Pennsylvania Power Part 2
-Written by Trainmaster97 and D.J. Scales
Jessie dropped into pitch black as the hatch slammed shut. She landed on a crate near the top. "Let's get some light in here" she said, and turned on her flashlight.
All around her there were stacks of crates, some reaching all the way up to the roof. Between the stacks was space to walk.
"Better start looking" she said, and she climbed down to the floor.
Meanwhile outside, Hank was approaching the dangerous track. "Steady as she goes Hank" said the driver.
The workmen stepped away from the track as Hank rolled over it. He felt the bumps as they moved under his wheels.
"I'd hate to be in one of those freight cars right now" said Hank.
Back in the cars, Jessie was looking over each crate. "Where are you" she said as she looked at what must have been her thirtieth crate. But as she was about to move to another one, she felt a slight rumble. "What's that" she wondered.
But just at that moment, the car she was in rolled over the dangerous track. The crates shook, and some fell to the floor, that included the ones above Jessie.
"Awe ****" she said, and ran as fast as she could through the car, dodging falling crates. It was lucky that some were tied down.
When the car stopped rocking, Jessie looked around. "Great, now how am I supposed to find the right crate" she asked. Sighing, she said "Guess I'd better get looking again".
But as she looked over the nearest crate, she noticed something. The crate nearest to here looked like it had been turned upside down. And on the underside of it was an image of the United States Eagle. Jessie smiled a greedy smile "Bingo" she said.
Meanwhile, Hank was approaching New York State. But as he passed over the state line, he began thinking. "I've got a bad feeling" he said.
"What do you mean" asked his driver.
"I don't know, I just have a bad feeling" said Hank.
"I'm sure it's nothing, just try not to think about it" said the driver.
"Alright, but it'll be hard to" said Hank as he puffed on towards New York City.
Back in the cars, Jessie was getting to work. She had turned the crate over, and was now pulling a crowbar out of her jacket. "Now let's see if this is just furniture" she said, and inserted the crowbar in. She pushed down, and with a creek, the lid popped off.
Looking down inside, Jessie smiled like a kid on Christmas morning. The crate was full of brand new M1941 Johnson machine guns laid neatly in rows.
"Oh, this is good. But now I got to figure out how to get them out of here unnoticed" she said.
Good thing was, she had another two hours before they arrived in New York City.
TWO HOURS LATER
After two hours, Hank finally approached New York Harbor.
"Here we are," Hank's Driver said, "All we need to do now is get to the dock where the ship is taking these supplies."
"But for the time being we've been given orders to wait here," the fireman said, "The foreman will tell us where to go."
As they were busy talking, what they didn't know was that a car had pulled up and with it Jessie's Gang was near the tail end of the train.
"This is it," the driver said, "Now where's the boss?"
"She's got to be ready by now," another gang member said, and right on cue Jessie was already sneaking out with the guns.
"I'm right here and I found the guns," Jessie said, "Fortunately there's plenty of fog about so hurry but do it quietly."
Jessie's gang nodded as they began emptying out all the guns and weapons from the train and into the car. Fortunately the rest of Jessie's gang also had a Truck waiting to hold the remaining guns. And when they were finished they left without a trace.
"So long suckers," Jessie sneered quietly as she and her gang vanished, just as the Yard Foreman showed up to give Hank and his crew the direction as to park the train.
"Put him over by the pier. The workmen will unload the cars as soon as you do" he said.
"Right" said Hank's driver. Then he moved Hank slowly over to the pier, as it wasn't that far away.
But as Hank neared the pier, he noticed something strange. He couldn't see any workmen standing there waiting. Instead, there were people dressed in army uniforms standing in line along the rails. A few had guns, and others were sitting in jeeps nearby.
"Why would the military be at a simple furniture delivery" he asked as they got closer. As he did, he noticed another engine up ahead of him. It was a General Pershing 2-8-0 locomotive. He was painted black with a silver smoke box and white outlining on his wheels. There were no words on his tender, so Hank couldn't tell what railway owned him. A number plate was on his cab side reading 101 . And, he was looking at Hank intensely.
When Hank finally came to a stop, the military men moved towards his cars. Some stayed at the front to monitor everything.
One of the men went to talk to Hank's crew, then walked to where the first car, which the others where opening.
"This doesn't seem right. What harm can furniture cause" thought Hank. Looking forward, he saw that the engine was still looking at him. So Hank decided to start asking some questions.
"Uh, howdy. My name is Hank, what's yours" he asked.
The engine stare lightened, but he still looked alert. "My name is Ares" he said.
"Well it's nice to meet you Ares. Boy, ain't that a strange name" said Hank. Ares glared at him. "But it's unique; never heard that name before. Does it, uh, stand for something" asked Hank, quickly covering up what apparently was an insult.
"Ares was the name of the Greek god of War" said Ares, and while his gaze lightened more, it was still fierce.
"Aw, I see. So, do you know what the military is doing here. I mean, it's just a furniture delivery" said Hank.
Ares was silent for a while. It looked like he was thinking hard about what to say. Finally he spoke "Some of this furniture is being sent overseas. To make sure nothing dangerous goes over there, the Military is checking the crates".
"Okay, I guess I can see how that makes sense. So are you with them" asked Hank.
"Yes, I am an army engine. I was built to be used in France during WW1. However, I was never sent over there. When the war ended, they gave me an American cab, and I've been a part of the US military ever since" said Ares.
"Well now your name makes sense. Being named after a god of war is appropriate for an engine in the army" said Hank.
"Thank You" said Ares, and then went back to staring intently in Hank's direction. This made Hank even more uncomfortable.
An hour passed and the Military continued to search Hank's train. But soon they had inspected every last car.
But after they did, things seemed even more wrong. Hank could hear some the men shouting at one another. Then, the sound of breaking wood was heard.
Hank turned to the Military engine. "Ares, what's going on back there" he asked.
Ares looked past Hank towards the cars. "Oh, well, it seems that Mr. Barchard threw a crate out of the last car. And, eesh, he doesn't look happy" he said.
But then, Ares eyes widened slightly. "And now he's stomping towards your cab" he said.
"WHAT" said Hank, surprised, and trying to look back at his cab?
"And now your driver and fireman are stepping down" said Ares.
"What's going on here" asked Hank angrily?
"I see if I can find out" said Ares. He looked down at a soldier next to him. "Excuse me, do you know what's going on" he asked.
The soldier spoke so only Ares could hear him. But Hank could already tell there was something wrong.
After the soldier finished speaking, Ares' eyes widened. His expression quickly changed, and he sternly glared at Hank.
"Uh, Ares, is something wrong? Did you find out what's happening" asked Hank.
"Quiet" said Ares harshly.
Hank was surprised by Ares' words. But before he could push the subject further, another man walked up. He looked large, and important. "Ares, please take this engine to the sheds" he said.
"Yes Mr. Barchard" said Ares.
"Wait, what's going on? I have to get back to the Grand Central. And what about my driver and fireman" asked Hank angrily.
"Your driver and fireman are being taken in for questioning. And until such time that their questioning is finished, you shall be staying at the NYC Locomotive shed" explained Mr. Barchard, and he walked away.
"Hey, wait, I ain't done talking here. I deserve answers" said Hank sternly.
"Ares, take him away" said Mr. Barchard, without even turning around.
Ares moved forward and coupled onto Hank. With three blasts of his whistle, he began to pull Hank backwards.
"Hey, stop, I ain't going nowhere" said Hank sternly.
"Not the way I'm looking at it" said Ares. Hank continued to complain, and Ares continued to ignore him.
Soon the two arrived at the sheds. They were big, so much so that they stretched out in almost a complete circle.
Because it wasn't too late in the day, most of the shed was empty. However, three engines were talking to each other. One was a B-10 with the number 6894. One was an L-4 with the number 3001. And the third was a 0-6-0 H. K. Porter with the number 1590.
Ares shunted Hank next to the Porter locomotive. "You'll remain here until further notice" said Ares, and then he puffed back towards the pier.
Hank quit talking, and looked over at the three engines next to him. The B-10 and the L-4 where still talking, but the H. K. was looking at Hank. "Hello, I'm Switcher, who are you" he asked.
Hank looked at the engine. It was painted black and silver, but that didn't matter to Hank. What did matter was that the engine had the words New York Central written on his boiler. When Hank saw this, his attitude changed. He became a little angrier.
"My name is Hank, and I'm a proud Pennsylvania Railroad Locomotive" he said sternly.
The two engines talking suddenly stopped talking and looked over at Hank. Their expression showed that they were angry. "Did I just here what I think I heard. That a Pennsylvania Railroad engine is in OUR SHED" asked the B-10 angrily.
"That's what I heard" said the L-4 "and that's what I see to". He was looking over at Hank.
"Oh because I just LOVE being in this filthy shed" retorted Hank.
"HEY, WHAT'S GOING ON HERE" shouted Switcher.
"Stay out of this Switcher. You're new here, so you wouldn't understand" said the B-10.
"Then tell me, so I will understand" said Switcher.
The B-10 and L-4 looked at each other, then at Switcher. "Okay, we'll explain. Ever since their formation, the Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York Central have been rivals. We compete to show the best service possible. And, well, engines on rival railroads never get along" said the B-10.
"And even though the New York Central has been proven to provide better service, the rivalry is still going" said the L-4.
"HEY, the Pennsylvania Railroad provides much better service than the New York Central. Both in freight and in passengers" said Hank.
"Wrong, it's the other way around" said the L-4.
"I disagree" retorted Hank.
The three engines continued to argue, while Switcher sat right in the middle. "This is going to be a long night" he said to himself.