Pax generation and prices depend on game year, you will see a lot more in 1830 vs. 2000. Because Germantown (campaign map) also has insane pax numbers, it may be normal. It was awhile since I played Germantown, but the numbers seem about right to me. I think the reason is because freight prices drop a little way into the game, making express a big share of revenue. Actually Pax and mail prices also drop significantly. However, production for these doesn't not been dropped. Price is based on demand, so if there's a lot of production there could be enough demand to still get fairly high prices. Definitely a staple for revenue.
A map that's similar to this one in some ways is Western Fruit Express, by the same author. A 1.05 map, but also uses dividends. Seems my memory was off in calling it a tax.
One thing I forgot is that you can build the Weapons Factory. This means that there isn't a mathematical limit on Weapons production after all. Previously, Which I soon remembered when experimenting to see if I could get the price of Weapons in Chicago to budge. So I thought it important to use a stock standard install. I had also forgotten the price reductions. Once I saw those and this*, I abandoned any serious attempt at budging price.
Now, I will say that I had looked in the editor about the dividends scheme recently, so I had some insider knowledge, but talking about possibility is a bit dangerous with me. The focus was on hauling. Goal was 500 loads for all cargoes within the time limit (medals disabled). I was using the default 1.06, so no price islands (all my other recent 1.06 games have been with them reinstated). This is how that attempt turned out:
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I used a curve-ball strategy because, hey, that keeps things interesting.
Really slow start. $50k first year profits. Staying small (Chicago-Rockford{original connection with large stations}- -Madison-Stevens Point with a branch down to Moline/Davenport, until 1856 when I could build a Steel Mill (Cincinnati).
Previously I had built a Weapons Factory late in the game. This time the plan was to build an Upgraded Weapons Factory (Lima) running fairly early in the game (still 10+ years in). While waiting for 1856 I built and sold some other industries to keep CBV in check below the thresholds for dividends and price reductions. These included an Upgraded Lumber Mill near Stevens Point, Furnace/Concrete Plant combo down in Memphis, Paper Mill east of Cleveland, Munitions Factory in Cincinnati. Main focus was to try to keep key Logging camps profitable so they wouldn't disappear. On this map resources have a habit of disappearing. For example, I only had two Iron Mines on the map for the last 8 or so years. The tactic seemed to work, always had a good supply of Lumber.
*This leads me to the topic of the Ports. I didn't check carefully for differences before posting that beta. The update is that the beta has one PLACED Chicago port and the final version has two. However, both versions are set to SEED the Chicago port with 15% chance. When playing the beta, I had a second port show up only to vanish after a couple years. Obviously these ports push massive losses with the Meat-Weapons conversion so it makes sense. Late in the game, another port showed up. Same story, got some production from it, but it too soon disappeared. A note here is that when I built small stations for delivery to the port cells, this may have blocked others from appearing. See this.
An actual difference between the two versions is the St. Louis warehouse which is not seeded. This time, the beta really has one placed, while the final version has two. But, it's possible to produce Ammunition from Iron/Steel, so cannot be seen as an absolute restriction either. This leaves Crystals as theoretically the most restricted. Two warehouses (one placed, one seeded) seem to appear in Memphis reliably. Leaving supply of Cotton as the factor?
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Extra stations, plan for reliable production
In the past I mentioned that I like to only build one station per city, and none in the countryside. On this map, I am breaking the personal rule. Really for any map that requires careful resource management. When I played One Korea, the strategy was coming together to use small stations as drop off points. Obviously, if resource management matters you don't want to have the AI clowning about (don't use the "Large stations for AI" mod I posted for these maps). Train routes are setup to never haul anything from these stations: deliver only.
When I need to catch a critical output I use another type of station. A large station placed wherever, but strategically placed to capture the drift of cargo. This is a pick-up zone. No cargo was ever hauled here: pick-up only.
There's an example in the screenshot. There are 3 stations at St. Louis. The one at the top is the main station where auto consist is allowed. The small one is to deliver Grain and Corn to the Ammunition Warehouse. And the third is placed to pick-up Ammunition as it drifts down river and Corn as that comes up. One thing that's nice to have is the space so that the main station doesn't cover the critical industry/warehouse/port. I managed this here and in Chicago. (It doesn't matter with the pick-up station because you are only pulling specific cargoes there.) The neat thing about this is that you can then legitimately gather specific cargo from the main station, was collecting Grain, without pulling it from the stack at the warehouse. In Chicago, I was gathering Meat from the packers at the Main station.
The Chicago setup, notice the delivery point for the port that disappeared as well as the location for the Weapons pick-up station. Also notice the port production total. The beta version allows crashes, so I lost some cargo to those, but the 250 loads is probably just doable with the one port.
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The main reason I like this system is the reliable control of cargo. The key thing here is that IMO it isn't that too tedious while still giving very reliable production (no stealing of stacks). The game's rail profit system is all about cargo being able to go everywhere (distribution). You can't stifle that too much and still have a good rail ROI. Essentially, I am saying that this or that small area is off limits for the normal distribution via Auto Consist. I extend this principle more subtlety at some main stations, but I thought maybe this example is simple enough to be understandable?
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Here's a view of Memphis. Straight up bulldozing the Textile Mills was an option I preferred to avoid. Drop-off stations at both warehouses and good collection meant that there was never a significant stack there. I spent some precious CBV on the collection stations, but IMO it was worth it for reliable supply. In most cases I tried to go for value, but also did a little more double tracking than absolutely necessary (not much focus on outright profits). For example, other than a handful of Dukes on special runs (typically express), the bulk of my locos were Americans right up till the end, thanks to the cheap purchase price, less than half of the other contenders. Maybe the two things go together, extra double track and cheap, slower locos. Not claiming this was the right choice, just describing what I did. Many things can work if done with the right balance. I agree, it's a great map for strategy.