Realistic or Modern The line (open)

[Sobotnik]

"The road must be built, and you are the man to do it. Take hold of it yourself. By building the Union Pacific, you will be the remembered man of your generation."
-President Abraham Lincoln, 1865

In 1861, the young United States exploded into war over slavery. It has killed over a million men, women, and children. The nation is disintegrating before our very eyes. Divided not only by politics, America is divided by geography too.

It's over two thousand miles from Chicago to San Francisco. Between them lies vast stretches of untamed land, much of it still the home of the native tribes. Between Omaha and Sacramento lies only Salt Lake City. To travel through this land means braving high mountains, freezing temperatures, arid deserts, and hostile tribes. It takes months. Thousands die travelling west. We need a solution.

In 1863, President Lincoln finally got his wish to order the most ambitious engineering project in American history. The transcontinental railroad. Four hardnosed Californian merchants (Leland Stanford, Collis Huntingdon, Mark Hopkins, and Charles Crocker) formed the Central Pacific to build the line east from Sacramento. The Union Pacific controlled by the enigmatic Dr Durant has been contracted to build it west from Omaha.

Two years have passed, the Civil War is over and it is now the Summer of 1865. President Lincoln is dead. Both companies have been delayed by war – the Union Pacific has yet to spike a single rail, the Central Pacific has only laid forty miles of track – time to pick up the pace. The American public wants this thing built as cheaply and quickly as possible. Congress will reward speed with huge land grants and subsidies, and the first to reach the finish line will receive not just riches, but glory. Dangerous work too. Do you think that you might be up for this?

How it works

Each player creates a character with a job (can be almost anything really) and joins one of the two companies. The Union Pacific (building west from Omaha) or the Central Pacific (building east from Sacramento). After you finish writing up your character sheet, post it into the thread.

Job Application for the concerned:

HELP WANTED FOR WORK ON TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD

GENEROUS RATES, ACCOMMODATION AND FOOD INCLUDED

NAME:
(FULL NAME, AND IF YOU WANT, AN AMUSING NICKNAME TO REMEMBER YOU BY)

DATE AND PLACE OF BIRTH:
(INCLUDE NATIONALITY IF YOU'RE AN ALIEN TO THESE UNITED STATES)

RACE:
(CHOOSE FROM HUMAN, CHINESE, OR IRISH)

UNION PACIFIC OR CENTRAL PACIFIC:
(YOU MAY SWITCH TO ANOTHER COMPANY AT A LATER DATE, BUT BEAR IN MIND THAT YOU MAY ONLY DO THIS ONCE SINCE WE DON'T TAKE KINDLY TO TRAITORS)

DESIRED OCCUPATION:
(IN OUR COMPANY WE DESIRE ANY AND ALL HANDS IN ALL OCCUPATIONS. SURVEYORS, GRADERS, LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS, TELEGRAPH OPERATORS, REPORTERS, ACCOUNTANTS, MOUNTAIN MEN, COOLIES, COOKS, BUILDERS, BLACKSMITHS, MEN OF ABILITY, ETC)

After picking which company to work for and your job, come on in to receive your orders. If its good honest labour, making riches, seeking adventure, thirsting for fame and glory, or simply staving off boredom you can be assured of getting it working on this here railroad.

 

[Fighting Monk]

NAME: 火骡子 (Huo luozi)

PLACE AND DATE OF BIRTH:

-1837, Chengdu, Great Qing

RACE:

-Chinese

UNION PACIFIC OR CENTRAL PACIFIC:

-Central Pacific

DESIRED OCCUPATION:

-Cook

 

[MrThe]

Lol I love how the three choices of Race are Human, Chinese or Irish. I'm definitely interested.

 

[Skaleesh1873]

PLACE AND DATE OF BIRTH:

-1838, San Antonio, Texas

RACE:

-White

UNION PACIFIC OR CENTRAL PACIFIC:

-Central Pacific

DESIRED OCCUPATION:

-Lineman

 

[Sobotnik]

Not even forty miles have been laid yet, but a lot of work has already gone into this Transcontinental railroad. Powerful men, industrialists, grocers, madmen and generals all got involved, so you ought to hear a little about each of them.

The Central Pacific:

California didn't want to wait around for somebody out east to start building the railroad, so they got to it themselves. In 1861 a group of four Californian shopkeepers formed the Central Pacific Railroad after being convinced by Theodore Judah to build a railroad into Nevada to supply the mines there. Sinking 159,000 dollars into his mad scheme, Judah claimed that it would take only eight years to build and one could build a railroad through the mountains cheaply and quickly. Needless to say it's taken the company a while to get things going, and they have been plagued by constant desertions from the workforce and difficulties in acquiring supplies and grading the track. By the end of spring 1865 they have laid a mere 40 miles of track from Sacramento to Auburn. So desperate for workers that the company has even hired some Chinamen as an experiment to see how they can prove themselves. They built the Great Wall of China after all, why not the Great Railroad?

Theodore ”Crazy” Judah.

A Connecticut local born in 1826, Judah turned down a naval career to persue a career in engineering in 1844, where he discovered his love for building railroads. All over the northeast he built railroad after railroad, and after marrying Anna Ferona Pierce they moved to Niagara Falls. Why there? To build the Niagara Gorge Railroad of course! No small wonder that in 1854 he happened to be building one in Buffalo NY when an urgent telegram asked him to come to California immediately to build one in Sacramento. California wanted a connection east as soon as possible, and Judah threw himself fully into promoting it. Too bad the folks in Congress were arguing about other things. Presidential hopeful Abraham Lincoln said he would give his backing... too bad the war happened first. Judah went off an founded the Central Pacific with the help of several Californian merchants. The Big Four they call themselves, and they didn't get along well with Judah who thinks they're gonna ruin the railroad before its even done. He went back east to get help to stop them, but caught something nasty in Panama and died on the way. Let's hope the Big Four know what they're doing.

”Governor” Leland Stanford

Born in New York to a farmer of some means in 1824, he later went to study law and opened a practice in Wisconsin. He led a good life for a while until 1852 when everything went up in smoke (literally) and a fire destroyed much of his property. He figured ”Why not go to California to strike it lucky there?” Obviously he figured out you could make more selling stuff to miners than mining gold yourself, and in 1856 he moved to Sacramento where he became a major merchant of some means. Understandably he joined the Republican party and helped organise it in California, even running for governor and losing an election. Not content with that, he tried again and won this time! Not only that but he helped found a company to build Theodores Transcontinental Railroad, and was made president of it. People are asking questions about a conflict of interest given he's voted on laws that affect his company, but who cares? He cut the California state debt!

Charles “Mistuh Clockee” Crocker

Another New York native, Mr Crocker was born in 1822 with an instinct for making money, which is why he sold fruit and newspapers as a kid. Although he became independently capable, that just wasn't enough for him, and when the gold rush hit he made a beeline for California. Obviously he wasn't stupid and decided to make himself a shopkeeper in California with the plan of selling supplies to the miners in order to make some money. When Judah came to town with bold plans for a railroad over the Sierra Nevada, Crocker decided to take a gamble. Needless to say, given that he owned a small ironworks this made him a perfect candidate for head of construction in the Central Pacific Railroad. Despite his inexperience, he's decided to take up the challenge. Given the constant shortage of supply, lack of workers and funds, difficulties of construction, and the fact he's virtually bankrupt he's not happy. He's not finished yet though, he has some fire left in him.

The Union Pacific

Congress took a rather leisurely approach to building the railroad for political reasons, even though everyone wanted one. The Southern States wanted the Transcontinental railroad built in the south, the northern ones wanted it in the north. Then the Civil war consumed all of its time, but President Lincoln was able to get his pet project pushed through with Republican support. But who would take on such a project? Investors were cautious, but with the creation of the Credit Mobilier Dr Durant managed to convince enough people to part with their money to fund construction. Needless to say that not much progress has been made, especially because of the war. Dr Durant was too busy smuggling cotton from the Confederates during the war (don't advertise this fact too much!) to build it, and the best man suited to building the road (Grenville Dodge) is currently serving the other Union in the army. Needless to say, not much progress has been made. But now the wars over, thousands of demobilized men are looking for work, and the industrial powerhouse of the east is ready to be unleashed.

Thomas “Doc” Durant

From Massachusetts and born in 1820, this fine gentleman studied to be a medical practictioner but after serving as a surgical assistant for a while, he decided to work for his uncle exporting grain. Needless to say he came into contact with the railroad men this way, and soon ended up in charge of financing and building a railroad from Davenport to Council Bluffs. It's been nearly ten years and he hasn't even gotten to Des Moines! Needless to say, that while construction isn't his forte, manipulating the markets and making powerful connections is another matter entirely. Hes already notorious for having spread rumours about the Transcontinental Railroad, and hes made bucketloads off buying and selling shares at opportune times. He's also charging Uncle Sam a lot to build the road, and he had the ear of Lincoln until recently (he hired Lincoln as a lawyer to represent him in a case) and consequently his support. Now that Lincolns dead and congressional oversight is increasing, the pressure is on for Doc Durant to get a move on and build this damned railroad.

Grenville “Hawk Eye” Dodge

Young but already well-accomplished, General Dodge was born in 1831 in Massachusetts with a postmaster for a father. At the age of 14 while working as a farmhand he was hired to help survey a railroad line and was so good at it that he went to study it at Norwich University. Now a civil engineer, he moved to Iowa where he worked for years surveying railroads and eventually came to meet both Doc Durant and Abraham Lincoln. In a chance meeting in 1859, Dodge convinced Lincoln that building the Transcontinental railroad from Iowa west via the route Dodge had surveyed was the best. Already the favourite engineer to build the railroad, his career was interrupted by the Civil War. Country comes first, so Dodge helped to raise 6000 men in Iowa to fight for the Union, and over the next four years he pioneered both military intelligence and engineering in the Vicksburg campaign, making him a valuable asset to Ulysses Simpson Grant. No wonder that by the time the war ended, Dodge had been promoted to General. Now Doc Durant is begging Dodge to come back to help build his railroad, but Dodge insists on subduing the Indians out west first. The railroad is planned to go right through the heart of Indian territory, and they've grown bolder as America pushes west. Let's hope for the railroads sake that Dodge can pacify the region.

The first season will be posted soon in this thread, and with it, the game will begin as each company and player will encounter situations they need to resolve.

 

[Sobotnik]

Into the Sierra Nevada. Summer 1865

The Bloomer Cut near Auburn, California. 800 feet long, this trench cuts through a deep ridge. It took 500 barrels of gunpowder a day to blast through, and already it is regarded as a major engineering wonder.

The status of the railroad:
43 miles laid total out of 1,900 miles, of which:
Central Pacific: 43
Union Pacific: 0
Remaining track to lay: 1857 miles

Central Pacific:

Lacking labourers, Crocker convinced construction boss Strobridge to hire some Chinamen as an experiment, despite his objections. They are performing better than whites as they don't run away to work on the goldmines, but Strobridge is still sceptical about their usefulness. Most of the Chinese are banned under state law from working goldfields, so at 28 dollars a month (later 31) the railroad is a pretty attractive option. As they hire more Chinamen, the American foremen buy Chinese phrasebooks with phrases such as the following:

“Can you get me a good boy? He wants 8 dollars a month? Tell him that 6 dollars is enough. I think he is very stupid”

None of these English-Chinese phrasebooks contain the words for “Thank you” or “How are you?”

Now 1600 Chinese work on the railroad, and they have cut the line through to Auburn and are now advancing up into the Sierra Nevada. Despite the good news, the company is running on fumes. The cost of importing rail has increased from 42 to 92 dollars a ton, plus an extra 52 dollars to ship it through Panama. Not only have costs gone up, but the company struggles to raise funds. The California Supreme court finally awarded them 400,000 dollars that San Francisco was refusing to pay in return for the bonds it purchased, but the CP has already borrowed against that. On May 13th, the Federal piggy bank finally opened up and gave 1.26 million dollars in bonds to the company in return for laying the track from Sacramento to Newcastle. The feds are granting them 48,000 dollars a mile now, which would be good if not for the fact its more than twice that to build it. The company hasn't even hit the tough terrain where they will have to drill and blast through mountains, bridge chasms, and twist and turn on the cliff edges. Even worse, Strobridge had one of his eyes taken out during an explosion working on the railroad, while Crocker is almost bankrupt and has claimed “I would do anything for a clean shirt and an absolution of my debts”.

If the lack of funds won't defeat the company, the unforgiving terrain of the Sierra Nevada will.

Union Pacific:

You would be forgiven for thinking that nothing is going on. No man can get to either Council Bluffs or Omaha by rail, and we have Doctor Durant to thank for that. He's getting richer, but people want to know where the railroad is. Thousands of people are flooding into Omaha, which has already doubled in population since last year and has over 10,000 residents. It's crammed full of Irishmen and its just what you would expect. No food fit for a white man to eat, and accommodation is lacking too. Durant somehow keeps wasting money, he has already spent half a million on trying to convince the government to let him build an oxbow loop in the track. He claims its essential, but it obviously increases the length of the line (and thus the government bonds and land he gets rewarded). The Chicago Tribune has complained bitterly about the fact the Doc has achieved roughly fuck-all, and have called him an “unprincipled swindler”. That's the least of the problems that the Union Pacific has to deal with though.

Out west, the Indians are being unfairly hostile to the arrival of the whites, whose numbers multiply every year. Engineer Samuel Reed has pointed out on several occasions that the natives have tried to kill his surveyors, who are busy roaming through the wastes trying to lay out the line. Behind them follow the graders, who are unfortunately Irish and therefore troublesome. These men dig and grade the railbed, making it level as they follow the guide set by the surveyors. They strike frequently and demand their wages (which Durant characteristically pockets for himself) because of the dangers and hard work they have to do. The Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho have banded together and are planning a warpath this summer. For this reason General Dodge is trying to gather some men together to stop them. Most of his men were drafted for the Civil war, and with that over they are wanting to go back home. Some are deserting, others threaten mutiny.

Without any progress and a new war brewing in the west that could halt construction entirely, no one is gonna be surprised if the company just folds right here and now.

Events elsewhere

The US civil war finally ends in April after Robert E Lee fails in a last desperate bid to relieve Petersburg, which falls on April 2nd. The Confederate government flees Richmond and surrenders. The victory would be all the sweeter if not for the assassination of President Lincoln two weeks later. Over the next month the rest of the Confederate forces surrendered and the war finally ended. Unfortunately another war just started in South America between Paraguay and the triple alliance of Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay. Let's hope it won't be as bloody as the American Civil war.

Over in Europe, the Germans make some interesting chemistry discoveries. Artificial indigo dye is invented by Adolf von Baeyer, while at the same time those Germans also discover the shape of Benzene molecules (its like a ring) and the exact number of molecules in a mole. It's about 6x10^23, which is about 600 billion trillion molecules. I wouldn't like to be the guy counting that.

 

[Satansick]

NAME:
陳義良
Chén Yiliang

DATE AND PLACE OF BIRTH:
1835, Kunming, Great Qing

RACE:
Chinese

UNION PACIFIC OR CENTRAL PACIFIC:
Central Pacific

DESIRED OCCUPATION:
Builder

 

[Skaleesh1873]

PLACE AND DATE OF BIRTH:
1838, San Antonio, Texas
RACE: White
UNION PACIFIC OR CENTRAL PACIFIC: Central Pacific
DESIRED OCCUPATION:
Lineman

 

[Skaleesh1873]

PLACE AND DATE OF BIRTH:
1838, San Antonio, Texas
RACE: White
UNION PACIFIC OR CENTRAL PACIFIC: Central Pacific
DESIRED OCCUPATION:
Lineman

Name: James Wilder