Train Trade Point
This is a location found at the south of the town where the river exiting Isthramir meets/passes under the railway tracks that run the rim of the town.
A relatively new area, this was built so goods (primairly from the Ice trade) could be easily transported from the town to elsewhere in the country, and vice versa. The river connects it to the Market Square, allowing for easy sale of goods to the rest of town.
The Train Trade Point is seperate from the market, in that most residents in town buy goods from the market shops, with those shops doing their trade/collecting the goods to sell here.
Several stations line the area, each dedicated to a train with Symbols displaying what company they are for. They are typically split between large country trains and small local trains. Small shunters will have pulled individual carriages apart from larger trains so they can be lined up along smaller stations. These are for traders who operate from their own specific carriages (these people live in their carriages and trade goods between the different towns of Terminus - they're more like small, moving shops rather than goods trains) and small good collections.
The area has several bridges/pathways that pass over the top of trains/carriages, allowing pedestrians to move around without getting in the way of larger goods being removed from trains.
There is likely a (or a couple of) local inn/tavern for workmen to stay at overnight before setting off in the morning.
NOTE: For story purposes, perhaps Vanice has come/been sent here by his mentor to collect some goods. Or perhaps he's aware of it because of his mentor, so has gone their of his own accord to try and precure some materials to experiment/build with. This gives him a bit more agency in the story. Could combine the two. This also allows me to show the Kanna Domar starting to use this to help them transport illegal goods into/out of town.
NOTE 2: It is important to know that a good chunk, if not the vast majority, of money that comes from this is through the Kanna Domar, with relatively little going into the town - at least in the modern day. At the peak of the Ice Trade this was where most of the Town's income came from, but it has gradually fallen off and been taken over by the Kanna Domar for their own trade.
Purpose / Function
The Train Tade Point, while a relatively new area, was built so goods (primairly from the Ice trade) could be easily transported from the town to elsewhere in the country, and vice versa. The river connects it to the Market Square, allowing for easy sale of goods to the rest of town.
The Train Trade Point is seperate from the market, in that most residents in town buy goods from the market shops, with those shops doing their trade/collecting the goods to sell here. However it does have a specialist market in the form of Trader Carriages.
Trader Carriages - Carriages owned or rented out by tradesmen who live in the carriage. They pay for a place for their carraige on the train, and trade smaller goods with the residents of each town they visit (as opposed to the large goods orders typically transported by the rest of the train). This allows goods typically not available in certain towns to be traded. Often the Carriage Traders will have contacts in several towns and buy goods they expect will be of interest for those they are visiting to buy, and may have specific orders (though these tend to be more expensive to obtain, as the traders rarely stray far enough from their carriages to go rooting for goods for a single person).
Design
Unsure on exact scale, as I don't want it to be too large. Basing it on York Train Station, York has 11 main platforms, which would work well (say 2 passenger platforms and 9 split between large ones for goods trains and smaller ones for specific trades carriages - I only envision 2 large goods trains at a time, with maybe 3-4 smaller ones).
Entries
One main entrance towards Isthramir for pedestrians.
One secondary entrance for pedestrians that crosses the bridge over the river (so heads towards Thunder Valley)
One large entrance for trains to come in by
A small entry way that goes towards the goods trains, which have thier own doors and exits.
A cafe built to look over the view from the Plateau? With an outdoor seating area (this would be built over the platforms, in line with the roof/1st story)
Sensory & Appearance
Well lit, smells somewhat of steam from the trains, and wood from the pillars.
Alterations
Initally built with just some platforms and tracks for trains to stop at, the Train Trade point has had additions built over time.
The first of these was a roof, followed shortly by strong walls (the sides were open and the roof only held up by pillars initally).
From there, walkways were added over the tops of the train lines, allowing pedestrians to walk around more easily without getting in the way of goods being transported on/off the trains.
As the station grew, the original platforms were extended to allow larger trains, and eventaully additional platforms built outside the initial roof. Rule of thumb is the closer the platform is to the centre, the more expensive it is (better protected, cleaner, closer to the entrance/river, etc.) - this is often reflected in the people/trains docked at them, as the larger and more expensive trains/owners can afford the more expensive platforms.
Architecture
As it was built during Isthramir's height, the Train Trade Point has some of the grandest archetecture in Isthramir. It's one of the largest buildings in Ishtramir and was designed to appeal to and draw in visitors. While most of the actual frame and structure of the build is wooden, it is highlighted by arches and rooftops designed to enhance the look of the snow. Windows and mirrors are built in to reflect light and make it look as if the station/snow was always sparkling and shimmering in the sunlight. Ice statues, figures and displays are built in, with the grandest of these being a large Ice Train in the lobby's centre - intricalty detailed to the point of looking like someone coated an actual train in ice.
The goods side of the station is less fancy, being built more for practical reasons. Though it still shares alot of the architectural builds (it would be visible from the main station after all, and take up more room than the passenger exclusive side), it lakes some of the finer details, such as less extravagent Ice Statues (if any are present).
History
The Train Trade Point is a relatively new build, though the land it was built on existed before hand.
Initially, the point was where a bridge had been built over the river. This was built partially to aid catching of materials for goods that loosened and floated downstream. The edge of the Plateau's Cliff was visible from the bridge, so a tower built there to allow a view over the rest of Terminus. This allowed anyone approaching Isthramir from the south to be visible well in advance. Notably, the Istharian people observed the Terminus railway tracks being built long before they reached the Plateau.
While the bridge has been repaired over the years, to the point that it could be argued the orignal bridge has completely been replaced, it still stands in the modern day. This is no small feat considering it is almost as old as Isthramir itself.
The Train Trade Point itself started as a simple station and tracks, being the start of the rails around Isthramir's southern side, but quickly developed into the larger station once the Ice Trade took off and the town's economy boomed.
At the time of Illusia and Vanice's story, the Train Trade Point is still grand, but gradually goes through disrepair as the kids age. Still a grand build, just notably less prominent than it once was, with some of the smaller statues dissapearing and the Ice Train Sculpture losing it's shimmer and detail (using analysis wankery, it reflects the Town as a whole, losing its "shimmer")
Tourism
This is the first point where tourists will touch down in Isthramir, so is designed to make a grand impression. It does so well, being grand in scale and attractive to look at.
For tourists, there are various ways of travelling into the Town proper, though some are drawn to the smaller Trader Carriages and nearby shops, most head directly into Isthramir, towards the Ice Hotel, Market and Ice Garden.
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