Chapter 47: Discovering Her Powers
(Friday, September 7th 2012 – 3:05pm, Tidmouth Sheds)
And so finally, in this chapter, Carrie is finally going to discover the telekinetic powers for which she was made infamous in the Black Prom in the original timeline of the story. And then after she discovers her powers, she and Simon are going to be going out on a nice date together in the evening.
Carrie was feeling somewhat tired after a long day of work in the yards at Tidmouth Sheds, as today, instead of being assigned to work on the footplate of an engine going out to haul a train along the main line or one of the many branch lines on Sodor, she had been assigned to work on the different engines in the yards at Tidmouth. Among the work she had to do, along with those on the apprenticeship scheme who had been assigned to work in the yards here today, was to help light fires in the fireboxes of a number of engines who would be going out to work later on in the day, as well as helping to clean down and polish the paintwork and brass-work of other engines who would be going out in the afternoon, and of course helping to empty out the fireboxes and ashpans of engines that had arrived back at the depot after a lot of hard work out on the lines. She also helped out with some minor repairs to different parts of certain engines, which including refitting refurbished parts within the cabs, and placing other parts back, and using the tools to help do those jobs.
Having started work at 8:00am that morning, and having been working hard for much of the day, with a 15-minute tea break at 10:00am, along with her lunch hour from 12:30pm to 1:30pm, she was feeling tired from a long day of hot, and often filthy, work. She was wearing a set of dark-blue overalls that were covered with a layer of soot, ash, and coal dust, and not to mentions small splashes of oil and water as well. Carrie was looking forward to clocking out at the end of the day, and then having a long and hot shower to wash off all the dirt and sweat from her body. She was also looking forward to what she and Simon would be doing after they clocked out for the day.
Simon had been sent out to work on the footplate of Henry for today, and they had left the yards for work not long after 8:00am. And so, Carrie was wondering where they were now and how they were getting on.
At the moment, Carrie had just finished emptying out the firebox and ashpan of B.R. Standard Class 7 Britannia Pacific No.70053 Moray Firth, as he had arrived back at the yards a few minutes before from having been working very hard for the day, as well as having worked hard since around 1:00am the night before. As the B.R. Standard Class 7 Pacifics had rocking grates and hopper ashpans in the firebox, dropping the fire and emptying out all the ash was a relatively simple matter to undertake, and Carrie really liked the engines that had rocking grates and hopper ashpans as they were relatively quick to dispose of, and quite a bit cleaner as well.
Placing a long metal bar into the mechanism to drop the front half of the fire, Carrie moved the lever back and forth, causing the forward grates to moved backwards and forwards, and dropping the front half of the fire into the ashpan below. Then, after placing the catchers over the mechanism for the forward grate, Carrie then place the metal bar into the mechanism for the after grate and, after releasing the catchers, she moved the bar backwards and forwards, which dropped the back half of the fire into the ashpan, where it fell through into the ash pit beneath.
"Well done there, Carrie. A very good job." said the foreman, as he arrived on the footplate.
"Thank you, sir." Carrie said, as she replaced the catchers, shut the firebox doors, and then shut both dampers in order to restrict the flow of cooler air into the firebox and boiler while they were both still hot.
"The fire fell through the ashpan into the ash pit with no problem, and I've just closed the ashpan doors." said the yard foreman.
"Okay…" Carrie said, as she stood up, "…that's this engine done. So, which one's next?"
"Well, first of all…I think a drink of iced water would hot the spot about now." said the yard foreman, as he handed Carrie a bottle of ice-cold water.
"Oh, thanks for this." Carrie said, as she opened the bottle and gratefully took a long drink.
"You looked like you needed that, Carrie." said the yard foreman.
"I did. When you're working near hot fireboxes and emptying them out, cold drinks are a must." Carrie said, as she then took another long drink from the bottle. Then when she had finished, she asked, "Which engine's next?"
"Follow me this way, Carrie. You'll be emptying out the firebox and ashpan of No.4706 next." said the yard foreman.
"Okay, let's go then." said Carrie. Stepping off the footplate of Moray Firth as the shed crew stepped aboard, the two walked forwards and went by him, with Carrie turning and saying, "You're all emptied out and ready to go to the shed, Moray!" to No.70053 as they walked away.
"Thanks for that, Carrie!" Moray Firth said, as he watched Carrie and the yard foreman make their way to their next job, while the shed crew began the task of moving him into one of the sheds nearby.
(With Carrie)
"And here we are, Carrie. This is No.4706." said the yard foreman, as they came to a stop in front of G.W.R. 47XX Class 2-8-0 No.4706. He had just arrived back at the yard a little while before, having been working hard since early the previous evening, including the job he was originally designed to do, which was hauling fully fitted freight trains during the hours of darkness. But now, he was back at the depot to undergo some checks and minor repairs before he went back out to do more work on the main line.
"Hello, No.4706!" Carrie said, as she stepped up in front of him
"Good afternoon, Carrie! It's nice to see you!" No.4706 said.
"Come with me, Carrie. And I'll show you what needs to be done." said the yard foreman, as he went round towards the footplate, and Carrie followed along behind him before climbing onto the footplate.
As Carrie opened the firebox and had a look inside at the glowing coals inside, the foreman took a number of different fire-irons out of the fire-iron tunnel on the tender.
"I take it this engine doesn't have a rocking grate or a hopper ashpan?" Carrie asked.
"I'm afraid not, Carrie. Which means that the firebox will have to be emptied out the old-fashioned way." said the yard foreman, as he handed Carrie one of the fire-irons.
"All right then. I guess we've got no choice in that regard then." Carrie said with a heavy sigh, as she didn't relish the thought of wearing herself out while emptying out another firebox.
"Okay, let's see what it's like in there…" said the foreman, as he took a look inside the firebox to see what needed to be done.
"What do you think?" Carrie asked.
"I think it's gonna be a long job getting all this emptied out. There's a thick layer of dirty clinker atop the burning coals…and that's gonna need removing." said the foreman.
"Oh, great!" Carrie said, with just a touch of sarcasm in her voice. She knew just how difficult and messy it could be to remove clinker from inside a firebox, especially if it was set solid along the top.
"Anyhow, it's something I know you've done before, and so you're aware of which fire-irons are needed to do the job." said the foreman.
"Okay…let's get on with it then." Carrie said, as she took hold of the fire-iron known as a pricker and readied herself to start smashing it into the layer of clinker.
Just then, there was a shout from outside the cab, which caught the foreman's attention. Standing up, he went over to the cab-side and saw a man running over towards him from the yard offices.
"Excuse me, sir…but there's a phone call in the main office for you!" the man said, as he stood below the cab.
"Is it important?" asked the foreman.
"Yes, sir." said the man. Giving a heavy sigh, the foreman nodded down at the man and said "I'll be there in a little bit" before he turned to look at Carrie.
"I'm afraid I have to go to the office and take a call, Carrie. Will you be okay here for a bit while I go to the office?"
"Sure, I can manage here. But be sure to place the wheelbarrow as close to the cab before you go, so I can put the clinker into it." Carrie said.
"Sure, I'll do that." said the foreman, as he stepped off the footplate. He placed the wheelbarrow just below the side of the cab, and then headed off to the offices.
"Let's get this hot and messy job over and done with." Carrie said quietly, as she swung the pricker round so that the pointed end was inside the firebox, and she had one hand on the handle at the other end and her other hand on the upper part of the shaft. And then, she thrust the pricker through the firebox as hard as she could, aiming to break up the layer of clinker into manageable pieces so she could use a shovel at the end of a long handle to remove it later on. With sweat forming on her forehead, due to the heat from the firebox as well as her doing physical work, Carrie thrust the pricker back and forth, again and again, using as much force as she could and eventually, with great effort and a lot of sweat, she broke the sheet of clinker up into plenty of smaller, more manageable pieces.
"Well, I think that's part of the job done." Carrie said to herself, as she pulled the pricker out from the firebox. Taking care to stay as far away from the opposite end of the pricker, as the end of it was now red-hot, she swung the pricker around until the end of it was over the tender and then thrust it inside the fire-iron tunnel.
"Now then…let's get all that emptied out of there." Carrie said, as she took hold of the shovel, which was at the end of a long pole and used for removing the clinker and coals from the firebox. Kneeling down for a few moments, Carrie stared inside the firebox at all the broken pieces of clinker inside the firebox and thought about how to get all of it out of there and into the wheelbarrow.
Then, as Carrie stared inside and thought long and hard about how best to go about that task, she suddenly saw some of the larger pieces seem to move slightly and then lift up a bit. Her jaw dropped and eyes went wide a bit, as she wasn't sure if she saw that or not…but then she saw some pieces of clinker rise up inside and seem to float very slowly towards the top of the firebox. Completely astonished, Carrie shook herself out of her slight trance, and the pieces fell back down into the hot coals.
Wondering what had just happened, Carrie leaned forward and stared again, concentrating to be sure if she was responsible for making those clinker pieces float. After a few seconds on intense concentration, the pieces slowly lifted up and floated in the air over the hot coals, showing that Carrie was responsible for making the clinker float. Feeling herself smile a bit, Carrie then realised there was a way of getting more clinker out of the firebox than she had originally expected. Sticking the long shovel into the firebox, she lifted some clinker out and took it out, before sticking it out and dumping it into the wheelbarrow. And she did that on the pieces of clinker she could reach before she worked on the rest of it. Sticking the shovel into the firebox again, she concentrated on the other pieces of clinker and, sure enough, they rose slowly up, floated over the shovel, and then landed on the shovel blade. Feeling herself smile, Carrie slowly pulled the shovel out from the firebox, and then out from the cab, where she dumped the clinker into the wheelbarrow.
It wasn't too long before the firebox of No.4706 was completely emptied of all the clinker, and the wheelbarrow on the ground below the cab was full of the hot and dusty clinker. Taking a moment to wipe all the sweat off her forehead, Carrie felt herself smile now that this very hot and sweaty job was completed, and with the help of her strange powers the job had been finished somewhat quicker than Carrie had even expected. Taking a moment to think, Carrie realised that she had to find out more about the strange powers she had, and wondered if she was unique in having such powers like these.
Just then, her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the yard foreman's voice.
"Carrie! Are you all finished with that job or clearing out all the clinker?" he called, as he approached No.4706.
"Yes, sir! I've actually just finished a few moments ago!" Carrie said, as she leaned out from the side of the cab and looked towards the yard foreman.
"That's good timing! Perfect timing, as a matter of fact! I've just finished that phone call over in the office. It turns out it was none other than the Fat Controller himself, and he wants to have a chat with you and Simon at his office at Knapford Station in a short while." said the foreman. On hearing that, Carrie suddenly became very concerned, which showed on her face.
"A chat? Did Simon or I do anything wrong?" she asked, with some genuine concern in her voice.
"No, not at all, Carrie. Neither you or Simon are in trouble at all. He actually just wants to talk to you about your performances since you both started on the apprenticeship scheme in January." said the foreman.
"Oh, I see." Carrie said, with some relief. "And how soon does he want to see us?"
"Well…preferably before 5:00pm, as the Fat Controller has something else that he needs to do after five. Simon should be arriving on Henry very soon, and so both of you should go and get yourselves cleaned up and then clocked out, and get yourselves down to Knapford Station, as soon as possible." said the foreman. And Carrie pulled aside her left sleeve and looked at her watch; the time was 3:35pm.
"Well…in that case, we'd better get going." Carrie said, as she stepped off the footplate of No.4706.
"And good work at filling up the wheelbarrow with all that clinker. That's more than I think I've seen for a while." said the foreman, genuinely impressed with what Carrie had accomplished.
"Oh…it was nothing really." Carrie said, deciding to keep her unique and newly discovered powers hidden until she was ready to reveal them.
It wasn't too long before Henry finally arrived back at the sheds, with Simon still on the footplate, and then both Simon and Carrie made their way to the crew building, where they showered in the changing rooms before changing into fresh clothes. Once they finished, their grabbed their bags, went downstairs, and clocked out for the day, only this time instead of going out the main entrance doors as they normally would, they went back out the doors that led out into the depot where the engines were, as the yard manager had arranged for an engine to take them down to Knapford Station for their meeting with the Fat Controller, and then bring them back to Tidmouth Sheds once they had finished.
"So, which engine will be bringing us down to Knapford Station?" Simon asked, as he and Carrie walked along with the yard manager.
"You won't be actually be travelling on the footplate, you two. You'll travel in a brake van behind the engine, and so that way there'll be no risk of your clothes getting dirty before you get to Knapford." said the yard manager.
They went round a corner of one of the buildings, and up a ramp onto a solid wooden platform before the yard manager stopped.
"And here's the engine you'll be travelling behind to get to Knapford you two." said the yard manager. Standing on the line adjacent to the wooden platform, with a brake van coupled behind her, was Rosie, who was one of three Southern Railway USA Class 0-6-0T tank engines on Sodor (83). Her paintwork, of painted lavender with light grey tank panels along with red lining and gold boiler bands, had been polished down to a high shine so that she looked very smart. She had plenty of steam in her boiler and seemed ready to go at the job of bringing Simon and Carrie to Knapford Station.
"Hello there, you two! Are you ready to head down to Knapford Station?" Rosie asked, when she saw Carrie and Simon on the platform.
"Yes, Rosie, we are." Simon said, as he and Carrie approached.
"But there's no time to waste. We need to be down at Knapford as soon as possible please." Carrie said.
"Climb aboard the brake van, you two! And I'll get you down to Knapford in no time at all!" Rosie said.
"Thanks, Rosie!" Simon said, as he and Carrie went and climbed aboard the brake van.
(83): The S.R. USA Class 0-6-0T tank engines are ex-S100 tank engines of the United States Army Transportation Corps (U.S.A.T.C.) that were purchased by the Southern Railway after the end of the Second World War. The entire S100 Class as a whole had been designed and built specifically to run on the railways of Europe as a shunting engine.
The urgency for which the new design was needed led to the astonishing feat of the brand-new design being completed and ordered in just a single week, with the U.S. Army immediately placing an order for 450 examples for mass production with three different locomotive works; Davenport Locomotive Works in Iowa, and H. K. Porter, Inc, and the Vulcan Iron Works in Pennsylvania. The resulting design that emerged was typically American in its overall appearance, with plenty of external boiler fittings, cast steel bar frames, and no running plates.
The class had six driving wheels that were 4ft 6in in diameter, which were quite close together so as to allow the class to go around tight curves, a boiler fitted with superheating elements and pressed to 210psi, and two outside cylinders that were 16.5in in diameter with a 24in piston stroke. All these combined to give the class a maximum tractive effort of 21,630lbf. The side tanks of the class could carry 1,200 gallons of water, and the class could be run either on coal, of which the class could carry 2,500lb, or oil, of which the class could carry up to 300 U.S. gallons.
Although 450 engines were ordered, only 382 engines were built in total, with Davenport Locomotive Works building 109 engines, H. K. Porter, Inc having built 150 examples, and Vulcan Iron Works producing 123 locomotives, with construction of the class being undertaken from 1942 to 1944.
Once the first engines were nearly fully completed, they were loaded onto ships and sent across the North Atlantic to Newport Docks in Wales in July 1942. Once they were unloaded from the ships, the near complete engines were towed cold to nearby G.W.R. sheds, where all the motion gear was fitted. They were temporarily used for shunting work at some of these depots, while others were loaned for short periods of time to local Welsh collieries, and a few were loaned out on agreement to the U.K. War Department.
After D-Day, many of the class were sent to work on Continental Europe in support of the Allied war effort, but a few examples of the class remained in Britain. After the war, much of the class went far and wide to other countries, including to the S.N.C.F. of France – which bought 77 examples, Yugoslavia – which bought well over 100 examples and reclassified them as class 62, Greece – which acquired 20 engines, Austria – which bought 10 engines, and Italy – which acquired 4 engines. The Oranje-Nassau coal mining company in the Netherlands acquired two examples and renumbered them ON-26 and ON-27, with ON-27 surviving into preservation and being put into the Stoomtrein Goes-Borsele railway museum.
Yugoslavia built its own version of the S100, with the Đuro Đaković factory, in the town of Slavonski Brod in the eastern part of what's now known as Croatia, building 90 examples of the class 62. These differed from the S100s in a number of minor details, including the use of plate frames instead of bar frames, resulting in a higher boiler pitch, and required the use of smaller domes with a flatter top in order to fit the Yugoslavian railway loading gauge. Some of these engines are still in commercial service over 65 years after being built.
China acquired 20 engines, and designated them as class XK2, while the state railways in Egypt bought 8 engines. After the war, the British War Department loaned 6 engines to Palestine Railways, with two of them subsequently entering service on the railways of Israel in 1948.
After the war, the Southern Railway bought 15 S100s (14 operational examples and one to be used as a source of spar parts) and reclassified them as the USA Class. They were intended to replace the earlier B4 Class 0-4-0T tank engines of the London and South Western Railway, as well as the D1 Class 0-4-2T and E1 0-6-0T tank engines of the London Brighton and South Coast Railway then working in Southampton Docks. Eastleigh Works couldn't build a new tank engine design as it wasn't in a position to do so in a timely manner or at an economic price.
An example of the W.D. Hunslet Austerity 0-6-0ST Saddle Tank was subjected to a series of trials down at Southampton Docks, but it was found that its 11-foot wheelbase was just too long for the sharp curves at Southampton Docks. So, an example of the S100 Class was brought down and tested instead, and it could traverse the sharp bends that the W.D. 0-6-0T design couldn't. Not only that, the Hunslet Austerity tank engines had inside cylinders and valve gear, which would be more difficult to maintain, while the S100s had outside cylinders with Walschaerts valve gear which promised to be much easier to maintain. As the S100s that were available were in much better condition than many of the Hunslet Austerity 0-6-0ST tank engines, the S.R. eventually bought 14 engines for £35,000, which was a lot cheaper than building the same number of shunting engines of an entirely new design from scratch. and another one for £2,000 to be used as a source of spares.
Some changes had to be made to the S100s bought by the Southern before they could be used, including fitting steam heating, vacuum ejectors, sliding cab windows, additional lamp-irons, and new cylinder drain cocks, and having the steps up to the cabs changed in order to comply with the loading gauge. Further modifications were made to the engines after they entered traffic, which included large root-top ventilators, British-style regulators (which replaced the American-style pull-out regulators), three rectangular cab-front lookout windows, extended coal bunkers, separate steam and vacuum brake controls, as well as wooden tip-up seats in the cabs for the crews. Radio-telephones were later installed as well on the footplates in order to improve communications on the large network of sidings in the Southampton area.
Once the S.R. USA Class entered service in the Southampton Docks area in November 1947, they replaced the older L.S.W.R. B4 Class 0-4-0T tank engines on the duties there. For the next 15 years, they worked away on shunting duties, as well as on carriage and van heating in Southampton Docks. They performed well and were popular with their crews, but the limited amount of coal they could carry in their bunkers meant there had to be relief engines to undertake the longer duties. Two examples were fitted with extended bunkers to address this problem in 1959 and 1960, but a more ambitious idea to extend the frames and build larger coal bunkers was abandoned due to the imminent dieselization of the docks.
When they first entered service, they were originally numbered from No.61 to No.73, with the original locomotive bought being numbered No.4326. The locomotive that was used for spare parts never carried a number. When nationalisation took place in January 1948, the class were renumbered from No.30061 to No.30074. In 1962-63, six examples were sent to work on departmental use, and were renumbered DS233 to DS238.
Although the USA Class tanks proved to be very good at the jobs they had to do, one problem that was discovered was that the bearings tended to run hot at times, which prevented them being used on longer distance runs. Another problem they had was with their original fireboxes, which rusted and fatigued quickly, and the problem resulted in a few being set aside with firebox problems in 1951 until new fireboxes could be built. But once all the firebox issues were found and rectified, the class suffered no further problems.
In 1962, the class started to be replaced on their usual duties by brand-new diesel shunters, and the first member of the class, No.30063, was withdrawn from service in May 1962, followed by No.30070 in October of the same year. The surviving engines were used for departmental duties and used for carriage and van heating duties at Southampton, or for shunting at Eastleigh before they were withdrawn as well. Nine examples survived until March of 1967, with the final five being withdrawn in July of that same year. Two of the engines withdrawn in July, No.30065 and No.30070, were sold to Woodham's yard in Barry, South Wales in March 1968, but they never made the journey, as their axle-boxes ran hot and made them unfit to travel. So, they were sent to Tonbridge and stored there, until they were taken to Rolvenden five months later where they were purchased for preservation.
Four examples of the S.R. USA Class have survived into preservation. These four engines are;
No.30064; withdrawn from Eastleigh in July 1967, and bought by the Bluebell Railway in October 1971. Last ran in 1984 and sold to a private individual in 2022 who intends to restore No.30064 to working order.
No.30065: after being bought from Rolvenden in August 1968, it was bought by the Kent and East Sussex Railway in September of the same year. Renumbered as No.22, it entered service on the K&ESR in 1974, and ran for many years on that line. Withdrawn in February 2017 with boiler problems, a full overhaul began the following year.
No.30070; after being bought from Rolvenden in August 1968, it was bought by the Kent and East Sussex Railway in September of the same year. It spent many years out of use before restoration started in 1988, and she entered traffic on the K&ESR as DS238 in 1994. After undergoing an overhaul, she re-entered service on the K&ESR in December 2017, painted in Longmoor Military Railway blue as W.D. No.300 Major-General Frank S Ross, and is currently operational on that line.
No.30072; after being withdrawn in July 1967, she was saved for preservation by the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway in August 1967 and hauled the reopening train on the K&WVR in 1968. After a number of modifications, including having a larger coal bunker fitted, it was the most frequently used engine on the K&WVR until 1973. In 1976, it was converted to oil firing, but was converted back to coal firing in 1987. As of 2024, No.30072 is undergoing heavy boiler repairs on the Ribble Steam Railway.
The axle-box problems the S.R. USA Class had back in B.R. days have been largely overcome by fitting the surviving four engines with mechanical lubricators.
Two examples of the Yugoslavian class 62 have also survived into preservation in the U.K. These two engines were formally numbered as No.62-669 and No.62-521, but once they arrived in the U.K., they became B.R. No.30075 and No.30076 respectively. No.30075 is currently at Shillingstone Station and undergoing an overhaul, while No.30076 is in storage at the same place and awaiting an overhaul.
Once Carrie and Simon had climbed aboard the brake van and were seated inside, Rosie was given the all-clear to depart, and she slowly set off out of the yards by Tidmouth Sheds and down the main line towards Knapford Station.
For a few minutes, there was smooth running as Rosie rolled on down the main line, passing other trains that were heading back in the opposite direction. Inside the brake van, both Carrie and Simon took the chance to talk with each other about how their day had gone, with Simon telling her that for much of the morning and into the afternoon, he had been working with Henry on helping to move various different freight trains around the island. For her part, Carrie said that although she had a good day in helping to get engines ready for their day in the depot, or dispose of them afterwards, she would really much rather go to work out on the railway on the footplate of an engine when it was hauling a train, as it was so much more interesting to see the world go by while you were working. And that was something Simon wholeheartedly agreed with.
It wasn't too long before they finally arrived at Knapford Station, and Rosie slowly rolled to a gentle stop at Platform 1, and Carrie and Simon disembarked from the brake van, leaving their bags there. Over at Platform 3, the Fat Controller was waving farewell to the Duke and Duchess of Boxford, who were heading back to the main land after a thoroughly enjoyable summer on Sodor. Spencer, their private engine, was ready to go and coupled up to the front of the two coaches that made up the Duke and Duchess' private train. After a few moments, there was the loud sound of Spencer blowing his whistle, and then he slowly rolled forwards out of the station and onto the main line, with the Fat Controller waving from the platform as the train rolled away.
With Spencer soon gone, the Fat Controller walked over the footbridge to Platform 1 and saw Carrie and Simon still waiting beside Rosie for him.
"Ah! Carrie and Simon! Just the two I was hoping to see!" said the Fat Controller as he approached them.
"Well, you said that you wanted to see us this afternoon, sir." Simon said, as he shook hands with the Fat Controller, and then Carrie did the same.
"Indeed, I do, and don't worry you two…you haven't done anything wrong at all. This is just to have a look at how you've both been performing since you've started up on the apprenticeship scheme back in January." said the Fat Controller.
"Okay, sir." Carrie said.
"And Rosie, you wait out here and take Carrie and Simon back to Tidmouth Sheds when we're finished with the meeting." said the Fat Controller.
"Okay, sir!" Rosie said.
"Now, let's go up to my office and we'll take about things up there." said the Fat Controller, and so he, Carrie and Simon headed towards the door and then upstairs to where the Fat Controller's office was.
(Inside the office)
"Well, you two. I've been looking through records of your performances that have been taken down ever since you both started on the apprenticeship scheme…and I must say you two have given some of the best performances since January." said the Fat Controller, as he looked through some papers that were together in a file on his desk. Carrie and Simon were sitting together on two chairs on the other side of the desk, and both were feeling somewhat pleased to hear the Fat Controller was impressed with the work both of them had done.
"Thank you very much, sir." Carrie said, feeling somewhat proud.
"And Carrie…I've very impressed by just how quickly you've learnt the ropes around here and how your skills have developed while you've been working in the last few months." said the Fat Controller.
"Thank you." Carrie said again.
"And Simon…I assume you've also been helping her as well on the occasions where you've both worked together?"
"Yes, sir. I have." Simon said.
"And that's a good thing to do. You should always help people to make sure they can do the best they can when they're out working." said the Fat Controller.
"Yes, sir." Simon said.
"And you've both also taken the chance to drive some of the engines if the drivers give you the chance to do so?" asked the Fat Controller.
"Yes, sir!" Carrie and Simon said, simultaneously.
"That's very good. That's one of the things I've been hearing a lot of in these reports is the recruits doing a very good job of driving one of my engines if they've got the chance to do so." said the Fat Controller.
They spend the next 15 minutes or so chatting and discussing the reports of the progress Simon and Carrie had made over the last few months while they had been on the apprenticeship scheme, as well as things they had excelled at and, of course, the areas where improvements could be made. Both Carrie and Simon were very pleased that the Fat Controller was impressed with how they had been working over the last few months, and both of them hoped they could further improve on their performances over the coming months.
"However, there is one small thing that I've noticed…" said the Fat Controller looking down at some of the papers, as both Carrie and Simon looked towards him anxiously, "…in all the time you've been working on the apprenticeship scheme…neither of you have taken any leave days since you've started. May I ask why?"
"Well…I guess that…I've enjoyed working out on the engines so much…that it never occurred to me to ask for any leave, sir." Simon said.
"I would say the same, sir. I really do enjoy working with the engines, and so…that's why it never struck me to take any leave." Carrie said.
"I see. Well…I would recommend that you should take at least a few leave days before the end of the year. After all, I think it would be a shame if you didn't take any leave before the year is out." said the Fat Controller.
"All right, sir. I suppose a few days leave will be nice." Carrie said, as she nodded her head.
"Yeah, I think that some days off will be fine." Simon said, in agreement.
"Very good, you two. And what days do you want to take off?" asked the Fat Controller, as he handed them a small calendar. Both Simon and Carrie looked at the dates of September they though might be suitable to take a few days leave.
"How about…the week from the 17th to the 21st of September?" Simon suggested, as he looked at Carrie.
"Yeah, that sounds like a good time to take some leave. After all, my 17th birthday is on Friday the 21st." Carrie said.
"Is it?" asked the Fat Controller, a little surprised to hear that.
"Yes, sir." Carrie said.
"Well, we must do something special for you on that day." Simon said.
"Thanks, Simon." Carrie said.
(A short while later; 4:35pm)
"Well…I guess that's about it that I needed to speak with you about." said the Fat Controller, as he put the papers back in their separate files.
"I'm glad to see that everything's all right, sir." Carrie said, feeling pleased that her record of the last few months had been good.
"Of course, Carrie. Anyway, I'd better send you two on your way back to Tidmouth Sheds now. I have to be off somewhere right now, and I can't be late for it." said the Fat Controller, as he put the two files into a filing cabinet off to the side of his desk.
"Thank you, sir." Simon said, as he and Carrie stood up from the seats they were sitting on.
"And good luck with whatever it is you're attending, sir." Carrie said.
"Thank you, Carrie." said the Fat Controller.
"We'll see you around, sir." Simon said, as he and Carrie shook hands with the Fat Controller and then stepped out of the office.
Making their way down the stairs, they went through the door onto the platform and over to where Rosie was waiting for them. In the time that they had been chatting with the Fat Controller, Rosie had been uncoupled from the front of the brake van and ran run around so that she was coupled to the back of the brake van, ready to run in reverse back up the line to Tidmouth Sheds.
"Hello, you two! Did everything go well?" Rosie asked, when she saw Simon and Carrie walk along the platform towards them.
"Hi Rosie! Yes, everything went well with the meeting, and the Fat Controller was very pleased with everything." Simon said.
"Hi, Rosie! We're all finished up with the meeting, so could you take us back to Tidmouth Sheds now." Carrie said.
"Hope board then, and I'll take you both home!" Rosie said. And so, both Carrie and Simon climbed back into the brake van, and when they were comfortably seated, Rosie slowly rolled in reverse out of Knapford Station and headed back to Knapford Station.
(A little later)
Not long after Rosie had brought Carrie and Simon back to Tidmouth Sheds, the young coupled had thanked Rosie for bringing them home, and then they went off to leave the depot.
"So, what shall we do now?" Carrie asked, as they stepped out of the main entrance of the crew building and into the car park.
"Well…the first thing we should do is drop off our bags at home, and then we should figure about on where to go to get something to eat." Simon said.
"Sounds like a good idea to me. Let's go and do that." Carrie said, and they walked over to where Simon had parked his car, Caroline.
After they got in, placing their bags in the back seats, Simon started the engine and they drove slowly out from the car park and onto the road.
"Let's drop off your bag at your house first, Carrie. And then I'll drop off my bag back at my place." Simon said.
"Do you have any place in mind where we could go and eat this evening?" Carrie asked.
"Yes, at the Fishing Village along the Little Western, there's a very good restaurant there with a good view over the harbour, as well as over the channel beyond the seawall. They do very good food there, and it should be much quieter there at this time of year, now that the summer's over and almost all the tourists have left the island." Simon said.
"Sounds like a good idea to me. But what's the name of this restaurant?" Carrie asked.
"It's called The Seaside Shack…yes, very original, I know." Simon said.
"Well, let's go and have dinner up there then. It sounds like a very good place to get something to eat." Carrie said.
"Great!" Simon said, as he continued on driving safely down the road.
They soon arrived at Carrie's house, and pulled into the driveway. As Simon parked Caroline, the front door opened and Ralph White stepped outside; he had already worked the night shift the previous evening from 8:00pm to 5:00am that morning, and so he didn't need to go to work that day, having spent much of the day sleeping after having being up all of the previous night.
"Ah, hello there, Simon, Carrie." Ralph said, as he saw Carrie and Simon get out from Caroline.
"Hey, dad." Carrie said, as she took her bag out from the back seats.
"Hello, Ralph." Simon said, as he shook hand with Carrie's father.
"Hey, Simon. Did everything go all right today?" Ralph asked, as he, Carrie and Simon stepped into the house.
"Yes, everything went well. And not too long ago, Carrie and I a meeting with the Fat Controller in his office at Knapford Station. It was just a performance review to see how we've been doing since we started on the apprenticeship scheme." Simon said.
"Oh, that's something I had to go through very now and then as well after I started on the railway all those years ago. So, how did it go?" Ralph asked.
"Everything went very well, dad. The Fat Controller told us about the areas where we're doing fine, but also the areas where some improvement is needed." Carrie said.
"I see." Ralph said.
"And we also took the chance to take some leave for the week after next, as the Fat Controller said we haven't taken any leave days since we started." Simon said.
"That sounds fair enough." Ralph said.
"And we came back so I could drop off my bag before we head out to get dinner." Carrie said.
"Okay, Carrie. Best get to it then if you're heading out then." Ralph said.
"All right!" Carrie said, as she started up the stairs.
"Any idea where you're going, Simon?" Ralph asked, as he looked to Simon.
"Yes, I've thought about going to The Seaside Shack, that restaurant in the Fishing Village along the Little Western." Simon said.
"Oh, yes, that's a very good place to get something to eat. And with the summer now over, it should be much quieter than it would be." Ralph said.
"Indeed, and that's why I want to bring Carrie there for dinner…while it's not as busy." Simon said.
Two minutes later, having placed her bag into her room, Carrie arrived back downstairs.
"Ready to go, Carrie?" Simon asked.
"Yes, I'm ready. Let's get going then." Carrie said, as she and Simon headed out the front door.
"I'll have Carrie back later on, Ralph." Simon said.
"I know you will, Simon. And have a good evening together." Ralph said.
"Okay!" Carrie and Simon said together, as they went towards where Caroline was parked. Getting inside, they fastened their seatbelts, and then Simon started the engine up and carefully drove Caroline out from the driveway and back out onto the road, where he turned and headed in the direction of the road that would take them to the Fishing Village.
As they made their way along through the streets and out of Knapford, Simon spoke to Carrie.
"You know how I said I might drop off my bag at home before we went to get dinner?"
"Yes?" Carrie said.
"Actually, I'll just keep it in the back seat and keep it there until later on when we've finished and I get home later on. That'll save us a little time and allow us to get to the Fishing Village a bit earlier, and maybe it'll allow us to get one of the better tables there." Simon said.
"That sounds like a good idea to me, Simon! Let's get there!" Carrie said, and with a turn to the left, Simon joined up on the main road out of Knapford and they were soon on their way towards the Fishing Village.
(A short while later)
The drive up the road to the Fishing Village went very well, with Simon driving carefully so as to ensure Caroline's engine didn't overheat on the journey there. As they went along the road, Carrie, in between chatting with Simon about what the restaurant they were going to be going to was like, thought deeply about the powers she discovered that she had earlier on in the day and when she used them to remove the clinker form the firebox of No.4706. She wondered if there was a name for this unique phenomenon, and whether or not other people around the world could do what she had done earlier in the day. Deciding not to worry about it for now, she looked out the front window as they went down the gentle slope of the hill and approached the outskirts of the Fishing Village.
As they went through the streets of the Fishing Village, Carrie looked around at everything she could see; this little village was very much like the classic British seaside village, with many of the fronts of the buildings painted in bright vivid colours, as well as the other typical sights that would be seen in such a village, including an ice cream shop with its front in bright blue, as well as various different pubs, various different gift shops with various different things - including buckets and spades - on display out on the fronts of the shops, as well as a small four storey hotel, and a few Bed and Breakfast lodging inns.
"Have you been in this village before, Carrie?" Simon asked, as they went along the streets.
"Well…I've been through here on the railway line before, but I've never been in the streets of this place before. It certainly does look like a very nice place." Carrie said, as she looked around in amazement.
"Oh, this is a nice village, and it's always very popular with the tourists and holidaymakers who come here…especially the Americans, as this is what many American tourists imagine what a classic British seaside village would be like." Simon said.
They soon pulled into a small, but nearly empty carpark where Simon parked Caroline in one of the available parking spaces. Stepping out from the passenger side, Carrie took in a deep breath through her nose, taking in the scent of the fresh salty sea air. Looking up into the sky, she marvelled on how blue and clear it was, as well as the light breeze that was coming in off the sea. It certainly appeared that it would be a perfect evening.
"And so, where's this restaurant where we'll be eating?" Carrie asked.
"Follow me this way, Carrie. It's not too far away from here." Simon said, as he locked up Caroline.
"Okay, Simon." Carrie said, as she made sure she had everything she needed with her, including her phone and her handbag.
"We'll be back later on, Caroline. You just stay here until we do." Simon said, as he turned to speak to Caroline before he and Carrie stepped out of the car park.
"Okay, Simon!" Caroline said, just before she dozed off.
Holding their hands together, Carrie and Simon went along the narrow streets together and soon arrived at the road that passed in front of the village. On the other side of the brick wall that marked the other side of the road were the two railway lines that passed by in front of the village, and they could see the long concrete quayside that stretched along the length of straight stretch siding that branched off from the double tracked line of the Little Western. Carrie recognized this place very well, as she had helped on occasion to bring vans full of freshly caught fish from this quayside down to Knapford Harbour, where it would be joined up to the rest of the Flying Kipper and then taken away to the mainland by one of the other engines.
There was already a line of six different vans sitting on the siding on the quayside, but there didn't seem to be any workmen on the quay to load the vans up, and although there were a few fishing boats securely tied up to the quayside, there didn't seem to be any activity of fish being unloaded from boats, packed into boxes of ice, and then being loaded onto the vans to be taken away.
"Everything seems to be quiet out here this evening." Carrie said, as she looked towards where the vans were sitting.
"Yeah, there's no fishing boats coming in this evening." Simon said.
"So, where's the place you mentioned we could go for dinner?" Carrie asked.
"It's just down here. Right this way." Simon said, as he led Carrie down the street a short way, only a hundred feet or so, until they stood in front of a restaurant that had two storeys and with its front painted in bright yellow. There were wide open windows on the ground floor which allowed open views over the harbour, even more so because the ground floor was raised three or four feet above the surrounding ground. Up on the first floor, there was an open balcony area in the front half of the restaurant which allowed for even better views for those who were dining up there. There were wooden steps leading up to the ground floor level, and fitted to a frame above the steps was a blue sign with the name of the restaurant, "The Seaside Shack."
"Now this looks like a nice place for a meal." Carrie said.
"Yeah, it is. And it's a very nice place to get good food, especially with the tourists and holidaymakers." Simon said.
"Let's go inside and get a table." Simon said, as he and Carrie linked arms and went inside.
A minute or so later, they were seated at one of the tables on the open balcony upstairs, and here they had a good view of both the harbour, the open sea beyond, as well as the two railway lines passing by just in front of them.
"This is a good place to get dinner. We've got a good view from here." Carrie said, as she and Simon sat down.
"Yes, and with no tourists here at this time of year, there's plenty of places available." Simon said.
After being given two copies of the menu by one of the waitresses, Simon and Carrie looked through them and thought about what to order this evening. At one point, Carrie looked up to have a quick look through the doorway into the enclosed area of the first floor; although there were a few people sitting at the tables inside, there weren't too many compared to how this place would be packed with people in the summertime. When they went through the downstairs part of the restaurant towards the stairs, Carrie had also noticed most of the tables there were unoccupied, and most of those which were occupied appear to have residents of the village sitting at them.
A few minutes later, after Carrie and Simon had placed their orders for their starters and main courses, as well as their drinks orders, with the waitress, who then took them to the kitchen, both Carrie and Simon settled back to enjoy the evening. As they chatted together, they couldn't help but take in the sight of the sunset off to the west, with the dark shadow of the eastern coastline of the Isle of Man to be seen in the distance along the horizon. They could see various different boats pass by on the water in front of them, including two or three large car ferries that were going by as they shuttled between Douglas on the Isle of Man and the Island of Sodor.
"Have you ever been over to the Isle of Man, Simon?" Carrie asked.
"Oh, yes. I've been over there a few times over the years. It's a very nice place, only it doesn't have as many railways as Sodor does." Simon said.
"And did you do over there by the ferry?" Carrie asked.
"Yes, and it goes from Knapford Harbour over to Douglas on the Isle of Man. It usually takes about an hour to get over there." Simon said.
"I'd love to go over there sometime. It sounds like quite a nice place to visit." Carrie said, as she looked over towards the dark outline of the coast of the Isle of Man which was only a few short miles away from where she was sitting.
Just then, there came the sounds of a steam whistle from along the line off to the north, which meant an engine with a train was on its way down towards them. Taking a glance off towards the north, Simon and Carrie wondered which engine it would be and what train it had.
"Who do you think it could be?" Carrie asked.
"Well, I'm guessing we'll soon find out. But I imagine that it could be a slow freight train or a mineral train. Let's keep our eyes peeled." Simon said, as the waitress served the two of them their drinks, ice-cold Coca Cola in pint glasses. After thanking the waitress, the couple took sips of their drinks and waited for the train to come towards them.
They didn't have to wait long, as soon there appeared a cloud of grey-white smoke rising in the distance, and then the engine appeared around the corner. The engine they saw was a G.W.R. 82XX Class 2-8-4T tank engine (84) that was running in reverse on the line heading south, and it was No.8200, and coupled to his front end was a long and mixed freight train, which also included quite a long line of different tankers. With the driver of No.8200's footplate sounding the whistle loudly for a few seconds as they went on steadily by along the straight stretch of line between the seaward side of the village and the long siding on the quayside, with the long line of different trucks and wagons he was coupled to following along very smoothly.
(84): The Great Western Railway's 82XX Class 2-8-4T tank engine is a fictional class of steam locomotive that was made up specially for this story, but here there'll be a story of the history of the class as though it really did exist in reality.
After the first examples of the G.W.R. 72XX Class 2-8-2T tank engines were introduced in 1934, thoughts quickly turned to building an even more powerful type of tank engine to help move even heavier quantities of freight, coal, iron ore, and stone along the lines of the G.W.R., especially in the South Wales area. It was felt that a larger tank engine with a 2-8-4 wheel arrangement, as well as slightly larger cylinders and higher boiler pressure, would be ideal locomotive for the job of moving the heavier freight trains around the G.W.R. system. In fact, they were the only class of 2-8-4T tank engine to be built and used on the G.W.R. system.
With the order placed in early 1935, Swindon Works began work on building the new design, with the first example of the class, No.8200, emerging from Swindon in early April 1935. It looked like a stretched 72XX Class 2-8-2T tank engine, except it had a bogie with two wheelsets positioned under the rear coal bunker to carry the extra weight of coal the class was to take for their work.
Some changes were made to the design of the 82XX Class to make them different from the 72XX 2-8-2T Class in order to make them more suitable for the work they were to do. Firstly, the driving wheels were placed a little closer together to make it easier for the class to go around bends and into sidings, The side tanks were also slightly increased in size so as to carry more water, and side window cabs were fitted in order to provide better protection for the crews.
In total, 40 members of the 82XX Class were built at Swindon Works during 1935, and they were numbered from No.8200 to No.8239, with the last member of the class emerging from Swindon in December 1935. After they emerged from the works, the class were put to work on their selected jobs of moving heavy freight and mineral trains around the G.W.R. network.
The class had the same size of driving wheels as the 72XX Class, which were 4ft 7.5in in diameter, two outside cylinders that were 19.5in in diameter with a 30in piston stroke, and a boiler fitted with superheating elements and pressed to 210psi. This all combined to give the class a maximum tractive effort of 36,690lbf. Their side tanks could carry up to 3,000 gallons of water, while the enlarged coal bunker behind the cab could carry about 6.5 tons of coal, both of which combined to give the class a considerable range.
Just like the 72XX Class, the 82XX Class had outside steam pipes fitted, and their running plates were also raised above the two outside cylinders.
Once they were put to work on their assigned tasks, including on the lengthy and heavy iron ore and coal trains in Wales, the class quickly proved themselves to be very popular engines with their crews due to their ability to haul very heavy trains. They were also noted for their good braking ability, which was seen as a necessity due to the heavy unfitted freight trains they would be hauling on a daily basis.
Although the class proved to be more than capable at the jobs they were built to do, they did have some issues, some of which were in common with the 72XX Class. They were quite heavy engines, with a total fully loaded weight of around 100 tons, which did limit some of the routes they could travel on. Also, they were quite long in length which meant they were banned from running in certain yards, although the slightly shortened wheelbase of the eight driving wheels and the pivoting bogie under the coal bunker did help them in getting around corners that the 72XX Class couldn't manage.
For most of their careers, they worked mainly in South Wales, as well as in other areas of the G.W.R., and later the Western Region of British Railways, where they performed their assigned duties admirably and proved to be very reliable and popular engines with their crews. The amount of freight they could haul could often being very impressive, with iron-ore and coal trains often exceeding 60 wagons in length to be seen travelling behind an 82XX 2-8-4T down the Welsh valleys to the coast.
Withdrawals of the class began in 1963, when No.8205 was removed from service in April of that year, followed by No.8211 in June. The rest of the class followed along over the next two years, until the last two engines, No.8215 and No.8220, were removed from service in July 1965.
Thankfully, six engines have survived into preservation, of which four were rescued from Woodham's Yard in Barry, South Wales, and the other two being bought directly from British Railways. Of these two, No.8202 is part of the National Collection and can be seen on static display in York's National Railway Museum, while the second example, No.8229, is privately owned and in running order on the Great Central Railway.
Of the other four surviving examples, each of whom is owned by an organisation or a group of people dedicated to their care, No.8206 is in running order on the West Somerset Railway, while No.8216 is also in running order on the Great Central Railway. No.8223 is on undergoing a full overhaul to working order at the East Lancashire Railway, while No.8234 is in working order on the Gloucestershire and Warwickshire Railway.
"I haven't seen that engine during my time on this island yet." Carrie said, as she and Simon watched No.8200 head on past them down the line with his long train, with No.8200 briefly sounding his whistle again as he went along.
"Oh, he's one of the busiest tank engines on this island, Carrie. No.8200 is a friendly and reliable engine and can always be counted upon to lend a helping buffer to anyone who needs help." Simon said.
"He sounds like one of the best engines on this island." Carrie said, as she and Simon watched the brake van at the rear end of No.8200's train disappear around the bend and out of sight.
"He is, Carrie. And he always tries his best to do any job he's given to the best of his ability, just like all the other engines on Sodor." Simon said, as he took a sip of his Coca Cola. Just then, the waitress arrived at their table with the starter they wanted; both of them had ordered a large bowl of basted chicken wings for sharing, along with a spicy dip sauce.
"And there we are." the waitress said, as she placed the big bowl of wings onto the table, along with the dip, some wet wipes so they could clean their hands down afterwards, as well as two sets of knives and forks.
"Thank you." Simon and Carrie said, together. As the waitress turned and left, the young coupled tucked into their starter. Soon, the pair were eating in a comfortable silence and savouring the flavours of the chicken wings while they enjoyed the sights and sounds of the seaside village they were in, as well as of the calm sea spread out before them. Over the western horizon, the sun slowly and gradually set towards the horizon as time went on, and the gentle breeze blowing over the sea calmed down, leaving everything calm over the village. Behind where Carrie and Simon were enjoying their starters, they could hear the sounds of the other diners as they enjoyed their own dinner.
After Carrie and Simon had finished all the chicken wings in the bowl, the waitress took it away and they settled down to chat. It wasn't too long before their main courses arrived from the kitchen; Carrie had ordered roast chicken with mashed potato and gravy, while Simon had ordered a ribeye steak with French fries, onions, and a pepper sauce.
"And there we are, you two." the waitress said, after she placed the dishes down on the table before them.
"Thank you!" Simon and Carrie said, as they looked over the mouth-watering dishes that were before them.
"Enjoy!" said the waitress, as she went off to give service to another table. Picking up their knives and forks, Carrie and Simon tucked into their dinner.
"Hmm…this is good!" Carrie said, as she savoured the chicken and how moist and packed with flavour it was.
"Indeed, and this steak is good too!" Simon said, as he too enjoyed his dinner. Then, there came the sound of another steam whistle, and this time it was coming from the south. Turning their attention to where the sound of the whistle came from, Carrie and Simon waited to see who it was. They soon found out; with another sounding of his whistle, none other than Duck came round the bend from the south with a line of eight coaches behind them. This was one of his last passenger trains of the day, with each of the coaches full of people who were on their way home after a long day of work.
As Duck went along the straight stretch of double-track that went between the quayside and the village, he blew his whistle again and called out "Hello!" as he went on past where The Seaside Shack was. In response, both Carrie and Simon waved back and watched as Duck went past them, and then round the curve to the north with his passenger train.
"And there goes Duck…right on time, as always!" Simon said.
"Yeah, I know! Duck's an engine that always likes things to run like clockwork, and he always likes to get his trains to where they need to be right on time." Carrie said, with a smile. And then, she and Simon continued on with their dinner.
(Later that evening)
With Simon at the driving wheel and Carrie sitting in the passenger side, Caroline made her way carefully along the streets towards the White Residence in Knapford. Both Simon and Carrie had finished their dinner at The Seaside Shack in the Fishing Village sometime before, and both of them were very satisfied with a good dinner. After they finished their main courses, they had dessert, with Carrie having a chocolate brownie with ice cream on the side, and Simon having a slice of chocolate fudge cake with ice cream. After Simon paid for their dinner, they left the restaurant and went for a walk around the Fishing Village while the weather was still quite nice. By that point, a slight breeze was blowing in off the sea, and the fresh salty sea air couldn't help but brighten up Carrie's spirits as they strolled along and took in the sight of the sea in the evening light.
Once they finished with their walk around the village, they went back to the car park and got back aboard Caroline. Simon started the engine and they headed off on their way home.
"So, how did you enjoy our evening together, Carrie?" Simon asked, as he carefully drove along the street towards the White Residence.
"I really enjoyed it very much, Simon. I hope we can go out to that place again sometime." Carrie said.
"I'm sure that can be arranged, Carrie. And The Seaside Shack is one of the few restaurants in the Fishing Village that's open all year round, with most of the other restaurants being closed over the winter months." Simon said.
"Sounds good to me, Simon." Carrie said, as she thought about of how good the food they had eaten for dinner was.
A minute or so later, they finally arrived in front of the White Residence, and Simon pulled in through the open gate and drove up the driveway towards the front of the house. As Carrie and Simon got out of Caroline, the front door of the house opened and Ralph White stepped outside with a cup of tea in his left hand.
"Hello there, you two!" he said, as he watched Carrie and Simon got out of Caroline.
"Hey there, Ralph!" Simon said.
"Hi, dad!" Carrie said.
"Did you two have a good time up at the Fishing Village this evening?" Ralph asked.
"Yes, we did. We really enjoyed the food up at The Seaside Shack, and the weather for the evening was good as well." Simon said.
"Oh, you both went to The Seaside Shack?" Ralph asked.
"Yes, it's a great restaurant. And the food they serve there is very good, and it has good views over the sea as well." Carrie said.
"I see. I haven't been to that place for quite a while, so I can't really remember what the food there is like." Ralph said.
"Well, you should go there some time, now that it's quieter and there aren't as many tourists around." Simon said.
"You know, that sounds like quite a good idea to me, Simon. And I'll see about trying it as soon as I can." Ralph said, as he took a sip of tea while it was still hot.
"Anyway, thank you for taking me out to dinner this evening, Simon. I really did enjoy it very much." Carrie said.
"You're welcome, Carrie. I was really pleased to give you the chance to have another nice evening." Simon said, as he and Carrie gave each other a kiss on their lips before they pulled back from each other.
"Anyway, I'll see you in the morning, Simon." Carrie said, as she turned and went into the house.
"Okay, Carrie. And good night!" Simon called, as he got back into Caroline and started the engine.
"Good night, Simon!" Carrie called, as she turned and waved to him as he turned Caroline around before, after giving Carrie a wave and a smile, he drove Caroline down the driveway and out onto the street before turning off to the right to head on his way home. Carrie watched as Simon drove away, and then she turned into the house and went inside, as her father followed her inside, closing the front door behind him.
(The next morning)
After having a good night of sleep, Carrie was up at 7:45am and was dressed not too long afterwards before going downstairs to have some breakfast. As she ate, she still thought about the powers she had discovered the previous afternoon while she was working on the footplate of No.4706. She realised she would have to tell her father about it soon, and she hoped he would understand it when she showed her powers to him.
Then, she heard the sounds of footsteps coming down the stairs, and realised that her father was coming downstairs for breakfast. So, she knew it was now or never.
"Morning, Carrie!" Ralph said, as he stepped into the kitchen. He was dressed in his golf clothes, as he and some friends were going to the golf course to play golf later on this morning, particularly as the weather for the entire weekend was forecast to be very good, with sunny skies and reasonable temperatures.
"Good morning, dad." Carrie said, as she took a sip of orange juice.
"Sleep well?" Ralph asked, as he filled the kettle with water before putting it on to boil.
"Yes, I did." Carrie said.
"The weather seems quite good for this morning. And I reckon we might have a good game up at the golf course as well." Ralph said, as he looked outside the window and into the morning sky above.
"Yeah…ah, dad…there's something I need to tell you." Carrie said, as she looked anxiously towards her father, who then turned to look at her.
"What's on your mind, Carrie?" Ralph asked.
"Well…something happened at work yesterday afternoon which I never expected to happen…" Carrie said, with herself getting a little nervous with each passing second.
"What happened? Did you get hurt or see something that happened?" Ralph asked.
"Well…let me show you what happened." Carrie said, as she stood up from the chair she was sitting on, and then, thrusting her right arm out before her, she concentrated on the packet of coffee that was sitting on the counter beside the kettle. Concentrating hard, Carrie caused the packet of coffee, as well as the mug Ralph was going to drink out from, to lift slowly off the countertop and float in the air. Ralph looked on, with a look of genuine astonishment clearly seen on his face. Then, Carrie slowly allowed the coffee and mug to slowly go back down onto the countertop.
"I discovered I had these strange powers where I can make things float, and I used them to help in clearing out all the clinker from the firebox of No.4706 when I worked on him yesterday afternoon." Carrie said. Ralph was still somewhat astonished, but after a few seconds he quickly composed himself and sat down at the table, and indicated for Carrie to do the same.
"Carrie…after seeing you do that…I think the time has come for me to tell you something about the family that I haven't told you yet." Ralph said.
"What is it, dad?" Carrie asked, as she leaned forward in curiosity.
"There's something that many of the women born into this family have, and it's a power which you now possess. It's a power known as telekinesis." Ralph said.
"Telekinesis?" Carrie said, in curiosity.
"Yes…it's a mysterious power where you have the ability to move objects with your mind. I know this as…my own mother…your grandmother…had it as well." Ralph said.
"Did she? And do you have them as well?" Carrie asked.
"Your grandmother did have them, and no, it's only something that women in our family have." Ralph said, as Carrie looked at him with a stunned look on her face.
"Do you know if Momma had them?" Carrie asked, as she allowed that information to sink into her head.
"No, your mother didn't have them at all, or as far as I'm aware she didn't have them at all. Or if she did, she probably wasn't aware of it." Ralph said.
"Oh, my god…" Carrie said quietly, as she tried to take in everything her father had told just her.
"Now, don't worry, Carrie." Ralph said, reassuringly. "Everything will be all right, just as long as you learn how to manage your powers…and try and keep them to yourself. After all, if anyone out there finds out you have powers like telekinesis…there's no doubt that people will try and use it to make a quick buck or two." Ralph said.
"Okay, dad. I'll do everything I can to make sure that no one else on the island finds out about it." Carrie said.
"That's a good girl! And make sure that you do everything you can to control it as well. And if you do need to use it, make sure you do it where no one else can see you." Ralph said.
"I will, dad!" Carrie said, as a smile crossed her face.
"Okay…now finish up your breakfast, and then finish getting yourself ready for your day." Ralph said, as he stood back up and went to prepare his morning coffee.
"All right, dad." Carrie said, as she continued on with finishing off her breakfast.
And that's it for this chapter, everyone! Carrie finally discovered her telekinetic powers and, after having a meeting with the Fat Controller, she got to have a nice evening date and dinner with Simon at the Fishing Village! And having just spoken with her father about her discovered powers, and having learned a little bit about her family history with the telekinetic powers, she realises in fact that she's not at all alone in having such powers.
I intend to have the next chapter up as soon as I possibly can, and in future chapters to come, Carrie will be using her newly discovered telekinetic powers as and when she sees it's necessary to do so.
Until next time…good reading!