Bad Ballast

The weather was changing on the Grand Central. September had passed and it was now October. The weather became more cold and wet. Rain pounded the railroad for days. In fact, it was raining so much the parts of the line were suffering.

The built up water was causing the ballast to wash away. Because of this, Mr. Copper sent small groups of men out on pump cars to inspect the tracks. When they found a spot without ballast, they would leave red flags a while up the line. They would also alert the signalman not to send any engines down that line until new ballast had been laid. And this is where Rose came in.

Rose is a small Pannier Tank engine who shunts at Heartland Station. She arranges freight and passenger trains for engines that have Chain and Buffer couplings. She always does her work right, and isn't impatient.

One day, Mr. Copper had visited her and told her that her size was perfect for a job that needed to be done. That job was to pull the ballast spreader across the line. She would have to take it to any spot where the ballast had washed away and put down new ballast. Rose eagerly accepted this job; mainly because she wanted to do something besides shunting. So after being fitted with Knuckle couplings, Rose was on her new job as ballast spreader.

One wet morning, Rose was working on the main line. She had pulled the ballast spreader to a spot that needed new ballast. Rose had to wait until it was all under the line, but she didn't mind. She liked looking at the trees and was happy to talk to any engine that passed by.

And at that moment, Hercules came rolling down the line pulling a long freight train. However, he had to stop near Rose, since his signal was red. When he had weeshed to a stop, he looked at Rose.

"Hello Rose, what are you doing out here on the main line? Shouldn't you be back at Heartland Station, shunting coaches and cars" he asked with a smile.

"Well Hercules, since the rain has caused a lot of the ballast to be washed away, Mr. Copper has assigned me to take the ballast spreader around to fill the gaps" said Rose. "But why not have a bigger engine do the work. A big engine could get to each spot faster, thus opening lines quicker" said Hercules.

"But if a big engine goes over a spot without ballast, it could derail. A small engine like me can go slowly over those spots without derailing. That's why Mr. Copper asked me to do this job" said Rose.

And then, surprisingly, Hercules snorted and rolled his eyes. "Please, big engines can do everything little engines can and do it better. Little engines, like you, have restrictions. Now if you excuse me, I have work to get back to" he said sternly as his signal turned green. Then he puffed away from Rose, stiff huffing. Rose watched him puff out of sight, "Pushy Puffer" she huffed.

Later, Rose pulled up to another spot without ballast. But as she looked around, she saw Josh sitting in a siding next to her. "Hello Josh, what are you doing in that siding" asked Rose. "I've got a broken side rod. I've been diverted here until another engine comes and collects me. But enough about me, how are you. I see your taking the ballast spreader around. That must feel better than shunting at the station" said Josh.

Rose gave a smile "ya, going along the main line is much better than shunting dirty cars all day". "So why are you in charge of the Ballast" asked Josh. "Mr. Copper said that since I'm small, I can go over areas without ballast without coming off the rails" said Rose.

"Well that's true, less weight equals less stress on the rails" said Josh. "Ya, but some engines would disagree" said Rose. "What kind of engines" asked Josh with a raised eyebrow.

So Rose told Josh what Hercules had said to her. When she was finished, Josh looked annoyed. "He'll be in trouble soon if he keeps thinking like that" he said angrily. Little did he know of what was soon to happen.

Farther along the main line, Hercules was stopped near a signal box. The points in front of him weren't set in the correct place. They were leading to the right track, which had red flags near it. Since they had red flags, Hercules wasn't supposed to go down them; it meant that ballast had washed away from the track. So Hercules was waiting for the signalman to set the points so he could continue along the main line.

"Come on, come on" said Hercules impatiently. "You'll just have to wait" said the driver. But Hercules didn't want to wait, he wanted to get his job done. Then, an idea flew into his smoke box. "I know, why don't we just go down the right track" he asked his driver.

"Because that line's dangerous; some of the ballast has washed away. It could be very dangerous going down that way" said the driver. But Hercules was thinking differently. "I'm shure Rose has already been down there. And if not, a little bad ballast won't stop me, I'm a Big Boy Locomotive" he said proudly.

The driver thought for a moment, thinking about what Hercules had said. "Well, I guess if you put it that way, we could go down the right track" he said rubbing his chin. "Alright, let's go" said Hercules. So his driver opened the throttle and moved Hercules over the points onto the dangerous track.

But as he rolled over the track, the signalman, who had been sleeping, woke up. "Uh, what" he said looking around. Then he saw Hercules moving onto the right track. "Oh no, that tracks dangerous" he said in a concerned voice. And he couldn't stop Hercules from moving; his train was still on the points, so they couldn't be switched back. The signalman watched as Hercules rolled down the line and out of sight.

Hercules was very happy with himself. "Silly signalman and silly Rose. This track was supposed to be dangerous, but it's holding up just fine" he said with a sly grin. But little did he know of what was ahead.

Soon Hercules came to a bend near a farm. He and his driver scanned the tracks, looking to see if it was dangerous. "All clear" shouted Hercules as he began to round the curve. But then he saw a horrible sight ahead. Part of the ballast under the track ahead was gone. Now Hercules knew why this track was marked dangerous, and why he couldn't see the missing ballast from the beginning of the curve. "Brake" screamed Hercules. The driver screwed on the brakes, but it was too late.

Hercules rolled onto the ballast-less track. The track bent and his wheels came off them. They landed on the ground along with the rest of Hercules. His train began to pile up behind him as he continued to roll forward. He smashed through some trees, and came upon a field filled with corn. He was still going too fast, and he plowed through the corn, causing it to either be crushed or thrown up into the air. His wheels dug into the dirt/mud, causing it to get splashed all over the place.
Hercules then left the field, and saw a horrible sight ahead. The farmer's house and barn were in his way. "Oh no, I have to stop" he screamed. But no sooner had he said this then he began to slow down. He went slower and slower and slower, until he came to a stop just an inch from the house.

"Oh my" said Hercules, as he looked around. It was then that he noticed an old man sitting in a rocking chair on the porch to his right. "Oh no, he's not going to like this" said Hercules worriedly. But then the old man opened his eyes, and he was looking right at Hercules. He squinted, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of glasses. When he put them on, he looked at Hercules again. Then he rose up from his chair, walked to the door, opened it, and called out "George, you might want to come out here".

A moment later, a much younger man wearing overalls and a hat walked out onto the porch. He froze when he saw Hercules sitting right in front of him. Hercules gave a weak smile "Uh hello" he said nervously. But the Farmer was mad, really mad. He looked behind Hercules, and then walked up to him.

"What's the big idea hu? I come inside to take a quick nap, and I wake up with an engine in front of my house. Not only that, I see you have destroyed a good portion of my crops" he said sternly.

But then Hercules' driver and fireman jumped down from the cab. They had been in there the whole time, but they had needed a moment to get back on their feet.

The farmer turned to them with the same stern look he gave Hercules. "Care to explain why this engine plowed through my field, destroying my crops" he asked sternly.

"Well sir, there was some damaged track back at the bend. When we went over it, we derailed. Since Hercules is a Big Boy Locomotive, he had enough power to keep on going. So, that's how he ended up here" said the driver.

The farmer was happy he had got an answer, but he was still upset. "Thanks for the explanation, but who is going to pay for damage to my property" he asked. "Well sir, do you have a phone" asked the fireman. "Yes" said the farmer. "Then if we could use it, we could call for help. After we get this cleared up, we will take care of the damaged property" said the fireman. The farmer was still upset, but he showed them the phone so they could call for help. But as they did, Hercules started thinking. "What will Mr. Copper say" he wondered.

Well, he found out soon enough. The next day, Mr. Copper came to see Hercules. He had already talked to the crew, and now he wanted a word with Hercules.

"Well Hercules, I hear you went down the track that was marked as dangerous" said Mr. Copper.

"Well, yes I did sir" said Hercules sadly. "And as a result, you have caused property damage, and have ruined the supplies on your train as well. Words cannot describe how furious I am with you" he said sternly, so sternly Hercules was shure even a tough man would cower.

"I, I, I'm sorry. I didn't expect the rails to bend. I was shure any spot without ballast I could go over" he said sadly.

"Big engines put stress on the rails, which is why I sent Rose to repair the line. She can go over those spots without derailing" said Mr. Copper. Hercules stopped for a moment; he remembered what Rose had said to him earlier.

"Now Hercules, after you have been taken to the works and repaired, you will stay in your shed until I can trust you again" said Mr. Copper, and then he walked away. Hercules sighed sadly "Great, how could this get any worse" he asked.

It took a few days for all the freight cars to be cleared away and to tow Hercules back to the rails. A crane was there, lifting his tender back onto the rails. After that was completed, hooks and chains were attached to Hercules. But because he was so big, three cranes were called in to lift him onto the rails.

"Ready, begin" called a workman. The cranes immediately sprang into action. Hercules slowly began to lift off the ground, and was swung over the rails. Then, he was slowly lowered back onto his tracks.

"Few, glad to be back where I belong" he said with a smile. But his smile soon faded as he heard a voice. "Well, well, well, what do we have here? An engine who didn't listen to advice" said the voice. And then, Rose pulled up next to Hercules, with a gloating smile.

"Oh, hello Rose" said Hercules sadly. "Hello Hercules, I see you had a little accident. And why, because you didn't listen to me about the ballast" said Rose, holding back a laugh. Hercules said nothing, and looked away from Rose.

Later, Selina arrived to take Hercules to the works. "Hello Hercules, ready to go" he asked. "Yes I am" said Hercules. So Selina was coupled to Selina, and then they set off towards the works. When they arrived, Selina shunted Hercules near the welding machine. "Don't worry Hercules, they'll have you fixed up in no time" said Selina, and then she left. Hercules gave a small smile as the workmen came and started examining him.

This chapter has the first major crash of this series. Hope you enjoyed it.