Era 1 Engines
Researching just the solid lines on engines will get you to the next engine quicker. Unless otherwise noted or required, I don't recommend researching all engine upgrades.
- SWALLOW: The SWALLOW is the first engine. The SWALLOW now has only 2 cars with update. I recommend researching just the required upgrades. The Safety Valve is an OK upgrade but forget the Large Steam Dome. It doesn't cost much to service the SWALLOW.
- RAVEN: The RAVEN (65 km with an upgrade) has a slightly faster Speed than the SWALLOW (60 km with an upgrade), and can haul 3 cars with the required upgrade instead of the SWALLOW's 2 cars. But the RAVEN's Acceleration of 3/20 (5/20 with an upgrade), is lower than the upgraded SWALLOW's 18/20. The service costs are also higher. Overall it's a small upgrade over the SWALLOW.
- RHINOCEROS: The RHINOCEROS has a base Speed of 120 km and an Acceleration of 10/20. But it can only haul 1 car. If you plan to replace your engines with RHINOCEROS, I would research at least the traction upgrade so they can haul 2 cars. That will slow your path to other engines though. With the traction upgrade the RHINOCEROS is a decent upgrade over the SWALLOW.
- DONKEY: The DONKEY has slow Speed of 50 km (60 km with an upgrade), and low Acceleration 2/20 with an upgrade. But it can haul a max of 4 cars with 2 upgrades. I still wouldn't recommend it.
- FALCON: The FALCON has a base speed of 140 km (160 km with an upgrade). And with an upgrade can haul 3 cars. But it has a low base acceleration 1/20 (3/20 with 2 upgrades). Still the high speed makes it a favorite of players for longer hauls (3+ tracks to the good). If you do switch out your engines for FALCONs I would recommend fully researching the upgrades.
- MOLE: The MOLE's speed of 70 km with an upgrade is slower than the FALCON, but its acceleration of 4/20 with an upgrade is better. The MOLE can haul 4 cars with an upgrade which is better than any Era 1 engine except the DONKEY. The MOLE also has better reliability than any other Era 1 engine (90% with 2 upgrades). You must fully research all of MOLE's upgrades to research Era 1 Coupling.
- Best Era 1 Engine: For short hauls the speed and acceleration of the RHINOCEROS win out. For longer hauls the FALCON's high speed makes it the winner. The best all around engine is, in my opinion, the MOLE.
Coupling enables you to haul the next Era's goods too.
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