Chapter 42: Ocean Liner Passengers (II)
(Friday, August 3rd 2012 – Brendam Docks)
Looking up from the footplate of Holland-Afrika Line, the sight that filled the view before Carrie and Simon was a very impressive one to say the least. Right before them, there was an enormous ocean liner that was secured to the bollards along the dockside. Carrie was very impressed, for she had never seen such an enormous ship in her life before. Its hull, which was painted in plain black lower down and crisp white along the higher deck, towered tall over the quayside and the hull was pocked with countless numbers of windows and portholes of various sizes.
Turning their gaze up to the upper decks, both Simon and Carrie could see the lifeboats sitting on their positions along the length of the promenade deck, and there were about 14 of them sitting on the mechanical arms sitting over the promenade. Looking further up, there were countless balconies that lined every deck that stretched from bow to stern, some of which had people standing out on them and looking down to the ground. And looking further up and towards the stern, the two young teens could see the single funnel sitting near the aft end of the upper-most deck, and the funnel was painted in a red livery with a black front.
"Wow, that's an enormous boat that it." Carrie said, as she looked over this ship from bow to stern in an amazed sense of awe.
"Indeed, I've never seen anything like that in my life before." Simon said, as he too looked over this enormous ocean liner.
"Yeah, this particular ship is none other than the Queen Anne, and she's a larger version of her older sister ship the Queen Mary 2." the driver said.
"How much larger is she compared to the Queen Mary 2?" asked the fireman.
"Well, the Queen Mary 2 is around about 1,132 feet long, while this ship is 1,200 feet long. So, Queen Anne is almost 70 feet longer than her older sister. She's also about 162 feet wide at her widest point, and weighs about 170,000 tons. And she can also easily go along at about 32 knots." the driver said.
"And that enormous size means she can carry a lot more passengers than the Queen Mary 2 as well." Simon said, as he looked towards Carrie.
"And the trains that need to be moved out of here will be a lot heavier." Carrie said, as she looked at Simon.
"Speaking of which…let's go get ourselves turned on the turntable, and then we'll go and get coupled up to our train." the driver said, as he released the steam brakes, and then blew the whistle for a second or two, and then he opened the regulator a little.
After Holland-Afrika Line made his way over to where the turntable was, and he was turned round so that he would be facing the right way to take his train out from Brendam Docks, he made his way back towards the main terminal station, where he slowly reversed back along the line and buffered up to his waiting train. The train consisted of 14 Pullman coaches which had been polished up and cleaned up to a very high standard, both inside and outside, and all in anticipation of the passengers they would be taking off into the middle of the Island of Sodor.
Once Holland-Afrika Line had gently buffered up to the front coach of the train, the shunter coupled him up and connected the brake pipes, as the station master stepped up to the cab of the Merchant Navy Pacific as he had to give the driver his instructions about where Holland-Afrika Line was to take the train this morning.
"Okay, this train is to be taken to Great Waterton today. Some of the passengers visiting the island today will want to be taken there." said the station master to the driver.
"Very good, sir. We'll make sure to get the visitors there on time." said the driver, as the station master went off back to his office.
"Hang on…the people on this big ship are only visiting the island for the day?" Carrie asked, somewhat surprised to hear they were only coming to Sodor for a short visit.
"That's right, Carrie. A lot of the cruise ships and ocean liners that come here during throughout the summer months only dock here at the docks or over at Knapford Harbour for a few hours, usually arriving very early in the morning and then leaving in the early or mid-evening. And in that time, almost all the passengers they carry aboard them disembark and go out for a few hours to visit places around the island." Simon said.
"And at the same time, while the ships are here, the opportunity is usually taken to restock them with water, fuel, and fresh food, as well as to give them a clean, before the passengers come back aboard later in the day." added the fireman.
"And today is no different." said the driver.
"Oh, I see." Carrie said. She looked down at her watch; it was 8:10am.
At the other platforms within the terminal building, there were other lines of coaches having been assembled and waiting for the passengers to board them, as well as for the engines to come down and get coupled up to them, which wouldn't be long in the coming. In the meantime, with Queen Anne secured to the quayside with ropes going to the bollards along the edge of the quay, the covered walkways that lined different points of the upper levels of the main terminal building stretched out towards the gangways along Queen Anne's port side and connected up to them.
Within minutes, the first passengers began to disembark from the enormous liner, and then made their way across the covered gangways and into the terminal area, and then downstairs to the platforms to catch the trains to wherever on the Island of Sodor they wanted to go. At the very same time, other engines were arriving and being coupled up to their assigned trains at the other platforms, including L.N.E.R. A4 Class No.4485 Miles Beevor, L.M.S. Streamlined Princess Coronation Class No.6225 Duchess of Gloucester, L.M.S. Princess Royal Class No.46204 Princess Louise, G.W.R. King Class No.6009 King Charles II, B.R. Standard Class 7MT No.70053 Moray Firth, G.W.R. Castle Class No.5055 Earl of Elden, B.R. Standard Class 8P No.71002 Duke of Norfolk, L.N.E.R. Peppercorn Class A2 No.60535 Hornets Beauty, and L.N.E.R Class P2 No.2010 Waverley.
From the footplate of Holland-Afrika Line, Carrie was amazed to see so many large engines gathered together in the station, and being readied to move the trains from the station to wherever on Sodor they were needed.
"How many passengers can a ship like Queen Anne carry aboard her?" Carrie asked.
"I reckon it's somewhere just beneath 3,000 people or so, Carrie. And that high number means the trains coming out of here will be very heavy." said the driver.
"Goodness me…I wonder how many of them we'll get on our train." Carrie said, as she leaned out from the footplate and looked back along the platform. Already, there were quite a large number of passengers to be seen who had already gotten off the ship, and were getting aboard the train. A few of them came further up towards the very front of the train, as they and their kids wanted to see the engine that was coupled to the front of the train. As the groups came closer, Carrie and Simon could see that quite a few of the adults had cameras in their hands, and seemed eager to see the engine at the head of the train.
"Here! Let's have a look at this engine!" one of the younger kids called.
"Careful, son! There's still plenty of time to go until we leave the station!" the parent called.
"Come and let's have a look at this impressive engine!" another person said.
"Wow! I've never seen an engine quite like this one before!" said another.
From what she could hear of the accents of these people, Carrie could tell that many of them were Americans, as well as few Irish, British, and a smattering of various other languages from other different countries. It was a real multi-national group of people who had been sailing aboard the Queen Anne, and late in the day they would all be back aboard the enormous ship and then on their way to their next destination.
Some of the passengers gathered around by the low cab-side door on the right-hand side of the footplate, and chatted briefly with the crew, as well as taking a quick look at some of the controls they could see that were fitted on the back of the boiler. All the while these people were gathered round the side of the cab, Carrie stayed back for a bit, so as they wouldn't see her face, as she was concerned that some of these people who were from the United States might recognize her as the girl who had run away from Chamberlain, Maine. Carrie was very relieved when they eventually moved away from the footplate and went to board the coaches coupled behind them.
As almost all the passengers disembarked from Queen Anne and boarded the different trains, Holland-Afrika Line took the chance to chat with some of the other engines who were waiting in the station with him.
"So, where are you taking your passengers today?" Holland-Afrika Line asked Waverley, the L.N.E.R. Gresley P2, who was standing on the line right beside him.
"I'm taking them over to the Skarloey Railway today. I'm sure the little engines over there will have their work cut out for them in getting these people along their railway." Waverley said.
"I'm taking my passengers over to Great Waterton today. There's lots of tourist attractions around there that should keep them busy for a few hours." Holland-Afrika Line said.
"I'll be taking mine along the Little Western this morning, and getting them to the seaside, which I'm sure they'll enjoy on a day as nice as this one." said Earl of Elden.
"My passengers will be going over to Vicarstown, and going to all the visitor attractions that are over there." Miles Beevor said.
"I'm taking the passengers in my train to the very north of the island." said Princess Louise.
"I'll be taking my train to the centre of the island. There's lots of things for the passengers to see up there." Duke of Norfolk said, as one of his crew went around with an oilcan and gave his moving parts a last-minute oiling up before they left the station.
As all the engines at the terminal station chatted together while they waited to for the passengers disembarking from the Queen Anne to get aboard their trains, Carrie and Simon took the chance to make sure the fire in Holland-Afrika Line's firebox was in good order, as well as making sure that the water level in the boiler was at a good level on the two water gauge glasses.
"Everything seems okay up here." Carrie said, as she checked the gauge glasses.
"Let's get the fire built up some more before we head off. After all, to move this heavy train, we're gonna need all the steam we can make." Simon said, as he took a go on the shovel, and moved fresh coal from the tender into the firebox. As he moved the coal into the firebox, while being careful to place the coal to where it was needed, Carrie noticed that the firehole doors were very different from any firehole doors on any engine she had worked on so far during her time on Sodor; the doors opened very much like a clam shell, instead of being slid off to the sides like on many of the other engines.
Soon, it was 8:30am, and it was time for Holland-Afrika Line to be on his way from the station with his train. With the last of the passengers who were going to Great Waterton all aboard the train, and with the last doors on the coaches closed, the guard stepped out from his own compartment at the forward end of the first coach and blew his whistle and waved his green flag, and then quickly stepped aboard the first coach, closing the door behind him. At the same time, the signalman had set the points and set the signals for Holland-Afrika Line to depart from the station.
"Let's get going!" the driver said, as he blew the whistle and then opened the regulator. With clouds of billowing steam shooting out from the front, Holland-Afrika Line slowly moved out from the station.
"Come on! Come on!" Holland-Afrika Line groaned, as he took up the strain of his heavy train and moved out from the station, with his six driving wheels briefly slipping on the rails as he set off before the driver got the slipping under control.
From the footplate, both Simon and Carrie leaned out from the sides of the cab, with Simon leaning out from the right-hand side and Carrie on the left-hand side. They both watched as the coached followed along out from the station, slowly at first and then getting a little quicker as the driver applied more steam into the cylinders.
Then, before pulling back into the footplate, Carrie took a last look up at the Queen Anne as they pulled away from the terminal station. She still couldn't help but admire such an enormous ocean liner that towered very impressively and stately over the entire quayside, and which seemed to dominate the entire docks by the value of her sheer size.
"Wow…I wouldn't mind travelling across the sea on a ship as big as that one." Carrie said, as she stared up at the enormous liner as they got further away from her.
"So would I, as I've heard there's a lot of different activities aboard that ship to keep someone occupied for quite a long time." Simon said.
"I imagine so. It's something I'd really like to do one day." Carrie said, as she turned pulled herself back aboard the footplate.
As they passed through the docks, Carrie and Simon looked out at all the various different activities taking place all around them as they made their way along the line out from the docks. They could see large amounts of cargo being unloaded from different freighters tied up to different quays and then loaded into lines of trucks waiting to be loaded, as well as work being done in various different workshops that were close to the line. Passing some of the workshops that were standing a little way from the line, bright blue-white flashes from welding torches could be seen in the darkness of some of the workshops as workmen worked away at repairing some sort of equipment, whether it was something for one of the ships in the docks, or even something for an item of dockside machinery.
After going past some of the workshops, they went alongside one more of the quaysides on their way out of the docks, another engine could be seen on another one of the lines and waiting to move some trucks that were lined up on the line before him. This particular engine was a tank engine, and quite a large one at that, and it was painted in a dark-umber livery, which had been cleaned down to a good shine. As Holland-Afrika Line got closer, and then went on past, both Simon and Carrie saw that this engine had a 4-6-4 wheel arrangement. In fact, it was actually No.331 Beattie, who was an example of the London Brighton and South Coast Railway's L Class (73) and he was waiting for the train to go by before he could get his own train assembled so he could take it away from the docks.
(73): Designed by L. B. Billington, and built at Brighton Works between 1914 and 1922, the L.B.S.C.R. L Class 4-6-4T tank engines, also known as Brighton Baltics, were built for use on express passenger trains that ran on the L.B.S.C.R. network. In total, seven examples were built, with two examples built in 1914, three examples in 1921, and the final two examples built in 1922.
By 1913, the London Brighton and South Coast Railway was well-supplied with a fleet of modern locomotives that could be used on passenger trains, with the exception of the heaviest passenger trains. Prior to Billington taking over as the C.M.E., his predecessor, Douglas Earle Marsh, had introduced a single example in two classes of 4-6-2T tank engines, the J1 and J2 Classes which were intended for use on the heavy express trains on the L.B.S.C.R. network. However, Billington was unsure if he should enlarge the J1 and J2 Classes, or even design his own new class of locomotive, which was intended to be a 4-6-0 tender engine, for use on the heavy express passenger trains.
Aware of the fact that large tank engines were well-suited to operating conditions on the railway with relatively short distances, but with a very intensive use of the system, particularly in the London area, Billington decided to place an order for a 4-6-4T tank engine and a 4-6-0 tender engine from Brighton Works in November 1913. However, after the first tank engine, No.327 Charles C. Macrae, was delivered in April 1914, the order for the second engine was changed to an identical 4-6-4T tank engine instead of a 4-6-0 tender engine. This engine was No.328, and it was delivered that September.
Not long after the two initial engines had come into service, it was soon found out there was a serious issue; the class was discovered to be unstable when they ran at high speed and prone to derailment, largely due to the water in the water tanks surging about. So, as a result of this issue, both engines were rebuilt with a large well tank in between the axles, as well as blanking off a forward portion of the side tanks which had the effort of lowering the centre of gravity.
Once the modifications had been fully completed, the two engines proved to be highly successful, and the fact they had four trailing wheels supporting the bunker allowed for more fuel to be carried, as well as providing additional stability when the two engines ran bunker-first. However, due to the fact that the First World War was raging at that time, no further deliveries of the class could be undertaken. However, a further five examples were built after the war, between October 1921 and April 1922. These five new engines were numbered from No.329 to No333. No.333 was the final example of the class to be built, and it was named Remembrance, in honour of the 532 employees of the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway who had lost their lives during the First World War, and it became the L.B.S.C.R.'s memorial engine. In addition, No.333 bore a plaque on its sides that said "In grateful remembrance of the 532 men of the L.B.&S.C. Rly who gave their lives for their country, 1914 – 1919."
The class had six driving wheels that were 6ft 9in in diameter which allowed the class the ability to reach high speeds if needed. These large driving wheels, combined with a boiler that was fitted with superheating elements and pressed to 170psi, as well as two large outside cylinders that were 22in in diameter with a 28in piston stroke, gave the Brighton L Class Baltic tank engines a maximum tractive effort of 24,175lbf. In fact, their cylinders were the largest ever fitted to a locomotive built in Brighton.
During their working life on the main line, the Brighton Baltics were kept busy working on main line express services between London and Brighton until that line was electrified in 1933. Afterwards, the class were then transferred to Eastbourne in January 1933 in order to work on express services to London. However, the impending electrification of that line meant that the class looked to be made redundant once again.
The class did have a few other issues, one of which was the excessive difference between the first and second valves on the regulator, and another being their small 8in piston valves, which was a major limitation in them being able to work on other parts of the Southern network. The fact that their coal and water capacity was limited by the size of their water tanks and coal bunkers limited their range, although the capacity was sufficient to allow the class to run the short runs on the line from London to Brighton. They were also found to be too heavy to work on secondary services, yet they still had plenty of life left in them.
However, the C.M.E. of the Southern Railway, Richard Maunsell, decided to rebuild them for use on the express services on the Western section of the Southern Railway. So, between December 1934 and February 1936, the entire L Class were completely rebuilt at Eastleigh Works from 4-6-4T tank engines to 4-6-0 tender engines. The work involved removing the trailing bogie wheels, side water tanks, and rear coal bunkers, shortening the main frames, and fitting new cabs, which were of the side window variety seen on the Lord Nelson Class. At the same time, the front ends were also changed, including fitting an N15 "King Arthur" type of blast pipe and chimney. The boiler pressure was increased to 180psi, and the cylinder diameter was reduced to 21in.
When all was said and done, the rebuilt Brighton Baltic tank engines were then redesignated as the N15X Class. They had the same 6ft 9in diameter driving wheels from their original tank engine design, but with their slightly higher boiler pressure and slightly smaller diameter cylinders, they had a tractive effort of 23,325lbf, slightly less than how they were before. They were paired with tenders, identical to those than ran with Urie's S15 Class that ran on two bogies and could carry 5,000 gallons of water in their tanks. The new N15X Class was very similar in all appearances to the previous N15 "King Arthur" 4-6-0 Class, right down to the design of smoke deflectors fitted on the sides of the smokeboxes.
All seven members of the class still retained their original numbers, but had 2000 added to them, so that they were numbered from No.2327 to No.2333. After they had been rebuilt, most of the class were assigned new names, though two members of the class retained their original names.
No.2327 Charles C. Macrae (later Trevithick), No.2328 Hackworth, No.2329 Stephenson,
No.2330 Cudworth, No.2331 Beattie, No.2332 Stroudley, and No.2333 Remembrance.
Once the rebuilding programme was complete, the new N15X Class engines were put to work on the Southern network, yet it was found that the rebuilds caused some controversy with a few footplate crews, with some saying that a class of engine couldn't go through so many changes and have a reliable locomotive at the end of it. When they were first put back into service on the South Western section of the Southern, they suffered from expectations they were an improved version of the N15 Class. Once this was realised, the class were used on the services to Basingstoke, where they really came into their own, particularly due to their ability to accelerate which was put to good use.
However, the rebuilt N15X Class gained a reputation for rough riding and poor fuel efficiency when compared to the N15 Class, and were dissimilar to their original L Class configuration, which made them quite unpopular with their crews. As a result, the class were put to work on secondary duties, including on cross-country trains and inter-regional duties in the Basingstoke area instead of on the heavy London to Exeter expresses for which they had originally been intended.
During the Second World War, some members of the class were loaned to the Great Western Railway between 1942 and 1944 to assist with moving freight traffic, as there was a shortage of freight engines on the G.W.R. network during the war. After the railways were nationalised in January 1948, the class were renumbered with the addition of 30000 added to their numbered, thus becoming No.32327 to No.32333.
The class still saw plenty of use on their usual duties in B.R. days, but with increasing numbers of Bulleid Pacifics coming into service, the N15X Class began to be withdrawn during the mid-1950's, with No.32328 Hackworth being the first one withdrawn in January 1955. In July 1957, the final member of the class in service, No.32331 Beattie, was withdrawn. One example of the class, No.32327 Trevithick, was withdrawn from service after damaged beyond repair in an accident after she ran into the back of another passenger train in December 1955. Sadly, due to the fact that the class was withdrawn fairly early, no members of the class have managed to survive into preservation.
"Good luck with that train of yours today, Holland-Afrika Line!" Beattie said, as he watched the Merchant Navy Class Pacific pass him by with his long and heavy train of very smart coaches following along smoothly behind him.
"Thanks, Beattie!" Holland-Afrika Line said, as he blew his whistle in greeting to Beattie as he went on past, with the wheel of the coaches making the usual click-clack sounds on the steels rails as they went over the points, and then out along the line that led out from the docks. From the coaches, the visitors looked outside at everything they saw as they went along, and looked towards anything that caught their interest before they saw something else that looked interesting.
As Holland-Afrika Line made his way out from the docks with his train, he went along the stretch of double tracked railway line that went by the canal that led inland and towards the junction the went off towards the china clay works, another engine could be seen coming in the other direction towards the docks on the other line. After a few seconds, Holland-Afrika Line realised that it was none other than BoCo, who was heading into the docks with a long line of china clay trucks behind him.
"Good morning, BoCo!" Holland-Afrika Line called, as he went by BoCo.
"Good morning!" BoCo called cheerfully, as he blew his horn in greeting while he went on past with his train.
After heading up the line towards Lower Suddery Station, which they passed through without any incident, they proceed up the line towards another junction that was at a point about halfway between Lower Suddery Station and the junction that led out onto the Southern Main Line. The signal was set to green for them, which meant they could proceed, and the points were already set for them to proceed over the point onto the double-tracked line that led off to the right, and they went onto the line.
"This line will take us to the south of Gordon's Hill, and will allow us to re-join the Southern Main Line a little further to the east, not too far away from where Maron Station is located." Simon said to Carrie.
"Okay, but why do we need to go along this line instead of continuing on towards the main line along the other line?" Carrie asked.
"At the junction near Wellsworth, we can only go onto the main line if we're going west. By using this line, we can re-join the main line at a more suitable junction a bit further on." said the fireman.
"Oh, I see." Carrie said, now understanding.
"This line is also used by trains that need to bypass Gordon's Hill, especially if any accidents or incidents took place on the hill, or whenever routine maintenance needs to be done on the track that runs up the hill." Simon added.
"That sounds like a good idea." Carrie said.
As they went along this line, which was only a few miles long, Carrie took the chance to look out at the different sights she could see, including one or two farms, a few narrow roads, and a few stone bridges that crossed over the two railway lines. It wasn't too long before they reached the junction, which was about halfway between the eastern part of Gordon's Hill and Maron Station. However, the signal was set at danger and the points were set against them, and so Holland-Afrika Line had to stop and wait until the way on the main line was clear for them to proceed.
"I wonder who we'll see pass us by soon." Simon said, as he leaned out from the right-hand side of the cab.
"I'm guessing we'll see in a few moments." Carrie said, as she too leaned from the cab.
It wasn't long before they heard the sounds of a whistle coming from the direction of Maron Station; looking along the line in that direction, both Simon and Carrie saw L.N.E.R. P1 Class 2-8-2 No.2399 coming from round the bend in the direction of Maron along the down line towards them with a very long line of heavily laden coal trucks, of all shapes and sizes, following along behind him.
"My god…that's one very long train." Carrie said in some astonishment, when she saw just how long the train coupled behind No.2399 was.
"Well, his class were built to haul very heavy coal trains like that back in the day, Carrie. So, he's just doing exactly what he was designed to do." Simon said.
"As I can see." smiled Carrie.
Approaching the junction, No.2399 blew his whistle in greeting to Holland-Afrika Line as he went on past, with the S.R. Merchant Navy Pacific blowing his own whistle in greeting as the L.N.E.R. P1 2-8-2 went on past him with his coal train. Carrie was amazed to see the variety of different coal trucks that made up the train; there were wooden wagons with different numbers of planks that made up their sides, steel mineral wagons with their sides heavily weathered, as well as steel hopper wagons that were capable of taking up to 20 tons of coal at a time.
Just before the brake van at the back of No.2399's train had passed through the junction, there came the sounds of another whistle, and this one was heard coming from the direction of Gordon's Hill, and getting closer and closer to them on the up line.
"Who could that be?" Holland-Afrika Line said, as the sounds of this new whistle faded.
"We'll see in a second, old boy." his driver said, as he turned his head to look and see who it was who would be passing them by in the opposite direction, just as the brake van of the coal train had gone on past them.
A few moments later, the engine came into view from the direction of Gordon's Hill, and heading towards Maron Station. It was none other than B.R. Standard Class 4MT 2-6-4T No.80050, and he was running in reverse while hauling a train of about a dozen different parcels vans. Passing the junction, No.80050 blew his whistle as he went on by, while Holland-Afrika Line also blew his own whistle in greeting to the 2-6-4T tank engine as he went on past with his parcels train.
A few moments later, not too long after No.80050 had gone by with his train, with the sight of smoke from his funnel disappearing into the distance, the signalman switched the points to allow Holland-Afrika Line to move from the line he was on onto the Southern Main Line, and also set the signals to show the way was clear.
"Okay, let's be on our way again!" the driver said, as he blew the whistle and then opened the regulator. Slowly, they moved forwards out onto the main line, while making sure that all the coaches followed along smoothly behind them, and then slowly built up some more speed as they went along towards Maron.
"So, where is the junction that will take us to Great Waterton?" Carrie asked Simon.
"Oh, it's not too far away from where Crovan's Gate Station is located. You know, that's the place where we went along the Skarloey Railway for Sophie's birthday not too long ago." Simon said.
"Oh, yes! I remember now. It's at a junction not too far away that branches off to the left." Carrie said.
"That's correct! And hopefully…it should be a simple matter of being able to go off to the left onto that spur instead of crossing other tracks." Simon said.
They soon passed through Maron Station, where small groups of passengers could be seen standing on the two platforms or on the footbridge connecting the two platforms. At that point, Simon was taking another go on the shovel, and was placing the coal to where it was needed in the firebox in order to make enough steam as they went along. Carrie, in the meantime, was sitting on the fireman's seat on the right-hand side of the footplate and keeping an eye out on the track stretching out ahead of them. She was also keeping an eye out for any signals ahead that may be at Caution or at Danger.
Meanwhile back in the coaches of the train, the passengers were really enjoying the journey and were socialising with each other while the train made its way along the main line. Many of them, including the younger kids and children, were looking outside the window at the scenery and landscape as it passed on by. Trolley service was already underway on the train, with the stewards on the train going along through the coaches and serving out a selection of hot and cold drinks, sandwiches, snacks, as well as hot food. In the two First-Class coaches up at the front of the train, the passengers there were also being served food and drinks, but these were being served out by the stewards going to the buffet coach to place the orders, and then taking the trays with the orders individually to each table to the passengers who had ordered food and drink.
The train proceeded on along the main line, picking up a bit more speed all the time as they went along. Having passed through Maron Station, they came upon the Suspension Bridge just a little to the east of Maron and ran along over it. In the short time they crossed over the suspension bridge, Carrie taking the chance to have a quick look down to the valley floor far below, with the rocky and rugged sides of the wide and rocky ravine to be seen rising high over the rocky bottom of the valley.
For much of the rest of the journey, there was nothing much to report as they proceeded along the line on their way towards Crovan's Gate, with the train going along at a fair speed, and the passengers really enjoying the trip. As they passed on through Kildane Station, they came upon L.N.E.R. J39 Class 0-6-0 No.1974, who was passing through the station in the opposite direction with a freight train behind him, which consisted of various flat beds, a few box vans, and some con-flat wagons with containers firmly secured to them.
Continuing on down the line, they soon came upon Rossington Junction, where they had to slow down due to the heavy traffic going along this part of the main line. Among the engines they came upon as they went through here were B.R Standard Class 5MT No.75125, who was heading back towards Knapford with a passenger train, B.R. Standard Class 4MT No.75000, who was waiting to depart from one of the yards with a freight train made up of different varieties of box vans.
However, another engine they came across as they went through the junction was L.M.S. Jubilee Class 4-6-0 No.5664 Nelson, who was standing alongside Platform 1 at the station at Rossington Junction and picking up some more passengers who were on their way over to Vicarstown Station. Nelson's crimson red livery had been polished to a very high shine so that it looked very smart, and all of his brass parts had also been cleaned down so that they shone brightly as well (74).
"Good morning, Holland-Afrika Line!" Nelson said, as No.35023 went on past him with his own passenger train.
"Good morning, Nelson! Can't stop to chat!" Holland-Afrika Line said, as he blew his whistle in greeting to Nelson while he went on past. From where he was standing with his train, Nelson stood and watched as the line of coaches went on past him out of the station and down the line. Not too long after the last of the coaches in Holland-Afrika Line's train had gone by down the line, it was time for Nelson to be on his way with his own train. With the last of the passengers aboard the train and the doors on the coaches closed up, the guard blew his whistle and waved his green flag. Acknowledging the signal, the driver blew the whistle for a few seconds and then opened the regulator. After a few seconds, where clouds of steam shot out from the cylinder drains, Nelson slowly moved forwards and out of the station with his train following along behind him.
(74): The L.M.S. 5XP Jubilee Class 4-6-0 were designed by William Stanier, and was intended to be used on express passenger trains on the main line. Introduced onto the L.M.S. network in 1934, they were built in honour of the Silver Jubilee of King George V and Queen Mary, and they were named after dominions and dependencies of the British Empire, heroes of the Royal Navy, as well as famous ships of the Royal Navy.
Built between June 1934 and December 1936, in total 191 examples of the L.M.S. Jubilee Class were built, and were numbered from No.5552 to No.5699. Three works built the class, including Crewe Works – which built 131 examples, Derby Works – which built 10 engines, and the North British Locomotive Company – which built 50 engines.
The initial examples of the class, which were numbered form No.5552 to No.5556, had originally been ordered as examples of the Fowler Patriot Class 4-6-0s, but before construction could begin Stanier had redesigned both of them so that they could carry his own design of taper boiler, and so these five engines became the very first examples of the Jubilee Class to be built.
Around the time the Jubilee Class was being built and entering service, Stanier was introducing his similar Black Five Class 5MT 4-6-0 design in some numbers onto the L.M.S. network, but the Jubilees had slightly larger driving wheels. In order to make the Jubilee Class stand out from the Black Five Class, the Jubilees were painted in crimson red livery, while the engines of the Black Five Class were painted in a simple unlined black livery.
During the period of three years when the class was being built, they had many different variations and improvements made to them as they were being built. There were 10 different boilers fitted, which were mainly affected by the number of tubes that were running through them. Earlier boilers that were fitted to the class were domeless, with later ones having domes fitted to them, and there were two sizes of grate within the firebox, which did depend upon whether the firebox throat plates were straight or sloping.
Several examples of the class, about 50 of them in total, were fitted with bogie trucks that were taken from withdrawn examples of the Claughton Class which had a 6ft 3in wheelbase, compared to later examples that were built with new bogies with a slightly longer wheelbase of 6ft 6in. The first 113 examples of the class to be built were also fitted with a two-piece smokebox saddle, with the rest of the class all being built with a more conventional one-piece smokebox saddle.
The class were also fitted with four different tender types during their careers; there were Fowler tenders that could carry 3,500 gallons of water and 5 tons of coal, Fowler high-sided tenders, Stanier 3,500-gallon types, and as well as Stanier tenders that could carry up to 4,000 gallons of water in their tanks and up to 9 tons of coal.
Due to the fact that there was a desperate and urgent need for more engines to deal with the increasingly heavy traffic that was being experienced on the L.M.S. system at the time, 113 examples of the new 5XP Jubilee Class were ordered straight from the drawing board without waiting for a prototype to be built and then extensively tested first. So as a result of that decision, the first engines of the Jubilee Class were disappointing in service, often being short of steam. The initial problems of this were due to the fact that Stanier had used the G.W.R. principles for locomotive design for which he was very familiar with, but this system didn't work that well when they were transferred from four-cylinder engines to three-cylinder engines. A low degree of superheating that was initially used also contributed to the Jubilee Class performing poorly when they first came into service, and the blastpipe that was used in the smokeboxes was also a little bit too small as well.
After a series of extensive trials and testing, in which much experimentation was made with different superheaters, boiler tubes, and blastpipe dimensions, the steaming problems of the 5XP Jubilee Class were finally found and rectified. Among these alterations were changes that were made to the diameter of the blastpipe and chimney, along with fitting a 24-element superheater, which greatly improved the ability of the class to steam freely, thus turning them into much better performing engines. At the same time, a new Type 3A boiler was fitted, which had a sloping firebox throat plate, which also had the benefit of enlarging the area available for combustion of the fuel in the upper firebox.
The Jubilee Class could work on many of the express passenger trains that ran on the L.M.S. system, but the heaviest of passenger express trains that ran along the West Coast Main Line were often allocated to the newer and more powerful Princess Royal Class, the first examples of which first came into service on the L.M.S. network in 1935.
The 5XP Jubilee Class had three cylinders that were 17in in diameter with a 26in piston stroke which, combined with six driving wheels that were 6ft 9in in diameter, and a boiler that was fitted with superheating and pressed to 225psi, gave the class a tractive effort of 26,610lbf. Due to their smart crimson red livery, the class were often nicknamed "Red Staniers" or "Jubs."
The class was named after former Commonwealth states and countries of the British Empire, British admirals and naval commanders, and ships of the Royal Navy that were named after characters of Greek Mythology. The numbers and names of the L.M.S. 5XP Jubilee Class were as follows;
No.5552 Silver Jubilee, No.5553 Canada, No.5554 Ontario, No.5555 Quebec, No.5556 Nova Scotia, No.5557 New Brunswick, No.5558 Manitoba,
No.5559 British Columbia, No.5560 Prince Edward Island, No.5561 Saskatchewan, No.5562 Alberta, No.5563 Australia, No.5564 New South Wales, No.5565 Victoria,
No.5566 Queensland, No.5567 South Australia, No.5568 Western Australia, No.5569 Tasmania, No.5570 New Zealand, No.5571 South Africa,
No.5572 Irish Free State (later Eire), No.5573 Newfoundland, No.5574 India, No.5575 Madras, No.5576 Bombay, No.5577 Bengal, No.5578 United Provinces, No.5579 Punjab,
No.5580 Burma, No.5581 Bihar and Orissa, No.5582 Central Provinces, No.5583 Assam, No.5584 North West Frontier, No.5585 Hyderabad, No.5586 Mysore, No.5587 Baroda,
No.5588 Kashmir, No.5589 Gwalior, No.5590 Travancore, No.5591 Udaipur, No.5592 Indore, No.5593 Kolhapur, No.5594 Bhopal, No.5595 Southern Rhodesia,
No.5596 Bahamas, No.5597 Barbados, No.5598 Basutoland, No.5599 Bechuanaland, No.5600 Bermuda, No.5601 British Guiana, No.5602 British Honduras, No.5603 Solomon Islands,
No.5604 Ceylon, No.5605 Cyprus, No.5606 Falkland Islands, No.5607 Fiji, No.5608 Gibraltar, No.5609 Gilbert and Ellice Islands, No.5610 Gold Coast (later Ghana),
No.5611 Hong Kong, No.5612 Jamaica, No.5613 Kenya, No.5614 Leeward Islands, No.5615 Malay States, No.5616 Malta (later Malta GC), No.5617 Mauritius,
No.5618 New Hebrides, No.5619 Nigeria, No.5620 North Borneo, No.5621 Northern Rhodesia, No.5622 Nyasaland, No.5623 Palestine, No.5624 St. Helena,
No.5625 Sarawak, No.5626 Seychelles, No.5627 Sierra Leone, No.5628 Somaliland, No.5629 Straits Settlements, No.5630 Swaziland, No.5631 Tanganyika,
No.5632 Tonga, No.5633 Trans-Jordan (later Aden), No.5634 Trinidad, No.5635 Tobago, No.5636 Uganda, No.5637 Windward Islands, No.5638 Zanzibar, No.5639 Raleigh,
No.5640 Frobisher, No.5641 Sandwich, No.5642 Boscawen, No.5643 Rodney, No.5644 Howe, No.5645 Collingwood, No.5646 Napier, No.5647 Sturdee, No.5648 Wemyss,
No.5649 Hawkins, No.5650 Blake, No.5651 Shovell, No.5652 Hawke, No.5653 Barham, No.5654 Hood, No.5655 Keith, No.5656 Cochrane, No.5657 Tyrwhitt, No.5658 Keyes,
No.5659 Drake, No.5660 Rooke, No.5661 Vernon, No.5662 Kempenfelt, No.5663 Jervis, No.5664 Nelson, No.5665 Lord Rutherford of Nelson, No.5666 Cornwallis,
No.5667 Jellicoe, No.5668 Madden, No.5669 Fisher, No.5670 Howard of Effingham, No.5671 Prince Rupert, No.5672 Anson, No.5673 Keppel, No.5674 Duncan,
No.5675 Hardy, No.5676 Codrington, No.5677 Beatty, No.5678 De Robeck, No.5679 Armada, No.5680 Camperdown, No.5681 Aboukir, No.5682 Trafalgar, No.5683 Hogue,
No.5684 Jutland, No.5685 Barfleur, No.5686 St. Vincent, No.5687 Neptune, No.5688 Polyphemus, No.5689 Ajax, No.5690 Leander, No.5691 Orion, No.5692 Cyclops,
No.5693 Agamemnon, No.5694 Bellerophon, No.5695 Minotaur, No.5696 Arethusa, No.5697 Achilles, No.5698 Mars, No.5699 Galatea, No.5700 Britannia (later Amethyst),
No.5701 Conqueror, No.5702 Colossus, No.5703 Thunderer, No.5704 Leviathan, No.5705 Seahorse, No.5706 Express, No.5707 Valiant, No.5708 Resolution,
No.5709 Implacable, No.5710 Irresistible, No.5711 Courageous, No.5712 Victory, No.5713 Renown, No.5714 Revenge, No.5715 Invincible, No.5716 Swiftsure,
No.5717 Dauntless, No.5718 Dreadnought, No.5719 Glorious, No.5720 Indomitable, No.5721 Impregnable, No.5722 Defence, No.5723 Fearless, No.5724 Warspite,
No.5725 Repulse, No.5726 Vindictive, No.5727 Inflexible, No.5728 Defiance, No.5729 Furious, No.5730 Ocean, No.5731 Perseverance, No.5732 Sanspareil, No.5733 Novelty,
No.5734 Meteor, No.5735 Comet, No.5736 Phoenix, No.5737 Atlas, No.5738 Samson, No.5739 Ulster, No.5740 Munster, No.5741 Leinster, and No.5742 Connaught.
Once the problems that the Jubilee Class initially had were solved, the class worked away on their jobs within the L.M.S. system. As an example of how the class was transformed after the problems the class had were eliminated, No.5660 Rooke produced from 900 to 1,200 horsepower almost continuously when it hauled a test train of around 300 tons in weight while it was climbing up to Ais Gill summit from the direction of Carlisle. In 1935, No.5642 permanently exchanged numbers with No.5552, with the latter engine acquiring the name Silver Jubilee, in honour of the Silver Jubilee of King George V and Queen Mary in May of that year.
They were also regarded as a powerful upgrade from the older Compound 4-4-0 classes, such as the Midland Railway 1000 Class and the L.M.S. Compound 4-4-0 Class. The Jubilees were also a rather common sight on the heavy passenger trains that ran along the Midland Main Line, the West Coast Main Line, and the Settle-Carlisle line, but they were eventually displaced on these duties by the much more powerful Royal Scots.
Even during their working lives, modifications were still undertaken on the Jubilee Class; five members of the class were fitted with double chimneys, which improved the power of the engines and also reduced coal consumption. The first to be fitted with a double chimney and blastpipe was No.5684 Jutland, which was fitted with a double Kylchap exhaust system in 1937, but it was removed in 1938. The next engine to be fitted with a plain double chimney and blastpipe was No.5742 Connaught, which was fitted with it in 1940 and had it removed in 1955. No.5553 Canada was also fitted with a double chimney and blastpipe in 1940, but only kept it for a short time. In 1961, No.45596 was fitted with a double exhaust system, and she has kept it in place during her career in preservation.
In 1942, two examples of the Jubilee Class were rebuilt with larger 2A taper boilers and double chimneys, with these two engines being No.5736 Phoenix and No.5735 Comet. The pressure in their new boilers was increased from 225psi up to 250psi, which raised the tractive effort of the two engines up to 29,570lbf. However, and surprisingly, it was decided not to rebuilt the other members of the Jubilee Class to this standard, and instead the entire Royal Scot Class was rebuilt instead.
When the railways nationalised in January 1948, the Jubilee Class had 40000 added to their numbers, which meant that they were now renumbered from No.45552 to No.45742, and their power classification was changed from 5XP to 6P5F. The two members of the class that were rebuilt with larger boilers and double chimneys were reclassified as 7P.
For the rest of their time on B.R metals, even though they never attain the performances of the more powerful classes of express locomotives, the Jubilee Class worked with distinction on their various duties, and often travelled far and wide on the main lines of the former L.M.S., becoming quite a common sight on the Midland Main Line out from St Pancras Station in London, on the West Coast Main Line, as well as on the Bristol to Birmingham main line, and on the Settle and Carlisle Line in the north of England.
One example of the class, No.45562 Alberta, was the last steam locomotive during B.R. days to haul the Royal Train, with her being based at Leeds Holbeck depot for most of its working life. When it was finally withdrawn from service in September 1967, there was an attempt made to buy No.45562 so that she could be saved for preservation, but sadly nothing ever came of it.
The first example of the class to be withdrawn from service was No.45637 Windward Islands, who was removed from service in December 1952, after having suffered horrendous damage in the accident at Harrow and Wealdstone in October 1952. The damage that No.45637 suffered in the accident was so extensive that the locomotive was declared beyond economic repair and it was scrapped not long afterwards.
The first normal withdrawal from the Jubilee Class took place in September 1960, when No.45609 Gilbert and Ellice Island was withdrawn from service. Withdrawals of the class continued right through the 1960's with 1964 seeing the greatest numbers of the class withdrawn; 64 members of the class were withdrawn in that year. By 1967, only 8 examples of the class were still in service, and by October of that year, they were all gone, with the last one to be removed being No.45593 Kolhapur.
Thankfully, four examples of the L.M.S. Stanier 5XP Jubilee Class have managed to survive into preservation, with two each being built by North British and by Crewe Works. These four surviving engines are;
No.5593 Kolhapur; built in December 1934 by the North British Locomotive Company in Glasgow, she was bought in January 1968 after being withdrawn, she was moved to Tyseley Railway Museum, where it was restored to working order in the 1980's in L.M.S. maroon livery, and returned to the main line in 1985. In 1994, she temporarily assumed the identity and livery of scrapped sister No.5552 Silver Jubilee for the Silver Jubilee of the Great Central Railway. After being withdrawn from service in 1997, she's currently sitting in storage at Tyseley and awaiting for a full overhaul.
No.5596 Bahamas; built January 1935 by the North British Locomotive Company, she was bought for preservation in January 1967 by the Bahamas Locomotive Society. After being moved to Hunslet Engine Co. in Leeds, she was overhauled by March 1968. In 1972, she was one of the steam engines that was allowed to return to the main line to haul special excursions. In 1989, she was taken out of service for a much-needed overhaul, where she was moved to the Worth Valley Railway. In 2013, after being given a major grant of £775,800, the Bahamas Locomotive Society began undertaking an overhaul of No.5596, which was finally completed in 2018, with No.5596 running on the main line for the first time since 1994 in January 2019.
No.5690 Leander; built in March 1936 at Crewe Works, after being withdrawn from service in July 1964, she was sent to Woodham's Yard in Barry and was rescued from the yard in May 1972. After being moved to the Severn Valley Railway, restoration work continued until late 1981 when it was finally completed and Leander returned to running order. It worked on the Severn Valley Railway until 1989 when it was withdrawn from service and put into storage before an overhaul could begin. In 2002, No.5690 was returned to working order on the East Lancashire Railway in L.M.S. crimson livery, and worked on the main line until April 2012 when it was withdrawn for another overhaul. In 2015, with the overhaul completed, she returned to the main line again. As of late 2023, Leander is currently in storage at Carnforth while awaiting its next overhaul.
No.5699 Galatea; built at Crewe Works in April 1936, after being withdrawn in November 1964, she was taken down to Woodham's Yard in Barry. In late 1970/early 1971, the centre driving wheelset was partially cut up after an accident in the scrapyard, which was thought to have made the engine unsalvageable. She was rescued from the yard in 1980, originally to be used as a source of spares for No.5690 Leander. By 2002, after having been stored at Tyseley Locomotive Works, No.5699 was sold to West Coast Railways and was moved to Steamtown Carnforth where she was given a complete rebuild to working order. This job also included the casting of a new centre driving wheelset to replace the one that had been cut through at Barry. In April 2013, No.5699 finally returned to steam for the first time since 1964, and she ran on the main line, as well as on different heritage railways. In November 2019, No.5699 was repainted in Brunswick green livery and assumed the identity of No.45562 Alberta. Interestingly, many of the motion parts and fittings on No.45699 originally came from No.45562. In March 2022, No.45699 was taken out of service for an overhaul.
After going along the line for a few more miles of smooth running, it wasn't too long before they reach Kellsthorpe Junction, and there Holland-Afrika Line was sent along the spur of line that branched off to the left towards Crovan's Gate Station. As they went along, Carrie couldn't help but get a little bit anxious as they got closer and closer to Crovan's Gate, as not too far beyond that station was the junction that would take them into the hills to Great Waterton, a part of the island she had never been to before. While she knew full well that the crewmen she was with knew what the track ahead of them would be like and such, she also wondered what their next jobs would be once they arrived there and delivered these passengers there.
It wasn't too long before they finally came upon Crovan's Gate Station, the canopy of which loomed ahead of them as they passed beneath the road bridge just before the station. From the driver's side of the cab, Simon looked out as they slowed down and entered the station, as he was wondering if any of the narrow-gauge engines were over at the platform over to the left. But Simon didn't see any of them there, so he felt they were off working their trains on the lines up in the mountains. Where she was standing and leaning out from the other side of the cab, Carrie could see passengers who were standing for their train on the platform that went along the down line, as well as members of station staff who were doing their work.
Up front, Holland-Afrika Line blew his whistle in greeting to those standing on both platforms of the station, and then proceeded through on his way to the junction to Great Waterton with his coaches following along behind him.
"We should be getting to the junction very soon." the driver said, as he closed the regulator somewhat and put the brakes on a little, while he kept an eye out ahead of them.
"Are you sure?" Carrie asked, as she took the shovel from Simon and readied herself for another go at stoking the boiler.
"I'm sure, miss. It's only just up here another mile or so." the driver said, as he leaned his head out from the side of the cab.
"Okay…if you're sure then." Carrie said, as she then started work at stoking the firebox with more coal.
Another two minutes or so later, they came upon the junction that would take them to Great Waterton and, with the points already set for them, Holland-Afrika Line rolled off the Southern Main Line and onto the spur branching off the main line, with the driver blowing the whistle loudly as they did so.
"This is it! We're on the last stretch of this trip, and we should be in Great Waterton in the next 15 minutes or so!" Simon said, as he pulled his head back into the cab.
"Okay, Simon!" Carrie said, as she stood up, having just placed six shovelfuls of coal into the firebox. After Carrie stood back up, she placed her hands on her lower back and rubbed her sore muscles down there.
"Don't push yourself too hard, miss." the fireman said, as he took the shovel from Carrie.
"Okay, sir." Carrie said, as she went and sat down on the fireman's seat, and then leaned out a little to see the line stretching ahead of them into the hilly countryside. As they went along, she couldn't help but look around at new places she had never seen before up to this point, including the trees of the forests that went very close to the edge of the two lines that stretched into the distance. At times, she saw different buildings along both sides of the line, as well as bridges that crossed over the two lines, and even people who were standing along the fences and stone walls of the fields that lined both sides of the two lines. Whenever she saw people standing in the fields and waving to them as they went by, Carrie always waved back to them, and the driver also blew the whistle in greeting to those who were waving to the train as it went by.
It wasn't too long before they finally arrived in Great Waterton, and they rolled under the rail bridge just before the station and then into the station itself, where members of station staff were standing on the platform and waiting for them to arrive.
"And here we are, Carrie…Great Waterton station." Simon said, as the driver put the brakes on and the sounds of hissing as the brakes came on filled the cab.
"Wow…and look at this place." Carrie said, as she leaned out from the fireman's side of the cab and looked around at this new place she had never been to before. She could see the village on the other side of the platforms was quite a quaint little place, with all the buildings appearing to be very well-maintained and kept in good order. The streets also looked to be quite clean, and with very few vehicles to be seen on the roads in the village, as well as quite a few shops to be seen on some of the streets closest to the station as well, it was clear that there would be plenty for the visitors on the train to keep themselves occupied for the time they were here.
Going over to the other side of the footplate, Carrie looked out along the platform they were coming alongside as they came to a gentle halt. On the other side of the platform, at the end of a short siding, there was a very tall tower made of red bricks that towered above the entire station and seemed to dominate much of the village by the station.
"Wow…I've never been to a place like this before." Carrie said, as she looked all around in awe as they finally came to a stop. As the station staff on the platform opened the doors and helped the passengers to disembark from the train, Carrie looked down at her watch; it was 9:25am, and they had arrived at Great Waterton right on time.
"You know…some day before the summer comes to an end Carrie…we should all come over here when we have a day off from work. That way we can show you all around this town. After all, it's quite a nice place." Simon said, as he closed the firehole doors and then came over to stand beside Carrie.
"You know…I think I'd like that very much, Simon." Carrie said, as she smiled at her boyfriend.
Meanwhile, the passengers were disembarking from the coaches and making their way along the platform to the footbridge that crossed over the three railway lines to the other platform, and from there, they made their way into the small town of Great Waterton. There was no doubt these visitors would have a good time there today, and would keep the people who worked there quite busy as well. The train of coaches coupled behind Holland-Afrika Line numbered 14 in total, and the platform was barely long enough for 12 of them, so to disembark the train, some passengers had to moved up or down to the next coach in order to get off the train, with Holland-Afrika Line having stopped one coach-length beyond the end of the platform in order to get as much of the train into the station as possible.
"Have you ever been in this situation where you've had a train behind you that's longer than the platform is?" Carrie called forward to Holland-Afrika Line.
"Oh, I've experienced it quite a few times in all my years of service, Carrie. Especially at this time of year when there's a lot of people visiting the island and the trains are much longer in order to take more people in them." Holland-Afrika Line said.
"I wonder what all those passengers think when they have to go to the next coach in order to disembark from the train." Simon said.
"Well, it's just something they have to put up with, Simon. The residents of Sodor who travel during this time of year sometimes have to put up with it from time to time as well." said the driver.
"Yes, sir." Simon said.
Between the tender and first coach, a shunter had just uncoupled the train and had disconnected the brake pipes. A few moments later, he stepped out from behind the tender and walked up to the cab in the fireman's side.
"Okay, we're all uncoupled back here!" he said, as he gave a thumbs-up to the fireman.
"Right-o! We'll be off to the yards then!" the fireman called.
"What about the coaches?" Carrie asked.
"Don't worry about them, Carrie. They'll be brought to another yard where they'll be serviced and cleaned, and then we'll see them later when we have to take these visitors back to Brendam Docks so they can catch the Queen Anne." the driver said.
"And what time will we…?" Carrie asked.
"Well, we need to be back here to pick up the train sometime before 4:30pm this afternoon, and we need to get the visitors back to Brendam Docks before 6:00pm, because that's the time when Queen Anne will be leaving this evening." the driver said.
"All right…I guess we have plenty of time to go until then." Carrie said.
"No.30952 will take the coaches to the depot where they'll be serviced, while we will head to the yard where we'll be assigned out next job for the day. And I'm guessing we won't have to wait for very long." Simon said, as he looked out from the driver's side of the cab.
"I think you might be right there, Simon." the driver said, with a slight chuckle.
Then there came the sounds of a whistle from the line ahead of them, and a few moments later, from round the bend ahead, there came No.30952, the S.R. Z Class 0-8-0T tank engine who Carrie had last seen over at Vicarstown Station earlier on in the year.
"Morning, Holland-Afrika Line! I see you made it with your train from the docks on time!" No.30952 said, as he came to a halt on the middle line close to the S.R. Merchant Navy Class Pacific.
"Yes, except the only issue I have is that my train is a little bit too long for the platform!" Holland-Afrika Line said.
"Yes, I can see that. But don't worry about it too much. It happens every now and then." No.30952 said. But then, Holland-Afrika Line's fireman interrupted them.
"Okay, that's enough you two! We need to be off now." he said, as the driver blew the whistle of No.35023 for a few moments, and then opened the regulator a little, allowing him to slowly roll forwards towards the points not too far ahead of them. Once beyond the points, the driver brought No.35023 to a halt and the signalman in his signal box switched the points. After the driver had wound the reversing gear into full reverse, they were given the "all clear" to move backwards over the points into the siding and towards the small depot close by. After sounding the whistle again for a few seconds, the driver opened the regulator a little and Holland-Afrika Line moved slowly in reverse off the main line and over the points onto the line and then towards the depot.
Once No.35023 had gone under the bridge and was out of sight, No.30952 rolled onto the line where the coaches were on and was coupled up to them. And then, with the way clear for him to head off, he set off in reverse out of the station with the coaches following along.
(In the engine depot)
After arriving at the small engine depot very close to Great Waterton Station after only two minutes, Holland-Afrika Line was turned round on the turntable there and then he was slowly reversed onto one of the empty lines over one of the ash pits. After the driver brought him to a stop, members of the shed staff arrived and set to work on getting No.35023 ready for his next turn of duty later on, while the driver and fireman, along with Carrie and Simon, stepped off the footplate. As the driver and fireman briefly spoke with the shed crew about anything that had come up during the run from Brendam Docks, Simon and Carrie made their way over to the small crew building located close by for a much-needed cup of tea and a rest before they went out for their next jobs a little later on.
"It doesn't look like its too busy there this morning." Carrie said, as she and Simon made their way over to the building.
"I know, and I'm glad for that, as it means we'll be able to find a place to sit down. And maybe even sit outside while we wait for our next jobs." Simon said.
"Come on, let's go and get something and then get rested up while we have the chance." Carrie said.
"And while it's quiet in here too." Simon added with a chuckle, as they made their way in.
A few minutes later, having taken the chance to wash their hands as well as to use the toilets inside the building, both Carrie and Simon went into the cafeteria and got mugs of tea as well as whatever pastries they wanted to have, and then went out to sit at one of the tables outside and to enjoy their tea. Sitting down at one the tables, they chatted with each other while they sipped their tea, and wondered what their next jobs for the day would be. While they chatted, it wasn't too long before the driver and fireman joined them, and they had mugs of either tea or coffee as well as pastries of their choice.
The fireman also had a copy of the daily newspaper with him, and after he sat himself down, he opened the paper and looked through it to see what was going on in the world.
"Where do you thing we might be asked to go next on the island between now and when we have to take the visitors back to Brendam Docks?" Simon asked, as he took a sip of tea.
"Who knows, Simon? We could be asked to take another train from here to Vicarstown, or even back over to Knapford. And it's quite possible, though very unlikely, that we could be waiting around here until much later on in the day." the driver said.
"Well…regardless of what's there for us to do, let's just make sure we do it well." Carrie said, as she took a bite out from her doughnut.
"Agreed!" both Simon and the driver said, as they then took another sip of their hot drinks.
For a few moments, they were all quiet as they rested from their work earlier on and took in the sights of the clear sky overhead, as well as whatever activity was going on in the yard before them. Then, the fireman lifted the newspaper closer to his face, having just seen an article that caught his interest.
"Hang on a second…very interesting." the fireman said, as he looked over the article.
"What is it?" the driver said, as he looked towards the fireman.
"Something up?" Simon asked, as he and Carrie looked towards the fireman too.
"Yeah, it's just an article about a new flight route that's going to be coming to service from the United States over to Sodor starting on September 1st." the fireman said.
"From where about will it be coming from?" asked Carrie, as she sipped some tea.
"Hang on a second…ah, here we are…it's gonna be coming from the Western Maine Airport, located in western-central Maine in the north eastern United States." said the fireman. And at the very moment that the fireman mentioned where the airport was, the curious look on Carrie's quickly changed from curiosity to fear, and she suddenly began to feel very nervous about what she had just heard.
"The…W-W-Western Maine A-Airport?" she said, in a very nervous and shaky way, as mouth dropped a little and her eyes widened, and the fear levels in her suddenly began to rise inside her. Almost at once, Simon turned to look at Carrie.
"What's wrong, Carrie? Is that airport very near to where you lived in Maine?" Simon asked, with some genuine concern in his voice.
"Yes…it's…it's only about ten miles or so away from where I lived once lived…in Chamberlain." Carrie said, with a fearful worry now clearly heard in her voice and with her starting to shake all over. The chances of all her classmates and teachers back in Chamberlain, or even someone else from her hometown who may have been aware she was missing, finding out where she was now, even completely by accident, had just gone up massively. Almost at the same moment, and completely out of the blue, some coal shovels stacked neatly together against the wall of a nearby storage shed, as well as various fire irons and other tools that were neatly stacked close by, suddenly fell over onto the ground with a loud clatter into a pile, leaving a tangle of shovels and other tools. But no one in the four took much notice of it, as they watched Carrie go into a quiet and fearful panic.
"Now, Carrie…listen…calm down…" Simon said, as he stood up and went over to her, "…listen…everything's gonna be all right. Regardless of what happens…and regardless of whether or not they ever find out that you're over here…I promise you that I will be there to help you if they ever come over here."
"R-really, Simon?" Carrie said, as Simon placed his hands on her shoulders and looked at her in her eyes.
"Yes, Carrie…I promise I will be there for you." Simon said, and after a few more moments of silent panic, Carrie felt herself calm down somewhat, now feeling reassured by Simon's words.
"Okay, Simon…thank you." Carrie said, as she calmed down and then reached for her mug of tea and took another sip while it was still hot.
"You're welcome, Carrie. And don't worry, everything will be fine." Simon said, and a moment later he went back to his own chair and then, after sitting down, he picked up his own mug of tea and took another sip of it.
(A little later on; 10:30am)
Soon, having been rested up and with their break over, they were assigned their next job for the day by the yard manager, who arrived from the office with a clipboard in his hands.
"Okay, you lot…" he said, as he approached them, "…here's your next job for now." as the driver, fireman, Simon, and Carrie stood up and waited for what he was to tell them.
"Where are we to be going?" the driver asked.
"Well…you're to take a passenger train from here down to Kirk Ronan Station, and there's gonna be a lot of people on your train. And it's due to leave from here at 10:45am, so you all better get moving." said the yard manager.
"Very well then, let's get ourselves going while the goings good." the driver said.
"Agreed, after all, I think that Holland-Afrika Line should be ready to go by now." said the fireman.
"Let's get going. Time's a wasting." Simon said, as he picked up his empty mug as well as Carrie's mug and then took them back inside the crew building to put them into the canteen there before stepping back outside again. After getting out of her chair, Carrie stretched her arms and legs out, and then followed Simon and the crew over to where Holland-Afrika Line was sitting.
(A few minutes later)
Once they had helped out with making the final preparations to depart, Holland-Afrika Line made his way out from the yard and back to Great Waterton Station, running in reverse in the opposite direction on the same line they had gone on to the yards nearly an hour before. As they reversed onto the main line, Carrie was looking out from the cab on the driver's side and saw a new line of coaches lined up on the platform that was opposite from the platform they had stopped at, and there appeared to be around 10 of them in total. There were passengers that were on the platform and were waiting their turn to board the coaches so that they could go down to Kirk Ronan.
"Looks like we're gonna have another heavy train today." Carrie said.
"Oh, we will, Carrie! But it's nothing I haven't dealt with before, so there's no need to be worried!" Holland-Afrika Line said. The train they had brought here an hour earlier had been 14 coaches in length, and so it shouldn't be that hard to take just 10 of them down on the much shorter journey to Kirk Ronan.
"All right then!" Carrie said, as the points ahead of them were changed and the driver opened the regulator up again and they rolled forwards through the middle of the station on the middle line and went beyond the train a little ways before going over the points and onto the line the coaches were on and then, once the points were switched back, the driver put No.35023 into full reverse and then, after opening the regulator, they rolled slowly in reverse and gently buffered up to the front coach in the train. As the shunter coupled up Holland-Afrika Line to the train and connected up the brake pipes, Carrie and Simon leaned out from the driver's side and looked back along the platform, watching the last of the passengers all board the coaches, and none of them came up close to the footplate as there wasn't much time left before the train had to leave.
"There doesn't seem to be as many people getting on this train as there were on the other one." Carrie said.
"Well, it seems likely these people are just locals heading down to Kirk Ronan for the day. But I'm sure there are some tourists on here too." Simon said.
"Okay." Carrie said.
As soon as the clock touched 10:45am, the last of the doors on the coaches were closed, and the guard blew his whistle and waved his green flag.
"Okay, let's go!" the driver said, as he blew the whistle and then opened the regulator a little. As they slowly moved out from the station, with Holland-Afrika Line taking up the weight of his heavy train, Carrie sat back on the front of the tender for a few moments as she watched Simon take first go on the shovel for this run. Now that she had been on this engine for one run earlier in the day, Carrie now knew where everything was and so it wasn't much of a challenge to help keep everything running as they went along.
As he moved out from the station, and up the slight gradient, Holland-Afrika Line's driving wheels slipped a little on the rails, with the chuffing noises from the chimney rising in volume, as the weight of the train held him back somewhat, but then as the driver gained control, they moved out smoothly and steadily up the gradient with the coaches following along behind him.
Picking up a bit more speed, they went along the same line they had gone along when they came down to Great Waterton a little while earlier, but they would be going onto a different line in order to get down to Kirk Ronan Station, and it was another place on Sodor that Carrie had never been to yet. It wasn't long before they came onto the other line that would bring them down towards Kirk Ronan, and it turned out to be the cross-country line that Carrie and Simon had first gone along all the way back in early December the previous year on L.M.S. Garratt No.47988, and it looked very different now in the warmth of the summer. After taking a break from having another go on the coal shovel, Carrie looked around at the landscape as they went along the line, only this time in the opposite direction. Everything looked so different in the summer sunshine and with all the trees full of leaves, bright flowers on the ground off to the sides of the line, as well as seeing all the scenery they hadn't seen when the hills were cloaked in dense clouds, fog, and swirling snow showers.
"Beautiful sight, isn't it?" Carrie said, as she looked out over everything they passed by.
"Yeah, it is. And certainly, it's very different now from how it was when we came up this way last winter." Simon said.
"I know." Carrie said, as she looked all around.
(A short while later)
They soon came upon a station very near to Rossington Junction, which was known as Bellany Way, but after they went through the station, instead of continuing on down the line towards there, they were instead diverted to the left down another double-track spur a little beyond the station which led towards Kirk Ronan Station.
"Not too far left to go now. Have you been down to Kirk Ronan Station yet, Carrie?" Simon asked.
"No, not yet, Simon. I've always wanted to go down there in the time I've been here on Sodor, and now I'm very pleased I'm getting the chance to do that today." Carrie said, as she took the coal shovel from the fireman in readiness to stoke the boiler again.
"You'll love it down there. It's a coastal resort town that's usually packed full of visitors and tourists at this time of year. But in the times of year when it's not that busy, it's a very nice place to be." Simon said.
"Let's hope so." Carrie said, as she began work on stoking the firebox with more coal. As Carrie stoked the boiler, Simon leaned out from the driver's side of the cab as they went over a double-tracked railway bridge that crossed over the Southern Main Line, where Henry was seen passing beneath heading in the direction towards Knapford with a mixed freight train following along behind him. The three tracks of the Southern Main Line were about 30 feet or so under the bridge, but to Simon, who was looking down as they crossed over the main line, it seemed to be further away than it really was.
Once Carrie had finished with her next turn with stoking the firebox, she handed the shovel back to the fireman, and then went over to join Simon at the side of the cab.
"We'll be crossing over the Big Dipper in a few minutes, Carrie." Simon said, as he looked ahead along the line.
"The Big Dipper? What's that?" Carrie asked.
"It's a stone viaduct that crosses over a wide and rocky ravine between here and Kirk Ronan, and there's quite a view of the valley it crosses as you go over it." Simon said. (N)
(N): The Big Dipper viaduct is the one that's famously seen in Thomas and the Magic Railroad, and I read in the Thomas Wikia that it's located on the Kirk Ronan Line.
"And is it just down the line always?" Carrie asked.
"Yes, it just along down here another mile or so." Simon said, as he pointed forward.
He was right, for not more than two minutes or so later, after going around a gentle curve to the right, they went onto an arrow-straight section of line and began crossing over the viaduct. Looking out from the fireman's said of the cab, Carrie was amazed by how wide the ravine was, as well as how rocky and rugged the sheer drops to the water below was.
"Wow, now that's quite a ravine." Carrie said quietly, as they ran over the viaduct and then reached the other side of the ravine.
Going along a long straight stretch of line, they went along fairly well with the coaches following along smoothly, and the passengers enjoying the trip. Soon, they came upon a very long and gentle gradient that went downwards, and down towards Kirk Ronan.
"Not too long left to go now, Carrie. Just a few more miles left to go." Simon said, as the driver blew the whistle and closed the regulator a little.
"All right then, Simon. Let's see what Kirk Ronan Station looks like." Carrie said, as she leaned her head out a little, as Simon took another go on the shovel.
It wasn't long before the station finally came into view ahead of them, and it was a terminal station made up of two bays with two lines going into each of them, and four platforms. There was a glass canopy covering about half the station's platforms, and in front of one of the lines ending at a long and sturdy buffer beam, there was the shape of an engine's smokebox and chimney in the wall which offered a wide and open view over the town of Kirk Ronan. Carrie was a little surprised to see something like that, and wondered why it was there in the first place.
"Now this looks like a nice place." Carrie said quietly, as the driver closed the regulator fully, and then put on the brakes to slow down and bring down the train to a gentle halt at the platform they were coming alongside.
For Holland-Afrika Line, he was feeling very pleased they had arrived safely with his next train, and right on time as well.
"And here we are…safe and sound." he said quietly, as he came to a halt at the platform that was the closest to the smokebox shape on the wall in front of him.
As the passengers began disembarking from the train and made their way out from the station, Carrie looked out and saw the open smokebox and funnel hole, and then saw a sign beside it. The sign said "Gordon's View."
"And what caused that hole right there?" Carrie asked, as she and Simon stepped off the footplate and walked over to the opening side by side.
"It took place when Gordon crashed through this wall quite a number of years back. He was on his way here with the Fat Controller on his footplate, and it was the day that this very station was meant to open. However, while Gordon was on his way here, something had jammed, which meant the driver couldn't apply his brakes. And so, Gordon, who was going too fast, ended up crashed through the buffer-beam here, through this part of the platform and through this wall, with part of his front end sticking out from the other side of this wall." Simon said. And Carrie's face winced a bit, and she took in a sharp breath.
"Oh, that must have been a horrible experience for Gordon." she said, as she tried to imagine what must have happened.
"It made the news all over the island, Carrie. And I was one of the engines who was sent here to help Gordon out from here." Holland-Afrika Line said.
"Was anyone hurt?" Carrie asked, as she and Simon looked towards No.35023.
"Well, I saw Gordon's driver being taken away with his arm in a sling, which meant he had badly hurt his arm in the accident. But I didn't see anyone else being hurt as well. As for Gordon…well, his front end was badly damaged, and he had to go to the works to have it repaired. But I don't think anyone else was hurt in the accident." Holland-Afrika Line said.
"And this opening is the sight where the accident happened?" Carrie asked.
"That's right, Carrie. And this opening was left here as a reminder of the accident, as well as to allow people, and engines for that matter, to have a wide panoramic view of the town of Kirk Ronan." Simon said, as he and Carrie looked out through the opening and over the town of Kirk Ronan spread out below them.
(Later on; 16:25pm; Great Waterton Station)
With the 14 Pullman coaches lined up at the platform at Great Waterton Station, the large numbers of visitors who had arrived at Great Waterton earlier on in the morning were boarding the coaches again, only this time it was to head on back to the docks so that they could reboard the ship which would be leaving this evening. And again, at the head of this train, was No.35023 Holland-Afrika Line, who had a good head of steam in his boiler and was eager to get these people back to Brendam Docks in plenty of time.
Standing on his footplate, Carrie and Simon were with the driver and fireman, and they were eager to get going just as much as No.35023 was. Both of them had white enamel cups of hot steaming tea in one of their hands, and they also had rich fudge brownies in their other hands. As they enjoyed their tea and brownies, both of them began to feel a bit better, as they were somewhat tired from having been working hard for much of the day, much of which involved shuttling between Great Waterton and Kirk Ronan, with the usual hour off for lunch, which was enjoyed in the engine depot at Great Waterton. Both of them had been glad to get some rest, as well as to get some good food in to them before they had to go back out to work again later on.
"I'll be glad when we get all these passengers back to the ship. And then when that's done, I'll be glad to get back to Tidmouth, and then get home after today." Simon said, as he stretched his tired legs out.
"Me too…I think I'll sleep very well tonight once I get home." Carrie said, as she took a long sip of her tea, before taking a bite from her brownie. She certainly would, as she'd been on her feet for much of the day, and so she was looking forward to getting home later on in the evening and getting to bed.
"Okay, you two! It's nearly time for us to go! So, finish your tea and brownies and get ready to move!" the driver said, as he worked at adjusting both the large and small injectors, which caused some hissing sounds to fill the cab. So, Carrie and Simon finished off their brownies and quickly drained the last of their tea. After placing the empty white-enamel cups onto the heating plate over the firebox doors, and placing the dirty napkins into the firebox, they got ready to set off, with Simon taking hold of the shovel.
A few minutes later, with everything ready, and the last passengers aboard the train, there came the familiar sounds of the guard blowing his whistle.
"Okay, right away!" Carrie said, as she leaned out from the cab.
"Okay, here we go!" the driver said, as he blew the whistle and then opened up the regulator. Slowly, they felt themselves start moving, as steam filled No.35023's cylinders and he took up the weight of the train and slowly moved out from the station with the coaches smoothly following along behind them.
"And we're on our way!" Simon said quietly, as he took first go with the shovel. With the sounds of chuffing from the chimney gradually getting louder and faster, Simon used the shovel to place fresh coal into the firebox, allowing the fire to burn brightly and make plenty of steam.
In the meantime, Carrie sat down on the fireman's side of the cab and waited for her turn to have a go at the shovel. Leaning her arm on the open window sill, she allowed the breeze coming to blow over her and cool her down. And as usual, she took in the sight of the passing countryside as they went along, with the train gradually getting a little faster and faster along the line.
The return journey to Brendam Docks was a reverse version of the trip they had made earlier on in the day, and so there wasn't much to be seen along the way there, apart from passing a few other trains at the various different stations, or along the main line. Among the engines they passed by was Murdoch, who was heading to Vicarstown with a heavily-laden freight train, Emily, who was waiting at Kildane Station to pick up passengers bound for Knapford, and No.10000 Pegasus, the L.N.E.R. W1 Class 4-6-4, who was heading at speed towards Vicarstown with a non-stop later afternoon passenger train. During the run back, Carrie also took a few turns stoking the boiler with the shovel.
It wasn't too long before they finally reached the junction to the west of Maron Station and, as they slowed down leading up to it, the signalman had already reset the points for them to go along onto the spur, and they rolled onto the spur without going too fast and making sure that all the coaches rolled over the spur smoothly so as not to cause any discomfort to the passengers relaxing in the train.
"Not long left to go now, you lot!" the driver said, as he adjusted the regulator a little to allow more steam into the cylinders.
"Okay! I'll be glad when we finally get there!" Carrie said, as she placed another shovelful of coal onto the fire.
"Don't worry, Carrie! Just a little while more now!" Simon said, as he patted Carrie on the back to reassure her. He knew they were nearing the end of this trip, and the feeling of that was building up inside him the closer they got to Brendam Docks. At the same time, all the passengers back in the train were also feeling that same feeling, and they were eager to get back aboard the ship that was waiting for them at the docks.
After going back onto the Brendam Line to the north of Suddery, Holland-Afrika Line made his way along the line towards the docks. As they passed through Suddery Station, they came upon Edward who was heading north towards Wellsworth Station with a short train of six coaches.
"Hello, Holland-Afrika Line!" Edward said, as he went on past.
"Hello, Edward!" Holland-Afrika Line said, with a blast of his whistle as he also went on past with his own train.
It wasn't too long before they final arrived back in the docks, where they made their way slowly along the lines, past all the workshops, docks, quays, cranes, and other large buildings towards the terminal station, where the Queen Anne was berthed and waiting for her passengers to come back aboard her so she could set off later that evening to her next destination.
As they slowly approached her along the lines that passed along the quayside, both Simon and Carrie couldn't help but look up again at the enormous size of the colossal ocean liner which towered high and proud above the dockside. Down along the quayside, they could see plenty of men working away at helping to restock the enormous liner's food storerooms at her stern, with a number of specialised forklift trucks lifting stacks of heavy boxes from a line of refrigerated box vans that were sitting on the line that was the closest to the edge of the quayside.
"Goodness me. I can only imagine that a liner of that enormous size needs quite a lot of food taken aboard her in order to keep her passengers and crew well-fed for as long as her voyage lasts." Carrie said, as she looked along the quayside where the vans were and then up towards the upper decks.
"Absolutely! Ocean liners of that size do need to carry a lot of food in their refrigerated storeroom, and quite a lot of it as well, and particularly if they're going to be out at sea for the best part of a week going in between Southampton and New York, and if they've got several thousand people travelling aboard them, both passengers and crew." Simon said.
Meanwhile, with the driver having closed the regulator fully just before they entered the terminal station, the brakes were gently applied, which gently brought the train to a slow stop along the platform that was the closest to where the Queen Anne was docked at. Not long afterwards, the doors on all the coaches were opened up, and then the passengers disembarked from the train before making their way into the main terminal building and up the stairs, from where they would get back aboard the ship.
As Carrie and Simon went over to the right-hand side of the footplate, so they could watch the process of the passengers getting aboard the Queen Anne, there came the sounds of a diesel engine from somewhere near to them, and sounded like it was getting closer and closer to them all the time.
"That noise sounds familiar…" Simon said, with a heavy sigh as the sounds got closer.
"Yeah, a little TOO familiar for my liking." Carrie said in agreement, as she leaned out from the cab and looked left and right along the line that was closest to the quayside. She saw who it was soon enough; it was none other than Diesel, and he had arrived to remove the now-empty refrigerated vans and take them to the sidings nearby. And the look on his face was quite a cross and annoyed one, and it certainly looked like he'd had a rough day in moving trucks around the docks all day. He was still working at the docks after being punished by the Fat Controller for telling lies to the trucks, which had nearly caused an accident in late June, and it was clear that Diesel had not enjoyed his time working at the docks at all.
"Stupid trucks! Can't stand them at all!" Diesel muttered in anger, as he buffered up to the line of empty vans.
"Well then, you shouldn't have told those lies to those trucks earlier on in the summer! After all, I think you got what you deserved for that!" Holland-Afrika Line said, as he glared quite crossly at Diesel.
"Pah!" Diesel said, as he roughly shunted the line of trucks away from the quayside line and away to the sidings to be stored away.
"I think we'd better stay away from him for as long as we can." Simon said, as he and Carrie watched Diesel moved the vans away.
"Indeed! He always seems to be in a bad temper." Carrie said.
In the meantime, a shunter had uncoupled No.35023 from the line of coaches and had disconnected the brake-pipes. After indicating that everything was uncoupled and cleared away, the driver released the brakes, sounded the whistle, and then opened the regulator, allowing No.35023 to move away from his train. Once clear of the terminal building, they made their way to the turntable, where they were turned around and, once that was done, they rolled off the turntable and made their way along the line out of the docks.
"As soon as we get back to Tidmouth, I'm gonna go straight into the jacuzzi hot tube in the ladies changing room and relax for a while before I get dressed." Carrie said, as she sat down on the front of the tender.
"Sounds like a good idea to me. I think I'll go into the jacuzzi hot tub in the men's changing room after we get back as well. I think it could do a lot of good for relaxing the muscles." Simon said.
"Yeah, and I'm looking forward to it." Carrie said, as she took a sip of tea and settled back to rest her sore feet and muscles as they made their way out of the docks.
And that's it for this chapter, everyone! This chapter takes the number of words in my story to over 500,000...that's half a million...words! And it's the very first time any of the Carrie fanfiction stories, either regular or crossover, has reached this impressive figure! And this is also the last chapter I'll be posting for this year, and so I'd like to wish everyone reading this a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!