Eastern Main Line

Eastern Main Line
The EML running near Fenby Dunloy.
Overview
Type	Heavy rail
System	Board of Railways
Status	Operational
Locale	Lesser Erbonia, Great Nortend
Termini	Saint-le-Cross railway station Astonstan Town railway station
Stations	54
Operation
Operator(s)	Eastern Railway
Technical
Line length	~130 miles, ~220 km
Number of tracks	Double track Quadruple track Sextuple track
Track gauge	Erbonian gauge
Route map Template:GNEML route diagram

The Eastern Main Line (EML) is a major railway line in Great Nortend operated by the Eastern Railway. The EML connects the capital of Lendert-with-Cadell with the major towns of Mooping, Lostwin, Galesport, Derham and Astonstan, running near due-east from the Cadell terminus of the Eastern Railway, Saint-le-Cross railway station. The line is an important passenger and goods line in Great Nortend, serving the major port of Galesport, as well as being a crucial line between the East and the capital.

The EML was one of the first main lines to be established in the Golden Age of Railways in Great Nortend. The first section, between Saint-le-Cross and Stallinghampton, opened in 1831 by the Cadell and Stallinghampton Railway, was the first railway built in Lendert-with-Cadell and precipitated a great railway building boom during the mid-19th century. This was soon extended to Gewsborough and thence to Mooping. Various sections were built by newly formed companies such as the Astonstan, Fenby Dunloy and Derham Railway Company which built the line between Astonstan and Barrowden, the portion between Barrowden and Derham now used as part of the Dewer Valley line.

Route

The core route of the EML runs from Cadell Saint-le-Cross railway station for 130 miles (220 km) to Astonstan on the eastern Dershire coast. There are principal stations at Gewborough, Mooping, Cormilford, Harringham, Lostwin, Loresdon, Galesport, and Derham.

The EML forms the main backbone of the services provided by the Eastern Railway. There are branches serving Swinork, Teyford, Moneypool and Leigh Regis, as well as an alternative route branching off beyond Lostwin that passes through Dean Hurrough, Medlingford, Rotherham on Dewer and Barrowden before rejoining the main route at Salwecop Junction a few miles before Derham.

The route of the line was largely dictated by the geographical land formations in the area. The Cherddon Welds and Ippen Hills serve as the main considerations for route-planning. The line skirts around the north to north-eastern side of the Central Weld region, crossing numerous rivers. Consideration was also paid to the location of estates, rivers and towns, as well as the requirements of the legislation for construction.

Infrastructure

Track

The EML is mostly double track set at the standard Erbonian gauge of 5 Catherinian feet, which works out to be around 3' 10¾” Imperial or 1.49 m. The line is quadruple tracked in the section between Lendert-with-Cadell and Lostwin as well as other high-volume sections. There are intermittent sections of triple track as well.

Signalling

Standard semaphore signalling is used on the EML, controlled by a network of over 60 manual signal boxes.