Tip Guide 8: Claiming Workshops 2 - Tyler County Dirt Track

 

Tyler County Dirt Track At Dusk

Players who follow the Wastelanders questline are likely to pass by the Tyler County Dirt Track on the way to deal with the leader of the Free Radicals. It is located northwest of Vault 76 near where Route 90 almost meets the river. It is just across the road from the Tyler County Fairgrounds. It doesn't have as much junk to scavenge as Gorge Junkyard, and its resource deposits don't contain materials that are as rare, but it does have an aluminum deposit that may be worth harvesting, and its building zone includes a small section of the river, which means that players who have acquired the plans for a water purifier can set up a Purified Water farm and use it to earn caps. There is also plenty of open space for planting an Adhesive farm, and enough Mutfruit, Corn, and Tato plants nearby to get the farm started.

Tyler County Dirt Track is normally overrun with Feral Ghouls. There are always two upstairs in the building on the left side of the photo, one or two around its base, and a few more in the stands or out on the dirt track. The Workshop has five resource pits - one for aluminum, one for iron, two for silver, and a junkpile. The problem is that the Workshop only supplies enough free components to harvest one of the resources, as it requires one extractor plus two generators that produce five electricity (if you are low level) or one generator that produces 10 electricity (if you are lucky enough to have that plan). If you want to harvest a second resource, you can get the extractor and one generator for free, but the second generator will cost 3 gears. You can likely recoup these gears from the junk you will scavenge around the site, but any other resources you choose to extract may not be worth the cost unless you plan to visit the Workshop several times over the course of a long play session.

Rustic Watermill Powering Three Medium Water Purifiers at Tyler County Dirt Track

Free Workshop resources are much more generous when applied to building a Purified Water farm. If you have access to the Rustic Watermill (see photo above), you can produce 12 electricity from each one, while only needing four electricity for each medium-size Water Purifier. In one attempt, I was able to fit three watermills and nine purifiers into the build space, though two of the watermills and three of the purifiers ended up being mostly submerged. Everything fits better with only two watermills and six purifiers, which I would recommend if you also plan to harvest one of the resource pits. Each purifier will hold up to three water, and will produce them in around 15-20 minutes.  I averaged about 10 purified water from each purifier every hour. When I took them to a vendor, they sold for 4 caps each, so in one hour I earned 240 caps from six purifiers at not cost to me in resources. 

On top of the water farm, I was able to build two generators and a resource extractor for the aluminum and produce about 20 aluminum per hour, still without needing any of my own components. I also collected just under 100 caps worth of junk and etc. around the track, and from the Feral Ghouls that I killed on arrival and during the first defense event. 

I also tested whether I could create an adhesive farm out on the dirt track using only Mutfruit, Tatos, and Corn that were available nearby. To the west of the dirt track is a small abandoned farm with a shed, a couple of fenced in garden areas, and a little further on, a settler chopping wood near the river. One of the fenced areas has four Tato plants, and the other has the same number of Corn plants. Similar numbers of Mutfruit can be harvested as well, but these are Wild Mutfruit and the trees are quite spread out. There is one Mutfruit tree between the dirt track and the shed of the abandoned farm, one next to a tree near where the settler is chopping wood, one by a tree to the north of the dirt track and across the road, and one pictured below at the intersection of two roads across from the west entrance gate to the Tyler County Fairgrounds.

Mutfruit Tree Across From West Entrance Gate to Tyler County Fairgrounds

I set up the Purified Water farm first, then collected the Mutfruit, Tatos, and Corn (with Green Thumb equipped, of course) and began to plant them. As they produced fruits or vegetables, I collected and planted more. After just over an hour, I had 20 plants of each type. 

Almost immediately I had to defend the Workshop against invaders, which took up much of the first 15 minutes of the second hour. When that was done, I went and collected water and plants and ended up with four vegetable starch that scrapped into eight adhesive. During the next 15 minute span, I decided to head up to Grove Family Cabin where I knew there was a garden with some plants in it (I got 8 mutfruit) and a short distance up the river road from the Tyler County Dirt Track was a small farm with Settlers living there and a small garden with Tatos. Not much had grown from my own plants, but I ended up with three more vegetable starch (6 adhesive) and, of course, more Purified Water. During the next 15 minute span, I fast-traveled to Aaronholt Homestead to harvest Corn and Tatos (plus one Mutfruit tree near the scarecrow), and then I fast-traveled to Cobbleton Farm for more.  During the last 15 minute span of that hour, I scavenged the Tyler County Fairgrounds.

Within one hour, I had gathered enough plants from the farm, and from the fast-traveling to nearby farms with gardens, to produce 38 adhesive (without turning on Super Duper). Not a huge amount, for a two hour total investment, but it also included about 40 Aluminum Ore, 120 Purified Water, and a decent supply of miscellaneous resources from the Workshop itself and the Tyler County Fairgrounds across the street.  I also got rewards for clearing the Workshop initially and for defending it twice. Not a bad haul for two hours of game time.  And once the farms were established, I could run off and do whatever I like, and return occasionally to harvest the proceeds of my farming efforts.

Tyler County Dirt Track With Small Cabin and Adhesive Farm Around Back

The Adhesive farm could be much more productive, of course, if the character arrives at the Workshop with several examples of the three main ingredients already in hand. You might bring a supply with you from your main CAMP, for example, or you could collect them from the nearby farms before taking over the Workshop.

I tested what would happen if instead of taking over the Workshop first, I began by collecting the plants from farms in the area and then took over the Workshop. In line with the theme of this blog, which is a roleplaying approach involving limited fast-travel, I began at Vault 76 and ran to each of the following farms to collect Tatos, Mutfruit, and Corn. I visited Anchor farm first (with Green Thumb) and got 8 Tatos, plus two Mutfruit I picked up along the way there. When I reached the Tyler County Dirt Track, I went a short distance up the river road to a farm inhabited by Settlers and got two Tatos. Taking the inland road North, I found 8 Mutfruit at Groves Family Cabin, 28 Corn, 8 Tatoes and 2 Mutfruit at Aaronholt Farm, 8 Mutfruit, 24 Corn and 14 Tatos at Cobbleton farm, and then 14 Corn and 8 Tatos at Becker Farm. I then fast-traveled back to the Fairgrounds, picked up 10 Mutfruit, 8 Corn, and 8 Tatos in the vicinity of the dirt track, and began planting.  

The total haul was 48 Tatos, 30 Mutfruit, and 74 Corn. There was plenty of space to plant 30 of each crop. The collecting of crops required about 30 minutes, clearing the dirt track took another five, and at the end of the first hour I had already harvested enough to make 6 vegetable starch, or 12 adhesive. The leftover corn and Tatos can be sold for 1 cap each at a vendor, along with the excess Purified Water that will be produced.  Collecting can continue as often as the Player likes, and any fast-travel back to the Workshop is free so long as it remains held by the Player.