Chapter 26: Carrie and Simon's Date

(Friday, May 4th 2012 – 16:55pm; Tidmouth Sheds, Island of Sodor)

So, in this chapter everyone, we're gonna see Carrie and Simon on their date. Not only that, but we're also gonna see a few more of the different road vehicle characters from the original Thomas TV series.

"And there we are…all done, and at long last too!" Carrie said with a heavy sigh, as she rubbed down her sweaty forehead and then reached for a bottle of cold water off to the side. She was really glad to be finished, and not too long before she and the other recruits were due to sign off for the day. Today had been a day when she and the other recruits she was working with at the Tidmouth Depot hadn't been out working out on the footplates of engines out on the main line or other lines on the island, but were instead based at the depot and helping out with getting engines ready for the day by lighting fires or oiling them up, or disposing of them by dropping the fires from the fireboxes and then emptying out the ashpans.

But one of the main duties that Carrie, as well as Simon, Saoirse, and Olivia, as well as few of the other recruits had been doing for much of the day had been undertaking help with the various maintenance jobs on engines stationed within one of the maintenance sheds within the depot. One major job that Carrie, Simon, and Olivia had been assigned to do was the all-important job of helping to replace a number of stays around the firebox of London, Brighton & South Coast Railway (LB&SCR) H2 Class 4-4-2 Atlantic No.2426 St. Alban's Head, who was in the depot today for some routine maintenance checks before he went back out to work again. He always like to be called Albans, as it was simpler than just saying his full name. (44)

Already, earlier on in the day, a more experienced shed team had gone to the trouble of removing all the old firebox stays, exactly a dozen of them, that needed to be replaced. Then it was up to Carrie, Simon, and Olivia to undertake the job of helping to install the new stays before the same shed team undertook the job of fixing the news stays in place once they were installed.

One of the more senior fitters helped the three young recruits out with the task of getting the new stays fitted to the firebox; first, using specialised hand-held cutters, which were quite long, brand new threads had to be cut into the outer firebox as well as the inner firebox, and then the new stays had to be put in and screwed round and round, over and over again, until the two ends of them were firmly secured within the walls of the inner and outer firebox, as a man inside the firebox fitted bolts onto the ends that were within the firebox. From then on, the three teens moved on to deal with the next stay, and left the others to be more permanently fitted later on by the more experienced shed crew.

(44): The London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway H2 Class Atlantic's 4-4-2, built at Brighton Works between June 1911 and January 1912, were intended for express work, and were designed by Douglas Earle Marsh and his assistant Lawson Billington, who was granted authority to build them when Marsh was on leave of absence due to illness.

The class were basically an updated and more powerful version of the earlier H1 Class 4-4-2 Atlantic's, and the cylinders were larger in diameter to allow for a higher tractive effort. The two outside cylinders that were fitted to the H2 Class were 21in in diameter with a 26in piston stroke, and were paired to driving wheels that were 6ft 7.5in in diameter. Originally the boiler pressure was pressed to 170psi, which gave the H2's an initial tractive effort of 20,840lbf, but later the boiler pressure was increased to 200psi, which increased the tractive effort to 24,520lbf.

In total, six examples of the H2 Class were built. And these six locomotives were;

No.421 South Foreland, No.422 North Foreland, No.423 The Needles,

No.424 Beachy Head, No.425 Trevose Head, and No.426 St. Alban's Head.

The class proved an immediate success as soon as they went into service on the LB&SCR Network, and they worked on the London to Brighton trains alongside the earlier H1 Class, as well as heavily laden Pullman Services such as the Brighton Limited and the Southern Belle. In 1925/26, the class were replaced on the London to Brighton trains by the newer King Arthur and River Classes, but the H2 Class still found plenty of work to do on other express services, including on the boat trains for the channel ferry service that ran between New Haven, on the English Channel coast, and Dieppe, in Northern France.

Upon the Grouping of the railways in January 1923, the class had 2000 added to their numbers, e.g., No.423 became No.2423.

During the Second World War, due to the cross-channel services between England and France being halted due to the German occupation of France, the H2 Class had little work to do and so some were put into storage, or moved to miscellaneous work elsewhere in Southern England. But once the war had ended, and the cross-channel services over to France resumed, the H2 Class returned to the boat trains and continued on this service until 1949, when their main duties were taken over by the brand new Bulleid-Raworth electric locomotives. However, the H2's continued working on the majority of the relief boat trains until the mid-50's.

Other jobs the H2 Atlantics worked on included the heavy rush-hour trains from Victoria to East Grinstead, Brighton to Plymouth services which they pulled as far as Portsmouth, as well as on the inter-regional summer services on Saturdays, which they hauled from places like Kensington Olympia Station in London.

Upon Nationalisation of the railways in January 1948, the class had the number 30000 added to their numbers, e.g., No.2422 became No.32422.

Withdrawals of the class began in 1949, when No.32423 The Needles was withdrawn from service in May of that year, but the other members of the class weren't withdrawn until after 1955, with No.32421 South Foreland and No.32426 St. Alban's Head being removed from service in August 1956, with No.32422 North Foreland and No.32425 Trevose Head following in September. No.32424 Beachy Head was the final member of the H2 Class in service, and was withdrawn in April 1958. The final train hauled by No.32424 was an enthusiast's special that ran from London to Newhaven and then onto Brighton Shed. On the end of the rail-tour, No.32424 ran with its 12 empty coaches to Eastleigh Works, where it was scrapped not long after, despite protests for it to be preserved.

Sadly, none of the six members of the H2 Class were preserved, but in October 2000, the Bluebell Railway announced plans to build a replica of a Brighton H2 Atlantic, in the form of No.32424 Beachy Head. The replica of the locomotive will use an original boiler from a former Great Northern Railway Large Boiler C1 Ivatt Atlantic, which the Bluebell Railway acquired back in 1988, as well as a tender chassis from an ex-LB&SCR B4 Class 4-4-0. Among the parts that are being used on the replica of No.32424 is the regulator handle from the original No.32424. In August 2022, the boiler was fitted into the frames of the replica, so it shouldn't be too long before the new No.32424 Beachy Head is able to steam for the first time on the Bluebell Railway.

The fact that the Brighton Atlantic Project is using an original boiler from a G.N.R. C1 Large Atlantic for the replica of No.32424 Beachy Head is a reference to the origin of the H1 and H2 Atlantic Classes of the LB&SCR, which were based originally on the design of the Large and Small Atlantic classes of the Great Northern Railway, as had been originally designed by Henry Ivatt. D.E. Marsh, the designer of the LB&SCR Atlantic Classes, had worked on the G.N.R. under Ivatt and took part in the design of the Ivatt Atlantic classes before being moved to the LB&SCR.

"Well done on getting all those stays fitted to the firebox, you three." the fitter said, as he looked over the work the three young teens had done over the course of much of the day.

"Thank you very much, sir." Simon said, as he wiped his forehead with a sense of exhaustion, but satisfaction. It had been quite hard work to get those new firebox stays put into place, but even so it had been worth it, as they were all now fitted.

"And what a task it was too…and my arms are still aching from all that work of twisting those tools round and round to get those treads cut into the metal." Olivia said, as she stretched both her arms out and then rubbed her sore muscles to get the pain out of them.

"I understand how you feel about that, Olivia. And I know how that pain feels like…after all, I've done it many times myself over the years." the senior fitter said.

"I hope that we're all back out working on the main line on Monday morning. After all, it's much more interesting to see the world go by you as you work, rather than to be stuck in a depot for much of the day." Carrie said.

"Well, let's see what happens, Carrie. After all, you know that the days you're in the depot or out on the main line do vary from week to week." said the fitter. Carrie felt herself smile a little at that; the weekly schedule for the recruits on the apprenticeship scheme did vary a little from week to week, but one thing that was always the same was that the recruits spent two days working in the locomotive depot and three days out on the main line. This week, for example, saw the recruits working in the depot on Monday and Friday, but out on the main line on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. The following week would see the days change again, with three days on the main line, and two in the depot.

The fitter then went forward to speak to No.2426 St. Alban's Head, who was feeling much better than he had been earlier on in the day.

"So, how are you feeling now, Albans?" the fitter asked.

"I'm feeling much better, sir." Albans said, with a smile.

"That's good to hear. Now, just be patient, and we'll soon have all that work we need to do done, and then you'll be back on the line in the next day or two." the fitter said.

"Thank you, sir." Albans said. And with that, and after Albans had thanked Carrie, Simon, and Olivia, the three teens went off to put all the tools they had used back into their store room within the building.

It wasn't too long before it was finally 5:00pm, and the recruits could go and get themselves washed off, and then sign out for the day. In the ladies changing room within the crew building, Carrie stood within the shower cubicle and allowed the hot water to pour over herself, as she rubbed soap into her hair and then under her armpits. It had been a long day, and she had gotten filthy dirty from all the work she had done, including a time not too long after lunch where a breeze sprung up and had blown some loose ash from a pile near one of the tracks. Thankfully though, the ash was cold and so Carrie didn't get burnt, though the ash did get all over her overalls, and some of it did get into her mouth, which meant she had to go into the bathroom for a few minutes and wash her mouth out, as well as wash off her hands.

Carrie soon finished her shower, and after drying herself off, she changed into some clean clothes she had brought with her. With the clothes she had worn now in her holdall bag, and the overalls she had worn over them now on a hanger with other overalls in another corner of the room, where they would be taken away to be washed later on, Carrie, along with Olivia, Saoirse, Alice, and Sophie, left the ladies changing room and headed downstairs to clock out for the day.

After clocking out, they stepped outside the main entrance to the crew building, and saw that Simon was already standing outside and waiting for them.

"Ah, there you are, ladies." he said, as he saw them approach from the entrance doors.

"Yeah, we're all here, Simon." Alice said, as they stepped up to him.

"What a day that was." Sophie said. She had a long day of work on preparing some of the engines for work by helping to light fires in their fireboxes, as well as helping to oil up the motion and other moving parts, and even helped in rubbing down the boilers and other parts of the engines so that they shone brightly when they went out to work later on during the day, and her arms were aching somewhat.

"I'll be glad to get into bed tonight, let me tell ya. Boy, I'm knackered." Olivia said, as she yawned.

"Yeah, we all are. Especially with replacing all those firebox stays too." Simon said.

"I bet that was a very difficult thing to do." Alice said.

"It was, and my arms are still sore from it too." Carrie said, as she stretched her arms out.

"So, shall we all go out and get something to eat?" Sophie said.

"Yeah, let's do that. I think we've all earned it after the long day we've had here." Saoirse said, as the others murmured in agreement.

"Let's go then." Simon said, and they headed off down the street towards their favourite place to get something to eat.

As they walked along down the street, Carrie turned to look at Simon, who was walking along right beside her.

"So…are you looking forward to our date tomorrow, Simon?" Carrie asked.

"Yes, I am. And I've been looking forward to it all week too." Simon said, as he looked at Carrie with a smile on his face.

"Let's hope that everything with it goes well when we meet up in the morning." Carrie said, as she smiled at the thoughts of what lay ahead.

"Yeah, me too." Simon said.

(Next Morning - Saturday, May 5th 2012 – 08:05am; Knapford)

The next day dawned bright and clear, with no clouds at all to be seen anywhere in the sky, and a very light breeze blowing about as the sun rose into the morning sky. Carrie, having gone to bed early the previous evening, was up at 7:30am on the dot and she soon got herself dressed into fresh clothes, and was downstairs not long after to have some breakfast. She had no idea of how this day was going to go, or where she and Simon were going to end up going, but one thing she was sure of was that it was going to be a beautiful day, with no clouds, rain, or strong winds to speak of.

"Are you looking forward to your day with Simon?" Ralph asked, as he stepped into the kitchen. Carrie was sitting at the dining table and finishing off her bowl of corn flakes in milk, with a glass of orange juice and a bagel, which she had cut in half, toasted in the toaster, and then spread with a little bit of butter and some strawberry jam.

"Yes, dad. I'm looking forward to it, and hopefully the weather will stay good for the day." Carrie said. From the weather forecast the previous evening, Carrie knew that today would be a perfect day for a date with her boyfriend.

"Well…regardless of how the weather is for today, Carrie…you just have a good day out with Simon, and enjoy yourself." Ralph said, as he set about preparing a cup of coffee. He was going to be needed down at the depot a little later on, as there would be work to do on the railway today, with a good number of weekend passenger trains, as well as a few special rail-tours, being run for the increasing numbers of tourists and visitors who were starting to arrive on Sodor as the weather got warmer.

"I will, dad. I promise that I'll enjoy myself with Simon today." Carrie said, as she gulped down the last of her glass of orange juice, and then finished off the last piece of her bagel before she then stood up and put her dishes into the dishwasher.

(A little later on – 8:35am)

Now that Carrie was ready to go, and had everything that she needed with her, she stepped out from the front door as Ralph followed behind, before he turned and locked the door behind him. He was ready to go too, as he needed to be at the depot as soon as possible to help with the weekend trains.

"I'd best get myself to work as soon as I can. After all, I've got a very busy Saturday ahead of my today." Ralph said, as he made his way over to his car.

"I'll see you later on, dad." Carrie said, as she walked over to the gate.

"Okay, Carrie. And best of luck to you and Simon today." Ralph said, as he opened the door to his car and got inside.

"Thanks, dad." Carrie called, as she watched Ralph close the door and then start up the engine. As Ralph turned his car and prepared to drive away, Carrie reached the gateway and opened the two gates, and then watched as her father, after giving her a wave and a smile, drive out from the gate and headed off down the road towards the depot. After watching her father disappear down the road, Carrie then closed the gates behind her and headed off down the road to where she would meet up with Simon.

She soon arrived at the spot where she would meet Simon, and she didn't have to wait too long; a minute later, there came the familiar sound of a "toot" and Carrie turned her head to see Caroline, with Simon behind the wheel, coming down the road towards her. Feeling herself smile, Carrie stepped up towards the kerbside as Simon turned Caroline towards Carrie and slowed down.

"Morning there, Caroline." Carrie said, as she watched the smart red car come to a halt in front of her.

"Morning back, Carrie." said Caroline, as she stopped and Carrie stepped forward and opened the door on the passenger side.

"Good morning there, Carrie." Simon said with a smile on his face, as Carrie stepped inside and sat down on the passenger seat.

"Hey, good morning, Simon." Carrie said, as she and Simon shared a quick hug, before Simon put Caroline back in gear, and they headed on down the road again.

"So, where do you want to go first today, Carrie?" Simon asked.

"Well…I'd quite like to go to the library. I've been wanting to go there and join up for some time." Carrie said.

"A good idea, Carrie. After all, I need to head to the library myself, as I have some books that I need to return there." Simon said.

"Okay, let's head over there then." Carrie said.

(A little while later)

Carrie and Simon soon arrived at the library and, after Simon parked Caroline in the carpark outside, they both went into the building. After Simon handed in the books he borrowed, he helped Carrie with the process of getting a library card by writing out one of the membership application cards at one of the tables very near to the main desk. Once that little job was done, and Carrie had her new library card – the first one she had ever had before as a matter of fact, they set about looking for books to borrow for the next two weeks.

Going among the different book shelves and looking through the various different books on display as well as the different categories, Carrie could see that the selections and varieties of books on offer in this library were no different to the similar selections of books back at the library at Ewen High School in Chamberlain. A major different was that there was a much larger selection of railway-related books on offer here than back home, which was really no surprise, considering that she was on the Island of Sodor.

Carrie went over to the part of the library where there were books on sewing and needlework, which was one of the things she was interested in. She spent a short while looking among the different books to try and decide which one she wanted; she eventually decided on a book that she had never read before, and so decided to borrow that. Then she went over to another part of the library, where there were selections of books about fashion – another subject she was interested, and, after taking a few minutes looking over the different shelves, eventually chose one of the books that caught her interest.

As she made her way over to the deck to check-out the books, she paused and took a look around the library from where she stood; it was quiet and civilised, with people, young and old alike, either sitting at the desks around the space, or standing and browsing the different shelves for books they wanted to read. A few were sitting at the computers, all of which were sat upon a line of desks against one wall, and many of them were working on whatever they needed to be working on, while others among them were writing away at their projects, with the sounds of fingers tapping on the keyboards one of the only sounds that could be heard within the silence of the library.

After a moment of watching and listening to what was going on, Carrie went over to the desk to checkout her books.

(A short while later)

Once Carrie and Simon had checked out the books the wanted to borrow, they left the library and went back out to where Caroline was parked.

"Thanks for helping me getting a library card, Simon." Carrie said, as they made their way through the car park.

"Oh, it's no trouble at all, Carrie. After all, I'm more than happy to help you if you need the help." Simon said.

"So, now that we've got the books that we wanted to borrow…where shall we go to next?" Carrie asked.

"How about…we both go and get something to drink at one of the coffee shops nearby?" Simon suggested.

"Sounds like a good idea to me. I think a hot drink and a pastry would be good right about now." Carrie said, with the idea of a hot drink sounding quite good right now.

"Okay, Carrie. Let's go and park Caroline over in that car park that we parked at when we first went to the Christmas Market last December, and then we'll go and see which coffee shop to go to." Simon said.

"Okay, Simon. Let's go then." Carrie said, as she and Simon got aboard Caroline, and then they headed off out of the car park and down the street.

As they went along the road, they soon came upon a stretch of road where some road-works were being undertaken. There were men who were in their high-viz and safety gear, as well as wearing hardhats and safety boots, as well as different types of machinery who had already dug up the road along that stretch and were now working away at resurfacing the road with fresh tarmac. Among the different vehicles that Carrie and Simon could see working away was a steamroller, who was painted green with red lining smoke rising from his chimney, and the sound of chugging as it rolled back and forth to flatten the recently laid tarmac. Carrie could see that this steamroller had a face on its front. But this face wasn't a friendly one by any means, as the steamroller was clearly in a bad temper of some sort as it worked back and forth over the resurfaced section of road.

(Insert Soundtrack - George's Theme Seasons 4 & 5)

"Railways are no good! Turn 'em into roads! Pull 'em up! Turn 'em into roads!" he said, over and over in a grumpy tone, as he went back and forth along the road.

"Who's that?" Carrie asked with some concern, as she glanced at Simon.

"That, Carrie…is George the Steamroller. He's one of the most ill-mannered and rudest personalities here on Sodor. None of the engines here like him at all, as he thinks that the railway is no good, and should be replaced with roads. Not even many of the road vehicles I know like him very much." Simon said, with a grim tone in his voice, as he watched George go back and forth along the road.

"Yeah, and I can't stand him either." Caroline said, as she remembered the time a few years before that George had said to her after she had overheated after going fast when trying to get the Fat Controller to his wife's birthday party, "Call yourself a car? You're a disgrace to the road! Find yourself a scrapyard!"

From where she was sitting, Carrie watched as George rolled along before they were given the all-clear to proceed, and Simon drove Caroline down the road past the road-works and on down the road.

They soon arrived at the place where they had parked before going to the Christmas market back in December, and, just like the last time, Simon parked Caroline at the back, behind the building, where she would be out of sight. Once he had parked, he switched off the engine and then he and Carrie stepped out, and then Simon locked the doors.

"Okay, Caroline…I'll leave you parked here for a while, as Carrie and I will be spending the day with each other." Simon said.

"Okay, Simon. Best of luck to you and Carrie today." said Caroline, as she looked up at Simon and smiled.

"Thanks, Caroline. You just take it easy and relax while we're away." Carrie said.

"That's all I can do." Caroline said, as she watched Simon and Carrie turn and walk away from her.

After stepping out onto the pathway outside the place where they had parked, both Carrie and Simon took each other's hands and walked down the pathway towards the stretch of street that ran by in front of the town hall.

"So…which coffee shop shall we go to? The same one we went to on the day we went to the Christmas market?" Carrie asked.

"No, I was actually thinking of maybe going to a different one today, Carrie. After all, there's loads of different coffee shops along that stretch." Simon said.

"Okay, Simon. I was thinking of maybe suggesting we go to a different coffee shop today." Carrie said, with a smile.

"That's all right, Carrie. I'm open to suggestions about new places we could go to." Simon said, in reassurance.

"Thanks, Simon." Carrie said.

They soon arrived at one of the coffee shops, this one was called the Foaming Mug, and, much to the relief of Simon and Carrie, it wasn't too busy this morning, with only a few people to be seen sitting at the tables or lining up at the counter ordering what they wanted to have.

"Well…it looks like we'll have plenty of places to sit at this morning." Carrie said.

"Yeah, and this is the state of a coffee shop I like to see; one that's not too busy." Simon said, with a smile growing on his face.

"Come on, let's line up and see what's on offer today." Carrie said, as they stepped forwards and lined up at the counter.

(A few short minutes later)

Soon, both Carrie and Simon were seated at one of the tables upstairs with what they had ordered from the counter downstairs; both of them had ordered tea, while Carrie had a slice of chocolate fudge cake, and Simon had a slice of apple tart.

"Oh, I'm looking forward to this." Carrie said, as they sat down at the table. It was right by one of the windows that looked out over the street, as well as the ground of the town hall on the other side of the street.

"Yeah, me too. I do like coming to this place every now and then, particularly as I think they serve some of the best apple pie." Simon said.

"Well, next time we come here, I may have to try some." Carrie said, as she took a sip of tea.

As the two sipped their tea and enjoyed their slices of cake or pie, they chatted together about how the apprenticeship scheme was going for them so far, what they had learned, the engines they had worked with, as well as what they hoped to do as the apprenticeship scheme went on, and engines they hoped to work on.

"What kind of trains do you think we'll be working with as the summer goes on?" Carrie asked.

"Well…one train I know we may be involved with working on may be the circus train. Each summer, a circus comes to Sodor for about a month or so, and it's always moved by train." Simon said, as he finished a bite of his apple pie.

"And what does it look like?" Carrie asked, as she took a sip of tea.

"Well, the trucks that actually carry all the equipment and gear that the circus needs are painted in bright colours designed to attract attention, and the people who work for the circus always ride in coaches owned by the circus. The coaches are always kept clean, both inside and out, and the performers who actually do the tricks in the circus are some of the best that I've ever seen." Simon

"And when in the summer does the circus arrive?" Carrie asked.

"Well, usually it arrives towards the end of May or the start of June, and stays until early in July before it moves on to the next place it has to be." Simon said.

"And have you ever been there before?" Carrie asked. She suspected that Simon had been to the circus before, but felt it was better if he told the story.

"Yes, I've been to the circus a few times before, and it's always a blast when we go there, particularly with the acts that take place, as well as with the music being played, and the acts that the clowns do to make us all laugh. What about you? Were you ever at a circus before?" Simon asked.

"Well…with all due honesty, Simon…no, I've never been to a circus before. One, it's because a circus has never been to my hometown of Chamberlain before, and the second reason is that even if a circus came to a town nearby, my momma would never permit me to go…as she always said that circuses were sinful things." Carrie said.

"Don't worry about that, Carrie. Now that you're free from your mother's iron grip, and the fact you're a long way from Chamberlain now…you've got a chance to go to the circus when it arrives." Simon said.

"Sounds good to me, Simon." Carrie said, with a smile.

The took a few moments to enjoy their tea, while it was still hot, and to take in a few more forkfuls of cake and pie before they spoke again.

"And which engine pulls the circus train?" Carrie asked.

"Oh, it varies from year to year, with the Fat Controller himself wanting to give each engine a fair chance to work with the circus train. When it came to Sodor last year, the circus train was hauled by Murdoch, with one of his 9F brothers helping out by pushing from the back. This year…well, who knows?" Simon said.

"And let's hope that you or I are on the footplate when it does happen." Carrie said, with a smile.

"Oh, yeah, let's hope so. It would be an honour of the highest regard to work on the engine pulling the circus train." Simon said, as he too smiled, before taking another sip of his tea. (N)

(N): That's just a little clue to a future chapter that'll be in this story, and it shouldn't be too far away to be honest. I'm hoping to get that chapter written sometime in the near future.

"And if we have a chance during the summer…do you think we could all go to the beach if the weather's nice?" Carrie asked.

"Sure, I think that can be arranged. After all, there's lot of nice beaches all along the coastline of Sodor." Simon said.

"Thanks, Simon. I've never been to a beach before, especially that Chamberlain is a long way from the coast." Carrie said.

"Don't worry, Carrie. As you've seen, we're never too far from the coast here on Sodor, and there's always plenty of chances to go to the seaside." Simon said.

Carrie smiled and looked over to the grounds of the town hall across the street; the last time she was in there had been not long before the previous Christmas, and at that time, the grounds were full of stalls selling Christmas food, decorations, and gift. Now though, it was a little strange to see the grounds empty of the stalls, and with fewer people about than there'd been back in December. Now most of those she could see were sitting on the benches and enjoying their food, reading books, magazines, or the newspaper. A few were in conversation in each other, as others, who were more smartly dressed, were going in and out of the front entrance doors of the hall.

"It's sure strange to see the town hall grounds empty at this time of year." Carrie said, as she looked over the town hall again.

"Yeah, I know what you mean, Carrie. It's a different world in there when the Christmas market is about…with all those stalls, and all the associated hustle and bustle." Simon said.

(A little later on)

It wasn't too long before Carrie and Simon finished up at the coffee shop, and then they left and went back out onto the street.

"So, where should we go to now?" Carrie asked, as she looked up and down along the length of the street.

"Well, how about we go to the park and walk around there for a while. After all, on a nice day like this, it should be quite pleasant over there." Simon said.

"Sounds like an idea to me. Let's go then." Carrie said, and they turned right and headed off down the street towards the park, which wasn't too far away from where they were.

As they walked along the path, they became aware of the sounds of a vehicle coming along the road in their direction. Looking up to see what it was, the pair saw a double-decker bus going slowly along the road behind a slow lorry. The bus was painted in a scarlet and cream livery, with a small black square board fitted in front above the driver's position that said "Free the Roads." And below the driver's position was the face of the bus, and it didn't look at all friendly like Bertie. Instead, the bus looked quite grumpy and bad-tempered.

"Get out of my way!" the bus called crossly, as it tried to get around the lorry, while the bus honked its horn before it eventually managed to get around the lorry and then proceed on its way down the road.

Carrie watched the bus go by with a sense of uneasiness about what she had seen take place; she turned to Simon.

"And who was that personality?" she asked.

"That, Carrie…" Simon said, in a slightly grim tone, "…is Bulgy. He's one of the more cold-hearted residents of Sodor, and someone who just hates the railways, just like George the steamroller does. He once stole passengers from Duck and Oliver some years back, but he got his comeuppance for that when he ended up getting wedged under a bridge, and was then turned into a henhouse in a field right by the same bridge he got stuck under." Simon said. And Carrie giggled at the thought of Bulgy being a henhouse.

"Well, if he was turned into a henhouse for what he did, then why is he now back on the road?" she asked.

"It was due to increasing passenger traffic, as well as increasing numbers of tourists who were coming to the island every summer. The Fat Controller needed more help to move the holiday-makers around, and so he decided to put Bulgy back on the road." Simon said.

"I see…well, let's hope that he's been put in his place." Carrie said, as she took a last glance back down the road, looking towards where Bulgy had just gone.

(In the park, a few moments later)

Soon, Carrie and Simon entered the park, and began to stroll along the pathways and past the well-maintained flowerbeds, park benches on which sat people who were enjoying the nice sunny day. Some of them were chatting with friends, using their phones, or were just reading their books or magazines. Very near to the park entrance, and stretching along for much of the park's northern side, was a large pond, which was shaped sort of like an hour-glass with a stone bridge crossing over it halfway along. All the trees were bright green with their leaves out, and on the pond, ducks could be seen swimming along through the water and quacking loudly every now and then.

"It's sure nice around here." Carrie said, as she and Simon strolled along together.

"Yeah, it always is around this time of year, when it's warming up and the sun comes out." Simon said.

Eventually, both Carrie and Simon reached the open area in the middle of the park; before them, they could see a large square, criss-crossed by the asphalt paths that divided it into four smaller squares. On the four grassy areas, they could see people sitting down, either on their own or in small groups, on picnic blankets and relaxed in the sunny weather, while other people strolled along with their kids.

Off one side of the square, close to one of the pathways, there was a bandstand with some kids playing in and around it, while a playground over on the other side of the square had lots more kids playing on it, including on the swings, the slides, merry-go-rounds, and the see-saws.

Very close to where Simon and Carrie were standing, just off to their left and a few steps ahead of them, was a war memorial, which commemorated all the people of Sodor who had given their lives in the service of their country ever since the First World War.

Still holding hands, Carrie and Simon walked on and made their way over to an empty bench not too far away from them and sat down.

"You know, I've very glad that we were able to go out together today, Carrie." Simon said, as he turned and looked into Carrie's eyes. Feeling herself being drawn closer and closer to Simon, Carrie turned and looked into Simon's eyes

"Yeah…me too, Simon…me too." And then, without either of them even thinking, they leaned in closer together and, pressing their lips on each other, they shared their first kiss. Pulling back from each other a moment or two later on, they looked at each other as smiles slowly cross their faces.

"Wow…that…that was nice." Carrie said, as she looked at Simon.

"First kiss?" Simon asked. After a moment, Carrie nodded, and Simon smiled. "Yeah, it was mine too. You're pretty good too."

"Thanks, Simon. You know, you're a pretty good kisser for someone who's never done it before." Carrie said.

"Thanks…I guess I'm just naturally good at it." Simon said modestly, as he rubbed the back of his head a little.

"Hey, don't be modest, Simon. Be proud of it…after all, you've made me a happy girl today." Carrie said. And smiling again, both Simon and Carrie leaned in and shared another kiss together, but this time they held it for a little longer before slowly pulling away from each other.

"That was good…very nice." Carrie said.

"I'm very glad to see you enjoyed it, Carrie." Simon said, with a smile.

(Later in the morning)

Once they had finished strolling around the park, where they had gone along all the different pathways and had seen everything that there was to see around the park, both Carrie and Simon, still holding each other's hands and feeling high in the world after sharing their first kiss earlier on, made their way out through the same entrance where they had entered the park earlier on in the morning. Close by, a clock mounted upon the wall of a building showed the time as being 11:47am.

"So, where do you think we should go now?" Carrie asked, as they stepped back out onto the street. Looking around, she could see that it was a little busier now, with more people going about and more vehicles driving past on the road going by the park.

"Well…are you feeling hungry in any way?" Simon asked.

"Yeah, I am." Carrie said, as she rubbed her stomach a little.

"I know where there's a place where we can get a bite to eat, and it's not too far away from here." Simon said, as he indicated down the street a little way to where the place was.

"Is it a fast-food place? Because that's what I'm in the mood for right now." Carrie said.

"It is, and it serves some of the nicest burgers that I've ever had." Simon said.

"Well then, let's go there and get something to eat." Carrie said, and they headed off down the street to the fast-food place.

They soon arrived in front of the restaurant and, going inside, went up to the counter. It wasn't too busy as of yet, which was a little strange considering it was almost noon, and people should have been coming in for the lunchtime service right around now. But even so, Carrie and Simon were pleased to see that it wasn't too busy now, with only around half a dozen customers within the place, either sitting at the tables and eating or lining up at the counter and waiting for their orders to be placed on the counter.

"So, what do you want for lunch, Carrie?" Simon asked, as they looked up at the menu above the counter at the choices on offer.

"Well, I'd really like to have a burger, considering you said they were quite nice." Carrie said.

"You know, that's what I wanted to have too." Simon said.

Once their turn came to order at the counter, they ordered what they wanted to have and, after Simon paid, they sat down at one of their tables and waited for their food to arrive.

"So, how are you feeling so far today, Carrie?" Simon asked.

"I'm feeling all right, Simon. And I'm pleased that our date has gone well so far." Carrie said.

"Yeah, me too. And I'm really hoping that it'll keep going well for the rest of the day." Simon said, as he smiled at Carrie.

"And what shall we do after we're finished here?" Carrie asked.

"I know where there's a good ice cream shop not far from here, or if you want to, we can always go back to the park for another walk." Simon said.

"Well, an ice cream after lunch does sound good. Let's go to the ice cream shop after we've finished here, and see what's on offer there." said Carrie.

"Okay, Carrie." said Simon.

It wasn't too long before their food arrived at the table, which were burgers with chips and the soft drinks they wanted, and they were able to tuck into their lunch.

"Oh, this looks delicious." Carrie said, as she picked up her burger and tucked into it.

"You'll love it, Carrie. After all, the burgers in this place are really highly regarded by everyone who comes and eats here." Simon said, as he started on his own burger.

Taking a bite from her burger, Carrie savoured the rich flavours, including the sauce that had been put within it.

"Hmm, that's really good. I think this is one of the best burger's that I've ever eaten." Carrie said, as she reached for her drink just off to the side and took a sip from it.

"I told you so, Carrie." Simon said, as he swallowed a bite of his own burger. And for the next few minutes, the pair stayed quiet as they enjoyed their food, with the only sounds to be heard being from the kitchen behind the counter, vehicles and people passing by outside, with the odd person coming in every now and then, as well as the sounds of the other customers inside enjoying their food. As she enjoyed her food, Carrie couldn't help but feeling good about herself; she had her first kiss from a boy she was fond of earlier on, and now she was enjoying a good lunch with him. She wondered if she and Simon could go on more dates in the future.

(Later on)

A short while after Carrie and Simon had finished their lunch, they left the burger place and went down the street towards the ice cream shop that Simon had mentioned. Carrie hoped that this ice cream shop would be as nice as the one she, Simon, and the girls had gone to after their recent trip out to the countryside a few days before. And she hoped that the ice cream would be as nice as any ice cream that she'd ever had in her life before.

"And here we are, Carrie. This is the ice cream shop I told you about…the Sweet Crème." Simon said, as they came to a stop outside the front of the shop.

"This looks like a nice place." Carrie said, as she looked over the front of the shop. Through the entrance door, she could see the ice cream serving counter inside, as well as customers who were enjoying ice cream on a nice day like this.

"This place serves a wide variety of different ice cream, and is one of the most popular places to go for tourists, as well as locals, to go to in the summer." Simon said.

"Well, let's go inside and see what we can get there." Carrie said, as she and Simon went inside the Sweet Crème.

Once inside, Simon and Carrie stood back from the counter, and looked up at the menu boards above to decide what to order.

"What do you think, Carrie?" Simon asked.

"I would like to have a sundae in one of those tall glasses…a butterscotch one." Carrie said.

"Sounds good to me, and I think I'll have one as well, but a chocolate fudge sundae instead." Simon said. After they stepped up to the counter, the two teens placed their orders for the sundaes they wanted, and, after they paid for them, the two watched as the two servers behind the counter set about preparing the two sundaes; they watched as the sauces were poured around the insides of the two tall glasses, and then as the ice cream were put inside from the soft-serve ice cream machine, and then as whipped cream was placed on top of the sundaes, with some grated chocolate placed on top.

"And there we are, you two." one of the servers said, as she and her colleague handed the two sundaes, with tall spoons in them, to Carrie and Simon.

"Thanks." the two young teens said together, as they took the two glasses and then headed over to a vacant table.

"Oh, this looks good." Carrie said, as she took hold of the tall spoon and started on the sundae.

"I agree, let's eat these before they melt." Simon said, as he started on his sundae too.

As the two young teens started on their sundaes, Carrie savoured the sweet and creamy flavour of the ice cream, she felt herself smile widely; Simon was right…the sundaes served here really were delicious! As she enjoyed her own sundae, she looked over at Simon; he seemed to be enjoying his as much as she was. Feeling herself smile as she continued on eating, Carrie wiped her lips down with a napkin, before she then dug her spoon back into her sundae and took in more of it.

(Later in the day; 5:15pm)

Both Simon and Carrie stood together at a point that was along the top of the long wall that ran along from Knapford Station, and watched as the different passenger and freight trains ran in and out of Knapford Station. They listened to the different sounds, whistles, clanking of valve gear, and rattling of rolling stock as the trains went by, and smelt the smell of coal smoke as if drifted through the calm air. By this point, Carrie was quite used to the smell of the coal smoke, and now whenever she went to sleep at night, she was quite used to the sounds of the trains going by her father's house during the night hours. In fact, the sounds of trains going by at night was actually quite comforting to her now, and she was able to fall asleep, and stay asleep, whenever a train went on by during the night.

Now though, standing at the overlook point where she and Simon were looking over the different railway lines and the trains going in and out of the station, she felt really better about herself, and of life generally; when she had been in Chamberlain, and particularly within Ewen High School, she had never ever felt good about herself, especially when she was subjected to the constant, and near uninterrupted, bullying from her classmates, as well as from the constant abuse that she'd suffered from her mentally unstable and religiously dominant mother.

There came the sounds of another whistle off to the left, and the two turned their heads to see which locomotive that was coming in towards Knapford now; they saw that it was L.M.S. 2-6-0+0-6-2 Garratt No.47990, who was slowly rolling, in reverse, into Knapford Station with a very long train of heavily laden steel hopper wagons, each filled up with tons of freshly mined coal, coupled to him. At the cab, one of the crewmen could be seen leaning out a little as No.47990 slowed down, and then rolled through Knapford Station on his way over to the extensive yards nearby.

As the long coal train passed through the station, there came the sound of another whistle; this time, it was from G.W.R. 47XX Class 2-8-0 No.4712, who was rolling through Knapford Station in the opposite direction on the track that ran adjacent to Platform 2. Behind him, he had a long line of smartly polished coaches, ten of them in all and each painted in G.W.R. chocolate and cream livery, and each of them was loaded with passengers on their way over to Vicarstown. No.4712 was painted in B.R. lined express green livery, and every inch of his paintwork, as well as his brass, was highly polished and cleaned down, and so he looked very smart for his evening job.

From several moments, both Carrie and Simon stood and watched as No.4712 made his way through the series of lines from the station and out towards the main line, with smoke and steam coming from the chimney, the coaches rolling smoothly behind, and the driver giving a short blast on the whistle as they went past the signal box.

As the last of the coaches went by and round the bend towards the main line, Carrie turned to Simon.

"Well, I think that our date today was a success…would you agree, Simon?" Carrie said.

"Absolutely, Carrie. And I hope we can go on more of them…if that would be all right with you?" Simon asked.

"Certainly, I'd really like that, especially with how well everything went today." Carrie said, as she smiled at Simon, and he smiled back at her.

"Thanks, Carrie." Simon said, as he put his arm around Carrie's should and pulled her a little closer to him, as she placed her arm around Simon's waist. They stayed where they were for a few more minutes watching the trains go by, with the engines sounding their whistles and calling out "Hello!" to each other as they went on by, with the sounds of the trains filling the air as they went to and fro along the lines below them.

"Well, shall we head back to where Caroline is parked now? I'm sure that she's wondering where we are right now." Carrie said.

"Sounds a good idea to me. Let's go." Simon said, and turning round, they left the spot where they were watching the trains and headed back towards the spot where they had parked Caroline.

It was a bit of a walk to where they had to go to where Caroline was, but they made it without too much trouble at all. And as they stepped into the car park behind the building, Caroline opened her eyes and watched them as they approached her.

"Hello there, you two. I've been wondering where you were." she said, as she smiled.

"Hello there, Caroline. Oh, there's no need to worry. Simon and I have been having a good time in town today." Carrie said with a smile, as they stepped alongside Caroline.

"And I'm pleased to tell you that everything went well today too." Simon said, as he opened the door on the driver's side.

"Well…that's good to hear, you two." Caroline said, as Simon and Carrie got into the front seats.

"Indeed, and now, it's time for us all to go home." Simon said, as he and Simon fastened their seatbelts. Inserting his key, Simon started the engine. After a few moments, they started off out of the car park and out onto the street. Turning down the road, Simon gently put Caroline in gear and they set off down the road and towards the area of town where Ralph White's house was located at.

(A short while later)

Simon pulled Caroline in front of Ralph's house and gently drove her through the open gates and up the driveway, before stopping near to the front door.

"Thanks for the ride home, Simon." Carrie said, as she took off her seatbelt.

"Oh, it's no trouble at all, Carrie. I'm always happy to make things a little easier for you." Simon said, with a smile. Giggling a little as she opened the door and stepped out from Caroline, Carrie felt better somewhat in the knowledge that Simon would be there to help her.

"Thanks, Simon. That's really reassuring for me." Carrie said, as she turned to look at Simon before she closed the door. Simon opened his side of the door and stepped out, as Carrie went round to the driver's side of Caroline.

"And I'm pleased to see that you had a good time today." Simon said, as he and Carrie shared a last hug, as well as a kiss, before they heard the sound of a door opening and Ralph White stepped outside the house.

"Ah, Carrie…you're back." he said, as Simon and Carrie turned away from their kiss and looked towards him.

"Yes, dad…I'm pleased to report that everything went well." Carrie said, slightly embarrassed at the thought of her father seeing her and Simon kiss each other.

"Well, that's good to hear, and Simon, I'm pleased to see Carrie back here in one piece." Ralph said with a smile, as he looked towards Simon.

"Thanks, Ralph. I promised myself that I would get her back here safely." Simon said, in modest way.

"That's good, Simon. Now, you'd better get yourself home. I'm sure your parents are wondering where you are right now." Ralph said.

"All right then. I am feeling a little bit tired right now. I'll see you very soon, Carrie." Simon said, as Carrie stepped away from him and over to the entrance to the house.

"Okay, Simon, and thanks for a great day out." Carrie said, as she watched Simon climb back into Caroline, and then, after Simon waved her goodbye, and Caroline also said "Good night, Carrie!" he started the engine and turned Caroline around, before heading on down the driveway, and turning right up the road to where he lived.

"Anyway Carrie, are you feeling hungry after your day out with Simon?" her father asked.

"Yeah, I am a bit, dad." Carrie said, suddenly realising that she was in fact hungry.

"Well, how about we go out and get a takeaway for this evening?" her father said.

"Yeah, that sounds good to me, and where shall we go?" Carrie asked, as she stepped inside the house, with her father closing the door behind them.

And there we are, everyone! Another chapter, and we've seen Simon and Carrie share their first kiss with each other. As mentioned above, there will be a chapter sometime in the future where there'll be a circus train visiting Sodor, and Carrie will be among the lucky ones helping to get it where it needs to be. Hopefully, that's a chapter we'll be seeing up sometime in the near future.