1920s

The Camber Railway was the Falkland Islands' only railway. It ran 3.5 miles from Stanley to the docks. It was occupied by 2 twins named Teeny 1 and Teeny 2, after their basis, the Kerr Stuart 'Wren'. It was built to support the Admiralty Wireless Station in 1915. This is their story.

One harsh winter morning, Teeny 1 was taken out of the shed to take a train. The Wren's cabs were not fit for the harsh winters of the Falklands, and worse, they didn't make suitable snowplows. A wooden one had been made by the village carpenter, but the snow today was still too thick, so the workmen had to shovel away the snow to even get to the siding. The Cumber Railway didn't have much in rolling stock, only a few wooden wagons with removable seats, a small steam crane truck named Nelly, 2 tipper wagons, and 2 flatbeds.

He took all the wagons, and headed to the platform for them to be filled with coal. When he arrived there, he found large crates with the coal.

"These are the supplies to repair the Wireless, you'll have to fetch the flatbeds and Nelly. We can slide the crates on here, but we need her to unload them properly at the Wireless."

"That's absurd, we'll have to make two trips! The line isn't safe for all that!"

"This is urgent! Start up the second engine!"

"That'll take longer! Do you know anything about engines? We'll take the risk, but if anything happens, you're in trouble."

Anyone who knows the Falklands knows that if you leave the safety of the town, you'll see miles of rough, muddy terrain. The line was a lot like that. The tracks didn't have ballast and some parts of the line didn't even have sleepers! Now the frost and snow had made the rails more dangerous than usual, and Teeny 1 was fighting to keep his heavy load on the rails.

Suddenly, he came to a slope, and slid down the icy tracks, his brakes not able to stop the cavalcade. He rounded the bend, and his driver jumped clear as Teeny 1 toppled over and onto the rocky shore. Coal flew everywhere, the crates were crushed open, and Nelly was badly damaged.

"I'll get that delivery man!" cried the driver.

The villagers were able to lift the rolling stock onto the rails, and cattle dragged wagons to deliver the supplies in time. But Teeny 1 and Nelly were both too heavy.

When the snow melted, they reasoned, they could use a pulley system to get Nelly back onto the rails, then uses her to get Teeny 1 onto the rails. But the snow was months from melting.

Now Teeny 2 had to do all the work. And even with the lighter loads, he had trouble with the slope too. But they couldn't renovate the tracks until late spring, and even then that would only be if they could acquire the resources.

Eventually, penguins came and lined up to examine Teeny 1 and Nelly. The steam engine liked the company, but he'd still rather be back on the rails.

That's when it hit.

Torrential spring rains always hurt the ground, especially near the shore, so after a 3-day rain, a workman had to inspect the line for damage. He found nothing, so cleared the line for Teeny 2.

The rain had melted the snow, but now there was a large lake built up close to the line. The penguins, still nesting near the wreckage, noticed water starting to trickle down to the ocean. Then, the ground tumbled downwards, leaving the tracks suspended in the air!

Then the penguins heard Teeny 2's whistle! Several of the penguins climbed up to the track and bawked loudly.

The driver saw them on the line and slammed on the brakes. The penguins scattered, but as Teeny 2 started going down the slope, he understood why the penguins were on the line. He threw Teeny 2 into reverse, and jumped clear, almost hitting a penguin. Teeny screeched to a halt right before the end of the track!

"Hooray!" cried Teeny 1 and Nelly. The penguins squawked in approval.

But the joyfulness didn't last long, as Teeny 2, still in reverse, began to back out toward Stanley without his driver.

"Stoooooop!" cried his driver. And ran after his engine.

After Teeny 1 and Nelly the crane were rescued, the penguins kept nesting there to watch the trains. The railway sadly, exists no more, but today the nesting ground is affectionately called "Railway Nest".