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Abandoned - Rail's End - Story 76

Started by Abandoned, December 26, 2021, 05:59:35 AM

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Abandoned

Intro


  This is the 76th story in the Smallville Series and tells of the last settlement along the East Coast Railroad Line that began in Plimoth of story 74.  From there the railroad went west to Chattachoo of story 4 and later to Ironwood of story 72.  The railroad continued west across the Green Woods and crossed the river to Christmas Crossroads of Story 75, it then continued on to its last stop which is directly across the river from Riverview Resort of story 17.  The last stop is the settlement of Rails End that was settle in approximately year 80 SVT.

Map seed  #  383166562        Valley One River,   Small,   Fair,  Disasters Off,   Easy Seed- 8 families





Mods activated for this map and load order are:

Map Changing and Starting Mods:   Banished UI Maps, Labor Window, RK Minimized Status, CC Light Rain, override maps,  Kid Tree Replacer X-Light, New Flora Edit, Override Fewer Trees, Family Start

Tweak Mods:    Fishing Dock +25%, Hunting, Hunting Season, Increased CC, 1:1 Alternative (Voeille), Rocks Respawn, Tiny Smoke, Woodcutter +3

Major or Must Have Mods:    An Empty Square, Nomads (Kid), override Uneducated, Smallville, Storage Crates, Kid Abandoned Places SE, Kid Colonial City Center, Kid Forest Outpost, Kid Stone House Addon, Kid Tiny Downtown, Kid Workplace

Supporting Mods:    Choo Choo, Christmas 2021, DS Bridge Crossing,  EB/elemental Signs Set, Kid Bicycle, Kid Deco Farm Animals, Kid Deco People, Kid Farmyard, Kid Fruit & Nuts, Kid Hedgerow, Kid Market Food, Kid Stagecoach, Kid Traveling Trader,  Kid Washing Mod, Kid Work Shop, tiny Herb Patch

Mod and Story Note:  This is a very short story to end the east coast railroad line and to end the year.  There are no new mods in this story, just some older ones I have not used in awhile and a review of some of the mods that were released this year.  There will be more mods and stories next year.





  Yes, weary traveler, you've reached the end of the line.  To the North is Riverview Resort and to the west across the river is the road that leads to Outskirts and Smallville.  There's not much to do here in the winter but the summer can be quite fun.  Come sit by the fire and I'll tell you how the town of Rails End had begun.

Abandoned

Chapter 1


  There were 30 of us, 16 adults with 14 children who came here from Ironwood to have a town up and running before the railroad workers got here.  We stopped only briefly in Christmas Crossroads, the tracks did not quite reach our mountain when we left.  The first thing we did was build a hunting stand and a fishing pier and planted a field of potatoes.  The wheat seeds could wait another year but the potatoes had to be planted right away.  Our supplies would not last long.  A workshop was built to start making hide coats and a woodcutter was chopping firewood.  Only a few houses were built before the storage barn and school.  The teacher was a widow with a 2-year-old daughter.  One child missed starting school, that boy lived next to us and we lived next to the school.  My husband is Javio and I'm Agatha.  Our first child was born just before the first snowfall.  A few Christmas trees and wreaths decorated the town and there were winter woolies still out on the clotheslines.  A forester and gatherer were working just north of the woodcutter and theirs were the last houses to be built before the end of the year.  We found some hedgerows and fruit and nut trees when clearing land.




  In spring of year 2 several families arrived from Riverview Resort. There were 11 adults with 5 children.  The resort was just over the hills through the northeast pass.  They had long ago planted crop fields there on our side of the river.  They were very happy to hear from the river boatmen that the railroad was coming this far west.  They got a lot of visitors from the east and they hoped we would be making woolies here like the ones made in Crossroads.  They planned to make warm coats.   They brought sheep, cows, and chickens.  The cows and chickens went into a shed by our farm field and the sheep went into a shed built by the stone hostel and houses they started building by the southeast pass they had come here by.





  In late autumn, we had a visitor who came by way of the northwest pass from Outskirts.  It was a peddler in a small covered wagon.  The large Conestoga wagons and wagon trains were only suited for the western plains but it was good the railroad was coming this far west.  It was not far from here to Outskirts where the wagon trains left from. The peddler brought us iron tools, hide coats, apples, potatoes, and flour.  We had been struggling with our food supply so the extra supplies were most welcome.




Abandoned

#2
Chapter 2


  In year 3 the railroad workers broke through the mountain from the east.  They finished off the tunnel entrance and began laying tracks immediately.  They would not be with us long, the railroad would go no farther than Rails End.  The tunnel diggers were dwarves eager to go home, they had been away a very long time.



  We were ready for the workers when they arrived.  We build Rooms nearby and a roasting spit for roast venison and a market place by the stone houses.  Our wheat crop had been planted in spring by the potato field and a workplace grinder set up nearby.  There was a stone house tailor and a baker built, and out back along the passage road was a tiny herb garden.  Herb bread would make the flour supply last longer.  A stone chapel and cemetery were built farther back on that road, and in town a tiny town hall was built.





The workers continued laying tracks as long as weather permitted. 

Abandoned

#3
Chapter 3


  Although the railroad workers did not have the turnaround quite finished, the choo choo arrived in early summer of year 4.  There were 6 passengers who were headed west.  They would stay a few days before heading to Outskirts to buy a wagon and join a wagon train.  That trip to Outskirts would be a lot easy for them because the peddler had just returned to town and he was towing a stagecoach.  A stagecoach pulled by two horses was following close behind with two extra horses tied to the back.  The peddler was glad to see we had a sheep shed and a woolen mill because all he wanted in return was some warm winter woolies to take back to Outskirts and Smallville.




  We promptly built a livery stable and a stage office.  With 2 coaches we could take people from the train to either Outskirts to the northwest or Riverview to the northeast.  Both routes were clearly marked with signs that said Riverview or Smallville.





  The train service was not all that reliable especially in those early years when there was only 1 train and then 2.  Travelers were sometimes stranded in Christmas Crossroads because of the weather, or had to leave immediately without time to shop.  Some folks who arrived here just missed the stagecoach and had to wait for its return.  The railroad workers left when the turnaround was completed so we had Rooms for those who needed to stay but there was not a lot to do here in Rails End to pass the time.  There was not much we could do about the train or coach schedules but we could make the visitors stay here a bit better.


Abandoned

Chapter 4


  First thing we did was built a few shops like they had back east in Plimoth and in Crossroads.  Next to the Rooms was a General Store and a Furniture Store that had small wooden tables, chairs, and chests that were quite popular. The market had basic clothes and tools but those traveling west really appreciated the Home Goods, Odds & Ends, Candles, and Map shops.  Woolies could be found in several places. 

  Residents and visitors alike enjoyed the small spa, and a lemonade in summer or a cup of hot cocoa in winter.  Some visitors came from Riverview on their bicycles just to visit the small Festival Grounds we built.  The wife of one of the Dwarf tunnel workers described one they had visited in The Shire.



  Our festival grounds was small but we had an entertainment tent and a game wheel with a prize tent.  Folks came all the way from Plimoth with their elderberry jam to be judged and others came with their woolies from Christmas Crossroads.  Travelers especially liked winning a sack of apples or nuts to take with them.  There were stands that sold elixirs and candy and a food tent with roasted meat or Hobbit rabbit stew.  An exhibit tent demonstrated how woolies were made and the puppet tent was a favorite of visitors and residents alike.




Rails End and the Festival Grounds was a busy place in summer but in winter there was only the inside exhibits, roasted meat and stew, and mugs of hot cocoa to enjoy.  No matter what time of year, Rails End was a good place to live and to visit.



Abandoned

Chapter 5


  By winter of year 6, Rails End has a population of 120 citizens, 73 adults, 7 students, and 40 young children.  All are happy and healthy.  The town has 32 homes for its 47 families and more homes are being built.  There will be new homes built by the farm fields and by the river where the woolen mill is.  There will be more homes built for residents by the market and stone houses.  Our 2 rooming houses have enough room for folks who are just passing through, like you, weary traveler.




  So here we are in Rails End at the end of another year and at the end of the line.  From here you can  take a stagecoach northeast to Riverview Resort or northwest to the Outskirts of Smallville to join a wagon train heading west.  If you're a Dwarf heading home you'll be wanting to go north from there.  The Choo Choo will take you back to Christmas Crossroads, Ironwood, Chattachoo, or Plimoth.  Whereever you go, weary traveler, don't forget to pack your woolies and have a Happy New Year.

The End

kid1293


Abandoned

 :) Happy New Year, Kid.  Thanks for a year of new mods  :)