First, thanks for creating the mod. It gave me a lot to think about.


### Tracklaying

This is one of the mods that offers granual speeds for rail construction. You can build 40 km/h rail, 50 km/h, 60 km/h, 70 km/h and so on. Each type of rail refuses curves that would cause a speed restriction.

This I've seen elsewhere but not really played around with before now. And... it just isn't for me.

Makes me REALLY wish the game featured SPEED SIGNS.

The way you only have one track type in the vanilla game (if we ignore high speed rail for the moment) is a godsend from an user interface perspective. The idea that if you want lower speed you need a different rail segment is an atrocious solution (through no fault of the mod).

It would have been MUCH EASIER and MUCH MORE INTUITIVE and PROTOTYPICAL/REALISTIC if you could plop down rail as in the vanilla game, then place speed signs much like signals and waypoints. So I guess thanks to this mod for making me realize this, and how untenable the so called "solution" with different tracks for different speeds is in practice.

Basically, I would love the mod much more if there was a version that left tracklaying alone (=disable "extended track laying").

Or at the very least an optional toggle to have the game not enforce minimum speeds. (The way the vanilla game works = speed ratings represent maximums but, crucially, not minimums)


### Randomized rail carriage stats

I guess this is really the point of this particular mod. Does it work? Is the game improved?

Yes... and no.

It is a real problem that the vanilla game only offers one set of freight cars every 50 years. Being stuck with 31 mph freight trains in 1899 and 50 mph ones in 1949 is very primitive. You should not have to download mods to improve this situation - this should have been something offered by the vanilla game. And this mod is one of those that show it can be done with no new assets.

But... boy is it fiddly. I really wish there was at least an option to set speeds at even 10 km/h (or 5 mph, I guess) intervals. I don't see any upside in offering you flatcars that run at, say, 68 and 71 km/h while your tank cars run at 65 and 69 km/h.

That's not how real railroads operate anyway. There's a track speed and it can vary but ALL (most) trains will run at that speed. That an individual freigh car (or even locomotive) CAN run slightly faster than this just isn't a factor.

I would like this mod much more if at any given point in time you had perhaps three choices, let's say 35 mph 40 mph and 45 mph (thinking maybe around the year 1880 here). Sure the random generator might also add a 20 mph gondola or a 50 mph flatcar, but talking the overall picture here. Note the absence of any "uneven" 36 or 37 mph figures.


### Naming

It is difficult to glance at a train and see what it consists of, which you want to do whenever you add another engine or lengthen the train with some more freigh cars. I really wished the mod could make it much more clear whether existing trains use "swift massless" cars or "perpetual" ones. Perhaps the mod could access the game's ability to color your cars. I would find it much more easy and intuitive if I could immediately go "oh, this train uses the orange small tank cars" while that one uses the blue ones; picking purchases would be much faster if you didn't need to read up on the names.

Speaking of names, I guess you had to come up with something and you wanted something that clued the player in to the stats (without having to study these in detail each time). But there are two issues here:

* name length. I'm guessing the mod creator uses an ultrawide monitor and/or 4K resolution, because on my regular HD screen all the relevant details (such as price) gets shunted to the right by a long name such as "tank car massless glorious express", out of the dialog, and I don't think the UI is equipped to handle these name lengths.

* prototypical naming scheme. Sorry but these names come across as completely nonsensical (unless you're Director of the Worker's Paradise I guess).

Both these issues could be solved by a single change: using some sort of code to name the various car configurations!

Here's a resource to give you an idea of how a prototypical naming scheme could look like:
https://www.railcartracking.com/aar-car-type-codes-explained-resources-2/

Just to spitball, you have (at least) the following "dimensions":
- cost
- capacity
- maintenance
- end of life
- speed

Assuming this is all (which it very well could not be), invent a code consisting of four letters followed by one or two numbers:

EXNN11 could then stand for Expensive cost, Extra capacity, Normal maintenance, Normal maintenance and 11 stands for 110 speed. Or whatever, you get the idea.

EXNN11 would convey the same information as "capacious" or "glorious" (or, worse, "glorious capacious") but in a much more compact AND realistic looking manner!


### General rebalance
I commend you for rebalancing everything from engine power to putting more emphasis on cost of tracklaying vs purchasing rolling stock!


### Variable cargo capacity

Do your documentation explain anywhere what a cargo capacity of 9-17 stands for? I get the point, but exactly. How do you find out if your chosen cargo fills the cargo at 9 units or if you can load up 17 units? Without trial and error, I mean.

Best Regards
Zapp

PS. Version reviewed: 1.9