Does preferred cargo type for an engine mean anything?

[tpg0007]

Or just cosmetic?

[snoopy55]

If it's what I think it is you're talking about, it simply menas that that engine is best suited for that type of hauling, which is probably Passenger.
It can haul freight, but if you look at the grid, you'll see that it slows it way down.

There is one Original Engine that hauls only Passengers, the TGV, and one or two others that have been created.

Play around, experiment, make a few maps.....


And Welcome to the forum!

[Lowell]

The default GP38 comes up as passenger...so there are a couple that aren't labeled correctly in the game.

[Star Ranger4]

Yes, it actually does from what I can see. Freight engines have slower overall acceleration but dont loose as much off the top speed pulling a full load of cars, while a passenger engine has better acceleration from a stop but will loose a lot more of its top speed to pull the same load

[pherschel]

Unfortunately this is one of the faults I find with the game. However, I still enjoy it. The freight locos are way to fast.

I think the way it should have worked like this:

Passenger Locos: Fast with few cars, slowing rapidly as others are added. Affected greatly by steep hills.

Freight locos: Slow with few cars, slowing down down gradually as more are added. Affected moderately by steep hills.

Mixed Locos: In between the two above.

Personally I use fast locos for small loads when appropriate.

Also would have been cool if car weight differences varied more.