station-master/docs/rules/glossary.md

Station Master — Glossary

Every defined term, alphabetized for lookup. The core comes from the Definitions section of rules-v0.1.md (§2); terms introduced by gap decisions carry their rules-v0.2.md section. The "Where" column points at the defining section.

Term	Definition	Where
A/D (Arrival/Departure) Track	Short sidings in front of your office where trains arrive and depart from. A train at an Office occupies one A/D track. If a train arrives and no A/D track is available, it is a collision.	§2.1, §8.3
Caboose	Red rolling stock, for the conductor and switch crews. Returns directly to the Division Yard when used. Counts toward the Crew Tray's four-piece limit.	§2.2, §A.4
Classification Yard	Where used Rolling Stock is placed. When the Division Yard empties, everything here moves back to it.	§2.2
Coach	Passenger rolling stock (blue = loaded, white = empty).	§2.2
Consist	A collection of Rolling Stock (cars) in a Crew Tray. Order is significant.	§2.2, §A.3
Control Point	An Office where trains are reported in to the distant (NPC) dispatcher — Division Points, Depots, Stations, Terminals. Whistle Posts are not Control Points. Denoted by a train order signal on the card.	§2.1
Crew Tray	The canoe-shaped holder containing the train pieces. Must always hold an engine; may hold at most four Rolling Stock, cabooses included.	§2.2, §A.4
Day	A series of twelve Stages.	§2.4
Departments	Three face-up slots beside the Home Office deck from which cards may be drawn and to which they may be discarded. Fed from the one deck, not decks of their own.	§2.6
Dispatcher	The imaginary (NPC) person running the railroad and granting rights to trains to operate.	§2.6
Division	Your company's tracks connecting the Eastern and Western Division Points. May represent hundreds of miles and several Offices.	§2.1
Division Point	Where your railroad ties into other railroads. There is an Eastern and a Western Division Point.	§2.1
Division Yard	A table-top pile of Rolling Stock. Cars for cargo, passengers, or trains are selected from here.	§2.2
East	The player's right.	§2.4
Engine	The engine piece. May pull cars, push cars, or both. Has couplers on the front end.	§2.2, §A.3
Extra Platform	Modifier card: +1 green and +1 red slot at a Passenger Facility.	§12.5
Extra Train	A one-and-done train; its card returns to the Salvage Yard on completion. Head-on card image, so the drawing player picks its direction. Numbered with an "X" prefix; the following number gives its seniority, and it yields to the Timetabled train of that number.	§2.3, §8
Facility	A business which loads/unloads cargo and freight.	§2.5
Freight Facility	Mine Tipples, Produce Sheds, Grocer's Warehouses, Oil Refineries, Power Plants. Some allow only outbound, some only inbound, some both. Per-card values in §12.5.	§9, §12.5
Freight House	Not a card — the collective term for a freight facility permitting both directions, namely the Grocer's Warehouse and the Oil Refinery.	§9.3, §12.5
Highball	When a train holding at an Office automatically departs.	§2.4
Home Office	The primary face-down deck cards are drawn from. 52 cards.	§2.6, §12.1
Hopper	Coal rolling stock (brown = loaded, white = empty).	§2.2
Inbound box	A red box holding all just-unloaded freight/passengers of the designated type.	§2.5
Junction stub	The diverging connection printed above and below every Office card's track, allowing Secondary Track to branch from the opening Stage. A plain connection — §A.1's turnout directionality does not apply.	§11.3
Laborer	A blue man-icon; works cargo. Usable once each per Stage. Four Laborer-actions complete one load.	§2.5, §9.1, §9.3
Limits	The sign east and west of your Office that denotes the limit of your control area. Moves outwards as your Running Track expands.	§2.1, §11.2
Loading Dock	Modifier card: +1 green Outbound capacity at a Freight Facility.	§12.5
Mainline Card	Tarot-sized cards representing roughly the hundred miles of track between train offices. Each has two regions.	§2.1
MEN | AT | WORK	A blue three-box turn track tracking how quickly freight cars are loaded/unloaded. Only one Load per box. While any load sits on it, the industry's track loses Operational Rail status.	§2.5, §9.3
Modifier Facility	A card placed adjacent to a Facility (any of the nine nearby spots) that increases its capacities or workers. If adjacent to two Facilities, it may only be used on one per Stage.	§2.5, §9, §12.5
Move	A Crew Tray moving from one Operational Rail card to another, regardless of distance, without changing direction.	§2.4, §A
Number board	Small tiles numbered 1-12 recording which Stage (hour) a train departs.	§2.3
Office	The location the Station Master sits at. A Whistle Post, Depot, Station or Terminal. All four share identical track geometry.	§2.1, §11.1, §11.3
Operational Rail	Any track (Running or Secondary) on which a train may sit, change direction, and drop or pick up cars. Marked with a wheel icon.	§2.1
Outbound box	A green box holding all to-be-loaded freight/passengers of the indicated type.	§2.5
Passenger Facility	Depots, Stations and Terminals — any Office above Whistle Post. Always allow both loading and unloading.	§9, §11.1
Phase	An operational component of a Stage.	§2.4
Porter	A black man-icon; assists passengers. Usable once each per Stage. One Porter-action earns one Revenue.	§2.5, §9.1, §9.2
Reefer	Refrigerated rolling stock for field produce (brown = loaded, white = empty).	§2.2
Revenue	Points gained and lost to determine victory. +1 per load/unload operation, −5 per collision.	§2.4, §10
Rolling stock	The non-engine pieces representing rail cars, either in a Crew Tray or sitting on an Operational Rail card. A colored car is loaded; a white car is empty.	§2.2
Running Track	The "Mainline" running horizontally between your Limits, including your Office — the horizontal row of cards, Limit-to-Limit.	§2.1
Salvage Yard	Where used cards are placed, face up, so no card that shouldn't be discarded is.	§2.6
Secondary Track	All track inside your Limits that is not the Running Track.	§2.1
Section Gang	Modifier card: +1 Laborer or +1 Porter. The only worker-adding Modifier.	§12.5
Stage	A two-hour section of time. Twelve make a Day. Each player gets one Local Operations action per Stage.	§2.4, §6
Storage Shed	Modifier card: +1 red Inbound capacity at a Freight Facility.	§12.5
Subdivision	The Mainline track between the Limits of opposing Control Points. Whistle Posts are not Control Points and sit inside a Subdivision like ordinary Mainline.	§2.1
Superintendent	The Dispatcher's right-hand-man, managing the division. The role passes player to player; a shift is six hours (three Stages). Marked by the Fedora piece. Rules on following-train clearances.	§2.6, §8.1
Tank car	Oil rolling stock (brown = loaded, white = empty).	§2.2
Team Track	Modifier card: +1 car on a Freight Facility's industry track.	§12.5
Timetabled Train	A train scheduled to run every day at the same time, marked by a Number Board on the turn chart. Numbered 1-12; odd westbound, even eastbound. Lower numbers hold greater seniority, and all outrank Extras.	§2.3, §8
Turnout	A drawn track card where a train entering from "A" may proceed to B or C, but one entering from B or C may only proceed to A. Not Operational Rail, so no stopping. Distinct from the Office card's junction stubs, which carry no directional restriction.	§A.1, §11.3
West	The player's left.	§2.4
Whistle Post	The most basic Office — "a shack in the middle of nowhere". Not a Control Point and not a Passenger Facility, so a Whistle Post player has no passenger business.	§2.1, §11.1