Re: [Rails-devel] Emergency train purchases

[John D. G. <jd...@di...>]

On 2011-07-25 14:57, Erik Vos wrote:
> As always, the devil is in the details. An update, with notes added that
> have arisen whilst I was trying to code these rules:
> 
> 1. If a company has no train, it can buy any train on offer from Bank, Pool
> or other companies (at any price) that is has enough cash for. 
> It is always obliged to buy a used (Pool) train that it can pay for, if it
> cannot afford a new (IPO) train. 

Not true for 1835.  There, the president may add cash to buy the cheapest new
train from IPO even if the company can afford a train from the bank pool.
I believe this goes for 1837, too.

> It is never obliged to buy a train from another company.
> Only if no affordable train can be found this way, the President can and
> indeed must add cash, and the below emergency train buying rules apply.
> Note: one corollary is, that an emergency does not necessarily arise if the
> company has at least $1 in its treasury, because for that price it can
> always buy a train from another company, and everything is fine.  Only if no
> other company offers a train for that price, the emergency situation arises.
> For Rails this means, that in this case the game engine cannot know
> beforehand if an  emergency situation will arise. That is only possible if
> the company has zero cash.
> 
> 2. Must buy the *cheapest* train from Bank or Pool:
> 1830/Kaas, 1856/70, 18AL/GA/TN, 1826: Yes.
> 1835, 18EU/VA/Scan: No.
> 
> Note: I'm awaiting Chris' response on games where it is not mandatory to buy
> a Pool train. That would change this aspect.
>
> 3. May buy a train from another company (always up to list price):
> 1830/Kaas, 1835, 18EU/VA/Scan, 1826: Yes.
> 1856/70, 18AL/GA/TN: No.
> 
> Note: the "may buy a train for another company" part is in fact only
> relevant if the company has zero cash.  Otherwise a train can be bought
> normally from other companies at a price up to the company cash amount (see
> note above).  For the games marked "yes" it does mean, effectively, that the
> president may always add cash for prices up to the list price. But only from
> cash at hand, no shares may be sold.
> 
> 4. President may add extra cash above the agreed price (up to list price) if
> buying from another company:
[snip]
> Note: I'm not sure if the " extra cash above the agreed price (up to list
> price)" is actually true.  This would mean that it is allowed to leave some
> cash in the company treasure after an emergency buy.  Is that really true
> for any game?  

To my knowledge, no.  The only way to wind up with cash in the treasury after
an emergency train purchase is in games where the company can take out loans,
or issue bonds, or sell shares, such as 1826, 1841, 1856.  (In 1856 the
"emergency" and even bankruptcy can be optional on the president's part,
since he is never required to take a loan.)

Of course, there are cases where a company is allowed to "borrow" a train
rather than purchase it (1829 companies in receivership, 1856 CGR if it has
never had a permanent train, 1853 companies floated with too little money to
buy a train) but this is always merely a mechanism to delay the purchase (at
the cost of forcing the company to withhold) and not an actual purchase, so
no money changes hands.

> I'm leaning to the conclusion, that it is not, and then this point is
> irrelevant, as it then will coincide with point 3 (so we don't need a
> special configuration option for this item).

I agree.