How do you play rail lines?

[CaptainNapalm]

From my perspective, there are three ways to play rail movement.

1. Strictly by the map artwork: follow the path of the specific rail line, and if it inconveniently diverts through another territory, so be it. You are on that rail line for the life of the unit, if playing armored trains and rail guns. And for the length of the movement, if using strategic rail movement, or tracing lend-lease/supply path.

2. Any rail in or out of the territory counts as a path: so you could enter a territory on one rail line, and exit that territory on any rail line exiting that territory. Effectively, “jumping” lines inside a territory.

3. We play something in the middle: you MUST follow the map artwork, but between turns, you may “jump” to another rail line in that territory. Effectively, the slate is wiped clean, and at the start of a turn, any rail line may be used to exit that territory.

There may be only two ways to see it, if you aren’t using rail units, as we do from the Fighting Railways expansion, but I’d like to hear how the rest of the community plays rail paths.

[HBG GW Enthusiast]

@captainnapalm
Some Questions About Rail:

1. I was only able to see one “jumping” territory: Zuryenia (NE of Moscow). Say the Germans hold Gorky, Zuryenia, and Vyatka, but do not hold Ural or Sibir. In order to strategically rail from Gorky to Vyatka, the unit would have to “jump” rail. Do you see other “jumping” territories?

2) Let’s say FEC is lend-leasing an Infantry to Free France that was built at the factory in Calcutta. Japan is blockading Sea Zones 84 and 87, but Sea Zone 85 is clear. Can FEC rail the infantry to Southern India and use the minor port on Sea Zone 85 to send the lend-lease delivery? Note the rail does not connect to that particular minor port.

3) If you strategically bomb rail in a territory, are all rail lines in that territory damaged, or just one particular section? Let’s say you strategically bomb the rail in Belgium. Could you say you are only cutting the very first part of the rail as it enters from the Netherlands? So later, the rail would work from Picardy into Belgium, but not from the Netherlands to Belgium? Would you then have to bomb the Picardy Belgium border if you wanted to prevent that from working? I am beginning to think that strategic bombing rail should work like building rail - you put the damage marker on the border.

[Trig]

@hbg-gw-enthusiast For bombing rail (and scorched earth for that matter) it damages everything inside the territory. I don’t remember where I head this, but I did.

Note that 10.4 says “along rail lines.” To me, this means that you have to follow the map art.

As for the ports, I believe any “connections” to post to be purely artistic. IRL, all post would have some form of railway connection, and I assume that is also intended in game. As for Belgium, the Channel ports can be used as rail for supply paths, so I think that is why there is a rail at that port.

This also raises questions about rivers though. Do you have to “cross” a river on rail to switch to it? Or be in the same territory?

[Trig]

@trig
There are several jumping territories.

For instance, railing from Buenos Aries to Paraguay, you need to go though Gran Chaco, Uruguay, Pampas, Gran Chaco again, and then into Paraguay.

Or here, from Southern India into Afghanistan: You must go through Haryana and Benares.

Or here:
 To go from Queensland to Southern Australia, you must control Sydney.

Or here, from New York to Great Lakes:
Though that may just be b/c the rail is covered by The Northeast’s name.

[HBG GW Enthusiast]

@trig Excellent! I looked over the map for jumps and totally missed all these! TY, sir!

[HBG GW Enthusiast]

@trig Well, by your logic that every port would have rail connected to it, every river, at some point in a territory, would have rail somewhere connected to it, no?

[TheVeteran]

@hbg-gw-enthusiast

1. Trig pointed out a few
2. I say NO
3. All rail lines in a territory are damaged.

[CaptainNapalm]

@trig Yes, there are several “jumping” territories. So, how do you play them?

Judging by your assumption that all ports connect to rail, I would guess that you allow the “jump”?

We play without the assumption that all ports connect to the rail, and do not allow you to jump rail, mid-turn. Basing that on map artwork.

[RellHaiser]

@captainnapalm The rail artwork on the map is only relevant as far as defining gauge and which land zones are being connected.

This is as per section 12.10 in the rules, “If a land zone has a border with a crossing railroad, the railroad allows rail movement across that border and is considered to connect to other rail lines present in that zone, including rail lines built on other zone borders.”

This allows you to greatly simplify pathing along rails.

[CaptainNapalm]

@rellhaiser Great! My brain hurt a little bit trying to read that rule, but I agree that it answers my question and simplifies the game! Thank you for pointing me back to it.

[Caesar-Seriona]

Our group doesn’t allow jumping what so ever and we use the Fighting Railroads expansion. We require direct path of all rail lines and we give the freedom that any cross or Y section of the rail line has a switcher and we also play the different gauge rules.

I do not see why the rules wouldn’t allow it but I would assume building a rail line inside a territory itself would logically conclude that all rails lines inside that territory are now connected regardless.