Tales from the Castor Railway
Prologue:
History of the Castor Railway
If you were to travel to the British Isles, you could see many diesels rumbling along the line. However, stem isn't dead in one part of the empire. In the north, off the coast of Scotland, lives an island. This island was known as Gemini Isle due to its flatter south and more mountainous north. The island was founded by lord Gemini. His domain would be split by the Castor and Pollux clans to what it is now. It was one of the first places that desired locomotives. However, it would take a while until they would get its first.
The first engine on the southern line was Draco. An LBSCR B4X, he helped build and run the Castor Railway in its infancy. However, when the Great War arrived, The Island received two temporary locomotives. Wilson, an NER X class and Richie, the American articulate. After the war, Wilson and Richie were supposed to leave, but were purchased by the railway to stay. Wilson shunted and Richie did the heavier jobs for Draco.
In the 1920s, the island had a boom in industry and the railway needed a stronger engine. Yet instead of buying a new engine, the board decided to modify Richie. When the modifications were done, Richie had 2 more sets of driving wheels making him a 2-10-10-2. A larger long haul tender was also purchased to give Richie less trips for tender refills. It was going great until 1929 when the Wall Street market crashed.
The Island eventually recovered and in the 1930s, the island purchased an LNER K3 named Alastair for mixed traffic work. He mainly helped Draco with passenger traffic or Wilson with shunting on occasion. Sadly, the Second World War broke out in 1939 and the government gave the island an LMS 8F called Stanley. Stanley helped Richie haul freight in his place while Richie was put on military trains for the local island guard. The line was also extended from coast to coast to help provide defense and bring more supplies from other ports.
After the brutal war, the island bought Stanley for permanent use to help Alastair with longer passenger trains or stopping passenger trains. In order to provide an express train along the line, the Island procured a Southern Railway Rebuilt Merchant Navy named Arthur. He had been built earlier but was rebuilt in 1956. From there everything went quiet for the line. The group worked undisturbed until one day in December of 1962. For this day would bring the only engine the others didn't want to have ever arrived on the island… It is here where the story begins.