Season 2

Episode: 3

The Narrow Gauge

1 year after the loss of Blaze Freestream was left in charge of the network. He pushed production of the standards to be quickened. The Standard Class 1 was deployed quickly and all other freight engines were sold to the Canterlot Rail museum, the Luna Bay preservation line or other allies to Equestria. The class 2 passenger locomotive were 4-8-4 or Northern configuration but had only smoke deflectors for streamlining except for Cadence's locomotive which was the only Class 2 to have complete streamlining.

The Class 3 tank engines proved good for shorter mixed traffic runs more than their shunting. The Class 4 Tanks were used for shunting instead with a 2-8-2 configuration and an average effort of 32,000 pounds of tractive effort. The older tank engines were moved around until either scrapped, preserved or sold for reverse engineering by allied kingdoms. However, the class 3 mixed traffic tender engines were 4-6-4 and the Class 4 mixed traffic were 4-8-2s and were modified to be lighter. Making the Class 3 tender engines left for relief engines or maintenance trains.

The class 5 was the last design and were made to be freight engines like the Class 1 but made a single body 2-10-10-2 configuration. The Class 5 were made to run mainly in the south and the flatter tracks that ran to the Griffon Kingdom. The Class 4 and 5s were special, because they were designs Freestream alone created after an accident with a class 1 being too heavy on some tracks and the Class 3 being too large to tackle climb out of the Crystal Empire to Griffon stone. However, today was a special day. For this was the day of the narrow gauge line so spoken of and wanted by many of the staff.

Thomas and Timothy were talking to The Garrett brothers while on a break.

Thomas: So I hear the narrow line is being hyped up again. Who will run it though?

Timothy: Good question. After all, our former narrow gauge engines run the lines around Crovan's gate and Baltimare, our main liners run this area and practically the southern region along with those Arlesdale engines.

Dwight: Well I honestly want to see what engines they have planned to run the line. None of our engines can run it and we have yet to see a single narrow gauge locomotive.

David: I heard rumor of that line being run by pure new blood. Don't know from where though.

Just then, Sir Topham Hatt arrived.

Sir Topham: Ah Thomas, Timothy and you three. I'll need you four of you to run and pick up something from Canterlot then you will be told where to go from there.

Thomas and Timothy started up Gemini and Eisenhower and David fired up an ENR Class 4MT. The two trains puffed up the line and arrived at Canterlot Works. Thomas blew Gemini's whistle and waited for assistance. Just then, a worker stepped up.

Worker: Oh there you are. Your special is in the furthest shed.

He pointed to a closed shed at the very end of the yard. The group moved their engines to the doors and stopped Timothy opened the door and gasped. Inside where three engines. All narrow gauge from their height. The first was a 2-6-4 with large, short, and sturdy wheels. Its nameplate read Charles. The second one was a 4-6-2 with a cowcatcher and it was named Sir Robert. The third was a 2-6-6-2 tender engine for freight work with a plate reading Paulson.

Freestream: Ah there you four are. Allow me to introduce to you the three starter engines of the Neighagra Narrow line! The path starts at the new station on the north side of Canterlot. They will be unloaded there and meet their crews. The group coupled their engines to flatcars the narrow gauge locomotives were placed on. When the group arrived at the northern station they saw six creatures waiting. There was two changelings, two ponies and to everyone's surprise, two humans.

Freestream: Ah good to see you all. What your names be?

Pony 1: Rusty Rails. I'm here for driver position.

Pony 2: Smoke Stoker. Smoky for short and I'm fireman

Changeling 1: Stamen. Driver.

Changeling 2: Burrow: Fireman.

Human: Gavin. I'm here for driving.

Human2: Herman. I'm fireman and part of the foreign loco education program. I'll be going back to the republic eventually.

Freestream: Okay. Rusty and Smoky you will be driving Charles here. Stamen and burrow are running Sir Robert and you two will run Paulson here. Charles will do mixed work, Sir Robert is passenger trains and Paulson is for freight runs from the nearby mines and farming villages. With that, the crews boarded and the engines set off down the line. Ready for the future.