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“If it moves on steel, we know about it. If it disappears, we probably helped.”
  Category: Labor Union
Primary Power Base: Union Station, Ashland Yard, Lower West Side
Reach: Citywide
Veil Involvement: Active  

Public Face

Railroad Operating Crafts United (ROCU) presents itself as the proud backbone of Chicago’s rail infrastructure. They represent engineers, conductors, tower operators, signalmen, and yardmasters across the metro area. Their public mission is safety, schedule integrity, and dignified labor for those who keep the city’s lifeblood moving.  

True Influence

In truth, ROCU controls more than just trains. They manipulate shipment manifests, delay politicians, smuggle contraband (and things stranger than contraband), and keep tabs on what crosses the city in silence. Their Veil division is old—maybe pre-union charter—and it's said they manage “temporal breaches” and cargo that’s not supposed to exist yet.  

Known Members

  • Clarence “Flag” Boudreaux, General Chair – Keeps the timetable running by sheer force of will; his watch ticks counterclockwise when Veil storms approach.
  • Agnes Rothman, Veil Liaison – Doesn’t ride the trains anymore. Says they started whispering back.
  • Ernie “Nails” Reczek, Field Rep – Can lock out switches manually faster than the dispatch board updates.
  • Lights Ferrell, Sig Tech – Installs more than signals; claims to "mark the tracks" when needed.
  • Grace "Grit" Moreno, Apprentice Coordinator – The only one who’s survived a black car reroute alone and sane—maybe.
 

Allies & Rivals

  • Allies: Brotherhood of Boilermakers (especially their sleeper cab mechanics), select Veil-diviners, 47th Street Manifest Syndicate
  • Rivals: Iron Workers Local 1 (turf conflict at Union Station), CPD Transit Division, a rogue Outfit element trying to control boxcar routing
 

Assets & Quirks

  • Asset: Master copy of the “Dark Line” switch map—includes unlisted tracks, ghost platforms, and redacted yards
  • Quirk: Every ROCU officer carries a rail spike carved with a unique Veil glyph. Some glow when danger’s near.
  • Quirk: They recognize a “phantom shift” in the payroll—names no one admits to knowing, paid in tickets and teeth.
 

Current Agenda

ROCU is attempting to seal a breach on Track 47—a line that shouldn’t exist but started appearing in rail logs across three yards. They're quietly rerouting trains, misfiling waybills, and issuing false delays to buy time. Meanwhile, they're recruiting trusted union members into something deeper: the Brotherhood of the Last Car.  

Rumors & Hooks

  • The Brotherhood maintains a secret platform beneath Union Station where they “interrogate” cargo that shifts when no one's looking.
  • A red-lantern engine with no crew keeps showing up in night-yard photos—its manifest is always blank.
  • ROCU’s old charter includes a clause written in Latin and Enochian—only Boudreaux is allowed to read it aloud.
  • A shipment passed through ROCU yards last week. Now the entire receiving team is missing—and their clocks are still running.
  • One of the union’s oldest locomotives is locked behind chain and veil-seal. Nobody remembers why. Nobody dares break it open.
  • Trainspotters whisper that a certain track switches on its own some nights, heading nowhere on any map.
  • The crew is hired to recover a lost car that derailed—but the rail it rode on wasn’t part of any official line.
  • A PC's contact in ROCU stops responding—last seen near Yard 9 with a map he shouldn't have had.
  • A spirit bound to a freight car begs for help through broken Morse signals. If released, it knows things the crew shouldn’t.

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