What is a Cable Train?
New readers probably saw their very first mention of "cable train" by Daniel Orville Carter in the beginning of the Third Level Society story series. This article will give a clear explanation on precisely what a "cable train" is. In summary, though, the cable train was one of the most common modes of transit throughout Remikra between the years 1200 and 1300. And such networks existed in two different categories: Long-Distance Cable Trains and Short-Distance Cable Trains.
Long-Distance Cable Trains
At their peak, long-distance cable trains reached speeds of up to 250 miles per hour. Each cable train consisted of twelve cable train cars: one engineer-control car at each end, and ten passenger cars between them. Each passenger car was divided into three sections: the first and third sections dedicated each to four passenger rooms split by an aisle down the middle, and the second middle section dedicated to a Dining Room and Lounge.
Each passenger room consisted of four passenger seats each capable of converting into a bed; while each said passenger room had its own toilet. Meanwhile, each passenger car had common toilets as well as maintenance/staff rooms at either end of the car.
The cable rail, itself, was made of a special flexible solid composite that kept the rail line mostly straight between each cable tower while facilitating a smooth ride. Each cable train car hung off the cable rail via a series of special hooks each in the shape of a near-circle and keeping itself in place by super-magnetic force. Both rail and train were suspended off cable towers between 100 and 200 feet above the ground.
At its peak, the long-distance cable train network in Middle Remikra connected Retun, all Retunian Provincial capitals, and major Retunian cities including Hasphitat, South Masonia, and West Terredon. However, this network expanded beyond Retunian borders to connect Locin and all Locinian provincial capitals, as well as all the major cities and Duchy capitals in the Great North.
This vast network was powered by electricity originating from hubstone batteries stationed at every cable tower. Ultimately, this network facilitated the quick and convenient mass-transit of passengers either traveling or commuting.
Long-Distance History
The first cable rail line opened commercially in 1201, serving the cities of Hasphitat, Bridgetown, and Jestopole. This line quickly gained popularity, leading it to be nicknamed the Gilded Line.
In 1206, the St. Eschel Extension opened, connecting Hasphitat, St. Eschel, and South Masonia. This was followed by the Lerutan Extension in 1209, the Terredon Extension in 1213, and the Edora Line in 1214. In 1216, construction was completed for the first Great Northern network, which connected the cities of Terredon, Edora, Anadon, Daylram, Kram, and Cales. This was followed by the opening of the Basin Project Line (to present-day Retun) in 1231.
Cable rail expansion resumed after the Retunian Revolution with the opening of the Maryk Line in 1245 and the establishment in 1255 of the National Retunian Cable Rail Authority, which oversaw a network of cable rail lines connecting the existing network thus far with the cities of Pimdan, Savel, and Ligam.
In 1261, Retunian Prime Minister Edward Jackson sold cable rail trains to private cable rail companies while maintaining ownership of the cable rails. In 1265, cable rail lines connected the cities of Egdir and Jo Reneed. In 1267, Prime Minister Jackson signed legislation allowing cable rail companies to purchase all existing cable rail infrastructure. These companies expanded their newly-acquired cable rail network in 1272 to establish the Great Northern Sector, or the Edoran and Linbraean Sectors officially, which connected all Regiondom and Duchy capital cities. The cable rail industry continued its expansion to establish the Abetz-Locin Line in 1273, the Bordergate-Arukas-Asoratans Line in 1276, and in 1284, the Locinian Sector, which connected Locin proper with all Locinian Provincial capitals.
The year 1284 was, in hindsight, the peak of the cable rail era.
Between 1285 and 1287, cable rail companies attempted to negotiate with the Lykian Republic in the hopes of establishing cable rail lines connecting major cities in Canticula. However, diplomatic fallout between the Retunian and Lykian Republics, and the resulting Lykian War, forced this agenda to be scrapped. Cable rail companies then turned their focus toward Northeast Ancondria, where they began construction of the Ancondrian Test Line between 1288 and 1290. An economic recession in 1290, however, forced the cable rail industry to discontinue this project as well.
The Little Market Crash of 1290 led to a major drop in passenger ticket revenues for the cable rail industry, an issue compounded by the high maintenance costs of the physical infrastructure. Thus, the cable rail industry was forced to sell the poorly-performing Locinian Sector to the nation of Locin, itself. This transaction occurred in 1291; and in 1292, a new Locinian Presidential Administration elected into power decided to sell the Sector to the scrapping industry, keeping only a part of each cable tower to convert into a gyro-transmission tower dedicated to an emerging gyro-positioning airship industry.
For context, this new airship structure, invented by an engineer from Lotemn, was proposed for government funding in the Remikran Union. The Federal Estates of Retun rejected the proposal, thanks to the cable train lobby. But the new idea, facilitating the landing of airships without the use of airship tether-cables, was accepted for partial funding by Linbrae, Edora, and Locin. When the 1290s recession took shape, Locin embraced this new way of travel, giving GP airship infrastructure full funding.
This, alas, meant the phasing-out of the cable rail industry, which had its limitations, as was shown by the Linbraean Regiondom following the same path as Locin, decommissioning its cable rail lines between the years 1293 and 1294. The cable rail lobby succeeded in getting the Retunian government to legally ban GP airship investment and development, and tried to do the same with the Remikran Union in Cotts. However, that latter agenda failed. And between 1295 and 1296, the Edoran Regiondom purchased the Edoran Sector and sold most of its cable rail lines for scrap. However, the Edoran Regiondom signed a compromise with the cable rail lobby to keep the cable rail lines connecting Terredon, Edora, Anadon, Kram, and Cales.
Then came the Great Market Crash of 1301.
In the wake of this economic crisis, the cable rail industry sold and scrapped the remaining Great Northern Sector in October 1301. This was followed by the decommission of the lines connecting Savel and Pimdan in November, the lines connecting Jo Reneed and Egdir in December, the Terredon Extension in January 1302, and the Lerutan and St. Eschel Extensions in February 1302.
In March 1302, the original Gilded Line connecting Hasphitat and Jestopole, the world's last remaining long-distance cable rail line, was decommissioned, sold, and scrapped.
Short-Distance Cable Trains
The second category of cable train infrastructure, short-distance, went by the nickname: tram. With top speeds of 60 miles per hour, the car structure of these short-distance counterparts is somewhat the same as the long-distance ones, with an engineer-control car at opposite ends and five passenger cars in the middle. However, each short-distance passenger car was divided into two sections, with the first section consisting of five rows of four seats, divided by an aisle in the middle and the second section consisting of a snack bar and lounge. Common toilets and maintenance/staff rooms lined either end of each passenger car.
While short-distance cable rails were made of the same flexible-solid composite, short-distance cars hung off the rail via firm wheels, not magnetism. Short-distance cable rail towers were shorter in height, about 50 to 100 feet.
The typical short-distance destination network was a lot smaller, consisting of the airport or transit hub, and various sections of town. Like its long-distance counterparts, short-distance cable train networks were powered by hubstone batteries at each cable tower as the network facilitated the mass transit of regular commuters. Short-distance cable train networks developed earlier than the large-scale infrastructure, and outlasted the 1301 Market Crash. But these networks were eventually phased out during the first decade of the 1300s.
The Cabotton Network
The Cabotton Cable Train Network, the one mentioned by Daniel Carter, was constructed between 1236 and 1237, commissioned by Cabotton University and funded by University donors. The University sold this Network to the town of Cabotton proper in 1245. The Network survived the 1301 Market Crash and even the emergence of the gyroplane industry, which had put plenty of other transit alternatives out of business. It was only in 1367, during the forced evacuation of the entirety of Gentry County, that this cable rail network ceased to exist.