#Local Building Surveyors

[aspectbuildingptyltd]

Home Inspections Made Easy - Partnering with Local Building Surveyors

When it comes to buying or selling a property, the importance of a thorough home inspection cannot be overstated. A home inspection serves as a crucial step in the real estate process, helping prospective buyers make informed decisions and ensuring sellers are aware of their property's condition. However, navigating the complexities of home inspections can be daunting. This is where partnering with local building surveyors can simplify the process, providing expertise and peace of mind.

The Role of Building Surveyors

Building surveyors are trained professionals who specialize in evaluating the condition of buildings and ensuring compliance with building codes and regulations. They possess in-depth knowledge of construction practices and can identify potential issues that might not be apparent to the untrained eye. Their expertise extends beyond mere aesthetics; they can detect structural problems, plumbing issues, electrical faults, and even pest infestations. By engaging a local building surveyor, homeowners can gain insights that are critical to the value and safety of a property.

Why Partner with Local Experts?

Local Knowledge and Expertise: Local building surveyors are familiar with the specific characteristics and common issues found in properties within their region. They understand the local building codes, climate impacts, and typical construction practices. This localized expertise enables them to provide more relevant and accurate assessments, ensuring that potential buyers or sellers are fully informed.

Personalized Service: Local building surveyors often provide a more personalized approach compared to larger firms. They are typically more accessible and can tailor their services to meet individual needs. This level of attention can make the inspection process smoother and less stressful.

Comprehensive Reporting: A well-conducted home inspection results in a detailed report that outlines the property's condition, highlights potential problems, and offers recommendations for repairs or maintenance. Local surveyors are skilled at producing clear, concise reports that are easy to understand, empowering clients to make informed decisions.

Cost-Effective Solutions: While some might view hiring a building surveyor as an unnecessary expense, it can ultimately save money in the long run. Identifying issues before a purchase can prevent costly repairs down the line. Additionally, local surveyors often have established relationships with contractors and can recommend reliable professionals for necessary repairs.

Mitigating Risks: Buying a home is one of the most significant investments many people will make in their lifetime. Partnering with a local building surveyor mitigates the risks associated with unforeseen issues that could arise after purchase. Their expertise can prevent buyers from making decisions they might regret later.

The Inspection Process

Engaging a local building surveyor typically begins with an initial consultation, during which the client discusses their needs and concerns. The surveyor then schedules an inspection, during which they will thoroughly examine the property. This includes evaluating the structural integrity, checking for signs of water damage, assessing electrical and plumbing systems, and more.

After the inspection, the surveyor will provide a detailed report, often accompanied by photographs and recommendations for any necessary repairs or follow-ups. This report serves as a valuable tool for negotiation in a real estate transaction, allowing buyers to request repairs or adjustments in price based on the findings.

Conclusion

Partnering with local building surveyors streamlines the home inspection process, offering invaluable support to both buyers and sellers. Their expertise not only enhances the understanding of a property’s condition but also protects investments by identifying potential issues early on. In the ever-changing real estate market, having a knowledgeable partner can make all the difference, ensuring a smoother transaction and greater peace of mind. Whether you are entering the market as a buyer or looking to sell, collaborating with a local building surveyor is a wise decision that can save time, money, and stress in the long run.

[charminglyantiquated]

Nautilus update! I’ve written more in-depth about all of this on the gofundme page and our social media, so I won’t get into the nitty gritty detail here as well, but I wanted to share the news here, for anyone wondering how things are going! Under a cut because it’s long, but tl:dr is we're moving forward, and we'll be okay.

Good news first: The owner of another local sailing company had put one of their boats up for sale the same week as the accident, and after the surveyors told us to expect the worst, he got in touch. She’s now ours, and we’ll be sailing again next summer! We were lucky enough to work on her in the past, and her previous owner wanted has told us he’d initially meant to offer her to us at the end of this season. With a working boat, we can keep our company going, which in turn means we have a means of making money that still allows us the flexibility to work on repairs, and deal with matters in the shipyard as they arise. (The marina also had a multi-year wait for commercial boats, so we were worried about what would happen if we had to bow out for a few years!) We're extraordinarily lucky and so, so grateful - this literally would not have been possible without the fundraiser, and the safety net it gave us, and the way our whole community has supported us. Without exaggeration, it changed our lives. I will never be able to fully express how grateful I am.

Nautilus is written off as a loss, which we've been expecting. They offered us the chance to buy her as salvage, which we obviously accepted. So insurance wrote us a payout for what she’s insured for, plus reimbursement for getting her hauled and towed, less the value of her as salvage. Because she’s a loss, we have to pay off the loan that we took out this spring to buy her. After that's done, we'll have enough left over from the payout check to launch the new boat next spring (insurance/marina fees/haul and tow) which in turn leaves us free to use the proceeds of the fundraiser to make a start on repairs this winter! In the meantime our insurance is pursuing subrogation: essentially (as I understand it) after paying us out of their pocket, they are going after the other insurance for reimbursement. If we do see any lost income, it would be through this process, but we’ve been told several times it will take months - we don’t know if that means ‘december’ or ‘next august’, and don’t know how much, so we’re crossing our fingers but not making any plans around it. The crisis point was these last two months, and honestly the fundraiser got us through it - now we have our feet under us again, it would definitely be welcome but our stability and livelihood isn't hanging on it, so we can afford to wait.

Repairs - rough estimate from the survey is $83k, but half of that is labor costs. We can do much of the labor ourselves, which should lower it a bit. There are obviously areas where we'll need experts (welding!!), but we have the skills for a lot of what has to be done. Right now we’re getting the boats covered for cold weather, picking up some odd jobs around the shipyard, and clearing room in the woodshop to build a new main mast - that’s the project this winter! We are also going to start tearing up the teak deck to access the damaged fiberglass below, and figure out what, if anything, can be salvaged from the wreck of the mast/rigging (the jib furler sheared in half, but the sail itself made it out with only four small, easily patched punctures! Which is frankly a miracle, given how it was literally jammed through the mast). Anything that seems sound will be checked over by an expert, and a lot of it might still be too stressed to safely use, but after months of looking at the wreck of the thing, it’s honestly just a relief to be able to go through and start taking pieces apart.

Tl:dr is we’re going to be okay. Money is tight, we’re living with family and working 6 days a week, but we’ll be on the water sailing again in May, our company will survive, and we’re hoping to have Nautilus fixed in two or three years. Just wanted to share that with you all; I'm really glad to finally have some good news to offer. It's not easy but it's better, and we're going to get through it, pretty much 100% because of everyone who has been so kind to us both. Thank you all so, so much for every single kind word and share and donation. I am never going to be able to say how much it has meant to me, and what a difference it has made. I won’t be posting much more about it on here now that we're back on our feet, but if anyone wants to keep updated, detailed news about Nautilus repairs will go on the gofundme page, and our instagram will have lighter posts about both boats, repairs, and the 2025 season.

[blueiscoool]

Ancient Monumental Marble Map of Rome on Display After 100 Years

A marble map of ancient Rome, that hasn't been put on public view for almost 100 years, is getting its very own museum within sight of the Colosseum.

The Museum of the Forma Urbis, enclosed within a new archaeological park on one of Rome's famous seven hills opens on Friday -- the latest offering from a city that is eager to broaden its attraction for growing hordes of tourists, according to Reuters.

"This is a beautiful day. We are opening an archaeological park in an extraordinary part of the city and a new museum showcasing a masterpiece which has not been visible for about a century," said Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri.

"We want a city where the museums and the streets are linked, and where people, while walking around, can fully appreciate and enjoy the beauty, but also better understand how our city has been transformed."

The Forma Urbis was a monumental, highly detailed marble map of ancient Rome carved during the reign of the Emperor Septimius Severus between 203 and 211 AD, engraved onto 150 separate slabs and measuring 18 by 13 metres (60 by 43 feet).

It was displayed on a wall in the ancient city, but over the centuries it gradually disintegrated, with locals using some slabs for new buildings.

During excavations in 1562, fragments were recovered and scholars estimate around 10% of the whole has survived, including sections showing the Colosseum and Circus Maximus, as well as floor plans of baths, temples and private houses.

The huge carving has proved a valuable resource for understanding the layout of ancient Rome, but all the remaining pieces have not been shown together since 1924.

In its new, innovative setting, the fragments have been laid out on a reproduction of a famous map of Rome created in the 18th century by the surveyor Giovanni Battista Nolli, who is credited with making the first accurate street plan of Rome.

The marble chunks lie on top of the Nolli map, showing their relation to the developing Renaissance city.

Outside the museum, in the open-air park on the side of the Caelian Hill, archaeologists have out laid out walkways lined with ancient Roman grave markers and marble columns found in excavations around the city in recent decades.

"The Caelian Hill, one of the seven hills of ancient Rome, has remained in the shadows, unknown and inaccessible for a very long time. Today, we are finally giving it back to the city," said Claudio Parisi Presicce, who oversees Rome's cultural heritage.

"The hill has a special importance because it is what unites the monumental area of the Imperial Forums, the Roman forum, the Colosseum and the area of the Appia Antica," he said.

The 5-million-euro ($5.5 million) project is part of a broader refurbishment of Rome, which has seen a tourism boom since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic and is expected to be submerged by visitors in the 2025 Roman Catholic Holy Year.

[labuenosairesfrancaise]

Woodlawn House

Hi guys!!

I'm sharing Woodlawn House. This is the 14th building for my English Collection.

It is in fact an Irish house, built before Ireland became independent.

I had to make some modifications and had no images to copy interiors.

History of the house: The history of Woodlawn goes back before recorded history, with the pre-medieval Diarmuid and Gráinne mound, currently undated.

Originally known as Mota or sometimes Moote, the village was renamed by Lord Ashtown, apparently for the simple reason that his post often ended up in Moate instead of Mota.  The countryside was flat, boggy in places but largely well-suited to farming and was used for tillage up until the 1930s when it was put to pasture.

Forestry is more recent addition to the landscape, with Coilte owning large tracts of the old Woodlawn estate.

Woodlawn House itself is a three storey palladian style country house of about 30,000sq.ft. originally built around 1760 by Frederick Trench, the first Baron Ashtown.  It was extensively remodelled in 1860 by his son the second Baron Ashtown to plans drawn up by James F. Kempster, the local County Surveyor.  It was also the second Baron Ashtown who was responsible for the building of the railway station and ensuring that the railway line passed through the estate as it was being constructed.

The house was finally sold by the fourth Lord Ashtown to Frederick Le Poer Trench in 1947.  The current owner is engaged in planning a complete restoration of the house and estate. 

For more info: https://www.woodlawn-estate.com/

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Distribution

This house fits a 50x50 lot (I think if you lose the woods and entrance it can fit a 50x40 too)

I furnished just the principal rooms, so you get an idea. The rest is unfurnished so you create the interiors to your taste!

Hope you like it.

You will need the usual CC I use:

all Felixandre cc

all The Jim,

SYB

Anachrosims

Regal Sims

King Falcon railing

The Golden Sanctuary

Cliffou

Dndr recolors

Harrie cc

Tuds

Lili's palace cc

Please enjoy, comment if you like it and share pictures with me if you use my creations!

Early access: 07/18/2024

Download: https://www.patreon.com/posts/106463811

[dailyadventureprompts]

Drafting the Adventure: Dungeons Without Walls

I love the idea of dungeons, but there was a significant portion of my life as a DM where they didn’t feature in my games. While Pathfinder and 5e provided a great framework for character building and tactical skirmishes that I could build story on top of, neither was really great when it came time to detour into a  dungeon. My players tended to get confused when we headed out to plunder the local ruin or cave system, spending a lot more time figuring out where they were and what they should be doing than actually doing anything. 

The problem as it turned out was limited information.  I had a picture of the dungeon in my head/notes but I couldn’t telepathically infer that to the party, and the back and forth questions where they tried to orient themselves within my mental labyrinth ate up a lot of session time prevented us from attaining that snappy pace that every table needs to keep the players invested.

Recently though I had an epiphany about overhauling exploration in d&d, and wrote up a whole post detailing how you could build and run wilderness adventures the same way you could a heist or a murder mystery. Because I was already writing a series about dungeon design it didn’t take long for me to realize that this exploration overhaul was 100% applicable, and could solve a lot of the delay and confusion my players usually faced on their next trip underground.  Spoilers: it worked amazingly.

 The key to this overhaul was giving my players enough information to see the dungeon as a sort of abstract checklist, and then giving them the power to investigate and check things off that list in whatever order they wished, when they enter a new level of the dungeon they get a new checklist to fill out which still keeps that sense of exploration. Folk love checking things off lists, and I as a dungeonmaster love it when players engage with the content I’ve spent so much energy creating even if it’s only poking their head in the door to realize they want to run away as fast as possible. Likewise, designing the dungeon this way let me tackle much larger concepts without having to sweat the details of filling up every little room as I would have to in map-centric design.

To summarize my exploration mechanic as It applies to dungeons:

During Design: After you’ve got the dungeons’ major concept, you divide it into unique “zones” (essentially what might be levels in a regular dungeon) with an interconnected theme, mechanic, or threat.

Each zone has a number of points of interest, which can be anything from trails to follow, odd sights they might investigate, to full complexes of rooms that you’ve mapped out. You don’t need to map out the points of interest otherwise, they sort of float abstractly within the zone 

When players enter a zone, they become aware of its name and general descriptor, as well as how many total points of interest are in that zone. They also become aware of some points of interest immediately to serve as landmarks and give them a direction for their exploration, but most remain undiscovered until they venture off the path and start checking out their surroundings. Hidden among these points of interest are the doors that lead to zones deeper within the dungeon, encouraging the party to explore in order to progress.

During Play: When the players enter the dungeon, one player is appointed as the surveyor, who’s job it is to keep track of the zones, fill out that checklist, and check things off when the DM tells them that they’ve fully explored a point of interest.

Rather than needing to be aware of the exact room layout, the party just need to know what zone they’re in and what options are available to them, Because this information is delivered in the form of a checklist with empty spaces, the party know exactly how much of the dungeon they’ve explored, what’s left to explore, and when they’ve cleared out an area.

Lets take the image above as inspiration. Say the party is trying to make it up to the tower, you can easily see a progression of zones and maybe imagine a few to go alongside them:

Ruins & Foothills: The first area, filled with the remnants of an ancient civilization. Picked over by looters and now a home to all sorts of wildlife,

Mountainside: The obvious next goal, but locked off behind a challenging climb, Filled with hazards that threaten to knock the party back down to the foothills if they’re not careful

Caverns: Secret area accessible only if the party explore a cave on the mountainside, or make a beeline towards the old aqueduct landmark in the foothills, realizing it might be easier than the climb. 

Spire Foundations: The door connecting to the foothills is guarded by a complex puzzle and arcane ward, but the party might be able to sneak in through the caves where erosion has caused a breakthrough into the cellars.

Spire Peak: High among the clouds, the party’s prize is somewhere here.  Access to the upper sections of the tower are guarded by a territorial sphinx under arcane compulsion, though the party might just be able to skip that fight if they figure out the riddle to make the portal mirrors work in the foundations.

Trying to design all this by pencilling it in on a gridmap would take weeks, to say nothing of the headache it’d cause you trying to make things fit together and fill up empty space with content. Designing it first as a sequence of zones and then filling those out with interesting fights, puzzles, and encounters is the work of an afternoon or two. Likewise, its easy on your players: five zones with six to ten points of interest is far easier to tackle when you can make a checklist and see how much progress you’ve made, despite the fact that the area they’re exploring is quite vast. 

I hope you find this as useful as I have, and if you need a more concrete example of how it might work, don’t worry, I’ll have one of those for you in the coming days.

[scotianostra]

Crofter Calum MacLeod then aged 63 shoulders his shovel after another days work on the road ... his OWN road on 29th April 1973.

Calum was a Local Assistant Keeper of Rona Lighthouse and the part-time postman for the north end of Raasay.

After decades of unsuccessful campaigning by the inhabitants of the north end of Raasay for a road, and several failed grant applications, Calum decided to build the road himself. Purchasing Thomas Aitken's manual Road Making & Maintenance: A Practical Treatise for Engineers, Surveyors and Others for half a crown.

Over a period of about ten years between 1964 and 1974, he constructed one and three quarter miles of road between Brochel Castle and Arnish, using little more than a pick, a shovel and wheelbarrow. Initial blasting work was carried out and funded, to the sum of £1,900, by the Department of Agriculture's Engineering Department, who supplied a compressor, explosives, driller, blaster, and men.

Several years after its completion, the road was finally adopted and surfaced by the local council. By then, Calum and his wife, Lexie, were the last inhabitants of Arnish.

Rather amusingly Calum didn't drive any further south than Bochel near Tomnavoulin as he never held a drivers licence!!!

Sadly, despite only being completed in the 1980s, the road is already falling into disrepair as it has been left without maintenance

The third pic shows a Commemorative Cairn that reads: "This former footpath to Arnish - a distance of 1.75 miles - was widened to a single track road with passing places and prepared for surfacing by Malcolm MacLeod MBE”.

[wickedsrest-rp]

Name: Raul Moreno Martín Species: Spellcaster Occupation: Surveyor Age: 27 Years Old Played By: Tapir Face Claim: Miguel Bernardeau

"Miss one sigil and you’ll transmute yourself into flesh furniture. No pressure, initiate."

Raul had been destroying evidence and dodging questions from other local covens for a year since the Pacto Áurico’s grand experiment unleashed a shockwave in Toledo’s astral plane like an earthquake thundering through an ocean trench. Yet, Raul hadn’t gotten better at answering those questions for himself, He couldn't even be sure if the ritual had failed, or if sheer audacity had left them unprepared for the consequences of actually succeeding. 

Within the gilded and hushed halls of the Pacto Áurico, or Auric Covenant, Raul had learned what the masses called ‘magic’ was just chaotic energy humans could force in useful patterns through equivalent sacrifice and ritualized formulas the ignorant called ‘spells.’ Raul initially didn’t find it weird that his mother visited distant worlds in her dreams or that dad and grandpa never met an ominous artifact they didn’t immediately adore.   

But the divide between the occult and outside eventually hit as he tried to divide time between, school, friends, sports, parties, hobbies, love, and his parent’s arts. Each deeper circle of thaumaturgy required exponentially more time to decipher, experiment, and refine. Some rites even required Raul to offer up parts of his inner self. Raul loved his friends and day life, but each new intoxicating rush of unnatural power seemed to sweep him farther out to sea.   

Years later, Raul had descended with his squad of the ritual teams beneath the arches of San Ginés and into the Caves of Hercules and the forbidden Casa de los Candados beneath Toledo. The Auric Covenant’s path of shaping chaos through rites and sacrifice had forged Raul into a formidable sorcerer, but demanded such all-consuming focus that Raul had been more concerned on proving himself than questioning whether the coven’s latest grand ritual had gone too far. It was only after archeological layers of Castilian, Almohad Caliphate, Visigoth, Roman, and ancient Iberian ruins gave way to alien architecture that was already ancient in humanity’s stone age that Raul began to realize the enormity of what the Auric Covenant’s inner circle intended. But by then, reality was already bleeding.   

All Raul knew for certain was that the cascading vortex left more than just physical wounds on those who’d survived a desperate attempt to stabilize that massive imbalance of energy. As they’d all picked up the pieces and tried to remake the wards and magical reservoirs that’d been destroyed by the ritual’s backlash, Raul slowly realized something leeching his lifeforce after each invocation or transmutation. It was tiny at first, but like internal bleeding, seemed to rip deeper the more power he wielded. None of his family and friends seemed to be faring any better, each with their own individual scars and consequences. Raul chose to focus on helping his family and coven rebuild to avoid the deepening questions. A long trail of false leads and failed cures eventually lead to a magically rich locus on America’s east coast, just one more short stop before everything went back to normal.

Character Facts:

Personality: Bold, loyal, ambitious, ingenious, cagey, grasping, warped, disillusioned

Raul rarely drops his guise as a cheekily clueless civilian fixated on maps, swimming, and evil buildings.

Raul tends to have cycles of intense hyper-achievement followed by crashing and burning.    

Pop culture references and social subtlety tends to bounce off Raul’s skull.   

Raul doesn’t care about the species or morality of business associates. Only the mission matters.     

Raul excels at the precise geometric patterns needed for occult diagrams, but is otherwise a terrible artist whose class presentations gained infamy for being unintentionally surreal.   

Raul received a wound to the soul during a ritual.  

[thearchivalprocess]

Incident Report #1065-A

Date Filed- 14/12/14

Date of Initial Incident- 7/12/14

Archivist- Opalton, Emily

On the night of December 7th, during a routine surveillance of the Beltrami county coldspots in northern Minnesota, the assigned Observer happened upon an untapped live video feed coming from a small emergency clinic located on the bend of a highway. The feed was attached to the clinic’s CCTV security camera system. Initial observation revealed a series of seemingly supernatural events visible across the entirety of the building, which prompted further escalation.

The assigned Surveyor reviewed the live tape for a 24 hour period and found Epsilon level activity between the hours of 23:00 and 2:00 based on the visuals alone. This included infestations of several manifested shade entities, evidence of poltergeist and phantom activity, object possession, non-euclidian interior design, and foresight manifesting memetics. See Incident Report #1065-B for a further expanded list of activity identified during this period. Following the confirmation of notable supernatural happenings in the area, the Surveyor probed local rumors and speculation for signs that information on the events had breached into public consciousness, however no such evidence was found. Thorough investigation revealed that no discussion surrounding the clinic was related to the supernatural in any way. Patients who had been present the day­­ of the surveyed activity reported nothing out of the ordinary during or after their stay, nor did any of the clinic’s staff. Temporal phenomena were ruled out via an extensive cross referencing of the clinic’s deed, land rights, yearly taxes, and employee records, however it was noted that the building’s layout was mildly inconsistent. No windows were observed on the exterior of the building, and yet several cameras showed position accurate windows located on the interior of the clinic.

              Following the closure of the Surveyor’s investigation on December 13th, 2014, the incident was marked Unresolved and on Yellow Watch.

[spann-stann]

Setting Blurb: The Reserves

It was easy to ship enemy urbanites and POWs out of CorpEmp territory and into the Cordons Sanitaire. But not everyone actively opposed CorpEmp. For every five communities that welcomed the warlords, there was one that was...apathetic. But not hostile. That was the thing. They just didn't want to join, and wanted to be left alone. CorpEmps founding warlords, not wanting a demographic influx of "people pissed at being made CorpEmp subjects" collectively shrugged their shoulders, and said as one "leave 'em be I guess".

Surveyors (armed in case the locals felt like doing more than shooting stern looks) would drive up to these communities, plop down a fence or whatever means of demarcation that was available, and bam! A Reserve was created. The Reserves (CorpEmp's word them) refers to the many, many, many little rural populations centers that are not part of CorpEmp. Unlike the Cordons Sanitaire, which had heavily policed borders, a Reserve only needed a little guard post (and gift shop for tourists) to watch the country road between it and the closest CorpEmp community. Trade and immigration, in and out of the Reserves, is unrestricted (again, these people were never activity opposed to CorpEmp). The closest CorpEmp and the Reserves ever get to diplomatic crises is cross-border brawls at the nearest pub.

Because of CorpEmp's lax security with the Reserves' borders, there are times were malign actors take advantage for their own gain. Some CPC gangbanger looking to make his bones will try setting up a "honest enterprise" within a Reserve. Days later, some Imperial constable will end up finding their body dangling from a telephone pole by the border.

Reserves are very insular (in case you couldn't already tell), contact with the outside world usually depends on if a particular reserve has internet, and how far the nearest non-Reserve is. Cooperation between Reserves is rare, emphasizing their desire to be self-reliant and not involved with the outside world. Cooperation with the Big Three is even rarer, for the exact same emphases. Although littered across CorpEmp territory, Reserves also form on the border between CorpEmp and U.M. territory.

The following is an incomplete list of Reserves in the 29th century:

Amish Countries: The Amish (the term now includes all strains of Mennonite) have continued their policy of remaining separate from the outside world. A few fellowships have taken this to the level of buying old orbital habitats (even building a few of their own).

Anti-Imperial Tribals: Not every member of the New Tribal Movement in pre-WW3 America was as warlike as the Hispano-Gaels. Some tribes decided to ignore the goings-on in Texas, and wall themselves up. A few still exist on the North American continent.

Bunker Dwellers: In some parts of the world, just before WW3 raged, some affluent individuals renovated old bunkers and missile silos to house themselves, families, and friends. A lot of them decided to remain underground after riding out the war and making contact with the many warlords fighting over the remains. Some complexes have become quite expansive by the 2800s, a few became underground arcologies.

Frontiersman: Some people don't like living in the core of human-settled space, and prefer to live on the fringes. Many communities were established in the Outer Solar System after the Big Three staked their many claims in the Inner, and now that all the good real estate inside the Oort is being developed a few expeditions into the Extrasolar territories (and beyond) were planned.

Hiders: There's not a lot to say about these Reserves. As the name (given to them) suggests, these guys just want to be left alone. In order to do so, they cut themselves off completely from the outside world. Hiders have been making moves to the Solar System's Oort Cloud (expect turf wars with the W.C.O.F.).

Leavealones: The bog standard Reserve. Quaint little village, standard of living a century-ish behind CorpEmp's. Usually a dirt country road connecting it to a CorpEmp community.

Nomads: The descendants of traveling folk, Nomads move up and down the many roads of the world. Some rely on horse-drawn carriages, others make do with the latest and greatest RVs. A few affluent Nomad groups own their own private roads. An even fewer number of the most affluent own their own boats to travel from continent to continent.

Peregrini: "Dwellers around", this Reserve takes the form of an enclave within an urban environ. Usually a walled-off, gated city block.

Prims: Sure, Reserves can be considered luddite by the other (technological) factions, but Prims take it to extremes. Eschewing technology altogether, Prims desire to return to state they only refer to as "monke". Uncontacted peoples, under the jurisdiction of the Green Consensus, are often erroneously placed in this category.

San Marino: Somehow, this small republic inside the Italian Peninsula not only survived the Third World War, but also the Warlords' Wars and creation of CorpEmp. When asked why it was never integrated into the West Latin Macrocommunity, locals just shrug their shoulders and say (in their own language) "I dunno".

Schismatics: Despite being a pro-religious empire, not many religious communities are pro-CorpEmp. Fundamentalist Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, Sedevacantists, Orthodox Old Believers, and that's just from the Christian family of faiths. Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist, Shinto, Animist, Scientologist (and other UFO-cults), and other religious schismatics dot the Earth (and the rest of the Solar System).

Spelunkers: These guys are a variant of Bunker Dwellers. What's different from Bunker Dwellers is that Spelunkers (as the name suggests) went to live inside complex cave systems. A bit like Hiders, in that they really want to be left alone.

Steaders: Steaders decided, once the technology was good enough, to strike out on their own on the open seas. Steader Reserves can vary in size, from single family platforms to a whole neighborhood floating on the ocean's surface. Or on the ocean floor.

Survivalists: Hiders, but packing heat. Wait. More heat than Hiders. These guys are playing the long game, waiting out in wherever they hunker down until another cataclysmic conflict destroys the Big Three. Then, them and their vision for humanity will become dominant. Given the recent discovery of multiple objects blueshifitng to the Solar System, they're beginning to be quite popular.

[feigeroman]

The Boulder Quarry Line

I recently binged the entire Classic Series again, as background noise while I was working on something else. When I got to Series 5-7, I remembered a headcanon I’d developed ages ago, to link together most of the Skarloey Railway episodes from those seasons. This recent binge spurred me to finally write it down, and bash it into something a little more coherent. Most of this is just me thinking aloud, but I thought I'd run it up the flagpole and see who salutes it...

1951

Just as operations are winding down at the old slate quarry at Ward Fell, new beds of good-quality slate are discovered in the hills north of Rheneas. A new quarry is established to extract this slate, and this helps to revive the Skarloey Railway’s then-declining fortunes. Even so, the surveyors who uncovered this slate are convinced there are still further treasures to be found deeper into the mountains.

1950s-60s

The search for such treasures is carried out as time allows - which isn’t very often, considering all the new developments which take place on the SR during this time.

Roughly 1970

Finally, a discovery is made - large deposits of stone in the northern foothills of Shane Dooiney, of similar quality to that quarried at Ffarquhar. Plans are quickly devised to extract the stone, and the Skarloey Railway is tasked with building a line to the new quarry.

The proposed line branches off the Rheneas Quarry line, passes through a natural ravine known locally as Echo Pass, travels alongside the main Skarloey-Peel Godred road, and finally turns south towards the new quarry site.

1970-early 1972

The line is constructed, following the route described above. When it is completed, trains start carrying building supplies to the site of the new quarry. Some trains are also laid on for the benefit of a road-building company, which is upgrading the Skarloey-Peel Godred road so that heavier vehicles can access the quarry as well.

Winter 1972

Due to a problem with the winch, some trucks break away on the incline at Rheneas Quarry. The breakaway tumbles into Echo Pass, triggering an avalanche which buries Skarloey, who happened to be travelling through the Pass with a supply train. He is subsequently rescued by Rusty.

These events are later loosely adapted into the episode Snow.

Early 1973

The new quarry finally opens for business, and even has a new name - Boulder Quarry, after an enormous, spherical boulder which looms ominously over part of the line. Boulder Quarry enjoys a prosperous first few months, and the Skarloey Railway enjoys the revenue boost provided by the new stone traffic.

After a while, Rusty begins to feel nervous about the Boulder, but can’t really explain why. The others don’t take him too seriously.

Autumn 1973

After several weeks of heavy rain, Boulder Quarry is able to try out its latest acquisition - an experimental drilling machine known as Thumper. Unfortunately, the vibrations from Thumper cause the Boulder to fall off its perch, and run away down the Skarloey Valley. The Boulder causes a great deal of damage to track and property all down the valley, culminating in the destruction of some new stone-cutting sheds just outside Crovan’s Gate.

All concerned parties agree the disaster is an act of god telling them to leave that part of Sodor alone, and Boulder Quarry shuts its doors for good - financially crippled by having been forced to pay substantial compensation to every property owner in the valley.

The Skarloey Railway also ends up in dire straits - besides the damage caused by the Boulder, several years of hard work have just gone down the tubes.

The remainder of 1973

The Thin Controller decides to temporarily close the SR, so that everyone can focus their efforts on repairing all the damage to track and property. The rest of 1973 is spent doing just that.

The events of Duncan Gets Spooked take place during this clean-up operation.

At some point, the time is found to move the Boulder to a new, safer perch - on a specially-constructed plinth on a hill near to Crovan’s Gate, and positioned to face in the direction of its old perch.

That winter, during a break, the little engines tell Thomas (or more likely some other standard gauge engine) the story of Skarloey’s Avalanche.

1974

The clean-up continues into 1974, and the line remains closed for the first half of that year. The Thin Controller hopes to have the line ready to reopen in time for the start of the summer operating season. Fortunately, Rheneas Quarry is closed for the two weeks before, freeing up men and engines to help. Elizabeth also happens to be working in the area, and is persuaded to lend a wheel. With all this help, the clean-up is completed in the nick of time, and the Skarloey Railway is officially declared open once more.

Meanwhile, the people of Glennock decide to treat themselves to a new organ for the village school. Headmaster Hastings personally oversees the delivery of the organ. This isn’t really relevant to the Boulder saga - I just felt like mentioning it.

1975

By this year ,things are more or less back to normal on the Skarloey Railway. One day, Rheneas takes a special charter train carrying a party of schoolchildren from the Mainland. On his way back down the line, he is accidentally diverted onto the abandoned line to Boulder Quarry. The line isn’t in the best condition, and wasn’t designed to carry passengers anyway, so Rheneas has a real rollercoaster ride to the Quarry and back.

Since the children enjoyed themselves so much, the Thin Controller lets Rheneas off for his mishap, but it gets him thinking about the old line, and how he might be able to get his money’s worth from it after all…

Surveys are carried out, and it is decided to reopen the old quarry line to serve as a connection between the SR and the Culdee Fell Railway - the latter being reached by rerouting the line in the direction of their station at Skarloey Road.

 The line also passes through many areas of natural beauty, and so a number of stations are proposed to serve some of these areas. These stations include Elephant Park (above) and Rumblin Bridge (below).

The terminus of the line is at the village of Skarloey Road. So as to avoid confusion with the CFR station, the SR station is known as Upland Station. While not a direct link between the two railways, their respective stations are still a reasonably short walk away from each other.

The reconstruction of the line takes place throughout the first half of 1975, and is completed just in time for the summer operating season. Sir Topham Hatt and Lady Hatt attend the grand opening, having first viewed the new line from a hot air balloon (and then made a crash-landing in said balloon).

To finish off, here is a rough map of the original Boulder Quarry line, the subsequent Upland Extension, and how they both relate to the main SR line.