DIESELS
March 1941
The engines are what make the Grand Central a railway. They are the most modern engines available. They are large and powerful, and very efficient. They run on coal and water. They collect coal from the coal hopper, and get water from the water tower. If it wasn't for these engines, everything on the Grand Central would grind to a halt.
One morning at Ramsey Sheds, the engines were having their usual morning chat before work.
"Strange thing happened to me yesterday. I went to get more coal for my morning train, and my tender was only half full before they were out" said Samantha.
"That's not very strange; coal hoppers don't just fill themselves. They ran out, so they probably ordered for more" said Roku.
"But I went to another coal hopper, and they were out to" said Samantha.
"Okay, so it could be a coincidence" said Jake.
"But it does seem strange that two coal hoppers would be out of coal" said Sam.
"Please, enough about Coal Hoppers. Can we please talk about something more interesting" asked Albus.
"Okay, if you want to talk about something interesting, I have that something" said Rose.
"Well, don't keep us in the dark; speak up" said Matthias.
Rose smirked "My driver told me about a new type of engine" she said.
The other engines were puzzled. "What do ye mean 'New Type'" asked Merida.
"My driver told me that British Railways are experimenting with a new type of engine." Rose stopped for a minute, before saying "They're called…Diesel Engines".
The engines were now even more puzzled. "What are 'Diesel Engines'" asked Jake.
"Their locomotives that run on diesel oil" said Rose.
"Locos that run on diesel oil. Sounds more like a car to me" said Albus.
"I have to agree with Albus. Most things that run on diesel oil are cars" said Sam.
"Well, that's why British Railways are EXPERIMENTING with them. However, I've heard that they are very reliable" said Rose "Even companies here in America are building them".
"They seem interesting. But I don't think they will be better than us, right" asked Samantha.
"Right; steam engines are all over the world. How can you just replace all of us" asked Roku.
Then, Sam's driver blew his whistle. "Oh, have to collect my freight train. See you all later" said Sam.
"Bye Sam" said the engines as Sam puffed onto the turntable, and then left.
Before Sam could take his freight train, he had to get more coal. Luckily, there was a coal hopper not far from the sheds.
When Sam got there, his driver moved him so his tender was right under the shoot.
"Fill it up" called the driver.
The fireman climbed the ladder, grabbed the chain, and pulled it down.
But no coal came down the chute, not even one piece.
"Come on, we're going to be late" called Sam.
"I'm pulling the chain, but there's no coal coming out" called the Fireman.
"This one's out to" said Sam silently.
"Great. The next coal hopper isn't for another ten miles. We don't have enough coal to get us there" said the driver.
"So what are we to do? I can't just be left here" said Sam.
"We'll take you back to the sheds, but we'll have to talk to Mr. Copper about this" said the driver.
So after the fireman got back in the cab, the driver reversed Sam back to the sheds.
When he got back, only Jake was there. "Sam, what are you doing here; I thought you had a freight train to collect" said Jake.
"I did, but when I went to get more coal, the coal hopper was out. I didn't have enough coal to get to the next hopper, so I was brought back here" said Sam.
"I'm going to call Mr. Copper and tell him that Sam's out of coal, and that the hopper is out to" said the driver. He then walked to a building near the sheds.
"So Jake, what are YOU doing here. Don't you have work to do" asked Sam.
"Not today, I'm just supposed to sit here and relax" said Jake with a smile.
"Oh, well I hope you don't mind having some company" asked Sam.
"Not at all" said Jake.
So the two engines started talking. First it was about the coal hoppers, then about work, then about the War.
After an hour of talking, a black car pulled up to the sheds. And, out stepped Mr. Copper.
"You two are still here" said Mr. Copper.
"Today's my day off" said Jake.
"Yes, I know why you're here. But Sam, what are you doing here" asked Mr. Copper.
"Well sir, when I went to fill up my tender with coal, the hopper was out. I didn't have enough coal to get to the next one, so I was brought back here" said Sam.
"Great, all of them are out" said Mr. Copper angrily.
"What do you mean all of them are out" asked Jake.
"All the coal hoppers on the Grand Central are out of coal. And since none of the engines have enough coal to work, none of the engines can do anything" said Mr. Copper.
"So that means all the engines can't move" asked Sam.
"No; Albus, Seamus, and Selina are still on the move" said Mr. Copper.
"But if there's no coal, then how can they" asked Sam.
"They're all oil burners. They burn oil instead of coal" said Mr. Copper.
"Don't forget Xander sir; he's been converted to an oil burner" said Jake.
"Oh, yes, you're right Jake" said Mr. Copper.
"But how can we be out of coal. Can't Jurina bring in more from the Depot" asked Sam.
"The Depot gets the coal directly from the mines. But the mines' main coal pit has run out. Luckily they know were more coal is buried. But until they dig the new pit, we won't be getting any coal" said Mr. Copper.
"Well, then I guess Albus, Seamus, Xander, and Selina have a lot of work to do" said Sam.
"But they can't do all that work by themselves. What are the passenger runs, freight runs, and everything else? They're powerful, but they can't do all of those at once" said Jake.
"Don't worry you two, I'll figure this out" said Mr. Copper. Then he walked back to his car, and drove away.
The day went by with nothing else happening. That night, the engines that ran on coal were bringing brought back to the sheds. Selina and Seamus were shunting them into their berths.
"I see you two have been having a nice day" said Matthias.
"Hey, we were just lucky" said Sam.
"So, do you guys know what's going to happen? What's Mr. Copper going to do about this, this, 'Coal Crisis'" asked Roku.
"He said was going to take care of this" said Jake.
"Well, I hope he can" said Merida.
So the engines talked until each of them fell asleep.
Soon it was morning, and Sam was the first to wake up. He looked at Albus' spot, and it was empty.
"He must still be out" he said. Albus had not returned last night. Since he was one of the five engines that could work, he was probably doing most of the passenger trains.
Suddenly, a loud horn sound blasted through the yards. All the engines woke with a start.
"What was that" asked Rose.
"Some horn" said Jake.
"Wait, I've heard about air raid sirens in the UK. THE GERMANYS ARE COMING" screamed Samantha.
"Don't be ridiculous Samantha, America isn't in the war" said Matthias.
"Then what is that" asked Sam.
The engines found out, because then a strange machine rolled up to the sheds. It was silver, and it blow any smoke.
"Hello" said the machine "I'm new here; and I wanted to say hi".
The other engines didn't say anything. None of them had ever seen something like this.
But Roku knew it would be rude to not say anything.
"Hello, I'm Roku, what's your name" he asked.
"My name is Salvatore" said the machine.
The other engines decided to talk as well. "So, what kind of steam engine are you" asked Rose.
The machine chuckled "I'm not a steam engine; I'm a diesel engine" he said.
The other engines gasped. "You're a diesel engine" said Jake.
"Wow, you guys shure look different" said Sam.
"Well, I hope that you won't think differently of me because I'm, well, different" said Salvatore.
"Don't worry, here on the Grand Central, we accept all engines" said Roku.
"So what brings you to our railroad" asked Matthias.
"Oh, I've been brought in to do freight runs" said Salvatore.
"So you've been sent to do me and Jake's jobs" said Sam.
"Well, I guess" said Salvatore. But then, he started rolling away from the sheds. "Oh, guess I have to go. Bye everyone" called Salvatore.
"Goodbye Salvatore" called the engines.
Meanwhile, Albus was pulling into Heartland Station. He huffed sadly; he was tired. He had been working none stop since yesterday morning.
"Please, can I take a break? I need some sleep" asked Albus.
"I'm sorry Albus, but that can't happen. You're one of the few engines that still runs" said his driver. Well, it wasn't his normal driver. His normal driver had left last time to sleep. This was another, who was to drive Albus until six, which was in five minutes.
Albus was hoping to get some sleep before he had to leave, but then a rumbling sound met his 'ears'.
"What is that" asked a sleepy Albus.
He soon got his answer, because then two red and black diesels pulled up to the station.
"What the name of Rocket" asked Albus.
The two diesels were talking to each other. "I definitely got here first" said the one next to Albus.
"That's a load of scrap metal. Everyone could see that I got here first" said the one next to the third platform.
While the two diesels argued, Albus was observing them. Both were painted black with red lining. But one had the words "Alana" written on the side. The other had the word "Mike" written on the side.
"Hey dude, why are you staring at us" asked a voice. Albus stopped observing the engines, looked at their fronts, and say them looking at him.
"Oh, sorry, it's just that, uh, I've never seen you before. Not to mention an engine like you before" he said.
"Well my name is Mike, nice to meet you" said the engine next to Albus.
"And my name is Alana, pleased to make your acquaintance" said the other.
"So, what's your name" asked Mike.
"Can't you see; he has a name plate. His name is Albus" said Alana. Her eyes were fixed on the bronze nameplate reading ALBUS, which sat under another plate which showed his number: 7818.
"So, if you don't mind me asking, what are you two doing here" asked Albus.
"We were called here to help with passenger trains" said Mike.
Suddenly, a wave of joy spread over Albus, and he gave a big smile. "Thank goodness. I have been working my hardest ever since yesterday. Now that you two are here, my work will be reduced. I may even get a break to sleep" he said happily, with a small tear forming in his eye. But then he returned to normal. "Well, you two better get your coaches. Mr. Copper will probably have you two pulling the seven o'clock and seven thirty trains" said Albus.
"Not to worry, we already have our coaches" said Alana.
Albus looked behind Mike, and was surprised to see ten black and red coaches gleaming under the sun. And just because of their appearance, Albus could tell they were brand new. But, he had to make shure.
"Are those coaches…New" he asked.
"They shure are; we got them right before we came here" said Mike.
Albus wanted to say something, but the Conductor's whistle blew, so he had to leave. But as he puffed out of the station, he mumbled angrily to himself. "Why do they get new coaches. I've worked on this railway for six years. Why do these new engines get new one" he kept mumbling.
The rest of the day went by with Albus, Mike, and Alana running passenger trains. Seamus took charge of the logging station, because Tina and Lucy couldn't move.
"This coal crisis isn't that bad" he said when he thought about the two.
Selina, Xander, and Salvatore took care of all the freight trains.
And at the mines, Jurina was working as hard as she could. She wanted to get this job over with, so she could get coal to her friends.
A week went by, and the Grand Central continued to be run by Steam and Diesel engines.
One day, Mr. Copper was sitting in his office, signing some important papers. Then, a man in a suit walked in.
"Yes, what is it" asked Mr. Copper.
"I have news sir; the coal mines have finished digging their new pit. They are currently loading cars full of coal" said the man.
Mr. Copper smiled "great, now I can get my railway back on track" he said.
That afternoon, Salvatore had been sent to the coaling plant to collect the cars. Xander would come by later to get the rest.
Salvatore reversed onto the train and coupled up. Jurina pulled up beside him. "You must be Salvatore, right" she asked.
"Yes, and I'm guessing you're Jurina, the coal engine" asked Salvatore.
"I shure am" said Jurina. Then Salvatore's horn blew, and he started to move.
"Goodbye Jurina, thanks for getting the coal" he called as he left the depot.
So Salvatore took the coal train to all the coal hoppers he could. When he had unloaded all his coal cars, he returned them to the depot. "And, done" he said as he pushed the cars onto a siding.
"Alright Salvatore, let's get you to the sheds" said his driver.
"Oh, can we go by Ramsey Sheds first" asked Salvatore.
"It's on the way, so I guess we can" said the driver.
At Ramsey sheds, the engines were discussing the end of the coal crisis. Seamus had taken each engine to the coal hopper to fill their tenders. Now, they would be ready for tomorrow.
Then, Salvatore pulled up to the side of the shed. "Hello Steamies" he said.
"Hello Salvatore" said Rose.
"What brings you here" asked Matthias.
"I thought I'd stop by and say hello on my way to my shed" said Salvatore.
But noting more was said, because Albus then rolled onto the turntable. "Hello Albus" said Jake.
But Albus didn't say anything. His eyes were barely open, and he looked worn out.
"Are you okay Albus" asked Roku.
Albus didn't reply; he just rolled into his berth, and fell asleep before he was halfway in.
"I feel sorry for him; having to work for more than twenty-four hours can really wear an engine out" said Sam.
"On the bright side, at least he can get some much needed sleep," Salvatore said before rolling away.
"Well this was quite a crisis," Jaime said, "At least most of us pulled together."
"You mean you picked up the slack Jaime," Merida said, "Need Roku, Matthias, and I remind you that you're only one of the big four that burns oil."
"Merida please calm down," Josh said "We don't need a fight to break out here. We have enough of that across the Atlantic."
"Josh is right I suggest we all get some sleep," Rose suggested.
"Sorry but what I mean to say is that Jaime made it sound like we all were still working," Merida said composing herself, "And he had seemingly forgotten about the fact that neither, Roku, Matthias, and I burn oil."
"I'm sorry if I sounded like I forgotten but I would never forget something that important," Jaime said, "That's not me."
"Apology accepted," Roku said, "But seriously we should get some sleep. We've got a hard day tomorrow."