The next chapter is here. Hope you enjoy it.
Chapter 5: Passenger Duties
Sam was dozing in the sun one day. He had just come back from a hard day's work and was looking forward to some sleep. "The sun shining down on me makes me feel nice" he said happily. But then a car pulled up to the goods shed. Then Mr. Cooper stepped out and walked over to Sam. "Oh, hello Mr. Copper, what are you doing here" Sam asked. "I have news for you Sam. Unfortunately our North Passenger Train Matthias is at the repair yards getting matinance on his pistons. So until he comes back, you will be taking over his passenger duties" said Mr. Copper. Sam smiled "of course sir, it will be nice for a change".
"Good, now I need you to report to the station tomorrow morning. But first you are to go to the logging station and collect one flatbed of logs to take to the station" said Mr. Copper. "Of course sir" said Sam. So then Mr. Copper left. "This is great, I get to pull passenger trains" Sam said happily. And so he closed his eyes and went to sleep.
The next morning, Sam's driver and fireman fired him up and pulled him out of the shed. He moved through the yard and switched onto the line that would take him to the logging station. "Remember Sam, this is a big day for you" said his driver. "I know" said Sam.
Soon they were puffing through a small valley. It was so small that only two tracks could go through it. Then, Sam heard a familiar rumble. "It's that noise I heard on the day I arrived" said Sam. Then something flew past Sam, once again blowing wind into his face.
"Not that engine again" Sam huffed "if I ever meet him, I'll give him a stern talking to". But he tried to forget it as he arrived at the logging station.
When he had collected the flatbed, he set off back to the station. "Now I get to pull passenger trains" Sam said happily.
Soon he pulled into the station. But when he did, there was already an engine there. It was coupled to six coaches. Soon Sam pulled up so he could see the front of an engine. From the looks of things, he was looking at a LMS Coronation Class locomotive. The engine looked at Sam and smiled.
"Hello, who are you" the engine asked. "Uh, my name is Sam, what's yours" he asked. "My name is Princess Merida, but you can just call me Merida" she said.
"Well it's nice to meet you Merida" said Sam. Then Otis came and took away the flatbed of logs Sam has brought. "Thank you Otis" said Sam. "No problem Sam, I'll leave this in a siding and bring your coaches" he said as he puffed by Sam and set off to the yards.
"So Sam, how's your day been so far" asked Merida. "It's been okay, but this big steam engine rushed past me today while I was passing through the valley" said Sam in a huff. Merida had a curious look on her face. "Was this engine orange and silver" she asked. Sam thought hard "ya, I think it was". "Oh my, then that means that it was" but she couldn't say any more before a large orange and silver engine pulled in.
Sam looked at the engine. It looked like a Southern Pacific Railway GS 3. "Sam, this is Albus" said Merida. Albus looked at Sam. He had a smug look on his face. "So this is Sam, I've heard about you from Jake" said Albus. Sam gave Albus an angry look. "And I know you; you flew past me today and on the day I came here". Albus smug look stayed.
"Oh, so you were the slow engine that I passed". Sam grew furious "I'm not slow; I can be just as fast as you". Albus started to laugh "YOU, be better than ME. Please, I'm the fastest engine on this railway. But that makes me wonder, what are you doing here" he asked. "Matthias is at the works, so I'm taking his place" said Sam angrily.
"Oh, I see, but why pick someone so slow" Albus asked snootily. But before Sam could say anything, a conductor's whistle sounded. "Oh, so sorry, I must be off. I can't wait around like some engines" and with that, Albus puffed away.
Sam fumed as he watched Albus speed away. "Bossy Boiler" said Sam angrily. "Just try to ignore him Sam, he'll get what's coming to him" said Merida. Then Otis arrived with Sam's coaches. When they were coupled behind him and the passengers had boarded, he set off.
So for the rest of the day, Sam puffed through hills and mountains, sped through country sides, and rushed through forests. It was hard work, but Sam was enjoying himself, and so were the passengers.
Sam soon arrived at the last stop for the day. It was late, the sun was beginning to set. After the passengers had gotten off and new ones boarded, Sam puffed on back to the station.
When he arrived, Jake and Merida were there too. "Hello guys, how is everyone" he asked. But Merida and Jake were silent. "Is something wrong" Sam asked.
Jake spoke up "Albus should have been back by now, but he's not". Sam was surprised, he would have expected and engine like Albus to always be on time. But then Mr. Copper walked up. "Sam and Jake, your help is needed" he said urgently.
"What's wrong" asked Jake. "Albus' brakes have melted going down the hill too fast. He's stuck and so are the passengers. Jake I need you to go and collect the passengers and coaches. Sam, I need you to take Albus to the works" said Mr. Copper. "Yes sir" said Sam and Jake. So their drives pulled them out of the station and towards the big hill.
Albus was sitting on the bottom of the hill. His fire had been put out and there was hot liquid metal dripping from behind his wheels. "This is so embarrassing" he said to himself "why didn't my brakes work at the top of the hill like they were supposed to". Then he heard two whistles, and then Sam and Jake pulled up. "Hello Albus" said Jake. "Are you being a fast and special engine" said Sam, who was holding back a laugh. Albus' cheeks went red as his driver uncoupled him from the coaches.
Jake went behind him and took the coaches and passengers back to the station. Meanwhile, Sam backed up onto Albus. "Don't worry Albus, we'll get you to the works and then you'll feel better" said Sam. So his driver opened the throttle and they set off towards the works.
When they arrived at the works, Sam looked around. There were small buildings with lights coming from them, and some that made loud banging noises. Soon Sam and Albus approached the largest building there. It wasn't as big as the Indianapolis railroad works, but it was almost the same size.
Sam pulled in with Albus. Inside there were men hurrying about and two shunters pushing cars full of parts around. Then a man in a grey suit walked up to Sam's cab. "Ah, thank you for bringing Albus here. Leave him where he is and one of our shunters will get him" the man in the suit said to Sam's driver. So the fireman uncoupled Sam from Albus. He hopped back into the cab and rolled Sam onto the turntable.
When Sam had been turned around, he puffed out of the building. He was about to leave, but then a DRG Class 01 locomotive pulled up next to him. "Why hello there, and who might you be" the engine asked. "My name is Sam, what's yours" Sam asked. The engine chuckled "my name is Matthias". Sam gasped "your Matthias, well it's very nice to meet you". "Same, so what are you doing here" asked Matthias. "I was just dropping off Albus because his breaks had melted" said Sam.
Matthias let out a huge laugh "I always knew he would get what he deserved one day". "Well, it had to happen sometime" said Sam.
"Well since I'm ready to go, want to puff back to the yards with me" asked Matthias. "Of course" said Sam, so then he and Matthias left the works.
On the way back to the station, Sam and Matthias talked. "So what's your job around here" asked Matthias. "Well, I mostly pull freight cars, but today I did your job" he responded. "Oh, well thanks for doing that, but didn't you feel tired getting up so early" asked Matthias. But Sam was confused. "What do you mean, I got up at nine, same as always" said Sam. Now Matthias was confused "that doesn't make sense. I'm supposed to pull the first train of the day. Has my schedule been changed" he asked. "I don't know, but let's just be happy your back" Sam said happily, and Matthias couldn't help but smile.
When they pulled into the station, Mr. Copper was waiting for them. "Well done Sam, thank you for helping Albus". Sam smiled "it was my pleasure sir". Then Mr. Copper turned to Matthias. "It's good to have you back Matthias" he said. "Good to be back sir. I can't wait to start pulling passenger trains again tomorrow" said Matthias happily.
"Well, about that Matthias, I'm afraid you won't be pulling trains for a while" said Mr. Copper.
Matthias was shocked "but why sir"? "Because we've decided that it's time for your coaches to be refurbished. Until then, you'll be doing Sam's work" said Mr. Copper. Matthias didn't know what to say, but Sam did. "Wait, if he's doing my work, what am I going to be doing" he asked. Mr. Copper gave a big smile. "Well, until Albus is repaired, I am giving you his jobs" he said to Sam.
Sam gasped, he was going to do Albus' work. "Really, oh thank you sir" said Sam happily. "You're welcome Sam, now puff back to the sheds, it will be a busy day tomorrow" and with that Mr. Copper left. "This is going to be amazing" said Sam as he rolled out of the station, leaving a still shocked Matthias behind.
Well that's it, hope you enjoyed this chapter. More characters will be introduced in the next one.