Glad you are back at the game. For me this game never gets old.
I remember the same thing happening on this map. This is quite a small map. There aren't that many opportunities for the computer to start a company. The AI will look for two close cities preferably medium-sized with a secondary industry (Textile Mill, Distillery, etc.) that is profitable. Mountains and city centers that are close to rivers confuse the AI. On this map New York to Edison is a common start for the AI, but unfortunately the many river valleys confuse the AI and make a second company less likely.
In case you didn't know, each AI player has a different likelihood that he will start a company. There is a list of the different attributes of all the AI players here:
viewtopic.php?f=72&t=2047&p=19527&hilit ... ned#p19527 (the post below it has a guide to tell which number corresponds to which trait).
Also, if an AI player sees a good opportunity to buy some cheap shares before he starts a company he will have no capital left to start a company. Therefore, some of the other characteristics also become relevant here. Charles Crocker has the highest chance to start a company (200) but he also has a very high chance of investing in other companies (200). This makes him one of the toughest AI players to beat. Even so, with experience it is quite easy to beat any of the AI.
A tip for this map: take out that bond at the start and buy a Dairy farm. Because of the way this map was created the Dairy Farms are around half price at the beginning of the game. This income will help you over the early lulls in profit when your trains have satisfied the initial demand for transport and you are waiting for more steady traffic to build up. If you ever want some tips just ask. I am happy to help and could write a lot here.
