Starting Over Again

by J.T. Shee

A year and a half BEFORE the infamous Black Prom takes place in Ewen High School, Carrie runs away from home in Chamberlain and ends up on the Island of Sodor. There, she meets Sodor's engines and people and sets about getting her life back on track (No pun intended). While there, she also meets someone she never expected to see in her life. Reviews are much appreciated.

60. 59: The Christmas Market Train

Chapter 59: The Christmas Market Train

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(Wednesday, November 14th 2012 – 5:10pm, Vicarstown Station)

The weather for the best part of the last few days on the Island of Sodor had been very cold – in fact, it was much colder than usual – with heavy snow coming down almost all of the time, and often without let-up, day and night. At one point during the weekend, there had been bad blizzard conditions, with a strong wind and very heavy falling snow causing near white-out conditions for much of Saturday and into Sunday morning. Many of the trains on the island were cancelled for the weekend, with only essential trains being allowed to run as well as engines with snowploughs fitted to their fronts who were trying to keep the lines clear for the trains to runs.

In the countryside outside Sodor's towns, the falling snow turned the countryside from the usual different shades of green to a single shade of white, which could be seen stretching for miles in all directions. The snow caused drifts to form everywhere, on the railway lines, on the roads, in the fields, and anywhere else that it could pile up. The cold weather also caused ice to form on the roads, which meant very hazardous driving conditions for road vehicles, and so snow ploughs and gritting vehicles carrying plenty of salt and grit had to be sent out in order to keep the roads clear, as well as safe for vehicles to drive on.

When the blizzard conditions eased off on Monday, almost all the trains ran to as normal a timetable as possible, though they often had to run at reduced speeds due to the severe winter weather, with them often forced to arrive at their destination stations later than usual.

Due to the onset of these difficult winter conditions, in many different engine depots and yards all around Sodor, countless numbers of braziers were setup, with hot glowing fires being kept burning in all of them at all times, with engine crews and many workmen to be seen gathered all around them to keep themselves warm, as the temperatures were freezing. Plenty of extra fuel was always kept near at hand to keep the braziers burning brightly.

Everyone who went to work out on the railway was always very warmly dressed in their winter clothes, including very warm overcoats, woollen hats – including winter hats that had earflaps – scarfs, warm gloves, thick trousers, and warm, waterproof footwear. Often, they would also have on overalls over their warm clothes as well, which helped to keep the heat in somewhat, as well as work gloves on their hands. They also had the advantage of being close to the fireboxes of the different engines, the heat from which helped to keep the cabs, as well as the crews and apprentices, warm. Cans of hot drinks were always being kept on hand on all the engines for the crews to keep warm as well, and the Fat Controller had also instructed all stations on the island to keep hot drinks on hand, so that crews could be served on their engines, and passengers could be kept warm while they waited for their trains. Plenty of wood and coal was also provided for the stations as well, so they could have fires burning in their fireplaces to keep the passengers warm as well.

Out on the different standard-gauge lines, the Fat Controller's engines did everything they could to keep the lines clear of fallen snow, as well as to keep the trains moving quickly and efficiently. It was often difficult for their wheels to grip the often-icy rails, especially when they were pulling very heavy loads behind them. For the trains going up Gordon's Hill in this winter weather, it was often very difficult to get up the hill, even with substantial banking assistance pushing at the back of their trains.

They also had to contend with heavy snowdrifts and line blockages, normally caused by snow, but also by trees and other things that had fallen across the lines due to the wind blowing on them. Gangs of workmen, often helped out by the engines, worked very hard at removing blockages, clearing snowdrifts, and keeping the railway running in this difficult time, but it did take its toll on some engines. The Scottish Twins Donald and Douglas, who often worked together in helping to clear the snowdrifts off the lines, were forced to take a long rest for a while due to the heavy continuous work they had been doing, as they were both exhausted from constantly going back and forth clearing the snow.

However, despite the bad winter weather they were experiencing, all the engines of Sodor were feeling very excited about the near future. It would be Christmas in a little over a month and a half from now, and the Christmas market was due to open at Knapford town hall in the next few days. It would be almost identical to what had been there the wear before, only that there promised to be a few more stalls there than the year before, and a lot more special things there as well, in order to make it more like the Christmas markets that were seen in the big cities in Continental Europe.

There promised to be a lot more stalls from Europe coming to the Christmas market this year, bringing with them a whole host of different foods and cuisine for visitors to sample, as gifts and many other things. And there was also going to be a Ferris Wheel, more special competitions, additional covered eating areas, as well as a carousel.

Just on previous years the Christmas market was on Sodor, much of it would be brought in on a series of very special trains that were sent to Knapford from Vicarstown, while the other bigger and bulkier items would be brought in by road, and usually at night when the roads were much quieter than during the day.

Everyone on Sodor was looking forward to going to the Christmas market when it opened on Saturday November 17th, and all the hotels and guesthouses in the local area were booked solid with people who would be coming to Sodor to visit the Christmas market over the course of November and December. Once the Christmas market opened, the engines of Sodor could expect to pull heavier trains as the season went on, with passengers and countless numbers of parcels and sacks of mail ready for the Christmas season.

Carrie White and her friends were also looking forward to going to the Christmas market as well, and they all hoped they would be given a chance to help out with one of the final trains that would be taking the last supplies and such to Knapford later this week. Carrie knew there was a chance she wouldn't be asked to take part in such a job, but regardless of that she knew that she had to go a good job on whatever tasks on whichever engines that she was assigned to work on.

But right now, on this cold and snowy afternoon, Carrie was standing on the footplate of S.R. U-Class 2-6-0 No.31801, who had a long line of box vans coupled behind him. They were making their final approach to Vicarstown Station, having left Knapford Station more than an hour and a half earlier with this train. Due to the snowy weather, they had to proceed slowly at times on their journey in order to keep safe as they went along, and they needed to be banked up Gordon's Hill when they got to Wellsworth. Bertha pushed from the back, and helped them to get to the top of the hill before they continued on their way towards Maron Station, where they picked up some more vans, and then they continued along the Southern Main Line on the rest of their journey.

Carrie had spent much of the journey taking turns stoking the boiler with fresh coal, as well as doing other little jobs, like keeping the footplate clear of any loose lumps of coal, and using the slacker pipe to wash the footplate down of any dust. She also helped to use the injector controls to keep the water level in the boiler at an adequate level, as well as checking the main boiler pressure gauge to be sure the steam pressure was well up.

By this time of the day, with the journey finished at last, Carrie was feeling quite tired from the hard work, and her overalls were covered with coal dust, droplets of oil, and ash from the work she had been doing since she started early that morning. She was looking forward to having a hot shower and a change into clean clothes before clocking out for the day, and going to have a hot dinner to warm up after a long day of work out in the cold winter weather.

As they made their final approach to Vicarstown Station, they came upon a signal with a yellow light shining brightly, meaning "Proceed with Caution" and so the driver closed the regulator and put the brakes on. As No.31801 slowed down, Carrie leaned out from the right-hand side of the cab and looked forwards to see what the matter was. In the distance, she could clearly see the rooftops of the buildings in Vicarstown, and the top of the main station beyond them, with the lines stretching towards them over the wide red-brick viaduct through the middle of Vicarstown.

They proceeded on down the line a short way until they came upon the next signal; this one was set to "danger" with the red warning light shining brightly.

"I guess we have to stop then." No.31801 said, as his driver closed the regulator fully and then put on the brakes. With a squealing sound, followed by the sounds of the vans bumping into each other behind, the train came to a stop just before the signal.

"I think we just need to wait for another train to go past us, or for one of the platforms at the station to be freed up for us to go into." said the driver, as he leaned out from his side of the cab.

"All right then. I guess we just need to sit and wait." Carrie said, as she went to the firebox and opened it a little, allowing some of the heat to warm her up.

They didn't need to wait for very long, for the signal soon dropped to show the way ahead was clear for them to depart, and they moved off again. As they slowly made their way over the viaduct to the station, Carrie took a few moments to look out down to the streets she could from the left-hand side of the footplate as they passed by; she could see many people walking through the snowy winter streets, along with occasional vehicles passing by as well. Even though it was late in the afternoon, there was still plenty of activity taking place, as many of the shops still had a little time left to go until they all closed up for the night.

By this time of the year, many of the shops that Carrie had been to already had their Christmas decorations up, including Christmas trees, and brightly-coloured lights strung up in the shop fronts for people to see. Jolly Christmas tunes were beard being played from speakers in all shops, from classic tunes of years before to the latest Christmas hits released only recently, and Carrie couldn't help but smile and listen to the music whenever she heard it.

Carrie was really looking forward to her second Christmas, and wondered how it would go this year. One thing that she knew for certain was that they were going to have another white Christmas this year, considering all the snow that had fallen so far, as well as the snow that was sure to come down in the following weeks. Her friends, the other apprentices on the apprenticeship scheme, the engine crews, the engines of Sodor, the Fat Controller, and all of Sodor's people were also looking forward to Christmas as well.

However, Carrie also knew that there was a lot of work that needed to be done between now and Christmas, which included taking lots of mail and parcels from station to station, as well as taking lots more passengers around the island as well. When the weather was suitable, it was likely that many people would be flying in the Sodor from all round, as well as maybe even arriving on the ferries that came to the island from the mainland or Ireland. All the engines of Sodor were also well aware of how busy things were going to be, with them having years of experience in that regard. Christmas was always the busiest time of year anywhere, but for the engines of Sodor they knew that the very heavy trains would be running far more frequently, and they would also be starting their work earlier in the morning and finishing up later in the evening. It also meant that the apprentices would need to get up earlier in the mornings as well to help out with the work, and that potentially meant that they would be working very late as well.

As No.31801 passed the midway point of the viaduct, he saw G.W.R. Star Class No.4054 Princess Charlotte coming along on the other line with a passenger train coupled behind her.

"Hello, Charlotte!" No.31801 called, as he approached while blowing his whistle.

"Hello, No.31801!" Charlotte called as they passed by, with her blowing her own whistle in reply. Carrie counted the coaches in Charlotte's train as she went by them; there were 12 coaches in total, and all loaded with people who were bound for Knapford Station.

Once No.31801 entered Vicarstown Station on the line running adjacent to Platform 6, the driver closed the regulator and gently put on the brakes to slow them down. With a gently squealing of the brakes, No.31801 came to a stop near the end of the platform, letting off some steam just after he stopped.

"Phew! We made it!" No.31801 said, feeling a great sense of satisfaction.

"Well done, old boy! And although we may have got in a bit late…at least we made it safely!" said the driver, as he leaned out with a smile on his face. Carrie pulled aside the sleeve on her left arm and checked the time; it was 5:20pm, and they had got into the station only five minutes late. They were late because of the cold winter weather, but despite that they had still managed to get to their destination safely.

As the men waiting on the platform began opening up the vans and began to unload them, a shunter uncoupled No.31801 from the train. Once he gave the all clear to the driver, No.31801 rolled forwards out of the station, and then reversed on one of the other lines through the station, and from there back to the depot. Another engine would then take all the empty vans to the sidings in the nearby depot later on once they were fully unloaded.

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Once No.31801 finally arrived back at the engine depot, his driver reversed him into one of the empty berths in the main sheds and, once he came to a stop, his driver and fireman made sure that the brakes on both No.31801 and his tender were firmly put on. The fireman also made sure that the dampers to the firebox were shut, cutting off the air to the fire, as well as making sure the firebox was shut. Carrie gave them some help with those tasks as well, and once it was finished, she was able to grab her bag, and then head off from the engine shed and over to the crew building.

She was very glad to be inside the crew building and out of the intense winter cold. Heading upstairs, bag in hand, she went upstairs to one of the crew rooms that had been reserved for her. Once inside, she stripped out of her overalls and work clothes, and then had a long hot shower, which she really enjoyed. Once it was done, she then dried herself off with two soft dry towels. After changing into the fresh clothes she brought with her, as well as putting on her phone to charge up, she lay back in her bed for a while and thought about what the next day might bring. She was feeling warm and comfortable now in the warmth of the room, but she was also feeling quite hungry as well, and wondered if she should go down to the canteen for dinner, or if she should go into Vicarstown for dinner.

Then she looked out the window, as the curtains were half-opened, and she saw the snow coming down heavily from the dark grey sky. Sitting up, she watched for several minutes as the snow kept on falling. Remembering how cold it had been outside for her shift for today, Carrie decided not to go out tonight, but stay and have dinner in the canteen, where it was warmer and where there would be better company.

After resting on her bed for a little while longer, when her phone had charged up enough, Carrie stood up and grabbed it from her bedside table, as well as the key to her room, and then after stepping out into the corridor, she locked her room and headed downstairs to the canteen.

After arriving in the canteen, she was pleased to see it wasn't too busy right now, though there were a few engine crews sitting at some of the tables and chatting with each other about how their shifts had gone, while other crewmen were having dinner before going out to start their nocturnal shifts. Taking a sniff through her nose, Carrie smiled at the scent of all the different smells of cooking that drifted through the air. She could feel that the air was warm, which was good on this cold winter evening, and there seemed to be a good sense of camaraderie in the atmosphere as well.

"Well, good evening, Carrie!" came a familiar voice from behind her. Turning round to look, Carrie saw Saoirse standing a few feet from her.

"And good evening back, Saoirse! Did you have a good day today?" Carrie asked, as the two friends shared a quick hug.

"Yes, I did. But it was a very cold one as well, especially as the cab of No.3286 didn't offer very much protection from the snow and the cold." Saoirse said.

"Well, not to worry now. At least we're in a warm building, and which seems to have plenty of hot food as well." Carrie said, as she looked over towards the buffet line.

"Yeah, and let's go and get some food before it's all gone!" Saoirse said, as she reached for a tray off to the side and lined up at the buffet line.

"Good idea! Let's do that!" Carrie said, as she also grabbed a tray.

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(Next morning; Thursday November 15th 2012; 7:05am)

Pulling her curtains aside a little, Carrie looked out from her room to see what the activity was like outside this cold mid-November morning in the Vicarstown Depot; she could hear and see the engines in the different sidings, either being readied for their day of work ahead, or else having their fires dropped from the fireboxes and their ashpans emptied out by the shed staff after a long night of hard work out on the main line.

Looking up to the sky, Carrie was pleased to see that the snow had stopped, at least for now, though the sky was still covered with dark clouds that stretched as far as the eye could see. She had no doubt that there would be more snow coming down in the near future, but she also knew that there would be a chance for the engines of Sodor to do whatever work they needed to do before the snow came down again. Opening the window and poking her head out, Carrie was ruefully shocked by the sudden onset of the intense cold, having been very used to the warmth of her room for the time she'd been sleeping in it during the night.

Quickly closing the window behind her and feeling a little cold from the few seconds she'd had her head outside, Carrie decided to get herself dressed for another day of work.

Once she was dressed on her work clothes, as well as a fresh set of overalls, Carrie left her room and went downstairs to get some breakfast. And considering how cold the weather was this morning, she felt that a hot breakfast would hit the spot right now. Stepping into the canteen, Carrie took a deep sniff of the air and smelled the familiar scent of hot breakfast foods in the air, and she also heard the sounds of a few of the engine crews sitting at some of the tables enjoying breakfasts. She overheard snatches of conversation some of them were having with each other about what they might get up to on the main line today. Grabbing a tray off to the side, Carrie lined up and got ready to choose what she wanted to have for breakfast.

After she had gotten what she wanted, Carrie went over to one of the empty tables and sat down, eager to have the breakfast food she had on her tray. She had chosen a full breakfast with sausages, bacon, scrambled eggs, hashbrowns, and black and white pudding. She also had a glass of orange juice on the side, along with some toast. As she sat down and tucked into her food, she overheard a snippet of conversation that some of the crewmen at the next table were having.

"We did have some trouble in leaving Knapford harbour about two hours back." one driver said, as he took a sip from his mug of hot coffee.

"And why was that?" another man asked.

"Well, the reason was that the axleboxes on the vans we had coupled behind us were frozen solid, and we had quite a time thawing them out before we could leave the harbour. It made us about 10 minutes late leaving too."

"And how much time did you make up on the trip from Knapford to Barrow-in-Furness?"

"We managed to make up about 7 minutes of the lost time, which is actually not bad in cold weather like this. But even so, proper procedures should be more rigidly followed to be certain it doesn't happen again."

As she listened to these men talk, Carrie did feel herself getting concerned a little about the thought of axleboxes of coaches and trucks freezing up in the intense cold. But then again, maybe that wouldn't be the case today. Deciding to worry later on about what the weather would do, Carrie continued on eating her breakfast.

A short while later, having finished her breakfast, Carrie went back up to her room to gather all her things together before making her way downstairs with her bag. She had placed on her bright orange Hi-Viz safety vest, as well as her warm woollen hat, scarf round her neck, and work gloves on her hands. After clocking in for the day, she made her way outside to be assigned to an engine.

Stepping outside the entrance, she was shocked by the cold air; there was a light breeze blowing about which seemed to cause the air to feel like it was colder than it really was, due to the wind-chill factor. Sniffing the air, Carrie could smell the smoke that was coming off a number of braziers she could see dotted about the yard, with workmen gathered round them and warming their hands up. Looking round, she could also see quite a few different steam locomotives around the yard, either being readied for their day of work, or else being having their ashpans emptied and fires removed.

Carrie soon joined a small ground of apprentices, including Saoirse, who were going to be assigned to their engines, either for the morning or the rest of the day. Each of them was warmly dressed up in suitable clothes to keep the cold off them as well as for work, and they were also standing near to a glowing hot brazier as another way to keep the cold off for a while. Carrie was standing closest to the brazier, as she was still feeling somewhat cold even though she hadn't been outside that long. She watched as each of the apprentices were assigned to their engines, and saw that Saoirse was assigned to work with G.W.R. 28XX Class 2-8-0 No.2800.

It was soon Carrie's turn at last to be assigned to an engine, and the yard manager turned to face her, while taking a look down at the clipboard in his hands.

"Okay, Carrie…you're going to be working with Princess Beatrice for today." he said.

"All right, sir. And where is Beatrice, by the way?" Carrie asked.

"Right over there." said the yard manager, as he turned and pointed over to a shed not far away from them. Looking over, Carrie could see the front half of L.M.S. Princess Royal Class No.6209 Princess Beatrice sticking out from the shed, with a number of men working over her.

"You're only gonna be working with Beatrice for the morning, Carrie. And then you're gonna be going to another engine after you get to Knapford." said the yard manager.

"Okay, I'll just head on over then." Carrie said, as she turned and made her way over to where Beatrice was standing.

As she arrived a few moments later, she looked up at Beatrice, who also looked down at her.

"Good morning, Carrie! Ready for another day of work?" Beatrice asked, when she saw Carrie approach.

"Morning, Beatrice! Yes, I'm ready for that. And I'm just glad that there's no snow falling this morning as well." Carrie said.

"Yes, me too! But I just know that it's going to start coming down again eventually!" Beatrice said, as she looked nervously up to the sky.

"Of course. Anyway, I'll put my bag on the footplate and then I'll get started!" Carrie said, as she stepped to the footplate.

"Okay, Carrie!" Beatrice said. After Carrie placed her bag into one of the lockers fitted to the front of the tender, she set to helping the driver and fireman with whatever tasks needed to be done. Among the tasks she helped out with was oiling up the motion and other moving parts, which was a somewhat difficult task today as the cold weather had changed the viscosity of the oil causing it to flow slower than normal. The oil cans were kept by the braziers, as well as on the warming plate over the open firebox doors on Beatrice's footplate, and so they were able to keep oiling up once the heat had warmed up the oil enough for it to be flow a bit more freely.

Carrie also helped to polish down the connecting and coupling rods, as well as the wheel spokes, front buffer beam, and the boiler as well. The hard work helped keep her somewhat warm, and when she saw that an area she had been working on was cleaned up, she took a certain level of pride in the work she had done. Then she went onto the footplate again and used the shovel to put more coal into the firebox to keep the fire burning brightly, and to maintain a good head of steam in the boiler.

Eventually, as they were nearly finished the work of preparing Beatrice for the morning, the yard manager came over with a clipboard in his hands.

"So, what's our job for this morning, sir?" the driver asked, as he, the fireman, and Carrie turned to face the yard manager.

"Well…there's no jobs for you to do this morning. You're actually to leave the yard at about half past nine, and head light engine over to Knapford Station." said the yard manager. This really surprised them all, especially Beatrice, as they had expected to take a train from Vicarstown to Knapford this morning. Beatrice had secretly expected to take the last train for the Christmas market to the western end of the Island of Sodor.

"Oh, that's big surprise." Carrie said, who had been wondering for the last few minutes if anything was there for them to take away this morning.

"But don't worry, you lot. There is one passenger for you to take all the way back to Knapford." said the yard manager.

"And who is it?" Beatrice asked, curious as to who it was. But then, there came a very familiar voice.

"That would be me!" and out from round the side of the shed stepped none other than the Fat Controller himself. Beatrice, her crew, and Carrie were very surprised to the see their boss here at the Vicarstown Depot this morning. But instead of being dressed in his smart suit and smart top hat, he was instead wearing dark blue overalls, a woollen hat on his head, and a solid pair of work shoes on his feet. He also had a large bag at his side, within which were his things.

"Oh, good morning, sir!" the driver said, as he turned to face the Fat Controller.

"Morning, everyone! I just need a lift back to Knapford this morning, as I had to stay overnight in Vicarstown last night after a long meeting there last night." said the Fat Controller.

"Yes, sir!" said Beatrice.

"We can get you all the way back to Knapford, sir. Don't you worry at all! But it might be a bit uncomfortable." Carrie said, and the Fat Controller laughed.

"Oh, that's not a problem at all, Carrie! I've travelled on many engines over many different winters over the years, and so I'm used to it by now." said the Fat Controller.

"Oh, I see, sir." Carrie said, now understanding that her boss didn't mind riding on engine footplates at all during the cold winter months.

"Anyway, that's what you need to do. I better go off and give the next jobs to the next engines." and the yard manager walked off to another part of the yard.

The Fat Controller climbed onto Beatrice's footplate and placed his bag up there, before he then climbed back down again.

"Shall we go and get ourselves a cup of tea before we head off from here?" he suggested.

"I think that sounds like a good idea to me, sir! After all, it's really quite cold now and I think we all deserve a hot drink after the work we've done." said the driver.

"Well, let's go into the canteen and get that drink before we go!" said the Fat Controller, as he, the driver and fireman walked to the crew building, leaving Carrie behind with Beatrice. Before Carrie set off herself, she looked up at Beatrice and saw that she looked somewhat disappointed.

"Hey, what's wrong, Beatrice?" Carrie asked, now concerned for the big engine.

"It's just that I was hoping to pull the last train for the Christmas market today, Carrie. I've never done it before." Beatrice said.

"Don't worry about it, Beatrice." Carrie said, as she reassuringly patted her front buffer-beam. "You'll get a chance to do that someday. After all, sometimes life has a way of working itself out."

"I guess you're right, Carrie. Maybe I will one day." Beatrice said.

"Anyway, I'm just gonna get a hot drink, and then I'll be back in a while." Carrie said, as she set off for the crew building.

"Okay, Carrie!" Beatrice said, as she watched Carrie head off to the crew building. For several long moments, Beatrice thought about what it would be like to pull one of the trains for the Christmas market. She had seen other engines who lived on the island pull them many times over the years, including her sisters in the L.M.S. Princess Royal Class who were on the Island of Sodor, and she had also seen the crowds of people cheer out loudly whenever they saw the Christmas market trains go on by them on their way to Knapford Yards. She had often wished that she could pull one of those trains one day, and as she hadn't been chosen to take the last one this year, she thought that she would have to wait to take one of them he following year. Deciding to worry about that now, she waited for her crew, Carrie, and the Fat Controller to return to her so that they could set off back to Knapford.

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(Meanwhile, along the Southern Main Line)

Having just left the Vicarstown freight depot not too long before, the last train that was filled up with supplies and other things for the Christmas market in Knapford was making its way along the Southern Main Line coupled behind S.E.C.R. three-cylinder N1 Class 2-6-0 No.31880. He was feeling rather pleased with himself as he puffed along the Southern Main Line with this last train for the Christmas market rolling along smoothly behind him (113).

Looking all round at the surrounding countryside as he puffed along, he saw that everything was covered with crisp white snow. And he saw people standing in the fields or by the sides of roads that ran adjacent to the railway line or on bridges that crossed the main line, and all the people he saw were waving their arms when they saw No.31880 head on by, as they knew that he was pulling the last train for the Christmas market. When he saw the people wave to him as he puffed on past, No.31880 blew his whistle in greeting and called out "Hello!" to the people before he went on up the line in a cloud of swirling smoke and steam.

(113): The South Eastern and Chatham Railway (S.E.C.R.) N1 Class 2-6-0 was designed by Richard Maunsell for use on mixed-traffic trains that were running on the S.E.C.R. system, and later on the Southern Railway. The class was a development of Maunsell's earlier N Class 2-6-0, and was also a development of George Jackson Churchward's basic principles that had previously been established on the Great Western Railway.

Maunsell's previous N Class 2-6-0 design came into service on the S.E.C.R. in 1917, and it showed that it was a major improvement in its performance over previous 4-4-0 and 0-6-0 designs when it was tested on freight and passenger trains. The success of the N Class resulted in 15 more members of the class being built in 1919 after the First World War came to an end, yet construction of the class was slowed because Ashford Works was already committed to undertaking deferred repair work on other engines. The order for the 15 N Class engines came into service as the capacity in the works between 1920 and 1923.

The prototype of the N Class underwent extensive testing and proved that it could cope with the passenger and freight traffic on the main line between London and Ramsgate, yet Maunsell was well aware of the fact that an increase in traffic would need a more powerful locomotive to take the longer and heavier trains. Certain parts of the S.E.C.R. couldn't take locomotives with heavier axle-loadings, as the ballast that was used on the network to keep the track in place was unable to take the weight of heavier engines.

Maunsell made plans for a three-cylinder version of the N Class in 1919, with the intention of using it to increase the S.E.C.R. 2-6-0 design's operational flexibility and power without increasing the axle-loading. The new class also used some Churchward features that had been used on the G.W.R. 43XX Class 2-6-0 design, due to Maunsell's assistant, Harold Holcroft, having previously been employed as an engineer on the G.W.R. The new N1 Class used long-travel valves which allowed for free running at high speed, as well as a tapered boiler with a Belpaire firebox. Detail designs on the N1 were left to another of Maunsell's assistants, James Clayton, who brought influences from the Midland Railway to the design, including the shape of the cab so that it would fit within the loading gauge, the diameter of the smokebox, and the design of the tender. A new and slightly larger diameter chimney was also used on the new design, and the boiler was also pitched slightly higher than on the N Class.

Walschaerts valve gear was used on the outside cylinders, while the middle inside cylinder was driven by Holcroft's derived conjugated valve gear, which was later developed by Nigel Gresley on the L.N.E.R. to his conjugated valve gear which Gresley used on many of his own classes. Other changes were also made to the new N1 design, which included changing the cab front, and exhaust arrangements, as well as revising the layout of the cab front windows in order to improve forward visibility.

The N1 Class had three cylinders that were 16in in diameter with a 26in piston stroke, six driving wheels that were 5ft 6in in diameter, and a boiler that was pressed to 200psi and fitted with superheating elements, all of which combined to give the class a maximum tractive effort of 27,695lbf. The tenders that the class were paired with ran on six wheels and could carry up to 3,500 gallons of water and 5 tons of coal, but they were also paired to larger six-wheeled tenders that could carry up to 4,000 gallons of water. All three cylinders drove the centre set of driving wheels.

In total, six members of the N1 Class were built at Ashford Works between February 1923 and November 1930, with the prototype locomotive, No.822, emerging from the works in February 1923, just after the time when the S.E.C.R. was absorbed into the newly formed Southern Railway. After it was built, No.822 was tested out on a number of van and empty stock trains, and when these were successfully completed, she was put to work on freight and semi-fast passenger trains. It proved to be a very smooth riding engine, and could reach high speeds at times, nearly 80mph on occasion. However, the boiler pressure was reduced from 200psi to 180psi, as the fuel consumption of No.822 had to be compared with the original two-cylinder N Class during the trials. But the boiler pressure was increased back up to the full 200psi operating pressure in June 1925.

In 1924, No.822 underwent further trials against the N Class 2-6-0, the S15 Class 4-6-0, and the L.B.S.C.R. K Class 2-6-0 designs in order to test her performances when hauling freight trains of up to 65 wagons in length. Although No.822 had the lowest coal consumption per mile of the tested designs, it was found that the N1 prototype cost far more to maintain, and also had poor steaming qualities that affected its timekeeping. Once she had been fully run-in, No. 822 became very popular amongst its regular crews as they favoured the way that the three cylinders balanced cyclic forces on the driving axle. This resulted in much-improved riding characteristics on the footplate at low speeds while also reducing mechanical wear and hammerblow effect on the track. The Holcroft valve gear also meant that No.822 was a comparatively light locomotive that could be used on many weight-restricted routes.

The next five members of the N1 Class to be built, which emerged from Ashford Works between March and November 1930, were paired with traditional Walschaerts valve gear, as the Holcroft gear fitted to the middle cylinder of No.822 was difficult to maintain due to a lack of available spare parts, which meant the next five engines looked very different in appearances from the original prototype. By this time, the lines on many former S.E.C.R. routes had been ungraded to take heavier engines, thus removing many weight restrictions and allowed for better maintenance due to the availability of spares.

The new five engines also included a set of footsteps under the front buffer beam, an N Class chimney design, and a revised dome that incorporated the regulator in order to ease access during routine maintenance. They also were paired to larger tenders that carried up to 4,000 gallons of water, which allowed for much greater operational range on the Southern network.

After the other five members of the class came into service, No.822 was withdrawn for rebuilding with three separate sets of Walschaerts valve gear in August 1931. Other modifications included moving the regulator valve from the smokebox to a new N Class-type dome to ease access during routine maintenance, as well as the addition of a front footstep behind the buffer-beam. Despite the opportunity to upgrade to the class to take larger 4,000 gallon tenders in order to increase the engine's range, No.822 retained its smaller-capacity 3,500 gallon flat-sided Ashford tender.

Once they came into service, the six members of the N1 Class settled into service on the Central Section of the Southern at New Cross, where they were used on through expresses from the L.M.S. between Willesden Junction and Brighton, as well as services to Hastings and Bognor Regis. By 1939, the class was divided between the sheds at New Cross, Stewarts Lane, and Tonbridge. Though the N1s displayed little overall improvement over the earlier N Class, they proved to be quite ideal for running on the gauge-restricted Hastings route, where their narrower profile allowed them to operate through narrow bridges and tunnels, and their power enabled them to haul heavier trains than the predominant ex-S.E.C.R. 4-4-0 and 0-6-0 Classes.

The last modification of the class that was undertaken by Maunsell was the gradual introduction of small smoke deflectors from 1934, which were fitted in order to improve driver visibility as a result of smoke deflection experiments that had been made on the King Arthur Class between 1926 and 1927.

As with the earlier N class, the N1s were more than capable of hauling heavy loads at moderate speeds, a useful attribute that was used when the class were put to work on heavy trains during the course of the Second World War. The class were mostly used on freight trains on the Central and Eastern sections of the Southern, and one example of the class, No.1822, was recorded at hauling a 17-coach long troop train special in April 1942. During the build-up to the D-Day Landings in Normandy in June 1944, the class were kept busy working in the Hastings area moving around freight and troop trains.

When Britain's railways were nationalised in January 1948, all six members of the class passed into B.R. ownership, and they were painted in B.R. mixed-traffic lined black livery, and were renumbered to No.31822, and from No.31876 to No.31880. They were replaced at Tonbridge by Bulleid's new Q1 Class 0-6-0 engines in mid-1949, and all eventually found work on main line freight from their base at Hither Green. The class was well-used by B.R. over both Central and Eastern sections of the Southern Region between 1948 and 1962, including being used to haul gypsum trains for a time, and justified the fitting of Automatic Warning System (A.W.S.) equipment in 1959 alongside the earlier N Class.

Eventually, a reduction of work on the Brighton Main Line, as well as remaining work being assigned to Bulleid's Battle of Britain and West Country Light Pacifics, the entire class were withdrawn from service en-masse in November 1962. The member of the class with the highest mileage covered was by No.31822, who covered a very respectable 859,851 miles during her career. Sadly, the relatively early withdrawal of the N1 Class pre-dated the time when preservationists around Britain started buying up withdrawn locomotives from different scrapyards or directly from B.R., and so as a result of that, no examples of the N1 Class have managed to survive into preservation either being bought from B.R. by a group of private individual or else being sent down to Barry scrapyard where they could have been saved from later on. In my opinion, this is a real shame, considering how useful an example of the class would have been on one of Britain's many preserved heritage railways today.

As No.31880 passed by Crovan's Gate Station, he passed by the platforms connecting the standard gauge line and narrow-gauge line of the Skarloey Railway were, and Peter Sam was seen standing at the platform on the narrow-gauge line and waiting for some passengers on the platform to get on his train. He heard a whistle sound and looked up in time to see No.31880 go on past him, with the passengers on the platform waved to the N1 Class 2-6-0 go on past them with his special train. From where he was, Peter Sam blew his whistle in greeting to the larger engine as he watched the train go on by.

For the next few miles that they went along the Southern Main Line…passing by Kellsthorpe North…and then Kellsthorpe Junction…and then went through Rossington Junction…the trip went very smoothly, and without any problems from any snowdrifts, slippery rails, or even wind blowing loose powered snow into their faces from any snow that had fallen recently. From station platforms, road and footbridges, the many different viewing points that were by the side of the line, and fences lining the edges of fields, countless numbers of people who were out and about on this very cold morning waved in greeting to the train and cheered out loudly as it went on past them, with No.31880 always blowing his whistle in greeting as he steamed ahead.

However, as they passed by the airport junction north of Kildane-Upon-Barn Station on their way to Kildane Station, No.31880 suddenly felt a very strange feeling from somewhere on him, and it got him somewhat concerned. He thought that he should mention it to his driver, but with the trip going fine so far, he decided to proceed on with the train, hoping that whatever it was would go away.

And then, as they made their approach on the final stretch towards Kildane Station, with them slowing down so as to comply with the speed restriction through the station, there suddenly came a loud "BANG!" from his right-hand outside cylinder.

"OH! What was that?!" No.31880 cried out, as the driver quickly shut the regulator and then put the brakes on. The train quickly slowed down, and then it came to a full halt just before Kildane Station, right beside the station yards and before the siding leading into it. Sitting in the main shed within the station yards being readied for their first jobs of the day were S.R. Lord Nelson Class 4-6-0 No.851 Sir Francis Drake, L.M.S. 8F Class 2-8-0 No.48484, and S.D.J.R. 7F Class 2-8-0 No.53800. The three engines had been chatting with each other when they heard No.31880 slow down by them after suffering the sudden problem that had come upon him. After hearing the squealing of brakes being applied, the three engines stopped chatting and listen as No.31880 came to a stop on the line beside the depot, with him letting off a lot of steam as he did so.

"Oh! What's happened to me? I have this bad pain in my right-hand cylinder!" No.31880 said, as his driver and fireman stepped off the footplate. They had heard the loud BANG and went to the right-hand outside cylinder to examine it, and the examinations took some time. But eventually, the driver rubbed down his forehead and went over to look at No.31880.

"I'm afraid it's not good news, old boy! It seems like there's a serious problem with the piston head inside your cylinder." said the driver.

"Oh, no! That does that mean for me?" asked No.31880, as he looked down at his driver.

"I'm afraid it means you're stuck, old boy! You can't pull the train anymore!" said the driver. And No.31880 was very disappointed to heard that news.

"Oh, we were going along so nicely too! Well…what are we going to do?" asked No.31880.

"Well…we're going to uncouple you from the train and then move you into the yards so that you'll be out of the way. And then I'm gonna call the Fat Controller and tell him what's just happened." said the driver.

"And I'll just alert the signalman and tell him what's just happened!" added the fireman, as he went across the line to tell the signalman in his signal box.

"Okay, you do that! Now let's get you uncoupled, and then let's get you out of the way." said the driver to No.31880, as he walked round to the back to the tender.

---

(A little while later, Vicarstown depot)

Having finished their tea in the crew building a short while before, the driver and fireman of Beatrice, along with Carrie, were just about to climb aboard Beatrice's footplate, but there was no sign of the Fat Controller yet. Looking round the yard just before she was about to climb up onto the footplate, Carrie looked round to see where the boss was, but there didn't appear to be any sign of him coming.

"Now where's Sir Topham Hatt?" Carrie asked, as she looked round curiously.

"We saw him in the crew building a minute or two ago. He said that he needed to take a call on his phone, and then he'd be out as soon as he finished it." said the driver.

"I wonder what it is that's wrong." Beatrice said, as she wondered what it could be. She found out soon enough, for the Fat Controller soon came out from the crew building and marched straight over towards where Beatrice was standing.

"Beatrice!" he called, as he came over to her.

"Oh, my goodness! Ah…yes, sir?!" Beatrice called anxiously, as she watched the Fat Controller approach where she was standing, and wondering what could be the matter.

"I'm afraid there's been an incident. I need you to take me up the line over to Kildane Station right away please! Do you think you can pull the last train for the Christmas market the rest of the way to Knapford?" asked the Fat Controller. On hearing him say that, Beatrice gasped in surprise; it looked like she would finally get the chance to pull the Christmas market train at last.

"Yes, sir! I'd love to do that, sir!" Beatrice said, excitedly.

"That's a good engine!" smiled the Fat Controller. "But we need to hurry though! Time is of the essence!" And then he climbed aboard the footplate.

"Yes, sir!" Beatrice said excitedly. She was feeling really very pleased to suddenly be given the chance to pull the Christmas market train, though it was completely by accident. On the footplate, Carrie was also feeling very pleased to hear that they would be pulling the Christmas market train this morning after all. She had been expecting an uneventful run along the Southern Main Line to Knapford after they left the depot, and now to hear they would be taking a train with them after all was an unexpected surprise.

By now the fire had built up to a good extent in the firebox, and there was a good head of steam in the boiler, and they were ready to head off out of the depot and out onto the main line. Once given the all clear to depart, the driver released the brakes and opened the regulator a little, allowing dry superheated steam to flow into Beatrice's four cylinders. Slowly, with condensed steam shooting out in front, Beatrice moved slowly forwards out of the depot. On the footplate, Carrie opened the damper controls, allowing more air to flow into the firebox from below and helping to combust the fuel already burning on the grate. Then she sat down on the fireman's seat and looked out ahead as they slowly moved out onto the main line, with the driver blowing the deep-toned Caledonian-style whistle loudly as they did so.

Once they were out on the main line, and with a green signal light showing, the driver opened the regulator further and Beatrice picked up some more speed as she headed on along the line. As she watched the fireman take first go with the shovel, Carrie sat back and, while waiting for her turn with the shovel, looked on out ahead, keeping an eye open for signals. In the back corner behind the driver, the Fat Controller stood and kept a close watch on things.

---

(Meanwhile, at Kildane Station and Yards)

Having been uncoupled from the Christmas market train, No.31880 had very slowly and painfully been moved off the main line and into the depot, where he had been reversed into the main shed. Once parked, his driver and fireman, along with two men who worked in the yards, already began the work of removing the fire from the firebox, as well as emptying out the ashpan. The problem with the piston inside the cylinder could only be looked over once the fire had been removed and No.31880 had fully cooled down, but that would take some time to achieve.

In the meantime, with the train still stuck out on the main line, the signalman in his signal box had to make sure that other trains that were going by went sent on the other two lines until the waiting train had been removed from the line.

"I can't believe I wasn't able to get the train all the way to Knapford." No.31880 said, as his crew and some of the men in the yard helped remove his fire and made the necessary preparations to start examinations as soon as he had cooled down enough.

"Hey, don't worry too much about it, No.31880. Things like this happen. After all, something like that happened to me on one of my inside cylinders a little over two years back…and I was out of action for two weeks because of it." Francis said, as he tried to reassure No.31880.

"Yes, but I was looking forward to taking the Christmas market train the rest of the way to Knapford. And I was looking forward to seeing the happy faces of those who were waiting to see it go by." No.31880 said, still feeling down.

"Well, another engine will be coming to get this train and take it the rest of the way. Let's hope it should be very soon." said No.53800.

Then, the yard manager came over towards them.

"Well, you lot, I hate to interrupt your conversation. But I've just heard that the Fat Controller's on his way here right now, and he's bringing Beatrice." he said.

"Hang on, Beatrice is coming?" Francis said, somewhat surprised.

"But Beatrice is an express passenger engine! I didn't think she'd want to take something like the Christmas market train." No.31880 said, also somewhat surprised to hear the news.

"Well, she can get the train there quicker than you can now. And maybe she could make up some of the lost time." said No.48484.

"Yes, I guess you're right about that." No.31880 said.

It wasn't too long before they heard the sounds of an approaching engine from somewhere down the line, followed a few seconds later by the sounds of a deep-toned Caledonian-style whistle blowing loudly. A minute or two later, from behind the front of the train, emerged Beatrice and she seemed pleased to be there.

"We're here!" she called out, as she came to a stop. Then No.31880, No.53800, No.48484, and Francis watched as a figure stepped out from the cab of Beatrice. And then as he stepped across the line and into the yard, the four engines could see it was none other than the Fat Controller himself. They watched as he spoke with No.31880's driver and fireman for two minutes, while Beatrice rolled forwards over the points and then slowly reversed back onto the front of the train, where she was coupled up to it.

Once the Fat Controller had been informed what had happened earlier on, he went up to speak with No.31880.

"Well No.31880…it looks like you're going to be going to the works for a while after what happened this morning." said the Fat Controller.

"It…it wasn't my fault, sir. It just happened without me knowing and…" said No.31880.

"I understand that it wasn't your fault, No.31880. But it's just a cause of delay that it's happened when such an important train needed to be brought from one side of the island to another." said the Fat Controller.

"I'm sorry, sir." No.31880 said.

"Don't worry about it, No.31880. We'll check that cylinder problem you have, and then we'll get it fixed up in no time." said the Fat Controller.

"Thank you, sir." No.31880 said, feeling relieved to know the Fat Controller wasn't cross with him.

"Now then, you just wait here until you can be looked at. In the meantime, let's get the train for the Christmas market the rest of the way to Knapford." said the Fat Controller, as he stepped back over to where Beatrice was standing. By now, she had been coupled to the front of the train, along with having the brake pipes connected, and was eager to set off and make up some of the lost time. On the footplate, Carrie had been busy stoking the boiler with coal to be sure the fire was burning bright and hot, and causing more steam to be made inside the boiler. Looking up at the main boiler pressure gauge after a while, Carrie was pleased to see that the pressure on the scale was at about 225psi.

Once the Fat Controller had climbed aboard Beatrice's footplate, it was time for the L.M.S. Princess Royal Pacific to set off on her way again. From the signal box, the signalman set the signal to show the line ahead was clear, while from the side of the line a man with a green flag in one hand and a whistle in the other stepped up and blew the whistle loudly and waved the green flag, showing Beatrice that she was clear to depart.

"Here we go!" the driver said, as he blew the whistle for a few seconds and then opened the regulator. As steam fed into her four cylinders, Beatrice slowly rolled forwards, taking up the weight of the train behind her, while on the footplate Carrie bent down and opened up the dampers, allowing more air to flow into the firebox. At one point, as Beatrice rolled forwards, her six large driving wheels slipped a little on the icy rails, but her driver activated the sanding gear and sprayed sand onto the rails in front of the driving wheels, and Beatrice's driving wheels gripped the rails firmly.

"Come on! Let's move! Come on! Let's move!" Beatrice said, as she took up the weight of the train and moved forwards.

"Come on, Beatrice! You can do it!" Carrie called. With this strong encouragement, Beatrice slowly picked up some more speed as the train began to move.

From where he was sitting inside the shed within the yards of Kildane Station, No.31880 watched as Beatrice set off with the train. He watched as they set off, building up speed as they headed through the station. It wasn't very long before the brake van at the back of the train had gone by and through the station, leaving the whole area silent again. Then the driver came round and looked up at No.31880.

"We'll soon have the last of your fire out, old boy. And then once it's done, we just need to wait until you've cooled down before we can start work on examining you." said the driver.

"Yes, sir." No.31880 said, still feeling somewhat disappointed that he had broken down.

"And don't worry about the Christmas market train." added the fireman. "Maybe you can try take one of them again next year."

"All right." No.31880 said. Soon, with the fire having been removed from the firebox, and the ashpan emptied out, No.31880 began to cool down slowly. It would still take a while before he had cooled down fully so that the workmen could examine him and then make whatever repairs were necessary on his cylinder.

---

(Meanwhile, with Beatrice)

Now with the train built up to speed, Beatrice was able to make progress with the train following along smoothly behind her. From the footplate, Carrie sat on the fireman's seat and looked out ahead of them as they went along at the passing scenery, as well as for signals they were ahead of them. Carrie was keeping her head inside the cab, as the wind outside was very cold and she didn't want to make herself any colder. Right now, the fireman was taking another go with the shovel, and had already placed three shovelfuls of coal into the firebox, while the driver was driving over on the other side of the footplate. The Fat Controller was standing at the back of the cab, an enamel mug of tea in his hand and keeping watch on what was going on in the cab.

The trip along the rest of the Southern Main Line to Knapford went without any further incident, and as they passed on through all the different stations along the way, as well as under the bridges, they could see various people standing about and waving to the Christmas market train as it went on by. And whenever she saw the groups of people wave to her, Beatrice blew her whistle loudly in greeting and called out "Hello!" as they passed by. Quite a few of those watching the train had been waiting for some time before it finally went by, unaware that the train had been delayed at Kildane Station. But it was worth the longer wait to finally see the train go on by them.

At Wellsworth Station, another long passenger train had just set off towards Gordon's Hill after picking up some more passengers who had been waiting at the station. From the back, Bertha, the former 0-10-0 banker that once worked on the Lickey Incline, pushed hard to help get the train moving. From a very short length of siding by the station just off the line going to Knapford, Edward stood having his tender tank refilled with more water from the water column on the platform. He was a little concerned, as he had noticed the special Christmas market train should have gone past the station by now, and he was getting somewhat concerned.

"Where do you think the Christmas market train is? It should have already passed through by now." Edward said, as his driver came up.

"Not to worry, old boy. I just heard that the train is on its way right now. It was just held up at Kildane Station, as the engine originally hauling it broke down at Kildane." said his driver.

"Oh, I see. Well let's just hope that it passes through soon. It's already late enough." Edward said. His concerns were soon answered, for he soon heard the sounds of a loud whistle from the direction of Gordon's Hill.

"Hang on…could that be…?" Edward said, after hearing that whistle.

"Yes, old boy! I think that could be it now!" said his driver, as he and the fireman turned to look in the direction of Gordon's Hill. About two minutes later on, with her blowing her whistle again, Beatrice came into view under the road bridge and passed through Wellsworth Station. On both platforms, a number of passengers and station staff waved their arms about as Beatrice passed through with the Christmas market train. The big L.M.S. Princess Royal Class Pacific had a big smile on her face and she called out "Hello!" to all those watching her go by. Many of the passengers and station staff waved, while Edward blew his whistle in greeting as the train went on by.

As Beatrice went past the sidings where all the bankers were waiting, and they blew their own whistles in greeting to her as she went by, and she blew her own whistle in greeting as well. From the footplate, Carrie leaned out and waved as they went on by.

The rest of the journey along the Southern Main Line went without any incidents, and they soon made their final approach to Knapford Station. Beatrice was feeling very pleased with herself, having been given the unexpected chance at taking the Christmas market train on her journey over from Vicarstown, while Carrie was also feeling very pleased as well from the morning's events. Even though they may have gotten this special train in a bit late, it was a case of better late than never, and there was a chance now that the Christmas market would have a chance of being opened in time on Saturday for visitors to come to it.

At Knapford Station, Henry was standing at Platform 1 with his train coupled behind him, and passengers getting aboard his train. Then he heard the sound of Beatrice blowing her whistle as she was coming in with the special train. On seeing that Beatrice had the train for the Christmas market coupled behind her, as well as Carrie leaning out from the fireman's side of the footplate and waving as they came in, Henry couldn't help but blow his whistle in greeting. Once Beatrice came into Knapford Station, she came to a brief halt at Platform 5, where she paused long enough for the Fat Controller to disembark from her footplate.

"Well done, Beatrice! You did a very good job!" the Fat Controller said, very pleased with the job Beatrice had done.

"Thank you, sir!" Beatrice said, also just as pleased with what she achieved.

"Now, I want you to drop this train off in the yards at Knapford, and then you're to go and collect your train." said the Fat Controller.

"Yes, sir!" Beatrice said, and she set off from the platform on her way to the yards nearby. Carrie was leaning out from the cab, and she waved to the Fat Controller as they left the station with the train.

---

(In Knapford Yards a short while later)

Slowly rolling into one of the very long sidings by a series of special unloading platforms, Beatrice made sure that she got as much of the train in as possible, so that it could be unloaded and everything then taken over to Knapford Town Hall. There were already a lot of workmen waiting on the long platform waiting to unload the train, and on the other side of the platform were a number of lorries and vans which would take the goods to the Christmas market.

Once Beatrice reached the end of the long siding, her driver put the brakes on and they came to a gentle stop. Once they did so, the men opened the doors to the vans and began the job of unloading everything from the vans and moving them to the lorries.

"Well, we made it, Beatrice!" Carrie called from the footplate, feeling really very pleased.

"Yes, Carrie! And I achieved something I always wanted to do!" Beatrice said, also feeling very happy at having gotten this special train to where it needed to be.

Then, there came the sounds of another whistle from somewhere else close by within the yards, and a minute or two later, they saw a line of trucks being pushed along by a rather unique-looking tank engine; this tank engine, which was painted in L.N.E.R. apple-green livery, had water tanks level with the front of his smokebox and with the front part of the tops of the side tanks sloping down. This tank engine was No.8952, who was an example of the L.N.E.R. J50 0-6-0T Class (114), and he was doing one of the jobs that he and his classmates had been built for, which was shunting rolling stock here in the yards.

"Morning, Beatrice!" No.8952 said, as he came by them, pushing his trucks all the while.

"Good morning, No.8952!" Beatrice said, as she watched the smaller tank engine head on by. As she watched No.8952 head on past, Carrie had no doubts that this tank engine would be helping to move the empty vans out of this siding once they were fully unloaded of the cargo that they were carrying within them.

"Come on, Beatrice! It's time for us to go and get our train!" her driver called out.

"Okay!" Beatrice said, as they set off out of the siding and over towards the turntable where they would be turned, and then over to another set of sidings nearby to pick up their coaches.

(114): The Great Northern Railway's (G.N.R.) J23 Class or L.N.E.R. Class J50 0-6-0T tank engines were designed by Nigel Gresley in 1913 for use on the steeply-graded lines in West Riding of Yorkshire, and were intended to replace the older J3 Class, J4 Class, and J7 Class 0-6-0 tender engines that had previously worked on the heavy coal trains in that region. Much of the work they were expected to do including shunting in yard, as well as short trip working on branch lines, and a tank engine design was ideal for such work, particularly with the way their side tanks increased their adhesive weight, something that was seen as an advantage on steeply-graded lines.

The major feature of the J50 Class that allowed people to easily identify them were their side water tanks that sloped forwards at the front, which was necessary as front of the side tanks were level with the front of the smokebox, and the sloping front top was to allow better visibility from the footplates. Apertures were also provided within both sides tanks in order to allow for easier access to the inside motion.

At the time the J50 Class started to be built, Gresley had already started work on rebuilding a number of Great Central Railway L1 Class (L.N.E.R. R1 Class) 0-8-2T tank engines with larger diameter boilers, which meant a number of the older G.C.R. boilers were available to be used on Gresley's new J50 design.

In total, 102 members of the Gresley J50 Class were built at Doncaster and Gorton Works between 1913 and 1939, with the first 30 engines to be built using the older G.C.R. L1 Class 0-8-2T boilers. Fourteen examples were built at Gorton Works, with the rest being built in Doncaster. Orders for 25 more engines were placed in 1939 and 1941, but these were cancelled in 1942 after some components for them had been built.

The first batch to be built had a short bunker and was classified J51/1 by the LNER. However, the prototype J51 had quite poor weight distribution, but this was solved by blanking off the front of the side tanks, and compensating for the lost water capacity with a new tank in the coal bunker's base. This reduced the bunker's coal capacity, and so a longer bunker design was used on the second and third batches. These long-bunker J51s were then reclassified as J51/2.

A number of subdivisions were used for the L.N.E.R. J50 Class during their working lives. These subdivisions included;

J51/1; 10 examples built, including the prototype, from 1913 to 1914. These has vacuum brakes, right-hand drive, and a shorter coal bunker.

J51/2; 20 engines built from 1914 to 1920. They were like the earlier J51/1, but had a longer coal bunker with extra capacity.

J50/1; 10 engines rebuilt from J51/2 from 1929 to 1935, and had larger diameter boilers.

J50/2; 20 examples built from 1922 to 1924, and 20 more rebuilt from 1929 to 1934. They were like the J51/2, but had larger diameter boilers.

J50/3; 38 examples built from 1926 to 1930. They had larger diameter boilers, steam brakes, left-hand drive, and a larger coal bunker.

J50/4; 14 engines built from 1938 to 1939. These had larger diameter boilers, vacuum brakes, left-hand drive, and a longer coal bunker with a hopper.

The J50 Class had two inside cylinders that were 18.5in in diameter with a 26in piston stroke, a boiler pressed to 175psi, and six driving wheels that were 4ft 8in in diameter, all of which combined to give the class a maximum tractive effort of 23,635lbf. The J51 Class prototype (No.3167) was initially experimentally fitted with a 16-element Robinson superheater in the smokebox. But the coal savings generated amounted to a disappointing 3.7%, and so as a result of that no further J51s or J50s were ever fitted with superheaters. When No.3167 was eventually rebuilt as a J50 Class in 1930, the superheater was removed.

The coal bunkers of the class could carry from as little as two tons of coal up to around five tons of coal, depending on whether they were a J50 or a J51, and their side tanks could take between 1,500 and 1,520 gallons of water.

After the Grouping in 1923, the L.N.E.R. adopted the J50 Class design as a Group Standard design. The Group Standard J50s built between 1926 and 1939 had a slightly different cab profile in order to fit the loading gauge. Minor standardisation of parts also occurred, and they were switched from left-hand drive to right-hand drive. All Group Standard locomotives were built with steam brakes, except for the last fourteen engines which reverted back to vacuum brakes.

One problem the J50 Class had at first was that their axleboxes tended to run hot. This was traced to the axle-box journals that were the same size as those on the lighter, but less powerful J52 Class 0-6-0Ts. In January 1925, it was decided to fit five J50s with new driving wheels and axles with 7.75in diameter journals that were 7.5in long. Though the original bearings were kept on the leading and trailing axles, the larger bearings on the central axle proved sufficient to solve the problem. All new locomotives were built with the new bearing arrangement, and existing locomotives were also subject to the same treatment when they were brought in for overhauls.

After the first members of the J50 Class came into service, they were allocated to Ardsley, Bradford, and Copley Hill depots. These engines were used for local goods and coal workings, with shunting at intermediate yards. There were also used for shunting in the larger marshalling yards. In the 1920s, they were also occasionally used for passenger work, and for banking duties on steep gradients.

The J50s were also based at other depots for their working lives, including Doncaster, Eastfield, Immingham, Stratford, Woodford, as well as Norwich, Cambridge, Sheffield, and Colwick. In 1952, thirty J50s were allocated to Hornsey in order to work on transfer trips to the Southern Region. These engines also occasionally worked on empty coach workings in between Hornsey and Kings Cross.

In 1943, the class were allocated new numbers under the L.N.E.R.'s new renumbering scheme, and in 1946 they were renumbered from No.8890 to No.8991. When the railways were nationalised in January 1948, the number 60000 was added onto the numbers, and so they were renumbered from No.68890 to No.68991.

With the arrival of diesel shunters in the late 1950's, withdrawals of the J50 Class started in September 1958 when No.68940, No.68942, and No.68978 were removed from service. Withdrawals of the class continued up until September 1963, when the final ten engines still in regular service at that time were withdrawn, leaving only seven Departmental engines still in service at that time. The last departmental J50 was withdrawn from service in September 1965, when Departmental No. 14 (ex-No.68961) was finally scrapped in September 1965.

Sadly, none of the J50 Class have survived into preservation, which is a real shame considering how useful they would have been on many of Britain's preserved heritage railways. There was a project set up to build a new example of the class in the form of No.8905, however in February 2019 the project was cancelled and the funds raised were donated to the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust to be used in their project to build their new L.N.E.R. P2 Class No.2007 Prince of Wales. However, I do have my hopes that a new J50 Class 0-6-0T will be built someday.

(Later that evening)

Having had a good day out on the main line, where they had taken passengers back and forth, No.6209 Princess Beatrice rolled backwards into her berth at the sheds in the depot at Tidmouth. She was feeling very tired after such a long day of work, especially with taking the heavy Christmas market train that morning, yet she was also feeling very pleased with the day of work that she had done. Carrie had been on the footplate of Beatrice for the entire day, and she was also feeling quite tired from such a long day of work as well, but she was also feeling very pleased with herself. She had helped to keep the firebox well-stoked with plenty of fresh coal, and her muscles were feeling quite sore from the work she had done.

By now, after such a long day, Carrie was looking forward to having a long hot shower and changing into fresh clothes in the changing room before heading out to dinner afterwards with her friends.

After getting off of Beatrice's footplate and bidding goodnight to Beatrice and her crew, Carrie made her way to the crew building. Heading upstairs, she stripped out of her dirty overalls and work clothes, and then went to have a long hot shower. As she washed, she felt better as she felt the hot soapy water flow over her sore muscles, and wash any coal dust and soot out of her skin and hair. Once she finished her shower, Carrie went and thoroughly dried off, before changing into clean clothes, and leaving the changing room. Heading downstairs, she clocked out for the day and stepped outside, where she saw Simon, Alice, Saoirse, Olivia, and Sophie waiting for her to arrive.

"Hey there, Carrie!" Simon said, as he and Carrie gave each other a hug and kiss.

"Hey, Simon! Hey girls!" Carrie said, feeling very pleased to see Simon and her friends.

"Did you have a good today, Carrie?" Sophie asked.

"Yes, I did, Sophie. And what a story I have to tell you all about what happened with me today!" Carrie said, feeling very pleased with herself.

"Well…you should tell us soon, Carrie. It seems like it was a good day, based on the smile we can see on your face." Olivia said.

"I will, but let's go get to the restaurant, and I'll tell you there." Carrie said.

"Okay, let's go and get there. I'm starving!" Alice said.

"Me too! Let's go!" Saoirse said, and the six friends turned away and headed off down the street to their favourite restaurant, with each of them really eager to get some good food into them after a long day of hard work on the railway, as well as have a good long chat with each other. But at the same time, the six of them were really looking forward to the Christmas market opening on Saturday, as they really had a great time visiting the market the previous year, and they wondered if the Christmas market would be as good for this year.

---

(Two days later, Saturday December 17th 2012; 9:50am, Knapford Town Hall)

A small, but growing, crowd of people was gathering outside the gates of Knapford Town Hall and waiting to enter the Christmas Market on its opening day. All the work to ready the market for this year were completed, and all the many dozens upon dozens of stalls inside the grounds were ready to go with those people who would be running them all waiting for their first customers of the season.

Among the people who were waiting outside waiting to go into the grounds were Carrie and Simon, along with Alice, Olivia, Saoirse, and Sophie. And they were really feeling excited about going into the market and seeing what was there for this year. They saw that there were plenty of stalls lined up on the outside of the grounds, with the people running them ready to go, while they saw countless numbers of stalls inside the hall grounds, along with a helter skelter and various other attractions for people to enjoy. In the middle of the grounds right in front of the hall was a large and beautifully decorated Christmas tree, while the front face of the town hall was covered with bright Christmas lights that were already turned on. The morning was dull enough, with the heavy overhead clouds, that everyone could clearly see that the lights turned on and flashing away as they went through how the timers were set.

From inside the grounds, the sounds of familiar Christmas music could be heard playing away from loudspeakers, and everyone hoped that plenty of jolly Christmas music would be played for the time that the Christmas market was here for this year.

"I'm really looking forwards to seeing what gifts they have on offer inside this year!" Sophie said.

"Hey, I'm looking forward to seeing what new stalls are here this year. And I can tell that I'm gonna have a good time sampling things in here today." Saoirse said, looking forward to seeing what sort of Christmas foods were on offer inside this year.

"I'm just looking forward to enjoying the festive atmosphere in there, as well as the foods that they have, and especially their hot chocolate." Olivia said, as she pulled her warm woollen coat further over herself.

"I just want to have a good day out here after a long week of hard work. I think that we've all earned it too." Simon said, as he rubbed his gloved hands together.

"Here, here!" Carrie said, as she looked over to the gate and wondered how long they needed to wait before it opened up.

They didn't have to wait for very long, but at 10:00am on the dot, the gates opened up and a cheer arose from the gathered crowd as this year's Christmas market finally opened for business.

"Come on, let's get in there!" Simon said, as he, Carrie, and the other four girls went in there, along with the crowds who had been waiting. Stepping inside the grounds, the six friends turned left and went along a stretch with stalls lined up on both sides of them.

"Oh, I can tell we're already spoilt for choice!" Sophie said.

"Yeah, and I can tell we're gonna be here quite a while today!" added Alice.

"Indeed." Carrie said, already feeling very happy for today.

---

(Chamberlain, Maine; Monday November 19th 2012; 10:55am)

With a light, but very cold wind blowing, and snow falling from the dark clouds in the sky high above, Sue Snell and Tommy Ross, as well as Freddy Holt and Norma Watson stood together along the snowy sidewalk along Carlin Street and looked up at the house where Carrie and her mother, Margaret, had once lived. The four friends were standing in front of No.47 Carlin Street as today marked one full year since Carrie had run away from home, and the four of them wanted to mark the occasion together. It was Thanksgiving week this week, and this year none of them were going to be going anywhere, unlike the year prior when each of them had left Chamberlain for the holiday.

"I can't believe it's been as long as it's been without Carrie being here in Chamberlain." Norma said, as she sipped from a cup of hot coffee she had with her.

"Yeah, it's hard to believe that a full year has gone by since Carrie ran away from here." Sue said, still unable to believe how much time had gone by since they had last seen Carrie.

"And I also find it hard to believe that Carrie is over on the Island of Sodor, and had been over there for all this time." Freddy said, as he rubbed his hands together. Even though Freddy was wearing gloves to keep his hands warm, the freezing cold winter weather still found ways to make him cold.

"Well guys…it won't be too long before we get a chance to see her again. There's just less than a month to go, and then we'll be flying off to the Island of Sodor." Tommy said.

"Yeah, we know, Tommy." Norma said. By now, all the arrangements had been made for many of the senior students in Ewen High School and their families, as well as some of the teachers to go over to the Island of Sodor to see Carrie in the middle of December. Some officers from the Chamberlain Police Department, as well as some officials from those who had been part of the investigating Carrie's disappearance, would be going over to Sodor as well. And, much to the chagrin of a few of the senior students, Chris Hargensen and her parents were also going over to Sodor too, though fortunately Billy Nolan wasn't going to be going over as well.

"There's nothing that's been mentioned in the press about Carrie being over on Sodor, is there?" Freddy asked, as he also took a sip from a cup of hot chocolate he had in his hands.

"No, I've not seen nothing mentioned as of yet. I think that the police are keeping things under wraps until the time to release it is right." Sue said.

"Yeah, I can understand that." Tommy said, as he let out a slow breath, which could be seen swirling about as a white cloud.

After another two or three minutes of standing in front of Carrie's former home, in which they stood in the falling snow and intense cold, they turned away and walked back along the street, to where Tommy and Freddy had parked their cars.

"Let's get to somewhere warm. I can't stand the cold now." Sue said.

"Good idea. Let's do that." Tommy said. They quickly got into his car, while Norma and Freddy got into Freddy's car, and then the two couples left Carlin Street and headed on their way, going to somewhere else in Chamberlain where they could get warmed up and socialise together in a better environment.

And that's the end of this chapter, everyone! Carrie helped to get the last train for the Christmas market over to where it needed to be safely! We're now getting very near to the time when Carrie's classmates from Chamberlain will be able to head over to the Island of Sodor to see Carrie. There's not too long left to go now until that happens, I can promise you! There's just another four more chapters left to go, and the one coming after those four will be the one where Carrie and her classmates come face to face again!