The Boston experiment with public Tramways began with a series of elevated electric rail companies that slowly spread throughout the city and the surrounding suburbs. An unreliable power grid meant that these companies produced their own power (at 25 Hz) to ensure the availability of their services. As time passed, the companies began to merge together until they became the modern Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), only moving onto the public 60Hz grid in the 1980’s.
Your role as one of these early companies is to overcome the difficulty of the limiting nature of the power generators in early Boston as you expand your network to move the citizens of Boston to and from the many historic locations in town. Don’t worry though, the power generators are becoming more efficient every year, and there’s always horse drawn tramways to help get people to their final destination…
—description from the designer