Hello,
I grabbed the trunk from tron and managed to compile. Here are some notes for anyone else trying to compile with Linux (Ubuntu)
sudo aptitude install libz-dev libpng-dev libsdl-dev libsdl-mixer1.2-dev liballegro-dev
I set these in config.default:
BACKEND = mixer_sdl
COLOUR_DEPTH = 16
The 8bit was breaking compile.
I had to fix two typos in the source code to compile correctly. After that, make did its thing and left me with a binary called sim which I can copy to my ~/simutrans directory to play the game. 
Following is my svn diff, which I like to think reflects developers slaving away on the trunk:
Index: simwerkz.cc
===================================================================
--- simwerkz.cc (revision 2686)
+++ simwerkz.cc (working copy)
@@ -2002,7 +2002,7 @@
{
// get a default vehikel
vehikel_besch_t remover_besch( wt, 500, vehikel_besch_t::diesel );
- vehikel_t* test_driver = vehikelrbauer_t::baue(start, sp, NULL, &remover_besch);
+ vehikel_t* test_driver = vehikelbauer_t::baue(start, sp, NULL, &remover_besch);
bool can_built;
if( start != to ) {
can_built = verbindung.calc_route(sp->get_welt(), start, to, test_driver, 0);
Index: dings/gebaeude.cc
===================================================================
--- dings/gebaeude.cc (revision 2686)
+++ dings/gebaeude.cc (working copy)
@@ -151,7 +151,7 @@
}
// have to rotate the tiles :(
if (!haus_besch->can_rotate() && haus_besch->get_all_layouts() == 1) {
- if (welt->get_einstellungen()->get_rotation() & 1) == 0) {
+ if ((welt->get_einstellungen()->get_rotation() & 1) == 0) {
// rotate 180 degree
new_offset = koord(haus_besch->get_b() - 1 - new_offset.x, haus_besch->get_h() - 1 - new_offset.y);
}