Let's talk about the Mid Sodor Railway. Back in the 1910s, the Mid Sodor Railway was one of the five big railways on the island, alongside the Lakeside Railway, the Arlesdale Railway, the Culdee Fell Railway and the Harwick-Loey Machan Railway. It was the biggest of the railways, and it was home to engines like Duke, Stuart, Falcon and Smudger. Its controller was a man named Felix Humperdinck. Because of its relative closeness to the ancient medieval fortress Ulfstead Castle, the Mid Sodor Railway was a popular vacation choice for tourists and visitors from all over Sodor and beyond.
One of the most important destinations of the Mid Sodor Railway was the Cas-ny-Hawin Mine, which provided the railway with the majority of its revenue. There was a yellow rail-crane who worked at the mine, a gregarious fellow who was nicknamed "Old Reliable" by the workers. For decades, the Cas-ny-Hawin Mine provided jobs and greatly helped boost the economy for the local population, but things took a turn when World War 2 broke out. The war effort greatly increased the demand for supplies, and the mine was essentially stripped bare and eventually forced to close.
As a result of the mine's closure, the Mid Sodor Railway began to suffer greatly. Additionally, the fact that a war was going on meant that very few tourists wished to vacation there. Because of all this, the Mid Sodor Railway was eventually forced to close down. The engines Stuart and Falcon were sold to the newly developing Skarloey Railway, while Duke, Smudger and the yellow crane Old Reliable were left behind and forgotten about as the Mid Sodor Railway was slowly retaken by nature.
Decades later, a search party discovered Duke slumbering in a shed, and he was rescued and brought to the Skarloey Railway. The discovery of the Mid Sodor Railway was a huge moment in the Island's history, and a bidding war broke out for the rights to the land. Ultimately, the up-and-coming businessman Sir Daniel Moriarty was the one who won out, and the Mid Sodor Railway (as well as the land surrounding it) became his property. Supposedly Moriarty had plans to reinvigorate and modernize the railway, and rumors swirled that he had been working on some sort of agreement with Sir Robert Norramby to include Ulfstead Castle in his plans.
That all changed when a massive storm caused a huge landslide that essentially buried Ulfstead Castle, reducing the once-great fortress to ruins and causing Norramby's death. Following the destruction of the castle, Moriarty sent his right-hand man Derek Creed to investigate the area along with the Mid Sodor Railway. Creed came back missing a hand and raving about an encounter with a ghostly yellow engine.
In a public statement following this devastating incident, Moriarty announced that the area surrounding the Mid Sodor Railway was currently too dangerous for any sort of construction or rebuilding, and that he was putting his plans on hold. However, a few years later, Thomas the Tank Engine was chugging through the northern mountains of Sodor and found himself accidentally diverted into the area that used to be the Mid Sodor Railway. There, he and his crew were surprised to discover that the area was really not in that bad of a state of disrepair... and as a matter of fact, it appeared that Sir Daniel Moriarty had crews of men there, working to do... something.
Before they could investigate further, Thomas and his crew were distracted by the discovery of the yellow crane Old Reliable, who'd been slumbering in a siding for decades similarly to Duke. The crane was brought to the North Western Railway, given the name Reg, and eventually sent to work at the Vicarstown Dieselworks under the watchful eye of P.T. Boomer.
But if Thomas and his crew had pushed on and investigated a bit further, they would have discovered that Sir Daniel Moriarty's men were in the process of excavating the Cas-ny-Hawin Mine. Down in the tunnels beneath the Mid Sodor Railway, they'd discovered Smudger, who'd been turned into a generator decades ago. And they were using him to power their expedition as they dug towards the remains of Ulfstead Castle... #SudrianTales
MrMPS2002
SUDRIAN TALES LORE POST:
Let's talk about the Mid Sodor Railway. Back in the 1910s, the Mid Sodor Railway was one of the five big railways on the island, alongside the Lakeside Railway, the Arlesdale Railway, the Culdee Fell Railway and the Harwick-Loey Machan Railway. It was the biggest of the railways, and it was home to engines like Duke, Stuart, Falcon and Smudger. Its controller was a man named Felix Humperdinck. Because of its relative closeness to the ancient medieval fortress Ulfstead Castle, the Mid Sodor Railway was a popular vacation choice for tourists and visitors from all over Sodor and beyond.
One of the most important destinations of the Mid Sodor Railway was the Cas-ny-Hawin Mine, which provided the railway with the majority of its revenue. There was a yellow rail-crane who worked at the mine, a gregarious fellow who was nicknamed "Old Reliable" by the workers. For decades, the Cas-ny-Hawin Mine provided jobs and greatly helped boost the economy for the local population, but things took a turn when World War 2 broke out. The war effort greatly increased the demand for supplies, and the mine was essentially stripped bare and eventually forced to close.
As a result of the mine's closure, the Mid Sodor Railway began to suffer greatly. Additionally, the fact that a war was going on meant that very few tourists wished to vacation there. Because of all this, the Mid Sodor Railway was eventually forced to close down. The engines Stuart and Falcon were sold to the newly developing Skarloey Railway, while Duke, Smudger and the yellow crane Old Reliable were left behind and forgotten about as the Mid Sodor Railway was slowly retaken by nature.
Decades later, a search party discovered Duke slumbering in a shed, and he was rescued and brought to the Skarloey Railway. The discovery of the Mid Sodor Railway was a huge moment in the Island's history, and a bidding war broke out for the rights to the land. Ultimately, the up-and-coming businessman Sir Daniel Moriarty was the one who won out, and the Mid Sodor Railway (as well as the land surrounding it) became his property. Supposedly Moriarty had plans to reinvigorate and modernize the railway, and rumors swirled that he had been working on some sort of agreement with Sir Robert Norramby to include Ulfstead Castle in his plans.
That all changed when a massive storm caused a huge landslide that essentially buried Ulfstead Castle, reducing the once-great fortress to ruins and causing Norramby's death. Following the destruction of the castle, Moriarty sent his right-hand man Derek Creed to investigate the area along with the Mid Sodor Railway. Creed came back missing a hand and raving about an encounter with a ghostly yellow engine.
In a public statement following this devastating incident, Moriarty announced that the area surrounding the Mid Sodor Railway was currently too dangerous for any sort of construction or rebuilding, and that he was putting his plans on hold. However, a few years later, Thomas the Tank Engine was chugging through the northern mountains of Sodor and found himself accidentally diverted into the area that used to be the Mid Sodor Railway. There, he and his crew were surprised to discover that the area was really not in that bad of a state of disrepair... and as a matter of fact, it appeared that Sir Daniel Moriarty had crews of men there, working to do... something.
Before they could investigate further, Thomas and his crew were distracted by the discovery of the yellow crane Old Reliable, who'd been slumbering in a siding for decades similarly to Duke. The crane was brought to the North Western Railway, given the name Reg, and eventually sent to work at the Vicarstown Dieselworks under the watchful eye of P.T. Boomer.
But if Thomas and his crew had pushed on and investigated a bit further, they would have discovered that Sir Daniel Moriarty's men were in the process of excavating the Cas-ny-Hawin Mine. Down in the tunnels beneath the Mid Sodor Railway, they'd discovered Smudger, who'd been turned into a generator decades ago. And they were using him to power their expedition as they dug towards the remains of Ulfstead Castle... #SudrianTales
2 years ago (edited) | [YT] | 26