The Train Station

"I hate train yards."

- Francis

The Train Station is the fourth chapter of the campaign Blood Harvest.

The Survivors leave the safe room, pass through some woods and find a barn where one of the characters will suggest searching for supplies. These woods and barn are thickly populated with Common Infected, and at least one horde will spawn as the Survivors approach the barn. The usual Special Infected will also put in appearances in the barn's vicinity.

A train station in the form of a large-goods warehouse structure is accessed by dropping down from a high non-return bluff. Once again, this area is densely populated by aggressive Common Infected. Searching the station will reveal weapons, supplies, and an ammo pile in a small office reached by a short flight of stairs located at the far end of the building. A rough parking lot contains an abandoned car with an active alarm. A Witch can also be expected to spawn either here, or a short way over along the route that the Survivors must take.

Following the train tracks, the Survivors find a small passenger station that contains ammo and health. If a Witch has spawned near the doorway, the Survivors can avoid her by dropping down to the right, proceeding under the station and getting back up on the tracks again. (By smashing a window on that far side, the ammo and supplies in the station can be accessed without disturbing the Witch.) A short way along, the tracks are blocked by a train wreck and the Survivors are obliged to enter a larger passenger station through a basement doorway. By climbing a flight of stairs, exploring rooms for supplies and fighting off various enemies on the way, Survivors ultimately end up in a top floor room overlooking the tracks and bridge. Jumping from this room's window will alllow the Survivors to cross the bridge and enter a train carriage (caboose) that has been converted into a safe room.

Campaign
At the beginning, AI Survivors will choose their preferred weapons.
 * Bill will grab an Assault Rifle.
 * Francis will grab an Auto Shotgun.
 * Louis will grab an Assault Rifle.
 * Zoey will grab a Hunting Rifle.

Otherwise, they will keep the weapons they had in the last chapter (see The Bridge for a list of weapons they will grab there.)

The Survivors exit the safe room through a small patch of woods. This is an awful area for the Survivors as the Infected densely populate the already dense forest. It is necessary to move quickly and avoid getting surrounded by multiple Infected. As the woods thin out a barn will be sighted that can be searched for molotovs, pipe bombs, or by climbing a ladder, ammo on the second floor. On the first floor of the barn, there is a shelf with a chance of an extra pistol spawning. If playing on Expert, a Tank might spawn at this point.

Further ahead, players will reach a non-return bluff below which is a large goods shed and the sought-after railroad tracks. Players drop down and enter the goods shed to discover more supplies, often including pills, molotovs, pipe bombs, weapons and ammo. A large number of the Infected are normally to be found in the area. Proceeding to the end of the shed, players can either enter a doorway and access an office at the foot of a short flight of stairs that usually contains supplies such as ammo, or they can turn right and leave the building through a loading dock. Regardless, out at the back of the goods shed is a large parking lot containing an abandoned alarmed car. Note that this parking lot is a favorite spot for a Witch or Tank to spawn.

Following the train tracks, the Survivors soon encounter a small passenger train station. This building is worth searching since it often contains pills, ammo, weapons and a rescue closet. Exiting the station, players carry on along the train tracks for a short way until they find yet another passenger station. At this point the tracks will be blocked by a crashed rail wagon and the only way on is to enter the station basement via a side door at the bottom of a flight of external stairs. The basement is notable for a spray of body parts and a lawn mower. Opposite the basement door are stairs going up and a store room that sometimes contains supplies.

Players climb the stairs, mopping up Infected and exploring side rooms as they go. At the very top floor is a window overlooking the tracks and a large iron bridge. Players exit the window and drop down to ground before continuing across the bridge to the railroad caboose that forms the safe room at the end of this chapter.

Note that the Director will often place a Witch right in the middle of the bridge. There is no real room to sneak around her so either it is necessary to be ready to kill the Witch or to sprint past her to safety.

However, before reaching the caboose safe room it is possible a Tank will spawn right at the end of the bridge in front of the safe room. In such instances, players need to fall back a little way and spread out to form a gun line and cone him with concentrated fire. Done in this way he is not too much of a threat.

Deal with the Tank if he appears, and get into the safe room. Congratulations, you have approached the last leg of this campaign.


 * Note: If playing on Expert, it is inadvisable to speed-run through the area, because it is highly recommended that a diligent search be made for grenades. These resources will be a key success factor in the finale since they are very scarce in the next chapter.

Left 4 Dead 2 Version
There are several significant changes to the map compared to the original Left 4 Dead version, created in direct response to feedback that this map was considered too short and easy for Survivors in Left 4 Dead. The train car below the bluff next to the warehouse has been moved to the right, preventing survivors from returning to the top of the cliff. This change is ideal for Jockeys and Smokers since they can drag the last Survivor in the group away and prevent their teammates from saving the victim. The warehouse has several sealed doors except for one, which survivors are now forced to go into since the train tracks are blocked by a fence. The train cars beyond this point have been rearranged to block the Survivor's path and the window in the small house that leads to the deck has been removed, forcing Survivors to go under the house to advance. The next house has its first floor window blocked with props to prevent Survivors from jumping through the window to skip the basement, and only the upper, longer to reach route to the door is available. Once the Survivors reach the bridge, a Gauntlet Crescendo Event begins, forcing the Survivors to fight their way to the safe room. This is notable for being the only one in Left 4 Dead 2 that is entirely unjustified by the narrative, starting without warning or instruction. The bridge itself has portions of the guardrails removed and scaffolding was added to give the Infected more places to spawn in and attack from.

The Survivors
With humans controlling the Special Infected, things can only get harder. However, they can't spawn until you leave the safe room. That doesn't mean that you should let them have a good chance to find just the right spot, though. Hurry up and get your supplies, and get running.

This level can be either a stroll in the park or an experience that you will not want to repeat. On the whole, the level is fairly straightforward, especially considering the fact that there is no Crescendo Event for which to stop. However, despite the overall simplicity of this map, there are potentially fatal ambush points where Infected can easily overwhelm you.

The first area of concern is as soon as you exit the safe room. Right outside of the safe room is a very narrow and claustrophobic passage through the dense forest which, in turn, is dense with Infected. Special Infected can easily cause chaos from the trees. If your team is not fast enough, and their team is smart enough, they'll be able to overwhelm you directly outside of the safe room. This is more likely to happen if you dawdle in the safe room and give the Infected a chance to find excellent spawning points.

The next point to worry about is the train station itself. Within the train station is where the Infected can launch a powerful offensive by working together. Smokers lurk and pull Survivors away, with Hunters covering them and pouncing the Survivor's rescuer. Boomers cause chaos by appearing at the worst times and covering the Survivors. If you're unlucky, a Witch will be around, too. If you're really unlucky, a Tank will join the party.

The train station is especially dangerous because of the car alarm. Setting off the alarm on this level is normally highly dangerous and can often be the straw that breaks the Survivors' backs.

This is a point that cannot be stressed enough. When you see the safe room, do not make a dash for it alone. If you do, you may end up getting yourself killed. It may even be a late-spawning Tank that kills you. Stick with your teammates; move as they do. Cover them and they'll cover you.

The Infected
The Boomer: This level will be good for you, especially the start. If you can, get in and cover the Survivors with bile before they can leave the forest. This often does a lot of damage and frees up time for the other Infected to attack from good positions. The interiors are also good for you as you can lurk around corners and lead Survivors into your vomit. Another thing to note for this level is the car alarm. If you stand or even crouch in front of the car, the Survivors may unthinkingly shoot at you and hit the car, in turn causing a panic event. The same can be done with Witches, but you need the Survivors to shoot through you and hit the Witch as your explosion no longer startles her.

The Hunter: Woodland is a nice place to be. For you, at least. For the Survivors? Definitely not. There are open spaces where it is difficult to hide, but this is not enough of a hindrance to make you ineffective. You can still lurk in dark rooms and strike at the last passing Survivor within the interiors. Try to outsmart your targets, and hide in effective, yet unusual, positions. Also, considering that not much height is available for you to get instant damage pounces, don't underestimate your secondary attack. Your claws are very strong and can quickly incapacitate a heavily wounded Survivor. Also note that when joining in with a horde of Common Infected to slash at your target, you are less likely to be noticed and killed than your fellow Special Infected.

The Smoker: Smokers are strong in this level. You are excellent at dragging Survivors around in the exterior locations in this level. Unfortunately, the Survivors do well indoors. However, with a well-aimed Smoker's tongue, you can outdo them. Cooperate with your Hunter friend, and try to snare a Survivor attempting to get the Hunter away from his pinned target. Also, if the Survivors get near the alarmed car, do your best to pull them into it. Work together with the other Special Infected and show them that Smokers are deadly to them no matter where they go.

The Tank: This level is a nice place for you to wreak havoc. Not only are there excellent spawning points for you and brilliant places for the other Infected to aid you from, but there is a large and gaping chasm. Beat up the Survivors, or as a more effective method, beat them down and into the chasm. As long as your enemies are not a team of excellent players, you should be able to put a heavy burden on or even overwhelm the Survivors.

Easter eggs

 * When coming up to the third building, in the basement there is a lawnmower on its side with blood and body parts sprayed all around the room. This is likely a reference to the New Zealand film Braindead (released as Dead Alive in North America). Sometimes, the Survivors will comment on the brutality. Another possibility is the Stephen King novel Misery, which features a very similar story element.


 * The departure schedule from Half-Life 2's train station appears near the top of the second station.
 * The second station next to the bridge is named Ramsey. Ramsey station is said to be the oldest working passenger station in New Jersey. The in-game name board can be seen high up on the wall facing the bridge. (This graphic is also used to good effect in the Dead Vacation custom campaign.)