Tayta Malikai
200% Space Whale
- Location
- Australia
[X] Large Steel Foundry: 1000 Bloodstones
[X] Vaul Iron Works
[X] Create your own locomotive from scratch
[X] Vaul Iron Works
[X] Create your own locomotive from scratch
Full Steam Ahead: A Train Designer Quest
- Thread starter Zeroth Jupi
- Start date
- Original Mature
Zeroth Jupi
Sporadic Writer and Haver of Ideas
- Location
- Somewhere
- Pronouns
- He/She/They
Alright everyone it's time to close the votes let's see the results We have a tie between Medium Factory and Large Steel Foundry which I will use a flip for and post the results after this paragraph. Next, we have Vaul Iron Works pulling way ahead don't worry the other names might be seen elsewhere. Last but not least we have, Create your own locomotives from scratch. Be prepared for a full course of design phases instead of the planned abbreviated phases that Import would have been.
Now for that flip I used a d2 three times. 1 equalling Medium Factory, 2 equalling Large Foundry here's the results. And Foundry takes it! I thank y'all for all the votes Hori and I got we will continue to do our best to make quality content for y'all!
0-3
Zeroth Jupi
Sporadic Writer and Haver of Ideas
- Location
- Somewhere
- Pronouns
- He/She/They
You rubbed your hand to chase away cramps from all the signatures you had to make to purchase the property legally. The company name of Vaul Iron Works, named after the ancient Feldsparian god of the forge, is perfect to show your heritage and your commitment to the task at hand.
The clearing house had actually taken a full week to process Ms. Silver's check, nearly causing you to miss the Full moon deadline for purchasing the foundry. You had decided to use your personal funds just a day before the check came through. To be honest, you got the property far below what it was worth as you toured the large lot and then the adjacent dorms. The dorms would need some work but they were in very good condition and could be used immediately for your first employees. The Foundry equipment was of older make but they were sturdy and well-maintained. The areas were also quite spacious and modular for production. Lastly, that empty area of the lot is quite a large amount of empty space, but with some time and more money, you could turn it into a test track for your designs.
You reflected on all of this as you entered the restaurant, meeting with one of your old superiors who hadn't cut all ties with you, and one who you quite liked, sitting at the table across from him for a lunch meeting. The pungent smell of coffee wafted from the table as a server passed by you and filled three delicate mugs set on the table.
"Sergeant Treerunner, good of you to come at our request even though we no longer are your superiors," The well-primmed patrician said as he gave you a small smile, his magnificent walrus mustache bouncing in mirth while pulling out a seat for you.
"But of course, Colonel Igneous, you were always fair with the brothers of Engineering and me even for a Cavalry officer of your stature," You deferred to complimenting the overly enthusiastic man while you took your seat, after all, it was true he was fair to you and your brothers, and he fought hard for six months to get you your quarter pension so it was hard to find fault with the man.
"Of course, of course. I try to make my unit's cooperation with others go as smoothly as possible." The good Colonel nodded, settling back into his seat and taking a considering sniff of his mug. "Ahh, a decent brew. Returning to the topic, I remain of the opinion t'was your... "retirement", was an utter waste of a brilliant engineering mind like yours that could have seen so much innovation within our corps. But I hear you've started a new business on the north side of the city in lieu of service."
"You flatter me Colonel, and I'm surprised you already know about that I only just filed the paperwork the other day sir," Your shock must have been quite more visible than you want as the colonel chortled in his usual manner.
"Contacts everywhere, son. I know anything about relevant personnel that goes through that dome under construction. Your name happened to peak the interest of my man. Although he only got me a purchase order for an industrial lot, I can assume you're not doing real estate. So tell me about your new endeavors."
"Yes sir, but before I begin, what about Major Gneiss, is he here for some reason as well?" you ask as you put down your now empty mug of coffee, when had it been drained that quickly by you?
"Don't worry about me miss Treerunner I'm here on leave and ended up wandering the city when the Colonel found me and invited me for coffee," the Major had an easy smile on his face that you cursed on how it set your heart aflutter when pointed at you instead of his family.
"Excuse me Major, but did you call mister Treerunner a miss in public?" The Colonel asked almost apoplectic with an angered red face as he wheeled upon the major like a maddened bull. You would have to defuse this quickly, lovely.
"It's quite alright Colonel, he isn't incorrect in his address to me, though he is not quite correct either. To be honest the same could be said of you but you are not in on the secret, a novel concept to you I'm sure. Either appellation works perfectly fine for me so you needn't worry." you interject before the Colonel can go on one of his tirades about the propriety of superior officers and how they should address those in lower stations in life.
"If you insist on this Treerunner, now can you get back to explaining what you plan to do with the property you purchased?" The man was nothing if not adept at returning to a topic once he was finished overreacting for all the good or ill that entailed, it at least gave you time to figure out how to explain what you planned to do.
"I plan to revolutionize transportation of goods and people colonel, to one day completely supplant the carriage and cargo wagons with my inventions,"
"And just how will you revolutionize this field Treerunner?"
"By supplying machines of steam and iron sir. Each stronger than twenty-five horses and capable of pulling over ten wagons at once, all controlled by a crew of three men, moving at consistent speeds unachievable by all but the strongest and most well-bred horses or centaur. In addition, all they will need is fuel and water, and perhaps some mechanical maintenance here or there, raising availability substantially."
"An intriguing and ambitious goal but do you plan to try and do this alone or are you perhaps planning to hire employees? Perhaps from amongst the sizeable veterans that are unfortunately without work?"
"I shall definitely need manpower, one cannot make these machines single-handedly. Do you have recommendations for some I can hire?"
"There are quite a few former servicemen and other interested parties that we could call on for you to interview but who you hire is all on you miss Treerunner, if you should give us a day we shall provide the men to interview," Major Gneiss cut in before the Colonel could bluster his own offer of assistance.
You smile and shake their hands before you all settle into casual chatter and the eating of fine food. You would have loved to spend more time like this but the day was coming to a close and you needed to be fresh for tomorrow.
You grumble and moan as you chase phantom aches out of your body. Your rest had been anything but restful as excitement got the better of you and kept you awake well past the midnight hour. And it seems even that was cut short, because even as you were finishing dressing fully, a knock would sound at your door, a voice cutting through the hardwood.
"Sir, there's a group of people here to see you, something about a colonel telling them there was an interview to be had here.
"Yes, yes I'm sure I had asked last night if there was a room to be reserved for this," you say as you shake off the last of your aches.
"Indeed sir, they're waiting in the office room you asked for on the fourth floor. Shall I tell them you'll be right with them?"
"If you would do so I would be most grateful. If you would perchance also bring a carafe of coffee or tea, something to chase away the chill of Low Winter to the office room?"
"Of course sir, you shall expect the drinks in the room within fifteen minutes." The attendant would depart from, heading off to collect the drinks for the room, leaving you to head on up.
The fourth floor was one you had seldom visited and compared to the rest of the hotel you understood why as the ornate nature of the so-called business floor at many times deterred your curiosity about its contents. However, you soldiered on through, eventually getting to the room where the group was waiting for you, the eight of them looking up after sitting at a conference table.
It was a motley crew of people your former superiors had gathered, a centaur seemingly from the Highlands and experienced from combat if his missing eye was an indicator. An alligator man from the swamps who you vaguely recall serving in the corps with you for a few seasons. An older man who smelt of the sea and had a rogue's air about him as he gave you a lopsided grin. A naturally shady figure, seeming to make himself as inconspicuous as possible. A General's daughter smiling beatifically at you. A General's daughter smiling beatifically at you…, Why is miss Silvers here of all places? The last one you could swear was a younger Colonel Igneous, but there were very slight facial differences, you weren't aware of him having a son. Or even being married for that matter, whoever married him must have the patience of a saint.
"Ah! Miss Treerunner you're here at last! I was worried we had arrived too early but the concierge had assured me you would be awake soon when they brought us to this office!" Major Gneiss was eternally cheerful as he greeted you with far more energy than was natural in the morning hours.
"Mmm, indeed I am, pleasure to see you here Major. I presume these are the interviewees for the day?"
"Quite so there were a few willing participants quite eager to be interviewed by you, although one of them had to bow out before he could make it, it seems his previous employer rehired him early this morning, though not to worry miss Silvers here was more than happy to take the old sport's spot,"
"I did notice sir. Miss Silvers, I see you're well this morning,"
"I am doing exceptionally well this morning Mister Lilith, I was quite surprised to hear you were going into business and just had to try my hand at employment," Miss Silvers demured and gave you an odd look that left you feeling oddly warm.
"Come now, I can't be the only one here ta see, she's nae man? Is clear as day when she dinnae even try ta hide her appearance," A rough voice interrupts your response to the young woman, another look shows the owner of the voice was from the Igneous lookalike. You will admit you hadn't done your full routine and had once again forgotten to bind your chest but really that was quite rude of the man.
"And I dinnae know Igneous had a son. Or was even married, he doesn't seem the type to settle down," Your reply was caustic as you affected the man's accent in a quite decent mockery of his own, judging by the snort from the Major and the choking from the Colonel you think you did quite well.
The lookalike glares at you for a moment before he gives you a savage grin. "Aye that's ta spark ya need ta get on in this world, I retract ma complaint," his eyes were still cold but there was respect in them now.
"Very well, is there any other outbursts to be made? No? Then let us begin the interviews, I'll start with you sir from the Highlands I take it?" You ask as you get straight to business and motion for the centaur to speak.
The interviews proceeded at pace from there as you got names from each of the participants and what their skills were along with why they needed the jobs.
Benjamin Kovalevich was indeed from the Highlands just his accent would have given that away when he spoke, which wasn't often but when he spoke he gave much insight. He was also a fair hand at engineering and already had some ideas for what might be necessary to design a locomotive or tram specifically on the fuel end having some ideas to use the peat from the highlands as a fuel.
Arthur Sutter was from the swamps and an older man from the Engineering corps, he knew you though you two never served together directly as he was assigned to another unit. He was a chatty man and quite happy to talk about what his skills were as well as admitting to taking a special interest in the frame design and carriages of vehicles after having rebuilt and even at times improvising gun carriages and wagons.
Kenneth Baker was a sailor, no you wouldn't mince words he was a former merchant's son turned pirate turned navy man who had retired after the Tribal Wars, but had fallen on hard times after he had gambled away the last of his money. Unwilling to return to a life of piracy, he came here to be hired. He admitted to you he didn't have a large amount of knowledge of the finer details of engineering but he did pick up enough just from talking with you that you could safely hire him if you wished. He also admitted that he had a knack for finding unconventional things at cut rate prices thanks to his former life.
Heidrich Schmidt was a hard man to understand, which was understandable. He had served in the Intelligence sector for the Federal Navy, but before that he was a well to do man from the Kingdom of Marble which unfortunately led to a very strong accent giving trace to his lineage of a former farmer's son. He was a sharp man, though, as he answered your questions with aplomb. Also had a strange sense of humor that veered on gallows humor at times. He seemed to be a fair hand in engineering and vocalized an interest in boilers and their uses after having seen them used in the experimental ship of the Union navy.
Miss Elizabeth Silvers was the oddity here and she knew it but she didn't seem too bothered by it from outward appearances, or in her answers. You were worried that she had some form of ulterior motives for being interviewed but she answered your questions without a single waver and surprised you a time or two with her insight on how to advertise the company once you had an engine to sell. Now if only you could figure out why just looking at her made your face heat up by twenty degrees. She also pointedly dances around your questions on why she was actually here. You'll understand her yet for the sake of your honor.
And finally but not least was the irascible Richard Lane, the man who uncannily resembled Colonel Igneous. Once you got him to start answering your questions seriously you found he was absolutely brilliant in his field and had quite a few ideas on how an engine would propel itself.
Pick three
[] Benjamin Kovalevich - Mr. Benjamin, as the grizzled veteran prefers to be called, brings to the table considerable experience with engineering due to coming from a family of carriage makers. He claims to have kept abreast of the latest advancements in the Union, and has been working on a personal project concerning the concept of fueling boilers without coal.
[] Arthur Sutter - A fellow Army Corps Pioneer, Sutter is technically your senior and quite frankly far too energetic for his age - you'll need to keep him occupied at all times, but his work ethic is unquestionable. The man is a decent hand at general engineering as a whole due to his wealth of Corps experience, but Sutter is a savant at frame design from his years of rebuilding gun carriages and cargo wagons.
[] Kenneth Baker - A son of middle-class merchants, Mr. Baker was more of an unremarkable generalist technician in the guilds, truth be told if you had the option to do so you'd be hiring him as security rather than as an engineer - but needs must when Rusaka drives the carriage. He does seem to have an admitted knack for finding unconventional supplies at affordable rates, owing from his latent wheeling-and-dealing skills honed from his apprenticeship with his parents and refined over the course of his service bartering supplies between the perpetually-undersupplied dock crews, both official Navy ones and... greyer sellers.
[] Heidrich Schmidt - A farmer's son turned spy, Mr. Schmidt was a man of a very active youth and misdirection - that he is now looking for work from you is on some level disconcerting. But the man does come recommended by your former superiors and even brings to the table handwritten notes and ideas on boilers that came about after just gleaning information on the Union ship Demiurgos - just don't ask him where did this all come from.
[] Elizabeth Silvers - You're still not sure why she is here even after the interview but she does come with some education, a willingness to get her hands dirty provided you find where her talents lie, and apparently more connections than you expected to get the word out about your company when the time comes.
[] Richard Lane - An irritating Col. Igneous doppelganger with an admittedly astounding level of skill, frankly he would be grossly overqualified working for a startup like yours - if not for his downright flippant attitude rendering the man nearly unemployable. His one saving grace would be his commitment to a task and his desire to create reliable driving and running gear.
And there we go finally written sorry it took a bit had a few problems writing this one and had to fight my muse when she decided she wanted to work on a weird timeline involving tractors (please don't ask or she'll focus on that again) Anyways I hope you enjoy the last introduction post before we get into our first design turns! Also, we didn't forget it's time for Hori's train facts!
Hori's Train Facts: The Hoosac Tunnel through the Berkshire Mountains is nicknamed the Bloody Pit due to the loss of 196 workers while the tunnel was excavated through the rock, mainly due to black power and nitroglycerin explosions.
One last thing! Voting will close on Sunday December 11 at 3:00 PM CST
The clearing house had actually taken a full week to process Ms. Silver's check, nearly causing you to miss the Full moon deadline for purchasing the foundry. You had decided to use your personal funds just a day before the check came through. To be honest, you got the property far below what it was worth as you toured the large lot and then the adjacent dorms. The dorms would need some work but they were in very good condition and could be used immediately for your first employees. The Foundry equipment was of older make but they were sturdy and well-maintained. The areas were also quite spacious and modular for production. Lastly, that empty area of the lot is quite a large amount of empty space, but with some time and more money, you could turn it into a test track for your designs.
You reflected on all of this as you entered the restaurant, meeting with one of your old superiors who hadn't cut all ties with you, and one who you quite liked, sitting at the table across from him for a lunch meeting. The pungent smell of coffee wafted from the table as a server passed by you and filled three delicate mugs set on the table.
"Sergeant Treerunner, good of you to come at our request even though we no longer are your superiors," The well-primmed patrician said as he gave you a small smile, his magnificent walrus mustache bouncing in mirth while pulling out a seat for you.
"But of course, Colonel Igneous, you were always fair with the brothers of Engineering and me even for a Cavalry officer of your stature," You deferred to complimenting the overly enthusiastic man while you took your seat, after all, it was true he was fair to you and your brothers, and he fought hard for six months to get you your quarter pension so it was hard to find fault with the man.
"Of course, of course. I try to make my unit's cooperation with others go as smoothly as possible." The good Colonel nodded, settling back into his seat and taking a considering sniff of his mug. "Ahh, a decent brew. Returning to the topic, I remain of the opinion t'was your... "retirement", was an utter waste of a brilliant engineering mind like yours that could have seen so much innovation within our corps. But I hear you've started a new business on the north side of the city in lieu of service."
"You flatter me Colonel, and I'm surprised you already know about that I only just filed the paperwork the other day sir," Your shock must have been quite more visible than you want as the colonel chortled in his usual manner.
"Contacts everywhere, son. I know anything about relevant personnel that goes through that dome under construction. Your name happened to peak the interest of my man. Although he only got me a purchase order for an industrial lot, I can assume you're not doing real estate. So tell me about your new endeavors."
"Yes sir, but before I begin, what about Major Gneiss, is he here for some reason as well?" you ask as you put down your now empty mug of coffee, when had it been drained that quickly by you?
"Don't worry about me miss Treerunner I'm here on leave and ended up wandering the city when the Colonel found me and invited me for coffee," the Major had an easy smile on his face that you cursed on how it set your heart aflutter when pointed at you instead of his family.
"Excuse me Major, but did you call mister Treerunner a miss in public?" The Colonel asked almost apoplectic with an angered red face as he wheeled upon the major like a maddened bull. You would have to defuse this quickly, lovely.
"It's quite alright Colonel, he isn't incorrect in his address to me, though he is not quite correct either. To be honest the same could be said of you but you are not in on the secret, a novel concept to you I'm sure. Either appellation works perfectly fine for me so you needn't worry." you interject before the Colonel can go on one of his tirades about the propriety of superior officers and how they should address those in lower stations in life.
"If you insist on this Treerunner, now can you get back to explaining what you plan to do with the property you purchased?" The man was nothing if not adept at returning to a topic once he was finished overreacting for all the good or ill that entailed, it at least gave you time to figure out how to explain what you planned to do.
"I plan to revolutionize transportation of goods and people colonel, to one day completely supplant the carriage and cargo wagons with my inventions,"
"And just how will you revolutionize this field Treerunner?"
"By supplying machines of steam and iron sir. Each stronger than twenty-five horses and capable of pulling over ten wagons at once, all controlled by a crew of three men, moving at consistent speeds unachievable by all but the strongest and most well-bred horses or centaur. In addition, all they will need is fuel and water, and perhaps some mechanical maintenance here or there, raising availability substantially."
"An intriguing and ambitious goal but do you plan to try and do this alone or are you perhaps planning to hire employees? Perhaps from amongst the sizeable veterans that are unfortunately without work?"
"I shall definitely need manpower, one cannot make these machines single-handedly. Do you have recommendations for some I can hire?"
"There are quite a few former servicemen and other interested parties that we could call on for you to interview but who you hire is all on you miss Treerunner, if you should give us a day we shall provide the men to interview," Major Gneiss cut in before the Colonel could bluster his own offer of assistance.
You smile and shake their hands before you all settle into casual chatter and the eating of fine food. You would have loved to spend more time like this but the day was coming to a close and you needed to be fresh for tomorrow.
You grumble and moan as you chase phantom aches out of your body. Your rest had been anything but restful as excitement got the better of you and kept you awake well past the midnight hour. And it seems even that was cut short, because even as you were finishing dressing fully, a knock would sound at your door, a voice cutting through the hardwood.
"Sir, there's a group of people here to see you, something about a colonel telling them there was an interview to be had here.
"Yes, yes I'm sure I had asked last night if there was a room to be reserved for this," you say as you shake off the last of your aches.
"Indeed sir, they're waiting in the office room you asked for on the fourth floor. Shall I tell them you'll be right with them?"
"If you would do so I would be most grateful. If you would perchance also bring a carafe of coffee or tea, something to chase away the chill of Low Winter to the office room?"
"Of course sir, you shall expect the drinks in the room within fifteen minutes." The attendant would depart from, heading off to collect the drinks for the room, leaving you to head on up.
The fourth floor was one you had seldom visited and compared to the rest of the hotel you understood why as the ornate nature of the so-called business floor at many times deterred your curiosity about its contents. However, you soldiered on through, eventually getting to the room where the group was waiting for you, the eight of them looking up after sitting at a conference table.
It was a motley crew of people your former superiors had gathered, a centaur seemingly from the Highlands and experienced from combat if his missing eye was an indicator. An alligator man from the swamps who you vaguely recall serving in the corps with you for a few seasons. An older man who smelt of the sea and had a rogue's air about him as he gave you a lopsided grin. A naturally shady figure, seeming to make himself as inconspicuous as possible. A General's daughter smiling beatifically at you. A General's daughter smiling beatifically at you…, Why is miss Silvers here of all places? The last one you could swear was a younger Colonel Igneous, but there were very slight facial differences, you weren't aware of him having a son. Or even being married for that matter, whoever married him must have the patience of a saint.
"Ah! Miss Treerunner you're here at last! I was worried we had arrived too early but the concierge had assured me you would be awake soon when they brought us to this office!" Major Gneiss was eternally cheerful as he greeted you with far more energy than was natural in the morning hours.
"Mmm, indeed I am, pleasure to see you here Major. I presume these are the interviewees for the day?"
"Quite so there were a few willing participants quite eager to be interviewed by you, although one of them had to bow out before he could make it, it seems his previous employer rehired him early this morning, though not to worry miss Silvers here was more than happy to take the old sport's spot,"
"I did notice sir. Miss Silvers, I see you're well this morning,"
"I am doing exceptionally well this morning Mister Lilith, I was quite surprised to hear you were going into business and just had to try my hand at employment," Miss Silvers demured and gave you an odd look that left you feeling oddly warm.
"Come now, I can't be the only one here ta see, she's nae man? Is clear as day when she dinnae even try ta hide her appearance," A rough voice interrupts your response to the young woman, another look shows the owner of the voice was from the Igneous lookalike. You will admit you hadn't done your full routine and had once again forgotten to bind your chest but really that was quite rude of the man.
"And I dinnae know Igneous had a son. Or was even married, he doesn't seem the type to settle down," Your reply was caustic as you affected the man's accent in a quite decent mockery of his own, judging by the snort from the Major and the choking from the Colonel you think you did quite well.
The lookalike glares at you for a moment before he gives you a savage grin. "Aye that's ta spark ya need ta get on in this world, I retract ma complaint," his eyes were still cold but there was respect in them now.
"Very well, is there any other outbursts to be made? No? Then let us begin the interviews, I'll start with you sir from the Highlands I take it?" You ask as you get straight to business and motion for the centaur to speak.
The interviews proceeded at pace from there as you got names from each of the participants and what their skills were along with why they needed the jobs.
Benjamin Kovalevich was indeed from the Highlands just his accent would have given that away when he spoke, which wasn't often but when he spoke he gave much insight. He was also a fair hand at engineering and already had some ideas for what might be necessary to design a locomotive or tram specifically on the fuel end having some ideas to use the peat from the highlands as a fuel.
Arthur Sutter was from the swamps and an older man from the Engineering corps, he knew you though you two never served together directly as he was assigned to another unit. He was a chatty man and quite happy to talk about what his skills were as well as admitting to taking a special interest in the frame design and carriages of vehicles after having rebuilt and even at times improvising gun carriages and wagons.
Kenneth Baker was a sailor, no you wouldn't mince words he was a former merchant's son turned pirate turned navy man who had retired after the Tribal Wars, but had fallen on hard times after he had gambled away the last of his money. Unwilling to return to a life of piracy, he came here to be hired. He admitted to you he didn't have a large amount of knowledge of the finer details of engineering but he did pick up enough just from talking with you that you could safely hire him if you wished. He also admitted that he had a knack for finding unconventional things at cut rate prices thanks to his former life.
Heidrich Schmidt was a hard man to understand, which was understandable. He had served in the Intelligence sector for the Federal Navy, but before that he was a well to do man from the Kingdom of Marble which unfortunately led to a very strong accent giving trace to his lineage of a former farmer's son. He was a sharp man, though, as he answered your questions with aplomb. Also had a strange sense of humor that veered on gallows humor at times. He seemed to be a fair hand in engineering and vocalized an interest in boilers and their uses after having seen them used in the experimental ship of the Union navy.
Miss Elizabeth Silvers was the oddity here and she knew it but she didn't seem too bothered by it from outward appearances, or in her answers. You were worried that she had some form of ulterior motives for being interviewed but she answered your questions without a single waver and surprised you a time or two with her insight on how to advertise the company once you had an engine to sell. Now if only you could figure out why just looking at her made your face heat up by twenty degrees. She also pointedly dances around your questions on why she was actually here. You'll understand her yet for the sake of your honor.
And finally but not least was the irascible Richard Lane, the man who uncannily resembled Colonel Igneous. Once you got him to start answering your questions seriously you found he was absolutely brilliant in his field and had quite a few ideas on how an engine would propel itself.
Pick three
[] Benjamin Kovalevich - Mr. Benjamin, as the grizzled veteran prefers to be called, brings to the table considerable experience with engineering due to coming from a family of carriage makers. He claims to have kept abreast of the latest advancements in the Union, and has been working on a personal project concerning the concept of fueling boilers without coal.
[] Arthur Sutter - A fellow Army Corps Pioneer, Sutter is technically your senior and quite frankly far too energetic for his age - you'll need to keep him occupied at all times, but his work ethic is unquestionable. The man is a decent hand at general engineering as a whole due to his wealth of Corps experience, but Sutter is a savant at frame design from his years of rebuilding gun carriages and cargo wagons.
[] Kenneth Baker - A son of middle-class merchants, Mr. Baker was more of an unremarkable generalist technician in the guilds, truth be told if you had the option to do so you'd be hiring him as security rather than as an engineer - but needs must when Rusaka drives the carriage. He does seem to have an admitted knack for finding unconventional supplies at affordable rates, owing from his latent wheeling-and-dealing skills honed from his apprenticeship with his parents and refined over the course of his service bartering supplies between the perpetually-undersupplied dock crews, both official Navy ones and... greyer sellers.
[] Heidrich Schmidt - A farmer's son turned spy, Mr. Schmidt was a man of a very active youth and misdirection - that he is now looking for work from you is on some level disconcerting. But the man does come recommended by your former superiors and even brings to the table handwritten notes and ideas on boilers that came about after just gleaning information on the Union ship Demiurgos - just don't ask him where did this all come from.
[] Elizabeth Silvers - You're still not sure why she is here even after the interview but she does come with some education, a willingness to get her hands dirty provided you find where her talents lie, and apparently more connections than you expected to get the word out about your company when the time comes.
[] Richard Lane - An irritating Col. Igneous doppelganger with an admittedly astounding level of skill, frankly he would be grossly overqualified working for a startup like yours - if not for his downright flippant attitude rendering the man nearly unemployable. His one saving grace would be his commitment to a task and his desire to create reliable driving and running gear.
And there we go finally written sorry it took a bit had a few problems writing this one and had to fight my muse when she decided she wanted to work on a weird timeline involving tractors (please don't ask or she'll focus on that again) Anyways I hope you enjoy the last introduction post before we get into our first design turns! Also, we didn't forget it's time for Hori's train facts!
Hori's Train Facts: The Hoosac Tunnel through the Berkshire Mountains is nicknamed the Bloody Pit due to the loss of 196 workers while the tunnel was excavated through the rock, mainly due to black power and nitroglycerin explosions.
One last thing! Voting will close on Sunday December 11 at 3:00 PM CST
Last edited:
- Pronouns
- He
Nice to see you back, and for the oprtion i like the [] Arthur Sutter, for giving order at the team
[] Elizabeth Silvers, becluse the conection are a must and
[] Richard Lane, we can leave a genius without at least trying to work with him
[] Elizabeth Silvers, becluse the conection are a must and
[] Richard Lane, we can leave a genius without at least trying to work with him
Zeroth Jupi
Sporadic Writer and Haver of Ideas
- Location
- Somewhere
- Pronouns
- He/She/They
Same as last time there is a three hour moratorium but discussion and empty brackets to be filled with Xs later are fine
UbeOne
Daydreaming CPU
- Location
- Philippines
- Pronouns
- She/Her
*Treerunner, not Windrunner. We're an entrepreneur, not a ranger
As for votes, I'm not sure yet.
Zeroth Jupi
Sporadic Writer and Haver of Ideas
- Location
- Somewhere
- Pronouns
- He/She/They
should be fixed now for some reason when I write for this my brain tends to switch Treerunner with Windrunner and getting all the instances out is a process as I'll miss them often*Treerunner, not Windrunner. We're an entrepreneur, not a ranger
As for votes, I'm not sure yet.
[X] Elizabeth Silvers
Connections will definitely boost us ahead, even if we aren't the best.
[X] Richard Lane
For the last i'm thinking either
[] Arthur Sutter
or
[X] Heidrich Schmidt
I imagine that the boiler will rather more important than the superstructure but Heidrich probably isn't that useful after he hands over his 'notes'.
Connections will definitely boost us ahead, even if we aren't the best.
[X] Richard Lane
For the last i'm thinking either
[] Arthur Sutter
or
[X] Heidrich Schmidt
I imagine that the boiler will rather more important than the superstructure but Heidrich probably isn't that useful after he hands over his 'notes'.
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- Pronouns
- He
[X] Plan teamwork is the best work
[X] Arthur Sutter
[X] Elizabeth Silvers
[X] Richard Lane
[X] Arthur Sutter
[X] Elizabeth Silvers
[X] Richard Lane
Zeroth Jupi
Sporadic Writer and Haver of Ideas
- Location
- Somewhere
- Pronouns
- He/She/They
every person here has a specialty that will make them relevant in the design phases coming up and they're just the first people you will hire more will come later who are either more or less specialized
VoidZero
Passing Flan 布丁魔王
- Location
- Anywhere but RL
I prefer Elizabeth and Kenneth to open doors as product sell faster if you know people. Arthur is a good generalist with that trusted old man look, pretty important for a budding new company.
[x] Arthur Sutter
[x] Kenneth Baker
[x] Elizabeth Silvers
[x] Arthur Sutter
[x] Kenneth Baker
[x] Elizabeth Silvers
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MordredRaal
Agitating
- Pronouns
- She/They
[x] Arthur Sutter
[x] Heidrich Schmidt
[x] Elizabeth Silvers
[x] Heidrich Schmidt
[x] Elizabeth Silvers
SeismicGuide
The Quakiest of Quakebotes
- Location
- A usually Warm, Southern state of the US
[x] Elizabeth Silvers
Connections are good, and I wanna know what her motives are
[x] Arthur Sutter
Crocodile/Alligator Mechanic man is a fun idea, and the perks are nice too ;3
[x] Benjamin Kovalevich
Alternatives to Coal Could be useful. Especially if there's a coal shortage.
Connections are good, and I wanna know what her motives are
[x] Arthur Sutter
Crocodile/Alligator Mechanic man is a fun idea, and the perks are nice too ;3
[x] Benjamin Kovalevich
Alternatives to Coal Could be useful. Especially if there's a coal shortage.
Zeroth Jupi
Sporadic Writer and Haver of Ideas
- Location
- Somewhere
- Pronouns
- He/She/They
Seems almost everyone so far seems to like Elizabeth and Arthur as options and this amuses me in a good way there can still be arguments made for any of the potential employees also provided some of them are liked enough they may just possibly return
[x] Arthur Sutter
[x] Kenneth Baker
[x] Elizabeth Silvers
[x] Kenneth Baker
[x] Elizabeth Silvers
See my smile
Life...Life never Changes.
- Location
- The Commonwealth
[X] Heidrich Schmidt
-I'm admittedly a little cautious about him. The whole spy past is a bit of a turn-off but, knowledge of more efficient boilers may be just what we need to get ahead of any competition.
[X] Elizabeth Silvers
-Again Connections are going to be our lifeblood in this early game while she may slowly lose usage as time goes on a Sales rep of any skill will be what makes or breaks our company.
[X] Richard Lane
-Bit of a sticky wicket this one. Once-in-a-lifetime genius for sure but, a bit of sand in the gears may just crash our new company. And we don't have endless money to throw at him. But, better we have him than any others.
-I'm admittedly a little cautious about him. The whole spy past is a bit of a turn-off but, knowledge of more efficient boilers may be just what we need to get ahead of any competition.
[X] Elizabeth Silvers
-Again Connections are going to be our lifeblood in this early game while she may slowly lose usage as time goes on a Sales rep of any skill will be what makes or breaks our company.
[X] Richard Lane
-Bit of a sticky wicket this one. Once-in-a-lifetime genius for sure but, a bit of sand in the gears may just crash our new company. And we don't have endless money to throw at him. But, better we have him than any others.
Librarian
SAN Loss Isn't Fun Anymore...
[X] Benjamin Kovalevich
Oil is the key, oil is the future - you would not believe how much coal and solid fuels limited early automotives. Lighter and more efficient per unit of fuel, cleaner running engines which wear out and need less maintenance compared to coal-fired ones, the list goes on. Outracing and outranging the competition on the same track, especially if Mr. Kovalevich ends up as this world's Rudolf Diesel, would be a goldmine.
(Addendum: Safer intra-city metro, stat. But really, cutting down on asbestos poisoning would be fantastic HR props for our "ground crew" employees. Even a combustives research prompting design of better PPE would be nice. OSHA forever!)
Even if his expertise lies in alternative solid fuels instead of true liquid fuels, being able to set up "coaling" stations in completely unexpected areas would secure a laughably strong monopoly in those regions.
[X] Arthur Sutter
Bigger trains, or heavier-loaded trains for the same track - practical to build off of whatever might come out of Benjamin's tinkerings. Plus energy is an important factor for startups, Mr. Sutter's an easy pick for a team leader right off of the bat. Big engines on better suspensions, meaning more room for design even while constrained to any future "national track" is a pretty potent synergy.
(Addendum: give us fantasy Adam Savage.)
[X] Elizabeth Silvers
A good friend is a valuable asset, plus an instant bloc in our favour come any disputes. Contacts are worth much as VoidZero mentioned, and Silvers seems like a protégé in the making, possible VP/Branch Chief for the company after some mentoring.
(Addendum: I can't help but see her as a not!Amiya for some reason. Littlest CEO aura.)
Oil is the key, oil is the future - you would not believe how much coal and solid fuels limited early automotives. Lighter and more efficient per unit of fuel, cleaner running engines which wear out and need less maintenance compared to coal-fired ones, the list goes on. Outracing and outranging the competition on the same track, especially if Mr. Kovalevich ends up as this world's Rudolf Diesel, would be a goldmine.
(Addendum: Safer intra-city metro, stat.
But really, cutting down on asbestos poisoning would be fantastic HR props for our "ground crew" employees. Even a combustives research prompting design of better PPE would be nice. OSHA forever!)Even if his expertise lies in alternative solid fuels instead of true liquid fuels, being able to set up "coaling" stations in completely unexpected areas would secure a laughably strong monopoly in those regions.
[X] Arthur Sutter
Bigger trains, or heavier-loaded trains for the same track - practical to build off of whatever might come out of Benjamin's tinkerings. Plus energy is an important factor for startups, Mr. Sutter's an easy pick for a team leader right off of the bat. Big engines on better suspensions, meaning more room for design even while constrained to any future "national track" is a pretty potent synergy.
(Addendum: give us fantasy Adam Savage.)
[X] Elizabeth Silvers
A good friend is a valuable asset, plus an instant bloc in our favour come any disputes. Contacts are worth much as VoidZero mentioned, and Silvers seems like a protégé in the making, possible VP/Branch Chief for the company after some mentoring.
(Addendum: I can't help but see her as a not!Amiya for some reason. Littlest CEO aura.)
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- Location
- United States
[X] Kenneth Baker - A son of middle-class merchants, Mr. Baker was more of an unremarkable generalist technician in the guilds, truth be told if you had the option to do so you'd be hiring him as security rather than as an engineer - but needs must when Rusaka drives the carriage. He does seem to have an admitted knack for finding unconventional supplies at affordable rates, owing from his latent wheeling-and-dealing skills honed from his apprenticeship with his parents and refined over the course of his service bartering supplies between the perpetually-undersupplied dock crews, both official Navy ones and... greyer sellers.
[X] Elizabeth Silvers - You're still not sure why she is here even after the interview but she does come with some education, a willingness to get her hands dirty provided you find where her talents lie, and apparently more connections than you expected to get the word out about your company when the time comes.
[X] Richard Lane - An irritating Col. Igneous doppelganger with an admittedly astounding level of skill, frankly he would be grossly overqualified working for a startup like yours - if not for his downright flippant attitude rendering the man nearly unemployable. His one saving grace would be his commitment to a task and his desire to create reliable driving and running gear.
[X] Elizabeth Silvers - You're still not sure why she is here even after the interview but she does come with some education, a willingness to get her hands dirty provided you find where her talents lie, and apparently more connections than you expected to get the word out about your company when the time comes.
[X] Richard Lane - An irritating Col. Igneous doppelganger with an admittedly astounding level of skill, frankly he would be grossly overqualified working for a startup like yours - if not for his downright flippant attitude rendering the man nearly unemployable. His one saving grace would be his commitment to a task and his desire to create reliable driving and running gear.
[X] Benjamin Kovalevich
[X] Kenneth Baker
[X] Elizabeth Silvers
[X] Kenneth Baker
[X] Elizabeth Silvers
Zeroth Jupi
Sporadic Writer and Haver of Ideas
- Location
- Somewhere
- Pronouns
- He/She/They
Alright everybody voting is now closed! We have Elizabeth Silvers and Arthur Sutter as the clear first and second winners so they will be kept going forward but as we have a tie between Kenneth Baker and Richard Lane I've decided to do something different than last time instead of flipping a coin y'all will hire them both as a thank y'all for being active here~ Please wait warmly for a post this week or next week!
Also apologies for how this post might look it seems the tally thing doesn't like me much v:
Also apologies for how this post might look it seems the tally thing doesn't like me much v:
Zeroth Jupi
Sporadic Writer and Haver of Ideas
- Location
- Somewhere
- Pronouns
- He/She/They
Alright y'all I made a poll for y'all to vote on for design phases on if y'all want to vote on the general direction of a design phases such as voting for a focus on reliability or power etc. Or do y'all want to vote on specifics like what material and components you would want to use. This poll will close on Monday at 2:20 PM CST
0-4
Zeroth Jupi
Sporadic Writer and Haver of Ideas
- Location
- Somewhere
- Pronouns
- He/She/They
It has been three days since the initial interviews and you were still agonizing over your employee picks. You had decided on hiring both Miss Silvers and Mr. Sutter easily enough on the first day. Still, it was the final person that you would hire that had been giving you difficulties these last three days. You had been given by all accounts spoiled for choice as every applicant had something to advocate for them and though Mr. Schmidt and Kovalevich hadn't made the final cuts; you had compensated both of them one hundred and fifty bloodstones each for their time. This wasn't charity so much as it was a way to keep in their graces that you might be able to hire them, should your business prove successful in the months and years to follow.
This left you with the choice between the irascible genius that was Richard Lane, personally, you'd prefer if he had an attitude change, but you knew how to deal with men of his caliber, and provided you gave them a challenge most would leave you alone to focus on that. On the other side of your debate is the pirate and hidden market dealer Kenneth Baker, the man had connections to foreign markets and was a quick study, also if particular use was just his sheer size as unofficial security. A mountain of a man, he stood as tall as Mr. Kovalevich, which was quite impressive for a human.
Frustrated, you throw up your hands before violently slamming a fist down on the desk in your hotel room. Why in the name of Rusaka was it so hard to just pick one of them to hire? It's not like you could hire them both. You didn't have the resources to pay for them, except you did. You didn't have an idea of how to use both of them together, except you did. What was your argument against hiring them both again?
…You were an absolute muttonhead weren't you? Why not hire them both? Their talents aren't mutually exclusive, but complementary, and it wouldn't be too hard to justify monetarily. And you didn't have to pick between the two of them! Yes, you would have to schedule a meeting with them, Miss Silvers and Mr. Sutter, to deliver the good news.
The day has come and your chosen employees have gathered on the fourth floor again. This time you had remembered to bind your features and donned your old dress uniform, Today would be a most auspicious beginning of work after all nothing but the best would suffice. You ignored the gaudy interior of the fourth floor as you entered the meeting room and took a seat before the others made their entrance in varying states of alertness.
"Good morning everyone I am pleased that all of you were able to arrive without delay," you start off with after everyone has been served the local blend of coffee.
"But of course mister Treerunner, am I correct to assume you asked us to arrive here for more than pleasantries?" Mr. Sutter asked after consuming twelve breakfast biscuits at a methodically fast pace.
"You are correct mister Sutter, I called you here to not only congratulate you all, as you four are officially now under my employ. But to also see if we can start designing a project immediately that we might have a product to sell,"
"Well that's good to hear ma'am, but are we starting the designing in here?"
"Yes, we are starting the designing here. It will be another day before the Foundry will be cleared for habitation." You nod, a smile finding its way to your face. "Now as I stipulated during our interviews you were all hired to help design and build locomotives to further advance civilization, but we must start from humble beginnings and devise this vehicle in parts,"
"Ah assume we're starting with the frame then?" Mr. Lane interjects with a question as he appears unimpressed with your attempt to impart a sense of purpose.
"That is correct Mister Lane, we need a functional frame before we can design anything else as everything must fit on this frame."
"How will we be selling our designs? I would assume you have a plan for this Mister Lilith?" This time it is the striking Miss Silvers as she has a determined look on her face many sheaves of loose parchment in front of her as she appears ready to take down everything said.
"I do indeed, however it is up to change depending upon orders. Our first engine we shall be building more as a proof of concept of the design, get your hands dirty and gain practical knowledge to be applied to any orders forthcoming. So an experimental engine to begin, perhaps to be sold, perhaps not. Shall we depart for the drawing room I have set up for us?" The four would agree in various volumes of voice, the party departing for the main Vaul Ironworks building, a long amount of time ahead for your new creation to take shape, in whatever form it took.
Pick two
[] Focus on Power
[] Focus on Reliability
[] Focus on Speed
[] Focus on Maintenance
[] Focus on Safety
[] Focus on Fuel Consumption & Use
Sorry this took so long for a shorter update but I wanted to make sure I got this the way I envisioned it in my head. In the spirit of doing so, I will now explain the design criteria and how they will be graded. Locomotive design criteria are as follows:
Power - Amount locomotive can haul without traction loss
Reliability - Time between maintenance of locomotive under working conditions
Speed - Speed of locomotive design at peak conditions
Maintenance - Time a locomotive is out of service for repairs
Complexity - How complex the locomotive is with moving parts and materials
Safety - how likely the locomotive is to blow up under adverse conditions
Fuel Consumption and Use - How much of your fuel material a locomotive needs to go a certain distance and how much of the resultant energy it can capture from that material
Each criterion is graded on an X/50 scale and some of the criteria are not a direct focus but a consequence of other designs such as Complexity.
If you have any questions please do ask!
And now for train facts with Hori!
Fun Fact: The engine in the book and movie Polar Express is based on Pere Marquette 1225, a 2-8-4 Berkshire type steam locomotive donated to the Michigan State University by the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad.
Thank you @h0riz0n45 for that fact!
Voting will be open until January 2, at 5 PM CST there will also be a three hour moratorium starting now!
This left you with the choice between the irascible genius that was Richard Lane, personally, you'd prefer if he had an attitude change, but you knew how to deal with men of his caliber, and provided you gave them a challenge most would leave you alone to focus on that. On the other side of your debate is the pirate and hidden market dealer Kenneth Baker, the man had connections to foreign markets and was a quick study, also if particular use was just his sheer size as unofficial security. A mountain of a man, he stood as tall as Mr. Kovalevich, which was quite impressive for a human.
Frustrated, you throw up your hands before violently slamming a fist down on the desk in your hotel room. Why in the name of Rusaka was it so hard to just pick one of them to hire? It's not like you could hire them both. You didn't have the resources to pay for them, except you did. You didn't have an idea of how to use both of them together, except you did. What was your argument against hiring them both again?
…You were an absolute muttonhead weren't you? Why not hire them both? Their talents aren't mutually exclusive, but complementary, and it wouldn't be too hard to justify monetarily. And you didn't have to pick between the two of them! Yes, you would have to schedule a meeting with them, Miss Silvers and Mr. Sutter, to deliver the good news.
The day has come and your chosen employees have gathered on the fourth floor again. This time you had remembered to bind your features and donned your old dress uniform, Today would be a most auspicious beginning of work after all nothing but the best would suffice. You ignored the gaudy interior of the fourth floor as you entered the meeting room and took a seat before the others made their entrance in varying states of alertness.
"Good morning everyone I am pleased that all of you were able to arrive without delay," you start off with after everyone has been served the local blend of coffee.
"But of course mister Treerunner, am I correct to assume you asked us to arrive here for more than pleasantries?" Mr. Sutter asked after consuming twelve breakfast biscuits at a methodically fast pace.
"You are correct mister Sutter, I called you here to not only congratulate you all, as you four are officially now under my employ. But to also see if we can start designing a project immediately that we might have a product to sell,"
"Well that's good to hear ma'am, but are we starting the designing in here?"
"Yes, we are starting the designing here. It will be another day before the Foundry will be cleared for habitation." You nod, a smile finding its way to your face. "Now as I stipulated during our interviews you were all hired to help design and build locomotives to further advance civilization, but we must start from humble beginnings and devise this vehicle in parts,"
"Ah assume we're starting with the frame then?" Mr. Lane interjects with a question as he appears unimpressed with your attempt to impart a sense of purpose.
"That is correct Mister Lane, we need a functional frame before we can design anything else as everything must fit on this frame."
"How will we be selling our designs? I would assume you have a plan for this Mister Lilith?" This time it is the striking Miss Silvers as she has a determined look on her face many sheaves of loose parchment in front of her as she appears ready to take down everything said.
"I do indeed, however it is up to change depending upon orders. Our first engine we shall be building more as a proof of concept of the design, get your hands dirty and gain practical knowledge to be applied to any orders forthcoming. So an experimental engine to begin, perhaps to be sold, perhaps not. Shall we depart for the drawing room I have set up for us?" The four would agree in various volumes of voice, the party departing for the main Vaul Ironworks building, a long amount of time ahead for your new creation to take shape, in whatever form it took.
Pick two
[] Focus on Power
[] Focus on Reliability
[] Focus on Speed
[] Focus on Maintenance
[] Focus on Safety
[] Focus on Fuel Consumption & Use
Sorry this took so long for a shorter update but I wanted to make sure I got this the way I envisioned it in my head. In the spirit of doing so, I will now explain the design criteria and how they will be graded. Locomotive design criteria are as follows:
Power - Amount locomotive can haul without traction loss
Reliability - Time between maintenance of locomotive under working conditions
Speed - Speed of locomotive design at peak conditions
Maintenance - Time a locomotive is out of service for repairs
Complexity - How complex the locomotive is with moving parts and materials
Safety - how likely the locomotive is to blow up under adverse conditions
Fuel Consumption and Use - How much of your fuel material a locomotive needs to go a certain distance and how much of the resultant energy it can capture from that material
Each criterion is graded on an X/50 scale and some of the criteria are not a direct focus but a consequence of other designs such as Complexity.
If you have any questions please do ask!
And now for train facts with Hori!
Fun Fact: The engine in the book and movie Polar Express is based on Pere Marquette 1225, a 2-8-4 Berkshire type steam locomotive donated to the Michigan State University by the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad.
Thank you @h0riz0n45 for that fact!
Voting will be open until January 2, at 5 PM CST there will also be a three hour moratorium starting now!