Chapter 18: A First Accident
(Thursday, March 22nd 2012 – 8:30am; Tidmouth Sheds)
Okay everyone, in this chapter we're gonna see one of my original characters have his first accident, which will be a hint to another early classic series episode. Also in this chapter, we're going to focus more on Ralph White for the most part and some of what a day on the railway may be like for him, instead of always having our focus on Carrie White as for much of the story so far.
With a hot cup of tea in one hand and a fresh Danish custard pastry in the other, Carrie White stood in the main motive power depot at Tidmouth with her friends and Simon, and waiting for what engines they would be assigned to be working with today.
For Carrie, things had been going very well; in between trips out on the main line or on various branch lines on Sodor on the footplates of the different engines, she, as well as her friends, and the other recruits on the apprenticeship scheme, took chances to work in the depots in helping to maintain and ready the engines for their day of work or to help out with disposing of engines at the end of their day of work by dropping the fires and emptying out the ashpans. By the end of those days of work, Carrie and the other recruits would be very tired after a long day of hard work in the depots, as well as being filthy dirty from being covered in coal dust, soot, and ash.
But although Carrie was very grateful to be working in the depots in maintaining the engines, as it was a good and steady job, she always looked forward to the days when she would be able to travel on one of the Sodor engines out on the lines with their trains rattling along behind them. Those were the days she looked forward to the most.
But today though, they were going to be going out on the main line working on whatever engines they would be assigned to work on. Carrie didn't mind what engine she was assigned to, as long as she was kept busy. The group were waiting to be assigned to working on today, and there was an inspector there assigning each of them to their engine for the day. Ralph White was standing very close by and watching, keen to see which engine his daughter would be working on today. Very soon, it was the turn of Carrie to be assigned.
"Okay Carrie…" the inspector said, while looking down at his clipboard, "…today, you're gonna be assigned to Wellsworth where you'll be on banking duties on Gordon's Hill with No.67925. Now, he's currently over at the banking sidings by Wellsworth, but James is going to be heading over to Wellsworth in a short while with his morning freight, so he'll take you straight there." said the inspector.
"Thank you, inspector." Carrie said with a smile, as she looked over to where James was being readied for his first train of the day.
"And Simon…you're gonna be working on the footplate of No.4485 Miles Beevor today, with an express from Knapford to Vicarstown along the northern main line." the inspector said, as he turned his attention towards Simon.
"Very good, sir." Simon said, with a smile and a nod. He was pleased, as he always wanted to travel and work on the footplate of an L.N.E.R. Gresley A4 Pacific, and now he was gonna get the chance to do so.
"You just be careful while you're out there today, son…" Simon's father said, "…and make sure you keep your legs spread out somewhat whenever you're stoking the boiler."
"I will, dad. Don't worry." Simon said, as he looked towards his father.
"Anyway, I'd best be off. After all, I've got a busy day ahead of me today. See you all later!" Simon's father said, as he turned and went off with his fireman to their assigned engine for the day, L.M.S. Stanier 8F 2-8-0 No.48484.
Very soon, Carrie had gone over to where James was standing, as it was time for her to be on her way to Wellsworth Station. Her father, Ralph, and his fireman were assigned to work on B.R. Standard 9F 2-10-0 No.92099, and today they were gonna be working one of the very heavy iron ore trains from the port of Harwick, where a major shipment of Scandinavian iron ore had arrived this morning on a massive bulk-ore carrier from Sweden, to Vicarstown and then to the mainland. Once there, the ore wagons would be unloaded at another facility and would then brought back to Sodor.
"Morning James, are we all ready to set off?" Carrie asked, as she stepped up to the bright red engine.
"Yes, Carrie. I'm all ready to go!" James said, as he smiled at Carrie. Smiling back at the bright red engine, Carrie clambered onto the footplate where the driver and fireman were making their last preparations before they left the yard.
"And there we are…" the fireman said, as he checked the main boiler pressure gauge mounted on the back of the boiler, and then the two water gauge glasses "…we've got a good head of steam and a good level of water in the boiler. We're ready to set off for the day."
"Excellent! Are you ready to go, Carrie?" the driver asked, as he turned to Carrie.
"Yes, sir! All ready to go!" Carrie said, as she reached for the firing shovel.
"All right! Let's get going then!" the driver said, as he reached for the whistle chain and pulled on it. With a loud cheerful blast on his whistle, James set off and headed away to collect his train.
As they pulled out of the yard, Carrie looked back and saw 9F No.92099 depart from the yard in the opposite direction, with Ralph White sitting at the controls, and head northwards to collect his train. With a small smile on her face, Carrie then looked up at the sky above; she noticed an enormous bank of dark clouds, stretching as far as the eye could see, slowly rolling in from the south west. It had been forecast the evening before that there would be heavy rain for much of the morning, and it looked like the forecast had been right. Turning her head away from the clouds, Carrie got to work on stoking James' boiler.
It wasn't too long before they collected James' first train from the yards by Knapford Station, which was a mixed freight of about 20 different wagons, along with the brake van. It was bound for Brendam Dock via a stop at Wellsworth, and once at Brendam Docks, James would drop off the laden trucks at the dockside and then go and pick up his next train.
The signal dropped and the points were set, and once the guard had blown his whistle and waved his green flag, they were all clear to leave.
"Let's go then!" James said, as his driver opened the regulator and blew his whistle. As they pulled out of the yards and out onto the main line, Carrie took another go at stoking the boiler to keep the steam pressure up.
(Insert soundtrack – James' Season 1 Theme)
As they rolled along the main line, passing through Knapford Station and heading out into the open countryside through the familiar sights and places, Carrie couldn't help but take a glance at the sky every now and then, particularly as the very dark bank of clouds came closer and closer as time went on. Then again, Carrie knew she would be spending a lot of time within the warm confines of a steam locomotive cab for much of the day, so the rain wouldn't be too much of a problem. But what worried her was the rail conditions during the rain and after it; if they were gonna be banking very heavy trains up Gordon's Hill, then the rails would be quite slippery, so she hoped the crew of No.67925 knew what they were doing as they worked on banking duties today.
The trip to Wellsworth went very smoothly, with James making very good progress as they went along the line, and Carrie taking the odd turn at stoking the boiler as they went along. But eventually though, it was, for Carrie at least, journey's end as they arrived into Wellsworth Station to drop Carrie off before they took the line down to Brendam Docks.
"And there we are, Carrie…your stop!" James said cheerfully, as Carrie stepped off from the footplate with the things that she brought with her for the day before she then stepped up to speak to James.
"Thanks for getting me here, James. And best of luck with your work today." Carrie said.
"Thank you, Carrie! Now I'd best be off!" James said, as he blew his whistle before he was off on his way again. From where she stood on the platform, Carrie waved to them as they rolled away and continued until they were out of sight.
"Okay, miss…this way to your engine for today." said an inspector, who was standing near to where Carrie was.
"Okay then." Carrie said, as she followed the inspector over to where the banker sidings were.
In a few moments, Carrie was introduced to the engine she would be working with today, L.N.E.R. OS1 2-8-4T tank engine No.67925, a brother engine to the previous OS1T she'd seen on Sodor, No.67905. After being introduced, Carrie could tell that this engine was nothing like his older brother; although he was well mannered and polite, like No.67905, yet at the same time he preferred to get the job done safely regardless of how long it took to do it. Because, as he said to Carrie, "If a job is worth doing, then it's worth doing it well." he said.
It wasn't too long before they were ready to start their day, and they took their positions in the banking sidings with all the other bankers close to the main line and awaited their first train.
(Meanwhile, with Ralph White)
In the meantime, Ralph and his fireman were getting closer and closer to the port of Harwick on No.92099, where they were to pick up the load of iron ore that they were to deliver to Vicarstown. They had behind them a long line of 20-ton steel hopper wagons, each of which was loaded down with coal, that needed to be delivered to the yards close to Harwick before they went into the docks to collect the iron ore. After going through the very busy junction at Widdlington Junction, they proceeded up to Harwick where they arrived safely, and about two minutes ahead of schedule.
After dropping off their long line of loaded coal hoppers in the reception sidings, they proceeded over the junction to the engine depot, where they were turned on the turntable and then reversed back into Harwick Port to collect their next train.
Looking back from his position, Ralph very carefully reversed No.92099 up to the line of fifteen Tyne Dock to Consett iron ore hopper wagons that were sitting beneath an enormous loading gantry that was sitting over two of the lines close to the dockside, at which sat an enormous bulk ore carrier. The ship was being unloaded of its heavy load by giant dockside cranes, that lowered in large metal claws that dipped into the holds and took out great quantities of ore, before being swung back out over the dockside and dumping their heavy and dusty loads through a series of silos which poured it out onto long conveyer belts, which then took the ore to a series of enormous storage silos where it was stored until it was put onto another system of conveyer belts, which took it up to the wide loading gantry which funnelled the ore into the waiting wagons below them.
For No.92099, the sights and sounds of all this activity going on brought back many fond memories to him of working very hard on the long and arduous route from Tyne Dock to the steelworks at Consett, with very heavy iron ore loaded into the very same wagons that were now being loaded in the gantry right on the dockside.
Almost all of the original iron ore wagons used on the Tyne Dock to Consett route were now being used on Sodor for their original purpose, with quite a few more having been built in the rolling stock works near to Brendam Docks to supplement those already being used on Sodor.
No.92099 slowly and carefully reversed up to his line of fifteen wagons he was to take away, that were sitting under the gantry, and was coupled up to them as well as having the brake pipes connected up from the tender to the brake pipes on the front hopper wagon. Each of the iron ore wagons was about 36.5 feet long, and weighed about 30 tons, and each was divided into two sections, each of which could hold about 30 tons of iron ore. Which meant that for a load of fifteen wagons, the train would weigh about 1,350 tons, and including a twenty-ton brake van, the train would weigh 1,370 tons in total.
Back in B.R. days, the 9Fs that worked along the Tyne Dock to Consett route would only be allowed to pull a maximum of nine such wagons, as well as a brake van at the rear, - totalling about 830 tons in weight - up to the Consett steelworks. Although the 9Fs could have easily hauled a few more than that, the reason they were limited to hauling 9 such hopper wagons was due to the severe gradients that were experienced along that route, which varied in severity from between 1-in-65 up to as steep as 1-in-35, which often required considerable banking assistance for much of their journeys. However, on the Island of Sodor, due to the gradients on the standard gauge lines for the most part being far less severe than they would've been on the line that once ran from Tyne Dock to Consett, the 9Fs here were allowed to pull a few more of the iron ore hoppers wagons, though substantial banking assistance from other engines would still be needed on some stretches of the main line, most notably on the steep grade known as Gordon's Hill.
As No.92099 simmered in the siding and waited for the time to depart with their long and heavy train, Ralph was busy talking with the yard manager in the nearby offices about the route they were to take to Vicarstown today.
"Hang on, are you really that sure about this? I mean…it's a very long way to go just to deliver the ore." Ralph said, as he looked over a map of Sodor that was spread out on the desk. He had every right to be concerned; instead of taking the line that ran along the north coast of Sodor straight down to Vicarstown, which was the normal route they would take as it was the shortest and was for the most part reasonably flat, they were being asked to take the iron ore south towards Knapford before taking the southern main line to Vicarstown, a much longer route than he usually went along with iron ore trains.
"I know how you feel about this, Ralph...I really do…but unfortunately, there's no choice in the matter for today I'm afraid...maintenance issues being sorted out along your usual route. And the southern route...well...I'm afraid that's the way you've got to take your train for today…the long way round as opposed to going the direct route as you usually would." said the yard manager, with some sympathy.
"All right then…" Ralph said, with a nod of his head and a heavy sigh as he looked over the map once again, "…I guess we've got no choice in the matter."
Not too long later, he went back outside and over to where No.92099 was standing, with the fireman taking the opportunity to top up the oil round the motion before they left. Ralph told the fireman and No.92099 about the route they would be going. After being told this, both of them were somewhat taken aback by this unexpected news.
"Are you sure it's a good idea to go along the southern line, Ralph…and over Gordon's Hill with a load as heavy as this?" No.92099 asked with some concern, as he knew from his own personal experience just how difficult it would be to get a very heavy train, especially like the long line of iron ore hopper wagons he was about to haul, over Gordon's Hill. Getting a train of nine heavily laden iron ore wagons was a difficult enough challenge on the line that once ran from Tyne Dock to Consett, but getting a much longer and heavier such train over Gordon's Hill was another matter entirely.
"I'm afraid so, old boy. And I do understand how you feel about this. But we've got no choice in the matter. That's the route we've been told to go along for today." Ralph said, as he looked up at a concerned No.92099.
"I just hope that we'll be able to get the train Gordon's Hill without any incident, and that I'll be able to manage with firing for such a long time." the fireman said, as he anxiously though about the greater distance they would have to go today.
"Well…we'll make it, that's for certain. But we really need to get ourselves going soon, to be absolutely certain that we can get the ore to Vicarstown. After all, extra time has been allowed in the schedule for today. And it'll be a good idea to set off before the rain starts." Ralph said, as he climbed onto the footplate with the fireman following along behind.
It wasn't too long before they were given the "all clear" and they could set off on their longer than expected trip, and they set off on their way at 9:30am sharp. As they slowly moved out from the port, they had to climb up a slight grade up to the main line, and they had a banker assisting them at the back. This banker was in the form of another of the former Tyne Dock to Consett 9Fs, No.92098, who pushed very strongly at the back as they moved the heavy train out from the port, over the points and onto the main line going south.
"Thank you for helping me! Goodbye!" No.92099 called to his brother with a loud blast of his whistle, as he pulled on ahead and took up the weight of his long and heavy train as he pulled away.
"You're welcome! And good luck!" No.92098 called, as he slowed down and watched as his brother pulled away down the line. After a few moments, he reversed back over the points and into the dockyards, as he had his own train of iron ore to take away later on.
As No.92099 rolled on down the line towards Widdlington Junction, the train was rolling along very smoothly behind him, but in the sky above the enormous bank of very dark rain clouds were now directly overhead and threatening to unleash heavy rain at any moment. Sitting at the controls, Ralph White was keeping a close eye on the various controls and gauges on his side of the cab, including the speedometer before him so as to keep the train at a speed of around 40mph. The fireman was shovelling coal into the firebox to keep the steam pressure up on the main boiler pressure gauge, which was a reasonably easy task for him to accomplish due to the fact the firehole was a fairly large opening which allowed for easy stoking of the boiler.
Looking on ahead, Ralph saw that the next signal they came across was showing yellow, which meant "Proceed with caution" so he closed the regulator a little and allowed the speed to come down. He knew they were approaching Widdlington Junction, the busiest rail junction on the Island of Sodor, and he knew that safety was of the utmost importance when going through there, especially with a train as heavy as this, as there was always traffic going through that junction day and night, around the clock.
As the speed came down to about 25mph, they approached the next signal in the distance, which was showing a red light, so they had to stop. Closing the regulator fully, Ralph reached for the brake handle that operated the air brakes and pulled on it, and gently brought the train to a halt by the signal. As they waited, they heard the sound of another whistle coming from their left, from the direction of the central main line branching off to the southeast. A few moments later, the train that had been given clearance to pass through came into view over the junction; it was a very lengthy train of heavily loaded coal trucks that was being hauled by former Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway 7F 2-8-0 No.53800. (30)
(30): The Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway (S&DJR) 7F 2-8-0 heavy freight engine was designed to haul very heavy freight and coal trains over the Mendip Hills along the steeply graded Somerset and Dorset Line between Bath and Bournemouth. Built in two batches at the Midland Railway's Derby Works between 1914 and 1925, eleven engines were built in total, and were numbered from No.80 to No.90, later renumbered from No.13800 to No.13810 under the L.M.S. and from No.53800 to No.53810 under British Railways. The class were designed by engineer James Clayton, who was pleased to have been given a free-hand in designing this brand new class of engine, without any interference from the Midland Railway's management.
Fitted with two outside cylinders with a 21in diameter and a 28in piston stroke, a boiler pressed to 190psi and fitted with a 21-element superheater, and 4ft 7.5in driving wheels, the class had a tractive effort of 35,295lbf, one of the most powerful locomotive classes ever built up to that time. This meant that the 7F's could easily manage heavy loads over the steep gradients of the S&DJR, something that the smaller and older Midland 0-6-0's couldn't do that well.
They were a rather unique class of locomotives as they were built by the Midland Railway, which was a company best known for its small engine policy, and the fact the company never owned anything bigger than 0-6-0 engines during its tenure, apart from the solitary 0-10-0 Lickey Banker known as "Big Bertha". It meant that nothing in the Midland Railway's motive power fleet was really suitable for hauling very heavy trains over those sever gradients. Double-heading or double-banking was quite common, and the practice was eating into the S&DJR's limited finances.
The very heavily graded lines along the length of the S&DJR required a locomotive design with plenty of power to have a chance of getting their trains over those hills, and so the Midland Railway, normally a railway company with a small engine policy, built the big 7F Class 2-8-0 specifically for the job. There were plans to build more 7F's than the eleven that were built, but no further examples of the class were built, with an order for five more being cancelled.
Mindful of the fact that braking would be of the utmost importance on the many steep grades along the length of the S&DJR, especially as the engines would be hauling some very heavy trains along that line, each of the 7F's were fitted with three steam-brake cylinders on the locomotives and one more fitted on the tenders, which meant that all the wheels, including on the pony-truck, were braked. Vacuum brake gear was also fitted to the 7F's, which allowed them to work on passenger trains. The tenders they were paired with carried 3,500 gallons of water and 5.5 tons of coal.
One problem with that the 7F design faced for a time was the inclusion of Derby's undersized standard axleboxes, which were notorious for running hot. Improved lubrication advances later remedied the problem and went a long way to improve the performance of the 7F's.
Once they were introduced onto the S&DJR, the 7F's proved an immediate success and were easily able to master the hilly gradients, thanks to its sure footedness, and proved to be free-steaming and easily capable of handling anything that they were tasked with pulling, which made them very popular with the crews that drove them. They also managed to substantially reduce the amount of double-heading which was quite a common sight on many trains on that line up to that time.
For working on the single-track sections of the line, the 7F Class were also fitted with tablet exchange apparatus, with one being fitted on each side of the locomotives, for both forward and reverse working, as they initially too big to be turned on many of the turntables on the S&DJR. In addition, the first six engines were fitted with cab shelters fitted on the fronts of their tenders to give their crews protection from the elements when running in reverse, but these were removed in about 1920.
One problem that did plague the 7F Class, at least for a short time, was the fact they were fitted with the standard Derby axleboxes, which were prone to overheating if the engines ever went over a certain speed. The addition of mechanical lubricators went some way to alleviating this issue, though it could have been sorted out much earlier.
The success of the 7F 2-8-0's over the Mendip Hills prompted the Midland Railway to experiment with them on coal trains in the East Midlands, but for some strange reason, they proved less than satisfactory in this role, despite many of the routes in the Midlands screaming for some decent power for the freight trains that ran along them. The route used didn't utilise their ability to climb hills, and there were issues with fuel consumption, with more high-quality coal being consumed than had originally been expected, and they also didn't perform well on second-rate fuels. So although the 7F 2-8-0 was a Derby built Midland design, it made the Somerset and Dorset Railway its own.
They were also used quite extensively on the heavy summer weekend trains on the S&DJR, a time when every available locomotive would be needed to take the heavy holiday trains over the route. The 7F's could easily take 10 heavily laden coaches, full of holiday-makers, over the Mendip Hills unassisted without a problem, two more than what an L.M.S. or B.R. Class 5MT 4-6-0 or a Southern Railway West Country Light Pacific could manage.
By the late 1950's, despite the 11 locomotives averaging up to 22,500 miles a year, the 7F Class started to be displaced from their usual duties on the S&DJR by newer steam locomotive types, including the B.R. Standard Classes, such as the more powerful 9F 2-10-0's. So because of this influx of new motive power, the entire class was withdrawn from service between June 1959 and September 1964, with No.53800 being the first example to be withdrawn, and the very last example of the class to be withdrawn being No.53807.
Thankfully though, two examples of this fine class have survived into preservation, No.88 and No.89, formerly B.R. No.53808 and No.53809. Both engines were rescued from Woodham's Scrapyard in Barry in the 1970's, and both have been restored to full working order. Both engines have visited various heritage railways around the U.K., with No.89 even working on the main line for a brief period in the 1980's. Both engines have also been painted in their original S&DJR livery as well as in B.R. plain livery with early and late crests on their tenders.
"Hello, No.92099!" No.53800 called as he went by towards the nearby marshalling yards with his long line of heavy coal trucks.
"Hello, No.53800!" No.92099 called back in reply.
"Be careful, as there's heavy rain about to fall!" No.53800 called out, as No.92099 glanced anxiously back up at the sky again, seeing the dark clouds above them all.
"I know...and that's what worries me." No.92099 said quietly.
A minute or so later, the rain fell and very heavily, as it started to pelt down from high above with a noise that seemed to drown out other sounds.
"Ohhhhh…" No.92099 groaned out, as he closed his eyes while the rain pelted into him and all over him. From the cab, Ralph and his fireman looked out at the rain as it fell down. They were pleased to be sitting in a well-sheltered cab with a hot fire to keep them comfortable on a miserable day like this one. They were also pleased to have the tea cans sitting on the warming plate over the firehole doors, which meant they could have hot drinks whenever they needed one.
"Not to worry, old boy…" Ralph said, when he heard No.92099 groan, "…this rain will pass over us soon, and it should be gone by the time we reach Gordon's Hill…I hope."
"I hope you're right about that, Ralph. After all, this rain will make it very difficult for us to get this load up Gordon's Hill, even with banking assistance at the back of us." No.92099 said.
"Well, look on the bright side…at least the rain will mean that the ore dust in the hopper wagons behind us won't be too much of a problem." said the fireman.
"Yes, there's that I guess." No.92099 said. Then the signal dropped and showed its green light, showing that the way was clear for them to continue on their way. After Ralph blew the whistle, released the brakes and opened the regulator, they continued on their way.
For much of the rest of the journey up until they reached Knapford Station, everything went very smoothly despite the heavy rain and the extra distance they had to travel today. The large and heavy hopper wagons followed along nicely, with the rain doing a good job of keeping any loose dust down so it didn't blow about in the wind generated by the train's forward movement.
After passing by and through different places, including countryside, going near the coast and passing by small towns, they soon reaching the junction where the loop from the Ffarquhar Branch Line connected up with the main line, where the train continued on down the main line towards Knapford.
At one point, just before they came upon the large and wide steel bridge that went over the river just to the north of Knapford, they came upon another engine coming in the opposite direction along one of the up lines; it was L.N.E.R. Thompson L1 2-6-4T No.67748 heading north on a routine run with eight coaches filled with passengers on a stopping service to Heartfield, which was very close to Widdlington Junction. Then, No.92099 passed along the wide red-brick viaduct with three tracks that ran over Knapford Yards below. Taking a quick glance out, the fireman could see that, even despite the heavy rain, there was still plenty of activity going on below, with trains coming and going and trucks being shunted into trains.
At 10:05am, No.92099 rolled through Knapford Station going on the line adjacent to Platform No.5. Normally, an iron ore train wouldn't be allowed to go through Knapford Station due to the loose dust that would be contained within the hopper wagons. But thanks to the heavy rain this morning, the iron ore in the open-topped hopper wagons had been really thoroughly soaked down, and so any loose dust was so heavily dampened down with water that it wouldn't blow anywhere.
Passing through the station without any issues, the signal lights remained bright green and they powered on ahead through the curve and past the junction by the bus depot and out onto the south main line.
Not too long later, just as they came out from the end of Henry's Tunnel, the heavy rain finally eased off somewhat, much to the relief of No.92099 and his crew, particularly for No.92099 as it meant there would be no more raindrops blasting into his face.
"It looks like things are brightening up somewhat." the fireman said, as he looked into the sky where the dark clouds were moving off and bright sunlight was starting to break through and lighting up the land below.
"Indeed, and it looks like we'll have clearing skies and bright sunshine all the way there too." Ralph said, as a smile came across his face. Yet at the same time though, he was wondering how Carrie was getting on.
(Meanwhile, with Carrie and No.67925)
So far, everything for Carrie had been going relatively smoothly, despite the heavy rain showers that had been going on for a good part of the morning. Having spent much of the morning so far on the footplate of No.67925, they had been working hard in helping to bank heavy passenger and freight trains up Gordon's Hill, as well as watching some of the other locomotives assigned to banking duty push the heavy trains through Wellsworth on their way to the hill.
Right now, with the rain finally easing off, they were standing by and waiting for their next turn. Out on the main line another of the banking engines, one of the G.W.R. 0-6-0 Hawksworth Pannier tank engines, had just set off from the station pushing another heavy freight towards the hill. The freight, being hauled by an L.M.S. 8F, was an oil train of about 30 or so oil tankers, each of which were 35-ton class-B tankers with the Esso emblem on their sides. What made this train look more interesting, at least to Carrie, was the fact it had six barrier vans in place with three at both ends of the train, between the tender and first tanker and between the last tanker and the brake van.
"There goes another train." Carrie said, as she watched it roll towards Wellsworth and then out of sight. She was standing beside the big 2-8-4T tank engine having just helped the crew to top up his side tanks with water.
"Yes, and when the next one comes through, Carrie…it'll be our turn to bank it up the hill." said No.67925, as he too watched the train disappear. They were silent for a few moments before they spoke again.
"Have you ever had any accidents before, No.67925?" Carrie asked.
"No, not yet, Carrie…I've never had any accidents before…but then again, I know that it'll happen one day when it's not expected." said No.67925, with some concern in his voice.
A few minutes later, just as Carrie was thinking of going to get something hot to drink, there came the sounds of another whistle from the direction of Knapford Station, and not too long later No.92099 came slowly into view with his long, heavy train. He was feeling exhausted, as during the trip from Knapford there had been a steam leak from somewhere, which meant the steam pressure on the main pressure gauge had been slowly dropping, much to the worry of Ralph and especially to the consternation of his fireman, who struggled to keep the pressure maintained.
No.67925, his crew as well as Carrie could see the B.R. Standard 9F looked quite tired as he came closer to them, and so they knew they had quite a job on this occasion, especially with the long line of very heavy iron ore hopper wagons. As No.92099 came close to the banker sidings, he slowed down and came to a stand close to No.67925.
"Could you help me up the hill please? I can't get this heavy train up there myself." he said, as he took the chance to try get some steam pressure back into his boiler.
"Sure, No.92099. After all, I'm to bank the next train up the hill." said No.67925, as he smiled reassuringly at the 9F. Slowly he rolled out from his siding, and then reversed along the line a short ways before he was switched onto the main line and slowly buffered up to the back of the long, heavy train. All the while as they waited, both Ralph and his fireman kept a close watch on the main boiler pressure gauge, as the pointer slowly climbed higher and higher.
Very soon, with some of the steam pressure in the boiler recovered, and No.67925 buffered up to the back of the train, they were ready to set off on their way again. Blasting their whistles, they set off and rolled forwards, passing the other bankers in the sidings, and then going through Wellsworth station. Looking out from the cab, Carrie looked into the freight yards behind Wellsworth Station; she could see the Scottish Twins Donald and Douglas sitting in the yard and waiting for their next turns of duty.
(Insert soundtrack – Breakdown Train Theme – Break Van)
Soon, after a short but uneventful run, they approached the base of Gordon's Hill, and with all the effort they could muster, they forced the heavy iron ore hopper wagons up the hill. But, as they went along the long straight stretch going up the summit of the hill, trouble showed itself again; No.92099 was slowly losing steam pressure again, and was starting to struggle with pulling his end of the train.
"I can't do it! I can't do it!" he called from the front, as he struggled to haul the train, which began to slow down.
"LEAVE IT TO ME! LEAVE IT TO ME!" No.67925 called from the back, as he pushed as hard as he possibly could. In fact, he pushed so hard that sparks shot up high into the air from his funnel, and the sounds of the chuffing from the funnel were very loud and sharp. The brake van groaned, as it was being heavily compressed between No.67925 and the rest of the train. From the cab, Carrie looked out from the driver's side with some concern; the train was hardly moving and the banker was pushing way too hard with his driving wheels slipping on the rails, which were already a little damp and slippery from the recent rain. She knew that something had to give at some point.
From the brake van, the guard, standing on the front platform of the van, also looked on with some concern.
"Go steady!" he shouted, "The van's breaking!" But it was too late; with a loud cracking and crunching of wood, the brake van completely disintegrated as No.67925 tried to force the train uphill. The guard quickly managed to jump clear just in time before the van was crushed into smithereens from the force of the banker, much to the shock and surprise of No.67925, who ended up front first into the remains of the van, which was crushed to less than a quarter of its original length.
"Oh my god! Stop! Stop! Stop!" Carrie called, as the driver quickly shut the regulator.
From the front of the train, Ralph White heard the loud crunching noises and, after taking a quick look back to see what was going on, quickly shut the regulator and put on the brakes, as his fireman looked back from his side of the cab to see what happened. On the footplate of No.67925, the driver, having already shut the regulator, quickly put on his own brakes , bringing the whole train to a stand.
Gasping in horror at what had just happened, Carrie quickly clambered off the footplate of No.67925, who had now fully stopped, and ran over to where the guard had jumped off to see if he was all right. He was just picking himself up from the ground. He was shaken up somewhat from what had just taken place and his uniform was dampened a little from having landed on the wet grass, but otherwise he looked to be physically unharmed.
"Hey, are you all right?!" Carrie asked, as she approached him.
"Yes, I'm fine. That's…that's quite exciting." the guard said, looking down as his hands, which were shaking somewhat, before he then turned to survey the crushed remains of his brake van. It was just a pile of twisted, crushed, and splintered wood mixed with a variety of different metal components. Just about all that was recognisable of it now were the two wheelsets that once supported it, and they were both partially buried under the wreckage.
A call was sent back to Wellsworth Station at once to tell them about what had happened and to inform them that the line up the hill was blocked. Some of the signals were quickly set to danger, and very soon both Donald and Douglas arrived from Wellsworth with the breakdown cranes to help clear up the mess. The Fat Controller, who had been to Wellsworth Station for a routine inspection, was on board the train as well.
As they came round the bend at the bottom of the hill and approached the scene, Douglas looked at what happened. He saw the front of No.67925 partially buried in the wreckage of the crushed brake van, and thin clouds of drifting steam were covering much of the wreckage.
"Och deary me…this reminds me of what happened when I accidentally crushed that yon Spiteful Brake Van all those years ago." he said, as he surveyed the wreckage.
"Ach, aye Dougie." Donald called from the back, as they came to a stop right beside the scene. The workmen quickly got off their coach, got their equipment set up, manned the two cranes, and they set to work at clearing away the mess.
In the meantime, after looking over the wreckage and speaking with the guard on the iron ore train about what had happened, the Fat Controller went over to speak with No.67925.
"Well, No.67925…so you don't know your own strength…is that it?" he asked.
"N-n-n-no s-s-sir." No.67925 said, in a very nervous way. He was far more shaken up than worried, particularly as he'd just had his first accident, something that he never expected to happen.
"Don't worry about what happened here. It wasn't your fault. But…maybe you shouldn't have pushed the train so hard." said the Fat Controller.
"He was just trying to help get the train up the hill, sir." Carrie said, as she came to No.67925's defence. "No.92099 had no steam left, but No.67925 was so determined to get the train up the hill, he just kept pushing as hard as he could." Carrie said. From a little off to the side, her father, Ralph, stood and watched as his daughter calmly spoke to the boss about what happened. And he was impressed by what he saw.
The Fat Controller listened to what Carrie had to say before he turned to Ralph.
"All right then, Carrie. Ah, Ralph…may I hear about what happened on No.92099?" he asked.
"Of course, sir." Ralph said, as he and his boss stood a little off to the side to speak about what happened. As they spoke, Carrie turned to see what was going on with the accident. The workmen were doing a good job at clearing away the wreckage, while two or three other workmen were examining the front of No.67925 to be sure he was okay. The two cranes were busy lifting sections of the wrecked brake van and loading them onto the flatbeds brought to the scene.
Then Carrie looked down at her hands and noticed they were both shaking a little, probably from the shock of what had happened a short while before.
"And that's what happened, sir." Ralph said to the Fat Controller.
"I see…" the Fat Controller said, as he rubbed his chin for a moment before looking at Ralph again, "…and is your fireman looking over the problem to see if it can be fixed on the spot?"
"Yes, sir. He is." Ralph said.
Just then, the foreman of the clean-up crew stepped up to them.
"Excuse me, sir…there's something with the brake van's frames that I think you should see, sir." he said, as he glanced to the remains of the brake van.
"Very well…" said the Fat Controller, as he and Ralph followed the foreman over to the remains of the brake van. Once there, the Fat Controller looked over the remains of the metal frames, as well as over some of the smashed wooden panels. Once he was done, he rubbed his chin as Ralph, the foreman, Carrie as well as No.67925 and his crew looked on anxiously.
"Hmm…as I thought…rusted and weakened main frames and slightly rotted wooden frames. It was simply unable to resist the immense forces of No.67925 pushing so hard against it." murmured the Fat Controller. He then turned to look at No.67925, who looked back with some anxiousness.
"This accident wasn't your fault, No.67925…it was just the fact this brake van couldn't take the immense forces that you were pushing against it. It's quite clear from the state of the wreckage that this brake van was pretty much on its last legs anyway." said the Fat Controller, as he smiled reassuringly at the L.N.E.R. 2-8-4T before him.
"Thank you, sir." No.67925 said, with a heavy sigh of relief, and feeling relieved that he wasn't in trouble for this incident.
(A short while later)
It wasn't too long before the mess had been fully cleaned up, and the line was clear for them to proceed on their way. As Donald and Douglas took the breakdown train and the remains of the brake van back to the yards at Wellsworth, both No.67925 and No.92099 slowly reversed back to the bottom of the hill from where they could get started all over again. By then, No.92099's fireman had managed to find the steam leak and he quickly fixed it, which meant that the boiler pressure had come back to its maximum working pressure of 250psi. However, both Ralph and the guard were a little bit unsure about taking the train further onwards along the line without a brake van at the back of the train. However they were both reassured by the Fat Controller that there was a brake-van waiting for them at Maron Station a little further on. So, the guard rode on the footplate of No.92099 until they arrived at Maron Station and then he would transfer to travel on the brake van once it was coupled to the train. A new tail lamp was placed onto one of the lamp irons at the back of the rear hopper wagon, just as a temporary measure until they collected the new brake van.
Once they were back at the bottom of the hill, No.67925 buffered up to the back of the last hopper wagon and then he blew his whistle to let them know he was ready, and a moment later No.92099 sounded his whistle to acknowledge he was ready too. And with a loud blast on their whistles, the drivers on both engines opened their regulators. From the footplate of the L.N.E.R. 2-8-4T, Carrie leaned out and watched as they started back up the hill again, and hoped that they would make it up the hill without any further incident. With smoke and steam rising high into the air from their chimneys, and the sounds of the sharp blasts reverberating round the hill, they made their way up Gordon's Hill again, and this time, after about two or three minutes of hard effort, they made it to the top of the hill without any further incident.
After reaching the top, Ralph opened the regulator a little more on No.92099 and they slowly surged on ahead as No.67925, who was also reaching the top of the hill, sounded his whistle to let them know he was about to drop off from the back of the train as it started to move away from him. As No.67925 reached the top of the hill and went by the signal box, the train pulled away from him as driver on No.67925's footplate closed the regulator and then put the brakes on.
As they slowed down and came to a gentle stop while the iron ore train pulled away from them in the direction of Maron Station, Carrie felt herself sigh with a deep sense of relief that there had been no incidents this time round. She also felt a little worried because they had lost some time with regard to doing their job with baking trains, and she knew that some trains had to be diverted to go around the hill while the main line up the hill had been blocked.
Then she noticed they were going into reverse, as they had been given the "all clear" by the signalman in the signal box to back over the points and head back down the hill to Wellsworth, from where they could continue on with their job of banking the train.
"Well, that was quite an event, wasn't it?" Carrie said to No.67925 as they reversed down the hill.
"Yes, it was…and I was just shocked by what happened the last time I tried to bank that train." No.67925 said, still feeling a little stunned by his first accident a little earlier.
"Hey, just be glad that you didn't derail in the process, old boy." the driver said, as he reassured his engine that the incident hadn't been his fault.
"Thank you, driver." No.67925 said.
They soon arrived back at Wellsworth Station, and crossed over the points back over the main line, and rolled into the banker sidings, joining back up with all the other banking engines who wanted to know what had happened. Donald and Douglas had already told them some of the details, but the other engines wanted to know some more details about what happened. And so, No.67925 told them about what happened, and gave them some more details of what had taken place, and he mentioned he was feeling somewhat depressed and embarrassed by having his first accident while doing his job.
However, one of the other bankers waiting in the sidings, L.M.S. Fowler 2-6-4T No.42415, reassured No.67925 that it wasn't his fault and it was something that just happened due to circumstances beyond his control. And hearing his friend reassure him like that, No.67925 started to feel much better from talking about it.
(Later that day, late afternoon)
Very soon, it was nearly time for Carrie to finish up after her day of work, and she was feeling quite exhausted from such a long and highly eventful day of work, especially with the unexpected accident that happened earlier on. She was still on the footplate of No.67925, and right now they were just rolling back into the sidings after having banked another heavy train up the hill, this one a long line of covered lime hoppers hauled by an L.M.S. 8F 2-8-0.
As the driver put the brakes on and No.67925 stopped, Carrie looked out from the footplate and into the sky over to the west. The sun was starting to set as evening got closer and closer, and she was somewhat concerned about what the other apprentices, her friends, and all the other engines back at Tidmouth Sheds would say to her, as they all no doubt heard about what had happened on Gordon's Hill that day.
"I'll be glad to get back home after today's events." Carrie said, as she stepped off from the footplate, with an oil can in her hand, and went over to examine the motion and top up the oiling points if needed.
"Yeah, and I'll be glad to get home too." said the driver, as he followed Carrie to be sure she knew what she was doing with oiling round the motion and other moving parts. In the meantime, the fireman took the opportunity to top up the water tanks in case they were needed to bank another train up Gordon's Hill again.
As Carrie oiled up round the motion, first on one side of No.67925 and then the other side, taking out corks from the oil reservoirs, filling them up from the oil can she had and then replacing the corks, the driver watched her do it. He even helped her if she accidentally went by an oiling point, he would point it out to her and then she would go back and top up the oil reservoir there.
Just as Carrie finished oiling up around the motion, and was about to climb onto the running plate to fill up the mechanical lubricator on the right-hand side of No.67925, there came the sound of footsteps coming from the direction of the station. She looked up and saw the inspector coming towards her.
"Come on, Carrie…it's getting close to five, and Henry's gonna be here very soon to bring you back to Tidmouth Sheds. Carrie pulled her sleeve aside and looked at her watch; it was 4:50pm, and nearly time for her leave Wellsworth and to head off home soon.
"All right, sir." Carrie said, as she turned to the driver and handed him the oil can.
"I guess I'll have to take over for you then?" he asked.
"Yes, sir…I guess so. Anyway, thanks for letting me work with you today." Carrie said with a heavy sigh, before she turned and went to the footplate and climbed aboard to check to see if she left anything there.
"It was no problem at all, Carrie, and we're very glad we were able to work with you today." the fireman said. A moment later, Carrie stepped out from the footplate with her lunch box and then she walked over to the inspector, who motioned for her to follow him, and they headed off towards Wellsworth Station.
A few minutes later, Carrie, still dressed in her overalls and working boots, was standing on the down platform at Wellsworth Station with the things she had with her that she brought along for her day of work. Standing near to her were other passengers waiting for the next train to Knapford Station, and many of them were eager to get themselves home after a long day of work. It wasn't long before she heard the sound of a familiar whistle coming from down the line in the direction of Gordon's Hill. And very soon, she saw Henry come into view from round the bend and roll slowly into the station. He had behind him a line of about seven or eight express coaches painted in cream and crimson red, and he slowed down and came to a gentle stop very close to Carrie.
"Hello, Henry." Carrie said, with a smile.
"Hello, Carrie. Are you ready to head on home?" Henry asked.
"Yes, I am…especially after the eventful day of work that I had today." Carrie said, as she walked towards Henry's footplate.
"Yes, I heard all about the incident that happened on Gordon's Hill earlier on today." Henry said, as Carrie stepped onto the footplate where she was greeted by the driver and fireman.
"Yeah, it certainly gave me a shock when it happened." Carrie said, leaning out from the cab side. Then she turned and sat down on the front of the tender, and waited for them to set off.
It wasn't too long before the passengers on the platform had boarded the train, and they were all clear to set off on their way home. The guard blew his whistle and waved his green flag before he stepped back into his compartment on the front coach. On Henry's footplate, the driver blew the whistle and opened the regulator and, with steam whooshing from the cylinder drain cocks, Henry slowly moved out of the station and down the line towards Knapford Station.
(Insert soundtrack – Henry Season 1 Theme)
Passing by the banker sidings, the train slowly built-up speed and Carrie settled back to enjoy the trip and watch the sights at the side of the line go by, as well as to rest her body and her feet from her long day of hard physical work, including stoking the boiler of No.67925. At one point, Carrie nearly dozed off from her tiredness as well as due to the rocking motion of Henry as he powered ahead at a good speed along the main line, but she then shook herself awake before she could doze off.
Going by different stations, over bridges and the main viaduct and then going through Henry's Tunnel, as well as passing by a number of passenger and freight trains going by in the other direction, they soon made their final approach into Knapford Station. Rolling in alongside Platform 2, they came to a gentle halt, and soon the passengers were disembarking from the train and heading over the footbridge towards the main exit from the station.
On Henry's footplate, Carrie looked out and watched as the passengers went over the footbridge and left the station, yet her mind was also turning to thoughts of getting cleaned up after her long day of hard work and the clocking out and heading home for a good night's rest, ready to do it all again the next day.
Once the last passengers were crossing over the footbridge, and the shunter had uncoupled the coaches, Henry was free to leave the station and head back to Tidmouth Sheds. Giving a short toot on his whistle, Henry left the station and head on down the line to the sheds, eager for a good night's rest after his own long day of hard work.
(At Tidmouth Sheds)
Henry rolled onto the turntable and was slowly turned round before slowly reversing into the berth behind him. Some of the other engines, including Thomas, Percy, James, Edward, and Gordon, were already at the sheds and being disposed of, as well as being a quick clean in readiness for more work the next day.
"And here we are…safely home again." Henry's driver said, as he put the brakes on and brought Henry to a stop in the shed. The fireman turned and reached for the brake handle for the tender brakes and turned to handle round so as to put the tender brakes firmly on.
"And I think it's time for me to go and have a long hot shower before clocking out for today." Carrie said as she reached for her things, before she went and stepped off from the cab.
"Well then, we'll see you in the morning, Carrie." the driver said, as he went about what he needed to do in the cab before he could leave for the day.
"Okay, I'll see you in the morning." Carrie said, and she stepped out from the sheds.
Just as Carrie stepped out from the shed, she heard Thomas speak to her.
"Hey Carrie…we all heard about the accident that happened earlier on today." Thomas said.
"Are you feeling all right?" Edward asked, as he looked at Carrie with some concern, as did the other engines.
"Yes, Edward, I'm fine. It was just a bit of a shock when it did happen though. No-one was hurt though, I'm pleased to say." Carrie said.
"Well, that's a good thing to hear." Percy said.
"Yeah, and I just hope that I never have to go through something like that again." Carrie said.
"Well, you never know, Carrie…it may happen again while you're here on Sodor." said James, knowing it wasn't a good idea to say anything that might tempt fate.
"Yes, I'm aware of that…anyway, I'm gonna go and get myself cleaned up before I clock out. I'll see you all in the morning." Carrie said, as she turned and headed away to the crew building not too far away.
"Goodnight, Carrie!" the engines said.
Once in the crew building, Carrie went upstairs to the ladies' changing rooms and showers, where some of her friends were already getting themselves cleaned up after their day of work. The room was filled with drifting clouds of steam, as the girls were having showers or were taking the opportunity to relax in the bubbling waters of the Jacuzzi whirlpool bath in one of the corners of the room.
Stripping off the dusty boiler suit and then her sweaty clothes underneath, Carrie took a long hot shower and washed all the dust, grit and grime off of her, and when she was finished, she stepped out of the shower and dried off, and then she got dressed into fresh clothes she had in her locker. While she was drying off and getting dressed, she talked with the other girls about the accident that happened on Gordon's Hill earlier that day, which they had all heard about as they had gone about their day. Many of the other girls were very surprised to hear that No.67925 had suffered his first accident, particularly as he'd never had one before now.
Once Carrie was finished, she placed her dirty clothes into her bag and left the boiler suit aside to be collected and taken away for washing elsewhere in the building, and then she was ready to leave the changing rooms and head on home. Out in the corridor, she met up with Simon, who had only stepped out from the men's changing room just down the corridor, and they headed on downstairs together where they clocked out for the day, and then they stepped outside the main entrance and into the main car park.
There, they saw Ralph White speaking with the Fat Controller about what had happened earlier on and how No.92099 had lost steam pressure while climbing the hill. Not long after getting over Gordon's Hill, they reached Maron Station where they collected a new brake-van, the guard climbed aboard it, and then they proceeded on the rest of their journey to Vicarstown, where they managed to arrive about 10 minutes late, even though Ralph had managed to make up some of the lost time on the journey over there. After a short rest in the yards and examining the steam pipes to check for further leaks or problems, they proceeded onto their next job.
"And your fireman was able to fix it on the spot?" the Fat Controller asked.
"Yes, sir. And, thankfully, it turned out to be a relatively simple on-the-spot fix; he just needed to tighten one of the seals on the pipe and it helped restore the steam pressure to maximum." Ralph said.
"Well, I think I'd best tell the works to keep a closer eye on things like that. After all, we don't want anything like that to happen again." said the Fat Controller, as he rubbed his chin. He then turned round to see Carrie and Simon walking towards him and Ralph.
"Well, good evening you two." the Fat Controller said.
"Good evening, sir, Ralph." Simon said.
"Evening, sir." Carrie said.
"Are you feeling okay from what happened earlier on?" Ralph asked, as he looked towards his daughter.
"Yes, dad, I'm fine. I was just a bit shook up from seeing it happen." Carrie said.
"But regardless of that, Carrie, I think you and No.67925 did very well today. Now, No.67925 will need to go into the works tomorrow for an inspection just to be sure that there's no serious damage from the accident earlier on, but I think you both did very well today nevertheless." said the Fat Controller.
"Thank you very much, sir." Carrie said, with a smile.
"I've also ordered No.92099 to go into the works tomorrow as well for a quick inspection, and to have his steam pipes examined in case there are any other issues. After all, we can't risk one of the engines running short of steam on the hills again." said the Fat Controller.
"No, sir. We certainly can't have that now, can we?" Simon said.
"Anyway, I'd best get to my office and finish off some last-minute stuff before I can go home. See you all tomorrow." said the Fat Controller, as he walked away from them.
"Goodnight, sir." Ralph, Carrie, and Simon said, as their boss walked away.
"Well, shall we head off home, Carrie?" Ralph asked.
"Yes, dad. I think that's a good idea." Carrie said, before she then turned to Simon. "I'll see you here first thing tomorrow morning."
"Okay, Carrie, that sounds like a good idea to me. It's been quite an eventful day for all of us, but we'll see what tomorrow brings; after all, tomorrow's another day." Simon said.
"That's the stuff, Simon!" Ralph said, and bidding each other a "Goodnight" as well as "See you in you in the morning", they all headed off on their way home.
And that's it for this chapter, everyone! And I think this might be the last chapter I'll post before Christmas. So, just in case I don't manage to post another chapter to this fanfic before then, may I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a very happy and prosperous New Year!