Iron Rivers

"The Iron Rivers tribe fled southeast. When the children grew tired, the men carried them on their backs. They retreated to their former hunting grounds, a stretch of badlands many miles to the southeast."

- In-game cinematic

The Iron Lines are a group of fairly primitive, nomadic tribals.

History
Also known as the Iron Rivers, the tribe travelled from the West for many years to reach the Great Circle. They followed the path of the "Great Roaring Machine", a pre-War train, because they believe it to be a sign of the Old World's return. Once part of a larger tribe in the West, they have long since split.

The Iron Lines are religious, believing in many tales such as the "Chain Walkers" and "Mad King Scorpion", in a similar vein to Native American folklore. However, the tribe has recently become a target for Caesar's Legion as potential slaves, who prey on the weak nomads and antagonise them regularly.

Characteristics
The Iron Lines charted the railways of the pre-War world. They collect and often use handcarts to make their way across the wilderness. When they travel, they usually form handcart caravans for mutual safety.

The Iron Lines resist the Daughters of Hecate and have remained largely immune to the plagues that haunt other tribes who go against Hecate’s wishes. However, the Vipers never pass up an opportunity to butcher any Iron Lines they discover. The Iron Lines decorate their bodies with paintings of parallel lines. Although they are nomadic, their main headquarters is Circle Junction, which is pretty literal in its naming - it's a circular collection of railways that intersect and go in a number of different directions, located east and south of Denver.

Interactions with the player character

 * The Prisoner can help rejoin the Iron Lines with their old tribe to gain bonus XP.

Appearances
The Iron Lines were intended to be in Van Buren, the cancelled Fallout 3 by Black Isle Studios.

Behind the scenes

 * While they were never referred to as "Iron Lines" during the actual development of the game, J.E. Sawyer later named them Iron Lines because of their body art and general association with the railroads.