Chapter Seven: Truck Trouble

It was another day of the Narrow Central Railway. The engines were working hard. Ron was pushing coaches in the yard. Kat and Royce were collecting passengers. Tenzin was on his way to the Ballast Mines. And finally Murray was taking a train of twenty coal cars to the transfer yards.

Murray is a South African Class NG G16A 2-6-2+2-6-2. His job is to take heavy trains that others can't. He enjoys working with coal cars; it's his favorite job.

When Murray pulled into the transfer yards, Spike was waiting for him. Spike was a Class Ye3 steam locomotive. He smiled when Murray pulled in. "Hello Murray, thanks for bringing the coal". Murray smiled "No problem Spike" he said happily. So the nearby crane got to work. Soon all the coal had been unloaded and was now in Spike's freight cars. "Great job Murray, see you later" said Spike, and then he left.

Murray smiled, and was about to go and get more coal cars when the manager arrived. "Murray, I have a job for you. Tenzin has broken down on the way to the Ballast Mines. You will be taking over his job while he is at the works. But first I need you to collect Tenzin and take him to the works" he said seriously. "Yes sir, right away sir" said Murray. "Good" said the manager, and then he left. "Alright Murray, let's go get Tenzin" said Murray's driver. So Murray left to find Tenzin.

Tenzin had broken down a mile from the Ballast Mine. Tenzin is a JNR D51 2-8-2 Mikado. "Great, broken down on the job" he sighed. "It's not your fault Tenzin, it can happen to everyone" said his driver. Then he heard a whistle, and then Murray pulled up. "Hey Tenzin" said Murray. "Hello Murray, kind of got myself in a bad situation hu" said Tenzin. "It's okay; I'm going to take you to the works" said Murray with a smile. So Murray's driver moved him over the points to Tenzin's track. Then Murray backed down onto Tenzin. When he was coupled up, they set off to the works.

On the way to the works, they puffed on some track that was near some Standard Gauge track. Then they heard a whistle "Who's that" asked Murray. Murray soon found out, because as soon as he said this, a JNR C59 puffed up to them. "Hello there Tenzin, what happened to you" the engine asked. "Hello Roku, I broke down on the way to the mines, so Murray here is taking me to the works" said Tenzin. "Good to know, well I must hurry, can't be late, and I hope you get better" he shouted, before rushing ahead of them. "He seems nice" said Murray. "He is" said Tenzin.

Soon Murray and Tenzin pulled into the works. It was busy; men hurried about and sparks flew from different directions. Then the man who ran the works walked over. "Ah Murray, thank you for bringing Tenzin" he said with a smile. "No problem sir" said Murray. "Just leave him over near the welding machine, some of our men will have a look at him" said the man, who pointed at a machine near a siding. So Murray shunted Tenzin into the siding. "Thanks for the help Murray" said Tenzin. "No problem" said Murray.

Then Murray heard something. "Sounds like someone arguing" he said, and his driver moved him towards the sound.

They soon found the source of the noise; it was the man who was in charge of the works. He was yelling into a phone. "I know you need him, but he's not ready. We still need to check him" said the man. Someone on the other end of the phone said something in a stern voice. The man frowned "Okay, okay, I shall send him over with Murray" he said, and then he hanged up.

Murray quickly reversed back to where Tenzin was. The man in charge soon walked over. "Murray I have news for you; because Tenzin had broken down, we need you to take the new engine to the Narrow Central. He will be doing your jobs while you are doing Tenzin's". Murray smiled "yes sir". So Murray puffed away to meet the new engine.

Murray soon found him, he was on the turntable. There were men looking over him, checking his pistons, and stocking his fire. One of them looked over at Murray. "Okay everyone, were done here" he announced. So all the men, except for the engine's driver and fireman, left. Murray looked at the engine. From the looks of it, it was a Narrow Gauge Stainer Black Five 4-6-0 Mixed Traffic Engine.

"Uh, hello, what's your name" asked Murray. "Oh, my name is William" said the black five.

"Well it's nice to meet you William" said Murray. "Like wise" said William. But then Murray's driver cut it "Sorry to break up the chat guys, but we need to get back to the railway". "Right" said Murray. So William's driver opened the throttle, and he and Murray left the works.

On the way back to the yards, they chuffed past the standard gauge track. "What's that" asked William. "That's standard gauge track, the trains that run on that are way bigger than us" said Murray. Then, they heard a whistle. "Who's that" asked William. Then a Royal Hudson puffed up to them. "Hello Murray, who's this" asked the engine. "Hello Jaime, this is William; he's new" said Murray. "Nice to meet you William" said Jaime. "Same here" said William. "Well I have to leave, see ya" said Jaime, and the hurried away.

Finally Murray and William arrived at the transfer yards. The manger was waiting for them. "Good Job Murray, thank you for helping Tenzin".
"Not a problem at all sir" said Murray. "And William, welcome to the Narrow Central Railway" he said to William. "Thank you sir" said William. "Now Murray, you are to go to the Ballast Mines to pick some ballast cars" said the manager. Then he turned to William "William, I need you to collect the coal cars from the yards". "Yes sir" they said together. So Murray puffed away to the ballast mines.

When Murray arrived at the mines, he saw a train of eighteen cars of ballast. "Whoa, pretty big load" he said as his driver reversed him back onto the train. But the freight cars weren't happy. "What happened to Tenzin. What business does he have to come here and take his place" the said to each other. Suddenly they had an idea. "Let's hold back" they giggled. Unfortunately, neither Murray nor his driver heard them.

After a quick check, Murray was ready to set off. "Let's go" said Murray as his driver fired him up. But Murray's wheels just spun and spun. "Come on, come on" said Murray, but the cars just continued to hold back. Murray tried hard; he sped up slightly. He didn't know how hard he was pulling. "Ouch" said the front car. When Murray heard this, he started thinking. "Let's speed up a little" said Murray. So his driver opened the throttle a little more. "Ouch" said the front car again, this time a little louder.

When the car said this, Murray smiled. "Speed up" he said happily. So Murray's driver opened the throttle even more. Murray's wheels were spinning so much that some sparks were flying. But the one who was really feeling the pain was the front car. It started to crack and snap. "I'm coming apart" said the car. Then all of a sudden, there was a big crack and Murray rushed forward. His driver stopped him, and then Murray looked back.

The front car was in pieces. The bottom frame had split, the sides were torn apart, and all the ballast had spilled out. "Oh my" said Murray. He was worried about what the manager would say. Well, he found out soon enough.

The manager arrived at the mine and hour later. He was riding in Eddy's cab. Eddy was a 0-4-0 well tank and back tank steam engine. The manager surveyed the scene, then he turned his attention to Murray.
Murray was scared, he didn't know what the manager would say to him. But when the manager walked in front of him, Murray saw he was smiling. "So Murray, so you didn't know your own strength hu" he asked. "Uh, I guess not sir" said Murray with a fake smile. Then the manager walked back to the wreck of the ballast car.

"Looks like the frames had rusted" said the manager as he inspected the wreck. "Alright, lets get some men here to clean up this mess" he said to the mine manager. So the mine manager went to call the workmen. "Until then Murray, you can go get more coal and water" said the manager. "Yes sir" said Murray, and he hurried away.

After the workmen had arrived and cleared the track, Murray was called back to collect the rest of the train. When he arrived, he saw Eddy giving the trucks a stern talking to. "Thanks to you, that car has to be scrapped. Just wait till Tenzin hears about this" said Eddy sternly. The trucks all had sad looks. Soon Murray was coupled up, and then he set off.

He arrived at the transfer yards late. Spike, Josh, and William were there. Spike was there collecting the coal William had brought. Josh was waiting for Murray. When Murray pulled up next to William, Josh glarred at him. "What took you so long" he asked. "I, uh, had a little problem at the mines" said Murray. But there was no time to spare, so the crane sprang into action, and soon all Murray's cars were empty. "Thanks Murray, please don't be late next time" said Josh, and then he left.

Soon the sun was setting over the railway. The engines were finishing last minute jobs or being put up for the night. Murray was at the station with Eddy and Ron, he was telling them about what had happened at the mines before Eddy had arrived. "I still can't believe you pulled a ballast car apart" said Ron. "I didn't believe it until I saw the wreck" said Eddy. Murray smiled; he liked that people knew he was strong, but he didn't want anything like that to happen again.