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Old 01-26-2021, 12:34 PM   #7
Jinumon
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Default Re: [HT] Cost of a Stagecoach Ticket

Okay,

So considering the insights of these kind folks, I'll be recalculating based on the following factors.

1) Travel time increased to 23 hours per day (day and night travel with a 10-minute break every ~4 hours)

2) 25 work days per month, not 20 (I remember this being the case in Low-Tech Companion 3: Daily Life and Economics, and figure this should carry over since it is pre-Worker's Rights Movement)

3) 3.6 drivers will be needed to run it constantly, not 3 (considering the above factors)

4) 2/3 - 1/3 split between horses and mules (using Saddle Horse and Large Mule from the Basic Set)

5) 3 teams of animals will be need instead of 2 (12 horses and 6 mules)

6) Financed at 16% interest instead of 8%, paying 2% value per month instead of 1% (I imagine stagecoaches running 22 hours per day wear out, and should thus be paid off, more quickly than things like ocean-going vessels)

7) 6 typical passengers instead of 5 ("Each row seats three passengers, for a total of nine - although six is more usual, and even that means a claustrophobic ride!" GURPS High-Tech, p. 233)

All that said, the calculations are as follows:

Monthly Break-Even Point = $3,960 (salaries) + $7,200 (maintenance for 12 horses) + $6,000 (maintenance for 6 mules, calculated proportionally based on Saddle Horse cost vs. Large Mule cost) + $616 (financing) + $61.60 (incidental maintenance) = $17,837.60

Passenger-Miles per Month = 22 (hours/day) x 8 (mph) x 30 (days/month) x 6 (passengers) = 31,680

Passenger-Miles per Month Break-Even = $17,837.60/31,680 = $0.56/passenger miles

Cost/Passenger Mile + Profit = $0.56 x 1.33 = $0.75

Hmm. Coming up with the same amount, though pretty much all historical accounts point to the railroads being significantly cheaper than stagecoaches. Looking at some historical sources, the price in GURPS High-Tech for railroad travel seems to be consistent with the cost of first-class accommodations; the Transcontinental (Pacific) Line charged $134.50 in 1870 (~G$1,940) for 1,912 miles of travel. Second-class was about 80% of that, and "emigrant" (economy) was about 50% of first-class. That would put Economy-class rail travel at G$0.50/mile, while stagecoach travel is G$0.75/mile for economy-class. Does this seem appropriate?

Is there something I'm missing here? A x2-x5 multiplier for the danger of crossing wild lands in a stagecoach?

Jinumon
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