Franconia

So what is all this "Franconia" business anyway?

Although Hellfire is modelled around the 1981 Great Britain Summer Timetable (and specifically takes place in July 1981), there were some events in History that involved the mass movement of hundreds of thousands of people, and stretched the railways to their limit.

One of these was the visit of Pope John Paul II to the UK in May/June 1982, and "Pope Day" remains one of the most memorable days in many people's bashing career.

In order to merge these events into the 1981 timetable, some artistic license has been taken, and uses the world tour of a fictitious band called "Franconia Goes to Holyhead" as a backdrop. (This is a loosely veiled reference to a 1980's band of a similar name, with obvious railway overtones).

Each of the Franconia scenarios takes place on the actual day of the week that the Pope visited the locations in question.

Leamington Spa - Sunday. Manchester and York - Monday (Yes - both events were on the same day in real life, but are separated into different scenarios in the game). Edinburgh/Glasgow - Tuesday. Cardiff - Wednesday.