Land of Gods Railway

Due to the railway's extreme length, many diverging tracks and lines, as well as the many environments it passes through, there are a wide array of hazards and dangers along it. The most southern portions of the railway network can be exposed to intense blizzards and storms during the winter time which have on occasion caused train derailments, though these incidents are incredibly rare. Where the network passes through population centers there is some risk posed by civilian vehicles, which have been known at some railroad crossings to try and overtake train cars if they believe they can pass ahead of them, almost always critically misjudging the trains' speeds.   More rural areas see the most danger come from equipment or mechanical failures not due to any danger from the train itself, but due to the environment itself. These regions are almost always extremely far north and subject to some of the most intense weather on the planet, such as wind storms and blizzards that can reach temperatures as low as -43 degrees F during the worst winter storms. Trains can become trapped by sudden white outs, blizzards, or even glacier calving blocking their path, which thanks to robust designs and engineering can withstand heavy damage, but may be unable to pass an obstacle on their track. This has many times caused people on board the trains to have to signal and wait for rescue, oftentimes in the form of a tugger car to assist in clearing the track or helping reverse a train that's become stuck or damaged. Geologic activity has also presented many repeated issues for many of the railway's most popular routes, mainly due to earthquake damage. It's been a well known issue plaguing the network to have to adjust train tracks for continental shifts every few years, in some cases diverting entire routes due to construction delays.   Due to the extreme remoteness of many of the lines, risks of banditry and robbings are also a threat to passengers. Although rare and even more rarely done with threat to passenger or employee's lives, the railway operates with an insurance system to reimburse passengers of any lost belongings during such events.  

Notable Accidents

As with any project of significant age and scope, there have been many accidents aboard the train network throughout its long history. The vast majority of these incidents have been classified as 'normal accidents', ones that are expected to occur by pure force of nature and were inevitable to occur eventually. The majority of such incidents have been due to weather or natural disaster.  

Great Pacific Quake, 12,904

In a rare instance, earthquakes in the pacific coastal region caused numerous damages to multiple trains operating across the network in the regions affected. While the majority of these only caused minimal damages and non-life threatening injuries, two trains were derailed in Washington. Unfortunately, all passengers and crew aboard the derailed trains were killed, though evidence suggests that some survived the initial crash. Due to their remote location and the priorities of emergency services being on large population centers, the survivors likely perished due to their injuries and exposure. This accident has been the subject of many conspiracy theories, documentaries, and novels that fictionalize the event. Oftentimes conspiracies state that this was intentional and due to an assassination carried out by Lapi, The God of Earth, upon the trains' passengers.  

18,489 Fire

In 18,489, a train from Nottingham, New York to Anchorage, Alaska caught fire, killing 14 passengers and 5 crew members. The ignition point is thought to have been due to faulty wiring that spread undetected through two of the passenger cars before catching a cargo car carrying dragonsglass batteries on board, which ignited. The explosion derailed the train's lower third section, which thankfully was mainly cargo. Following the accident, all trains that pass on the New York-Alaska route are inspected for electrical damage and no longer allow large volumes of batteries in a single car.

 

20,014 Big Freeze

A massive blizzard that swept across northern Laramidia caused numerous blackouts, whiteouts, and power failures. During the storm, more mountainous areas experienced record low temperatures that caused trees to drop limbs, power cables to fail, and many accidents. Intense blizzards also deposited massive amounts of snowfall that covered fallen trees and ditched vehicles, disguising many as mere snowbanks. In Michigan, a ditched vehicle was left on the tracks due to the blizzard and hit by a train departing for the network's Northern Tour, causing a partial derailment of the engine car and injuries to the crew. Due to the damages, the train had to be shut down and was left stranded 26 miles from the nearest station during whiteout conditions for 3 days. During this time, passengers used heating elements in the cars to keep warm though eventually ran out of power and became subject to hypothermia and frostbite. Furniture reportedly was burned to create signal fires to rescue crews who spotted the wreckage once the storm had cleared and began to organize a recovery effort. Unfortunately, the majority of injuries and casualties in the event were young children and infants on board due to the extreme temperatures. Two adult men were also killed by exposure, having left the safety of the train to attempt finding rescue on their own and found 1.8 miles from the track, having frozen to death due to improper outerwear.   Similarly to the 18,489 fire incident, trains departing from Michigan stations have been required by law to be inspected to ensure they are fully stocked on emergency supplies, batteries, and signal flares to prevent further accidents.

The network is a high speed rail system spanning from eastern Appalachia to the western European Archipelago, being known as the world's largest public works infrastructure project. It is under continuous construction with new lines, connections, and stations always needing to be added or be renovated and repaired. Despite numerous delays, public opinion of the railway remains quite high and as a rarity on Terra, is one of few such large projects supported by the pantheon.   Although there are plans to extend the network into the global south, most of these construction plans have not yet seen headway due to their massive scope. Instead, many suspect the railway will rather bridge points to other rail networks to connect to the larger system.   Individual train cars are a feat of engineering, constructed to withstand intense weather, glacier calving, blizzards, and still provide an air of luxury. Each car is equip with an independent heating system, emergency power supply and radio, and stores of goods regardless of their purpose for in the event of a train becoming stranded by bad weather or rail blockage. A common urban myth states that each car can be detached from the train while in operation in case of needing to be ditched, though this remains simply a myth.   Passenger cars are the primary focus, each housing individual rooms for passengers. These rooms can have up to four beds, each with their own heating, a small dining table, and privacy doors and curtains. While quite simple in function, their comfort and being relatively spacious is the main appeal for many. Passenger cars are most often equip with vending machines that serve warmed snacks and drinks, though are most often passed up in favor of full meals at dining cars. Every passenger car is also equip with a small bathroom and emergency shower room. The dining cars on each train are fewer than passenger cars and oftentimes are individual to each train. Some offer luxury dining experiences, high end fine dining, and experimental menus, while the vast majority feature small cafes, bistros, and an average train meal experience. Often not talked about in tourism or advertising, as necessary due to their incredibly long routes, there are bathing cars along the trains as well. These heated spa cars offer hot showers, saunas, and oftentimes spa sessions to all passengers. Although passenger cars are already equip with small emergency showers, these generally are shared between all passengers of that car, and thus not favored.

The project began its life as the Transcontinental Railway in tandem with the Transcontinental Subway, now the Transcontinental Subway Ruins. Similarly, the project was initially abandoned shortly after the rise of the dragons, ceasing all construction by 2054. This was mainly due to attacks by dragons, a lack of resources, and due to the safety concerns despite the project having cleared segments for construction already, utilizing old railways already present and laying ground for hundreds of miles of new track. Political unrest in the United States caused even further delays, with many governor's promising the return of jobs by trying to resurrect the project for many decades, all to failure in the short term. Decades of delays, false starts, and scavenging by survivors of dragon attacks saw that much of the metal and infrastructure for the project was stolen and repurposed.   The idea for resurrecting the project was floated in the early days of The War of Black Ash for improving evacuations from dragon attack as well as protection for civilians from the newly rising gods and their warfare. Primarily old and already existing rail networks were used in these early days with new construction mainly being small alternate lines to connect larger settlements more thoroughly as well as give alternate routes in case of danger on another segment of track. During this era, train cars were also heavily armored, oftentimes with large spikes and protrusions, in order to prevent dragons from landing on them during operation. Some reproductions of Black Ash era train cars also have extremely large 'dragon catchers' on their fronts and rears, meant to allow a car to ram a dragon in the way of the track, dead or alive. No records suggest these ever saw any actual use, however, and may have solely been a show of resources by different stations in various regions.   By 6,295, the nation of Canada began to make proposals with different states to connect their own train networks to the system and operate them together, allowing for free immigration to and from both nations. While initially opposed in many states, the project carried through with this plan beginning with New York and Washington connecting to Canadian networks. Additional networks and lines were added as join construction projects in Montana, Minnesota, and Wisconsin with plans for a route into Alaska to begin construction by 6,325. Large scale movement of the continents delayed many of these construction plans, however, and the vast majority of funds were relocated to repairs and alterations to already existing networks. Due to political fracturing and much of the United States of America falling into individually operating states as their own independent organizations from one another, many segments of the network became hotly contested in their ownership.   Depopulation of the most northern reaches of the world saw that the railway survived, mainly as a way for northern peoples to evacuate from the descending glaciers in North America. With the growing abandonment of the north with many settlements being seen as lost causes, new track was laid on the transcontinental railway solely for the purposes of evacuation and mass migration. To the surprise of many, however, was that anarchy and depopulated areas had high appeal to many, particularly of more conservative ideals, funneling many of these groups to migrate further north in turn. Many short term settlements and villages cropped up along the railway lines as railroad towns, most oftentimes only lasting for a few decades before being abandoned.   Following the founding of the Land of Gods, the railway took on a new purpose: while still used primarily for the transport and relocation of civilians in their daily lives, it became the primary resupply mechanism for the temples of North American gods. By the early 8,000s, numerous members of the pantheon began to fund more connections of the railway, lines, and railway towns to continue operation. It's believed that during this time, the first connection of the railway from Alaska into Russia was established, joining with Asian and European rain networks.  

Modern Era

In modern times, the railway has been through a number of name changes. While officially still called the Transcontinental, it is oftentimes more accurately called the Intercontinental, The Northern Rail, or Land of Gods railway which is often shortened to the LOG rail. No particular god holds control over the rail line, though individual stretches are oftentimes funded and maintained by the cults of whomever's temples and shrines are the closest, otherwise being maintained by mortal settlements. In modern times, the railway exists as the world's largest public works infrastructure project, promising safe travel, shelter, and resources to any who require it regardless of country of origin. The rail line also provides massive amounts of goods transport to numerous communities, cities, and towns that are entirely dependent on the network for daily life.   Since the War of the Moon's outbreak, the network has seen repeated attacks by the Lunar Dragonflight and Solar Dragonflight due to communities once more using it for evacuations from high risk areas. Major concerns have been raised about the potential for attacks by Batterion upon the railway, with many regions proposing to begin armoring train cars once again. The network has also seen significant use in transporting resources for the war effort to and from the Land of Gods, with notable publicity being the transport of bodies from the battlefield via train.

The vast majority of tourism seen by the railway is not for the train or its lines itself, but allowing transport between different tourist hotspots. The train network is widely considered a much more luxurious form of travel than flying while also being significantly cheaper, as long as one can afford the time. As an added bonus, many areas along the network do not have their own airports or roads, making access via the network the only option.   There is, however, some travel and tourism simply for the train ride itself. Due to its incredibly long routes as well as passage through numerous different countries, the LOG rail is favored by many seeking food tourism or to visit as many countries as they can. In modern times, the service has begun offering "North Tour" tickets, which promise hitting major cities around the northern hemisphere from eastern Appalachia to the western European Archipelago. These tickets are particularly popular with young adults, priests, and pilgrims though they also see a large portion of older travelers as well. North Tour tickets allow travel from Spain to New York, the entire trip taking an incredible 42 days on average, not accounting for delays, bad weather, or refueling detours.   The network also will offer lifetime packages to those who frequently use it, allowing those aboard to stay as long as they wish. These packages are oftentimes used to effectively allow passengers to live on the trains, which although heavily criticized by many governments, has been seen as a boon to many disenfranchised communities. Online, there is a small but vocal fanbase of LOG enthusiasts known to attempt the "LOG challenge", during which they attempt to live on the train as long as possible without leaving. Breaks for shopping, resupplying, and uploads of their progress are allowed, however those taking the challenge are not allowed to spend more than 8 hours per day off of the train without disqualifying themselves. The current record for this challenge is believed to be held by Mariana Luiz Sanchez, a science fiction author who has reportedly spent 18 years living aboard a single LOG passenger car. Her streak was only broken due to her car needing to be replaced due to a broken window, according to urban legend.