Chapter 6: A Day on the Railway

(Meanwhile, far away on Sodor)

For Carrie, the last few days had been one of the best times of her life so far; she'd met many of the other engines that ran on the railways of Sodor. By now, the other engines had all heard of what Carrie's life back in Chamberlain had been like and they were all very determined to see that she would have a much better time here on Sodor. Once she'd been freaked out by seeing steam locomotives with faces when she first came to Sodor, but now that she'd been given the chance to meet some of the many different steam locomotives and speak with them face to face, she didn't find it at all a strange experience anymore.

Carrie had also been given the chance to meet with and speak to other teenagers her own age, including quite a number of girls who were also going to be joining the new apprenticeship scheme in the new year with the hope to work as engine drivers on the railway in the future, which surprised Carrie a little bit as she had expected railway working to be a man's job.

She'd also seen one of the highly detailed maps of Sodor to see how all the many different railway lines all over the island were laid out. She'd seen there was the main line that ran in the south of the island from Knapford in an easterly direction to the eastern terminus of Vicarstown, via towns like Maron, Wellsworth, Cronk and Kildane. At one station called Kellsthorpe Junction, the main line divided into two separate routes, with both going to Vicarstown, one of which went close to the southeast coast of Sodor and cross over an estuary, before both spurs joined up again at Vicky Road just a little to the west of Vicarstown.

Another main line left from Knapford and went in a northerly direction, going inland a little from the coastal line known on Sodor as "The Little Western" before it linked up with that line just north of a small coastal town called Arlesburgh West where it continued on north along the coast until it got to a major rail junction at a place called Heart-field. Here the line continued on north while another spur went east southeast for quite a distance and via several smaller junctions, depots and stations through the hilly centre of the island before it turned south and joined up with the southern main line at another rail junction east of Cronk and north of Kildane.

From Heart-field, the northern line continued on north until it reached a place called Harwick not too far from the northern tip of the island, where there was a large deep-water port terminal which included a facility for the unloading of different varieties of cargo, including imported iron ore. The line then continued on until it reached the two most northern railway stations on the Island of Sodor, Emily Road and Nort, before it then turned in a south easterly direction generally following the north-eastern coastline until it reached the junction of Vicky Road quite near to Vicarstown.

Carrie also noticed other lines on the map too; just west of Maron Station, there was a junction where a high-speed triple track line began and ran parallel to the main line and the coastline with one station at the coastal town of Norramby before it continued on north before splitting in two directions, one went directly into Vicarstown Station while the other spur went along a bridge over the narrow strait of water between Sodor and England. Then there was the loop line that went from the southern main line at a junction to the east of Crosby Station before it went in a north-westerly direction back through open country and over several other railway lines and rivers towards Tidmouth Sheds and hence back down to Tidmouth Station and back to Knapford.

There were also numerous branch lines as well, many of which were double-tracked and connected the different main lines to each other over some really scenic places on the Island of Sodor. Marked on the map along the different railway lines all over the island were the different industries serving Sodor, including factories, harbours, mines, quarries, refineries, farms and yards, as well as the different areas where tourists would go to, including castles, museums, beaches and other tourist attractions across the whole island.

She also saw where the airport was on Sodor; it was located to the south east of Maron Station and had a number of lines going through the station just outside the main airport terminal and runway, The lines going to the airport started from a junction along the main line just a few miles to the east of Maron Station before going all the way past the large and expansive station at Sodor Airport before heading south east to re-join the main line again at a junction to the north west of Kildane upon Barn. (N)

(N): For information as to why the railways on Sodor are laid out the way I described them above, go onto DeviantArt and check out "The Island of Sodor's Railway Map (2021 edition)" by CPHRailProductions. I'm also gonna take inspiration from other maps of Sodor as and when necessary to do so, for example to describe certain routes in a certain area of the island.

Carrie also saw there were various other standard gauge lines on the island, some of which were branch lines that ended after only a few miles or main lines which ran along the coastline in a few places, and all of which were connected to the main line at some point. She also noticed the narrow-gauge railway that began at Crovan's Gate and went up into the high hills and tourist spots of East Central Sodor. She knew there was plenty of railway line to travel over when she began her apprenticeship in the new year.

(December 6th, Morning)

On the very cold morning of Tuesday December 6th at 9:00am, Carrie and her father Ralph arrived at Tidmouth Sheds and met up with a small number of teenagers who were around the same age as Carrie, about 26 of them, including a few she hadn't had a chance to meet yet, who were also going to be joining the apprenticeship scheme in the new year.

Today, to give them all some readiness for the apprenticeship scheme and to give them all a taste of what they'd signed on for; they were gonna be getting some experience of riding on the footplates of whatever engines they wanted and get a look at how a steam locomotive worked as well as what life on the footplate of a steam locomotive was like.

They were all dressed in clothing that was appropriate for working on a railway, including good solid boots, gloves to keep the coal dust off their hands, as well as to protect their hands from the heat of the fireboxes if they were to have a go at firing, and dark blue boiler suits as well as bright orange high-vis vests and peaked railway caps. For Carrie, it felt more than a little bit strange to be dressed in such unfamiliar clothing like this, yet it was very exciting to be dressed ready for a brand-new phase of her life.

Thomas and many of the other engines Carrie had already met a few days earlier were there at Tidmouth Sheds, as were quite a few other engines as well, and Carrie was astonished at how different each of them looked and their wheel arrangements, their sizes and whether they were tender engines or tank engines.

There were even a number of strange-looking steam engines which Ralph told Carrie were articulated locomotives known as Garratts. The design consisted of a cab and boiler with a wide large firebox placed between two power units, basically two locomotives in one with a 2-6-0+0-6-2-wheel arrangement, over which sat water tanks at both ends and the bunker containing the fuel placed immediately behind the cab. The Garratts were painted in plain unlined B.R. black with early B.R. crest on the cab sides and numbers on the water tanks. (2)

(2): The Garratts here in this story will be the L.M.S. Garratts, of which 33 were built and a few of which will be appearing in this story. The class were designed to pull very heavy coal trains from Nottinghamshire to London and were introduced between 1927 and 1930. All but two of the class were fitted with rotating coal bunkers which helped to reduce the amount of coal dust entering the cab and were self-trimming, which meant the fireman didn't need to go into the bunker and drag coal forward.

Eventually though in the 1950's, due to their complexity - as well as a lack of essential maintenance during the war years, the class were withdrawn from service when they began to be replaced on their usual freight and coal duties by brand new B.R. Standard 9F 2-10-0's.

The sole Gresley 2-8-0+0-8-2 U1 Garratt built for the L.N.E.R. (London & North Eastern Railway), No.69999, it's B.R. number or No.2395, its L.N.E.R. number, will also be appearing in this fanfiction.

"Okay everyone…" the Fat Controller said, getting the full attention of the teenagers standing before him, and keeping themselves warm by a number of hot glowing braziers set up around the yard, "…now, we're gonna be arranging you in alphabetical order to the engine of your choice. Depending on your choices, you'll be assigned one at a time to a tank engine, and two at a time to the tender engines or to the Garratts, and you'll each have a highly experienced crew assigned to keep a close watch on you and to show you all the ropes while you're out today. I want you all to stay safe out there today, keep a close eye on what the crews looking after you are doing and, if the crews give you a chance to try some of the controls on the footplates, don't be afraid to try it. It'll be good experience." said the Fat Controller.

"Yes, sir." all the young recruits said at once, as the Fat Controller smiled.

"Excellent, now let's get to it." and with that, the selections began and then the allocation of jobs for the day.

For a few minutes, Carrie watched as the other teens before her chose what engines they wanted to go on and were led over. Four of her new friends, all girls, went to the engines of their choice; one, a red-haired Scots girl called Sophie, along with another of the girls, went aboard Henry, who was given the job of taking a fully fitted freight train from Knapford Harbour along the line that went round the north coast to Vicarstown.

Another girl, a blonde-haired Welsh Girl named Alice went onto the footplate of Duck and would be working along "The Little Western" along the west coast of Sodor with the other engines that worked there, including Oliver and his brake van Toad.

An English red-haired girl, Olivia, chose to go on Thomas and would be working with him on his branch line, from Knapford Station to Farquhar and then beyond to the town of Ulfstead in a valley in the middle of the island and then to Kirk Machan, which was situated along the main line that ran from Heart-field down to the junction along the southern main line.

And the fourth girl Carrie had made friends with, a brunette Irish girl named Saoirse, chose to go on a B.R. Standard 8MT 2-8-2 Mikado with 5-foot 3-inch diameter driving wheels, with the number 94000 on the cab-sides, and one of the other teen boys went with her. They were given the job of taking a very long and heavy mixed freight train from Brendam Docks to Vicarstown and then bring a train of laden bulk sugar and grain hoppers back to Knapford. (3)

(3): The B.R. Standard 8MT 2-8-2, of which two different types will appear in this story, is a fictional class of steam locomotives made up for this fanfic. There was a plan by B.R. to build a mixed traffic 2-8-2 Mikado, but that design got passed over in favour of the B.R. Standard 9F 2-10-0. The original plan for a B.R. Standard Mikado was a 2-8-2 version of the 7MT Britannia 4-6-2 Pacifics, but in this story both designs are actually based more on the B.R. Standard 9F 2-10-0.

There'll be differences between the two 2-8-2 types in this story; one class will have 5-foot 8-inch diameter driving wheels (numbered from No.91000 upwards) and the other will have slightly smaller 5-foot 3-inch diameter driving wheels (numbered from No.94000 upwards).

There'll also be differences within the classes, including some having three cylinders and some with two cylinders, single chimneys or double chimneys and some with Walschaerts piston valve gear and others with British Caprotti rotary cam poppet valve gear, identical to the Caprotti Valve Gear fitted on B.R. Standard 8P 4-6-2 No.71000 Duke of Gloucester.

Finally, it was Carrie's turn to choose the engine she wanted to travel on; she looked round the yard to make her choice as her father and the Fat Controller watched her from a few feet away.

"I'll choose…this one." Carrie said, pointing to one of the Garratt locomotives sitting along one of the lines close to the main sheds.

"Are you sure of taking that one, Carrie?" asked the Fat Controller.

"Yes, sir. I want to try something large." Carrie said.

"Very well, Carrie." her father Ralph said, as he then turned his attention to the only teen boy still left. "Simon…are you comfortable going along with Carrie on an engine that big?"

"Yes Ralph, I've always wanted to have a ride on one of those Garratts." said the teen boy, whose name was Simon. A Sodor native – having been born and bred on Sodor, and thus a Sodor native through and through, he was slightly older than Carrie by a few months, was a little taller than she was and had fairly light brown hair. He also had a very positive and upbeat "can do" attitude about him, which a lot of people who knew him really liked. Working on the railways of Sodor was something that was firmly within his blood; his family had already worked on the railway for three generations, with his father, grandfather and great grandfather all having been engine drivers on the railway. Simon was the fourth generation of his family to join the Sodor Railways, and he was also looking forward to being an engine driver, with it having been an aim of his for some years now.

"Very well then, Simon. You and Carrie go along on No.47988 and his crew for today." said the Fat Controller, as the crew for No.47988 stepped up with the tools, oilcans, two shovels and things that would be needed for the day's run.

"So, what's our task for today, sir?" asked the driver, as he looked at his boss.

"Well today, you're to go straight down to Knapford Yards and collect a long train of steel pipes, bricks, timber planks, sacks of cement and building sand as well as some machinery and then deliver it all to the new construction site just outside of Rossington along the northwest coast of the island. The new hotel and new holiday homes being built over there will need more building materials to ensure they can all be fully completed in time for the summer season next year. The train's gonna be very heavy today, so please be careful." said the Fat Controller.

"Very good, sir. And what route are we to take to get there?" Simon asked.

"You'll be going along the Southern Main Line past Wellsworth and Maron until you get to Rossington Junction to the southeast of Kildane upon Barn, and then you'll be taking the double-tracked branch line that runs from there all the way towards Rossington itself." said the Fat Controller.

"Very well, sir. Anyway, come on you two. Let's get going. We've got a train to collect." the fireman said, as the group went over to No.47988, who was warming up as heat went through his boiler and had a thin grey column of smoke rising from the chimney and thin white wisps of steam coming from the safety valves and the cylinder drainpipes under the cylinders on each power unit.

"Stay safe while you're out there today, Carrie. And I'll see you back here later sometime after 5:00pm." Ralph said, as he walked along with the group.

"Okay dad, I'll be fine." Carrie said, as she smiled at her father.

"Well, I'm glad we'll be on an engine with an enclosed cab today, everyone…just have a good long look at that sky." Simon said, as he pointed into the sky to the northwest. Looking up, they could see a bank of very dark clouds in the distance on the horizon. They had a very ominous appearance and seemed to be getting closer all the time.

"I heard on the weather forecast last night that there may be some snow falling later today." said the Fat Controller.

"Yeah, there's a very cold low-pressure front coming down from the far north, and it's sure to bring even more cold weather with it." Ralph said, as he rubbed his hands together.

"Well, we'd better get going then if we're to stay ahead of the weather." the fireman said, as he and the driver climbed up the steps onto the footplate of No.47988.

"Best be off, dad. We'll see you later." Carrie said, as she and Simon climbed aboard too.

"See you later, Carrie. Best of luck." Ralph said. Giving a whistle, and with the points set and signals showing "all clear", the driver slowly opened up the regulator and, with dense clouds of white condensation rushing with loud sounds from the cylinder drain valves, No.47988 gently rolled forward and headed out of the yard, heading to the Knapford Shunting and Freight Yards.

For a moment, Ralph stood where he was and watched as No.47988 slowly left the yard and disappeared under the bridge after going out onto the main line. And then the Fat Controller noticed the look of slight concern on his face.

"Don't worry, Ralph. She'll be fine out there today." said the Fat Controller.

"Oh, I know she will, sir. But…at the same time…I can't help but have my worries and concerns about her though, you understand." Ralph said.

"I know how you feel about that...but there's no time to worry about all that now, Ralph. You've got your own work to do." said the Fat Controller.

"Yes, sir." Ralph said, putting on his railway cap as he and his fireman went over to their engine, B.R. Standard 9F 2-10-0, No.92098, which was fitted with two Westinghouse air pumps within the running plate along the fireman's side. Today, they were assigned to work a very heavily laden iron ore train from the large port at Harwick down to Vicarstown, where the ore would then be taken over to the mainland and down to a depot where it would be unloaded before the now empty ore wagons would be brought back over to Sodor and then back to the port at Harwick for another load.

The wagons they would be using for carrying the iron ore to its destination were special twin bogie ore wagons, with two air operated doors on both sides, that once ran on the roundabout iron ore workings on the long and arduous uphill route from Tyne Dock to Consett.

(With No.47988)

As they made their way down the main line to the extensive yards down at Knapford, passing by open country and through stations like Lower Tidmouth and Callan in the process, both Carrie and Simon sat at the back of the cab and spoke with each other about what the day might bring and who they might meet on their duties. Carrie felt very much as ease with Simon, as he was able to make her feel happy in a way she'd never felt before. He told her about his life on Sodor, his friends from school and what he wanted to do for the future, which was to drive trains.

Carrie often looked down to see what the fireman was doing in terms of keeping the boiler stoked with coal and the way he was doing the job, including placing the lumps of coal into the back corners of the firebox, along the sides of the firebox and the area under the fire-hole doors, which slid aside thanks to a handle on one side of the doors. Carrie was also interested in the rotating coal bunker right behind the cab, as it prevented coal dust from entering the footplate and helped to move the coal down to where it could be easily shovelled into the firebox.

They soon arrived at the enormous and extensive Knapford Yards without incident and carefully made their way to the long stretch of line, and past countless numbers of sidings, some of which were filled with rolling stocks and some of which were not. They soon arrived at the long siding where their train, consisting of about 50 various different wagons, including flatbeds, open topped wagons, some of which were covered with canvas sheeting that had been firmly secured in place so the wind wouldn't catch it, and some box vans, had been fully assembled, ready for them to take away in a short time.

Soon No.47988 had backed down onto the train, was coupled up and had the brake-pipes connected up, as the train had continuous brakes from one end to the other. As they wouldn't be leaving for a few more minutes, the crew took the opportunity to top up the water tanks, fill the sandboxes with sand and tend to the fire beforehand as Carrie and Simon went to speak with No.47988, having just checked that the electric headlights on the front to make sure they were showing the right head-code to indicate the train that would be pulled.

"It's nice to meet you, Carrie. Thomas and the others told me all about what happened to you and why you came over here to Sodor." No.47988 said, somewhat cautiously though, considering what he'd been told about Carrie's past.

"Yeah, I knew things weren't working out at home, and I was always considered the outcast, so I decided to leave and come here to make a fresh start in life." Carrie said, not minding a bit as her confidence had grown quite a bit in the last few days.

"Yeah, your experience sounds no different to that of my own siblings and Iall those long years ago." No.47988 said, as he looked up into the sky and sighed.

"Really? What was your experience like?" Carrie asked, wanting to hear the story.

"Well…my classmates and I had quite a few problems while we were in service...back on the day. The bearings on our axle-boxes were standard bearings originally used by the Midland Railway, which the L.M.S., or the London Midland and Scottish Railway, insisted our builders, Beyer Garratt, use. A very stupid decision really; those bearings were nowhere near the best and they frequently overheated if we went over a certain speed, which meant we were quite slow in getting our trains about. Not only that, we'd other problems too; one example being back in those days, most freight trains in this part of the world weren't fitted with continuous brakes like they are now, and one of my classmates, when going down an incline with a very heavy loose-coupled freight in the British Midlands…she braked so hard to control the train's descent down the incline that when she was inspected at the depot later on, the inspector discovered – no doubt to his shock - that the brake-blocks on the driving wheels had actually melted from the effort." said No.47988.

"Goodness me." Carrie said, a bit stunned to hear a story like that.

"Also, you two…due to the fact that me and the other Garratts in my class are very strong machines, if the drivers didn't apply the power gently enough when starting off…it wasn't unknown for us to either crush older wooden framed wagons, thus spilling the loads everywhere, or even in some cases to completely rip the couplings out of wagons on the odd occasion." said No.47988.

"Good grief, and what happened after you were withdrawn?" Simon asked.

"I was withdrawn from service on B.R. back in '56, along with quite a few of my classmates, and was sold, with a few of my brothers, to the then director of this railway not long after. When we arrived on Sodor, we were brought into the works and underwent a really thorough overhaul, which included replacing the older Midland bearings with newer, more efficient roller bearings and other improvements, including a much-improved lubrication system with mechanical lubricators." said No.47988.

"I understand, because I recently overheard it from someone, that it also included replacing the frames as well?" Simon asked.

"Yes, in order to have new roller bearings fitted, the original frames we were built with back in the late 20's had to be replaced with new ones specially cut from higher grade steel so as to fit the new bearings and to better space out the wheels to allow for a smoother ride. It had to be done anyway, as our original frames had fatigue cracks starting to appear in them in more than a few places. We also had new cylinders fitted too, as the older ones were starting to show their age by that point, as well as new all-welded all-steel boilers with a higher steam pressure and a better steam circuit than our original boilers had." said No.47988.

"And are you all running much better now than you were back then?" Carrie asked, as a smile came across her face.

"Yes, ma'am. We're now able to run much more freely and at speeds we never were able to reach back in the day." said No.47988, as he smiled a wide smile. Carrie was genuinely impressed; if a steam locomotive like No.47988 could overcome his difficulties and emerge better than he'd been before, than maybe a human like her could as well.

"Hey come on, you two! Get aboard, it's time for us to leave!" the driver called from the footplate, and Carrie and Simon quickly ran to the footplate and climbed aboard. Sitting down at the back of the footplate, they watched as the driver blew the whistle and gently opened the regulator, admitting steam into the cylinders.

"It's a very long and a very heavy train this one is." Simon said, as he looked out from the driver's side with some concern.

"Yeah, it is indeed, Simon. But don't worry, at least this heavy load will mean we can have a banker or two help us up Gordon's Hill." the driver said, and Simon gave a quick nod.

"Yes, provided the snow doesn't get there before us." said Simon quietly, as he looked up at the dark bank of clouds getting closer and closer. Carrie looked out her side as the yards went by her view, with everything from lorries at bay platforms loading up box vans with sundries and such, to wagons being mended in sheltered sidings going by.

Soon, they were moving gently along out of the yards with the long and heavy train following steadily along behind them. Knapford Station, with its overhead glass canopy, soon came into view ahead and, with a short blast of the whistle and the steam reduced a little, No.47988 slowly rolled by on the line adjacent to Platform 1 at a steady 10mph.

Edward was standing and waiting at Platform 3 with five orange coaches, each cleaned and polished to a high standard, standing behind him, as all his passengers boarded the train so he could take them on their trip down to Brendam Docks, where they were scheduled to catch the afternoon ferry over to Dublin.

"Hi Edward!" Carrie called, as she waved from No.47988's footplate on the fireman's side.

"Hello Carrie, best of luck out there today!" Edward called, as the train got further down the line.

"Thank you, Edward!" Carrie called, before she turned and sat back in the footplate as Simon smiled at her. She smiled back at him, before she turned her head again and looked outside at the dull winter scenery passing by; the bare leafless trees, with the open muddy fields that were no doubt frozen solid by now and very few people out and about on a cold day like this one. It was just a typical winter day, and no different from any winter day back in Chamberlain.

As they approached Henry's Tunnel, they were already going along at a steady 50 miles an hour, much faster than the L.M.S. Garratts would've been allowed to go back in B.R. days, all thanks to the roller bearings which reduced friction considerably.

"Come along, come along." No.47988 called to the trucks, just as they were about to enter the long tunnel

"We don't want to! We don't want to!" the trucks called from behind, but it was no use as No.47988 surged ahead at a good speed.

Going through the wider tunnel with the double tracks, Carrie looked out the fireman's side and watched the track stretched into the distance ahead of them before she turned back to look at Simon; he was sitting behind where the driver was and keeping a close eye on what the driver was doing, glancing outside occasionally to see what was going by, keeping a sharp watch out for landmarks like level crossings, signals and signal boxes.

After closing the regulator, just a bit, and gently braking to bring the speed down, they passed through Elsbridge Station where Donald was sitting at the platform on the down line with a line of seven coaches, in crimson red and cream livery, behind him and waiting for his passengers to board so he could take them to Knapford. Giving a friendly toot on the whistle, to which Donald replied back with his own deep-toned Caledonian style whistle, No.47988 continued past the sheds and small yard towards the next station.

The rest of the trip went very smoothly until they neared Wellsworth Station, the last station before Gordon's Hill on the Knapford side.

"Okay you two. This is where we have to collect a banker or two to help us and our train up Gordon's Hill." the driver said, as he closed the regulator fully and began to work his brakes to gently bring the speed down.

"The hill has its name because Gordon once stalled halfway up there with a train a long time ago, and Edward had to come and help him." Simon said to Carrie.

"Is it a very steep hill?" Carrie asked.

"It's one of the steepest on Sodor for a railway line to go up, with a gradient of about 1 in 40. That means for every 40 meters you travel in a straight line…you go up a meter or down a meter. And the hill goes up in a straight line for just a little over two miles." the fireman said.

"And the rules clearly state that all passenger and freight trains, especially the very heavy ones, such as this one we're hauling, need to have bankers pushing at the back to help them get up the hill and to prevent any runaways should one of the couplings suddenly fail." the driver said.

"I see." Carrie said, as she started to understand. She went over to the driver's side and looked out ahead; she could see the station in the distance, but in some sidings well before the station she could also see a number of different looking steam locomotives, with steam blowing from their safety valves and smoke rising from their chimneys.

As they slowed down and passed the sidings, Carrie could see a number of different engines standing by and waiting to bank trains up the hill; there were a few GWR Hawksworth 94XX 0-6-0 pannier tanks, two B.R. Standard 9F 2-10-0's, three GWR Collett Hall 49XX 4-6-0's, LNER Gresley V3 2-6-2's, LMS Fowler 2-6-4T's, LNER Thompson L1 2-6-4T's and a few other tank engine types as well waiting for the next turns of duty. (N)

(N): This scene I'm describing here is based off of photographs and archive film footage from the 1940's to the 1960's I've seen of steam locomotives waiting in the sidings at Bromsgrove to bank heavy trains up the Lickey Incline to Blackwell on the Gloucester to Birmingham main line, though no L.N.E.R. designs - apart from the Gresley U1 2-8-0+0-8-2 Garratt - ever banked heavy trains up the Lickey Incline.

"Those are just a few of the bankers waiting to push trains up the hill." the driver said to Carrie.

"And many of the engines here on Sodor take turns working to bank trains up the hills." the fireman said, as he put on another shovelful of coal into the firebox before closing the firehole doors up and then checking the water gauge glasses above.

"And how many bankers will we need for a train this long?" Carrie asked, as she quickly looked behind at the length of the train.

"For the 50 wagons we have…I'd say at least three." the driver said, as he reached forward for the brake lever and gently applied the brakes as they approached Wellsworth Station.

As they steadily approached the sidings and the signal box on the opposite side of the line, the driver pulled on the whistle chain to give a short whistle blast. Then he paused and then gave three short blasts, indicating that he wanted to have three bankers.

Continuing on a short way, they came to a stop just before Wellsworth Station and, looking back along the driver's side, Carrie could see three bankers roll out of the siding, one at a time, and gently push up to the rear of the train. From what Carrie could see, the three bankers appeared to be tank engines.

After exchanging a series of whistles with the bankers to indicate they were in position, the driver gave one loud whistle and that was the signal for the drivers on the three banking engines to open their regulators. Slowly but surely, the train moved forward again and headed on the inside line through Wellsworth Station, where Carrie could see many passengers of all ages either standing on the platforms waiting for the next train or up on the footbridge connecting the two platforms and watching the train go by.

After passing under the road bridge right by the station, they headed along a gentle S-curve by the signal box and over a level crossing right at the junction where two lines diverged to go south to Brendam Docks. After another two minutes or so, they went under another stone road bridge, which was red in characteristic and had black smudge marks from smoke in the middle of it, and round a bend.

Carrie and Simon were keeping a close watch from the driver's side as they approached the hill. The driver had the regulator open and reversing gear set just so, and the fireman shovelled some more fresh coal into the firebox to keep the steam pressure up. He had also put some more water into the boiler using the steam injectors, which generated a hissing sound as water flowed into the boiler.

Then, they noticed the gradient start to climb as they went round the next curve and then the three lines straightened out to the hill proper. Carrie was slightly astonished; she could see the top of the hill from where she was, but it was quite a long way off, and the hill certainly looked to be a lot steeper than it really was.

"Will we make it?" she asked, now suddenly noticing that they didn't seem to be moving too quickly as before.

"We'll make it, Carrie. It'll just be a bit slow going…that's all." No.47988 called, as he surged ahead with the train rattling along behind.

Carrie and Simon looked back towards the bottom of the hill; they couldn't see the bankers at the rear of the train as wagons were still coming round the curve but could just about hear the sounds of their exhausts chuffing away as they pushed very hard to get the train up the hill. Crossing over to the fireman's side of the cab, Carrie looked up the hill and saw another train topping over the hill and coming down on the down line heading towards Wellsworth.

The engine was a GWR 47XX 2-8-0 (4), No.4726, at the head of a very lengthy fitted freight of box-vans of various different sizes and types, con-flats carrying containers that had been firmly secured down, flatbeds and some tankers, and he went on by, giving a toot on his deep-toned whistle before heading to the bottom of the hill and disappearing round the curve. Then Carrie turned her head to look back up the hill.

(4): Another class of steam locomotive that will be appearing in this story will be the G.W.R. Churchward 47XX 2-8-0 mixed traffic locomotives.

These engines were also known as "Night Owls" as they did much of their work, primarily pulling fast fitted freights, during the hours of darkness. Although they mainly pulled fitted freight trains, usually on the lines from the West of England and the lines out from Wolverhampton and Birmingham to London, they were also used on heavy passenger services too, particularly on seaside and holiday makers trains during the busy summer months out of London to seaside resorts within the West of England.

In reality, only 9 of them were built, numbered from No.4700 to No.4708, so No.4726 is an example of further members of the class that, in my opinion at least, SHOULD have been built but ultimately never were for various reasons.

Although they were perfectly capable of doing any job they were asked to do, their large size and heavy weight restricted their route availability, and so it was one of the reasons no more were built. Churchward's successor as C.M.E. to the G.W.R., Charles Collett, later introduced the Hall Class 4-6-0 with 6ft diameter driving wheels and the later Grange Class 4-6-0 with 5ft 8in driving wheels, both of which proved to be far more versatile mixed traffic machines and with a much greater route availability.

The entire class was withdrawn from service from June 1962 to May 1964, with No.4705 having recorded the highest milage for the class, having covered a very respectable 1,656,564 miles by the time she was withdrawn.

Sadly, none of the original nine locomotives have been preserved, but luckily the Great Western Society, based at the Didcot Railway Centre in England, are working on a project to build the next and tenth member of the class, No.4709 for future generations.

It seemed like ages getting to the top of the hill but was actually only about three or four minutes or so. and soon they came to the peak of the climb and started to pick up some speed as they went along a flat area that ran along a straight stretch for a few hundred yards. They passed by the signal box and sets of points at the top of the hill before they went down the other side along a much gentler slope, where there was no need for banking engines if they were to come back with another heavy train later on in the day from the other direction.

From the rear of the train came the sounds of the bankers whistling, which indicated to the driver and fireman that they were slowly dropping off the rear of the train one by one as they near the top of the hill. Carrie and Simon looked at each other and smiled; they'd made it over the hill and were now going down the other side of it!

"Well…that's that hill out of the way…well until the next time we have to tackle it anyway!" said Simon, as the train moved on towards Maron Station. Carrie smiled, and they settled back to enjoy the rest of the trip.

For the rest of the trip to Rossington Junction, things went very smoothly. Passing through Maron Station, they made their way over the stone viaduct which crossed the deep valley and headed on towards to Cronk. Before they reached Cronk, they passed by a wide canal which ran parallel to the railway for a mile or so before turning away. Not long after, they passed through Cronk Station and its freight sidings without incident before they passed by Murdoch, the bright orange B.R. 9F 2-10-0, who was heading in the opposite direction with a long and very heavy mixed freight train, made up of all different types of wagons, bound for Knapford.

Carrie loved every minute of the trip, it being her first-time experiencing life on the railway after all and in particular she loved the sounds of the railway, including the chuffing, the hissing of steam and the clacking of wheels on the steel rails as well as the loudness of the steam whistles and hissing of steam from safety valves.

It wasn't too long before they arrived at the station of Rossington Junction, and they paused in one of the long sidings for a short while before they went onto the double-tracked branch line leading to Rossington. It was within their schedule and, as they were running a little ahead of the schedule, they had some extra time on their hands.

While they were there, the crew, with Carrie and Simon joining in and observing, took the opportunity given by the stop to top up the water tanks, clean the fire by removing any nasty clinker with fire irons, check over all the brake blocks and to check the axle bearings to make sure they were okay, as well as to top up the oiling points on the motion if necessary.

Once that was all done, Carrie and Simon took the opportunity given by the break to have something to eat. After really thoroughly cleaning the shovel with the hosepipe used to wash down the footplate of coal dust, Simon showed Carrie how to cook over the fire in the firebox using the shovel as a frying pan.

"In the old days Carrie, when steam traction reigned supreme on Britain's railway system, this was done all the time. And it's a tradition that crews on this railway, as well as on heritage railways over on the mainland, are only too happy to honour." Simon said, as he placed the shovel, with some cooking oil in it, over the hot fire to heat up

"Will the food taste as it should?" Carrie asked, with some trepidation at a method of cooking that she hadn't expected to see.

"It will, Carrie. Don't worry." said Simon.

Once the oil in the shovel had heated up very nicely, they began the cooking; placing some thick slices of smoked bacon into the hot sizzling oil, followed by some British-style sausages and then the shovel blade was put back in the firebox to allow the food to cook thoroughly, which only took a few minutes in that hot firebox.

When the bacon and sausages had finished cooking, they were taken off the shovel and put onto a plate, and then some more sausages and bacon were put on to cook. Once they were finished cooking and taken off the shovel, Simon broke some eggs into the still hot oil and pushed the shovel blade back over the flames to allow the eggs to cook.

"And really can anything be cooked on a shovel inside a locomotive firebox?" Carrie asked, as she turned to the driver.

"Yes, ma'am, anything can be done. I've cooked steaks on the shovel on many an occasion, as well as bacon and eggs on many an early morning job." the driver said.

"And the flat plate here over the fire hole doors is always being kept quite warm from the intense heat coming out from inside. So, it isn't just used for keeping the oil cans as well as the tea cans warm, we also use it for keeping food warm until we're ready to eat it. I've also used it at times to gently heat up cans of soup or even cans of creamy rice pudding, which are a really nice treat to have on a very cold winter's day like today." the fireman said.

"Oh, I see." said Carrie, and she hoped that she could have some creamy rice pudding from a can gently heated up like that.

Once the eggs were cooked, they were taken off the shovel and they were ready to eat. Simon drained the excess oil from the shovel blade onto the hot coals beneath. When the oil hit, there came a bright white flame for several seconds as the red-hot coals ignited the oil.

Assembling her sandwich into a fresh mini-baguette with two slices of bacon, two sausages and a fried egg, topped with a little brown sauce and served with a mug of tea, Carrie sat at the back of the cab with Simon and tucked in.

"Wow, that's really nice actually. I never expected food cooked in a locomotive firebox to taste this way." Carrie said, as she savoured the cooked food in her sandwich.

"I'm glad you like it, Carrie. I felt this was something I had to show you while we were out today and while we had the time." Simon said.

"Thanks for that." Carrie said, and clinking their mugs of steaming hot tea together they continued eating their hot lunch. At one point, another train went by them; it was a Gresley LNER V2 2-6-2, No.4800, in apple green livery, hauling a long train of about 36 empty oil tankers behind him, with three empty box vans acting as barrier vehicles between the tender and the first oil tanker. The oil tankers were all weathered with dirt and streaks of black oil, but some very were heavily weathered with thick streaks of oil running down the sides of the rounded tankers from the sealed openings at the tops, and brown layers of dirt on the chassis and wheels.

(A short while later)

The crew, Simon and Carrie soon finished eating their lunch and sipped down the last of their tea in their mugs. With some hot food and tea in her, and having rested after the trip so far, Carrie felt much better and ready to continue on again.

Then, the driver took a look up to the sky.

"Good grief, just look at that." he said, pointing. Looking up, Carrie and Simon could see the dark clouds that had been around earlier were now overhead and stretching for miles in all directions. And the air all around seemed to have gotten colder than it had been earlier on in the day. Then, it started to snow, with the small white flakes starting to fall from the dark sky slowly at first, but then picking up a bit in the next few minutes.

"And here we are…the first snow of the season." the fireman said, as he looked out.

"Yeah, there hasn't been much rain in the last few weeks, Carrie. So that means the ground is quite dry and the snow, if it comes down hard and fast as I think it might, it'll build up on the dry ground very quickly." Simon said, as he looked at the snow falling outside.

"Oh, it's colder now." Carrie said, as she shivered a little and went over to the firebox.

"But please don't worry; just be glad that we've got a hot fire from within this cab to keep us warm." said Simon, as he looked at Carrie.

"Yeah, I'm glad we've got that." Carrie said, as she smiled a little while looking outside again to watch the snow coming down hard.

It wasn't too long before they were given the all clear to go and, with the steam pressure having built up nicely and No.47988 pulling hard to gain traction, which included the driver using the sanding gear, they were on their way again. After leaving the sidings, they approached the junction leading to the Rossington Branch Line. The points had been set and they were on their way north east to Rossington, along some of the most difficult terrain on Sodor.

As they headed along the section of line that was double-tracked, the snow came down even harder than it had before and the wind picked up a bit, and soon it had reduced visibility to roughly half a mile or so.

Carrie and Simon were both concerned, especially as the tracks did go up and down at times as they got further into the hills, and signal lights showing all clear appeared as low green glows in the distance before they came into view.

At times, Carrie looked out as they passed over bridges; sometimes there were small streams passing below and at other times they passed over deep tree-lined cuttings where railway lines, either a single track or double tracks, passed under the bridges.

They soon reached the station at the halfway point along the line. Here was where the line reached a point where it transitioned from a double track to a single line which ran for some distance through the hills to the north east before it became double track again. It was also the point where the narrow gauge Skarloey Railway met up with the standard gauge railway at roughly the halfway point of the narrow-gauge railway.

As they pulled into the station, they saw the signal at the end of the platform was red. So they came to a stop and waited for the train coming towards them to go by. Then Carrie saw there was a small brown narrow-gauge tender engine with a long line of loaded slate trucks behind him sitting at the narrow gauge line on the other side of the platform they were coming to a stop alongside.

"Ah hello there, No.47988. You're right on time." the little brown engine said, as the much bigger Garratt came to a halt at the platform.

"Hello there, Duke." No.47988 said, as exhaust steam hissed out of the cylinder drain pipes.

"You'd best be careful with that train of yours. Driver says the snow is going to be coming down hard for the rest of the day." Duke said, as he looked up into the sky.

"Thanks for the warning, Duke." No.47988 said, as Simon and Carrie briefly stepped off his footplate and went over to Duke.

"Carrie, this engine here is Duke, one of the oldest engines on Sodor." said Simon.

"It's nice to meet you." Carrie said.

"Nice to meet you too, Carrie. I and all the other engines here on the Skarloey Railway have heard about why you're here on Sodor. The things that happened to you back at home would certainly never suit His Grace." Duke said.

Carrie looked at Simon with a facial expression that seemed to say "What is he on about? His Grace?" And Simon chuckled when he saw Carrie's face like that.

"It's all right, Carrie. Duke is named after his namesake, the Duke of Sodor, and when something happens that shouldn't happen, he always says "That would never suit His Grace", so it's his own personal saying…a catchphrase if you will." said Simon.

"Oh, I see." Carrie said, now fully understanding before she turned back to Duke. "Sorry about that. I just wasn't sure what you were on about." Carrie said with a smile.

"It's all right, Carrie. I completely understand. So how are you enjoying your time here on Sodor? Is everything going all right?" Duke asked.

"Oh, I'm really enjoying it so far. All the people and different engines I've met so far have been very friendly, welcoming and supportive of me. And already I very much feel like I'm part of the community here." Carrie said.

"I'm very pleased to hear it, Carrie. The other engines on the Skarloey Railway are all busy with their own jobs at the moment, but I'll tell them that I've met you here today." Duke said, as he puffed away with his loaded trucks to do his next job.

"Thank you very much, Duke." Carrie said, as she smiled a big smile.

Then on the single standard gauge line from the direction of Rossington, there came the sound of a bell ringing followed by chuffing as another engine approached from within the veil of swirling snow. Then, the engine came into view and, going over the points, stopped at the water tower along the other platform; it was Toby the Tram Engine with his coach Henrietta behind him along with half a dozen loaded trucks behind.

"Hello Toby." No.47988 said.

"Hello No.47988. Bad out today, isn't it?" Toby said, as he looked up at the sky and snow while his driver took the opportunity to top up with water.

"It is, but we're making good time today so far. And we're well on our way to delivering this train on time." No.47988 said, indicating to the long freight train behind him.

"Just please take care though. The rails further on could be very slippery in the downhill stretch before you get to Rossington." Toby warned.

"We promise we'll be very careful going up there, Toby." Simon said, as he and Carrie stepped out from behind No.47988.

"Oh, hello Simon, hello Carrie." Toby said, as he smiled on seeing them.

"Good afternoon, Toby." Carrie said, as she smiled.

"How are you getting on today?" Toby asked.

"Great, I'm having a good time so far, and I hope I'll get a chance to learn a lot more while I'm here." Carrie said.

"That's good." Toby said, as his crew finished topping up his water tank. Just then the driver rang the bell on Toby's roof, as the signal dropped. "Oh, it's time for me to be on my way. Goodbye." Toby said, as he set off again.

"Bye Toby! Good luck!" Simon and Carrie called as the tram engine headed off in the direction their train had just come.

"Good luck today, you two!" Toby called, as he headed off down the line.

Soon, No.47988 was on his way again and completing the last few miles to Rossington. On the last few miles, Carrie even tried her hand at firing. With the fireman's expert guide and extensive knowledge of the job, as well as having only small amounts of coal on the shovel at any one time so as to get her used to the job and how to go about it, she was able to put the lumps of coal where it was needed in order to make enough steam.

Shovelling each load of coal while bending down to put it from the rotating bunker and then into a very hot firebox was very hard and physical work, certainly it did get her to sweat a bit, but Carrie knew she would get used to it with time, as this was better exercise than anything she had experienced in gym class back home. At one point, using all her might, she thrust another load of coal as far into the firebox as she could and managed to get the coal to the very front of the firebox.

Simon also tried his hand at firing and being more used to exercise, he was able to put slightly greater and heavier shovelfuls of coal into the firebox and able to swing them further towards the front of the box and along the sides to generate more heat there.

By the time he was done, sweat droplets appeared on his forehead and his face was spotted with a very light dusting of coal dust.

"That was a good workout." Simon said, as he sat at the back of the cab with Carrie, whose face was also lightly dusted with coal dust in a few spots.

"Yeah, and certainly a better workout than any time in gym class." Carrie said, remembering to how bad many of her gym class moments had been back in Chamberlain.

"I know what you mean." Simon said, and they both shared a chuckle at that one.

They soon arrived at the yards in Rossington, with the train fully delivered bang on time despite the increasingly snowy conditions. After pulling into the shunting yards, where No.47988 was detached from the train and the driver spoke with the yard manager, they were uncoupled from the train, and made their way to the motive power depot not too far away so get ready for the next job. The depot, which was well-equipped with everything the steam locomotives of Sodor needed, was right by the main line that went from Vicarstown to Knapford around the north coast of Sodor.

After they stopped in the depot over one of the loco inspection pits just outside the main engine shed, the driver, fireman, Simon and Carrie went into the main building to have a quick washup and a much-needed rest before they went back to work. There was always good camaraderie between the loco crews there, as well as hot drinks and food on offer.

At one point, as No.47988 was being serviced at one of the depot lines by a team of fitters ready for the return journey later in the day, B.R. Standard 9F No.92098 with 15 fully laden, and thus very heavy, iron ore hopper wagons and brake van behind him, came to a stop along the slow line that went right beside the depot. Ralph White was sitting at the controls on the left-hand side of the cab and driving, with his normally smart navy blue overalls covered with a light layer of black coal dust, orange-brown iron ore dust, sweat and thin streaks of lubricating oil in spots.

The reason for the halt was to allow a faster train to pass them by, which just a normal routine thing to do. After gently stopping the train by the signal box, which had a water tower beside it, Ralph and his fireman decided to take the opportunity given by the stop to top up the tender tank with water before they continued on again. As Ralph went to the water tower to swing the arm over to the tank, the fireman climbed up onto the tender tank.

It was a bit of a challenge for the fireman to get onto the tender tank using the ladders at the rear, considering the cold wind had gotten up and it was blowing the snow flakes, which were now falling very heavily, into his face, which chilled him quite a bit. But he made it up and, after opening the lid, Ralph slowly swung the water tower arm out and once it was place over the open lid, he turned on the water.

As the water flowed into the tender tank, Ralph then noticed No.47988 sitting within the depot line closest to the slow line with some of the depot crew going over him, cleaning out the fire, refilling with coal and water as well as a myriad of other jobs that needed to be done before he could go out on his next assignment.

"Well, looks like No.47988 made it here safely." Ralph pointed out to his fireman, who looked over into the yard and smiled broadly.

"I told you they'd make it here safely, Ralph. And to see No.47988 sitting in there now is proof of that." the fireman said, as he then turned his attention back to the water pouring into the tender tank. As they finished up filling the tender tank with water a few minutes later, there came a whistle from up the line and a moment later, Henry went by at speed on the fast line heading towards Vicarstown, a long line of box vans, some flatbeds, covered hopper wagons (Cov-Hop) and a number of different tankers following along behind him, heading directly down to the freight depot in Vicarstown.

After Henry went by, the points were switched and the signal dropped and No.92098, with a loud toot on his whistle and steam shooting out from the cylinder drain cocks in dense white clouds, was on his way again. Slowly, with a loud toot on the whistle, and a clanking and clunking, the heavy iron ore train left the Down Slow Line and was on its way down on the last stage of the trip to Vicarstown.

(Late afternoon; 5:10pm)

No.47988 arrived back at Tidmouth Sheds after a long day of work. After delivering the train of construction materials to Rossington, he then had to deliver another heavy freight train, this time it was a slow mixed goods, that afternoon from Vicarstown back to Knapford.

Again, Carrie and Simon were both on the footplate for the journey back, and they were both tired after a long day. Their sweaty faces and their overalls were coated with a light dusting of coal dust, showing evidence of the work they'd done during the course of the day, including trying their hands at firing again on the trip.

While on the trip back, the fireman had heated up some cans of creamy rice pudding, flavoured with a little cinnamon and vanilla, on the flat plate over the firebox doors. After opening the cans to allow pressure to vent out, he allowed them to gently heat up as they went along the line. It wasn't too long before the cans had heated up, and they were able to eat.

As Carrie took in her first spoonful of rice pudding, she savoured the sweet, creamy flavour and how the cinnamon and vanilla really helped improve the flavour. The gentle heat slowly spread over her tongue and warmed her up, perfect for doing so on a freezing cold winter's day like today, just like the fireman had said earlier. She felt a smile come across her face; this was something she could definitely get used to.

After they arrived back at Tidmouth Sheds, just as it was getting dark in the midwinter evening, they came to a gentle halt in one of the long sidings. The driver put the brakes on and they came to a stop over one of the long pits just in front of the shed, where the ashpan would be emptied out and the fire dropped. This would be done very quickly thanks to the fact the ashpan was a hopper design with a door at the bottom where the ash would simply fall and the fact there was a rocking grate in the firebox where, by using a lever to move the grate back and forth, the fire could be quickly dropped to the pit below, thus saving a lot of time when disposing of an engine.

Carrie and Simon stood aside and both watched as the driver and fireman showed them how disposing a locomotive was done. They watched as the fireman, using a long lever, which almost looked like a length of pipe, opened the hopper ashpan and the ash, still very hot, fell out into the inspection pit in a cloud of grey brown dust. Then the driver, inside the cab, using another lever, rocked the grate and forth causing the fire to fall into the pit too. The heat coming up from the coals, still glowing red-orange, in the pit below felt quite good to the two young teens standing out in the cold.

Once they were done, Simon and Carrie made their way over to the side of the yard, past where many of the engines, all tired after their day, were being disposed of and being cleaned ready for the next day, to where the other teens who'd experienced the railway were gathered. They looked just the same; tired, faces dotted with sweat and lightly dusted all over with coal dust. But they all appeared to be in very good spirits, despite the long and cold wintery day.

"Have a good day, Carrie?" Alice asked, as Carrie and Simon came up to them.

"Yes Alice, it was a good day. I learned quite a bit out there today, and it was a much more interesting day for me than being stuck inside an old school classroom in fact." Carrie said, as she smiled broadly.

"And just like the rest of us…" Sophie said in her distinct Scottish accent, "…you look like you could use a shower and a change of clothes."

"That I could." Carrie said, as she looked down at her dust covered overalls. She also didn't need to be told that her sweaty face was covered with a light dusting of coal dust.

Just then, there came the beeping of a horn and a moment later, as everyone's heads turned, the Fat Controller arrived before them in his smart blue car.

"Good afternoon, everyone; did we all have a good time out there today?" he asked, as he got out from his car and stepped over to the group.

"Yes, sir!" they all said at once.

"I've just spoken with some of the crews you were with today, and they're very impressed with how well you all did today. And they're hoping that you can all show your potential in the future when the scheme begins in January. And I'm really proud of you all." said the Fat Controller with a smile.

"Thank you, sir." all the teens said.

"Now you'd all better go and get yourselves cleaned up. You look like you all need it after the day you've had." said the Fat Controller.

"Well, come on. Let's get ourselves cleaned up then." one of the boys said, as the group dispersed; the boys went to the men's changing room and showers, while the girls went to their changing room and showers.

(A little while later, 5:35pm)

With everyone now showered and changed into fresh clean clothes, they made their way home for the evening with stories to tell of their day out on the railway. Carrie was especially pleased by the fact the showers in the ladies changing room had individual and private shower stalls with walls that went down to an inch above the ground, rather than the open showers that she experienced back in the ladies changing rooms in Ewen High School. It meant that for the very first time, she could really enjoy having a hot refreshing shower without anybody else staring at her, which would always make her feel very uncomfortable back home.

Now they were finished showered and were fully cleaned up, Carrie and Simon, with their bags on their laps, sat together in the main canteen of the building while waiting for Ralph to arrive. He was in the men's changing room, having a hot shower followed by changing his clothes after his own day of hard work, transporting heavy and dusty iron ore from the footplate of 9F No.92098, in the Tyne Dock to Consett iron ore wagons, all the way past Vicarstown to a depot just on the main land before returning to Sodor for another job.

At that moment No.92098, covered all over in a light layer of brown iron ore dust, soot and coal dust, clear evidence from his long and tiring day of hard work hauling a long line of fully laden – and thus very heavy – iron ore hopper wagons, was parked very close to Tidmouth Sheds and being disposed of by the shed staff, as he was due for some scheduled light repair work and a good cleaning, both on the outside as well as the inside of the boiler, first thing in the morning to ensure the boiler would produce steam efficiently. But the fire had to be dropped out from inside the firebox and the boiler left to completely cool down before that could take happen.

"So, did you have a good day out there with me today, Carrie?" Simon asked.

"I did, and a really great day it was too. And after today, I'll certainly sleep quite well tonight." Carrie said, as she smiled.

"Me too. Anyway Carrie…would you like to go to the Christmas Market in Knapford with me tomorrow?" Simon asked. Carrie looked at him for a few moments, unsure of what to say.

"Are you serious? Like a date?" she asked.

"Of course, like a date." Simon said, as he smiled a little and rubbed the back of his head in a rather nervous way. Even though Simon had plenty of female friends here on Sodor, he'd never had a serious girlfriend before.

"Sure, I'd love to go to the Christmas Market with you, Simon." Carrie said.

"Thanks Carrie, I really appreciate that." said Simon.

Then Ralph White stepped into the canteen through the main entrance doors, having finished his shower and dressed into fresh clothes. Following along just behind him was the Fat Controller himself.

"I've just spoken with No.47988's crew, and I'm very pleased with you two on how you did today. I think you're both gonna be a real credit to the railway when you start working here." said the Fat Controller.

"Thank you, sir." Carrie and Simon said, together.

"And Carrie…I think you're gonna go a very long way in life with the positive attitude you displayed out there today." said the Fat Controller, with a smile.

"Thank you very much, sir." Carrie said, with a tired smile.

"Now, you both get yourselves home and get some rest. I think you've both earned it after today." the Fat Controller said, as he turned and walked away.

"Yes, sir." Carrie and Simon said, as they both stood up from their table and grabbed their bags with their things.

"Hey Carrie, are you ready to head on home?" Ralph asked, while approaching the two.

"Yes, dad. Ah, Simon has asked me if I want to go with him to the Christmas Market tomorrow and I've said yes." Carrie said.

"So could I take her out for the day tomorrow, Ralph?" Simon asked.

"Certainly Simon, I think there'll be no harm in doing that. I'd like Carrie to experience a social event with other young people her own age." Ralph said, as he smiled.

"Thanks, dad." Carrie said.

"Shall we head on home, Carrie?" Ralph asked.

"Of course, dad." Carrie said, as she stood up from the seat.

"I'll see you outside your house tomorrow morning, Carrie." Simon said, as he too stood up from the table.

"Okay Simon, I'll see you outside my father's place in the morning." Carrie said, as she and Ralph left the canteen and headed to the bus stop so as to catch the bus home.