Chapter 40: Telling her Story
(Thursday, July 26th 2012 – 5:17pm; Ffarquhar Station)
The shunter got in between the two trucks and fastened the coupling into place, and with that done, he got out from between them and walked forwards to where No.539 was standing and waiting. For most of the day, he had been working away on the Ffarquhar branch line, where he had been working freight trains along much of the line between different stations and the quarries. Right now, he was working a final freight train from Ulfstead back down to the yards at Knapford, and was picking up a final line of trucks in the yard at Ffarquhar Station. The other trucks within his train were sitting on the line adjacent to Ffarquhar Station, where they were waiting for No.539 to roll out from the siding and then reverse back to them in order to have the next line of trucks coupled up to them.
Standing on the footplate of No.539, Carrie was leaning out a little and looking back at the line of trucks being coupled up behind them, and there appeared to be eight of them in all, including a tanker, three box vans, a flat bed with its load covered with a large dark-green canvas sheet, and three open-topped steel mineral wagons. For Carrie, it had been a fairly easy day on the Ffarquhar line since she had moved to work on No.539 after having worked on Duchess of Montrose earlier on in the day. The trucks, for the most part, had behaved very well during the day, with the riding along the line being very smooth, and she had done a very good job at stoking the boiler with coal, which meant they had been to keep running along on a good head of steam.
But at that moment though, even though it was late into afternoon and gradually getting into early evening, Carrie wasn't feeling that tired at all, much to her own surprise. She was still feeling quite active and nowhere near as drained of energy as she had expected to be, and she was wondering how well she would sleep tonight after she got home once she had clocked out for the day.
With the trucks in the siding coupled up behind No.539, they could now move out of the siding and back out onto the branch line, before reversing back and connecting these trucks up to the rest of the train. Once that was done, they could proceed on their way down the line back to the junction, and from there back to the yards at Knapford. After giving a short blast on the whistle, the driver opened the regulator, and they slowly moved out from the siding while taking up the load of the trucks behind them. The noise of the trucks as they started off created quite a racket around the yard, with the sounds of the clattering, clanking, and screeching being heard from quite a way off.
Once they were back out on the branch line, they went up along a short way beyond the siding and stopped. Once the shunter had switched the points back and they were given the all clear they could start moving, they were waved backwards by one of the men standing by the side of the line, and they began to reverse very slowly backwards so as to couple up with their waiting train. Slowly and carefully, the driver reversed the train back, with one of the men standing by the side of the line giving out instructions from a walkie talkie as they moved closer and closer to the line of waiting trucks. Keeping her hands on the cab-side, Carrie braced herself for the gentle bump when they came in contact with the line of trucks.
Then, with a clanking of buffers, the trucks bumped into each other and the driver quickly put the brakes on at once and brought No.539 to a stop. As the shunter coupled up the trucks together, the driver set the reversing controls to full forward and got ready to set off once they were given the "all clear" to move. As they waited, Carrie took the chance to place some fresh coal into the firebox, so as to build up the fire and raise the pressure in the boiler to a higher level. At the same time, the fireman checked the two water gauge glasses to make sure the water level in the boiler was adequate, which it was. Checking the main boiler pressure gauge, the fireman could see the indicator arrow was at about 190psi.
Soon, with the signal ahead showing the way was clear, they heard the welcome sound of the guard blowing his whistle. Looking back, the driver saw the guard waving his green flag just before he stepped back aboard his brake van.
"Okay, let's go!" he said, as he blew the whistle and then opened the regulator a little. Slowly, and ever so gently, they set off on their way down the line to Knapford, with the long line of trucks following behind them.
As they set off, and gradually built up a bit more speed, the fireman reached for and opened a small box firmly secured on the front end of the tender. A moment later, he pulled out a bottle of ice-cold Coca Cola, and then handed it to Carrie.
"After all the work you've done on such a warm and fine day like today, miss…" said the fireman, "…I think you deserved a cold drink."
"Thanks, I think I could use one right about now." Carrie said with a smile, as she gratefully took the bottle of Coca Cola, opened it up, and then took a long drink from it. Feeling somewhat better from a cold drink on this warm day, she sat down on the front of the tender and rested her feet for a while as they rolled along the line.
Passing through the cutting that ran past Mrs Kyndley's cottage and then into the tunnel adjacent to it, No.539 whistled in greeting as they went on by, with the trucks rattling along behind him and creating a loud noise as they went into the tunnel. With a blast of the whistle, they emerged on the other side of the tunnel, at the point where the road that climbed over the hill was off to the right, and then proceeded along the line past the farm fields to their left and round the curve that went to the right, and generally followed the road.
They made their way down the line back to Knapford, where they passed through a lot of places that were by now quite familiar to Carrie, having been up and down the different parts of the Farquhar Branch a number of times over the last few months. Among the sights they passed through were the Hackenbeck Station and then Hackenbeck Tunnel, the station by the bridge with a village on both sides of it, and then past a farmland a short way down the line. In between taking in the sights as they went along, Carrie took a number of goes at stoking the boiler with more coal, being careful to place the coal to where it was needed to keep the fire burning brightly and hot enough to make enough steam.
As they passed through the deep and tree-lined branch line cutting, Carrie couldn't help but be amazed by the sights of the cutting sides towering above them, with the many trees that dotted the length of both slopes of the cutting. Then she felt them turning to the right, and saw the heights of both sides of the getting get a little lower and lower the more they went along, with the trees getting less and less as well. They soon reached the end of the cutting, and soon went along the top of an embankment where they could see the flat and gentle rolling farmland that was on both sides of it. At times, in some of the fields, farmers who were working away, or people who were out walking or enjoying the nice summer day would pause and wave to them as No.539 went on by with his train. In return, the S.R. Q Class 0-6-0 would blow his whistle in response and call out "Hello!" to those who were waving at him before he went on down the line.
It wasn't too long before they finally reached the junction where they could roll out onto the main line north of Knapford. The signal was at red, and so they had to stop and wait for whatever train was coming along before they could move out from the line. They didn't have to wait for very long, for soon there came the sound of a whistle from the line going off to the north, and a minute or so later, the engine appeared. It was No.63475, who was an example of the L.N.E.R. Class O3 2-8-0 heavy freight engines (70), and he was hauling a long, mixed freight train consisting of many different types of heavily laden trucks. Clouds of grey white smoke chuffed from his chimney as he went along with his heavy train.
From the cab of No.539, Carrie was slightly astonished to see just how long the freight train behind No.63475 was, as well as the wide variety of different freight rolling stock it was made out of.
(70): The Great Northern Railway's Class O1 2-8-0 freight locomotives (later L.N.E.R. Class O3) were designed to haul heavy freight trains on the Great Northern Railway (G.N.R.). They were designed by Nigel Gresley, who had succeeded Henry Ivatt as the Great Northern's C.M.E. in 1911 after Ivatt has retired from the company. There was a need to move heavy coal trains along the East Coast Main Line from Grantham to London, and the existing engines who worked on that line, including the G.N.R. Q1 and Q2 0-8-0 heavy freight engines, were being worked to their full capacity by those heavy trains.
So, in order to meet the need of moving coal to London, as well as to move heavier trains full of minerals, Gresley designed the O1 Class 2-8-0 heavy freight locomotive, with the very first five examples of the class to be built, then numbered No.456 to No.460, emerging from Doncaster Works in 1913 and 1914. Due to the fact that the Tango dance was becoming popular in Britian at the time, the engines of the O1 Class were nicknamed "Tangos".
Due to the First World War, due to the Great Northern Railway really needing the extra capacity to moving freight around its network, and so new orders for ten new locomotives were issued in December 1917 and February 1918 respectively, with the entire construction order transferred from Doncaster to the North British Locomotive Company in April 1918. In 1919, another order for five locomotives was placed, and by the end of that year, 15 more O1s were built, giving a total of 20 locomotives, with the 15 new engines being numbered from No.462 to No.476.
The O1 Class had two outside cylinders that were 21in in diameter with a 26in piston stroke, driving wheels that were 4ft 8in in diameter, and a boiler that was fitted with superheating and pressed to 180psi. This all combined to give the O1 Class a maximum tractive effort of 33,735lbf, which was more than sufficient enough for the class to move the heavy freight trains they were expected to haul. A number of features from Gresley's first design, the K1 Class 2-6-0, were incorporated into the O1 Class, including the outside cylinder arrangement with 10in piston valves and Walschaerts valve gear, and the K1's double-bolster swing-link pony truck was also used. The K1 pony truck added much better support for the front end of the locomotive, and also gave an advantage when the locomotives traversed the frequent diversions on and off the slow lines into London. The first five O1s were initially fitted with leaf bearing springs on their pony trucks, but in 1916 these were replaced with helical bearing springs.
The boiler fitted to the O1 Class was based on Ivatt's previous boiler design for the C1 Large Atlantic 4-4-2 Class, with the dome moved further back and the wide firebox replaced by a narrow firebox. Originally fitted with Ramsbottom safety valves, the boilers had newer Ross pop safety valves were fitted from 1924. The same boiler design was later used on Gresley's later three-cylinder O2 Class 2-8-0s.
With the O1 Class designed to haul heavy coal trains from Peterborough to London, the design loads the class could haul were 80 wagons long, which weighed around 1,300 tons in total. These trains were 20 wagons longer in length than those which had been hauled by the previous Q1 and Q2 Classes could manage.
The 20 members of the class were initially allocated to New England Shed at Peterborough for their chosen work, but by 1920 three members were sent to Colwick to work coal trains from Colwick to New England. A fourth engine was sent there by 1923, but all four were sent back to Peterborough in 1925, but then there were sent back to Colwick in the winter of 1926, where they would remain until 1934-35.
Among the various duties the O1s did besides pulling coal trains was taking trains of potatoes to London, and taking empty wagons north to Doncaster and returning to Peterborough with fully loaded trains. From 1925 onwards, most of the duties the class ran to Doncaster were taken over by the G.C.R. Class O4 2-8-0 freight engines.
In 1932, 10 members of the class were reallocated to Doncaster Shed, due to the fact that members of the faster K3 2-6-0 Class were hauling 60 wagon trains in an effort to try and reduce the serious problem of congestion on the main line caused by the slower-moving trains. Two members of the class were also allocated to Mexborough Shed for a while. In November 1942, the last of the New England O1s were sent to Grantham, from where they hauled heavy iron ore trains on steeply graded branch lines that ran from Highdyke to Stainby and Sproxton, as well as to Frodingham.
During World War II, when air raids did occasionally cause brief closures of parts of the railway system, the O1 Class hauled coal trains via Sandy onto L.M.S. lines to Bedford, Bletchley, and Claydon Junction.
In February 1944, the O1 Class were reclassified as O3, allowing the O1 designation to be used for Edward Thompson's rebuilt O4 Class 2-8-0s.
In 1945, with the war over, much of Grantham's iron ore traffic was taken over by the O2 Class 2-8-0s, and so the O3s were reallocated to Doncaster Shed, with all 20 of them being sent to Frodingham Shed to haul trains to and from the steelworks there.
In 1947, the first withdrawals of the class began, when the first three engines were withdrawn, these being No.3487, No.3490 and No.3492. By the time nationalisation came about in January 1948, the remaining 17 engines were still around, but the pace of withdrawals were set to increase, with two more being withdrawn that year, these two being No.3489 and No.3494. By 1952, the final four members of the class, No.63476, No.63482, No.63484, and No.63488, were withdrawn from service. Sadly, not a single example of the class has survived into preservation.
Within this story, if any members of the G.N.R. O1 Class appear, they'll be going by their 1944 L.N.E.R. designation of O3, simply to avoid being confused with the Thompson O1 Class 2-8-0s.
As No.63475 went on past with his long train, he blew his whistle loudly and called out "Hello!" in greeting to No.539, who sounded his whistle for a few moments in return and also called out "Hello!" to No.63475. From the footplate, Carrie watched as all the trucks went on by them, with the sounds of them rattling, clanking, and rolling along the line as they rolled on past one by one.
After the brake van at the back of the train went on by them, but just before the signalman in the signal-box could switch the points and set the signal to "clear", there came the sounds of another whistle from the direction of Knapford Station, the direction where No.63475 had just gone with his train. A minute or so later, with a loud chuffing and wheeshing of steam, the source of the whistle came into view, heading northwards from Knapford; it was L.N.E.R. J39 Class 0-6-0 No.64942, and he was hauling a long line of open-topped trucks and steel hopper wagons laden with stone, sand, rubble, crushed rocks, and other things like that, on a journey from Knapford to the north of the island, where it would all be needed for use in a series of construction sites near the northern tip of the island.
"Good evening, No.539!" No.64942 called, as he blew his whistle in greeting while he went on past.
"Good evening, No.64942!" No.539 called, as he waited for his turn to head out onto the main line. Upon hearing the words "Good evening!" Carrie looked down at her watch; it was 6:05pm.
"Goodness me, it's after six already!" she said to the driver and fireman.
"Don't worry, Carrie! There's plenty of time left and we'll be able to clock out for the day very soon!" the driver said, as he saw the signal ahead of them drop, which meant they could proceed on their way. After sounding the whistle for a few moments, the driver opened the regulator and they proceeded out onto the main line, and from there on towards Knapford.
(A little later on)
Once they had arrived in Knapford Yards and had parked their trucks into one of the longest empty sidings, No.539 made his way back to the motive power depot at Tidmouth Sheds, where he would be parked for the night, and his crew and Carrie would clock out for the day.
"And that's it for today!" the driver said, as he closed the regulator, released the handbrake, and then made sure the cylinder drain cocks were left open. At the same time, the fireman made sure the tender brakes were firmly put on as well, and then opened the firehole doors to check on the state of the fire; by this time of the day, the fire, though still quite hot, was covered with layers of clinker in places, and a thin blue flame could be seen at times on top of the white-hot coals.
"We'll leave that for the shed crews to take care of, Carrie. After all, that's what their job is." the fireman said to Carrie, as he grabbed his things and prepared to step off the footplate.
"Yeah, after all the excitement I've had today…I don't think I could go through with emptying out a hot firebox." Carrie said, as she grabbed her things and got ready to step off the footplate too.
After stepping off the footplate, Carrie made her way round to the front of No.539 and looked up at him.
"Well, many thanks for letting me work with you today, No.539." Carrie said, as a smile crossed her face.
"Oh, it was no problem at all, Carrie. It was nice to finally get a chance to work with you today as well." No.539 said, as he smiled down at Carrie.
"Anyway, I'd best get over to the crew building and get myself showered, and then clock out for the day. Good night!" Carrie said, as she turned and made her way over to the crew building, which was on the other side of the depot.
"Good night, Carrie!" No.539 said, as some of the depot workers set about clearing his fire out and getting him cleaned up.
Making her way along, and always looking left and right before she crossed any of the tracks to make sure that there weren't any engines coming along towards her, or that there wasn't any rolling stock being pushed along by one of the engines who would be working late this evening. As she made her way along, she looked up every now and then, and took in the sight of the clear and sunny evening sky, with the sun shining down as it slowly began to sink off to the west. It seemed to have been the perfect end to a long day of hard work.
Approaching the side of Tidmouth Sheds, she noticed that some of the engines she was most familiar with were lined up in the berths of the shed around the turntable, including Thomas, Edward, Henry, Gordon, James, Percy, Toby, and Duck, as well as Donald, Douglas, and Emily. Also seen sitting on the siding on the other side of the shed was none other than Flying Scotsman, and he was chatting with the other engines in the shed about their day of work out on the line on different parts of the island.
As Carrie crossed over the lines in front of the shed, she heard a voice.
"Ah, good evening, Carrie." and Carrie turned her head to see which engine had spoken to her. Turned out, it was none other than Edward who had seen her cross the lines in front of the sheds.
"Oh, good evening, Edward." Carrie said, as she turned to look at Edward.
"Did you have a good day out on the line today?" Edward asked, as all the other engines looked towards Carrie.
"Yes, I did. And even after all of that, I'm not feeling tired at all." Carrie said, still a little bit surprised that she wasn't feeling anyway knackered from a day of work.
"That's a little bit of a surprise there. Most of those who work hard out on the railway for a day are usually very tired by the end of it!" James said, as he gave a smirk while looking up to the sky.
"And their overalls are usually very dirty as well, from all the soot, ash, and coal dust that's being blown around." added Henry.
"Hey, not always!" said Percy, knowing that he had sometimes seen his own driver and fireman at the end of many a working day with fairly clean overalls.
"Well, regardless of all that…I think that you've done a good day's work today, Carrie. I know, because I saw you with No.539 a few times while I was going along my branch line today." Thomas said.
"Thank you, Thomas." Carrie said.
"We've been telling my brother Flying Scotsman here a little bit about you, Carrie. And why you came over here to Sodor in the first place." said Gordon, as he looked over to where Flying Scotsman was standing beside him.
"And…what have you been telling him?" Carrie asked, as she looked towards Gordon with some slight concern on her face.
"Oh, it's just what you told them not long after you came over here, Carrie, but…when they told me what had happened to you in your home town…I was a bit shocked about what they told me." said Flying Scotsman, as he looked towards Carrie.
"Would you like to tell us all a bit more about what you went through back in your home town please? It seems like you didn't tell us everything that happened to you when you first arrived here." Toby said, as he looked towards Carrie.
"Oh, I don't know if that's such a good idea. After all, it might make Carrie upset and…" Duck said, as he looked around to the other engines. From what he had heard about Carrie's life so far, he really wasn't sure if it was a good idea that they should ask Carrie to tell them more about her private life.
"Oh, it's all right…the thoughts of my past life back in Chamberlain don't really bother me too much now...certainly not unlike the way it used to do several months ago, so I'd be pleased to tell you all some more details about what I had to go through back home, as well as more details about some of those who bullied me in school." Carrie said.
"Are you sure about that, Carrie?" Edward asked, with some concern in his voice.
"Well…I'm sure that you'd all like to hear about some of the people I knew back in Chamberlain, which I don't think I've told you all about the first time I met you all." Carrie said.
"Okay, Carrie…if you're sure about that." said Emily. And so, they all quietened down and listened, and this is the story that Carrie told them all.
"Well…things weren't very easy for me back in Chamberlain, due to what most of my classmates back in my high school did to me by bullying me on a frequent basis…every day as a matter of fact. And not to mention all the horrible things that my mother did to me in the house where I lived for most of my life before I ran away from home." Carrie said.
"And…what sort of things did your classmates do to you when you were in school?" asked Henry, with some concern.
"The things they did to me were many and varied...because of the way my mom was like and how she sheltered me...I was treated like a social outcast and scapegoat at home. And it made me a magnet for bullies, who singled me out for teasing and harassing...I was the butt of every joke, a black-sheep, and a target for all different types of humiliations as well...and it happened pretty much every day at school; sometimes it involved them knocking the books I was carrying out of my hands or that I had place on my desks, but on other occasions, it was them trying to trip me up in class or in the school cafeteria by putting their legs out, or trying to pinch me, or poke me at times. And on one occasion about three years back, when I was in my school's study hall, I was asleep and one of the boys in my class, a boy named Billy Preston, put peanut butter into my hair, which was a nightmare to get out later on and caused a lot of people in school to laugh at me. I was basically treated with no respect at all." Carrie said. And all the engines gasped in shock or looked at each other with some genuine concern after they heard that.
"Oh, Carrie…I'm so sorry to hear that. That must have been horrible." Emily said.
"Well, hold on, there's a lot more to come than that…at one point in my life when I was younger, I went to a Christian Youth Summer Camp in Maine, and during the six or seven days that I was there, the other kids that I went to camp with played many nasty pranks and tricks on me. They did things like short-sheet my bunk bed, so I would find it difficult to get into bed each night, hiding some of the things I brought to camp with me, as well as putting a snake into my shoe. When we swam in the camp's lake, they would often dunk my head underwater, which meant that I couldn't breath and I had to scream for air, over and over again. Even though I took part in the camp's carious different activities, the kids in that camp never stopped playing their pranks and tricks on me." Carrie said.
All the engines looked towards Carrie in genuine shock, and with the deepest of sympathy for what horrible things she had gone through.
"Back in school, I often had these obscene notes put into my purse or into my coat pockets when I wasn't looking, and at times…one of the other girls who was in my class would often make prank calls to where I lived and would ask the silliest and stupidest things, which I will not say here. I was also pinched and poked by other students many times as well, and not to mention other horrible things too." Carrie said, as more horrible and suppressed memories from her difficult past began to fill her head again.
"I'm so sorry that you had to go through all that, Carrie." said Percy, with deep sympathy.
"Do you know which girl it might have been who made those prank calls?" Duck asked.
"I think that it was very likely my main arch-bully, Chris Hargensen, who's one of the most popular girls in Ewen High School...the Queen Bee of Ewen High if you will...and the leader of the clique of girls who bullied me on a frequent basis." Carrie said.
The engines murmured amongst themselves for a few moments before they turned their attention back to Carrie again.
"That Chris Hargensen…she sounds like quite a nasty piece of work." Gordon said.
"Oh, she is, Gordon. But even to even say that she's a nasty piece of work is probably an enormous understatement. And it wasn't only me that she and her group of girls bullied; it was other social outcasts and misfits within the school as well. Chris is quite a sadistic, spoiled, manipulative, and ruthless bully, who always tries to not let anyone else in the school get in her way. She's quite rebellious, not at all afraid of people in authority positions, and quite manipulative as well." Carrie said.
"Has she ever gotten in trouble for what she and the girls in her group did to those people?" Thomas asked.
"She has, and far too many times for me to mention here. In fact, by the time I ran away from home last November, I had already completely lost count of just how many times she was given detention, or even suspended from school for any period of time. Yet despite this, it doesn't bother Chris at all, and she does everything she can to get her way, either in school or out of it." Carrie said.
"Goodness me…and what do her parents even think about what she did to all those people in school?" asked James.
"Well…Chris' father is one of the leading lawyers in Chamberlain, and he's someone who had considerable influence in his job. And so, due to that, Chris often used that fact to make herself untouchable to anyone else in school, even the teachers. And if Chris does get detention or suspended from school...well, I don't think it really bothers him that much at all. And as to her mother thinks about that Chris does…well, I really honestly don't know how she reacts to whatever Chris does or whatever trouble she gets into. But I think it's likely she's as bad as Chris is." Carrie said.
"Goodness me, they sound almost just as bad as Chris is!" said Toby.
"Oh, absolutely. And I often wonder if Chris inherited that particular gene from both of her parents." Carrie said.
"And the other girls who were in Chris' group…who were they and what were they like? Were they just as bad, or even worse, than she is?" asked Flying Scotsman.
"Most...not all of them...but most of the other girls in Chris' little group are just as bad as she is. The worst of them all, apart from Chris herself obviously, is Tina Blake, who's best known within Ewen High for being Chris' right-hand woman. Tina is Chris' best friend, and has been for many years, ever since they were little kids together all the way back in kindergarten. At times when Chris isn't around, either due to the fact that she was suspended or for whatever other reason it may have been, Tina is usually the one that Chris can always count on to bully people in her place, and she often bullies other people in school just as badly as Chris does, if not worse." Carrie said.
"Ach, she sounds like quite the monster! I hope that she gets taught a good lesson for all the horrible things that she's done to you and to everyone else in yer school!" said Donald, with a grim look on his face.
"Ach, aye Donal!" Douglas said, with a look equally as grim on his face.
"Well…let's hope so. Anyway, onto the other girls who are in Chris' group; some of them aren't as bad as Chris or Tina, but most of them are still bad enough. As well as Tina Blake, the other girls in Chris' group include Donna Kellogg, Heather Shyres, Rachael Spies, the Watson Twins Nicki and Lizzy, Jessica Upshaw, as well as the Thibodeau Twins Donna and Mary Lila Grace. There's also another girl in that group too, and she's a blonde girl called Sue Snell, but she never really bullied me or anyone else to the extent that most of the other girls in Chris' group did." Carrie said.
"Well, that girl…Sue Snell…she sounds like one of the better ones in that group." said Duck.
"Yes, I think she seems to be the better girl amongst them…though to be honest, if she is, I wonder why she didn't try do anything to help me." Carrie said.
"And of the two pairs of twins that you just mentioned, which of them were the worst ones to you or anyone else?" asked Percy.
"Oh, that's easy. It was Nicki and Lizzy Watson, and they were some of the worst pair of twins that I've ever known back in Chamberlain, and some of the creepiest as well in a big way." Carrie said.
"What do you mean by "creepiest" Carrie?" asked Donald, as both he and Douglas looked over towards her.
"Well…when I say they were "creepy" twins…and I don't mean any disrespect to you Donald and Douglas...I meant they dressed in exactly the same kind of clothes and they always seem to have their hair done up in an identical manner to each other. Not only that, but both of them often have this rather unnerving habit of finishing each other's sentences, and not to mention the rather creepy and unnerving way that both of them look towards other people at times. And as both of them have the same shade of black hair, and often done up in identical styles to each other…it's often very difficult for many people to tell the pair of them apart." Carrie said. At that moment, most of the engines turned their attention to Donald and Douglas; they all remembered that when the Scottish Twins first came to Sodor many years ago, they didn't have their numbers painted on the sides of their tenders or have their nameplates fitted to their sides of their smokeboxes, so it was often very difficult to tell the two of them apart at first.
"And what about the other set of twins you mentioned? Is it very difficult to tell them apart as well?" James asked.
"No, not at all. The Thibodeau Twins both dress very differently from each other, and they always seem to have their hair done very differently from each other as well. And so, it's much easier to tell the Thibodeau Twins apart than Nicki and Lizzy." Carrie said.
"What was the worst thing that Chris has done in school?" Edward asked, with some concern in his voice.
"Well…the worst thing that Chris did took place over a year ago…a year and a half this October if I remember correctly…and it wasn't to me, thank goodness for that...but to another misfit girl in the school. Somehow...and even now all this time later I still don't know HOW...but she somehow placed a firecracker into the shoe of one of the other misfit girls in my school, and her name was Irma Swope. And the end result was that…the firecracker went off and Irma nearly lost two toes as a result of it." Carrie said.
And on hearing that, all the engines gasped in horror, particularly at the thought of what Irma Swope had gone through because of that.
"Did she lose her toes because of that?" Duck asked, with a fearful look on her face.
"No, thankfully Duck…Irma didn't lose any of her toes to that firecracker going off…but…goodness me, the screams that filled the corridor when it happened. At the time, I can clearly remember that I was on my way to geography class when it happened, and there was a loud bang from somewhere down the corridor, followed by the sounds of screams from someone in severe pain. Goodness me…even now, I can still hear those scream, even all this time later." Carrie said, as she shook her head in some sadness.
"And what happened afterwards?" asked Flying Scotsman.
"Afterwards, Irma was taken to the main hospital in Chamberlain in the back of an ambulance, while Chris was brought to the main office. And not too long afterwards, Chris was suspended from school for quite a few days, about two full weeks if I recall correctly, while at the hospital, the doctors were able to save Irma's toes…but she had her foot in bandages for quite a long time and had to use crutches to get around." Carrie said.
"How come Chris wasn't kicked out of school and arrested because of that?" asked Douglas.
"It was because of her lawyer father; somehow, he made sure that Chris was never kicked out of school because of what she did. And her father makes sure that Chris never, ever, faces the consequences of anything bad that she's done to other people. Remember what I said...he has some considerable influence over the school board, and so they can't do whatever is necessary to keep Chris from doing anything." Carrie said.
"Disgraceful!" said Gordon.
"Disgusting!" put in James.
"Despicable!" finished Henry.
"Surely she would have been kicked out of school and then put into jail for something like that." Emily said.
"Ideally, in any other school in any other place or country, or even with any other parents, she most certainly would have been jailed for what she did. But with Chris' father being a very prominent lawyer in Chamberlain…well, it's not very likely anything like that will ever happen, even though you are right she should be put into jail for everything she's done." Carrie said.
"And where did Chris get that firecracker?" Percy asked, still shocked to hear what Chris had done with it, as well as to what other horrible things Chris may have done that involved using firecrackers.
"To be honest…I actually don't know where she got it, or any other firecrackers she may have bought." Carrie said.
"Were any of the teachers in the school as bad as some of your bullies were?" asked Thomas.
"Well...one or two of them were, but not all of them. One of the worst ones was my English teacher Mr Ullman, and he was just as bad as some of my bullies were. In fact, at times during English Class, he would often bully me in front of the class whenever I had to give presentations in front of everyone." Carrie said. She didn't know it at that moment, but the reason that Mr Ullman had often bullied Carrie in front of the class was that he had been under the influence of Tina Blake, who had been trying to influence him into bullying Carrie too.
The engines were all quite cross to hear something like that, and the fact it was a teacher, who should really know better, made it even more despicable.
"Do you think he'll face any consequences for what he did to you?" asked James.
"I really hope he does. After all, I did mention what he had done to me in a notebook that I left behind in my locker before I ran away." Carrie said.
"And what were the best teachers you had?" asked Edward.
"My best teacher was my gym teacher, Ms Desjardin. She always tried to help me out as best as she could, but what she could do was limited, especially considering how my mother would often get me home as soon as school was finished, as well as the influence of Chris' father over the school board." Carrie said.
"She sounds like one of the better teachers." Thomas said.
"She is one of the best teachers I've had...I only wish I had a few more teachers like her while I was in Ewen High." Carrie said.
"Do you have any fond memories from school or was it just constant bullying all the time?" asked Henry.
"To be honest…not very many at all, although one particularly good one does stand out." Carrie said, as all the engines listened intently.
"And that memory is?" asked Toby.
"Early last year, in April, I was in gym class with all the girls in my class and we were playing dodgeball in that class at that time of the afternoon. At one point, the ball came towards me and I hit it, sending it right back to the other side of the gym hall and it hit Chris Hargensen right smack in the middle of her face. And goodness, the look on her face after she was hit by it." Carrie said, as a small smile crossed her face. That was one of her very few fondest memories she had from her time back in Ewen High School, and she recalled the shocked look on Chris' face after the dodgeball hit her square in the middle of her face.
All the engines laughed for a moment, and some of them could only imagine the look on Chris Hargensen's face after she was hit in the face with a dodge ball.
"I imagine she was quite shocked when that happened." Emily said, with a laugh.
"Oh, she was, Emily. She was." Carrie said, as a smile on her face got a little bigger.
"And did everyone in your school bully you, Carrie?" Gordon asked.
"No…not everyone did, Gordon. And one of those few who never bullied me when I was in school was Ewen High's top athlete, Tommy Ross. He's on Ewen High's baseball team, and a very good athlete. He's also quite good at poetry as well, which is something many people in school never expected." Carrie said.
"And what was he like as a person?" Thomas asked.
"Oh, he was one of the best people that you could imagine. he was always on the lookout for his friends, and he was someone who would never say a bad word to someone about anyone." Carrie said.
"Well, he does sound like one of the better people in the school that you went to." said Flying Scotsman.
"Oh, he is. He is." Carrie said.
"And who is his girlfriend, or did he have one?" asked Edward.
"His girlfriend is Sue Snell, who's part of Chris' group of girls." Carrie said.
"Oh, I see." Edward said.
"And what's the name of the group of girls under Chris Hargensen?" Duck asked.
"Oh, Chris' group of girls is known as the Mortimer Snerds." Carrie said.
"That's an odd name to give a group of people." Percy said, as some of the other engines around him agreed.
"And…I know I shouldn't ask this…but could you please give us some details about what your mother was like?" asked Toby. On hearing that, all the engines looked towards Carrie with a look of concern on their faces. Carrie, after being asked THAT particular question, froze for a moment, before then taking in a deep breath and proceeding with her story.
"Well…she wasn't really the best mother in the world. In fact, she was just a really horrible person to me, with everything she did to me in the walls of that old house…" Carrie then stopped, as more bad memories of her past bubbled up into her mind.
"Carrie…if you don't want to say any more about what your mother did to you…then you don't have to." Edward said, gently. Carrie looked towards Edward, and then to the other engines for a long moment.
"Are you sure?" she asked.
"Yes, I think we've heard enough about your school bullies, Carrie. And so, maybe there's no need for you to tell us about your mother." said James.
"Especially if your life back in your home town was as bad as you say it was." added Henry.
"Well...I'd still like to tell you all a bit more about her and what she was like. She was a very abusive, and unstable mother to me during the time I was living with her. She was very seriously mentally ill, and she never got the help that she really needed to deal with what she had before I ran away." Carrie said. The engines watched in a stunned silence as they listened to what Carrie had to say to them.
"She was very verbally and physically abusive to me all the time, and even completely cruel to me. Because of that, and what she taught me to do, I never had the easiest childhood, especially with the bullies at school I just mentioned thrown in as well. I had no other siblings or other relatives to help me or keep me company when I was feeling down. Not only did my mom force to copy her own fanatically religious beliefs, if she ever thought I did something bad...which most of the time I DIDN'T...she would often do horrible things to me...like beat me with a bible she always had with her, or force me into the praying closet under the stairs, which she would lock me in for long periods of time." Carrie said. The engines all gasped on hearing her say that, with each of them not able to imagine what it would be like to be locked away like that for long periods of time.
"Oh Carrie, that must have been horrible for you to go through." Emily said, in sympathy.
"Thanks, and it was really horrible for me to go through, as it would be for anyone else. But my mom also severely restricted my personal life, and would never allow me to have friends, or do any of the things that normal teenagers do, like go out and socialised with other people my own age, or ever allowed me to leave the house, unless it was for something like school or whatever. She also forced me to pray everyday, by forcing me onto my knees and force me to pray, before bedtime and even before meals. She would always keep control over me by forcing me to abide to her ways." Carrie said.
"Well...at least you're over here on Sodor, Carrie. And this is a place where everyone respects each other, regardless of who they are." Thomas said.
"Yes, and I'm very glad for that." Carrie said, as a small, and grateful smile crossed her face.
"One thing I want to know, Carrie...is why did you not tell anyone about what you were going through from her mother and your bullies in school?" asked Henry.
"Well...from everything that I went through under my mother's thumb...and what she said to me over all those years...I was too scared to even open my own mouth. I never thought anyone back in Chamberlain would help me, and so that's why I never said anything." Carrie said.
"Oh...I see." said Henry.
"Do you know what happened to your mother after you run away from your home town, Carrie?" Donald asked.
"Yes, what happened?" asked Douglas.
"Well…just before I left Chamberlain, I left behind in my school locker a notebook with 400 pages in it, in which I wrote down EVERYTHING that I could remember about what happened to me and what I went through at home, including as much of what my mother did to me, as well as what many of the bullies in school did to me. I bought that notebook at a local store near to where I lived around this time last year, and I just…wrote down into it everything I could remember. I managed to fill up 398 of those 400 pages." Carrie said.
"And what happened afterwards? What took place with your mother when your notebook was found?" asked Flying Scotsman.
"Earlier on this year in January…not long after I started on the apprenticeship scheme…my father and I had gone out to dinner one evening with Simon and his parents. When we finished, we came back to my dad's place for tea and cake…and as we chatted in the living room, the T.V. was on, and I saw a news report from Chamberlain, where I saw on the T.V. screen my mother being led away by some big men. She had her arms secured into a straitjacket and was placed into the back of a very secure van, to be taken away to a place where she would be held for the rest of her life, and where she couldn't do anything more to me or to anyone else." Carrie said. As she finished speaking, the engines all stared at her for a few moments, stunned to hear that bit of news.
"What does that mean?" asked Percy.
"It means that her mother has been institutionalized inside a very secure mental asylum for what she did to Carrie." came a very familiar voice. With a gasp, the engines and Carrie saw none other than the Fat Controller step up towards them, and Ralph White was following along just behind him. They had overheard everything that had been said between Carrie and the engines.
"Oh, sir! Ah…d-d-dad!" Carrie gasped, when she saw them.
"It's all right, Carrie. There's nothing for you to worry about. And nor is there anything for you lot to be worried about either." Ralph said, as he turned his attention to all the engines.
"Thank you, sir!" all the engines said.
"I also saw the news report that Carrie mentioned…" Ralph said with a heavy sigh, as he rubbed the back of his head "…and it clearly means that the notebook which Carrie had left behind in her locker was found by the police, and that Margaret has been put away for a very long time to a place where she can't do anymore harm to Carrie, or to anyone else."
"Well…I guess that's something to be happy about." said Thomas, as the other engines all murmured in agreement.
"Do you…do you have any concerns that anyone from your old hometown may find you over here?" asked Henry.
"That is a worry I do have, I'll be honest…but then again, I don't think it's very likely to happen, especially considering how far away Sodor is from Chamberlain. But, then again…" Carrie said.
"Anyway…come on, Carrie. I think it's about you got showered and changed. We need to be off home now." Ralph said.
"Okay, dad." Carrie said, as she turned and followed her father and the Fat Controller away from the sheds and over towards the crew building. But then, she paused and turned to look at the engines.
"I'll see you all in the morning! Good night!" she called to them, before she turned and walked away.
"Good night, Carrie!" all the engines said.
(Later that evening, the White Residence)
Carrie and her father were sitting at the dining table and enjoying a good, hot dinner. As they ate, they talked with each other about how their days had gone and where they ended up going, as well as what the following day may bring.
"You know, Carrie…I do believe that was a very brave thing that you did...telling all the engines about some of the details of your past." Ralph said, as he looked at Carrie with a genuine sense of respect and admiration.
"Yeah, well…when I first met them back in November last year, I realised that there were quite a lot of things that I didn't tell them after I first met them at the time, and so I wanted to tell them all a bit more about what I went through. And besides, Flying Scotsman wasn't here last November, and so he didn't know too much about me, and so I told them my story so that he would understand what I went through as well." Carrie said, as she took a sip of water.
"I understand, Carrie. And maybe it's a good thing you did, as it's probably given them a better understanding of what your bullies were really like." Ralph said.
Carrie nodded, and they were both quiet for a few more moments as they enjoyed their dinner. And then Carrie spoke again.
"What do you think the chances are of my classmates and teachers in Chamberlain finding out I'm over here on Sodor?" she asked. Her father was silent for a few moments as he thought about how likely it was.
"Honestly…I personally think that the chances of them finding out you're over here are pretty small, to say the least." Ralph said.
"I hope that's true…one of my worst personal fears is all of them finding out that I'm over here on Sodor, and then them trying to get me to go back to Chamberlain." Carrie said. It was one of those little concerns she had that did keep her awake at times during some nights, even though she knew the chances of it happening were pretty slim at best.
"I understand how you feel about that concern, Carrie. But try not to let it bother you too much, as from what I've seen…you've really matured very well in the time you've been here on Sodor. Not only that, but I've seen that your own health and strength have also improved as well. After all, I've seen you able to move larger quantities of coal into the fireboxes of the engines without any trouble at all." Ralph said.
"Thanks, dad. I hope I'll be able to keep working here on Sodor, as I really like doing what I'm doing." Carrie said.
"That's good, Carrie." Ralph said, with a smile. And with that, the pair continued on with eating their dinner.
(Meanwhile, with the engines at Tidmouth Sheds)
As Carrie and her father enjoyed their dinner together at home, the engines over at the sheds were all still talking about everything that Carrie had told them all earlier on before she went home.
"I don't know what I would do if I were to come face to face with the bad people Carrie has mentioned." said Duck.
"And neither would I. After all, many of those people Carrie mentioned in her story sound like a nightmare to be around." added Percy.
"Pah! You're just small engines! That's why they might be rude to you! They wouldn't dare cause me any trouble!" said James.
"Oh! Don't remind me of that stupid steamroller!" Gordon said as he rolled his eyes, remembering the incident he had experience many years before when George the steamroller had held up Duck at the sidings at Cronk Station leaving one of his trucks partially stuck out on the main line, which Gordon had then run into and destroyed.
"Look..." Edward said, as the other engines looked towards him, "...I'd say that the chances of Carrie's classmates and teachers finding out that she's here on Sodor are quite small."
"Maybe so, Edward...but even so...there's always a chance that it could happen...small though it may be." added Henry.
"I hope that Carrie's classmates and teachers never find out she's here...because I fear of what kind of trouble Carrie might get into if that should happen." said Thomas.
"Me too. The fact that she had to sneak aboard a ship in order to get over here in the first place...I'm sure that she could in some trouble for that." added Toby.
"Well...regardless if they find out or not...I think that young Carrie's doing a good job...and she should be allowed to stay here on Sodor!" Douglas said.
"Ach, aye Dougie!" Donald said.
"Well, Carrie mentioned to us all that some of those in her school weren't so bad to her at all...remember what she said about her gym teacher, as well as both Sue Snell and Tommy Ross." said James.
"I think we all know that, James, but it's best to not take any chances at all, just in case." said Percy.
"Yes, but suppose the people in Carrie's hometown all find out that she's over here, even on the slim chance of it not happening and..." said Emily.
"Well if in the unlikely event that does happen, and you're face to face with them all..." said Flying Scotsman, "...maybe the best thing to do would be to keep Carrie safe from them as best as you can, and to not let them anywhere near her at all if at all possible."
"Yes, I think that might be the best thing to do...though I do feel it probably won't take place." added Gordon.
"Yes...but then again...you never really know. After all, life is full of surprises." Edward said.
And, after chatting with each other for a little bit longer about what Carrie had gone through, as well as what they might do in the event her classmates found out she was on Sodor, they all drifted off to sleep one by one, exhausted after such a long day of work.
(Next morning; Tidmouth Sheds)
The next morning dawned bright, clear, and calm, with the sun shining brightly out of the summer sky. At 7:55am, both Carrie and Ralph arrived at Tidmouth Sheds, ready to start another day of hard work out on the railway. After clocking in for the day, they made their way to the changing rooms, where they changed into their work clothes for the day, before making their way downstairs to the staff canteen to get a hot drink and a pastry, along with all the other crew members, as well as all the other recruits on the apprenticeship scheme.
Stepping outside the crew building with a hot cup of tea in one hand and a pastry in the other, Carrie and her friends stood about and chatted together while they waited to be assigned to their engines for the day. Sipping their tea and munching on their pastries, the six friends wondered which engines they'd be working on for today, as well as whatever events the day ahead might bring and where they might end up.
From where she was standing, Carrie could see all the different activity going on all over the depot, with engines being readied for their day of work ahead, and workmen and yard staff going over them doing all sorts of jobs, including rubbing down and polishing the paintwork, oiling up all the moving parts, checking any mechanical components, as well as looking over the fires to be sure they were burning properly.
As the six friends finished their tea and pastries and put the disposable cups into one of the bins close by, it was time for them, as well as all the other recruits, to be assigned to their locomotives for the day. Simon was assigned to work with James today, while Saoirse would be working on the footplate of 9F No.92064 on one of the iron ore trains from the port at Harwick. Alice was assigned to work with Henry today, and Olivia would be on the footplate of Duck, with Sophie working with No.94000, leaving Carrie wondering which engine she would be working on today. As she wondered, she heard the sound of a whistle off to her left. Looking over, she saw L.M.S. 8F 2-8-0 No.8531 depart from the yard, and she saw her father at the controls, with Ralph carefully making sure he and his fireman got No.8531 out from the depot safely.
"Okay, Carrie…" said the yard foreman, as he looked through the pages on his clipboard, "…you'll be working with No.71001 Duke of London today. Follow me this way please." he said, as he and Carrie stepped over towards where the B.R. Standard Class 8P was being readied for the day ahead.
Stepping into the shed, Carrie could see No.71001 Duke of London was being readied for his day of work, with men going over him and polishing his paintwork and brass parts, filling up the mechanical lubricators with fresh oil, checking the unique British Caprotti valve gear to be sure it was in top-notch condition, as well as oiling up around all moving parts and filling up the sandboxes with more fine dry sand.
"So, you don't mind working on this big engine today, Carrie?" the yard foreman asked.
"No, not at all, sir. I actually haven't had a chance to work on the footplate of this engine yet, and so I've very pleased to be given the chance today." Carrie said, as a smile crossed her face.
"Very good, Carrie. Let's get you introduced to the crew." the foreman said, as he and Carrie stepped over to where the driver and fireman were getting the fire ready.
After introductions, the foreman went back over to his office, while Carrie set herself up to helping out with getting this big and impressive engine ready, even though there really wasn't too much to do as much of the work had already been done earlier on. By now, the fire in the firebox was burning brightly, and there was a full head of steam on the main boiler pressure gauge, with the indicator arrow just a little below the maximum pressure of 250psi.
After Carrie put the two headlamps in place on the front lamp-irons, one on the left side and the other on the right side, indicating they would be pulling an express passenger train this morning, it was time for them to leave the shed and be on their way down to Knapford Station to pick up their first train.
"Okay, let's get going then! Let's get down to the station and collect our passengers!" the driver said, as he leaned out from his side of the cab.
"Okay, driver!" Duke of London said, as his driver wound the reversing gear back into full reverse, and the fireman put two shovelfuls of coal into the firebox. After giving a loud blast on the two-toned whistle, the driver gently opened the regulator a little, and very slowly, Duke of London moved backwards out from the shed. There would be no need to use the turntable before they left the depot, as they already facing in the direction they needed to be when they coupled up to their train.
Slowly and carefully, they rolled in reverse out from the yard towards the main line, where they had to wait until another train heading towards Knapford had passed by; the train was a short freight of around 10 different box vans and a brake van being hauled by L.M.S. Royal Scot 4-6-0 No.6108 Seaforth Highlander, and after it had passed them by, the signalman switched the points, and No.71001 Duke of London was able to roll out onto the main line and run in reverse towards Knapford Station.
During the run down to Knapford Station, which only took a few minutes, the fireman took the time to explain to Carrie where all the controls were and what each of them did. In particular, although Carrie had been on the footplates of many B.R. Standard locomotives during her time on Sodor so far, she always kept a close eye on where some of the most important controls were, including the dampers controls to allow air into the firebox, as well as the all-important injector controls for feeding more water into the boiler. Carrie always kept a sharp eye out for where those were anytime that she went to work on any of the footplates, as she knew it was vital to keep the water levels in any of the boilers fully topped up with more water.
They soon arrived at Knapford Station, and, after going through the crossovers of point-work on the lines north out of the station, they soon buffered up to their train, which was sitting on the line that ran adjacent to Platform 2. The train this morning consisted of 16 coaches, and they were quickly filling up with people who were on their way to Vicarstown. The train was scheduled to leave the station at 9:15am sharp, and would be a non-stop train running all the way to Vicarstown along the Northern Main Line.
Looking back from the cab, Carrie could see all the passengers boarding the train; many of them had suitcases with them, as well as things like laptop bags, cases with cameras in them, cases for carrying musical instruments like guitars, and all sorts of things. From large trolleys she could see at times on the platform, station staff were loading larger things, such as golf bags and even large old-fashioned trunks, into the luggage compartments at the ends of some of the coaches.
"Looks like we're gonna have a very heavy train today." Carrie said to the driver.
"Indeed, we will, but don't worry at all, Carrie. Duke of London here has hauled much heavier trains than this in his time. So, this one shouldn't be a problem." the driver said, with some reassurance in his voice.
Very soon, with the last passengers aboard the train and all the doors on the coaches closed up, it was time for them to leave. The signalman had set the points and se the signal to show the line ahead was clear for them to leave. At the same moment, at 9:15am bang on time, the guard blew his whistle and waved his green flag, and then quickly clambered aboard his compartment at the forward end of the front coach.
"Let's go!" Duke of London said, as his driver opened the regulator and blew the whistle loudly for a few seconds. From the footplate, Carrie leaned out from the fireman's side and watched as they set off on their journey from Knapford Station. With the loud blasts of chuffing from the double chimney, they slowly moved out from the station with the wheels digging into the rails and moving the train out from the platform.
"Well…we're on our way." Carrie said quietly, as she sat on the fireman's seat and felt the various vibrations run through the seat, as well as the sounds of chuffing and whistles go into her ears, as they moved out of Knapford and onto the main line heading north.
And that's it for this chapter. I think it was a brave thing for Carrie to tell the engines of Sodor some more details about what her life back in Chamberlain was like for her. I'm hoping to have the next chapter of the story completed and uploaded sometime within the next month or so. Until then, happy reading!