Chapter 8: Christmas Eve Party
(December 24th 2011 – Christmas Eve: 4:30pm; Tidmouth)
Carrie and Simon, along with Sophie, Alice, Olivia, and Saoirse, were walking along together along Main Street within the centre of the town of Tidmouth with heavy bags in their hands, evidence that they'd all been doing some last-minute Christmas shopping while all the shops in the town were still open in the time during the leadup to the Christmas holidays. There was plenty of fresh snow laying on the ground from a recent fall the previous night as well as earlier on in the day, and the air was just as freezing cold as it had been for the last few weeks.
They were all eager to finish up with their Christmas shopping, and any other little jobs like that they had to do, as soon as they possibly could, as that evening there would be a really big Christmas Eve party held over at Knapford Station, where a lot of people, as well as some of the engines, would be in attendance. It seemed like a perfect chance to really relax and socialise with other people before Christmas came.
"I can't wait to go to the Christmas party this evening over at Knapford Station. I've been looking forward to it for weeks now." Olivia said with a smile on her face, as they trudged along through the snow, cold, and other people going about with their pre-Christmas jobs.
"Yeah, and I hope it's an even better event than last year's party was." Simon said.
"I can't wait for tomorrow. It'll be the very first Christmas that I've ever celebrated in my life." Carrie said, as she smiled broadly at the thought of finally being able to celebrate her very first proper Christmas at long last.
"You mean your mother never let you celebrate Christmas back home before?" Saoirse asked, as she sipped from a cup of hot chocolate she had in her free hand.
"No, she never did. She would never put up a Christmas tree or decorate the house for Christmas with decorations and lights, unlike everyone else along our street who did. She always said celebrating Christmas was a sinful thing, and was one of the reasons many people back in Chamberlain thought we were a bit strange." Carrie said, somewhat embarrassed to admit something like that.
"Well, don't worry, Carrie. Now that you're here with us on Sodor, you can celebrate the best Christmas that you've ever had in your life." Sophie said.
"Yeah, and she's already started that." Simon said.
"I have, and I think I'm just trying to make up for all the lost Christmases that I never got to experience when I was younger." Carrie said, as she smiled.
For Carrie, the last few weeks on Sodor had seen her self-confidence and social skills improve to a massive extent, something she thought would never happen. She was able to spend time with people her own age, including going to places like coffee shops and going out to dinner with them, as well as getting to know them and getting advice from them on things the teen girls at home would, no doubt, probably never have given her.
At the same time, she was able to get to know many of the other engines of Sodor by talking to them when she could get the chance to do so at different railway stations around the island, and to get advice from them on what to do when she took part in the apprenticeship recruitment scheme in January.
And because she had been able to speak with the engines face to face, she was no longer freaked out by the fact she was speaking to steam locomotives that had faces on their fronts. In fact, she now accepted the engines of Sodor for who they were, just as much as they had accepted her for who she was.
Carrie had also been able to go to different places around Sodor with her new friends, and to see those places and meet different local people, including some retired railwaymen who gave her and the others good advice about working on a railway and what to expect when they started their own railway careers.
She had also been able to socialise very well with her new friends and got to know them far better in the last few days, and they had done quite lot of things together when they could get the chance to do so, including going out to their favourite coffee shops, going out to eat, as well as other things, such as seeing their favourite Christmas movies, such as The Santa Clause (1994), all of which were good Christmas movies that Carrie had never seen before, and she really enjoyed seeing the movies when she saw them for the first time. She and her friends would meet up at one of their houses, and they would enjoy the movies with a selection of different snacks and drinks on offer, and would really enjoy the festive atmosphere it created.
"What do you think you'll have for Christmas dinner?" Alice asked.
"We're gonna be having goose and beef this year, along with all the trimmings." Simon said, as he smiled at the thought of Christmas dinner the next day.
"Well, my family's gonna be having turkey and ham, and my grandmother has already arrived over from Ireland to spend Christmas with us this year." Saoirse said.
"Yeah, and my uncle, aunt and cousins already came up from Cardiff in South Wales yesterday to spend Christmas with us." Alice said
Carrie felt herself smile as she listened to the others talk; she was really looking forward to celebrating her first ever Christmas in an environment where she could be like a normal person instead of the outcast she'd been back in Chamberlain, and where her mother had never let them celebrate Christmas before, thinking it, just like everything else was sinful.
In the last few days, with Christmas coming closer and closer all the time, she'd felt a change in the atmosphere among many of those who were around her, and in all the different places that she'd been to.
Even the engines of Sodor seemed to be more excited than they had been before, with their longer and heavily laden trains, whether they were freight, parcel or passenger, rattling along behind them. With the snow having fallen quite heavily and built up substantially over the last few days, and the drifts having piled up in quite a few places, many of the engines were now wearing their snowploughs to get through any of the drifts that may be blocking the lines leading to the destinations they were going to.
Earlier on in the week, Carrie and her new friends had gone over to Vicarstown, which was located over on the very eastern side of Sodor, in order to do some Christmas shopping in some of the different shops over there. Having gotten aboard an early morning train at Knapford Station, where the early express train, consisting of 10 coaches - including two well-stocked buffet coaches, would leave Knapford Station at 8:00am sharp and would go all the way over to Vicarstown on a non-stop run, which took about an hour and a quarter to complete, and would normally get into Vicarstown Station bang on time at about 9:15am.
Normally Gordon would've taken this first train of the day, but on the day Carrie, Simon and their friends went over to Vicarstown, Gordon was in the maintenance depot near to Tidmouth for some much-needed repairs to his front bogie, which included having a slightly bent axle on one of the front wheelsets replaced, as well as having other necessary routine examinations being done, including to his other wheelsets and axles, his boiler, bearings, and cylinders, as well as to his tender, so Henry was assigned to take the train instead. Carrie, Simon and the other girls had travelled in the First-Class coach at the very front of the train. This coach was a corridor coach with separate compartments that could seat up to six people lining one side of the coach. The six of them had enjoyed a very smooth ride, and they also enjoyed a good English breakfast on the way over, which was served by the staff from the kitchen car coupled just behind the First-Class coach.
After they arrived at Vicarstown Station, Carrie, Simon and their friends got off the train, along with the other passengers, and the group went forward to talk to Henry before he went over to the depot for some attention before he went onto his next job of the day.
Henry was pleased to hear that Carrie and the others had enjoyed the smooth ride and was equally pleased to see that Carrie's confidence had improved in the last few weeks. Once they finished talking, Carrie, Simon and the others left the station while Henry, now detached from the coaches, moved off to the steam depot to be readied for his next jobs.
For most of the day, Carrie, Simon and the girls spent their time going from one shop to another within Vicarstown, where they all bought Christmas gifts for friends and family, as well as going to the impressive Christmas market within the grounds of the town hall. They also got to ride on the street trams that went round the town, which Carrie was impressed by, as it was her first time travelling in a tram in a town.
By the late afternoon, after having had a hot drink at a nice old coffee shop not too far from the Vicarstown Railway Station, and feeling very tired but satisfied after their long day together, the group arrived back at the main station with their purchases in the bags and ready to head on back to Knapford and home.
Stepping onto Platform 4 after buying their tickets home, they didn't have to wait long until their train home pulled into the station. The steam locomotive with the train behind it was B.R. Standard Class 8P 4-6-2 No.71001 Duke of London, who was one of the most technologically advanced steam locomotives ever built in Britain (5), with 12 very smart-looking Pullman coaches coupled up behind him, ready to take all the passengers back to Knapford. Carrie was very impressed when she saw Duke of London for the first time; he was a very impressive express passenger locomotive, and his lined B.R. passenger green livery and all his brass parts were polished to a very high shine, as were the two nameplates fitted along the smoke deflectors at the sides of his smokebox. Carrie was also very impressed by the unique valve gear that was fitted over the driving wheels, as it was very different from any valve gear she had ever seen on any of the engines of Sodor before; later, she would find out the valve gear she saw was British Caprotti rotary cam poppet valve gear.
(5): The B.R. Standard Class 8P only had one example built in reality; that example is No.71000 Duke of Gloucester, a steam locomotive which is still with us today. Also known to many people as "The Duke" it was also the only example of the 999 B.R. Standard Steam Locomotives to be built with three cylinders, with the other 998 locomotives in the other 11 standard classes each having two cylinders fitted. Built in the aftermath of the Harrow and Wealdstone Disaster of October 1952, where 112 people died, it was a replacement locomotive for an ex-LMS Princess Royal 4-6-2, No.46202 Princess Anne, that had been heavily damaged beyond economic repair in the accident.
Due to the destruction of No.46202 at Harrow and Wealdstone, Robert Riddles, who had wanted to introduce a class of Class 8P steam locomotives to the standard range of B.R. steam locomotives for heavy express passenger work, took the opportunity given by the B.R. Board to design a new class of 8P heavy express passenger locomotive to fill the big gap in powerful express locomotives left by the destruction of No.46202. He would later say that the chance to build a one-off passenger locomotive with Caprotti valve gear and eliminating or overcoming reciprocating valve gear faults, and giving constant valve openings at all times coupled with free exhaust was just too good a chance to miss.
The main reason that authority to go ahead with this project hadn't been given before October 1952 was due to the fact that there were already plenty of 8P Pacific locomotives available for use on many of the top-link expresses running in the U.K., including the Stanier Princess Royal and Princess Coronation, or Duchess, Classes of the former L.M.S. system, as well as the Gresley A4 Class and Peppercorn A1 Class Pacifics of the former L.N.E.R., with B.R. Standard Class 7MT Pacifics, or Britannia's, and other Pacific classes, such as the Gresley A3s and Peppercorn A2s, as well as the various Thompson Pacific types, being available to cover the shortfall. Though another possible reason was due to the fact that the design process for such a new locomotive would be highly complex and expensive.
Riddle's original plan for a brand new B.R. Standard 8P express passenger locomotive had been to improve on the 7MT Britannia design, but he soon found out that using just two cylinders would have meant putting the new design in excess of the limit of the loading gauge in Britain. And so because of that issue, he reluctantly went to an arrangement with three-cylinders, even though he knew full well that a third cylinder would be difficult to maintain due to it being between the locomotive's frames. He was also aware of the maintenance difficulties that Gresley's three-cylinder Pacifics on the L.N.E.R. had experienced due to their three cylinders being paired with Gresley's complex conjugated valve gear.
The three cylinders on No.71000 are 18in in diameter with a 28in piston stroke and are paired with six driving wheels that are 6ft 2in diameter and an enlarged boiler fitted with superheating elements and pressed to 250psi, all of which combined to give No.71000 a maximum tractive effort of 39,080lbf, making it one of the most powerful classes within the B.R. Standard Range of steam locomotives. Only the B.R. Standard Class 9F 2-10-0 heavy freight locomotives had a higher tractive effort, which was 39,670lbf. No.71000 has divided drive, with the outside cylinders driving onto the second pair of driving wheels while the single inside cylinder drives onto the leading set of driving wheels. The boiler that's fitted to No.71000 is an enlarged version of the boiler type that was fitted to the B.R. Standard Class 7MT Britannia Pacifics.
No.71000 was also quite unique in the fact that, unlike many other large British express steam locomotives, which were normally fitted with Walschaerts valve gear, it was fitted with British Caprotti rotary cam poppet valve gear, which was a vastly improved development of the original Caprotti valve gear that had originally been designed by Italian engineer Arturo Caprotti back in 1911, and being one of only a handful of British steam locomotives ever to be fitted with this unusual valve gear. Caprotti valve gear was paired with poppet valves - similar to those used in internal combustion engines - which were far more efficient than Stephenson or Walschaerts valve gear, and which would often be paired with more traditional piston or slide valves - and offered far superior steam distribution on a steam locomotive than piston or slide valves, as well as having the potential to dramatically improve steam locomotive performance, although it was more difficult and expensive to maintain compared to more conventional slide or piston valves. The gear is also adjustable in its timing, allowing alternating degrees of working. The gear, in theory, would allow a steam locomotive to be a free-steaming, hard-working machine that would easily be capable of hauling very heavy loads over long distances.
Arturo Caprotti's original valve gear design was a brilliant piece of technology, but it was flawed, and so in 1950, Tom Daniels, who was Chief Engineer of the Associated Locomotive Equipment, changed the original camshaft design by including two exhaust cams instead of one, both of which could be moved independently of each other, like the in-let cams, thus achieving completely variable valve events, allowing for vastly superior steam distribution.
Caprotti Valve Gear had proven to be a great success with steam locomotives that ran in Italy and all around Continental Europe, though British designers were slow to adapt it. In 1951, two L.M.S. Black Five Class 4-6-0s (No.44686 and No.44687) were fitted with the improved British version of Caprotti's original gear. It proved to be a highly successful experiment, and the experiment was continued with the construction of 43 Caprotti-equipped B.R. Standard Class 5 4-6-0s, as well as with No.71000.
The early publications of No.71000 Duke of Gloucester described it as a prototype machine, indicating it was meant to be a testbed for what could be achieved, and indicating that there were initial hopes by the designers that a production series, where more examples of the class would be built to run on the railway, could be undertaken. However, the chance to build a batch of B.R. Standard Class 8Ps was denied by the Railway Executive, which was said to have been because the design process had been highly expensive and complex. So when No.71000 emerged from Crewe Works in 1954, the idea of building more members of the class seemed to be inappropriate and unnecessary, especially with the advent of the Modernisation Plan in 1955. So as a result, No.71000 was destined to be the sole member of its class.
No.71000 also had the rather sad distinction of being the final express passenger 4-6-2 Pacific to be built in Britain when it was completed at Crewe Works in April 1954, at least until August 2008 when the first brand new main line steam locomotive to be built in Britain since March 1960 was introduced, the 50th member of the L.N.E.R Peppercorn A1 Class Pacifics, No.60163 Tornado.
During a period of testing at Swindon Works from October 1954 to May 1955, No.71000 proved to have the highest cylinder efficiency, based on the Rankine cycle system, of any single expansion steam locomotive ever recorded anywhere in the world; 86% of what was theoretically possible. It was observed that, while it was being tested at Swindon, No.71000 worked quite effectively when the reverser was set at 3% cut-off, which was far lower than any other type of valve gear, and was described as being the ultimate stage of development of any British steam locomotive. The tests at Swindon also showed that No.71000 could produce up to 32,750 pounds per hour.
Although No.71000 proved to be able to steam freely, the locomotive developed quite serious steaming problems during its working life, and, much to the consternation of the firemen who worked on the footplate, it proved to be a coal scoffer, due to a number of inexplicable faults in its construction back in 1954. The steaming problems and excessive coal consumption - where the locomotive often consumed up to 50% more coal than a B.R. Standard Class 7MT Britannia Pacific in order to perform the same work - resulted from poor drafting within the firegrate; the dampers in the ashpan were the wrong size - they were in fact too small - which heavily restricted airflow into the firebox, strangling the fire of much-needed air when No.71000 was operating at speed.
There was also an issue with the exhaust system in the smokebox; instead of fitting in the highly efficient Kylchap exhaust system for the double chimney as the designers of No.71000 had originally recommended be installed into the smokebox, an older, smaller Great Western double chimney version that dated from 1883 was put in place instead, possibly in order to save costs on the engine's construction. But the problem was that this much older type of exhaust system proved utterly unable to cope with the much fiercer blast that was experienced with the British Caprotti Valve Gear. The choke area in both that double chimney and blastpipe system proved to be much too small for the pressure generated by the exhaust, leading to very poor draughting during times of high steam demand.
The end result of all these mistakes were that the end of a long day's run on the footplate of No.71000 often resulted in an exhausted fireman, and a tender that had very little or no coal left inside the coal space.
So much for saving money on the locomotive's construction, it must have cost the savings thousands of times over in coal!
Due to these steaming problems and resulting heavy coal and water consumption, No.71000 was assigned to Crewe North Shed - where it would spent its entire working life in B.R. days - initially taking top expresses south to London and north to Liverpool and Glasgow, before then being relegated to hauling boat trains back and forth along the undemanding North Wales Coast Line between Crewe and Holyhead where it remained for the rest of its career on B.R. The engine initially proved to be quite unpopular with the crews at its home base, with some crews being said to have changed turns with other crews or even calling in sick rather than take a turn working on the notoriously shy-steaming No.71000. Many crews complained that not enough air would get into the firegrate, so as a result slots were cut into both sides of the ashpan, which did help to cure the steaming problems of No.71000 to some extent.
Another major reason for the crews disliking No.71000 wasn't only due to it's poor steaming problems, but was also due to the fact that it wasn't one of the cherished Stanier Pacifics, such as the Princess Coronation Class, which had plied their trade on top-line expresses out of Crewe since before the war.
However, despite the problems that it had, No.71000 did give some very good performances at times, which were often as good as those given by Stanier's Duchess Pacifics. If fired properly by an experienced fireman, the engine could achieve speeds of up to 90mph, with crews being familiar with three cylinder L.M.S. engines, such as the Royal Scots, being able to achieve much better performances with the engine than the crews who were more used to working on the Duchess and Princess Royal Pacifics, which had four cylinders.
During its life on the line, No.71000 was paired with two different tenders; from 1954 to 1958, she was paired with a BR1E tender, which could carry about 10 tons of coal and 4,725 gallons of water. From 1958 to 1962, No.71000 was paired with a BR1J tender, which could carry about 10 tons of coal and 4,325 gallons of water. Both tenders ran on six wheels, and they were also fitted with coal pushers, so that coal which was higher up towards the back of the tenders could be pushed down to the fall plate without the fireman having to climb up into the tenders in order to push coal forwards. The two tender types were also fitted with water scoops so that No.71000 could replenish her water supplies from water troughs.
No.71000 was withdrawn from service - possibly prematurely - in November 1962 after only eight years of running with British Railways, during which it covered some 300,000 miles, and, despite being initially set aside for preservation - considering that it was the last 4-6-2 Pacific express steam locomotive built by British Railways - it was sent down to Woodham's Scrapyard at Barry, South Wales in 1967. Its two outside cylinders had been removed, with one example going to the Science Museum in London, and the other one, removed so as to prevent the locomotive becoming unbalanced, being scrapped. Its tender was also removed, and the chassis used to transport steel at a South Wales steelworks. Initially, the carcass of No.71000 was sent to the wrong scrapyard, and arrived in Cashmore's Yard in Gwent where work began on dismantling the engine before the mistake was noticed, and so the engine was sent down to Woodham's Yard in Barry. In fact, it was the only B.R. Standard Pacific that was ever sent to Barry Scrapyard.
With the locomotive nothing more than a carcass at that point, without a tender, or outside cylinders, and with only a boiler, main frames, middle cylinder - minus its cam-box, cab frame and wheels, it was felt that No.71000 was beyond saving and restoration, and as a result, it earned the nickname of "Mission Impossible". However, a group of enthusiasts, undeterred by the enormity of the task, felt that the locomotive should be restored and set about taking up the challenge.
No.71000 was rescued from Barry Scrapyard in April 1974, where it sat among other withdrawn steam locomotives in a sad, derelict state exposed to the sea air and salt for nearly seven years and had many parts removed by souvenir hunters. It was moved to Loughborough on the Great Central Railway, and there it was rebuilt to run as a far superior machine than it had been back in B.R. days, though the restoration took 13 long years of hard work to complete. The process included the construction of many new parts, including new British Caprotti valve gear, and two new outside cylinders - both of which had to be done from scratch, and a first in preservation for such a large engine. As No.71000 no longer had its original tender with it when she left the scrapyard at Barry, one had to be obtained from a B.R. 9F Class 2-10-0, No.92134, and was then modified to in order work with No.71000.
The extent of the work that was done on rebuilding No.71000 from a scrapyard condition to an engine that could run on the main line was so extensive, and with so many important parts that needed to be replaced, that the project to return her to working order was only in second place to the process of building a completely new steam locomotive from scratch, as per the project to construct the new-build Peppercorn A1 Class Pacific No.60163 Tornado.
During the locomotive's restoration, a Kylchap exhaust system was fitted in the smokebox, as had been recommended originally all the way back when the engine was first being built in Crewe Works back in 1954, and which helped to finally unlock the engine's potential as a powerful, free-steaming and hard-working locomotive, as well as fitting a brand new ashpan with the damper doors that were larger and of the correct dimensions, which would allow more air into the firebox to help combust the fuel better. But the long restoration process, which proved difficult at times, was worth it in the end, as it finally unlocked the engine's potential as a powerful express steam locomotive, turning No.71000 Duke of Gloucester from an enigma of an engine that had great potential, but wouldn't steam properly, into a roaring lion of an engine that could easily outperform a modern 2,750-horsepower diesel electric locomotive.
Once the restoration of No.71000 was finally finished and she returned to working order in the late 1980's, first running on heritage railways, and then going out onto the main line in 1990, the boiler was found to be producing steam in a far more efficient way than it had done back in B.R. days - being able to produce up to 50,000 pounds of steam per hour - and finally unlocking its potential as a powerful express steam locomotive, and showing its true colours of what it could really do.
No.71000 Duke of Gloucester is now one of the most powerful steam locomotives to run on Britain's railway system, past or present. It's proved to be a firm favourite with the crews who have driven it, particularly when driven along lines such as the Settle and Carlisle Line in Northern England, and able to haul very heavy loads of passenger coaches behind it with steam to spare and plenty of power in reserve, often producing very near to 3,000 horsepower on occasion. One former B.R. engineman, who recalled the engine's infamous reputation from B.R. days and being understandably somewhat apprehensive of it back then, said afterwards that the engine "felt and sounded totally different".
Various changes and modifications have been consistently added to No.71000 to keep her upgraded, including upgrading the injectors in order to cope with the boiler's demands of the water supply, fitting a coal pusher into the tender to push coal from the back to the tender down to the fall plate, increasing the tender's water capacity to over 5,100 gallons of water, fitting a second ladder at the back of the tender, as well as the installation of an air braking system, a cab to shore telephone, and various other electronic systems so that No.71000 can keep working heavy trains on the main line in the modern era. Various improvements have also been made to the Caprotti valve gear and in particular with regard to the cams, which helped to keep the exhaust valves closed for longer periods, which have also helped to give No.71000 much greater cylinder efficiency than before, as well as reducing water consumption. Another change was increasing the airspaces in the ashpan by fitting much larger damper doors in order to to allow for greatly increased airflow into the firebox, reducing the chances of any clinker forming in the firebox and allowing for much more efficient combustion of the fuel.
No.71000 has also broken a number of records in preservation, particularly in October 1995 when it climbed the notorious Shap Bank on the West Coast Main Line and topped the summit with the highest speed ever attained with a heavy load, despite the weather conditions that day being atrocious. The engine has also broken quite a number of other records while climbing other steep banks on various lines throughout the U.K., like that up to Savernake, with ease, despite the heavy loads it sometimes pulls.
The incredible performances that No.71000 has shown during its career in preservation, as well as the records it broke when travelling up various gradients on different parts of the main line, has clearly shown the potential of British steam traction was very far from exhausted by the 1960's, and it also shows the potential of what could have been had a class of B.R. Standard Class 8P heavy express locomotives been built. In preservation, the locomotive has also been extensively tinkered with, in order to make No.71000 as perfect a performer as is possible to achieve. With the impressive performances she has given ever since she was restored, No.71000 Duke of Gloucester has proven herself to be the high performance, high pedigree machine that her designer, Robert Riddles, had been so confident she could be, and easily the most technically advanced steam locomotive anywhere in the world.
As of late 2023, No.71000 is nearing the end of a very lengthy and costly overhaul to return her to main line working order at the Tyseley Locomotive Works near Birmingham, with the boiler returned to the frames and having recently passed its hydraulic and full steam tests. As of 2025, the overhaul of No.71000 is still ongoing, having originally planned to be completed sometime in June of 2024. Once the overhaul is complete, she'll be run in for a time on the Severn Valley Railway before being allowed to go back out to work on specials and rail-tours out on the main line again, with her being based at Crewe for that work.
No.71001 Duke of London is an example of a few more of the B.R. Standard Class 8P Pacifics, also known as the Duke Class, that should've been built but sadly weren't due to the Modernisation Plan, that will also be appearing within this story as and when necessary. One major difference between the members of the class that will appear within this fanfic and No.71000 is that the other members of the class will be fitted with larger diameter cylinders, which will be 20in in diameter as opposed to 18in, and this will allow those locomotives to have a much higher tractive effort of 48,245lbf as opposed to No.71000's tractive effort of 39,080lbf, and allowing them to haul heavier trains. Any members of the class that'll appear in this story will also be paired with much larger tenders that will be longer in length and will run on 4 axles instead of three, so as to allow for a much greater water capacity to be carried.
The passengers, about 500 of them or so, boarded the train and took their seats in the coaches, ready for the return trip to Knapford, while Carrie, Simon and the girls boarded the First-Class coach at the very front of the train, as they'd bought First Class tickets. They settled down in the comfortable seats in the compartment at the front of the coach, and gently thawed out in the warmth of the compartment as they waited for the train to set off.
They didn't have to wait for long; at 5:00pm sharp, with the points set and the signal dropped to show the way was clear and the last carriage doors closed with a thump, the guard stood outside the door to his compartment, where he waved his green flag and blew his whistle loudly before he clambered into his compartment, closing the door behind him. The driver blew the whistle on No.71001 loudly before opening the regulator, and slowly the train pulled out from Vicarstown station and, after crossing over the points and going through the junction, headed out into the countryside.
The trip went uneventfully, though it began to snow quite heavily within the last 10 minutes of the trip, and they arrived safely into Knapford Station at 6:15pm, right on time.
And in between then and now, Christmas Eve, Carrie and Simon, as well as their friends, managed to visit the Christmas Market in Knapford on one evening where they had a great time with each other while enjoying the great food on offer and the Christmas music being played for people at the market to enjoy themselves. They really enjoyed the great atmosphere and the friendly company of everyone who was there, as well as all the different food and buying gifts, and they all agreed to visit the Christmas Market again the following year when it was set up again.
"So, Carrie…what are you hoping to get for Christmas this year?" Alice asked, her distinctive Welsh accent clearly heard.
"I don't know, Alice. But what I can say is that I'm really looking forward to is enjoying my first proper Christmas where there's no one about to upset me or to harass me when I don't want to be bullied. So, to be honest, I really don't mind what I get for Christmas…just as long as nothing goes wrong." Carrie said, as she smiled at Alice.
"I think that's what many of us here are hoping for." Saoirse said, as she finished her cup of hot chocolate before she tossed the empty cup into a trashcan they passed by.
"And I'm very glad that we're having a white Christmas again. Plenty of snow at this time of year just makes the holiday feel so much nicer." Simon said.
"I agree, and it's also lots of fun for younger kids as well." said Olivia.
"Do you think we should make our way home and get ourselves ready for the party? There's not too long until it begins so maybe we should all get prepared?" Sophie suggested.
"I think that might be a good idea; after all, I promised my parents that I'd be home and get ready so we could all go to the party together, so I'd best get myself back home as quickly as I can." Alice said.
"Yeah, I think I'd best head on home too. After all, there's a few more preparations for tomorrow to do before I can turn in for the night." Saoirse said.
"Okay, everyone, and we'll see you at Knapford Station a little later on." Simon said, and after they all said they'd see each other that evening, they headed off home to get ready for the big annual Knapford Christmas party.
(With Carrie)
Feeling in good spirits after the excellent and exciting day out she had together with all her new friends, Carrie stepped into the front hallway of her father's home, where the rich smell of hot coffee, with a hint of chocolate in the smell, drifted into their nostrils from the kitchen.
"Hello dad! I'm home" Carrie called, just as she closed the door behind her.
"Hey, there you are, Carrie! Are you about to get ready to head out to the party this evening?" Ralph asked, as he stepped out from the living room, with a mug of hot coffee in his hand.
"Yes, dad. I'm gonna go and get ready upstairs and then I'll be ready for the party." Carrie said, as she started up the stairs.
"Ok, but just remember, Carrie…there's no need to put on anything fancy. This party is a casual event and will be held on the platforms at Knapford Station, where it's open to the cold winter air. Just put on something practical and that'll also keep you warm." Ralph said.
"Okay, dad." Carrie said, as she went up the stairs and then turned down the corridor to her bedroom. After entering, she started on getting ready.
(A little later, Knapford Station)
Ralph and Carrie, both dressed in warm clothing and their overcoats on, were approaching the main entrance to Knapford Station, where other people were also arriving for the party. There was a great sense of merriment in the air and Carrie could certainly feel it as she got closer and closer to the station, where she could hear the sound of Christmas music playing and smell the scents of different Christmas foods in the cold air.
After arriving and stepping out onto Platform 1 among all the party guests, Carrie looked round the station; it was decorated appropriately for the holiday season, with brightly decorated Christmas trees on all the platforms, with twinkling-coloured lights, shiny baubles and other decorations hanging from their green branches, while other bright Christmas lights and oversized decorations hanging on the walls and from the support beams over the platforms and the railways lines passing beneath.
Along Platform 1, an impressive buffet of Christmas food had been set up, with delicious smells and columns of steam rising from large basins of hot food and drink into the freezing cold air. People who already arrived were gathering round to be served the hot food to keep them warm on this cold, crisp Christmas Eve.
Standing at the six railway lines going through Knapford Station were a few of Sodor's most famous steam locomotives, including Thomas, Edward, Henry, Gordon, James, Percy, Toby, Duck and a few others. They had all been cleaned down and their new paintwork polished to a very high shine, so they were presentable for the party. They all looked very pleased to be there and were very happy to see everyone enjoying themselves this evening.
Taking in a deep breath, Carrie walked over towards where some of the engines were standing along Platform 1. Thomas was standing in front with Percy behind him and Duck standing behind Percy.
"Good evening, there." Carrie said, as she approached where Thomas was standing.
"Hello, Carrie. It's nice to see you here this evening." Thomas said, as he smiled when he saw Carrie.
"I'm very glad to be here this evening, Thomas. I've never been to a Christmas party before, particularly one like this where we see locomotives in attendance." Carrie said, as she smiled.
"Well…every Christmas party is a different event. I know because I've been to quite a few over the years and in many different places around Sodor." Thomas said.
"And I really hope I'll be able to attend my own share of Christmas parties and other gatherings while I'm here too." Carrie said.
Then Simon came up from behind Carrie and stood beside her.
"Hi Carrie; good evening, Thomas." Simon said, as he arrived wearing the very same heavy overcoat he had on earlier in the day.
"Hi Simon!" Carrie and Thomas said together.
"I'm really eager to have a great time this evening!" said Simon, as he rubbed his hands together in anticipation.
"Me too…but have you seen the other girls anywhere?" Carrie asked, as she looked round the mingling crowd.
"Not yet, Carrie. But I've no doubts that they're on their way over here." Simon said, as he too looked round from where he stood.
"I hope they get here soon…it looks like everyone's having a real good time tonight, and I hate for them to miss out on it all." Thomas said, as he looked at all the people socialising and having a good time, while enjoying the hot food and drink on offer and listening to the large selection of classic Christmas tunes being played over the P.A. system.
"Anyway Carrie…do you want to go and get some hot chocolate while there's plenty there?" Simon asked, as he looked at Carrie.
"Of course, I'd love to have some." Carrie said, as a smile came across her face.
"Well let's go get some then…we'll see you later, Thomas." Simon said, as he and Carrie linked arms and went over to the buffet tables.
"Okay you two, have fun." Thomas said, as some other people, with hot drinks in their hands, came up to him to talk with him.
(A short while later)
With large cups of rich, thick, steamy and creamy hot chocolate in their hands and topped with marshmallows, grated chocolate and whipped cream, Carrie and Simon were walking down along the platform to see and talk with one of the other engines within the station. They had crossed the footbridge (n) from Platform 1 over to Platform 2, where Edward, Henry and James were standing in the line beside Platform 2. They had smiles on their faces, as they spoke with people they were knew personally, whether they were passengers or crew who worked with them. Carrie and Simon went over to speak with Henry.
(n): In the original model series, there's no footbridge that's connecting the platforms at Knapford Station, but in this story there is one present. Then again, and to be realistic to real life railway operations, how would people get from the different platforms at the station safely without having to cross the railway lines when there's trains going by?
"Hello Carrie…hello Simon." Henry said with a smile, as Carrie and Simon stood on the platform beside where he stood.
"Good evening, Henry." Carrie said, with a smile.
"Hey, Henry…are you and all the other engines looking forward to having tomorrow and the next few days off of work?" Simon asked.
"I am, Simon. I and all the other engines always look forward to having some time off each Christmas time. I do appreciate the rest around Christmas." Henry said.
"But then again…are you all pleased to get back to work again when the time for it comes?" Carrie asked.
"Of course, I always like to stretch my wheels again after a Christmas rest." Henry said.
"Before the new apprenticeship scheme starts in January, is there any advice you can give to me that may prove useful to me?" Carrie asked, as Henry smiled.
"Don't be afraid to make mistakes when you work, Carrie. That's how many of the crews learned the ropes when they started." Henry said.
"Thanks, Henry." Carrie said, as she smiled at Henry, and he smiled back.
"Good evening, you two." came a voice. Carrie and Simon turned and saw Alice approaching them, with Sophie, Olivia and Saoirse seen in the distance among the other partygoers at the other end of the platform and slowly coming their way.
"Hey there, Alice. Enjoying the evening so far?" Simon asked, as he took a long sip from his hot chocolate.
"Indeed, I am, Simon. I really do love the buzz and atmosphere of a Christmas party, just like this one, and enjoying the great variety of food and drink on offer." Alice said, as she showed them a plate of small Dutch pancakes topped with a light dusting of white icing sugar and drizzled with butterscotch syrup before she tucked into one with a short wooden fork.
"Yeah, and I'm really hoping to try a little bit of everything that's on offer while I'm here and before the party is over." Simon said, as he looked round.
"Me too, and I especially like this rich hot chocolate we got." Carrie said, as she took another sip of it while it was still hot.
"Well, best enjoy it while the party lasts." Alice said, as Sophie, Olivia and Saoirse arrived.
"Hey there, Carrie…Simon…Henry." Saoirse said.
"Hey there, Saoirse. You know it's a shame the other engines and I can't enjoy all that food on offer…it certainly does smell good." Henry said, as he glanced over to Platform 1.
"Don't worry about it too much, Henry…" Olivia said; "…besides, food is really meant for people not engines."
"Of course." Henry said, with a smile.
"Anyway, let's go and speak with other people and talk to the other engines." Sophie said, as she took a bite out of her burger.
"Okay…we'll see you later, Henry." Simon said, as he and the others in the group headed off down the platform.
"All right, Simon. Good luck." Henry said.
Both Carrie and Simon made their way along the platform a little ways, and then they came upon another locomotive standing with the others and enjoying the Christmas party, just as much as all the other engines were. The engine was a tank engine with a 2-6-4 wheel arrangement and was painted in lined B.R. black livery that had been polished and rubbed down until it shone brightly. Again, this engine had no name and had its numbers neatly seen on the sides of its coal bunker. The engine was No.80050, and he was an example of the B.R. Standard Class 4 2-6-4T tank engines (6). His black paintwork had been wiped down and polished to a very high shine, and all his brass parts had also been cleaned down and polished too, so that he looked very presentable for tonight's Christmas party, just like all the other engines who were present here.
(6): The B.R. Standard Class 4MT 2-6-4T tank engines, which were numbered from No.80000 to No.80154, were the very last class of 2-6-4T tank engines to be built in the U.K., having been based off of a number of earlier 2-6-4T designs that had been built by the L.M.S. from a variety of designers, including Fowler, Stanier, and Fairburn. The class, which was introduced in the 1950's, was designed to be used on commuter, suburban, and semi-express passenger services in various British cities, including in London and Birmingham. They were very similar in overall appearance to the earlier L.M.S. 2-6-4T designs, but they had their tank sides, cabs, and coal bunkers sloping inwards and were curved in order to conform within the loading gauge, as well as having their cylinders slightly reduced in size in order to comply with the British L1 loading gauge, with the boiler pressure being increased to compensate and allow the class to maintain the same tractive effort.
The class were designed at Brighton, and was overseen by Robert Riddles. The very first example of the class, No.80010, was outshopped from Brighton Works in July 1951, with the other members of the class following along at regular intervals until March 1957 when the final example of the class to be built, No.80154, was rolled out from Brighton Works. In total, 155 examples of this class were built at three railway works, Brighton - which built 130 examples, Derby - which built 15, and Doncaster - which turned out 10. Due to the modernisation of the railways in the mid-1950's, the final 15 examples of the class that had been planned were cancelled, and the last 5 engines would have been too, if they hadn't been in such an advanced state of construction when the order came to cancel them. If built, the cancelled engines would have been numbered from No.80155 to No.80169.
The engines of this class were fitted with two outside cylinders, each being 18in in diameter with a 28in piston stroke. Combined with six driving wheels that were 5ft 8in diameter and a boiler that was fitted with superheating elements and pressed to 225psi, the class had a maximum tractive effort of 25,515lbf. Their side tanks could take up to 2,000 gallons of water while their coal bunkers could carry around 3.5 tons of coal. With their light axle-loading of just under 18 tons, the class had a very wide route availability and could go almost anywhere on the British railway network.
The class were allocated to all regions of British Railways, apart from lines on the Western Region, but they became most associated with the London, Tilbury and Southend Line where they worked on the commuter services going in and out of London until that route was electrified in 1962, after which they were redeployed to Scotland and to the Cambrian Main Line in Wales. The class was also widely used in East Sussex and in Kent, where they worked from Brighton, Tunbridge Wells and Three Bridges on the lines of the former London Brighton and South Coast Railway (L.B.S.C.R.) that had not yet been electrified. Another group worked from the Polmadie Depot in the Scottish Region for use on the Glasgow commuter services. They were also used on the London, Tilbury, and Southend Railway (L.T.S.R.) where they worked on the passenger commuter services on that line with the ex-L.M.S. 2-cylinder and 3-cylinder Stanier 2-6-4T tank engine classes had had been working on that route for years.
The B.R. Standard Class 4MT 2-6-4T tank engines proved to be very successful machines when they were in service, as they always steamed very well which meant that there was no need for them to be redraughted during their working lives. They were also very popular machines with their crews, and could also be counted upon to give a very good turn of speed and good acceleration.
No major modifications being made to the design. One change made was the tank vent was moved further forward from No.80059 onwards, as the vent was found to have been obstructing the driver's vision. From No.80079 onwards, the class were fitted with fitted with plain section coupling rods on their 5ft 8in driving wheels, as the original fluted coupling rods had caused some problems on the class as well as on other B.R. Standard Classes.
The first example of the class was withdrawn in August 1962 with No.80103, as there were reports that the engine had been riding roughly. After being taken to Stratford Works to be examined and see what the problem was, it was discovered that the main frame had actually broken in half. Due to that, it was considered that No.80103 was beyond economic repair and so it was scrapped not too long afterwards. It was the very first of the Standard locomotives to be withdrawn and the only one to be scrapped at Stratford.
Despite the loss of No.80103, the class remained fully intact, as major withdrawals of the class didn't begin in earnest until 1964, when 31 examples were withdrawn from service. The others in the class were withdrawn from service at regular intervals until by the end of 1966, when only 25 examples were still in service. However, by the end of 1967, those last 25 engines had been withdrawn from regular use on British Railways. It was hoped that the highest numbered member of the class, No.80154, could have been saved for posterity, as it was the final steam locomotive ever to be built at Brighton Works, but sadly, it wasn't to be as the Bluebell Railway, which had hoped to buy the locomotive, was unable to raise the necessary funds.
Thankfully, 15 examples of the class have managed to survive into preservation, of which only locomotive, No.80002, was bought directly from B.R., with all the other 14 surviving engines having been saved from Woodham's scrapyard in Barry, South Wales, and in various states of decay and deterioration. Of the 15 surviving locomotives, only No.80100 and No.80150 have yet to be restored to full running order.
No.80002 survived as it had been given an extended life and was being used in Glasgow as a static boiler for heating carriages until 1969, when it was bought directly from B.R. Of the 15 surviving engines, only four of them have seen active service on the main line at some point during their preservation careers, these engines being No.80079, No.80080, No.80098, and No.80135, including working trains on the Cambrian Line and the Conwy Valley Line, both of which are in Wales. With the exception of No.80002, which was built at Derby Works, all the surviving engines were built in Brighton.
The surviving 15 members of the class are
No.80002; built in Derby Works in October 1952, she was withdrawn from service in March 1967 but was used on carriage-warming duties at Cowlairs until 1969. She was bought by the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway Preservation Society and taken down to Haworth in May 1969. As a result of this, she's the only existing member of the class who wasn't saved from Barry scrapyard. She was returned to full working order by 1972, becoming a full member of the K.W.V.R.'s fleet since then. She was withdrawn in August 2013 when her boiler certificate expired, and is currently on static display at Oxenhope while awaiting a full overhaul.
No.80064; built at Brighton Works in June 1953, she was withdrawn from service in September 1965 and sent to Barry Scrapyard in October. She was rescued in February 1973, and taken to the Dart Valley Railway (now the South Devon Railway) for restoration, which was finally completed in 1981. She moved to the Bluebell Railway in 1984, where she worked for a number of years until her boiler certificate expired. In November 2023, she was relocated to the West Somerset Railway where she's waiting for an overhaul.
No.80072; built at Brighton Works in November 1953, she was withdrawn from service in July 1965 and sent to Barry in January 1966. She left Barry in July 1988 and eventually made its way to the Llangollen Railway for full restoration.
No.80078; built at Brighton Works in February 1954, she was removed from service in July 1965 and sent to Barry in June 1966. Rescued from Barry in September 1976, she was eventually returned to full running order on the Swanage Railway by October 1999. Taken out of service in 2010, she was overhauled and returned to work by May 2017. She's currently on loan to the Spa Valley Railway, where she's in operational condition.
No.80079; built at Brighton Works in March 1954, she was withdrawn in July 1965 and arrived in Barry in January 1966. She was removed from Barry in May 1971 and taken to the Severn Valley Railway for restoration, which was completed in 1977 when she steamed for the first time in preservation. In her career in preservation, No.80079 has also worked out on the main line on a number of different occasions, as well as on a number of heritage railways, before being withdrawn for an overhaul in 1990. No.80079 last ran on the main line in December 1999, when she helped bank a train hauled by ex-L.M.S. Black Five Class 4-6-0 No.45110 up the Lickey Incline. Since 2002, by which time it covered 103,509 miles in service, No.80079 has been on static display in a number of different locations, including Locomotion in Shildon, but is currently on display in the Engine House at Highley on the Severn Valley Railway.
No.80080; built at Brighton Works in March 1954, she was withdrawn from service in July 1965 and arrived in Barry in January 1966. She left Barry in 1980 and eventually made its way to the Midland Railway Centre at Butterley for restoration to commence. By 1987, No.80080 had returned to steam and was passed for running on the main line, which it did extensively until December 1997 by which time it had clocked up 37,000 miles. She became the very first steam engine to work a normal stopping passenger service on the main line for over a quarter of a century back in March 1993, when she worked for over a week on the Settle and Carlisle line working from Carlisle to Kirkby Stephen and back.
No.80097; built at Brighton Works in December 1954, she was withdrawn from service in July 1965 and was sent to Barry Scrapyard in January 1966. She left Barry in May 1985 and was eventually restored to full working order again by October 2018 on the East Lancs Railway. She's currently undergoing some repairs there and should return to steam very soon.
No.80098; built at Brighton Works in December 1954, she was withdrawn from service in July 1965 and arrived in Barry in January 1966. She was removed from Barry Scrapyard in November 1984 and taken to the Midland Railway Centre at Butterley for restoration work, which was fully completed by August 1998. Since then, No.80098 has clocked up thousand of miles of faultless running over various heritage railways, and was regularly steamed at the Midland Railway on scheduled trains as well as being used for driver training and experience courses. It also spent periods of time on hire to the Churnet Valley Railway and the East Lancashire Railway, as well as having run extensively on the main line. As of 2024, No.80098 is undergoing an overhaul at Butterley.
No.80100; built at Brighton Works in January 1955, she was withdrawn from service in July 1965 and was sent to Barry scrapyard in January 1966. She stayed there until October 1978 when it was bought by the Bluebell Railway. It's currently in storage on the Bluebell Railway and waiting to be restored to working order.
No.80104; built at Brighton Works in March 1955, she was withdrawn from service in July 1965 and was sold to Woodham Brothers in Barry for scrap. It arrived in Barry scrapyard in January 1966 and remained there until September 1984, when it was bought and taken away to be restored. The restoration work was finally completed by the end of April 1997. After a few years of work, where she visited a number of heritage railways, No.80104 was withdrawn for an overhaul in 2005, which was completed in 2006. As of 2024, No.80104 is undergoing another overhaul at Tyseley Locomotive Works.
No.80105; built at Brighton Works in April 1955, she was withdrawn from service in July 1965 and sent to Barry Scrapyard in January 1966, where she stayed until October 1973 when she was removed from the yard and taken to the Bo'ness and Kinneil Railway in Scotland for restoration. The work was completed by 2000, when No.80105 returned to working order on the Bo'ness and Kinneil, where she worked for a number of years, as well as visiting other heritage railways, until 2010 when she was withdrawn from service for an overhaul. As of 2024, the overhaul is nearing completion, and No.80105 should be back in running order very soon.
No.80135; built at Brighton Works in April 1956, she was withdrawn from service in July 1965 and sent to Barry Scrapyard in January 1966. She was saved from Barry in April 1973 and taken to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway for restoration. By 1980, she returned to steam and ran on the N.Y.M.R. for a number of years painted in lined B.R. Brunswick Green livery, which the Class 4MT 2-6-4Ts were never painted in back in B.R. days. As of 2024, No.80135 is undergoing an overhaul at Grosmont.
No.80136; built at Brighton Works in May 1956, she was removed from service in July 1965 and was sold for scrap to Woodham Brothers at Barry. It arrived in the scrapyard in June 1966 and stayed there until April 1979, when she was rescued and taken to the Churnet Valley Railway, where she returned to working order in 1990. As of 2024, No.80136 is currently based on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway.
No.80150; built at Brighton in December 1956, she was withdrawn from service in October 1965 and sent to Barry Scrapyard not long after in January 1966. She remained in the yard for many years, eventually becoming one of the Barry 10. She eventually left Barry in January 2011 and was taken to the Mid Hants Railway for restoration. She's still in scrapyard condition and is being stored on the Mid Hants while waiting for restoration work to begin.
No.80151; built at Brighton Works in January 1957, she's the youngest member of the class and was removed from service in May 1967, before being sent to Barry in October of that same year. She was saved from Barry in May 1975 and was taken to the East Anglia Railway Museum, before then being moved to the Bluebell Railway in 1998, where she steamed after restoration in 2001. After being withdrawn for a major overhaul, she finally returned to working order on the Bluebell in June 2019.
"Hello there, you two." said No.80050, when he saw Carrie and Simon approach him.
"Ah, hello back." Carrie said, as she smiled at No.80050.
"Carrie...this engine is No.80050, and he's one of a number of B.R. Standard Class 4 2-6-4T tank engines who are working on Sodor." Simon said.
"It's nice to meet you." Carrie said.
"And it's nice to meet you as well, Carrie. Welcome to Sodor. And it's nice to see that you've become good friends with Simon." No.80050 said, as he smiled at Carrie.
"Indeed, he's a very good friend. And have you and Simon known each other for very long?" Carrie asked.
"Yes...I've known Simon for some years. He first encountered me for a special outing for his tenth birthday." said No.80050.
"I asked if I could have my photo taken of me on the footplate of No.80050 in the driver's position. Permission was given, and I got on the footplate, leaned out the driver's side window with a railway cap on my head, and I had a few pictures of me taken, including one where I have my right hand stretching forward and on the regulator handle as if I was about to drive No.80050 away." Simon said.
"That must have been quite a day for you, Simon." Carrie said, as she smiled at her friend.
"It was...it was one of the most memorable days of my life...and nothing at all went wrong, I'm pleased to say." Simon said, as he smiled while remembering those fond memories.
"I guess that makes it even better." Carrie said with a smile, as she and No.80050 chuckled a little. For a few minutes, both Carrie and Simon chatted with No.80050 until they walked on to talk to the next engine who was standing behind him.
(A little later in the evening)
Simon and Carrie were at the end of the bay platform in the centre of Knapford Station, and they had chatted with different people while they slowly strolled along and enjoyed the party. They also chatted for a little bit with each of the engines at the party, including with James, Percy and Toby, Gordon, Edward and Duck. Carrie noticed that all the engines present were enjoying this party just as much as she was.
Then as she and Simon were turning to walk onto Platform 4 over at the other side of Knapford Station, they heard a familiar booming voice.
"Well, good evening you two." and both Carrie and Simon turned to the left and saw The Fat Controller and his wife, Lady Hatt, standing a few feet away from them.
"Good evening, sir." Carrie said, as she and Simon walked over to greet the man in charge of Sodor's standard gauge railways and shook hands with them both.
"Are you both enjoying the party so far?" Lady Hatt asked, as she shook hands with Carrie and Simon.
"Yes, ma'am, we are." Simon said, in a very respectful manner.
"I've really enjoying myself as though I've just been reborn again. I was never able to attend any Christmas parties like this or enjoy myself in this way when I was back in Chamberlain." Carrie said.
"Oh, of course, and Topham told me a bit about your life back in your old town, Carrie." Lady Hatt said, with deep sympathy.
"Thank you, ma'am." Carrie said, with a smile.
"It looks like you've gotten much better at socialising with people since for arrived on Sodor, Carrie." said The Fat Controller, with a great deal of respect and admiration for how much Carrie had changed.
"I have, sir. With me having broken free of the shackles that were holding me down for all the time I was back home, I can be who I want to be. And Simon has been a great help along the way too." Carrie said, as Simon smiled modestly.
"That's a good thing, Carrie…and that's a real spirit that'll, I think, help you along your way." the Fat Controller said.
"Thank you very much, sir." Carrie said.
"Oh, Carrie; have you met our grandkids, Stephen and Bridget?" Lady Hatt asked.
"No, not yet, ma'am." Carrie said.
"Well, they're round here somewhere, so if you'd like to wait here for a short while, we'll go and get them." The Fat Controller said.
"Okay sir, we'll wait." Carrie said, as Sir Topham Hatt and his wife went to look for their grandkids.
"Hello there, Carrie. We meet again." came a voice from behind Carrie and Simon. Carrie turned and found herself face to face with Arthur, the engine that she had helped save from a nasty accident on Thomas's branch-line nearly a full month before.
"Oh, hello there, Arthur. It's nice to see you again. It's been a while since we've seen each other." Carrie said, as she went over to Arthur.
"Indeed, and I just want to let you know that the branch line that was blocked by that landslide has long since been cleared. The foremen also had to demolish parts of the cliff above for some length as there were parts that were looking unstable and about to give way." Arthur said.
"And did you help in clearing away all the rubble afterwards?" Simon asked.
"Yes, I did, and it took many full truckloads to get all of that rubble and debris cleared. Tim the foreman and the men under him worked very hard to get those tracks cleared in good time…even though it took three days of hard work to do." Arthur said.
"That's good to hear, and I'm just thankful I was able to save you from getting into a nasty accident." Carrie said.
"You're very welcome, Carrie." Arthur said.
"And do you think I'll get an opportunity to work with you while I'm on the apprenticeship scheme?" Carrie asked.
"Anything is possible, Carrie. I wouldn't be too surprised if we were to work together in the near future." Arthur said, as he smiled at Carrie.
"Well, I do hope we'll work together sometime in the future." Carrie said.
"Carrie…" came the booming voice of The Fat Controller, as Carrie and Simon turned round to see The Fat Controller standing before them with two other teenagers, who were about the same age as them; "…I'd like you to meet my grandkids, Stephen and Bridget."
"It's nice to meet you, Carrie." Bridget said, as she and Carrie shook hands.
"It's really nice to meet you too, Bridget. And you too, Stephen." Carrie said, as she shook hands with Bridget and Stephen.
"Our grandfather told us about why you came over her to Sodor…and we're both determined to see that you don't experience anything like that over here." Stephen said.
"We were both just horrified by the news of what you went through in your home town; we're both quite sure that things like would never happen over here in this part of the world." Bridget said, being very careful not to say anything that may offend or upset Carrie.
"Oh, it's all right, Bridget…you don't have to be careful about all that. I've gotten over quite a bit of my horrible past now…though I still have a long way to go yet until I've completely got over it." Carrie said, with a smile.
"I'm glad to hear that, Carrie. Would you, Simon and your friends like to spend the rest of the evening with us?" Stephen asked.
"Sure, I'd like that." Carrie said, as she looked at Simon, who smiled and nodded in agreement.
"Well come on, let's go and see if there's anything nice for us to have at the buffet spread." Bridget said, as she, her brother, Carrie and Simon started over to Platform 1.
"Sounds good to me…there's still a few nice-looking pastries over there that I want to sample before the night is over." Carrie said, as the group headed over.
So, for the rest of the evening, the group of teenagers just enjoyed themselves and the party. They spoke with the other engines there, and enjoyed speaking with any engine crews who were also present, as well as many of the local people and other teenagers. They also enjoyed the different varieties of Christmas food on offer and made merriment of the whole evening, and danced on and off to the different Christmas music being played over the P.A. system.
(Later in the evening)
Carrie and Simon stood together at the very front end of Platform 1, looking along the railway lines leading into the distance away from Knapford Station. The steel rails could be seen as dark lines standing out clearly against the crisp white snow on the ground. It was already a little after 11:15pm, and some of the attending guests were already leaving the party and making their way home, so as to get to bed as they were feeling tired after such a nice party. Stephen and Bridget, Saoirse, Alice, Sophie and Olivia had, after bidding Simon and Carrie a "Good night!" and "Merry Christmas!", already gone back home for the evening, leaving Carrie and Simon to have a few private moments together. By now, all the engines that had been in attendance at the party had all gone back to their sheds, leaving Knapford Station in silence and the railway lines within it empty. When they left the station, they left one at a time, blowing their whistles and wishing "Good night!" and "Merry Christmas!" to everyone as they slowly made their way back to their sheds.
Carrie was feeling tired too, but she had really enjoyed herself at this party immensely; she couldn't remember a time in her life when she had so much fun before with so many friendly people…and she didn't want the night to end, but she knew that wasn't possible, so she just enjoyed the evening while it lasted. She took another sip from her half-empty mug of hot chocolate, and savoured the creamy sweetness pass over her tongue, before exhaling and watching her breath come out in a dense white cloud that seemed to linger around for a time before disappearing.
"Did you have a good time tonight, Carrie?" Simon asked, as he finished his mug of hot chocolate.
"I did, Simon...really I did…I only wish that it could have gone on for much longer though." Carrie said, with a heavy sigh.
"So, did I. But then again…it is Christmas Day tomorrow. And that's something to really look forward to." Simon said, as he thought ahead to the next day and what it would bring.
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Carrie said. She was also thinking of Christmas Day and what her first, proper Christmas would bring; having never been allowed to celebrate it under Margaret's religious fanaticism and iron fist, she was really looking forward to it and getting to experience something many people back home in Chamberlain celebrated. She took a last look down the lines into the distance, where the lights lining the different tracks leading out of Knapford lit up the yards and the snow, now falling very heavily from the sky above.
Then, the sounds of approaching footsteps coming from behind Carrie and Simon caused them to turn round to see who was coming. It was Ralph White.
"Hey, dad." Carrie said, as she saw her father approach.
"Well Carrie…I think it's time we both headed back to the house now. Almost everyone else is going home and I'd really like to get back before the snow gets too heavy." Ralph said, as he looked up into the sky with some anxiousness.
"All right, dad…" Carrie said, as she finished off the last of her hot chocolate, "…I am feeling a little bit tired anyway."
"And I think it's about time that I was out of here and on my way back home as well." Simon said, as he pulled aside his sleeve on his left arm and checked his watch; the time was 11:20pm.
"All right, Simon. In case we don't see you tomorrow, have a Merry Christmas!" Ralph said.
"Thanks, Ralph…and a Merry Christmas to you and Carrie as well." Simon said, as he gave Carrie a big warm hug before he left. Carrie was a little surprised that Simon was hugging her, but she put those thoughts aside and returned the hug graciously.
"Have a Merry Christmas, Simon." Carrie said with a smile, as she broke the hug before she and her father left through the main entrance to Knapford Station.
"You too, Carrie!" Simon said, as he made his way out to where he had parked Caroline earlier on in the evening. He was very keen to get home, particularly after an evening as nice as this one had been, with a lot of good food and drink to enjoy, as well as people to socialise with.
(With Carrie, a short while later)
Having changed into a warm set of brand new pyjamas and brushed her teeth, Carrie stepped out from the bathroom and was about to climb into bed and turn in for the night when she went over to the window, and pulled one of the curtains aside. From the lights that were shining brightly on the other side of the railway line, and from lights shone out over the back garden before they were turned off, she could see the snow falling very heavily from the dark and cloudy sky high above. They swirled round as they fell silently, and then piled up, sometimes more than two feet in spots, but mostly in an even depth all over the ground.
As she watched the scene play out quietly before her, Carrie felt herself smile; it was such a peaceful scene that she felt it would be a great pity if anything were to spoil it. Then she turned away from the window, and closed the curtain again before she then climbed into bed and switched off the light before she fell into a deep sleep at once, exhausted after a great evening. The thick duvet was very warm, and Carrie was very glad to have it over her, especially as the night was very cold outside the window.
As Carrie settled down to a well-deserved sleep in a warm and comfortable bed, the snow fell very heavily outside from the dark sky, and covered the entire landscape all over the Island of Sodor. Lines that had been travelled over recently were soon covered with fresh snow, making it appear as if nothing had even been along there at all.
(Chamberlain, 25th December, 04:30am local time)
Meanwhile in Chamberlain, the snow fell heavily from the sky onto the quiet and empty streets, where nothing moved as everyone was fast asleep in their warm beds in their comfortable homes. Many of the homes had brightly coloured Christmas lights shining outside, either fitted around the fronts and roofs on the homes, or on the branches of trees in the front gardens, giving a merry scene to the snowy weather outside, which definitely promised to be a white Christmas. Many people, fast asleep in their warm and comfy beds, were eagerly awaiting the arrival of the dawn, where they would go and open their Christmas presents piled up under the tree.
Within the warmth and comfort of the Snell residence, Sue was also trying to get some sleep in her own bedroom, but was having some difficulty in doing so. At that moment, Christmas was the very last thing that was on her mind; she was still thinking of what may have happened to Carrie. She couldn't help but wonder where Carrie was and was fearful in a way for her safety; she could almost envision Carrie lying right in the middle of an empty field out in the middle of nowhere, and freezing to death on a night as frosty and snowy, and as bitterly cold as this one.
As she rolled over to the other side of the bed and slept very uneasily from these disturbing thoughts, she began to dream.
(Start of dream sequence)
Sue found herself walking all alone on a very long empty stretch of desolate road in the middle of nowhere with dense, and very dark, pine woodlands on either side of it, and heavy snowfall coming from the sky, which was covered with thick clouds that were steel grey, and that seemed to stretch in an unbroken sheet for miles in all directions. She stopped walking, scared and unsure of where she was, she looked round for any form of life, but could see none.
"Hello?!" she called out nervously, as her voice echoed all round in an eerie way and she looked all round her at hearing the slightest sound. No reply came from anywhere. There was only the sound of her own breathing and the light sound of a slight breeze as the snow came down heavily from the sky above. And it was very COLD...with the temperature at a low point that she had never experienced in her life before, which caused her to shiver all over. She could clearly see her own breath, which swirled all round her in a dense white cloud every time that she exhaled.
Scared and unsure of what else to do, she continued on walking along the arrow-straight road hoping that it would end soon. The dark and thick woodlands on both sides of the road were very haunting and eerie, and it was so dark inside of them under the densely packed branches that blocked out the light that Sue didn't dare stray away from her course. She kept going and going, but the road seemed to go on for miles without any end to it or any other roads straying off from it.
But then Sue closed her eyes and exhaled another deep breath, and when she opened them again a moment later, she found that she had reached the edge of the forest, and saw before her a very wide open, wintry landscape of gently rolling countryside that was devoid of any trees. In fact the whole entire landscape, which stretched out as far as the eye could see, was desolate...and barren. Then, after looking around some more to try get her bearings and find out exactly where she was, Sue suddenly saw something laying on the ground just a few metres ahead of her. Whatever it was, it seemed to be out of place on the road's surface; it was a lump that was about five feet or so long and covered with snow, so Sue couldn't see what it was.
Going over to it, and knelling down somewhat apprehensively on the road beside it, she slowly and gently brushed some of the snow off one part of the lump to see what it was…and then she froze in shock and horror; right there in front of her, from under the thin blanket of snow that had been removed, was the face of Carrie White. It was frozen solid, as was the rest of the body, with the eyes, glassy and wide open, staring up blankly into the dull wintry sky and her mouth open a little bit. Her limbs were cramped up very close to her body, indicating that Carrie had frozen from having been out here in this wilderness.
Sue gasped in fright and fell onto her back before using her hands and feet to push herself away from the body a little in shock and horror at the sight. Stopping for a short moment, she calmed herself back down and went back over to Carrie's body before she quickly brushed the snow off the rest of her body and tried to see if she could revive her. But, regardless of what she tried to do, or what limbs she tried to move, it was far too late for her to do anything…Carrie White was dead.
(End of dream sequence)
Sue suddenly woke with a slight gasp and, hyperventilating a little, sat up in bed and tried to remember where she was and what had just happened. Calming down a few moments later, she realised, much to her own deep relief, that she was still in her warm and comfortable bed and still in her familiar room back at home. After wiping down her forehead in relief, she reached for the bedside light, and turned it on. Then turning to the bedside cabinet, she picked up her cell phone to see what the time was; it was 4:58am, December 25th.
After calming down from her nightmare, Sue slowly pulled aside the thick and warm duvet, and stepped out of bed. She slowly walked over to the window and, pulling aside one of the curtains a little, she took a look outside to see what was going on; the snow was still falling silently from the dark sky down onto the frozen land below. The fresh crisp white snow on the ground practically glowed in the streetlights as well as from the countless bright Christmas lights fitted onto buildings and around trees.
After a moment of watching what was going on outside and taking the chance to recover from her heart-stopping nightmare, Sue turned away from the window while pulling the curtain close, got back into the warmth of her bed, pulled the duvet back over herself as she placed her head back down on the pillow, turned the bedside light off and tried to get herself back to sleep again.