Sticklands Central Railroad

The Sticklands Central Railroad is a class 1 railroad owned by King Abraham Industries located on the western & central side of The Sticklands. it was built as a narrow gauge line but converted to standard gauge in 2023.

History
The Central Region of The Sticklands is a combination of many different types of terrain. From Flatlands to Mountains, this unique area of The Sticklands was originally colonized by settlers who had come to strike rich from the rich ore deposits on the west coast. in 1912, The Morada Zinc Co was established to extract these ores and bring them inland. They Chartered the Morada Zinc Railroad Co, which built a narrow gauge road from the mines. the originally planned terminus was Sticktropolis, The Sticklands's Capital City. But The Stickburg Stickville & Sticktropolis Railway, which was building towards the city, refused to let the MZRR build into the city. then there was word that the newly founded cities of Ticonderoga and Pencilboro to the north were interested in a railroad. so the Morada Zinc Co Investors met with the officials of both cities and Chartered The Sticklands Central Railroad & Zinc Co (the name was soon shortened to Sticklands Central Railroad) and began building north. Narrow Gauge Rails reached Ticonderoga in 1915, the same year that the S.S.&.S. reached Sticktropolis. the railroad reached Pencilboro later that year. in 1916, The City of Graphite Flats requested a Railroad Connection. The S.S.&.S. and the Sticklands Central both applied for the Charter, and it was decided that both roads should build towards Graphite Flats. if The Central reached the city first, it was very likely that the SS&S could be bought out by the company. if the Graphite Road reached the city first, The Central would be almost completely under the SS&S's Control. in 1917, both railroads began building north in a great race to reach the city. The Central initially made great progress, building quickly across the flatlands and into the valleys, while the S.S.&.S. was struggling to blast rock to make way for its costal Right of Way. But once through the valley, the Central soon encountered the Great Stick Mountains. Millions of pounds of rocks would have to be blasted to build the Grade. in addition, they would have to bridge a massive Canyon known as Graphite Gulch. this slowed the central's progress to a crawl while the Graphite Road began building inland. by December of 1919 it was clear that the S.S.&.S. would win the race, but the Central made a last ditch attempt to win by Chartering a subsidiary, the "Sticklands Northern Railway", which would begin construction on the opposing side of the gulch and into the city while the central finished its bridge. but the Railroad's attempts were in vain, as the Graphite Road's tracks reached graphite flats on January 1st, 1920. The Central did finish it's mainline, but it was mostly under the influence of the S.S.&.S. and severely in debt. for the rest of the 20th Century, with Northbound Zinc shipments from the Morada Mine being it's only source of revenue. but in 2022, The Sticklands entered an alliance with the Codrasan Empire, which immediately took interest in the Ailing Narrow Gauge Road. The Sticklands Government offered to donate the Railroad and it's assets to the Empire, and the deed was signed soon after. the Empire immediately began Re-Gauging the Railroad, straightening the curves and leveling out most of the grades. once in the flatlands, the railroad grade was too uneven to properly rebuild, so the tracks were simply laid on top of it, making for a very hilly grade. With a reliable infrastructure and a profitable connection, the Central is now a thriving railroad. secondhand power from other railroads (mostly Ex-CNW) owned by King Abraham Industries is now used on The Central.