Starting Over Again

by J.T. Shee

A year and a half BEFORE the infamous Black Prom takes place in Ewen High School, Carrie runs away from home in Chamberlain and ends up on the Island of Sodor. There, she meets Sodor's engines and people and sets about getting her life back on track (No pun intended). While there, she also meets someone she never expected to see in her life. Reviews are much appreciated.

12. 11: New Career Stage

Chapter 11: A New Career Stage

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(Friday, February 10th, 2012 – 8:30am; Tidmouth Depot)

In this chapter, Carrie is gonna finally get a chance to work on one of the railway lines of Sodor, and aboard one of the original characters created by the Reverend Wilbert Awdry. Which engine will it be? Please tune in to find out!

Carrie and her father, Ralph, arrived at the main building in the main steam depot at Tidmouth at about half past eight and, after clocking in, went straight up and into the changing rooms to change into their working uniforms. Carrie and the other recruits getting ready for their next day of work ahead didn't know what they were in for today, whether it would be working within the depot or actually moving into the next stage and actually working on the footplates of the engines out on the line.

After getting dressed for work for the day with her friends inside the ladies changing room, Carrie and the girls made their way downstairs and then outside to where they met up with the boys and waited for the jobs they were going to be assigned to be doing on which engines for today.

In the last few weeks, the weather had changed; it had grown somewhat milder as the weeks went on and the temperature had risen a little bit, which caused much of the snow on lower ground, and particularly near the coastlines, as well as on the lower slopes of many hills to melt and which caused quite a few of the rivers on Sodor to rise somewhat, and also caused some minor flooding in a few low-lying areas near the coast, but nothing worse than that.

Though the weather was still cold at times, particularly on some of the more recent nights, there was a feeling and a scent of spring in the air; some of the shops in some of the different towns had springtime flowers start appearing in them, and advertisements for Easter breaks started appearing in the windows of the travel shops and on posters at the different railway stations throughout the length and breadth of Sodor.

In the many different farms throughout the countryside, farmers were also getting ready for the arrival of spring, so they could make a start on getting their fields ploughed up and then to plant their crops.

At the same time, preparations were underway by many people around the Island of Sodor to get ready the many tourist attractions and hotels for tourists to arrive in the coming summer.

Carrie looked round at the others; they seemed just as uncertain as she was about what the day was gonna be like, whether they'd be working in the depot as they'd done for the last few weeks or if they'd be working out on the engines out on the line for a change.

Then, the Fat Controller arrived in his car and the recruits looked towards him as he stepped out of the car and came over towards them.

"Good morning, everyone…well...I'm pleased to announce to you all that today's the day. Today, you'll all have the chance to go out onto the engines of your choice and work out on the lines today." said the Fat Controller. And on hearing that piece of news, all the recruits, including Carrie and Simon, cheered loudly for a few moments before quietening down.

"And just like the day last December where you were given the choice to go on an engine of your choice, the same thing will be done here. In alphabetical order, you'll choose what engine you want to go on, two to a tender engine or Garratt and then one at a time to a tank engine." said the Fat Controller.

And so, just like in early December, all the teens choose the engine they wanted to first work on, before they were then given their jobs for the day. Then finally, it came to the turns of Carrie and Simon.

"So, Carrie…who will you go on?" asked the Fat Controller.

"I'll go on Duck today, sir." Carrie said, as she pointed to the bright green Great Western 0-6-0T tank engine who was sitting in the berth at Tidmouth Sheds. Duck smiled, as he was very pleased that Carrie had chosen to work on him for today.

"And I guess I'll go on Edward, sir." Simon said, as he looked towards Edward, who was sitting on the line beside Duck.

"Very well, you two. I was hoping two recruits would go on Edward today, but then again…I guess we'll just have to take what we have." said the Fat Controller.

"It's all right, sir. I don't mind if I have one or two recruits with me today." Edward said.

"Very well, Edward…I understand." smiled the Fat Controller, before he then turned to speak to Carrie, Duck and his crew.

"Okay, you two…your jobs for today are on Duck's branch line, the Little Western. Duck, you're to take a load of empty coaches from Tidmouth Station all the way to the line's northern terminus, and then you're to go and take a good long line of fish wagons from the Arlesburgh yards back down to the Seaside Village. The fishermen are due to arrive back there later today, and the vans need to be sitting on the dockside and ready for the fish to be loaded aboard them as soon as the fishermen arrive back in dock." said the Fat Controller.

"Yes, sir." Carrie, Duck and his crew said.

"And Edward...the jobs you, your crew and Simon have today will be on your line between Wellsworth and Brendam Docks." said the Fat Controller.

"Yes, sir." said Edward.

"And I think we'd better be going. After all, I'm sure there'll be more jobs along the branch line that'll need to be done today." said Duck's driver.

"Very well, and good luck out there today." said the Fat Controller.

"And I'll see you back here later on today, Simon…dad." Carrie said, as she looked toward Simon and her father.

"Okay Carrie, and best of luck out there today. And I'll see you back here when we're done for the day." Simon said.

"And good luck to you too, Simon." Carrie said with a smile, as she climbed onto Duck's footplate.

Soon, with a loud toot on his whistle, Duck, after being turned on the turntable, left Tidmouth Sheds and headed down to Tidmouth Station to pick up the coaches.

After watching Duck and Carrie leave, Simon turned to look up at Edward's cab where the driver and fireman were waiting for him to board.

"Are you all ready to go, Simon?" the driver asked.

"Sure am, driver." Simon said, with an enthusiastic smile.

"Good man! Jump in!" the driver said, and Simon did just that. A few moments later, after the turntable had been set, Edward puffed forward, was turned and headed off to do his work for the day. Ralph and the Fat Controller stood and watched Edward leave the yard.

"I expect you know what your jobs for the day are, Ralph?" asked the Fat Controller.

"Yes sir…more iron ore workings today." Ralph said, with a heavy sigh as he put on his peaked railway cap. Though the iron ore workings were important - especially considering the revenue they helped bring to the railway - they weren't the cleanest of jobs on the Sodor railway network due to the dust that could often be generated.

Luckily, there was the chance of some rain later on today, which would hopefully help to keep the dust down in the hopper wagons for a while.

"I know how you feel about it, Ralph, and I pity you…but it's a job that has to be done." said the Fat Controller.

"Yes, sir. Anyway…let's get on with it then." Ralph said, as he and his fireman made their way to their assigned engine, B.R. Standard 9F 2-10-0, No.92064, who was another veteran of the iron ore runs on the line that ran from Tyne Dock to Consett.

"Okay, No.92064…it's working iron ore trains for today." Ralph said, as he and his fireman approached their charge for the day and climbed aboard the footplate.

"Very good, sir…it certainly brings back memories to me of working on the line that ran between Tyne Dock to Consett." No.92064 said with a smile, as memories of his previous life on British Railways North-Eastern Region flowed through his smokebox.

After getting themselves ready, including adjusting the reversing gear and brakes accordingly, Ralph sat on the driver's seat and reached forward for the whistle handle before him.

"Okay, No.92064…it's time to go." Ralph said, as he reached for the handle to blow the whistle and blew it loudly for a few seconds.

"And off we go!" No.92064 said with a smile, as dense clouds of white billowing steam shot out from the cylinder drain valves before him. They rolled slowly out of the depot in reverse and out onto the main line. Ralph then worked the reversing gear into full forward and, giving another toot on the whistle, they went on their way. Ralph felt himself smile as they went on their way, as he was working on a B.R. Standard 9F 2-10-0 heavy freight engine, which was one of his favourite steam locomotive classes (12). The reason for that was that the 9F Class ran very smoothly, especially when they ran with heavy trains out along the main line, as well as the fact that the 9Fs could haul very heavy freight trains over long distances, and due to the fact they were very easy machines for the drivers to drive and for the firemen to keep them stoked with fresh coal as they went along with their daily trains.

(12): The B.R. Standard 9F Class 2-10-0 heavy freight engine (which were numbered from No.92000 to No.92250) was the very last major class of steam locomotive to be introduced onto the British Railway network, with the very first example of the class, No.92000, being outshopped from Crewe Works back in January 1954.

The 9F Class was easily one of the very best classes of steam locomotives to be used in Britain, with 251 examples being built in total, 198 at Crewe and the remaining 53 at the former Great Western Works at Swindon. They were perfectly capable of taking any train they were tasked with, be it general freight traffic, which was what they normally pulled on any given day, or even passengers trains. Due to the immense strength and versatility of the 9F design, they were sometimes considered to be the ultimate design in the development of British steam locomotives.

Originally, the C.M.E. of British Railways, Robert Riddles, had wanted to take the boiler of his 7MT Standard Class Britannia Pacific Class and pair it up with a 2-8-2 Mikado wheel arrangement. However, he soon determined that, in a freight role, a 2-10-0 wheel arrangement would allow for increased traction and a lower axle load, as provided by five coupled axles. The previous experience Riddles had with his highly successful W.D. Austerity 2-10-0 freight locomotives that had been built during the Second World War also played a part in the decision to go with a 2-10-0 wheel arrangement.

The 9Fs were fitted with two large outside cylinders that were 20in in diameter with a 28in piston stroke, which coupled with a very large boiler fitted with superheating elements and pressed to 250psi, and ten driving wheels that were exactly 5ft in diameter, gave the class a tractive effort of 39,670lbf. The cylinders of the class were inclined upwards in order for the class to be able to clear platforms, and the long travel piston valves that were fitted to them offered excellent steam distribution.

With their weight spread out over five driving axles, the 9Fs had a maximum axle loading of just 15 tons; as a result, it saw the class subjected to very few route restrictions. But the use of five driving axles gave rise to the issue of a long wheelbase, but these were solved by having no flanges on the centre driving wheels, and having the flanges on the second and fourth wheels reduced in depth. This allowed the 9Fs to negotiate curves of up to 400 feet in radius, though they could go around a curved radius of 300 feet when going at a dead slow pace, which was important for going around corners in coalfields, mines and dockyards.

Of all of the 12 Standard Steam Classes, consisting of 999 locomotives, that were built by British Railways, the 9F was easily the very best of them all, and were also one of the efficient and reliable steam locomotive designs in history. Though able to haul trains of up to and over 900 tons in weight over very long distances at up to 35mph while offering a very high fuel efficiency, they were easily able to haul freight trains of even heavier weights than that. This fact was proven back in September 1982 when preserved 9F No.92203 Black Prince set the record of hauling the heaviest freight train ever to be pulled by a steam locomotive in Great Britain, down at Foster Yeoman Tor Works Quarry in Somerset, where No.92203 hauled a stone train weighing an impressive 2,198 tonnes.

Though they had driving wheels that were five feet in diameter, they could achieve speeds of up to and in excess of 90mph, particularly whenever they were pulling express passenger trains, with the fastest speed ever achieved by a 9F being about 94mph. Reaching a speed up to and in excess of 90mph was a very impressive feat, and something that would have been just impossible for any other class of heavy freight engine. Such an achievement is even more remarkable when the fact is considered that the 9Fs were fitted with plain bearings on their axles, rather than roller bearings as fitted to many other locomotives. However, concerns that the high rotational speeds involved in fast running would cause excessive wear to the cylinders and plain bearings, and so it prompted British Railways to stop using the 9Fs on express passenger trains, except in emergencies.

Another two issues the 9Fs had, at least at first with the early examples, was their inability to efficiently stop the loads that they could pull, largely because it had been wrongly assumed that continuous brakes would be fitted to new freight stock that was coming into service at the time, as well as the rather worrying tendency for their regulators to stick open at times. But once these two issues had been overcome, the 9Fs proved more than capable of stopping any kind of train they could haul, and without the risk of them either losing control of their trains or coming off the tracks.

Due to their large size, shape and bulky appearance, as well as to the fact that there was an empty space in between the boiler and chassis where daylight could be seen, the 9Fs were given the nickname of "Space Ships".

The Modernisation Plan of 1955 brought the construction of the 9Fs and all other steam locomotives to a halt by March 1960, by which point 251 9Fs had been build by B.R. Had this plan not been implemented when it was and steam been allowed to continue, then there's absolutely no doubt that the 9F class, as well as all the other B.R. Standard steam classes, would have been built in much larger numbers than they had been in reality.

The 9Fs were coupled to a number of different tender types during their careers, which did depend on the regions in which they worked as well as the trains they were expected to pull. Each tender ran on three axles and included;

BR1B, with 4,725 gallons of water and 7 tons of coal.

BR1C, with 4,725 gallons of water and 9 tons of coal.

BR1F, with 5,625 gallons of water and 7 tons of coal.

BR1G, with 5,000 gallons of water and 7 tons of coal.

BR1K, with 4,325 gallons of water and 9 tons of coal.

The 9F class took over many of the most arduous and dirtiest freight jobs that could be found anywhere on the British Railway system, and they positively thrived on them, like the Tyne Dock to Consett Iron Ore trains in the northeast of England, the Newport to Ebbw Vale Iron Ore trains in South Wales, ore trains from Birkenhead Docks to Shotwick Shotton Steelworks, as well as on heavy oil trains with over 100,000 gallons of oil, and weighing over 1,200 tons, from Southampton to Birmingham. And generally, they handled all kinds of heavy freight work throughout the U.K., including fast fitted freights, lengthy mixed freight trains, heavy anhydrite trains from the Long Meg Mine in Cumbria to the I.C.I. plant in Widnes, very heavy and lengthy coal trains, steel trains, heavy fish and perishables trains, as well as many other types of freight trains too.

They were also used on heavy mineral and coal traffic in the British Midlands, where they replaced the Midland 2-6-0+0-6-2 Garratts, and a few examples, including No.92079, No.92129, No.92135, No.92205, No.92223, No.92230, No.92231 and No.92234 were also used for banking duties on the steeply graded Lickey Incline, where they replaced the famous Midland 0-10-0 banker, No.58100 "Big Bertha", and where they proved to be excellent machines at the job of banking heavy freight and passenger trains up the Lickey Incline which stretched for a little over two miles from Bromsgrove to Blackwell.

One of the 9Fs that was routinely used for banking on the Lickey, No.92079, inherited "Big Bertha's" big electric headlamp, which was fitted onto the front of the smokebox over the smokebox door, and would be used to assist in buffering up to the rear of a train if banking needed to be done during the hours of darkness. No.92079 also had a small part of the tender coal retainer cut away on the left side in order to assist in re-coaling the engine while she was waiting her turn for banking at Bromsgrove.

Though the 9Fs proved to be very good at working passenger trains, particularly when subsidising for failed locomotives on express passenger trains, or when pulling special excursions and rail-tours, or even heavy summer trains down to seaside coastal and holiday resorts during the height of the summer months, they were not fitted with steam heating apparatus for heating passenger coaches that many other engines did, and so were unable to work on passenger trains during the winter months.

The 9Fs proved to be very popular locomotives with their crews, particularly for how easy they were to drive and fire, as well as for how smoothly they ran, even when hauling quite heavy loads, and how easily they could pull away from a stand with their trains. They were also popular because of how easy they were to prepare for a run, as well as of how easy they were to dispose of at the end of the day, especially as they were fitted with rocking grates and hopper ashpans, as well as self-cleaning screens in their smokeboxes.

The class proved to be a great success, particularly when they worked upon the steeply graded lines of 1 in 50 along the Somerset and Dorset Route in the southwest of England, where they proved able to easily pull heavy trains of up to 12 coaches in length up the Mendip Hills between Bath and Bournemouth without any assistance, either from a pilot engine at the front or a banking engine at the rear. Their power and high proportion of adhesive weight meant that they were well suited to working any kind of train along the Somerset and Dorset Line.

There were a number of different variations within the class; ten examples, from No.92060 to No.92066 and from No.92097 to No.92099 worked on the Tyne Dock to Consett Iron Ore workings, and these examples of the class had twin Westinghouse air pumps, used for operating the doors on the iron ore hopper wagons, fitted in a pair along the running plate along the fireman's side of the engines. These pumps allowed a nine-wagon train full of iron ore to be automatically discharged in under a minute at the Consett Steel Works, prior to returning to Tyne Dock for another load.

Three examples, No.92165 to No.92167, were fitted with mechanical stokers to help with maintaining steam pressure when running heavy trains over long distances, but the experiment proved unsuccessful – partially because the engines were never really used that often on really long distance trains to start with, but mostly because the firemen could often shovel in the coal much faster than the mechanical stokers could put it in – and so the three engines eventually had the mechanical stokers removed.

No.92250, which was the highest numbered 9F and which also had the honour of being the very last steam locomotive to be built at Crewe, was fitted with a Giesl ejector fitted in its smokebox in place of the chimney to try and reduce back pressure in the cylinders and make the engine steam more efficiently, as well as reduce coal consumption. The experiment didn't achieve any major results that were noticeable, but No.92250 kept the injector fitted in its smokebox until it was withdrawn in December 1965.

Ten engines, from No.92020 to No.92029, were fitted with experimental Franco-Crosti boilers, which were very unique as they had a pre-heater barrel fitted underneath the main boiler, and the normal chimney that was fitted on the top of the smokebox was only used for lighting up purposes; in normal working the chimney would be closed up and the exhaust redirected to the pre-heated barrel under the main boiler and then it would be exhausted out through a thin chimney fitted along the fireman's side of the engine in front of the cab. These ten 9Fs differed from their fellow standard class members by having no smoke deflectors fitted to the sides of the smokebox, a raised boiler height, and a generally higher profile.

The intention of using a Franco-Crosti boiler was to make more efficient use of the heat generated by the boiler, but unfortunately the experiment didn't deliver the hoped-for results. Though there was some increase in boiler efficiency, it was nowhere near what had been hoped for, and thus the results that had been gathered meant it didn't justify the cost and complexity of the experiment. Also, the Franco-Crosti system only worked its best when it was fitted to inefficient steam locomotives, which the 9F was not; they were some of the best steaming engines in Britain.

Not only that, but the Franco-Crosti 9Fs had the added problem of creating very unpleasant working conditions for their crews; in a crosswind, the smoke from the chimney on the fireman's side would often be blown right into the cabs, making conditions very difficult and highly unpleasant for the driver and fireman. The addition of a smoke deflector fitted over the chimney really didn't help matters that much. The Franco-Crosti 9Fs were also more complex and expensive to operate and maintain compared to their standard classmates.

There was also another problem with the Franco-Crosti boiler experiment that hadn't been foreseen; due to the build-up of acidic gases in the feed-water heater, the preheater barrel suffered from unexpected corrosion issues and, as a result of that issue, the Franco-Crosti experiment was declared a failure. The preheaters were eventually removed, and No.92020 to No.92029, after spending time in long-term storage, were all rebuilt to work on more conventional working between 1959 and 1961, though they retained their unique appearance right to the end of their working lives. However, due to the reduced ability of the smaller boilers on the Franco-Crosti 9Fs to generate sufficient steam, the power classification of the ten engines were reclassified down to 8F. They worked on the B.R. network until the first example, No.92028, was withdrawn in October 1966, then No.92027 following in August 1967, and the final eight former Franco-Crosti 9Fs being withdrawn in November 1967.

But the variation that worked the best for the 9F class was the fitment of double chimneys and blast pipes from No.92178 upwards, and some of the older 9Fs were also retrofitted with this modification, including No.92000. The double chimneys and blastpipes allowed the 9Fs to steam much more freely and generate higher power ranges, enabling them to work harder and haul heavier trains.

So despite all the investment that had been put into the various modifications that were made to the 9F Class at one point or another during the course of their working lives, it proved to be very hard to improve the impressive performance of an already excellent design.

The very last 9F 2-10-0 to be built was also the very last steam locomotive to be built at Swindon Works, and also had the very sad distinction of being the very last main line steam locomotive to be built for British Railways; it was none other than No.92220 Evening Star, who was unveiled at Swindon Works at a special ceremony in March 1960. In 1962, No.92220 Evening Star had the sad honour of pulling the very last Pines Express along the Somerset and Dorset Route on September 8th of that year.

After being built, No.92220 Evening Star was initially assigned to Cardiff Canton, which was one of the very few sheds on the Western Region where the 9Fs were welcomed by ex-G.W.R. enginemen. In June 1960, she took a Red Dragon Express from Cardiff to Paddington, with 13 coaches weighing about 450 tons, when the 7MT Britannia 4-6-2 originally assigned to take that train failed. During the journey, even though no speedometer was fitted to No.92220, the driver reckoned that he reached speeds of up to 90mph. More amazingly, during that run, the 9F burned less coal than a Great Western Castle 4-6-0 or a 7MT Britannia 4-6-2 would be expected to burn.

The 9Fs were withdrawn from B.R. service between 1964 and 1968; with the last one in service, No.92167, being withdrawn from service in July 1968. It was a scandalously short working life for these magnificent engines, with many of them having the potential to work for up 40 or more years. No.92220 Evening Star, having spent its entire working career entirely on B.R.'s Western Region, was withdrawn from service in 1965, when it was only five years old! Even the 9F that worked for the longest time on B.R., which was No.92004, only had a working life of just over 14 years when it was withdrawn in 1968.

No.92220 Evening Star had cost around £33,500 to build in Swindon back in 1960 (about £927,500 as of 2023). The 9Fs that were built at Swindon Works were about £5,000 more expensive to build than the 9Fs that were built at Crewe Works.

Thankfully, nine of the 9Fs have managed to survive into preservation, of which six examples have run under their own steam;

No.92134; this is the oldest 9F and the only surviving example to be fitted with a single chimney and blastpipe - with all the others carrying double chimneys and blastpipes. She recently returned to running order after a lengthy restoration back in 2019, and is currently in operation on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. As of 2024, she's the only 9F currently in running order.

No.92203 Black Prince; preserved directly from B.R. upon withdrawal back in November 1967 for £3,000 by the late artist David Shepard, who named her Black Prince - a name that had previously been carried by B.R. Standard Class 7MT Britannia 4-6-2 No.70008. In September 1982, she hauled the heaviest freight train ever hauled by a steam locomotive in Great Britain, when she hauled a freight train weighing 2,198 tons. She's currently based at the North Norfolk Railway, who bought her from David Shepard back in 2015.

No.92207; withdrawn in December 1964 and sent to Barry Scrapyard in March 1965. She was rescued from Barry in October 1986. Named Morning Star after being bought, she's currently under the ownership of the Somerset & Dorset Railway Heritage Trust, and undergoing restoration to working order with a new tender being built. In a dismantled condition, work has been slow on the restoration of No.92207, with the total cost estimated to be somewhere around £500,000.

No.92212; withdrawn from service in January 1968 and sent to Woodham's yard at Barry in September of that year. She left Barry in September 1979 and restored to working order at the Great Central Railway. She has run extensively in preservation on various heritage railways during her career in preservation, including on the Great Central Railway, the Severn Valley Railway, the Bluebell Railway, and the Mid-Hants Railway, but is currently undergoing a major overhaul at the Llangollen Railway.

No.92214; She has carried the most names of any 9F in preservation, having been named Cock O' the North, Cornwall, Central Star and Leicester City, and was even painted in lined B.R. black - which the 9Fs were never painted in back in B.R. days - as well as being painted in fully lined B.R. express green livery and carrying the name and number of No.92220 Evening Star back in 2015. Currently in working order on the Great Central Railway and repainted into unlined B.R. black livery with no nameplates fitted. Recently, she ran masquerading as the long-scrapped doyen of the 9F Class, No.92000.

No.92219; the second to last steam locomotive to be built by British Railways, she was withdrawn in August 1965 and sent to Barry Scrapyard that October. Rescued from Barry in May 1985, she is currently awaiting restoration to working order at the Strathspey Railway at Boat of Garten with a plan to start restoration in the near future.

No.92220 Evening Star; withdrawn from service in March 1965, she's a major part of the National Collection, and the only member of the 9F Class to carry a name in B.R. days. She's currently on long term static display at the National Railway Museum in York, having previously been on static display at the STEAM Museum down in Swindon. She did run back in the 1970's and 1980's where hauled special trains on the main line as well as on various heritage railways, but last ran in 1989 on the West Somerset Railway, with no plans afoot to return her to steam again.

No.92240; withdrawn from service in August 1965, and sent to Barry Scrapyard that October. It was rescued in October 1978 and taken to the Bluebell Railway for restoration, which was completed in 1990, making No.92240 the first 9F to be returned to working order after being rescued from Barry. After being in long-term storage at the Bluebell Railway, having last ran on the line back in 2002, an appeal went out recently for money to help fund the long-awaited and much-needed overhaul of No.92240, with the aim of having the engine overhauled by 2028.

No.92245; withdrawn in December 1964, she arrived in Barry in March 1965. She remains in unrestored condition at the Barry Depot on the Barry Island Railway, and will most likely never run under its own steam again. Likely will be dismantled and sectioned for a possible exhibit on the story of Barry Scrapyard. However, No.92245's boiler is currently undergoing restoration and will be eventually be used as a spare boiler for No.92212.

Of the 9 surviving 9Fs, six were built at Swindon and the remaining three were built at Crewe. Of the survivors, only No.92203 Black Prince and No.92220 Evening Star have run on the main line in preservation. Due to the fact the 9Fs have flangeless centre driving wheels, there's a concern that the raised checkrails on modern point-work on the modern British main line might cause a derailment - even though in my opinion there's very little, if any, evidence to prove that - and so the surviving 9Fs, along with the W.D. Austerity 2-10-0s, are currently prohibited from running on the British main line network.

In this fanfic, a number of the original class members will be appearing in the story as and when necessary, including Murdoch, as well as a few fictional examples from No.92251 upwards, some of which will be coupled to larger tenders carrying more water, as well as being fitted with British Caprotti Valve Gear and double chimneys paired with Kylchap exhaust systems, which were never fitted to any of the original 9Fs. Some of the former Franco-Crosti 9Fs will also be appearing as well, but they'll be in a rebuilt condition, looking as though they had never been built with Franco-Crosti boilers in the first place, and looking just like their other classmates.

Carrie took her position along the back wall of Duck's cab and watched as the driver worked the controls before him, working the regulator as needed, applying the brakes and sounding the whistle as well. She watched as the fireman stoked the boiler, by shovelling coal into the firebox, and kept an eye on the steam pressure gauge fitted on the back of the boiler.

"Do you wanna have a try, Carrie?" the fireman asked, as he offered the shovel to Carrie.

"Sure would, sir." Carrie said, as she took the shovel and got into position to stoke the boiler.

"We're approaching Tidmouth Station now, you two." the driver said, as he shut off steam and gently applied the brakes.

Duck came to a gentle stop close to Tidmouth Station; sitting at Platform 1 were half a dozen empty coaches, in red and cream livery, ready to be taken to the northern terminus of Duck's branch line. After Duck went into the yard by the station and was turned on the turntable, he was backed gently down onto the coaches.

After the coaches were coupled to Duck and the brake pipe on the first coach connected the Duck's rear brake pipe, the driver, using the injectors, created a vacuum in the brakes pipes to take the brakes off, and then fixing his eyes on the brake gauge before him. There were two indicator arrows in the gauge; one for the train and the other for the locomotive.

"Okay Carrie…" he said, "…we need to have those arrows anywhere between 20 and 25 before we're ready to set off." the driver said.

"And that's the normal thing to expect?" Carrie asked, as she watched the two arrows slowly rise up as the injectors hissed away softly.

"Absolutely, and we always have to wait for the two indicator arrows to come up. And when they stop rising, it means the brakes on the train are off." the driver said.

Carrie turned her attention back to the two indicator arrows in the gauge; they were climbing much more slowly now, considering there was nearly enough vacuum in the train pipes. They both stopped moving when they went past 20 and reached about 23.

"And there we are…all ready to go." the driver said with a smile, as he reached for one of the ejectors and shut it off.

As there were still a few minutes to go, Carrie and the fireman went to the front of Duck with the headlamps that were to go onto the lamp-irons at the front so as to indicate to the signalmen what train they were pulling. The headlamps were securely put onto the right and middle lamp-irons, where the signalmen would clearly see them.

"And there we are." Carrie said, as she put the middle headlamp into place.

"Well done, Carrie. And that's how it's done." said Duck.

"Oh, it's no problem at all Duck. But there's one thing I don't understand…why are you called Duck? Is that your real name?" Carrie asked, hoping she didn't offend Duck by asking that question. But to her surprise and relief, Duck wasn't offended at all.

"Well, my real name is actually Montague…but the reason everyone calls me Duck is they say I waddle. I don't really waddle, Carrie…but I do like to be called Duck better than Montague." said Duck, and Carrie giggled a little.

"Oh, I just wanted to know that's all." Carrie said, with a smile.

"That's all right, Carrie." smiled Duck.

"Hey, come on Carrie! It's nearly time for us to leave." the driver called from Duck's cab.

"Okay!" Carrie called, and she quickly ran back to the cab and clambered aboard.

The next few minutes went by, with Carrie wondering if they would ever leave the station at all. And then, the guard who was in the coach immediately behind Duck stepped out the door, blew his whistle loudly and waved his green flag before he quickly stepped back aboard the coach and closed the door firmly behind him.

"Okay right away, driver!" Carrie said to Duck's driver.

"Very good, Carrie!" the driver said, as he reached for the whistle chain and pulled it. The whistle sounded for a few seconds, and then the driver opened the regulator and, with a whoosh of white steam, Duck set off on his trip.

(Insert soundtrack – Duck's Season 2 Theme)

Now they were clear of the station, Duck picked up speed as they headed onto his branch line, known as "The Little Western" where he and many other G.W.R. engines had worked on for many years. As it ran along the coast for much of its length, it was inevitable that there would be a very cold wind coming off the sea today, but Duck didn't mind that at all.

From the cab, Carrie looked out from the fireman's side as they rolled along. They approached a river where the line went over it over a single-track girder bridge and Duck puffed over it, while Carrie looked down to the river below; the surface of the water was dark and she couldn't see anything within the water as they passed overheard.

After passing over the bridge, they rolled on without incident towards the next station where a G.W.R. 72XX 2-8-2 tank engine, No.7205, sat waiting at one of the platforms with a long line of empty coal hopper wagons behind him (13). He was looking eager to get his train to where it needed to be, which was likely down at Knapford Yards, and then collect his next train to bring back to the Little Western.

(13): The G.W.R. Class 72XX 2-8-2T tank engines (numbered No.7200 – 7253) were the only class of 2-8-2 tank engines ever to run in the U.K., and were also the largest class of tank engine ever to be used on the Great Western Railway network. Fifty-four examples of the class were built, and some examples were re-builds of the G.W.R. 42XX and 5205 2-8-0T tank engine classes. The coal bunkers were extended back and a trailing axle was placed beneath to take the weight. The larger coal bunkers meant that the 72XX Class could travel a much greater distance than they could if they were 2-8-0T's. Some of the bunkers were later modified in such a way so more water could be carried, though the coal load was reduced from 6 tons down to 5 tons.

Fitted with two outside cylinders which were 19in in diameter with a 30in piston stroke, and paired with a boiler that was fitted with superheating elements and pressed to 200lbf, and eight driving wheels that were 4ft 7.5in, the class had a maximum tractive effort of 33,170lbf, which was more than sufficient for the work they were designed to do. Their side tanks could carry up to 2,500 gallons of water. Under B.R.'s power classification, the class were given the power category of 8F.

All the members of the 72XX Class had outside steam pipes fitted, but had the same variations in framing as the 42XX and 5205 2-8-0T Classes, where some had straight frames over the cylinders, and others had the framing raised over the cylinders.

The class were mainly used on heavy freight trains, including coal, stone and iron ore traffic, within the South Wales area of the G.W.R. as well as within the Home Counties outside of London, going wherever weight restrictions would allow, as the engines weighed well over 92 tons, and their long length did mean they could never enter certain goods yards in some areas where they worked, so the engines were known to be "curve shy" by some of their crews.

On April 18th 1958, No.7235 underwent a trial on banking trains on the Lickey Incline, but the trial was quickly abandoned after its cylinders failed to clear the edges of the platform at Bromsgrove Station at the foot of the Lickey Incline.

The class was withdrawn from service on B.R. from November 1962, when the first member, No.7241 was withdrawn, to June 1965, when the last four examples of the class, No.7205, No.7248, No.7249 and No.7252, were withdrawn. During their working lives, most of the engines in the 72XX Class had covered distances of between 500,000 and 600,000 miles. One example of the class, No.7236, had covered an impressive distance of 736,000 miles before it was withdrawn from service.

Thankfully though, three examples of the class have survived into preservation; No.7200, No.7202 & No.7229. All three engines were rescued from Woodham's Yard at Barry in South Wales. Although extensive restoration work has been undertaken on all three engines since they were rescued from Barry, none of the three have yet been restored to working order. No.7200 is currently at the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre at Quainton; No.7202 is at the Didcot Railway Centre, and No.7229 is based at the East Lancashire Railway.

Giving a friendly toot on his whistle, to which No.7205 replied with a friendly toot of his own whistle, Duck carried on up the line, where the double tracks carried on into the distance to the next station.

"Hey, Carrie…" the fireman said, as Carrie turned his attention to him, "…do you want to try your hand at the shovel?"

"You bet I would, sir!" Carrie said enthusiastically, as she took of the shovel and got into position ready to use it.

"And remember, Carrie…take your time." the fireman said. Giving a nod, Carrie then went to start stoking the firebox. Thrusting the shovel into the bunker, she then pulled it out and thrust the lumps of coal into Duck's hot firebox, which, considering the heat coming out the fire hole doors, on a cold day like today felt very good. After Carrie popped the shovel of lumps inside, she turned to refill the shovel from the bunker behind as the fireman closed the fire-hole doors to minimize the intake of cold air into the firebox. Then Carrie turned and the fireman opened the fire-hole doors again for the next load of fresh coal.

For a few short moments, Carrie put more coal inside, with only a few lumps each time, and making sure to place the coal into the back corners and along the sides of the firebox. The work helped to build up the sweat and gave her a good workout, which helped to burn off some calories and thus help her lose some weight.

After a while she stopped, and the fireman took the shovel from her.

"Feeling okay there?" he asked.

"Yes, I am…that felt good." Carrie said, as she stood up and took in a deep breath, before she took off one of her gloves and wiped down her sweaty face. The fireman chuckled.

"I'll take over for a while, Carrie." the fireman said. Smiling gratefully, Carrie then turned and looked out of the side of the cab and felt the welcome cold breeze on her sweaty face. They were now passing through a shallow cutting with grey stone slopes rising up on both sides, which blocked out the view, before they then went through a more open area and over a bridge that crossed over a tidal estuary marsh area. Carrie could see that the tide was all the way out and as a result, the wide, open mudflats, with reeds and rushes lining the edges of the high-water mark were exposed on both sides of the estuary. Carrie could also see wooden piers and jetties of different lengths extending out over the grey mudflats, and some boats could also be seen sitting on the mud high and dry.

With a toot on the whistle, Duck continued on up the line and Carrie, after a short while, could almost see more cliffs lining the other side of the line in the distance.

Soon in the distance ahead, Carrie could see a small coastal village on the right of the tracks just a short stretch inland from the beach, where people could be seen going about their daily business. Beyond the village, another grey cliff could be rising up along the tracks ahead. A long stretch of beach could be seen right by the track they were travelling along, with wooden and concrete pilings forming a supporting wall to help keep the track in place. On the beach itself, Carrie could see a number of different barges and varieties of fishing boats which were sitting on the sand, most of which were close together and a few of which were place right up close to the low sea wall. (N)

(N): What I'm describing here is the coastal village that was seen in Season 4; e.g., look at the episode "Fish" for the shot where Henry pulls the Flying Kipper along the coast.

But then, the line made a gentle turn to the right by the lighthouse on a point that jutted out towards sea a short way, and Carrie could see they were now travelling along a part of the line that followed the coastline for some distance, with the wide and open Tidmouth Beach stretching ahead as far as the eye could see. In the high summertime, this long stretch of beach would usually be crowded with holiday makers, but right now it was nearly deserted, with only a few intrepid people, all braving the cold wind, taking a stroll along the sands or even going fishing with their rods set up on the beach.

Carrie could also see parts of the cliff jutted out some distance and over the two railway lines, but workmen had cut through them forming very short tunnels through the stone, and it was a surreal experience in a way to pass beneath them.

After making a gentle turn inland a little while later, they continued on down towards the next station, which soon come into view ahead; it was the seaside station of Tidmouth Hault, with its two platforms, each with a red-tiled building on it and connected together by a foot bridge at one end of each platform, and its yards and engine shed off to one side.

A few people could be seen standing arounds on the platforms, possibly a few passengers waiting for the next train back to Knapford with some members of station staff, while in the yard, workmen could be seen loading a variety of different styles of box vans, sitting in the sidings or inside the engine shed, with crates and other things with the help of some orange painted forklift trucks.

Puffing through Tidmouth Hault, where a few members of station staff could be seen on the platform and working, Duck, after giving a loud whistle, went smartly over the bridge that crossed the road beneath him and by the signal box, and then he rolled into the tunnel that had been cut through the cliff ahead of the station, plunging into the darkness in a cloud of steam.

Emerging out from the other side a minute or so later, much to Carrie's relief, they went along the line until they reached a point a little further on where the double tracks narrowed to a single track. Going along the single track, they went along the coastline for a time and over a bridge that crossed over another tidal estuary, where Carrie could see the muddy edges of the estuary as the tide was still out. As they crossed the bridge, Carrie could also see a number of boats sitting high and dry on the mudflats, as well as some boats sitting in the middle of the estuary where there was water flowing. Continuing up the line, they turned inland to the right a little and then they went along a raised embankment that stood quite high above the surrounding land. Going to one side of Duck's cab and then to the other, Carrie could see that the single line they were travelling on took up much of the space on the top of this embankment, with both sides of the embankment being quite steep.

"Have you ever had the feeling a train may topple over going along this part of the line?" Carrie asked.

"Sometimes, Carrie. But that's just something you feel naturally when you go along stretches like this for the first time. After all, we've been along this stretch of line quite a few times and nothing's ever happened." said the fireman, in a reassuring way.

"Oh, okay then." Carrie said, feeling somewhat better.

A minute or so later, they came upon a single red-brick bridge that crossed over a road, where a number of vehicles could be seen passing by below them. This was Bulgy's Bridge, infamous for when Bulgy, a very rude red double decker bus, once got trapped under the bridge, and then spent quite a few years being used as a hen house in the farm very close to where the bridge was.

After going along the embankment, they reached the end of it and then got to a point where the single track became double track again. Once back on the double-track section, they were able to pick up some more speed now the speed limits allowed it. And it wasn't too long before they came upon another famous Sodor landmark a little further on, and one which astonished Carrie when she saw it; it was the Three Way Road. Set within a long v-shaped valley that was fairly narrow, it was a complex of railway lines that crossed over each other. The double tracks that were part of the Little Western crossed the valley along a wide stone viaduct with three arches in it. Below the viaduct, a canal passed beneath the central arch and a single track railway line ran along the canal's north bank, with the line passing under the north arch. Then, just at the north end of the viaduct, a third railway line ran along over the Little Western on a steel girder bridge, with brick abutments at each end, that crossed over the double tracks, with the raised embankment that carried the single track going along to the left and right of the viaduct. By the girder bridge, the top half of a signal box could be seen. At the speed Duck was going at, Carrie only had a few seconds to have a look at this Sodor landmark before they went under the steel girder bridge and on up the line.

Then they reached a point where the two lines began to slowly climb uphill along a very gentle gradient. Carrie could see they were getting a little higher as through gaps in the cliffs to the left, she could the ocean get a little further away each time. When they reached the top of the climb, Carrie smiled at the view she saw as they rolled along easily along the line towards the Suddery Coastal Village not too far ahead of them.

Approaching, and going along the cliffside over the village a few minutes later, Carrie could see the expanse of the village and tidal estuary laid out, almost like a model set, below her. She could distinctly see small details below, such as the boats sitting partially on their sides on the mudflats in the small harbour, people walking about on the streets and even the colours of some windowsills on some of the buildings. The driver pulled on the whistle chain, allowing Duck to say "Hello" to the people below before they continued over the town and went down the gentle descent to the next station.

As they descended, Carrie went over to the driver's side and looked forward. Looking along an arrow-straight section of the permanent way, she saw another steam locomotive in the distance on the other line coming towards them. As they got closer, Duck blew his whistle and called "Hello No.2800!". And No.2800 whistled back, calling out "Hello Duck!" as he went by; he was pulling a long, and very mixed, freight train of about 40 wagons of various different types, back to Knapford (14). He was going along very steadily with his train, and was in no hurry at all as he was already making good time with the train. He had a good head of steam in his boiler, and the fireman standing on his footplate didn't have to work too hard as they went along with their very heavy train.

(14): No.2800 is the doyen of a very successful class of G.W.R. freight locomotives known as the 28XX Class. Designed by George Jackson Churchward for very heavy freight work, they were the very first class of 2-8-0 ever to be built in the U.K. and proved to be very successful freight locomotives.

Introduced in 1903 and built until 1919, the class, which eventually numbered 84 locomotives in total, worked on very heavy goods and freight traffic on the G.W.R. network, and later the Western Region of British Railways, for many years. The most notable work they did was hauling heavy coal trains, and so many were based at depots in South Wales.

The class had a maximum tractive effort of 35,380lbf, with this being delivered from two outside cylinders that were 18.5in in diameter with a 30in piston stroke that drove eight driving wheels that were 4ft 7.5in in diameter, and a boiler that was fitted with superheating elements and pressed to 225psi. Initially, the 28XX Class had cylinders that were 18in in diameter, the boiler pressure set to 200psi, and had no superheating elements fitted in the smokebox, which meant the initial tractive effort they had was 29,775lbf. But once superheating elements were fitted, with the number of elements being either 4 or 6, the boiler pressure upped to 225psi, and the cylinders bored out to 18.5in, the class became a much more capable design that could haul even heavier freight trains.

The class had a wheelbase that was 16ft 10in long, and to assist these engines in going round bends and curves, the second and third pairs of driving wheels were fitted with slightly thinner flanges. The front set of coupling rods was fitted with spherical joints in order to allow a small amount of side play. They also had the standard G.W.R axle-boxes fitted, and these were some of the best plain axle-boxes which provided good lubrication for the axles.

The later 2884 2-8-0 Class, introduced between 1938 and 1942, was exactly identical in terms of its tractive effort, as its cylinders, boiler pressure, and driving wheel size were exactly the same as the 28XX Class.

One early example of the 28XX Class was coupled to a large tender that carried 4,000 gallons of water in the tank, but then all the class members were coupled to smaller tenders which could carry 3,500 gallons of water, and it stayed that way for their whole working lives.

In February 1906, No.2808 set a record when it hauled one of the heaviest freight trains ever hauled by a steam locomotive in the U.K. up to that point from Swindon to Acton. The train consisted of 107 loaded coal wagons, plus a dynamometer car and a brake van, and weighed 2,012 tons. It was only surpassed by the only prototype 4-6-2 Pacific built by the G.W.R., The Great Bear, which hauled a train of 2,375 tons in 1909.

Various modifications were made to the class, including improving the weight distribution of the locomotives, altering the smokebox lengths, and fitting larger diameter chimneys. Superheating was not fitted to the early member of the class at first, but then superheater elements were eventually installed on all the class, starting with No.2808 in 1909. The only serious problems that were encountered was with the sealing of their internal steam pipes, and so from 1934 onwards most of the class were rebuilt with outside steam pipes instead.

At one point in 1921, there was a plan to build an updated version of the class which would have been known as a "Super 2800". This would have seen the large Standard No.7 boiler, the same type fitted to the G.W.R. 47XX Class 2-8-0 engines, fitted to the 28XX Class in order to provide more steam for hauling heavier trains. However, this would have also meant increasing the size of the outside cylinders, as well as increasing the weight of the engines, and so the plan was ultimately dropped, particularly as there was a reduced demand for freight at the time and a priority to reduce costs as well.

Charles Collett, Churchward's successor and Chief Mechanical Engineer of the G.W.R., introduced his own version of the class, the G.W.R. 2884 Class, from 1938 to 1942. Numbered from No.2884 to No.2899 and from No.3800 to No.3866, 83 examples of the Collett version were built and they differed from the Churchward engines in that they had outside steam pipes at the sides of the smokeboxes and more modern side window cabs for their crews.

After the war, many Western Region crews asked for the production of the 28XX class, as well as Collett's 2884 Class to be resumed as they were such popular and well-liked locomotives with their crew. But the requests fell on deaf ears, and B.R. opted instead for their B.R. Standard 9F 2-10-0 Class, which gradually took over the jobs of the earlier G.W.R. 2-8-0 Classes. But despite the G.W.R. 2-8-0s being replaced by newer, more modern locomotive designs that were coming out in some numbers, they were still able to find work on the Western Region, and stayed in service right up until the end of steam on the Western Region in 1965.

The first 28XX 2-8-0 to be withdrawn was No.2800 in April 1958, with the last example, No.3836, being withdrawn in November 1965. It marked the end of six decades of loyal service, and testified to the fundamental excellence of Churchward's original concept for a freight engine.

Six examples of the Churchward 28XX Class have survived into preservation, with a seventh example being used to provide parts for other projects in recreating other lost G.W.R locomotive classes.

No.2807 is the oldest surviving example of the class, being 117 years old as of August 2022. She's currently undergoing an overhaul at the Gloucestershire and Warwickshire Railway.

No.2818 is on static display at the Museum of the Great Western Railway in Swindon. She retains straight frames and inside steam pipes.

No.2857 is currently in long-term storage and awaiting an overhaul at the Severn Valley Railway.

No.2859 is awaiting restoration to working order at a private site in Cheshire, England.

No.2873 is in a dismantled condition at the Dartmouth Steam Railway, having been used to provide spares for other G.W.R. locomotives on the Dartmouth Steam Railway.

No.2874 is under restoration at the Gloucestershire and Warwickshire Railway. She retains her inside steam pipes, and will be the only member of the class running with them when restored.

No.2861 was originally one of the "Barry Ten" and was broken up for parts at the Llangollen Railway in 2014, with frames being scrapped.

Nine examples of Collett's 2884 Class have also survived into preservation, all of which were rescued from Woodham's Yard at Barry, South Wales. At the present time, only No.3802 is in working order and based on the Llangollen Railway in Wales. Four more examples, No.2885, No.3814, No.3855 and No.3862, are undergoing restoration work to working order. No.3803 is stored and awaiting an overhaul at the Dartmouth Steam Railway, and No.3822 is also awaiting an overhaul at the Didcot Railway Centre. No.3845 is currently in storage at a private site in the West Midlands and awaiting restoration, while No.3850 is undergoing an overhaul at the Gloucestershire and Warwickshire Railway.

One thing that caught Carrie by surprise was the sounds of the freight train as it went by, and she was astonished by how loud this train moved by back in the other direction. But soon it went by and she looked back, to see the brake van, with a red tail lamp at the back, heading back up the line. After a moment, Carrie then turned her head back to watch the line ahead.

It wasn't too long before they reach a more level spot which was much nearer to sea level, and as a result running along was much easier. After another turn at the shovel for a few minutes, as well as using the injectors to top up the boiler with water, Carrie looked outside the driver's side of Duck's cab. She could now see they were approaching a coastal village, the roofs of some buildings which she could see in the distance.

The signal light ahead was showing yellow, which meant "Proceed with caution", so the driver closed the regulator and gently applied the brakes. With a gentle screech, Duck slowed down as they came closer and closer to the village.

With a blast on the whistle, Duck came round the gentle curve and rolled along the long concrete dockside. Looking down from the fireman's side, Carrie could see the rails, of both through tracks passing through the dock and the long siding along the quayside, were set within the concrete and not sitting on ballast atop the concrete. Looking over to her left, Carrie could see there were a number of fishing boats and other craft tied up together along some parts of the dockside, and there were some men working away on the dock, such as repairing fishing tackle or maintaining dockside machinery. Beyond the dock, a few hundred yards out to sea, a long concrete breakwater could be seen protecting the dock and the boats tied up to it.

Quickly going over to the driver's side, Carrie looked over the village and could see various different buildings, including an inn, some coastal pubs and a few other buildings lining the main road on the other side of the stone wall separating the road from the railway and the main dockside.

Passing by the engine shed close to the dockside, they carried on up the line.

Soon, after a few more miles, including some on one stretch where they travelled very close to the waterfront with the cliffs towering high over them, they arrived at their destination: Arlesburgh, the main terminus for The Little Western. From the main station, the line continued on a little way until it reached a junction where it joined up the main line that ran parallel to The Little Western only a few miles inland.

After arriving at the main station and being uncoupled from the coaches, Duck made his way over to the Arlesburgh Yards not too far away to be serviced and readied for his next tasks. As they pulled in, Carrie could see other steam locomotives of different G.W.R. classes being readied for their next turns of duty. Smoke, ranging from black to dark grey to nearly white, wisped from the chimneys, many of which had a broad copper band wrapped round the top halves, and into the cold late-winter, early-spring air.

Duck soon came to a stop in a siding by a water-tower, where work could be carried out, including refilling the water tank and cleaning the fire, before he began his next job.

While the fireman worked on getting the fire in order, Carrie and the driver set about getting the water tanks replenished. The driver swung the arm to Carrie, who had already climbed onto Duck's left side water tank, placed the arm with hose attached into position over the open lid and called "Water on!" to the driver. The driver turned the valve, and water soon poured into Duck's tanks. Soon, with the tanks very close to full, Carrie shouted "Water off!", and the driver turned the valve in the other direction. Once the water had stopped the arm was swung back in away from the tracks and Carrie clambered back down to the ground.

It wasn't too long before the fireman had gotten the clinker out from inside the firebox, spread out the coals as evenly as he could and had put a few shovelfuls of fresh fuel on, making the fire burn nicely. Now with that done, Duck felt much better and was ready to get back to work.

"Now then…shall we get those fish vans back down to the fishing village?" Duck asked, as Carrie stepped out in front of him.

"Certainly, Duck…but first, let's wait for the yard manager to tell us where they are." Carrie said, with a smile.

"And here he comes now." Duck said, as the sound of footsteps approached them. Carrie turned her head and saw the yard manager approach them.

"Now then Duck…" said the yard manager, "…you'll want to know where the fish vans are." said the yard manager.

"Yes, sir." smiled Duck.

"They're in that siding over there." he said, as he pointed to the siding in question. Duck and Carrie looked over; in the siding, they could both see a line of eight fish vans of a number of different styles, types and with different vents at each end, and with a brake van coupled at the end.

"And you're to take all those down to the fishing village. The fishermen are due in later on today." the yard manager said.

"Yes, sir." Duck said and, after Carrie, the driver and fireman climbed into his cab, Duck blew his whistle and moved off to collect the fish vans.

A few moments later, Duck had backed up to the eight empty fish vans, which also had a brake van coupled behind them, and was coupled up to them and had the vacuum pipes connected up.

"So, Duck...why are we taking these fish vans down to the Fishing Village to be filled up there and then bring them to Knapford Harbour when the fishing boats could just take their fish down to Knapford Docks with all the other fishing boats and have them loaded onto a train down there?" Carrie asked.

"Because Carrie, the docks at Knapford aren't the biggest on Sodor, and don't have the capacity to take lots of fishing boats there. So having all the fishing boats go there to unload their fish would cause a bottleneck on the quays there, which means there's a chance the fish may spoil." Duck said.

"Oh, I see." Carrie said, now fully understanding the logic of taking fish from one port to meet up with a train at another one so as not to cause any congestion. "And is some of the fish sent to shops in the towns around Sodor?" she asked.

"It is, and the rest of it is taken away in a very special train to other places far away. This is the train that the railwaymen on Sodor call the Flying Kipper." said Duck.

As Duck, his crew and Carrie sat in the siding and waited for their chance to leave the yard and head down to the Fishing Village, they heard a whistle coming towards them. A moment later, Oliver rolled into the yard with a line of a dozen trucks behind him and his brake-van, Toad, coupled to the rear of the train.

"Morning Oliver!" Duck said cheerfully, as Oliver came to a halt near him.

"Hello Duck…I'll be glad to have a rest for a while. These trucks have been causing me trouble all morning. I'll be glad to get started with my passenger train." Oliver said, as he let off steam in some frustration.

"I know how you feel about that…I just need to deliver these fish wagons and I'll be able to start with my first passenger train of the day." Duck said.

"Begging your pardon, Mr Duck…but sometimes trucks have to be moved around the island so as to deliver the goods that they carry…if you forgive me for mentioning it." said Toad, from the back of Oliver's train.

"Of course, Toad." Duck said, with a small smile.

Then James pulled into the yard with his own freight train from Knapford Station, a mixed one of wagons covered with canvas sheeting, box-vans, some tankers and a few con-flats with containers.

"And here we are…" he said, as he came to a stop, "…I'll be glad to get to my next train. I'm just glad that there isn't as much snow about on the island now as there was earlier this year." James said.

Carrie felt herself smile and decided to speak up.

"Well James…can I just say just be glad that you and all the other engines on Sodor don't live in Maine, where I come from. Believe me, I've lived in Maine for most of my life, and the winters, the cold and the snow there can be pretty brutal at the best of time, with very deep snow and a really deep, biting cold that seems to never go away." Carrie said.

James, Oliver and Duck looked at Carrie for a moment, and all three wondered what a severe Maine winter right here on Sodor would be like to deal with.

"Well in that case…I think I'll be glad to stay here on Sodor instead of going over to Maine." Oliver said, as he shivered a little at the thought of working in snow far worse than anything that could be found on Sodor.

"So would I." came another voice, as another G.W.R. engine rolled up beside the group. It was No.1005 County of Devon who was a G.W.R. 1000 County Class 4-6-0 (15). He was painted in B.R. passenger green livery with orange lining that had been polished down to a good standard and made him look extremely smart. On his tender, there was a late B.R. crest in place in the middle of the tender side, and the coal space in the tender was piled high with coal. On the footplate, his driver and fireman could be seen working away at getting ready for their next job, including making sure there was a good head of steam in the boiler before they could set off again.

(15): The G.W.R. 1000 County Class 4-6-0, of which 30 examples were built in total in two lots between August 1945 and April 1947, and numbered from No.1000 to No.1029, was the most powerful class of 2-cylinder 4-6-0 ever to see service on the G.W.R. network. It was the final and ultimate development of the original Churchward Saint Class 2-cylinder 4-6-0 designthat had been introduced all the way back in 1901. They were named after various counties in England and Wales, with some members of the class taking the names from the original Churchward 38XX County Class 4-4-0 locomotives, the last of which had been withdrawn from service all the way back in late 1933.

Designed by Frederick W. Hawksworth, who became C.M.E of the G.W.R. after Collett retired in 1941, and built at Swindon Works between August 1945 and April 1947, and coupled to large slab-sided tenders that could carry up to 4,000 gallons of water and 7 tons of coal, the class was intended to be used on mixed traffic work on the G.W.R. network. It was the first G.W.R. class to be fitted with a double chimney and had a boiler pressure of 280psi, which was later reduced to 250psi, and the boiler was based off of the boiler that was used on the L.M.S. 8F Class 2-8-0, of which Swindon built a number of examples for the war effort. The class was also rather distinct and unique in the fact they had one long splasher covering all three sets of driving wheels, and straight nameplates, instead of the normally curved nameplates as seen on other G.W.R. locomotives, and these two features caused them to stand out from other G.W.R. 4-6-0 designs.

Some early design studies for the class included the use of outside Walschaerts Valve Gear, which would have been a major break from the normal tradition on the G.W.R. if it had gone ahead, but in the event, the standard inside Stephenson's link motion was used instead, as per G.W.R. tradition.

Hawksworth introduced the class with the intention of using it as a testbed for a number of ideas for a 4-6-2 Pacific Class design he hoped to introduce onto the G.W.R., though in the event, he wasn't allowed to built his Pacific design, as there was no need for more express passenger locomotives, considering the numbers of Kings and Castles already on the system.

In August 1945, the very first example of the class, No.1000 County of Middlesex, entered traffic, with a further nine examples following along by the end of December, the last entering service that year being No.1009 County of Carmarthen. The rest of the class followed at various intervals over the next year and a half, with the last example to be built being No.1029 County of Worchester, which entered traffic in April 1947.

The numbers and names of the G.W.R. 1000 Class were;

No.1000 County of Middlesex, No.1001 County of Buckingham, No.1002 County of Berks, No.1003 County of Wilts, No.1004 County of Somerset,

No.1005 County of Devon, No.1006 County of Cornwall, No.1007 County of Brecknock, No.1008 County of Cardigan, No.1009 County of Carmarthen,

No.1010 County of Caernarvon, No.1011 County of Chester, No.1012 County of Denbigh, No.1013 County of Dorset, No.1014 County of Glamorgan,

No.1015 County of Gloucester, No.1016 County of Hants, No.1017 County of Hereford, No.1018 County of Leicester, No.1019 County of Merioneth,

No.1020 County of Monmouth, No.1021 County of Montgomery, No.1022 County of Northampton, No.1023 County of Oxford, No.1024 County of Pembroke,

No.1025 County of Radnor, No.1026 County of Salop, No.1027 County of Stafford, No.1028 County of Warwick, and No.1029 County of Worcester.

There had been plans to build 35 more members of the County Class than the 30 engines that were originally built, which would have numbered from No.1030 to No.1064, and which would have taken the total number of engines in the class to 65. However, these last 35 engines ended up being cancelled and more examples of the Modified Hall Class and Castle Class were built in their place instead. It's unknown why these engine were cancelled, though it's very likely the steaming problems that the class had when they were first introduced played a part in the decision not to build any more.

The 10XX Class Counties were fitted with two outside cylinders that were 18.5in in diameter with a 30in piston stroke. Paired with a boiler initially pressed to 280psi with superheating, and driving wheels that were 6ft 3in in diameter, they had an initial tractive effort of 32,580lbf. Later, the boiler pressure was reduced from 280psi down to 250psi, and that reduced the tractive effort to 29,090lbf. This was done as it was discovered that the higher pressure was rarely used, as well as to economise on boiler repairs.

The new County Class had a mixed reception with some G.W.R. crews after they were introduced, with some crews regarding them as non-standard, expensive and unnecessary, particularly as they fell uncomfortably between express passenger and mixed traffic classifications. But other crews considered them to be a successful and free-steaming design that was well suited from expresses to freight work and a fitting finale to G.W.R. 2-cylinder 4-6-0 development. But regardless of what the engine crews or other people thought about them, they generally worked well with everything they were tasked with, including passengers, parcels and freight. The class found their best and really brilliant work on lines north of Wolverhampton, where they hauled heavy trains with conspicuous success.

Although the class performed well on their assigned duties, there were some issues that popped up. Theses included needing careful handling when they were working on the Cornish Line, which had speed restrictions of 60mph and heavily graded sections which needed careful handling in order to negotiate with heavy trains. On runs from that went from Paddington to Bristol, continuous steady steaming was demanded on runs when it was found necessary to make up time, and the engines could often run short of steam at times on such runs. Another problem the class had was that their driving wheels often delivered a heavy hammerblow to the tracks, as well as there being incidents of rough riding, with the movement being felt on the footplates as well as in the first coaches coupled behind the tenders.

After Britain's railways nationalised in 1948, the Counties continued doing their useful work on the lines of B.R.'s Western Region, including working on the passenger trains going out of Paddington alongside the Castle Class 4-6-0's, as well as on more menial freight and parcels trains. Withdrawals of the class began in September 1962, with No.1004 County of Somerset being the first to be withdrawn. Withdrawals continued over the next two years until the very last example, No.1011 County of Chester, was withdrawn from service in November 1964.

Sadly, no examples of this important G.W.R. class have survived into preservation, with none being sent to Barry Scrapyard where they might have been saved from and preserved for the future. But luckily, there is a project underway to build a replica of one of the original locomotives at the Didcot Railway Centre, and is incorporating parts from various locomotives that were at Barry scrapyard, including the frames from a 6959 Modified Hall Class 4-6-0, No.7927 Willington Hall, and the boiler from L.M.S. 8F Class 2-8-0 No.48518.

The replica County Class engine will be of No.1014 County of Glamorgan, in recognition of Dai Woodham's Yard at Barry in Glamorganshire, from where many steam locomotives that might otherwise have been scrapped were instead saved for preservation. A number of original parts from a few of the scrapped County Class engines are also being used in the construction of No.1014, including the double-chimney from No.1006 County of Cornwall, the regulator handle from No.1011 County of Chester, and the reverser from No.1024 County of Pembroke.

"Yeah, well at least summer is on its way in a few months. And it means that we'll be able to pull the tourists around when they arrive." Oliver said.

"Summer? Huh! Summer's too hot and tiring a time to work in. It's the springtime that really gets me all fired up!" James said.

"And speaking of which…Thomas and Percy told me about the time you really DID get fired up with all those fuel tankers. Well done, James!" said County of Devon, with a chuckle.

"Shut up!" James said crossly, as he glared at County of Devon.

"Hold it…what do you mean by "fuel tankers"? What happened?" Carrie asked, as she looked towards County of Devon.

"Well…quite a few years back, Carrie…James was pulling a long line of fuel tankers in another part of the island on a nice spring day. But unbeknownst to him, one of the fuel tankers was leaking, and some stray sparks from James' funnel ended up setting the fuel trucks ablaze…hence why I teased him about being "fired up"." said County of Devon.

"Oh, no…" Carrie said, with a giggle as she looked towards James in a rather amused way, as James glared at her for a moment, before rolling his eyes up.

"You mentioned that the countryside run got you all fired up, James…though I don't think you literally meant it in quite that way." teased Duck.

"Pah! It was the stupid truck's fault, not mine!" James snorted, as he rolled his eyes and looked up to the sky.

"Come on, Carrie…it's time for us to take these vans down to the Fishing Village!" Duck's driver called from the cab.

"Okay, sir!" Carrie called, as she clambered onto Duck's footplate. The driver blew Duck's whistle and, with steam shooting out front, the train slowly moved forward out of the siding, through the yard and out onto the main line.

Soon, they cleared the yard and were heading south in the direction they had come from not too long before. Carrie took the shovel for a short while and placed lumps of coal into the firebox, making sure to place the coal where it would make the most steam.

Eventually though, the fireman took over the shovel and Carrie looked out from the driver's side of the footplate, where she had a good view of the coastline and sea whenever they came very near to it. The feeling of the cold air on her sweaty face felt good after working hard at stoking a hot firebox, and it also felt good to stand up straight and rest her back after being bent over for a time while shovelling coal into the firebox.

They soon arrived in the Fishing Village, and rolled slowly over the points and into the long siding that ran along the quayside. As they came to a halt, Carrie could see there was plenty of space between the siding and the edge of the dockside where the fishing boats would tie up to so that the catches of fish could be unloaded from the boats, packed into boxes and then loaded into the vans.

Carrie and the driver climbed down from the footplate and stepped behind Duck; they disconnected the vacuum brake pipes and uncoupled the vans, as workmen on the quayside made sure the brakes were secure on all eight vans.

As they waited, Carrie took the opportunity to take a few steps forward and have a good look round. At one end of the quayside there was a large functional building, that was old and with outside walls that certainly looked as though they'd seen better days. Over the faded and weathered red-painted front entrance doors was a sign that said "Ice Plant" in blue letters that were faded and somewhat covered by a thin green mould, so Carrie knew right away this building provided the ice that the fishermen needed to keep their catches fresh.

Then Carrie heard sounds behind her, and she turned round to see what it was; she could see the workmen going along the length of the train on the side closest to the edge of the quay and opening the van doors, ready for the fish to be loaded aboard as soon as the boats arrived.

Then, the sound of a boat horn was heard out to sea. Carrie turned and saw one of the fishing boats come round the breakwater and make its way slowly towards the quay.

"It shouldn't be too long before these vans are loaded, and then they'll have to be taken down to Knapford Harbour. There they'll be attached to another load of vans filled with fish from the boats that go there, and then it'll all be taken to the mainland." Duck said to Carrie.

"Okay, I suppose that makes sense." Carrie said, when suddenly there came the sounds of a whistle. Carrie turned and saw Douglas approach with a long line of trucks behind him.

"Morning Douglas." Duck called, as Douglas came to a stop.

"Morning Duck, how busy are the yards up at Arlesburgh?" Douglas asked in his distinctive Scottish accent.

"They were quite busy when I left with these fish vans earlier on, but I imagine it should be a little quieter by now, so you shouldn't have a problem getting those trucks stored away." Duck said.

"Thank you, Duck." Douglas said, before he then noticed Carrie standing beside Duck's front buffer beam.

"Oh, hello there young Carrie." Douglas said.

"Good morning, Douglas. What's in those trucks?" Carrie asked, as she noticed the twelve heavily laden trucks behind Douglas' tender.

"Just coal that needs to be delivered to the engine depot, wee lassie. All us steam engines need coal if we're to keep going." Douglas said.

"Oh, of course." Carrie said, with a smile. Just then, the signal dropped, showing Douglas it was time for him to leave.

"Ooh, time to go!" Douglas said, as he blew his deep-toned Caledonian whistle and, with white steam whooshing, set off up the line. As he puffed away, Carrie watched the train go by and counted the laden coal trucks as they went by; there were a dozen of them altogether, and their sides were streaked with layers of coal dust, some denser than others, and the coal could be seen piled up over the tops of the trucks.

Soon the guard's van went by and, stepping cautiously out, Carrie watched as the train pulled away from her and went round the bend to the right and disappeared from view. She could clearly see the bright red tail lamp shining brightly at the rear of the guard's van as Douglas's train vanished round the bend.

A few moments later, after she stepped back to the quayside and arrived by the driver and fireman, the harbour master stepped up to them.

"Come along, I have some more trucks for you to take away." he said.

"Okay, sir." Duck said, as his crew and Carrie climbed back into his cab. After being told where the trucks were and the points were set, the driver blew the whistle and Duck rolled forwards to collect the trucks.

Pulling into the siding, Duck rolled forward into the siding and buffered up to the trucks. There were only eight of them, and they were empty and due to head back to the yards at Arlesburgh to get filled up and assembled into a train.

As they waited to go, and while the driver examined the couplings between each truck, Carrie looked up into the sky; there were very dark banks of clouds slowly rolling in from the west south west, and there was sure to be rain coming with them too. Then she continued on with her task of oiling up Duck's coupling rods and motion with an oil can, and rags to wipe excess oil away. She soon finished the task and stepped out in front of Duck.

"And there we are…all done with the oiling." Carrie said, as she looked up at Duck.

"Well done, Carrie. That means we'll be running well and with no problems too." Duck said, with a smile. Carrie smiled back, but then she groaned a little and leaned against the forward buffer beam as she stretched her left leg out a little.

"Are you feeling all right?" Duck asked, with some concern.

"Oh, I'm fine, Duck. It's just that my feet and lower legs are killing me a bit…I've been on my feet all morning, and I'd like to have a sit down soon." Carrie said, as she then stretched her right leg out.

"Don't worry, Carrie. You'll soon be able to have a rest once we get back to the yards." Duck said, reassuringly.

"Thanks, and get some food into me too." Carrie said, as she looked at her watch; it was 11:34am, and she was amazed at how fast time had gone by since she had started. She then turned and went back to the cab, and clambered aboard.

Once the headlamps were put in place on the lamp-irons fitted on the back of Duck's bunker, they were soon on their way again, and running in reverse up the line to Arlesburgh. For Carrie, this was another new experience to be running in reverse while the train was coupled to the engine's front. But they were able to see more of the track they were travelling along as they didn't have the whole front of the locomotive out before them.

After taking a turn at the shovel and stoking the firebox, Carrie leaned out from the fireman's side and looked along the line up ahead. As they came round a shallow bend onto a long straight stretch of double track, she saw Oliver coming towards them on the down line with three coaches and his brake van Toad coupled behind him.

Carrie reached for the whistle chain and sounded a short toot on Duck's whistle, and Oliver whistled back in reply as the two engines went by with their trains. The driver and fireman smiled at Carrie; it was clear to them that Carrie was learning the ropes quite well and, to them, she would soon prove to be a real good railwayman in her own right.

They soon arrived back at Arlesburgh good yards and parked the trucks into an empty siding very close to the building where the engine crews would rest, take breaks and meals and wash up and change clothes at the end of the day.

"And there we are, that's those trucks parked up." the driver said, as they slowly reversed out of the siding.

"So, with that done…what's to do now?" Carrie asked.

"Well, we'll park Duck and go and get something hot to eat and drink. I think we've earned it after the work we've done this morning." said the driver, as the hissing sounds of the injector putting water into the boiler filled the cab.

"Very good…I'm starving after all the work we've done." Carrie said, as she took off her cap and wiped her sweaty forehead, leaving a small mark of dirt behind.

Once Duck was safely parked in a sheltered siding, they went over to the crew's building, where they took the chance to wash their faces and hands before they went to the canteen to get some good food into them.

Entering the warmth of the canteen, the smell of good hot food at the long buffet counter drifted into Carrie's nose. There was a light buzz in the air as a few drivers and firemen, as well as some members of the shed team, were sitting down to lunch at the tables lined up on both sides of the room.

The scene at once reminded Carrie of the cafeteria back at Ewen High School, only that this place was meant to be working for much longer periods of time and to serve a different variety of customer than any high school cafeteria back home.

Grabbing a tray as well as a knife and fork rolled up in a napkin and lining up at the buffet, Carrie cast her eyes over the mouth-watering selection of hot food on offer today; there were such things like beefs burgers in an onion and pepper sauce, pork chops with apple sauce and beef stew, as well as mashed and boiled potatoes, French green beans, mashed carrots and boiled peas. There were also salads on offer too, as well as a station where two members of staff would prepare sandwiches.

There was also a choice of two soups on offer for today; leek and potato in one pot and carrot and coriander in the second.

And finally, at the other end of the buffet, and close to where drinks could be obtained, was a selection of mouth-watering desserts, but all those could wait until afterwards.

Carrie ladled some steaming hot leek and potato soup into a clean bowl, and then put a burger with some of the sauce, as well as mashed potatoes and vegetables, onto a plate. After getting a drink at the end of the buffet, she went over to sit down at one of the tables. She was very eager to rest her feet for a while and get some hot food into her after the morning of work she'd done.

She had just tucked into her bowl of hot soup, when she heard a voice.

"Hey there, Carrie." and Carrie looked up to see Alice standing by the table with her own tray of food in her hands.

"Hey, Alice. Would you like to sit down?" Carrie asked, as she gestured to a spare seat by her.

"Sure would!" Alice said, as she placed her tray down on the table and then sat down.

"So…how's your day been so far?" Carrie asked, as she took in another spoonful of soup.

"Fine so far, but I'm really eager to get some rest for our lunch hour. Especially after the work I've done so far today." Alice said, as she started eating her own food.

The two were silent for a few moments, as they enjoyed and savoured their food before they spoke again.

"So, what jobs have you and Duck to do after lunch?" Alice asked.

"I don't know yet, Alice…but we delivered a number of fish vans down to the Fishing Village a little earlier on, and then we had to bring empty trucks back here." Carrie said.

"That sounds fair enough, but I and No.7835 Standen Manor (16) had some difficulty earlier on this morning before we left to leave with our passenger train from Knapford Station. A small issue with the brake pipe which meant that the brakes on the train wouldn't come off, but we managed to get the problem fixed before too long which meant we could leave on time." Alice said.

(16): No.7835 Standen Manor is an unbuilt example of the G.W.R. 78XX 4-6-0 Manor Class, of which 30 examples (from No.7800 to No.7829) were built at Swindon Work in two batches between 1936 and 1950, with the very first example of the class No.7800 Torquay Manor entering traffic in January 1938.

The class was basically a lightened version of the 68XX Grange Class, and it was intended for use on cross country routes and branch lines – such as along the Cambrian Coast Line – that other G.W.R. Classes, such as the Halls and the Granges, were forbidden to go due to weight restrictions. They also worked well on lines in the West Country, where they were used for banking and piloting trains over the Devon banks between Newton Abbot and Plymouth. They also worked very well in Cornwall, due to their light axle-loading which allowed them to cross the Tamar Bridge.

The examples of the class that were built were numbered and named as;

No.7800 Torquay Manor, No.7801 Anthony Manor, No.7802 Bradley Manor, No.7803 Barcote Manor, No.7804 Baydon Manor,

No.7805 Broome Manor, No.7806 Cockington Manor, No.7807 Compton Manor, No.7808 Cookham Manor, No.7809 Childrey Manor,

No.7810 Draycott Manor, No.7811 Dunley Manor, No.7812 Erlestoke Manor, No.7813 Freshford Manor, No.7814 Fringford Manor,

No.7815 Fritwell Manor, No.7816 Frilsham Manor, No.7817 Garsington Manor, No.7818 Granville Manor, No.7819 Hinton Manor,

No.7820 Dinmore Manor, No.7821 Ditcheat Manor, No.7822 Foxcote Manor, No.7823 Hook Norton Manor, No.7824 Iford Manor,

No.7825 Lechlade Manor, No.7826 Longworth Manor, No.7827 Lyhdam Manor, No.7828 Odney Manor, and No.7829 Ramsbury Manor.

Another batch of 10 locomotives, which would have been numbered from No.7830 to No.7839, was meant to be have been built at Swindon early in B.R. days, but the order was cancelled for unknown reasons. These cancelled locomotives would have been numbered and named as;

No.7830 Norton Manor, No.7831 Ogwell Manor, No.7832 Pimley Manor, No.7833 Ramsbury, No.7834 Rodley Manor,

No.7835 Standen Manor, No.7836 Sutton Manor, No.7837 Thorton Manor, No.7838 Widford Manor, and No.7839 Wilcote Manor.

Initially, the class did suffer from steaming problems earlier in their lives, but in the 1950's, after extensive draughting tests were carried on No.7818 Granville Manor to get to the bottom of the problem, alterations to their blastpipes, an increase in air space in the fire-grate as well as the fitment of a new type of narrow chimney to give a sharper blast massively improved the drafting and eliminated the steaming problems the class had originally been plagued with earlier in their lives. It allowed steam production to be increased from about 10,000lbs per hour to around 20,400lbs per hour.

Once their steaming problems were overcome, the class worked mainly within the West of England and in Mid and South Wales, where they could go and work anywhere, including on branch-lines and cross-country routes, thanks to their light axle loading of just over 17 tons. At times, they took over the Cambrian Coast Express from the much heavier King and Castle express engines at Shrewsbury and worked the trains all the way to Aberystwyth.

The entire class was withdrawn from service on the Western Region of British Railways between April 1963, when the first example, No.7809 Childrey Manor, was withdrawn and December 1965, when the final two examples, No.7808 Cookham Manor and No.7829 Ramsbury Manor, made their bows.

Nine examples of the class have survived into preservation, all of which have run under their own steam since being restored to working order and four of which have run on the main line, though none have worked on the main line in recent years with no plans currently in place to alter that situation. The last example in service with B.R., No.7808 Cookham Manor, was purchased directly from B.R. upon its withdrawal from service in December 1965, with the remaining eight locomotives being rescued from Woodham's Yard in Barry.

The examples of the class that have survived into preservation include:

No.7802 Bradley Manor: withdrawn from service in November 1965 having covered around 900,000 miles during its career and sent to Barry Scrapyard in July 1966. Rescued from Barry in 1979 and taken to the Severn Valley Railway to be used as spares for No.7812. A change of plans resulted in restoration work beginning in 1983 and completed in 1993. During her career in preservation, No.7802 has run extensively on the Severn Valley Railway, as well as on the Great Central Railway, the West Somerset Railway, and the Dean Forest Railway. In 2005, she also appeared in a number of scenes in the movie The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. She's currently based on the Severn Valley Railway, where she's undergoing extensive repairs after badly damaging one of her cylinders in the summer of 2019, which meant that a brand new cylinder block had to be cast.

No.7808 Cookham Manor: she was the last member of the class to be withdrawn from service on British Railways, which took place in December 1965 as the only member of the Manor Class to be bought from B.R., having covered well over 900,000 miles during her career. After seeing considerable service on the main line during her career in preservation, she's currently on static display and awaiting a major overhaul at the Didcot Railway Centre.

No.7812 Erlestoke Manor: withdrawn from service in November 1965, having clocked around 800,000 miles by that point, she was sent to Barry Scrapyard in June 1966, and left the yard in 1973. It was subsequently moved to the Severn Valley Railway for restoration, which was completed in 1979. In April 1982, she returned to work on the main line and twice double-headed the Welsh Marshes Pullman with No.4930 Hagley Hall. In 2017, she was taken out of service as the boiler certificate expired that December. She's currently based at the Severn Valley Railway, and is in operational condition there.

No.7819 Hinton Manor: withdrawn in November 1965, she went to Barry Scrapyard in early 1966, having covered 925,050 miles in her years of service, rescued from Barry in 1973, she was taken to the Severn Valley Railway for restoration, which was completed by the summer of 1977. In 1990, No.7819 hauled the Royal Train where she took HRH The Duke of Gloucester along the Severn Valley Railway. After being put on static display in the MacArthur Glen Shopping Centre in Swindon for a few years, she was moved back to the Severn Valley Railway in 2018, and put on display inside the Engine House while awaiting an overhaul.

No.7820 Dinmore Manor: the final engine of the Manor Class to work a train on the Cambrian Main Line, she was withdrawn in November 1965 and moved to Barry Scrapyard not long afterwards. Rescued in 1979, she was moved to the Gwilli Railway for restoration, but was eventually moved to the Birmingham Railway Museum, where the restoration was completed in 1995 after which she ran along the West Somerset Railway. She's normally based at the Gloucestershire and Warwickshire Railway, and is currently in working order on that line.

No.7821 Ditcheat Manor: withdrawn in November 1965, she was taken to Barry Scrapyard in May 1966. Leaving Barry in June 1981, she was taken to the Gloucestershire and Warwickshire Railway for restoration, before being moved to the Llangollen Railway, and then Swindon, where its restoration was completed in 1998. It was in traffic on a number of different heritage railways until around 2007. After being on static display in the Swindon Steam Museum for a number of years, she's currently on static display in the Swindon Outlet Designer Shopping Centre.

No.7822 Foxcote Manor: withdrawn from its home depot of Shrewsbury in November 1965 and taken to Barry Scrapyard, having covered 550,000 miles in its career. Rescued from Barry in 1974, it was taken to Oswestry and then to the Llangollen Railway for restoration, which was completed by December 1987. In preservation, she's been and run on a number of heritage lines, including the West Somerset Railway, the South Devon Railway, the Great Central Railway, and the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. She's usually based at the Llangollen Railway in North Wales, but she's currently on the West Somerset Railway, where she was withdrawn from service in August 2023 for firebox repairs.

No.7827 Lyhdam Manor: withdrawn from service in October 1965 and sent to Barry Scrapyard in May 1966. She left Barry in June 1970 and taken to the Dark Valley Railway for restoration, which was completed in March 1973. During her career in preservation, she was often painted in Great Western livery, which it would have never carried as she wasn't built until 1950. She's recently finished being overhauled and is now in operational condition at the Dartmouth Steam Railway where she's based, but she has run on other railways, including the West Somerset Railway and the South Devon Railway.

No.7828 Odney Manor: withdrawn from service in October 1965, having covered 402,613 miles in service and sent to Barry Scrapyard in May 1966. Rescued from Barry in June 1981, she was taken to Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway for restoration, which was completed in December 1987. In her career in preservation, No.7828 had operated on the West Somerset Railway, the East Lancashire Railway, and the Gwilli Railway. She's currently operational on the West Somerset Railway which bought her in 2004.

"That sounds fair enough, and you didn't have any further problems with your first passenger train?" Carrie asked.

"No, not at all. We made it to Arlesburgh without any trouble at all, and our passengers all managed to get in bang on time." Alice said, before she took a sip of her drink.

"And are you gonna be doing more passengers trains today?" Carrie asked, as she took in another spoonful of soup.

"I'm not sure as of yet what we're gonna be doing as of yet, but whatever job we're assigned to do after lunch, it's our job to do it well." Alice said.

"Yeah absolutely, that's about all we can do when we're working on the railway." Carrie said. She soon finished her soup, and then set about tucking into her burger. The rich and thick onion and peppercorn sauce was smelt really nice to her,, and she was really eager to enjoy this delicious meal while it was still hot.

"Hmm, that's really nice…and that sauce goes really well too." Carrie said, as she savoured the nice flavour of the burger.

"But I'd bet you'd really like to have one of these pork chops." Alice said, as she ate through her pork chop with apple sauce.

"Well…maybe another time I'll choose the pork chops." Carrie said, as she and Alice continued on with their lunch.

After they finished lunch, they went through the buffet line to choose desserts to finish off their meal; Carrie chose a slice of apple pie with ice cream, while Alice had a slice of very rich chocolate cake with cream on the side. Once they finished their desserts, they just sat at the table, mugs of hot tea close at hand, and spoke with each other for the rest of their lunch hour, while many other of the engine crews went either back out to their assigned engines for their next duties or came into the canteen to start their own lunch hour.

At one point, about ten minutes or so before their lunch hour was to end, and they had to get themselves back to work again, it started raining and the rain came down with such intensity that the sound echoed heavily on the roof above the canteen. Alice and Carrie looked out the windows at the rain as it bucketed from the dark clouds high above.

"Oh dear, I was hoping there wouldn't be any rain today." Carrie said, with a heavy sigh as she looked outside at the foul weather.

"I bet that you're quite glad to be on Duck's footplate, Carrie…there's reasonable shelter there." Alice said.

"Yeah, I am…but what's it like to work on the footplate of Standen Manor in this weather?" Carrie asked, as she looked at Alice with some concern.

"Oh…while there's a cab, it doesn't extend back too far, though we can set up a tarpaulin stretching from the back of the cab roof down to the front end of the tender to give us some added protection of needed." Alice said.

"How much protection does it give you?" Carrie asked.

"Well, as long as we're going forwards and the rain doesn't go in the wrong direction…the tarpaulin is sufficient protection." Alice said with a heavy sigh, as Carrie gave her a small smile and then looked back outside.

They were quiet for a few moments as they watched the rain fall from the sky, and they sipped their hot tea for the few moments they were quiet.

"Your father's working iron ore trains again today, isn't he?" Alice said, as she broke the silence.

"Yes, and I think he's glad that there's rain falling right now…after all, if the rain is coming down as heavily as this, it'll do a great deal to keep all the iron ore dust down in the big hopper wagons." Carrie said, with a smile. And Alice smiled too; any rain that kept the loose dust down in the trucks was quite welcome.

A few minutes later, as Carrie and Alice finished their tea, the crews of the respective locomotives they were working on came over towards them.

"Hey, come on you two! It's time for us to get back to work!" Duck's driver said.

"Yes, there's a lot more work to do today before we can go back for the evening." said the fireman of Standen Manor.

"All right." Carrie and Alice said together, as they both stood up from the table, put on their caps and raincoats and followed the crews out of the canteen.

As they stepped outside, they could see that the rain had eased off a little, but it was still coming down heavily.

"Let's get back to our engines without getting too wet." Alice said.

"Well luckily…there's this sheltered area where we can walk for much of the way to the engines without getting wet." said Duck's driver, as he indicated to the sheltered walkway.

"Well, let's get going then." Alice said, and they set off.

They soon arrived back at the shed where Duck and some other engines were resting, including Standen Manor. The engines were chatting with each other, while a few others were looking up at the sky and rain coming down hard all-round.

"Oh, I wish we could just stay in here and out of the rain." Duck said, as his driver, fireman and Carrie approached him.

"I know how you feel, Duck…but there's still work to be done for today…so we need to get moving to the next job." his driver said.

"Yes, driver." Duck said with a heavy sigh, not that keen to work in heavy rain.

"Come on, Duck…let's get back to work." Carrie said, as she climbed aboard Duck's cab.

"Very well, Carrie…at least you're doing things the Great Western Way." Duck said with a smile, admired by Carrie's determination to continue on with the job, despite the bad weather they were having this afternoon.

Alice crossed over to Standen Manor and climbed into his cab, then reach down for the shovel and set about checking the fire and adding fresh fuel to it if necessary. She found it was necessary, and soon put a few shovelfuls of coal into the fire to get it back up to an intensity where plenty of steam could be made.

In Duck's cab, Carrie, with the fireman's supervision, also took the opportunity to stoke up the fire and also to put fresh water into the boiler. The driver took the chance to oil up the coupling rods and double-check the brake blocks on the wheels to see they were okay.

Soon, all the checks were completed, and the fire was burning nicely and making plenty of steam; they were ready to go. Checking the boiler pressure gauge, Carrie saw the needle slowly rise as the steam pressure rose.

"I reckon we're all ready to go again." she said to the driver.

"Of course, Carrie…now let's going to our next jobs." the driver said, and he gently opened up the regulator.

Slowly, Duck moved forwards and out of the shed into the pouring heavy rain.

"Ohhhhh…" Duck said, as the cold pelting droplets slammed into him, and he closed his eyes.

"Let's get onto our next job, Duck." the driver said, as he blew the whistle.

"Okay." Duck said, as he rolled forwards and out of the siding.

---

(Later that day; late afternoon – 4:30pm)

It was very near the end of another day, and close to the end of Carrie's first day of working on a locomotive working on the main railway. She was still with Duck and his crew, and they were at the quayside of the Fishing Village, ready to take the line of fish vans, now they were fully laden with the fish that the fishermen had brought in, down to Knapford Harbour where Henry would take the vans, as well as his own fully loaded fish vans, from the Harbour over to Vicarstown on the other side of the Island. The rain had finally stopped, and the wind had died down giving an atmosphere that would seem pleasant, were it not for the typical smells that hung in the air. It was a mixture of diesel fumes from boats, rotting seaweed and other smells of the low tide, but especially the smell of fish.

Duck was sitting in the siding on the quayside and was coupled to the vans and waiting as the last checks were made to the vans and guard's van before they could leave. He was also waiting for a train going from Tidmouth to Arlesburgh to pass by as well before they could go.

Carrie was standing within the warmth and shelter of Duck's footplate and keeping close to the open fire-hole doors and sipping on a cup of hot tea while she waited. After they delivered these vans down to Knapford Harbour and then handed them over to Henry, they would head on back to Tidmouth Sheds and Carrie would be able to sign off for the day, as well as have a shower and get cleaned up afterwards.

Carrie looked out the driver's side of the cab and saw the driver approach and look up.

"Are all the vans ready to go?" Carrie asked.

"They are, Carrie…but we need to wait for the freight going to Arlesburgh to go by before we can leave." the driver said.

"Very well…I just hope we can leave soon. I'm getting tired of the smell of fish." Carrie said, as she tried not to sniff in through her nose. The smell of fish hung in the air, and Carrie was hoping they could either leave soon, or that the wind would spring back up to blow the smell away.

A minute or so later, there came the sound of a whistle in the distance and soon No.7205, the same G.W.R. 72XX 2-8-2 they'd seen earlier, approach from round the bend with a long line of trucks behind him. Carrie looked out from the fireman's side of Duck's cab as soon as No.7205 came into view.

"Hello, No.7205." Duck said, as No.7205 went by with his train.

"Hi Duck…can't stop I'm afraid…I've got a train to deliver." No.7205 said, as he gave a short whistle before he went on by with his fully laden trucks rattling along behind him. Carrie watched as the train went by where she was and counted all the trucks as they went by; there were 26 of them in all, including the guard's van, which she watched go by as the train went round the other bend at the opposite end of the village, with the bright red tail lamp shining on the back of the guard's van. A moment later, Douglas went by doing on the line in the other direction. He had eight bright orange coaches coupled behind him and was bringing local people back home. Giving a friendly toot on his deep-toned Caledonian whistle, Douglas went on by heading south to Knapford. Carrie could see people sitting within the warmth and comfort of the coaches as they went by, with some looking out the windows at what was passing them by.

Soon, and much to Carrie's relief, it was time for them to leave. The driver and fireman climbed aboard Duck's cab and took up position. With the fire in the firebox well up and a good head of steam in the boiler, due to the position of the needle on the steam pressure gauge, they were ready to go. With the points set, the signal light at green, the guard stepped out from his van at the back of the train and blew his whistle loudly and waved his green flag before climbing back onto his van.

"And here we go, Carrie!" the driver said, as he blew the whistle loudly for moment before he opened the regulator.

There was a slight jerk as Duck moved forwards and out of the siding out onto the main line and then over another set of points onto the down line, where Douglas had gone by a little earlier on.

"Knapford Harbour…here we come!" Carrie said, as she looked out the fireman's side and over the line ahead. The driver opened the regulator a little more and pulled the reversing lever back a little; slowly, Duck picked up speed and was rolling down the line, white and grey smoke puffing from his funnel as they rolled ahead.

(Insert soundtrack – Duck's Season 3 Theme)

The journey down to Knapford Harbour took no more than 25 minutes – with green signal lights shining brightly all the way there – and, as they passed over the junction and entered the port, Carrie looked round at how busy the place was, even at this time of day; there were tall buildings, with their walls weathered by sea and time, tall dockside cranes that ran on their own rails and with tracks passing beneath them, tall chimneys coming out from the backs of buildings with smoke rising from them as well as the many workshops and repair facilities engaged in repairing or overhauling equipment for ships. Every now and then, Carrie could see welders at work deep in the depths of the darkness of some of the workshops, all engaged in repairing or overhauling something for the machinery of a ship.

Boats and watercraft of all different sizes and types were tied up to the different quays, ranging from small barges and canal boats all the way up to large cargo ships, some fishing boats of various types and sizes as well as some small passenger ferries and harbour tourist boats. There were even repair docks and slipways, where small boats could be seen slung beneath very strong lifting slings with workmen and engineers doing checks and repairs on the hulls, or small cranes could be seen lifting engines out of boats and swinging them over to the repair facilities. Some repair men were working on boat engines on the dockside, and very bright blue-white flashes from their welding torches brightly lit up the scene where they worked.

As they rolled slowly along towards the quayside where Henry was waiting for them to arrive with his own vans, Carrie couldn't help but notice how cluttered the harbour was, particularly with all the different items of cargo that were piled up on the various quaysides and being loaded onto different trucks, or different pieces of equipment stored close to the line. Sniffing the air, Carrie winced a little at the familiar smells she smelt back at the Fishing Village, including seaweed and fish.

After crossing through a turning triangle, they slowly reversed the train along the quayside back to where Henry was. He was already coupled to his own line of trucks, which were being loaded up with fish brought in on the fishing boats a little earlier on. The fish, after being unloaded from the fishing boats, was packed into boxes with plenty of fresh crushed ice from the nearby ice plant and was then loaded into the vans.

"Hello Duck…good work on getting your trucks here." Henry said, as Duck backed his vans on the line beside Henry.

"Thank you, Henry…the reason we're here early is we had green lights all the way here since we left." Duck said.

"And I'll be glad to get this job done, and then get back to the sheds where I can sign off for the day and then take a shower." Carrie said, as she stepped off of Duck's footplate while wearing her own bright orange hi-vis vest.

"Oh, hello Carrie. Are you feeling tired after today?" Henry asked.

"Yes, I am Henry, but I'm looking forward to another day of hard work tomorrow." Carrie said.

"Well, at least you and Duck can go back to the sheds now. But I'm rostered to take the Flying Kipper over to Vicarstown this evening. So, it'll be quite late before I can go to sleep." Henry said.

"And you'll spend the night over in Vicarstown?" Carrie asked.

"Yes, after I make the deliveries, I'll spend the night in the sheds over near Vicarstown and then I'll take the empty vans back here in the morning." Henry said.

"Sounds like a fair plan to me." Carrie said.

"Come on then…let's not waste any more time and get the vans coupled to Henry's train." said the harbour master.

"Very well, sir." Duck said, and he slowly went in reverse over the points to the empty stretch of line behind Henry's train.

As Duck went to work on getting his vans shunted up to the back of the line of vans that Henry was coupled up to, Carrie stood aside for a few moments and took the opportunity to have a look at the different vans that made up the Flying Kipper; the vans were of all different types, some with curved or pointed roofs, some were long or short and some were light in colour while others were dark. The vans all differed in height, and there were at least two vans in the train were quite long, with two sets of doors on each side and with four distinct vent slats at both ends.

Duck soon shunted the vans he brought behind the vans of Henry's train, and the shunter coupled the vans to the train and helped to connect the brake pipes between the vans. A few short minutes later, it was time for Henry to leave. Once the points were set and the signal light shone green, the guard blew his whistle and showed his green lamp…and the Flying Kipper was ready to go.

As Carrie and Duck watched from the line beside where Henry stood, Henry gave a loud whistle and, with a whoosh of steam and driving wheels slipping a little on the rails, he moved slowly forward with the vans following along behind. The driver activated the sanding gear, and sand was sprayed onto the rails directly in front of the driving wheels, which helped to prevent slipping and allowed Henry's wheels to get a good grip on the slippery rails.

"Come on…come on." Henry called with a great effort, as he moved forward along the quayside and out of the harbour. Carrie watched from Duck's cab as the train pulled out of the harbour and round the bend and counted the vans as they went by; including the brake van, there were 17 vans of a number of different varieties, in the train. After the train had gone round the bend and vanished from view, leaving a small cloud of smoke and steam in its wake, the smell of fish still lingered about in the air.

"Well, I guess that's it…let's get back to the sheds." Duck's driver said, as he set the reversing lever into full forward.

"Sounds like a plan to me." Carrie said with a smile, as she leaned out of the fireman's side while the driver opened the regulator and blew the whistle. Duck moved forwards and rolled out of the harbour before heading back to Tidmouth Sheds.

---

(A short while later)

Duck, exhausted after his long day of work, arrived in the depot and rolled up to Tidmouth Sheds, where quite a few other engines were already resting. He puffed onto the turntable and was turned round before he rolled backwards into the empty berth. Other drivers and firemen, as well as the young recruits were there too, all eager to get washed up after their day.

"So, how was your day, Duck?" Thomas asked, as Duck came to a stop.

"It went fine, Thomas. And I'm pleased to report that Carrie did a good job today too." Duck said, with a smile.

"Really?" Toby asked, as Carrie stepped off of Duck's footplate.

"I did, and I really learned a lot out there today." Carrie said, a big smile on her tired face.

"And I think we could both use a wash before we head on home." came a familiar voice. Carrie turned and saw Simon standing close to her. His overalls were covered with a light dusting of coal dust and soot, just like hers were, and he was tired after his long day.

"I'm very pleased to report that Simon did very well today too on his first day of working on the main line." Edward said, as he looked towards Simon.

"Well done there, Simon." Carrie said, as she patted Simon on the shoulder, and he smiled a tired but grateful smile at her. She looked round briefly, and saw that all the engines, though tired, seemed to be in good spirits. Even James seemed to be in a good mood now.

"And I think it's time we all went to shower, get changed and then sign off the day." came a familiar voice. Simon and Carrie looked to their right and saw Ralph White standing a few feet from them. His overalls were covered with a dusting of coal dust, iron ore dust and soot…clear evidence of the hard work he'd been doing all day.

"Indeed." Simon said. Carrie smiled before she then turned to the engines.

"Well…goodnight, everyone." Carrie and the others said to the engines, as she, Simon and her father, as well as other drivers and firemen, as well as the other young recruits, made their way over to the crew rest building close by, where they could washup and change.

"Goodnight, everyone!" the engines called to the group, as the shed crews set about disposing them ready for the next day. The engines were soon talking to each other about their day, as well as how the recruits had managed, before they could go to sleep after their day of work.