Chapter 56: Halloween Train and Party
(Tuesday, October 30th 2012 – 4:15pm, Sodor Cement Works)
For this chapter everyone, as you've probably seen from the title, this is going to be about a special Halloween event on the Island of Sodor. Will everything go well for the event? Well…read ahead and see!
With a loud clattering of buffers as another long line of heavy trucks was shunted into each other, a shunter standing off to the side of the line went along and coupled all the trucks together, using his shunting pole to lift the chain links onto the coupling hooks. As soon as he made sure that all the trucks were securely coupled together, he gave the all-clear to the driver. After acknowledging the signal with a wave of his hand and a short blast of the whistle, the driver on the footplate of L.M.S. Fairburn 4MT 2-6-4T No.2699 slowly opened the regulator and they moved slowly forwards out of the Sodor Cement Works, taking a long line of empty trucks away.
From where the yard manager was standing and watching from the walkway leading to his office that overlooked most of the yards, he could see that the line of trucks which had made a major delivery earlier on that day was at last being taken away, and freeing up space in the yards.
"Well…I guess that's it for now." said the yard manager, as he went back inside his office. It had been a very busy day for the cement works, with a really big order that needed to be delivered to a number of different construction sites around the Island of Sodor, including a place in the north of the island where plenty of brand-new holiday homes were being built or renovated for the summer season due to come the following year.
Since morning, plenty of lines of specialist heavily laden V-shaped cement wagons had been dispatched from the works by different engines taking the cement away, and Fergus, the pride of the cement works, had been busy overseeing the dispatch of the cement trains during the day. So far, things had gone very well, with nothing having gone wrong as all trains had been dispatched from the works on time. By now, with the afternoon drawing to an end and all the workmen feeling keen to head on home after the end of a long day's work, Fergus and his crew were looking forward to seeing the last two trains being taken from the yards and sent on their way to where they were needed.
The weather for the whole day had been overcast and breezy, with the wind often blowing moderately at times during the day, and the wind had been quite cold all day as well, which was a clear sign to everyone that winter was on its way. The most recent mornings had been very cold at times, with people often being able to see their breath coming out from their mouths in white clouds. The nights had also been quite cold as well, with the temperature often falling close to freezing point at times, and often thick fog formed at times, causing thick, ghostly clouds to form over the ground in a spooky swirling cloud, particularly in some of the valleys and even over flat ground near lakes.
Many people and more than a few engines were wondering what the coming winter could be, though quite a few of them had some idea of what the winter would be like. It was highly likely that there would be heavy snowfall, along with freezing temperatures, very cold winds, as well as plenty of frost, snow drifts, and ice.
But for now though, although it was getting colder, no snow had yet fallen from the cloudy late autumn sky, and the engines wanted to take advantage of the fact that the lines were still clear to move their trains about while there was no snow. They knew that when the snow would eventually come, it would cause many delays to the trains that ran on the island.
Yet despite the coming of winter, many engines weren't too concerned about it today. They were more interested in what was coming in the near future, and were feeling very excited about it too. They were excited for tomorrow, for tomorrow, October 31, was Halloween. This was the time when the children would dress up in their Halloween costumes and attend special parties. There would be trick or treating around the streets of the different towns, scary ghost stories to be told, as well as a special firework display at Knapford Station on Halloween night. But it was also a time when the older teenagers and adults would also find the time to dress up in costumes and have fun with each other at some of the Halloween parties that would be sure to be held on that spooky time of the year.
However, Fergus wasn't too concerned about the weather or the coming of Halloween at the moment, for he was more interested to see which two engines would come to the cement works to pick up the last two trains of cement. He had helped to get the two trains arranged over the last while and he was feeling quite tired after that job.
He didn't have to wait for very long for the engines to arrive to take the two trains away, for he soon heard two different whistles from the line leading out from the cement works towards the main line, followed shortly afterwards by the loud sounds of approaching chuffing of two engines that were coming closer and closer all the time. He soon saw which two engines it was, for two large tank engines came rolling in reverse along two of the lines among the tall industrial buildings, towering loading hoppers, as well as sidings with lines of empty trucks sitting in them.
One of the two tank engines was No.8900, the G.W.R. 89XX Class 2-8-4T tank engine, and he was coming to take one of the cement trains to the Little Western where there was a construction project taking place very near to the town of Arlesburgh. Slowly reversing along the line, he went over the points until he gently buffered up to the leading cement wagon of his train.
"The workers over at Arlesburgh will be pleased to get this cement!" No.8900 said, as he was coupled up to the train. He was correct, for the builders at the building sites close to Arlesburgh were going to be needing this fresh delivery of cement to finish off their building work, which was renovating a few sites, as well as adding a major extension on to a hotel in the local area that was being expanded to accommodate more guests when the following summer season came along.
While No.8900 was being coupled to his train and was being readied to take it away, the other tank engine waited to go to collect the other cement train. This one resembled No.8900 in a few ways, except he was considerably larger in his overall size and had 10 driving wheels instead of 8. In fact, this larger tank engine was No.8203, who was an example of the G.W.R.'s 82XX Class 2-10-2T tank engine, the largest tank engine ever built by the G.W.R. and an engine who was more than capable of hauling any train he was asked to haul (106).
Carrie White was standing on No.8203's footplate with the driver and fireman, and having been working on the line with No.8203 since 8:00am that morning, it was getting close to the time when she would clock out for the day. She was feeling a bit tired and was eager to finish up for the day, as tomorrow would be Halloween and she really wanted to do her bit to help out with whatever was being planned for the big party tomorrow evening.
They had to wait for a few more minutes until they were allowed to move, but once they were given the all-clear from the shunter standing on the side of the line, the driver released the brakes and then opened the regulator a little. Ever so slowly, No.8203 reversed along the line into the siding while the shunter kept watch from the side of the line, with the driver keeping one hand on the regulator, ready to cut off the steam from the cylinders once he was given the signal to shut off steam. Closer and closer they came to the line of cement wagons and then the shunter called out "Now!" and the driver shut the regulator at once. A few moments later, with a slight "bump" along with the sounds of buffers touching each other, No.8203 buffered up to the long train and came to a stop as the driver put on the brakes, which came on with a squeal.
When they stopped, the shunter went in behind No.8203 and coupled him up to the train, and also connected the brake pipes together. He emerged a minute or so later, and spoke to the driver. Acknowledging the shunter's instructions, the driver created a vacuum with the injectors, slowly releasing the brakes along the length of the train behind. Taking a look up to the brake gauge, Carrie watched as the two indicator arrows in the gauge rose up, as a vacuum was created through the train. It started quickly at first, but then slowed down after a few seconds as it got higher and higher. Eventually, the two indicator arrows reached a point in between 20 and 25, showing that there was a full vacuum within the train.
(106): The Great Western Railway 82XX Class 2-10-2T tank engine is a class of steam locomotive that actually was planned to be built when Charles Collett was the C.M.E. of the G.W.R., but in the event it was ultimately never built. But here's a history of the class as if they had been built. They were largest and most powerful tank engines ever built by the G.W.R. and were intended to be used on the very heavy iron ore trains that ran on the Newport to Ebbw Vale Line in South Wales.
The class were a natural development of the earlier 72XX Class 2-8-2T tank engine design that had worked along the Newport – Ebbw Vale line, but unlike the earlier class, the 82XX Class was substantially beefed up in its overall size, power, and endurance. And just like all other G.W.R. locomotive designs, the 82XX Class employed a lot of G.W.R. standard parts, and had the standard Great Western cab layout, which made it a lot easier for the crews to work on the class when it was required.
The line that ran from Newport to Ebbw Vale was a steeply-graded line, with gradients often becoming as steep as 1-in-58 at times, particularly on the last stretch leading up to Ebbw Vale. Engines that moved the heavy iron ore trains on that line often needed to be double-headed at the front or banked from the rear. And so, as a result of that, it was realised that a more powerful engine design, capable of taking the trains up the hills unaided would be needed to reduce double-heading and the costs involved with that.
Collett designed the new 82XX Class 2-10-2T tank engine design for this very purpose, with the class being based off the earlier and highly successful 72XX Class 2-8-2T design, but having 10 driving wheels instead of 8 as it meant that the increased weight of the new engines would be better spread out over a larger area, somewhat lowering the axle-loading, and allowing the new class to work between Newport and Ebbw Vale. The middle set of driving wheels was left flangeless in order to help the new engine go round corners, while the flanging on the second and forth sets of driving wheels was slightly thinner than on the first and fifth driving wheelsets.
The new class used the exact same Standard No.7 boiler design that was used on the earlier G.W.R. Churchward 47XX Class 2-8-0 "Night Owl" mixed traffic engines, but was pressed to work at a higher pressure of 250psi instead of the earlier 47XX boiler pressure of 225psi. The larger boiler design was seen as an absolute necessity in order to make sure the class had a good head of steam to do the very heavy work they were expected to undertake. The superheating area was also vastly increased, with the boilers having 48 superheating elements fitted in order to make sure that the steam going into the cylinders was dry.
In total, 25 members of the class were built at Swindon Works between March 1938 and January 1939, and they were numbered from No.8200 to No.8224. They were the largest and most powerful class of tank engines ever used by the G.W.R., and they proved themselves more than capable of undertaking the work of moving the very heavy iron ore trains in between Newport and Ebbw Vale.
The 82XX Class had two outside cylinders, with a 19in diameter and a 30in piston stroke, 10 driving wheels that were 4ft 7.5in in diameter, and the boiler was pressed to 250psi, all of which combined to give the class a maximum tractive effort of 41,465lbf. This was more than sufficient to allow the class to haul the heaviest trains on the lines they were designed to run on. The coal bunkers behind their cabs could carry up to 4.5 tons of coal, while their side tanks could hold about 3,060 gallons of water. The connecting rods from the cylinders drove the middle set of driving wheels.
The large size of the class meant they had a very bulky appearance, which to many engine crewmen and railway enthusiasts alike showed that the class had a hard-working appearance about that, and that they could always be counted upon to move whatever loads were asked of them.
When the first members of the class came into service on the line for which they were intended, the class quickly proved themselves to be more than capable of handling the heavy iron ore trains on that line. They could often haul far heavier trains, though at slower speeds, than the previous classes of engines that ran on the line, although they did need some banking assistance on the odd occasion, particularly if the trains behind them were very heavy or if the rails were slippery due to inclement weather conditions.
As the engines featured a standard G.W.R. cab control layout, which meant that it was very easy for the footplate crews to get used to their new charges. Initially, the class were fitted with lever reverse, but this proved to be very difficult to use, especially when they were out on the line pulling train. So, as an experiment, No.8205 was refitted with a mechanical screw reverser in early 1939; although it proved to be very successful, with the engines able to go at slightly faster speeds, it also meant that when shunting the drivers had to wind the reversing gear back and forth many times in order to get the engine into full forward or full reverse, which was something that didn't prove to be a very popular thing with the crews. So, due to the results of this, No.8205 reverted back to the original lever reverse, which was much quicker and easier to use when the engines were shunting.
One problem the class had was one that was commonly shared with the 72XX and 89XX Classes; their long wheelbases meant that they were forbidden to go into some yards and some sidings during their working lives, due to the risks of derailment.
The weight of the iron ore trains that the 82XX Class could haul could often be very impressive to say the least; one example of the class, No.8222, set the record for the heaviest train hauled by any member of the class, when on 10 August 1939, it hauled an iron ore train weighing around 2,500 tons up to the Ebbw Vale Steelworks, though it had to go slowly up the hill due to the weight.
The class continued on with their duties during the war years, despite the often-difficult conditions in which they were kept and worked in, as a lack of proper maintenance took its toll on the engines, just like with the rest of Britain's railway system. By the time the war ended in September 1945, the class were quite run down and in desperate need of maintenance.
Extensive repairs carried out on the class not too long after the war ended brought all 25 engines back to a good standard, and they were able to continue with their normal duties until the railways were nationalised in January 1948.
In April 1949, the class suffered the only accident of their working lives, when No.8205 derailed in a major derailment near to the yard depot in Newport when it was leaving with a heavy line of iron ore wagons. While it was leaving, No.8205 was going just a little too fast and before it could slow down, it went round the bend and came off the line. Luckily no-one was hurt, and the damage to No.8205 was minimal. The engine was rerailed and sent for repairs before she returned to work in May 1949.
For the rest of the late 1940's and into the first half of the 1950's, the 82XX Class worked away at their assigned jobs of moving iron ore without any problems, or any other engine types to take over. However, all that changed when the first examples of the brand-new B.R. Standard Class 9F 2-10-0 heavy freight engines arrived on the Newport to Ebbw Vale Line. These newer, larger, and more modern engines took over many of the jobs the 82XX Class undertook, and so the 2-10-2T tank engines were moved to other duties elsewhere, including to running heavy freight trains along the main lines to the major towns, as well as banking heavy trains up the Devon Banks. This allowed them to expand out to other areas that would have never seen them at work in the years before nationalisation. Another major job they did was hauling heavy trains full of freshly mined coal from the numerous collieries in South Wales down to cities like Swansea and Cardiff.
The class also worked well on sometimes hauling the occasional passenger service when their help in moving such trains were needed, such as on short runs in between major towns when nothing else was available during the summer months, although this was something that didn't occur very often.
Withdrawals of the class began in 1963 when the first member of the class, No.8209, was removed in March of that year from its home base of Cardiff Canton. Withdrawals of the rest of the class followed along over the next two and a half years, with 1964 seeing 12 engines withdrawn that year. In October 1965, the final three members of the class, No.8202, No.8211, and No.8219, were withdrawn from service.
When many of the engines were withdrawn from service, they were often filthy dirty and suffered from a lack of proper maintenance that was characteristic for many steam locomotives around this time. But despite their poor and rundown conditions, the class could always be counted on by their crews to keep going and finish their jobs, which was a strong testament to the immense quality of the work that had been put into their design.
Amazingly, of the 25 engines that were built, a very respectable 10 examples have managed to survive into preservation, and all of which have been steamed since their restorations were completed. Of the 10 surviving engines, seven of them were lucky enough to be rescued from Barry Scrapyard and restored to full working order on different heritage railways around the U.K., though none have run on the main line since being withdrawn from B.R. service.
The 10 surviving engines include;
No.8200; as the doyen of the class, she's the oldest surviving engine, having been built at Swindon in March 1938. Withdrawn from service in May 1964, she was preserved as part of the National Collection and ran for many years at a number of different heritage railways around the U.K., and made appearances at special events. She's currently on static display at York's National Railway Museum, and has been since 2005.
No.8202; built at Swindon Works in March 1938, she was withdrawn from service in October 1965 and sent to Barry Scrapyard in December of that year. Rescued from Barry in September 1973, she was taken to the Great Central Railway for restoration work to begin in earnest. The work was finally completed by May 1982, when No.8202 steamed for the first time in preservation on the G.C.R. She's remained a part of the G.C.R.'s engine fleet ever since, taking part of many demonstration trains, as well as occasionally visiting other heritage railways. As of 2024, No.8202 is currently undergoing a major overhaul on the G.C.R.
No.8205; famous for being the engine that suffered the only accident the class experienced, she was built at Swindon in April 1938 and was withdrawn from service in January 1965 and sent to Barry Scrapyard in March that year. Rescued from Barry in April 1970, she was taken to the Severn Valley Railway for restoration. When it was found that No.8205 was far too big and heavy for the S.V.R., she was moved to the Mid Hants Railway for the completion of her restoration, which was finally finished in May 1978. Since then, whether it's on the Mid Hants Railway or any other preserved line, No.8205 has proven herself to be a popular and reliable engine with her crews, and easily able to haul anything asked of her. As of 2024, No.8205 is in full operational condition on the Mid Hants Railway, having recently undergone her latest overhaul.
No.8209; built in Swindon in June 1938, she was withdrawn in March 1965 and was sent to Barry Scrapyard in July that year. Rescued from Barry in September 1984, she was taken to the Llangollen Railway for restoration, which was finally completed by June 2000 when she steamed again for the first time in preservation. After visiting and running on many heritage lines all over the U.K for 10 years, No.8209 was put on temporary static display in the Swindon Steam Railway Museum in early 2011 while funds were raised for her next overhaul. By late 2023, the funds were raised and work on overhauling No.8209 to running order began at the Didcot Railway Centre in April 2024.
No.8212; built at Swindon in September 1938, she was withdrawn from service in September 1963. However, she was bought by a group of people not long afterwards and was taken to the Midland Railway Centre at Butterley. After undergoing a major overhaul in between 1969 and 1973, she returned to steam at the Didcot Railway Centre, often making runs on the centre's demonstration line. During her preservation career, No.8212 made visits to many preserved railways and special events in between 1973 and 2019. As of 2024, No.8212 is undergoing another overhaul on the West Somerset Railway.
No.8216; built at Swindon in November 1938, she was withdrawn from service in December 1963 and sent to Barry in February 1964. After being rescued from Barry in July 1986, she was taken to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway to be restored, which was finally completed by March 2002. Since then, No.8216 has been a permanent resident of the N.Y.M.R., covering thousands of miles and giving joy to the thousands of visitors to the line each year. As of 2024, No.8216 is in full operational condition on the N.Y.M.R.
No.8217; built at Swindon in December 1938, she was withdrawn in March 1964, being sent to Barry in April. Rescued from Barry in May 1972, she was taken to the West Somerset Railway for restoration, which was finally completed in April 1989 when she steamed for the first time. Since then, No.8217 has been a permanent part of the W.S.R. fleet, and is often entrusted to take the heaviest trains during the busy summer months. As of 2024, No.8217 is in working order on the W.S.R., having just gone through its most recent overhaul.
No.8218; built at Swindon in December 1938, she was withdrawn in June 1964 and sent to Barry in July. After being rescued from Barry in August 1989, she was taken to the South Devon Railway to be restored. Considering that No.8218 had spent longer in Barry than any other member of the class, including many missing parts, her restoration took considerably longer than other member of the class. After being moved to the Great Central Railway in 1999, her restoration was finally completed by December 2011 and she rolled under her own power for the first time since 1964 in January 2012. After 10 years on her first boiler ticket, No.8218 is undergoing another overhaul on the G.C.R.
No.8222; built at Swindon in February 1939, she holds the record for the heaviest train ever hauled by any member of the class. Withdrawn from service in November 1963, she was bought for preservation by the Didcot Railway Centre soon afterwards. After being restored to full working order by 1973, she became an active part of the centre's fleet, and has seen service on other heritage railways around the U.K. Currently, she's on static display at Didcot while funds are being raised for her next overhaul.
No.8224; built at Swindon in May 1939, she was withdrawn from service in August 1964 and sent to Barry in October. After being rescued from Barry in December 1974, she was taken to the Churnet Valley Railway for restoration, which was completed on the Gloucestershire and Warwickshire Railway by April 1990. During her career in preservation, No.8224 has seen extensive use on many heritage lines around the U.K., though she's normally based on the Gloucestershire and Warwickshire Railway. As of 2024, she's currently undergoing an overhaul on the Bluebell Railway.
Several major parts from several scrapped members of the class have survived as well, including the Standard No.7 boilers that were used on No.8201, No.8204, No.8215, and No.8221, all of which have been fully restored to be used as reserve boilers on some of the other surviving engines.
"There's just this cement train left to deliver to the yards at Knapford, and then once that's done, we'll be able to get back to Tidmouth Sheds and clock out for the day." said the driver, as he turned to look at Carrie.
"Sounds good to me! I'm feeling tired after all the work we've been doing today." Carrie said, as she went and checked the single water gauge glass on the back of the boiler; the water level was about three quarters of the way up the glass. Checking on the main steam pressure gauge, Carrie saw the indicator arrow was showing the boiler pressure at about 225psi. Feeling everything was okay, Carrie opened the firehole doors and checked on the state of the fire; it was burning brightly, with the radiant heat coming out from the open doors indicating the heat was making plenty of steam in the boiler. Checking over the fire-bed, Carrie could see there was no need to put more coal on just yet, so she closed the firehole doors most of the way and waited for the time when they could set off again.
A few minutes later, there came the sounds of No.8900 blowing his whistle loudly, indicating it was time for him to be on his way with his train.
"Time for me to be on my way! I'll see you later on!" No.8900 called out to No.8203 as he slowly moved off with his long cement train.
"Good luck on getting there safely!" No.8203 called out, as he watched the smaller G.W.R. 2-8-4T set off on his way with his train. From the footplate, Carrie leaned out from the fireman's side and watched as No.8900 set off on his way. She watched as the special cement wagons followed him out of the yards, slowly at first and then picking up a little more speed as he made his way out from the Cement Works and towards the main line. Soon, the brake van at the back of the train went on by, heading on down the yards with a cloud of white swirling steam and smoke dissipating in the distance.
"Well, soon it'll be our turn to leave with our own train, and straight to the yards at Knapford." No.8203 said.
"I know, old boy! And then it'll be the end of another long and hard day for us!" called his driver from the footplate. Carrie felt herself smile, as it certainly had been quite a long day of very hard work for them all. They had been moving heavy freight trains around much of the western half of the Island of Sodor all day, going all over taking the trucks to where they were needed, and then taking more heavily-laden trucks off to another location. The latest job they did before coming to the cement works involved taking a very long line of trucks from the yards at Wellsworth Station down to Brendam Docks, and then leaving the Docks not long afterwards to take this last train of the day. They had paused during the afternoon at 1:00pm for their lunch break for an hour, and then it was back to work exactly at 2:00pm.
It wasn't too long before they were given the all-clear to go from the yard at last, with the points being set for them, and the guard blowing his whistle and waving his green flag from the brake van at the back of the train. Hearing the guard's whistle blowing from the back, No.8203 felt himself smile when his driver blew his own whistle.
"Okay, here we go!" No.8203 said, as he smiled while he moved forwards, taking up the weight of the heavy train behind him. From his footplate, Carrie leaned out and looked on ahead as they moved out from the yards, while off to the side, Fergus stood and watched as the train headed off.
"Get that train to where it needs to be safely!" Fergus called.
"Okay!" No.8203 called back, as he got further and further away.
Within a few short minutes, they had left the Cement Works and were heading on their way to the Southern Main Line a short distance away. As they went along, Carrie took another go with the shovel and stoked the firebox with more fresh coal, being careful to place the coal to where it was needed to be. After placing in six shovels of coal into the firebox, Carrie closed the firebox doors, stood up and went to look out from the fireman's side. They were slowing down as they approached the junction, indicating they probably would need to stop before they joined up to the Southern Main Line.
And they did in fact need to stop, for the signal just before the junction was at red, so the driver firmly shut the regulator and then put on the brakes. Slowing down with a groaning of brakes, No.8203 came to a full halt just before the signal. Looking up at the signal, No.8203 knew there was probably another train coming along, and they just needed to wait until it went on by before they could continue on their way with their train. Leaning out from his side of the cab, the driver was wondering which engine was going to be coming their way in the next few minutes. In the meantime, the fireman checked on the boiler pressure gauge, and then the water gauge glass to be sure all was well, while Carrie leaned out from the fireman's side of the cab and looked on ahead to the Southern Main Line a few meters away. Then she heard the sounds of a whistle coming along the line from the direction of Knapford; it was W.D. Austerity Class 2-10-0 No.90766, bound for Vicarstown Station with a long and heavy freight train. Blowing his whistle in greeting to No.8203, who whistled back in replay, No.90766 headed on past the junction and towards Vicarstown.
Just as the end of No.90766's train had gone on past, there came the sounds of another whistle, and this was coming from the direction of Vicarstown heading along the line towards Knapford. Taking a look back along the main line, the driver thought he recognized the sound of that whistle, and when he heard it again a few moments later, he knew who it was.
"Here comes an express passenger train!" he called out to Carrie and the fireman. A few moments later, with the whistle loudly blasting again, the train went on by them; it was an express passenger train of 12 coaches, and it was being hauled by L.N.E.R. A4 Class No.4500 Sir Ronald Matthews, and he was making good time with his train. His garter blue livery was polished down to a very high shine, and he was making very good time with his afternoon train, and it sure looked like he would arrive in Knapford bang on time.
"Good afternoon!" Ronald called out, as he went by the junction and line where No.8203 was waiting to head out onto the main line.
"Hello!" No.8203 called, as he watched Ronald and his train head on by them at a good speed, with the sounds of the coaches following along smoothly. From where she stood on the fireman's side of the big G.W.R. 2-10-2T tank engine, Carrie leaned out and watched as the coaches went by, and thought that she could see passengers relaxing by the windows and looking out as they went on past.
After less than a minute, the end of Ronald's train had passed by and disappeared into the distance in a fading cloud of swirling smoke and steam. After a few more moments, the signalman in his signal box switched the points and set the signal to green, which meant that No.8203 could proceed on his way again. With his driver blowing his whistle and then opening the regulator a little, No.8203 moved out from the side line and out onto the Southern Main Line, with the cement tankers following along behind him. Looking out behind them, Carrie watched as the tankers followed them out onto the main line. As soon as she saw the brake van move out onto the main line, she pulled her head back in and set about doing whatever things needed to be done.
The trip along the main line back towards Knapford went very smoothly, often reaching speeds of 45mph at times, with the train following along quietly behind them. During the run, Carrie took her turns stoking the boiler with fresh coal and keeping the steam pressure up in the boiler as they went along.
Going down Gordon's Hill, the driver did a good job of keeping the train under control as they went down the hill, something that impressed Carrie quite a bit. As No.8203 slowly descended the hill, keeping the train under control all the while, he kept an eye out on the track ahead of him, watching out for any signals as well as trains that might be coming up in the hill in the opposite direction on the other tracks. About halfway down the hill, he saw another train coming up the hill; it was L.M.S. Garratt No.47988, and he was making his way up the hill with a long line of empty coaches coupled up behind him. It was an empty stock working, where he was taking the empty coaches over to Vicarstown Station, where they would be used on trains out of Vicarstown the following day. From the back of his train was the banker helping him up Gordon's Hill; it was L.N.E.R. OS1 Class 2-8-4T No.67905, and he was pushing hard to help the train up to the top of the hill. Unlike that incident earlier on this year where No.67905 had crushed the brake van at the back of the train he was banking at that time when it stall on the hill, this time he was able to get the train up the hill without No.47988 stalling in the process.
Heading on past this other train, No.8203 blew his whistle in greeting as he headed on down the hill, keeping his train under control all the while until he reached the bottom. Once there, he was able to pick up some more speed and headed on along the line towards Wellsworth Station.
The rest of the journey back to Knapford went very well, with Carrie enjoying the smooth ride that No.8203 gave, as well as with her doing her bit to keep the boiler stoked with fresh coal to make steam. Green signal lights were to be seen all the way along the line, which made Carrie smile when she saw them, as she knew it meant they would be able to get back home a bit quicker.
Carrie felt herself smile quite a bit when she saw the familiar sight of Knapford Station come into view ahead of them, and the driver closing the regulator and putting the brakes on to slow them down as they approached. The signal before the station for their line was at red, and so they had to stop.
"What do you think is going on?" Carrie asked, as she leaned out to see what was going on.
"We probably just need to wait for another train to leave the station before we can go on through." said the driver. He was right, for on the line going by Platform 2, there was another train standing there and taking on passengers. In fact, it was Emily and she was on one of her last trains of the day, taking passengers to the north of the island on the Northern Main Line before taking a last train back to Knapford.
Then there came the sounds of another whistle, and it sounded like it was coming from the other side of Knapford Station and coming closer. After a minute or so, the engine came into sight on the line that ran adjacent to Platform 1; it was S.D.J.R. 7F Class 2-8-0 No.53800, and he was hauling a heavy mixed freight behind him.
"Hello, No.8203!" No.53800 said, as he went on by with his train.
"Afternoon, No.53800!" No.8203 said, as he waited to head off on his way again.
It wasn't too long before the last of the passengers had boarded Emily's train and, with a blast of her whistle, Emily was on her way with her train. Slowly, she set off from the station and headed away to the north, leaving the line clear for No.8203 to move on his way again. He slowly moved forwards, and headed through Knapford Station. Looking out as they went slowly through the station, Carrie could see that the station staff were helping to get it decorated for Halloween; there were witches on broomsticks being hung up, fake pumpkins with lights in them being placed on corners and on window sills, plastic skeletons being secured to some of the walls, fake spider webs being placed from the clock mounts and flower basket holders, as well as ghosts being hung up, and many other different Halloween decorations being readied for the Halloween party tomorrow evening.
Carrie was feeling very pleased to see the progress that had been made on decorating Knapford Station since she went through the station this morning. She was also looking forward to what the Halloween party tomorrow evening would be like, as she had never been to any of the ones that had been thrown back in Chamberlain. She had often overheard stories being told from her classmates in the schools she attended in Chamberlain about how good the Halloween parties had been and how everyone had a great time at them, as well as having gone out trick-or-treating with friends on some of the streets. She had always been envious of them, as her mother would never let her go out trick-or-treating with her classmates or attend any Halloween parties dressed up in costumes. But now that she was here on Sodor, and far away from all that, it seemed she would finally get the chance to attend her first Halloween party, but that would only be after she finished work tomorrow.
After passing through Knapford Station with the cement train, No.8203 made his way to the extensive yards nearby, where he would drop off the train before returning to the sheds for the evening. He had been working very hard all day, moving freight trains to wherever they were needed to be, and he was looking forward to a good night's sleep before starting again the next morning. Entering the yards, he was directed over to a siding where he went into and parked the train. However, he had to wait for a few minutes before he could move out, as there was another train coming that had to go on past first before they could move out.
They didn't have to wait for very long, for soon they heard the sounds of chuffing along with the sound of another whistle. It turned out to be L.M.S. Fairburn 4MT 2-6-4T tank engine No.2189, who was on his way out with a train of different box vans behind him.
"Afternoon, No.2189!" No.8203 called.
"Afternoon, No.8203! I'm rostered to work the night shift again! It'll be early the next morning before I can go to sleep!" No.2189 called, as he went on slowly by.
"Well, good luck with that then!" No.8203 called.
"Many thanks for that! I think I might need it too!" No.2189 said, as he made his way out from the yards with his train.
After the signalman switched the points, No.8203 made his way out from the siding and then made his way back to Tidmouth Sheds. Carrie, having just finished taken yet another go at stoking the boiler, leaned out from the fireman's side of the cab and allowed the breeze to cool her sweaty face as they made their way along the line. She was feeling exhausted from her long day of hard work, and was looking forward to having a long soak in the hot tub in the ladies changing room before then getting changed into clean clothes and going out to dinner with Simon and her friends. She was also looking forward to having a really good night's sleep before going back to work in the morning.
It wasn't too long before they finally arrived back at the motive power depot where Tidmouth Sheds were located, and No.8203 slowly reversed into one of the sheds, coming to a full stop before his buffers touched the buffer stops. As his driver put the reversing gear into mid-gear and then made sure the brakes were fully on, Carrie shut the damper controls to cut off the flow of air to the fire, and also shut the firebox doors as well.
As Carrie, the driver and fireman stepped off the footplate of No.8203, members of the shed staff came over to take over. They had the job of dropping the fire, cleaning out the ashpan, as well as making checks over the wheels, cylinders, motion, and other parts, and noting where any repairs needed to be made. In the meantime, as the driver and fireman spoke with the shed staff, Carrie made her way out from the shed and went over towards the crew building, passing in front of Tidmouth Sheds as she went. Going along, she could hear the other engines talking, including James, and he didn't look too pleased about something, which interested Carrie.
"Hello, everyone!" Carrie called, as she turned to the engines before her, which included Thomas, Edward, Henry, Gordon, James, Percy, and Toby.
"Hello, Carrie!" all the engines said, as they turned their attention towards her.
"What's going on? Is something up?" Carrie asked.
"Oh, James is complaining about having been assigned to work the night shift again, Carrie." Toby said, as he rolled his eyes up to the sky.
"Oh, is he now?" Carrie asked, as she turned her attention towards James, as did the other engines as well.
"Yeah, to be honest, I'd rather sleep at night instead of having to work the night shift! I don't think it's right!" James said, annoyed at having been told to work tonight instead of having a good night's sleep. All the other engines sighed heavily; they were all quite used to James and his ways by now.
"James, you don't get asked to work the night shift that often…as do all of us, by the way. Is it really that hard to work for a few hours each night?" Henry asked, as he also rolled his eyes.
"To be honest, I'd rather sleep at night and do my work in the daytime!" James said.
"Now, come on, James. You know you have to obey Sir Topham Hatt's orders, and you're being a credit to the railway in doing so. And there's always time for you to catch up on your sleep at a later time." Carrie said, as she glared at James rather sternly. Seeing Carrie staring at him that way, it made James rather ashamed at the way he had behaved a few moments before.
"I'm sorry, Carrie. I'll try not to complain about taking on the night shift." James said.
"Very well, James. Anyway, I'm tired after my long day of work. I'm gonna go get washed off and changed, and I'll be back at work tomorrow morning. Good night, you lot!" Carrie said, as she turned and went over to the crew building.
"Good night, Carrie!" the engines said, as they watched her head off. Then most of them turned their attention back to James.
"Remember, James. Carrie wants to see you out of this shed by the time she gets out of the crew building." Edward said.
"And she expects a good night of hard work from you as well! Just like the Fat Controller!" Percy said, as he gave a mischievous grin. And James rolled his eyes up in some annoyance.
"Yes, I know!" James said, even though he would rather sleep for the night instead of working into the early hours.
(With Carrie)
After making her way to the ladies changing room, Carrie stripped out of her dusty overalls and sweaty work clothes, grabbed two towels, and then went to relax in one of the jacuzzi hot tubs close to where the showers were. Lowering herself into the warm bubbling water, Carrie felt herself relax instantly as the warm waters covered her tired muscles, Settling back against the edge of the jacuzzi, Carrie just rested there for about 10 minutes or so, allowing the warm bubbling water to relax her, as she heard the sounds of other girls on the apprenticeship scheme arrive in the changing room, and then come into the showers, with the sounds of the showers being turned on and clouds of steam drifting out. A few of the other girls also came in to use the jacuzzi hot tubs as well. However, some of them were much dirtier than Carrie had been after their long day out on the railway, and they took a moment to have a quick shower before going to use the hot tubs.
Eventually, Carrie pulled herself out from the hot tub, but somewhat reluctantly as she was enjoying the warm bubbling water in there. After wrapping the towels around her, she went back to the changing room and dried herself off before getting changed into clean clothes. Once that was done, she left the changing room and made her way downstairs to the main entrance to clock out for the day. The time was 5:55pm.
Looking out through the door leading out towards the sheds, she heard the sounds of a familiar whistle, and then she saw James moved slowly out from the sheds onto the turntable, was turned round to the track he was to roll off, and then he moved off the turntable on his way to begin the night shift.
"Well…it's good to see James being really useful. Let's hope he has an uneventful night." Carrie said quietly, before she turned and went over to clock out for the day.
(A short while later on)
Having taken a ride on Bertie the bus to get back home, Carrie stepped off of Bertie at the bus stop that was the closest to where she and her father lived and, after thanking him for getting back home, she made her way back to the house. Her father, Ralph, had worked the night shift the previous evening, with him having begun work at 4:00am the previous morning and clocking out for the day at about 13:00pm a few hours prior. Carrie had no doubts that he had been resting at home after he had clocked out, and wondered if he would still be asleep when she arrived back.
After stepping in through the front door, she looked round the hallway and listening out for any sounds from inside the house. Wondering where her father was, Carrie went into the living room to her right and looked inside to see if he was there. There was no one in the living room at all, though she saw that the bookshelves were neatly organised, as well as the fact there was a half-empty coffee cup sitting on the coffee table.
Then, after a few moments of looking round, Carrie became aware of someone standing close to her, and they appeared to be watching her every move. Turning round, she thought there might be someone in the kitchen, so she went from the living room into the kitchen to see what was going on. Looking to her left, she gasped in fright and froze to the spot; there before her was a man dressed in dark overalls and wearing a Michael Myres mask, and staring intently at Carrie. He moved forwards slowly reaching his hands out as if to grab Carrie.
Gasping in a panic, Carrie thrust her arms out, activating her telekinetic powers and lifting the man into the air, keeping him suspended in between the floor and the ceiling.
"Whoa, whoa Carrie! It's all right!" called the man in a familiar voice. Quickly calming down, but keeping him suspended in the air, Carrie leaned in a little closer while frowning.
"Hang on a second…" she said, as the man raised his hands up and then took off the Michael Myres mask; it was just her father, Ralph White.
"It's okay, Carrie. I was just getting into the spirit of Halloween getting dressed in this costume and mask." Ralph said, as he smiled at Carrie. Letting out a sigh of relief, Carrie lowered her father back down to the ground until he was standing on his own two feet.
"Oh, for goodness' sake, dad! You nearly gave me a heart attack dressed like that!" Carrie said, feeling a little annoyed that someone had played a prank on her, nearly a full year after one had last been played on her back in Chamberlain.
"I'm sorry, Carrie. But I do like Halloween…the holiday that is, not so much the movies with Michael Myres in them…and I was just getting into the spirit of the holiday! For the Halloween party last year, I dressed up as Jason Voorhees from the Friday the 13th movies." Ralph said.
"And who did you dress up as the year before that?" Carrie asked, as she went over to one of the cabinets and took out a drinking glass from the lower shelf level.
"It was Freddy Krueger from the Nightmare on Elm Street movies, though without any burn makeup on my face." Ralph said. Going over to the fridge, Carrie took out a bottle and poured some orange juice into the glass, put the bottle back inside, closed the fridge door and sipped from the glass.
"Sorry I had to use my telekinetic powers just then. It's just that you did give me a quite a shock by doing that." Carrie said.
"It's quite all right, Carrie. But did you have plenty of hard work out there on the line today?" Ralph asked.
"Yes, and a lot of it too. I was working with No.8203 today." Carrie said.
"A lot of freight needed to be moved today?" Ralph asked.
"Yes, and it was just nonstop as well. Each time we finished one job, we were heading back out again with another heavy freight." Carrie said.
"Are you still learning to control your telekinetic powers?" Ralph asked.
"Yes, I am. And I'm only using them when there's no one else around to see me." Carrie said.
"What do you think you'll be doing out on the line tomorrow? More freight work?" Ralph asked, as he filled up the kettle with water.
"I've actually got no idea yet. It could be anything. But regardless…I hope we can finish it up in time for the Halloween party at Knapford tomorrow evening." Carrie said.
"I'm sure you will, Carrie. But anyway…let's get dinner ready. I bet that you're hungry after your long day of work." Ralph said.
"Yeah, I am." Carrie said, and she and her father started work on getting dinner ready.
(Next morning, October 31st, Tidmouth Sheds, 8:10am)
The morning was fairly chilly, with a light breeze blowing about that made it seem somewhat colder than it really was. The sky was also covered with a grey overcast that seemed to stretch off for miles in all directions, which promised it would be a very dull Halloween Day. The cold temperatures promised to everyone that winter was on its way, and anyone who set foot outside their houses were constantly reminded of winter's approach.
Carrie and her father arrived at Tidmouth Sheds a little before 8:00am, and went upstairs to change into their work clothes and overalls before heading downstairs. After getting a hot drink and a pastry in the cafeteria, along with all the other drivers and firemen and the recruits on the apprenticeship scheme, they made their way outside to get ready to work. Ralph had checked the notices on the noticeboards in the main entrance and knew which engine he was working on for today; he would be driving L.M.S. Princess Royal Pacific No.46204 Princess Louise on one of the morning express passenger trains to Vicarstown. Carrie could need to wait a bit before being assigned to an engine to work on, and she hoped that she would be able to do a very good job today.
It was soon time for all the recruits to be assigned to their engines for today, and again Carrie had to wait for her turn to be assigned to an engine for today. She didn't have to wait for too long, for soon it was her and Simon's turn to be assigned to their engines for today.
"Okay, Carrie, Simon…follow me this way please." said the yard manager, as he set off towards the main sheds, and Carrie and Simon followed along behind him.
The yard manager led them over towards Tidmouth Sheds, where Carrie and Simon could see Gordon standing and waiting to set off. Beside him on the other line by the side of the sheds was another large engine, and which looked like another heavy express locomotive. This engine was painted in G.W.R. express passenger green livery, which had been polished down to a high shine. This engine also was a 4-6-2 just like Gordon was, except it appeared to be larger in size and looked like it could generate a considerable amount of power while pulling a heavy train behind him. He also looked quite similar in some respects to the L.M.S. Princess Royal Class engines from certain angles, particularly in the design of the boiler.
At first glance, Carrie thought that it was a G.W.R. King Class engine, but in fact, this engine Carrie saw before her was actually No.8006 Chester Cathedral, who was one of the members of the G.W.R.'s only class of production class of Pacific express passenger locomotives, the Cathedral Class (107) and he just simply liked to be called Chester. After taking a few moments to look over Chester, Carrie realised there was a chance she might be assigned to work on a new engine today, but decided to wait and see about that, as she could just be as quickly assigned to work with Gordon instead.
"Okay, Simon…" the yard manager said, as he turned to face Simon and Carrie once they were standing in front of Gordon and Chester Cathedral, "…you'll be working with Chester Cathedral for today…and Carrie, you'll be working with Gordon."
"Okay, sir." the two teens said.
"And Carrie, you're okay working with Gordon for today?" the yard manager asked.
"Sure, I don't mind sir." Carrie said, with a smile.
"All right then. But could both of you wait for a few minutes before you start getting ready to go? The Fat Controller just needs to have a word with you all. He should be here in a minute or two." the yard manager said.
"Okay, sir." both Carrie and Simon said at once, as the yard manager then turned and went back to the offices.
"I wonder what it is that the Fat Controller needs to speak with us about." Carrie wondered.
"I don't know…but I'm guessing we'll soon find out." Simon said, as he noticed a very familiar blue car drive into the depot.
(107): The Great Western Railway's Cathedral Class Pacific express passenger engines are a class of engine that was actually planned to be built after the Second World War, but ultimately never was for a variety of reasons. The main reason being that there were already enough express passenger engines on the G.W.R. system to run the express passenger trains that were running on the western main lines already. However, for this story, we're gonna be seeing a story of the class as though they did exist in reality. I'm also gonna be taking inspiration from Caledonia Works from their website and their YouTube channel, as they've written their own history of the class based on a very good digital model that they built of the class for Train Simulator 2022.
The idea for the class came about during the Second World War, when plans were being made to get the railway prepared for peacetime conditions, under the guidance of the G.W.R.'s Chief Mechanical Engineer, Frederick Hawksworth. One of the plans was for a Pacific-type of heavy express passenger engine for fast and heavy passenger express trains. Prior to this, the only Pacific class 4-6-2 engine to have run on the G.W.R. system had been No.111 The Great Bear, which had been designed by George Jackson Churchward and built at Swindon Works in February 1908. During her career on the main line, The Great Bear ran on the Paddington to Bristol Main Line, which was the only line it could run on due to heavy axle-loading, and acted as the G.W.R.'s flagship until she was withdrawn from service in January 1924 when it became due for a major overhaul, and was then rebuilt into a Castle Class 4-6-0 engine and renamed as Viscount Churchill. The rebuilt engine remained in service until it was withdrawn in July 1953 and scrapped.
Hawksworth's plan for the new Pacific class was for it to be a four-cylinder machine, just like the earlier Star, Castle, and King Classes, and that it would be strong enough to haul the heavy passenger trains expected in the post-war period, especially hauling heavy passenger trains unaided over the South Devon Banks, thus eliminating double-heading. However, due to the war raging on Continental Europe and around the rest of the world, and the fact that the necessary raw materials were needed for the war effort, as well as the fact that the construction of new heavy express passenger class engines was hardly encouraged at that time, Hawksworth had to wait until after the war ended before he could begin construction of his new class of engine.
Incorporating lessons that had been learned from No.111 The Great Bear, as well as design features from the impressive Princess Royal and Princess Coronation Class Pacifics of the L.M.S. as designed by William Stanier, Hawksworth set about designing the new Pacific class with the intention of starting production as soon as the war had ended. Once the war had ended in September 1945, the G.W.R. Board gave Hawksworth the go-ahead to build his new class of heavy express passenger locomotives.
Initially described as "Super Kings" when they were being designed and built, the new Cathedral Class took shape at Swindon Works in late 1945 and early 1946. The final design incorporated a boiler that was identical to that used on the L.M.S. Princess Royal Class Pacifics, which incorporated a large firebox that would allow the class to burn any kind of fuel that was to be found in the post-war period, streamlined internal steam passages, and vastly increased superheating. The front bogie the class was fitted with was identical to that used on the King Class, with the leading wheelset having outside bearings and the trailing wheelset having inside bearings.
One thing that made the Cathedral Class quite unique in G.W.R. circles was their safety valve design; traditionally, most G.W.R. locomotives had their safety valves located in a brass bonnet on top of the boiler, but the new Cathedral design didn't have this very traditional G.W.R. feature. Instead, the safety valves were fitted on the top of the firebox design.
Among the other features that the class had fitted were rocking grates, hopper ashpans, and self-cleaning smokeboxes, which helped to make disposal of the class at the end of a working day much easier. They also had roller bearings fitted as standard on all axles, which allowed for greatly increased mileages in between heavy general overhauls.
The Cathedral Class had four cylinders, just like the earlier Star, Castle, and King Classes, with divided drive, with the inside cylinders driving the forward set of driving wheels and the two outside cylinders driving the middle set of driving wheels. The cylinders themselves were 16.75in in diameter with a 28in piston stroke which, combined with a boiler fitted with superheating elements and pressed to 280psi, as well as six driving wheels that were 6ft 6in in diameter, gave the Cathedral Class a maximum tractive effort of 47,940lbf. This made the Cathedral Class the most powerful engine to work on the G.W.R. network, and made it the pinnacle of express steam locomotive development on the G.W.R. It was also seen as a final hurrah for the G.W.R. before the company became part of British Railways upon nationalisation.
The numbers and names of the G.W.R. Cathedral Class were as follows;
No.8000 Westminster Cathedral, No.8001 Oxford Cathedral, No.8002 Bristol Cathedral, No.8003 Exeter Cathedral,
No.8004 Plymouth Cathedral, No.8005 Truro Cathedral, No.8006 Chester Cathedral, No.8007 Hereford Cathedral,
No.8008 Gloucester Cathedral, No.8009 Worcester Cathedral, No.8010 Birmingham Cathedral, No.8011 Brecon Cathedral,
No.8012 Llandaff Cathedral, No.8013 Newport Cathedral, No.8014 Swansea Cathedral, No.8015 St Davids Cathedral,
No.8016 Great Britain, No.8017 Dreadnought, No.8018 Lord of the Isles, and No.8019 F.W. Hawksworth C.M.E.
In mid-March 1946, the very first member of the G.W.R. Cathedral Class, No.8000 Westminster Cathedral, entered traffic after being outshopped from Swindon Works as the first engine in the first batch to be built. In total, 20 members of the Cathedral Class would be built in four batches at Swindon between March 1946 and August 1947, and they were numbered from No.8000 to No.8019. After coming into service on the G.W.R., No.8000 was based at Old Oak Common and underwent a series of trials on the main line from London Paddington to Plymouth throughout the month of April, including on overnight trains to put the engine through its paces. After the end of the tests, No.8000 was painted into G.W.R. passenger green livery, ready for its future express duties, and was named in a special ceremony at Paddington Station in front of a crowd of distinguished guests. Among the guests were F.W. Hawksworth himself, and former C.M.E. of the L.M.S. Sir William Stanier.
Once all twenty members of the Cathedral Class had been introduced onto the G.W.R. system, they all settled in to working on heavy express passenger trains. They were based at a number of depots, including Old Oak Common in London, Laira Depot in Plymouth, Bristol Bath Road, Newton Abbot, and Wolverhampton. Once they were in service, they quickly gained a good reputation, showing they could easily haul very heavy passenger trains over long distances at considerable speeds. As a result of that, they became the G.W.R.'s flagship engine, being used on all the important express trains, including on the Cornishman, The Red Dragon, and the Cornish Riviera Express.
In early November 1947, one member of the class, No.8018 Lord of the Isles, achieved a new speed record for an engine of the Great Western Railway, as well as the speed record for the Cathedral Class when it reached a speed of 112mph when it was descending Wellington Bank in Somerset, the very same scene where No.3440 City of Truro had reached a speed of 100mph back in May 1904.
After the railways were nationalised in January 1948, a series of locomotive exchanges took place in 1948, and Cathedral Class No.8017Dreadnought took part in the exchange trials, where she took part in trial runs on the London Midland Region along the West Coast Main Line between London Euston and Glasgow. During the test runs, No.8017 performed very well in runs against the Princess Royal and Princess Coronation Class Classes. Another engine, No. 8008 Gloucester Cathedral, took part in trials on the Eastern Region on the East Coast Main Line in between London King's Cross and Edinburgh Waverley, but due to the quality of coal that she used, she didn't perform as well on some of the trains she pulled.
A few modifications were made to the Cathedral Class during their working lives. Some of the final engines in the class to be built before production ended were fitted with double chimneys and blastpipes in their smokeboxes. These engines proved to be more effective than the earlier member of the class as the double chimneys made the engines steam more efficiently and reduced the back pressure in the cylinders, as well as reduced their coal and water consumption. This proved to be so successful that the rest of the class that had originally been built with single chimneys were fitted with double chimneys and blastpipes during overhauls.
There had been a proposal to streamline the class in 1947 in order to try and increase the speed of the class even further, but with the nationalisation of the railways imminent this idea was abandoned before anything serious could come to fruition.
During their working lives on the main line, the Cathedral Class worked on many of the main lines of the former Great Western system and the line of B.R.'s Western Region, hauling many of the heaviest passenger trains and displacing the King Class engines to other passenger duties.
In late 1952, after the disaster at Harrow and Wealdstone, a number of the Cathedral Class were temporarily loaned to the London Midland Region to cover the lack of motive power suffered due to the destruction of No.46202 Princess Anne. The engines proved to be popular with L.M.R. crews who said they performed as well as the Princess Royal Class engines, and often even exceeded them when they were used with the right crews. The loaned engines remained on the London Midland Region until 1954, when sole B.R. Standard Class 8P No.71000 Duke of Gloucester came into service and they were sent back to the Western Region.
In 1953, two examples of the class, No.8009 Worcester Cathedral and No.8017 Dreadnought were loaned to the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway where they ran on heavy trains from Bournemouth West to Bath Green Park Station over the Mendip Hills. The two engines performed very well over on hauling heavy trains on those difficult gradients, able to haul heavy passenger trains of up to 16 coaches unaided over the Mendip Hills, and showing just what they were capable of doing. The two engines stayed on the Somerset and Dorset Line for six months where they worked on heavy trains over the winter of 1953 to 1954 before being sent back to work on the Western Region of B.R.
In 1957, veteran record-breaking engine No.3440 City of Truro was returned to working order by the Western Region, and No.8005 Truro Cathedral was at Swindon Works having a heavy general overhaul at the time. Once both engines were in full running order, both were sent to Didcot and ran rail-tours together from this base for two weeks. Didcot wasn't used to having such a large engine. Once this period of running special rail-tours was over No.8005 was sent back to her home base of Laira Depot and resumed running trains from Plymouth to Paddington.
By the end of their lives in service, especially after 1962 when the last members of the King Class had been withdrawn from service and the route restrictions had been eased, the Cathedral Class found themselves working even further afield from their normal stomping grounds on the Western Region, often going to places as far as Swansea and along the Welsh Marches to Shrewsbury, as well as running services north of Paddington from Oxford. They even went to Hereford and Gloucester via Worcester and Kemble respectively. It's quite ironic that the most varied period of action for the entire class came just before the end of steam on the Western Region.
Due to their immense usefulness and ability to haul heavy trains, as well as their good reliability, withdrawals of the Cathedral Class didn't begin until early in 1965, when the first member of the class to be withdrawn, No.8007 Hereford Cathedral, was removed from service from her home base of Old Oak Common in February 1965. She was followed in March by No.8000 Westminster Cathedral and No.8012 Llandaff Cathedral, which were then followed by No.8014 Swansea Cathedral, No.8016 Great Britain, and No.8001 Oxford Cathedral in April. In May, No.8003 Exeter Cathedral, No.8004 Plymouth Cathedral, and No.8018 Lord of the Isles were removed from service, followed by No.8002 Bristol Cathedral, No.8015 St Davids Cathedral, and No.8019 F.W. Hawksworth C.M.E. in June.
The last eight members of the class were withdrawn between July and November 1965, with No.8017 Dreadnought, No.8013 Newport Cathedral, and No.8009 Worcester Cathedral being withdrawn in July and August 1965, with No.8008 Gloucester Cathedral, No.8005 Truro Cathedral, and No.8006 Chester Cathedral being removed from service in September, while the last two engines, No.8010 Birmingham Cathedral and No.8011 Brecon Cathedral, were removed from service in early November 1965. Before they were finally withdrawn, both No.8010 and No.8011 ran special rail-tours on the Western Region, including a special trip from London Paddington to Plymouth and back again, as well as on a special that ran from Birmingham to Oxford. The very last train run by a Cathedral Class engine in B.R. Service was by No.8011, who ran a final farewell rail-tour on November 10th 1965, which ran from Swansea to Paddington with stops being made in Cardiff and Swindon on the way. Not too long after the end of the tour, No.8011 had her fire dropped, ending her days as a B.R. engine.
Thankfully, of the 20 Cathedral Class engines that were built, a very respectable 10 examples, half the class, have managed to survive into preservation, all of which have been steamed and run on the main line since being restored.
The 10 surviving members of the Cathedral Class are;
No.8000 Westminster Cathedral; the doyen of the class and the oldest surviving member. After being withdrawn, she was bought straight from service for preservation by a group of people who didn't want the first member of the only production class of G.W.R. Pacifics scrapped. After being restored to full working order by 1980, No.8000 worked for many years on heritage railways and on the U.K. main line network, covering many thousands of miles in the process. As of 2024, No.8000 is in storage and awaiting an overhaul at the Mid Hants Railway.
No.8002 Bristol Cathedral; after being withdrawn from service in June 1965, No.8002 was put into long-term storage at Swindon until a rich individual stepped in to buy the engine for preservation in 1970. After spending another twenty years in secure storage, No.8002 was purchased by the Great Central Railway and returned to full working order by 1997, when she steamed again for the first time in April that year. As of 2024, after many years of working on heritage railways and numerous specials out on the main line going all over the U.K., No.8002 is currently undergoing a major overhaul to working order in the main works on the G.C.R.
No.8007 Hereford Cathedral; after being withdrawn in February 1965 as the first member of the class to be removed from service, No.8007 was taken to Swindon Works and cosmetically restored. She was then bought by Sir Billy Butlin to be displayed at his holiday camp at Minehead in Somerset, where she was put on static display there for a number of years alongside L.M.S. Princess Coronation Class Pacific No.6229 Duchess of Hamilton. She was removed from the camp in 1978 and taken to Tyseley Locomotive Works for restoration to working order, which was completed by 1983 when No.8007 steamed for the first time in preservation. As of 2024, after many years of running and covering thousands of miles on the main line and heritage railways, as well as undergoing three major overhauls, No.8007 is currently on static display on Swindon's Steam Railway Museum while funds are raised for its next overhaul.
No.8008 Gloucester Cathedral; after being withdrawn in September 1965, No.8008 was sent to Barry Scrapyard in November that year, and remained there until she was rescued from the yard in October 1987 and taken over to the Gloucestershire and Warwickshire Railway for restoration. The state of No.8008 after more than 20 years exposed to the sea air and salt in Barry meant that the restoration took quite a long time to undertake, with many new parts having to be made from scratch. But all the work culminated when No.8008 finally returned to steam for the first time in preservation at the Gloucestershire and Warwickshire Railway in early December 2006. As of 2024, after undergoing another overhaul, No.8008 is running in on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway prior to returning to the main line.
No.8010 Birmingham Cathedral; after being withdrawn as one of the final two members of the class in service, No.8010 was immediately preserved afterwards and taken to the Bressingham Steam Museum and ran on the centre's short length of track with preserved B.R. Standard Class 7MT No.70013 Oliver Cromwell for a number of years. In 2003, No.8010 was taken to the Crewe Heritage Centre and underwent an intensive overhaul, with her returning to steam for the first time in March 2009 and being certified to run specials on the main line. After 10 years of great success running enthusiast's trains and special rail-tours on the main line, No.8010 was withdrawn from service and taken to Tyseley Locomotive Works for a major overhaul, which was completed by 2019 and No.8010 returned to working specials on the main line.
No.8011 Brecon Cathedral; she was bought after being one of the final two members of the class still running, and taken to the Didcot Railway Centre to become a major part of the collection there. She returned to work on the main line in 1989 and ran for many thousands of miles all over the U.K. main line network before returning to the Didcot Railway Centre in 1999 where she remains on static display until funds can be raised for its next overhaul and the necessary space can be found in the workshops for the job to be undertaken.
No.8014 Swansea Cathedral; after being withdrawn from service in April 1965, No.8014 was sent to Woodham's yard in Barry that September. She was rescued from Barry in April 1979 and taken to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway for restoration. The amount of work needed to return No.8014 to running order meant that she didn't return to steam on the N.Y.M.R. until late September 2001. She's normally based on the N.Y.M.R. but has undertaken extensive service on other heritage railways, as well as extensive service out on the main line, going to places that would have never seen a G.W.R. Cathedral Class back in G.W.R. and B.R. days, including on the Settle and Carlisle Line, the Midland Main Line, and the East Coast Main Line. As of 2024, No.8014 is sitting in storage in Tyseley Locomotive Works while the funds are being raised for its next overhaul.
No.8016 Great Britain; she was sent to Barry Scrapyard in July 1965, and remained there until she was rescued from the yard in August 1973 and taken to the Severn Valley Railway for restoration, but was later moved to the Great Central Railway in 1979. She first steamed in preservation in January 1981 and first ran under her own power on the G.C.R. in the spring of that year. She returned to working on the main line in the spring of 1982 and ran many thousands of miles on rail-tours, and underwent three major overhauls to ensure that she could keep running on the main line. As of 2024, No.8016 is running in on the West Somerset Railway after undergoing another major overhaul.
No.8018 Lord of the Isles; after being withdrawn in May 1965, and as the fastest member of the Cathedral Class, No.8018 became a part of the National Collection and having been a part of York's National Railway Museum. She was restored to working order in 2002 and steamed for the first time in May of that year, and ran for 10 years on the main line and on heritage railways until she was retired and put back into the N.R.M., where she currently sits on static display.
No.8019 F.W. Hawksworth C.M.E; as she's named after the final C.M.E. of the G.W.R., it was somewhat inevitable that No.8019 would be bought and preserved for the future. She was bought after being withdrawn by a small group of enthusiasts and taken to Swindon, where she was restored and put on public display there. In 1987, No.8019 was brought to the Crewe Heritage Centre, where work began on restoring her to full working order, which was finally completed by the summer of 1992, when No.8019 was able to run for the first time in preservation. She ran many thousands of miles on the main line and on heritage railways before undergoing a major overhaul from 2003 to 2007. Then she returned to running trains on the main line, until she was withdrawn again in early 2018 for another overhaul at the Didcot Railway Centre. As of 2024, No.8019 is in full working order and certified to run on the main line.
They watched as the blue car came closer to them until it stopped nearby. Then the driver's door opened and the Fat Controller stepped out, and walked over with his two assistants following along behind him.
"Good morning!" the Fat Controller called out, as he approached both Gordon and Chester, as well as their crews, Simon and Carrie, who were looking towards them anxiously.
"Good morning, sir!" they all said.
"Well, as today is Halloween…there's going to be a lot of work that needs to be done before the big party at Knapford Station this evening. And there's going to be lots of children going to the party going as well, and they're going to need to be brought there." said the Fat Controller.
"Yes, sir!" said Gordon and Chester together.
"Chester, you and Simon will be working on trains along the length of the Northern Main Line as far as Emily Road today, and this evening you'll be bringing the children to the party from the stations along the route." said the Fat Controller.
"Yes, sir!" Chester said.
And then the Fat Controller turned to the big blue engine.
"Gordon, you and Carrie will be working along the Southern Main Line all the way to Vicarstown, and then for the rest of the day, you'll be working on the Northern Main Line to Emily Road, where you'll take Chester's trains the rest of the way to Vicarstown, and he'll take your trains back to Knapford." said the Fat Controller.
"Yes, sir." Gordon said.
"Also Gordon, I expect you to be on your best behaviour today. For this evening, you'll be bringing the children to the Halloween party from Wellsworth Station. But no high speeds please. There'll be no need for that." said the Fat Controller.
"Yes, sir." Gordon said, feeling proud and pleased.
"Now, that's the work you're both to do today until this evening. In the meantime, I must be off. I have other things I need to do today. Goodbye!" and with that, the Fat Controller went off back to his car.
It wasn't too long before Gordon was finally ready to leave the sheds and head off down to Knapford Station to collect his coaches. As Carrie stepped aboard the footplate, she took a glance into Tidmouth Sheds and saw James sitting at the back of his berth, fast asleep.
"What time did James get back last night?" Carrie asked, as she stepped aboard.
"It was at about four in the morning. And I noticed him come into the sheds after he was turned on the turntable. And it seems he had a good night as well…judging from how quiet he was as he reversed into the sheds." Gordon said.
"Well…that's something to be pleased with." Carrie said, as she looked back to where she could see James asleep. It was clear that he would be sleeping for some time to come yet today.
Eventually, Gordon slowly moved out from the sheds, onto the turntable where he was first turned round so he'd be on the right track to leave the depot. Looking out from the cab, Carrie took a glance up to the sky above; the weather for today promised to be very dull and overcast, as well as quite cold, for the entire day, and she knew that the cold, and slowly dropping temperatures meant that winter was on its way and that the Island of Sodor could expect snow and ice for the winter.
Gordon was soon turned to the track he was to leave on and then puffed off the turntable, making his way out from the depot and towards the main line. He was soon running fast to make it down to Knapford in time to collect his train, which was scheduled to leave the station at 9:00am. On the footplate, Carrie took first go with stoking the firebox with fresh coal while the driver drove Gordon along, and the fireman stood aside and watched Carrie as she went about stoking the boiler.
"You're doing a very good job there, Carrie. But don't push yourself too hard." the fireman said.
"Okay, sir." Carrie said, as she concentrated on the job at hand. In total, she placed six shovelfuls of coal into the firebox, keeping the fire burning brightly as they went along. Up in front, Gordon was feeling pleased as he headed along the line, knowing he was going to be bringing the children to the Halloween party this year.
They soon arrived at Knapford Station, where their train was waiting for them at Platform 1 and the passengers were starting to board the coaches. Both Gordon and Carrie could see that there were more Halloween decorations up around the station than there had been the day before, with everything for the evening's party all set up and ready to go. Gordon was impressed by everything he saw, and knew that the Halloween party planned for this evening was sure to be a big success.
After passing through the station, Gordon went over some points just a little beyond and went onto the line his train was waiting on. After the signalman switched the points back and gave him the all-clear to move, Gordon slowly reversed back onto his train, gently buffering up to the first coach. As the shunter coupled Gordon to the train and connected the brake pipes together, Carrie leaned out from the cab and looked back along the platform; she could see plenty of passengers boarding the train, many of whom were dressed up in warm clothes to keep the cold morning air out. Carrie was feeling very lucky that there was a hot fire in the firebox which could help to keep her and the crew warm on this cold day.
It wasn't long before the last of the passengers had boarded the train, and the last of the doors on the coaches were closed up. It was 8:59am, and it was time for them to be on their way. The signalman set the points for them to leave Knapford and the set the signal to show the line ahead of them was clear. At the same time, the guard for Gordon's train blew his whistle and waved his green flag before quickly stepping onto the first coach, closing the door behind him.
"Okay, here we go!" the driver said, as he blew Gordon's whistle loudly before opening the regulator, allowing steam to flow into Gordon's cylinders.
"Here we go! We mustn't be late!" Gordon said, as he took up the weight of the train behind him. Slowly, he moved out from the station, with his twelve coaches following along behind him. Inside the coaches, the passengers were settling back to enjoy the non-stop trip to Vicarstown, and they began to read books or the morning newspapers, starting up their laptops, or began chatting with the people they were travelling with.
(Insert soundtrack – Gordon's Theme – Season 1)
Making his way along the line away from Knapford, Gordon headed out onto the Southern Main Line, slowly building up more speed all the while as he headed along.
"Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!" he called, as he blew his whistle loudly. Behind him, the coaches followed along smoothly as the train built up speed. On Gordon's footplate, Carrie took first go with the shovel for this trip, and she placed about six heavy shovelfuls of coal into the firebox, helping to keep the fire burning brightly and making enough steam for them to roll on at speed.
When Carrie finished taking her go, she handed the shovel to the fireman and went to sit on the fireman's seat on the right-hand side of the cab and leaned out. Looking out ahead, she saw they were approaching Henry's Tunnel on the long straight stretch of track. Then coming out from the tunnel bore where the single track passed through, she saw another train coming along in the opposite direction; it was a slow freight train being hauled by W.D. Austerity Class 2-8-0 No.90360, and it consisted of steep 20-ton hopper wagons filled up with freshly-mined coal. With Gordon and No.90360 whistling in greeting to each other as they went on by, the big blue engine plunged into the second tunnel bore in a cloud of white swirling smoke and steam.
The rest of the journey as far as Wellsworth Station went very smoothly, with the only things to be seen being other trains heading past them as they went along the line or waiting at some of the other stations they went on past; they encountered L.M.S. Fowler Class 2-6-2T No.51 in the shunting yards at Crosby Station, with L.M.S. Stanier Class 5 2-6-0 No.42948 collecting passengers at Crosby Station on the line going back to Knapford…and in between Crosby and Wellsworth, they encountered K Class 2-6-0 No.337 making his way back towards Crosby with a slow freight coupled behind him.
Finally, they made their approach to Wellsworth Station, from where they could have to pick up a banker in order to get the train up Gordon's Hill. As Gordon slowed down going past the banker sidings, Carrie leaned out from the left-hand side of the cab and saw the different engines waiting in the sidings to bank their next trains up the hill. She saw columns of grey-brown smoke rising slowly from their chimneys and being blown in the light breeze, while columns of steam being let off from their safety valves could be seen shooting into the air and making loud hissing sounds.
As Gordon slowed down while he approached the west end of Wellsworth Station, Carrie wonder which engines would be helping them to get up the hill when they went up the hill. Then, she heard the sounds of another whistle and chuffing coming along the line from Gordon's Hill. Going over to the other side of the cab, leaning out and looking forwards, she saw that it was G.W.R. Star Class 4-6-0 No.4054 Princess Charlotte, who had just descended the hill and was making her way back to Knapford with her first passenger train of the day.
"Morning, Gordon!" she called, as she went on by, slowly picking up speed.
"Good morning, Charlotte!" Gordon called, as he slowed down. After coming to a stop in between the platforms at Wellsworth Station, Gordon blew his whistle to indicate he needed to have help getting up the hill, followed by two short blasts to indicate he wanted to have two bankers at the back. From the banker sidings, 9F No.92139 rolled out and slowly buffered up to the back of the train, before blowing his whistle to indicate he was in position and ready to go. After Gordon blew his whistle to acknowledge, he then blew his whistle again, but one long one this time, and the train was on its way again, heading through Wellsworth Station and towards the hill.
Making their way along the line, Carrie took another go with the shovel, making sure that there was coal placed to where it was needed, including into the back corners of the firebox, as well as on the firebox sides, and under the firebox door. And as they passed under the road bridge at the curve before the base of the hill and then started climbing the hill, Carrie handed the shovel back to the fireman and went to lean out.
As Gordon began to climb up the hill, he really felt the strain of the heavy coaches dragging along behind him. But with No.92139 pushing very hard from the back, he was able to keep the train moving up the hill, even though there were leaves on the line which made gripping the rails difficult at times, with his wheels slipping on occasion. From the cab, Carrie leaned out while sitting on the fireman's seat and looked out ahead as they climbed up the hill. There were no other trains coming down the hill on the other two lines, but she was aware that they would inevitably encounter another train as they went along.
The run up to the top of the hill went very uneventfully, and they soon went over the top past the signal box, and down the other more gentle-sloping side towards Maron Station. From the back, No.92139 blew his whistle to let them know he was dropping off from the back of the train, and he dropped off as they reached the top, allowing Gordon's train to move off down the line, picking up speed as it moved off. Once he stopped, No.92139 reversed over the points to the down line and went back down the line to Wellsworth.
(Insert soundtrack – Gordon's Theme – Season 5)
For the rest of the journey, Gordon ran very smoothly with his heavy express train, passing by stations where other engines were taking on passengers, past yards where engines were shunting trucks, as well as through tunnels, over and under bridges, past countless open fields, and going on by a few junctions. From the footplate, Carrie also helped out with stoking the firebox, as well as using the fire-irons to help keep the fire-bed level and spread the coal out. She also helped to use the injectors to put more water into the boiler, and did what other little things that needed to be done.
By 10:20am, they finally arrived in Vicarstown, right on time. Pulling into the station at Platform 5, where members of station staff were waiting to help passengers off the train if needed, the driver closed the regulator and put the brakes on. Slowing down, Gordon rolled along the platform and came to a gently stop close to the end of it. After stopping, the doors to the coaches were opened and the passengers began disembarking and making their way out from the station. Gordon was feeling very pleased that he'd arrived at Vicarstown on time, as it meant he could get onto his next jobs for the day quickly.
From the footplate, Carrie leaned out and watched as the passengers made their way off the train and out of the station. Her face was quite sweaty from all the hard work she had done during the course of the morning, and her muscles were feeling quite tired as well, especially from having moved so much coal from the tender into the firebox. Now, she was wondering what else the rest of the day would bring before the evening, when they would take the children to the Halloween party.
After the last of the passengers were making their way out from the station, none other than the station master himself stepped up to the footplate.
"Well done on getting here on time! I think the Fat Controller will be very pleased with you." he said.
"Thank you, sir!" Gordon said, feeling pleased with himself.
"In the meantime, as soon as you're ready, there's another passenger train to be taken up the Northern Main Line from here to Emily Road Station. The Fat Controller himself spoke to me on the phone earlier this morning about what his plans are today." said the station master.
"Yes, sir." Gordon said.
"Anyway, I must be getting back to my office now. Good luck with your work today." and the station master turned and went over to the footbridge, and from there back to his office. In the meantime, one of the shunters uncoupled Gordon from the coaches and disconnected the brake pipes. Once all that was done, and he was given the all clear to move, Gordon was able to move out from the station and out to the other side of the station, where there was a turntable from where he would be turned round. Then he would return to the station to pick up his next train.
As they moved slowly out from the station, Carrie leaned out from the cab and wondered what the rest of the day would bring before the evening came. But regardless of what the rest of the day would bring, she knew she had to do the best job that she could to help keep the trains moving smoothly.
(Later that day, late afternoon. 5:35pm)
With the day having gone by without an issue, and with all the trains having departed and arrived at their destination stations bang on time, Gordon stood in the coach depot near to Vicarstown Station and collecting coaches so that he could go to Wellsworth Station to pick up the children to go to the Halloween party at Knapford. He was feeling excited to seeing the children when he picked them up at Wellsworth, as well as their reaction when they reached the party.
Carrie was busy oiling up around the motion and other moving parts, including topping up the mechanical lubricators, as well as wiping down everything with rags and polish. There were also a few others polishing Gordon down as well, so that he'd look his best. In the cab, the fireman was building up the fire, so that there would be plenty of steam in the boiler when they left the coach depot.
At the same time, the coaches coupled up behind Gordon, eight of them in all, were being readied for the children once they stepped aboard. There were food and snacks being loaded aboard, Halloween decorations being placed into the coaches, and a music system was also being readied so as to play music to entertain the kids on the trip to the party.
Carrie soon finished up with the work she was doing, and then went and climbed aboard Gordon's footplate.
"And there we are! All done!" she said, as she placed the oil can onto the warming plate over the firehole door.
"Everything ready to go, Carrie?" the driver asked.
"Yes, I think so. I oiled up all the moving parts and polished down the motion as well." Carrie said, feeling pleased with herself.
"Well, we should be ready to go in a short while. We just need to wait until the coaches are ready before we can go." the driver said.
"All right then." Carrie said, as she sat herself down on the front of Gordon's tender and rested herself, and especially her feet, for a short while before she had to start work again. It had been a very long day of hard work, with them constantly going back and forth along the eastern half of the Northern Main Line from Vicarstown to Emily Road in the very north of the Island of Sodor, taking one passenger train up there and then taking another one back. It did get somewhat repetitive at times, especially when they had to constantly go back and forth along the line, and then get turned on the turntables, either at Vicarstown or Emily Road, and then leaving the stations and going back along the line again.
Carrie was very pleased when they finally stopped for lunch in the early afternoon, as it meant they would have a long break from the constant routine of going back and forth. Pulling into one of the sidings in the Vicarstown Depot, they got lunch in the crew building there while Gordon was cleaned off, had the clinker and ash removed, as well as having his tender refilled with more coal and water.
Once Carrie had finished lunch, with her lunch hour going by much quicker than she really would have liked, they were back to work again on Gordon's footplate, going along the same route back and forth between Vicarstown and Emily Road. And they did that for the rest of the afternoon, until they arrived back at Vicarstown Sheds just after 5pm in order to get ready for their special train that evening.
It wasn't too long before they were ready to leave the coach depot, as the coaches were all ready to go with the food and entertainment the children and their parents would need to occupy themselves on the trip to the Halloween party. Gordon was feeling eager to get going, keen to get to Wellsworth and collect the children on time. Carrie was back on her feet on the footplate and waiting for the off with the driver and fireman, with the shovel in her hands, ready to start shovelling the coal into the firebox once the time for that was ready.
Then, there came the sounds of another whistle, followed by the sounds of chuffing from somewhere nearby that was getting a little louder all the time. Then there came the sounds of steam wheeshing, steel wheels moving on steel rails, as well as the sounds of rolling stock being moved. A minute or so later, they saw the engine that was approaching them. Carrie saw that it was a tank engine, and it was clearly a Great Western engine, and one that was painted in Great Western unlined green livery. This tank engine was actually No.5101, who was an example of the G.W.R.'s 5101 Class 2-6-2T tank engines (108).
As he came in on the line beside Gordon, with a squealing of brakes to be heard, No.5101 slowed and came to a stop.
"Hello, Gordon. Are you ready to head off somewhere?" No.5101 asked, as he stopped beside the big blue engine.
"Yes, I'm ready to head off to collect the children and take them to the Halloween party at Knapford." Gordon said proudly.
"Well, good luck with that, Gordon. I think it's gonna be a very good night for Halloween parties, even though it's going to be cold this evening." said No.5101.
"Yes, I know." Gordon said, as he was well aware of that, and the fact that winter was going to be here in a few short days. And he knew that things on the island would be covered in snow, which would make things on the railway difficult
"Anyway, I'd better be off. I have other things I need to do this evening. See you later, Gordon!" and after giving a short blast of his whistle, No.5101 set off on his way to another part of the coach depot.
(108): The Great Western Railway's 5101 Class 2-6-2T tank engines were based off of an earlier 2-6-2T tank engine design, which was the Churchward 3100/5100 Class 2-6-2T of 1903. However, the 5101 Class was designed by Charles Collett and was an updated design; it was a larger medium-sized tank engine design, which was intended to be used on suburban and local passenger trains all over the Great Western system.
Built at Swindon Works between 1929 and 1949, 140 examples of the 5101 Class were built in total in 9 batches, and they were numbered from No.5101 to No.5199, and from No.4100 to No.4179. The 5101 Class had larger coal bunkers fitted which allowed for a greater coal capacity of 4 tons, and their side tanks could take up to 2,000 gallons of water.
The class had two outside cylinders that were 18in in diameter with a 30in piston stroke which, paired with six driving wheels that were 5ft 8in in diameter, and a boiler that was fitted with superheating elements and pressed to 200psi, gave the class a maximum tractive effort of 24,300lbf. Although the 5101 Class was no different in appearance than the earlier Churchward variant, they had an increased axle-loading of just over 17 tons, which meant that the class was at the maximum weight permitted for the G.W.R.'s Blue route availability.
Once they were put into service, the class worked on all different duties on the G.W.R. network, including on the suburban commuter and on local passenger trains, in places like Birmingham and London, as well as on local freight trains and piloting and banking duties. They also worked well on branch lines, as they were able to go where heavier engines couldn't go. They often banked heavy trains up steep gradients in Somerset, as well as on the South Devon Banks on the main line from Exeter to Plymouth, as well as within and around the area of the Severn Tunnel on the South Wales Main Line.
Withdrawals of the class began in 1947, when No.5149 was withdrawn from service, and at a time when brand-new members of the class were still being built at Swindon! There were 149 members of the class in service at the start of 1948, and the last member of the class, No.4179, was built in December 1949. Further withdrawals of older members of the class continued on throughout the 1950's, until the withdrawals really picked up as the 1960's began. By the start of 1965, there were only 29 engines still in service on the Western Region of B.R., and by the end of the year they had all been withdrawn from every-day service. The final two members of the class, No.4113 and No.4161, were withdrawn from their base of Worchester by the end of November 1965.
Thankfully, 10 members of the class have survived into preservation in various states, from engines awaiting restoration to those that are fully in working order. The ten surviving engines are;
No.4110; built at Swindon Works in October 1936, she was withdrawn in June 1965, after covering 730,000 miles during its working life, and sent to Barry scrapyard in August of that year. She left Barry in May 1979 as the 100th locomotive to leave the yard and eventually ended up at the West Somerset Railway after a number of years. A considerable amount of restoration work took place on No.4110 so that it could be returned to full working order again, during which time it was moved to the Dartmouth Railway in early 2019, before being moved to the East Somerset Railway the following year. By 2023, all restoration work was completed and No.4110 ran under her own power again for the first time since 1965.
No.4115; built at Swindon Works in October 1936, she was withdrawn in June 1965 and sent to Barry Scrapyard not long afterwards. She remained in Barry for many years, and eventually became one of the Barry 10. It was sold to the Great Western Society at Didcot in 2010, who used it as a spares donor engine for a number of new-build projects, including the new 47XX Night Owl Class 2-8-0 No.4709. In 2016, the frames of No.4115 were scrapped at Tyseley.
No.4121; built at Swindon Works in December 1937, she was withdrawn in June 1965 and sent to Barry not long afterwards. She remained there until 1981 when she was rescued and removed from the yard. She's spent time at various locations, including the Dean Forest Railway, Swindon, and the Crewe Heritage Centre, but she's currently at Tyseley in storage and in a partially stripped-down state.
No.4141; built at Swindon Works in August 1946, she was withdrawn in March 1963 at Cheltenham, where she spent her entire working life, and entered Barry in November 1964. She was rescued from Barry in January 1973 and taken to the Severn Valley Railway for restoration. After being moved to the Llangollen Railway in 1988, she was restored and ran again under her own steam in 1998. After moving to the Great Central Railway in 2003, she ran there until she was withdrawn for an overhaul in 2009, which was completed in December 2012. As of 2024, No.4141 is undergoing another overhaul at the Epping Ongar Railway.
No.4144; built at Swindon Works in September 1946, she was withdrawn in March 1965 and sent to Barry not long afterwards. After being rescued from Barry in 1974, she was restored at Didcot and steamed there in 1997. As of 2024, No.4144 is in operational condition at the Didcot Railway Centre.
No.4150; built at Swindon Works in January 1947, she was withdrawn in June 1965 and was sent to Barry not long afterwards. She was rescued from Barry in 1973 and taken to the Dean Forest Railway, and then later to the Severn Valley Railway. However, as of 2024, the restoration of No.4150 is still underway on the Severn Valley Railway.
No.4160; built at Swindon Works in September 1948, she was withdrawn in June 1965 and sent to Barry scrapyard not long after. She left Barry in August 1974, and was eventually restored to full working order at Minehead on the West Somerset Railway by the summer of 1993. As of 2024, No.4160 is undergoing an overhaul at the South Devon Railway.
No.5164; built at Swindon Works in November 1930, she's the oldest surviving member of the class, and was withdrawn in April 1963 after covering 811,367 miles during her career. She was sent to Barry in October 1963, but was rescued from the yard in 1973 and taken to the Severn Valley Railway for restoration, which was finished in 1979 when No.5164 steamed again. After being withdrawn in 1984, she didn't steam again until 2004 after undergoing another overhaul. As of 2024, No.5164 is out of service and awaiting another overhaul at the Severn Valley Railway.
No.5193; built at Swindon Works in October 1934, she was withdrawn in June 1962 and sent to Barry in September of that year. She was rescued from Barry in August 1979 and eventually made her way to the West Somerset Railway. In June 2000, she underwent a unique project to convert her from a 2-6-2T tank engine to a 2-6-0 Mogul tender engine, which would help the W.S.R. with operational flexibility. This involved discarding the side tanks, cutting the frames behind the rear footplate steps, and building a new cab. Interestingly a Mogul fitted with a Standard No.2 boiler was part of Churchward's plan of standardisation of the early 1900s, though it was ultimately never built.
By 2004, the work of converting No.5193 to a 2-6-0 tender engine was completed, with her resembling a smaller-boiler version of the 43XX Class, and she entered service on the West Somerset Railway with a new number, No.9351. As of 2024, No.9351 is in running order on the W.S.R.
No.5199; built at Swindon Works in November 1934, she was withdrawn in March 1963 and sent to Barry Scrapyard not long after. She was rescued from Barry in 1985 and was finally returned to steam in February 2003 on the Llangollen Railway. As of 2024, No.5199 is in operational condition on the West Somerset Railway, though her home-base is the Llangollen Railway.
It was soon time for them to be on their way with their special train and, with Carrie on the footplate with the driver and fireman, a full head of steam in the boiler, and the coaches all ready to go, Gordon could set off. Blowing his whistle loudly, he slowly moved forward as steam flowed into his cylinders, taking up the weight of the train behind him. He was feeling excited at seeing the children's faces when they finally arrived at Knapford Station, and wondered if there would be any other engines there.
Leaning out from the right-hand side of Gordon's cab and looking forwards along the line as they made their way out from the coach depot, Carrie wondered how many people would be waiting for them when they arrived at Wellsworth Station to pick up the children and their parents for the Halloween party. She had a feeling there would be a lot waiting for them, and they would be dressed up in Halloween costumes ready for the party. She couldn't wait to see how the children would react when they finally arrived at the party.
(Insert soundtrack – Gordon's Theme – Season 5)
The trip along the Southern Main Line from Vicarstown to Wellsworth Station went uneventfully, with Carrie taking her turns at stoking the boiler with coal as they went along the line at speed. They did encounter other engines as they went along, most of which were heading back in the opposite direction to Vicarstown.
After making their way carefully down Gordon's Hill, they made their final approach to Wellsworth Station. By now, as they slowed down on their approach, Carrie leaned out from the driver's side of the cab and looked forwards as the station got closer and closer to them, hoping to get a glimpse of the children waiting on the platform. Passing under the bridge before the station, Carrie saw there were lots of children waiting on the platform, and all of them were dressed up in Halloween costumes, including witches, wizards, mummies, ghosts, devils, vampire, clowns, fairies, and many others as well. With the children were their parents and quite a few other adults, and almost all of them were dressed up in Halloween costumes of their own as well.
Feeling herself smile, Carrie wished that she could put on a costume of her own and join in the fun when they arrived at Knapford.
Up front, Gordon smiled widely, whistled in greeting, and called out "Hello!" to everyone waiting on the platform for him to arrive, and all the children waved their arms and cheered loudly when they saw the big blue engine arrive to pick them up. After coming to a stop, the doors to the coaches were opened and the children and adults on the platform stepped aboard the train, with the kids excited about going to the Halloween party.
Looking back, Carrie watched as the kids boarded, the looks of excitement clearly seen on their faces. She could also hear some kids talking about certain things that could be expected at the party, including face-painting, games, lots of candy, and music.
It wasn't too long before the last of the passengers had boarded the train, and the doors were closed up. Stepping out from his compartment at the front of the first coach, the guard blew his whistle and waved his green flag, and then quickly stepped back aboard. At the same time, the signal dropped, showing a green light, indicating they were clear to depart.
"Let's go!" Gordon called, as he blew his whistle loudly. He slowly moved forwards out of Wellsworth Station, as coming by in the opposite direction was G.W.R. 47XX Class 2-8-0 No.4726, who was on his way to Vicarstown with a long and very heavy fitted freight train, that was being banked from the rear by 9F No.92139.
Heading along the Southern Main Line a little way, they soon turned off at the junction for the Loop Line, which would take them back to Knapford from where they could arrive from the north of the station. Carrie had been on the Loop Line a few times, but never when the sun was setting and darkness was coming in. Taking another go at the shovel, she hoped they would be able to make it to Knapford in time, and that there wouldn't be any unforeseen delays along the way there.
The trip along the Loop Line went very smoothly, and for this last part of the journey, the sun fully set and night had fallen. It was still cloudy in the sky above, and so no stars could be seen at all. It was still feeling quite cold, but with the fire burning brightly in Gordon's firebox, Carrie didn't seem to notice the cold. Even so, she felt somewhat relieved when she looked out and saw that they were back on familiar territory, from the familiar signal boxes, signals, and other different landmarks they saw as they went along. When she looked out and saw exactly where they were, Carrie couldn't help but feel a slow build-up of excitement in her, as she knew they were closing in on Knapford Station and would be arriving there very soon. At the same time, Gordon was also feeling excited, particularly as he always like to see the children happy at a party or other special events.
They soon approached the northern side of Knapford Station, and they could all see that there were people waiting for them on the platforms. And standing on the lines were a few of the other engines, who were all waiting for Gordon to arrive. There were already plenty of other children standing on the platforms, and all of them were dressed in Halloween costumes, and some of the adults there were also dressed in costumes as well.
Giving a loud blast of his whistle to indicate he was arriving, Gordon pulled into the station, and there were loud cheers from those standing on the platforms and equally whistles from the waiting engines as he pulled in and came to a stop at Platform 1.
"Whoa! We made it on time!" Carrie said, as a big smile crossed her face. The driver and fireman also smiled broadly, and up in front, Gordon also had a big smile across his face as well. Standing on the line running adjacent to Platform 2 to their right was Chester Cathedral, and he had brought even more children to this party from the north of the island a short while before. His empty coaches had already been removed from behind him to allow room for engines to stand behind him, and he was eager to enjoy the party like everyone else.
"Well done for getting these children here, Gordon!" Chester smiled, pleased to see there were more children and grown-ups here to enjoy the party.
"I know that they'll all be pleased to be here for tonight!" Gordon said, as he also smiled widely as well. And he was right, for the children and grown-ups were already disembarking from the coaches and stepping out to enjoy the party. Music was playing and the children were already dancing around, while others were lining up at the tables where there were a wide variety of different snacks and drinks on offer for the party. There were also areas where there were all sorts of special games set up where people could enjoy themselves, and even simple competitions, where the prizes were things like bags of candy.
Once all the children and adults had gotten off Gordon's coaches, the coaches were uncoupled from him, and another engine took them away in reverse out of the station, which allowed room for a few more engines to join in with the party.
These engines soon arrived, rolling up on the line behind Gordon; they were G.W.R. 82XX Class 2-10-2T No.8203, L.N.E.R. Q7 Class 0-8-0 No.63470, B.R. Standard Class 2MT No.78030, B.R. Standard Class 3MT No.77001, L.M.S. 12F Class 4-8-4 No.46300, L.N.E.R. K4 Class No.61998 Macleod of Macleod, and L.S.W.R. S15 Class No.833.
Stepping off of Gordon's footplate onto the platform, Carrie looked all round at the activity going on around her. Among the many kids she could see in their costumes, she saw adults dressed up for the occasion; she saw that some were dressed as fairies, wizards, witches, ghosts, and ghouls. But she saw others dressed up as characters from famous horror films, including Jason Voorhees from the Friday the 13th movies, Ghostface from the Scream franchise, Freddy Krueger from the Nightmare on Elm Street films, and Chucky from the Child's Play series.
"Hey, Carrie! Over here!" called a voice. Looking over, Carrie saw Simon stepping over towards her. To her amazement, Simon was still in his work overalls, and they didn't appear too dirty either.
"Hey, Simon!" Carrie said, as the two of them hugged each other gratefully.
"Are you ready to enjoy this Halloween party?" he asked, while smiling.
"Yeah, I am. But shouldn't we get changed first beforehand?" Carrie asked.
"No, it's all right. There's no need to. I've already seen all the others on the apprenticeship scheme…and they're all still dressed in their work clothes too. Let's go and enjoy ourselves. I think we've earned it after the work we've done today." Simon said.
"Oh, well let's go and enjoy this party." Carrie said, and they went along the platform.
After taking a few minutes to wash their hands and faces in the toilets, they went to one of the tables where there were snacks and drinks on offer. Carrie took a can of Coca Cola from a bowl full of ice, opened it up, and took a long swig from it. Looking along the platform, she saw a group of children taking part in apple bobbing around a wide tub, and that the kids were laughing as they each took a turn. Looking elsewhere, she saw children having their faces painted, as well as dancing to some music that was being played. She also saw the Fat Controller and his wife as well; the Fat Controller was dressed as a wizard and Lady Hatt was dressed as a witch for the occasion. Carrie knew that the Fat Controller's two grandchildren were around the station somewhere and enjoying the party as well. She had no doubt she would see them during the course of the evening as well.
"Hey, Carrie." came a voice from close by. Turning her head, Carrie saw her father standing by her, and he was wearing the overalls he had been wearing the evening before, but he had the Michael Myres mask in his hand.
"Hey, dad." Carrie said.
"Did you have a good day today?" Ralph asked.
"Yeah, I did. And I'm pleased to report that nothing went wrong…though it did get a bit repetitive at times to be honest." Carrie said.
"Yeah, I understand what that's like. Believe me. But for now, let's just enjoy this party while there's all this going on. I think we've all earned it after today." Ralph said, as he put on the Michael Myres mask.
"All right, dad." Carrie said. And she was determined to have a good time at this Halloween party, as it was the first one that she had been to after having been denied the chance to go to other such parties back in Chamberlain. Deciding to worry about getting changed and having a shower until later on, Carrie took another sip from the can of Coca Cola before moving along the buffet table to see what else was there to enjoy.
(Back in Chamberlain; local time 7:30pm)
Walking along the sidewalk and looking up at the different houses that were all dressed up for Halloween, a group of children accompanied by two teenagers stepped along a path made of heavy paving stones up to one of the houses that lined this side of the street. And these kids were out trick-or-treating, as they were all dressed up in Halloween costumes and carrying plastic pumpkins in their hands that were full of candy.
Going up to the door, one of them pressed the button for the doorbell, and then stood and waited for the door to open. Just like all the other houses that lined both sides of the street, the front of this house had carved pumpkins sitting out on the front porch with flickering candles inside them, as well as other different decorations, including fake spider webs, images of witches flying on brooms, and two fake ghosts hanging from wires fixed to the porch roof. There were also flickering coloured lights on the porch as well, as well as a sound system that broadcast the sounds of cackling laughter, ghostly wails, and low haunting moans. Among the sounds played was a jingle from the movie Halloween III.
Happy, happy Halloween!
Halloween! Halloween!
Happy, happy Halloween!
Silver Shamrock!
After a moment, the door opened up, and out stepped none other than Sue Snell, as this was her house.
"Trick or treat!" all the younger kids cried out loudly, as they thrust their plastic pumpkins forwards for candy and other treats.
"Of course! Coming right up!" Sue said, a big smile on her face, as she grabbed a series of bowls of candy on a small table off to the side of the door and gave each of the kids a selection of candy, chocolate, lollipops, and such. Once she was finished, she wished the kids "Happy Halloween!" and after the kids said "Thank you!" they went on their way over to the next house down the street.
Feeling herself smile as she watched the kids move off, Sue pulled herself back into the house, closing the door behind her. She went back to the living room, where her boyfriend Tommy was waiting on the couch for her to come back.
"Happy kids, Sue?" Tommy asked, as she sat herself back down beside him.
"Yeah. Or at least until the next group of kids show up. Whenever that'll be." Sue said, as Tommy put his arm around her.
"There hasn't been anything about Carrie being found on the Island of Sodor in the press recently, has there?" Tommy asked.
"No, I don't think so. The police have said they're gonna be waiting until the right moment before they release the information to the press, and they're keeping things under wraps until then." Sue said.
"Good. Let's hope that everything is released at the right time." Tommy said.
"Yeah…and I hope that Chris and Tina don't mention anything about this to the press either. But anyway, shall we continue on with watching the movie?" Sue said.
"Sounds like a good idea to me. Let's do it." Tommy said, as he picked up the remote control for the DVD player. Tonight, both Sue and Tommy were spending time together at Sue's house while her parents and younger sister were out this evening at another Halloween party. Both Sue and Tommy had been to quite a few Halloween parties over the years, and quite a few of their classmates were attending a Halloween party elsewhere in Chamberlain this evening, but Sue and Tommy had decided to give the parties a miss for this year in preference to spending an evening with each other.
Lifting the remote control up, Tommy pressed the Play button and the DVD continued on playing. Tonight, they were watching the 1975 movie Jaws, and they picked up at the point around the middle of the movie where Chief Brody (Roy Scheider) and Matt Hopper (Richard Dreyfuss) encountered a drifting boat damaged by the shark on a dark night.
And there we are, everyone! We've reached the end of this chapter, and Carrie had a good day of work and helped get the children to the Halloween party on time aboard Gordon! I hope to have the next chapter unloaded as soon as I possibly can. So, until then next chapter is uploaded, good reading!