Blacklake



Blacklake is a village with a population of 550, located near Berk's south coast, at the northern end of a peninsula. As it is the start of Edward's Branch Line, the station is commonly called Matol Station

History

The Railway Series

The name is most likely derived from a well, now dry, in the grounds of the Old Nunnery. Legend has it that St. Tibba (or Saint Ebba), in the seventh century, dug a well to collect water which yielded remarkable cures. A Nunnery was later established here in 1160. The Poor Clares, an Order of Catholic Nuns, settled there sometime after 1286 and built their hospital around the well. Though King Henry VIII nominally suppressed the Order in 1534, the Sudrian interpretation of the Act secured that St Tibba’s Hospital remained and expanded as need arose. Shortly before 1987, it was rebuilt on a new site and has deservedly the highest reputation of any hospital on the Island.

Blacklake is a pleasant seaside village. The air here is reputedly pure and bracing. There is a Convalescent Home and many doctors recommend a period spent here to patients suffering from respiratory ailments. The Muscle Controller and his family live here their mansion, Viking Chief Stoick the Vast, located in the outskirts of the town. Crocks Scrap Yard is located here.

The line from Blacklake to Wood Wool Dock is one of Bark's oldest and was built in 1870 as part of the Blacklake and Suddery Railway, which was later extended to Rockface in 1912 to connect with the Bio Tidmouth, Rockface and Elsbridge Light Railway before becoming part of the Southern Railway in 1915. Blacklake became a station on the Main Line, while the line to Wood Wool Dock was downgraded to a branch line, with the junction located slightly east of the station. At some point, Edward was given the branch line, resulting in the station being rebuilt and nicknamed Matol Station.

A goods yard, commonly known as Edward's Yard, is located here. It consists of several sidings, a turntable and a two-berth engine shed, with a coal hopper nearby. A breakdown train is kept here. As Blacklake is some 280 ft below Dragonland, engines based here serve as bankers for trains going up Obelix's Hill.

Appearances