of track. Then, with money available, build south-west towards Oklahoma City. A medium station again should do, and add a passenger service between it and St. Louis. If Dodge City has a cattle farm, then link it with the meat packing plant either at Tulsa or Oklahoma City. Another point of expansion can probably be Omaha to the North. Perhaps rearrange one of your existing trains to collect passengers. There is usually more Cattle and Grain to the North, so expand your freight operations accordingly. Next, there's a steel mill in Burlington, and there should be Coal and Iron around the St. Louis, so connect those up, and run a couple of trains to service this chain. You can ship the finished steel to a tool and die factory in St. Louis, and the resultant goods to either Kansas or Davenport perhaps.

### Going for Gold

At this stage, your railroad empire is big enough to win gold with. All that is left is to wait for revenue to come in, and your wealth should increase as you continue to buy up shares in your company, and dividend comes in. If you've already bought all the shares, then now it's time to start investing in the AI companies, start with the most successful one. A merger may help you get to the required $20 million. If you own at least a third of the shares within a company. Use as much of the company money as possible when completing a merger in order to get a payout of close to double the share value you own. This influx of cash can then be used to buy up shares in the next company and so on. It would be surprising if after one merger, you hadn't won the gold yet.

## History

"In the years 1875 to 1910, the silver booms in the southwest drew the hopeful to the "untamed West." The remote towns were growing and demanding service and supplies. Even after the first transcontinental line built in the United States, the fever for expansion and riches did not die off. Before the end of the 1880’s, five more transcontinental lines were constructed. In this scenario, you’ll soon realize that the booming railroad industry of the 1800’s wasn’t built by timid men who were afraid to take risks. It was built by visionaries.

who knew that the key to personal wealth lay in building and running a profitable operation. You’re in charge of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe railroad, poised to dominate trans-portation in the west. Along with other natural resources of the area, you realize the potential for an aggressive railway magnate like yourself. You’ll have to overcome nature, competitors, and a fickle market to become the robber baron that lurks within you. Stay on the alert for opportunities, as they come and go quickly, and always remember, it’s you against the world as you try to measure up to the achievements of your predecessors. Your start date is 1875."

-- Railroad Tycoon II Strategy Guide