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sudriantraveler · 1 year

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I know I’m a couple days late but I’d like to hear about “Trams and Trouble”!

That one's actually been on the back-burner for a little while now, but Its basically meant to be a series of stories for my take on the Vicarstown Tramway.

At the moment I have a series of ideas and concepts planned out, and one story half-written.

The tramway is run by three electric trams. Borrowing from the TV series character Flora, they have a similar livery, and are each named after different plants: Speedwell, Sage, and Delphinium.

I keep going back and fourth of if I want to change these names however, and that's actually part of why this project stalled (I need to stop overthinking the details). In any case, I have written some basic character descriptions for each of them:

Speedwell - A kind and friendly tram, Speedwell has great respect for the people along their line. They are always on the lookout for someone in need, although they can be very anxious, and often have a tendency to get in over their head and overwhelm themself.

Sage - A quiet tram, known for his kind heart and observant nature. In fact he often seems to notice things which no one else does. He can however get easily distracted, and has on numerous occasions held up traffic while listening to street performers or watching the activities of the local alley cats.

Delphinium - Delphinium, or Delphi for short, is an energetic tram. She loves straight empty roads, because she can go as fast as her driver will let her. Bumpy track is all the better as she thinks it's great fun to bounce along swaying from side to side, though her passengers usually aren’t happy about the rough ride. While usually very cheerful, she is quick tempered and can act impulsively at times.

The stories take place around 1950-1951ish, and are about the trams as they go about their lives, while trying to deal with a new bus company which threatens their line.

The first story is more of an introduction to the tramway, and is about Bridgett Hatt, when she gets lost in Vicarstown and happens upon the tramway.

Here is a brief passage from what I have written so far:

*****

At that moment, there was a strange rattling sound punctuated by a short but loud clang of a bell, and around the corner came a very odd looking engine.

It was a tall boxy shape, with two levels, the lower of which sat directly atop a set of 4 small wheels packed oddly close together. A long pole jutted out from its top and connected with a wire running above the roadway. With a squealing of brakes the strange engine came to a gentle stop just in front of Bridget.

“Ogmund’s Park everyone, Ogmund’s Park. Next stop will be Baker’s Lane… Oh, hello… You don’t look all that happy, what’s wrong?”

Bridget looked up. The engine was talking to her. “I’m… lost”, she said slowly.

“Lost?” Said the engine, “Well that will never do, especially on a cold day like this. Do you know where you’re trying to get to, or where have you come from?”

“The Big Station” replied Bridget, “Do you know how to get there?”

“I know the place” said the engine, “and you’re in luck, it’s just along my route. Why don’t you climb aboard and I’ll let you know when we get there”.

“Thank you” said Bridget, and stepped aboard.

“I would recommend finding a seat on the top floor,” said the engine, “you'll have a nice view of the city streets”.

As Bridget took her seat, the strange engine rattled away from the park. It wasn’t like the shaking and rattling of the bus; that had been an angry, terrifying sound as the bus had hurled itself along, seemingly ignorant of the fact that it sounded as though something might break or give way at any moment.

This on the other hand was gentle, calming and rhythmic; a familiar “clickety-clack, clickety-clack'' of train wheels on sturdy metal rails.

“What’s your name?” asked Bridget.

“Oh, I’m sorry” said the engine “I haven’t introduced myself. My name's Speedwell”.

“Well, my name’s Bridget”. She paused, then said “I’ve never seen an engine like you before. You don’t make any smoke or steam”.

“That’s because I’m a tram engine. I’m electric!”

“Electric?”

“Yes. Unlike the mainline railway, all of us trams are electric… or at least, all the ones I know are… That’s what the pole on my roof is for, it draws power from the overhead wire”.

Bridget looked, and sure enough there was a long set of wires trailing above and ahead of them, snaking off into the distance.

*****

Yes, this is why Bridget asked "Is it electric?" when she first met Toby not to long after the events of this story.

#WIP ask game #ttte #ttte bridget hatt #ttte vicarstown tramway

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