Chapter 32: The Circus Train

(Thursday, June 7th 2012 – 7:05am; Vicarstown; Island of Sodor)

Carrie slowly stirred and woke up in the comfortable bed that she was occupying within the main crew building at the Vicarstown Motive power depot on the eastern side of the Island of Sodor. Pulling herself out from the bed, she stretched out, yawned, and then went over to the window, pulled the curtains aside and looked out onto the depot; she could clearly see there was increasing activity as crew and the engines they were assigned to work on today. She could hear the sounds of engines leaving the depot, whistles blowing, and the sounds of other activity going about, as another day began. Feeling herself smiling a little, Carrie turned away from the window and set about getting herself ready for another day of work.

(Flashback)

Only the previous day, she and Simon had worked together on the footplate of L.N.E.R. P2 Class 2-8-2 No.2010 Waverley when they had worked a late afternoon / early evening express of 16 coaches from Knapford over to Vicarstown along the Southern Main Line. It was the very first time that Carrie had travelled on the footplate of a Gresley P2, and she was very impressed by how smoothly such a powerful and massive steam locomotive rode along the main line with a heavy train following along behind it. She was particularly impressed with how easily Waverley managed to get such a long and heavy passenger train out from the platform at Knapford Station and out onto the main line without too much effort at all. During the journey, Carrie had also been impressed by how fast Waverley went with such a heavy train, reaching speeds of up to 85mph at times on the long and straight stretches of track.

Although they made a very smooth trip over to Vicarstown, the trip hadn't been entirely without incident, as they were delayed for a short time at Wellsworth Station while waiting for one of the bankers waiting in the banker sidings to help them up Gordon's Hill. But once with a banker on the back of the train, they were able to get themselves going again and headed towards and up the hill. As it had rained very heavily earlier on in the day, and the train was very long and very heavy, Waverley's eight driving wheels slipped a little on the damp rails as they made their way up the hill. Yet, with help from the banker pushing very hard at the back of the train and with the driver at the controls having put the sanding gear on, they managed to get the train up Gordon's Hill in good order, and once they were at the top, they were able to get on their way towards Maron Station and then on towards.

Yet the final hurdle to their journey came as they were making their final approach towards Vicarstown Station, as they were held up for a few minutes outside the station before they finally pulled into the platform. The reason for this was that another train was leaving the station from the platform they were due to arrive at, and so they had to wait until it went by before they could arrive at Vicarstown. The train they had to wait for was another passenger train, which was about 10 coaches long, and it was being hauled by L.N.E.R V2 2-6-2 No.60900 who was taking the train from Vicarstown back to Knapford on the Southern Main Line.

From the footplate of Waverley, Carrie leaned out a little from the fireman's side and watched as No.60900's train slowly went on past them. Looking at the coaches as they went by, she could clearly see people sitting at the tables inside, with some of them looking outside at the other train that had been stopped on the line alongside. But even before the final coach went past, the driver got the road to proceed towards the station and he opened the regulator after blowing the whistle. Slowly, with dense clouds of white billowing steam blowing from the cylinder drain cocks and the sharp blasts of chuffing coming from his double chimney, Waverley moved on forwards slowly and made his way in towards Vicarstown Station.

After arriving at the station, the passengers on the train disembarked from the coaches as both Carrie and Simon leaned out from the cab and looked back along the length of the train. By this point, it was well after 6:00pm, and both of them were pretty much knackered from their long day of work, as well as having worked on the footplate of Waverley for much of the late afternoon. By that point, they were really looking forward to getting to the depot, getting themselves cleaned up, having a good dinner, and then a good night's sleep before another day of work starting first thing in the morning. Once the shunter had uncoupled the now empty coaches from Waverley, the driver opened the regulator and brought them from the station and over to the nearby depot.

After arriving in the crew building, Carrie and Simon grabbed their bags, got off the footplate, and made their way over to the crew building, where they were assigned their rooms for the night, and then spent some time cleaning themselves up, including having a long and relaxing shower, and then getting dressed into fresh clothes. After getting a really nice and hearty dinner together down in the cafeteria, where they ate at the same table together, they returned to their rooms and turned in for the night at about 9:30pm. By that point, Carrie was so tired after a long day of work, that she fell into a deep sleep as soon as she turned off the light in her room.

(Back to the present)

After changing into her work clothes and putting on a fresh set of overalls, Carrie made her way downstairs to the cafeteria to get a really good breakfast. After picking up a tray from the buffet line, she saw Simon standing in front of her. He turned when he heard the sound of a tray being lifted from behind him.

"Oh, good morning there, Carrie. Did you sleep well?" Simon said, as he gave her a quick hug and kiss.

"I did, and it was one of the best sleeps I've had for a while." Carrie said, grateful for Simon's greeting.

"Well, let's get some breakfast into us, and we'll chat about what we might be doing out on the line today." Simon said.

A short while later, having gotten what they wanted for breakfast, both of them went to sit at one of the tables where they would be able to look out the window at the activity taking place in the depot.

"What do you think we might be doing today?" Carrie asked, as they sat down.

"No idea, but one thing I do know is that the circus is arriving on Sodor today." Simon said.

"It would be nice if we were assigned to an engine to take that train." Carrie said with a small smile, as she took a sip from her cup of coffee. In the last few weeks, Carrie had always tried to start her day with hot coffee, as she found that having some caffeine in her system would help her to stay alert and active, particularly in the morning.

"Indeed, and I'm sure you'd love to see it when it goes by." Simon said. Carrie smiled at him, and without a further word, the pair tucked into the breakfasts.

(A little later; time – 8:15am)

Carrie and Simon, with their bags at their sides, were outside in the depot, along with a few of the other recruits, and being assigned to the locomotives that they were going to be working on for today.

"Okay Carrie, Simon…you two will be with Donald and Douglas today." said the foreman.

"The Scottish Twins Donald and Douglas?" Carrie asked.

"Yes, Carrie…the very same. And they're right over there." the foreman said, as he pointed over to where Donald and Douglas were being readied for their day of work.

"Okay…let's get over there." Simon said, as he and Carrie made their way over to where the Scottish twins were. After speaking with the drivers and firemen, and greeting the Scottish twins, Carrie stepped onto the footplate of Donald, while Simon went onto the footplate of Douglas. After making sure their bags were secure, the two set about helping getting Donald and Douglas ready for their day of work, including helping to oil around the motion, polishing down their black paintwork with red and white lining until it shone brightly, and making sure that there was a full load of coal and water in the tender tanks.

Soon, just as Carrie, Simon, and the drivers and firemen finished their work, the inspector came up to them. He had exciting news for the twins.

"Donald…Douglas…I've got some exciting news for both of you. Sir Topham Hatt says that this year…you two are to collect the circus."

"Oh, thank ya, sir!" Donald said excitedly.

"Pulling the circus sounds like good fun!" Douglas added, as he smiled broadly. At the same time, both Carrie and Simon looked at each other and smiled; looks like their hopes of seeing it had come true.

"And where are we to collect it, sir?" asked Donald.

"It's currently over in the main rail yard at Barrow-in-Furness over on the mainland, and it's being assembled ready for you to collect." said the yard foreman, as he looked through his clipboard.

"All right then, we'd better get ourselves over to the mainland and collect the train as soon as we can. Let's get ourselves going!" said Donald's driver, as he climbed onto Donald's footplate. Almost at once, he was followed by the fireman and Carrie, as Simon climbed onto the footplate of Douglas with the driver and fireman. After a few moments, they were all ready to go and, with the twins sounding their whistles long and loud, they set off from the depot to collect the circus train.

(Insert soundtrack – Donald and Douglas Season 2 Theme)

Soon Donald and Douglas were heading through Vicarstown Station and on towards the stretch of line that led towards the bridge that crossed over the stretch of water between the Island of Sodor and the British mainland. After going through a narrow and rocky gorge where two railway lines passed through, the twins went along a flatter stretch and soon were going over the bridge that crossed the water. For Carrie, it was the very first time she was going over to England and she wondered what it would be like in Barrow-in-Furness.

Looking out from Donald's cab, she looked down towards the water below them; she could see the water was calm, yet it seemed to be flowing quite strongly, which indicated that the tide within the strait was either going in or out. Looking out over the water throughout the strait to the north, Carrie could see a number of different boats that were moored to buoys in the middle of the channel, including some small trawlers and various barges. She could see the water flowing around the boats as it rolled through the channel. Along the opposite coast, Carrie could see a greyish-green slope from the waterline on the shore, with plenty of buildings on a raised part of ground just behind it.

They soon reached the other side of the channel, as the beach lining the English side went under the bridge, and then Carrie's view was obstructed by the sight of houses and other buildings in the town of Barrow-in-Furness as she got her first view of a town within England; it was almost like what she had imagined a British town to be, in fact it was very similar to many of the towns she had been to on Sodor.

Going over to the other side of Donald's cab, she leaned out a little and saw they were running along a section of double-tracked line that was straight as an arrow, and was within a low cutting with the ground rising up in gentle slopes on both sides of it. Looking back, Carrie could see Douglas following along closely behind them

"So, how much further until we get to where the circus train is waiting for us?" Carrie asked to the driver.

"It's not too far from here, miss. Just another mile or so left to go." the driver said.

He was right, as they were soon diverted into a large rail yard that was just off the main line on the eastern outskirts of Barrow-in-Furness. With a blast on his whistle, Donald went into the yard and Douglas followed along behind, and they went along into the yard. Suddenly, with a squealing of brakes, the Scottish Twins came to a halt. Right in front of them was the circus train that they were to collect, and the two of them were amazed, as was Carrie and Simon. There were all sorts of trucks, which stretched out before them as far as the eye could see, including all different sorts of box vans, open topped trucks, flatbeds loaded with circus equipment that were covered with tarpaulins, as well as more than a dozen coaches for the circus performers and workers. All the trucks were painted in bright colours, and the coaches were cleaned down until their paintwork shone brightly.

All around were people from the circus, including the ringmaster, lots of clowns, trapeze artists, acrobats, some magicians, a band with about 20 or 30 people in it, as well as tightrope walkers, strongmen, and many others as well, who were helping with getting the train ready to go.

Carrie had never seen anything like this before in her life, and she was so excited she could feel her fingertips tingle.

"Wow, this is just incredible." Carrie said quietly, as she looked around at everything.

"Well…the circus is one of the most popular things that comes to Sodor, and everything is done to make sure it's even better than it was the year before." said Donald's driver.

"And let's hope it's even better for everyone than it was last year!" added Donald.

"Ach aye, Donal!" added Douglas, as he blew his whistle.

And they set to work at helping to assemble the circus train, which took a little time to do, and they had the help of two of the yard diesel shunters in getting the train ready to go. The coaches for the circus people went together at the very front of the train, and the other trucks being couple up behind them. It took a long time to do, but by 9:50am, they finally had the whole train assembled and ready to leave the yard. By then, both Donald and Douglas had been turned on the yard's turntable and were coupled up to the very front of the train, and everyone was aboard the train and ready to go.

At the same time, both Carrie and Simon were on the footplates of the Scottish Twins, with Carrie back aboard Donald, and Simon on board Douglas. In total, they had about 70 vehicles in the train, including 20 coaches, nearly 50 wagons laden with all different sorts of circus and funfair equipment, as well as a special coach at the back of the train for the guard to ride in. The tension in the air was such that both Carrie and Simon were itching to get going, even though they weren't scheduled to depart the yard for the Island of Sodor until 10:00am.

Carrie looked at her watch; it was 9:58am. She looked up at the sky; the sky was clear blue without any clouds in sight, and there was a very light breeze blowing through the air; it was a perfect summer morning, and she was wondering how many people would be out to see the circus train as it went on by on its way to Knapford.

Then, the driver suddenly said, "Okay, we're all clear to go!" and he blew Donald's whistle for a few seconds, before opening the regulator. Snapping out of her trance, Carrie leaned out and watched as they slowly and carefully set off on their way out of the yard and back out towards the main line that would take them back to Sodor.

"This is it…we're on our way!" Carrie said in quiet excitement, as she turned back to look beyond Douglas' tender at the long and heavy circus train as it followed them long.

"Come on! Pull hard, Dougie! Pull hard, Dougie!" Donald called, as he pulled with all his might.

"I'm pulling, Donal! I'm pulling, Donal!" Douglas called, as he too pulled with all the might he could muster.

Slowly and gradually, the train picked up more speed as it moved out from the yard and onto the main line. The signal was green and so the drivers on Donald and Douglas opened the regulators a little more, and they picked up some more speed on their way through Barrow-in-Furness. From Donald's footplate, Carrie looked out as they went back through the shallow cutting, and she could see there were already people standing at certain points on both sides of it and watching as they went on by. Quite a few were waving at the long, jolly train as it went on by, with Donald and Douglas blowing their whistles loudly in greeting, as Simon and Carrie also waved to those who were watching the train go by.

They soon had gone through Barrow-in-Furness, and then they reached the long rail bridge that crossed over the channel back to Sodor. They had a green light to proceed, and, with the twins blowing their whistles loudly, they started back over the bridge towards Sodor at the speed limit of 25mph. Carrie was taking another go with the shovel at stoking Donald's boiler, as she had already seen the channel and the boats in it already when they were on their way over a short while before, and anyway there was work to be done.

"There we are…I think that should be enough for now." Carrie said, after she had placed a sixth shovelful of coal into the firebox.

"Yeah, I'd say so, miss. You're doing a good job so far this morning." said the fireman, as he took the shovel from Carrie. Looking up at the boiler pressure gauge, Carrie could see that the indicator needle was very close to the maximum working pressure. Feeling pleased with herself, she went over to the left-hand side of the cab and, leaning out a little, looked on ahead of them; the two steel tracks stretched out before them and round the bend and through the rocky cutting as they finally arrived back on Sodor. Soon, the residents of Sodor who were lining the route of the Southern Main Line would be able to see the circus train as it went on past them.

(At Vicarstown Station)

Along the platforms at Vicarstown, work was still being done as station staff worked away at keeping the station in order, as passengers boarded the next train bound for Knapford at Platform 3. At the head of the train was No.73125, who was an example of the B.R. Standard Class 5 4-6-0's fitted with British Caprotti valve gear (53). His black lined livery had been polished to a very high shine, and his moving parts were all oiled up and ready to take this passenger train to the western side of Sodor. There was a full head of steam in his boiler, and he was eager to get started as soon as possible.

(53): The B.R. Standard Class 5MT 4-6-0 was one of the twelve steam locomotive classes in the B.R. Standard Range, and was designed for mixed-traffic work on Britain's railway system. Based upon Stanier's very successful Class 5 4-6-0, or "Black Five" design of the L.M.S., the B.R. Standard Class 5MT was nearly identical to the Black Five in many respects.

Some of the differences that were between the two classes is that the running plate on the B.R. 5MT was higher than on the Black Fives, as it allowed for better access between the frames, slightly larger driving wheels, a larger cylinder diameter, a standard cab with the external pipework, and regulator gland on the driver's side below the dome. Many of these changes were made to reduce maintenance effort, and to incorporate as many standard components as possible that could be shared between the other B.R. Standard Steam Classes. The boiler of the B.R. 5MT was nearly identical to that fitted to the Black Fives, only that it was built from manganese steel as opposed to nickel steel of the boilers that were fitted to the Black Fives.

In total, 172 examples of the class were built between April 1951 and June 1957, of which 130 were built at Derby Works, and the remaining 42 at Doncaster. Of the 172 members, 142 engines were built with Walschaerts valve gear with piston valves, while the other 30 engines, from No.73125 to No.72154, were fitted with British Caprotti rotary cam poppet valve gear. There was little difference in terms of performance between the locomotives fitted with the two types of valve gear, although those that were fitted with Caprotti valve gear had a reputation for being good performers at high speed, often reaching speeds well over 80 miles an hour.

The B.R. Standard Class 5MT 4-6-0 design had two outside cylinders that were 19in in diameter and had a 28in piston stroke. The boiler was pressed to 225psi and had superheated, and the driving wheels were 6ft 2in in diameter. All this combined to give the class a maximum tractive effort of 26,125lbf, and making them suitable to handle all kinds of jobs, whether it was a fast passenger train all the way through to a slow, unfitted freight train.

The first example of the class, No.73000, was outshopped from Derby Works and entered traffic in April 1951, and by the end of January 1952, there were some 30 examples of the class in traffic. By the end of June 1957, the final example of the class, No.73171, had been outshopped from Doncaster Works. In service, the B.R. Standard Class 5MT design proved itself to be a good design, and a relatively trouble-free one as well. They were used interchangeably with the Black Fives they were based upon, and proved themselves to be very versatile machines, as they were able to do any kind of job that they were asked to do.

The class were used all over the B.R. network, including on the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway in the south. The locomotives of the class that were fitted with Caprotti valve gear were evenly divided up between the Western Region (No.73125 to No.73134), the London Midland Region (No.73135 to No.73144), and the Scottish Region (No.73145 to No.73154).

The class were fitted with a variety of different tender designs to suit the areas in which they worked, with those working in the Southern Region being coupled to tenders that often had the highest water capacity so as to make up for the lack of water troughs in the Southern Region; their tenders carried up to 5,625 gallons of water in them.

In 1959, twenty members of class who worked in the Southern Region were given names, which had been transferred over from withdrawn members of the S.R. N15 or King Arthur Class 4-6-0 locomotives. The nameplates were always fitted on the sides of the running plates directly over the centre driving wheels. The named engines were:

No.73080 Merlin, No.73081 Excalibur, No.73082 Camelot, No.73083 Pendragon, No.73084 Tintagel, No.73085 Melisande,

No.73086 The Green Knight, No.73087 Linette, No.73088 Joyous Gard, No.73089 Maid of Astolat, No.73110 The Red Knight,

No.73111 King Uther, No.73112 Morgan Le Fay, No.73113 Lyonnesse, No.73114 Etarre, No.73115 King Pellinore,

No.73116 Iseult, No.73117 Vivien, No.73118 King Leodegrance, and No.73119 Elaine.

The class proved to be very popular with the crews who drove them, as they were a free-steaming design, very fast, and economical. Sometimes, depending on the jobs they were given and the crews who were manning them, they could reach speeds just under 100mph at times. The class often took a long time to shake down, and only really started to pull when different firing techniques were used, which allowed them to steam properly when they were fired on poor-quality fuel.

The class were used on much of the traffic that ran on the last express lines for steam in the mid to late-60's. The lines they ran on included the Edinburgh-Aberdeen Line, the routes that ran from London to Southampton, Bournemouth, and Weymouth, as well as on local expresses that ran in the north, as well as in the Midlands particularly around Sheffield and Leeds, as well as on the last semi-fast express trains that ran between Nottingham and London on the old Great Central Main Line. They were also used on local trains that ran between Liverpool, Manchester, and Blackpool, with some being used right up into 1968.

In the mid-50's, one example of the class, No.73020, was part of the British Transport Film Wash and Brush Up, which was the subject of how a locomotive is cleaned, inside and out, as well as general locomotive maintenance during B.R. days.

No major changes or variations were made to the class, although Doncaster Works did design a double-chimney system for the class, which was very similar to that which had been fitted to the B.R. Standard Class 4MT 4-6-0 locomotives. If this had been done, it would have improved the draughting through the boilers and increased the efficiency of the locomotives. However, with the Modernisation Plan having been introduced in 1955, as well as the good performance of the class from the very outset, these plans were permanently put aside.

Another proposal was to build a series of freight locomotives based upon this design, which would have been a Class 8F 2-8-0 design. This came about as crews on the Western Region had criticisms of the B.R. Standard 9F Class 2-10-0 locomotives, as some crews as well as the W.R. management believed the 9Fs were too large and powerful for most heavy freight traffic, as well as being more expensive to build and operate than the usual 2-8-0 locomotives designs former G.W.R. crews were used to. Changes to the proposed design would have included 5ft 0in diameter driving wheels so as to increase tractive effort, and a boiler that was pressed to 250psi. But due to the Modernisation Plan, work on the proposed design ceased after 1955.

Withdrawals of the class began in 1964, when the first 15 examples, starting with No.73027, were removed from service. The others followed along over the next few years, with 1967 seeing the greatest number of the class withdrawn – 53 examples of the class were withdrawn in that year. In 1968, the final 23 examples of the class, including No.73000, were finally withdrawn from service, with No.73069 being the final example of the class in service.

Thankfully, five examples of the class have survived into preservation, and all of them have been steamed since being preserved. The five survivors include:

No.73050; named City of Peterborough in preservation having never carried a name during B.R. days, she was the only survivor to be bought directly from B.R. when she was withdrawn in June 1968. She's currently based on the Nene Valley Railway, where she ran for many years, and where she's currently undergoing a major overhaul to full working order.

No.73082 Camelot; was rescued from Barry Scrapyard in January 1979 at a cost of £8,100 pounds, and sent to the Bluebell Railway to be restored to working order. The work was finally completed in October 1995, after 16 years of hard work. After being restored, No.73082 ran for several years on the Bluebell Railway where she hauled many passenger trains along the line, as well as demonstration goods trains, before she was finally withdrawn for a full overhaul. Currently, she's in operational condition on the Bluebell Line.

No.73096; was rescued from Barry Scrapyard in July 1985 and brought to the Mid Hants Railway for restoration to working order, which was completed in October 1993. Painted into B.R. lined green livery, No.73096 ran trains on the main line until she was withdrawn from such duties in 2005, thus No.73096 is the only survivor of the five to have run on the main line in preservation. She currently at the Mid Hants Railway and awaiting an overhaul.

No.73129; the only survivor to be fitted with British Caprotti valve gear. She was rescued from Barry Scrapyard in January 1973 and moved to Derby Works, before then being moved to the Midland Railway Centre at Butterley in February 1975. Restoration work began in late 1993 and was finally completed by 2005. Afterwards No.73129 worked at the Midland Railway Centre, as well as on the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway, the East Lancashire Railway, and the Severn Valley Railway. She currently on static display at the Midland Railway Centre while funds are raised for its next overhaul.

No.73156; the only survivor of the five that was built at Doncaster, with the other four examples having been built at Derby. She was rescued from Barry Scrapyard in October 1986 and was moved to the East Lancashire Railway for restoration. In 2002, No.73156 was moved to the Great Central Railway for the completion of its restoration, which was finally completed in May 2018 when No.73156 entered traffic for the first time on the Great Central Railway.

Over at Platform 5, L.N.E.R. V4 2-6-2 No.3410 Conqueror was coupled up to a long line of different types of utility vans, as well as a few converted coaches, that were being loaded up with an enormous number of different parcels and packages that were bound for Knapford Station. The station porters were moving the parcels on trolleys that were ran on electricity, as well as on hand trucks that could be moved by hand.

"You know, I'll be glad to get all these parcels to where they need to be! It looks like there's a lot of them being loaded aboard today, which means my train will be very heavy!" Conqueror said to No.73125.

"I know how you feel! I've taken many parcels trains in my time on the rails, either here or over on the main land back in the day!" No.73125 said, as he remembered events from his past with British Railways, or on the Island of Sodor.

Before any of them could speak again, there came the sounds of two familiar whistles from the line leading towards the mainland.

"Hang on, that sounds like Donald and Douglas…" Conqueror said, as the sounds of two engines puffing very hard and getting closer and closer to the station.

"You're right, and from the sounds of it, they seem to be pulling a very long and heavy train too." said No.73125, as he too heard the sounds.

A minute or so later, Donald and Douglas came through the station along the line that went adjacent to Platform 1, with the circus train following along behind them.

"Hello there, you two!" Donald called with a blast of his whistle, as he went by them.

"Can't stop to chat! We've got the circus to deliver!" Douglas said, as he too gave a blast on his whistle as they went on through. And upon seeing the circus train as it went past them, both Conqueror and No.73125 gasped in amazement as they watched the train, and how many trucks were in it as well as how bright and cheerful the paint schemes on the trucks were, roll on by them. At once, both of them whistled in greeting as the circus went past them, and on the platforms of the station, the station staff and passengers also waved and cheered out when they saw the circus train.

From the footplate of Donald, Carrie heard the sounds of everyone behind them cheering, as well as the whistles from No.73125 and Conqueror. Reaching up, she took hold of the whistle handle and blew it for a few seconds; the sound of Donald's whistle sounded all around the station and yard outside. A second later, Douglas' whistle also sounded, no doubt because Simon had also taken the chance to respond to the whistling as well.

Leaving Vicarstown Station behind, with the people there still cheering out happily, both Donald and Douglas made their way along the line that ran over the long red-brick viaduct, past the motive power depot, and past the freight yards close by, and then out into the open countryside beyond.

(Insert soundtrack – Donald and Douglas Season 2 Theme)

Out in the countryside, Donald and Douglas were able to pick up some more speed and pushed on ahead, going past farmland where farmers could be seen working away with their farm machinery, or fields where children and their parents could be seen having picnics while waiting for the circus train to go past. Many children were already lining many of the wooden fences that separated the fields from the railway lines, or on the bridges that crossed over the lines, and waiting for the circus train to go past. When Donald and Douglas appeared with the train, many of the children, and even their parents, waved out in excitement as the very long and bright train went on past. And often, either the drivers of the twins, or more often Carrie and Simon, would blow on the whistles and sound a friendly greeting to those who were waving to them as they went on by. And everyone who saw just how long the train was as it went by was completely astonished to see it.

By the time they got onto the stretch of line before Crovan's Gate, there was a yellow signal showing, which meant they had to slow down. After they slowed down, they rolled along the line that ran alongside a long brick wall off to the side of the line and then the narrow-gauge railway tracks, until they saw the next signal ahead of them; it was showing a red light, so they had to stop. And as they came to a stop, Carrie saw they had stopped right beside the Crovan's Gate Narrow-Gauge Engine Sheds, where she had met some of the narrow-gauge engines back in early May, and she wondered if there were any more of them there to meet today.

Just as they came to a stop, she heard the sound of a horn coming from further down the line and what sounded like a diesel engine coming towards them. Turning her head to see who it was, she saw that it was a small, orange diesel engine with a few trucks, which seemed to be loaded with track maintenance equipment, and a van behind him. He slowly rolled up alongside the Scottish Twins, and came to a stop himself.

"Ah, hello there, you two. Are you making good time with the circus train this morning?" the little orange diesel, who's named was Rusty, asked.

"Ach aye, we are there, Rusty. We'd be making better time if we hadn't been forced to stop here for a red signal light." Donald said, as he spoke to Rusty.

"And we don't know why we're stopped here for." added Douglas, as he looked up towards the signal, which was still at red. Then, Rusty looked up to Donald's cab, and he saw Carrie leaning out and looking towards him.

"Oh, hello there, miss. Are you Carrie White?" Rusty asked.

"Yes…yes, I am. And are you one of the engines who works on the narrow-gauge railway?" Carrie asked.

"Yes, I am. My name is Rusty, and I'm the engine they ask to help out with maintenance, as well as various odd jobs that need to be done on the Skarloey Railway." said Rusty.

"It's very nice to meet you, Rusty. I believe that this is the first time we've met each other face to face." Carrie said.

"Well, it is. And after you came here to Sodor, I heard everything about why you came here. It's just not right to go through things like that. I sure wouldn't like to go through anything like that." Rusty said.

But before Carrie could give her reply to that, there came the sounds of another whistle from somewhere down the narrow-gauge line, and this one definitely sounded like it came from another narrow-gauge steam engine.

"Hang on…who's that coming?" Carrie asked. And Rusty sighed a little; it was obvious that he knew who was coming.

"Just wait and see, Carrie." Rusty said, as his eyes rolled up. And a few moments later, the engine came into view; he was painted in bright yellow, and had a much taller funnel over his smokebox, and with four small driving wheels beneath. Behind him, he had a long line of trucks, all of which were covered with tarpaulins to keep the loads in the trucks from blowing away in the wind. And he was grumbling quite a bit about it all too.

"Truck! Trucks! I just can't stand them!" the engine grumbled as he came to a stop and let off some steam in a frustrated sort of way.

"Good morning there, Duncan." Rusty said.

"What's good about it, Rusty? I'm always given the rubbish jobs of moving trucks full of rubbish from the mountains down to here, instead of taking passengers up the line like the others are!" Duncan complained.

From Donald's footplate, Carrie looked towards Duncan with some trepidation; she had never met Duncan before, and so wasn't sure what sort of a personality he would be like. But for the moment at least, she could see that Duncan looked to be in a fed-up sort of mood.

"Try not to be cross for too long, Duncan. After all, look towards that woman on Donald's footplate and see who's looking at you." Rusty said, as he glanced over to where Carrie was standing. So, Duncan glanced over to where Donald was standing, and then he saw a young woman in a set of overalls standing at the side of the footplate and looking towards him. Almost at once, he felt he knew who this girl was, and so quickly changed his tune.

"Oh, I'm sorry, are you Carrie White?" Duncan asked, as he calmed down.

"Yes, I'm Carrie White, and I assume that your name is Duncan?" Carrie asked, as she stared down at the small yellow, narrow-gauge engine with some degree of caution, especially when Duncan had first arrived a few moments before.

"I'm sorry if I seemed cross, Carrie. It's just that I've had a rough morning, especially taking all these heavy trucks down from the slate quarry up in the mountains to here." Duncan said, as he smiled for the first time that day.

"It's all right, Duncan. I'm sure we've all had days like that at some point in our lives." Carrie said, as she smiled back at Duncan. That was particularly true for her, especially for when she was living back in Chamberlain.

"It's nice to see you at last, Carrie. The others on this railway have told me quite a bit about you…and of why you came here to Sodor in the first place." And then Duncan's face turned serious again. "If anything like that which happened to you had happened to me, I'd have quite a good mind to tell those people what I really thought of them!" Duncan said.

"Yes, well…wouldn't we all?" Carrie said, knowing that Duncan probably wouldn't have a problem with telling people like Chris Hargensen exactly what he thought of them.

Just then the signal ahead dropped, showing a green light; the circus train was clear to proceed on its way again. Then there came the sounds of loud whistles, as the drivers on both Donald and Douglas blew the whistles for several seconds before opening the regulators. Slowly, with a slight jerk, they were on their way again.

"I'll see you two around another time!" Carrie called to Rusty and Duncan, and she waved to them as they set off on down the line.

"See you around, Carrie!" Rusty and Duncan called, as the little orange diesel sounded his horn, and Duncan blew his whistle, to which the Scottish Twins sounded their whistles in return. Then the two narrow-gauge engines watched in some astonishment as the long circus train went past them, heading towards Crovan's Gate Station, and then beyond. They were somewhat relieved when they saw the brake van go past them, as it seemed like the train would just never end.

After passing through Crovan's Gate Station, where everyone who saw them approach and then go by waved excitedly when they saw the train go past, Donald and Douglas headed out along the main line, picking up some more speed as they made their way along the line towards Kellsthorpe North, and then on towards Kellsthorpe Junction, passing by fields, parks, and houses where the back gardens backed up near to the railway lines, where people of all ages stood and waved to the circus train as it went on past them. Quite often, both Donald and Douglas would blow their deep-toned Caledonian-style whistles in reply to the waving crowds as they went on past, and from within the coaches behind them, many of the circus performers and workers also waved to the waving crowds while also speaking with each other about how they were going to really impress the crowds when they were here on Sodor.

After approaching they then went on through Kellsthorpe Station, where Henry was seen standing and collecting more passengers on his morning stopping service from Knapford to Vicarstown, and he blew his whistle in greeting as the circus train proceeded on its way. along the line, with Carrie and Simon both working hard at stoking the boilers of Donald and Douglas as they went along. For Carrie, the feeling of going along with such an important train rolling along behind them, and with so many people waving to them in deep appreciation as they went on past, she really felt so proud of being a part of such an important train, as well as being part of the footplate crew and working at keeping the train moving smoothly.

They kept on passing by all the different stations along the main line, including Rossington Junction, Kildane-Upon-Barn, past the junction that led off to the left towards Sodor Airport, past Kildane, where they went through the junctions there, and then on towards Cronk. Passing by Cronk Station, S.R. U 2-6-0 No.31801 could be seen sitting within the sheds in the yards on the south side of the main line, where he was being looked over and having his fire built up ready for another day of work. Beside him was another engine, G.W.R. 47XX 2-8-0 No.4726, and he was sitting on the line beside No.31801 and being oiled up, rubbed down, and prepared for his next job. Both engines were chatting with each other, when their conversation was interrupted when Donald and Douglas went by with the circus train, with the Scottish Twins whistling in greeting as they went on by. Both No.31801 and No.4726 called out in cheer as they watched the length of the train go by, and they were just as astonished to see such a long train go past them as everyone else who saw it.

A little further on down the line, as Donald and Douglas neared Maron Station and went by the northern junction that went down to Sodor International Airport, Carrie looked out from the right-hand side of Donald's cab and saw another train rolling along on the up line towards them, and it was a passenger train. As the train got closer and closer to them, she saw the engine at the front of the train was painted in unlined B.R. black livery, and looked very similar to appearance to No.73125 who they had seen earlier on during the trip, but it looked different as the boiler appeared to be smaller in diameter. Then Carrie saw it was actually No.75000, who was a member of the B.R. Standard Class 4MT 4-6-0 (54), and he was hauling a train of ten coaches that was full of people bound for Sodor Airport. The signal on the line he was on was set to "danger," and so he had to stop and wait until the circus train went past before he could continue on over the junction and then down to the airport.

(54): The B.R. Standard Class 4MT 4-6-0 was designed to be used on various different mixed traffic duties on cross-country routes, where the larger B.R. Standard Class 5MT 4-6-0s and L.M.S. 5MT Black Five Class 4-6-0s would be too heavy to go, as well as on secondary passenger duties on the main line. The very first example of the class, No.75000, entered traffic in May 1951. They were a 4-6-0 version of the B.R. Standard Class 4MT 2-6-4T tank engine, with similar characteristics of the G.W.R. Manor Class, though unlike the Manors they were built to the universal loading gauge. They were paired with either BR2 or BR2A tenders, which could carry a little over 6 tons of coal and 3,500 gallons of water.

In total, 80 examples of the class were built and numbered from No.75000 to No.75079. All members of the class was built at Swindon Works between May 1951 and May 1957. Although they looked very identical in all respects to the larger B.R. Standard Class 5MT, they were very different in other ways, for instance they had smaller diameter driving wheels, as well as a slightly smaller boiler. Their six driving wheels were 5ft 8in in diameter, the boiler was superheated and pressed to 225psi. Combined with two outside cylinders that were 18in in diameter with a 28in piston stroke, the class had a maximum tractive effort of 25,515lbf.

The class also had the rather sad distinction of being the final steam locomotive class with a 4-6-0 wheel arrangement to be built by B.R., with No.75064 being the final 4-6-0 locomotive ever to be built by British Railways.

After the class were built, they were based at depots on the London Midland, Western, and Southern Regions, and were used on routes such as those of the former Cambrian Railways, such as the Cambrian Coast Line. None were based in Scotland. Those members of the class that were assigned to the Southern Region were paired with BR1B tenders that could carry 7 tons of coal and 4,725 gallons of water, which was important as there were no water troughs on the Southern Region. From 1957, some members of the class, including those that had been assigned to the Southern Region, were fitted with double chimneys and exhaust systems, which helped the locomotives fitted with them to steam much better than those with single chimneys.

Those of the class that were assigned to the Somerset and Dorset Line were assigned to Templecombe, where they undertook a wide variety of duties on the S&DJR, from hauling passenger trains of four or five coaches in length, to double heading the Pines Express and heavy holiday trains with the 9F 2-10-0's and West Country Pacifics that were based on the Somerset and Dorset Line.

Those members of the class that were based down at Dover were often used on commuter trains, as well as on the heavy services that ran to Victoria and Charing Cross Stations in London.

It's certainly very possible that had the 1955 Modernisation Plan not been implemented when it was, then many more examples of the class would have been built. However, due to the Modernisation Plan, the next batch of ten locomotives, which would have been numbered from No.75080 to No.75089, ended up being cancelled.

The first withdrawals of the class took place in 1964, when the first two members of the class, No.75001 and No.75067 were withdrawn from service. The class were gradually phased out over the next few years, with 1967 seeing the greatest number of withdrawals, when 37 members of the class were removed from service. In 1968, the final ten members of the class were finally removed from regular service. Of all 80 members of the class, No.75057 had the shortest working life of the class; it was built in March 1957 and withdrawn in February 1966. By comparison, the longest serving member of the class was No.75009, who was built in October 1951 and withdrawn in August 1968.

One of the last tasks the class did in their final days was in the north of England, where some examples of the class, including No.75019, No.75027, and No.75039, worked at banking heavy trains up to Shap Summit on the West Coast Main Line. A few that were based at Skipton and then at Carnforth were used to haul ballast trains on the line from Rylstone quarry.

Thankfully, six members of the class have survived into preservation, of which two were bought straight from B.R., and the remaining four rescued from Barry Scrapyard. These six surviving engines include;

No.75014; sold for scrap to Woodham's Yard in Barry, South Wales in December 1966, where it arrived in October 1967. It was saved in February 1981 and taken straight to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway for restoration, which was finally completed in 1994, when No.75014 steam again for the first time in preservation. For much of its preservation career, it ran between Fort William and Mallaig where it hauled the Jacobite trains. In 2000, No.75014 was named Braveheart, after the Mel Gibson film that was shot in the Western Highlands of Scotland. Currently, she's now based at the Dartmouth Steam Railway where she's being overhauled to working order. She's also one of two survivors of the class that are fitted with single chimneys.

No.75027; was purchased directly from B.R. upon withdrawal in August 1968, and arrived on the Bluebell Railway in January 1969. After arrival, No.75027 became a part of the Bluebell's operational fleet and really proved her worth in helping the railway run trains. After being overhauled in 1978, the engine ran for another ten years, and then it was overhauled again before re-entering service in 1999. After running until it was withdrawn in 2007 for another overhaul, it had achieved the highest mileage of any locomotive in the Bluebell Railway's fleet. It's currently on static display while awaiting its next overhaul, which will require the replacement of the old firebox with a new one, as well as having the old frames replaced with brand new frames as well. No.75027 is the second example of the class to be fitted with a single chimney.

No.75029; after being withdrawn in August 1967, she was saved by the late artist David Shepard, who also bought 9F No.92203. Later, Shepard gave the name The Green Knight to No.75029. Initially, both No.92203 and No.75029 were based at the Longmoor Military Railway, but both were eventually moved to the East Somerset Railway in 1973. In 1975, No.75029 took part in the cavalcade at the Rail 150 celebrations at Shildon. Later, she was sold to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway so Shepard could pay for the overhaul of No.92203. Currently, No.75029 is being given a much-needed overhaul on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, which should be finished very soon. No.75029 is also one of the four surviving members of the B.R. Standard 4MT Class that are fitted with double chimneys.

No.75069; rescued from Barry Scrapyard in March 1973 and taken to the Severn Valley Railway for restoration to begin. The work was complete in 1984, and No.75069 steamed for the first time since it was withdrawn in September 1966. After working on the Severn Valley for some years, as well as taking trips out on the main line, No.75069 was withdrawn in 1994 for another overhaul, which commenced in 2013. By December 2018, the overhaul was completed, and she moved under her own power for the first time since 1994, and she's now operational on the Severn Valley Railway.

No.75078; rescued from Barry Scrapyard in June 1972 and taken to Keighley and Worth Valley Railway for restoration. The work took until 1978 to complete, and No.75078 moved under her own power for the first time since being withdrawn in July 1966. In 1985, she was withdrawn for an overhaul, which was completed in 1988 and she ran again until she was withdrawn in the late 1990's for another overhaul. By 2015, the overhaul was completed and ran along the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway until she was withdrawn again for another overhaul. This one was completed in 2022, and No.75078 is in running order on the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway.

No.75079; rescued from Barry Scrapyard in March 1982 and taken to the Plym Valley Railway for restoration. In 2007, No.75079 was moved to the Mid-Hants Railway for the restoration to be completed. Work has been underway since then, and it's hoped to finally have the engine restored to working order by 2024.

Of the six surviving engines, only three examples have been able to run on the main line during their careers in preservation; these engines are No.75014, No.75029, and No.75069. Currently, there's no plans to run any of them back on the main line again for the foreseeable future.

When No.75000 saw the Scottish Twins hauling the circus train together go past him, he blew his whistle in cheer and called out to them.

"Hello, you two! Get the circus to Knapford on time!" he whistled, as he watched the train go on past. From his train, many of the passengers watched in a mixture of excitement and astonishment as the circus went on past them. From the length of the train, it looked like the circus would be quite the event this year. As soon the last end of the train went on past, the signalman switched the points and set the signal to "all clear" which meant that No.75000 could proceed on his way over the points and down to the airport. With a blast of his whistle, he was off on his way again.

(With Donald and Douglas)

After going through Maron Station, the Scottish Twins approached their last major obstacle before they arrived at Knapford, Gordon's Hill. The twins knew they had to go at a steady pace as they went down the hill, due to the very heavy load they had behind them. Approaching the summit of Gordon's Hill from the east along the long straight stretch that went along the gentler eastern slope, they could see the signal box ahead which marked the summit of the hill and from over the summit, the smoke from another train coming up the hill could be seen.

"Best slow down now…we're about to go over the top." Donald's driver said, as he closed the regulator somewhat and then put on the brakes.

"Okay." Donald said, as he and Douglas slowed down as they approached the summit. Looking out from Donald's cab, Carrie leaned out a little and saw the chuffing smoke from the other side of the hill get closer and closer to them. And then, the other train reached the summit of the climb; it was a long and very mixed freight train being hauled by L.N.E.R. O2 Class 2-8-0 No.63974. Coupled immediately behind No.63974's tender was a line of half a dozen cattle trucks with what appeared to be horses and some cattle, with a few different tanker wagons coupled behind the cattle trucks, and various other different wagons behind them. Seeing the Scottish Twins rolling by him with the circus train, the L.N.E.R. Class O2 blew his whistle in greeting and called out "Hello, you two!" as he went on past, and both Donald and Douglas whistled back and called "Hello there!" in response.

Carrie watched as No.63974 went on past with his long freight train, and then she turned her head as they went over the top and down Gordon's Hill. Turning back to the cab, Carrie noticed how the driver was keeping one hand on the regulator handle and the second on the brake handle, which he moved over a little every now and then so that he could keep the train at a steady speed as it descended the hill, but also so he could bring the train to a quick halt just in case something happened on the way down. She saw the fireman was keeping near to the brake handle on the tender, so the brakes on the tender wheels could be applied just in case. It was the same thing on Douglas, though Simon was standing at the brake handle for the tender brakes instead of the fireman and standing by in case there was a runaway.

In the meantime, the banker who was pushing the back end of No.63974's train, B.R Standard Class 9F 2-10-0 No.92230, finally managed to get the back of the train to the top of the hill. And, as the end of the L.N.E.R. O2's train went over the top past the signal box on its way towards Maron Station, the B.R. 9F had to wait until the circus train had gone past on the other line before the signalman could change the points and allow him to run in reverse on the line back to Wellsworth Station.

For No.92230, he was a veteran who had seen it all before, as he had plenty of experience of banking numerous heavy trains on the Lickey Incline back in the day, and would often have to wait until trains passing through Blackwell Station at the top of the Lickey Incline had gone by before he could reverse back down to Bromsgrove.

As he waited for his turn to go over the points and back down to Wellsworth, he watched with a smile on his face as the circus train went past him on its way down Gordon's Hill, and he was astonished by how long it was.

"It looks like the circus this year is gonna be one very impressive event for everyone who goes to it." his fireman said, as he watched the circus train go past.

"Yes, it certainly will, sir!" No.92230 said with an impressed smile, as he watched the back end of the train finally go past them and down Gordon's Hill at a steady speed of about 20 miles an hour. After a few long moments, where the circus train had made much of the way down the hill, the signalman in the box set the points and the signals to allow No.92230 to reverse over the points and then slowly make his way back down the hill towards Wellsworth Station, where he would wait for another train to bank up the hill.

(With Donald and Douglas)

With the greatest of care, and making sure that the train stayed under a safe control as it headed down Gordon's Hill, the twins managed to get down to the bottom of the hill safely, much to the relief of their crews, as well as Simon and Carrie.

"We made it down the hill safely, Dougie!" Donald called from the front with a whistle, as they made their way around the curve at the bottom of the hill and then under the red-brick road bridge.

"Ach, aye Donal! There's not much longer left to go now until we arrive at Knapford!" Douglas said, with a blast on his whistle. He was right; from this moment on, they were on the final stretch of their long journey from the main land, and it looked like they were gonna be arriving at Knapford bang on time. Carrie also felt herself smile somewhat, relieved they made it down the hill without any problems, as well as feeling a sense of understandable pride.

With Gordon's Hill behind them, and the last of the train having made it safely down the hill, they passed by the junction that led down to Brendam Docks, before passing through Wellsworth Station. Edward was standing at the platform on the down line and picking up passengers to take to Knapford, while Bill and Ben were sitting in the yards on the other side of the main line and having a rest from having just delivered a long line of trucks full of china-clay from the china-clay pits near the docks a short while before.

As Edward waited for the last of his passengers to board his coaches, both Donald and Douglas, blowing their whistles in greeting, passed by with their long and heavy train. From the coaches of Edward's train, on both platforms of Wellsworth Station and the footbridge connecting the two, as well as from the yards, people watched in amazement and excitement as the circus train went on past them. Many people waved and cheered in excitement, as Edward, Bill and Ben blew their whistles in greeting to the Scottish Twins as they went on past with their train.

"Get the circus to Knapford safely you two!" Edward called, as he watched the long train progress on down the line.

Going past the banker sidings that were a little further down the line, all the banker engines awaiting their next turns of duty watched in astonishment and excitement as the circus train went on past them. Some of them even commented about wishing to be pulling the circus train today rather than taking turns at banking heavy trains up Gordon's Hill.

After going over the viaduct a little further on down the line, Donald and Douglas rolled past Crosby Station, where James was seen picking up passengers waiting at the platform on the up-line. Upon seeing the train pass through, James gave a few blasts on his whistle, as he remembered the occasion many years before when he had been given the chance to pull a similar circus train away after it finished its trip to Sodor. From James' footplate, his driver and fireman also watched as the circus train went on by, and commented on just how long it was, and how much stuff there seemed to be in all those trucks.

"It looks like the circus will be something special this year!" James said, as the last of the trucks went on past.

"Indeed, it will, James! And let's hope that what they have on offer will be just as impressive as the length of the train!" said his driver. Soon, it was time for James to be on his way to the next station and, blowing his whistle, he was on his way with his train.

For Carrie, it was getting exciting to know they were nearing the end of the trip and wondered how people on Knapford Station would react when they saw the circus train go past. But she knew she would find out soon enough, as they were getting nearer and nearer to their destination, as she stood up from having taken another go with the coal shovel, she saw they were going past Elsbridge Station, where a number of people waiting on the platform waved to the circus train as it went on past them.

After going along, and through Henry's tunnel and on down the line, they finally arrived at their destination of Knapford Station. Going round the curve that led into the station, the Scottish Twins were feeling a little tired from hauling this train, yet at the same time though, they were very feeling very proud that they had made it in one piece.

(Insert soundtrack – Donald and Douglas Seasons 6 and 7 Theme)

Standing at Platform 1 at Knapford Station, Gordon was seen with 10 coaches coupled behind him and waiting to depart, when he saw the Scottish Twins come round the bend in the distance and roll slowly through Knapford Station on the line adjacent to Platform 5 with the circus train. Giving a blast on his whistle in greeting to the twins, Gordon watched for a few long moments as the circus train went on past, before the guard blew his whistle and waved his green flag, giving him the all clear to depart.

From his office window in the upper level of the station, the Fat Controller stood and watched as Donald and Douglas went on past with the circus train. He was feeling pleased that they had made it safely, and on time. He was feeling excited that the circus was in town, as he had always enjoyed going to it, ever since he was a younger person. Turning away from his window, he went back to his desk.

(In Knapford Yards)

Once they were in the extensive yards at Knapford, and on one of the longest stretches of straight track that could be found, both Donald and Douglas came to a gentle stop, as they had finally arrived at their destination safe and sound. Both Simon and Carrie were feeling very pleased that they had managed to get this important train to where it needed to be, on time and in one piece.

"So, where about is the circus going to be held? I mean, will it be relatively close to here?" Carrie asked, as she took one of the tea cans sitting on the warming plate over the firehole doors and set about pouring herself a cup of tea.

"Yes, Carrie…there's a large open field not too far from here where the circus is held every time it comes to Sodor, and the trucks are taken there a few at a time where they're unloaded and then taken back to here where they're stored in special sidings until the circus has to leave again." said Donald's driver.

"And will we be taking the trucks there and back?" Carrie asked.

"No, not at all, Carrie. We're actually gonna let some of the other engines do that. After all, it's only the fair thing to do." said the fireman.

"Oh, okay then." Carrie said, as she took a sip of tea. Then she looked at her watch; it was 12:00pm exactly, and exactly two hours after they had set off from the yards at Barrow-in-Furness with the train.

Behind them, a shunter was already uncoupling Douglas from the front vehicle of the train, as well as then uncoupling the twins from each other. Elsewhere along the length of the train, other shunters were uncoupling the coaches and trucks at selected points, and waiting for the engines who would take the selected trucks to where they were needed, and when they were needed.

Looking back from the footplate of Donald, Carrie wondered what this circus would be like. Having never been to one in her life before, she wondered if she would ever like a circus and whatever performances went on in it. Putting those thoughts aside, she watched as the engines who were to take the first of the circus trucks to the field to get everything ready arrived in the yards. Among them all, she could see Arthur, and he looked to be as excited as the other engines were at being given the chance to help get the circus train sorted out. With him were a few other tank engines, including Stanley, Rosie, and a few others.

Then Carrie saw another engine she had never seen before; it was a 2-6-2T tank engine that looked very similar in some respects to the L.M.S. Fowler Class 2-6-4T engines she had worked on earlier during her time here on Sodor. The engine was No.51, who was an L.M.S. Fowler Class 2-6-2T tank engine (55). He was painted in L.M.S. maroon red livery with yellow lining, just like Arthur, and which looked very smart indeed. He was looking just as excited at helping out at getting the circus train sorted out.

(55): The L.M.S. Fowler Class 2-6-2T tank engines were designed by Henry Fowler for use on commuter trains, especially those that ran on suburban lines in London. In total, 70 members of the class were built in three batches at the L.M.S. works in Derby between 1930 and 1932. In 1930, 21 examples of the class came into traffic, with 39 examples following in 1931, and the final 10 locomotives emerging from Derby in 1932. They were classified as 3P under the L.M.S., and as 3MT under British Railways.

The class had two outside cylinders that were 17.5in in diameter with a 26in piston stroke, a superheated boiler that was pressed to 200psi and driving wheels that were 5ft 3in in diameter. This combined to give the class a maximum tractive effort of 21,486lbf.

The class were initially numbered from No.15500 to No.15569, but in 1934 the class were renumbered from No.1 to No.70. After Britain's railways were nationalised in 1948, the class were renumbered again from No.40001 to No.40070.

During their service on their commuter runs around London, a few members of the class, from No.40021 to No.40040, were fitted with special condensing apparatus for working on the Metropolitan "Widened Lines". Some of the class members which weren't fitted with condensing apparatus were fitted with vacuum operated push-and-pull control systems. They were also used extensively on branch-line duties as well, where their small size made them ideal for running trains on lines that were lightly laid or were restrictive in terms of what locomotives could run on them.

Other modifications were made to the class during their working lives; some had outside steam pipes fitted from their cylinders to their smoke boxes, and others had the brakes removed from their leading and trailing wheelsets. Most of these modifications were carried out from between the late-40's and the late 50's, though some of these modifications were undertaken much earlier on.

Compared to their larger 2-6-4T cousins, the 2-6-2T's weren't as good in terms of their performances, no doubt because their boilers were smaller in size compared to the larger 2-6-4T's, and so couldn't produce the necessary quantities of steam.

Withdrawals of the class began in 1959 when 32 members of the class were removed from service, with some having been in storage for some time before being withdrawn. The rest followed along over the next three years until 1962, when the final 7 members of the class, No.40006, No.40009, No.40022, No.40024, No.40026, No.40031 and No.40063, were withdrawn from service. No.40022 was the final member of the class in service, and was withdrawn 13th December 1962.

Sadly, not a single example of the class has been preserved, which is a great shame really, especially when you consider how useful the class would have been on many of Britain's preserved heritage railways today.

"Anyway, come on then. Let's go and get some lunch, and have you two readied for your next jobs." said Donald's driver, as he opened the regulator a little and blew the whistle.

"Okay, then. I think a good lunch would hit the spot right now. I'm starving." Carrie said.

"Yeah, and we need to get Donald and Douglas ready for whatever jobs they need to go and do later on in the day." the fireman added. With smiles on the faces, both Donald and Douglas headed off to another part of the yard where they could be serviced and readied for their next jobs, as well as for the drivers and firemen, as well as for Carrie and Simon to go and get themselves some much-needed food and rest before they went back to work.

(Two days later; June 9th Saturday evening)

Carrie, Simon and their friends, Saoirse, Alice, Sophia, and Olivia, were sitting with countless other people in the big circus tent known as the big top, and were waiting for the show to begin. It was the very first show of the circus for the time it would be on Sodor, and it had taken the best part of the last two days, with the work going on pretty much non-stop, to get everything set up and ready for the first big show. Some of the engines had been helping in taking whatever different gear was needed over to the site for everything to be set up, which wasn't too much of a problem as the railway ran right past the field and there was a station platform, along with some sidings, conveniently placed at the site where people and equipment could be brought to help get the big top and other circus attractions assembled.

As this was the very first circus show that she had gone to in her life, Carrie was feeling very excited about what was going to be on this evening. She had heard a bit of what she could expect, including the clowns, tight-rope walkers, trapeze artists, and the magicians doing different magic tricks. But regardless of what was on, she was looking forward to it, and hoped that it wouldn't be the last circus show she went to.

She was astonished by just how big the circus big top really was and how many people were already seated inside of it and waiting for the show to start. Many of the audience had arrived at the circus in a variety of ways, including walking – if they were living close by – or driving, or else being brought there by bus, including by either Bertie or Bulgy, or even by train, as the platform was long enough to take up to ten coaches. Some of the engines that had brought people over to see the circus included Henry, who had just delivered quite a few more people to the site a short while before, and Thomas, who had only managed to get a few more hopefuls over to the circus just in time a few minutes earlier.

Before they went and lined up so they could go into the big top, Carrie, Simon, and the girls had gone around the grounds and went to the different funfair stalls, where they all tried out some of the different games that were on offer, including trying to throw as many hoops around a pole, trying to get as many balls into a bucket as they could, as well as trying their hands out at the inevitable coconut shy. But soon, the group of friends took their place in the line so they could go inside and see the circus show.

Carrie, Simon, and the girls already had all the snacks with them that they had bought before they went in to enjoy the show, including popcorn, soft drinks, chocolate, cotton candy, pretzels, and candy. After all the work they had been doing on the railway over the last few weeks, including in getting the circus to this spot and helping get it ready, they were really eager to relax and enjoy what was on at the circus.

"Hang on! Quiet! It's starting!" Sophie said quietly, as the lights around where the audience was sitting dimmed and the brass band over close to the entrance struck up with the music being played on their shiny brass instruments. For the next two hours, everyone sat around and really enjoyed the different acts the circus had on offer, including the acrobatics, the tight-rope walkers, trapeze artists, a group of three cowboys who did a series of different rope tricks, various gymnastics that used wheels, as well as stilt-walking, juggling, and the magicians doing their magic tricks. There were no animal acts to see tonight though, as this particular circus didn't use animals in any of its acts. Yet despite that, Carrie and her friends weren't at all disappointed, and they really enjoyed each of the acts they saw.

But the part of the show that Carrie really loved the most were the many different clowns that appeared out in front of everyone, and the many varied and silly acts that they performed, including driving around in silly cars, going around on unicycles, and other silly acts that made everyone in the big top laugh out loud. Carrie had never laughed so much in her life before when she saw these acts, and wondered if she could ever stop laughing, but it felt so good all the same to laugh out loudly so much, especially after the many years of abuse and bullying she had been subjected to back home. Simon and the other girls also laughed loudly at the clowns going their funny acts, where one of the funniest acts they all saw involved the clowns throwing cream pies into each other's faces.

(Later that evening, after the show)

With the show now over for the night, all the members of the audience were leaving the circus and making their way back home. Each one of them had really enjoyed the first circus show very much and were looking forward to telling other people about it.

Carrie, Simon, as well as Sophie, Saoirse, Alice, and Olivia were making their way out to where they were to be picked up after the show had ended.

"That was brilliant! I hope that any further circus shows I go to will be as good as that!" Carrie said, as she smiled broadly.

"I agree! It was fantastic! And all those acts that went on! Wow! I think I'll definitely try and go again before it leaves!" Sophie said.

"Me too! I really had a very good time tonight, and I think I'll sleep well afterwards." Saoirse said, as she yawned a bit.

"Agreed. I think we'll all sleep well tonight." Simon said, as they made their way through the crowds and towards the road.

"Indeed!" Olivia and Alice said together, as the group made their way out from the grounds and then headed on home.

And that's the end of this chapter! Carrie and Simon, with Donald and Douglas managed to get the circus train to where it was needed on time, as well as having attended the very first showing with their friends on its opening night! I hope to get the next chapter unloaded as soon as I can, but until then...good reading, everyone!