They didn't speak again for several hours. Johnny instead decided to look at the landscape. The farther they got from the Auction House, the more lush and fertile the countryside seemed.
The land also got hillier. Eventually, they appeared to moving into a low mountain range. The hills were peppered with trees, the most Johnny had seen in years. A low haze hung over the mountain peaks.
With a start, Johnny realized that the rails beneath him for fresh, without rust! No tracks were that well maintained, except for, he'd heard, a few diesel depots. What was going on here?
The rails drew alongside a lazy river, and split to two tracks. Eventually, they drew into a small station. It was shaded with trees, their leaves red from the soon-coming fall. Johnny had never seen such a beautiful place.
Dulcie braked him to a halt. Then, she blew his whistle thrice in quick succession, paused for a few seconds, then blew twice more.
A whistle rang out in response. A few minutes later, a small grey tank engine, an 0-4-2, arrived from the opposite direction.
Johnny no longer understood anything. Here was a working steam engine in good condition!
"Ho, Dulcie!" called a voice from the cab.
Johnny could see a young man leaning out from the engine's cab. He was about the same age as her, but where she was auburn-haired, he was blond, was taller, and wore glasses. Despite this, it was obvious that they were related.
"Hello, Dylan!" called Dulcie.
"Who's this?" asked the engine, who was apparently a she.
"Found him in an Auction House. Cost me a bundle, but he's electro-steam," replied Dulcie. She jumped down from Johnny's cab and ran to embrace Dylan.
"Excuse me," asked Johnny, who had finally found his voice, "but what the heck is going on here?"
Dulcie laughed. "Welcome to the Smokey Valley Railway."