Chapter 24: A Day out with Friends (I)
(Saturday, April 21st 2012 – 09:25am; Knapford, Island of Sodor)
Carrie had just finished off her breakfast at the kitchen table in her father's place, and had just placed the dirty utensils into the dishwasher. She was really looking forward to the day ahead, as it was Saturday at long last. It was the time when the many young recruits who were on the Sodor Railway apprenticeship scheme would be able to have a good long rest for the weekend and be able to recharge their batteries, all in readiness to go back to work first thing on Monday morning. For Carrie and her friends, they were going to take advantage of it and go out to the countryside for a picnic today and to socialise with each other. It was a perfect day for a country picnic, as the sky was clear, there was no wind blowing about, and the sun shone brightly in the clear late spring sky, and it promised to be like that for the rest of the day and the weekend.
Carrie was suitable dressed up for a nice late spring day like today; she was wearing a cream-white summer dress, that went down to just below her knees, with a new pair of brown leather sandals on her feet. It felt a little bit strange to be wearing clothes like these, especially as Carrie had never worn anything like sandals before in her life. Yet at the same time, it felt perfect for a nice sunny day like today was, as the fact the sandals would help to keep her feet cool and dry. They also made a nice change from wearing the older sorts of work clothes and heavy overalls, as well as the heavier, more rugged work shoes worn on her feet for when she went working out on the footplates of the steam locomotives she had been working on for the last few months.
However, Carrie's father, Ralph White, was going to be heading out of town and up to the local golf course not too far away with some of the other Sodor drivers and firemen he was friends with, and they were going to play a round of golf while the weather was good for today. Ralph was always pleased to be able to get the chance to recharge his own batteries, but on the odd occasion there were times he did have to work on a weekend; only the previous Saturday, for example, he had to go out to work, as a major shipment of cargo on a number of different large freighters had arrived at Knapford Harbour during the previous evening and early that morning, and which needed to be delivered to their destinations on Sodor. And as it had been quite a large delivery that arrived there, a lot of the other drivers and firemen, including some of those who Ralph was friends with, were also asked to go to work on the previous Saturday to help get it delivered.
But on this Saturday, there were, thankfully, no major deliveries that had just arrived and that needed to be taken care of, and as it promised to be a very nice day, Ralph and his mates were going to take advantage of it and have that golf tournament that they had hoped to have. He had already loaded his golf-bag into the back of his car by now and would be heading off up to the golf course in the next few minutes. Carrie would be picked up by Simon in his car Caroline, and then they would go and meet up with their friends, pick up what things they wanted for their picnic and then head out into the countryside.
"Yes, and that's me all ready to go." Ralph said, as he stood in the hallway in front of the mirror mounted on the wall, and put on his baseball cap.
"I'll just get my things, and then I'll be ready to go too." Carrie said, as she quickly went upstairs.
"Well, don't take too long, Carrie. After all, Simon will be arriving here soon." Ralph said, as he heard Carrie go down the corridor to her bedroom.
"Okay!" Carrie called.
Ralph turned back to the mirror and looked at his reflection of him in his golf clothes. "Oh, I'm looking forward to getting back to that golf course and getting started on today's tournament." he said quietly to himself, as he rubbed his hands together in anticipation. He was fairly good at golf, though he wasn't at anything like the level of a professional golf champion or anything like that; Ralph played golf because he liked to play the game, and it allowed him to get out and socialise with friends he had known for years.
It didn't take too long before Carrie was coming back down the stairs again, and she had with her a white bag made of leather, and containing all the things she would need for the day, including a pair of sunglasses, a bottle of sun-screen lotion, her mobile phone and its charger, her purse with her money, and a few other things as well.
"And here we are." Carrie said, as she stepped off the stairs.
"All ready for your day out?" Ralph asked, as he stepped out from the kitchen.
"Yes, I am." Carrie said, with a smile as she headed to the front door. As she stepped outside, she heard the sounds of a familiar car horn, and a second later, Caroline, with Simon behind the wheel, pulled into the gate and drove up to the front door, stopping only a few feet from where Carrie was standing.
"And right on time." Carrie said to herself, as she stepped forward, and Simon opened the door and stepped out.
"Morning there, Carrie." he said with a smile, as they shared a big hug.
"And good morning to you, Simon. Ready for our day out?" Carrie asked, with a smile.
"I am, and the other girls are ready too. I got texts from them all a little while ago saying they're ready and waiting for us in front of the shop. Once we're there, we'll go inside, get what things we need, and then we'll head out into the countryside." Simon said.
"Good…anyway, we'll see you later, dad!" Carrie said, as she turned to her father.
"Okay, Carrie, best of luck today!" Ralph said, as he firmly locked up the front door.
"And good luck up at the golf club, Ralph!" Simon added.
"Thanks, Simon! I think I may need it too!" Ralph said with a chuckle, as he made his way to his car.
After Carrie climbed into the front seat on Caroline, Simon got in as well, and, after Simon started the engine, they set off into the centre of Knapford.
Carrie was feeling really relaxed already, and the day hadn't even started yet. She was looking forward to this picnic out in the countryside, and she also had hopes they could have the picnic in a place where they could overlook any part of the Sodor Railway system, as well as the open country all round.
"Are you looking forward to the day out, Carrie?" Simon asked, as they rolled down the road.
"I am, and I've been looking forward to this day out for a long while. It's really nice to work on the railway, but at the same time though…it is really nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of the railway for a short while every now and then." Carrie said.
"Yeah, I know what you mean. It'll be nice for us all to relax and get our batteries recharged for this weekend, before we all go back to work on Monday morning." Simon said.
"And so…where are we going for today's picnic?" Carrie asked.
"It's a place not too far away, where I've gone on picnics before, with my old friends and members of my family. It's very gently rolling countryside on a hill, which has good views of the surrounding area. And it also overlooks the southern main line, so we'll be able to see the many different trains as they go on by today." Simon said.
"Good, that sounds like a nice place to enjoy." Carrie said, as she smiled, looking forward to seeing what the place they would be going to was like.
They soon pulled into the car park by the shop a few minutes later, and Carrie could see their friends, Saoirse, Olivia, Alice, and Sophie, waiting for them outside the entrance doors. Simon parked Caroline at a spot very near to where they stood and, after Simon switched off the engine, they stepped out.
"Morning all!" Simon said, as he closed the driver's side door.
"Morning, Simon! Morning, Carrie!" the girls said, as both Simon and Carrie approached them.
"So, shall we get inside the shop and get what we need for our day out?" Olivia asked.
"Absolutely, and before it gets too busy." Carrie added.
"Well, come on…let's go and get it done then." Sophie said, and they went inside the shop.
The six friends spent the next 20 minutes or so in the shop going around and trying to decide on what they wanted to buy, trying to choose between different selections of drinks, sandwiches or hot foods, fruit, and candy, and what else they felt they needed to make their day out that little bit better. It wasn't too long before they had decided on what they wanted, had paid for their purchases, and made their way back out to the car park again.
"Well, that's us set up for today. Now, let's get up to the picnic area." Alice said.
"Yeah, and I hope that the weather will stay like this for the day." Saoirse said, as she glanced up at the sky.
"Me too." Carrie said, with a smile. As they made their way to their cars, Carrie was wondering what the picnic spot they were going to would be like, and if it was like she imagined it to be.
Once they had everything loaded up, with Carrie and Simon loading what they had into Caroline, and the other four girls loading the stuff they had into the back of a silver-coloured car, they meet up again.
"So, do you girls know where you're heading to?" Simon asked.
"Of course, we do, Simon. After all, we've all been there at some point before." Olivia said.
"Well, you ladies just take care when going up there. That's all." Simon said.
"All right, Simon. We'll see you and Carrie up there." Sophie said, and she and the other three girls turned to the car; Sophie and Olivia climbed into the back, while Saoirse and Alice got in front. It was Alice's car, and she was the only one of the other four girls who was qualified to drive, as she had gotten her licence the previous year, while the other three girls didn't have theirs as of yet.
Meanwhile, Simon and Carrie climbed back into Caroline, and, after they fastened their seatbelts, Simon started the engine.
"There they go." Carrie said, as she watched Alice slowly drive her car from the car park, and out onto the main road.
"Yeah, and don't worry, Carrie. We'll see them at the picnic site in a short while. But we won't rush our way there, as Caroline doesn't like to be driven fast. Doing that would cause here engine to overheat." Simon said.
"All right, Simon. Let's get going ourselves." Carrie said, with a smile.
"Good idea…let's go then." Simon said, and they set off on their way.
(A short while later; out in the countryside)
(Insert soundtrack – Bertie Season 1 / 2 Theme)
Caroline went along through the countryside, down the leafy lanes and past open fields in which cattle and sheep grazed peacefully in the spring morning. All the trees, as far as the eye could see, were covered with bright green leaves, and bright wild flowers in all sorts of colours could be seen everywhere. There weren't too many other cars about on the road this morning, and so Simon was able to drive along without a problem.
For Carrie, seeing all of this bright greenery made her feel happy, as it certainly contrasted with how the Sodor countryside had been the first time that she came to Sodor nearly five months before, when it was in the middle of winter and the trees were bare of leaves, and it was very cold, and the sky had been heavily overcast and steel grey. Everything looked so much nicer now, especially seeing people out working in some of the fields and animals grazing quietly. It certainly gave an indication to her that the rapidly approaching summer season would be very nice too.
Simon, who was behind the wheel, concentrated on the road ahead and carefully drove Caroline at a nice steady pace along, and making sure all the while that he didn't go too fast, as he knew that it would risk the engine getting too hot and potentially failing.
"We're not too far from the spot now, Carrie. Just up this gentle sloping road a little way, and then we'll be there." Simon said
"All right, Simon. I'm amazed how short a time it took us to get there." Carrie said. They had only been driving for a few minutes, and had only travelled a few miles from Knapford, but now they were getting there.
"Hey, I told you it wasn't too far away." Simon said. They went up the hill, with Simon being very careful not to push the engine too hard as they went along. They soon reached the top, and then went along a more level stretch for another mile or so until they reached a gateway along the right-hand side of the road, and it was there that Simon turned off the road.
Entering the parking area, which was covered with tarmac that looked like it had been laid down quite recently, they saw Alice's car already there in one of the parking spaces, and the girls out and unloading the stuff for the picnic.
"They're here already?" Carrie said quietly.
"Hey, I said they would be." Simon said, as he slowly rolled Caroline into one of the other parking spaces. Switching off the engine, Simon and Carrie stepped out.
"Glad to see you all got here safely." Simon said, as he put on his sunglasses.
"We said we would, Simon. And now that we're all here, let's get everything unloaded and head to the spot that overlooks the main line." Olivia said.
"Okay then." Carrie said, and both she and Simon set to work unloading their things from Caroline. Once done, Simon locked the doors and then went round to the front.
"Okay Caroline, we're gonna be off for our picnic. We'll see you later." Simon said, as he patted the side of his car.
"Okay, Simon. You and your friends enjoy the day, and don't worry about me. I'll still be here." Caroline said with a smile, as she dozed off.
Gathering all their things, the six friends made their way along a path through some thin woods for a short way before they reached their picnic spot. It was only a very short walk to get there – no more than ten minutes or so – before they finally arrived at the spot; it was situated on a very gently sloping field on top of a place where they had a very good view of the surrounding countryside. Carrie could see very gently rolling countryside from where she stood, and in the distance along the horizon much further away, were much higher hills that appeared as dark masses against the crisp blue sky.
Below them at the bottom of the slope was a triple tracked main line, which could be seen stretching away from them in the distance. All three sets of tracks were empty at the moment, but there was no doubt they would see quite a few trains passing them by before they left later in the day.
"Is this the place where we're meant to be?" Carrie asked, as she looked round.
"Yeah, this is the spot. Let's go here." Sophie said, as they stopped and put down their things.
"Wow…a nice view from here." Carrie said, as she looked out over the scene before them, and how the gently rolling country seemed to stretch out for miles in front of them. She could also see distinct patches of forests at various points on some of the hills, as well as buildings, among them the familiar shape of windmills.
"This is one of the many popular places on the island where people come to have their picnics, Carrie." Simon said.
"Yeah, and I can see why. It's a real nice view from here." Carrie said, as she looked round. After a few more moments of admiring the view, she then went and helped the others get set up. Among the things the other four girls had brought along with them were three small, portable gas stoves, which would be very handy if they wanted a hot drink during the day. They had also brought along some metal containers to heat up water in, as well as a large container of water, teabags, milk, and mugs. Plastic plates were also brought along, so they had something they could put their sandwiches on.
After spreading out three large picnic blankets side by side under the shade of a large oak tree, the six friends settled down to relax and unwind. Alice and Sophie lit up two of the portable gas stoves and started to boil up some water in two of the metal containers. It wasn't too long before the water had boiled, and they set about making tea, with all six of them taking the opportunity to have a hot drink with their sandwiches.
Once the tea had been made in six different mugs, they settled down, broke out their sandwiches from the bags and started munching on them. For a few short moments, they were all quiet as they ate.
"Hmm…that's good." Olivia said, as she swallowed a bite of her sandwich.
"Indeed, and just the thing on a really nice day like today." Sophie said, as she took a sip of mug of tea.
"It would be a terrible shame if the weather were to change, as everything would be spoiled." Alice said, just before she took another bite of her sandwich.
"Well, there's no chance of that, is there?" Simon said, as he took a bite from his own sandwich; it was a breakfast roll, consisting of a baguette with brown sauce spread on it, and with two sausages, two slices of bacon, two hashbrowns and two puddings, one of which was black, and the other white, inside it. Simon liked having a breakfast roll every now and then, and this was one occasion which called for one.
Carrie was also enjoying a breakfast roll, having decided to order one after Simon told her how much he liked them. And as she munched on it, she could see why; it really was delicious!
A few minutes later, as they finally finished up with munching on their sandwiches and tea and thought about what they should do next, they heard the sounds of a steam whistle somewhere in the distance. Looking down towards the railway line below them, they saw the sight of white-grey smoke rising above the landscape in the distance and getting closer and closer. Simon reached for his bag, opened it, and rummaged about in it; he pulled out his set of binoculars and scanned the line to see which engine it was.
"Which engine is it, Simon?" Alice asked.
"Hang on, I can't see it yet…wait…" Simon said, as he looked through the binoculars.
"Well…" Carrie asked, as she too looked towards the smoke in the distance.
"Ah, I see it now, ladies…it's one of the Lord Nelson engines." Simon said, as he handed his binoculars to Alice so she could have a look. As Alice looked through them, Simon and the other girls watched as the Lord Nelson locomotive got closer and closer. They could see the locomotive, painted in Southern Railways Malachite green livery, turned out to be No.863 Lord Rodney, who always liked to be known simply as Rodney, and he was pulling a train of ten smartly turned-out coaches, each of which was painted in S.R. express green livery.
As Rodney got closer with his train, he blew his whistle loud and long, due to the fact there was a trackside sign with WHISTLE painted onto it, so as to warn anyone standing close to the track to stand aside. But to the six teenagers sitting on the grassy hillside, it seemed like he was whistling to them, and they waved, even though they knew that Rodney or his driver and fireman wouldn't see them.
They watched as Rodney and his train went by them in the distance, and they heard the sounds of chuffing and the whistle blasts echoed around them, which were slightly quieter due to the distance between the six teens and the train. Even so, it was still a very impressive sight to see nonetheless.
It wasn't too long before the last coach of the train vanished from sight, with the white-grey smoke clouds from the funnel the last thing to be seen, as the train disappeared into the distance.
"Wow…now that's a grand sight to see." Sophie said, as the last of the sounds faded away.
"Yeah, that's quite an impressive thing to see." Alice said, as she handed Simon his binoculars back.
"And something tells me that it won't be the last train we see today." Simon said, as he brought his binoculars to his eyes and took the chance to have a look at the grey shapes of the hills that they could clearly see in the distance.
With them having finished their sandwiches, the six took the chance to clear up any of the rubbish left over; the used teabags were put into a plastic bucket, while the sandwich wrappers, with clingfilm or aluminium foil, were put into a small bag so as to keep them all together. Alice and Sophie also took the chance to put the two portable gas heaters away for now, but they knew that they might be needed again later.
Once everything had been cleaned up, they went about what they wanted to do next; Simon took out two badminton rackets and a shuttlecock and asked if any of the girls wanted a game with him; Sophie took up the chance, and soon she and Simon were playing a game a few meters away from the picnic blankets.
In the meantime, both Alice and Olivia took the opportunity to lay back on the blankets under the shade of the trees and read, Alice a book and Olivia a magazine, as Carrie and Saoirse took the chance to talk with each other.
"You know, Carrie…" Saoirse said, as she looked over the gentle rolling landscape before her, "…this sort of countryside reminds me of Ireland, as this country is very much like what I grew up with back in Ireland."
"Oh, I meant to ask, Saoirse, where in Ireland are you from originally?" Carrie asked.
"I'm from County Limerick, and much of the countryside within County Limerick is very identical in all respects to this part of Sodor, with flat or gently rolling country. Very rural in fact, and interspaced with patches of forests and isolated farms. And like here, there's high hills and mountains to be seen all around Limerick, which can be seen from the few areas of high ground within County Limerick…just like here." Saoirse said.
"And do you still go back every now and then?" Carrie asked.
"Absolutely!" Saoirse said, with a smile. "After all, it's only a matter of a reasonably short flight of about 45 minutes or so from Sodor Airport down to Shannon. And then from there, a short road trip into the city of Limerick."
"I'd like to go over to Ireland someday. It sounds like a really nice place to go to." Carrie said.
"It is indeed, Carrie. It's a country full of culture, and some very good food, with some towns having more restaurants and eateries within them than others." Saoirse said.
"Does Ireland have any railways?" Carrie asked.
"It does, but not as much as it did a few decades ago. Many lines over there were closed down in the 1950's and 60's as roads took over. A very regrettable thing that happened to be honest, especially as those lines could've easily eased the traffic problems some towns in Ireland are having right now." Saoirse said.
"Not something I've seen around here yet…the road traffic that is." Carrie said.
"Well…just wait until the summer, Carrie. That's when lots of tourists come to Sodor, and some of them bring their cars with them, which increases the traffic on the roads. It is a problem, but then again, it's something that Sodor's seen before and knows how to deal with." Saoirse said.
"Let's wait until summer comes, and then we'll see if the railways could deal with it better by trying to keep more cars off the roads, and more passengers on the trains." Carrie said.
It wasn't too long before Simon and Sophie finished their game of badminton and returned to the picnic blankets, where Saoirse and Carrie were still chatting with each other, and Alice and Olivia were reading.
"Good game, you two?" Olivia asked, as she looked up from her magazine.
"Yes, a good game indeed. I managed to win one round, and Simon won another round." Sophie said, as she sat down on the middle picnic blanket beside Olivia.
"Well…you seem to be very good at playing badminton, Sophie. I was never really too good at any sports I took part in back at my school in Chamberlain. My aim was never very good, and I didn't do so well at anything like that." Carrie said, as some bad memories from her past came up.
"Was it because you were badly bullied by those girls in your year group?" Alice asked with some concern, as she looked up from her book.
"Yeah, it was to an extent…but then again, maybe it's just because it was part of who I am as a person. Some people aren't as good at taking part in sports as other people are." Carrie said, as she looked down to the ground in some sadness.
"Hey…don't worry about that too much, Carrie." Simon said, as he gently put his arm around her in reassurance.
"Yeah, you're over here on Sodor with us now, and we all respect each other over here regardless of who they are. No one tolerates any form of bullying or harassment over here, either in the schools or when someone is in a work place." Alice said. Carrie then looked up, somewhat reassured. Since she'd been on Sodor, she hadn't experienced any form of bullying or harassment or teasing from anyone.
"Thanks, guys." Carrie said, as a small smile came to her face.
(A little later on)
The six were chatting away about a variety of topics, when they were suddenly interrupted by the sounds of another steam whistle from the railway lines close by. Looking up, they saw a column of white-grey smoke in the distance, and it wasn't too long before the locomotive and its train came into view. Through his binoculars, Simon could see that the locomotive was a W.D. Austerity 2-10-0 – it was in fact No.90772 – which was hauling a long line of wagons, including box vans, two parcels' vans, a few Cov-Hop wagons, and a series of different tankers following along towards the rear, with the brake van completing the entire train.
"And there it goes…" Carrie said, as they all watched the train disappear into the distance after a short while, with the chuffing noises, as well as the sound of another whistle blast, gradually fading away as the train got further away from them with the smoke and steam dissipating into the air. They could actually see a small plume of white steam emerging from where the whistle was fitted to No.90772, and then they would actually hear the sounds of the whistle blast a few seconds later.
"Yeah, that freight will be on its way to Vicarstown, and from there…who knows." Alice said.
"And some of us may very well be working on very similar trains like that when we all go back to work first thing on Monday morning." Saoirse said, as she lay back on one of the picnic blankets and stretched her arms and legs out.
"Come on, Saoirse. Let's not think about that right now. Let's just relax and enjoy this fine day while we're out here. After all...that's what we're all out here for." Olivia said, as she too lay back on one of the other picnic blankets.
Feeling herself smile, Carrie decided it wouldn't be a bad idea to lay back and enjoy this fine day. Reaching down, she took off her sandals, and put them aside. After taking a minute or two to rub some sunscreen onto her feet and lower legs, she lay back on the blanket and stretched her feet out.
Looking up to the blue sky above through the leafy branches of the oak tree the blankets were spread out under, Carrie took a few minutes to feel both the cool spring breeze as it blew over her and the warmth of the sun on her face, bare feet, and on her arms; it was as if she hadn't felt a spring breeze or the warmth of the sun in years. Then, after stretching her arms out, she placed her hands behind her head and dozed off.
Carrie wasn't sure how long she dozed for, but she felt someone gently shaking her shoulder and calling out "Carrie? Carrie, wake up." Opening her eyes, Carrie looked up and saw Alice knelling to her left side.
"Something wrong, Alice?" Carrie asked, as she yawned and sat up.
"No, nothing's wrong, we just thought you might want some chocolate." Alice said, as she produced a large bar of chocolate from her bag.
"Oh, thanks very much." Carrie said, as Alice opened the bar, and then broke off a good-sized chunk from it and then handed the piece to Carrie.
"Thanks." Carrie said, as she took a bit from the chocolate. As she savoured the sweet taste, she looked around; Simon was dozing on the blanket to her left, as Saoirse and Olivia were playing a game of badminton a few metres away from them. Sophie was busy reading a book she had brought along with her, and she seemed to be quite engaged with the part of the story she was reading in it.
"So, Carrie…" Alice said, as she placed the chocolate bar back into her bag before she sat down on the blanket beside Carrie, "…I've been meaning to ask…do you miss any of the people in your home town…or do you not by now?"
Carrie felt herself smile somewhat, despite the bad memories of the people from her past life in Chamberlain. She could tell that Alice was being somewhat cautious with the question, especially as she and the others all knew full well about what Carrie's life in her old town had been like.
"Well…to be perfectly honest, Alice…I really don't miss too many of those I went to school with back in Chamberlain, especially the girls who bullied me for no good reason. Though the exception to that would be my gym teacher, Miss Desjardin. She was one of the very few people who treated me with any form of kindness. I felt really bad leaving town and not telling her that I was doing it…but I think it's for the best that I didn't tell her or anyone else that I was running away. I think if I had…I probably wouldn't be here on Sodor now." Carrie said.
"I understand, Carrie. And I didn't mean anything, I just wanted to know about…" Alice said.
"Hey, it's okay, Alice. I understand you were just curious. It's all right." Carrie said, with a reassuring smile.
"Thanks, Carrie." Alice said, as she smiled back.
A few minutes later, as Alice and Carrie were chatting quietly, Simon dozed, Sophie read, and Saoirse and Olivia played badminton, there came the sounds of a horn from the railway line, which was clearly the sound from a diesel locomotive. One by one, each of six looked up or turned their heads to see which of Sodor's diesels was coming along the line, and which train it was pulling.
"I think I can see it down." Olivia called, as she pointed down the line in the direction of Vicarstown, as that's the direction where the sound had come from.
Simon sat up and reached for his binoculars; bringing them to his eyes, he scanned the line. Then he saw the familiar green shape.
"It's BoCo, ladies." he said, and the girls could then see that it was in fact BoCo, and he was rolling along the line heading towards Knapford Station. He had a long, and very mixed, freight train behind him, which was made up of many different types of trucks, ranging from a variety of different box vans, flatbeds - some of which had their cargoes covered with canvases, open topped wagons, tankers, and hopper wagons.
"Must be a major shipment that arrived in Brendam Docks earlier on." Sophie said, as they watched the train go by along the line. At one point, BoCo blew his horn again as he rolled smoothly along the line, and a few seconds later it was followed by the sounds of a louder, but deep-toned steam whistle coming from the direction of Knapford.
"Sounds like another train's coming our way." Saoirse said, as she turned to see which engine was gonna be coming by.
Simon turned to the right, and brought his binoculars up to his eyes; in the distance, he could see a column of grey-white smoke rising up from the line as one of the steam locomotives went along the track in the opposite direction. A few short moments later, the locomotive came into view; it was B.R. Standard Class 6 Clan Pacific No.72021 Clan Hamilton, who was hauling a long train of 14 heavily laden coaches behind him. And he was going along at a good speed too, due to the fact that the smoke coming from his short chimney was going nearly horizontal over him and the first few coaches of his train.
Clan Hamilton gave a short blast from his whistle as he went by BoCo, with the green diesel sounding his horn in reply as he went on past. Though the six teenagers watching from the hill weren't able to hear the sounds of two passing trains in full, the sound did resonate over the gentle rolling hill at a quieter level, so they could hear the sounds to an extent.
With the sight of two trains going past each other, along with the white-grey clouds of smoke and steam from Clan Hamilton's funnel swirling around the different vehicles in the two trains, it wasn't too long before the two trains disappeared into the distance, with BoCo and his train heading on towards Knapford and Clan Hamilton heading at a good speed down the line towards Wellsworth.
"What a sight to see…just incredible." Alice said, as the sounds slowly faded away.
"Yeah, but it's a different thing to be on one the footplate of one of the engines and to actually hear it when you're actually there." Carrie said, knowing how well from her own experience the sounds of two trains passing side by side.
"Oh, I know what you mean, Carrie." Simon said, as he put his binoculars down.
(Later on, about 2:25pm)
"Do you think we should gather up our stuff and start heading back?" Sophie suggested. By now, the group had been out at the spot for several hours, and now some of them were feeling a little tired at being here and wanting to get back to Knapford.
"I think that may be a good idea. After all, I think we've been here for long enough, and it would be nice to go round town while its still a nice day." Simon said in agreement.
"Well, come on…" Alice said, as she stood up, "…let's get everything packed up, and then we'll get back to the cars." And they all set to work getting everything ready to go.
It didn't take too long before the six teens had everything packed up, and they soon set off on their way up the trail back to the car park.
"I really enjoyed our time up here. It was really nice to be here in such nice weather." Carrie said to Simon, as they walked along the trail, carrying their stuff with them.
"I'm very glad to see you had a good time today, Carrie. Hopefully, we can all go on trips like this again in the future." Simon said.
"I'm very glad that our day out here went so well, and that the weather for it held out." Alice said, as she looked up to the sky, which was still a clear blue and sunny. There still weren't any clouds to be seen at all.
The six soon arrived back at the car park, and loaded all their things into their vehicles.
"So, where shall we meet up once we get back to Knapford?" Sophie asked.
"Well, I don't know about you ladies, but I'm in the mood for some ice cream once we get back." Simon said.
"Well, how about we all meet at the ice cream parlour on main street? After all, it's perfect ice cream weather." Olivia said, as she looked up to the clear sky again.
"Yeah, that sounds like an idea to me. I think some ice cream would be good about now." Carrie said.
"Well, come on. Let's get back to town and head to the ice cream parlour." Saoirse said and, without another moment's hesitation, they climbed into their vehicle – Carrie and Simon into Caroline and the other four girls into Alice's car – and they started the engines.
"Wake up, Caroline. Time to be on our way." Simon said, as he closed the driver's side door, and then started the engine on Caroline. Coughing a little from having been disturbed from her warm snooze, Caroline's engine coughed into life.
Once Alice's car, with Alice behind the wheel, had turned out from its parking space and made its way out from the car park and out onto the main road, Simon carefully turned Caroline out from the parking space and followed suite. In moments, they were on the road and heading back towards Knapford.
(Insert soundtrack – Bertie's coach tour theme – Season 2)
As they rolled down the road, Carrie rolled down the window on the passenger side, as the interior of Caroline was a little warm from her having sat out exposed to the warm sun for the last few hours. The cool breezes from the forward movement cooled her down, and made her feel much better. Turning her head, she could see that Simon looked like he felt much better too, especially with cooling air coming in.
"You looking forward to an ice cream, Carrie?" Simon asked, as they rolled along.
"Sure am, I think one…or even two…would really hit the spot right now." Carrie said, as she smiled at the thought of her favourite dessert.
"Oh, I agree with that. It is a warm day after all." Simon said, as he gently turned round a corner.
"Have you ever been to this ice cream parlour, Simon?" Carrie asked.
"Oh, I have…and many times. They do serve very good ice cream there. In fact, some of the best I've had, and in many different flavours with a good variety of toppings too." Simon said.
"Wow, that sounds nice. There's no ice cream saloon or parlour back in my own home town." Carrie said.
"And why do you think that is?" Simon asked.
"I've no idea, but it's something I feel that Chamberlain could use at some point." Carrie said.
"Maybe so." Simon said.
As they drove along a straight stretch of road, Carrie saw another vehicle on the road ahead of them and heading in the opposite direction. As they got closer, she could see it was none other than Bertie the Bus, who was heading away from the Knapford Bus Depot on a specially arranged coach tour for a group of people.
As Bertie approached them, he slowed down a little and tooted his horn in greeting.
"Hello Caroline!" Bertie said, as he went on by.
"Hello, Bertie!" Caroline said, as Simon gently slowed down and pulled in a little so as to allow some more room for the red bus to go by. Turning her head to look, Carrie could see the seats in Bertie were filled with people who were probably tourists, judging from the way some of them were dressed. She could see that some of Bertie's passengers were looking out the windows at the scenery they were passing by. Carrie could even see some young kids among them, who all seemed to be excited they were travelling on a bus.
Bertie soon went by them and proceeded up the road to his next destination, as Caroline headed down in the opposite direction.
(A short while later; back in Knapford)
Caroline soon arrived back into the suburban part of the town of Knapford, and went along through the streets of town towards where the ice cream parlour was located at. Once they had arrived there, Simon gently turned off into the customer car park just behind the building and parked into one of the parking spaces, which happened to be under the shade of a tall tree. As the car park was only about half full at this time of the day, there was plenty of spaces available for them to choose from. Alice's car could be seen parked at a space much closer to the parlour's entrance doors.
After Simon switched off the engine, he and Carrie stepped out from Caroline, and then Simon locked the doors behind him.
"We'll be back in a short while, Caroline. You just rest here until we get back." said Simon, as he and Carrie went off to the ice cream saloon.
"Okay there, Simon." Caroline said, and she dozed off under the welcome shade of the tree.
(Inside the ice cream parlour)
Entering through the double entrance doors with Simon, Carrie looked round at what she saw inside; this ice cream parlour was laid out no differently to those pictures of ice cream parlours she had seen in pictures in books she'd read in her life. There was a long counter against one wall, with soft-serve ice cream machines behind it with and two ice cream freezers sitting in front, along with various booths and tables spread around the space. From somewhere close by, there was the sound of air conditioning as the A.C. unit was doing its job of keeping the interior of the space cool on this warm day.
Fitted on the walls, which were painted in bright and garish colours that really brightened up the place, there were various different pictures and other small items of various memorabilia on display, along with a map of Sodor in a large picture frame. There were the menus of what was on offer, and what things were available to serve. Lined up at the counter, they could see Alice, Olivia, Saoirse, and Sophie ordering what they wanted to have.
"Well, come on, Carrie. Let's go and choose what we want to have." Simon said.
"Okay." Carrie said, with a smile, and they went over to the counter.
It wasn't too long before Simon and Carrie had ordered what ice cream they wanted to have and then went over to a booth that was close by with the four other girls.
"Oh, I'm looking forward to this." Alice said, as she sat down and tucked into her ice cream, which was two scoops of chocolate in a small tub and topped with some sprinkles.
"Me too, especially on a day like today." Saoirse said, as she started on her ice cream.
Carrie too tucked into her ice cream, and really enjoy the sweet and creamy taste of it as it spread across her tongue.
Ever since she had become friends with Simon and the other four girls, she had been able to really improve her social skills, which was something she had never been able to use when she was back at home in Chamberlain, Maine. Anyway, the actions of her bullies, including Chris Hargensen, as well as the actions of her abusive, mentally unstable mother had never given her the chance to use her social skills with other people her own age in Chamberlain.
But now, that she was over here on the Island of Sodor, she was able to get herself out from the rut that she had gotten stuck in back home, and was able to use her improving social skills to get to know the people, as well as the engines, that she was friends with now.
Carrie felt herself smile, not just because the ice cream she was enjoying was so good, but because she now knew she was in a positive position in her life; she had good friends in the form of the people she worked with, as well as of the engines of Sodor she worked on, she had a good, solid and well-paying job that she found she really enjoyed doing, and her mental state had massively improved as well, as she was so much more confident now that she had been the year before.
The six friends stayed together sitting at their booth in the ice cream parlour for much of the rest of the afternoon, where they chatted together and enjoyed the friendly social atmosphere in the place. After they finished their ice cream, they went and enjoyed a second one, as well as cans of soda, which had been chilled just right in a cooler behind the bar.
But eventually though, when the time on the clock was shown to be 4:30pm, they decided to leave the parlour and head outside. After bidding thanks to the staff working behind the bar, the six headed out into the car park.
"That was good ice cream." Carrie said, as the group of friends stepped outside.
"Yeah, I know. That parlour serves some of the best ice cream I've ever had." Alice said.
"So…what shall we do now?" Olivia asked.
"Well, it's getting late into the afternoon now, and I imagine that the golf tournament up at the golf course should be wrapping up soon." Saoirse said, as she looked at her wrist watch.
"I wonder how they all got on up there today." Simon wondered.
"Well, regardless of how well it went for them up there, I'm guessing that we'll all find out soon enough." Sophie said.
"Yeah… but anyway come on everyone…let's get out of this car park as soon as we can." Olivia said.
"Good idea, let's go." Simon said, as they went off, with Simon and Carrie heading to Caroline, and the other four girls going off to Alice's car.
(A little later on)
The group of friends were walking along together in the park very near to the centre of Knapford town. They had parked their cars fairly close by, with Simon parking Caroline where he lived, as he lived quite nearby to the park, and Alice too parking her own car at her own home, which again was quite close.
The late afternoon was now upon them, and the sky above was still clear and blue, the sun still shone, and a very light breeze, which was just enough to move the long grasses on the ground and the leaves in the trees, now blew gently over them.
"I'm really pleased the day went so well, and that the weather stayed agreeable for it." Carrie said, as they strolled along.
"Yeah, I think all of us are pleased with that. And perfect timing as well; I've seen on last night's weather forecast that the weather for much of next week might be quite rainy at times." Olivia said.
"Well, if we're gonna be out and working on the railway next week, let's hope we're on locomotives which have good cabs to keep us sheltered from it." Simon said.
"Yeah, let's hope so." Saoirse said.
Just then, their conversation was interrupted by the sound of a mobile phone buzzing and a tone sounding; from the sound of it, Simon knew it was his phone going off. Fishing it out from his jacket pocket, he looked at the text on the screen.
"Anything wrong?" Sophie asked.
"No, nothing's wrong, Sophie. It's just that my father wants to know where I am. He says he's finished at the golf course and is already back in town." Simon said, as he replied to the text.
"Where is he at the moment?" Alice asked.
"With my mother and Carrie's father over at Ralph's place." Simon said.
"Shall we head on over there, Simon?" Carrie asked.
"Probably not a bad idea that. My feet are starting to hurt me a little anyway." Carrie said.
"Okay, Carrie, let's go. We'll see you guys around." Simon said, as he and Carrie held hands and started out from the park.
"Okay, bye you two!" Alice, Olivia, Saoirse, and Sophie said together, as they watched both Simon and Carrie set off out from the park.
(A few minutes later)
Carrie and Simon made their way done the street, still holding hands, towards Carrie's place not too far away. Carrie was feeling great after their day together, and hoped they could all go out again sometime in the near future.
They soon stepped in front of Ralph's house, and went up the driveway to the house. As they walked along, Carrie could see some figures moving about inside the main living room, and knew her dad was one of them. Stepping up to the door, Simon was just about to reach forward for the door knocker, when the door suddenly opened up and Simon's mother, who's name was Beatrice, or Betty, appeared in the door.
"Ah, Simon and Carrie, there you two are, Come in! Come in!" she said, as the two teenagers stepped inside.
"Hey, mother." Simon said, as he and Carrie came into the hallway.
"Hi, Mrs Roberts. It's nice to see you again." Carrie said, as she greeted Simon's mother,
"And it's nice to see you too, Carrie. Your father's inside the living room right now." Betty said, as she indicated to the living room. Giving Betty a smile and nod, Carrie went into the living room.
She saw her father sitting on one of the armchairs and Simon's father sitting on the couch, and the two men were chatting about how the golf tournament had gone. Both men had a bottle of chilled beer in their hands, and were sipping away at them as they spoke.
"Hey Carrie, did you have a good day out with Simon and the others?" Ralph asked, when he saw Carrie come into the room.
"Yes, dad, I did. It was a very good day out to the countryside." Carrie said.
"I'm very pleased to hear it, Carrie. And I'm also pleased to report that the golf tournament up at the golf club went well for all of us as well." said Simon's father.
"Sir Topham Hatt himself was also taking part in the tournament with us, and, I must say, that he played quite a good game as well." Ralph said.
"Well, that's a good thing to hear." Carrie said.
"Did you win?" Simon asked, as he stepped inside the living room.
"No, I'm afraid neither I or your father won the tournament, Simon. But despite that, we had a really good day out with all our friends nonetheless." Ralph said.
"Well, that's good to hear." Carrie said, as she smiled a little.
"In the last few minutes, we've been talking about going out to eat this evening. How does that sound?" Betty asked.
"You know, that sounds good to me. What about you, Carrie?" Simon asked.
"I think that sounds like a good idea…especially with the weather still being nice out." Carrie said, as she smiled a bit more.
"How about we go eat over at The Golden Ale Barrel? The place has a good sized outdoor eating area at the back with plenty of tables available." Simon's father suggested.
"Yeah, that sounds like the place I'd like to eat at. And when shall we head off?" Simon asked.
"I'll call them up and see if I can get us a reservation for 6:30pm." Ralph said.
"All right, that seems like a good time." Carrie said. She felt herself smile even more; a good day out with friends capped off by a good dinner…it really had been a good day for her to remember.
And there we are, everyone! Another chapter completed! And the end of this particular chapter takes my story to just a little over 250,000 words! The first time a Carrie Crossover fanfic has ever reached this particularly impressive figure! Let me also be clear on one point; this won't be the only chapter in the story titled "A Day Out With Friends". I will be including at least two or three more such chapters that will be named as such in the story as it goes on.