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.