Part 5: 1903-1905: Things come unstuck

Locomotion Soundtrack - Chrysanthenum
Locomotion has an option to play only contemporary tracks, hence you're getting a lot of ragtime at the moment.


1903-1905: Things come unstuck


When we left McDuck Enterprises last time, Passenger train The Chowick Express had slipped the confines of it's itinerary and was heading south.


Train control immediately stops the train and it is brought back to the Howick subdivision. Stopped vehicles can be lifted from the line and dropped elsewhere. Doing this removes all cargo, so you don't want to do it on normal operations.


For some reason, Spotted Train opts to head for the Auckland station. No big deal, but on it's way out again, it decides to go back to the line it just came from.






The Express is restarted, and immediately heads towards the southern sector again!




The Trunk-Howick junction is modified. Now trains from Howick must choose to go directly left or right, instead of veer right/straight ahead.




This time, Spotted Train is able to negotiate the junctions correctly.


Another Industry shuts down.






We try again with Chowick Express. It successfully negotiates the junctions.


This is good. We'll be able to set up a station to collect coal from both of them and never be short of something to haul.





This bloody machine has no sense of direction!




So this junction, we adjust to make more rectilinear.


The lines are open!




Despite all this, the Bronze Horse has been steadily delivering payload to the mill at Pokeno, and Mcduck can begin to pay off his debts.








With things back to normal, McDuck Enterprises goes in search of new revenue. I have no idea what this name references, but I have no doubt that within a year or two the locals will be calling it the 'Transit Tram'
In the first shot, you can see a blue overlay showing the proposed station's catchment area. Unfortunately the passenger stop signs are very hard to see. In the game, they are much easier to see.




Unfortunately, the new normal is all fouled up. the situation is dire!


This time, we simply rip a movement out of the junction!




Thankfully, Bronze Horse not only pulls us through, but is growing the company








It seems the parsimonious McDuck has built a railway that works fine if the trains don't interact with each other and all the signals are operated manually.




Bronze Horse Again!


Our tram is contributing as well. Here you can see why trams are a great starter vehicle.


As 1904 arrives, the ghost of christmasses present help Scrooge review what people think of him.

Bah! We only bowled one cottage! We're sure the evicted family is happy nobly toiling in the workhouse.









Most other places have better opinions of us. Wait - Top marks for mail!?
A house near the Pokeno sawmill must have just posted the station's first ever piece of mail, ratings start at 100% and drop over time if the cargo isn't delivered.


The jams are beginning to have an effect.






Scrooge takes his mind off his train problems by picking up a cheap boat from a man in a pub. A ferry service crossing the Waitemata harbour is set up between Auckland and Devonport. The Auckland dock is cunningly set up to connect to the Auckland rail station. On the second try





Unfortunately the nameplate is to short for the new bote's grandiose name.




Revenue is coming in steadily.




The harbour ferry is operational


Meanwhile...





Ah yes, still normal.

The Chowick Express has taken an unscheduled day excursion to the Port Waikato Station. Commuters remained calm and polite, but on some newspapers knuckles could be seen turning white and a single case of a ripped paper was reported.




Of course, with the lower line occupied, the flatbeds returning from Henderson paper mill are forced into the very line that the express was supposed to be heading for, blocking it.




The new ferry is helping keep our heads above water.

And the tram has been a success.


But as the year 1904 draws to a close, drastic action is planned on the shared sector of the Auckland line.


Everywhere has grown a lot in five years. Virtually every town is big enough to support a passenger line now.


Scrooge celebrates harder than ever this Hogmanay. The next day he moves out of his mother's parlour and strikes the earth in a newly purchased allotment near the bustling town of Pukekohe.

We're up to date! I have all challenges and routes listed so far saved. The railway causing the problem is already going to get a big rework next time, so I don't need suggestions to fix that. You can still suggest new destinations coming off that line and they will be incorporated. Other than that, business as usual!