Starting Over Again

by J.T. Shee

A year and a half BEFORE the infamous Senior Prom takes place, Carrie runs away from home in Chamberlain and ends up on the Island of Sodor. There she meets the engines and people of Sodor and sets about getting her life back on track (No pun intended). While there, she also meets someone she never expected to see in her life. Reviews are much appreciated.

18. 17: A Day On Thomas' Branch Line

Chapter 17: A Day on Thomas' Branch Line

(Friday, March 2nd 2012 – 8:20am; Tidmouth Sheds)

In this chapter, Carrie is finally gonna get the opportunity to work with the most famous of all the Reverend Wilbert Awdry's characters…it's gonna be Thomas himself!

Carrie stepped out from the crew building in the main rail depot at Tidmouth Sheds with Simon and the girls she was friends with and made their way over to the sheds to be assigned to the engines they would be working with today. The morning air was a little bit cold and the shy above was covered with a light white overcast that stretched for as far as they eye could see, but it promised to warm up a little as the day went on.

A few of the other teenagers in the group were still feeling a little bit tired from the early start, and everyone in the group had a cup of hot tea or hot chocolate in their hands, as well as a pastry from the main canteen in the crew building. By now though, Carrie was well used to the early starts, and always looked forward to getting up early in the morning and getting ready to go to work, as she always liked to be kept busy when working on the railway and seeing what adventures the day would bring. And each new day always brought different adventures for her to experience on the railway.

Only the previous day, she and Alice had worked together on the footplate of GWR 47XX "Night Owl" 2-8-0 No.4719 for much of the day, where they had been kept quite busy working with the driver and fireman in moving two fully fitted freight trains, one of which went from Knapford Station to Brendam Docks and the second one from Brendam Docks all the way over to Vicarstown Station. Then in the afternoon, they worked a long passenger train, of ten coaches, from Vicarstown Station all the way back to Knapford Station.

For much of that day, both Carrie and Alice had taken turns in stoking the boiler with the shovel, as well as keeping a close eye on the water level in the boiler and doing any other jobs that needed to be done during the course of the day. By day's end, they were both absolutely knackered and dirty from a long day of hard work and both took the opportunity to take long showers before they got changed and left for home that evening.

Soon the group arrived at Tidmouth Sheds, where many of the engines were being readied by the fitters and shed staff for the long day of hard work ahead. Whisps of grey and black smoke wafted from the chimneys and whisps of white steam could be seen from cylinder drain cocks and safety valves as the engines stood waiting to start their day. Some of the engines were already gone, as they had jobs which required them to leave the sheds earlier in the morning than some of the other engines. Among them were Gordon and Henry, who had early trains to take from the Knapford area to other parts of Sodor, including taking the early express from Knapford to Vicarstown.

After everyone was accounted for, and they all had the gear they would need with them, including bright orange hi-vis vests, gloves, and railway caps, they were assigned by one of the inspectors to the engines they would be working with for today. Alice was assigned to work with Edward for today on the line from Wellsworth to Brendam Docks, while Saoirse and Olivia would be working on the footplate of WD Austerity 2-10-0 No.90770, and Sophie would be working on the footplate of James. In the meantime, Simon would be working on the footplate of Arthur on his branch line that ran along much of the south-western part of the Island of Sodor, where there were some very good views out to sea.

Finally, it was Carrie's turn to be assigned to an engine at last.

"All right, Carrie…" said the inspector, "…for today, you're gonna be working with Thomas on his branch line." And Carrie was very pleased, as she had never had the chance to work with Thomas on his branch line yet. Thomas was also very pleased to be given the chance to work with Carrie.

"Thank you, sir. I've always wanted to work with Thomas." Carrie said, with a big smile on her face.

"And you don't mind having Carrie working with you today, Thomas?" the inspector asked, as he looked towards Sodor's Number One engine.

"No, sir. Not at all. I've always wanted to work with Carrie." Thomas said, with a smile.

"That's a good engine, Thomas. Sir Topham Hatt will be very pleased with you." the inspector said with a smile, as he then turned back to his clipboard and moved onto the next engines with the remaining teens in the group.

"Well then, congratulations on being assigned to Sodor's Number One engine for today, Carrie. He's one of the most useful engines on the Sodor Railway system." Ralph said with a smile on his face, as he looked over his excited daughter.

"Thanks, dad. And I'm wondering what the day ahead will bring." Carrie said, as she climbed onto Thomas' footplate and stepped into the cab.

"And what are you going to be doing today, Ralph?" Thomas asked.

"Well then, Thomas…I'm gonna be working on one of my favourite jobs for today…taking an express passenger train all the way across to the other side of Sodor behind one of my favourite express engines…one of the L.M.S. Duchesses." Ralph said. (26)

"Well, good luck out there today, Ralph." Thomas said.

"Thank you, Thomas. Now I'd best go and get myself ready for my train." Ralph said, and he headed off to another part of the depot to join his fireman at the engine they were assigned to work on for today.

(26): The L.M.S. Princess Coronation Class 4-6-2 Express Passenger engines, also known as "Duchesses ", to their crews, were some of the most iconic steam locomotives ever to be built in the U.K. Designed by Sir William Stanier and with 38 locomotives built at Crewe Works between 1937 and 1948, they were built in honour of the 1937 Coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. The engines of the class were named after British Royals, British female aristocrats, and British cities.

Built to compete with Gresley's streamlined A4 Pacifics on the L.N.E.R., they supplemented Stanier's previous express passenger design, the Princess Royal Pacifics, and hauled some of the heaviest passenger trains on the L.M.S. system between London Euston and Glasgow Central in six hours. They were amongst some of the most powerful express steam locomotives ever built, with a tractive effort of 40,000 pounds.

The first ten members of the class, from No.6220 Coronation to No.6229 Duchess of Hamilton, were built with a very distinctive streamlined casing over their boilers, which was described as being like a bathtub covering the locomotives. The tenders of all ten engines were also streamlined. The first five engines, No.6220 Coronation to No.6224 Princess Alexandra, were painted in a distinct Caledonian Railway blue livery with four silver horizontal lines along the sides of the locomotives. The other five class members, No.6225 Duchess of Gloucester to No.6229 Duchess of Hamilton, were painted in a red crimson lake livery with four golden gilt stripes along the sides of the locomotives. And the engines were given rolling stock to match, with the coaches painted either in Caledonian blue with silver stripes or in crimson red with golden gilt stripes.

The next five engines built, No.6230 Duchess of Buccleuch to No.6234 Duchess of Abercorn, were built without the streamlined casing fitted¸ as it was felt the streamlined casing added extra weight and made maintenance a more difficult task for the shed depot crews. Some other batches were built streamlining and some without, until the last two examples to be built, No.6256 Sir William A. Stanier F.R.S. and No.46257 City of Salford, were turned out without streamlining in December 1947 and May 1948 respectively.

Some modifications were made to the class during their working lives on the L.M.S.; many were built or rebuilt with double chimneys, and in later years many of them were fitted with an Automatic Warning System (A.W.S.) so as to alert their crews to the state of signals along the lines they travelled and to avoid potentially disastrous accidents.

But the most significant change made to the class was that the locomotives that had been streamlined had their streamlined casings removed during and after the Second World War, as they were of little value at speeds below 90mph and were unpopular with shed crews as they were a hindrance to maintenance. All the de-streamlined locomotives were fitted with smoke deflectors on the sides of their smokeboxes and could be easily distinguished from the non-streamlined engines by the shape of their running plates.

On June 29th, 1937, the first engine of the class, No.6220 Coronation, broke the British steam speed record by reaching a speed of 114mph while hauling a special train of invited guests from London Euston to Crewe. The brakes were applied a little too late and the train entered a series of crossover points at Crewe a little too fast, but luckily No.6220 Coronation and her train managed to remain on the rails. However, in the process of braking and stopping the train, much of the crockery that was in the dining car ended up on the floor.

This record only stood for a little over a year, as on July 3rd, 1938, Gresley L.N.E.R. A4 Pacific, No.4468 Mallard, managed to gain the world steam speed record by achieving a speed of 126mph along the East Coast Main Line, a record that still stands to this day.

On 26th February 1939, No.6234 Duchess of Abercorn hauling a train of 20 coaches, including a dynamometer car, which weighed well over 600 tons, from Crewe to Glasgow and back, and managed to achieve the highest ever recorded horsepower of 3,330. Despite the very heavy weight of the train, it managed to climb to the summits of Shap and Beattock at unprecedented speeds. However, this feat of achieving a record horsepower was well beyond the ability of a single fireman to accomplish, so two firemen were aboard to achieve this.

After nationalisation in January 1948, the class, after having 40000 added onto their numbers, went to work on the London Midland Region, and they generally ran very well in hauling heavy passenger trains at fast speeds and proved to be popular with their crews. However, in October 1952, No.46242 City of Glasgow got involved in a serious accident at Harrow and Wealdstone in London when it overran a signal at danger and crashed into a local passenger train sitting at the station. Another express train collided with the wreckage not long afterwards. However, No.46242 City of Glasgow was repaired after the accident and continued working until she was withdrawn in October 1963.

The entire class was withdrawn from service on B.R.'s London Midland Region between December 1962 and October 1964, with the last seventeen class members being withdrawn in October 1964. The very last exampled in service that was withdrawn was No.46256 Sir William A. Stanier, F.R.S.

However, three examples of the class have survived into preservation; No.6229 Duchess of Hamilton – which had its streamlining restored in 2009 and is now on display in the National Railway Museum in York, No.6233 Duchess of Sutherland – the oldest of the three, and currently the only one that's operational and running on the main line, and No.46235 City of Birmingham, currently preserved in the ThinkTank Museum in Birmingham, England.

Of the three, only No.6229 and No.6233 have run on the main line in preservation, with No.6229 Duchess of Hamilton last running back in 1998, when it was de-streamlined and carrying its B.R. number of No.46229.

In this story, a number of different members of the class will be appearing as and when necessary, and all of which will be locomotives that were scrapped in real life. Some of them will be in their original streamlined states with original liveries, while others will be un-streamlined with liveries worn while they were under B.R. ownership. A major change to the engines will be with their tenders; here, their tenders will be longer in length, in order to take more water, and the tenders will run on four axles as opposed to the original three.

It wasn't too long before Thomas was ready to leave the yard and collect his coaches, Annie, and Clarabel, before he went off to Tidmouth Station to pick up his first passengers. Once his driver, fireman and Carrie were aboard the footplate and ready to go, they set off, with Thomas giving a toot on his whistle as they went on their way. After first picking up Thomas' two coaches in a nearby coach shed, they headed out of the depot, onto the main line and off to the nearby Tidmouth Station.

From the fireman's side of the cab, Carrie leaned out and looked along the top of the right-hand water tank and ahead of Thomas; the number one blue tank engine of Sodor was running very smoothly, and his two coaches were following along smoothly behind him as well. Carrie then looked up into the sky; it was still lightly overcast, but she could see the area where the sun was shining. Hopefully, the sun would break through the light overcast soon, and bring a sunny day to the Island of Sodor.

(A short while later)

It wasn't too long before Thomas arrived at Tidmouth Station, and came to a gentle stop along Platform 1, on which stood the passengers waiting for him to arrive. The porters opened the doors on the left-hand sides of both Annie and Clarabel, and the passengers started boarding the train with their luggage.

As they waited for the passengers to board, Carrie leaned out from the fireman's side of the cab and watched ahead, keeping a close eye on the signal gantry and the signal for their line to drop and show its green light.

Then, they heard the sounds of a deep-toned, Caledonian style whistle and the sharp blasts from a chimney from somewhere behind them, and Carrie turned to have a look and saw another engine, a very big and impressive looking one, coming towards them on the middle set of tracks. It was an L.M.S. Princess Coronation Pacific, or a Duchess, making her way down to Knapford Station to pick up the passengers there.

As she came closer to where Thomas was standing before going by, Carrie could see that the Duchess was in its original streamlined look and was painted in crimson red with gilt stripes down the length of the locomotive. After another moment, Carrie could see the engine's name and number, No.6227 Duchess of Devonshire, and then, looking along the engine's left-hand side, she could see the familiar figure of her father, Ralph White, in a blue boiler suit and sitting on the driver's seat guiding the engine and the very long train through the station.

As Duchess of Devonshire went by, sounding her deep-toned whistle again as she did so and calling out "Morning Thomas!" Ralph turned his head and saw Carrie leaning out from Thomas' footplate and waving as the train went by. Giving his daughter a smile and waving back, Ralph turned back to watching the controls as the train continued on down the line.

As the train went past them, Carrie counted all the coaches in the train, and there were twelve of them in all. And what really amazed her was that the coaches were painted in the same livery as Duchess of Devonshire and also had golden gilt stripes along their lengths.

Once the train had gone ahead into the distance down the line in a cloud of steam and smoke, Carrie felt herself smile somewhat, and then she turned to speak to the driver and fireman.

"That's quite an impressive train." she said.

"Yeah, it is. And it's one of the most impressive trains to run on Sodor. And one of the most comfortable trains to travel on, considering how popular it is with the public and visitors from outside the island." said the driver.

"Wow…I wish I could travel on that train one day." Carrie said, as she imagined that it was like to travel on a train as popular as that one.

It wasn't too long before they could leave, and as the guard blew his whistle and waved his green flag, the signal dropped and the points were set. And as Thomas blew his whistle, the driver opened the regulator and they were off. Carrie felt herself smile as they finally set off for another day of work, and she was eager to see what events this day would bring.

In the cab, the fireman set about putting fresh fuel into the firebox, but due to the size of the cab and with three people standing on the footplate, he had to take care not to thrust the shovel into the legs of Carrie or the driver as he stoked the boiler up.

The train rolled on smoothly along the line through the countryside to Knapford Station, passing by a small airfield at one point and under a bridge over which passed another two sets of railway tracks and then going through Lower Tidmouth station.

After passing through Callan Station, they passed over the Callan River and onto the large red brick viaduct that went over the extensive yards at Knapford before they finally arrived alongside Platform 1 at Knapford Station itself, on which stood the passengers Thomas was to pick up this morning.

As they sat and waited for the passengers to get aboard the train, Carrie heard another loud whistle, but this time it was from somewhere ahead of them, in the direction where the lines led out from Knapford. Thomas looked up and, after a moment, saw another streamlined locomotive coming towards him on the line that went adjacent to Platform 5. It was painted in bright L.N.E.R. Garter Blue livery, with side valances over the driving wheels and the letters of L.N.E.R. were fitted as silver steel letters on the large tender behind it, as were the numbers on the locomotive's cab-side. The approaching engine was an L.N.E.R. Gresley A4 Class streamlined Pacific, and it was No.4500 Sir Ronald Matthews, who just simply liked to be called Ronald. (27)

Behind him were a dozen very smartly turned-out L.N.E.R. teak coaches with their windows cleaned down and their sides polished to a high standard. As Ronald came closer to the station, he was slowing down, as Knapford Station was his final stop on his long journey from Vicarstown Station. After giving a loud and long toot on his characteristic chime whistle, which Carrie could see was fitted on top of the sloping smokebox right in front of the double chimney, Ronald pulled into Knapford Station and came to a gentle stop right at the end of the platform with all twelve of his coaches alongside of it. The porters opened the doors and all the passengers disembarked from the train.

(27): The streamlined L.N.E.R. A4 Pacific Class, designed by Sir Nigel Gresley, is one of the most famous and most iconic classes of steam locomotives ever built in the U.K. With their sloping streamlined appearance, they were amongst some of the fastest steam locomotives ever built. Introduced in 1935, and built at the L.N.E.R.'s Doncaster Works, 35 examples were built between September 1935 and August 1938.

Based on Gresley's previous A3 Pacific design, Gresley's A4s were very different as they were fitted with higher pressure boilers, with the boiler pressure at 250psi as opposed to the A3's 220psi, had all their internal steam passages streamlined, had an extended firebox to form a larger combustion chamber and had the cylinders slightly reduced in size so as to allow slightly larger diameter piston valves. This helped to produce a very powerful and free-steaming design within the restrictions of a three-cylinder locomotive, and also allowed for much better economy, particularly in terms of coal and water use which were much less than on an A3 Pacific.

The first example of a Gresley A4 to enter service, No.2509 Silver Link, hauled its first train on 27th September 1935 as a demonstration run from London King's Cross to Grantham. In the process, Silver Link reached a speed of 112.5mph, thus breaking the previous British steam speed record.

Not long afterwards, the first major train to be hauled by the A4's, The Silver Jubilee, entered traffic running from London King's Cross to Newcastle. The train initially had seven coaches, but the train proved so popular, particularly in that it cut down the travel time between London and Newcastle to just four hours, it was eventually extended to eight coaches. Three further A4's with the word "Silver" in their names were built to haul the service; these engines were No.2510 Quicksilver, No.2511 Silver King and No.2512 Silver Fox. The engines proved so reliable that only 10 instances of mechanical problems were recorded. Eventually, The Silver Jubilee service was extended to Edinburgh.

The first true intercity express trains were hauled by the A4 Pacifics, including from London to Leeds and Bradford, for which another five A4s were built. In these trains, it proved that the A4's had a reserve of power and that a train of 10 coaches was a feasibility for trains from London to Glasgow.

But the greatest moment for Gresley's A4s, the one that would seal their mark on railway history, came on 3rd July 1938, when four-month-old No.4468 Mallard achieved the world speed record for steam traction with a speed of 126mph on a test run on Stoke Bank to the north of Peterborough, a record that still stands to this day. However, in the process of achieving the record, Mallard's inside big end bearing on the inside cylinder overheated, and so she had to be taken back to Doncaster for repairs.

Mallard's triumph in achieving the record-breaking run wasn't entirely by chance, as she was the very first member of the A4 Class to be fitted with a double chimney with a Kylchap exhaust system, which increased her exhaust flow when she was at speed. This feature proved so successful, it would eventually be fitted to all the other A4's, which had the added benefit of reducing the coal consumption of the locomotives.

In World War II, the side valances that were fitted to the engines were removed which allowed for much easier maintenance for the shed crews. On 29th April 1942, the only A4 to be destroyed during the war took place when No.4469 Sir Ralph Wedgwood was hit by a bomb during a German air raid on York when she was at York North Shed (now the site of the National Railway Museum). By the time the raid was over, No.4469 and a B16 4-6-0, No.925, had been damaged beyond economic repair. However, the nameplates of Sir Ralph Wedgwood were reused on A4 No.4466 Herring from January 1944, and its tender was also reused, this time on Thompson A2/1 Class No.3696 Highland Chieftain.

After the war, the A4's continued with their high-speed and top-link services on the L.N.E.R., and then the Eastern Region of British Railways, particularly hauling expresses like The Elizabethan. No other British steam locomotive class had a longer or more consistent record for high-speed running than the A4's did, with speeds of up to or in excess of 100mph being very commonplace. On 23rd May 1959, the highest post-war steam speed record achieved by No.60007 Sir Nigel Gresley when she reached a speed of 112mph while hauling a 400-ton train full of passengers down Stoke Bank.

In the post-war period, the reliability of the A4's improved when better alignment methods on Gresley's conjugated valve gear led to tighter tolerances for the bearings, and the inside big end was replaced with a Great Western type. The results of these were the result of the A4's being much more reliable, providing that maintenance levels were respected and regularly carried out.

In August 1948, the longest non-stop run ever undertaken by a steam locomotive up to that point in time was achieved by No.60028 Walter K. Whigham when she travelled non-stop from Edinburgh to London King's Cross via the Settle and Carlisle route and Leeds, a distance of 408.65 miles. This record would stand until 1988 when it was beaten by A3 Class No.4472 Flying Scotsman which travelled 422 miles on a non-stop run during its tour down under in Australia.

Eventually though, the end had to come for the A4 Pacifics, with brand new Deltic high speed diesels taking over. The first five examples, including No.60014 Silver Link, being withdrawn in December 1962. The remainder of the class followed between 1963 and September 1966 when the final two examples, No.60024 Kingfisher and No.60019 Bittern were withdrawn. Some of the final A4's in service saw out their last days of work in Scotland, where they ran on the route from Aberdeen to Glasgow, improving the running times between the two cities from 3.5 hours to just 3 hours.

Thankfully though, six examples of this fine class have survived into preservation. Two examples, No.60008 Dwight D. Eisenhower and No.4489 Dominion of Canada, are on display in museums over in North America, with No.60008 on display at the National Railroad Museum in Wisconsin, and No.4489 on display at the Canadian Railway Museum in Montreal.

The other four surviving examples, No.4464 Bittern, No.4468 Mallard, No.4498 Sir Nigel Gresley and No.60009 Union of South Africa all remain in Britain, and have all run on the main line under their own power since the end of steam.

No.60009 Union of South Africa, who ran on the main line and on heritage railways all over the U.K. for many years, was recently retired from service due to boiler problems and has been put on display in a museum, having achieved the highest mileage of all the A4 Pacifics.

No.4498 Sir Nigel Gresley, the 100th Gresley Pacific and named after the great designer himself, recently returned to working order after a lengthy overhaul and is currently running on the Severn Valley Railway. She's also the only example of the class currently in steam.

No.4464 Bittern is currently on static display at the former Hornby factory in Margate, with its main line certificate having expired in 2015, and funds are being raised for its next overhaul. In late June 2013, No.4464 achieved the highest speed for a steam locomotive in preservation up to that time when it reached 93mph, a figure that was broken in April 2017 when the brand-new Peppercorn A1 Pacific No.60163 Tornado reached a speed of 101.6mph.

No.4468 Mallard, the fastest steam locomotive in the world and holder of the world steam speed record since 3rd July 1938, is on static display at the National Railway Museum in York. She did return to working order for a brief period from 1986 to 1988, for the 50th anniversary of her record-breaking run.

From late 2012 to early 2014, all six surviving A4s were reunited at the National Railway Museum to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Mallard's record-breaking run. For the event, both No.60008 Dwight D. Eisenhower and No.60010 Dominion of Canada were returned to the U.K. for the first time since the 1960's and were both given a much-needed cosmetic restoration, with Dominion of Canada being repainted into L.N.E.R. Garter Blue and given her original number of No.4489.

In moments, the sounds of passengers making their way through the station could be heard as they made their way over the footbridge to the station exit. From Thomas' cab, Carrie watched as the passengers made their way out from the express to the exit, until her thoughts were finally interrupted by the sound of the guard for Thomas' train blowing his whistle loudly, indicating it was time for them to leave the station.

"Time to go!" the driver said, as he blew Thomas' whistle and opened the regulator.

"Come along! Come along!" Thomas called to Annie and Clarabel, as they set off.

"We're coming along! We're coming along!" Annie and Clarabel called, as they left the station and headed down to the junction leading to the Ffarquhar Branch line.

(Insert soundtrack – Thomas' Branch Line Theme – Season 1)

They turned onto the branch line and went past the bus depot that was right beside the line before they came upon a long straight stretch of double track, with lush green farmland and fields on both sides. Soon they came upon a level crossing with an old-fashioned cottage, used by the crossing gatekeeper, sitting beside it. The gates were closed to road traffic and, after sounding his whistle to warn anyone by the gates, Thomas went by over the crossing and on up the line as people standing by the gates waved as he went by.

They soon came upon a canal run-by, with a canal wide enough to take two narrow boats side by side running beside the double track for several hundred yards in an arrow straight line. Coming round a gentle bend, and going under a stone road bridge and then by a grey stone windmill on a hill to the right of the line, Thomas ran along smoothly as Carrie took the chance to have a go at stoking the boiler; as she had expected, in a cab of this size, it wasn't that easy a task, but she persevered at it and managed to get half a dozen shovelfuls of coal into the firebox. After closing the firehole doors, she stood back up and stretched out while placing her hands on her lower back.

"You feeling okay, miss?" the fireman asked.

"Fine, it's just that stoking the boiler in a cab this size and when the firehole doors are that low isn't the easiest of tasks." Carrie said.

"Don't worry, miss. You'll get used to it. I certainly did over time." said the fireman.

"Yeah, well…not in too much of a hurry." Carrie said, as she handed the shovel back to the fireman. Then she turned and leaned out the fireman's side and looked forward as Thomas puffed smoothly along the line.

It wasn't too long before they arrived at their first stop of the day, Dryaw Station and its adjacent airfield. As the driver gently put on the brakes, Carrie looked out from the driver's side and saw a few passengers standing together on the platform and waiting for Thomas to arrive and pick them up.

Giving them a cheerful blast on his whistle, Thomas came to a gentle stop at the platform and the porters opened the doors to allow the passengers on the platform to board the train. This only took about two minutes, and then the doors were closed again, the guard blew his whistle and they were on their way again.

They headed on up the line, and it wasn't too long before they came upon a familiar place; it was the gorge that had been blocked by the landslide back in November. As Carrie looked out as they went past, she was pleased to see there was no rubble blocking the two tracks and that the way was clear for them to go by. Looking up at the cliff that lined the left-hand side of the two tracks, she could clearly see the spots close to the top where the rock had fallen, as well as places where other unstable areas of rock had been demolished with explosives so as to make the top of the escarpment safe.

"After the rockfall here back in November, Carrie…" said Thomas, "…this section of the branch line had to be closed for a few days so that the rubble could be cleared. And I also helped out in removing the rocks from that landslide, as well as from the demolition work the workmen had to do."

"How did the passengers cope with that?" Carrie asked.

"There were buses that took the passengers from Dryaw up to Elsbridge and back again, while the trains only had to go to Dryaw from Knapford, and the trains only had to go as far as Elsbridge from the other direction." Thomas said.

"Are you pleased to be able to run the full distance now without having to stop for anything?" Carrie asked.

"Yes, I am. And it was thanks to you preventing a nasty accident, Carrie, that the cliff we just went by was made safe." Thomas said.

"I was happy to prevent an accident, Thomas. And I'm hoping I can prevent more accidents like it while I'm here on Sodor." Carrie said, with a big smile.

Soon they were rolling along down a shallow valley with the land sloping up at a gentle angle on both sides of it, and they approached and then passed under a red brick road bridge that crossed over the two lines. Continuing on down the line, the two lines soon became single track and they soon came upon a wide and open area, with the railway line going along a wide raised embankment. Off to the right, Carrie looked out and saw another windmill, and this one was sitting on a small area of raised land with marshes dotted all around it. (N)

(N): The windmill that I'm describing here is the one that's always seen in the opening shot of the classic series where Thomas goes by it in the background.

As they went by, Carrie watched the windmill until they were going past it, and then she turned her head to continue looking forward again to check for the signals.

It wasn't too long before they finally arrived at their next stop, Elsbridge Station. And when they pulled in, there was already another engine sitting on the main line side of the platform with a line of about eight red coaches behind him as Thomas and his two coaches rolled in on the branch line side of the platform. As the driver gently brought the train to a stop, Carrie could see that the other engine was No.67905, the L.N.E.R. OS1T 2-8-4 tank engine and he was waiting for Thomas to arrive. The porters on the platform opened the doors and the passengers from No.67905's train caught their connection to the Ffarquhar Branch.

"Ah, here at last Thomas. I've been waiting here for the last three minutes, and I thought you'd never arrive!" No.67905 said, in a slightly boastful way. Thomas frowned at this; he had arrived at the station bang on time and made good progress on his journey.

"I'm here right on time, No.67905. You just arrived here a few minutes before I did." Thomas said, as he rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Doesn't matter, Thomas. I always like my passengers to get in a little early, and I'm sure you know that by now." said No.67905, as he blew his whistle and puffed away. As he watched the larger tank engine puff away, Thomas sighed heavily and rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Is No.67905 always like that, Thomas?" Carrie asked.

"Yes, Carrie…he can be. He always seems to have this idea about getting his passengers to their destinations a little earlier than what the timetables show. I think it's gotten into his smokebox by now." Thomas said, with a heavy sigh.

"Hmm, I can see that." Carrie said, as she looked along the line in the distance as the last coaches of No.67905's train disappeared round the bend in the distance. The attitude of that particular engine seemed to mirror, in a few respects at least, the attitudes of Chris Hargensen and a few of the other girls, as well as a few other students who used to bully Carrie back in Ewen High School, Chamberlain.

After another minute or two, the last of the passengers had gotten aboard the train and it was time for them to leave Elsbridge. After the guard blew his whistle and waved his green flag, Thomas' driver blew his whistle for a few seconds and opened the regulator, and Thomas set off again along his branch line. Continuing along the main line for another two or three minutes, they eventually turned off at a junction where two railway lines turned off to the left and headed along the line and over a level crossing before going up a slight gradient.

It wasn't long before they reached the top of the slight climb and the line levelled out, but it also went from double track to a single track. As they rolled along, they soon passed over a steel bridge that crossed over a deep and narrow cutting. Looking down from the footplate, Carrie could see there were two sets of railway lines far below them with a signal box along one side of the line a few hundred yards away.

Pushing on further along, the single line soon became double track again and they went down a gentle gradient until the line became level again, and they passed over the Elsbridge Viaduct over the River Els. Looking to the left a little up the river after she had done another round of firing, Carrie could see a road bridge crossing over the river that connected the town on the bank they had just been on to the other side of the river.

For the next few miles, they passed through open countryside and passed a few farms all the while before the two lines came upon another quaint little country station with a level crossing beside it and a small yard with a few short sidings a little way up the line from it.

"And here we are at out next stop, Carrie…" said the driver, "…this is Maithwaite Station."

"This sure looks like a nice little station." Carrie said with a smile, as they came up to the station and slowed down gently. The level crossing gates ahead were closed to rail traffic so as to allow some road traffic to pass through, but it didn't matter for now as there were passengers waiting on the up platform for Thomas to pick up.

As they came to a stop, Carrie looked over the station building that was along their platform; it was quite a quaint little building and it looked like it had been around for quite a long time. There were already a number of pot plants, some with bright flowers in them, hanging from hooks between the windows and doors, which added a splash of colour to the façade of the station building.

As the passengers began to board the train, and a few disembarked as Maithwaite was their final stop, there came the sounds of a whistle from further up the line. Looking ahead to see what it was, Carrie was a little surprised to see a large engine coming down the other line towards them on the other side of the closed level crossing gates. The signal there was red and so the engine had to stop. The engine was a B.R. Standard Class 6MT light Pacific 4-6-2, also known as a Clan Pacific, and it was No.72009 Clan Stewart. (28)

"Hello, Thomas." the other engine said, as he came to a stop before the level crossing gates.

"Hello, Stewart. You seem to be making good time today." Thomas said.

"I am, and I'm hoping to get this line of vans delivered down to Knapford Harbour as soon as possible, so their contents can be loaded aboard a ship leaving from there this evening." Stewart said.

"Well, I'm making good time with my first passenger train so far today. I'm going over to Ulfstead today." Thomas said.

"Well, you won't be able to go much further beyond Ulfstead, Thomas. They're carrying out some essential maintenance work on the track and one of the rail bridges further up the line from there today." Steward said, just as the level crossing gates were opened and the signal for the down line dropped, showing that the way ahead was clear.

"Oh, I'd best be off now. I'll see you later, Thomas." Stewart said, as he blew his whistle and then slowly set off over the crossing and through the station down the line.

"See you later then." Thomas said, as the vans, between two dozen and three dozen of them, went on by him as they followed Stewart down the line.

(28): The B.R. Standard Class 6MT Light Pacifics, also known as the Clan Class, were one of 12 classes of Standard Steam Locomotives built for British Railways. Designed by Robert Riddles, 10 examples of the class were built at Crewe Works between December 1951 and March 1952. They were basically a smaller version of the 7MT Britannia Pacifics, and incorporated a smaller boiler and had various other weight saving measures, including slightly smaller diameter cylinders, in order to ensure the class had the widest possible route availability for its intended area of operations, which was in the west of Scotland.

Numbered from No.72000 to No.72009, the Clans were given their names after famous clans within Scotland and they were named as follows; No.72000 Clan Buchanan, No.72001 Clan Cameron, No.72002 Clan Campbell, No.72003 Clan Fraser, No.72004 Clan MacDonald, No.72005 Clan MacGregor, No.72006 Clan MacKenzie, No.72007 ClanMacKintosh, No.72008 Clan MacLeod and No.72009 Clan Stewart. All ten locomotives were painted in British Railways Brunswick Green livery with orange and black lining. All ten engines were coupled to BR1 tenders, which ran on six wheels and could carry 7 tons of coal and 4,250 gallons of water.

There were plans in B.R. to build a lot more of the class. Indeed, there were plans to build a second batch with five more members, numbered from No.72010 to No.72014, to be used on B.R.'s Southern Region, more specifically the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway, followed by a third batch of another ten engines, from No.72015 to No.72024, to be used on the Scottish Region. In fact, B.R. had a plan to build 118 6MT Clan Pacifics. However, due to the modernisation plan in the mid 50's, as well as due to acute steel shortages, the construction of the next fifteen engines were continuously delayed, and were eventually cancelled altogether.

When the ten members of the class first came out, the B.R. locomotive crews assigned to work on them gave them a somewhat mixed reception, mostly due to the fact they were confined to work within the northwest of the British Railway network. And due to the limited numbers of the class, it prevented enough engine crews being trained effective on how to use the Clan Pacifics to their best effect. They were also based at only two motive power depots for their working lives, at Glasgow Polmadie, and at Carlisle Kingmoor.

Other issues that occasionally came up was that the class were sometimes used on duties that would have been better left to other engines that had higher power ratings, e.g., they sometimes were rostered to pull trains that should have been pulled by the more powerful Class 7MT Britannia's. Although the Clans proved more than capable of hauling trains like that, they found it difficult to keep to the allotted timetables.

Due to the rushed production of the class, there hadn't been time to undertake any testing on the class and as a result, the class did experience some steaming problems and this, along with a few other issues, led to the class having an undeserved bad reputation.

Nevertheless, despite these limitations, the class did put in some good performances, in particular when they under the control of a crew who knew them well and thus how to get the best out of them, and proving they were capable machines when handled properly. One of the feats they undertook was to haul heavy trains, of up 14 coaches in length, up the gradients of Shap and Beattock on the West Coast Main Line without the need for any banking assistance.

Other duties they undertook was regularly hauling trains up the arduous Settle and Carlisle line, one of the steepest lines in the U.K. Most Scottish and Midland Crews found that regularly crewed them found that if used properly, the class could maintain the running times with ease, and these crews rated them as the most sure-footed of any Pacifics available on the Midland Region. They also worked on portions of the Thames – Clyde Express and the Queen of Scots Pullman, as well as on general freight traffic. In general, they proved to be highly successful as an all-purpose design that was hard-working, easily maintained, highly available and economical in terms of their use of coal and water.

The first examples of the class were withdrawn from service in December 1962 and were stored for a time before being scrapped at Darlington in 1964. The rest were withdrawn between April 1965 and May 1966, with the last example withdrawn being No.72008 Clan MacLeod, which was also the longest serving Clan, having worked on British Railways for 14 years and 3 months.

Sadly, none of the original 10 locomotives have survived into preservation. However, the Standard Steam Locomotive Company, based at CTL Seal in Sheffield, is currently working on a project to build a new Clan Pacific in the form of the first example of the cancelled second batch, No.72010 Hengist. This will be the 1,000th steam locomotive built to a British Railways standard design, and lessons from the work and operation of the previous ten engines is being absorbed to ensure No.72010 doesn't suffer from any of the problems suffered by the original ten engines, especially as the engine is intended to run on the main line.

Looking out from the right-hand side of the cab, Carrie watched as the train disappeared back down towards Elsbridge Station, and then she turned to look at the driver and fireman.

"I'm a bit surprised to see an engine that size up here." she said.

"What do you mean by that, Carrie?" the driver asked, unsure of what Carrie meant.

"Well…I thought that the Fat Controller didn't want tender engines that big to run on branch lines like this one. He claimed they were too heavy, didn't he?" Carrie said.

"Oh, that's not too much of a problem, Carrie. Many of the bridges and such on many of the branch lines on Sodor have been heavily strengthened or even rebuilt over the last two years so they can support heavier engines and trains." the driver said.

"I see." Carrie said, now that she understood what the driver said.

"Also, that engine and the other engines of his class, the BR Clans, are purpose built for lines like this, and so they're somewhat lighter than many other big engines." the fireman said.

"Oh, that explains a lot." Carrie said.

It wasn't too long before the last passengers had boarded the train, and they were able to leave Maithwaite Station. Blowing his whistle, Thomas was soon leaving and heading over the level crossing and on up the line to the next station.

(Insert soundtrack – Thomas' Branch Line Theme – Season 1)

The double track soon became single track again, and they soon came upon a road that ran parallel to the railway for the next few miles. At one point, when they crossed over a canal that ran at right angles to both the road and the railway line, Carrie saw that the stone road bridge crossing over the canal was humped in the middle, unlike the rail bridge, so that cars had to go up on one side and then down the other.

After they crossed over the rail bridge, the road and railway line drew closer and closer together until they were running side by side. This went on for about two miles before the road started to rise over the railway line to the left and then they came upon a tunnel and plunged into it. In Thomas' cab, Carrie, who had been having another go at firing, was sudden shocked by the sudden lack of light, until she realised that they were inside a tunnel and relaxed as they came out the other side of it.

Exiting the tunnel, they went through a narrow cutting that curved away to the left a little and went by a cottage that stood on the right-hand side very close to the tunnel entrance, with Thomas blowing his whistle in greeting as he left the tunnel and headed up the line and onto the next station.

Very soon, they came upon Ffarquhar Station and came to a stop at the platform. As the passengers disembarked from Annie and Clarabel, Carrie took the opportunity to look around from Thomas' cab; to the left was a yard with several sidings, some of which had trucks full of quarry stone sitting in them, a turntable in one corner and several sheds, including one used as a loading dock as it had a platform on one side of it and there was a half dozen vans sitting beside the platform.

In the distance, Carrie could see the rooftops and a church spire showing where the town of Ffarquhar was situated in relation to the station serving it. Immediately beside the railway line was the road that went over the line to the carpark at the back of the station and then past the yards and over towards the town of Ffarquhar.

Then she heard the familiar sounds of a bus horn from up the road in the direction they had just come from a short while before. Turning and looking up the road, Carrie could see a red bus, and a very familiar looking one at that, coming over the too of the hill and down the road towards the station. She could see that it was none other than Bertie the bus, and it looked like he had passengers aboard him for Thomas.

"And here we are!" Bertie said, as he came to a stop on the side of the road close to Thomas.

"More passengers for me, Bertie?" Thomas asked, as he noticed the passengers start to get off Bertie and walk to the station so they could buy their tickets to board his train.

"Yes, Thomas. We meant to have them at the last station, but we were held up so we were unable to get them to you in time." Bertie said.

"Well, don't worry about that, Bertie. At least they're here now." Thomas said.

In no time, the passengers Bertie had brought to the station had bought their tickets and had gotten aboard Annie and Clarabel. Now they were aboard, it was time for Thomas to leave and head on down the line to Ulfstead, his final destination for this trip.

Once the guard blew his whistle and waved his green flag, Thomas' driver blew the whistle for a few seconds before he opened the regulator again. Slowly, Thomas pulled away from the station and headed off down the line.

"Goodbye, Bertie!" Thomas called out, as he headed off.

"Goodbye, Thomas!" Bertie called, as he watched Thomas leave the station.

As the train headed off on its way, Carrie took another go at the shovel. Having gone and stoked the boiler a few times during the trip, she was getting used to bending over double and placing the coal into Thomas' boiler. She placed the fresh lumps of coal accurately into the firebox, being careful to place the coal into the middle of the firebox, along the sides, into the back corners and under the firehole door.

By the time she was finished, the fire was burning brightly and the needle on the boiler pressure gauge was close to the red line of 170psi, showing the results of her hard work.

After she handed the shovel back to the fireman, Carrie looked out the cab and saw that they were travelling through a more rugged landscape that showed they were in the wilder more central area of Sodor. The ruggedness of the hills looked like they were going through a very mountainous area.

Leaning out from the right-hand side of the cab, Carrie saw they were now going along a section of double track that ran along through a cutting lined with trees. It wasn't long before they came upon a bridge that had a waterfall falling off the rugged cliff to the left and the water passing under the bridge below them. The view off to the right was quite an impressive one, and looked all over the valley. Various details could be seen, including the course of the river, certain buildings, as well as the farmland.

They soon approached a long straight stretch where the double tracks became single track again, but then they saw that the signal just before that junction was at red, so they had to stop by a long wooden platform with a water tower standing beside it.

"What's going on?" Carrie asked.

"There's probably another train coming towards us, Carrie." Thomas said. And he was right, as about a minute or so later, there was the sounds of a whistle in the distance. Soon, they saw smoke rising over the land accompanied by the sounds of chuffing, indicating an engine was working really hard. Then, from round the bend in the distance, they saw an engine approaching with its train following along behind it.

They could see that the engine was a Fowler L.M.S. 2-6-4T tank engine, No.42395, and behind him was a long of empty wagons, including about three empty flat wagons, following along smoothly. Remembering that the line going beyond Ulfstead all the way to Kirk Machan was closed due to some essential maintenance work taking place, Carrie felt that these empty trucks had been used to take supplies and equipment to the workmen undertaking this essential work, with the flat wagons likely taking new steel rails up to the work area.

"Hello Thomas!" No.42395 called, as he slowly approached.

"Hello, No.42395! How are things on the branch line beyond Ulfstead?" Thomas asked.

"The men are making good progress with the work and quite a lot has been completed, but there's still quite a lot more work left to do on one of the bridges and a stretch of line beyond it. But they'll get there very soon, and I need to go and get some more materials for them." No.42395 said and giving a short blast on his whistle, he went over the junction and back in the direction of Ffarquhar, with the wagons rattling along behind.

Thomas and his crew and Carrie only had to wait for a minute or so until the wagons had gone on by them, and then the signalman in his signal-box set the signal to clear, and they could continue on down the line on the last stretch of their journey to Ulfstead. For some of the rest of the trip, Carrie took another go on the shovel and stoked the boiler, and managed to keep the needle in a good place on the boiler pressure gauge.

It wasn't too long before the driver at last said, "And here we are, Carrie…this is Ulfstead!" and Carrie looked out from the driver's side of the cab as they entered Ulfstead. The town was situated in a long and shallow valley with the craggy, rocky ground and hills rising up on both sides of the town. Many of the buildings, including the local church very close to the lineside, were constructed of grey stone, and some of the buildings were tucked up very close to the hillside in some places.

The station they were pulling up to ahead of them consisted of two lone grey stone platforms for the two long tracks that passed through the village. There were a few people standing on one of the platforms, obviously the station staff waiting to help the passengers off the train.

With a gentle squealing of his brakes, Thomas came to a gentle stop at the platform, the porters opened the doors and the passengers disembarked. Looking back, Carrie could see that many of them seemed pleased by the smooth journey from Knapford, considering that she couldn't hear any of them complaining about any bumps or jolts on the trip.

In no time at all, the passengers had left the station and headed into Ulfstead, leaving Thomas and his two coaches alone at the platform with his crew and Carrie.

"So, what shall we do now?" Carrie asked, now knowing their first trip for the day was over.

"Well, we need to get the train turned round ready for a return run, and we should also get Thomas' coal bunker and water tanks topped up as well." said the fireman.

"And to get the train turned round, we'll go down to a turning triangle just down the line a little way and then we'll put Annie and Clarabel in the yard before we go and get coaled and watered." the driver said.

"Sounds like a fair plan to me." Carrie said. A minute or two later, after being given the "all clear", Thomas puffed forward down the line a short way until he reached a junction with another line going off to the left. The points had been set for him to go down that line and he and his coaches went onto and they went up the line until they came upon another junction. Going a little way beyond it, they came to a halt. The fireman stepped off of Thomas' footplate and walked back towards the points and changed them, so that Thomas could reverse onto the other line and from there back towards the main branch line.

Once back at the branch line, Carrie now understood how a turning triangle worked and that they now faced back the way they came. Looking back to the east along the line to Kirk Machan, where they could travel no further due to the maintenance work taking place along it. And with that, they puffed back to Ulfstead and to its small yard and engine depot.

Back at the depot, Thomas gentle parked Annie and Clarabel within one of the carriage sheds and then went over to another part of the depot to be serviced and readied for his next job for the day. Once over an inspection pit, the ash was emptied out from the ashpan and clinker was removed from the firebox, while fresh coal was loaded into Thomas' bunker by a conveyor belt system that slowly brought the coal up to the level of the bunker where the workmen spread the coal evenly out as it went into the bunker.

Further up front, Carrie was helping out with refilling the water tanks. She was knelling down beside the open lid on Thomas' right-hand water tank and guiding the hose of the water tower into place. Once it was, the fireman turned the valve and allowed the water to flow into the water tanks, and it wasn't too long before both tanks were filled to capacity, upon which Carrie called out "Water off!" and the fireman closed the valve and the water stopped flowing into the now full side tanks.

It wasn't too long before the servicing was finished and Thomas was ready for his next job.

"What's the next job for today?" Thomas asked, as his driver, fireman and Carrie arrived back after they had taken a fifteen-minute break in the nearby crew hut, including taking the chance to use the bathrooms and get a hot cup of tea.

"Well…we're to take some empty trucks from here over to one of the quarries near Ffarquhar and then we're to bring some loaded ones back here for the workmen working on the eastern half of the line to use in repairing the line." the driver said.

"Okay, then." Thomas said, as his crew and Carrie climbed back aboard his footplate. Giving a short blast on the whistle, Thomas moved off to the sidings to collect the empty stone trucks to bring to the quarry. He was coupled to eight empty stone trucks with a brake van coupled to the rear of the train, and they were soon on their way back up the line to Ffarquhar.

The journey back to Ffarquhar went smoothly and they soon rolled into the station without too much trouble and rolled on by, heading to the junction that would take them on towards the quarry. They soon turned off and headed to the right when they reached the junction and went down a line towards one of two quarries that were very near to Ffarquhar. It did twist a little in some places, but mostly it ran without too much difficulty and soon they pulled into the quarry. Looking round, Carrie could see a myriad of sights, ranging from heavy machinery working away at the rock face, trucks laden with stone and others that were empty and waiting to be filled, as well as workmen wearing protective clothing and hard hats, considering the very high-risk work they were undertaking in such a dangerous environment.

Various sounds filled the air, from stone being loaded into trucks, the nearby sounds of drilling and other heavy machinery, various vehicles moving about nearby and the sounds of trucks being shunted, ready to be taken away to another part of the island.

Then, from some distance away, Carrie heard the sound of what she thought was another engine, but it certainly didn't sound anything like another steam locomotive.

A few moments later, with the sounding of a horn, the source of the noise revealed itself; it turned out to be a black diesel with six wheels. Looking over this diesel, Carrie could see it had a feminine face on its front and she had side-plates over her wheels and cow-catchers fitted in front and on the back, just like Toby did.

On the side-plates was the name of the quarry company, The Ffarquhar Quarry Co. Ltd, painted in white. Then Carrie saw the engine's name on the side of the cab, also painted in white; it was Mavis.

"Hello, Thomas. More trucks to be filled up today?" Mavis asked, as she approached Thomas.

"Morning, Mavis. Yes, we've got more trucks that need to be filled up, and I understand there's some here for me to take away?" Thomas said.

"Yes, there are, and they're over in that siding." Mavis said, looking towards a siding, in which sat another line of fully laden stone trucks ready to be taken away.

"Okay then, I'll just go get turned around, and then I'll take them back to Ulfstead." Thomas said, as he was uncoupled from the empty trucks by a shunter.

Not too long later, Thomas had been turned on the turntable and had been coupled up to the loaded stone trucks in the siding, and was being readied to leave the quarry with the stone needed for the work on the maintenance on the line east of Ulfstead. Carrie was taking the opportunity to oil up around the coupling rods before they left. Inside Thomas' cab, the fireman was taking the opportunity to get the fire in good order so there would be plenty of steam before they left.

"And there we are…" she said, as she finished the job while screwing the last cork back into the top of the oil reservoir of the coupling rod.

"All done, Carrie?" the driver asked, as he arrived back from checking the brakes and axle-boxes on the trucks.

"Yes, all done." Carrie said, as she wiped the excess oil off the coupling rod with an old rag.

"Very good, and I think we're about nearly ready to go here. I think we should be leaving here in a few minutes. I just need to speak with the yard manager first." said the driver, and he turned and went to the manager's office nearby.

"Excellent, and I'm eager to get out of here as soon as we can." Carrie said, as she climbed back onto Thomas' footplate. The reason for that was due to the loud sounds from some of the nearby machinery, but mostly due to the stone dust that was on the ground and that was occasionally blew up whenever a breeze came through the quarry.

Thankfully for Carrie, it wasn't too long before the driver arrived back and climbed aboard the footplate with a smile on his face.

"It's time for us to be on our way again." he said, as he reached for the controls in front of him.

"Thank goodness! I don't think I could stand this dust for much longer!" Carrie said, with a very pleased smile on her face. And the driver and fireman chuckled briefly, although they both knew it would be a good idea to get away from the dust that a working quarry always seems to generate.

"Let's get going then!" Thomas said, as the driver blew his whistle. Once the guard in his brake van had blown his whistle and waved his green flag, they set off on their way, with the heavily laden trucks following along behind.

They made their way back along the same single line they had travelled over to come up to the quarry and they soon arrived at the junction along the branch line. However, the signal before the junction was at "danger" with a red light, meaning there was another train coming along the branch line and they had to stop and wait for it to go by.

The driver put on the brakes and they came to a stop just before the signal. Looking out from the right-hand side of the cab, Carrie wondered who would be coming by on the line ahead of them. However, they didn't have to wait for very long, for soon they heard the sounds of chuffing coming from the direction of Ffarquhar and the sounds of a familiar whistle; Carrie knew right away that it was Percy.

A few long moments later, Percy, the little green 0-4-0 saddle-tank engine, came into view to the left, and he had half a dozen red coaches behind him. He noticed Thomas waiting at the junction ahead of him, and whistled in greeting.

"Hello, Percy!" Thomas said, as he watched his friend go by.

"Hello, Thomas! Can't stop I'm afraid. I've got passengers to deliver!" Percy said, as he went past with his passenger train. Thomas, his crew and Carrie watched as Percy went past and down the line, with his coaches full of happy passengers following along behind.

A few moments later, the signal dropped showing its green light and the points were switched, and so Thomas could continue on his way again. Moving forwards, he moved off the junction and back onto the branch line, heading back in the direction of Ffarquhar. Once the last trucks and brake van had cleared the junction, the driver opened the regulator a little more and the train picked up some more speed as they headed on down the line.

They soon arrived back in Ulfstead without incident and shunted the loaded stone trucks into a siding, where another engine would take them to the workmen on the sites along the line to the east of Ulfstead. With that job now done, and with it being so close to lunch time now, Thomas puffed over to an empty siding to rest until his next job, while his crew and Carrie went off to get lunch.

Carrie was feeling a little tired after having been standing for much of the morning, as well as feeling a little sore in her lower back from having been bent over shovelling coal into Thomas' firebox whenever she took a turn at firing. Now she was eager to sit down for a while and get some food into her and rest for her lunch hour before she got back to work again.

At Ulfstead, there was no large multi-storey crew building with a cafeteria serving out hot food like there would be at many of the larger engine depots on Sodor, but there were a number of nearby shops that did offer food and drink. Carrie did have some money with her, and so, after she took the opportunity to wash her hands and face of any coal dust and dirt really thoroughly, she went over to one of the nearby shops, bought herself a sandwich and a bottle of fruit juice before she went back to the depot.

After getting back from the shop, she sat herself down on an old bench up against the wall of a shed close to the sidings and tucked into her lunch. As she ate, she looked up into the sky and saw the clear blue sky was, and with very few clouds floating about up there right now. The sun shone brightly, which helped to warm things up somewhat, and there was a very light breeze going through the air, helping to cool things down a little. She felt herself smiling as she ate. After all, it was a nice day to be eating outdoors and to have some time to herself.

Once she finished eating her sandwich and drinking some of her bottle of fruit juice, she rested on the bench and just looked through the news and latest goings on around the world on her phone, and did watch the odd YouTube video as well. Ever since she'd gotten this phone for Christmas, she'd been able to keep in touch with her friends and her father quite easily, and had also been able to keep a close eye on what was going on in the world.

But ever now and then, as she looked through her phone, she did pause and look up to see what was going on in the yard. Occasionally the sound of a train going along the branch line nearby, with wagons rattling behind it would be heard, and workmen would walk past on their way back to work, but not much else would happen.

Eventually though, her lunch hour came to an end, and it was time for her to get back to Thomas and then get back to work. Standing up from the bench, stretching her arms and legs out a little, and making sure to put her sandwich wrapping and empty juice bottle into a nearby bin, and them putting her phone back into its pocket under her boiler suit, she walked back to the siding where Thomas was resting.

"Hello, Carrie! Are you ready to get back to work?" Thomas asked, when he saw Carrie walk up to him.

"Yes, Thomas, I am. I think I can make it through the rest of today…and thank goodness that it's Friday, and then there's tomorrow and Sunday to rest until everything starts all over again on Monday morning." Carrie said.

"Well, at least it's a Friday, Carrie. You've got the whole weekend to rest before you and the others come back to the depot on Monday morning." Thomas said.

"Yeah, and that's something I'm a little thankful for. I don't think I could work a full seven days, good work though it is." Carrie said, with a smile/

"Well, come on, let's get back to work and then when it's done up here, we can all head back home again." Thomas said, and Carrie, giving a smile, clambered back aboard Thomas' footplate just as the driver and fireman arrived back from their lunchbreak. Soon, it was time for them to get back to work again.

"And off we go, Thomas!" his driver called, as he opened the regulator. With a loud toot on his whistle, Thomas headed out of the siding and onto his next job.

(Later that day, later afternoon, 4:35pm)

Thomas was standing at the platform at Ffarquhar Station with Annie and Clarabel coupled behind him and his passengers boarding the train. He was facing in the direction that led back to Knapford and the main line and was ready to take his last train of the day back to Knapford Station before he went back to Tidmouth Sheds.

Carrie was standing on the footplate with the driver and fireman and waiting to set off home again. Once back at Tidmouth Sheds, she would be able to shower and change into some fresh clothes, and then meet up with her friends and go out to eat with them this evening. And she was looking forward to eating with them and then relaxing this evening after another long day of hard work.

It was soon time for them to be on their way, and the guard blew his whistle and waved his green flag, as the signal arm near the platform dropped, showing the way was clear for them to go. Thomas blew his whistle, and set off on his way down the line, with his two coaches following along closely behind him.

"Come along! Come along!" he called to Annie and Clarabel.

"We're coming along! We're coming along!" the two coaches called, as they pulled away from the station and on up the line. From the footplate, Carrie leaned out a little and looked on ahead as they started on their final trip of the day.

They soon approached the cutting before the tunnel, where there was a cottage by the side of the line just before the line went into the tunnel mouth. As they came closer and closer to the cottage, Carrie noticed there was an older woman and her husband standing by their garden fence overlooking the line and waving at Thomas. With a friendly toot on his whistle and calling out "Hello!" Thomas greeted the older couple as he went by them, with his driver waving in greeting too, just before they plunged into the tunnel.

As they emerged from the other side of the tunnel, Carrie turned to the driver.

"Who were those two waving at us just before we went into the tunnel?" she asked.

"Oh, that's Mr and Mrs Kyndley, and they've been living in that cottage for years. And they're always happy when Thomas, Percy, Toby, or any of the other engines who work on this line go by their cottage." the driver said. Carrie felt herself smile on hearing that, and then she turned to have another go on the shovel.

Not too long up the line, after going past Hackenbeck Station and then through Hackenbeck Tunnel, they went along the line that ran parallel to the road before they then came upon another junction and the points at this one had been set to send them down another line. Seeing that, Carrie was somewhat apprehensive about going along it, but the crew reassured her that it would take them back to Knapford Station, which eased Carrie's worries somewhat.

After going over the points and onto the other line, they puffed along it and it opened up to a double track before it slowly turned to the right and went under a road bridge with a town sitting on both sides of it on the land above them. There were children lining one side of the bridge, and they were waving at Thomas as he went by beneath them.

Going under the bridge and passing by a goods station off to the right along the up-line, Thomas continued on down the line when he saw they saw that the signal was down and the green light was showing them that the way ahead was clear.

After passing by a farm off to the right of them, the double track soon became a single track again as they passed over another watermill with a working waterwheel on one side of it.

After passing over Crowe's Farm Crossing, they went through a forest and then, as the line became double track again, they went through a deep wooded valley cutting with trees lining both sides of it before they went by another junction with a line going off to the right and continuing on down until they passed under another road bridge and then reached another junction where the loop line reconnected itself with the main line. The signal just before the points was at red, so they had to stop and wait.

They didn't have to wait for very long, as they soon heard a deep-toned Caledonian style whistle in the distance and then, a few moments later, another L.M.S. Duchess painted in B.R. Lined Maroon red livery, this one being a non-streamlined example, No.46251 City of Nottingham, went by heading down to Knapford Station with her own train she was hauling from Vicarstown along the North Coast Main Line. Counting the coaches as No.46251 went by, Carrie saw this Duchess was pulling 14 coaches behind her, each of which was painted in B.R. maroon livery.

Once No.46251 had gone past the junction and down the line in a swirling cloud of smoke and steam, the signal dropped, and showed its green light, and the points were switched, and Thomas set off on his way again. As the train headed off down the line and over the bridge to Tidmouth Station, Carrie took another go at the shovel and managed to put enough coal onto the fire to keep it burning brightly, and which kept the boiler pressure on the main pressure gauge up. Once she had finished her go, she handed the shovel back to the fireman and handed the shovel back to him before she leaned out from the fireman's side and ahead, keeping her eyes peeled for any signals ahead and how they were set.

As they soon arrived into Tidmouth Station and came to a stop at Platform 1, the doors were opened and the passengers wanting to disembark here got off the train. As Thomas simmered quietly while waiting to set off on the last part of their journey, he heard another whistle in the distance and it sounded like it was coming up the line towards him. Then, after a few moments, the engine came into view; it was L.M.S. Garratt 2-6-0 + 0-6-2 No.47985, a sibling engine to No.47988, the Garratt that Carrie had travelled on back in early December. Behind him was a very long line of heavily laden, and filthy coal trucks of all different shapes and sizes, and all of which rattled along as he puffed on through the station on his way north.

Giving Thomas a greeting on his whistle, to which Thomas whistled back, No.47985 carried on his way, going through the station with his long and very heavy train following along behind him. Carrie tried to count the number of wagons as they went past them, but there were so many of them in the train, and they were going by at such a pace, that she was unable to count them all before the brake van at the rear of the train went past them.

It was soon time for Thomas to be on his way again, now that the last passengers had boarded the train, and the way was clear for him to depart safely. Giving a short blast on his whistle, Thomas set off on his way again, with his two coaches following along smoothly behind him.

(Insert soundtrack – Thomas' Branch Line Theme – Season 1)

As they headed down the last stretch of line to Knapford a few more miles further down the line, they had a relatively uneventful journey and passed through mostly open countryside, though they did pass round Tidmouth Sheds and Motive Power Depot not too long after they departed from Tidmouth Station. They ran along very smoothly with Carrie taking another go at stoking the boiler as they passed through Lower Tidmouth Station, where people standing on both platforms waved to Thomas as he went chuffing on by, and he whistled happily in return.

Inevitably though, it was soon journey's end and they crossed the wide steel girder bridge that crossed over the last river and, after passing by the extensive yards, soon rolled up to Platform 1 at Knapford Station, their final destination for their last train of the day. The passengers, pleased from having had a very smooth trip, got off the train and left the station. Then, Thomas saw none other than the Fat Controller himself stepping out from the door that led to his upstairs office and walk over towards him.

"Hello, Thomas." the Fat Controller said, as he approached the little blue tank engine.

"Hello, sir." Thomas said, seeing that the Fat Controller had a smile on his face.

"Well done, Thomas. You arrived with your last train of the day right on time. I'm very pleased with you." said the Fat Controller.

"Thank you very much, sir." Thomas said, as he smiled at being praised for arriving on time.

And then the Fat Controller made his way over to Thomas' cab.

"And Carrie…I heard that you did very well too out there today." said the Fat Controller, as he looked at Carrie.

"Yes, sir. I think I did a good job in here today." Carrie said, as she smiled a tired smile. Her face was covered with a light dusting of coal dust, as was her dark blue boiler suit and bright orange Hi-Viz safety vest she was wearing over her boiler suit.

"And after a long hard day like you've had today, Carrie…I think you should go back to the sheds and get yourself cleaned up before you and your friends go out this evening." smiled the Fat Controller.

"Thank you very much, sir." Carrie said with a grateful smile, as the Fat Controller turned and headed back to his office with his hands behind his back. Carrie looked up at the clock over the platform; the time was 5:05pm.

"Come on then, Thomas. Let's get back to Tidmouth Sheds." said his driver, and they soon were on their way back up the line to Tidmouth.

(A little later on, Tidmouth Sheds)

After arriving back at Tidmouth Sheds and the motive power depot, Thomas parked his two coaches in a siding near to the main sheds and then went on back to the main sheds. After picking up her things and then stepping off of Thomas' footplate, Carrie stepped round so she was standing in front of the little blue tank engine.

"Thanks for letting me work with you today, Thomas." Carrie said.

"It was no trouble at all, Carrie. I was very glad to be given the chance to work with you today, and I think you proved yourself to be really useful too." Thomas said, as he smiled at Carrie.

"Thank you...thank you." Carrie said, as she smiled. She had really done well today, just as she'd done for all the other days she'd been working and did like to prove herself to be really useful, just like the other engines and people that she worked with. But now, after another long day of hard, physical work, she was tired and eager to get a hot shower before she and her friends went out to eat.

After bidding Thomas and the other engines at the sheds "Goodnight" she went straight to the main crew building and upstairs to the ladies changing room and showers, where she had a long hot shower to get herself cleaned up after such a long day of work. After drying herself off and changing into some fresh clothes she had in her locker, she left the changing room and went downstairs to clock out for the day and meet up with her friends so they could all go out for dinner.

She stepped outside and soon met up with Simon and Saoirse, who had also been waiting for her and the others to arrive.

"So, how was your day today, Carrie?" Simon asked, as he gave Carrie a quick hug.

"Grand, and we did a quite lot of different work up on Thomas' branch line today, ranging from bringing stone from the quarry to Ulfstead and taking vans full of things from Ffarquhar down to Dryaw Station for another engine to take away." Carrie said.

"Well, I spent most of the time with Arthur and his crew going back and forth along his coastal branch line and doing various jobs like taking vans full of fish to the junction and then bringing passengers along the line to where they needed to be." Simon said.

"And I spent much of the day with Olivia on No.90770 taking a very slow and lengthy heavy freight along, starting from here over to Vicarstown on the North Main Line, and then taking another equally heavy freight from Vicarstown back here a little later on in the day. And boy am I tired after a long day like this." Saoirse said, as she yawned a little.

"Well, don't worry too much now. We're finished for another day, and now we can all go and get some much-deserved dinner and relax for the weekend." Simon said.

A moment later, both Alice, Olivia and Sophie stepped out from the crew building having just clocked out for the evening and walked over to the others.

"Well, here we are. Cleaned up and ready for dinner." Olivia said.

"Now we're all here, shall we head off and get something to eat?" Sophie said.

"Of course, now let's go eat. I'm starving after a long day like this." Simon said, and with them all agreeing with Simon, they turned and headed away to get something to eat.