Forgotten Rails: The Story of 382
Summary: It happens every year. The nightmare of her accident many years ago. When an engine on Sodor has an accident very similar to hers, she tells her friends what her life was like back in the early days. This is Cayce. And this is her story.
Author's Note: Here is chapter 3 of Forgotten Rails. Remember if you like, review, favorite, and subscribe for future updates.
Chapter 3: Shatter Me
Location: Sodor Search and Rescue Center, Time: April 29th, 2016
"After our first meeting," Cayce continued, "Casey and I kept running into each other every so often. Sometimes, we would simply pass each other. Other times, his engine and I would end up in the same shed and we would talk for a little bit. Even rarer times, I would see him on one of his days off. I once saw him in a baseball uniform. I didn't even recognize him at first."
She laughed at the memory. But her expression soon turned sober.
"Then came that night. It was rainy and foggy, just like tonight…"
It was safe to say that 382 was not having a good day. Her engineer had fallen ill and she had pulled into Poplar Street Station very late. She was told to wait as a temporary driver was found. As she waited, still in steam, she watched the various people walking around. However, she didn't notice two men walking up to her.
"Well, well. We meet yet again," a voice teasingly called, yanking her out of her thoughts.
She looked down to her front to find a familiar face.
"Casey!"
Casey smiled.
"How you doin', Miss 382?"
382 smiled back.
"Well as can be expected, I suppose."
"You know, in all the times that we met, I never did once give you a name."
The man beside him laughed.
"That's because you haven't given the others names!"
"Hey now, Sim. I did name my old freight engine."
382 smiled.
"How is Mike doing?"
"He's doing well," replied Casey. "Now, we better get you turned around. You got to pull the Number One "Cannonball" back to Canton tonight."
That's when 382 put the pieces together.
"You're going to be my replacement crew?"
Casey nodded.
"Yep. Come on, Sim."
Casey and Sim climbed into 382's cab and began to do a checklist.
"Sim, how's her boiler pressure?"
Sim Webb took a look at the gauge.
"Reading 175 PSI. Pressure is holding."
"Copy that, Sim."
Casey pulled on the whistle cord and released 382's brakes, leading her out of the station and into the yard to turn around on the turntable. As the table spun, Casey snapped his fingers.
"I got it!"
382 looked back to her cab.
"Got what?"
"I'm gonna call you Cayce."
Sim grinned.
"Your head must've gotten bigger at some point. Naming her after yourself?"
Casey laughed.
"No, my head didn't get bigger, Sim. I'm naming her after my hometown. It's where I got my name. I spell it C.A.S.E.Y. My hometown's name was spelled C.A.Y.C.E. That's her name. What do you think, 382?"
By now, 382 was all but bouncing on the turntable.
"I love it!"
"Alright. Cayce it is!"
Soon, the turntable had been spun around and Casey blew Cayce's whistle as she rolled off to the station. The passenger cars for Train One had already been pushed into place by a shunter and were filled with passengers. The train was only six cars long, but with Casey at the throttle, Sim pouring on the coal, and the damp air, it was perfect conditions for a record-setting run.
The newly named "Cayce" quickly backed in front of the coaches. Briefly, she glanced up at a large clock hanging on a station wall and gasped.
"Casey! Look at the time!"
Casey glanced at the clock and his watch. He groaned as he saw that they were nearly 75 minutes late!
"Great. Well, I do appreciate a challenge."
The conductor of the train signalled Casey to reverse Cayce and connect with the train. With a loud clank, Cayce was coupled to the train. Sim climbed down from her cab and connected the air lines. Once Sim climbed in, Cayce blew her whistle and pulled the train out of the station at 12:50 AM.
Once the train was past the station, Casey pulled Cayce's regulator open as far as he could. Cayce smiled and laughed as he did, flying along the track. Casey grinned.
"Enjoying that, Cayce?"
"Of course I am, Casey!"
Sim's gaze went between the two. He shook his head, chuckling. Casey looked over.
"What is it, Sim?"
"Casey, Cayce, Casey, Cayce… I think I'm gonna get dizzy."
This set off a fit of laughter in all three of them as Cayce sped off. Halfway to Grenada, Mississippi, Cayce called back.
"Casey, can we stop for a drink, please?"
Sim looked at Cayce's water gauge.
"We'd better. You could use one."
Casey held up his hands in mock surrender.
"Alright, alright. Sardis is coming up in a moment. We'll stop there."
Sure enough, within moments Cayce could see the lights of the station and the town beyond it. Casey guided her to the water tower standing not too far from the station. Sim jumped out, and climbed up Cayce's tender, pulling down the spout and starting the water.
Cayce sighed as she felt the water flowing into her tanks. Casey chuckled, brushing his hand along the side of her cab.
"Feel better?"
"Much."
Once Cayce's tanks were filled, Sim turned off the water and raised the spout. Cayce let off steam as he climbed back into her cab. With that, she set off to continue her journey to Grenada.
Cayce and her train pulled into Grenada at about 2:44 AM. Casey checked his watch and smirked.
"55 minutes shaved off that delay."
Sim quietly sighed. He was about to say something, but Cayce spoke up.
"Umm… Could I have another drink before we continue?"
Casey chuckled.
"Of course."
After Cayce's tanks were filled again, they left for Winona, which wasn't a stop that night. As they rolled through the sleepy town, Casey smirked.
"Amazing. Fifteen more minutes made up. There's no speed restrictions between here and Durant, Cayce. Let's see how fast we can go."
Cayce had a very similar smirk.
"Let's."
Sim shook his head.
"Two of them…," he muttered.
Cayce pumped her pistons, and quickly raced away into the night. She quickly managed to get up to 75 miles per hour. Casey was watching her speed, leaning on the Johnson bar. He looked over.
"Sim, the old girl's got her dancing slippers on tonight!"
Cayce heard him and was confused.
"But I don't wear dancing slippers!"
Casey and Sim started laughing so hard they could barely breathe. Poor Cayce was still very confused.
As the three neared Durant, Casey saw a flagman ahead waving a red flag. He applied the brakes and brought Cayce to a stop at the station platform. The stationmaster came outside and shouted to Casey.
"Casey, you need to take the siding at Goodman to let Cannonball #2 pass. Then you need to head onto Vaughan. The main line will be cleared and you'll have priority all the way to Canton."
Casey waved and called back.
"Understood! Take to siding at Goodman, then head to Vaughan."
The stationmaster nodded and Casey's conductor waved his green flag. Two short whistle blasts, and Cayce was led out of Durant.
A few minutes later, Cayce was approaching Goodman. Casey slowed her down and they headed straight into a siding near the station.
As soon as the last car cleared the switch and it was thrown to the main line, the Cannonball #2 passenger train roared by, heading north towards Memphis. Once the south switch had been cleared and thrown to the main line, Casey eased Cayce out of the siding before picking up speed. Casey checked his watch.
"We're almost on time. We're bound to be there right "on the advertised" time, Sim!"
Sim chuckled.
"As always, Casey."
Casey then had a surprise.
"Hey, Cayce. How would you like it if I asked if I could be an official "back up"? In other words, if your normal engineer ever became ill again, I could take his place."
At that moment, Cayce could have sworn this was the best night of her life.
"I'd love it! Please!"
However, Casey would soon meet his fate. As they neared the town of Vaughan, Cayce was going seventy-five miles an hour. They were going around a bend, and Casey couldn't see what was ahead. Cayce was so happy that she almost didn't see the light on the back of a train! She gasped. Moments later, Sim shouted.
"Oh my Lord, there's something on the main line!"
Casey stood up, and turned to Sim.
"Jump, Sim. Jump!"
Sim obeyed, jumping out of Cayce's cab and being knocked unconscious as he landed. Casey quickly reversed Cayce and slammed the brakes into "Emergency Stop." He pulled on the whistle cord, and Cayce's whistle echoed loudly, warning anyone who was still in the caboose to get out and away.
"Cayce! Stop!"
But it was too late. Cayce plowed through the wooden caboose, splintering it to bits. The next car was full of hay, and that was soon demolished. Cayce went through a car of corn and halfway through a car with timber before leaving the rails. Her cowcatcher plowed into the embankment by the track, crumbling inward before she flipped over, facing the opposite way she came. The last thing she knew was something solid hitting her face before everything went black.
By this point, Cayce was in tears.
"I-I was in what they called a "coma" w-w-while they salvaged and repaired me. S-S-Sim was there when I woke up…"
When Cayce opened her eyes, she saw Sim standing in front of her, dressed in black instead of his uniform. She smiled.
"Sim! Hi!"
Sim didn't respond for a moment.
Cayce looked worried.
"Sim? Where's Casey? Is he alright?"
Sim sighed.
"Cayce...he...he didn't make it. It's believed he died on impact."
Cayce was shocked.
"He...he didn't?"
Sim shook his head.
"No. They found him in your cab, still holding onto your brakes and whistle cord."
Cayce looked down. Sim walked up to her, placing his hand on the side of her smokebox.
"None of the other passengers died. Most weren't even injured. You and Casey saved their lives."
Cayce sighed sadly.
"Thank you, Sim. For telling me."
The two stood still, looking down in sadness.
Flynn, Belle, and Butch looked at Cayce in shock. She was crying so hard she barely speak.
Belle spoke up.
"Cayce? Are you okay?"
Cayce didn't answer for a moment.
"Y-Yeah. I think so."
Flynn rolled along side Cayce.
"We're really sorry that happened to you. Butch and I may not understand it because we're not engines, but we still are sorry."
Butch nodded.
"Yeah. We're really sorry."
Cayce sniffed, trying to stop crying.
"It's alright. It's not your fault."
Belle gently let off steam at Cayce to comfort her.
"So...what happened after your wreck?"
Cayce squeezed her eyes shut.
"Well, when one reaches the top, the only way left to go is down. That night, until the wreck, was one of the best nights of my life. Things didn't get much better after that..."
And that is chapter 3 of "Forgotten Rails". I hope you all enjoyed, and stayed tuned for "Star Wars: The Ice Awakens" which will be out sometime next week. Until next time!
P.S. Just wanted to post my work for the timetable of Casey Jones's last run.
Casey left Memphis, Tennessee on the morning of April 30th, 1900 at 12:50 AM, 75 minutes behind schedule. From Memphis it's 50 miles to Sardis, Mississippi, where Casey stopped for water. If Casey was going seventy miles an hour, he would arrive at Sardis at 1:42 AM. Filling a tender full of water for a steam locomotive if the locomotive was small would take about ten minutes. The engine Casey was running was a 4-6-0 Ten Wheeler, and they weren't much bigger then a 4-4-0 American such as the character George from the previous chapter. This means Casey could have left Sardis at 1:58. Grenada is another fifty miles which bring us to 2:40 AM. Fills up with water again and leaves at 2:45 AM. It's 25 miles from Grenada to Winona.
Again assuming, Casey was going 70 miles an hour, he would arrive in Winona at 3:06 AM, but he doesn't stop. He increases his speed up to 75 because of the no speed restrictions on the curves between Winona and Durant, which that stretch is 30 miles long, and assuming he held that speed. he would arrive at Durant at 3:30. In Durant he takes orders to take the siding at Goodman to let the Cannonball Express #2 to pass. This would probably take less then a minute. From Durant, Casey would travel 8 miles south, once again assuming he was going 75 mph, he would arrive at the Goodman siding at 3:38 AM. Cannonball #2 passes, and Casey gets back on the main line at about 3:40. Twelve minutes later, just outside of Vaughan, Mississippi, Casey collides with the stalled freight train at 3:52 AM. Hopefully, this explains my math and reasons for the timetable. If you want to confirm it for yourself, by all means take the data I have given you, and plug it in. The math may not exact down to the millisecond, but I would say it's fairly close.