Chapter 14: Valentine's Day Special (II)
(Tuesday, February 14th 2012 – 11:40am; Vicarstown Sheds)
Soon, after going down the line a short way and then over the points, Riddles rolled into the main engine depot near to Vicarstown Station and came to a stop on the turntable. After being turned, he slowly reversed into one of the empty bays within the large shed, where he could be serviced and examined, as well as his paintwork being given a really good clean and a good polish, before he could go back out that afternoon to take the Valentine's Day Special from Vicarstown Station.
After the driver put the brakes on and they came to a stop in the shed, Simon and Carrie started to gather up their things and get ready to leave for the crew rest building only a few dozen yards away from the shed. Down by the sides of the tender, the shed crew who had been waiting for them to arrive stepped up as Carrie and Simon stepped off the footplate, with the driver and fireman following a few moments later.
"Don't worry, you lot…" one of the men said, "…by the time you get back later today, we'll have this engine all ready for you, and with the paintwork looking spotless and smart too."
"Good, and as we're pulling passengers later, they'll be expecting a nice clean engine too." the driver said with a smile, as he patted the side of the cab.
"Yes driver." one of the men said, and they started work on getting Riddles ready as his crew, Carrie and Simon stepped out of the shed and headed to the crew building.
"I'm looking forward to getting some rest before we head out again." said Simon, as he stretched his arms out to as far as he could before he lowered them again.
"And getting some hot food inside as well." Carrie said, as she rubbed her stomach.
"And we'll be able to do all that in the crew rest building. There's a canteen in there where we can get some good hot food, and there's also individual private rooms with their own bathrooms in there where crews can get themselves washed up, changed into clean clothes as well as to get some much-needed sleep in a comfortable bed before they go down for their next shift." the fireman said.
"Sounds good to me." Carrie said. They approached the building and went inside the main entranceway and upstairs.
Once Carrie had gone inside the private room assigned to her, she took the opportunity to have a much-needed hot shower as during the trip over, she had gotten coated with a layer of coal dust, sweat, lubricating oil as well as some ash and soot.
When she finished, she wrapped herself up in fresh dry towels, went out to the bedroom and dried herself off before getting changed into a fresh uniform and set of overalls. Once dressed, Carrie left the room and went downstairs to meet up with Simon and go get something to eat before they went back to their rooms to get some rest.
"Hey there, Carrie." Simon said, when he saw Carrie come down the stairs close to the main canteen, where a few other railway crewmen were lining up and getting their meals before they went to sit at one of the many tables.
"Hi Simon, shall we get ourselves inside and get some food before it's all gone?" Carrie said.
"Sounds like a fair idea to me. Let's get in there." Simon said, as he put arm round Carrie's waist and they went inside together.
A few minutes later, they were sitting themselves down at one of the tables with a tray with the food and drinks they wanted in front of them; Simon had chosen a bowl of cream of carrot soup and a plate of a hot, rich beef stew with mashed potato, while Carrie had selected a sandwich and a bowl of hot leek and potato soup. She was really eager to get some food into her and then to get back upstairs and get some much-needed rest on the bed within her assigned room before she and Simon went back out later that afternoon to help take the special train.
"So, Simon, I've been meaning to ask you; what's the Valentine's Day Special like? Have you ever travelled on it before?" Carrie asked, just before she took the first bite out of her sandwich.
"Yes Carrie, I have actually; a few years back, it was just for a family outing. And it was from Vicarstown over to Knapford, and we left the station at 3:00pm sharp. The train went along the Southern Main Line to Knapford via Maron and Wellsworth, and we arrived in Knapford at 5:20pm after a very smooth trip." Simon said.
"And how different is it to a normal passenger train?" Carrie asked.
"The main difference there is between this train and a normal passenger train, apart from its obvious increased length from 12 coaches to 16 coaches, is there's three kitchen coaches within the train as well, with an increased food supply for the passengers, and all the tables are usually laid out with crisp and clean white linen tablecloths and with the best silverware, chinaware and many fancy glasses for the drinks that are served during the course of the journey." Simon said.
"And what is the food on the journey like?" Carrie asked, as she took in another bite of her sandwich.
"The food is a five-course menu, with a starter, a soup, a pallet cleanser, the main course and then the dessert. And the food, which does vary in choices from year to year, is always the VERY best quality that can be provided to the passengers who travel on that train at that time of year." Simon said.
"I wouldn't mind getting a chance to travel on that train someday." Carrie said, as she smiled at the thought of what it must be like.
"Well…you never know, Carrie…maybe someday, you will." Simon said, and agreeing with that statement, Carrie continued on with eating her lunch as Simon did the same.
A little while later, with their lunch finished, Carrie and Simon went back upstairs to their rooms, ready to get some rest before they went back to work. The Valentine's Special was scheduled to depart from Vicarstown Station at 3:30pm that afternoon and, as they would be taking it along the North Main Line that ran along the northern coast of the Island of Sodor, it would be arriving in Knapford later on in the day than the Special that would be run along the Southern Main Line via Maron and Wellsworth.
Arriving back at the door to her room with Simon by her side, Carrie looked at her watch; it was 12:31pm.
"Did you set the alarm on your phone?" Simon asked.
"Yes, I have, Simon. I've set it to go off at 2:30pm." Carrie said.
"Good, that'll give us plenty of time to get ready, get back down to Riddles and met up with his crew before we then head off to pick up the train." Simon said.
"I'll see you out here at about half two then?" Carrie asked, as she opened the door to her room and stepped inside.
"Will do, and if you're not out here, then I'll assume you're still sleeping and will bang on the door as loudly as I can to get you up." Simon said, with a smile.
"All right then, let's hope we won't have to do that. I'll see you out here later." Carrie said with a smile, as she firmly closed the door behind her. Placing her phone on the bedside table, she slipped out of her shoes and lay back on the bed, which was by the window and overlooked the busy depot where engines could be seen.
However, Carrie was eager to get some rest and so she laid her head down on the comfy soft pillow and closed her eyes. As she dozed off, she began to dream…
(Start of dream sequence)
Carrie found herself in the middle of a very dark area, and she couldn't see a single thing in front of her own face. And she didn't like that at all. Then, all of a sudden, she found herself approaching a spot of white light in the distance, which seemed to be getting brighter and brighter the closer she got to it, and Carrie felt much better.
Then, with a loud "whoop" Carrie emerged from the darkness, and the relief she had felt before suddenly vanished when she found out where she was. She was standing in a very familiar and, by this point, a very unwelcome place, one of the corridors of Ewen High School back in her hometown of Chamberlain. She saw herself walking down it, wearing the old-fashioned clothes that her mother had forced her to wear, as her fellow classmates at their lockers on both sides of the corridor watched her go by and made snide remarks or even try to do things to her as she went by, such as putting their legs out in an attempt to trip her up.
Then suddenly the scene changed again, and Carrie found herself standing in front of her classmates in Mr Ullman's English class with a poem she'd written in her hands, and she was reading it out to the class. But as she did so, some of those before her, including the girls in the group known as the Mortimer Snerds, giggled as she spoke, as they always would try to make fun of her any chance they got. To Carrie, that was no surprise at all, and she felt really embarrassed by it. And then the English teacher, Mr Ullman, decided to ask her if she was done with scaring the class, which caused most of the others in the class to quietly laugh at Carrie, much to her embarrassment.
Then the scene changed again, and it was back to the inside of her old house with her crazy, insanely religious mother, Margaret, dragging her kicking and screaming into the dreaded prayer closet. Carrie struggled furiously to escape, but it was all in vain against the way that Margaret held her. Margaret threw her into the closet and then locked it up tightly so Carrie couldn't get out.
"Pray little girl! Pray for God's forgiveness!" came Margaret's scornful voice from outside, as Carrie frantically banged on the door with all her might with her hands and feet, determined to try and get out. But it was all in vain; the door held on…and then suddenly the vision went blurry as the scene changed yet again.
Carrie found herself sitting back on her bed, with the bedside light on and the copybook on her lap. She had a pen in her hand, and she was writing into it everything that she could remember that had happened to her, either the abuse at the hands of her mother or some of the many incidents of bullying that had taken place within Ewen High School. At one point, she paused and very quietly stepped off the bed and went over to her window, pulled the curtains aside a little and looked out into the night sky. The stars seemed to twinkle brightly in the clear sky, and the full moon also shone brightly, casting its pale and soft white light down upon the town of Chamberlain and its deserted, empty streets.
After a moment of looking at the clear night sky, Carrie turned sadly away and quietly made her way back to her bed and to continue on with writing in her copybook.
(End of dream sequence)
Carrie's eyes shot open, and she sat up in the bed, gasping for breath and trying to remember where she was and what happened. Then, looking round, she could see to her intense relief that she was still in her assigned bedroom in the engine depot at Vicarstown on the Island of Sodor, and she was still in her clean uniform. Wiping the droplets of cold sweat off her forehead and looking out the window, she could see various steam locomotives out in the depot being readied for their next jobs. She could even see one being turned on the turntable in the middle of the yard.
She reached for her phone and check to see what time it was; it was 2:25pm and five minutes before her alarm was due to go off. It now seemed as good a time to get out of bed and get her things together so she could meet up with Simon out in the corridor. She swung her feet out of the bed and reached for her shoes.
After doing up her laces, she reached for her bag and checked to see if everything she needed was there; everything was. As she closed up her bag, she heard the alarm on her phone suddenly go off, so she fished it out from the breast pocket of her overalls and turned the alarm off. Then with that done, she put her phone back into its pocket, opened the door and stepped out into the corridor.
As she stepped out, she saw Simon coming down the corridor from the room where he'd been resting, and he looked to be feeling refreshed after his sleep.
"Hey Carrie…feeling better after some rest?" he asked, as he approached her.
"Yes Simon, I feel much better." Carrie said, deciding to keep the bad dream of her past that she'd just had to herself.
"So shall we head down and get back to work?" Simon asked.
"Yeah, let's do that." Carrie said with a smile, as Simon put his arm round Carrie's waist as they went along the corridor before they turned and went downstairs.
(Outside, in the yard)
Carrie and Simon approached the siding where Riddles was sitting, and it was the same siding where he'd been parked ever since they arrived a few hours before. Carrie was impressed by how the big B.R. Standard 9MT 2-8-2 looked now; in the last few hours, the shed staff had been busy getting him cleaned up ready for his special train. His Brunswick-green paintwork with red and black stripes had been rubbed down so thoroughly that there wasn't a speck of dirt or a marking to be seen, and then polished until it shone brightly.
The two nameplates on the smoke deflectors had also been thoroughly cleaned too, with the yard workers even resorting to using old toothbrushes to get the dirt out of the smallest nooks and crannies. With all that work done now, and the work on getting the clinker out of the firebox sorted out, Riddles looked very presentable and smart. The boiler had built up a good head of steam, and he was very eager to get out of the yard and over to Vicarstown Station to pick up the train as soon as possible.
On the two lines to the left of where Riddles stood, there stood a pair of engines who looked like twins. Both of them were good sized 2-8-2's, just like Riddles, although their eight driving wheels were somewhat smaller in size compared to those on the big B.R. 9MT. These two locomotives were the LNER Gresley P1 2-8-2 brothers, both of whom were known for being quite decent engines to work with and being quite friendly. Yet, they were also well-known for their ability to handle the trucks, especially whenever the trucks tried their tricks, and the other engines would sometimes go to them and ask for their advice when the trucks were being especially troublesome.
One of them was painted in plain, unlined black livery while the other was painted in LNER apple green livery, and they both had identical tenders with LNER painted on them in bright yellow paint. On their cab-sides, Carrie could see their numbers, which were painted on with yellow, with the shade behind the numbers painted in a bright red paint. The engine painted in plain black was numbered No.2398 and the engine painted in LNER apple green was numbered No.2399. (21)
(21): The LNER P1 Class 2-8-2 was the very first class of 2-8-2 to be built for use on the U.K. rail network and both were intended for use on very heavy freight trains, particularly very long and heavy coal trains. Designed by the legendary Sir Nigel Gresley, the C.M.E of the LNER, just two examples were built, both in 1925; No.2393 in June, while No.2394 followed that November. Both engines were allocated to New England Shed after completion, where they subjected to regular testing.
While in service, both P1's proved that they were capable of pulling freight trains of up to 100 wagons in length, although the trains were often too long for many passing loops and often proved very difficult to stop. They were also coal hungry engines, consuming up to 31 pounds of coal per mile. They were still thought highly enough of though for the LNER board to consider building a further four examples, though in the end these engines were never built.
Both engines were initially fitted with two-cylinder booster engines fitted to the trailing axle. These would give an additional 8,500 pounds of tractive effort, thus increasing the tractive effort of the P1's from 38,500 to 47,000 pounds of tractive effort, with the tenders specially designed to take these booster engines. However, both booster engines were quite problematic, often filling the cabs with steam and thus doubling the fireman's workload. The steam pipes to the boosters often proved prone to fracturing, and so eventually both P1's had their booster engines removed; No.2394 had its booster engine removed in 1937, and No.2393 had its removed in 1938.
Both P1's worked heavy coal train on the route between New England Shed and Ferme Park, which was the only route deemed to be suitable for them. Their three cylinders consumed quite a lot of steam and as a result gave a lot of work for the firemen, who often struggled to keep up with steam demand.
In 1934, No.2394 was tried out on an early morning, semi-fast passenger train running from London King's Cross to Peterborough as part of a planning stage for Gresley's brand new P2 2-8-2 heavy express engines. Although No.2394 managed to reach a top speed of 65mph on the journey, it put a lot of stress on the fireman, who was thankful they wouldn't have to work far beyond Peterborough all the way through to Doncaster.
Both No.2393 and No2394 were withdrawn from service in July 1945 and scrapped not long afterwards, as Edward Thompson, the new C.M.E of the L.N.E.R. felt there was no need to have two specialised locomotives, so both engines never received any B.R. numbers. Their boilers went to Gresley A1's No.2557 Blair Atholl and No.2565 Merry Hampton when they were rebuilt from Class A1 to Class A3, and their tenders went to the new Thompson B2 4-6-0's No.2815 and No.1632.
"Hello, Riddles…all ready to go?" Simon asked, as he and Carrie approached.
"Yes sir, I sure am. I'm eager to go now, even though there's plenty of time." said Riddles, as he let off some steam from his cylinder drain cocks.
"Now there, old boy…" smiled his driver from the cab, "…yes there's plenty of time until we need to be at the station. After all, the coaches aren't going to be going anywhere without us."
"Yes driver." Riddles said, as he looked up into the sky.
"I wouldn't mind pulling one of the Valentine's Specials today, but I have my freight to attend to later this afternoon." said No.2398, as he looked over in the direction of the freight yards.
"And I have to pull a stopping service from here all the way over to Knapford, which means I'm in for a long afternoon today." said No.2399.
"I do pity you two. But you never know, one day either of you may get a chance to pull a Valentine's Special, or maybe even another special train." Simon said to the two P1 brothers.
"You know what, Simon…I think you might be right." No.2398 said.
"And I hope that Sir Topham Hatt will give us the chance one day." said No.2399.
Carrie, who had been standing a little way back and watching all this time, stepped forward to add to the conversation.
"So…are you two big engines twins?" Carrie asked, as she looked from one Gresley P1 to the other. The two P1s looked at Carrie and, after a moment, chuckled before they spoke again.
"No miss, we're actually brothers, as we were built at different times. I was built in September 1927 and No.2399 here followed along in mid-December of that year." said No.2398.
"Oh, I'm sorry…I-I just assumed you were twins because you both look alike." Carrie said, as she felt her cheeks redden a little.
"It's quite all right, miss…" said No.2399 reassuringly, "…a lot of people who've never met us before always, and perhaps understandably, assume that we're twins when they see us for the first time, even though we're both painted in different colours."
"You're not the first person to make that mistake, and I'm sure you won't be the last to do so." No.2398 said, with a smile.
"Thank you…thank you." Carrie said, as she felt the embarrassment leave her and the colour drain from her cheeks. No.2398 and No.2399 were very sincere engines and, though she had originally thought they were both twins, they seemed to be very polite engines.
In a way, they reminded her of Nikki and Lizzy Watson back in Ewen High School, although these two engines were far friendlier to her then the Watson Twins had ever been during her time in Ewen High, and certainly these two engines didn't have the personalities of Nikki and Lizzy, who would dress nearly similarly and would always finish each other's sentences, and usually in quite a creepy and unnerving way.
"Come on, Carrie…let's get ready to go." Simon said, as he stepped towards Riddles and climbed aboard the footplate. And smiling broadly, Carrie followed along and climbed aboard too. For the next twenty minutes or so, Simon, Carrie and the driver and firemen worked to get ready for the trip, including oiling up the motion and other moving parts, filling up the mechanical lubricator, making sure that the fire was in order and making sure that the water level in the boiler was at a good level.
The coal space in the tender also had to be topped up with fresh fuel, and to do that a J.C.B., being driven by one of the workmen, used its frontal scoop to place the coal into the tender and continued to do that until the space was fully filled up. Once it was fuel, two more men trimmed the coal to be sure that no lumps would get dislodged and fall from the tender while the train was on the move.
Very soon though, they were ready to go. First thing they had to do though was to top up the water in the tender tank at the water tower and that only took a few minutes, considering there was still quite a lot of water still aboard from their previous trip. Once the tender tank was full up, the driver blew the whistle and they headed out of the engine depot onto the main line and then they reversed to Vicarstown Station.
As they approached the station, Carrie looked out from the driver's side: she thought she could see their train at Platform 5, and many people already boarding it. She could also see Gordon sitting at Platform 4 with his own coaches behind him, and passengers could be seen getting themselves aboard Gordon's train. Carrie could feel the buzz of excitement from the crowd of passengers as they boarded the two trains, and as they went over the points and slowly reversed up to their coaches, Carrie could clearly see that everyone boarding was indeed very excited. She could even see what seemed to be a lot of young couples in their early to mid-twenties getting aboard the trains too, and she felt herself smile.
The driver gently applied the brakes and they carefully backed up to the first coach, where a shunted coupled up Riddles to the train and connected the brake pipes. Once that was done, the driver could start creating a vacuum throughout the length of the train.
"Well, we're about ready to go." Simon said, as he stepped off the footplate and looked back along the length of the train. There were sixteen coaches behind them, and there were a lot of people getting aboard, often with the help of station staff and people working on the train. Simon looked up to the clock above him; the time was 3:17pm, and they were due to leave the station at exactly 3:30pm, with them being scheduled to arrive at Knapford Station at 5:30pm.
Carrie also took the brief chance to step off the footplate and to have a good look along the train; she could see the many different people getting aboard, some of whom had luggage with them and some who didn't. She saw couples, many of whom appeared to be very much in love, and she had a feeling that there would be a few people who would be popping the question to their partners and be engaged by the end of this trip.
"I've got a feeling that this is gonna be quite a successful trip." Carrie said to the driver and fireman, as she and Simon stepped back aboard the footplate.
"Absolutely, Carrie. This is one of the most important trains of the year, and it's always a really big success every year." said the driver.
"And I hope that it'll be just as big a success this year." Simon said, as he went over to the two water gauge glasses and double-checked the water level in the boiler.
From Platform 4, Gordon was just as eager to set off. He was due to leave the station at 3:35pm, exactly five minutes after Riddles and his train had departed. This wasn't the first time he had pulled a Valentine's Day Special, but it was the first time he had pulled one in quite some time, and so was feeling eager to please the passengers by getting them into Knapford Station on time.
"I'm sure that my passengers will have a good time on this trip. I always like to get them to their destination on time, and be sure they had a comfortable trip all the while, as well as to show how fast I can go." Gordon said with some pride, as he simmered and waited for his chance to leave the station. Riddles, listening to this, just sighed quietly and rolled his eyes before he looked to the big blue engine and spoke.
"This isn't a contest or a race to see which of us will get to Knapford first, Gordon. It's simply to ensure that all our passengers have a good time while we give them a nice ride along the line." Riddles said, as he glared at Gordon a little sternly. Riddles was the type of engine who would rather not get caught up in some silly race or contest and would always concentrate on getting his jobs done to the best of his ability…in other words, he felt that if a job was worth doing, then it was worth doing well.
Gordon glared over at Riddles for a long moment before he spoke again.
"I wasn't talking about us getting involved in a race, Riddles." Gordon said, looking slightly annoyed at the idea of Riddles thinking they were getting into a race with their trains. "I was merely talking about giving the passengers a smooth journey to the other end of the island, and only going fast when it was appropriate to do so."
"I hope it's only that Gordon…it would just be a shame for the passengers if something went wrong on their day out…such as that time when you burst your safety valves." Riddles said, as he glared at Gordon while also smirking a little. Gordon, a little embarrassed at the memory of his safety valves bursting outside Henry's Tunnel many years before, decided to shut up and he looked away. Feeling a little smug at having shut Gordon up, Riddles concentrated on looking ahead to watch the signal ahead.
Time ticked on by, and it seemed to just drag on, but then, as the clock over the platform struck 3:30pm, the doors on the coaches were shut by the station staff as the last passengers had boarded the train. Ahead, the signal dropped, showing a green light, indicating the way was clear, and from the signal box the points were switched to guide Riddles onto the line he would take out from the station.
From the very front of the train, the guard stepped out from his compartment and blew his whistle loudly while also waving his green flag. As he stepped back aboard the train and closed his door, Carrie, who had been leaning out from the fireman's side of the cab and looking back pulled her head in and turned to look at the driver.
"Okay, right away!" she called, as she turned around and then sat herself down on the fireman's seat. Acknowledging this, the driver blew the whistle loudly for a few seconds and pulled open the regulator. With clouds of white steam shooting out from the cylinder drain cocks, Riddles moved slowly forward and took up the strain of moving sixteen heavily laden coaches out of the station.
"Peep! Peep! Here we go! We're on our way!" Riddles called out, as he moved forward and over the points out of the station.
"I'll see you over in Knapford later on! Good luck" Gordon called out, as he watched Riddles head out from Vicarstown and over the long and wide red brick viaduct leading west out of the station.
"See you later Gordon, and good luck to you too!" Riddles called back, as his whistle sounded again.
From Riddles' cab, Simon leaned out from the driver's side and looked back, watching the train depart Vicarstown Station. The coaches, each one of which had been cleaned and then polished to a very high standard, were following along very smoothly out of the station and over the different sets of points.
"Everything seems to be all right from what I can see, driver!" Simon called over the noise, as he pulled his head back into the cab.
"Very good, Simon!" the driver called back, as he opened the regulator a little more, as Simon leaned out again, this time to look at the track ahead. They were now switched onto the long stretch of line that would bring them round the northern coast of the Island of Sodor, and amongst some of the most spectacular and scenic places anywhere on the island, including open sea views, high mountains, and hills as well as wide valleys, through deep stone gorges, past high rolling waterfalls and through dense forests lining both sides of the tracks.
"Now for a good long sprint!" Riddled puffed from the front, as the train began to pick up speed.
"We're ready for that when you are!" Simon called from the cab. After a moment, Simon pulled his head back inside again and looked at Carrie.
"I wonder what we'll see as we go along." Carrie said to Simon, as he stepped over to her.
"You'll have a hard time taking everything in, Carrie. There's just so much to see within the northern half of Sodor as we go along, you won't be able to decide just where to look next." said Simon, as he smiled at Carrie. She smiled back at him, knowing somehow that he was right.
They were soon rolling along at 45mph along a long straight stretch that went by the town of Barrowdell North, and they were within sight of the coastline only a short distance away. And beyond the narrow stretch of grey water to the northwest, Carrie could clearly see the grey coastline of England. She knew instinctively what it was, having looked over enough maps of Sodor over the past few months since she'd arrived back in November.
"I can't believe how near we are to England." Carrie said to the fireman, as she continued to look towards the distant coastline. At the moment, Simon was having a go on the shovel and stoking up the firebox so the fireman could take a moment to have a view at the English coast a few miles away.
"I know, but as we go further northwest along this line, we're gonna get further away until it'll disappear from view altogether." said the fireman.
Then suddenly, the view of the coast vanished as they puffed through a wide stone gorge which had dark grey walls towering over all three tracks, and getting higher and higher the further into it they went. The rising stone walls were rugged, craggy, and seemed to go on for miles ahead of them, though that illusion was shattered after two minutes or so when the stone walls got lower and lower until they ended at the edge of open farm fields, the edges of which were lined with trees and bushes.
"Everything all right, Simon?" the fireman asked, as he turned to have a look at Simon, who was checking the boiler pressure gauge.
"Yes, sir; everything's fine. I'm managing to keep the steam pressure up nicely." Simon said, as he indicated to the boiler pressure gauge. The arrow in the gauge showed the steam pressure was just a touch under the maximum of 250psi.
"Good work, Simon. Good work. Could Carrie have a go on the shovel?"
"Sure, I don't see why not." Simon said, as Carrie got off the fireman's seat and reached for the shovel. While Simon then took a few moments to sit down, Carrie opened the firehole doors and looked inside, and used the blade of the shovel to direct air around to move flames out of the way so she could see which parts needed some more coal put.
Turning round, she thrust the blade of the shovel into the coal space before turning back and placing the few lumps of coal on the shovel into the firebox, making sure that the shovel made a distinct "ring" sound when the coal was put into the firebox. After placing about half a dozen shovelfuls into the firebox, including into the back corners, under the firehole door and along the sides of the firebox, Carrie then saw the driver close the regulator somewhat and then reach for the brake. Handing the shovel to the fireman, Carrie stepped over to the driver's side and leaned out to see what was going on up ahead.
She could see a familiar looking junction ahead of them, with a familiar looking signal box and other landmarks. Then she realised exactly where they were at; it was the approaches to Rossington Station, where she and Simon had gone to aboard L.M.S. Garratt No.47988 back in early December a few months before.
They passed by the junction that led down to Rossington Junction in the south of the island, and then drifted through the station on the middle line, with the driver giving a quick blast on the whistle as they went through. Carrie could see there were a few passengers waiting on the platform on the up line, as well as some station staff going about their usual daily tasks of keeping the station maintained and looking after the passengers. Passing under the footbridge connecting the two platforms, Carrie looked up and noticed people, some of whom had cameras, standing on the bridge, and watching the train as it went by below them.
A short way further on, they came upon the yard where back in early December, the train brought by No.47988 had been placed after they arrived. There were still wagons in the yard, many of which were laden down with building materials for the construction work of brand-new holiday homes and a new hotel being undertaken nearby.
They soon passed the site where the construction work was being undertaken, and Carrie was impressed by the amount of work being done on the many new holiday homes and the new hotel. Even from where she was, she could feel the buzz of work being done as the workmen toiled away with their machines on getting the buildings constructed, ready for the start of the summer season in a few short months from now.
Then the driver, now seeing the signal light ahead was bright green, opened the regulator further and then wound the reversing gear back towards mid-gear. After a few moments, Carrie noticed the indicator arrow on the speedometer, placed just in front of the driver, slowly climbing up, showing they were building up more speed as more dry steam flowed into the three cylinders and pushed the pistons back and forth.
Leaving the construction sites at Rossington behind, Riddles continued up the main line, heading northwest towards the junction ahead that went south to Great Waterton and then to the Southern Main Line. As Carrie sat on the front of the tender, the cab filled with the loud hissing of the injectors as Simon had activated the steam injectors to put more water into the boiler, while the fireman took the opportunity to top up the hot fire within the firebox with some more fresh coal.
Even though she wasn't shovelling, Carrie observed everything and made mental notes in her head of what the fireman was doing, as well as the effort he was putting in to keep the fire burning nicely.
They soon passed the junction to Great Waterton at a point not too far south of the town of Chiddlington. It wasn't too busy as they went by the junction and station; from the opposite direction, L.N.E.R. Gresley Class K3 2-6-0 No.120 passed on by, heading southeast to Vicarstown with a long line of box vans rolling along behind him.
"Hello Riddles!" No.120 called as he went by, giving a short blast on his whistle.
"Hello, No.120!" Riddles whistled back, as he powered ahead up the line. Going through the junction, Carrie could see there was some activity being undertaken in the sidings off the main junction to the right of the main line, where long lines of trucks, of all different shapes, sizes, and types as well as coaches, were being sorted into trains by the different types of tank engines on shunting duty there.
From the lines leading off towards Great Waterton to the left, the rear end of a freight train, including some box vans, three tankers and four hopper wagons as well as the brake van, could be seen heading away down the line to Great Waterton. In the distance, Carrie could see the sight of the smoke from the locomotive rising over the landscape as it pulled the long freight train away. Then she pulled her head back into the cab and looked at Simon.
"I wonder how the passengers are getting on back in the train?" she said to him.
"I'm quite sure they're having a really good time today, Carrie. After all, that's what they're there for." Simon said with a smile, as Carrie smiled back at him.
Simon was right; for back in the sixteen coaches, the passengers, about 750 of them, on the train were relaxing at their tables and really enjoying the trip. The coaches were running very smoothly, and the first part of the service had already started off. The passengers had looked through the menus at each place and they had placed their food and drink orders with the waiters and waitresses in each coach, and the orders were taken to the three kitchen cars in the train, where the cooks were working away at preparing the meals.
From the P.A. system fitted in each coach, romantic music was being played to help the passengers enjoy themselves as the train rolled along. There were also some people within the train who were hoping to propose to their long-term partners during the course of the trip, and they were understandably feeling a tad nervous about doing it.
Within the confines of the three kitchen cars, the cooks were working away at getting the food ready to serve out to the passengers. There were pots of steaming hot soup all ready, and soup was already being ladled very carefully into the soup bowls, which was no mean feat really as these chefs had many years of hard-earned experience of how to prepare and ready food for serving on a moving train. Meanwhile, the dishes for the next course, a pallet cleansing sorbet were being readied to go.
Inside the ovens of the kitchens, and in the pots on the hobs, the main course and sides and vegetables were nearing the end of their cooking time; the main course was a choice between roast beef and roast lamb, with a choice of roast potatoes, Yorkshire puddings, rich gravy and a choice of vegetables that were either boiled or roasted in the ovens.
The bartenders on duty at the bars were also working hard at getting a good selection of drinks out to the passengers, including cocktails which they made fresh for their customers, as well as selections of red and white wine, and other drinks as well. There were even bottles of champagne being sent out too, many of them sitting in silver buckets of ice, and accompanied by tall tulip glasses that had been polished so they shone.
Back on the footplate of Riddles, Carrie was taking another turn on the shovel as the train was passing through a wide and shallow valley a little way inland from the coast. As Carrie placed the coal into the firebox, Simon kept the firebox doors open, but then closed them again when Carrie turned to put more coal on the shovel in order to limit the amount of cold air coming through into the firebox. After Carrie placed a sixth shovelful of coal onto the fire, she put the shovel into the coal space in the tender before she stood up and stretched out while putting his hands onto her back.
"Oh, I need to get that slight pain out of my back from that bending over." she said, as she pushed her body forward a little and rubbed her back.
"You're doing a good job, Carrie…" the fireman said, as he looked at the boiler pressure gauge, "…the needle is still a little below the maximum pressure level on the gauge."
"I know, but all that bending over is hurting my back somewhat." Carrie said, as she went over to sit on the fireman's seat.
"Do you want me to take over for a while, Carrie?" Simon asked, as he reached for the shovel.
"Please do, Simon. It'll give me some time for my back to recover." Carrie said. And giving Carrie a smile, Simon reached for the shovel and waited for about two or three minutes before he put fresh fuel on the fire.
Carrie took a few moments to have a look at the scenery they were passing through; the shallow valley extended off a few miles to the northeast and consisted of gentle rolling farmland within which were isolated farm buildings, narrow roads which either ran under the railway lines or over them on grey stone bridges as well as other isolated smaller buildings dotted here and there throughout the valley.
In various fields, Carrie could see farm vehicles working away as the farmers started work on getting their fields ready for ploughing. And every now and then, they would pass on bridges that ran over the wider main roads that ran beneath the tracks. At times, Carrie would see people walking or cycling along the sides of the roads as they went by the bridges, with the driver always giving a quick toot on the whistle whenever they approached the bridges.
Over to the left of the train and the tracks, the other side of the valley a few more miles away to the southwest rose up much more sharply, before the hills eventually topped out as towering craggy mountains between 3,100 or 3,500 feet in height, around the peaks of which swirled clouds and fog. On some peaks, due to their height above the surrounding landscape, patches of still frozen snow could be clearly seen as white against the grey-brown mountains. These high mountains provided an awe-inspiring sight to anyone standing within the valley.
"Okay…time to put more water into the boiler." Simon said suddenly, as he went over to the injector controls in front of Carrie. She quickly swung her feet aside, as Simon reached for the live injector cock and opened it before reaching up for the live injector control and twisting it round. With a gentle hissing sound, water began flowing from the tender into the boiler.
Standing up, Carrie went over to check the two water gauge glasses; for a moment, it seemed like nothing was happening, but then she noticed the water level in the two glasses slowly rising as the injector forced water in. Slowly, the water level rose, up and up the glasses until it reached a point that was just under the tops of the glasses. And then the hissing sound from the injector ceased as Simon turned off the injector and then reached down and turned the live injector cock back to the "closed" position. It was clear that he had been keeping a close eye on the gauge glasses as well.
"And there we are." Simon said, as he then sat down on the fireman's seat. Carrie smiled, and took a check at the boiler pressure gauge; the needle had fallen a little, from just a little under the red line at 250psi to about 220psi.
"Time to stoke the boiler again." the fireman said, as he reached for the shovel while Carrie reached for the handle to open the firehole doors and readied them to be opened. The fireman, the shovel now laden with coal, turned round and Carrie pulled the handle back and opened the firehole doors. Thrusting the shovel forward, the fireman placed the coal to where it was needed before turning back for another shovelful, as Carrie then closed the firehole doors again, and it wasn't too long before they had a rhythm going.
But eventually, the fireman placed a sixth shovelful into the firebox and then placed the shovel back into the coal space in the tender.
"I think that'll be enough coal for a while." he said, as he checked the boiler pressure gauge, where the needle had climbed back up and was now reached back to the maximum boiler pressure of 250psi. Feeling a smile coming across her face, Carrie knew they would be running more efficiently with the boiler pressure at maximum.
(A little later)
They were soon approaching High Hill Station, very near to the northern side of the Island of Sodor, and roughly a third of the way into the journey.
As they approached the station, Carrie looked out over the sea. She couldn't see the sight of the coast of England anymore now, and below them she could see the sight of the sea. At one point, Carrie could see a coastal village nestled between the railway line and the sea, and she could see the different streets as they went past, as well as people within the village going about their daily business.
She could see workmen, some of whom were dressed in white overalls stained with coloured paint and standing on ladders that leaned against some of the buildings, some of which appeared to be holiday homes, and painting them so as to get them ready for the coming summer season. There were other people, similarly dressed, who were working on fixing the roofs, fitting in new windows, and doing other similar jobs to the same buildings.
After another minute or so, High Hill Station came into view ahead of them. The station had that name as there was a very high and rugged mountain a few miles to the south, known to the people on Sodor as Culdee Feel, within sight of the station and town. With a blast of the whistle, Riddles drifted through the station at a reduced speed, as a few of the people standing on the platforms, including some young children, waved as the train went by. Carrie, who was leaning out from the fireman's side, waved back to the people as they went through the station, as Simon did the same from the driver's side. Then the driver quickly checked his watch and compared the time he saw to the schedule he was assigned to follow with this train.
"Five minutes early going through High Hill! We're running early!" he said.
"We're early?! By five minutes?" Carrie called out over the noise of the boiler and the wheels on the steel rails.
"That's correct, miss!" the driver called back, with a firm nod of his head.
"You're doing a good job there, sir!" Carrie called, as a smile came across her face. The driver smiled back, feeling quite pleased at Carrie telling him he was doing a good job.
Leaning her head back out from the fireman's side again, Carrie saw they were coming onto a long straight stretch of line and coming towards them on the down line was a very long freight train, hauled by WD Austerity 2-8-0 No.90700. Blowing his deep-toned whistle "hello" No.90700 went by with a very long line of very dirty and empty steel-body coal trucks, about 50 of them, some of which were a little higher than others as well as a few that had slides which sloped inwards slightly, which rattled along as they went on by.
For Carrie, the sounds of the rattling of these wagons, as well as the clanking of their buffers together, was incredible in her right ear as the train went on by, and she placed her right hand over to ear to block out some of the sounds.
After No.90700 went by with his train, Carrie turned to look back into the cab. Simon was reaching for one of the white tea cans that were sitting on the warming plate over the firehole doors. He took off the cup over the top of the can and opened the can, before he then poured tea into the cup. As the warming plate was being kept quite hot from the heat from the firehole doors, the tea was still hot as Carrie could see steam coming off from the hot liquid.
"Fancy some tea, Carrie?" Simon asked, as he offered Carrie the cup.
"Oh, sure would, Simon." Carrie said, as she accepted the cup from Simon. She was feeling a little chilly from the wind that was blowing through the cab at times, and so she felt very happy to get the chance to get some hot liquid into her. Taking the cup, she slowly sipped from it and shuddered a little, as she felt the warming effect of the tea go through her.
Simon got hold of another cup and poured some tea into it, before sipping from it himself, and felt glad from the warming effect the hot tea gave.
"Feeling a little better, Carrie?" Simon asked, as he looked over to her.
"Yes, Simon. I am." Carrie said, as she smiled at Simon.
About 10 minutes of smooth running later, they soon were approaching the very northern part of the Island of Sodor, where they were two stations, with their respective towns adjacent to both stations, along the main line within a few short miles of each other, Nort to the east and Emily Road to the west. Each station was practically a carbon copy of each other, with two long platforms on each side of the three main lines, with identical station buildings and footbridges over the tracks, along with freight yards and long sidings close by, as well as a small depot where engines could be maintained and readied for running.
Approaching Nort first of all, Riddles whistled loudly as they slowed down so as to run safely through the station in accordance with the speed restrictions. Carrie, who was leaning out from the driver's side as they approached, looked up ahead, and noticed the distance signal ahead of them to the side of the line was showing a bright yellow light, indicating "proceed with caution" to them.
"Driver! Yellow signal light up ahead!" Carrie called over the noise to the driver.
"I see it, miss!" the driver said, as he shut off steam and got ready to put on the brakes, just in case the next signal light was red. As they went on ahead, they could see the signal box come into view just a hundred yards before the station. Sure enough, the home signal by the signal box was bright red and the arm was at the horizontal; they had to stop.
Closing the regulator and putting on the brakes, the driver slowly and gentle stopped the train by the signal box. The signalman was waiting for them by the steps leading up to the box.
"What's going on? Has something happened?" the driver asked, as he leaned out while the signalman stepped down and went up to them.
"There's a freight train coming out of the yard up ahead and heading on the down line to Vicarstown, but it's a very long train so they need a little time to come out of the yards and head onto the down line. Hopefully, it shouldn't be too long and then you'll be on your way again." said the signalman.
"All right then." the driver said, as the signalman went back up the steps to his box.
"I guess we'll have to wait for a short while then." the fireman said to Carrie and Simon.
"Can we afford a short delay?" Simon asked, a little anxiously.
"Of course, Simon. We're actually running about five minutes or so ahead of our planned schedule, so we can afford a short delay. Don't worry, we'll still arrive at Knapford on time." the driver said, and with that Simon and Carrie looked at each other with some relief.
About two minutes later, they heard the sound of a deep-toned whistle from ahead of them, with the sound of chuffing and the rattling of wagons coming towards them. Carrie and Simon leaned out from the fireman's side to see what it was and saw what looked to be another WD Austerity 2-8-0 coming towards them. But then, Carrie noticed there were some differences between this engine and a WD Austerity 2-8-0; while the boiler looked similar, this engine had a wider firebox and it also seemed to be longer in length.
It was then she noticed this engine had a different wheel arrangement; it was a 2-10-0 instead of a 2-8-0, so she knew this was from a different class, the WD Austerity 2-10-0, and she could see it had its number No.90766. (22)
(22): The WD Austerity 2-10-0 heavy freight engine was the very first steam locomotive class with a 2-10-0 wheel arrangement to be introduced in Great Britain. It was based on the WD Austerity 2-8-0, and indeed it had the very same tractive effort, but had a longer boiler and an extra pair of driving wheels to better spread the load out over the track. This meant the 2-10-0 variant had a lighter axle load and thus could run on routes where the 2-8-0 couldn't go. They also had a flangeless centre driving wheelset to allow them to go around corners.
In fact, they proved to be such successful engines in service that their designer, Robert Riddles, used the design as an inspiration for his very highly successful B.R. Standard 9F 2-10-0 heavy freight engines, which also had flangeless centre driving wheelsets to help them go round corners.
Built by the North British Locomotive Company, 150 examples of the class were built in two batches between late 1943 and mid-1945. Twenty examples went out to the Middle East, but most of the class worked in France and on Continental Europe with the British Army after D-Day and in the drive into Germany and through the Siegfried Line.
After the war ended, the class was distributed around Europe, with 103 examples going to work in the Netherlands, 16 examples ending up in Greece, 4 in Syria and the final 27 going back to the U.K.
The engines that went to the Netherlands were modified, having the boiler pressure reduced from 225psi to 170psi, and having longer chimneys fitted so as to clear smoke from obstructing the driver's view. These engines had a short working life, being withdrawn from service between 1948 and 1952. However, one of the Dutch engines has been preserved; NS.5085 (WD 73755) and given the name Longmoor is on static display in the Dutch Railway Museum in Utrecht. This was the 1,000th British-built locomotive shipped to Europe after D-Day.
Of the 27 engines that went back to the U.K., two saw further service with the War Department (WD) at the Longmoor Military Railway, and were respectively numbered 600 and 601. They also received names, No.600 being named Gordon, and No.601 being named Kitchener.
The remaining 25 engines were bought by British Railways and, numbered from No.90750 to No.90774, saw service on B.R.'s Scottish Region at various ex-L.M.S. depots, where they worked with the more numerous 2-8-0's. They were withdrawn from service in 1961 and 1962, with none of them surviving into preservation.
However, there are a number of former W.D. Austerity 2-10-0's in the U.K., some of which were repatriated from Greece for use on British heritage railways. L.M.R. No.600 Gordon is currently on static display in the Engine House on the Severn Valley Railway. One of the repatriated Greek engines is numbered No.90775 and named The Royal Norfolk Regiment is currently in working order on the North Norfolk Railway, with the other repatriated engine, No.3672 Dame Vera Lynn, currently undergoing an overhaul at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway.
Four more examples are still around down in Greece, though all four are disposed of in poor condition and awaiting their fates.
"Hello there, Riddles. I'm sorry about this delay old boy, but I was delayed in the yards due to this train not being fully assembled and ready to go when I arrived here earlier." No.90766 said, as he went by the platform on the down line with his trucks rattling along.
"Well, just try and make up for lost time. I don't think the Fat Controller would be too pleased if the train arrived late." Riddles said, as he watched No.90766 go past him with his long train, a consist of mostly box vans, though there were a few other different trucks in the train as well, including a single coach which was actually a van used for transporting parcels.
After two minutes of further waiting, the train hauled by No.90766 had cleared the junction and the line was clear for Riddles and his train to continue on. Blowing his whistle loudly, and steam whooshing loudly from his cylinder drain cocks, Riddles was on his way again.
"Come along! Come along!" he called to his coaches, as he slowly rolled on ahead. With the 16 coaches following along smoothly behind him, he passed through Nort Station. Looking out from the driver's side as they slowly built up some speed, Carrie could see this was a well-maintained station, especially that it seemed like a lot of work had been done recently. The two platforms were quite clean of anything on their surfaces, and the wooden benches along them certainly looked as though they had gone through the local workshops recently, as the wooden planks on them were shiny with fresh varnish. The windowpanes within the walls of the buildings were also looking quite smart with brand new green paint on them too.
"This station certainly looks like it's ready for the summer season." Simon said, as he too looked over the station as they cleared it. Going over to the fireman's side, Carrie leaned out and looked over the town and the open sea beyond to the north.
"Okay, here we go! We're going up to 40mph!" the driver said, as they cleared the station and entered a section of line where they could go up to 40mph. As they built up speed, Carrie sat down on the fireman's seat, leaned out and waited to see the next station of Emily Road come up ahead.
They soon passed through Emily Road Station, the second of Sodor's most northern stations, and this time, there were no disruptions, and they were able to pass through without having to stop at any red signals. This station was similar in all respects to Nort, and also looked like it had recently been readied for the summer season, considering how clean it looked, as well as the fact that the walls of the station buildings and the footbridge over the tracks had been repainted very recently.
"And from this point on, you two…" the driver said to Carrie and Simon, "…it's gonna be a southerly journey from here on, all the way down to Knapford!"
"Sounds good to me!" Simon said, as he smiled while looked at Carrie. She smiled too, now knowing they were more than halfway through their journey.
Meanwhile back within the coaches, the passengers were tucking into their main courses, which was a choice between roast beef or roast lamb, with all the trimmings. From the kitchen cars, the waiters and waitresses were taking the plate from the kitchen and out to serve to the hungry customers. Although the passengers had been a bit confused as to why they had initially stopped back at Nort Station, they were soon told the reason why and so they understood, especially when they saw the freight train going by them. But all the same, they were all very happy when they started on their way again.
They all enjoyed the main courses immensely and commented to each other on how good the food was. Many of them also had really fine wine with their food as well, including some of a really good French vintage which went really well with the beef. The view of the passing and constantly changing countryside on one side of the train or the open sea and coastline on the other side of the train also helped to make their meals a more interesting experience.
Up front on Riddles' footplate, Carrie was having another go at the shovel and had just put a sixth shovelful of coal onto the fire, when she suddenly heard the sound of a whistle in the distance. Quickly handing the shovel to the fireman, she went over to the fireman's side and leaned out to see what it was. After a few moments, and with the driver sounding Riddles' whistle, the train came into view. It was the Valentine's Special from Knapford to Vicarstown being hauled by L.N.E.R. V2 2-6-2 No.60977 heading due north. Carrie was a bit surprised to see this train was passing by when they were more than halfway into their journey. But she knew that was just the way the train's schedule was laid out.
As No.60977 went by, calling "Hello" as he did so, Carrie counted how many coaches there were in this passing train. To her surprise, there were 16 coaches heading in the opposite direction, the exact same number that there were in their own train. As the last coach went by, Carrie looked back and just managed to see the red taillight at the rear of the train as it disappeared into the distance to the north. She turned her head back to look ahead of them and, leaning her right arm on the windowsill and resting her left arm over that, she looked on ahead and waited her next turn for the shovel.
It wasn't long before they came upon another major junction on this part of Sodor; it was an area known as Heathfield Junction, which was a major complex of railway lines and some junctions which joined up to form a major railway junction. It stretched from Heathfield north towards Widdlington Junction and from both places, railway lines stretched out to form another junction northwest of the Sodor Hospital Station, which was on the main railway line which ran through the middle of the island to the east southeast before turning south to join up with the Southern Main Line at another similarly laid out complex south of Abbey Station. It was also the sight of a major and enormous marshalling yard where both freight wagons of all kinds as well as passenger coaches were sorted out before being formed into trains and being sent out.
Going through the junction heading south through Widdlington Junction, Carrie was amazed by how much activity there was going on here; there were a real mixture of both freight and passenger trains passing through the different lines through the junction. Some were waiting at signals while waiting for other trains to go by, as other trains were going into the sidings leading to the marshalling yard, where the trucks of those trains would be sorted into the many different sidings within that enormous yard.
"This is one of the busiest places ANYWHERE on the Island of Sodor, Carrie…" Simon said, as he looked out over the place while standing beside Carrie, "…as there's always trains passing through here day and night 24/7. Different trains coming through on this line, either going north or south, as well as from the main line going through the centre of the island, go through here every day."
"Wow, and I imagine it doesn't get quiet around here too often." Carrie said.
"No, it doesn't. There's always something going on here, with trains coming and going through here all the time." Simon said.
At the controls, the driver had closed the regulator most of the way and had slowed the train down as they went through the junction before heading south on the line heading to Heathfield and was keeping a very close eye on the signals so he could react quickly if he needed to, depending on how the signals and their lights were.
They managed to get through the first part of the junction without trouble and, with the green light as they went down the line south to Heathfield and Riddles giving a blast of his whistle, they picked up speed and headed off to finish off the last part of their journey.
Back in the train, the last course was being served, dessert. There was a good selection of choices for the passengers to have, all served with a choice of either cream or ice cream. In the kitchen cars, the cooks were busy getting the desserts to serve out. Once the desserts were lined up and ready to go, the waiters and waitresses would pick them up and take them along the train to serve to the passengers. At the same time, the cooks had prepared large silver pots with hot tea and coffee in them to serve out as well, and the servers took these out too once they were all ready to go.
The train soon passed through the southern junction close to Heathfield Station and managed to get through without a problem and, with that major obstacle out of the way, they headed on southwest along the line towards Arlesburgh North Junction which connected the Northern Main Line to the Little Western Line. The line to the Little Western branched off to the right, while the Southern Main Line continued on towards the right and ran further inland from the Little Western. But Carrie was taking a turn at the shovel and didn't see what they went by as they powered ahead, but she did hear Riddles whistle loudly to the passengers and station staff standing on the platform. By now, Carrie was feeling quite tired after such a long day and was sweaty from all the physical work she'd been doing since they left Vicarstown. And she was really eager to have a hot shower and change after they got back to the sheds before she would clock out, and then she and her father would head on their way home.
Eventually though, after passing through more of the western side of Sodor and going through another junction north of Tidmouth Sheds, they arrived at their final destination of Knapford Station, stopping at Platform 1 at 5:25pm, five minutes earlier than they were scheduled to arrive. Gordon was standing at Platform 2, he already having arrived at Knapford sometime earlier on, while Henry stood at Platform 3. They were pleased to see Riddles arrive, and with his train and passengers in one piece too.
"Welcome back, Riddles." Henry said, just as Riddles came to a gentle stop a little beyond Platform 1.
"It looks like you had a good trip." Gordon said, noticing that Riddles was tired after his trip.
"Yes, I did. But now, I'm really looking forward to a good night's rest." Riddles said, as he yawned a little.
The doors on the coaches opened, and the passengers stepped off the train, all of whom were very satisfied with the trip as well as the food they had enjoyed on the journey. In the process of the journey, some men had proposed to their girlfriends on the train with engagement rings, to which the girlfriends had accepted with smiles of joy.
Leaning out from the driver's side and looking back, Carrie watched with a smile on her face as the passengers disembarked from the train. She could see the smiles on many of their faces, and she knew that they had enjoyed the trip immensely.
"I think now, after a long day out like the one we had, we should get ourselves back to Tidmouth Sheds and get ourselves washed off and cleaned before we head on home." the driver said with a smile, as he stood up and stretched out, so as to get the kinks out of the joints in his arms and legs.
"Agreed." Simon said, as he yawned, making no effort to cover the yawn. Seeing Simon yawn, Carrie also did so, and again made no effort to cover her own yawn.
Once the last of the tired, but satisfied, passengers had left the station, the shunter uncoupled Riddles from his train and then, with a short whistle, he pulled forward and went down the line a little way, before running in reverse onto a different line and through Knapford Station back to Knapford Station. Gordon and Henry had already returned to the shed a few minutes before, and they were both just as tired after their long day of work.
(A short while later)
The turntable turned to the empty berth at Tidmouth Sheds, and Riddles very slowly reversed into the empty berth and stopped once he was all the way in.
"And there we are, all stopped." the driver said, as he made sure the brake was fully applied while the fireman made sure the tender brakes were also firmly on. Simon and Carrie, after making sure they had everything they needed with them, stepped off the footplate and went forward to speak to Riddles before they left to go over to the crew building to get washed off and changed.
"How are you after your long day?" Carrie asked.
"Oh, I'm feeling fine, Carrie. But I do feel I need a very long rest after such a long day." Riddles said, as he gazed down at the two with tired eyes.
"Well, I think we do as well." Simon said, as he too felt quite tired.
"Yeah, and a good wash and a change of clothes as well." said Carrie, as she looked down at her work-stained and dusty overalls.
"A fair idea there, miss." the fireman said, as he stepped by them and out the shed doors.
"Come on, Carrie. Let's go get washed up. Anyway, good night, Riddles." Simon said, as he and Carrie stepped outside the shed.
"Good night then, you two." Riddles said quietly, as he closed his eyes and dozed off.
As Carrie and Simon walked in front of Tidmouth Sheds, they saw that Thomas, Edward Henry, Gordon and James, Murdoch and Arthur were there as well, with Duck, Donald and Douglas resting in the other shed a few yards away.
"Goodnight, engines. See you in the morning!" Carrie said, as she and Simon went by.
"Goodnight Carrie! Goodnight Simon!" the engines all called, as the pair walked towards the crew building to get washed up and changed.
(Later on)
After Carrie and Simon had washed up and changed, they made their way outside with Sophie, Alice, Olivia, and Saoirse, all of whom had also had a good day out on the railway with the engines they had worked on.
"I wonder what tomorrow will bring." Saoirse said.
"Well, we'll have to wait and see, girl. After all, tomorrow's another day." said Olivia.
"I guess you're right, Olivia." Alice said.
"I hope the work tomorrow will involve work being closer to home and not going all round the island. That was a tiring enough experience as it was." Simon said.
"Well, we'll just have to wait and see, Simon." Sophie said.
After they clocked out for the day, with the time being 5:45pm, and then they stepped outside into the main carpark.
"I guess it's time to head on home then." Carrie said, noticing her father standing close by and talking to one of his work colleagues.
"Yes, I guess so." Sophie said.
"Not yet though, miss." came a very familiar, booming voice. The four turned their heads to see none other than the Fat Controller standing a few feet away from them. He was looking very pleased with them, as he had spoken to the crews of the engines they had worked on that day.
"Hello, sir." or "Good evening, sir." the six teens said to their boss.
"I'm very pleased with you all from all the work that you did today. I think you're all doing very well on the apprenticeship scheme, and I think you'll be a credit to the railway." said the Fat Controller, with a smile.
"Thank you, sir." the six teens said together.
"Anyway, I know you all want to head on home now, so I'll leave you all do that. Goodnight, you lot." said the Fat Controller, and he turned and walked off to his car.
The six teens then dispersed and headed off, saying they would all see each other in the morning. After bidding Simon "Goodnight" Carrie went over to where her father was standing and waiting for her.
"Did you have a good day, Carrie?" Ralph asked.
"I did, dad. And I'm eager to get home and get some dinner before going to bed after today." Carrie said, with a tired smile. And Ralph himself smiled too.
"A good idea, Carrie. Come on, let's head on home." Ralph said, and they headed off to where Ralph had parked his car.
And this is it, everyone! This chapter takes my fanfic to well over 100,000 words, thus becoming the first Carrie/Thomas fanfic to reach this impressive feat!