[Forum Game] - Empires: Commerce and Industry

[Deaghaidh]

Hereby i sign the Southern States Reconstruction Petition.
I think it is neccesary that the Southern states are opened again for buisness, so the reconstruction can start.
- Scott

I would also like to pettition congress to allow private investors to rebuild the south, especially the railway system.

An exact estimate of cost for the MERR will of course require a professional survey, which will be the first task the new company, but the overall plan is to build a line connecting the existing trans-mississippi crossing at Rock Island Illinois. From there it will pass along the relatively flat lands of Iowa, connecting several existing towns and fertile farmlands to the thriving Chicago market and points beyond, before reaching Council Bluffs, Iowa, opposite Omaha. This will be the most challenging stretch, though by no means as daunting as the work already underway in the transcontinental road, or the heroic efforts required to bridge the Hudson or Mississippi. A steel bridge will connect the Council Bluffs and Omaha railheads, without obstructing river traffic on the Missouri river.

As for cost, I doubt the bridge will cost as much as $200,000. The Missouri is broad, but shallow, especially in the summer. From an engineering standpoint, it should be a rather trivial challenge. With the bulk of experienced railroad men being employed elsewhere, laying the track in Iowa may be more expensive than it might otherwise be, but I am still confident it can be done quickly and economically.

OOC: The $200,000 figure is largely from nowhere, but a later all-steel bridge over the Mississippi cost just over $300,000. I figured that crossing the Missouri would be less expensive, and also that Train would lowball the estimate at this point.

As far as other industries, this is the era where the meat-packing industry exploded. You could be Gustavus Franklin Swift

 

[king hannibal]

I don't think this game was designed to handle the... meatpacking industry.

One thing I don't understand, though, is how this game works exactly. I know I'm being really annoying, but could someone post an example of their recent orders?

 

[Fire and Ash]

I don't think this game was designed to handle the... meatpacking industry.

One thing I don't understand, though, is how this game works exactly. I know I'm being really annoying, but could someone post an example of their recent orders?

I would like to contact the head of the United States military with becoming the sole manufacture of rifles for US Army.

I sent this order in. What happens now is that Fry will roll a dice to determine how effective this is or whether succeeds in the first place. You can do things to influence your probability on it though. Political influence would probably be a big factor. In my case I had 40% PI. Now I failed this order and consequently I was refused. One of the things I could have done to make that order more likely is try and become friends with Commanding General Philip Sheridan. I could do this by using one of my orders to try befriend him.

 

[Sarius1997]

I would also like to pettition congress to allow private investors to rebuild the south, especially the railway system.

An exact estimate of cost for the MERR will of course require a professional survey, which will be the first task the new company, but the overall plan is to build a line connecting the existing trans-mississippi crossing at Rock Island Illinois. From there it will pass along the relatively flat lands of Iowa, connecting several existing towns and fertile farmlands to the thriving Chicago market and points beyond, before reaching Council Bluffs, Iowa, opposite Omaha. This will be the most challenging stretch, though by no means as daunting as the work already underway in the transcontinental road, or the heroic efforts required to bridge the Hudson or Mississippi. A steel bridge will connect the Council Bluffs and Omaha railheads, without obstructing river traffic on the Missouri river.

As for cost, I doubt the bridge will cost as much as $200,000. The Missouri is broad, but shallow, especially in the summer. From an engineering standpoint, it should be a rather trivial challenge. With the bulk of experienced railroad men being employed elsewhere, laying the track in Iowa may be more expensive than it might otherwise be, but I am still confident it can be done quickly and economically.

OOC: The $200,000 figure is largely from nowhere, but a later all-steel bridge over the Mississippi cost just over $300,000. I figured that crossing the Missouri would be less expensive, and also that Train would lowball the estimate at this point.

I thank Mr Train for the support in the Matter of the reconstruction of the south. Because it´ll be necessary to rebuild the south, to unite the nation in the heart, and not only on the map. If the south just stays military occupied without econimical grow, we´ll never solve the problems which led to this bitter war, and aren´t solved already: The really bad railroad system in the southern states, the missing industries, and the current focus on agriculture products. If the goverment fails to allow us, the private investors, to solve those problems; it will just led to unrest in the south, and to instability in the whole country. So i again ask the goverment: Let us bring peace and prosperity about the whole country again.

On the matter of MERR, i have to agree on most points, we´ll need a survey, and the bridge shouldn´t be a problem. But i think even the track in Iowa can be done without greater problems, because i think we can get atleast some workers from my company for now. If it´s necassery, i´ll invest more money than i did until now into the project.

OOC: I think 200k $ is good for the start, isn´t it?

 

[king hannibal]

So. I have decided to go into mining. Unfortunately, I am a needy bastard, and don't know any mining magnates alive in 1865. I apologize for being such a pain, but any help?

 

[Deaghaidh]

So. I have decided to go into mining. Unfortunately, I am a needy bastard, and don't know any mining magnates alive in 1865. I apologize for being such a pain, but any help?

I'd troll through Wiki. Hearst is the most famous mining magnate of the time, but he's already taken.

 

[Frymonmon]

We hit the 15 Player limit when I added Dadarian.

 

[Frymonmon]

 

[Frymonmon]

Q3 1866 Stats​

Stock Market: $9.54

Name: Junius Spencer Morgan
Net Worth: $6,294,238
Cash on Hand: $1,700,000
Debt: $-
Stock Price: $0.75 (HM) $0.24 (UPRR) $0.58 (NYCRR) $0.01 (TSC) $0.45 (MERR)
Stocks Owned: 12,000 (HM) 5,000 (UPRR) 2,000 (NYCRR) 16,000 (TSC) 10,000 (MERR)
Stock Value: $16,020
Companies: House of Morgan (HM) Thomson Steel Company (TSC)
Political Clout: 0.67
Player: KeldoniaSkylar

Name: Cornelius Vanderbilt
Net Worth: $3,713,510
Cash on Hand: $400,000
Debt: $-
Stock Price: $1.23 (NY&HRR) $1.41 (HRRR) $0.58 (NYCRR) $0.01 (NER)
Stocks Owned: 15,000 (NY&HRR) 10,000 (HRRR) 35,000 (NYCRR) 10,000 (NER)
Stock Value $52,950
Companies: New York and Harlem Railroad (NY&HRR) Hudson River Railroad (HRRR) New York Central Railroad (NYCRR) New England Railway (NER)
Political Clout: 0.48
Player: Spitfire5793

Name: Andrew Carnegie
Net Worth: $1,843,995
Cash on Hand: $35,000
Debt: $-
Stock Price: $0.01 (TSC) $0.06 (AE) $0.58 (OOC) $0.03 (GCO)
Stocks Owned: 2,000 (TSC) 65,000 (AE) 1,000 (OOC) 40,000 (GCO)
Stock Value: $5,700.00
Companies: NONE
Political Clout: 0.13
Player: Maxwell500

Name: George Hearst
Net Worth: $3,357,000
Cash on Hand: $1,010,000
Debt: $-
Stock Price: $0.24 (UPRR)
Stocks Owned: 3,000 (UPRR)
Stock Value: 720.00
Companies: Hearst, Haggin, Tevis and Co. (HHT)
Political Clout: 0.49
Player: etranger01

Name: Michael White
Net Worth: $1,650,000
Cash on Hand: $100,000
Debt: $25,000
Stock Price: $-
Stocks Owned: 0
Stock Value: $-
Companies: Californian Railroad Company(CRC) Californian Shipbuilding Company(CSC)
Political Clout: 0.20
Player: bakerydog

Name: Leland Stanford
Net Worth: $1,318,834
Cash on Hand: $40,000
Debt: $15,000
Stock Price: $0.31 (CPRR)
Stocks Owned: 19,000 (CPRR)
Stock Value: $5,890.00
Companies: Central Pacific Railroad
Political Clout: 0.34
Player: MastahCheef177

Name: Thomas Scott
Net Worth: $1,816,444
Cash on Hand: $359,500
Debt: $-
Stock Price: $0.48 (PRR) $0.45 (MERR)
Stocks Owned: 20,000 (PRR) 10,000 (MERR)
Stock Value: $14,100.00
Companies: Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR)
Political Clout: 0.34
Player: Sarius1997

Name: Collis Huntington
Net Worth: $1,023,834
Cash on Hand: $45,000
Debt: $12,000
Stock Price: $0.31
Stocks Owned: 13,000 (CPRR)
Stock Value: $4,030.00
Companies: Central Pacific Railroad (CPRR)
Political Clout: 0.20
Player: Watercress

Name: George Francis Train
Net Worth: $1,839,743
Cash on Hand: $50,000
Debt: $-
Stock Price: $0.24 (UPRR) $0.20 (CFA) $0.20 (CM) $0.45 (MERR)
Stocks Owned: 25,000 (UPRR) 1,000 (CFA) 1,000 (CM) 10,000 (MERR)
Stock Value: $11,700.20
Companies: Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) Credit Foncier of America (CFA) Crédit Mobilier (CM) Missouri Eastern Railway (MERR)
Political Clout: 0.74
Player: Deaghaidh

Name: George Francis Gilman
Net Worth: $823,554
Cash on Hand: $48,000
Debt: $11,000
Stock Price: $0.18 (A&P) $0.45 (MERR)
Stocks Owned: 12,000 (A&P) 10,000 (MERR)
Stock Value: $6,660.00
Companies: The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (A&P)
Political Clout: 0.39
Player: NikoHoI3

Name: Simon Wallace
Net Worth: $960,000
Cash on Hand: $10,000
Debt: $12,000
Stock Price: $0.54
Stocks Owned: 1,000 (JSC)
Stock Value: 540
Companies: Wallace's Arms and Rifles (WAR)
Political Clout: 0.40
Player: Fire and Ash

Name: John D. Rockefeller
Net Worth: $980,000
Cash on Hand: $-
Debt: $105,000
Stock Price: $-
Stocks Owned: -
Stock Value: $-
Companies: Rockefeller Oil Company (ROC) Rockefeller Oil Refinery (ROR)
Political Clout: 0.23
Player: King50000

Name: Samuel Gramm
Net Worth: $1,394,885
Cash on Hand: $30,000
Debt: $-
Stock Price: $0.45 (CTC)
Stocks Owned: 15,000.00 (CTC)
Stock Value: $6,750
Companies: General Technology Industries (GTI) Cleveland Telegraph Company (CTC)
Political Clout: 0.30
Player: Dadarian

Name: John Smith
Net Worth: $835,000
Cash on Hand: $35,000
Debt: $-
Stock Price: $0
Stocks Owned: -
Stock Value: $-
Companies: Allegheny Coal Mining (ACM)
Political Clout: 0.11
Player: Thandros

Orders are due November 20th, 11:59 EDT

 

[Deaghaidh]

OOC: Point of fact, there was a rail bridge over the Mississippi for quite some time by now. In fact, a lawyer named Abraham Lincoln was hired to represent the company that built and operated it against lawsuits by steamboat lines. As President, Lincoln just so happened to enact policies that gave the owners of that company the hugely lucrative opportunity to be founders of the UPRR. The original bridge collapsed a couple of times, and ultimately had to be replaced, but the replacement was the $300,000 one I referred to when I estimating costs for the bridge over Missouri

Likewise, the Missouri Eastern was meant to cross Iowa, the name coming from the Missouri River, which forms the Nebraska/Iowa border and the boundary of the Union Pacific's area of operation. The track would pretty much all run through Iowa, though historically the initial trans-missouri connection.

Also:

 

[Frymonmon]

It's the New York Times. Do you expect everything to be accurate?

Anyway. It still needs to cross the Mississippi River, and it needs it's own bridge to do so. That's me coming from the GM standpoint. I/e the United States Government.

Yes, I am planning your railroads for you, but that's only for this one.

And because I made a mistake.

Adapt, damn you!

 

[Deaghaidh]

OOC: Missouri is fine, connecting Kansas City to Omaha was a big moneymaker. We'll cross the Mississippi at St Louis then.

Also shouldn't I, Morgan, and the other investors have shares in a new company, MERR?

IC: Statement from George F. Train to shareholders and creditors of the MERR:
Dear Sirs,
You have no doubt noticed the deviation from our operating plan as proposed last quarter. While I am confident you will be pleased with the results, some explanation is still in order.
Our surveyors diligently mapped the intended direct westward route through Iowa, and while they found no significant barriers in physical geography, initial contacts with certain governments and landowners left them decidedly pessimistic about the cost of procuring right of way at any fair price. Furthermore, legal challenges have resurfaced against the operators of the railway bridge at Rock Island, Illinois, the resolution of which will take some time and the outcome of which is uncertain. Combined, these factors caused the board to opt for an alternate route, still crossing the Missouri at Council Bluffs, Iowa, but then following the westward course of the river down to Kansas City. From Kansas City, it is our intention to extend operations eastward to St Louis, and there construct our own trans-Mississippi railway crossing.

This latter bridge will be a much more major undertaking, as by law it must abide with restrictions aimed at ensuring the easy flow of river traffic. It will be a magnificent edifice, and a marvel of modern design, relying on steel cantilevers for unprecidented span length. We have contracted a respected civil engineer, James B. Eads, to design such a structure, and he has broduced the following illustration:

Obviously, such a project will require additional time and capital. I firmly believe this added expense will be more than offset by linking two of the metropolises of the American Middle West to the Union Pacific, and offering ferry service at St Louis until construction is completed.

 

[Frymonmon]

I fixed the stats.

 

[Deaghaidh]

On Columbus City:

"The Territorial legislature has seen fit to embrace the notion of a grand metropolis on the Platte River as a new capitol, to be built on what is now almost entirely virgin land held either by the government, the Union Pacific Railroad, or supporters like myself.

I have taken the liberty, with the permission of those parties, to form a planning commission for Columbus City, so as to quickly lay out the network of streets and boulevards that will bind this new metropolis together. Lands shall be set aside for a suitable government seat for Nebraska, as well as a university, a system of public parks, sewers and water systems, with also plans for a privately run streetcar system. I have engaged the esteemed Landscape Architect Horace Cleveland to consult with the design, which shall be paid for by land sales.

Prime real estate in this new city is on sale now, and immigrants arrive daily from points east. Buy now to ensure a prime place in the city of the future!"

 

[NikoHoI3]

News Conference, Atlantic City, NJ

Expanding the market overseas was one of the best ideas I have ever had. My stocks have gone through the roof. Also, I am happy with my sound investment in the MERR project and the new news from Mr. Train on the railways progress with both positive and negative. I'm glad to hear their are no major physical barriers thus far, but I am concerned on the legal issues on the Rock Island, Ill bridge. In the future I hope to expand more stores across North America, and even Europe. I am happy with the progress my company has made, and I see bright horizons for the future. Thank you.

 

[Dadarian]

Open Letter to all Railroad Companies, and the American Government

The Cleveland Telegraph Company (CTC) is glad to now be in operative condition. We offer to provide telegraph lines to all RR companies as well as the American Government, as it is an intergal part of the infrastructure of a RR company. This of course comes at a fair and well-viewed price.

However, if a bidding war occurs, we will become the sole supplier of any one RR company.

Sincerly,

Samuel Gramm

((OOC: I am have no idea what I'm doing, so I'm making it up as I go along XD ))

 

[Sarius1997]

Open Letter to all Railroad Companies, and the American Government

The Cleveland Telegraph Company (CTC) is glad to now be in operative condition. We offer to provide telegraph lines to all RR companies as well as the American Government, as it is an intergal part of the infrastructure of a RR company. This of course comes at a fair and well-viewed price.

However, if a bidding war occurs, we will become the sole supplier of any one RR company.

Sincerly,

Samuel Gramm

((OOC: I am have no idea what I'm doing, so I'm making it up as I go along XD ))

I, Thomas Scott, would like to thank you for this offer. A contract between our companies would be helpful for the development of both companies.
Furthermore, i think, that we´ll find a price, which will be fair for both sides.

-Scott

OOC:I also have no idea what i´m doing, in the first turn i made a boatload of money, without really knowing why.

 

[Fire and Ash]

OOC: Any idea on when we could get an update?

 

[Frymonmon]

When more people put IC up.

 

[etranger01]

I have observed the ongoing MERR project and have decided not to invest any capital for the time being. I believe there is more profit to be made in the impending connection of the existing Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads, which will provide our nation with its first Transcontinental Railroad.

I note with dismay the unfortunate turn my colleague Mister Andrew Carnegie has taken recently, with the collapse of his portfolio and subsequent arrest. I would be willing to help defray the costs of his legal battle by purchasing his shares in American Express at twice their previous value of thirteen cents per share, for a total of $16,900 dollars.

With the limitless resources of the West and the ingenuity of the American worker and engineer, Hearst, Haggin, Tevis, and Co. is poised to continue its rapid growth and provide even greater wealth to the United States.

~ George Hearst, Managing Partner of Hearst, Haggin, Tevis, and Co.