Enter the Steam Giants Part 2

One day Mr. Copper was sitting in his office. Piles of paper where covering his desk. But this wasn't paperwork; they were descriptions of different types of Locomotives. There were many available from many manufacturers, like Roanoke shops, Baldwin, Lima, and ALCO. The papers described tender engines, tank engines, new engines, old engines, and many more.

Mr. Copper was looking through each paper, trying to find an engine that would work. Because even though Mr. Copper recently bought Selina, help was still needed. In fact, he still needed two more freight engines. But right now, he just needed to find one.

"Let's see" he said as he picked up a folder. He opened it and inside were engines currently for sale on the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway. Mostly he saw tank engines or medium sized tender engines.

"These won't work" he said as he flipped through the papers. He was just about to throw it away, when he reached the last paper.

The last page had a picture of a huge locomotive. "This looks like a strong engine" said Mr. Copper as he read over the facts about the engine. "A 2-6-6-6 Allegheny. This could be what we need" said Mr. Copper. He immediately found the number for the railway, and dialed them up.

A few days later, Sam was pulling a train of steel girders he had just collected from the Smelters. He had to take them to the construction site in the city. But he needed to stop at Heartland Station first; because a passenger train had to pass. When he reached the station, his driver stopped him just near the third platform. "Now, I wait" said Sam.

Well, he didn't have to wait long, because he soon heard the rumble of an engine approaching.

"Not long now" said Sam. But then, the sound of the engine became more and more quiet.

"What" said Sam, but then he was interrupted as a HUGE engine pulled up to platform 2. "Oh my" said Sam.

The other engine looked over at Sam, and it smiled. "Oh, hello. Who are you" asked the big engine. Sam was silent for a moment, but then he spoke. "Uh, my name is Sam. Who are you" asked Sam, still wondering why this engine was here.

"My name is Allie, nice to meet you" said Allie. Sam smiled

"So, I guess you're new" he asked.

"Yep, Mr. Copper bought me to help with the freight trains" said Allie.

"Well, that's good; we do need help. Me, Spike, Josh, and Selina can't do it all on our own" said Sam.

Then, Jaime thundered through the station, pulling twenty coaches. As soon as he left, a signal just ahead of Sam turned green. Sam looked at Allie "well I have to go. Hope you do well here". And with that, Sam puffed out of the station towards the city.

Allie watched Sam disappear from sight. "Okay, now what" she said as she sat near the platform. But then, Mr. Copper walked up to her.

"Allie, good to see you got here alright. Welcome to the Grand Central Railway" said Mr. Copper.

"Thank you sir, I can't wait to get to work" she said happily.

"Good, now I have your first job. There is a load of new machinery that has to go to the coaling plant. Once you are there, the plant manager will tell you what to do" said Mr. Copper. "Right sir" said Allie.

"Good, I hope you will prove to be a hard working engine" said Mr. Copper, and then he left.

"Right, let's go Allie" said the driver, and he pulled Allie out of the station.

Allie arrived at the yards where Otis had already arranged her train.

"Here you go," Otis said, "this is all the new Machinery that's going to the coaling plant."

"Thank you by the way I never caught your name," Allie said as she coupled up to the train, "My name is Allie; I'm the new freight engine."

"My name is Otis," Otis said, "I'm the shunter for engines with Knuckle Couplings like yourself. I'd love to tell you more but I've got to go get Albus' coaches."

Otis then went away while Allie puffed away with her heavy train. She was already used to doing coal trains but from what the Lima Locomotive Works said about her class they could go up to 50 mph carrying Troops. Allie was hoping she could get a chance to prove herself doing that considering that she wanted to show her full potential but first she had a job to do.

By the time Allie got to the coaling plant she could see that Jurina the Pennsy 0-6-0 Sloped Back Tender Engine was hustling about.

"Hello," Allie called, "I've bought the new machinery for the coaling plant."

"That's great but I can't stop to talk now," Jurina said, "We're in a crisis right now. Just leave it right where it is."

"What happened?" Allie asked as the plant manager came by.

"Oh good you brought the machinery we need," the manager said, "Jurina will move it into place later. Your next job is to take a long train of Coal to the Steel Mill. Jurina's already shunting the cars you need into place."

Allie nodded as her fireman uncoupled her from the train before he rejoined the driver in the cab and they went to find the loop line to turn Allie around. The Coaling Plant manager had it built in the event that the turntable wasn't working or if it needed to be replaced. Right now Allie was on the turntable being turned around but little did she know she was in for an earth shaking experience.

Bertha the Earth Elemental had snuck aboard Allie's train by hiding in the Caboose of the train. She was ready to show the railway just who the boss really was. Taking out a giant hammer, Bertha raised it and prepared to strike.

"Time to shake things up," Bertha sneered quietly as she began striking the ground with rapid hammer strikes.

Everyone in the area felt the shaking and buildings began cracking, coal cars began tipping and the machinery started falling apart.

"What's happening?" Allie asked her driver as they tried to keep their balance.

"It's an earthquake," her driver shouted, "Hang on."

Jurina was also feeling the shaking from the rails due to the quaking but since she worked in mines before so she was used to rockslides but she wasn't used to something like this.

After an hour of shaking the quake stopped as suddenly as it appeared and the plant looked like a warzone had hit and empty coal cars were derailed.

"Well I think I've done enough," Bertha sneered quietly as she put her brown cloak on and she put her hammer back on the sling on her back, "Time to get back."

Bertha's cloak then turned her invisible as she hid inside the caboose in Allie's coal train as Allie finally managed to regain her senses.

"That was a wild ride," Allie groaned as she felt a bit rattled, "You okay."

"I'm okay," her driver called, "But that was one unusual earthquake."

"I'll say but for now we've got work to do," Allie's fireman called, "let's get to work."

Allie then ran to the front of the mile and a half long coal train before she coupled up to the train and left as she dragged the heavy coal train all the way to the steel mill.

It was hard work, but soon she pulled into the steel mill. "Oh" huffed Allie as she came to a stop. "Well done Allie" said her driver. "Thanks" said a still tired Allie. A nearby workman uncoupled the train from Allie, and the Steel Works Manager arrived. "Thanks for the delivery Allie. We need this coal to heart our furnaces" said the Manger. "No problem sir" said Allie. "Now we have another delivery for you to make" said the manager.

Allie didn't expect that. She had hopped she could have a break, but it seemed that there was too much work to be done to have a break. "Yes sir, what is it" she asked. "We have a load of steel that has to be taken to the Weapons Factory. You will find the train out near the storage shed" said the manager. "Right sir" said the driver, and he reversed Allie out of the works and after switching the points, moved her over to the storage shed.

But when Allie arrived at the storage shed, she saw that there was already an engine there. But this engine looked very strange. It looked like someone had attached the front of the engine to a tender. There was also an enclosed cab, and attached to the cab was a smiling face.

When Allie reversed back onto her train, the other train looked over at her and smiled. "Hello there, who are you" asked the engine. "Oh, my name is Allie" said a nervous Allie. "Nice to meet you Allie. My name is Selina" she said with a smile. "Same here. So what are you doing" asked Allie.

"I'm taking this load of steel to the Munitions Factory. They need this steel to make them" said Selina. "What for" asked Allie. "For the" was all Selina could say before her driver gave two blasts of her whistle. "Oh, time for me to go. I hope we can talk again" said Selina as she puffed out of the Steel Works.

Allie was left, still wondering. "I wonder what the munitions are for" she thought to herself.

But then her driver gave two loud blasts of her whistle, meaning it was time for her to go. As Allie rolled out of the Steel Works, she kept on wondering.

"I'll ask my driver what they are for when we get to the weapons factory" she said to herself.

It wasn't long before Allie pulled into a small yard near the Weapons Factory. She pulled her train up to the loading dock and then stopped. Allie's fireman then uncoupled her from the train. The workmen got to work unloading the steel, and Allie's driver was giving Allie a quick look over.

Allie though now was a good time to ask about the munitions.

"Excuse me driver" said Allie. The driver heard Allie and walked up to her front. "What is it Allie" he asked. Allie was silent for a moment, she was nervous, but soon she was able to ask her question.

"Why was so much steel going to the munitions factory and the weapons factory" she asked nervously. Her driver looked at her for a moment, also as if he didn't want to say the answer. But then, he sighed sadly.

"Okay Allie, I'll tell you. So much steel is needed at the munitions factory and the weapons factory because munitions and weapons are needed for the war" said the driver. Allie was puzzled

"War, what war" she asked. Her driver sighed again

"There is a war going on in the east" he said sadly.

Allie was shocked; she didn't expect to hear that.

"What, a war in the east. Are we fighting" asked Allie.

"Not at the moment, but tensions between the US and Japan have been getting high. The US has a law to stay out of foreign affairs. But we did participate in WW1, so becoming part of this war could be a possibility" said the driver.

"We, I certainly hope not" said Allie. "You and me both" said the driver, and he walked back to the cab.

After Allie coupled to the train, her driver moved her out of the yards.

"So, where are we going" asked Allie.

"Mr. Copper told us to take the train to the yards. He said another engine would take it from there" said the driver.

"Hm, I wonder why" she asked herself. But she decided to forget it and focus on working.

And it wasn't long before Allie rolled into the yards with her train. The sun was beginning to set, which means work was almost done. Allie stopped on a side track and her fireman uncoupled her from the train.

"Is that it" asked Allie.

"That's it, time to go home" said the driver. So Allie switched off the side track and headed towards the shed on the other side of the yard.

Once she arrived she and Selina began to talk about the recent events as well as the war that was going on in the east.

"Selina is it true that we're going to be fighting a war in the east?" Allie asked.

"For now no but what my driver says is true and if tensions with Japan rise then we may have to fight," Selina said, "And here's what worries me. It's about Matthias and Roku."

"Matthias and Roku? Who are they?"

"Matthias is a German Steam Engine and Roku's a Japanese Passenger Engine. From what Albus said they're very reliable and two of the big four. They're in charge of two of this Railway's Four Main passenger Services but if we end up in the war then people may not like them just because of their nationality."

"I see so what can we do? There has to be something."

Selina didn't answer Allie because she didn't have an answer to that question. As they were talking they didn't notice that Bertha was outside hearing everything that was said. She still had her cloak on and was right beside the goods shed.

'This is much more dangerous than I thought,' The Earth Elemental thought, 'If we do end up dragged into this war then the best thing we elementals can do is at least make things easier for our country and the railroads. For now the Axis Powers of Japan, Italy, and Germany are our enemy.'

Bertha then went home but as she did so she used her earth powers to fill the Coal Bunkers up so as to at least make everything bit easier.

Meanwhile Mr. Copper was in his office looking over the reports and about the information that Lima Locomotive Works had on Allie.

'If what Lima says about Allie is true and she can go the distance with Troops and Mail then we'll need another engine to replace her on the Coal Drags,' Mr. Copper thought, 'Hopefully that engine I ordered from the Union Paciffic comes in soon cause if the war does break out then the Grand Central Railroad and the Narrow Central Railroad will need all the help we can get".