Good day everyone! Here are the results of the PHO thread that I set up. I would like to thank Shadewing, Honorguard Ra, Mallo, OSRFanatic0, CorEagle, StarRunner01, Ckosacranoid, cailco, MAGNUS1337, OolongTeaDrinker and godzillahomer for participating. I am posting another starter in the PHO thread that will follow the events of 2.4 to 2.6, which includes the press conference and the running of Roger's Rangers so if you want to participate, please re-read those to freshen up your knowledge. Thanks again to those who helped with this and please enjoy this first PHO interlude.
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Brocktonite03
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♦ Topic: Explosions in the Trainyard
In: Boards ► Places ► America ► Brockton Bay
Brocktonite03 (Original Poster)
Posted On August 31, 2008:
What the hell is going on out there?! I was in the middle of enjoying a nice dream when an explosion startled me awake. Successive explosions in the same direction as the first make it sound like they originated in the abandoned Trainyards.
I managed to get a pic from my apartment balcony of the last mushroom cloud and the remnants of the previous ones before they dissipated.
Does anybody live near there? Those detonations probably woke up the whole city. 1:10 in the morning is not a good time to do that sort of thing. Unless you want the whole city to be cranky from lack of sleep.
>See attached pic
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FresserFreight
Replied On August 31, 2008:
That's where those bangs came from? Someone must be moving on the Merchants, they are the only ones that hang out there any more.
Or maybe Skiddy just got bored and wanted a party?
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CapeScrape
Replied On August 31, 2008:
Damn it! It's too early!! I have work in the morning!!! It is morning!!!! I'm using too many (!)!!!!!!
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DemoDocker
Replied On August 31, 2008:
Mushroom cloud? Maybe someone is messing with the old fuelling area at the yard?
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Brocktonite03
Replied On August 31, 2008:
I'm not seeing anymore explosions but there is a lot of odd light flashes. The angle is bad from my balcony though, I can't get a good look.
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Username987235
Replied On August 31, 2008:
I need to turn off my alerts at night. *Ding'a Ling Ding* over and over. What's this about explosions?
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CuriousRail
Replied On August 31, 2008:
I hope they stay away from the roundhouse.
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DisgruntledJumper
Replied On August 31, 2008:
*Groan* What can't these idiots let us sleep?😩
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Username987235
Replied On August 31, 2008:
What's a roundhouse?
Edit: Actually, it's too late and the other side of town. I'm going back to bed.
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SheffieldBobby04 (Verified Law Enforcement) (Unverified Bobby)
Replied On August 31, 2008:
Huh, I don't usually see activity from Brockton till about dinner time.
What entertainment from across the pond can I expect today?
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FresserFreight
Replied On August 31, 2008:
A roundhouse is where train locomotives are stored out of the elements.
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CuriousRail
Replied On August 31, 2008:
It's where the engines stay at night!
Edit: Strangered!!
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Streamline (Steam Enthusiast)
Replied on: August 31, 2008:
I wish I was still asleep, but those explosions from the Trainyards have me wide awake. Correction, I thought I was awake. I know I live in Brockton Bay, but I just saw a pair of flying diesel locomotives that were covered in lights.
Edit:
Grabbed my binoculars. Those lights were people. They're too far away for me to make out any real detail, but we have haunted trains now. WTF?
Edit 2:
There's a bunch of idiots on the rails, and they're shooting at the trains. Guys, the train riders are shooting back. It smells like a Marijuana field outside, and now Ghosts are having a gun battle against our local druggies. My camera on my phone is crap or I'd record this. Does anyone else have a better view?
Edit 3:
Is it still a drive-by if the shooters are riding trains?
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Forscher (Verified not a Nazi)
Replied on August 31, 2008:
Crap it sounds like the fourth of july from all the gun shots.
Going to hav ta give this job a wash there's going to be a lot of heat.
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Freepaper99 (Doesn't actually give out free paper)
Replied on August 31, 2008:
...So Much Noise! They woke up family.
And there goes Mom calling the Police.
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Reave (Verified PRT Agent)
Replied On August 31, 2008:
Well, the whole Rig is wide awake now. Armsmaster set off the equivalent of our General Quarters alarm in the midst of the explosions. I was in the middle of starting my weekly early morning Console shift when he did so. Startled the whole platform that's for sure. I can't say much since I'm on duty but he, Miss Militia and numerous agents are lighting out to see what is going on. More to come when I am able.
(Showing page 2 of 4)
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Sothoth
Replied On August 31, 2008:
The Trainyards exploding again? *sigh* I'm picking up my gun and camera. Brockton Bay is too wild sometimes, man.
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Brocktonite03 (Original Poster)
Replied On August 31, 2008:
@Demodocker
No, the fueling depot is further west of the explosions, which looked to be centered in the yard itself and the switch junction between it and the locomotive facilities, which the depot is a part of. I admit I may have oversold the description, but either there was a lot of explosives being used or there was something loaded on one of the old boxcars that didn't react well.
@Forscher
So there is a gunbattle going on now? Can you tell how serious it is based on how much there is? I can see little pinpricks of flashing in the distance, but can't really distinguish how big the fight is.
@Streamline
Ghosts and flying trains? What are you going on about? The smoke is starting to drift west so I can't see any major details like that.
@Sothoth
Stay safe out there! Don't take any unnecessary risks getting pictures and video for us.
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ForTheHive (Not a Hivemind)
Replied on: August 31, 2008:
@Streamline
Great, now the Bay has GHOST TRAINS as well? Yet another reason not to go out at night.
Well, here's hoping they stick to targeting the gangs, I don't want my soul taken.
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Void_Cowboy
Replied on: August 31, 2008:
I am telling you all its aliens man, aliens.
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ForTheHive (Not a Hivemind)
Replied on: August 31, 2008:
I'm sorry everyone, but I have to ask.
@Void_Cowboy
What makes you think it's aliens, and if it was, why would they pretend to be ghost trains?
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HereWeGoAgain (HadEnough)
Replied on: August 31, 2008:
@ ForTheHive,
Come on. don't encourage the little
*Modified by Mod*. We have enough problems with the rest of Brockton without Void adding to it.
User received an infraction for this post: Please keep language polite and don't swear to other users, no matter how much they may or may not deserve it.
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A_real (Admin)
Replied on: August 31, 2008:
@ Voidcowboy Please don't make me ban you for the *looks at notes*. Man, just please don't.
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Void_Cowboy
Replied on: August 31, 2008:
The aliens come down here and they have to hide among us somehow. We have super powers. The old comics also have aliens showing up also to try to help and to take over earth. What better way to fit then ghost trains. They help out at first. Then once they get our trust, then BOOM. They take over like pod people and you did not know they take over.
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Streamline (Steam Enthusiast)
Replied on: August 31, 2008:
@Brocktonite03
You know those little walkways with rails that are on locomotives? There were 2 Diesels that flew past my apartment, and there were Ghosts hanging on to those little railings. The guns they were using are odd though. The muzzle flash is the wrong color and it looks like they're firing tracer rounds. I can hear when the Merchants fire, but the Ghost guns are super quiet from where I am.
@ForTheHive (Not a Hivemind)
Stay inside and you should be fine. Just make sure you have a ticket if you ride the rails anytime soon. Not sure you want a Ghost Conductor pissed at you.
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CuriousRail
Posted on: August 31, 2008:
@Streamline
Flying loco's?
! What were they?
You said diesel, with railings right? They must be freight📦 engines!
Were they long with one end of the body getting smaller? Was the cab bigger than the body?
Sorry about the questions, I just wondering if any of the old engines from the yard were hurt☹️ or if these are new special para-trains.
Edit: Oh, what color were they painted?
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FresserFreight
Posted on: August 31, 2008:
I wonder if the track got damaged. I know that there's no freight scheduled for months but isn't the Amtrak due tomorrow?
Hey @AmtrakOfficial can you confirm if you have a passenger service due through the Bay?
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Heimerdinger (Verified Cape) (Toybox Affiliate)
Replied on August 31, 2008:
Basically... Trains are taking over BB? I, for one, welcome the new Land Transportation Overlord.
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Forscher (Verified not a Nazi)
Replied on August 31, 2008:
@Brocktonite03 Yo it's like the empire fighting abb So yeah pretty serious
mostly small arms fire maybe a few long guns.... i mean if i knew anything about guns. wtf peeps passin me headin back toward the yard.... you do you bay.
►Brocktonite03 (Original Poster)
Replied on August 31, 2008:
The flashes of light from the gunfire seemed to have died down from my point of view, though the lights of what I assume are police and PRT vehicles are advancing toward the area. I can't wait to see what the explanation they provide will be.
►Leet (Verified Cape) (Gamer Extraordinaire)
Replied on August 31, 2008;
@Brocktonite03
You won't have to wait that long. I got the Snitch up in the air just after the last explosion and have been recording since then. I captured images of the damage to the Trainyard, including destroyed and burning boxcars as well as a damaged switching junction. Then as I moved it west toward the Roundhouse, I noticed the ongoing gunfight and recorded it till it's end.
Streamline was correct, there were flying trains, though they did descend back to the rails and flank the attackers on both sides. The attackers, who were scruffy enough to be Merchants, got mauled by the ghosts that were reported, though it's more likely they are projections. They were firing from the train engines, the switching tower and the roofs of the Roundhouse and car shops. After the gunfire stopped, I counted around 35 individuals on the ground and a number of knocked out vehicles. The weapons of the ghosts seemed to act like stun weapons and ion cannons.
I'll leave you all with the recording I have so far. I'm going to start a new one and type up a commentary here.
>See recording
(Showing page 3 of 4)
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Streamline (Steam Enthusiast)
Replied on: August 31, 2008:
@Leet
Projections, not Ghosts? Any way we can verify this? Projections make sense, but the Gangs making our city so craptastic that the dead awake and take up arms to make them pipe down... well, that's just funny in a "Why do I still live here sort of way". Not moving, partially because no one sane wants to move TO Brockton Bay, but mostly because this is my hometown.
Any chance the Snitch got an ID on the flying trains make, model, or color?
@CuriousRail
Sorry about the late response, my mind's not really with me. Sleep deprivation and an Explosive wakeup clearly don't mix well. Freight engines sound about right, wish I could give you info on make and model. Not really a Diesel fan. Nothing against them, just like Steam Locos more. As for color, to dark and too far away for me to tell. Sorry.
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Forscher (Verified not a Nazi)
Replied on: August 31, 2008:
There goes the bomb squad and another fire company. My night is a bust you all take care and fight the good fight.
F
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Void_Cowboy
Replied on: August 31, 2008:
I told you it aliens. Now we have ghosts and the undead? I mean I am not the only person seeing things at least this time.
Leet (Verified Cape) (Gamer Extraordinaire)
Replied on: August 31, 2008:
@Streamline
A quick search leads me to images of the EMD GP-9 and GP-40-2. Both are painted in the maroon with gold stripe paint job formerly used by the Boston and Maine. Looks pretty fresh too.
Anyway, the projections/ghosts seem to be binding the arms and feet of the attackers with some kind of spectral ropes. It appears they are paying special attention to one of the goons. Half a dozen are pointing their rifles at the guy.
Oh. And here comes the authorities, just in the nick of time. Miss Militia and Armsmaster are at the head of the pack of cars and vans they brought along.
They appear to be looking for whoever is in charge. They are talking to one of the spooks now. Oh, what's this, a new projection just popped onto the scene. Looks like a girl in a classic train engineer's uniform.
PHO, I do believe we have our cape responsible for the flying trains. I wonder what her name is.
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ForTheHive (Not a Hivemind)
Replied on: August 31, 2008:
Well, now that we're reasonably certain that the Ghost Trains are the result of a cape:
Lung vs. Surprise Ghost Train.
If Lung hears it coming, he wins. If he doesn't, then The Ghost Conductor wins.
Unless The Conductor (I'm voting that we give them this name till told otherwise) can only make trains on pre-existing tracks, then Lung wins by lot standing on the tracks like an idiot. And as much as I hate Lung, he's not an idiot.
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Streamline (Steam Enthusiast)
Replied on: August 31, 2008:
@ForTheHive (Not a Hivemind)
I just had a weird thought. Isekai scenarios happen when you get hit by a box truck, so what if you get hit by a train? Does getting hit by a different vehicle change the genre? Sleep deprived minds are curious.
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ForTheHive (Not a Hivemind)
Replied on: August 31, 2008:
@Streamline
Great, now I'm imagining Lung trapped in a children's TV show. And he's forced to go along with it because the characters are the only way he can get back.
►Leet (Verified Cape) (Gamer Extraordinaire)
Replied on: August 31, 2008:
It seems the meeting is wrapping up. The boys in blue are hauling the attackers away, who all seem to be unconscious. They seem to giving special attention to the one guy who had half a dozen rifles pointing at him. Maybe they got an important lieutenant or even Skidmark himself? Anyone have contacts inside the Merchants that could reveal more about what happened tonight?
►Reave (Verified PRT Agent)
Replied on: August 31, 2008:
Armsmaster has permitted me to update you all on the situation. With the cooperation of a new cape, he and Miss Militia were able to arrest Skidmark and 35 of his unpowered goons just a few minutes ago. There was no signs of Squealer being involved in the attack so her whereabouts are unknown at this time.
Skidmark appears to have felt that the new Cape, whose moniker is Dispatcher by the way, was muscling in on his territory. Which is weird, because I haven't heard anything about a new parahuman moving into the Trainyards, though the BBPD did receive complaints of train noise in the yard yesterday afternoon. I wonder if the higher ups were keeping Dispatcher on the down low. Armsmaster promised an official announcement with greater details later this morning so we'll just have to wait and see.
Anyway, the Merchants have been cut down to size as a gang overnight. I wonder what the new dynamic will be like with this apparently young teenage cape taking over all the rails in the city.
►Brocktonite03 (Original Poster)
Replied on: August 31, 2008:
Thanks for the update Reave. Keep up the good work.
So, the Merchants move to kick out a new, unknown cape and she proceeds to ripe them a new one. If that isn't welcome news, despite the early wake-up, I don't know what is. What does everyone else think?
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ForTheHive (Not a Hivemind)
Replied on: August 31, 2008:
So their name is Dispatcher? Still prefer The Conductor, but as we don't know how their powers work, it might make more sense to them...
What I want to know is: are they a new member of the Wards or just on good terms with our glorious overworked protectors?
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Streamline (Verified Steam Enthusiast)
Replied on August 31, 2008:
@Reave
The new cape has Train Powers? Interesting... so, Shaker for the "flying trains" bit, and Master for the projections? That's if both events were done by the same person.
Does anyone know if there are any nonclaimed steam engines sitting around, cause I know who they should go to.
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BrocktonBayHobbies (Verified Retailer) (Hobbyist Destination)
Replied on August 31, 2008:
@Streamline
There is indeed a few steam engines left in the city. Dispatcher most likely has her hands on one already. There used to be a Railroad Museum based on the Trainyard grounds, which they acquired after the Boston and Maine went belly up following the port closure. The Museum had several diesels in addition to 3 steam engines.
I have it on good authority that they had one of the B&M's named 4-6-2 Heavy Pacifics in the Roundhouse and two other locomotives in a storage shed in what is now the Boat Graveyard. The 4-6-2 was in good working order as it did local excursions, but the other two needed work. I don't remember their wheel arrangements or types though, my apologies.
However, the Museum also went bankrupt and left everything sitting in place. They apparently overspent their budget and couldn't get any good loans, so they closed up shop. The Merchants eventually moved into the area and I never got any news of the engines ever again. Hopefully they were left alone, but I'm not expecting good news.
-Ted Banks, Owner and Proprieter of Bay Hobbies
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LocoForLocos (Locomotive Hobbyist)
Replied on August 31, 2008:
@Streamline
When Leviathan hit Seattle in '03, the aftershock of its waves hit Tacoma, and shredded Engine 1364, a Class S-4 Vauclain model, which had been sitting there since 1954. I commissioned a few people up in Redmond, and together we created a replica. If someone with the right resources were to work on it, they could probably replace the model parts with real ones, but I didn't have the money for that. Unfortunately, while she is most definitely just 'sitting around and doing nothing', she cost a small fortune to build even without the important parts, and as much as I'd love nothing more than to see her running new routes, she's fairly heavy, and I don't know if the UPS accepts packages of that size. If Dispatcher ever decides to take a stroll over to good ol' Washington, though, I'll see what I can do.
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Streamline (Verified Steam Enthusiast)
Replied on August 31, 2008:
@BrocktonBayHobbies
There's still hope the steam engines aren't too badly damaged. Dispatcher is new, so we have no idea what kind of bullshit they bring to the Bay. If they can revive rail traffic in the area, it would help the economy. Wait, you said a named engine was in BB? Any idea who our esteemed guest is?
@LocoForLocos
Class S-4 Vauclain model? I'm actually not familiar with that one.
Edited for added content--
Did a bit of research. That's a 2-3-4 model, and just needs parts swapped to go from upsize display piece to functional? What needs to be swapped? There may be some spares in the locomotive maintenance building that I'm pretty sure is on site. Couldn't tell you if we actually have the parts or what condition they're in.
@Reave (Verified PRT Agent)
Dispatcher is our new Lord of the Rails, any chance we can get them to weigh in on this? Steam Locos were a dying breed before the Endbringers started ruining things. Every one we save is a piece of history we reclaim.
(Showing page 4 of 4)
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ForTheHive (Not a Hivemind)
Replied on August 31, 2008:
How independent are Dispatcher's projections? Could they delegate PR through one of them? Can they summon up a receptionist?
Can they summon up military trains? I'm not a train enthusiast, but I would not be surprised if there were some artillery or machine gun platform train cars somewhere in the depths of history.
Do the trains they summon have to have existed, or can they summon up trains that have only existed on blueprints?
Can Dispatcher send their projections outside of our "fine" city, or will they just vanish, dropping whatever they were hauling on the tracks?
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ThreeSquaredElms (Not a Brit)
Replied on August 31, 2008:
@ForTheHive
Military trains you say... I know of some from Europe.
First off, any artillery pieces will not be that useful for Dispatcher, they're designed for longer range combat than most cape fights tend to be.
There's the Schwerer Gustav. A massive frick off railway gun built by Nazi Germany.
23 feet and 4 inches long, 38 feet and a single inch tall, and with a gun barrel that is over 100 feet long.
It weights nearly 1,500 tons, so about 3/4s of a ton of tons.
But this is also a design that is likely to be useless for Dispatcher, it takes up two tracks and isn't designed to be transported around hole. It takes a crew of 250 54 hours to assemble or disassemble the gun. 2,500 to lay tracks and dig embankments. And a pair of anti-air battalions to protect it from bombers.
Capes are too small of a target to hit with it reliably and an Endbringer will likely not be hurt at all by it. Also, it has trouble hitting targets that are less than 24 miles from it, so not at all close ranged.
There are smaller railway guns than the Gustav, but these are still artillery pieces, not likely to be useful fighting capes or gangs.
What would be more useful would be a scaled up version of the armored train the Romney, Hythe, and Dymchurch Railway in the UK ran during WWII.
The 15 inch gauge RH&DR took a pair of hopper wagons and their number 5 and converted them into an armored train.
Armor plated hoppers and 4-8-2 locomotive that are armed with a pair of anti tank rifles and a pair of machine guns; at least judging from the pictures.
Was crewed by about 5 soldiers, but scale that up and one could likely fit quite a few more, along with heavier weaponry. And if I remember right, the RH&DR shot down some Nazi Germany aircraft.
Lastly, as a joke, there's also the LB&SCR D3 Class tank engine. One of these 0-4-4Ts got shot up by a Nazi Germany Fighter pilot... The D3 was not pleased and responded by shelling the plane with her dome after her boiler burst. The plane landed in some water and the pilot drowned. The plane was used in the Allied war effort as a source of materials. The loco was repaired and put back into service. No one on the D3 or the passenger train she was pulling died.
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BrocktonBayHobbies (Verified Retailer) (Hobbyist Destination)
Replied on August 31, 2008:
@Streamline
Sorry, my friend, I don't remember which one it was. It's been too long since the last time it ran. I'd have to go find the proper documentation. I do know that one of its sister locomotives, The Consitution, is in the Steamtown Museum of Scranton, Pennsylvania. Maybe they would know off the top of their heads. I'm sure they had contact with the Brockton Bay Railroad Museum before it went bankrupt.
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Reave (Verified PRT Agent)
Replied on August 31, 2008:
@Streamline
I can't answer a lot of questions at this time, as I haven't been briefed on the details so I can't answer ForTheHive as a result, but Dispatcher is a minor, as Leet's recording can confirm, so she's probably back to bed soon. We probably won't hear much about her powers until she's able to speak to the press, who I imagine will be demanding answers themselves. We'll have to wait and see.
