In Voidtrain by HypeTrain Digital, you expand your initial trolley at depot building consoles located along the Void rail line. The very first platform expansion is tied to the early story quest "Stop," where you loot mechanical parts from a depot safe to enlarge your frame. Subsequent expansions require unlocking engine research, defeating enemy soldiers at outposts, and assembling specific crafting parts like iron ingots, springs, bolts, and bearings at your workstations.
Unlocking the First Trolley Expansion in the "Stop" Quest
When you first enter the Void, your journey begins on a small, single-platform hand-cranked trolley. You cannot construct new wagons or expand your platform from the wilderness tracks; you must reach your first depot stop to trigger the main story quest titled "Stop."
To complete the first expansion, follow these sequential steps at the depot:
- Infiltrate the depot facility: Leave your trolley at the platform and follow the objective marker inside the structure.
- Retrieve the revolver and blueprints: Locate the room containing a skeleton seated at a desk. Pick up the revolver and the engineering blueprints resting on the table.
- Open the safe: Look to the left of the skeleton to find a closed wall safe. Interact with the safe directly to open it without needing an external code.
- Take the trolley parts: Pick up the blue box of parts stored inside the safe.
- Clear the exit: Move behind the skeleton to find a hallway blocked by wooden barrier planks. Break the planks by walking into them or shooting them with the revolver.
- Access the building console: Walk over to the exterior building console overlooking your train tracks.
- Expand the trolley: Interact with the console and hold down the prompt on the arrow icon to add your first platform expansion.
- Depart the station: Return to your trolley and release the brake lever to exit into the next Void sector.
How to Use the Depot Building Console
Once you complete the initial story objective, all future platform additions and structural upgrades take place at depot building consoles. At subsequent depots, hostile soldiers guard the facility. You must eliminate all defending soldiers before you can freely interact with the console and make changes to your train.
The building console interface functions like a free-camera spectator mode:
- Camera Movement: Press the WASD keys to move your camera position around the train tracks.
- Angle Adjustment: Click and hold the mouse button while dragging across the screen to rotate your perspective and inspect specific connection points.
- Selecting Operations: The console presents options to either "Add New Wagon" (creating a new trailing carriage coupled behind your existing train) or "Upgrade Wagon" (extending the length of an individual wagon platform).
- Controls and Modules: You can reposition or reinstall driving mechanisms—such as the handbrake, transmission lever, and horn—directly through the console's machinery menu.
Expansion Resource Costs and Component Requirements
Adding new carriages or lengthening existing sections requires refined mechanical components. If you do not prepare these items before pulling into a depot, you will have to wait until you reach a future depot stop to perform the upgrades.
| Train Upgrade / Module | Required Crafting Resources | Primary Function |
|---|---|---|
| Add New Wagon | 2 Iron Ingots, 2 Springs, 2 Bolts, 2 Bearings | Couples an additional base carriage to the train |
| Upgrade Wagon | 2 Iron Ingots, 2 Springs, 2 Bolts, 2 Bearings | Extends the length of an existing wagon platform |
| Upgrade Locomotion Wagon | 2 Iron Ingots, 2 Springs, 2 Forcers | Expands the primary front locomotive platform |
| Steam Engine | 4 Iron Ingots, 4 Gears, 4 Forcers, 4 Copper Pipes, 4 Bolts | Replaces the hand crank and raises overall train limits |
Where to Craft Required Components
- Smelter: Melts raw scrap metal into iron ingots and raw copper into copper ingots.
- Workbench: Uses iron ingots to fabricate springs, bolts, and gears.
- Laboratory: Combines chemicals found floating in the Void with animal fat (looted from floating fish and space sharks) to synthesize grease.
- Bearings: Once grease is refined at the Laboratory, return to the Workbench to craft the bearings needed for wagon frames.
Laying Down Wooden Floors and Managing Layouts
When you successfully purchase a wagon expansion at the console, the game generates a bare metal frame. You cannot walk or place production stations on open rails until you lay down decking.
- Equip Construction Mode: Hold the
Tkey while aboard your train to swap your tool to the construction hammer. - Place Flooring: Select the wooden floor tile from the building interface. Each platform tile consumes wood (typically requiring 2 wood pieces per tile, or 8 wood total to fully cover a standard expanded section).
- Relocating Stations: Press
Gwhile targeting an existing crafting bench, cooking kitchen, or storage container to move it onto your new platform space. Relocating objects preserves everything stored inside chests. - Avoid Demolishing: Do not deconstruct functional stations if you only want to rearrange them. Demolishing existing structures only refunds approximately 50% of the invested materials.
Understanding Engine Wagon Limits
If you have all required crafting parts in your inventory or storage but the depot console refuses to add another wagon, you have likely hit your current engine's hauling capacity.
| Engine Type | Wagon Limit (Including Front) | Platform Size Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Hand Crank Trolley | 2 | 4 |
| Steam Engine | 4 | 8 |
To expand beyond a two-carriage setup, you must research the Steam Engine in your research tech tree. Installing the Steam Engine requires expanding your locomotive car to four platform sections, disassembling the default hand-crank handle, and building the engine module at a depot console using iron ingots, gears, forcers, copper pipes, and bolts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does the depot console say the wagon limit is reached?
Your train's maximum carriage capacity is determined by your installed engine. The starting hand-crank trolley only supports a maximum of 2 wagons (and up to 4 total platform segments). To add a third or fourth wagon, you must research and build the Steam Engine at a depot.
Do I lose items in my storage chests when moving them to a new platform?
No. Using the hammer tool's relocation command (G) allows you to pick up and place storage containers on your newly built flooring without dumping or destroying any of the items inside.
How do I get grease to craft bearings for the wagon upgrade?
Grease is produced at the Laboratory workstation. You must combine the green chemical vials collected in the Void with fat harvested from defeating Void creatures or sharks. Take the refined grease to your Workbench to produce the bearings.
