Soma

* **Operator**: Dark Railway
* **Constructed**: 1891
* **Station Code**: SM
* **Platforms**: 1
* **Status**: Open

**Soma railway station**is a terminating station on the Dark Railway. The station serves the nearby village of Soma, as well as the quarry complex right next to the station.

## History

Soma station was built in 1891, as the original mainline terminus of the then-infant "Dark Railway", which was built to connect the quarry here to the vllage of Axley (and by extension, the mainline, via Galen Junction). The platform was built to accommodate long trains, such was the intention to make this the terminus. However, with the extension to Walschurch and, ultimately, Merecombe, Soma lost this honour, instead becoming a branchline terminus. At the time, the station was simply known as "The Quarry".

The quarry provided substantial traffic for the railway, as villagers in Axley working here would travel up and down to the quarry via the railway, and large amounts of ballast, stone, rock and other ores were extracted from the plentiful hills and mines, being transported away for onward transit elsewhere.

In 1894, a small village began to grow in the hills around Soma Quarry, where villagers from Axley relocated to be closer to their workplace. In time, this village took on the name of "Soma", along with the station and quarry, due to the fact that it had been built and operated by "Soma Enterprises", a company that was absorbed into the Dark Railway's operating company in 1893 due to financial issues with the company. The name, "Soma", stands as a homage to the people who brought the quarry and village into being.

In the early years, a tunnel was built past the current station's headshunt to provide access to another area of the hills in order to mine them. However, though the tunnel and a siding layout were built, the area selected did not yeild the required amounts of ore, and was quickly abandoned. Though blocked up and forgotten about, Theo and Otto remembered, and eventually turned this old siding area into their Lair (complete with hidden tunnel entrance), which was destroyed in 1963 after their accident with the Teleporter.

By 1974, production at the quarry was winding down and operations on the branch were being handled by the Dark Railway Preservation Society. In the winter of that year, a runaway train caused the viaduct leading to the quarry, already in a badly weakened state, to collapse, severing the quarry from its only real connection to the outside world. The loss of this connection led to the quarry's permanent closure. After a few months of inactivity, it was decided to reopen the quarry as a mining museum, allowing the area to become more accessible to the general public for the first time.

## Layout and Facilities

The platform is very simple, with a long canopy protecting passengers from downpours, several benches, and a small ticket office near the end of the line. There is one single platform, with a runaround loop and headshunt provided for engines to move to the other end of the train. The station has a substantial goods yard, which is vital for bringing goods, such as dairy products and produce to the village, due to the lack of road access for heavy goods vehicles.

Right next to the station is Soma Quarry, a large exporter of minerals and ores in the area. A siding complex here serves the busy quarry, with an engine shed to accommodate a shunting locomotive. This quarry has been open since 1891, and is one of the longest continually operating quarry complexes in the country.

## Accidents and Incidents

* In 1963, the old abandoned mining complex, which had been converted into Theo and Otto's Lair, was destroyed in the blast created by their teleporter/time machine.
* In 1974, a runaway train led by Class 04 shunter No. D2217 caused the viaduct leading to the quarry to collapse, severing the quarry's connection to the rest of the railway.

## Appearances

### The Dark Railway Series

Episodes:

* Series 1 - The Shunter's Gamble (*mentioned*), Something's In the Air, The Road to Radstock, and Sir Eustace's Secret
* Series 2 - Dave's Reward, Colin and the Coaches, Tenders (*mentioned*), Allan, Hide and Seek, and Some Kind of Fuel (*mentioned*)
* Series 3 - 257 Squadron (*mentioned*), Tender Moments of Tender Engines (*mentioned*), Poor Leno, Super 8, and Who Goes There?
* Series 4 - Cammer, Colin and Cows, Owen's Woes, Turbo (*mentioned*), Allan Does Galen (*mentioned*), Trucks, and Instant Crush
* Series 5 - Repulse
* Series 6 - Ouverture (*mentioned*), Fustercluck, Ed, Ed and Eddie, Plunk 'n Bang, Asphalt Assault (*mentioned*), and The Prime Time of your Life
* Series 7 - Futura (*mentioned*), Smashing! (*mentioned*), Mothership Reconnection, and Rollerskate Disco (*mentioned*)
* Series 8 - Revolution 909 and Short Circuit
* Series 9 - 9 (*mentioned*), Goose, Rock 'n Roll, Rock Shock (*mentioned*), Time Wasted, Wipeout, and Shapeshifter (*mentioned*)

Specials:

* Phantoms Can't Hang

Films:

* Event Horizon

## Trivia

* Soma is currently the oldest station on the line, because of the complete rebuilt of Axley Station in 1968.
* Soma has been Theo and Otto's main workplace (and, as mentioned by them, their "Home") since the late 1890's. They are supremely protective of the place, and have been rumoured to stop at nothing to protect the village and quarry from "Attacks from the gods" (in Theo's words).
* Soma is named after a "Deadmau5" song of the same name.