Chapter 60: Heavy Parcels Special
(Monday, November 26th 2012 – 4:15pm, Kirk Ronan Station)
There was a familiar sound going over the platform, as a lot of passengers climbed aboard the 10 coaches that were lined up alongside the long platform. The passengers were keen to get aboard the train as fast as they could, both so that they could get themselves to their seats and rest their tired feet, as well as to get out of the intense winter cold. It was also snowing heavily outside, with the sky covered dark-grey clouds stretching from horizon to horizon as far as the eye could see. The snow had been coming down quite heavily for much of the day, but for now at least it seemed to have eased off, with the snow coming down lighter than it had been earlier on, while a very cold and bitter winter wind that had been blowing for much of the day seemed to have finally eased off somewhat.
Standing at the very front of the long passenger train standing at the platform of Kirk Ronan Station was rebuilt Southern Railway West Country Light Pacific No.34005 Barnstaple, and he was feeling very good after such a good day of hard work out on the railway, having started work at 8:00am that morning. Carrie White had been assigned to work with him that day, and she had also had a good day of work with him, with her having taken her turns at stoking the firebox with coal and doing any other jobs that needed to be done.
Right now, in the time before they left Kirk Ronan Station on their last run of the day, Carrie was standing on the end of the platform, and was looking very thoughtfully up into the dark snowy sky as the snow came down lightly around her. From where he was standing on the line, Barnstable looked over towards her, and noticed the thoughtful appearance on her face as Carrie looked up into the sky with her arms folded across her chest and her standing still as she gazed up.
"What's on your mind, Carrie?" Barnstable asked, curious as to what Carrie was thinking about. Turning her attention to look at the S.R. West Country Class Light Pacific a few feet away from her, Carrie saw the curious look that was on his face and knew that he wanted to know what she was thinking.
"Oh, I'm just thinking back…to exactly one year ago today." Carrie said, with a smile.
"And what's so special about today?" Barnstable asked, a little confused as to why Carrie would be remembering something like that.
"Well, I first set foot on the Island of Sodor...one year ago this very day." Carrie said.
"Oh, I see! Now I understand!" Barnstable said, now appreciating why Carrie had been looking up into the snowy sky. As of today, Carrie had been living on the Island of Sodor for one full year, and she wouldn't want to be living anywhere else. She loved every part of the island that she had been to in all that time, but she particularly loved working with the engines of Sodor, and she also loved wondering what each day would bring.
"And I can clearly remember that there had been no snow when I arrived on Sodor a year ago. It only started falling sometime after I arrived." Carrie said.
"Yes, that's right. I can clearly remember that as well." Barnstable said, remembering how easy work had been the previous November when there had been no snow, though it had been very cold at that time. With a smile crossing her face, Carrie turned and set to walking back to the footplate.
"And you look very pleased with yourself as well, Carrie." Barnstable said, as he watched Carrie start to walk away.
"Oh, I am, Barnstable. I am." Carrie said, as she walked back and then climbed up onto the footplate.
Carrie had every reason to feel very pleased with herself with what she accomplished within the last full year; not only had she gotten a very good and steady job that she really liked doing and that also paid very well, she had also realised, to her immense joy, that her father had been alive and working on the Island of Sodor for all these years. Not only that, but her social skills had improved to a massive extent and she was mingling with other people her own age much better than she had back in Chamberlain, which meant that she was no longer the shy and awkward outcast she had once been in Ewen High School a little over a year before. And not only that, but she had a boyfriend who loved her very much, as well as girls who she was very good friends with. And more importantly, within the last year Carrie had never been subjected to any form of bullying from other people, any abuse from any mentally unstable people like her mother, or any form of pranks or tricks being played on her by anyone else, apart from those brief moments where her father played a small joke on her with the Michael Myres mask on the day before Halloween.
During her time working on the railway, whether it was working in the engine depots or out on the main line, she had learned a lot of new skills about what it took to keep different steam engines running properly. And she had also learned how to work on many of the different steam engines that ran on the Sodor railway system, including how to fire them properly, how the different controls worked, and even had tried her hand out at driving them as well on occasion.
Yet despite being very happy with what she had achieved within the last full year and how her life had turned out as a result, Carrie's mind couldn't help but wander back to what her classmates and teachers had been doing back in Chamberlain ever since she had left. She was already well aware of the fact, from the reports that she had seen on the news, that her abusive, mentally unstable mother had been put into very secure psychiatric care, with no chance that she would ever be released again, but she was also curious as to how her classmates, including those who had bullied her for all these years, had been doing without her being in school for the last year. She had no doubts that they probably tried to find someone else to bully and make the scapegoat, but she really had no idea how successful they would have been at that, though it seemed quite unlikely.
Right now though, Carrie was feeling a little bit tired after another long day of hard work, as well as feeling a little bit cold from having stood outside in the cold and snowy winter air on the platform for a few minutes before they left the station. Even though she was wearing warm clothes, and her overalls over that, as well as her bright orange Hi-Viz safety jacket over her overalls, and a warm woollen hat on her head and her work gloves on her hands, Carrie still felt quite cold and was looking forward to warming up by the fire glowing inside the firebox while they were on their way out.
It wasn't too long before the clock struck 4:20pm, the time for Barnstable to be on his way with his train, bound for Knapford Station. From the signal box, the signalman on duty set the points and the signal for them to depart, while from his compartment in the front coach of the train the guard leaned out from the open door and blew his whistle, while waving his green flag about.
"Okay, here we go!" said the driver, as he released the brakes, blew the whistle for a few seconds, and then opened the regulator, while Carrie bent down and opened the damper controls to allow more air into the firebox. Slowly, with steam wheeshing and wheels slipping a little on the icy rails, Barnstable took up the weight of his heavy train and started moving out of Kirk Ronan Station, with his driver activating the sanding gear to assist the driving wheels with gripping the rails as they moved out.
"Come on! Let's go!" Barnstable said, as he set off with his train. Making his way out along the curve out of the station, his wheels slipped a little on the icy rails as they moved along, but they soon got a firm grip on the rails. Then Barnstable saw another engine coming into the station along the other line; it turned out to be fellow West Country Class engine No.34019 Bideford, who was in the original condition with air-smooth casing, coming into Kirk Ronan with a passenger train from Vicarstown.
"Afternoon, Bideford!" Barnstable said, as he blew his whistle while going by his brother.
"Hello, Barnstable!" Bideford called, as he slowed down with his own train while on his way into the station while also blowing his own whistle.
Once clear of the station, they were able to pick up some more speed as they made their way along towards the junction towards the Southern Main Line. Carrie took first go of the run with the shovel and placed fresh coal from the coal space in the tender into the glowing white heat of the firebox. From his side of the cab, the fireman stood and watched as she went about stoking the boiler, while the driver sat on the seat on his side and concentrated on driving them along the line, while keeping a sharp eye out for the signals, anyone standing too close to the side of the line, and any other hazards that might be ahead.
They soon passed over the Big Dipper viaduct that crossed over the wide and rocky gorge a few miles to the north east of Kirk Ronan, and here the freezing north easterly wind, which had helped bring the very heavy snowfall to Sodor from Scandinavia and Eastern Europe, was blowing through the gorge creating a biting cold wind that would chill anyone to the bone if they found themselves out in it for a time. As Barnstable passed over the viaduct, he felt the cold wind blow into him and he shut his eyes. The wind also blew into the cab and made things uncomfortable in there for Carrie, the driver and fireman for a few seconds as it swirled around, and then stopped once they had crossed over the viaduct and got into the shelter of the cutting on the other side of the gorge.
Once they arrived at the junction that joined up onto the Southern Main Line a short while later, the signal showed bright green and they could proceed over the points and onto the main line. Slowly they went over the points, with Carrie leaning out from the driver's side of the cab and looked back along the train as they moved out. She saw as the coaches followed them along, and they all seemed to be following along smoothly too, with nothing to be seen that looked out of place at all.
"Coaches are all following behind us!" Carrie called out, while keeping a firm hand on her woollen hat even though there was no chance of it blowing away.
"All right, Carrie!" the driver said, as he opened the regulator a bit more and wound the reverser back towards mid-gear. As the train built up some more speed, Carrie sat down on the front of the tender and rested her feet for a while, as she had been standing for much of the afternoon and needed to take the weight off her feet before starting more work.
The trip along the cold and snowy main line went uneventfully, with them making brief stops to pick up and drop off some passengers at Sodor International Airport and Wellsworth Stations before they continued on their way on the final part of their journey to Knapford. On the footplate, Carrie took her turns at stoking the boiler with fresh coal, as well as using the different selection of fire-irons to look after the fire-bed and to keep the coal inside the firebox level and to be sure that plenty of incoming air came up from the dampers beneath to keep the fire burning brightly. The hard work helped to keep her warm, and ensured that Barnstable kept rolling on ahead along the main line as the heat of the burning fire made plenty of steam inside his boiler.
As they made their final approach on the last few miles to Knapford Station, Carrie was wondering what work would need to be done the following day. With there not being even a full month to go until Christmas, there was a chance that there would be mail or parcels to take, or maybe take passengers around the island. But regardless of whatever job she was given the following day, Carrie knew that she would be a real credit to the railway in helping to get the job done.
As they passed by on the wide raised embankment that overlooked lower Knapford Harbour off to their left, they came upon another train heading in the opposite direction. It was a passenger train of seven coaches bound for Brendam Docks being hauled by L.N.E.R. D49 Class 4-4-0 No.2702 Oxfordshire, who was painted in the very smart L.N.E.R. apple green livery, and he seemed to be making good speed as he made his way along the main line (115).
"Hello, Barnstable!" Oxfordshire called out, as he went on past while blowing his whistle.
"Afternoon, Oxfordshire!" Barnstable said, as he blew his whistle in greeting too. From the footplate of the larger engine, Carrie watched as Oxfordshire went on past with his coaches following along behind him. She could clearly see that there were plenty of passengers on the other train, sitting at the tables inside the coaches, and they all seemed to have settled down to enjoy the trip down the line to Brendam Docks.
(115): The L.N.E.R. D49 Class 4-4-0 engines were designed by Nigel Gresley, and they were intended to be used on intermediate express duties on the lines that couldn't take any of his heavier Pacific-type engines due to their high axle-loading. Although Gresley's priority after the 1923 Grouping was to build large numbers of his new A1 Class Pacific express engines for the fastest and heaviest services, but once these demands were met by 1925, Gresley could start to design a new class of engine for the intermediate express duties.
Gresley's new design was intended to replace a lot of older locomotive designs from the North Eastern Railway (N.E.R.) and North British Railway (N.B.R.), as well as to supplement the existing N.E.R. and N.B.R. Atlantic Classes on the various routes that the A1 Class couldn't go due to weight restrictions. It meant that the new design had to be a very powerful one, and due to the need for economy a 4-4-0 wheel arrangement was chosen instead of a 4-4-2 Atlantic wheel arrangement, as well as using the same boiler design that was used on the J39 Class 0-6-0 mixed-traffic engines.
In October 1927, the very first member of the new D49 Class, No.234 Yorkshire, entered traffic after completion at Darlington Works, as the first engine of the final class of 4-4-0 engines ever to be built for the L.N.E.R.
In total, 76 examples of the D49 Class were built at Darlington Works between October 1927 and February 1935, with three main variants of the class being built during the construction history of the class. These three variants were;
D49/1; these engines were fitted with traditional Walschaerts valve gear paired with piston valves. These engines were named after Shire counties. A distinctive feature on these engines were rectangular boxes fitted on the running boards behind the smokeboxes. These were sheet metal covers that housed the top of the expansion link in the outside valve motion which extended above the footplate line. These were occasionally mistaken for toolboxes.
D49/2; engines in this variant were fitted with Lentz rotary cam valve gear with poppet valves. These engines were named after foxhunts. Each of the three cylinders had four valves with an admission and exhaust valve at each end, and all four valves were of the same design and interchangeable. These engines initially had five fixed cut-off positions in the forward gear, but this was considered too restrictive and so new forward gear was fitted that had six cut-off positions, though not all D49/2s were fitted with it. Some engines were fitted with gear that had seven cut-off positions in the forward gear.
D49/3; these engines were fitted with Lentz oscillating cam poppet valves. From 1938 onwards, these engines were completely rebuilt new cylinders that were cast with piston valves and they were reclassified as D49/1.
All three variants shared the same boiler design, which was built by Cowlairs, Robert Stephenson & Co, or at Darlington Works, and all engines were fitted with standard Ross pop safety valves. Although the boilers could be swapped with those boilers that were fitted to the J39 Class 0-6-0 engines, this rarely happened in practice.
The D49 Class had three cylinders, which were 17in in diameter with a 26in piston stroke, four driving wheels that were 6ft 8in in diameter, and a boiler fitted with superheating elements and pressed to 180psi, which combined to give the class a maximum tractive effort of 21,556lbf. The class were paired with Gresley's conjugated motion for the middle cylinder The engines were also paired with a variety of different tender designs, including G.C.R. 4,000 gallon, N.E.R. 4,125 gallon and 4,200-gallon tenders, with the amount of coal that was being carried varying between 7.5 tons and 5.5 tons depending on the tender type. Some of the tenders they were paired with had no water scoops fitted, as there were no water troughs on the Scottish lines.
The class were fitted with a number of different types of Wakefield mechanical lubricators, which provided good lubrication to their axle-boxes after some of them initially ran hot in the early period of time after the class first came into service.
The numbers and names of the D49 Class were as follows;
No.2700 Yorkshire, No.2701 Derbyshire, No.2702 Oxfordshire, No.2703 Hertfordshire, No.2704 Stirlingshire, No.2705 Lanarkshire, No.2706 Forfarshire,
No.2707 Lancashire, No.2708 Argyllshire, No.2709 Berwickshire, No.2710 Lincolnshire, No.2711 Dunbartonshire, No.2712 Morayshire, No.2713 Aberdeenshire,
No.2714 Perthshire, No.2715 Roxburghshire, No.2716 Kincardineshire, No.2717 Banffshire, No.2718 Kinross-shire, No.2719 Peebles-shire, No.2720 Cambridgeshire,
No.2721 Warwickshire, No.2722 Huntingdonshire, No.2723 Nottinghamshire, No.2724 Bedfordshire, No.2725 Inverness-shire, No.2726 Leicestershire (later The Meynell),
No.2727 Buckinghamshire (later The Quorn), No.2728 Cheshire, No.2729 Rutlandshire, No.2730 Berkshire, No.2731 Selkirkshire, No.2732 Dumfries-shire,
No.2733 Northumberland, No.2734 Cumberland, No.2735 Westmorland, No.2736 The Branham Moor, No.2737 The York & Ainsty, No.2738 The Zetland,
No.2739 The Badsworth, No.2740 Bedale, No.2741 The Blankney, No.2742 The Braes of Derwent, No.2743 The Cleveland, No.2744 The Holderness, No.2745 The Hurworth,
No.2746 The Middleton, No.2747 The Percy, No.2748 The Southwold, No.2749 The Cottesmore, No.2750 The Pytchley, No.2751 The Albrighton, No.2752 The Atherstone,
No.2753 The Belvoir, No.2754 The Berkeley, No.2755 The Bilsdale, No.2756 The Brocklesby, No.2757 The Burton, No.2758 The Cattistock, No.2759 The Craven,
No.2760 The Cotswold, No.2761 The Derwent, No.2762 The Fernie, No.2763 The Fitzwilliam, No.2764 The Garth, No.2765 The Goathland, No.2766 The Grafton,
No.2767 The Grove, No.2768 The Morpeth, No.2769 The Oakley, No.2770 The Puckeridge, No.2771 The Rufford, No.2772 The Sinnington, No.2773 The South Durham,
No.2774 The Staintondale, and No.2775 The Tynedale.
When the D49s initially came into service, they became known among the crews for their poor riding qualities, but after a series of experiments with a variety of spring arrangements, the ride quality was finally improved to more acceptable levels by 1934.
In 1928, trials were performed with 'Kylala' blastpipes fitted to No.251 Derbyshire and No.322 Huntingdonshire, and the initial results with No.251 were good, and No.322 was fitted with a 'Kylala' blastpipe that incorporated some recommendations from Andre Chapelon. But the trial was cancelled in 1930 due to a lack of apparent improvement over a conventional blastpipe.
The bulk of the D49 Class were allocated to the Scottish and North East (NE) areas. The Scottish Area received 24 of the D49/1s and one D49/3, with most being allocated to St. Margaret's, Dundee, and Eastfield, with some allocated to Perth and Haymarket, with allocations rarely being changed around. The D49s were used on main line passenger trains, usually express services, but they were also seen on some semi-fast and stopping services too. They would often be used alongside (or replacing) former N.B.R. C11 Class Atlantics and D11 "Director" Class 4-4-0s. The St. Margaret's and Carlisle D49s also worked along the Waverley Route, and managed to acquire quite a good reputation on this difficult line. But by 1939, most of the route restrictions that both the A3 and V2 Classes had been subjected to had been lifted and these larger engines more often than not displaced the D49s from their express passenger role.
Unfortunately, and despite the hard work that they did, the D49s didn't prove to be too popular with their Scottish crews, which was mainly due to the poor quality of the ride they gave, as well as due to the fact their cabs could be a bit draughty at times in the sometimes bad Scottish weather. Some of the D49s based in the North Eastern area of the L.N.E.R. were initially allocated to York and Neville Hill, from where they worked on services to Newcastle, as well as on services to Hull, Sheffield, Grantham, and Lincoln. They even hauled the occasional excursion service to King's Cross in London.
During the course of the Second World War, the Scottish-based D49s were often allocated to working on very heavy freight trains even though they weren't particularly suited to doing this kind of work. The difficult wartime conditions in which they were forced to work resulted in less services that suited the D49's abilities. Instead, they were often called upon to haul heavy 350-400 ton trains, but they managed this with only a loss of a minute or two on their moderate length journeys. Even so, the D49s often struggled on the heavy wartime loads. After the end of the war, the D49s were used on stopping passenger services on the main line. The D49 Class had a relatively high axle loading which restricted them from working on many of the branch lines that were spread throughout the L.N.E.R. area.
In August 1942, one example of the class, No.365 The Morpeth, was rebuilt by Edward Thompson into an example of his new D Class 4-4-0. The rebuilt engine kept the same boiler, but the three cylinders were replaced by two inside cylinders with 8in piston valves similar to the improved D11 "Director" Class 4-4-0s with Stephenson's link motion being used to operate the piston valves. It had a reduced tractive effort of 19,890lbf. The official designation for the rebuilt engine, the only member of the class to be so converted, was "Class D" but some references referred to the rebuilt as D49/4. The Class D rebuild wasn't that much of a success when it was subjected to tests, and No.365 never reached the level of performance it was previously capable of achieving. In November 1947, it was moved it to Starbeck and within a year, British Railways cancelled the order for further Class D rebuilds. At Starbeck, it was noted that with its regular drivers, No.365 was capable of some fair performances. However, there would be endless trouble if an unfamiliar driver took control of it. The main problem was the big end brasses tended to run hot with high cut-offs.
After nationalisation in January 1948, the newly formed British Railways started to build large numbers of Edward Thompson's new B1 Class 4-6-0 design, and these newer versatile mixed-traffic engines gradually displaced the older D49 Class to less important duties on other lines. Some of the D49s that were based in the Selby and Scarborough areas were even used on coal trains after 1955.
By the middle of the 1950's, the introduction of diesel multiple units and diesel engines began to reduce work even further for the D49 Class. The first member of the class to be withdrawn was the rebuild D Class engine No.62768 The Morpeth, who was withdrawn in November 1952 after suffering damage in an accident. The first proper withdrawal took place in September 1957 when No.62713 Aberdeenshire was removed from service, and the class was slowly phased out over the next four years, until the final engine still running, No.62712 Morayshire, was withdrawn in July 1961.
Thankfully, one example of the class has managed to survive into preservation, and it's none other than No.246 Morayshire, the final member of the class to be withdrawn. She was built at Darlington in February 1928 and was withdrawn in July 1961, but she was rescued not too long afterwards and taken to Inverurie Works for restoration. It was loaned to the Scottish Railway Preservation Society (S.R.P.S.) and returned to steam in tine to take part in the Rail 150 Celebrations at Shildon in August 1975. After being taken out of service in 1981, she spent the rest of the 1980's and all of the 1990's in static condition, until she was eventually returned to working order on the Bo'ness & Kinneil Railway in Scotland in August 2005.
Though based on the Bo'ness & Kinneil Railway, she has also visited a number of other heritage railways around the U.K., including the Llangollen Railway, the Great Central Railway, the North Norfolk Railway, as well as to the Barrow Hill roundhouse. As of 2024, No.246 Morayshire is undergoing another overhaul to return her to full working order on the Bo'ness & Kinneil Railway.
It wasn't long before the familiar sight of Knapford Station came into sight ahead of them through the clouds of swirling snow, and Carrie felt herself sigh in some relief when she saw it. It meant that it would soon be time to finish off her shift and head back for a shower and change of clothes before clocking out for the day.
Slowly, with a short blast of his whistle, Barnstable rolled into the station on the line that ran beside Platform 3, which was in the bay in the middle of the station and came to a gentle halt just before his buffers touched the long buffer stops at the end of the two lines that ran into the bay. The doors to the coaches were soon opened and the passengers began to disembark from the train, while on Barnstable's footplate Carrie leaned out from the fireman's side and watched as they left the station, heading up the long footbridge before crossing the other two lines and heading out via the exit by Platform 1.
Taking off her woollen hat and wiping some sweat off her forehead, Carrie felt herself smile at knowing they had made it to their destination safely and the passengers seemed quite happy with their trip.
"Well…I think that's a job well done!" she said, as she looked at the driver and fireman.
"Absolutely, Carrie! And I think the Fat Controller will be very pleased with us too." added the fireman, as he took one of the tea cans from the warming plate over the firehole doors and poured some tea into two white enamel mugs.
"Tea, Carrie?" the fireman asked, as he offered one of them to Carrie.
"Oh, no thanks." Carrie said. She turned back to look out at what Knapford Station looked like right now; with Christmas coming up in less than a full month from now, the station had been transformed to be ready for the arrival of the festive season. There were decorated Christmas trees set up on the different platforms, along with decorations hanging from the walls and support pillars, and brightly shining lights to be seen at night.
Not only that, but virtually all of the shops that Carrie had been to, or passed in front of, in the last few days were full of things they were selling for the Christmas season and were also decorated with Christmas trees, brightly coloured lights, and festive decorations. Many of the cafés, restaurants, and other eateries were also selling Christmas-themed products, including hot cocoa, gingerbread men, and all sorts of other different Christmas foods, with the restaurants also selling Christmas-themed dinners particularly during the evenings.
At the same time, Carrie also heard people she passed by in the streets singing Christmas songs, both the classic tunes as well as more recent Christmas songs. Everyone seemed very happy and getting into the Christmas spirit, including herself. A few houses she saw already had their Christmas decorations up, including their trees and lights, which could be clearly seen through the front windows especially at night. Carrie and her father didn't have their tree and decorations up just yet, but they planned to put the tree and decorations up within the first full week of December, and there wasn't too long left until those days came.
Meanwhile, a shunter uncoupled Barnstable from his now-empty coaches and disconnected the brake pipes, while another shunter at the after end of the train coupled the last coach in the train to the station pilot who had come along to remove the coaches from the platform, No.8952 the L.N.E.R. J50 0-6-0T tank engine. After he was coupled up, No.8952 blew his whistle and slowly reversed out of the station, taking the empty coaches out with him. Looking back, Carrie watched as the coaches were taken away, leaving the way clear for Barnstable to reverse out from the station and make his way back to the sheds. They were soon given the all-clear to move out, and Barnstable slowly reversed out from the station, passing over a set of points a little way out from the station to one of the other lines, before moving off forwards back through the station and back to the depot at Tidmouth Sheds.
Arriving back at the sheds a little bit later, Barnstable was turned round on the turntable and then reversed back into one of the berths inside the main roundhouse within the depot, feeling very pleased with himself. After he came to a stop, his driver and fireman set all the brakes and closed both the firehole doors and the damper controls, while Carrie began to gather up all her things and got ready to leave and walk over to the crew building. She hadn't gotten too dirty from the work she had done today, but she still felt it would be good to go have a hot shower and wash off all the sweat, as well as change into clean clothes.
After thanking the driver and fireman for helping her today, and who thanked her in return for the work she did, Carrie stepped off the footplate and then bid a goodnight to Barnstable before heading off through the roundhouse for the crew building. Passing through the roundhouse, she watched some of the other engines being readied for a night of sleep in the roundhouse, including having the ashpans emptied out, fires dropped from the fireboxes, and boilers being allowed to cool down so any maintenance could be done later on.
Making her way to the crew building, Carrie went upstairs to the ladies changing room, stripped out from her overalls and work clothes before having a long and hot shower. After finishing up, she went back out to the changing area and dried herself off before she changed into fresh clothes. Once dressed, she got all her things together into her bag and then left the changing room, making her way downstairs again to clock out for the day at the main entrance and then to head on home.
(Later on, at home)
With dinner long finished, Carrie and her father sat in the living room watching the T.V. The news had just finished and the evening weather forecast was now on, with the forecaster on the screen giving the latest weather reports showing what conditions would be like the next day, as well as the next few days. For the following day, the weather was going to be very cold with more snowfall forecast, as well as winds that threatened to blow the snow into a blizzard that promised hazardous travel conditions.
"Goodness me…" Ralph said quietly, as he looked towards the T.V. screen, "…it looks like we're gonna be in for some very difficult working conditions once we get up tomorrow morning."
"Yeah, I know. But let's just keep our fingers crossed and hope that it won't be as bad as it could be." Carrie said, feeling somewhat concerned about what the weather the next day would be like.
"I agree, but I have worked in some very difficult winter weather conditions during all the time that I've been living here on Sodor…and I can tell you that it's nothing to joke about." Ralph said.
"I understand." Carrie said. She was now feeling somewhat concerned about what the weather conditions tomorrow would be like. She hoped that the snow and the wind wouldn't be as bad as it was forecast to be, but then again, she couldn't be sure how difficult it would be the following day.
A little later on in the evening, after she had changed into her pyjamas and gotten ready to turn in for the night, Carrie paused by the window and pulled the curtains aside a little before looking outside; the snow was falling very slowly from a very dark sky, and she could see the lights from a number of other buildings that very visible from the window. There didn't seem to be any wind blowing at the moment, considering that the snow was falling very slowly from the dark night sky. Hoping that the weather wouldn't be too bad in the morning, Carrie closed the curtains, and stepped over to her bed. Getting under the duvet, she laid her head down on the pillows and turned off the bedside light before falling into a deep sleep at once.
(The next morning)
Opening her eyes, Carrie slowly sat up in her bed and stretched out while yawning. She saw that there was natural light coming in through the cracks in the curtains, showing that it was daylight outside. Stepping out of bed, Carrie stood up and, after finding her balance, she went over to the curtains and pulled them aside; she could see that the snow was still falling from the sky, and it was much heavier than it had been the evening before. The wind had also picked up in the last few hours, as the snowflakes were being blown about by the wind at an angle, with the snow swirling around as it fell. And just like in the last few days, everything she saw from her bedroom window was covered with a fresh layer of crisp white snow.
"Goodness…" Carrie said quietly, as she watched what was going on outside with the snow coming down without pause, "…it looks like we're gonna be in for a very interesting day today. I just hope that the worst of the bad weather holds off."
After another minute or two of watching what was going on outside, Carrie turned away and set about getting ready for the day ahead.
(Later on, at Tidmouth Motive Power Depot)
Carrie and her father arrived in Ralph's car and went through the gates into the main car park at the depot. They had left somewhat earlier than usual, so as to allow for any delays on their journey from the house to the depot, though luckily this morning there had been nothing to cause them any delays. Even though both of them were well wrapped up in warm clothes, the interior of the car had been freezing, with snow on the windscreen and frozen condensation on the inside. Ralph had turned on the car a few minutes before they left, so as to allow the heat to melt the ice on the inside, while Carrie had used an old broom her father kept in the garage to remove the snow from the windows.
After a few minutes, with the windscreen cleared and the inside of the car having warmed up, the two of them had been on their way to work. It had been slow driving through the cold and icy streets, with the sights of people off on their way to work and children on their way to school, and everyone else was going slowly too, even though the streets and footpaths had been ploughed and gritted.
After arriving at the depot, Carrie and Ralph went straight inside the main crew building and straight upstairs to the changing rooms to get ready for the day ahead. In the ladies changing room, Carrie changed into her work clothes, put on a set of clean overalls over them, and put on her pair of solid work boots. She also made sure that she had her warm woollen hat on, as well as a scarf under the top of her overalls, as well as her work gloves in her pockets, and her bright orange Hi-Viz put on over her overalls. After making sure her bags and things were securely locked up in her locker, Carrie made her way downstairs to clock in and get a hot drink and pastry from the canteen before going out to work.
She met up with Simon and the girls she was friends with in the canteen, and they got what hot drinks and pastries they wanted to have before sitting down at one of the tables.
"Oh, it's cold out this morning!" Alice said, as she started sipping her mug of hot chocolate.
"Yeah, and I've heard that it's supposed to get worse later on today." Saoirse said, as she took a bite out of the scone she had.
"Oh, I had the feeling that it might get bad as they day went on." Olivia sighed, as she took a long sip from her mug of tea.
"Hey, this snowy weather and the cold reminds me of Scotland." Sophie said, as she fondly remembered memories like this from her past.
"Sophie, it seems like every cold thing that blows under your nose reminds you of that place up north." Simon said, as he sipped his hot tea.
"Hey, I can't help it you lot. It's just who I am as a Scotswoman." Sophie said, feeling very proud of her Scottish heritage.
"You know, I wonder if Donald and Douglas feel the same as you, Sophie. After all, they're both Scottish too." Saoirse said.
"I know, and I've seen both of them working very hard at clearing the snow off the lines in recent days." Alice said.
"Hey, many of the other engines have also been working hard at clearing snow off the lines all over the island in recent days too." Carrie added.
"I know, but with the snowfall that we've had in the last few days, once a line is cleared, it soon gets obstructed and it has to be cleared all over again." Simon said.
"It's possible that some of us on the apprenticeship scheme may be asked to go onto an engine that's been asked to help clear the lines of snow. And that's something I like to see, as I think it's fun to see snow being thrown aside when an engine goes through it." Alice said.
"Yeah, it's like seeing water being thrown out from the sides of a ship. As well as how it swirls around in a big cloud of white after you've gone through it." Sophie said, as she took another long sip of hot chocolate.
Once the six friends had finished off their hot drinks and pastries, they put on their warm coats and hats, left the canteen and clocked in for the day, and then they made their way outside into the cold snowy wind to be assigned to their engines. Due to the coldness of the weather, none of the apprentices on the scheme didn't have to wait for very long to be assigned to their engines, either for the day or for just half the day before they would be assigned to work on the footplate of another engine elsewhere later on.
Carrie and Simon were assigned to work on an engine together today, and they were led over to one of the sheds where their assigned engine was waiting. Looking up as they entered, with the smells of soot, ash, coal smoke, steam, and lubricating oil wafting into their nostrils, Carrie and Simon saw that their engine was No.74000, who was an example of the B.R. Standard Class 7MT-1 2-8-2 Light Mikado locomotives that had been built by B.R. during the 1950's (116).
"Okay, Simon…Carrie…you'll both be working with No.74000 for today. And your first job for today will be to take a very lengthy heavy train that's filled up with parcels and important mail from the main mail depot over Knapford Harbour across the island to Vicarstown via the Northern Main Line." said the yard manager.
"All right, sir. And let's just hope the weather doesn't get any worse while we're on our way there!" Simon said.
"I agree, and I just hope that there won't be any snowdrifts to block us too!" said No.74000, knowing just how difficult the winters on the Island of Sodor could be.
"Well, the recent reports that I received this morning has told me that the lines going to the north of the island are fairly clear at the moment, and so you shouldn't have any problems at all on your first train." said the yard manager.
"I hope that you're right about that. I'd really hate to get stuck in a snowdrift with such an important train today." No.74000 said.
"Try not to worry about it too much, old boy. Just try and do what you can to get the parcels to where they're needed to be today." said his driver.
"Yes, sir." No.74000 said.
"Anyway, I'd best go and get back to the offices. After all, there's a lot more work to do today." said the yard manager, and he turned and walked out of the sheds, heading off back to the yard offices.
(116): The fictional B.R. Standard Class 7MT-1 2-8-2 was designed by Robert Riddles, and it was a light yet quite powerful class of engine that was intended to be used for heavy work on certain lines that couldn't take any heavier locomotives that were built within the B.R. Standard Classes. It was also the first class of two classes of light 2-8-2 tender engines that were built by B.R. during the 1950's.
Not too long before the very first examples of the brand-new B.R. Standard Class 9F 2-10-0s came into service in 1954, the B.R. Railway Board realised that there was a need for a class of engine that could work on many different of the lightly-laid branch lines, as well as on main line routes where stronger motive power was needed but which couldn't take any heavier engines. Riddles thought that a lighter version of the B.R. Standard Class 9MT-1 2-8-2s would fit the bill, though some considerable changes would be needed to the original design to make it for suitable for the lines they had to run on. Not only that, but considerable inspiration was also taken from the B.R. Standard Class 6MT Clan Light Pacifics, as well as making considerable use of identical parts from that class as well, in order to standardise the use of as many parts as possible between all the different B.R. Standard Classes.
One of the main changes made was to the cylinder layout; unlike the 9MT-1 Class 2-8-2s which had three cylinders, the new 7MT-1 design would only have two outside cylinders instead, which made daily maintenance a much easier task for the shed staff and engine crews. Having only two cylinders fitted would also help to reduce the weight of the new design, as well as provide the necessary power on the lines where the new class was expected to work on. Another change that was made was to use a modified version of the same boiler that was used on the B.R. Clan Pacifics, which meant that from certain angles the two classes had a near-family resemblance to each other. Extensive use of welding was also made on the new design in order to keep the weight of it down as much as possible.
Based on experience that had been gained from the earlier B.R. Clan Pacifics, changes were also made to the draughting, with slightly wider chimneys being fitted and improvements being made to the dimensions of the ashpan damper doors. Additional superheater elements were installed, and the internal steam passages were also streamlined in order to make the steam flow more efficiently from the boiler into the cylinders. The cylinders were also made from welded steel, instead of being cast.
In September 1954, the very first example of the new B.R. Standard Class 7MT-1 2-8-2s, No.74000, emerged from Crewe Works and entered traffic on the London Midland Region not long afterwards. In total, 68 examples of the new class would be built between September 1954 and May 1958, and they were numbered from No.74000 to No.74067. Of the 68 engines built, 30 of them were assembled in Crewe Works, with 20 being built in Doncaster, and the final 18 engines being divided evenly between Swindon and Brighton Works.
The design shared a great deal in common with the earlier B.R. Standard Class 6MT Clan Pacifics, to which both designs strongly resembled each other. The 7MT-1 had two outside cylinders that were 19.5in in diameter with a 28in piston stroke, a boiler that was fitted with superheating elements and pressed to 250psi, and eight driving wheels that were 5ft 8in in diameter, which combined to give the class a maximum tractive effort of 33,272lbf, which was ideal for the class. They were also paired with two tender types; the BR1, which carried 7 tons of coal and 4,250 gallons of water, and the BR1B, which held 7 tons of coal and 4,725 gallons of water.
Just like all the other B.R. Standard Classes, the 7MT-1 were also fitted with many labour-saving devices, including rocking grates, hopper ashpans, and self-cleaning smokeboxes, which were intended to make disposing of the engines at the end of a long day's work a much quicker and easier task. Roller bearings were also fitted on all axles, which allowed for higher mileages between overhauls. The cabs also featured padded seats for the crews, electric lighting, and good shelter from the elements, a vital factor when working on Scottish lines during the winter months.
Due to the extra set of driving wheels that were fitted, the class had quite a light axle-loading, which meant that the overall weight of the engines were spread out better than on the B.R. Standard Class 6MT Clan Pacifics. They also had smoke deflectors put into place on either sides of the smokeboxes that were identical to those fitted to the Clan Pacific engines. The bogie truck at the front was replaced with a single pony truck that was identical to those fitted on other B.R. Standard Class engines.
Once the class came into service, many of them were put to work on lines in the Scottish Region of B.R., where their light axle-loading and high power to weight ratios made them the ideal machines to work on the lines that couldn't take any heavier engines. Very quickly, the class gained a good reputation with their crews, who respected the ability of the engines to take heavy loads on light-laid tracks, and yet they also had the ability to move loads in a way that other classes of engines hadn't before. Their eight driving wheels also meant that they gave their crews very smooth rides, particularly on the odd occasions where they ran at high speeds.
They also saw extensive use within the North Eastern and London Midland Regions of B.R., especially on the Waverley Route that ran from Carlisle to Edinburgh, on the Settle and Carlisle Line, along the West Coast Main Line, and on the Midland Main Line. They also saw occasional use along the East Coast Main Line and along the Great Central Main Line as well, though their appearances on these two latter main line routes were quite rare at first. They proved to be more than capable of hauling any kind of train they were tasked with pulling, whether it was a slow train of vans running in Scotland between Aberdeen and Edinburgh, or a faster passenger excursion running from Carlisle to Leeds.
Despite their 5ft 8in driving wheels, the class proved to have quite a good turn of speed as well, with many fast runs, sometimes being well into the 90's, being recorded on many occasions over their years of service. One example, No.74062, achieved the highest recorded speed for a member of the class when it reached a maximum recorded speed of 101.3mph when hauling a very special passenger train along the West Coast Main Line in between Crewe and Stafford. This example of the class has since been preserved as part of the National Collection.
Although the class proved to be highly successful at the jobs that they had to do, some experiments were made during their working lives; two members of the class, No.74010 and No.74025, were fitted with double chimneys paired with Kylchap exhaust systems during 1957 in an attempt to improve the steaming ability of the class. The experiment proved to be highly successful, with both engines seeing increased performances in terms of their power output and fuel economy. Due to the results that the Kylchap system gave, most of the rest of the class, with the exception of 10 members of the class that remained with single chimneys fitted for their whole working lives.
Another experiment that was carried out on another two members of the class was the fitment of mechanical stokers to No.74017 and No.74045 in April 1957. However, the experiment didn't prove very successful due to various problems that were encountered, as well as the fact that the firemen could often shovel the coal in faster than the mechanical stokers could put it in. Eventually by the end of October 1960, both engines had the mechanical stokers removed.
There was a plan by B.R. management to name the entire class after Scottish Lochs and mountains, considering the area in which most of the class spent their entire working lives, but this was eventually abandoned in 1956.
At one point, it was planned to build another 30 members of the class, which would have been numbered from No.74068 to No.74097, with construction work on the new engines scheduled to begin in April 1959. However, with the 1955 Modernisation Plan, the construction of these engines was postponed and then cancelled. Among the planned modifications that would have been made to some of these engines included fitting them with British Caprotti rotary-cam poppet valve gear, like that used on No.71000 Duke of Gloucester, in place of Walschaerts valve gear with piston valves.
In their later years of B.R. service, the class also made occasional trips onto the metals of both the Southern and Western Regions, often being seen in places like Cardiff, Southampton, Swansea, Plymouth, and Penzance. They also undertook more main line work, often being found working trains on many of the major main lines throughout the length and breadth of the U.K.
Despite their popularity with crews and enthusiasts alike, the end had to come for the class, and the first withdrawal was made in October 1964 when No.74051 was withdrawn from its home base of Edinburgh Waverley. Withdrawals of the other members of the class continued on over the next three and a half years until April 1968, when the final two members of the class that were still in service at that time, No.74009 and No.74056, were withdrawn from their depot of Lancaster.
Thankfully, nine of these fine engines have survived into preservation, all of whom have been steamed since being returned to running order. The nine surviving members of the class include;
No.74002; the oldest surviving member of the class, she was built at Crewe Works in September 1954, and spent most of her working life based at Carlisle Kingmoor before being withdrawn in May 1967. She was in long-term storage for a long time before being bought in February 1970 and taken to Carnforth to be preserved as part of the centre's working fleet. She spent most of the 1970's working rail-tours out on the main line before being withdrawn in 1978 when she became in need of an overhaul. She spent many years out of service before being taken to the Great Central Railway in 1998 for a full overhaul to commence, which was completed by the end of May 2008. After a period of time of running in on the G.C.R., No.74002 returned to working on the main line in early 2009 and ran on the main line for a number of years before being withdrawn in late 2018 for an overhaul at the G.C.R. The overhaul is nearly completed and should see No.74002 return to steam very soon.
No.74009; built at Crewe Works in October 1954 and spent most of her working life working out from Glasgow until she was withdrawn in December 1966. Initially set aside to be scrapped, she was bought by a private individual who intended to preserve her for the future. After spending a number of years out of use, No.74009 was taken to the Mid Hants Railway in the early 1990's to be restored to running order, which was finally completed in November 2001 and No.74009 ran under her own power for the first time in preservation, and was also given the name Ben Nevis, after the highest mountain in Scotland. After spending some time running in on the Mid Hants Railway, Ben Nevis finally returned to the main line in May 2002. She ran many rail tours out on the main line for about ten years, as well as out on many different heritage railways, before being withdrawn in 2012 to be overhauled at the Didcot Railway Centre, which was finally completed in the late summer of 2019. As of 2024, No.74009 Ben Nevis is in full working order and registered to run on the main line, being based to run out from the Crewe Heritage Centre.
No.74017; built at Crewe Works in January 1955, and spent most of her life based in Aberdeen before being withdrawn in June 1967 from its shed in Aberdeen. She was taken down to Carlisle to be put into storage, where she remained for a long time before she was acquired for the National Collection and taken to the new National Railway Museum in York for static display after being cleaned up to a museum standard. After spending years on static display in the N.R.M., No.74017 was selected to be restored to full working order in 2006, and she was taken into the museum's workshops to be overhauled, which was completed in the early summer of 2009. She was also given a name for the first time, Loch Shiel, and allowed to run on the main line. She spent 10 years running on the main line and on heritage railways, and proved herself to be quite a reliable and popular engine with crews and enthusiasts alike. After her boiler certificate expired in late 2019, she was put on display in the Locomotion Museum in Shildon while funds are being raised for its next overhaul.
No.74020; built at Crewe Works in January 1955, she spent most of her working life based out of Carlisle Kingmoor before being transferred to Crewe in April 1964, where she was withdrawn from in December 1968. She was sent to Woodham's scrapyard in Barry in January 1968, and stayed there until she was rescued from the yard in May 1979 and taken to the Severn Valley Railway for restoration. The work took a long time to finish, due to the fact many parts were missing, but it was finally completed in April 1995 when No.74020 steamed for the first time in preservation, and with the name of Loch Ness on its new smoke deflectors. She spent the next ten years running on the Severn Valley Railway, as well as on other different heritage railways, proving to be a popular and reliable engine with her crews and the passengers. After being withdrawn for an overhaul in 2005, she was returned to steam in the early winter of 2011 when she returned to the main line for the first time since 1968. After spending a decade of running many special trains out on the main line, No.74020 Loch Ness was withdrawn in January 2012 for another overhaul, but spent many years in storage at the Great Central Railway before an overhaul began in 2022, with the work still ongoing as of 2024.
No.74025; built at Doncaster Works in March 1955, she was based in Edinburgh for much of her life before being moved to Sheffield in April 1965 where she was withdrawn from in July 1967. After being sent to Barry scrapyard in September 1967, she was saved for preservation in February 1980 and taken to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway to be restored to full working order, which was finally completed by April 1996, when she returned to working order and carrying the name Cairn Toul. She's been based on the N.Y.M.R. ever since, with occasional visits to other preserved heritage railways, being a very popular engine with its crews and able to haul some impressive trains on the gradients of the railway. As of 2024, No.74025 is in full working order on the N.Y.M.R. and hauling special trains along the length of the railway.
No.74034; built at Swindon Works in June 1955, she spent most of her working life based in Leeds before being withdrawn in March 1968. She was bought not too long afterwards by the Didcot Railway Centre who wanted to preserve an example of the class that was built at Swindon, and she spent many years on static display within the Didcot Railway Centre, occasionally being sent to be put on display at Tyseley Locomotive Works. In April 1997, work began on restoring No.74034 to working order, which was finally completed by November 2004, when she returned to steam again on the West Somerset Railway for the first time since 1968. At a special ceremony when the engine returned to steam, she was given the name of Cairnwell. During her career in preservation, Cairnwell has been to and worked on many different heritage railways around the U.K., being a very popular engine as a result. As of 2024, No.74034 Cairnwell is out of service and waiting for another overhaul at the Didcot Railway Centre.
No.74040; built at Swindon Works in July 1955, she spent much of her working life based in Preston where she worked trains north to Scotland and south to Manchester and London, before being withdrawn from service in August 1965. Not long afterwards, she was secured for preservation by the Birmingham Railway Museum (now known as Tyseley Locomotive Works) where she remained on static display for many years. In October 2003, she was taken down to the Gloucestershire and Warwickshire Railway to be restored to working order, which was finished by December 2008 when she steamed for the first time in preservation. As of 2024, after running for 10 years on her first boiler ticket, No.74040 is undergoing another overhaul at the Churnet Valley Railway.
No.74051; built at Brighton Works in January 1956, she worked for much of her life from her base at Glasgow Central, where she worked passenger and freight trains out of Glasgow to the north and south. After being withdrawn in December 1966, she was put into long storage for several years before being bought by a group and taken south to the Crewe Heritage Centre. After staying there for several years, an overhaul began in the spring of 1997 at the Tyseley Locomotive Works, which was finally completed in March 2001. She then spent the next 10 years running on different heritage railways, along with occasional runs out on the main line, until she was withdrawn in May 2011 upon the expiry of her boiler certificate. She then spent a few more years on static display before another overhaul began in earnest in December 2018, with the work finally being completed in May 2023, with No.74051 finally steaming again that month. As of 2024, No.74051 is in full working order and registered to run on the main line.
No.74058; built at Brighton Works in July 1956, she spent much of her working life based in Aberdeen, where she often worked heavy fish trains from the Aberdeen docks south. She was withdrawn in January 1968, when she was based in Carlisle Kingmoor, but was saved for preservation by a group of enthusiasts who wanted to buy a member of the class. She then spent a number of years out of service and in long term storage out of the public eye, until the 1990's when she was taken out of storage and brought down to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway for a full overhaul to working order. By the end of September 2004, the work was fully complete and No.74058 returned to working order on the N.Y.M.R. For the next ten years, No.74058 worked on many different heritage railways around the U.K. before being withdrawn in October 2014 for a full overhaul, which was completed by November 2019. As of 2024, No.74058 is in full working order on the Churnet Valley Railway.
Of the nine surviving engines, No.74002 and No.74009 are the only survivors that are fitted with double chimneys, with the other seven surviving engines having double chimneys paired with Kylchap exhaust systems.
It wasn't too long before all their preparations were finished, and it was soon time for No.74000 to be off to collect the train and, with Carrie and Simon standing on the footplate with the driver and fireman, he slowly set out from the depot and onto the main line. Once clear of the points, the driver opened the regulator and they set off at a faster speed down to Knapford Harbour.
"I wonder how many vans there'll be at the mail depot there for us to pick up." Simon said.
"You know…I have a feeling that there could be quite a few of them there for us to take away." Carrie said, as she took hold of the shovel and got ready to stoke the boiler.
"You could well be right, Carrie. After all, with it getting very close to Christmas, the amount of mail and parcels being sent by people everywhere inevitably goes up, and that means longer and heavier trains for the engines to take, day or night." said the fireman.
"So, that could be the case today?" Simon said.
"Oh, very likely." said the driver.
It turned out that the driver and fireman were indeed right about the number of vans and converted coaches that they had to take; when they arrived at the mail depot at Knapford Harbour, No.74000 was astonished to see how many vans there were for him to take away. There were about 20 of them in total, and some of them were still being loaded up with countless numbers of packages and sacks of mail that had arrived on a ship earlier that morning. The men were going about the platform with the mail and loading it aboard the vans, including moving heavy sacks on hand trucks and electrically-driven luggage trolleys, and trying to bring some order out of the apparent chaos on the platform.
After going past the front of the train, No.74000 reversed slowly over the points and gently backed down onto the first van at the head of the train, and was coupled up by the shunter, who also connected the brake pipes together.
Looking out from the driver's side of the cab, Carrie watched as the men on the platform loaded up the vans further down the train, as other men closed up the doors on the vans located at the front of the train, meaning those vans were fully loaded up.
"Phew…that's a lot of parcels and mail that we'll need to move this morning." Carrie said, as Simon also leaned out and looked back.
"Yeah, but I think it's nothing that No.74000 can't handle." Simon said.
"That's right! I've pulled heavier trains than this in the past, and so this one shouldn't be too difficult. As long as the rails aren't too slippery or the lines blocked." No.74000 said, having heard the conversation Carrie and Simon had just had. Though he was a very experienced engine, No.74000 was aware of the fact that the freezing winter weather might cause delays to trains, particularly to one as important as this one.
As they waited for the last of the vans to be loaded so that they could set off, they heard the sounds of another whistle and the sounds of chuffing coming along through the harbour area. Looking up to see who it was, No.74000 waited a few seconds and then saw Q6 Class 0-8-0 No.63394, who was coming by and heading to another part of the harbour with a long line of empty steel hopper wagons clattering along behind him.
"Morning, No.63394!" No.74000 said, as he watched the Q6 0-8-0 head slowly on past him.
"Morning, No.74000! Best of luck with your train today!" No.63394 called, as he headed past and over the points to the quays.
"Thanks!" No.74000 called.
It wasn't long before the last of the vans and converted coaches were loaded up with the mail and parcels, and the doors on all the vehicles were closed up. With that done, and everything now ready to go, the signalman in the signal box set the points as well as the signal to all-clear, and also the guard leaned out from the brake van at the back of the train. After blowing his whistle loudly and waving his green flag for a few seconds, he pulled himself back inside his van, eager to get out of the cold and get warm by the stove in one corner of the van, as well as having some tea he had in a flask.
"Okay, let's go!" the driver said, as he blew the whistle for a few seconds, and then opened the regulator, while also activating the sanding gear to spray sand onto the wheels in front of the driving wheels. Slowly, with wheels slipping briefly as he moved forwards, No.74000 took up the weight of the train and moved away from the mail depot and out into the harbour yards.
"Come on, let's go! Come on, let's go!" No.74000 said, as he moved forwards while moving the train out as well. With a groaning and straining, along with the sounds of wheels slowly starting to turn, the parcels train followed along out of the depot. From there, they moved out into the harbour yards and from there out towards the Northern Main Line.
Once away from the harbour and on the main line, the driver opened the regulator some more and wound the reversing gear back towards mid-gear, allowing the train to move faster. On the footplate, Simon took a go with the shovel and spent the next two minute or so placing fresh coal into the firebox, making sure to place the coal where it was needed to keep the fire burning brightly.
Sitting on the fireman's seat, Carrie was leaning out a little and keeping an eye out ahead as they made their way north along the Northern Main Line. She was keeping her warm woollen hat firmly on her head and the collar of her overalls as far up as she could, in order to keep the cold wind out of her. As well as watching out for the state of the signals ahead, she also kept a lookout for any familiar landmarks off to the side of the line, including the placement of signal boxes, any other buildings by the side of the line, stations, the positions of sidings, and any bridges that crossed over the line. By now, she was very familiar with many of the landmarks and so she could tell when signals were about to come into view ahead.
"Okay, Simon. I think that's enough coal for now." the fireman said, as Simon placed a sixth shovelful of coal into the firebox.
"All right then." Simon said, as he stood up and closed the firebox doors partway. Handing the shovel to the fireman, Simon went over and stood behind where Carrie was sitting.
"Feeling a bit tired already, Simon?" Carrie asked.
"A bit, and my arms are a bit sore already too." Simon added.
"Well, don't worry. I'll be taking my share of work on the journey to Vicarstown too." Carrie said, knowing full well how much work was needed to keep an engine as big as No.74000 running on the main line.
"And I think we'll both be very tired by the end of the morning." Simon said.
"Yeah, I think we both will." Carrie said.
The journey along the Northern Main Line went very smoothly, and at a good speed despite the freezing cold and snowfall, passing by Arlesburgh, Heathfield, Widdlington Junction, Harwick, and then through Emily Road and Nort, the two most northern stations on the Island of Sodor. During the run, the fireman, Simon, and Carrie took their turns with stoking the boiler with fresh coal. Up front, No.74000 ran smoothly and keeping the long and heavy train on the move. Passing by the different stations, bridges, and viewpoints along the way, there were people watching and sometimes even waving as the train, or any other trains, went on by either going north or south.
After passing through Nort Station, they were halfway through their trip, and they made their way southeast along the north eastern coast of Sodor. Looking out from the cab for a short time as they went along, Carrie and Simon could only just see the coastline in the near distance through the falling snow, but they couldn't see any ships out on the water.
It wasn't too long before they reached Rossington Station, and as they approached, they saw that the distant signal was showing a yellow light, meaning "Proceed with Caution."
"Yellow light! Brakes, driver!" No.74000 called out.
"Okay, old boy!" the driver said, as he closed the regulator and put the brakes on. As the train slowed down, Carrie, who had been taking another go with stoking the boiler with coal and had just placed another shovelful of coal into the firebox, stood up and looked towards the driver.
"Anything wrong?" Carrie asked, with some concern.
"I don't think so, Carrie. It's more than likely that we'll just need to slow down while going through Rossington, or maybe even stop for a time to allow another train to go through before we can proceed on our way." said the fireman.
"All right then." Carrie said, as she handed the shovel to the fireman. Looking out from the fireman's side of the cab, Carrie looked out as they slowed down and wondered what was going on.
As they slowed down, No.74000 and his driver saw that the next signal just before the station was at red, and so they had to stop. With a squealing of brake blocks on steel wheels and groaning, the train came to a stop.
"What do you think is going on?" Simon asked, as he leaned out and looked ahead.
"I'm guessing we'll soon see." said the fireman.
At the same time, No.74000 was wondering why they had to stop at a signal at Rossington Station with such an important train. He didn't have to wait for very long, for he soon heard the sounds of a whistle coming from the other side of the station, followed by the approaching sounds of chuffing. Then, a green engine came into view on the line ahead, and at first No.74000 thought it was Henry. But as the engine approached, he realised that it was actually L.N.E.R. K3 Class 2-6-0 No.1935, and he was coming along with a line of box vans following along behind him.
"Hello, No.1935! Are you running late?!" No.74000 called, as the K3 approached him.
"Yes, we had some delays in the yards at Vicarstown! And I need to make up some of the lost time!" No.1935 called out, as he went on past with his train, barely leaving enough time to whistle in return. Looking out, Carrie and Simon watched as the vans behind No.1935 went on past, not leaving them the chance to count how many vans there were in the train. Once the train had gone by, the signal dropped and showed a green light, meaning the line ahead of them was clear for them.
"Here we go again!" No.74000 said, as his driver blew his whistle and opened the regulator again. Slowly, he moved his way forwards, taking up the weight of his train again. Moving through Rossington Station, he slowly built the speed up and headed on past the platforms, where the crew on the footplate could see some members of station staff working away, with passengers sitting inside the warmth of the waiting rooms and waiting for the next passenger trains to arrive to take them to their destinations. Then they went past the junction that went off to the right on the branch line that crossed the island down to Rossington Junction on the Southern Main Line, and they continued on down the line towards Vicarstown.
It wasn't too long before they finally arrived at the mail depot very close to Vicarstown Station, from where the mail could be unloaded from the vans and delivered to various addresses around Vicarstown, or else the vans could then be sorted into another train for dispatch to the main land at a later time.
As the shunter uncoupled No.74000 from the line of vans, Carrie and Simon leaned out from the footplate and looked back along the platform. They could see men open up some of the vans and begin to unload the parcels and sacks of mail before placing them onto trolleys.
"It looks like some people in Vicarstown are going to be getting their Christmas mail on time this year." Simon said.
"Yeah, and I think that they're gonna be very pleased this year." Carrie added.
Just then, there came the sounds of chuffing from elsewhere in the yards, and a few seconds later, a tank engine appeared from behind a line of trucks on another siding. It had six driving wheels and was painted in a lined green livery, and had a large dome on top of his boiler. This tank engine was actually No.68723, an example of the N.E.R. E1 Class (L.N.E.R. J72 Class) and who was assigned to station pilot duty or shunting work in the Vicarstown area (117).
"Good morning, No.74000!" No.68723 said, as he slowly buffered up to a line of vans on the line he was standing on.
"Morning, No.68723! Has it been very busy here this morning?" No.74000 asked.
"Yes, it has been. And we've been having some difficulties as well, as some of the trucks here have been causing me problems all morning." No.68723 said.
"What sort of problems?" asked No.74000.
"The cold has been such that the axleboxes on some of the trucks have frozen solid, and the men have had to spend some time thawing them out with paraffin-soaked rags they placed around the axleboxes and then set alight, as well as buckets of hot water." said No.68723.
"So, you're running late then?" asked No.74000.
"Yes, I am. And I'm trying my best to make up some of the lost time." said No.68723.
"Come on, old boy! It's time to move these vans out of here! Their axleboxes should be thawed out by now!" came the voice of No.68723's driver.
"All right!" No.68723 called, as his driver blew his whistles and then opened the regulator a little. Slowly, with steam wheeshing out front, No.68723 slowly reversed away, taking a line of about a dozen empty vans away to another part of the yards.
"Good luck!" No.74000 called, as he watched the line of vans move away from them.
(117): The North Eastern Railway's (N.E.R.) E1 Class 0-6-0T tank engines (L.N.E.R. J72 Class) were designed by Wilson Worsdell for shunting duties. They were also a development of the earlier N.E.R. E Class 0-6-0T tank engines (L.N.E.R. J71 Class) that had been designed in 1886 by Worsdell's brother, T.W. Worsdell. They were very successful engines and were found all over the L.N.E.R. system, and were the only class of engines to be allocated to all the L.N.E.R.'s constituent companies.
But what really made the J72 Class unique was the time the class was in production for. The first examples of the class came into service in 1898, and the final ones were built in 1951, which was a production time of 53 years, and by three different railway companies; the N.E.R., the L.N.E.R., and later by British Railways (B.R.), something unheard of for a class of British steam locomotive. The design remained completely unchanged during its time in production, something that was rather rare and unique in the history of the construction of a class in British railway history.
In total, 113 members of the class were built in nine batches between 1898 and 1951, with 20 being built from 1898 to 1899 at Darlington Works, another 20 being built in 1914 at Darlington, 10 more in 1920 at Darlington, with 25 more being built in 1922 at Armstrong Whitworth & Co, and 10 being built in 1925 at Doncaster Works. The final 28 were built from 1949 to 1951 by British Railways in Darlington Works. There had been plans to build more J72s in the L.N.E.R.'s 1930 and 1931 build programmes, but these were cancelled due to the effects of the Great Depression.
The J72 Class had two inside cylinders that were 17in in diameter with a 24in piston stroke paired with slide valves, a boiler that was pressed to 140psi, and six driving wheels that were 4ft 1.25in in diameter, which all combined to give the class a maximum tractive effort of 16,760lbf. Their small coal bunkers could take only 1 ton of coal, while their side tanks could take about 690 gallons of water. Coal rails were often added to many engine in order to allow them to carry more fuel.
The J72 Class were different in a few ways from the earlier J71 Class, including having slightly longer main frames, as well as slightly smaller diameter driving wheels, and larger diameter cylinders with a longer piston stroke.
Some changes were made to the J72 Class during the course of its production run, including having slightly heavier frames and putting coal rails around the coal bunkers, and replacing the older Ramsbottom safety valves with newer Ross pop safety valves, as well as retrofitting various different fittings between each batch of engines.
A rather unusual modification was made in May 1939 when a Nu-Way mechanical stoker was fitted to No.2331 by Robert Stephenson & Hawthorns. The engine re-entered service in July 1939. However, the inset of the Second World War as well and union intervention led to no further locomotives being converted to take the new system. By all accounts, No.2331 continued to use this gear until it was removed at Darlington Works in 1947.
The J72 Class were found all throughout the L.N.E.R. system, with transfers being surprisingly infrequent. The depots that the class were allocated to included Hull, West Hartlepool, Borough Gardens, York, Heaton, Darlington, Tyne Dock, and Stockton. Long allocations to a specific depot were quite common, with one member of the class, No.1746, being allocated to York for its entire working life.
In the late 1930s, a number of transfers were initiated by the closure of the Ferryhill and East Hartlepool sheds. At this time, attempts were made to reduce the number of different classes allocated to individual sheds. J72s began to slowly replace the J71 Class from carriage shunting duties in this time. Changing traffic conditions during the course of the Second World War led to a wide variety of transfers of other locomotive classes, but the J72s remained relative unchanged.
The class were mainly used for shunting duties as well as moving coaches in and out of busy main line stations, but they also undertook other different duties elsewhere, such as moving trains along branch lines and short passengers runs in some areas.
The class remained completely intact until 1958 when withdrawals began in earnest, starting off with No.68735 in October 1958. Withdrawals continued with large reductions in 1960 and 1961, and the final members of the class being withdrawn from normal duties in October 1964. However, two members of the class were transferred to use as service stock. Among the duties they undertook were to de-freeze coal wagons as well as de-ice the points in Tyne Yard. They were withdrawn from service in September 1966 and October 1967 respectively.
Thankfully, one member of the class has managed to survive into preservation; this engine is No.69023, who's one of B.R.-built engines, having been built at Darlington Works in April 1951. She had been withdrawn from service by October 1964, and then used as one of the two members used on service duties as No.59 until it was withdrawn in September 1966. It was taken to the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway in 1969, where it was restored to working order. Later, No.69023 was bought by the North Eastern Locomotive Preservation Society (N.E.L.P.G.) in November 1982 and was used extensively on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. It has also seen extensive use on other different heritage railways, including the North Norfolk Railway, the East Somerset Railway, the South Devon Railway, the Swanage Railway, and the Didcot Railway Centre. As of 2024, No.69023 is at the Wensleydale Railway, where she's undergoing a major overhaul to return it to working order.
A few moments later, having spoken with the yard manager on the platform, the driver leaned out from his side of No.74000's cab.
"Come on, old boy! We have another train to take away from here!" he called.
"All right, driver!" No.74000 said, as his driver released the brakes, wound the reversing gear into full forwards, and then blew the whistle for a few seconds. After opening up the regulator a little, No.74000 slowly rolled forwards away from the mail platform and over towards another part of the yards where his next train waited for him.
A little later on, No.74000 was coupled up to his next train, which was another line of vans that had to be taken down to the yards close to Kirk Ronan Station. Before being coupled up to his train, the crew took the opportunity to top up the tender tank with more water, as well as moving the coal from the back of the tender further forward. Not only that, but they had also taken the chance to refill their tea cans with more hot tea, as well as get some brownies from the staff canteen in the crew building.
After getting onto the footplate, the driver and fireman, along with Carrie and Simon, waited to set off. A few moments before, one of the yard foremen had told them that the workmen had some issues earlier on in the morning when they had to thaw out the axleboxes on the wagons of the train No.74000 was to take that morning. It had taken quite a time for them all to melt all the ice on the axleboxes, either with rags soaked in paraffin or with hot steam jets, before the train could be allowed to leave, but they were all thawed out and ready to go.
"I hope we can make it." No.74000 said, as he waited for the off.
"We'll make it, No.74000! And we'll get there safely as well!" Simon said, as he leaned out from the cab.
"I hope you're right about that, Simon!" Carrie said, as she took a long sip of tea while it was hot.
Two or three minutes later, they were given the all-clear to go, and the driver blew the whistle for a second or two, and then opened the regulator. Slowly, No.74000 took up the weight of the heavy train and moved slowly forwards along the line.
"Come on, let's go! Come on, let's go!" No.74000 said, as he moved forwards slowly, with his wheels slipping a little on the icy rails.
"We won't go! We won't go!" the trucks complained, as they reluctantly moved forwards.
"Yes, you will! Yes, you will!" No.74000 said, as he strained forwards with great determination and moved the heavy trucks out of the yards.
Looking out from the cab, Carrie watched as they slowly moved out from the yards, with the trucks following reluctantly behind.
"I hope we can get out of the yards. Especially with the way the trucks are acting today." Carrie said, as she turned to look at Simon.
"We can do it, Carrie. It may take a while, but we'll be able to leave the yards." Simon said, reassuringly.
"I hope you're right about that." Carrie said, as she turned her head to look back at the train, which followed them out without any unexpected issues to be seen as of yet.
And I think we'll bring this chapter to an end right there, everyone! We're now getting very close to the chapter where Carrie's classmates, their families, and some of the teachers will be heading over to Sodor to see Carrie! However, that won't be the next chapter, but it WILL be the one to come after that, and so I know many of you reading this are quite keen to see a reunion between Carrie and her classmates. Just be patient please! There's not long left to go until that happens! I hope to have the next chapter up as soon as I can, so until then...good reading, everyone!