Chicago, Illinois November, 1912

Christine pulled into the Chicago area later that evening. The city itself was huge. Everywhere she went she saw trains moving in every which way. She was a bit nervous that, with all the different rail lines, she would lose her way and head onto the wrong track. However, she remembered what Mr. Guilford had told her and worked on paying attention to only the signals above her track.

Before long, she arrived in the station. She didn't see any engines from the railroads that she had seen or talked to on her way into Chicago, but there were some others. There were engines from the Santa Fe, Wabash, Chicago & Eastern Illinois, Chesapeake & Ohio, and others.

The station was a beehive of activity as Christine pulled into the station. Everywhere she looked were people moving around to get to their trains, porters carrying carts full of baggage to and from the trains, and train crews talking to each other about the itinerary for their next journey.

After they came to a stop, Mr. Guilford walked up to his engine. He could tell she was exhausted from her long journey, but she was still wide awake with all the activity going on around her. "Good job today," he said as he oiled her rods once more. "I know it was a long trip but you still did excellent today. When we're done here we'll give you a good wash-down and you'll feel great again."

"Thanks Mr. Guilford," she said. She was still trying to figure out where Holton was. 'He said he would be in Chicago this evening,' Christine thought to herself. "Mr. Guilford, where are all the other railroads?"

"Hmm?" he asked, looking up from his oiling. "Oh, that. Well, Chicago is an extremely big city. Over half of all the major railroads in the United States come into Chicago. Because of that, there are several different stations that serve different railroads. Some railroads even have their own special station just for them."

"Then how will I see Holton again?"

"Well, you'll see him at the roundhouse tonight. Just because his railroad doesn't go to this station doesn't mean that you won't see him again."

Christine felt a bit relieved to hear this news, but was still a bit on edge. After they were finished with unloading their passengers, a small switch engine came and took away their coaches and Christine headed over to the wash rack. After her crew gave her a good wash down, she headed over to the roundhouse. It was crowded, but fortunately, there were two spots left at the end of the roundhouse. She pulled into one of them and decided to save the next one for Holton when he arrived.

While she waited, another engine spoke up in a discussion. "Man, I'll tell you what, those Lake Shore engines are getting haughtier and haughtier every day. Would you believe me if I told you that one of them said that they were the best railroad in the country and that they're gonna put everyone else out of business?"

"That's ridiculous," another engine replied. "And besides, they can't because they would create a monopoly. And that's against the law."

"Well that's what they said. Why do you think they own the Nickel Plate? It's a parallel road to them and it's competition for them. If they control it, then they can reroute all the freight over to their lines and just wait until the line goes bankrupt and then rip up the railroad."

"But that can't happen. The government wouldn't allow that."

"Well, I'm afraid he's right," Holton said as he pulled onto the turntable. "The people over at the New York Central own the Lake Shore, and us. Ever since they have, the amount of business we've had has dwindled down to the point that we're just barely making it by."

"But why is this happening?" Christine asked.

Holton looked at her for a second and then remembered that she was still young and was new to the states. "That's right. I was going to tell you about what's been going on between the railroads. Well, I guess this is the best time to do that. After all, it will explain what is going on."

Back in the 1860s and 70s, a man by the name of Cornelius Vanderbilt made some rather shrewd business moves. In 1866, he ordered that Albany Bridge, at that time the only rail bridge into New York City, be shut down. This meant that all the railroads going into New York over that bridge were now losing money. In a panic, the companies started to sell off ownership of the company, known as stock, and the price of buying stock in those companies dropped to extremely low prices.

Vanderbilt then made his move. He proceeded to buy up all the stock that had been sold off by the railroads and, in one swift motion, He created the largest railroad company in America. He controlled almost all the railroads that served New York. The only one he didn't control was the Erie. At that time, the Erie was the only railroad that connected New York with Chicago.

Now, this was before the Anti-Trust Laws were put in place to prevent monopolies, so there was basically no one, outside of individual entrepreneurs, to stop Vanderbilt from taking control of the Erie as well. Because the men at the Erie knew that Vanderbilt wanted ownership of the Erie, they decided to release watered stock, or stock that had less value than advertised, of which Vanderbilt bought over $7 million of. After the plot was discovered and the men at the Erie were threatened with litigation, they eventually gave Vanderbilt back his money, and in turn, Vanderbilt agreed to leave the Erie alone.

In 1870, a new railroad, the West Shore, started construction on the opposite side of the Hudson River from the NYC. Vanderbilt believed that this was the work of the Pennsylvania Railroad, the other rival railroad of the NYC. However, Vanderbilt worked to improve business on the line, and within a few years, the West Shore went bankrupt.

In response to the bankruptcy, the West Shore dropped its rates much lower than that of the NYC and hoped that this would cause the NYC to fall. Vanderbilt responded to this by reviving the construction of the West Pennsylvania Railroad, which had a much shorter line between the east coast and the Great Lakes than any of the other railroads.

It eventually took J. P. Morgan to stop the war between the two railroads. The terms of the "Cease Fire" were that the West Shore be sold to the NYC and the West Pennsylvania be sold to the PRR. Because of this, both railroads felt that they were gypped by the other because they lost lines in territory that they wanted and simply gained parallel lines.

"And because of that," Holton continued, "Both the PRR and the NYC have been at each others' throats ever since. That's why you'll never see any engine from the NYC and PRR ever get along, or the NYC and Erie for that matter, although the Erie and NYC are a bit more gentle about their rivalries."

"So it was all because of the greed of a few men?" Christine asked.

"Yep, it's a sad thing what money does to humans. Some devote their whole life to it and never seem to have enough. My driver is always telling me that money is one of the root causes of all evil in the world," Holton said.

"Maybe that's why those electric engines are always rude to us, because of money," Christine thought out loud.

"Well, I don't see how money can affect us engines, steam or electric, since we can't use it, but it might have a hand in their attitude and what their builders have told them," Holton replied.

Christine pondered the words that Holton said. The rest of the evening switched to different topics, most of which seemed boring to Christine and she eventually fell asleep.

Eastern Michigan January, 1989

"You know, I've often wondered why the Central and Pennsy always seemed to hate each other," Michael said.

"Well that's what I was told. And nothing else seems to be a causing factor in it," Christine replied.

"You're right. Nothing else would give them a reason. So did you only go to Chicago while you were on the GTW? Or did you go anywhere else?" Michael asked, changing the subject.

"Actually, I ended up going to Detroit as well as making a rather uneventful trip to Grand Rapids," Christine replied.

"Well, what was it like going to Detroit for the first time?"

"It was… interesting, to say the very least."

November, 1912

The next day, Christine made a return trip out of Chicago. However, instead of going back to Port Huron when she departed the busy depot of Durand, they headed south instead of east.

"Where are we going now?" Christine asked.

"We're headed to Detroit," Mr. Guilford replied. "It's another one of the big cities that the Grand Trunk serves. You'll probably be heading out of there a lot in the future."

"Why do you say that?"

"Back in April, the largest ship in the world, the Titanic, sank killing a lot of people. Among them was the President of Grand Trunk. He was a good man and knew how to manage money. Ever since he died, the current management has been trying to fill his place. The problem is I've been seeing them making several decisions that are going to cost the company money. If things keep going the way they are, the company could go bankrupt. And if that happens, the GTW could be split from GT."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Have you tried talking to management about their decisions?"

Mr. Guilford chuckled. Obviously, Christine didn't understand how railroad management worked and that they probably wouldn't listen to one engineer that was among the thousands of employees that worked on the railroad. Still, he had to admit that he was impressed with her common sense, no nonsense attitude. "No, but I might try it." Not that it would make a difference.

After they pulled into Detroit, Christine was uncoupled from her coaches and headed over to the roundhouse. There were several other engines in the large roundhouse from three different railroads, GTW among them. And they all seemed to be congregated in groups based on railroad. Christine backed herself into one of the stalls in between the GTW engines and some engines that were lettered for the Pere Marquette. The PM locomotive that was on her left observed her backing in and decided to make the best to introduce itself.

"Hi there," he said. The engine was an average size 4-6-2 Pacific and he had a small mustache on his upper lip. "I bet you're new here, aren't you?"

"Yes I am," Christine replied. "This is my first trip here. My name's Christine."

"Ah. I was guessing that you were new. I'm Sampson. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Another engine from Christine's right spoke up. "Yes. It's always nice to meet new engines." This engine was female and also had a 4-6-2 wheel arrangement. She looked almost exactly like Christine in shape but was slightly taller, had different class markings and was in a different number series than Christine. "I'm Kathrine. And based on the way you're marked, I'm guessing that you're one of my little cousins."

Christine frowned a bit at this. She wasn't that small. In reality, she was about the same size as everyone else there. "Why'd you have to call me small?" She asked.

"Technically I didn't call you small, I just called you my little cousin," Kathrine replied. "We're both based on the same design but we P9 class engines are slightly bigger than you P5 engines. That's why I called you my little cousin. We all refer to each other as big or little cousins depending on weather you're a P5 or P9."

Christine took note of it but still didn't like the fact of being called little. As the evening wore on the topics turned to various subjects, most of which didn't really capture Christine's attention. However, while one of the Detroit, Toledo & Ironton engines from across the shed was talking about something going on down in Ohio, Kathrine leaned over to her cousin.

"Did you happen to notice how hansom he is?" she remarked.

"Who?" Christine lied. She had noticed right away when she pulled into the roundhouse how handsome the DT&I engines were, but she tried her best to make no notice of it.

"The engine that's talking," Kathrine replied. "Man, if I could I'd shove his tender right back into that stall of his just to get a better look at him, and maybe a little more." Kathrine shivered with anticipation as the image of her locking couplers with him flashed through her mind. "My fire's already getting hotter just thinking about it."

"He's just an engine. What's so special about him?"

Kathrine was nearly floored to hear something like that come from any girl. But she remembered that she was still young and probably hadn't had a big exposure to men outside their railroad. "I don't know, but I'd shunt freight cars with him just to have him to myself."

Christine rolled her eyes. She really had noticed how hansom the engine was. In fact, she noticed that all the DT&I engines were extremely hansom. Their paint was extremely clean and shiny, even in the dim light of the roundhouse, and their brass shone like gold. Even the girls were beautiful beyond compare to any of the GTW or PM engines there to the point that it made her a bit jealous.

As she watched out of the corner of her eye, another DT&I engine pulled onto the turntable. As the engine pulled in she heard a satisfied sigh come from her cousin, and several of the other female engines in the shed. She took one glance at the engine and her eyes widened to the point that she couldn't take her eyes off of him. He was a standard 2-8-0 but seemed to have such a handsome faceplate that it even rivaled the rest of the DT&I engines. He had a rather tall forehead, a sharp yet elegantly curved nose, slightly curled eyebrows and full lips that seemed to naturally curve into a gentle grin. His eyes were a deep amber that seemed to captivate Christine's gaze with an indescribable passion.

Noticing that the new engine was staring at him, he asked the worker on the turntable to stop on Christine's track. "Hello," he said, pulling forward a bit. He had a rather deep yet young voice, but to Christine, it just seemed to enhance the feeling that she was enveloped in. "I take it you're a new engine here," he said, his natural grin growing a bit. "I'm Daniel. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Christine was so captivated by his gaze that she almost forgot how to talk. "Uh... thank you," Christine replied, blushing somewhat.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Christine," she replied meekly.

"A prettier name could not be picked for an engine as beautiful as you. Let me know when you're back in town. Maybe I can show you around the city and show you what Detroit has to offer. Sound good?"

"Yeah. Sure," was all Christine could bring up.

"Alright then," Daniel said. "I'll talk to you later. Enjoy your time here." And with that, he backed onto the turntable and into his stall once the turntable was lined up.

Even after he backed into his stall in the roundhouse, Christine couldn't take her eyes off of Daniel, even after most of the other engines in the shed had fallen asleep. She almost didn't even here her name being called by her cousin.

"Man, you really got bit hard, didn't you," Kathrine said, finally breaking Christine out of her trance.

"What are you talking about?" Christine replied, trying to hide her embarrassment and failing miserably at it.

"Don't tell me you've forgotten what you've been staring at for the past two hours," Kathrine said with a chuckle. "But I'm actually a bit jealous of you. Daniel is the dream engine of every single female engine in Michigan and Ohio. Even the men are jealous of his looks. If Daniel talks to you, he's serious. And he doesn't approach many girls like that, especially if they're new."

Christine blushed slightly, trying to figure out if what Kathrine had said was a genuine compliment or just her talking. After a while she finally fell asleep, finding her dreams filled with images of Daniel and the words he said to her.

January, 1989

"AAAAAH! What the F***," came a scream from the back of the shop that interrupted Christine's story. As Christine and Michael looked back at what was going on, Dillon rushed past them with an empty milk pail in his hand, followed closely by an extremely soaked Will. "I'll get you, you little bastard!" Will shouted as he chased after his step-brother.

Some of the men in the shop started laughing as the two chased each other out of the shop. Christine chuckled to herself as well.

"What happened?" Michael asked.

"Will went to put a staybolt into the cooling vat, and as he did, Dill came up behind him and dumped a bucket of water on him!" a worker chuckled as he returned to his work.

"Do they always act like that?" Michael asked.

"I'm afraid so. But they do love each other, even if they are only step-brothers," Christine said as she watched Will catch up to Dillon and shove a clump of snow down the back of his shirt. "Kind of reminds me of my sister, Clair."

"Who was she?" Michael asked.

"Clair, or Clairissa which was her full name, was my younger sister. We bonded like we were Siamese twins. In fact, seeing what Dillon did to Will reminds me of the first time I met her, which happened while I was still on the Grand Trunk Western. Unfortunately, we didn't bond like twins when I first met her."

"Really? How so?"

"Well, it all happened after I returned from my second trip to Grand Rapids."

November, 1912

After another long trip from Grand Rapids, Christine was happy to be back in Detroit. She was enjoying her time on the GTW but was looking forward to getting back home to see her family and friends. After she dropped off her coaches, she headed over to the refueling track. While she was there, another P5 engine approached her. Even though she looked like the rest of Christine's siblings, she had something about her that looked rather odd. She had two large rings of metal, one around each eye that looked like they had glass inside of them.

"Hello," the engine said rather shyly. "My name is Clairissa. Is this where I get fresh loads of coal and water?" she asked.

It took a second for Christine to reply, but she eventually said, "Yes, yes it is."

"Thank you," Clairissa said. Christine watched as the engine pulled up to the coaling tower and waited for her tender to be filled.

"Mr. Guilford," Christine whispered to her driver who was oiling her rods, "What are those things on her face?" Mr. Guilford looked at the new engine and was just as surprised as Christine. "They... look like spectacles!" Mr. Guilford said.

"What are 'Spectacles'?" Christine asked.

"They're also called glasses. They're designed to help people who can't see very well, see clearly. Although I've never seen an engine wear them before."

Christine watched as the new engine that was one of her sisters, filled up with coal. She noticed that the engine seemed rather timid and shy. She didn't even seem to respond to her driver that much.

What a weird engine, Christine thought as Clairissa finished filling up with coal. She then pulled forward and backed onto Christine's track to wait for her turn to fill up with water. Unfortunately, she didn't stop in time and accidentally coupled up to Christine's tender.

"Watch it!" Christine said suddenly as she felt the new engine that was her sister couple up to her.

"Sorry," Clairissa said quickly as she blushed a bright red. She went to pull forward and away from her sister. Unfortunately, she went to move before her fireman could uncouple the two engines and pulled Christine back with a mighty heave. The jolt knocked Mr. Thomas over and he tumbled back from his post at the water spigot and into the fresh coal pile in Christine's tender.

As she felt herself get pulled backwards, Christine called out, "Hey! What are you- AAAAAAAAAHH!" she screamed as she felt the water from the tower spill over her boiler. But it wasn't just any water, it was ice cold water.

After Mr. Thomas picked himself up out of the coal pile, he quickly climbed out of her tender and ran over to pull the spigot off of Christine, shutting off the water supply. "Christine! Are you alright?" Mr. Guilford asked, even though he already knew the answer. Christine just sat there and shivered furiously. Some of the water had managed to get into her firebox and had killed the outer edges of her fire.

Clairissa just blushed an even brighter red. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry," She said. The nervousness in her voice was evident. "I didn't mean to- I mean, I never intended to-" Then she instantly closed her mouth, bit her bottom lip, and ran off. Christine heard what sounded like sobs coming from her sister as she ran off.

Christine tried to call back to her as she realized she had probably been too hard on her. "Clairissa! Wait, I-" But she was already gone. "Dang it," She said to herself. "Can you get me over to wherever she's going?" she asked Mr. Guilford.

"Sure. Let's get going."

Before long, Christine found Clairissa sitting on a lonely spur in between some lines of boxcars. Christine pulled around and pulled up to her sister, moving slowly so as not to startle her.

"Hey. You alright?" She asked.

Clairissa looked up and jumped a bit as she saw who it was. "I'm so, so sorry. I didn't mean to pull you under the water spout," she said rapidly.

"It's alright," Christine said calmly.

"I keep making all these mistakes and- Huh?" Clairissa said, suddenly realizing what Christine had said.

"I said it's alright. I'm not mad at you or anything. It was just an accident."

"You're sure?" Clairissa asked.

"Yep."

Clairissa sat silently for a minute as she began to process the information.

"How about we start over? Hi. I'm Christine. Welcome to the Grand Trunk Railway."

"Thank you. I'm Clairissa. Nice to meet you."

"Likewise. And do you mind if I call you Clair? I think it would be much easier than calling you Clairissa all the time," Christine replied.

"Yeah, that would be fine," Clair replied.

"So, what happened back there? Why'd you couple up to me?"

"Oh, I'm just trying to get used to these spectacles," Clair said. "When I woke up at Baldwin, I could barely see anything. Everything looked blurry to me. They brought a special man to come see me and he said that I was near-sighted. He made these spectacles for me to help me see well, but I'm still unable to see that well behind me. That was why I accidentally coupled up to you."

"And in your embarrassment you pulled forward before you were uncoupled," Christine finished.

"Precisely," Clair replied.

"Well I apologize if I seemed to be angry. I was just startled, that's all."

"It's alright. I understand."

"So, do you think that we can try to be friends?" Christine asked.

"Yeah. I think I'd like that," Clair replied.

January, 1989

"And that's how we met," Christine finished.

"Wow. That's quite the story. So what happened after that?"

"Well, we stayed in touch even after I went back to Canada and I continued to work as usual until 1923 when I was transferred over to the GTW."

Just then, Mr. Rauli approached them. "I'm sorry to interrupt again, but with Will and Dill's little shenanigan earlier, I'm down a man and we still have about two hours of work left. Do you think you could help with the rest of the work?"

"Yeah, I can help. Just let me pack up my things," Michael replied.

The rest of the day was used to finish putting more staybolts in Christine and doing other maintenance work. When everything was finished for the day, Mr. Rauli gave a quick rundown of who should be at the next rebuild session and what would be done then. Michael said goodbye to Christine and promised to return in three weeks.

Christine watched as the men left and thought back to her days on the GTW. Mainly the good times and how she sometimes wished she could go back in time and relive some of her experiences all over again. But that's a story for another time.