ST 3 Mail Train Help

Mail Train Help for SteamTRAIN 3 Choosing the Mail Train option provides new challenges for you the engineer (and crew) to deliver the mail on time! Basically, you show up for your work shift at your Depart Station and are assigned a locomotive and Fast Mail Train -- built up by the yard crew and parked it in front of the Depart Station. Your pre-assembled train always consists of exactly the same 4 cars: Loco, Tender, government Mail Car, 1 Baggage, and 2 Coaches -- A-B-C-D. Your task is to deliver 7 Mail Bags to 7 stations covering the entire ST Railroad main line -- as quickly as possible! You are graded on keeping your Schedule! On Time = 100% Pay. Of course, you could also be Early (good) or Late (bad). Various problems (crashes etc.) receive Time Penalties while you negotiate the rail circuit. Your Depart Station and final Arrive Station are always the two large Terminals. Before trying the Mail Train, some user selectable options are available from the Preferences Window (under the SteamTRAIN menu). You have 3 choices of increasing difficulty: (1) Fast Mail Train - 4 Cars Fixed, (2) Mail Train + Random Express, or (3) Mail + Express + Automatic Clock. Your schedule is pre-adjusted according to the degree of difficulty at the outset. The Demo (unregistered) version of ST lacks a few surprises. Options (1) and (2) above allow you to manually set the Railroad Clock. Option (3) automatically runs the clock from a random starting time. Light and dark are now related to the RR clock time. The Express option (2) and (3) adds more danger and challenge. Note: while your Mail Train is very important, the Express Train still has higher priority wherever they meet. Mail Train ON is selected near the top of the Station Menu. The Station Map and Mail Train Windows both open with your train orders as well as today's operating conditions, including: Depart Station: Start at Listed Terminal Station Route Direction: EAST or WEST Locomotive Type: American 4-4-0, Mogul 2-6-0, Consolidation 2-8-0 Water/Coal/Sand: Full (to Start) Brake Type: Train Air Brakes only (safest) Train Cars: 4 (A-B-C-D minimum) Grade/Slope: Map Normal or Map Steep (harder) Track Condition: Dry Rails or Slippery (danger) Time Remaining: XX Hours Arrive Station: Stop at all 7 Major Stations including Listed Terminal The Station Map shows each of the 7 stations where you must deliver a mail bag. The Depart Station has a Green Dot while the next seven -- including the Arrive Station -- gain Red Dots after youʼve stopped at each. For better screen visibility, the Station Map and Mail Train Windows can both be shown or hidden at any time using the “M” key. For very large screens, both windows can be relocated off the main window. Some of your prior preference and menu selections become overridden under Mail Train. Pay particular attention to orders or conditions shown in RE…