Changes

At first, you should [[Game_speed|pause]] the game and have a look around the map. Notice how many [[Town|Towns]] are there, how many [[Industries]], and how far apart they are. A good starting location should have at least three [[Town|Towns]] and at least one of each [[Industries|Industry]] (i.e a forest, a coal mine and a toolworks) close by. You'll have enough money for distant connections later on, but for now you should set up short lines so that your rail doesnyou don't cost have to spend too much money [[Token|Tokens]]: [[File:token money.png|16px]]on rail.

You start with a loan, and if you don't start by earning more money (green tokens: [[File:token money.png|16px]]) you'll quickly run out and that would be the end of your fledgling rail empire. Therefore, before you look at freight trains you need money trains (i.e passenger traffic), so start by connecting two nearby towns. Try to place your [[Stations]] in such a way so that they cover a bigger part of the town (or the whole town, ideally), - that way they will generate the most passengers. Hint: There is a helpful station extension called the waiting station that extends how much of the town your station covers.

* Hint 1: There is a helpful station extension called the "waiting room" that extends how much of the town your station covers. An "extension" is an add-on building you can build right next to your industry, or in this case, station. Click the station. Then look at the Extensions tab. You need two stations'll find that the only extension costing money only (i.e. the only extension you can build before earning coal or wood tokens) for the station building is the "waiting room". Click that and place it on the map, and you will have increased your coverage of the town quite considerably!* Hint 2: Towns and cities will have a church. Try to include this in your station coverage - if you are unsure click the church you'll see why: it acts as ten houses for purposes of generating passengers for your trains. At the very start of how signals workthe game you will want to avoid the smallest villages without churches (because you'll earn money that much slower) but eventually you might want to connect every little hamlet to your rail empire - towns grow if you provide them with rail services. For your very first line you need two stations, a depot, and the rail connecting the two stations. The simplest approach is to just create a loop connecting them: one rail leading one way and another track leading back. If you plan on using more than a single train on the line (and you should, at least for this passenger line) you will need to put down a few [[signals]] to allow multiple trains to run on the same track; see [[Signals]]. And then Then connect your depot (from which you enter trains on the line) to that loop. Purchase two Porter locomotives, and add a couple of passenger cars (Pullmans or coach) to each. Don't forget to click the green flag to start them running!