The Isambard Line

AN AMBITIOUS PLAN TO RING THE REACH. Art from Sunless Skies.

*"It was meant to ring the whole Reach: a chain of accelerators and hour-funnels to speed locomotives between the outer ports. Doomed from the start, it was. Some said cursed, but I reckon building a road around the sky is just b\_\_dy difficult. It were never finished."*

Founded by the Quixotic Squire, **the Isambard Line** is an incomplete railway spanning the Reach.

## The Trains Ran on Time

Originally, it was meant to ring the whole Reach as a fast mode of transportation, using Hours as a fuel. However, only four signal boxes and some patches of rails were completed before London abandoned the project.

Eventually the signal boxes found their uses. Skyfarers may take supplies from a box and write their names in the ledger. From that point, the Skyfarer is considered indebted, and they are expected to restock the box later. Taking supplies without writing their name is frowned upon, and may risk unwanted attention.

The signal boxes' valuable uses don't exempt them from being a shooting target for Marauders or a perfect nest for spiders. Still, there is at least one person who still maintains the boxes...

## The Fatalistic Signalman

He doesn't sound hopeful. How long has he been here? Art from Sunless Skies

### Affiliation

New London

*"People outside the trade don't understand how signalling works. Every port, every corner of the sky, has its own signs and messages. It's a right mess. I've been cataloguing them: the semaphores, the lamp-languages, the badges and passphrases. Not that anyone will ever read it."*

**The Fatalistic Signalman** is the last signaller who still maintains the Isambard Line, or at least its signal boxes. He travels from box to box by hitchhiking. The failure of the Isambard Line has made him pessimistic, which wouldn't be a problem if his gloomy attitude wasn't so contagious.

Aside from fixing signal boxes, he is attempting to write a book detailing the signs and signals of the High Wilderness. He considers this his own way of preventing Skyfarers' deaths.

### Years past

Beyond this point lie **major spoilers** for *Fallen London*, *Sunless Sea*, or *Sunless Skies*. This may include **endgame** or **Fate-locked** content. **Proceed at your own risk**.
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*"The corpse is desiccated, ravaged by fungus. It lies on its side facing the wall, knees drawn up. Its back is to you, which makes the act of brushing off the spores seem like a violation of privacy. But you have to know, and indeed, under the coat of pale spores it wears a grey Isambard Line uniform.*

*Was it the cold that killed it? The fungus? Sickness? It is impossible to say. The High Wilderness holds a thousand quiet deaths. You can only be sure that it has lain here, undiscovered and undisturbed, for* ***years**."*

## Real-Life Parallels

The Isambard Line in *Sunless Skies* is probably named for Isambard Kingdom Brunel, a pioneer in British rail and steamships who lived from 1806 to 1859.

## References

2. ↑ An Abandoned Signal Box, *Sunless Skies*
3. ↑ Raiding the Cache, *Sunless Skies*
4. ↑ Resupply the Cache, *Sunless Skies*
5. ↑ Signal Box, *Sunless Skies*
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Ask if he has seen enough of the Reach, *Sunless Skies*
7. ↑ Recruit a Fatalistic Signalman, *Sunless Skies*
8. ↑ Fatalistic Signalman, *Sunless Skies* *"He is professional enough to prevent his mood from impacting his work. He has no qualms about it infecting other crewmembers, however. "*
9. ↑ The Last Signal-Box, *Sunless Skies*