Locomotive 115: How to Escape Widow’s Run

There are four main rules that you should always follow:

No. 1: Keep that fire hot. Keep it somewhere between red and purple on average. Your fire should not drop into the yellow.
No. 2: Keep the gremlins away. Before you grab a scoop of coal, blow the whistle for one pressure segment to check.
No. 3: Keep your shotgun loaded. Coal is more important than shotgun, shotgun is more important than whistle.
No. 4: Keep the speed high. Don’t use more than half your pressure gauge for the whistle, it’ll slow you down.

With that in mind, let’s go a bit more in-depth.

First of all, the fire is your friend here, it keeps your speed up and your whistle ready. If it drops into the yellow then grab the shovel, even if you risk getting eaten. Do your best to keep it in the red until Chapter 3, after which keep it in the purple.

Second of all, keep your gun loaded. If you’ve just shot a Beast, you can get a scoop or two of coal in before reloading. If you shot a switch, reload immediately. If you’ve kept your speed high and there’s both a Flying Beast and an upcoming switch on the same side, use one shot for the Beast, then save your second shot for the switch. Shoot the target through the Beast and you’ll knock them both out.

Your speed is the biggest thing to manage. You need to keep your pressure gauge as high as possible to keep the speed high. This means that after a new chapter starts, get as much coal as you can. If you’ve done this right, speed shouldn’t be too big of a problem in Chapter 5. If your pressure gets too high and the boiler starts whistling like kettle, blow the whistle until the pressure drops down a segment. This will help keep the gremlins away.

If you’ve passed a switch warning and there’s a Beast on the opposite side, you have two routes:

No. 1: If your speed is low, shoot the Beast, reload, and shoot the switch.
No. 2: If your speed is high, wait for the switch, shoot it, then reload and shoot the Beast.

There are no other options. Once you pass the switch, and kill the Beast, look behind you to see if there’s any gremlins that are too close. If they’re on the coal or on the sides, go back, blow the whistle until you hear them go away, then shovel coal and use your judgement to see whether or not you need to blow the whistle again. If you’re good on coal, don’t worry about the whistle until you need coal again.

Now that you know how to run the No. 115, let’s talk about the other stuff.

Him, don’t let Him catch you. This is why you need to keep your speed up. In Chapter 5, keep your speed as high as possible or He will get you. It will not be fun, you do not want to meet Him.

The Track, the winding iron path that your livelihood depends on. When you’re running at full tilt, that switch becomes your only priority. If a Flying Beast starts gnawing at your engine, it doesn’t matter, that switch does. You’ll learn what those red ones are about on your own time.

The gremlins loath your whistle. They hate it and will run to get away from it. If you need coal, let the whistle sing until you hear them growl. Once they do you can grab some coal. If they’re just riding on the boxcar behind you, you can get as much coal as you need. Back of the tender is some cause for worry, but you should be fine. If they’re on your coal or the sides of your tender you need to grab the whistle and let her rip.

The Beasts. They’re jerks and will kill your fire temperature. Two good shots is all it takes, aim carefully. Once they’ve been dispatched, grab your shovel and get to work. If you’ve dealt with it quickly you should only need two scoops. If you needed to hit the switch first you’ll need three or four. They usually show up either after a switch or after the bell for one. If you went through a switch and one didn’t come by, make sure your shotgun is loaded before getting coal.

If you managed to make it to Chapter 5 without becoming dinner, good job! Now it’s time for to put your skills to the test.

When it tells you to run, RUN. Don’t let the speed drop, no matter what. He’s not too happy with you now so it’s better to take your chances with the gremlins than Him.

There’s not much to help you here, you have all that you need, it’s up to you now. Good luck, Engineer, may the rails guide you to victory.