The Stickburg Stickville & Sticktropolis Railway, commonly referred to as "The Graphite Road, is a Narrow-Gauge Railway System Based out of The Sticklands. it was created by Instagram user and stickfigure artist "the_michigan_railfan for his stickfigure world, but was eventually "Expanded" to operate in Numerous Stickfigure Worlds VIA a "Dimensional Portal" System which allows entire trains and their Occupants/Cargo move between each world. The Railway is operated in the style of a late 19th Century Trunk Line, Connecting Numerous Cities and Villages within each Fictional World it Serves.
Company History.
editUnlike all other major Narrow Gauge Lines, (Notably the D&RG, DSP&P, The Newfoundland Railway and Raland railways) The Stickburg Stickville & Sticktropolis Railway had a relatively late start, coming into existence in mid 1907. Proposed by Sticklands Governor/Founder Horace E. McStickley the 1st, The S.S.&.S. was the first of a small handful of Stickfigure Railway Projects, and was no doubt the most ambitious. The Sticklands was merely 5 years old and had nowhere near enough materials to build a line so long. Critics slammed the project, coining it "Horace's Folly". But The Governor realized that it was best to develop a source of revenue as quickly as possible. the perfect opportunity presented itself: Stickville, where the Railway started, was not capable of building itself a seaport due to the sandbar, yet just 5 miles south, a small wharf had been built at Horace's Landing. It took 2 years, but The Railway built a 5 mile stretch of track between these two points. the Railway began portage service over this short stretch in 1909 with One Locomotive and 2 Cars, but the line was so popular that the number quickly grew into 3 Locomotives and 16 cars by 1910. After a brutal 5 year battle with the elements, The Tracks Reached Sticktropolis, giving the railway access to the island's largest city. with this advantage, The Railway was immediately pushed north to Stickburg in 1916, Thus linking its namesake terminals. it had taken just under a decade. in 1917, The Railway expanded north again, this time to the growing city of Graphite Flats on the island's north shore. once it reached the city in 1920, it gave the SS&S The only Direct Connection between the island's 3 Major Cities, a direct route between The South and the North. It enjoys great success in this regard handling everything from Gold and Silver to general merchandise. However, The Railway Operates Many Passenger Trains, including the famous "Ticonderogan". While the SS&S is largely a linear route it does have Two branches on it's original mainline: The Pencil Pointe Branch from Sticktropolis down the Pencil Pointe Peninsula, where it hauls Military Equipment to and from a Resort turned Military Base located in the area, and the "Northeast Zinc Network", a small group of spurs servicing a handful of mineral mines near the Northeast tip of the Island.
"Trans-Dimensional Extension".
editin 2023, it committed to an ambitious but ultimately perilous expansion plan, resolving to extend their Existing Main line out of The Sticklands and through a trio of Stick figure worlds: Emadjinare, Planet Keplar and Planet Zero. The rationale for the Graphite Road's decision was mostly due to the optimism of the inhabitants of these worlds for the railway industry. There was little to no adequate Travel in these worlds, and The Railway Connection would solve this. Those who did have It Only used Cars and Planes, which went limited distances. Trains were thought of a expensive and slow, so nobody else used them. Horace Realized that he had the Capital and the Resources to do something about it. So in mid 2023, The "Dimensional Extension" was Announced, and It was to be the Final Leg of Horace McStickley's Rail Empire. The project was similar to reaching the moon; no one believed it could be done until it actually happened. But The optimistic Capitalists of The Civilized, Wealthy Sticklands soon learned some hard lessons about pitting money and machinery against the Rough, Rugged, and Unforgiving Conditions of Other Stickfigure Worlds. Even with it's resources, Building any railroad, even a narrow gauge line like the S.S.&.S. in such a rural, undeveloped wilderness was truly like stepping back to the Construction of it's Existing Trackage in the early 1900s. There were few settlements of significance along the route, and all materials had to shipped from The Sticklands, and virtually everything had to be built through the wilderness while dealing with disgruntled Stickfigures who were extremely upset with the Railway's invasion into their lands. The Project was quite a gamble: Nobody was sure that this mammoth effort would yield any success, and it took millions of dollars to build. yet build it they did, and The monumental effort took an immense amount of resources before the first excursion and Work Trains trains could even run. its construction in many ways helped establish a unified link as disassociated worlds became banded together. Attesting to the sheer scale of the project, the precise cost to build the entire Extension was a staggering $850 million - a monumental sum.
Operation Notes.
editThe Stickburg Stickville & Sticktropolis Railway runs in the same fashion as a late 1800s-early 1900s trunk line railway. No deisels (with the exception of a few railbuses) are owned by the Railway, and all of their old steam locomotives provide the needed power. in most places, the line is Single Tracked, though sees heavy traffic in both directions, as There are about 15 Freight Trains and 7 Passenger Trains Operated regularly. On the Emadjinare District, a Helper Engine is required to get trains over the treacherous "Alfar Pass" Which Runs through the Frigid land of Norwing where there is endless snowfall. Trains are prohibited from Crossing Bridges during storms due to the elevated risk of the smaller narrow-gauge Equipment Being Blown off the Tracks, a problem which causes delays but saves lives. (on a sidenote, A Small EF-0 Tornado blew the Baggage Car of an S.S.&.S. Passenger Train off the Tracks in mid 2023 on the Planet Keplar District).
Locomotive Roster
editStickburg Stickville & Sticktropolis Railway 0-4-0 #1 "Horace"
Stickburg Stickville & Sticktropolis Railway 2-4-0 #2 "Sticklander"
Stickburg Stickville & Sticktropolis Railway 2-2-4 #3 "Sibley"
Stickburg Stickville & Sticktropolis Railway 0-4-2 #7 "Mite"
Stickburg Stickville & Sticktropolis Railway 4-6-0 #17 "Belvedere"
Stickburg Stickville & Sticktropolis Railway 4-4-0 #29 "Yuba"
Stickburg Stickville & Sticktropolis Railway 4-4-0 #30 "St Anne"
Stickburg Stickville & Sticktropolis Railway 4-4-0 #38 "Royale
Stickburg Stickville & Sticktropolis Railway 4-4-0 #41 "Hodgeson"
Stickburg Stickville & Sticktropolis Railway 2-8-0 #51 "Brute"
Stickburg Stickville & Sticktropolis Railway 4-4-0 #55 "Pacific"
Stickburg Stickville & Sticktropolis Railway 4-4-0 #57 "Ticonderoga"
Stickburg Stickville & Sticktropolis Railway 4-4-0 #63 "Verasonia"
Stickburg Stickville & Sticktropolis Railway 2-8-2 #70 "Mighty Mike"
Stickburg Stickville & Sticktropolis Railway 4-4-0 #74 "McMillian"
Stickburg Stickville & Sticktropolis Railway 4-4-0 #77 "D.E. Randall"
Stickburg Stickville & Sticktropolis Railway 4-4-2 #83 "Graphite Star"
Stickburg Stickville & Sticktropolis Railway 4-4-0 #88 "Kyle Owens"
Stickburg Stickville & Sticktropolis Railway 4-4-0 #91 "Doug"