Hi,
Back about 1968-1972, I came up with the idea (or heard it in mathematics) that any sort of specified assumptions were equally valid and as long as they held through the entire system, they would be equally valid as well as what we know as "Real" life. This is why fantasy stories work.
I had started to create a history and set of rules for an HOn30 railroad called the Dew Mountain. Not long after, I went to to HOn3 and D&RGW narrow gauge and the writings have been lost.
I have thought about the Dew Mountain on and off for several years and have started over with the history and basic fantasy details for creating a railroad to serve this mythical valley.
Enjoy.
Doug vV
The Dew Mountain Railroad
Back in the 1780's, a valley in the Blue Rock Mountains was discovered near the divide. The local Indians said that the place was haunted by strange occurrences. They told the new comers that the only way in or out was via a narrow and crooked cleft in the side of what the English named Dew Mountain.
The Doent Valley was safe from outsiders and a small group of settlers settled it. The climate was what you'd expect in the mountains at its elevation - cold in winter good in summer, good water fertile soil plenty of water. Snows in the winter that closed Crooked Cleft.
Odd plants in the fall sprouted and grew and were washed away in the spring floods They seemed to melt away in the water. There was a pleasant taste if it was small enough but it was easily over harvested. In later years it was determined that this lepenojeay was a mild euphoric.
Since transporting items into and out of Doent Valley was very difficult and dangerous, the settlers had to become self sufficient.
In addition to the usual ores (iron, peat, lead, etc), an odd substance was discovered on Dew Mountain. It was an ore like substance that went into the mountain like a vein of coal. Since no one knew what to call it, it was called Like Ore.
Another item that was a tree like plant whose sap was quite mellowing. Old Al Key found it and hauled it into town and it raised the shout Al Key's haul was brought to town. It was thick and syrupy. It did cause many headaches the next morning.
There was an interesting tree-like plant that stood 150 feet high and had black wood. These became known as the Kol trees since the wood acted a bit like coal from the outside world. These trees had a fuzzy fern like bark.
Then there was old lady Pop's discovery. It was an opaque sugar like sphere on a short stick that had a chewy chewy center that lasted a long time. About an hour later, men and women disappeared and sometimes the women gave birth about 9 months later. Pop's tootsies were quite popular.
These items were not widely known outside of the Doent Valley. Those that did know about them were glad to get them when they showed up in their towns.
In about 1874, the Mississippi East Or Western Railroad built a line through Dew Pass some 20 miles away from Dew Mountain. The railroad town of Doent Stop was created for the helpers of the trains coming up over the Smoky Rocks.
The people in the Doent Valley decided that they wanted easier access to the outside world.
They incorporated the Dew Mountain Railway to connect Crooked Cleft to Doent Stop on the MEOW.
2015 --------------------------------------------
The Dew Mountain Railroad started from the interchange with the MEOW at Dont Stop going in a northwesterly direction. A few miles out of Doent Stop, the first obstical occured = crossing the Lazy River. THere was never enough flow in the river to turn a waterwheel - hence the river was lazy - no hydrauliic work could be gotten from it.
The person who laid out the Dew Mountain RR (Gnat "King" Automichael) turned the grade up the Lazy River. The DMR had to cross the river once at Quai. If was made of a strange looking wood that was pipe like with a sort of ring around it every 2-3 feet. Dan - who daily went to the same place so get this strange wood - named it "boo". So the entire bridge over the river Quai was built from Dan's Boo.
Once across, the DM grade had to use sharp turns to stay with the Lazy River for a few miles. It was decided to use a gauge of 2.71 feet. Using this strange gauge of 32.52" the line continued its way towards the cleft.
After a few miles, a feller named John said about going by Wain along the country road. Living in Wain was a fellow named Dehner who showed Automichael where elevation could be the gained by going around and between two "hills". Using a figure 8 like over and under around the hills, the Dew Mountain RR was able to get up the steep escarpment.
Once on the top of the escarpment, a tribe of short short natives were found. They were a help grading the track over Kebler and to Hi O Creek. With this done, it was a sprint to get to the cleft.
The cleft had a creek flowing through it and the walls were often next to vertical. Mr Jones from Indiana assisted the line by going through a natural cavern system and crossing the stream in the cleft many times. Last heard from Mr Jones was still hunting a grail for directions to the skull using an ark.
A frenchman worker had a cat who got into the liquid spirits at the enterence to the Cleft and he exclaimed "Chat in Hooch EEEEE!". That was how the stream becaome known as the Chatinhoochee.
In later years, the grade through, accoss and up the Chatinhoochee, the cavern system, and Crooked Cleft became infamous to revenu agents. They were sent to find the bootleggers in Doent Valley. They never returned. It was whispered that following the Dew Mountain RR track into the valley was a death sentence.
Once into the Dew Valley itself, a main staging yard was built at Alone. From Alone, several lines reached out to server the valley. Since the valley floor itself was not flat, some branches were almost flat and others had grades up to 5%.
The mainline from Alone to Dont Stop was operated with several 0-4-4-0s and a few 0-4-0s. The Valley itself used some 0-6-0s, 0-4-0s, 2-6-0s and a 2-4-6-8 (it was never appreciated).
Supposedly when the line shut down (whispers are that it never did) all the equipment was put into the yard as Alone and it still sits there all Alone.
