New RR model

[Evie]

How about this one :

Train Station is a city improvement, with maintenance cost. Only one can be built per city, like any other improvements. When one is built, you get to select another city within a X squares radius. A railroad is auto-generated on the shortest route between the two *within your territory*. If a railroad is pillaged, it destroys the Train Station improvement in the matching town (so that you can actually rebuild it).

Now, of course, you could add small wonders that key off that - like "Railroad hub" (the city this is built in gains railroads to ALL cities within an X squares radius), "Private Train Company" (may build one extra train station improvement in each city) or what have you.

At that point, you can then key in the CP system, based off the number of train station you control, and the size of the cities they're built in.

 

[dh_epic]

You should probably be able to build more than one line out of a city though, no? Not 8 lines either. But like, 3 is a good number, no?

 

[Evie]

You have to take in consideration that railroads are two-way streets, so if you happen to build a train station in city X and link it up to city Y (which is already linked to city Z with its OWN railroad), then city Y has connections to both city Z and city X.

If you allow 3 railroads right off the bat, then the city can easily go right back to that whole "railroads everywhere" issue. I'd have 1, then a second railroad improvement per city after a small wonder or some such.