Pinching Pennies:
. Expense when?
. End of month
. Refresh bare land!
. Your RAILs are money in the bank!
. Make MORE money from your industry resources.

TTdx Time economy
. Fast Bridge Building
. Rename for faster navigation
. Be efficient! Do less work!

Choose a GOOD rail line.
. Go for LONG trips.
. 75% 2-way iron.
. Synergy, and triangle tracks.

Trial build it first!
Your FIRST project

TTdx Money economy - Pinching Pennies.
In TT(dx) you start with 0 fortune and a limited credit, so there will be "far niente" times when you can't afford to build anything, until the next train comes in.
At other times, later in the game, you have enough money, but maybe too little time for all the building you want to do.

Expense when?
Sometimes it's best to spend the minimum on a station now, even if this means you must rebuild it later, at somewhat greater total cost:

You've planned for a 4 track, length 5 station some day. For now, while your coal mine is producing the ordinary 130 per month, a 1 track, length 4 station may be quite enough. Maybe 2 tracks, if you use a 'piglet' train. Your early engines aren't strong enough to pull 9 wagons.

If you're using TTdPatch - I recommend it - you can add more station tracks later, no need to bulldoze the rail station. But then make sure your 1st 1-track station has the right length! And if possible: place the depot where you'll want your depot-force later. Depots cost money!

Of course you've planned a lovely long loop of track, 2 ways between Coal and Power. But until your first train arrives at the power station, you only need the one track! The rails back can wait awhile.
Or you could build just a few of them, connecting them to the other track as passing loops. Early in the game there won't be many trains to watch.

Early in the game you might use the 'Source and Sink' method:
When your train #1 delivers at the power station, send it to depot at that end; then sell it! and buy a new one at the coal end!
This costs you a few hundred pounds in value loss for the vehicles - but saves you the long way back with an empty train. Also, the rails back can wait.

Where you should not economise too much:
Don't build long crooked tracks to avoid pulling down a few hill points. That would slow your trains, and make them pay less. The extra expense spent on building straight good tracks with few bends - you'll get that back in a few months, through better payoff.

End of month:
A number of economic changes happen on the first of next month:

• You pay 'maintenance' - 50 £ per station. so:
  Maybe starting that next bus stop can wait till the first?
• You pay interest on your loan: normally about 3% / year,
  that's 25 £ per 10000£ per month. So:
  Those 10000£ batches you don't need to spend in March: pay them BACK on March 31; then re-loan them on April 1st. No joke!
  The TT bank is old-fashioned - uses the methods of banks 40-50 years ago, before computers allowed more detail computation.
• Vehicles change their price on the 1st (and other times), so if you need new vehicles very soon, it's maybe better to buy them on the 31st; you may save more here than on the Pay-back / Re-Loan.
• If your money is low, but a good train will cash early next month:
  Spend what you can before the 1st; then on the 1st your cash will be negative, in red letters! Don't worry, you can live on with red letters for several months before the TTd trade board chucks you out. When that train comes in, you'll have pennies to spend again.
• What to do with your TTd time while your cash is red?

There are a few things you can do even with negative cash:
- change the names of towns, stations etc.
- give orders to vehicles. And:
- Refresh bare land!

• You've probably pulled down a few hill points when building your coal to power track; You'll need to pull down some more for the track back. Now some of these hillside tiles are brown 'bare land', and cost nothing to bulldoze.
• You've maybe followed my advice on Chopping 9 to 12 trees; The result is a number of 'bare land' tiles in town areas, many of them with trees on neighbour tiles.
• If left alone, these brown tiles will become 'grass' about 3 weeks after the chop. Then they will cost about 20 £ to bulldoze.
• So: Keep these tiles brown by re-bulldozing them!
  Twice a month (easier to remember than once every 3 weeks): Go through those bare land tiles you'd like kept bare; bulldoze them.
  Now no trees will land on them, and your track back to coal will be a little cheaper to build, later on.

Make MORE money from your industry resources.
Mere penny pinching won't make you a TT winner. The most important part of economy is making money - lots of it! My website has lots of stuff about this. Just a few reminders:
- Good extended stations - stretched the right way.
- Long transport routes pay well.
- don't let your trains do the slow full load before going off.
- Keep up good station ratings - frequent visits, or use piglets.
- Synergy! Mixed trains!

TTdx Time economy
Too little time to build ... I spend most of my TT-time in that mode. Definition: a build is doing 1 thing: place a half-road, or a line of rails, or a bridge; or give an order.

Rule no 1: Always work from pause mode: F1, Do it, F1!

Rule no 2: use keyboard shortcut: Insert = LMB = Left Mouse Button.
1: From 'paused': choose what to do, e.g. build a rail station;
2: point the mouse at the right tile; then leave the mouse alone!
3: Then, quickly: F1, Insert-button, F1.

This is the fastest way to get things built. I average about 12..18 builds per TT day, depending on what I do. ... or 2..3 bridges per day - bridges are slow to build, (see also further down) and need you to use that mouse.

TT(dx) has it's own internal minimum times for each build; but for most small jobs your finger speed is the limiting factor. Building bridges, and long stretches of rail or road, are the slowest builds: If you try too fast, you miss your shot - time goes by, but nothing is built.

There are some 'Slow-down' programs available. In my experience, one saves very little by using them with TT, and the program sometimes crashes. So I use a slow-down program only in extreme cases, when I must finish something before a given TT-date.

One new hint which I got from Mauro Donati, Italy:
- also "F1, press button, F1, release button" works! So:
to build a bridge (or long stretch of rails), you might do the following:

1. select bridge icon (or rail, or road icon).
2. F1 (start time).
3. press button on the starting tile (do not release!)
4. F1 (stop time).
5. drag pointer to the end tile (time is stopped!!)
6. release button.
7. chose bridge type (time still stopped).

For more efficient navigation around the TT Map:

I often rename a few towns: ( F1, press "RENAME", F1, edit name)
- IMPORTANT ones: Insert a colon in front of the old town name.
- UNIMPORTANT ones: Insert a small letter in front of the old name.

This sorts the important towns to the TOP of the city list, and the unimportant ones to the bottom; making it easier to find the towns I have business near to, without scrolling down the city list.

"IMPORTANT" also includes some "marker towns" along the coast, or in the centre. So that I can navigate to any part of the map using the first page of the city list.
In the long run, this saves lots of mouse clicks!

Apart from stuffing as many builds as possible into each TT day: Trying to minimize the amount of work is a sensible thing:

• Draw a line of rails (or roads): There's often the risk of road / railing too many tiles. So, before doing it: see that the planned end of the rail line is naturally stopped by something: a broken point; or a vertical rail with a signal; or a vehicle passing by.
  Alternative: Restart ... restart ... restart.
• To 'reserve' 1 tile early in the game: I place a horizontal / vertical rail; this is cheapest in £, since I get 70£ back later. But: Later I'll have to remove that rail, to build something else there. So:
  In the time-bound game, unless town or opponents threaten, I reserve 1 tile by placing a 1/2 road; this costs more, but later I can build on that tile without bulldozing it first.
• Reserve a row of tiles: I might use a wooden bridge - stiff against opponents too! And at removal time, only 1 'click' to X it.
• Walking an extended station: Early in the game I try to do it as cheaply as possible: just Bus stop, Lorry stop. Rail station: only the real one.
  In the time-bound game, I use 1-track rail stations whenever that will save me some builds: 2 'clicks' for each station element walked. The 1-track rail station is slightly more expensive in £ than the corresponding line of Bus stops / Lorry stops.

Choose a GOOD rail line; for your 1st project, or your 2nd ...

One of your best transport planning tools is the map tool: Select the map, choose 'show industries', and look for paired resources:
Coal-Power ... Iron-Steelmill ... Wood- Sawmill/Factory/Papermill.
Pairs too close together won't pay well, but might get a subsidy ... which maybe you can Port to get a longer distance.

The best type of industry pair has a good distance between the 2 - minimum 60 tiles is my rule. And if this distance is mostly horizontal or vertical, this will give you a better ratio pay-distance / train-distance; which means better pay. Vertical or horizontal rails take the train there much faster than going all the way up-left, then all the way up-right; see my Test Run for Vertical / Horizontal rails!.

After finding the 'perfect' match, you need to look at the actual terrain between your pairs. Let's hope there's not a huge mountain there...

Project examples:

A: Go for LONG trips!
Picture from the Delta North scenario (downloadable from my site).
at C: the 3Rivers and Lake Julia coal mines. I've seen lots of Delta North savegames from many people, and every one of those others had Train#1 taking coal from these 2 coal mines. But:
Every one of them transported the double-coal to A! The short route (blue-grey line) to Allum power station. That route is a bit troublesome to build, since it will pass close to 2 towns, and also has river problems.

Now look at the yellow line to H - the long route to the Hamilton power: More than half of the rails will be high-pay vertical ones!
This route is about 120 tiles long - about twice my minimum for a good route. Another advantage: if you lay your rails along the orange line from C to F, then vertically (yellow line) to H: you'll get a very easy build! Lots of none territory; few town trees to chop; and not too many hillsides to pull down. Very good for a first project!

And at F there's a 3rd coal mine! On the way back from H, your trains can pick up the F coal, take it to C, unload it; go to depot, then back to the station and pick up fresh coal. Coal from all 3 coal mines will pay at C-H rate: 1950: about 3400£ per wagon - 17000£ for a 5-wagon train. NB: if you lay very good straight tracks - no crinkles!

Someone told me: "With this giant track you can't build anything else for a long time - you'll just be adding trains to that 3Coals line..."
Yes, so what? This coal route needs 4..5 trains to take off the production - more if there's a production double. But those 4-5 trains each earn about 70..80000£ per year; that's very good for a first project. I've seen few better ones.

And while you're pouring your money into new good trains, there's time to plan and trial-build your second and third project - maybe there will be some good subsidies on offer? Not rushing too early into your second project may be a very good thing.

B: 75% 2-way iron.
In the last example trains were paid for 50% of the way - that's normal.
Picture from Delta North again, now the top left coast: Look at the 2 Iron mines at V and A; and the 2 Steel mills at H and M:
Many players would build the 2 short routes - blue-grey lines - and end up with 2 short low-pay trains.
Instead: you should build the whole rail loop - V - M - A - H.
Of course the iron trains should be full on the V-M and the A-H bits - the long orange lines; and empty on the short blue-grey lines. This gives you almost a 2-way iron line - well, 75% then. And the iron trips are relatively long, about half the length of the map.

There are facories at f for the steel; and goods-likely towns at G; and a refinery, and oil along the coast - 2 wells, 3 oil rigs ... many mixed trains ... Synergy!!
So this transport line needs big thinking - you may need double tracks each way; one of the tracks on bridges, out at sea, maybe?
A good project to mull over for 2 years or so, while you prepare the ground (chop trees, gradually), and store up money.

Many TTd scenarios have double-pairs of resources like this; where you can reduce the 'empty' percentage of your trains. Look for them!

C: Synergy, and triangle tracks.
Even more TTd scenarios have resource triangles - example: Oil A-B; Goods B-C; Coal C-A. And maybe passengers, mail between 2 of the 3.
You can use longer trains than usual, since at any time some of the wagons will be empty. Efficient long synergic trains.

Picture from the AusTrans game: Tropical - one started in 1974, with a bad system and little cash. So in 1975, 1976 I stuck to relatively short routes; some of them were subsidized, and there was lots of synergy:
The polygons on the map show my MEGA-stations:
Pink=B=Broome: Lumber mill, Copper, Bank. Takes Goods, takes diamonds.
Red1=H=Pt.Hedland: has 2 diamond mines, 1 copper.
Blue=E=Exmouth: factory, oil.
Yellow=P=Perth: factory, refinery, Bank. Makes+takes Goods; takes diamonds.
Brown=A=Albany: factory, rubber, oil.
Red2=K=Kalgoorlie: 1 diamond mine, Bank; takes Goods, takes diamonds.
In 1976 I built those 2 short triangle lines (black rails):
Broome - Exmouth - Hedland - Broome: trains had wagons for: wood, copper, goods, diamonds, passengers, mail. Many trains, earning a little on each leg of the trip - each train made about 50-80000£ per year, with subsidies.

Albany - Perth - Kalgoorlie - Albany: trains had wagons for: rubber, oil, goods, diamonds, passengers, mail.

In 1978, subsidies gone, economy better: I'm ready to re-use these resources on longer transport routes: my MEGA stations are OK as they are, but the A rubber should go to the E factory, and the B wood+copper should go the A or P factory - orange lines - much better pay.
The diamonds could use the same tracks: the south diamonds (I now use both mines) to Broome, the Hedland diamonds to Perth or Kalgoorlie.
A set of integrated rails between the North and South areas should take care of all this, + oil Exmouth-Perth (now done by ships).

Always Trial Build it first!
When building complex systems like cathedrals, large computer programs, and TT rail systems: one very rarely gets it right the first time - we're only human. That's why planning - and in TT: trial building - is so important.

The trial build gives you a count of how much the stations and rails will cost. Then you know how much there is left for other things: trains, city work, hassling the AI opposition, etc.

If starting a hard game with an opponent popping up on January 1: I do a separate trial build of my 'hassling' game against him! Find out when he expands, how / where to guide him to clear land for me.

"One can't afford to do that sort of thing in a hard game!" , I hear someone shouting. Yes, you can, and probably should. Even in a 100000£ budget there should be room for about 10000£ for 'odd jobs': getting the opponent to do valuable land clearing for you; or chopping 9..12 trees near towns.

When trial building: you might use something to give you more cash:
my Opt1528k.zip with a new game;
or: use TTdPatch, and a money cheat.
I never use money cheats in my 'real' games. But for trial building it's very useful. You want to concentrate on the building alone, not have to wait for trains coming in.

Your first project!

So you've trial built and calculated your 1st project; you've set up your budget. you're ready to begin:
Don't forget those other important matters: Chop 9 to 12 trees near towns, getting assistance from the opponents, and refreshing bare land! Now, early in the game, is the right time for these things.

A good idea is to use a time-table! One for January of your 1st year; another for the next 2..5 months. Example: (no opponents)

January: 01-09: build stations, track... 10-16: Chop trees near towns. 17-21: mark route: .. place 22-24: refresh bare land; ... 25-28: Chop trees near towns. 29-31: odd jobs; February etc: 01-02: refresh, odd jobs. 04-09: build track, stations... 10-13: Chop trees near towns. 14-17: refresh bare land; ... 18-24: build track ... 25-27: Chop trees near towns. 27-02: refresh; odd jobs. March, ...: etc etc ... ...

yes, source station first! Send in a train to LOAD. Better ratings! rails at the turns; terraforming. it's 3 weeks since January 1st. cheap to do, very useful later! Hope for Production UP or Subsidy! Refresh: end-o-month, and middle. This schedule is just a suggestion; you won't have enough cargo to send off till mid- or end-February (unless you have a double-resource). You don't need lots of rails until March. So spend your first 2-3 months doing other things, inbetween.

If you have a January 1st opponent: the time-table should show when he's active.

- mark route: You should map out the main points of your rail route, before you place all those rails.

- Then: first the out track - from coal to power. The track back can wait. The Goal station can wait too, unless it has some resources to load.

- Your 1st train should be LOADing coal etc, to get the ratings up from 67% to 80% or so. Before going off to the goal, UNload the train; wait 3.5 days for next coal production; then reload the train and GO - now all the coal is fresh.

- While train #1 is on it's way, you should have a train #2 loading, to keep up those coal ratings. Use a cheap engine if you can't afford a better one. After cashing in with train #1, you can exchange train #2's engine for a better one.

---- Top of document ----

Last updated: EconoTTD.htm 2004-1027b ,(2003-0905 ,0131a)