Russian Railroads FAQ
88 questions players ask · Updated Nov 7, 2026 · Full rulebook
Setup and Player Counts
- How many doublers does the Doubler starting bonus card place?
- Who takes a Starting Bonus card, and in what order?
- Can the Starting Bonus card's track advancement be used on any colour?
- What score do you start with, and can you lose victory points?
- How many workers does each player start with, and can the reserve workers be earned in a 2-player game?
- How many locomotives are removed for 2 or 3 players, and which board side is used?
- Are the extra #1 locomotives placed in the supply?
- In a 3-player game, is the 4th turn order card used?
- Are roubles or doublers limited?
- Where do roubles used as workers go at the end of the round?
- Can the expansion boards (German, American) be combined on one map or mixed?
Playing a Turn
- Do I have to fully perform a main-board action, and can I do part of a factory, mystery token or engineer action?
- Can I take an action space I can't fully perform just to block other players?
- Can I choose the order of the effects and bonuses I get during one action?
- Can I use a worker I gain mid-round (black worker, Kiev space 7, new worker)?
- When does the black worker give its extra black track advancement?
Track Extension
- Where does a newly earned track colour go, and can it be placed straight on space 1?
- When an action says to split advancements, can I put all of them on one railroad?
- Do I need a locomotive to advance my tracks?
- Do I need a locomotive to unlock gray, brown, natural or white tracks?
- Can I advance black to unlock a new colour and then advance that colour in the same action?
- Can a track pass or skip another colour on the same railroad?
- Do I score the 10-point end-of-railroad bonus every round, and is a locomotive needed?
- When I unlock white track and get its 2 free advancements, can I use fewer?
- Does a track bonus space need the track and locomotive to arrive at the same time?
- Can I use the bottom black/gray track action more than once, and with several workers?
Locomotives
- How do locomotive upgrades and chains work?
- What happens to a locomotive I can't place, and can I flip one on my board into a factory?
- Which locomotive or factory can I take when I build one?
- Can I take a locomotive action when no locomotives are left?
- In the 3-worker 'locomotive and factory' action, can I build the factory my displaced locomotive becomes?
- Can I replace a factory on my board, and do I get its ability?
- Can I own two copies of the same factory?
- Can I build a factory before my marker reaches the first industry gap?
- Does the factory on the #1 locomotive score all my engineers?
Factories and Industrialization
- Must I use a factory's ability when my industry marker lands on it?
- Can my industry marker jump over a gap or an empty factory space?
- If a multi-step industry move lands on a factory, do I use the factory then keep moving?
- Can I take a 2-step industry space when only one step fits, or the second depends on a later choice?
- How does the second industry marker work with factories, mystery spaces and the final space?
- How is the industry track scored?
- What does the level-9 factory give: a ? card or an End Bonus card?
- How do the repeat, track-move and locomotive-score factories work?
Auxiliary Actions and Engineers
- Can an engineer or factory copy the 2 temporary workers space?
- Which spaces can Engineer 8 or Factory 3 repeat?
- Do I need a worker to use an engineer I hired, and can I use it right away?
- How does hiring an engineer work, and how many can I hire?
- How is the engineer majority scored, including ties?
- Where do doublers go and what do they double?
- Can I take more than one auxiliary action in a round, and copy the 2-rouble space?
- What does the promo engineer Juri Dreigleisky do?
Turn Order
- What if I put a rouble or temporary worker on a turn order space?
- When do I score the points on my turn order card?
- Can I place a worker on the turn order space under my own position, or both spaces?
- How is the turn order rearranged?
- How do I reuse the worker I put on the turn order track?
- In a 2-player game, can I use the second turn order space again, and can the first player keep first place?
Special Spaces and Scoring
- How is a railroad scored each round?
- Do the Kiev bonus stars keep scoring each round, and does a coloured track covering them cancel them?
- When does the Kiev Medal pay out?
- How does the St. Petersburg space 7 doubling work?
- How do mystery token spaces on the player board work?
- Are the player board special spaces resolved immediately or at round end?
- If a locomotive reaches far enough, do all bonus spaces behind it activate?
Mystery Tokens, Cards and Game End
Russian Railroads: German RailroadsExpansion
- Can a second industry marker activate the 2 Year Plan factory or a used ? industry space?
- How many A and B engineers does the Coal module use?
- Can I advance gold track without silver on the middle route?
- Where do the two beige tracks go, and can white advance on Munich without beige?
- Can I get more than two extra workers in German Railroads?
- How does Emil behave in the solo game?
- How many coins do I start with in solo German Railroads when using the Coal module?
- How do German Railroads income markers work?
- Are coal tokens limited, and can I use a foundry more than once?
- When can I close a foundry for a boilerman, and can I use it partly?
- Does the German Railroads x2 space double the star bonuses?
Russian Railroads: American RailroadsExpansion
- Does the Golden Spike add to the Transcontinental bonus or replace it?
- What are personal and general payouts, and when does general payout happen?
- How many stock advancements can I get, and how are end-game stock ties broken?
- How do the two industry tracks work, including stones and ? tokens?
- Do doublers affect star bonuses, and which doublers count for the end card?