This is an idea that I've had for a while, but never really put much thought into it until now.  It's a roleplaying game about steam locomotives, railroad station towns, production chains, the tycoons behind it all, and more.

[b][u]Summary[/u][/b]:  It takes place in a fictional location in the 19th Century American Midwest, where steamboats and locomotives have revolutionized the transport of people and goods.  A burgeoning riverside City has been connected to a Town via railroad, and items are shipped back and forth.  The players will own a business that produces a specific good to be sold abroad - whether to NPCs (me, playing the settlements) or to each other.  These businesses can grow and evolve; production chains may form - and are encouraged.  Additionally, new Towns may appear, while existing ones will become Cities and those may become Metropolises - all depending on how well the players manage the production and transport of their goods.

[b][u]Turn-Based[/u][/b]:  Except on special occasions, my posts will count as a single turn.  A turn is '1DT', which stands for [i]1 Days Travel[/i].  The City and Town are 1DT apart, so if the train is in the City then the next time I post it will arrive in the Town.

[b][u]About Your Business[/u][/b]:  You will own some kind of business - whether it's a log-cutting business, mining industry, a farm, mail service, fishery, slaughterhouse, paper mill, plantation - honestly whatever you want.  These businesses are based near or within the City or Town.  Every turn you will produce 1 tonne of a resource.  Maybe you produce 1 tonne of lumber, or 1 ton of cotton, or 1 tonne of corn - that's your discretion.  I will update your 'inventories' whenever I advance a turn so you can keep track of what you have produced.

[b][u]What do I do on my turn?[/u][/b]:  Let's pretend you own a cotton plantation.  When I post you will see that you have produced 1 tonne of cotton.  You may now post and decide you want to load this 1 tonne of cotton onto the train to sell in the City.  The next time I post the train will have arrived in the City and your 1 tonne of cotton will have been sold, increasing your Cash.  That's the basics.

[b][u]Supply, Demand, and Upgrades[/u][/b]:  So your business produces 1 tonne of a good per turn.  You can use Cash to upgrade your business and start producing 2 tonnes per turn, 3 tonnes per turn, etc.  But each location only demands a specific amount of goods - representing demand.  Metropolises will demand more than a City, and a City will demand more than a Town.  Note that a location will never have a demand for a good that is being produced there.  When enough businesses exist within a town it will become a city, and cities become metropolises in the the same fashion.

[b][u]New Towns[/u][/b]:  The players may pool their money together to invest in the construction of a new railroad linking the existing Town or City to a new town.  This town will now start accepting the goods you produce, and will also become a new location for you to found new businesses!

[b][u]New Businesses[/u][/b]:  Aside from upgrading your business, or expanding your existing business to a new location, you can open up an entirely new one!  So you might own a Cotton Plantation in the Town, and a Steel Furnace in the City!  Ship cotton to the City, then ship steel to the Town!

[b][u]Competition?[/u][/b]:  So a location will always buy your goods at a fixed rate.  But what happens when two players produce the same good?  That fixed rate ceases to exist and now the price is determined by the players.  I don't know how I want to do this yet, however, and it's something I am still working on.

Another form of competition would be founding businesses in locations where that business doesn't exist yet.  If Player One owns a steel furnace in the City and he is selling his goods in the Town, you can found a steel furnace in the Town which means they no longer demand Steel - you have stripped Player One of customers!

[b][u]Production Chains[/u][/b]:  A production chain would be where one player produces a good, ships it to another player, who then turns that good into their own type.  So an Iron Ore Mining Company in the Town might ship iron ore to a Steel Furnace in the City, which then produces steel to be sold in the Town.  Production chains are up to the players' discretion and I want to encourage this somehow or another.  They can be as complex as the players start to make them!

[b][u]Conclusion[/u][/b]:  I work a full-time job and have morning classes - so I am quite busy!  But I wanted to pass this idea on to see what people though about it, answer some questions, and hear some suggestions!