What is the railroad for? How do I drive the train?
Railroad tracks run across the island, including through the winter biome — they're a handy landmark for navigation, and you can walk and drive along them. And a working train now runs on them.
Trains have no owner: anyone can board one, and whoever reaches the controls first drives.
Driving it
Walk up to the lever in the locomotive cab and take the controls. You have three forward gears, three reverse gears and neutral, plus a horn. Stay next to the lever — step away and you let go of the controls.
To change direction at a junction, hold left or right as you approach. If there's a branch on that side, the train takes it; otherwise it carries straight on.
Fuel
The train runs on Low Grade Fuel, poured into the tank on the body. Trains spawn with fuel already in them, and a gauge shows how much is left. Out of fuel the lever still moves but the train won't pull — top it up and it goes again. The higher the gear, the faster you go and the faster the fuel burns.
Cargo
Both the locomotive and the wagon have a cargo hold with loot in it. The holds aren't locked — anyone who walks up can open them, so don't use a train as storage.
Riding it
You can stand, walk, jump and aim on the deck while the train is moving. The train never hurts the people it's carrying.
Being hit by one
Standing on the track is a bad idea: a moving train knocks players, animals and vehicles aside and damages them. The faster it's going, the more it hurts. At walking pace it's harmless.
Where trains come from, and how they disappear
Trains appear on their own on free sidings around the map — there's no schedule. A train left where it spawned stays put, but once it's been moved it starts to wear down and will eventually break apart, so a train you park somewhere won't be waiting the next day. A rake of wagons with no working locomotive also breaks down.
Can it be destroyed?
Yes, at any time — trains aren't protected by the no-raid window. You can repair one with a hammer for metal fragments. A destroyed train leaves a wreck and drops whatever was in its cargo.
You also can't build on or near the tracks: there's a permanent no-build corridor along the whole railway.