The Valley Railway Series

Book 4: Katsu the Mine Engine

Dear Friends,

The news from Keikan Island has not been all good. While the new valley line made transportation easier and faster, it also brought about the closure of a mine. A very small engine named Katsu worked there, and was worried that he would be scrapped, but now he is part of the Upper Valley Railway, and is a much happier engine.

I told him I'd be putting him in one of my books, and he was delighted. Though I hope it didn't make him too puffed up in his smokebox…

The Author

Terrible Trucks

Katsu is a little tank engine who works for the Wild Rock Mining Corporation. He has two small wheels, a short squat funnel, a short squat boiler, and a short squat cab.
The mine has very low tunnels, and for safety restrictions, they cannot go any higher. Other larger engines can't go in the mine, but Katsu can puff along inside with ease. He has bright yellow buffers and a loud whistle, so the miners can always know he's coming.
Every day, Katsu pushes long lines of trucks into the tunnel, down a steep dip, and deep into the mines, were they are loaded with fresh coal for the railway. Then he goes outside and shunts long trains for the big engines to transport far away.

Katsu thinks none of the other engines work as hard as he does. He loves telling them all about his adventures in the mines. This often gets the bigger engines cross.
He was talking to Misaki one morning about this. "Others don't seem to understand," Katsu boasted, "how important my job is. Without my coal, none of the engines here would ever run again!"
"But we also need our passengers," Misaki said. "Without them, our railway will be worthless, and we would all be scrap."
"Pah!" said Katsu. "Passengers are just nuisances. They only complain about every train they ride, and tell everybody we have a bad railway."

Misaki was upset. She and Naomi loved taking passengers.
"Trust me," Katsu said, "there's no work quite like industry. Enjoy your pretty passenger trains while you can." And he chuffed away to shunt more trucks.
Misaki puffed away with her train, but she couldn't help but want to pay Katsu out.
Later, she was preparing to return with more trucks. As she collected them, they heard her grumbling about Katsu.
"She's been treating us nicely," they consulted together. "Let's do her a favor and bump that red squirt!"
"Bump him! Trash him!" chanted and laughed the trucks; but Misaki didn't hear them.

When Misaki arrived, she pushed the trucks into their siding, and looked around for Katsu, but she couldn't see him anywhere. "I'll just move the trucks onto his tunnel line for him," she said thoughtfully. "Then the work will be finished quicker, and maybe he'll be nicer to me."
She consulted her driver, who agreed, and she pushed the trucks right in front of the tunnel. The guard put their brakes on, to prevent them from rolling down, and Misaki chuffed away. The foreman, who should've saw and stopped them, was away for his lunch break.

They couldn't have known that Katsu was still inside. When he emerged to get coal and water, he saw a long line of trucks blocking his away. They sneered and giggled at him.
"What are you lot doing here?" he demanded. "Get out of my way!"
But the trucks didn't move, so he tried to push them away. The brakes held tight, and the trucks stayed where they were. The trucks joked and sang loudly. "Katsu is so weak and small; he's just not much use at all!"
Katsu was furious. "Fine then!" he snorted. "I'll just pull you away."

He was coupled up and pulled the trucks with all his might. They hardly moved, and they laughed louder at him.
Suddenly, the coupling cracked, and Katsu rolled back down into the mine at tremendous speed. "HELP! HELP!" he shouted, but his Driver and Fireman had been knocked off the footplate. He rolled down over the dip and deep into the mine caverns, unable to stop himself.
When he finally did stop, he was almost at the other entrance to the mine. But by now, he was completely out of water. Some workmen put out his fire and examined him.
"We won't be able to get you out right now," they finally said, "so you'll have to stay here for the night. Tomorrow, another engine will be able to pull you out."
"Chikusho," hissed Katsu angrily.

Katsu hated the mine at night. The echoing sounds of falling rocks and creaking supports kept him up all night. He was very relieved when morning finally came.
Misaki approached the tunnel and a winch was used to connect the two engines. Slowly and carefully, she pulled him out of the tunnel. After he was checked for any problems, Misaki shunted him to the nearby water tower, and he had a long drink.
"Well, well, well!" she chucked as he filled up. "Mine work really IS an adventure, isn't it?"
Katsu had no steam to reply, but his feelings were far beyond words!