In this tutorial you can learn how to buy (purchase, build), sell (delete) and modify trains - move engines and wagons.

How do I purchase trains?

Trains can be purchased from train Depotss (the trains will then start from the depot you built them in).

1. First click on the depot (see Building depots for details on building them).
   
   

   Clicking the depot
2. The depot screen will open - this window shows all trains that are stationed in this depot. Click on New Vehicle. A new window will open.
   
   

   Selecting New Vehicles from Depot window
3. This window shows all the engines and cargo wagons you can build. Choose an engine you want to build by clicking it (Also that engine's description will appear). Once you are happy with your choice, click the Build Vehicle button.
   
   

   Buying an engine
   A new window will open - this is your train's window showing where your train is (for now - in the depot). Later on you will give Orders to your train through this window. If you happen to close it, it can be easily reopened by clicking the train in the depot.
   
   

   The train window
   The engine of your train can now be seen in the depot window.
   
   

   Newly built train engine in the depot
4. Now you can Choose the wagons you want to buy, by selecting them in the same manner as the engine and pressing Build Vehicle a desired number of times - say 7 times to build 7 wagons. If there is only 1 train in the depot, the wagons will be attached to it automatically. Different types of wagons can be added to the same train (e.g. 5 grain hoppers and 3 livestock vans).
   
   

   Buying wagons
5. You should now see your new train with wagons in the depot window.
   
   

   Newly built train in the depot

Tips for buying trains

Every engine and wagon takes up half a game square (exclude some NewGraphics vehicles). So an 8 piece train (1 engine and 7 wagons) takes up 4 game squares.

An 8 piece train fitting in 4 squares

Keep in mind that engines with 2 parts count as 2 pieces and not 1 piece!

Remember that a train too long to fit in a station will need much more time to load and unload. So make sure you build train stations long enough.

You can put more than one engine on a train by first building your train with 1 engine then building a second engine and drag/dropping it on the previously built train. This is most useful with Realistic acceleration turned ON. This allows the train to go up hills faster and also speed up faster. This shows most with very long trains (10 wagons long or more) that otherwise might never get to top speed.

If you play with add-on engines and wagons that you can get via NewGRFs, these engines and wagons can be longer or shorter than a half game square. In this case use the train building window which to the right of the train, will show the train length as number of tiles. (Prior to version 1.1, OpenTTD displayed the train length as the number of half tile equivalents).

How do I sell / delete trains?

You can sell the train one piece at a time, several pieces, the whole train at once or all trains in the depot at once.

• To sell 1 piece of train or the engine itself just click & drag that piece to the upmost first icon ( ) of the depot.
  
  

  Selling a train piece - the one being dragged

• You can also sell several pieces - a train piece and all pieces connected (to the right of it) - by:
  1. click & dragging the piece to the second icon ( ) from top in the depot;
  2. holding the Ctrl key while selling a piece (click&drag to upper icon).

• This is the way to delete your train - by dragging the engine to the second icon.
  
  

  Selling several train pieces - last 3 wagons

• Finally, by clicking the third icon ( ) , you will be asked if you want to sell all your trains in the depot.
  
  

  Selling all trains in the depot

How do I move around the wagons / engines?

You can move around the wagons and engines by simply clicking & dragging them.

Wagons can be moved:

• from one position in a train to another;
• from one train to another.

Engines can be moved:

• from one train to another train to be used as an additional engine;
• from multi-engined train to an empty space in depot list to be used as a separate train engine.

Holding CTRL while dragging a wagon allows you to move all wagons to the right of it as well. So, by dragging the first wagon (next to the engine) of a train to another train while holding CTRL would transfer all wagons to the second train.

You can also read more on Multi-engined trains, Selling an entire train