RolePlay onLine RPoL Logo

, welcome to Weird West - Tales N' Troubles

05:23, 29th March 2024 (GMT+0)

Comin' 'Round The Mountain - Ch. 1.

Posted by Voice Of The WestFor group 0
Voice Of The West
GM, 2 posts
The Well Of Hope
The Pit Of Dispair
Mon 25 Jan 2021
at 06:19
  • msg #1

Comin' 'Round The Mountain - Ch. 1

The train isn't much to look at, in a previous life it may have been something to talk about, but that was several railroad companies ago in its long an storied life. It has everything you'd expect for the lengthy trip from Boston to Great Salt Lake. A tired but well maintained engine tows eight railcars of different colors and eras; An oversized coal car, a small livestock car toting only a few bails of feed hay, then a sleeper car, 2 passengers cars, a dining car, baggage car and a caboose to round it out.

Sleeper Car: A sparsely furnished sleeper car split into four partitions off to one side of the car. There are a total of 16 berths, that's 4 bunks to each "room".  Thick red flannel curtains can be drawn across a compartment to provide a small amount of privacy. Each bunk comes with a thin feather-stuffed mattress.

Passenger Cars: Have 10 double-sided benches, each side of which can comfortably seat two passengers, that's "40 sardines to a tin" if the cook is recalling the good ol' days with a higher traffic line. Many sleeper car ticket-holders spend much of the daytime hours in these cars as there are no seating accommodations in the sleeper. Travelers that didn't pony up for a sleeper ticket will commandeer an entire bench for themselves so they’ll have a little room to stretch out at night. On this particular trip, there are few regular passengers.

Dining Car: This car has a dining area and small kitchen. The dining area holds four booths capable of seating four passengers at a time, and a small bar with three stools. The kitchen contains a stove, a couple of prep tables and a tiny larder. Passengers aren’t normally allowed into the kitchen, and while crew members are, the cook, Harold, becomes grumpy if they raid his larder. $1 hot meals include coffee and a wheat roll. Between meal hours, the dining car also serves as an informal lounge. Passengers occasionally scare up a poker game to pass the hours, and the cook serves drinks until 10 PM. Harold has a small bunk at the back of the kitchen.

Baggage Car: This car is locked and off-limits to passengers. All the travelers’ personal effects are stored here, along with bags of mail and any cargo. A Mr. Seyberth comes back here several times a day along with most of the crew needing to pass through to the Caboose.

Caboose: This is where the crew (except the cook) sleeps and spends most of its free time. The men are fairly happy on this trip because there are only five of them, which means each man has plenty of space.
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:16, Mon 25 Jan 2021.
Voice Of The West
GM, 3 posts
The Well Of Hope
The Pit Of Dispair
Mon 25 Jan 2021
at 06:22
  • msg #2

Comin' 'Round The Mountain - Ch. 1

Fellow Passengers: (details added as discovered)

Penelope Brown: A pretty redhead

Richard Chasen: Grizzled, keeps to himself

Gregory Dawson: With his carefully groomed black hair and mustache, Dawson cuts quite a figure. He’s always impeccably dressed and frequents the lounge.

Jacob Emmet: Jacob is a middle-aged Mormon missionary.

Laura Giles: Laura is an attractive woman in her late 20s, rumored to be the spoiled daughter of a wealthy cattle baron on a sightseeing tour.

Denise Merritt: Inquisitive, bordering on annoying. She’s trying to make a living as a freelance reporter or dime novelist, but hasn’t gotten a break yet.

Mr. Allan Seyberth: Allan is a well-dressed young man in his mid-20s. He looks a bit like a tinhorn but speaks and moves with confidence.

Abiel and Aloysius Squatpump: These twin brothers are crude, grimy, trappers heading West for better game than they found in Kentucky.

The Wilson Family: Rick, Jenny, and their two hellion boys, Amos and Jethro

Crew:

Harold 'Ham' Buchanan: A middle-aged, balding man with a pot belly. He may be the lowly cook but he's also the bartender!

John Stearn: Oddly enough, a stern man, skinny as a rail and the train's young conductor.

Pete Franklin: The quiet, business-like, daytime engineer.

M.A. Maggert: You've overheard the M.A. stands for 'mean-ass' and you believe it. He fills the role of the daytime fireman.

King White 'Nighttrain': King is the overnight locomotive operator. He’s the most experienced member of the crew and always polite to paying passengers.

'Plain' Jane Hunt: Jane is a perpetually coal-dust-covered husky woman of undiscernible age who serves as King’s night-shift fireman.
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:42, Mon 25 Jan 2021.
Voice Of The West
GM, 4 posts
The Well Of Hope
The Pit Of Dispair
Mon 25 Jan 2021
at 07:07
  • msg #3

Comin' 'Round The Mountain - Ch. 1

The morning sun broke through the white clouds and began chipping away at the chill in the air. The mountain rail passes on the remaining journey ahead had only reopened just in recent weeks as snowmelt progressed and a late spring began to take hold of the weather.

"ALL ABOARD!" you hear the conductor Mr Stearn outside your window shouting, halfheartedly, not with any real purpose but purely out of routine. He walks down the train car order and hops up on the caboose. This particular stop hadn't amounted to much more than a dangling mail bag on a wooden post outside of a tiny, rough-hewn log cabin office. You didn't even catch the name of the place.

The train lurches forward in fits and starts. Eventually as the small, empty passenger platform shrinks into the distance behind, you find yourselves once again huddled over your beverage of choice in the dining car with a faint smell of breakfast wafting from the kitchen. Same damn time, same damn table, and with the same damn trees occasionally rolling by as previous mornings.
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:49, Mon 25 Jan 2021.
Brother Ignatius
player, 1 post
Tue 26 Jan 2021
at 04:51
  • msg #4

Comin' 'Round The Mountain - Ch. 1

Brother Ignatius finished his morning prayers and decided to check up on his mule. He liked animals immensely and the walk through the cars up to the livestock carriage was refreshing. As he passed by the other members of the train he took notice, as he often did, of the little things.
Brother Ignatius
player, 2 posts
Tue 26 Jan 2021
at 06:28
  • msg #5

Comin' 'Round The Mountain - Ch. 1

Of particular interest to him was the Wilson family. The two boys reminded him much of his brother and himself. Oh, the trouble they could get in. He decided to pause on his walk to check in on the family to see how they were doing this fine day. He had yet to discover their final destination and from whence they came and decided now was as good a day as any for some conversation.
Voice Of The West
GM, 7 posts
The Well Of Hope
The Pit Of Dispair
Tue 26 Jan 2021
at 07:06
  • msg #6

Comin' 'Round The Mountain - Ch. 1

"Oh Lord! Thank heaven!" Jenny Wilson exclaims and springs up from the bench with a startling quickness, her arms full of one kid, the other wrapped around her leg like an ornery constrictor snake.

"Puh-LEASE be a dear, Brother, Rick an' I han't a lick of coffee yet an' barely a wink of sleep between us..." you don't get much of the rest of her prattling-on because she's actively foisting Amos onto you while simultaneously pushing her husband back towards the dining car and forcefully shaking Jethro from her leg.

You might think you could get a word in edge-wise but that's hardly the case and before you know it you're practically saddled with both brats and slick Jenny has one foot halfway out the door begging for you to allow her and her husband to flee to the dining car for a moment's respite. They both shoot you... the saddest glares for miles around.
Sign In