Let it be known that Erika and Scarlett don't belong to me. Erika belongs to The Raging Blue Flame and Scarlett belongs to darthmaul90
Nothing Like A Little Daylight to Warm Your Pistons (final part)
Sodor, 2013:
The engines dared not to speak, how could they? None of them knew what to say to begin with. A diesel, risking his life to save an old steam engine. Not even Edward, who always looked for the best in everyone, could believe it, yet in front of him, on the Tidmouth Shed turntable, was living proof. Erika kept thinking of the memory of what happened in California between her and Casey raced back into her head, he was right.
"So how long did'ya hide in th' shed?" Donald asked finally.
"Wally protected me for fifteen years, he was indeed the bravest diesel I know," Casey answered. "Every now and then he would come by and his crew would oil my joints and cover me with tarp, not that it helped too much for my paint and insides."
"Yes, I bet you were a real mess in there." Spencer said smugly.
"As a matter of fact, I was, and I was begin'n to think that all hope was lost, until..."
Atlanta Georgia, December 15, 1967:
In the cold winter at the scrap yard, two men parked their 1950 Ford F-1 pickup truck, and walked into the yard. Their goal: find and rescue a steam locomotive.
"Are you sure we're gonna find one out here? Southern was pretty quick to scrap their steamers." One man said.
"Well, it never hurts to look." The other replied. They searched extensively through the light snow, looking in every corner, so far, the only thing they could find a few parts. As the day went on the chances grew slimmer and slimmer, finally, as the sun began to set, they gave up. The two men walked towards their truck when the scrap yard manager approached them on Wally.
"So did you guys find anything?"
"Nope, only parts."
"Pardon me for asking, but what are you looking for?" Wally asked.
"We're from the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum and we're looking for a locomotive to restore and return to operation, or at least have him as a display if we can't fix him." one of the two men replied. This is it! This is the chance Wally has been waiting for!
"Uh, I know of an engine that might be what you're look'n for!" Everyone looked at Wally now, even the manager never knew of this.
"Really now? Can you take us to him?"
"I will, but only if you promise that if you can't buy him, let as many museums who can know about him as possible."
"It's a done deal!" The men were excited, for the longest time they were thinking they took a two hour drive for nothing. They quickly boarded on Wally and despite the cold, he whisked away quickly to the old abandoned shed. Casey was asleep, he was dreaming about all of his runs, his happy memories with everyone he knew. Those dreams and his sleep were interrupted with the sound of an unlocked chain. The doors opened slowly, there was an open spot in the snowy clouds and the sun shone on it blindingly, in this cold however, it felt great, the warmth that daylight brings is second to none. Casey blinked his eyes open to find Wally, and three men standing in front of him, one was the scrap yard manager, but Casey didn't recognize the two other men who stood in front of him.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"I'm Paul Merriman and this is my partner Robert Soule, Jr., we've come to find a steam engine for our museum." The older of the two men replied. Casey couldn't believe it, it was the miracle he had been praying for all these years, it's finally been answered. The men went on to inspect, and figure out how hard it was going to be to move him, to their surprise while his insides need a complete overhaul, his wheels and joints were still lubricated, he can move with assistance.
"How much do you want for him?" Merriman asked.
"Uumm, how does four thousand sound?" asked the manager.
"Mr. manager, you got yourself a deal!" Merriman replied, Paul was a little more hesitant to go along with a price that high.
"Did you hear that Wally? Your little theory done saved my life!" Casey cheered. The agreement was set, and on December 24, a Black, white and gold Southern Railway high hood GP30 number 2594, gently pulled Casey out into the elements. When the men took the old tarp off they could see he needed a lot of tender love and care, but at least he can still move. The diesel backed out and Wally watched with a face full of glee.
"Be careful Ed, he's got a long way to go!" he said.
"Don't worry yourself Wally, I will be, after all, it's an honor enough just to meet a steam engine, but to take him all the way to Chattanooga, it's a real Christmas present." Ed replied with a rough South Carolina accent. And then he stopped, Casey wanted to say something to Wally before he left.
"Thank you Wally, for everyth'n, you're my hero today."
"You were my hero for years, I'm just repaying the favor." And with that, the two engines said their goodbyes and Ed set off for Scenic City, Case in tow. Soon enough, Casey saw down town Atlanta for the first time in years, it was significantly bigger than he remembered, and then he spotted something he had only seen in Washington D.C., a large sports stadium.
"That's Atlanta Stadium, the south's finally got its first sports team, Major league Baseball's Atlanta Braves." Ed told him.
"Atlanta Braves? Weren't they the Boston Braves?" Casey asked.
"Well, that's what my driver tells me, he said they moved to Milwaukee in '53, and the city was in a uproar when they moved here last year."
"Took 'em long enough to get one down here, I was so sick of have'n to root for the Brooklyn Dodgers or the New York Yankees."
"Driver told me the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles back in '58."
"Really? Who else moved while I was out of service? The Cubs?" Casey asked out loud.
"Naw, they're still in Chicago, and they still haven't won a world series title."
"Are you serious? The "Lovable Losers" still haven't won the Fall Classic?"
"Nope."
"Just tell me what happened dur'n the time I was out, I wanna be caught up on things." And so Ed did so, all day and since they had to go very slow to avoid breaking anything on Casey, all night. Casey was surprised, the rise of the Hippies, the advancement of air travel, the invention of the muscle car, the rise of Rock and Roll and teenage voices, the Vietnam War to that point. Everything, it was overwhelming to Casey.
Sodor:
Many of the Sodor engines remember the sixties with grief, so much drugs, sex, and tree huggers that were bent on destroying every last bit of the railway on the island. Henry on the other hand remembered it a little fondly, it did get people to plant the trees in the forest he loves going to so much. James remembered his driver of the time being a huge Beatles fan, he would often play their songs on a portable record player as they traveled, it drove his fireman crazy half the time. Gordon remembered being vandalized multiple times by said tree huggers, they often painted graffiti all over him. Oh, the indignity... he thought to himself. Douglas remembered his previous crew served in Vietnam for the B.E.F. Scottish division.
"What happened when you made it to Chatt-chatt-nooga?" Erika asked, like many people who have never said it before, especially modern sports broadcasters, she had a hard time pronouncing it wrong, much less pronouncing it right.
"Chattanooga, the "ah" ain't silent," Casey corrected. "Well, it was Christmas even'n when we pulled into the museum, it was very quiet, and small. Southern had donated a piece of land for them to use, I remember see'n that patch of line before then, and in a couple cases run'n on that line, but that's another story."
Chattanooga Tennessee, December 25, 1967:
While the city has grown quite a bit, it was still as smoggy and filthy as Casey remembered. The many factories that gave this town one of it's many nicknames "The Pittsburgh of the South" were shut down for Christmas. Ed stopped at Terminal Station to pick up fuel. In the instance, many people flocked to see the rusty Casey, he looked over to find an old, red, green, black, and yellow Baldwin 2-6-0 wood burner number 29. His red smoke stack was the common cone shape of the Civil War era, as was his cow catcher, he wasn't steaming inside that green boiler of his, he was on display, and on his red cab there was a painted marking that read "Chattanooga Choo Choo". Casey smiled, it was an old friend of his who used to work for the Cincinnati Southern Railway. Last time Casey saw this old legend was when he passed by the Smoky Mountain Railroad in the 1940's. At the moment, the old engine was napping, and Casey was too excited to be considerate.
"Well, if it ain't Chip, the first engine to go from Cincinnati to Chattanooga!" Casey laughed. The engine spluttered and looked around frantically until he saw the ALCO beside him.
"I don't believe my eyes! What they've been tell'n me is true, Casey! You're alive!"
"Yep, rust and all."
"Yup, it's Christmas alright! I get a rusty pile of metal as a present!" That was one thing about Chip that Casey thought was great, he always had funny jokes.
"You never stop do you?" he laughed.
"Not since I've been to Knoxville, the town is all I need for material, I just look at it and instantly someth'n funny comes to mind." More laughter ensued, boy it was good to be in this town again.
"Oh, Sarah's gonna be real happy to see you again." Casey was shocked, surely he wasn't talking about that Sarah, the Mikado number 4501. Surely she's not around anymore, it may be Christmas but that might be asking a little much for. But before he could tell Chip that he was joking with him, Ed came back.
"I hate to break up the reunion, but we do have to keep schedule."
"Alright Ed, it was great seeing you again Chip." Casey called.
"Likewise, hey, don't be too shy to come back, if I were go'n anywhere, I'd be at the warm Smithsonian with Scarlett!" Chip laughed. That explained what happened to Scarlett, at least she wasn't scrapped, poor girl was too sweet and kind for that, as were most of the engines on Southern Railway. Casey couldn't help but feel awful for his steam powered brethren, and grateful for diesels like Wally. Ed noticed his change of expression, and he became curious, but before he could ask, his driver stopped him and quietly reminded him of what happened to steam. Casey could hear every word, but he said nothing, he appreciated Ed's driver being considerate and Ed's curiosity. By evening, they pulled off of the main line of Southern and came across a small, old brick station on the old abandoned Southern line. Casey remembered this line, he had a friend who would often go down it. A Baldwin H-4 2-8-0 number 401, Danny. Danny was a nerdy guy, who had a huge crush on Cassidy. Casey chuckled at the memories of him trying to ask her out, it always went wrong, he was so awkward, even when Southern retired him in '49. Last thing Casey heard about him was that he was at some railroad museum in Illinois. As they moved past the station, Casey noticed that Ed was going a little faster.
"What're you go'n faster for?" he asked.
"Oh, well, Mr. Merriman said he saw the number on your tender and did some research, he said you are now a surprise Christmas present for a steamer he said you know." Ed replied.
"Did he say who it was?"
"Nope, he told me to tell you that it's some dang surprise." Figures, why do humans like surprises so much? Is it in their nature? But Casey didn't say more. Soon enough they went to a pole yard that was adjacent of Southern's Citico Yard. There were multiple equipment and engines on display, but they slept as Ed quietly rumbled in, pushing Casey into an empty slot. When he finally stopped the people all around them quickly uncoupled him and began to reverse him.
"I hope to see you again Casey, it was a real honor to be your guide, especially on Christmas."
"Ed, you've been good to me, I really appreciate it." And with that, the GP30 left. Casey was now alone with the excited men who were keen on inspecting him, or at least they were until Merriman asked them to not do so, not yet, when Casey asked why, he smiled and told him that he has one last Christmas present for him. After that he told the boys to close the door and leave it so for a while. All through the day and as the sun went down he was very curious, what could possibly be better than getting restored into working order? As the clock struck 9:45pm, he got his answer. Around the corner came an engine with a face Casey hasn't seen in years, his jaw dropped. It couldn't be, could it? It was Sarah, painted in Southern Railway green and gold, golden colored mascara on her eyelids, red lipstick and face that was just as shocked as he was.
"Casey?" she asked, hoping that it wasn't an illusion or some cruel joke.
"Sarah, you look, um, beautiful." After all these years he still had trouble at times talking to the Mikado, his cheeks turned a very bright red. Sarah's eyes became so watery that it ruined her eyeliner and the rest of her makeup, but she didn't care, she run up to Casey and rubbed his forehead with hers.
He is truly here! she thought.
"I was told that, you have been scrapped." she said.
"I was supposed to, but, a brave switcher diesel risked himself to hide me." Casey replied quietly. He then noticed the men leaving to go home, one stayed behind to put Sarah's fire out and turn off the lights of the building. As soon as he turned the lights out and closed the door, the moonlight was the only thing illuminating the room. Somehow it made Sarah look even more beautiful than she already was. She looked to him and smiled, her eyes still watery, they sparkled in the moonlight.
"Merry Christmas Casey."
"Merry Christmas indeed Sarah." As soon as he stopped, she kissed him, she just as rough as ever, but what do you expect from freight engines? Casey liked it this way to he kissed her the same way, throughout the night. Some say the skies parted in that particular spot and a large star twinkled beside the moonlight, and some said that the famous Confederate anthem: "Dixieland" could be heard if one listened hard enough, all night long.