Theo and Otto's Lair

* Constructed: 1897
* Decomissioned: 1963
* Status: Destroyed

**Theo and Otto's Lair** was a large facility built over an abandoned and forgotten mineshaft near Soma, Kent. It was used by Theo and Otto mainly for their scientific experiments, but also doubled as a storage facility and weapons testing range.

## History

During the late 1890's, surveyors discovered a potetially prosperous mining ground in the foothills of Soma, and began plans for an extension of the Dark Railway beyond the station and quarry already established at Soma, so as to set up a series of sidings near the proposed shaft to easily transport mined materials away from the site.

The tunnel and sidings were completed in 1901, but mining operations could not begin straightaway, due to the land atop of the proposed shaft being rather unstable. After several failed attempts to construct a shaft, the site was abandoned, with the tunnel being blocked off at the Soma end in 1908.

Theo and Otto, who had assisted with the construction of the new site, decided to repurpose the abandoned area as a "lair", a secret location where they could store their secret projects and collection of random junk. Setting up an elaborate "false rock wall and hidden rails" at the end of the station headshunt at Soma, the twins re-opened the tunnel and began construction on their lair, all the while keeping it a closely guarded secret from the other engines. Unbeknownst to them, their future owner, Otthaniel Dark, knew about the existance of the lair, but kept it a secret so as to retain the twins *trust.*

By the 1940's, a large facility had been built at the lair, where the twins maintained their collection of prized posessions, including several spare parts for themselves, a vast amount of expensive and rare elements and minerals, and a railgun that would later become the "Tau Cannon".

During the 1950's, Theo and Otto began construction of their "Excelsor" projects, which were all built, maintained and tested at the lair. The entire facility was destroyed in 1963, during an accident with Excelsor 3. Since then, the site has been decaying and falling apart, becoming unsafe to use. The twins confirmed, in 1966, that the entire facility had now collapsed into the abandoned mineshaft, and the tunnel was filled in during 1969 during the expansion of the quarry at Soma.

## Layout and Facilities

The lair featured a vast array of sidings and buildings, which had a variety of purposes, including storage, weapons testing, laboratories and power supply. The plateau that the sidings and buildings are built on overlook a deep chasm, which was excavated as part of the mining exercises in the early 1900's. The entire facility was linked up to the Dark Railway via a secret tunnel, which has now been removed.

## Accidents and Incidents

* In 1963, an experiment went horribly wrong at the facility, sending Theo, Otto, Dave, Brian and Raymond back in time to 1953, whilst also destroying the entire facility at the same time, during an Event Horizon. When Theo and Otto returned to the site after their time travelling mishap, the entire facility had been destroyed by fire and the resulting explosion caused by the dangerously unstable Excelsor 3.

## Trivia

* The Lair was only ever seen during the events of Event Horizon.