User:Zither24/sandbox

Overview
Short Line No. 6, sometimes marketed as the Krasnavsky Line after large lake at its center, was constructed between 1885 and 1893 to access the coal mines in the mountains around lake Krasnavsky, known as the Krasnavsky range or Krasnavsky deposit. The lake, already a minor tourist attraction, was ringed by the railway and significant passenger amenities, including two resorts, were constructed almost concurrently to exploit the lake's well known beauty and purported curative properties. Operated by a succession of state-run firms: the Imperial Größer-Zubrowkan Reichsbahn, the inter-war (Republic of Zubrowka) State Railways, and the Communist-era Zubrowkan SSR State Railways the line fell into private hands when, reeling from the fall of Communism and facing a incipient civil war, the fledgling Zubrowkan government ordered the closure of all non-electrified rail lines with little regard for their economic value. Line Foreman N.V. Borowski, realizing that the isolated Krasnavsky valley would collapse without the line, and the relevance of the coal still being extracted from the nearby mines, negotiated its purchase for an undisclosed but reportedly meager sum that accounted for only the surveyed value of the land the railway occupied and not the tracks or facilities. It has operated year-round since that time, with coal-hauling as its backbone and growing passenger traffic, drawing tourists from the world over due its continued revenue operation of steam locomotives.

Construction and Imperial Era
The quality and quantity of the coal in the Krasnavsky deposit was known as early as 1864, when exploratory shafts were first dug. The first mine, opened in 1871, relied on horse teams to carry the coal down the mountain and out of the valley. Even then it was understood a railway would be needed to fully exploit the mines. To that end, Prince Lev II, eager to placate his restive eastern province with a project of positive economic impact, gave assent to the survey and rapid construction of a line to the Krasnavsky mines in 1880. Double-track mainline reached the Krasnavsky foothills quickly but penetrating the mountain range and actually reaching the mines was another matter. A narrow gauge line was immediately proposed and seriously considered, but the mine owners and some in the Reichsbahn called for a standard gauge line so that heavy coal cars could be brought directly to the industrial west without a change of gauge. The ensuing debate and the bullion panic of 1882 stalled construction but in 1885 the decision was taken to lay standard gauge track all the way to the mines. This would entail a feat of standard-gauge mountain-climbing the likes of which had at the time only been seen in Switzerland and the American west. An international team of surveyors and railway builders was engaged under the leadership of Zubrowkan engineer W.P. Tzetin. Blasting with nitroglycerin made short work of the foothills, creating a single track spur off the mainline and into the heart of Krasnavsky. The farming town of Dakanya was reached by 1887 and it became a boomtown, thick with railway workers eager to spend what were some of the highest wages ever payed for that type of work in eastern Europe. Double track was laid at water level, parallel to the western shore of the lake, to enable fast running and minimize the risk of derailment and collision. At Milgaberg the lines split, one entering a system of switchbacks to climb to the mines themselves and the other proceeding to the eastern side of the lake to serve tourist traffic. Thirty-two men were killed in the construction of the railway, most in a single blasting incident in 1890. Though hauling coal by 1891, the line was officially declared completed and open by Crown Princess Cecilia in 1893. The massive project had transformed the sleepy Krasnavsky region into an increasing cosmopolitan destination. Though largely peopled by miners and farmers, a complex of chalets beyond the mines, at the absolute summit of Mount Krasnavsky, and a sprawling resort on the lake shore, attracted tourists and summer-residents in the tens of thousands. At the same time, mine owners and engineers began to construct houses and estates of their own, importing styles and materials from throughout the continent and creating a "millionaire's quarter" in Milgaberg.

Inter-War Years
The industrial importance of Krasnavsky's coal was not in the least diminished by the geopolitical changes that followed World War One though tourist traffic slumped as Zubrowka's German-speaking upper classes largely fled. Many of the larger estates were divided to be sublet and by 1921 were occupied by the native Zubrowkan middle class. Once one of many vacation spots on the sprawling Reichsbahn the greatly diminished Republic's railway network considered Lake Krasnavsky as the sole jewel in its crown when it came to holiday-making. Posters in crowded cities advertised boating on the lake and cheap fares. Meanwhile, improvements in mining technology brought larger hauls than ever before. By 1925 general prosperity, though plainer and led by a different set of statesmen and magnates had returned to the region. The Great Depression put a near-total end to tourist traffic but the line soldiered on, bringing the valley's miners the comforts of the wider world and their hard won coal to the furnaces of all Europe.

World War 2
The line changed hands several times, first overrun by the Germans in 1940 and then by the Soviets in 1944. The miners and railwaymen were largely spared the horrors of the war and occupation, as the coal was vital to the war efforts of the belligerents. During this period the "Eagle and Driving Wheel" insignia worn by the locomotives and railwaymen, proscribed by the Germans and Soviets, were gathered and hidden in the home of line foreman W.K. Borowski. The locomotives, some of which had been named for Zubrowkan heroes, were rendered nameless and the bulk of the fleet was confiscated by retreating Germans to replace engines destroyed by partisan activities and enemy shelling. They left the most antique engines and rolling stock, much in non-operable condition.

Communist Control
The Zubrowkan SSR's Russian masters were initially eager to exploit the mines at Krasnavsky but with the mainline in utter disrepair, Short Line No. 6 had little connection to the outside world and sat largely dormant. When the mainline was rebuilt in 1955 operations began again in earnest. Much of the heavy hauling was now done by visiting mainline locomotives, many of them captured Kreigsloks. This left the lines antique native engines with mixed traffic work around the lake and occasional trips up the switchbacks hauling mining equipment and the miners themselves. Pleas for new equipment were rejected but a small allowance was given to rebuild the extant locomotives and was put to excellent use. Though not the most aesthetically sympathetic improvement projects, the line's small fleet was notably modernized. Aside from this, stagnation reigned. Though ostensibly slated for electrification, easy access to coal and curving, tree lined right of way with a restricted loading gauge meant such an effort would be a costly challenge with little economic benefit and so it was repeatedly delayed. A near-perpetual diesel motive power shortage throughout the SSR and the noncompetitive cost of diesel fuel meant that despite lower speeds and higher labor requirements, the steam locomotives persisted.

Into Private Ownership
With the Fall of Communism Zubrowka was once again an independent nation. Never seen as ethnically Russian and a constant source of nationalist, anti-Soviet pressure, their infrastructure had always been a low priority and the use of both mainline and spur line steam was seen as the legacy of of neglect and misrule. With equipment from western Europe and the United States, mainline steam was quickly eliminated. Diesels were destined for Short Line No. 6 when, in 1991, faced with the threat of civil war by a strongly pro-European modernizing faction the government, in a stroke, announced the closure of all non-electrified rail lines to redirect funds toward an abortive high speed rail effort as part of a broader modernization package. This left the Krasnavsky region in a precarious situation: with only a two lane road, too narrow and poorly laid to support heavy trucks and often closed by snow in winter, the coal and fledgling tourist industries faced collapse. Line Foreman N.V. Borowski stepped in, believing, based on stories about the Beeching cuts in the United Kingdom, that he and the citizens of the valley could purchase the line and keep it alive. With relatively substantial personal wealth, attributed to smuggling during the latter years of Communist rule, Borowski fronted the largest share of the buyout, backstopped by the newly privatized mines. Even so, had the line been priced at anything near its true value the effort would have been impossible. Corrupt or incompetent state appraisers, however, massively undervalued it by counting only the land owned by the line. With no mineral deposits under the line itself and the soil rendered completely non-arable by over a century of railway operations, they declared the land to be virtually worthless and so Borowski secured the entire line for even less than he had planned to spend and ultimately becoming its sole owner. He now controlled five locomotives and 75 rail cars, nine stations and halts, an engine shed and marshaling yard, two signal boxes, and 190 km of track. Though entirely operable, his newfound empire was relatively decrepit, the lines overgrown with weeds and wildflowers and the stations, though impressive in their old imperial style, plagued with leaky roofs, cracked windows, and heated largely by coal stoves. Borowski, with a staff of six, managed to operate the line safely but did not invest in its physical appearance as that had no bearing on its coal-hauling mission. His only concession to aesthetics was the return of the "Eagle and Driving Wheel" to locomotives and uniforms.

Continued Operation
In 1996 N.V. Borowski was diagnosed with cancer and was largely bedridden. His daughter, Sonya, only 21 at the time, took control of daily operations at first as his agent and later as sole decision maker for the line. With the assistance of international railway enthusiasts, who were visiting in increasing numbers to catch a glimpse of steam locomotives in regular, revenue service, S. Borowski oversaw the restoration of the mainline steam locomotive Błyskawica (Lightning). This was a 2-8-2 mixed traffic locomotive used between 1923 and 1939 to haul express tourist trains during the summer and fast coal during the winter. Mothballed due an incomplete rebuild at the onset of war and largely forgotten at the rear of the engine shed it barely avoided German and Soviet confiscation by being the wrong gauge for Russian railways and far less efficient than a Kreigslok when speed was not required. Incorporating the concepts of L.D. Porta power output and efficiency were notably increased and permission was granted to pull long coal trains on the mainline as far as the coal terminus at Volenskara. The restoration was carried out with N.V. Borowski's input and was, purportedly, a long term goal of the aged foreman, but he did not live to see the locomotive's first run. Nevertheless, with the main road still too weak to handle coal trucks, Błyskawica helped the line secure a lucrative and exclusive 10 year contract to haul the vast majority of the coal extracted from the region. Though demand for coal has decreased, tourism to the Krasnavsky is reaching all time highs as westerners feel increasingly comfortable in eastern Europe and railfains worldwide are drawn to the antique steam locomotives that continue to make their daily rounds much as they did in the old empire.

Locomotives
{| class="wikitable" ! Number ! Origin ! Wheel arrangement ! Class ! Notes
 * 7
 * Volenskara Works
 * 0-6-0T
 * GZRB -F- Class
 * Built 1899 and delivered to the line that same year. Assigned to goods traffic exclusively and so painted 'goods black.' One of the main locomotives assigned to the switchback and responsible for considerable coal handling then and now.
 * 21
 * Volenskara Works
 * 0-6-0T
 * GZRB -F-(P) Class
 * Built 1901 and worked suburban services near Volenskara for several years before being dispatched to the line. Effectively a -F- class locomotive but with provisions for steam heating of passenger cars. Painted deep green on the side tanks and cab, its boiler slate grey with brass boiler bands and other fittings. Initially used for tourist service around the lake during the season and coal hauling with her sister, 7, during the winter in addition to mixed traffic duties year round.
 * 474
 * Volenskara Works
 * 4-8-0
 * ZKP DH-(P) Class
 * Built 1922, 474 was among the first of a class of hearty mixed traffic locomotives developed for the post-war Zubrowkan State Railways. Developed concurrently with a new class of light pacifics (4-6-2) the DH- class was intended largely for freight working though they were equipped with steam heating equipment to enable carriage hauling. Intended to bring new motive power that was capable of entering lightly built branch lines with restricted loading gauges, then almost entirely the domain of tank locomotives but with the speed and range necessary to allow mainline operation. The spread of the DH-(P) class and their pacific sisters largely put an end to the practice of handing off motive power to slower and lighter tank locomotives at the entrances to Zubrowka's many mountainous branch lines. 474 was assigned to Milgaberg's shed in 1924, initially as a mainline liaison for fast freights and later, when displaced in this traffic by rebuilt BHB class Mikados, for heavy coal hauling near the Krasnavsky summit.
 * 419
 * Tzetin Iron Works
 * 2-6-2T
 * GZRB BFB(P) Class
 * Built 1912 for immediate delivery to the line. Nearly double the weight of the line's other tank locomotives and with tall driving wheels, 419 was meant shuttle passengers and goods from the mainline junction, along the fast lake-level route and all the way to the summit if necessary. Painted slate grey with brass fittings and blued steel boiler bands. Tanks and bunker were initially grey and later black.
 * 749 Błyskawica
 * Tzetin Iron Works
 * 2-8-2
 * ZKP BHB(P) Class
 * Built 1923, the BHB class was the first large locomotive type ordered by the fledgling Zubrowkan State Railways. A passion project of K.M. Tzetin, son of the railway surveyor and engineer responsible for the construction of the line itself, and heir to Tzetin Iron Works concern, the BHB was partly a result of a six month tour of American, French, and British railway workshops that Tzetin undertook immediately following then end of World War One. Greatly intrigued by the USRA Mikados then taking America by storm, Tzetin saw, with enlarged driving wheels and many other tweaks, the potential to construct a powerful class capable of handling prestigious express trains that would retain the capability to haul fast and by Zubrowkan standards, heavy freights. This latter operation was the key profit center for the nearly bankrupt, war torn ZKP and it was this, and not passenger use, that resulted in the BHB class going ahead. Stretching Zubrowka's loading gauge to the limit, Tzetin produced a locomotive with a firebox area of nearly fifty square feet, 5" 9' driving wheels, and two large, outside cylinders. This behemoth was coupled to long-range tender fitted with a partial cab to provide better protection during winter and when running tender first. An enormous point of pride for the newly independent nation, Błyskawica and all her sisters from the first batch were turned out in express gray with brass fittings, a gloss black smokebox and smoke deflectors. Her number and the ZKP logo on the tender were hand-lettered in gold paint. All of the first batch were named, with Błyskawica taking her name from a highly effective gunboat of the Free Zubrowkan Navy that had operated on lake Krasnavsky during the recent war. Accordingly, 749's home shed was at Milgaberg and, though she ranged across the system, she was the flagship locomotive of the top link sleeping car expresses, run exclusively on summer weekends, from Zubrowka's capital to Milgaberg, for the benefit of well-to-do tourists and summer-home tenants. When the Great Depression put an end to these and almost all other fast passenger trains 749 finished out her pre-World War 2 career hauling long coal trains from the Krasnavsky Vale to the industrial centers in western Zubrowka. A rebuilding program begun in 1934 to make the BHB's better suited to goods-only working and address some durability concerns reached 749 in 1938 and she was partially disassembled in the sheds at Milgaberg, awaiting receipt of new driving wheels and other significant components when World War 2 began. With the rebuild never completed and Kreigsloks even better suited to hauling coal, 749 languished in pieces until a complete restoration in 1996.
 * 749 Błyskawica
 * Tzetin Iron Works
 * 2-8-2
 * ZKP BHB(P) Class
 * Built 1923, the BHB class was the first large locomotive type ordered by the fledgling Zubrowkan State Railways. A passion project of K.M. Tzetin, son of the railway surveyor and engineer responsible for the construction of the line itself, and heir to Tzetin Iron Works concern, the BHB was partly a result of a six month tour of American, French, and British railway workshops that Tzetin undertook immediately following then end of World War One. Greatly intrigued by the USRA Mikados then taking America by storm, Tzetin saw, with enlarged driving wheels and many other tweaks, the potential to construct a powerful class capable of handling prestigious express trains that would retain the capability to haul fast and by Zubrowkan standards, heavy freights. This latter operation was the key profit center for the nearly bankrupt, war torn ZKP and it was this, and not passenger use, that resulted in the BHB class going ahead. Stretching Zubrowka's loading gauge to the limit, Tzetin produced a locomotive with a firebox area of nearly fifty square feet, 5" 9' driving wheels, and two large, outside cylinders. This behemoth was coupled to long-range tender fitted with a partial cab to provide better protection during winter and when running tender first. An enormous point of pride for the newly independent nation, Błyskawica and all her sisters from the first batch were turned out in express gray with brass fittings, a gloss black smokebox and smoke deflectors. Her number and the ZKP logo on the tender were hand-lettered in gold paint. All of the first batch were named, with Błyskawica taking her name from a highly effective gunboat of the Free Zubrowkan Navy that had operated on lake Krasnavsky during the recent war. Accordingly, 749's home shed was at Milgaberg and, though she ranged across the system, she was the flagship locomotive of the top link sleeping car expresses, run exclusively on summer weekends, from Zubrowka's capital to Milgaberg, for the benefit of well-to-do tourists and summer-home tenants. When the Great Depression put an end to these and almost all other fast passenger trains 749 finished out her pre-World War 2 career hauling long coal trains from the Krasnavsky Vale to the industrial centers in western Zubrowka. A rebuilding program begun in 1934 to make the BHB's better suited to goods-only working and address some durability concerns reached 749 in 1938 and she was partially disassembled in the sheds at Milgaberg, awaiting receipt of new driving wheels and other significant components when World War 2 began. With the rebuild never completed and Kreigsloks even better suited to hauling coal, 749 languished in pieces until a complete restoration in 1996.