Well, tier 1 could literally be some sort of large ski (that’s the technical name honest) that can be placed on to a cart/ carriage and then hauled around the place.
This then gets upgraded as you progress and alter the terrain to something more permanent - the track for example could offer a speed bonus over simply hauling everything on these giant skis (definitely the technical name).
oh thats brilliant… i so want to see this in a mod! 
A little fuel for the fire. The default era of this game is medieval, with a flair for the fantasy. Steampunk elements should fit in just fine but things probably should stay in their most basic forms. I would love to see more classic style designs of steam engines.
http://www.memscentral.com/widget/widgethistoryparade/Invention%20of%20Steam%20Locomotive.jpg
if they add a research system then you could research trains but you need iron and a lab to do it . good idea ?
I already looked into that…I’ll make a flow chart to explain the way things can grow with this Rail system, after you guys can once again arrange things, leave input, so on and so forth.
at a minimum, i’m waiting for someone to put together this mod… which seems perfectly doable, with a few new models, and a simple animation… done! 
http://www.phillyfellows.org/sitebuilder/images/hand_pumped_rail_cart-300x218.jpg
If anything, I might suggest that while this is good mod material, I would not suggest putting it into the vanilla gameplay, as it takes away too much from the medieval feel of Stonehearth, with the exception perhaps of the Gollum-pulled sleds and "dramways."
I would assume that the use of the engineer would - at least for peaceful endeavors - include the ability to make wind or water-powered mills to increase flour production, or work on irrigation systems, as well as invent new systems of mining and chopping wood.
Wow this mod sounds awesome, i love the idea of basic trains and other track based methods of transport
oh, absolutely agreed… this would all be fan made mod material…
and i fully intend to play the vanilla version for a solid month before dipping my toes into the modding waters… 
Oh god yes. And I think we could get another competition going for when people are hands on with the game.
laughs sinisterly Oh yes, a new competition indeed.
Here is what i just made guys: a basic flow chart explaining a few things.
For the First Tier: a basic Ski on a track that can only be pushed by 2 guys (or 1). This will be the basic means of moving things around with less effort.
Tier 2: A basic pump action cart that can pull 2 skis (maximum) and requires 2 guys to operate.
Tier 3: to keep the vibe of StoneHearth i decided that the Tier 3 will be an Geomancer Engine Based Train which functions as a steam engine but can only be Maned by the Geomancer and the Geomancers skills.
I don’t know the skills of the Geomancer just yet but i found that it is the best alternative to steam engines.
This still keeps in mind the feeling of Medieval and SH (In my opinion).
For the Tiers on the left end: This will be the Advanced Features which almost completely detract from StoneHearth technology. It can be considered the ADVANCE MOD of the overall mod.
All i know is that the final tier for this section will be a Magnet induced rail system that doesn’t need to be maned.
Hope you guys like this so far.
Regards,
Y2bcrazy
Sounds like a nicely thought out idea so far …
Something utilising the magma smith would be awesome, how that is done however … I have no idea! I was thinking of potentially having these magma flows that you would have some sort of magma resistant transport system on, then I moved on to perhaps utilising a river or water to move stock around … but inside your settlement that could get ever so slightly unwieldy.
Also, let’s not forget that we can train animals to help around the settlement … some of the larger animals could function like the golem, or in place of the settler, and haul cargo around the place.
As for using the geomancer well, she can manipulate the earth right? So perhaps you could have some sort of platform that is movable by the geomancer around the place for the movement and transportation of large goods? This could be used say, if you had a great forest that you were gathering wood from, however it was a reasonable distance away, you create a few of these platforms which has a stockpile on top of it, and you then move the platform.
Just spitballing ideas!
Aweosme 
the kind of feedback i look for, makes me think.
First off, I can make an upgrade (or not) for the current Tier 3 where you can bring it to a tier 4.
How I saw the Current Tier 3 work:
Now for the Magma smith (I completely forgot he existed, silly me):
Now, I know the game is Medieval but we can’t limit growth of the game or else it can become boring (not saying the game will be boring, in fact it’ll be awesome). Also, I think the fact that the game will support Mods is the soul reason why this should be added. It’ll create large advancements in the game and it’s potential city growth.
Section 3:
Animals:
I can make the mod so it has alternative routes, so instead of utilizing the characters in the game we can make it work with animals. I can have 3 stages for animals: bull/cows, horses, then it can end with Golems hauling cargo.
I’ll work more with animals and see what can be done.
Once again, feedback is always welcome
Regards,
Y2bcrazy
Well, I think you should apply artistic license you know? Yes the game will have a ‘Medieval’ setting, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t play around with it. And as you have said, with modding you can do whatever you want so you really aren’t restricted.
My point with the artistic license is that well, yes you can go the route of say, steam/ combustion engine and weave the geomancer and magma smith into the operation.
Or you could go a different route and create a new item, off the top of my head … how about a magma core? It powers the train, is refilled with molten lava which is pumped in using a system created by the magma smith … something like that?
Also drawing this out to the larger scale, how do you anticipate trains working? Depending on the amount of space they will take up I can see them functioning within a settlement, but perhaps it will be necessary to move the rail network below ground with some above ground hubs? They would definitely work well transporting goods and units to outposts and the like.
I think mammoths will be your friend!
i like this angle… it allows you to tie in with both the dwarves and makes for a more accessible means of getting to the (potential) magma power…
Great Idea, I can work on that. I should be applying artistic license…i just tend to use the real world as a base for ideas and work from there.
This is also what i was looking at, a sub system for the rail/track itself.
Excellent observation!
With all the info I’ve gathered now, i feel i can make a very creative and consistent project here 
We’ve covered all the points necessary:
It feels more and more like a complete project, and i will be definitely keeping with this since it pertains to a lot of my personal interests 
Thanks guys!
I think perhaps something like the Tom Thumb would fit the engineers abilitys quite well picture here
I think that you could put something like a single 2’2’2 locomotive from the 1830’s British rail networks. It’s small and doesn’t go against the main theme of stonehearth too much.
