Chapter 52: Being Spied On / Airport Train
(Wednesday, September 26th 2012 – 8:00am, Tidmouth Sheds)
The morning sky was covered with thick grey clouds that stretched out as far as the eye could see, and there was a certain chill about in the light morning air as the recruits on the apprenticeship scheme arrived in the depot at Tidmouth Sheds for another day of work. As they stepped out from the crew building dressed in their work clothes, including dark blue overalls, solid work boots, bright orange Hi-Viz safety vests, and railway caps, more than a few of them took an anxious second glance up at the sky above them and hoped that it wouldn't rain today.
Carrie and Simon were amongst those who were looking up to the sky at times, and they were both hoping that any rain would hold off as it meant that working out on the main line would make things much more difficult and uncomfortable to carry out. As Carrie and Simon made their way out with the others, they had cups of hot tea in one hand as well as a pastry in the other, with Carrie enjoying a custard-filled doughnut dusted with sugar on the outside, while Simon was having an apple turnover.
Everyone in the group were soon being assigned to work on the engines for the day, with Saoirse being sent to work with Henry, Olivia going to work on Duck, Sophie going to work with Emily, and Alice being sent to work with Toby. It wasn't too long before Carrie's turn to be assigned to an engine came, and she was wondering which engine she would be assigned to for today. The yard manager turned to her, and looked at the clipboard in his hands.
"Okay, Carrie. You've been assigned to working on banking duties over at Wellsworth today, and you'll be assigned to the engine you'll be working on once you get over there." said the yard manager.
"Very well, and who's going to take me over to Wellsworth this morning, sir?" Carrie asked, as she finished off the last of her tea.
"Well, James is heading along the Southern Main Line to Brendam Docks in a short while with his morning freight train, and he can drop you off at Wellsworth Station before he makes his way down to the docks." said the yard manager.
"Oh, all right then." Carrie said.
"And Simon, you'll be working with James for today as well." said the yard manager.
"All right, sir." Simon said, as he and Carrie stepped over towards where James was standing and being readied for his train.
"Hello, you two!" James said, when he saw Carrie and Simon approach him.
"Good morning, James!" Carrie and Simon said, as they stepped up to the red engine.
"So, which of you is working with me today?" James asked.
"That'll be me, James. Carrie here is going to be working with an engine who's going to be on banking duties at Wellsworth today." Simon said.
"And you're to drop me off at Wellsworth Station before you take your train on down to the docks." Carrie said.
"All right, Carrie. I can do that." James said.
"Okay, Carrie. Let's climb onto the footplate and let's get ready to go." Simon said, as he stepped over to the footplate and climbed aboard. Following along, Carrie also climbed aboard James' footplate. Nearby, Carrie's father Ralph was getting ready to set off for his own work that day, and he was on the footplate of No.1935, the L.N.E.R. K3 Class 2-6-0, and he was expecting a long hard day of work ahead today.
It wasn't long before James was ready to depart and, after giving a short blast of his whistle, he left the sheds and made his way over to the yards to pick up the freight train he was to take down to Brendam Docks. It had already been arranged earlier on in the morning by Diesel, and was now all ready to go. There were about 25 wagons in the train, and all the couplings and brakes had been checked and double-checked by the shunters to make sure that everything was all right. Slowly, James reversed down the line and buffered up to the first wagon in the train, with the shunter standing off to the side coupling him up to the train with his long shunters pole.
"It shouldn't be too long before we can leave with this train. Don't worry, Carrie. I promise you that we'll get you to Wellsworth Station in plenty of time." said the driver.
"Thanks." Carrie said, as a small smile crossed her face. She was due to start work at Wellsworth Station at 9:00am, and wanted to get there in plenty of time in order to get acquainted with the locomotive she was going to be working on today. As of yet, she still didn't know which engine it was that she would be working with, but she was looking forward to it.
Just then, there came the sounds of a diesel motor coming from somewhere close by. On hearing it, Carrie sighed heavily; she knew just who it was. James knew who it was as well, and he frowned.
(Insert soundtrack – Diesel Theme – Season 2)
Slowly, Diesel came into view from behind another line of trucks, pushing a few trucks before him. As he came into view, Simon, Carrie, and James watched as he pushed the trucks up to the buffer stops and stopped, allowing a shunter to uncouple him. Then, with a short blast of his horn, Diesel reversed slowly away from the line of trucks. Then, he saw James glaring at him, and came to a stop.
"What are you looking at?" Diesel asked, as he glared towards James.
"I'm just making sure that you don't tell anymore lies to the trucks, like you did earlier on this year." James said, as he glared sternly towards Diesel.
"Huh! I was just trying to get back at that Carrie girl for standing up to me earlier this year!" Diesel said, as he glared towards James' cab where he saw Carrie and Simon looking towards him. They didn't look too happy either, with Carrie looking particularly cross at remembering the lies Diesel had told to the trucks, which had resulted in S160 2-8-0 No.96100 being bumped and running away down the east side of Gordon's Hill before coming to a stop close to Maron Station. That had been one of the most terrifying events she had experienced ever since she arrived on the Island of Sodor, and she didn't want to ever have to experience something like that again.
"That's no excuse! What you did was disgusting, and I think you got what you deserved for what you did!" James said, as he glared crossly at Diesel.
For several moments, Diesel glared back at James, and then he reversed away from them in order to continue with his work.
It wasn't too long before James was clear to depart and, after receiving the all clear from the guard in his brake van at the back of the train, James blew his whistle and he set off out from the yards with his train following along behind. On the footplate, Simon took first go with the shovel and set about stoking the boiler. From where she was standing in front of the tender, Carrie sat back and watched as Simon set to work at keeping the fire stoked with fresh coal, as well as how the driver worked the controls on the back of the boiler, including the regulator and the reversing gear as they went along.
They made their way out of the yards and onto the main line, where they were able to pick up some more speed as they headed towards Knapford Station. As they went along the line, Carrie looked out of both sides of the cab at the different sights they went past, as well as the different engines with the trains they were pulling, either going back northwards or moving slowly along on the other lines towards Knapford Station.
Yet, as they moved along, Carrie couldn't help but take a glance up towards the sky every now and then as they went along; the dark clouds in the sky looked quite ominous and hadn't changed much in the time since they left Tidmouth Sheds. It looked like there would be a chance of rain at some point during the day, and Carrie hoped that went they finally arrived at Wellsworth Station she would be assigned to work on an engine that provided good protection in its cab so she wouldn't get wet in the rain.
On the approach to Knapford Station, Carrie looked out from the left-hand side of James' cab as they got closer and closer to the station and looked at the different activity that she could see there as they got closer; she could see passengers milling around on the different platforms there, and could see a number of trains standing at some of the platforms and waiting for the passengers to board. Standing along the line that ran beside Platform 7, Carrie could see L.N.E.R. B17 No.2835 Milton, who was waiting for his passengers to board the train so he could set off northwards.
As James got closer and closer to Knapford, the signal lights not too far before the northern side of the station were set at red, which meant they had to stop, and so the driver shut the regulator and then slowly put on the brakes, bringing the train to a halt. Simon leaned out from the right-hand side of the cab and looked forward to see if the line they were going to be going on was occupied by another train. Indeed, he could see the back end of a coach on the line they were to go through the station on, and passengers could be seen boarding the train.
"Looks like we'll need to wait for a short while before we can go on through." Simon said, as he turned into the cab to look at the driver.
"I know. Let's hope that we won't have to wait for too long though. After all, we've got two deliveries to make." said the driver. At first, Carrie wasn't sure what the driver meant by "two deliveries," but then she suddenly remembered that they had to deliver her to Wellsworth Station, and then their freight train down to Brendam Docks.
As they waited, they heard the sounds of chuffing as well as a whistle coming from Knapford Station on one of the lines that were going north. Carrie could see it wasn't Milton, as he was still standing at Platform 7 with passengers still boarding his train, and so it was clearly another locomotive.
Then, with the sound of the whistle blowing again, the engine came into view on the line beside the line that Milton was standing on. As this engine got closer, Carrie could see that this engine was pulling a line of different vans behind his tender, and that this engine also had a 2-6-0 wheel arrangement. In fact, this engine was No.4689, who was an example of the L.N.E.R. K2 Class / G.N.R. H3 Class (95). His bright apple green paintwork was polished to quite a high shine, which really helped to brighten up a dull day like this one, and he seemed to be in a very good mood as well, judging from the look on his face. In order to give some added protection from the expected rain, his crew had stretched a length of waterproof canvas sheeting from the roof of his cab to the front of his tender.
"Good morning, James!" No.4689 called, as he went on by with his long train of box vans.
"Good morning!" James called back, as he watched No.4689 and his train go on past. Carrie watched as well, being impressed with number of box vans going past them.
(95): The Great Northern Railway H3 Class (later the L.N.E.R. K2 Class) was designed by Nigel Gresley for use on mixed traffic trains on the Great Northern Railway system. At the time the class was being designed in 1912, the G.N.R. was operating a lot of goods trains on its metals, and they were often working with passenger trains as well. This really wasn't the most ideal thing to do, and so Gresley set to work at designing a new class of mixed-traffic locomotive that could the heavier goods trains on the system at speeds of up to 40mph.
The new design would be a 2-6-0, with a leading pony truck intended to reduce wear on the leading driving wheels and to provide a smoother, steadier ride at higher speeds. The resulting H2 Class (L.N.E.R. K1 Class) was also the very first design to incorporate Gresley's patented double swing link pony truck design, which was intended to equalise the weight on the truck's wheels when running on curves. This pony truck design would be used for all Gresley designs which incorporated front pony trucks.
The boiler that was used on the new H2 Class was based off the superheated boiler design that had been fitted to the Ivatt Q1 and Q2 Classes, which were 0-6-0 designs, although the boiler barrel was shorter in length. The class had two outside cylinders which were paired with Walschaerts valve gear, which was rather unusual for a G.N.R. locomotive design at that time. Due to that fact, the H2 Class quickly gained the nickname of "Ragtimers" which was enhanced by their lively ride when they were running at speed. The running plates were also raised over the driving wheels.
The first locomotive of the class was ordered in March 1912, and was followed by nine further locomotives which were built in early 1913, with the engines being numbered from No.1630 to No.1639. Initial, the first 10 engines of the class were allocated to King's Cross, Doncaster, and Colwick. Early duties the class undertook usually saw them working on the newly introduced braked goods trains, including on the fast night goods trains to Doncaster. They were also used extensively on heavy passenger services, as well as on various different mixed traffic duties.
One major weakness of the H2 Class was with its boiler design, which was seen as far too small to make the necessary steam they needed when they were working on their chosen trains. So, in order to solve this problem, a larger boiler was designed in July 1913 and this new boiler design was fitted to the next batch of engines in the class, which were ordered in August 1913. The firebox was also 6 inches longer, although the throatplate sloped backwards resulting in the same length at the base. The larger boiler also allowed the fitting of a Robinson superheater. The new members of the class fitted with this new boiler became G.N.R. H3 Class (L.N.E.R. K2 Class).
In total, 10 examples of the K1 Class as well as 65 members of the K2 Class were built in five batches between 1912 and 1921, with the 10 K1s and 20 K2s being built at Doncaster Works, 20 K2s being built by the North British Locomotive Company in Glasgow, and the final 25 K2s being built by Kitson and Company in Leeds.
The two outside cylinders of the class were 20in in diameter with a 26in piston stroke which, combined with six driving wheels which were 5ft 8in in diameter along with a boiler fitted with superheating elements and pressed to 180psi, gave the class a maximum tractive effort of 23,400lbf. The K1 engines weighed just under 62 tons in total, while the K2 engines weighed just about 64.5 tons. Both types were paired with G.N.R. type B Class tenders that ran on six wheels and which could carry up to 6.5 tons of coal, as well as about 3,500 gallons of water. The tenders were fitted with water scoops which allowed the engines to take on water from water troughs.
Although they were rough-riding engines, they quickly proved themselves to be very hard-working locomotives. During the First World War, the 10 K2 Class 2-6-0s did valuable hard work hauling heavy troop trains and freight trains in support of Britain's war effort.
From 1921 to 1922, No.4635 and No.4631 were rebuilt from their original K1 form to K2s by refitting them with the larger boilers. No further K1s were rebuilt until 1931 when a shortage of K1 Class boilers meant the remaining 8 K1s were all rebuilt between 1931 and 1937. From 1938 onwards, the K1s that had been rebuilt into K2s were reclassified as K2/1, while the original K2s were reclassified as K2/2s.
After from having the original K1s rebuilt into K2s, the only major changes the L.N.E.R. made to the K2 Class was to modify them in order to allow them to run on lines of the former Great Eastern (G.E.R.) and North British Railways (N.B.R.) as many of these lines had more restrictive loading gauges. The K1s were fitted with shorter chimneys in 1923, and later on the K2s were also fitted with shorter chimneys and dome covers, the cab roofs were lowered, the whistles were repositioned, and the Ramsbottom safety valves were replaced with Ross pop valves. Once these modifications were completed, it allowed them to work on former G.E.R. and N.B.R. lines as they were displaced by newer and more powerful Gresley K3 Class 2-6-0s.
Between 1927 and 1928, 20 examples of the K2 Class were fitted with Westinghouse pumps so that they could work on the passenger services that ran from Liverpool Street in London on the lines that ran to Colchester and Cambridge.
From No.1660 onwards, outside steam pipes were fitted as standard on the class, and the earlier engines were also altered to have outside steam pipes whenever they became due for repairs or overhauls.
In 1924–25, the K2 Class became quite a common sight at the work they did on the West Highland Line as well as on lines that ran in East Anglia. Both areas were a sharp contrast in terrain, from hilly terrain along the West Highland Line to the flat farmland of East Anglia. Under the L.N.E.R., the class were numbered from No.4640 to No.4704, while under the L.N.E.R.'s 1946 renumbering scheme, they were renumbered from No.1720 to No.1794.
When the K2s first appeared in Scotland, they weren't very popular with the Scottish crews at first, due to the cabs didn't provide much protection from the weather, as were as due to the fact that the engines were right-hand drive and had G.N.R. pull-out regulators, as well as the perceived unsophisticated design which earned the class the nickname "Tin Lizzies." So, between 1932 and 1935, the Scottish-based K2s were fitted wide side-window cabs. When further members of the K2 Class were transferred to work in Scotland, they would similarly have their cabs rebuilt.
Some of the K2s that were based in Scotland received names in 1933 and 1934. The numbers and names of the K2s were as follows;
No.4674 (B.R. No.61746) Lock Arkaig, No.4682 (B.R. No.61771) Loch Lochy, No.4684 (B.R. No.61774) Lock Garry,
No.4685 (B.R. No.61775) Loch Treig, No.4691 (B.R. No.61781) Lock Morar, No.4692 (B.R. No.61782) Loch Eil,
No.4693 (B.R. No.61783) Lock Sheil, No.4697 (B.R. No.61787) Loch Quoich, No.4698 (B.R. No.61788) Lock Rannoch,
No.4699 (B.R. No.61789) Loch Laidon, No.4700 (B.R. No.61790) Lock Lomond, No.4701 (B.R. No.61791) Loch Laggan, and No.4704 (B.R. No.61794) LochOich.
When the railways were nationalised in January 1948, the entire class of 75 engines passed into British Railways ownership, with the entire class being renumbered from No.61720 to No.61794. By that point, 31 engines were allocated to the western section of the Southern area of the Eastern Region, with another 23 to the Eastern area, and the final 21 to the Scottish area. Although more powerful types like the ex-L.M.S. Black Five 4-6-0s came onto the West Highland Line during B.R. days, the K2 Class still kept on working away on line, just as they had done in their early years.
The class continued working away on their various duties on British Railways until 1955, when the very first example of the class, No.61722, was withdrawn from service in September 1955. The rest of the class followed along over the next seven years, when the last example of the class that was still running, No.61756, was withdrawn from service in June 1962. Four of them were converted for use as stationary boilers, but the last of these had been withdrawn by the end of 1961. Every single engine in the class was scrapped, which sadly means that none have survived into preservation.
It wasn't too long before No.4689 had gone by with his train, and Carrie turned her attention forward towards Knapford Station to see if the train that was at the platform would move soon so that James could continue on his way. She didn't have to wait for very long; she soon heard the sounds of the guard blowing his whistle, shortly followed by the sounds of the engine at the head of the passenger train blowing their whistle. From the sound of the whistle blowing loudly, Carrie thought it was probably likely one of the L.M.S. Princess Royal Class Pacifics, possibly Princess Beatrice or Princess Louise.
As the train slowly moved out from the station, the coaches moved clear of the platform and away down the line, leaving a clear path that James could go along with his train. After a few moments of waiting, the signal dropped and showed a green light, meaning they were clear to proceed with their train. After giving a blast of his whistle, James was on his way again.
"Come along! Come along!" he called, as he started off while taking up the weight of his train behind him.
"We won't! We won't!" the trucks called from behind him, as he hauled them along. But James didn't care, and he pulled the long line of trucks sternly through Knapford Station, on the line that ran adjacent to Platform 1, and then out the other side and on towards the Southern Main Line. As they passed by the signal box just a little way down from the station, Carrie looked upwards and saw the signalman inside the signal box at the line of controls levers for signals and points and watching their train as it went on by.
(Insert soundtrack – James Theme – Season 1)
Making his way away from Knapford Station, James headed out onto the Southern Main Line, and his driver was able to open the regulator a little more, which allowed them to build up some more speed. Leaning out a little from the right-hand side of the cab, Simon looked ahead as they made their way along past the bus depot at the junction that branched off to the right to the Ffarquhar Branch Line.
"Now this is a little bit more like it!" Simon said, as he looked towards Carrie with a smile to be seen on his face.
"I know! It's fun to be going along when a train is going fast!" Carrie said, as she smiled back at her boyfriend. Regardless of how many times she had been on the footplate of any of the engines on Sodor, Carrie always really enjoyed it when the engines went fast as it felt like she got a shot of adrenaline, though it was sometimes difficult to keep her feet if she was stoking the boilers with coal.
For the next while, they went along very smoothly along the Southern Main Line, with James going along at a good speed with the train following along behind him. After first going through Henry's Tunnel, and then through Crosby Tunnel not too long afterwards, James went by Crosby Station where they could see a number of passengers who were waiting on the platform for the trains they were to catch to arrive. More than a few of the passengers were seen wearing raincoats, which was a wise thing considering the dark clouds overhead. In the yards right beside the station, lines of trucks could be seen sitting in the sidings and waiting to be taken away or be shunted into trains.
Giving a friendly blast on his whistle to the people on the platform who were waving, James headed on down the line.
After proceeding on down the main line and then crossing over the viaduct, they were soon on the final approach to Wellsworth Station, where Carrie would be dropped off before James could proceed down to Brendam Docks with his train. They soon came upon the banker sidings just a little to the west of the station, where Carrie saw all the different engines waiting there to help bank heavy trains up Gordon's Hill, and she knew that within a few short minutes she'd be assigned to working on one of them for the day. She hoped that it would be one of the larger engines, as they had larger cabs which provided better shelter from any rain that she thought might fall today.
With a short blast from his whistle, James arrived at Wellsworth Station and came to a stop at the platform, where the stationmaster was seen standing on the platform waiting for him.
"Hello, James. You're right on time! Well done!" said the stationmaster.
"Thank you, sir!" James said, as he smiled proudly.
"And is Carrie White with you?" asked the stationmaster.
"I'm right here, sir." Carrie said, as she leaned out from the left-hand side of the cab. "I believe you're expecting me here today?"
"Indeed we are, Carrie. You've been assigned to working on banking duties here today, and the engine you'll be working on for today is in the yards just behind the station right now and being readied for the day ahead." said the stationmaster.
"All right. Please bring me to the engine." Carrie said, as she grabbed her things and stepped off of James' footplate.
"Best of luck with you work today, Carrie. Hopefully, we'll see you later on today." Simon said, as he leaned out from the footplate.
"Okay, Simon. And good luck to you and James as well." Carrie said.
"Thanks Carrie!" Simon said.
"Thank you, Carrie!" James said, as he watched Carrie make her way with the stationmaster down the platform and towards the yards behind the station building. Then a few moments later, once the signal had dropped giving them the all clear, the driver opened the regulator. With a blast from his whistle, James was on his way again, bound for Brendam Docks.
The stationmaster led Carrie round the back of the station and into the yard, where a few trucks could be seen sitting on some of the lines near to the turntable. Then looking over to one of the other lines at the turntable, Carrie saw an engine standing and being readied for the day ahead. Carrie had never seen this engine before, and was amazed by how large this engine was; it was a tender engine with 10 driving wheels under the boiler and two large cylinders fitted to the front on the sides of the smokebox, as well as a large headlamp fitted over the smokebox. After laying her eyes upon this large engine, Carrie couldn't help but be impressed by what she saw.
"Carrie…this engine is Bertha, and she's the famous "Big Bertha" that once worked on the Lickey Incline in England. She'll be the engine you're going to be working on today on banking duties (96)." said the stationmaster.
"So, I guess the work that we're going to be doing for today is something this engine is well used to doing by now." Carrie said, as a small smile appeared on her face.
"Absolutely, Carrie. Back in the day, Bertha here pushed thousands of trains up the Lickey Incline, and now she's recently returned to Sodor after a major overhaul at Crewe to return to her old job, only this time it's pushing trains up Gordon's Hill." said the stationmaster.
"Well…let's get over to Bertha and get introduced." Carrie said, and she and the stationmaster walked over towards where the 0-10-0 banker was being readied.
(96): The Midland Railway's sole and rather unique 0-10-0 Lickey Banker, better known to many as "Big Bertha", was built for one purpose, and that was to act as a banking engine on the notorious Lickey Incline, a graded stretch of line that ran from Bromsgrove to Blackwell south of Birmingham. The Lickey Incline is the steepest sustained main line gradient anywhere in Britain, with the gradient of the line being 1-in-37.7 and running for just over two miles in total, which means that all northbound trains need to have substantial banking assistance behind them when going up the incline.
This was a problem which kept the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway, the company that first built the main line going up the Lickey Hills, in debt for the entirety of its independent existence, and it remained an operational and economical problem right away through to the last days of steam.
Various different engines were used to bank trains up the Lickey Incline in the early days, including three American Norris 4-2-0s, but a specialist engine emerged from Bromsgrove Works in June 1845; this was a large 0-6-0ST saddle tank engine which was named Great Britain, and it was the most powerful locomotive of its day, being specifically designed for banking trains on the Lickey Incline and establishing the concept of a specialised banking engine. This 0-6-0ST tank engine handled the job of banking trains up the incline for 56 years until it was withdrawn in 1901.
In 1919, in order to meet the demand of a specialised banker to help trains up the Lickey Incline, James Anderson, who was the acting Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Midland Railway at the time, set about the task of designing a new locomotive that could help bank trains. As the Midland Railway was a company that had stuck to a "small engine" policy, the locomotive that emerged from Derby Works at the end of 1919 was nothing short of amazing, especially given its size. It was also only the second engine with an 0-10-0 wheel arrangement built in the U.K., with the first one being the Great Eastern Railway's (G.E.R.) single suburban prototype 0-10-0T tank engine known as the "Decapod" which had been designed by James Holden and built at Stratford Works back in 1902.
The new banker that was going to work on the Lickey Incline was an 0-10-0 engine with four cylinders, including two large outside cylinders which were set at an angle of 1-in-7, as well as a large boiler that was needed to provide all the steam needed by the new engine to push heavy trains up the Lickey Incline. There were also vertical stanchions fitted to the front corners of the forward buffer-beam to help the footplate crews with judging the distance they had to go when buffering up to passenger trains. A very powerful headlamp was fitted to the smokebox over the smokebox door in order to assist the crew with buffering up to the backs of trains when banking needed to be done at night, and this headlight was powered by a steam generator fitted on the footplate.
The four cylinders of the new engine, which became known to its crewmen and railway enthusiasts alike as "Big Bertha" or "Big Emma," were rather unique in how they were built and operated. There were only two piston valves to drive the four cylinders, as there was insufficient space under the smokebox for each cylinder to have their own piston valve. So instead of that, the piston valves for the outside cylinders provided steam for the two inside cylinders using cross-over steam ports, which was a practical uncomplicated arrangement. However, an issue with the system was that the flow of steam would be quite poor; however, this wasn't seen as crucial for a specialised locomotive that would generally only be running at slow speeds.
All four cylinders drove onto the middle set of driving wheels, which allowed for adequately long connecting rods for all sets of motion, with Walschaerts valve gear driving the outside cylinders.
The four cylinders on Big Bertha were 16.75in in diameter with a 28in piston stroke which, combined with 10 driving wheels that were 4ft 7.5in in diameter and a boiler fitted with superheating and pressed to 180psi, drove the engine with a maximum tractive effort of 43,313lbf, which was more than sufficient to push heavy trains up the gradient of the Lickey Incline.
The tender that was paired with Big Bertha carried about 4 tons of coal and just over 2,000 gallons of water, which wasn't much compared to other large tender engines. But then again this wasn't seen as a serious shortcoming, as Big Bertha was only intended to work on the Lickey Incline, with plenty of chances to keep her tender replenished very frequently and easily with coal and water when she was waiting at Bromsgrove. The tender also had a cab fitted at the front in order to provide shelter when she was reversing down the Lickey Incline.
The brakes that were fitted onto the new banker acted on all the wheels, and a handbrake was also used on the driving wheels and not just on the tender wheels.
After she was built, the new engine was given the number No.2290 and was sent to Bromsgrove to do what she was built to do; banking trains on the Lickey Incline. It was a job that she did considerably well, and she did it for an impressive 36 years from 1920 to 1956. She stayed there for almost her whole career, only being briefly interrupted in 1924 when she was used in trials for a short time on working mineral trains between Toton and Cricklewood to test the viability of using her on normal everyday use on regular freight trains. Once these trials were fully completed, No.2290 went back to Bromsgrove to bank trains up the Lickey.
From 1922, a spare superheated boiler was kept at Derby Works so that Big Bertha could quickly have a boiler change so that she could get back to work quickly at banking trains.
During the Second World War, when Big Bertha was banking trains up the Lickey Incline during the hours of darkness, her headlamp had to be partially obscured in order to ensure that the light from it wasn't spotted by any German Luftwaffe aircraft that might be passing overhead during the hours of darkness.
In the post-war years, Big Bertha's number was changed from No.2290 to No.22290 (so that its previous number could be used on one of the new 2-6-4T tank engines that were coming into service at that time), before it was changed again in 1949 to its final number of No.58100. Because of the uniqueness of No.58100, it was one of the few engines to never be given a power classification, either by the L.M.S. or B.R., an honour that it shared with the ex-L.M.S. 2-6-0+0-6-2 Garratts and the ex-L.N.E.R. Gresley U1 Class Garratt 2-8-0+0-8-2. The reason for this was that No.58100 was a specialist design with the job of helping trains up a steep incline by pushing from the back, which meant she wasn't suitable for normal train working or because her starting tractive effort fell well outside the system which meant it wasn't worth extending it for a specialised engine.
In 1955, while Big Bertha was being serviced at Derby Works, ex-L.N.E.R. Gresley U1 Class 2-8-0+0-8-2 Garratt, No.69999, arrived at the Lickey Incline to take over the banking duties, along with new B.R. Standard Class 9F No.92008 for trials as an assistant banker. The ex-L.N.E.R. Garratt proved to be very unpopular with the local crews at Bromsgrove, and on one occasion when the Garratt was banking a heavy freight train hauled by ex-L.M.S. 2-6-0+0-6-2 Garratt No.47972, and she ended up stalling on the incline. So as a result of that, No.58100 came to the rescue of both engines, which resulted in the unusual sight of a train with 19 driving axles, six on the ex-L.M.S. Garratt, eight on the ex-L.N.E.R. Garratt, as well as the five axles on No.58100.
In 1954, new cylinders were fitted on No.58100, as the originals suffered damage after water somehow got inside the left-hand side inside cylinder. But despite that, the end was nigh for No.58100, and she was finally withdrawn from service on 19th May 1956. By the time No.58100 was withdrawn, her crank axle journals here found to have been worn beyond scrapping limits, and by that time Derby had no spares available. With the withdrawal of No.58100, her place was at Bromsgrove was taken by B.R. Standard Class 9F 2-10-0 No.92079, who had Bertha's original headlamp fitted into place above her smokebox door.
No.58100 was finally scrapped at Derby Works in September 1957. It's a real shame that this unique engine wasn't preserved for the future, especially when one considers the fact that this engine covered an impressive 838,856 miles during her career, the vast majority of which was done going back and forth up and down the Lickey Incline.
Carrie was soon introduced to the driver and fireman of Bertha, as well as Bertha herself, and they were pleased to meet with Carrie. Even though Bertha had only been back on Sodor for a short time, she had been told about many of the details of why Carrie had come to the Island of Sodor in the first place, and she had been quite shocked to hear those details. Yet, regardless of hearing those disturbing details, Bertha was determined to make sure that Carrie stayed safe today and would be able to do a good job while they were out working at banking trains up the hill.
"Okay Carrie…are you ready to get to work?" the stationmaster asked.
"Yes, sir. I am." Carrie said.
"All right, I'll leave you to get ready and then get down to the banker sidings. Best of luck for today." said the stationmaster, as he then turned and walked back to the station.
"All right then, Carrie. I think we're all ready to start work. Hop aboard and we'll show you ropes while we head back to the banker sidings." said the driver.
"Okay then." Carrie said, as she climbed onto Bertha's footplate with the driver following behind her.
As the fireman explained to Carrie what some of the controls did, the driver released the brakes, blew the whistle for a few seconds, and then slowly opened the regulator a little. Gently, Bertha moved forwards onto the turntable and then came to stop. Some seconds later, the turntable began to turn slowly round so that Bertha would be able to roll onto the correct track and head out onto the Southern Main Line. Carrie always found it a little bit fun to be on an engine being turned on a turntable, as she found it interesting to see the world go by as an engine was being turned.
Once the turntable had stopped, and the catches put out to keep the turntable in place, Bertha slowly rolled off and onto towards the points that would take her onto the Southern Main Line. But before they could roll onto the main line, they had to stop as the signal was set to danger. With a gentle squeal of the brakes, the driver brought Bertha to a stop. Looking out from the right-hand side of the cab, Carrie knew they just needed to wait for a train to go by before they could go out onto the main line, and then reverse back to the banker sidings.
They soon found out who it was; with a loud whistle, L.S.W.R. N15 "King Arthur" 4-6-0 No.455 Sir Lancelot went on past with a passenger train of 12 coaches, which was being pushed from the back by G.W.R. Hawksworth Pannier 0-6-0PT No.8450. Carrie watched as the coaches went by in front of them, with their wheels making that familiar sound as they rolled along the steel rails, followed by the loud chuffing sounds of No.8450 as he pushed hard at the back of the train.
"Let's keep moving! Let's keep moving!" No.8450 said with determination in his voice, as he pushed hard at the back of the train with loud sounds of chuffing roaring at the top of his funnel. After passing under the road bridge at one end of the station, the sounds quickly faded as the train headed towards Gordon's Hill.
Once given the all clear to move, Bertha moved out of the siding and over the points onto the main line. Then, once the points were changed, she moved in reverse back to the banker sidings to the west of Wellsworth Station and took up her position in one of the sidings. Just as she came to a stop, the rain began to fall from the dark clouds overhead. It fell slowly at first, but then it came down heavier and heavier, with the rain drops pelting down and making a very loud sound.
"Ohhhhh!" Bertha groaned, as the rain lashed down upon her and then ran down the sides of her boiler. From inside the cab, Carrie looked outside and groaned somewhat; she had hoped the rain would hold off for a while longer, but now she hoped she wouldn't get wet for the time the rain lasted. She was also quite glad that Bertha's cab offered plenty of shelter from the rain, as well as the fact that there was a good fire burning away in the firebox to keep the cab warm as well. Over the firehole doors was the warming plate and on it were the tea cans, which were being kept warm from the heat rising up from the slightly open firehole doors.
"I'm glad we're able to shelter in here while we wait for our first train to help." Carrie said, as she turned to look at the fireman.
"I know. This cab provides plenty of shelter from the rain whenever we need to bank trains up the hill during periods of heavy weather." the fireman said, as he looked up to the sky.
"Don't worry about the rain, Carrie. It should clear up as the day goes on, and once it does, we'll be able to do the outside work that we need to do, such as refilling the tender with more coal and water whenever we need to do that job." the driver said, as he adjusted the brake controls and made sure the regulator was fully closed.
"All right." Carrie said, as she looked back outside. The rain continued to fall heavily from the dark clouds overhead, creating quite a noise as it impacted the ground as well as the roof of the cab. All round the area of the banker sidings, the heavy rain made things miserable for the bankers who were sitting and waiting for their next trains to bank.
For the next while, Bertha waited in her assigned siding for a train that needed her assistance to climb Gordon's Hill. A few other trains came by from Knapford heading eastwards, with two that passed by but didn't stop for a banker as they were probably heading towards Brendam Docks. The other trains that passed by did stop for a banker to help out on the hill, but they short enough that only one banker could be used, usually one of the smaller tank engines that were waiting. Other trains that went past Wellsworth, or stopped at one of the platforms, were trains that were heading west back to Knapford and either passed by without stopping, or stopped at the station's down platform so as to pick up or drop off passengers before setting off on their way again. There was also the sight of other bankers returning from Gordon's Hill who would run in reverse along the down line until they went a little way past the banker sidings, and then the signalman in the signal-box would set the points to allow the returning bankers to cross-over the main line back to the banker sidings.
One of the trains that needed some banking assistance to get up the hill that slightly amused Carrie was a short freight of about 16 wagons, that Carrie thought wouldn't need any form of banking assistance to get up the hill, that was being hauled by L.N.E.R. J39 Class 0-6-0 No.1974. But remembering the rule that ALL trains needed to have a banker help them up the hill, she watched as B.R. Standard Class 9F 2-10-0 No.92230 slowly rolled out from his siding and gently buffered up to the brake van at the back of No.1974's train. Then, after the exchange of whistles had taken place, she watched as the train set off up the line towards Gordon's Hill.
Finally, it was soon Bertha's turn to bank a heavy train on up the hill, and it was in the form of a long and heavy passenger train of 14 coaches that was being hauled by L.M.S. 5XP Jubilee Class 4-6-0 No.5664 Nelson. After passing by the banker sidings, Nelson came to a halt at the up platform at Wellsworth Station, and whistled to indicate he wanted help up the hill. As there were two short blasts, it meant he wanted to have the equivalent of two bankers to help him up Gordon's Hill. This was the signal for Bertha to move out from the siding. After the driver sounded the whistle, Bertha rolled slowly out from the siding and rolled ahead through the falling rain until she gently buffered up to the back of the train. Carrie was very impressed by how the driver was able to get such a big engine up to the back of the train without bumping the coaches too much.
They had to wait for a few minutes before they could set off, as there were a few passengers on the platform who were getting on the train. But once the guard had given Nelson's driver the "all clear" to go, they could set off on their way. After the exchange of whistles, they were off out of the station and on their way towards Gordon's Hill, with Nelson pulling hard at the front and Bertha pushing very hard at the back.
As they went along the line, they passed over the level crossing that was beside the junction leading down to Brendam Docks; W.D. Austerity 2-8-0 No.90360 was seen rolling out from the spur line and heading towards Wellsworth with a long and very mixed train rattling along behind him. As No.90360 headed along out from the spur leading down to Brendam Docks, he blew his whistle in greeting, to which Nelson and Bertha also blew their whistles in greeting as they went on by. After watching the other two engines went by, No.90360 headed on along the main line with his long and heavy freight train.
It wasn't very long before Nelson approached the red-brick road bridge at the beginning of the turn that led towards the curve, and his driver opened the regulator even further; with that, they began to attack the climb. From the back, the driver on Bertha's footplate also opened the regulator some more and they began to push harder as they passed beneath the bridge.
"We should be careful. There's bound to be leaves on the line that'll cause trouble for us as we go up the hill." said the fireman.
"I understand." said the driver, as he looked out through the forward window. He kept one hand on the regulator handle with the other one on the brake controls. Being an experienced man who had gone up this hill on banking duty many times, the driver knew that it was best to proceed with caution in this weather, particularly due to the fact that leaves falling from the line of trees that were very close to the three main lines would make them very slippery and thus harder to get the heavy train to get to the top.
At the head of the train, Nelson was already feeling the effects of the leaves on the wet rails and he was struggling to make his way along the line with his heavy train, even with banking assistance.
"Come…on! Come…on!" he said, as he shut his eyes and pulled as hard as he could while his driver activated the sanding gear, which did help to an extent. The fireman kept a close eye on the main steam pressure gauge as well as the two water gauge glasses, as well as looking out the forward cab window on his side to check the state of the line ahead.
From the rear, Bertha was pushing as hard as she could, with the loud sounds of chuffing from her chimney creating a loud roaring sound as she pushed as hard as she could. With leaves having come off of the trees onto the line, and with the rain coming down heavily, her wheels ground up the fallen damp leaves into a slippery substance that made gripping the rails a difficult task at times. But regardless of the difficulties, she kept on pushing the back of the train and moving it up the hill.
From the footplate, Carrie looked out from the right-hand side of the cab with some concern, as she felt Bertha's driving wheels slip at times on the damp, leave-covered rails as they went up the hill. Looking up along the arrow-straight stretch of track they were going along, Carrie watched as Nelson got closer and closer to the top of the hill, and hoped he would be able to go over the job and pick up some speed.
Then from the crest of the hill, Carrie saw clouds of white-grey smoke rising over the top of the hill and then heard the faint sounds of chuffing coming from over the other side of the hill. A few seconds later, the engine making the smoke and sounds came into view over the hillcrest on the right-hand line going down the hill; it turned out to be none other than L.N.E.R. W1 Class 4-6-4 No.10000 Pegasus, and he was making his way down the hill with his passenger train of 12 coaches. As he descended the hill, Carrie could see that Pegasus was being kept under control by his driver, as the driver no doubt knew the rails would be very slippery due to the rain and leaves on the rails, and thus quite dangerous if a train were to go down the hill too fast in this weather.
Carrie watched as Pegasus went on by down the hill with his passenger train, while being kept under control and at a steady speed. The W1 blew his whistle in greeting as he went downhill, with both Nelson and Bertha whistling in reply as they went up the hill.
After a few more moments, Nelson finally reached the crest of Gordon's Hill and went over the top, with the driver opening the regulator a little more allowing them to pick up some more speed. The driver also blew the whistle to indicate he was starting to pull away. From the rear, Bertha also blew her whistle loudly, to indicate that she was easing off and dropping back from the rear of the train. Slowly shutting the regulator, Bertha's driver watched as steam pressure on the steam chest pressure gauge gradually dropped off as Bertha slowed down gradually, allowing a smooth transfer of the load to Nelson. By the time Bertha reached the crest of Gordon's Hill, she was going slowly enough that the train she had been pushing was able to move off very smoothly and somewhat faster down the line towards Maron Station. As she watched the coaches move off down the other side of the hill, Carrie felt herself smile, knowing that Nelson had made it over and was now on his way with his train to wherever he was heading.
The driver put on the brakes and came to a halt just down the way from the signal box, and then just before he put Bertha into reverse, he blew the whistle code to indicate to the signalman they were going to be reversing back down the hill and to switch the points.
The signalman set the points as the driver moved the reversing gear into reverse, and once given the all clear to move by the signalman, the driver opened the regulator again and slowly Bertha moved in reverse over the points onto the down line. She had to reverse slowly going over the points due to the long wheelbase of her 10 driving wheels, and the driver didn't want to risk causing a derailment on this part of the line. Once over the points and on the down line, the driver opened the regulator a little more, and they proceeded back down Gordon's Hill to Wellsworth so they could ready themselves at banking another heavy train back up the hill once the time for that arrived.
As they passed under the red-brick road bridge just before the base of the hill, Bertha went by L.M.S. 8F Class 2-8-0 No.8065, who was heading towards the hill with a very long and heavy slow coal train rattling along behind him. Looking out from the left-hand side of the cab as they reversed back along the line, Carrie watched as all the different coal wagons went by them and just how much coal was loaded into each of them, judging by how much coal she could see poking above the tops of the wagons. As the brake van went on past them on its way towards the hill, the banker at the back went by as well; this was 9F 2-10-0 No.92230, who was also a veteran of banking heavy trains on the Lickey Incline all those long years ago, just like Bertha was.
Turning her head to watch No.92230 head on by, Carrie watched as the coal train disappeared into the distance under the bridge and round the curve before going up the hill, then she pulled her head back into the cab and went over to stoke the boiler with more coal.
As Bertha arrived back in Wellsworth Station on the down line, she reversed along the down line through the station and towards the banker sidings. Just before she got there, another long freight train went on past her, heading towards Brendam Docks as there were no bankers at the back of the train. It was being hauled by L.N.E.R Thompson B1 Class 4-6-0 No.61323, and it consisted of many conflats upon each of which was a large container that was firmly secured down. Each container, which was silver white or grey in colour and with a thin coating of weathering over them, was likely insulated and filled with frozen food.
For a few moments, Bertha had to wait until the end of No.61323's train had gone past them before she could cross over the main lines to go back to the banker sidings. But once the brake van at the end of the train had gone by, with the red tail lamp at the back shining brightly, Bertha was able to cross the lines and get back into the banker sidings, where she would wait her turn to bank another train up the hill.
By this time, the heavy rain that had been falling for much of the past hour was finally beginning to ease off somewhat, and the dark grey clouds in the sky were thinning out a little as they moved on to the east, allowing some brighter light to be cast onto the ground below.
"Looks like things are gonna be better today." the driver said, as he looked up to the sky.
"Yeah, let's hope so. I'd hate it for it to continuously rain all day." Carrie said, as she also looked up towards the sky at the thinning clouds. The rain was now easing off considerably, with it falling less heavily than it had been for much of the morning, and the clouds seemed less threatening now than they had been earlier on.
"Anyway, now that we've gotten our first train of the day up the hill, let's have some tea." the fireman said, as he reached for one of the tea-cans sitting on the warming plate over the firehole doors.
"Sounds like a good idea to me!" smiled the driver. Carrie felt herself smile too; after the hard work they had done in getting their first train up Gordon's Hill, a cup of tea sounded like a very good idea right now.
After the fireman had poured the hot tea into three white enamel tin mugs, the three of them sipped their tea while they waited around for their next turn to bank a heavy train up the hill. As she sipped her tea, Carrie leaned out from the right-hand side of the cab and looked towards the main line a few feet away from them; there was another long and very mixed freight train that had stopped along the up-line, and waiting for either a banker or bankers to buffer up behind in order to help it up Gordon's Hill.
The engine at the head of the train blew his whistle for a few seconds, which was the signal for the engine at the head of the train and the bankers at the back to open their regulators. With a slow gradual movement, and loud chuffing sounds, the train began to move along the line towards Gordon's Hill. As the train gently sped up and went on by, the bankers who were pushing at the back went on past; there were three bankers, each of whom were tank engines, and they were No.47276, No.47308, and No.47425, each of whom were L.M.S. Fowler 3F "Jinty" 0-6-0T tank engines (97). These three engines were veterans of banking heavy trains on the Lickey Incline, and so they were very much at home here banking trains on Gordon's Hill, just like they would have done back in the day.
"Come on! Keep pushing! Come on! Keep pushing!" No.47276 said, as he pushed as hard as he could. He was buffered up right behind the brake van, with the other two engines buffered up behind him.
"We're pushing! We're pushing!" No.47308 said, as he put all his might into getting the train on the move.
"Let's keep moving! Let's keep moving!" No.47425 called, as he also put his might into pushing the heavy train from the very back of the three engines.
(97): The L.M.S. Fowler 3F 0-6-0T tank engines were designed by Henry Fowler and were built to in order to undertake yard shunting and duties on branch lines where heavier engines couldn't go. The Fowler 3F 0-6-0T tank engines, which were also known as "Jinties" to their crews, were the ultimate development of the Midland Railway's six-coupled tank engine classes.
The 3F 0-6-0T class were based off an earlier class of 0-6-0T tank engine that Henry Fowler had rebuilt, which was the Midland Railway's 2441 Class that had been introduced back in 1899. The rebuilt versions of the 2441 Class featured a Belpaire firebox and an improved cab design. The class were renumbered from No.7200 to No.7259 in 1934.
The London Midland and Scottish Railway (L.M.S.) decided to take the newly rebuilt design and adopt it as a new standard shunting design. This new designed differed from the one that inspired it by having larger smokeboxes and increased capacity in the coal bunkers and water tanks. The water capacity was 1,200 gallons, with the coal capacity being around 2.25 tons of fuel.
In total, 422 members of the L.M.S. Fowler 3F "Jinty" 0-6-0T tank engine class were built between 1924 and 1931 at a number of different engine workshops, and were intended to replace the large number of varied classes of shunting engines the L.M.S. had inherited when it was formed in 1923. The workshops that built the class include;
W.G. Bagnall: which built 32 engines.
William Beardmore and Co.: which built 90 engines.
Hunslet Engine and Co.: which built 90 engines.
The L.M.S. Horwich Works: which built 15 locomotives.
North British Locomotive Co: which built 75 examples.
Vulcan Foundry: which built 120 engines.
The six driving wheels of the Jinty tank engines were 4ft 7in in diameter and were paired with two inside cylinders that were 18in in diameter with a 26in piston stroke and a boiler that was pressed to 160psi. All this combined to give the class a maximum tractive effort of 20,835lbf. The two inside cylinders were paired with Stephenson's link motion with slide valves.
Once the engines of the class were built and had entered service, they were put to work on a variety of different duties across the L.M.S. system, ranging from shunting in engine depot and freight yards, working trains along branch lines, North London passenger services, as well as on other miscellaneous duties, including banking heavy trains up the Lickey Incline. They were also used on the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway, where they helped to bank trains on some of the gradients on that route. In 1934, when the L.M.S. brought in a new numbering scheme, the class were renumbered from No.7260 to No.7681.
When the Second World War began in September 1939, the War Department chose a number of the class to be used as its standard shunting engine before it later chose the Hunslet Austerity 0-6-0ST for this role. Eight of the class were sent over to France during the Phoney War to support the British forces that were being sent over there, and of the eight engines, seven had been built by William Beardmore and Co, with the last one having been built by Hunslet. During the Battle of France in May/June 1940, at least two of the engines were destroyed, either by retreating British forces of the attacking German forces. Of the surviving six engines, five ended up being used by S.N.C.F. and at least one was used by the German Army. After the war ended, the five Jinties that had been used by the S.N.C.F. were returned to the U.K. in August and September 1945, complete with bullet holes in their tanks, and returned to service on the L.M.S.
Two more members of the class were sold to the Northern Counties Committee in Northern Ireland in 1944, but they had to be re-gauged in order to run on the Northern Irish system, as the Irish railway gauge is 5ft 3in, compared to the British standard gauge of 4ft 8.5in. They were renumbered as No.18 and No.19, and became known as NCC Class Y. Once they arrived in Northern Ireland, they were put to work on the Belfast Harbour Commissioners lines within Belfast docks where, despite their relatively long wheelbase, they could negotiate a curve of 80m if they proceeded slowly. No.18 was removed from service in 1956 due to a suspect crank pin, by which time she had covered 612,266 miles in her career, including 219,441 miles on the NCC. No.19 was withdrawn from service in 1963, having covered 667,521 miles during her life, of which 291,971 miles were covered on the NCC.
By the time British Railways was formed in January 1948, there were a total of 412 members of the Fowler 3F 0-6-0T class around with five more entering it stock by the end of the year, making a total of 417 engines. Under B.R.'s new renumbering scheme, the class were renumbered from No.47260 to No.47681. Under B.R. auspices, the class continued on doing the jobs for which they had been built to do, although a number of engines were used on the Western Region for Push-Pull duties. These engines were allocated to Upper Bank depot, and some also spent time at Swansea Victoria and Swansea East Dock as well.
They were used all over the London Midland Region on all manner of duties, including shunting, station pilot work, cross country duties on branch lines, as well as banking trains up the Lickey Incline at Bromsgrove. Five engines were based in Glasgow and were based at Polmadie Depot, and others were based at former L.M.S. depots in Yorkshire that were now under the control of the North Eastern Region.
The class were very popular with their crews, particularly as the Belpaire fireboxes allowed the engines to steam very well, almost as well as the boiler on any larger main line engines. They were also comfortable engines to ride on and were very easy to drive, with rapid responses from the controls. One fault that was found was with the cabs could be exposed to the wind and rain due to the fact the cabs were open on the sides.
Withdrawals of the class started in 1959 when 25 engines were removed from service, and picked up over the next eight years as more were withdrawn due to the rapid dieselisation of the B.R. system. The greatest number to be removed took place in 1966, when 77 engines were removed from service that year. One engine with drawn in 1966, No.47445, was sold to the National Coal Board (N.C.B.) for use at a colliery near Wakefield. By the end of 1967, the final six members of the class that had still been in service at the start of the year had been withdrawn.
Thankfully, nine members of the class have managed to survive into preservation, of which eight engines have managed to be steamed since being withdrawn from service. Only one of them has run on the main line in preservation, this being No.47298 when she took part in the Rainhill celebrations in 1980 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. Of the surviving engines, seven were lucky enough to be rescued from Barry Scrapyard and then taken away to heritage railways, such as the East Lancs Railway and Severn Valley Railway, where they could then be restored to working order again.
One example of the class has not yet been returned to working order since she was withdrawn; this engine is No.47564, and she was used as a source of spare parts for the other surviving Fowler 3F tank engines. She's currently at the Midland Railway Centre at Butterley.
It wasn't too long before the sounds of the freight train, with the thee Jinty tank engines pushing hard at the back of it had gradually disappeared into the distance, leaving the only sounds to be heard around the banker sidings being the sounds of crews working away as they got their engines ready for their next turn of duty at banking the next train that might be coming along soon, the sounds of the engines chatting with each other as they waited, as well as the sounds of steam wheeshing out various safety valves.
It wasn't too long before Carrie, as well as the driver and fireman had finished their tea, and as they placed their empty enamel mugs down, the rain finally eased off, with the only thing to indicate there had been any bad weather earlier on were the dark clouds above along with a light but cold breeze blowing over the land.
"And there we are…the rain's stopped at last!" Carrie said as a smile cross her face, while she leaned out from the cab and looking up into sky.
"I know. And let's hope it stays away from the rest of the day!" Bertha said, as she also looked up to the sky with some sense of relief. For Bertha, the lack of rain would mean that banking trains up Gordon's Hill would be somewhat easier, as it meant her wheels wouldn't be able to slip as much when they were going up the hill. However, with them already well into autumn, there was also the obvious issue of falling leaves from the trees on the line causing traction issues whenever trains went up or down the hill…and it was something that Bertha was only too aware of, considering her experience on the Lickey Incline.
Now that the rain had stopped, it was time to top up the tender with more coal and water; Carrie and the fireman stepped off Bertha's footplate and went round to the water tower. As Carrie climbed up the steps at the back of the tender, the fireman moved the crane arm for the water tower over the back. Carrie opened the lid to the tank and placed the end of the bag inside.
"Water on!" she called.
"Water on!" acknowledged the fireman, and he turned the valve, allowing water to flow into the tender tank.
Yet, what Carrie was completely unaware of as she helped to get Bertha ready for her next turn of duty, was that she was being spied on and secretly filmed and photographed by Irving and Brian, two of the officers from the Chamberlain Police Department who had flown over to Sodor to check and see if she really was on Sodor. Just a few yards before the banker sidings, there was a road bridge that crossed over the three tracks of the Southern Main Line, and it was a good place to get pictures of the bankers as they sat in their sidings waiting to bank trains up Gordon's Hill, as well as seeing trains pass by on the main line, either going towards Gordon's Hill or back towards Knapford.
At that moment, Irving and Brian were standing in the middle of the bridge on its eastern side, which looked towards Wellsworth Station, and they could clearly see Carrie standing on the back of Bertha's tender and helping to fill up with water. Brian was taking pictures with his camera, while Irving was recording what was going on with her digital camcorder. They didn't look out of place at all, as this bridge was a very popular place to come and get pictures of trains. There were also a number of other people there as well, including some with cameras, who were getting a good view of the different banking engines sitting in the sidings and waiting for their next turns of duty.
After a few more moments of recording Carrie working on the back of the tender, Irving turned the camcorder off and turned her head to Brian
"You got some good shots of Carrie?" Irving whispered, as Brian turned to look at her.
"Yeah, I got some very good shots all right." Brian said, as he smiled and gave his colleague a wink before turning back and bringing his camera back up to his eyes to get another few shots of Carrie at work.
"I'm just glad that it's finally stopped raining that's all. I was a bit afraid we weren't gonna be able to get some shots of Carrie with all that rain coming down." Irving said. She and Brian were wearing all the proper wet-weather gear, including raincoats with hoods, as well as waterproof galoshes that went over their shoes and up to their knees, but even so both of them had doubted they would've stayed dry for very long in the very heavy rain that had fallen earlier on.
Their colleagues Spacek and King were with their hire vehicle at a special lookout point on Gordon's Hill not far away, from where they would be able to see Carrie working away on the footplate of Bertha as she went by when banking trains up the hill. Whenever Irving and Brian saw Bertha move out from the siding and back up to the back of a train, they would inform their colleagues at once, so that Spacek and King would have time to get their cameras ready to get the shots.
After a while, Irving and Brian, after watching Carrie help to refill the tender tank with water, moved position further down the road to see of they could get some better shots from a new angle, preferably where they couldn't get shots of the faces on the fronts of the engines. They found it at a spot where there was a brick wall that ran along the side of the road. The road was raised a little above the banker sidings and offered a good view of them, and there were a smaller number trees or bushes which could provide them with some cover when they were taking pictures.
On the back of the tender, Carrie closed the lid to the water space and then climbed off the tender, as it was time for the coal to be topped up. Very close by, there was a very large pile of coal waiting to be used, and a JCB was loading up its front bucket in readiness to topping up the tender.
"Okay Carrie, stand back. We're gonna watch the JCB load up the coal, and then we're gonna go up and trim the coal." said the driver.
"All right then." Carrie said, as she stood well back.
With the engine roaring, the driving who was sitting inside the cab of the JCB moved forward, with the forward bucket loaded up with plenty of fresh coal, and positioned itself right by the tender with the bucket over the coal space. Then the bucket slowly tipped up, and the coal was deposited into the coal space with a low cloud of dust and a series of thumping sounds as the coal was loaded in. Then the JCB driver reversed away and moved his machine back to the coal pile, loaded up with a second batch of coal, and then loaded that up into the tender. And with that, the tender was fully reloaded with coal and water, and the JCB driver pulled his big vehicle back away from Bertha's tender and went off to help load coal into the tenders of any of the other bankers.
"Okay, let's get up there and trim the coal." said the fireman, as he picked up a shovel and walked towards the tender.
"Let's get it done." Carrie said, as she also picked up a shovel and went to follow the fireman onto the back of the tender.
Just as Carrie and the fireman climbed onto the back of the tender and were about to set to work, they heard the sounds of chuffing coming from along the main line and getting closer to them. A few moments later, they saw the clouds of smoke rising over the road and bridge and then the engine slowly rolled under the bridge and past the banker sidings. It turned out to be B.R. Standard Class 4MT 2-6-0 No.76040, who was at the head of a passenger train consisting of seven L.M.S. crimson-red coaches, which looked very smart and which were full of passengers. No.76040 was slowing down and it was clear he was going to be stopping at the station. Carrie and the fireman watched as the train slowed down while it went past the banker sidings before it came to a stop in Wellsworth Station.
"I have a feeling that train may need some assistance up the hill." said the fireman, as he watched the last coach go on by.
"Yeah, I think so too." Carrie said. A few moments later, there came the familiar whistle codes with a short whistle and a pause and then followed by another short whistle, which meant that No.76040 wanted to have one banker help him up the hill. With a whistle sounding in reply, a banker rolled out from the banker sidings and onto the main line; it was L.N.E.R. Thompson Class 2-6-4T No.67735, who had been assigned to working on banking duties here at Wellsworth for a change instead of being on his usual passenger duties. Slowly, he made his way up along the line towards Wellsworth Station and gently buffered up to the back of No.76040's train before sounding his whistle to let the driver of No.76040 know that he was in position.
As Carrie and the fireman trimmed the coal in Bertha's tender, they waited to hear the sounds of No.76040 sounding his whistle signal, known as "crow signals," so that the train could set off from the station on its way up the hill. They didn't have to wait for long, for they soon heard the sounds of No.76040 blowing his whistle loudly, and then they heard the sounds of No.76040 and No.67735 set off up the line towards the hill, with the B.R. Standard Class 4MT 2-6-0 pulling hard from the front, and the L.N.E.R. Thompson L1 Class 2-6-4T pushing very hard from behind, creating an impressive cacophony of sounds from the chuffing as they set off with the train.
The sounds of the train soon disappeared from the area, and so Carrie and the fireman worked away at trimming the coal in the tender's coal space. But they didn't know that they were being watched from the road right by the banker sidings by Irving and Brian. The two officers were partially hidden behind a bush from where they could see down to the banker sidings, and yet at the same time they couldn't be seen by anyone who was working in the yard below. The two of them could clearly see Carrie helping to trim the coal in the tender, as the scent of coal smoke, oil, and steam from the waiting engines drifted into their nostrils.
"I don't know if I could work with steam locomotives for day after day. I probably wouldn't be able to stand the thought of getting dirty with oil and coal dust, as well as the thought of all that noise." Irving said.
"Well, it's something that many people can get used to with time. After all, we all got used to the rigours of being police officers in the Chamberlain Police Department and the various perks and dangers that come with that." Brian said.
"Yeah, I guess you're right about that, Brian." Irving said, as she remembered to how she and her colleagues back in Chamberlain had learned the ropes when they had started off on their careers in the police all those years ago.
They watched as Carrie and the fireman climbed off the back of the tender, with the job of trimming the coal finished, and then went to Bertha's valve gear where they began the process of checking around all the moving parts and oiling up the valve gear. They were lucky that Carrie was checking and oiling up around the valve gear that was on Bertha's right-hand side, as that was the side they had a good view of Carrie. With Brian taking a few snaps with his camera and Irving using her digital camcorder, they managed to get more good shots and video of Carrie while she was completely unaware of anything happening.
Once Carrie had finished oiling up around the valve gear, she went back to the cab and climbed inside. After placing the oil can onto the warming plate over the firehole doors, she went and checked the water gauge glasses and the main boiler pressure gauge to be sure that everything was all right; the water level was good, being around three-quarters of the way up the two glasses, and the indicator arrow on the main pressure gauge was hovering at about 160psi. Bending down, she opened the firebox doors and checked on the state of the fire; it was burning brightly inside the firebox and seemed to be okay, but she stood up, turned round, and reached for the shovel. She placed four shovelfuls of coal into the firebox, allowing the fire to keep on burning bright and hot and thus to keep making more steam.
"How's things in here, Carrie?" the driver asked, as he stepped back onto the footplate.
"Well, the fire's burning well, and there's still plenty of water still in the boiler." Carrie said, as she glanced towards the two water gauge glasses.
"That's good. And you put some more coal into the firebox as well?" asked the driver.
"Yes, I just did." Carrie said, as she showed him the shovel in her hands.
"Good job there, Carrie." said the driver.
Then there came the sounds of another whistle from down the line in the direction of Knapford, which was gradually followed by the approaching sounds of chuffing as another engine with a train got closer and closer to them. On hearing that, all the banking engines who were chatting together paused their talking to listen to the approaching engine, and wondered which engine it was and what sort of train they were pulling.
"I wonder who it is now." Carrie said, as she turned and went to the right-hand side of the cab and looked towards the main line.
"Well, I'm sure we'll find out soon." the driver said, as he too came to the cab side and looked out towards the three tracks near to them.
A few moments later, with the sound of the whistle sounding again, the engine came into view from under the road bridge; it was G.W.R. 4900 Hall Class 4-6-0 No.4956 Plowden Hall, who was at the head of a long and very heavy mixed freight train that was bound for Vicarstown. As he went on by the banker sidings, he was seen to be slowing down while approaching Wellsworth Station. Looking at the number of different wagons and trucks that were coupled up behind Plowden Hall as he went on by, Carrie knew that this train would need some substantial banking assistance to get up Gordon's Hill.
From the road bridge over the three main lines, Irving and Brian watched as this long train behind Plowden Hall went under them and towards Wellsworth Station, they couldn't help but be impressed by how long this freight train was.
"Wow…just take a good look at that!" Irving said quietly, as she watched each of the wagons pass beneath the bridge as Plowden Hall slowed down at the head of the train.
"Yeah, I know. I don't know how I'd feel if I were the driver of that engine if I were to be given the responsibility of taking that train to where it needed to be." Brian said, as he thought of the duties an engine driver would have to undertake when given such a job.
"Hey, remember your own advice from earlier on?" Irving said with a chuckle, as Brian then suddenly remembered and laughed for a moment. Then they turned and looked back towards the end of the freight train as it came to a halt just before Wellsworth Station.
A few moments later, after Plowden Hall had given the whistle signals for the number of bankers he wanted to help him up the hill, which was two, B.R. Standard Class 9F 2-10-0 No.92230 rolled out from the banker sidings to take up position at the back of the train. The power of a 9F was such that it could easily do the work of two smaller tank engines on banking a heavy train, which was why only No.92230 and no other engines moved forwards. From where they were standing on the road bridge, Irving and Brian watched as the 9F gently buffered up to the back of the train and then, after the exchange of crow whistles, the train set off, with Plowden Hall pulling at the front and No.92230 pushing hard at the back. As she watched the train head out away from them and through Wellsworth Station, Irving took out her phone and sent a text to Spacek, who was waiting with King at the viewing spot alongside Gordon's Hill.
Very heavy and impressive freight train coming your way.
The engine with Carrie working on it isn't at the back,
but it's still quite an impressive sight.
A moment or so later, a reply came back from Spacek.
Thanks for that. Will keep an eye out.
As this freight train made its way out from the station and towards Gordon's Hill, the banker that had helped the last train up the hill, L1 No.67735 was seen rolling in reverse on the up line towards the banker sidings and pass under the bridge where he slowed down and came to a stop. After exchanging whistles with the signalman, the points were changed to the down line and No.67735 rolled over the ladder of point-work that crossed over the other two lines and under the road bridge back towards the banker sidings. On the bridge, Irving and Brian looked down towards No.67735 as he rolled back to the banker sidings, going from one side of the bridge to the other, along with the other railway enthusiasts, to see the process being done.
As No.67735 rolled in reverse into the banker sidings, there came the sounds of another whistle and it was coming from further along the line in the direction of Gordon's Hill. On hearing it, Irving and Brian, along with the other railway enthusiasts watching from the bridge, turned their heads to see which engine it was. They didn't have too long to wait until they saw the engine approach, heading through Wellsworth Station with his train without stopping. It turned out to be none other than No.46400, an example of the L.M.S. Ivatt Class 2MT 2-6-0 tender engines (98), and he was hauling a long train of different vans behind him, around 20 of them in all, which was bound for Knapford Yards.
As No.46400 approached the banker sidings, he blew his whistle in greeting to the banker engines who were waiting for their next jobs, as he knew many of them.
"Hello, everyone!" he called, as he blew his whistle.
"Hello, No.46400!" all the other banker engines said, as they watched the Ivatt Class 2MT 2-6-0 go on past them with his train.
From the road bridge, Irving and Brian, along with the others who were there, watched as No.46400 went on along the line below them. Crossing back over the road to the other side of the bridge, they all stood and watched as No.46400 went along the line, slowly building up some more speed as he headed off in the direction of Knapford Station, with the vans rattling along as they got further away.
"Wow…what a sight that was." Irving said, as she watched the brake van pass under the bridge and get further away from them
"Yeah, I know. I don't think I'll ever forget seeing everything that we've seen here on Sodor. But especially the trains." Brian said.
(98): The L.M.S. Ivatt Class 2MT 2-6-0 was designed by Henry George Ivatt for use on light mixed-traffic work on the London Midland and Scottish Railway system. A lot of the low-powered locomotives in the L.M.S. fleet were older 0-6-0 designs which were coming to the end of their useful designs, or were underpowered for the work they had to do. While William Stanier designed much larger locomotive classes for use on express passenger and heavier mixed-traffic and freight work, such as the Princess Royal and Princess Coronations, as well as the Black Five Class 4-6-0s and 8F Class 2-8-0s, it was realised that a smaller design was needed for the lighter work on branch lines that the larger engines simply couldn't go due to weight restrictions.
It fell to H. G. Ivatt to design the new class of engine that would be needed, and Ivatt decided to go for a tender version of his Class 2 2-6-2T tank engine design, which had been introduced at about the same time. Unlike the tank engine design, the 2-6-0 tender design had a much greater range due to their tenders having a much greater water and coal capacity compared to the tank engines.
In 1946, the very first member of the Ivatt Class 2MT 2-6-0, No.6400, entered traffic on the L.M.S., and was followed by another 19 engines, numbered from No.6401 to No.6419, which emerged between 1946 and the end of 1947. After the railways were nationalised in January 1948, the class had the number No.40000 added onto their numbers, thus becoming No.46400 to No.46419, and more were built between 1948 and 1953, and were No.46420 to No.46527. The original engines that were built under L.M.S. auspices had a smaller lower pitched boiler and a lower running plate than the engines built by B.R.
In total, 128 examples of the class were built in 11 batches, and they were constructed at three different locomotive works, which were Crewe, Darlington, and Swindon.
The class were fitted with two outside cylinders that were16in in diameter with a 24in piston stroke, a boiler fitted with superheating elements and pressed to 200psi, and six driving wheels that were 5ft 0in in diameter. All these combined to give the class a maximum tractive effort of 17,410lbf. Later on, the original outside cylinders that were fitted to No.46465 to No.46527 were replaced with brand-new cylinders that were 16.5in in diameter, which allowed the maximum tractive effort to be increased to 18,510lbf. The six driving wheels were driven by Walschaerts valve gear with piston valves.
The tenders the class were paired to ran on six wheels and carried up to 4 tons of coal and 3,000 gallons of water. The tenders also had cabs fitted to them to provide the crews with extra shelter, and they also allowed for good visibility when the engines were running tender-first. The tenders also had ladders fitted in place at the rear for ease of access to the tank top.
The class were also fitted with rocking grates, self-emptying hopper ashpans, and self-cleaning smokeboxes, which meant that disposal of the engines at the end of a hard day of work was a much easier task to undertake for the crews. It was a sign of the times that work had to be made much easier and quicker for the engine crews.
Most of the class were painted in B.R. lined black livery, but some members of the class that were built in Swindon were painted in lined green livery after they passed through the works after overhauls.
During their working lives, most of the class were based on the London Midland Region, though some were based on the Western Region, the Eastern and North Eastern Regions, and on the Scottish Region. Due to their light weight and low axle-loading, the class could go anywhere on the British railway network and work on any kind of work they were tasked with doing. Those engines that were assigned to the Western Region were fitted with G.W.R.-type vacuum ejector and firehole doors.
The class proved to be so successful that British Railways built their own version of this class, which turned out to be the B.R. Standard Class 2MT 2-6-0 design (78XXX series), and these engines had B.R. Standard fittings along with a modified cab and tender.
No.46400 to No.46464 were fitted with short L.M.S.-style chimneys, while engines from No.46465 onwards were fitted with B.R. tall Parallel-type chimneys instead. At one point in 1951, No.46424 was experimentally fitted with a narrow stove pipe chimney and it was nicknamed "The Sprout".
In 1952, No.46460 was transferred to work along the St Combs Light Railway in Scotland, and for that area it was fitted with a cow-catcher which was previously been attached to the L.N.E.R. F4 Class 2-4-2T tanks engines which had originally worked on the branch.
Withdrawals of the class began in 1961, when No.46407 was removed from service in December of that year. The rest of the class followed along over the next six years, until the final 42 members of the class, including the doyen of the class No.46400, were withdrawn in 1967.
Thankfully, seven members of this versatile engine class have managed to survive into preservation, of which five were built at Crewe and two at Swindon. The seven engines are;
No.46428; built at Crewe Works in December 1948, she was withdrawn from service in November 1966 and taken to Barry Scrapyard in September 1967. She was rescued from Barry in October 1979 and taken to the Strathspey Railway where it would be intended to use the boiler as a replacement for No.46464. She was eventually bought by the East Lancs Railway in 1988, with the intention of returning it to full working order. As of 2024, restoration of No.46428 is still ongoing.
No.46441; built at Crewe Works in February 1950, she was withdrawn from service in April 1967 and bought from service after she was withdrawn. Painted in non-authentic lined maroon livery, she spent a number of years operating on the main line from Carnforth, being one of the smallest engines that ran on the main line in that time. She last steamed in 2002 and spent a few years in display on the Ribble Steam Railway before being moved to the Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway in April 2018 where an overhaul began not long afterwards. It's expected that No.46441 will be back in steam sometime in 2024.
No.46443; built at Crewe Works in February 1950, she was withdrawn in March 1967, but was bought not long after and taken to the Severn Valley Railway, where she's been a part of the S.V.R.'s fleet. She's even worked out on the main line in her career, including during the G.W.R. 150 celebrations in 1985, and in Wales in 1987. She's also worked on the East Lancs Railway as well, and extensively on the S.V.R. before being withdrawn from service in 2011 due to boiler issues. She's currently on static display Engine House at Highley on the S.V.R. while funds are raised for its next overhaul.
No.46447; built at Crewe Works in March 1950, she was withdrawn in December 1966 and sent to Woodhams' yard in Barry in June 1967. She was rescued from Barry in June 1972 and taken to Quainton Road in Buckinghamshire for restoration. The work was finally completed by 2014, and No.46447 returned to steam on the East Somerset Railway in October of that year. Her boiler certificate will expire in 2024, after which she'll be withdrawn so as she can be overhauled.
No.46464; built at Crewe Works in June 1950, she hauled the very last passenger train from Arbroath to Forfar on 2nd August 1952 when it had to stand in at the last minute to replace another engine which failed. Indeed, it was its only recorded visit of an engine of its class visit to Arbroath. It also hauled the last train to run on the Carmyllie branch, on 19th May 1965. She was removed from service in September 1966, and bought for preservation not long afterwards. She was put in storage for some years before being brought to the Strathspey Railway in 1978 where it ran for a time before being stored due to firebox problems.
As of 2024, No.46464 is based on the Strathspey Railway and nearing the end of an extensive overhaul to get her back to working order again. She was named The Carmyllie Pilot in preservation.
No.46512; built at Swindon Works in December 1952, she worked the very last passenger train over the Llanfyllin branch on the 17 January 1965 before being withdrawn from service in November 1966. She was sent to Barry scrapyard in June 1967 and remained there until May 1973, when it was rescued and taken to Severn Valley Railway for restoration before then moving to the Bulmer's Railway Centre in Hereford before finally being moved to the Strathspey Railway in 1982.
After many years of hard work, No.46512 was finally returned to working order in October 2000, and was named E.V. Cooper Engineer, in honour of the engineer who oversaw the engine's restoration and played a major role in that task. In early 2020, No.46512 was taken out of service in readiness for a full overhaul.
No.46521; built at Swindon Works in February 1953, she was withdrawn from service in October 1966 and sent to Woodham scrapyard in March 1967. It stayed in the yard until March 1971 when it was rescued and taken to the Severn Valley Railway for restoration. It entered service in July 1974, initially painted in lined B.R. green livery, as the S.V.R.'s first ex-Barry engine to be returned to working order. After being withdrawn in 1977 and given another overhaul, this time to address issues with her boiler. Once the overhaul was complete, she re-entered service and worked until 1985 when she was withdrawn for another overhaul.
She returned to steam in 1991, and ran on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway for a time in 1993. In February 1997, No.46521 was given the name of Blossom and was formally named in a special ceremony by actor Steven Lewis. In 2000, No.46521 was withdrawn again for another major overhaul, which took place on the Great Central Railway. By late 2011, she was back in running order again, but was withdrawn from service on the G.C.R. in late 2022 and is currently undergoing another overhaul to return her to working order again.
In the meantime, Spacek and King were standing at the lookout point right beside Gordon's Hill, along with a few other railway enthusiasts, and keeping an eye out for the train that Irving had told them was coming their way. Spacek and Irving were really there to get pictures of Carrie working on the footplate of Bertha, but while they were here they felt there was no harm in getting some pictures of other engines that were working up and down the hill.
So far this morning, they had seen some very impressive and powerful engines go on by with their trains, either up or down the hill, and some of the trains they had seen were also very impressive in their length, weight, as well as what types of rolling stock they were made of.
"Here comes the train now." Spacek said, as she pointed on down the hill when she saw it come round the curve at the bottom of the hill. With smoke and steam chuffing high into the air, and the sounds of chuffing spreading out over the hill, No.4956 Plowden Hall attacked the climb with all his might, with No.92230 pushing very hard at the back to keep the train moving up the hill.
"And I think this is going to be a very impressive freight too." King said, as he brought his camera, fitted with a special long-distance lens, up to his eyes and began to adjust the focus in order to get the best pictures he could.
The two of them, along with a few other railway enthusiasts, watched as Plowden Hall approached the crest of the hill, going as fast as he was able to due to the angle of the hill and the weight of his heavy train. From the very back of the train, a column of smoke could be seen rising into the air as No.92230 pushed as hard as he could to get the train up the hill. It wasn't long before Plowden Hall finally approached the crest of the hill, and as he went on past the lookout point, the driver, standing on the right-hand side of the cab, waved to the watching enthusiasts. Almost everyone waved back or cheered out loudly as they watched Plowden Hall go on by and then go over the crest of the hill and head on the more gentle-sloping eastern stretch towards Maron Station.
As the wagons in the train went over the crest, the train began to pick up some more speed and No.92230 blew his whistle loudly to indicate he was slowly dropping off from the back of the train. One by one, the trucks went over the crest of the hill, with the couplings tightening as Plowden Hall took the weight of the train, until finally the brake van went over the top with No.92230 slowing down, having smoothly dropped off from the back of the train. He came to a halt a little way beyond the signal box and, after the exchange of whistle signals, the signalman changed the points and No.92230 slowly rolled over the points onto the down line and then slowly reversed back down the hill towards Wellsworth Station to await another turn of duty.
As they watched No.92230 descend the hill and get further away from them, both Spacek and King couldn't help but be impressed by what they had just seen in the last few minutes.
"Quite a sight that was. And the noise that came with it too." Spacek said, as a small smile came across her face.
"I know. And to see those two engines working hard at getting that train up here…well, that was something else it was." King said, in agreement with his colleague. By now, silence had descended upon Gordon's Hill with nothing to be heard anywhere, except for the sounds of the wind blowing through the trees and the sounds of other railway enthusiasts at the lookout spot who were chatting with each other.
"So, what shall we do now?" Spacek asked. Pulling his left sleeve aside, King looked at his watch; the time was 11:10am.
"Well…let's stay here for a bit longer, and wait and see if another train comes along, and then we'll go and meet up with Irving and Brian for lunch." Brian said, as he looked back down the hill.
"Sounds like a good idea to me. I am getting kind of hungry about now." Spacek said, as she looked back down the hill.
(A little later on; time 11:50am)
There came the sounds of another whistle from down the line as another train approached Wellsworth Station, and each of the banker engines and their crews wondered who it would be this time. They didn't have to wait for very long; it turned out to be G.W.R. Castle Class 4-6-0 No.5093 Upton Castle, who was at the head of a long passenger train of 14 G.W.R coaches which were painted in chocolate and cream livery. From where she was standing on the footplate of Bertha, Carrie knew that this arriving train would need to have some serious assistance to get up the hill without issues.
"You know, Carrie, that could be another train for us to push up the hill. After all, I think I could do that with no trouble at all." Bertha said, as she watched the coaches go on by as Upton Castle slowed down, meaning that he was going to be picking up some passengers in Wellsworth Station.
They soon heard the whistle signals for a banker, and it was two short whistles, meaning two bankers would be needed to help Upton Castle and his train up the hill.
"That's us! Let's go!" the driver said, as he blew the whistle and then slowly opened Bertha's regulator, admitting steam into her four cylinders. With the signalman having set the points for them, they slowly moved forwards out of the banker sidings and up the line towards Wellsworth Station. As they approached, Carrie leaned out from the left-hand side of the footplate and looked ahead; she could see the end of the train standing in the station, with the passengers who had been waiting on the platform boarding the coaches.
Slowly and gentle, Bertha buffered up to the back of the train and blew her whistle twice to let Upton Castle know that she was position, and he responded with two crow whistles to acknowledge.
They had to wait for a little longer so that all the passengers could board the train. and for the guard to give the "all clear" by blowing his whistle and waving his green flag. But soon, with the signalman having set the signal to "all clear", and the guard having also done so, Upton Castle blew his whistle and the driver of him and Bertha opened their regulators at the same time. With the chuffing from their chimneys sounding loudly as they moved out of the station, the two engines got the heavy train moving slowly at first, but picking up speed as they got the heavy coaches on the move.
The trip went very smoothly until they reached the red-brick road bridge just before the final curve that led to Gordon's Hill, at which point the driver on Bertha's footplate opened the regulator a bit more to get the train on the move as they climbed the hill. Carrie was taking a go at stoking the firebox with more fresh coal in order to keep the steam pressure up so they would have a chance of making it to the top. It was hard work and she was sweating a bit from the effort, but she knew that once they got this train to the top of Gordon's Hill, they would return to Wellsworth Station and take their lunch hour. And Carrie was looking forward to that, as she felt she needed a rest.
Up at the head of the train, Upton Castle was hauling with all his might to get his train up the incline and his driver was keeping a close watch on the way he had set up the controls, in order to ensure they made it to the top of the climb. By this time, with the rain having long stopped and the clouds in the sky having broken apart somewhat to allow sunlight through, the rails had dried off and allowed the driving wheels of both Upton Castle and Bertha to grip the rails and climb the hill more easily.
From where they were at the top of the hill, both Spacek and King, having been alerted by a text sent from Irving some moments before, stood and waited with cameras in their hands for the train to come their way. They could clearly see Upton Castle as he climbed the hill, with grey-white smoke rising from the back of the long train as Bertha pushed hard. As the G.W.R. Castle Class 4-6-0 got closer to them, with the loud sounds of chuffing from his chimney filling the air all around them, both the officers brought their cameras to their eyes. The train was going slow enough that both of them had a good chance of getting good shots of Carrie if she was leaning out from the cab of the banking engine.
As Upton Castle went on past them, the other railway enthusiasts who were at the lookout point took photos with their own cameras, but Spacek and King were waiting for the banker to come by, as they knew Carrie would be working on it. Sure enough, as Bertha got closer to them, the two officers clearly saw Carrie leaning out from the right-hand side of the footplate, which was the side that was the closest to them. When she saw Carrie, Spacek quickly snapped some photos of her with the camera she had, while King recorded thing with the digital camcorder he had in his hands.
Both officers were concerned that Carrie would notice them filming her, but Carrie was so busy on looking at the line ahead and the line of coaches that was going over the crest of the hill that she didn't see them.
As the two officers got pictures and video of Carrie on the footplate of Bertha, the train went on past the lookout point with Upton Hall cresting the hill and making his way along towards Maron Station, picking up some more speed as he went onto the gently sloping eastern side of the hill. There then came a whistle from Bertha as she eased off from the back of the train, and everyone watched as she slowly dropped off from the last coach, which pulled away from her as the rest of the train sped up as it moved on down the line. A few moments later, having reversed over the points in front of the signal box, Bertha reversed back down the hill on the down line back to Wellsworth for another turn of duty.
As they watched Bertha head off in reverse down Gordon's Hill, both Spacek and King watched as she rolled off down the hill with the sounds of her getting fainter as she got further away from them. On the up line, another train could be seen coming up the hill; this was an iron ore train, which consisted of 15 Tyne Dock – Consett iron ore hopper wagons being hauled by 9F No.92099, who was being banked from the back by L.N.E.R. OS1 Class 2-8-4T No.67905, who had been assigned to work on banking duties today on Gordon's Hill for a change instead of working on passenger trains.
Spacek and King watched as No.92099 went on past with his heavy iron ore train, and were again very impressed by the sight of such a big and powerful engine moving such a heavy train up a steep gradient. Then as the train went over the top of the hill, they saw No.67905 go on past pushing hard before blowing his whistle to indicate he was dropping off the back of the train. For a few more moments, the two officers watched as the L.N.E.R. OS1 slowed down after dropping off the back of the train before he then reversed over the point-work and head back down the hill to Wellsworth Station.
"Wow…and what a show of raw power that all was." Spacek said.
"Yeah, I know. And it's something I can't get my head around." King said, as they looked down the hill and watched No.67905 head on down the hill.
"Anyway, shall we go somewhere for lunch?" Spacek said.
"You know, that sounds like a good idea to me! Let's go and do that." King said, and they turned and went over to where they parked the rental car.
(Back at Wellsworth Station. Time; 12:00pm)
Carrie stepped out from the cab of Bertha, and she was feeling very tired from a morning of hard work. Now though, she was looking forward to having a good rest, as well as a very good lunch before getting back to work later on in the afternoon. After taking a few moments to thoroughly wash her hands and face in a small toilet building close to the banker sidings, she made her way over to the nearby crew building, which was a walk of less than five minutes away to get some lunch.
Stepping inside, she went into the cafeteria where she saw a few other engine crews enjoying lunch at some of the tables inside the space. The smells of good food cooking in the kitchen and being set out for the crews to get hung in the air, and it all certainly smelled good to her. Grabbing a tray from the side, she went and lined up at the buffet line.
A few moments later on, with her having gotten the things she wanted to have, she made her way to one of the tables that was outside the crew building. As the weather was much better than it had been for this morning, Carrie decided to take the chance to eat outside while things were better now than they had been.
Sitting down at one of the outside tables, Carrie took a moment to look around at the landscape from where she was; a few metres away was a V-shaped gully, about 10 or 12 feet wide, through which ran a stream down to the main river a few miles away. On the other side of the gully was a wide open field, and that field had dense bushes and tall trees that ran along the edge of the field by the gully. This kind of foliage offered to provide plenty of cover for anyone who wanted to look into the yard, as well as to spy on anyone who may be outside the crew building.
Just before Carrie sat down to enjoy her lunch, there came the sounds of footsteps from near her.
"Hey, Carrie!" came a familiar voice. She turned round, and saw Simon walked towards her.
"Hey, Simon!" she said, with a smile on her face, as she went to give Simon a big hug and a kiss on the lips.
"How was your morning?" Simon asked, as they released each other from the hug.
"Eh…it was all right. It was just a case of helping very heavy trains up the hill whenever they needed Bertha's help." Carrie said.
"Oh, you were assigned to working on Bertha, the former banker for the Lickey Incline, for today?" Simon asked.
"Yeah, I was. And it was quite an interesting morning so far as well, considering how many trains I've helped to move up the hill." Carrie said.
"Well, let me go and get some food, and then we'll go and chat about how our morning went?" Simon suggested.
"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea to me. I'll wait out here for you." Carrie said, as she sat down.
"Don't wait for me to come out here. You just enjoy your food while it's still hot." Simon said, as he went inside the crew building.
"Okay, Simon." Carrie said, as he watched Simon go inside. She tucked into her food, which was a rich beef stew with mashed potatoes, and she had a bottle of ice-cold Coca Cola to wash it all down.
However, what Carrie was unaware of was the fact that both Irving and Brian were in the field and hiding behind some bushes on the other side of the gully. Both of them had already gotten some videos and pictures of her and Simon just a few short moments before, and they were somewhat pleased to see that Carrie had a boyfriend who she really had feelings for.
"You have to admit, Brian…it's nice to see Carrie with such a handsome boy. And it was really sweet to see them kiss as well." Irving said, who had a smile on her face from what she had seen earlier on.
"Yeah, I know that, Irving. And I know that it's nice to see the two of them together as you've said…but at the same time, life isn't all about what you might read in the romance novels that I know you like to read." Brian said.
"I know that, Brian. But I can't help it." Irving said, as she brought the camcorder up and took another shot of Carrie.
After a moment, Brian stood up a little to stretch his legs out. But he stepped on a small branch, which created a loud "snap" when it broke, and the sound went everywhere. When she heard it, Carrie suddenly looked up and turned over towards the other side of the gully to see what was going on. She didn't see Brian, as he had managed to duck behind the cover of the dense hedgerow just in time.
"Oh, now you've done it, Brian!" Irving said. She was still recording with the camcorder, but had jumped slightly when she heard the snap of the branch and saw Carrie's reaction to it.
"Sorry, I didn't see it under my feet!" Brian said in a quiet panic, as he took shelter behind a particularly dense bush and kept as still as he could.
For several moments, Carrie looked towards where the source of the noise had come. Then, curious as to what was going on, she stood up and stepped slowly over towards the gully a few meters away from where she was sitting. Irving and Brian both saw her coming towards them through the thin gaps in the leaves, and so they kept as low and as quiet as they could. Although the wide gully would prevent Carrie crossing over and having a more thorough look through the bushes, they were still afraid that she might see them and that they were spying on her.
Carrie reached the fence on the side of the gully she was on, and for a few long moments, she looked around up and down the length of gully she could see to try identify what had happened. Then she looked straight towards the dense bushes behind which were Irving and Brian taking cover. Irving was still recording everything that was going on with the camcorder, and she didn't dare move a muscle. At one point, Carrie looked directly towards the exact spot where Irving was taking cover and looked directly into the camera Irving was holding, and Irving, who was still looking through the viewfinder, was somewhat unnerved by that.
"Is someone there?!" Carrie called out, as she looked along the bushes again, hoping to find out who it was. She was feeling deeply suspicious; there just HAD to be someone or something over there that made that snapping sound. Irving and Brian stayed quiet and kept low, and they hoped that Carrie would move away.
After a few tense moments, and after convincing herself that there was no one there, Carrie turned away, shook her head as if to say "Nah, there was no one there", and then she went back to the table to finish her lunch and wait for Simon to arrive. As they watched her turn and go, both Brian and Irving let out a huge sigh of relief.
"Whew! That was FAR too close for comfort!" Irving said, as she took in a few deep breaths to calm herself down.
"Yeah, and I'm sorry. But I just didn't see that branch beneath my galoshes." Brian said, as he rubbed down his forehead in some relief.
"It's all right. But just please watch where you put your feet the next time that you need to stretch your legs out." Irving said, almost scolding her colleague.
"All right. Sorry." Brian said, as he raised his camera to his eyes. For a few more minutes, both of them stayed where they were and watched as Carrie enjoyed lunch with Simon. They watched as the two young teens socialised with each other and chatted while they ate, including where they went into the crew building to get dessert before coming back outside again to enjoy it.
After a while, after getting a few shots of Carrie and Simon enjoying their lunch together, the two officers silently crept away from the bushes and back towards the road, pleased that they had managed to get more pictures and video of the missing Carrie White. As they stepped out of the field and back onto the road, closing the gate behind them, their rental vehicle, with Spacek and King in it, pulled up to the roadside by them.
"Did you get some good shots of Carrie?" King asked, as the two of them put their muddy galoshes into the back of the vehicle and then got inside the middle row of seats with dry and clean shoes on. King was in the driver's seat, and was feeling very keen to hear if they'd been successful.
"Yeah, we did. And some good shots of her too with her boyfriend." Irving said, a big smile on her face, as she showed them the camcorder.
"Mission accomplished! How about we show them to you and tell you what happened when we're having lunch? We're both starving right now." Brian said.
"Sounds like a good idea to me. Let's get back to the hotel and we'll get lunch there. After all, there's things on the menu there that I think we all want to try." Spacek said. And with all of them in full agreement at that idea, they headed off down the road and then headed back towards Knapford.
(Late afternoon. 5:12pm)
Feeling exhausted after a long day of work, and now very keen to get back to Tidmouth Sheds so that she could have a hot shower, get changed into fresh clothes, and then clock out for the day, Carrie stood on the platform of the down line at Wellsworth Station, along with a number of other passengers, and waited for the next train to come along and take her back home. She didn't have to wait for long, for she soon heard a familiar whistle coming towards the station from the direction of Gordon's Hill. It turned out to be none other than Gordon himself, with 10 smartly turned out coaches coupled behind him.
He was on his final train of the day, and he was returning to Knapford after a long day of hard work at pulling express passenger trains across the island. As he pulled up along the platform to collect his passengers, he saw Carrie standing at the end and waiting for him.
"Hello there, Carrie! Are you ready to head on home?" Gordon asked, as he came to a stop.
"Hi, Gordon! Yes, I am! And after the long day of hard work that I've been doing in constantly going back and forth on Bertha's footplate and helping heavy trains up the hill…I'll be glad of a good long rest tonight." Carrie said, with a tired smile.
"Well, hop aboard my cab then! And I'll take you straight back home!" Gordon said.
"Thanks Gordon!" Carrie said with a grateful smile, as she climbed aboard the footplate. After meeting up with the driver and fireman, she sat down on the front of the tender and waited for the off. And she didn't have to wait for very long.
About two or three minutes later, with the last of the passengers aboard the train, Gordon was given the all clear to depart by the guard. With a blast of his whistle, Gordon slowly moved forwards out of the station, taking up the weight of his heavy train behind him. From where she was sitting on the front of the tender, Carrie just sat back and relaxed as best as she could while the trip back to Knapford took place. After a long day of hard work, she had more than earned a good rest by this point. Looking out the left-hand side of the cab, Carrie glanced up to the sky and noted that the sun was slowly beginning to set off to the west, even though the sun was still reasonably high in the sky. By this time of the year, with autumn well upon Sodor, the late afternoon/early evening air was now cooler than it would normally have been, and the leaves were falling off most of the trees, a very clear sign that winter was on the way.
But Carrie wasn't too worried about the oncoming of winter now; in fact, she was too tired after a long day to care about it, and she was looking forward to having a really good night's sleep before returning to work the following day. And so, she just sat back and enjoyed the ride back as Gordon made his way quickly along the main line.
(Friday, September 28th 2012 – 9:50am, Knapford Station)
The weather the following morning was fairly cool with a light grey overcast in the sky, and there was no breeze at all to speak of. It seemed that it would be a perfect mid-autumn day on the Island of Sodor.
Standing at Platform 1 in Knapford Station, L.N.E.R. K4 Class 2-6-0 No.61998 Macleod of Macleod was waiting to set off with the 10:00am train from Knapford to Sodor International Airport. There were 10 coaches in the train, and boarding them were passengers who were bound for the airport to catch flights to wherever they needed to be going to.
Among the many passengers who were boarding the coaches on this cool morning were Spacek, King, Irving, and Brian. They had checked out from their hotel not too long before, having gotten up earlier than usual, and they were going to be catching the 1:00pm flight back to Western Maine Airport in the United States. They had achieved all their objectives of getting information about what Carrie White was doing on the Island of Sodor, as well as good pictures and videos of her, as well as the friends she had made, and of her father Ralph White…and all without them knowing about it.
Irving, King, Spacek, and Brian stepped aboard the first-class coach, which was coupled right at the front of the train, and they were soon seated at a table for four that was close to the rear of the coach. They had already placed their larger bags together on a luggage rack at the back of the coach, and had just placed their lighter bags onto the luggage rack over the table. The four of them were relieved their mission had been a success, and they were now looking forwards to catching the flight home and informing all their fellow officers in the Chamberlain Police Department about their time on Sodor and what they had uncovered about Carrie White.
"Oh, I'll be looking forward to getting home again!" Spacek said, as she settled back into the comfy seat.
"Yeah, me too. In a way I'll be glad to get home, but in a small way, I think I'll really miss the Island of Sodor. After all, in the time we've been here, all the people we've met have been very friendly and welcoming." Irving said.
"I know, and I agree that Sodor is a very great place to be. And I can clearly see why Carrie's much happier over here than she was back in Chamberlain." King said.
"Well, let's just relax for the trip to the airport, and then we'll talk more about all of everything we've seen of Carrie White and her father over here. After all, I think all our colleagues back home will be very interested to hear everything that we've got to tell them." Brian said. And the rest of them agreed with that idea, because after all, they were all keen to get home by this point and were eager to wait until they got home before they went into the nitty-gritty of the things they had seen while they were on Sodor.
On the footplate of Macleod, Carrie leaned out from the driver's side of the cab, which was on the left-hand side, and looked out toward the signal gantry over the tracks. Then she checked her watch; it was 9:52am, and they were due to depart from the station at precisely 10:00am. After the hard work she'd done the previous day, she had gone to bed early the previous evening and so was feeling much better this morning. Sitting in the driver's seat was her father, Ralph White, and the fireman was busy checking on the state of the fire to make sure that the fire was okay and was making a good head of steam in the boiler.
Today was the very first time that Carrie was working on an engine's footplate with her father at the controls, and she was hoping that she could impress him while they were out on the main line today.
"Not long left to go now, Carrie. It should be fairly easy running from here to the airport this morning." Ralph said, as he double-checked on how the brakes and reversing controls were set, as well as looking ahead at the state of the signals.
"Okay, dad. I'm just looking forward to seeing different scenery today than just what I saw yesterday when I was pottering up and down Gordon's Hill again and again for the whole day." Carrie said.
"Oh, I know what you mean by that, Carrie." said the fireman, with a chuckle.
Then, there came the sounds of a familiar whistle, followed by the sounds of chuffing that was approaching Knapford Station. Going over to the fireman's side of the cab, Carrie leaned out and looked along the line that ran adjacent to Platform 2 to see who it was. It turned out to be Henry, and he was hauling a very long line of different box vans behind him from nearby Knapford Harbour.
As Henry came through the station with his long train, he noticed Carrie leaning out from Macleod's cab and looking at him as he approached.
"Good morning, Carrie!" Henry said, as he went on past.
"Good morning, Henry!" Carrie said, as she watched the big green engine go on by.
"Good morning, Henry!" Macleod said.
"Good morning, Macleod!" said Henry, as he went on by with his long train and out towards the Southern Main Line.
Just as the brake van at the end of Henry's train went on by them, Carrie looked up and saw another train coming towards Knapford Station from the south. It was a passenger train of six coaches being hauled by L.M.S. Fairburn 4MT 2-6-4T tank engine No.2189, and he was just arriving at Knapford after a run from Wellsworth Station (99). His black paintwork, with the letters L.M.S. on his side-tanks in bright yellow, looked quite smart in the morning light and No.2189 looked to be very pleased that he had arrived at Knapford a little bit early. He also knew that his passengers would be pleased as well to arrive a little bit early.
(99): The L.M.S. Fairburn 4MT 2-6-4T tank engines were designed by Charles Fairburn when he became the C.M.E. of the L.M.S. after the retirement of William Stanier in 1944. In fact, they were the only class of engine that Fairburn ever designed before he died of a heart attack in October 1945, and was replaced as the Chief Mechanical Engineer of the L.M.S. by H.G. Ivatt.
The Fairburn 2-6-4T design was based off of Stanier's 2-cylinder 2-6-4T tank engine design (which was numbered from No.42425 to No.42494, and No.42537 to No.42572), but it had a shorter wheelbase which had been reduced from 16ft 6in on Stanier's design to 15ft 4in on Fairburn's design. This shortened wheelbase allowed the new class to go around slightly tighter curves that the earlier tank engine classes couldn't go round. The new design was also 3 tons lighter in weight than Stanier's class had been, and so could go on routes the earlier 2-6-4T design couldn't go on. The Fairburn 2-6-4T could be distinguished from Stanier's 2-6-4T designs by the gap in the running plate ahead of the cylinders.
In March 1945, the first member of the Fairburn 2-6-4T tank engine, No.2673, entered traffic, and was followed along with another 44 more engines by the end of the year. These first engines were numbered from No.2673 to No.2699, and from No.2200 to No.2217. More engines followed along from the start of 1946 all the way to June 1951 when construction of the class came to an end when No.42095 was rolled out of Brighton Works. In total, 277 examples of the Fairburn 2-6-4T design were built between March 1945 and June 1951, and they were built at the L.M.S./B.R. Derby Works and at Brighton Works. Of the 277 engines that were built, 41 of them were built at Brighton Works and the rest of them were built at Derby. Construction of the class ended in June 1951 when construction of the near-identical B.R. Standard Class 4MT 2-6-4T tank engines was about to commence.
The Fairburn 2-6-4T design had two outside cylinders that were a little over 19.5in in diameter with a 26in piston stroke, a boiler fitted with superheating elements and pressed to 200psi, and six driving wheels that were 5ft 9in in diameter. All this combined to give the class a maximum tractive effort of 24,670lbf. Their bunkers carried up to 3.5 tons of coal and their side tanks could carry from 1,875 gallons in the earlier engines to 2,000 gallons in the later engines.
The 41 members of the class that were built at Brighton Works saw extensive service on the Southern Region of British Railways where they replaced earlier designs, and they remained on the Southern Region their whole lives. Many of them were based at Stewarts Lane, Dover Marine, and Ashford in Kent.
One member of the class was allocated to the Western Region; this engine was No.42182, and she spent some time at Landore, Swansea after arriving there from Chester in 1960. It was then moved to Swansea East Dock the following year before having a brief period at Leamington Spa in 1962 before returning to the Midland Region at Willesden later that same year.
The engines allocated to the Eastern Region were based at various depots in Yorkshire, including Bradford and Leeds, that were then part of the Midland Region but later transferred to the Eastern Region. In addition, 16 locomotives were allocated to Tilbury, Plaistow and Shoeburyness. These remained the main areas on the Eastern where members of this class were based, but they did make brief visits to the Newcastle area, as well as the North East coast towns of Whitby and Scarborough.
The locomotives that were based in the Scottish Region were largely concentrated around the Glasgow area, of which the largest allocation was to Polmadie Depot, as well as in other places along the Ayrshire Coast as well as along the West Coast Main Line. A few engines were allocated to St Margarets and Dalry Road in Edinburgh. The furthest north they were allocated were Perth and Aviemore where a small number were based for a very short time.
The Midland Region locomotives were to be found at various depots right across the region, and turning their wheels to whatever duties were thrown at them, ranging from daily commuter trains in the suburbs of cities like Birmingham, to hauling heavy freight trains and fitted trains, as well as banking heavy trains up to Shap Summit on the West Coast Main Line. They proved to be very popular engines with their crews, due to their reliability in service as well as to the high speeds they could reach whenever they had to work on passenger trains. On one occasion, No.42152 reportedly touched a top speed of 74mph when it hauled the very last steam train to run on the Eastern Region, when it was in charge of the 4:18pm Bradford to Leeds passenger train on 1st October 1967.
Withdrawals of the class began in 1961 when three engines, No.42217, No.42220, and No.42683, were withdrawn from service. The rest of the class followed along over the next six years, with 57 members of the class being removed from service in 1964, which was the highest concentration of engines of the class withdrawn. By the start of 1967, there were still 42 members of the class still in use, but all of them had been withdrawn from regular use by the end of the year.
Thankfully, two engines have managed to survive into preservation, both of whom are based on the Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway. These two engines are No.42073 and No.42085, both of whom were withdrawn from service on B.R. in October 1967 and bought for preservation after they were removed from service. Both engines were built at Brighton Works, with No.42073 being built there in November 1950, and No.42085 being built there in September 1951. No.42085 spent much of its early career in preservation painted in Caledonian Railway blue livery complete with oval brass Caledonian number plates, and although this livery was quite attractive and proved to be quite popular with the public who visited the railway, it did divide opinions in the preservation movement for its inaccuracy.
As of 2024, No.42073 is operational on the Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway, but will be withdrawn soon for a major overhaul, while No.42085 is currently undergoing a major overhaul on the same heritage line. Both engines have spent their whole lives in preservation based on the Lakeside Railway, but No.42085 did make a rare venture from its home base when it visited the Bluebell Railway for a time in 2012.
Slowly, and with a gentle hiss of steam and a squealing of brakes, No.2189 came to a halt on the line that was adjacent to Platform 4. Once he came to a halt, the doors were opened and all the passengers disembarked from the coaches. Looking back from Macleod's cab, Carrie watched as the passengers clambered up the footbridge and crossed over the lines to Platform 1, where they made their way out from the station.
At 10:00am sharp, the signal ahead changed from "danger" to "all clear" and the signal arms dropped, showing a green light. At the same time, the guard for Macleod's train blew his whistle and waved his green flag before quickly getting back aboard the first coach, closing the door behind him.
"Okay, here we go!" Ralph said, as he blew the whistle and then opened the regulator. Slowly, Macleod moved forwards with clouds of white condensed steam shooting out from the three cylinder drain valves. The chuffing from his chimney started off slowly at first, but then as he picked up speed a little, the sounds of the chuffing increased and got a little louder as he moved out from the station.
From inside the coaches, all the passengers sat back and relaxed in their seats as the train moved out from the station and out onto the Southern Main Line. Once out on the main line and moving at a slowly increasing speed, the servers on the train set to work at serving out refreshments out to the passengers.
From the buffet coach, a stewardess pushed a smartly polished wooden cart before her into the first-class coach, with china mugs on top along with tall silver cans with hot tea and coffee, and stopped by the table where the four officers were sitting and chatting with each other.
"Good morning!" said the stewardess, as she stopped by the table.
"Good morning!" the four officers said, as they looked up.
"Would you like tea or coffee?" she asked. The four officers all wanted coffee, and so the stewardess carefully poured them each a cup of hot coffee and gently placed the mugs onto the table in front of them. She also left a small jug of milk on the table just in case any of the officers wanted milk in their coffee. Once that was done, the stewardess accepted their thanks with a "You're welcome" and then she went to serve passengers at the next table. As she did so, the four officers sat back and enjoyed their coffee while they watched the world go by outside them.
The trip along the Southern Main Line went very well, with Macleod running well at the front of the train. On his footplate, Carrie and the fireman took goes at stoking the firebox while Ralph White sat at the controls and kept them at a good speed as they ran along. Passing by all the familiar landmarks, they also passed by a number of other trains that were heading back in the opposite direction towards Knapford Station.
Among the engines they passed by who were heading back towards Knapford included rebuilt ex-S.R. West Country Class Pacific No.34021 Dartmoor, who was pulling a passenger train of 14 ex-S.R. Bulleid coaches…L.M.S. Black Five 4-6-0 No.5007, who was making his way along with a fully fitted freight train almost made of entirely of vans…L.M.S. 3-cylinder Stanier 2-6-4T tank engine No.2510 who was seen standing at the down platform at Crosby Station and picking up some passengers who were waiting there…L.N.E.R. Peppercorn A1 Class Pacific No.60140 Balmoral, who was heading along with his morning train…and finally B.R. Standard Class 7MT Britannia Pacific No.70046 Anzac, who pulling a passenger train of 12 coaches behind him.
It wasn't too long before they finally approached Wellsworth Station, where they would need to pick up a banker in order to go over Gordon's Hill. With Ralph closing the regulator and gently putting on the brakes, they slowed down as they approached the station and the banker sidings before it. Looking out from left-hand side of the cab, Carrie saw the different engines standing in the banker sidings and wondered which one would push them up to the top of the hill this morning.
Passing by the banker sidings, Ralph brought Macleod and the train to a halt just before Wellsworth Station. And then he gave the special signal on the whistle, indicating he wanted a single banker to help get the train up Gordon's Hill. Looking out and back along the train, Carrie watched as G.W.R. Hawksworth Pannier tank engine No.8450 roll out from one of the banker sidings and gently buffer up to the back of the train. Then the driver gave the signal to indicate he was in position at the back.
While they waited for the signal to drop so they could go, they heard the sounds of a diesel motor coming from the direction of Gordon's Hill. Going over to the other side of the cab and leaning out a little, Carrie saw BoCo roll along the line heading in the direction of Knapford, with a long line of china clay trucks coupled up behind him.
"Morning, BoCo!" Macleod said, as he watched the green diesel approach.
"Good morning, Macleod!" BoCo said, as he went on by with his long train of heavily-laden china-clay trucks, many of which were covered with canvas sheeting.
Not too long after BoCo had gone by, the signal dropped. After the exchange of crow whistles with No.8450, the train was off on its way again. Heading through Wellsworth Station, Carrie took notice of a number of passengers and station staff standing round on the platform for trains going back to Knapford, and who were watching the train go on by.
After a short while, they soon came under the red-brick road bridge at the base of the hill, and went round the reverse s-curve and then up the two-mile long stretch of 1-in-40 to the top of the hill. It was a familiar sight to Carrie, who went up and down this stretch of line quite a few times the previous day, but today they would be continuing on over the top and onto the airport instead of reversing back down to Wellsworth.
They continued climbing the gradient, with No.8450 pushing very hard from the back, until they finally reached the top of the climb. Once there, Ralph opened the regulator a little further and wound back the reversing gear, allowing Macleod to build up more speed as they headed off down the line towards Maron Station. From the rear of the train, with a blast of his whistle, No.8450 dropped off the back of the train and allowed Macleod to take up the weight of the train and move off down the line at speed. Not long after, No.8450 reversed over the points at the top of the hill and reversed back down the hill to Wellsworth Station.
Macleod continued on down the line at a good speed, and passed through Maron Station, where L.M.S. Royal Scot Class 4-6-0 No.6108 Seaforth Highlander was seen picking up passengers. After Maron Station, Macleod soon came upon the junction that would take him down to the airport and, with the points having been set for him by the signalman, he rolled over the points and down onto the double-tracked line on the final part of his journey. For the last part of the trip, Ralph offered Carrie the chance to drive into the station, to which she agreed. Sitting in the driver's seat, Carrie took the controls and drove Macleod along the line to the airport which she could see in the distance. Ralph stood by her and told her what to do and Carrie would work the controls as needed.
Finally, they arrived alongside Platform 7 at Sodor International Airport Station, and came to a gentle halt with Carrie shutting the regulator and working the brake controls to bring the train to a gentle halt. The time was 10:30am, and they had arrived at their destination right on time.
"And there we are. We're here safe and sound." Carrie said, as she made sure the brakes were fully on.
"Well done, Carrie. A job well done." her father said, with a big smile on his face, as he patted her on the shoulder. "I think we'll make a railwayman out of you yet."
"Thanks, dad. That was great." Carrie said, with a big smile on her own face. She really did feel proud of herself at having gotten this train into the station safely, and with no issues.
The doors to the coaches were opened and all the passengers disembarked the train, before making their way up to the long passenger footbridge on their way to the large airport terminal building. The four officers from Chamberlain, Spacek, Irving, Brian, and King, were amongst them, and with their luggage in hand, they went up the footbridge very close to the first-class coach. Pausing at the top and turning round, they looked towards Macleod's cab; they could see Ralph, the fireman, and Carrie on the footplate, with Carrie sitting in the driver's seat.
"Do you suppose Carrie actually drove us all the way over here?" Spacek asked, in some astonishment when she saw Carrie in the driver's seat.
"I don't think so…but I'm amazed to see she's in the driving seat." Brian said, astonished.
Bringing his camera up, King snapped a few pictures, and managed to get a few good snaps of Carrie along with her father.
"Good…and those I think are the final shots of this trip." King said, as he turned the camera off and put it back into its carrying case.
"Well, come on. Let's get to the airport terminal." Irving said, and they turned and followed the other passengers along the footbridge towards the airport terminal.
(A little later on; 11:25am)
Having checked in at the desk for the flight back to Maine, the four officers sat together in the comfort of the lounge near to the gate while waiting for the time to board their flight. There were a few other passengers sitting in the lounge near them, who were reading through their books and magazines or the morning paper while sipping cups of hot coffee, while a few worked away on their laptops at some of the tables.
The four officers were sitting on two comfortable couches placed round another table very near the windows where they could overlook the apron and all the activity taking place on it, including seeing aircraft get fuelled up and restocked with supplies, luggage being loaded aboard, and various other things like that. They watched as different vehicles went about on the apron, as well as what all the people down there were doing. The four officers sipped cups of hot coffee and ate sandwiches while they waited for the announcement for passengers to proceed to the gate to board the aircraft. The four of them were feeling very pleased with the immense success of their mission over to Sodor, having gotten pictures and video of what Carrie was doing on Sodor, as well as having seen that her father was still alive.
"I can't wait to see the faces of our fellow officers once we get back to Chamberlain and show them what we've gotten." Spacek said, as she sipped her coffee.
"Yeah, me too. I think it's a job-well-done on our part." Brian said.
"I'm looking forward to seeing the reactions of everyone we know in Chamberlain when we show them all what we've gotten. I'm sure some of them will be quite shocked." King said, as he settled back in the couch.
"I'm sure they will be...and just as shocked as the four of us were." Irving said.
(Later on; 1:05pm)
Now comfortably seated in their seats, and with their seatbelts on, the officers settled down as the 747 jumbo jet taxied out from the airport apron and over towards the runway. It was finally time for them to return home to Maine with all the information they had gathered about Carrie White. Irving was sitting at the front row of seats in economy class in a window seat on the starboard side of the aircraft. Her other three colleagues were sitting in other seats elsewhere in the aircraft cabin. From there she could see everything passing by outside as they moved towards the runway, including the hangars, maintenance facilities, and other airport buildings before they finally turned round at the end of the runway, ready to take off.
After what seemed like ages, but was in fact only a minute or two, permission to take off finally came from the control tower and the pilots pushed the throttles forward. With the four engines roaring loudly, they started off down the runway, slowly at first and then quicker and quicker. It seemed as if the aircraft would never get airborne, but then the nose pointed up to the sky and it started to rise off the ground, and then it took off into the sky. Looking out her window, Irving saw the ground as it fell away below them, with everything getting smaller and smaller the higher into the sky they got.
Eventually, they went into a cloudbank of white clouds and the ground disappeared as they flew through the clouds. Some moments later, they appeared above the clouds and were bathed in bright sunlight with a crisp blue sky to be seen for miles in all directions. For Irving, it was just an amazing sight to see such a clear blue sky, with a wide bank of clouds below and with the clouds taking all sorts of shapes.
As the 747 levelled off at 35,500 feet and set off on its long course towards the United States in a north easterly direction to take them over the North Atlantic, Irving settled back into her seat and just relaxed as she began to enjoy the long journey back home. Soon, a "Ding" sound was heard as the seatbelt lights over the seats went off, and Irving took off her seatbelt, just like many others on the aircraft, and stood up, opened the overhead locker and retrieved one of the books she was reading. Sitting back down, she settled down and began to read through her book.
And that's it for this chapter, everyone! This chapter has the greatest number of words in a chapter I've written so far, with 26,300 words put into it. The next chapter that's to come will be of Carrie's classmates, their families, and teachers finally finding out where she is, and that she's okay. I hope to have the next chapter written and uploaded as soon as I possibly can.
So, until then, everyone…good reading!