Trains

Introduction

The train is the run. Fourteen locomotives are currently available, and each trades speed, cargo space or armour differently, so the right choice depends on whether your crew plans to loot heavily, fight bosses or simply cover distance before dark. Upgrades matter as much as the base engine: metal sheets bolted over windows, barbed wire at doors, turrets welded to a carriage and extra seating all change how a night plays out. A fast train with no armour reaches 80 km quickly but loses the cabin to one ambush, while a heavy train survives contact and then runs out of fuel because every stop takes longer. This hub ranks the current train pool, explains which upgrades actually keep a crew alive, and highlights the locomotives most players will meet during their first few runs.

Train Tier Overview

Locomotive Breakdown

Core Mechanics

Train choice is a trade between three resources: speed, survivability and carrying capacity. Speed decides how many towns you can loot before the spawn window and how quickly you can leave a bad fight. Survivability decides whether the cabin survives concentrated gunfire from outlaws or a werewolf boarding party. Capacity decides how much loot, fuel and ammunition the crew can bring home. Upgrades modify all three: plating adds protection at the cost of weight, barbed wire slows boarders without stopping bullets, and turrets add firepower that requires its own ammo supply. Because fuel consumption rises with weight, an over-armoured train can become a stationary fortress earlier than expected. The practical approach is to pick a train that matches your crew size and then upgrade one weakness instead of trying to make every stat average.

Advantages

A dedicated train build gives the crew a mobile base that no on-foot group can match. Armour keeps the driver alive through ambushes, cargo space turns a single town run into a meaningful bond profit, and speed lets an experienced crew skip fights that are not worth the ammo. The train also acts as a recovery point: wounded players can retreat inside, heal and rejoin instead of dying in the open. Upgrades compound these benefits because plating and barbed wire protect the same cabin that carries the loot. For co-op crews, a well-built train becomes a shared project, and the difference between a prepared locomotive and a default engine is usually visible within the first night cycle.

Challenges

Every train upgrade competes for the same limited resources. Bonds spent on plating cannot buy ammunition, and fuel spent hauling a heavy train cannot push the next checkpoint. Larger trains also present a bigger target and can be blocked in narrow sections, forcing the crew to fight outside the armour they paid for. Rare trains are expensive to unlock and painful to lose, which encourages cautious play that may actually reduce bond income. Finally, train rankings are community-driven and shift after balance patches, so a tier list is a starting point rather than a guarantee. Players should test a build on a cheap run before committing a large bond bank to a premium locomotive.

Frequently Asked Questions

Quick Tips