reserved rail

[sillyflower]

What is it?

It is set at 10% in my USSR production page, and I can alter it. However, I can find nothing in the manual which mentions it, and I therefore have no idea whether changing it could be helpful or harmful. In this context, 'helpful' means switching rail capacity from factory evacuation, which is usually largely done by about T12 or so, to being able to have more points for strategic troop movement. The latter has been severely nerfed, although I have to admit that it was OTT before.

Any and all advice gratefully received


_____________________________

web exchange

Post: I am always fearful that when I put this game down on the table and people see the box-art they will think I am some kind of neo-Nazi

Reply: They already know you're a gamer. What other shame can possibly compare?

[Shupov]

I increase reserved rail to between 30% and 34% as soon as I can spare the AP's. The Soviets are strapped for troop rail capacity in the early game, especially turns 1 and 2 when they are trying to save their border armies. This does cut back on factory evacuation capacity but I rank force preservation higher.

After the arrival of new units slows down and factory evacuation is achieved it's very important to reduce reserved rail back to the 10% range. In version 1.12 strategic rail is now a limiting factor for resource transport, which means factory output will be constrained by lack of rail capacity. Heavy Industry makes supplies, which are then used to make armaments, weapons, vehicles, aircraft and ground elements.

v1.12.00 – September 06, 2019
25 Introduced yearly multipliers to rail capacity. Axis: 5, 6, 7, 8, 7. Soviet: 7 (3.5 in June 1941), 7, 8, 9, 10. Previously Axis rail
capacity was not multiplied, and Soviet rail capacity was multiplied by 5 (2.5 in June 1941). However, rail capacity was used only for
unit transport, and was effectively unlimited for the purposes of resource transport.

[/quote]

When supplies are insufficient you will start getting messages like this in the Event Log showing reduced factory production:

[Shupov]

Also the Event Log will show the following:



Note the Supply capacity at 63% and Rail Capacity at 38%.

To summarize: By decreasing Reserved Rail for troop movement you can increase rail capacity for not only factory evacuation, but also supply production which then increases factory production.

All of the above is based on my empirical observations, all are welcome to expand or correct as needed.

[sillyflower]

Many thanks for this Shupov.
Presumably, I can safely increase the reserved rail up by a modest amount once I hit the point in '42 when I have more supplies and arms pts than I know what to do with (I have lost hardly any HI or arms factories) but need more strategic capacity.

The very early boost you refer to seems wise - getting units out of the way from being surrounded saves more APs than anything else.

[BrianG]

I have no idea if new beta altered the 43 rail Russian troop transport and supply movement situation.

If one remembers in my game versus Tyronec, my armor, in the last 12 weeks of the campaign had impossible low mp's, b/c i had lost so much rr capacity due to losing Baku etc.

This was not a mp issue when we played and I lost Baku.