SimCity Social Cheats & Tips: Use the train system for cheap Materials

by Brandy Shaul, Posted Jun 25th 2012 8:20PM

While you might initially not even notice the Train Station in SimCity Social (it's in the bottom of your original city square, in case you haven't checked), there's a great reason to send out trains early and often as you work to grow your small city: cheap Materials!

Materials are the goods you use to purchase and upgrade buildings for your city, so the more you have the better. The Train Station allows you to choose from six products, each with a different time limit and purchase price, which will activate trains that will bring back hundreds of even thousands of Materials to your city over the span of a few (or quite a few) hours.

The Train Station can be used at Level 1 to operate six trains, but if you upgrade the Train Station, these stats can change. Here's a look at what you'll be dealing with until you upgrade (which is an entirely voluntary process).

Concrete Costs: 120 coinsReturns in: 4 HoursBrings: 125 Materials
Lumber Costs: 480 coinsReturns in: 12 HoursBrings: 625 Materials
Textiles Costs: 640 coinsReturns in: 24 HoursBrings: 1350 Materials
Steel Costs: 360 coinsReturns in: 8 HoursBrings: 400 Materials
Coal Costs: 720 coinsReturns in: 18 HoursBrings: 1000 Materials
Oil Costs: 1200 coinsReturns in: 36 HoursBrings: 2550 Materials
To upgrade your Train Station to Level 2, you'll need to collect three Community, two Goodwill and two Fury. These items are similar to those in The Sims Social on Facebook, as you can earn them by interacting with items in your own city or in your friends' cities. For instance, Goodwill is earned by completing nice actions when visiting neighbors, while Community items are earned by adding homes in your own city. We'll make sure to update this guide as we learn more about the stats of routes on Levels 2 and 3 of the Train Station in your city. Stay tuned!

Did you notice that there was a Train Station in your town in SimCity Social, or did you overlook it during the tutorial? Sound off in the comments!

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CityVille Upgrade Your Train: Everything you need to know

While the train has been a part of CityVille since the very beginning of the game, it's usefulness over the past few months has come into question. I know myself, I tend to forget the train even exists, as I have plenty of other ways to earn Goods or coins in my town. Still, Zynga looks to update the train to be more useful than ever by releasing upgrades and new routes for your trains to take! This train upgrade feature requires that you be at least Level 22 to access it. You still won't be able to move the location of the train in your town, but you may have to move items that currently sit around it, as the new train station is much larger than the current station.

To upgrade your Train Station from Level 1 (its original form) to Level 2, you'll need to complete three steps (or pay around 200 City Cash to skip them all).

Send 10 Train Routes to Earn GoodsSend 10 Train Routes to Earn CoinsGather Parts
The Part upgrading process is a standard one, asking you to collect six each of Caboose, Freight Cars, Passenger Cars, Coal Cars and Ticket Scanners. These items are earned through a combination of general news items on your wall and individual requests sent to neighbors.

Once you've upgraded your Train Station to Level 2, you'll be able to send out additional train routes that aren't available at its base level. These routes include new Tourist Routes that can be used to earn coins while spending Goods, and can also be used to fulfill the many goal requirements that ask you to send out a specific number of Tourists. Your Level 2 Train Station will also come with the permanent upgrade of offering 1.5x the number of Goods on routes that earn Goods. That is, if you send out a route that will originally bring back 100 Goods to your city, it will now bring back 150 at no additional cost.

You can continue to upgrade your Train further, up to Level 3, but this final upgrade makes the station even larger than before, meaning that you will likely have to move items around even more just to make space for it. Still, it just might be worth it in the long run, so feel free to start in on these upgrades as soon as you can, even if just to get them out of the way.

What do you think of these upgrades to the CityVille Train Station? Do you still frequently use your Train Station, or had you abandoned that feature long ago in your town? Sound off in the comments.

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Pioneer Trail Train Station / Railroad: Everything you need to know

Just a few days ago, we learned that a new railroad system would be coming to Pioneer Trail in the near future, but we haven't had to wait long for the feature to actually launch. The Railroad has finally come to our games, and along with it, we've met our in-game brother (Jasper) who has mysteriously been absent up until now. Either way, the in-game story goes that your brother is heading out west for the big Gold Rush and wants to bring you with him. Of course, before you can take off in a train, you'll need to build the Train Station first.

The Train Station (and in fact the Gold Rush itself) has been touted in the game via a directional sign ever since Pioneer Trail (then FrontierVille) launched back in 2010, and this large new feature has now taken up residence at the left side of your Homestead (similar to how the Anniversary Extravaganza is found on the right side).

Building the Train Station can be done in phases, and comes along with a series of goals.

Dealing with the Neighbors Unwither 5 Neighbor CropsClear 12 CactusComplete Phase 1 of the Train Station
Phase 1 has you getting rid of the Varmints that are in this top area of your Homestead, as there are Groundhogs in the way. You'll need to collect various building materials to finish this stage (and all further stages off), with one item being a Trojan Groundhog (it can be crafted using eight Sulfur Crystals and two Wooden Groundhogs (ask your friends for them). When you finish these three steps, you'll receive Jumpin Jack (an item used for constructing the railroad), 200 coins and 250 XP.

Staying on Track Clear 12 WildflowersCraft 5 Iron IngotsComplete Phase Three of the Train Station
Iron Ingots are crafted out of two Coal and 10 Iron Ore, with Iron Ore being earned from friends, or by simply working around your Homestead. One of the items you'll need for this part of the train upgrade is Wet Cement, which is created using 10 Sticky Water (clear cactus or harvest melons) and five Limestone Sacks (ask friends). For finishing this goal, you'll receive 450 XP, Station Plans and the Rail Daily Bonus.

Laying the Groundwork Bake 5 Chocolate Chip CookiesSell 50 Fully Grown Pomegranate TreesComplete Phase Four of the Train Station
Chocolate Chip Cookies are crafted out of Chocolate Chops and Whipped Yolks. Yolks are earned by asking your friends to send them to you, while Chocolate Chips are crafted with Double Boilers and Baking Chocolates, both of which can be earned by asking your friends to send them to you. When you finish this goal, you'll receive a letter from Jasper, along with 950 XP, a Rail Supply Crate and more Station Plans.

Grand Frontier Station Harvest 50 PeanutsSell 100 Adult GoatsComplete Phase Five of the Train Station
There's more item collecting here still, as you'll be able to collect items like Railroad Signs (those drop when collecting the Railroad Daily Bonus every 30 seconds, and you can also earn Steel Ingots at the same time. You'll need 10 Steel Ingots and seven logs of Canadian Spruce (ask friends to send them) to build the Train Platform to complete the Train station itself. For completing this Train Station, and finishing this final goal, you'll receive 1,125 XP, a Rail Supply Crate and a Train Conclucktor.

Along the way, you'll be able to collect items for the new Railroad Collection, which offers 300 XP and a Granny's Gut Punch from the Saloon when you turn it in. Hopefully, this will just be the first part of the new Gold Rush feature, and we'll make sure to let you know if that happens to be the case.

[Via and Image Credit: Zynga]

Are you excited that we're finally seeing references to the Railroad in Pioneer Trail, or had you given up all hope of it ever actually launching in the game? Sound off in the comments.

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