Chapter 64: Getting Off On The Wrong Foot
(Monday, December 17th 2012 – 9:15am, Sodor International Airport Station)
Okay everyone, this is it! This is the chapter that I know all of you have been waiting to read for quite a long time, the one where Carrie finally comes face to face with her classmates and teachers from Chamberlain again after being away from them for over a full year! It's also the one where Carrie's classmates get to see some of the engines of Sodor for the very first time, and are about to get the shock of their lives in the process when they see Henry for the first time! Please read ahead to see what happens!
Sue and Tommy stepped over to one of the kiosks on the platform that sold hot coffee, so as to be away from much of the crowd, yet to be with their friends at the same time. The two of them were keen to get away from the larger crowd for a bit, as well as to get some more coffee and socialise with each other and their friends before the train to take them to Knapford arrived. Thankfully, the kiosk wasn't too busy right now, with only four people to be seen gathered round it.
"Shall I buy you a coffee, Sue?" Tommy asked, as they approached the kiosk.
"Thanks, Tommy. I'd like one." Sue said, and after decided what coffee she wanted from the menu, Tommy ordered coffees for them both. As she waited, Sue looked along the track that was beside the platform and ran along the length of it with another two tracks, one of which ran along the length of the opposite platform and the third one in between the first two. So far, apart from the sounds of everyone in the group moving about and chatting with each other, as well as some typical sounds to be heard in a railway station, everything was fairly quiet at the moment, though it was still fairly quiet at the moment.
Looking across to Platform 13, Sue took in the sight of the many countless sacks of mail and stacks of parcels that were waiting to be loaded onto the train that was due to come in and pick them up. There were also a few members of the station staff keeping a close eye on the mail, to be sure that no one tried to steal any of it before it could be loaded into the train when it arrived.
Letting out a long breath, Sue saw the cloud of white condensation come out from her mouth and swirl around before being blown away in the slight but very cold breeze. Right now, Sue really needed that hot coffee to help warm her up, and to ward off the cold for a bit longer.
"Hey Sue, here's your coffee." came the welcome voice of Tommy from beside her. Turning round, Sue saw Tommy standing by her and offering her the cup of coffee that she wanted.
"Oh, thanks very much, Tommy." Sue said, as she gratefully accepted the coffee from him. Taking a long sip from it, Sue felt the warmth of the liquid slowly warm her up, and she soon felt much better.
Then, Sue noticed Heather, Jessica, Rachel, and Vicky stepping over to her and Tommy, and they also had cups of hot drinks in their hands like she and Tommy did.
"How long do you think it'll be before the train to collect all the mail over there arrives?" Vicky asked, as she took a long sip of her hot chocolate.
"No idea, but I'm quite sure that we won't have to wait for very long. And I hope we won't be waiting for too long before the train that's to pick us up arrives as well." Jessica said, taking a sip of her coffee.
"I know, and it's freezing out here." Rachel said, as she watched another white cloud of her breath exhale from her mouth and swirl around in the freezing air in front of her face for a few seconds.
"You know guys, I actually saw a train pass by on one of the lines below my hotel bedroom window only a few hours ago, a little after half five this morning." Sue said, just before she took a long sip of her coffee.
"Oh really? And what sort of train was it?" Heather asked, as she looked towards Sue.
"It was a freight train of some kind, and what makes it more interesting is that it was being pulled by one of the engines we saw in the pictures that was shown to us back home." Sue said. And on hearing that, Tommy and the other girls around Sue looked towards her with looks of interest to be seen clearly on their faces.
"And which one was it, Sue?" Jessica asked.
"It was the big green tender engine that had the number three painted onto the side of its tender, and I hadn't expected to see it last night. It was still dark out with the lights by the sides of the track still turned on, and I saw it go right on by in front of me with its train of freight cars following along behind it." Sue said.
"Did you notice anything of interest on that engine?" Vicky asked.
"Well, I did notice someone standing on the right-hand side of the engine's cab as it went by, and I saw them look up towards where I was." Sue said.
"And did you see who it might have been?" Rachel asked, even though she knew the chances of that were quite slim at best.
"No, I'm afraid I didn't, Rachel. They were just a little bit too far away from me to get a good view of who they were." Sue said, even though she still had it in her mind that the person might have been Carrie White.
"Oh, never mind. It was just a thought." Rachel said, with a heavy sigh.
"And what else did you notice about this engine as it went on by earlier?" Tommy asked. But before Sue could give him an answer to that, Tommy then noticed something out of the corner of his right eye, as well having just heard something, and he looked over to his right to see what it was…and then he froze in a stunned shock while his mouth dropped open a little. Seeing Tommy's reaction, Sue and the other girls turned round to see what it was too…and they got the shock of their lives.
(With Henry)
Approaching the southern side of the airport station with his empty parcel vans and converted coaches following along smoothly behind him, Henry was feeling very pleased with himself and was looking forward to collecting the mail waiting at the station. On his footplate, Carrie was sitting on the right-hand side of the cab and looking toward the station as they approached. She had just taken another go with the shovel, and was looking forward to resting for a while at the station before the mail was fully loaded up into the train.
"I'm sure that there'll be hot drinks waiting to be served to us at the station. And they should help to keep us warm for a bit." the driver said, as he closed the regulator most of the way and gently put the brakes on to slow the train down.
"And we should also give a quite check to the wheels as well. Just to be sure that the bearings are still cool." added the fireman.
"All right then." Carrie added, as she looked back out ahead of them as they slowed down. As they passed under the signal gantry and then by the signal box, from where the signalman had set the points for them to run onto the line going alongside Platform 13, the driver reached up and blew Henry's whistle for a few seconds. Yet, what Carrie was completely unaware of at that moment as they entered the station was that she was about to get the biggest shock of her life.
(With those from Chamberlain)
As the people from Chamberlain chatted together with each other and milled about while waiting for the train to arrive and pick them up, they heard the sounds of a steam whistle being blown for a few seconds followed by the sounds of chuffing, and many of them turned their heads to see what it was. Among them were the four officers, Brian, Irving, Spacek, and King, and the four of them glanced over to look down the line, and they smiled. On seeing their reaction, quite a few other adults who were standing close to them and chatting with them, including their families, did the same thing as well, and looked in the direction that the four officers were looking. And once they saw what they were looking at, their mouths dropped in a complete stunned shock.
At the same time, everyone else, on hearing Henry's whistle blowing loudly, turned their attention to look in the direction that the sounds of the whistle had come from, and then their eyes went wide and jaws dropped in an amazed shock when they saw Henry slowly roll into the station.
From where she, Tina, and Donna were standing and chatting together by one of the coffee kiosks, Chris Hargensen turned her head on hearing the whistle sound to see what it was...and then her eyes went wide, as did the eyes of Tina and Donna, with their jaws dropping at the same time. A few feet away from them, both Freddy and Norma stood stock still with their mouths having dropped open at what they were seeing arrive into the station. At the same time, all the other seniors from Ewen High School and their families, the teachers, as well as the other people who had come over from Chamberlain, turned to see Henry arrive into the station; many of them gasped on seeing that the engine that was entering the station, and the fact that it had a face on the front of its smokebox! Henry turned his attention towards them all as he began to slow down further, and the appearance on his face changed. This seemed to freak out some of those standing on the platform a little, and some of them took a step backwards, as if they couldn't believe what they were seeing before them.
From where Heather Shyres and her boyfriend Brian Maxwell were standing, they stood in total shock at what they saw Henry slowly arrive. For some seconds there was just silence between them before Heather took in a deep breath and said "Are you seeing this?" to Brian. For a moment Brian didn't say anything, but then he turned to Heather and said "Yes, I see it too."
From where they were standing with their friends right by the coffee kiosk, Tommy and Sue stood in a stunned silence, their mouths dropped wide open, and watched as Henry slowly rolled in along the line adjacent to Platform 13 before coming to a full stop opposite from them. It was then that they, and their friends, as well as their families and the teachers, noticed the number 3 on the side of Henry's tender.
"Sue…is that the engine that you saw pass by the hotel earlier on this morning?" Tommy whispered to his girlfriend, unable to take his eyes off of Henry. There was a moment of shocked silence that seemed to last for ages, but actually was only for a few seconds, before Sue took in a deep breath and spoke up.
"Yes, Tommy. That's the engine who I saw go by the hotel earlier on this morning." she said, unable to quite believe what she was seeing before her with her own eyes, but at last knowing now that the engine she saw did in fact have a face on it.
With the four officers from Chamberlain, one of the adults whispered to Spacek; "Is...is that the thing you asked us to keep a close eye out for?" the adult asked, not taking his eyes off of Henry as he rolled into the station.
"Yes sir, that's the that thing we mentioned. We didn't think you'd believe us if we told you the engines over here had faces on their fronts. We wanted you all to see it for yourselves." Spacek said, as she and her three fellow officers, and their families, as well as everyone else who was standing on the platform, watched Henry roll in and gently slowed down before stopping. For all the senior students who were on the platform, the reasoning for why the police had seemingly edited the photos and video clips that had been shown to them back in early October suddenly now made sense; the police didn't want them all to know that then engines that ran on Sodor's railway lines had faces on their fronts.
(With Henry)
As Henry slowly rolled into the station, his attention was initially fixed by just how many sacks of mail and how many trolleys laden down with parcels that there were on the platform and which were waiting to be picked up, and he wondered if there would be enough room on his train for them all. But as he rolled along the line, his attention then changed over to the large number of people who he could see standing over on Platform 14. He had never seen any of these people before, and from the way that they were staring at him as he slowed down, it was clear that these people had never been to Sodor before. They were in fact the people from Chamberlain, Maine who had come over to Sodor to look for Carrie…but Henry didn't know this yet.
As the driver brought Henry to a stop, Carrie looked out from the right-hand side of the footplate at all the sacks of mail and countless numbers of parcels that needed to be taken away. Due to where she was sitting on the fireman's side of Henry's footplate, none of her classmates, their families, and teachers standing over on Platform 14 could see her at all. The fact that the footplate was a bit shadowy, and the fact she was dressed in dark-blue overalls and she was wearing a peaked railway cap over her head meant that if anyone did see her, they would only see the outline of a third person on Henry's footplate.
"Looks like there's certainly gonna be a lot of happy people here on Sodor for this Christmas." Carrie said to the fireman, as they looked out at the mail that was being moved back to be loaded up onto the train. Now that they had stopped, the station staff and workers on the platform began opening all the doors to the vans and converted coaches and then set about loading up the countless mail sacks and heavy parcels onto the train, in a neat and orderly way.
"Shall I go and give a quick check to the motion on the driver's side before we have a hot drink?" Carrie asked, as she stood up from the fireman's seat.
"Yeah, you do that Carrie. And make sure that you keep your Hi-Viz vest on when you're down there, as well as keep your gloves on as well. In the meantime, the driver and I will top up the water level in the tender while we've got the chance to do so." said the fireman, as he stepped off the footplate on the right-hand side of the footplate.
"All right then." Carrie said, as she made sure that her cap was firmly over her head, gloves on her hands, and her overalls and Hi-Viz safety vest were all fully buttoned up. Then she went over to the left-hand side of the cab, undid the catches that held the folding cab door in place, and then, holding onto the handrails, she stepped out, turned round, and climbed down to the track-bed using the footsteps below the side of the cab. But she was bundled up in such a way that those who were standing on Platform 14 didn't initially recognize her.
From Platform 14, all those from the Chamberlain group looked over towards where Henry was standing, with them all unable to believe that this big green engine before them had a face on his front and that he was looking towards them with a slightly concerned look on his face. The four officers, Brian, Irving, King, and Spacek, were already well aware of this from their trip to Sodor earlier on in the year, and so they weren't as surprised as everyone else was. At the same time, Henry was feeling a little bit uneasy from the way that all these people were looking towards him and even whispering to each other while they glanced at him, but he didn't know why that was.
From among the group who was standing on the platform, Chris, Tina, and Donna were just as stunned to see an engine with a real face on its front. But then, Chris noticed someone slowly climbing off the footplate with their back to them. To them, it appeared to be a woman, and there was just something about this person that looked slightly familiar to her. Whispering this suspicion to Tina and Donna, to which the suspicions of the two were quietly voiced back, Chris and her two closest minions then slowly went along the platform while keeping a close eye on this person just to be sure that their suspicions were justified.
After stepping off the footplate of Henry, Carrie went along the driving wheels on the left-hand side and checked on the motion and the wheels to be sure that everything was okay, while working her way forward towards the cylinder. And then Carrie checked on the cylinder and the parts that were connected to it, before moving forward until she was standing in front of Henry and looking up at him.
"Everything seems to be okay, Henry. No problems to report." Carrie said, as she removed her cap while looking up at Henry, and inadvertently giving Chris, Tina, and Donna a very good side view of her face and thus fully confirming their suspicions on exactly who this person was.
But before Henry could even speak to Carrie, another voice was heard to be speaking out, and this one was very familiar to Carrie.
"Well, well, well…if it isn't creepy Carrie." came the familiar voice. On hearing that, Carrie suddenly froze and the expression on her face changed to a very fearful one.
"Oh no…please…please don't let that person be who I think it is." Carrie thought, unable to move a muscle in response. But then, there came the slow-growing sounds of more voices that she recognized from off to her right, and she heard some of them call out her name as well. But then, she heard another familiar female voice call out "Hey, everybody! It's Carrie!"
Turning her head quickly to her right to see who it was, Carrie's eyes went wide and her mouth dropped open when she saw who was before her on the opposite platform; it was Chris Hargensen, Tina Blake, and Donna Kellogg, the three girls who she hoped to never have to see again. Then taking a glance off to her sides, Carrie stood stock still, almost frozen in place, when she saw that there were a lot of other people who she clearly recognized from Ewen High School standing before her on the platform, including many of her fellow classmates who had bullied or harassed her over the years when she had been back in Chamberlain.
"Hey, so there you are, Carrie!"
"We thought that we'd never see you again!"
"Carrie, we've looked almost everywhere for you!"
"We never expected to see you all the way over here!"
"We thought that we would never see you again, Carrie!"
"We need to apologise to you for what happened over the years!"
"You need to tell us how you managed to get all the way over here!"
"We really need to correct the mistakes we made when we were with you!"
"There's a lot for us all to catch up on with you on what happened over the last year!"
Carrie was really shocked down to her core to see almost all of her fellow classmates and teachers from Ewen High School standing on the platform before her, and she backed up to the wall of Platform 13 while looking along the length of the opposite platform her classmates and teachers standing on, and unsure of which place to look, or even which person to look at first.
From beside Carrie, and seeing her shocked in the way she was, Henry was also somewhat shocked to see this sudden onslaught that Carrie was being subjected to by these people on Platform 14 and that was something that he hadn't been expecting to happen. Then, looking down to Carrie and seeing just how shocked and upset she looked by these people, he realised that he had to do something, both to help Carrie calm down and to silence all these people down, and so he blew his whistle loud and long.
On hearing the sound of Henry's whistle being sounded loudly, the people from Chamberlain very quickly quietened themselves down and looked towards where Henry was standing, who soon stopped blowing his whistle.
"Carrie…do you know who all of these people are?" Henry asked, as he looked down at Carrie before turning his attention back over to the large group of people who were standing over on Platform 14. On hearing Henry speak, everyone was somewhat astonished to hear that happen; the engines over here could speak like normal people as well?!
For several seconds, after looking back up at the big green engine, Carrie was silent before she spoke again.
"Ah…do you remember all the way back in July where I told you and the others about the people who treated me badly back in Chamberlain?" Carrie said, as she looked up at Henry. With the appearance on his face quickly changing from curiosity to one of shock, Henry glanced over towards the people from Chamberlain on Platform 14…and from the way that he was looking over to them and the shocked look on his face…it got every one of them more than a little bit nervous.
"Yes?" Henry said slowly, as he looked back down at Carrie. At the same time, he was thinking to himself in his smokebox, "It can't be…it just couldn't be…"
"That's them, right over there." Carrie said, as she turned and looked over towards her former classmates and pointed over to them.
After hearing that, Henry looked back over towards to those on Platform 14, and this time his expression had changed from one of shock to one of anger, understandable due to what he and the other engines had been told by Carrie of what she had gone through in Chamberlain.
"So, YOU'RE the ones who treated Carrie so badly back in her home town!" Henry said, as he glared over towards Carrie's classmates and teachers. On seeing this big green engine glare sternly at them, quite a few of those were somewhat intimidated by something they had never expected to see. There were a few moments of awkward silence, with many of the teens from Ewen High School unsure of what to say. But then, and quite unsurprisingly to more than a few of them, Chris Hargensen took a step forward, and looked towards Henry with a frown on her face.
"Yeah, we're the classmates of her, and we've been forced to come over here to see her after all this time!" Chris said, as she looked over towards Henry, with her arms crossed and not being the slightest bit intimidated by this big green engine standing before her. Henry glared over at this girl who, along with everyone else on Platform 14, was now staring directly at him, and he had no intention of standing any form of nonsense from anyone…especially from someone like her.
"And YOU, I suppose, are Chris Hargensen." Henry said, as he glared directly at her. On hearing this engine say her name out loud directly to her, Chris' eyes went wide, her mouth dropped, and she took a step back while allowing her arms to fall down to her sides, while the faces on all the other teens, the teachers, and some of the others who had come over from Chamberlain also went into some shock when they heard this. Chris was probably the most shocked of all, having not expected this engine who she had never seen before to know her name.
Seeing this reaction from Chris, Henry went in for the kill.
"Yes, I and all the other engines on this island have heard about you." Henry said, as he continued glaring sternly at Chris.
On hearing this, Heather turned her attention to Sue and Tommy.
"I think our reputations have preceded us." Heather whispered to the young couple. Sue, who was still in some shock from what she had heard what Henry had just said to Chris, could only nod her head in response as she took in another nervous breath while still looking over towards Henry. Tommy could only look on in a stunned way, with his mouth hanging open a little.
"And she told us about the horrible things that you and everyone else did to her over the years." Henry said, still staring towards Chris, who by now had recovered her composure and frowned, starting to feel angry at the fact this engine knew about the things she and her friends had done to Carrie. On hearing Henry say that, it caused some consternation to go through all the teenagers on the platform; this big green engine knew about the things they had done to Carrie?! And the realisation of that suddenly got them worried. But that didn't really bother Chris Hargensen, and she was somewhat angered that Henry knew about the things she and the girls had done to Carrie, and so she went on the offensive.
"And why don't you keep your nose out of other people's business, and stop being such a big know-it-all!" Chris said, as she snapped back at Henry. This shocked quite a few of the seniors from Ewen High, who had not expected Chris to snap back like in the way she did.
"And I think you shouldn't tell anyone else what to do, you big green caterpillar!" Chris added.
This comment made Henry quite cross. He thought that Chris Hargensen was one of the rudest people he had ever met!
From off to the side, Rita Desjardin watched with some interest on her face as she watched the altercation between Chris and Henry, as she had never expected anything like that to happen while everyone was over here on Sodor. Although she was very pleased to see Carrie again, she was more interested at the moment to see what would happen right now between Chris and Henry.
However, before Henry could reply to what Chris had just said to him, there came two more whistles from up the line, and he looked up to see who it was, as did Carrie. On the other two lines going along between Platforms 13 and 14, and reversing into the station were James and Gordon, with James slowly reversing in along the middle line, and Gordon reversing in on the line that was immediately adjacent to Platform 14. As the two engines reversed in, the Chamberlain group watched as they came in front of them, and then they all saw that the red engine on the middle line had the number 5 on his tender sides, while the big blue engine had the number 4 on his tender sides. This stunned almost all of them; they had all seen the pictures of these three engines sometime earlier on, but they had never ever expected to see all three of them together in front of them today.
As the two engines slowed down and then came to a stop beside where Henry was standing, James noticed the cross look on his face and got curious.
"What's up with you, Henry?" James asked.
"Yes, and what's going on?" asked Gordon, curious as to what was taking place.
"You're not gonna believe it, but I'll tell you anyway…" Henry said, as he then told them of what was going on. And as Henry did this, those from Chamberlain on the platform beside where Gordon was standing watched with interest, while Carrie also watched from where she was standing on the track just in front of Henry, and she was feeling very nervous as to what would happen next.
After being told what was going on from Henry, both Gordon and James were completely shocked and looked towards the crowd on the platform to their left, as if they were unable to believe what they had just been told. Seeing these two new engines also glaring at them certainly intimidated more than a few of the teens and adults standing on Platform 14, all barring a small handful of them, including Chris Hargensen.
"You're the people who made Carrie's life a misery!" James said in a sort of an accusing way, now feeling quite cross at seeing these people. Just like Henry, he clearly remembered the story that Carrie had told them all back in late July over at Tidmouth Sheds. He had hoped that they would never get a chance to see those people here on Sodor, and now to see them all standing here on the platform off to his left, he was clearly not too pleased to see them at all. And Gordon wasn't too pleased to see Carrie's classmates over here either.
"And some of you no doubt saw what was being done to Carrie in your school for all that time, but you did nothing to stop it either!" Gordon said, as he also glared quite sternly at Carrie's classmates and teachers.
But before any of Carrie's classmates, their families, and teachers could say anything in response to this to any of these three big engines who were glaring at them in quite an intimidating way, Chris suddenly interjected, much to the surprise of no one who was in the group.
"And just who do you three think you are?!" Chris said, as she felt herself getting angry from the way these engines were speaking to her.
"I'm Gordon, and I'm one of the fastest engines on Sodor! And I'm one of the engines who always pulls the express!" said Gordon crossly, as he glared at Chris.
"And I'm James! And I can pull any sort of train that I'm given!" said James, as his face turned as red as his paintwork.
"And I'm Henry! And I can pull all sorts of freight trains on the railway!" Henry said sternly, as he and the other two engines glared sternly at Chris.
From the platform, everyone who had come over from Chamberlain watched all this happen, and they couldn't believe their ears; these big engines had names just like regular people?! Many of them looked at each other anxiously, and wondered what would happen next.
"So?! What should anyone try protect Carrie or even be her friend?! She doesn't really deserve it!" Chris said, getting angry. Off to the side, and watching what was going on, Sue couldn't help but feel a deep sense of unease form deep within her as she and Tommy looked towards Ewen High's queen bee.
"Please, Chris…" Sue said quietly, as she slowly brought her hand up to the side of her face while trying to keep her breathing under control, "…please, don't do anything stupid or anything that'll create a bad impression." Beside Sue, Tommy was also watching what was going on with some consternation and hoping that Chris wouldn't do anything that would create a very bad first impression. He didn't know that almost everyone else was thinking the same thing that he was.
"And why would she want to work somewhere like a railway? That's something that any girl would never work at and it's something that she would never be good at!" Chris said, as she glared crossly at the three big engines while crossing her arms. This made Henry, Gordon, and James even more cross, as they all realised that Carrie was indeed quite correct about what kind of a person Chris Hargensen was like from what they had been told about her earlier on that year.
"Well, Carrie's been working on the railway with us since early January this year! And she's very good at the job too!" Gordon said, as he glared angrily at Chris.
"And she's proven herself to be a good and reliable worker in all that time! A really useful worker, as a matter of fact! And she's also made some very good friends with those who are working here within the last full year as well!" added James, also glaring at the bully.
"And she, as well as the other girls she works with, can do a much better job on the railway than you probably ever could, so I guess that makes her even with you!" said Henry. On hearing that, Chris' mouth dropped open in shock on being spoken to in such a manner, as no one had ever done that to her or stood up to her before, let alone three big engines that she had never seen before in her life! She spluttered for a few seconds, unable to think of anything to say back to them in response.
"Okay, I think that's enough for now, you three!" came a voice, as the stationmaster came up along Platform 13. Hearing that, Henry, Gordon, and James looked over to where the stationmaster was standing with a clipboard in his hand.
"Henry, all the mail and parcels are almost loaded onto your coaches and vans, and it's almost time for you to be on your way again with them. You'll need to make a stop at Wellsworth Station on your way back to Knapford, as there's some more vans and converted coaches full of parcels and mail to be collected there as well."
"Yes, sir." said Henry. And from Platform 14, quite a few of those standing together and watching the three big engines murmured and whispered together.
"And James…there's a long line of fully loaded trucks in the yards close by for you to take away. So, get going now. Those trucks need to be collected from the yards as soon as possible and then taken to where they need to be delivered to." said the stationmaster, as he glared at James.
"Yes, sir!" James said, as he glared sternly at Carrie's classmates for a few moments before he let off some steam and then slowly reversed away along the line after blowing his whistle.
"And Gordon…once the coaches arrive from the nearby coach depot in a short while, you're to take all these people from here over to Knapford Station as fast as you can." said the stationmaster. And Gordon wasn't too pleased to hear the news that he had to take all these people, Carrie's bullying classmates, their families, and teachers over to Knapford Station, but he knew that he had no choice in the matter. After glancing back over to Carrie's classmates and teachers, where he gave them all a look of disgust, he turned his attention back to the stationmaster.
"Yes, sir…" Gordon said, with a heavy sigh while rolling his eyes up in an annoyed way.
In the meantime, Carrie had managed to get herself back aboard Henry's footplate, with the eyes of a few of her fellow classmates and teachers watching her as she did so, and she had sat herself down on the seat on the fireman's side of the cab, which was the farthest away from her former classmates, and looked out the forward window in a silent and quiet way. She was still in some considerable shock from what had just happened in the last few minutes, especially from seeing all her former classmates again, as well as some of her former teachers, on the platform right in front of her. How did they all find out she was over here on the Island of Sodor after all this time? And why were they all over here? Were they here to apologise to her after what happened all those years before? Or were they all over here to take her back home? And then an even worse thought crossed Carrie's mind; Was her mentally unstable mother somewhere within the crowd as well? She thought that fact was highly unlikely to be the case, considering that she knew her mother was securely locked up for the rest of her life in the mental institution in Arkham, although she knew she couldn't be too careful after everything she had gone through before she ran away from Chamberlain.
A few seconds later, the guard for Henry's train blew his whistle loudly and waved his green flag before stepping back onto his van. With a loud blast of his whistle, and a final angry glare towards Carrie's classmates on Platform 14, Henry slowly set off on his way, taking up the weight of his heavy train behind them as he did so. From the platform, Carrie's classmates, their families, and teachers watched as Henry set off on his way with his train, with one vehicle at a time to be seen going by until the final one had gone by and set off along the line, with the last thing everyone saw being the bright red tail lamp fitted to the back of the final vehicle in the train. They had hoped to get a view of Carrie in the cab, but the only thing many of them saw of her before Henry left was the view of a shocked person sitting in the cab and who seemed to be quite upset as well.
A few of Carrie's classmates felt bad from what had just happened, from seeing Carrie shocked to seeing them again after so long, as well as felling slightly shocked from seeing the three big engines stand up to Chris when she showed her cheek and rudeness to them. After seeing Henry leave, as well as remembering Carrie's shocked expression on her face, Sue was feeling very bad deep inside and wondering if it had been a good idea to come over here to Sodor in the first place. And it wasn't just Sue who was thinking that; quite a few of her fellow classmates were also thinking the same thing as well. Standing close by, Rita Desjardin was feeling appalled by what she had seen Chris do in the last few minutes, but she was also impressed by how Henry, Gordon, and James had stood up to her and had defended Carrie from Chris' wrath. But behaviour like this from Chris was completely unacceptable, whether it was inside school or outside of it and Rita made a mental note to speak with Principal Morton and the other teachers about what to do about it later on that day.
It wasn't too long before the coaches that Gordon was to pull back to Knapford finally arrived in the station; there were 10 of them in all, including two buffet coaches, and each of them were very smartly turned out, due to the way they had been polished. They were being pushed into the station from the coach depot by L.N.E.R. J50 Class 0-6-0T No.68896. As Gordon stood and waited for the coaches to be pushed up behind him, he overheard Chris speaking to Tina and Donna, and their conversation caught his attention…and he wasn't very pleased by what he heard them.
"You know…I bet that big blue lump of steaming scrap-iron could never pull a heavy train anywhere, or even at any form of decent speed!" Chris said, as she, Tina, and Donna laughed to themselves.
"And I bet that he could never get us out of this station either after we all get on the train!" Tina added, which brought more laughs from the three of them. Gordon clearly overheard all of this, and it made him very cross!
Once No.68896 had pushed the line of coaches up to behind Gordon's tender, the shunter waiting by the side of the line coupled him up and connected up the brake pipes. At the same time, the doors on the coaches were opened up and the people in the Chamberlain group started to board the train. As he watched Chris, Tina, and Donna step back along the platform to get on the coaches, Gordon was still feeling cross from the conversation he had overheard them have a few moments before. Then he heard the sounds of chuffing coming from along the line and coming into the station from behind him. A few moments later, with the sounds of brakes squealing, L.N.E.R. Thompson Q1 Class 0-8-0T No.69925 came to a stop on the middle line right beside Gordon, and then he noticed the angry look on his face (120).
"What's up with you, Gordon?" No.69925 asked, getting slightly concerned.
"You'll be shocked when I tell you…" said Gordon, and then he told No.69925 about what had just happened here in the last while. And when he had finished, No.69925 was shocked to hear about the things that had just happened a few minutes before.
"Well, you just make sure that they know what the engines of Sodor can do, Gordon! You can do it!" No.69925 said, still not quite believing what he had just been told.
"And if I have to take all these people over to Knapford, then I'll show all of them how I pull my trains!" Gordon said, still feeling cross from what he had heard Chris, Tina, and Donna say a few minutes before. He was determined to prove them wrong and that he could easily pull heavy trains, having done it many times over the years.
"Well, good luck then, Gordon. And all the same, I just hope that things work out between Carrie and her former classmates over here as the next few days go on." said No.69925 with some concern, having never expected Carrie's classmates to suddenly show up on Sodor.
"Yeah, me too." Gordon said, with a heavy sigh while rolling his eyes up and contemplating the journey ahead with all of these people.
(120): The Thompson Q1 Class 0-8-0T tank engines were rebuilt examples of a number of earlier Great Central Railway (G.C.R.) Class 8A 0-8-0 heavy freight engines, and were intended to be used in heavy shunting duties in yards in place of the older Gresley J50 Class 0-6-0T tank engines.
Initially, Thompson's plans of standardisation on the L.N.E.R. network didn't include plans for a class of 0-8-0T tank engines for heavy shunting duties, but by the end of 1941 plans for such a design were being drawn up. At the same time, there were still examples of the older G.C.R 8A Class 0-8-0 (L.N.E.R. Q4 Class) heavy freight engines still in operation. Withdrawals of that class had begun back in 1934, but it was stopped due to the outbreak of the Second World War and the shortage of heavy freight engines that would be needed for helping with the war effort.
Thompson decided to use some examples of the Q4 Class as the basis for his new heavy tank engine design, and ultimately 13 examples of the class would be rebuilt into the new Q1 Class 0-8-0T design between 1942 and 1945 at Gorton Works. The frames, cylinders, and connecting rods of the original Class 8A design were kept, though the boiler was shortened in order to provide space for a fully enclosed cab and the coal bunker. As the firebox had been moved further forward, the eccentrics for the inside Stephenson valve gear had to be moved forward from the third driving axle to the second driving axle. Some parts that had been built for a cancelled batch of J50 Class engines were used in the new Q1 Class, and these parts were incorporated into the side tanks, cabs, and bunkers of the first Q1s.
The rebuilt engines were given the classification of Q1, which had been made vacant for the new engines by the withdrawal of the last Ivatt Q1 Class 0-8-0 tender engine all the way back in 1934.
The new Q1 Class were divided into two separate sub-variants with differences between them. These two sub-variants were;
Q1/1: the first four engines of the class to be built (No.9925 to No.9928) had a water capacity of 1,500 gallons in their side tanks and a coal capacity of just under 5 tons. One issue with these engines was the limited water capacity, due to the complaints from crews who drove them on a regular basis. The first four engines were unusual in that the weight was concentrated mainly on the two front driving axles.
Q1/2: the next nine engines in the class to be built (No.9929 to No.9937) had their frames lengthened by six inches to allow for larger coal bunkers to be fitted. At the same time, considering the limited water capacity of the first four engines, the water capacity on the next nine engines was increased to 2,000 gallons, with the extra 500 gallons being carried in a rear tank under the coal bunker. This resulted in the coal capacity being reduced to just a shade over 4 tons. Unlike the four earlier Q1/1s, the maximum axle load of the Q1/2s was placed on the rear two driving axles.
No superheaters were ever fitted to any engines of the Q1 Class, as it wasn't seen as necessary for a shunting engine to be fitted with a superheater for the work that they were to do, although they were fitted with steam brakes as standard. A gradable steam brake was fitted to the class between 1947 and 1948.
The Q1 Class had two outside cylinders that were 19in in diameter with a 26in piston stroke, a boiler that was pressed to 180psi, and eight driving wheels that were 4ft 8in in diameter, which all combined to give the class a maximum tractive effort of 25,645lbf.
When they came into service, the Q1 Class engines were used on heavy shunting duties in a number of different areas where their power was needed, including in the Southern Area of the L.N.E.R., as well as in the North Eastern and Scottish Areas. They were much more powerful than the earlier J50 Class 0-6-0Ts, though not as powerful as the S1 Class 0-8-4T or T1 Class 4-8-0T heavy shunting engines. They were also considered to have equal power abilities as the O4 Class 2-8-0s, although their limited water capacity was a major disadvantage to their range of operations.
When Britain's railways were nationalised in January 1948, the class were given the power classification of 5F and were renumbered from No.69925 to No.69937, and they continued on in their heavy shunting duties well into B.R. days. One area they were used very successfully at was at Frodingham, with most of the traffic there being from Scunthorpe's steel mills, and the older and smaller 0-6-0T tank engines were often inadequate to move the very heavy loads of steel. A Q1 could always handle them very well, and there were also plenty of watering points available for them to top up their side tanks while they worked. They were also occasionally used for work in marshalling yards, as well as for banking heavy trains up steep inclines.
Withdrawals of the Q1 Class began in 1954, and were fully completed before the end of 1959. Sadly, no examples of the class have managed to survive into preservation, which is a real shame in my opinion as many of the heritage railways all over the U.K. would find an example of the class very handy to have around.
As soon as the doors for the coaches were opened, the people from Chamberlain began to board the train in an orderly fashion. Sue, her sister and parents, along with Tommy and his parents boarded the second coach and then made their way to their seats. After placing their heavy bags up onto the overhead racks, they sat down on their seats and waited to set off. Sue was sitting on the seat beside the middle aisle of the coach, and she was able to watch as the others made their way along, or placed their heavy bags onto the overhead luggage racks, before sitting down on their seats.
Sue was somewhat shaken from what had happened a short while before, and she was hoping that maybe there was a chance of some reconciliation with Carrie.
"Are you all right, Sue?" came the voice of Tommy. He was sitting right across from Sue in the seat right by the aisle.
"Yeah, I'm all right, Tommy. I'm just still shocked by what just happened a short while before." Sue said, as she looked at Tommy.
"Don't worry, Sue. Everything will be all right. If we can get a chance to talk to Carrie face to face…I hope that we can give her our apologies for what happened to her over the years." Tommy said, as he reached his hand out towards his girlfriend. Reaching her own hand out, Sue took hold of Tommy's hand and he squeezed it very reassuringly, which helped Sue to relax a little bit.
Sue's fellow classmates and their families were sitting elsewhere on the train, with Rita Desjardin sitting in one of the seats at the forward end of the third coach, and the four police officers from the Chamberlain Police Department and their families were sitting together in the fourth coach. Principal Morton and some of the other teachers, along with their families, were also sitting at the back of the fourth coach.
It wasn't too long before the last of those from Chamberlain had boarded the coaches, stowed their luggage onto the overhead racks or else on the shelves for larger luggage items at the ends of the carriages, and then took their seats ready for the departure. Then, one by one, the doors on the coaches were closed up by the station staff as the time for departure approached. And as soon as the last of the doors were closed, the guard leaned out from his compartment at the forward end of the front coach and then blew his whistle while waving his green flag. From Gordon's cab, the driver acknowledged the signal and blew Gordon's whistle for a few seconds before opening the regulator. Slowly, with clouds of steam shooting out in front, Gordon took up the weight of the heavy coaches and made his way out of the station. Inside the coaches, everyone watched as the train started to move out from the station, going at a slow speed at first as they made their way out. Looking outside the window as they started out, Sue was wondering how the journey would go in the next while, so she settled down to enjoy the trip.
(Meanwhile, with Henry and Carrie)
Having gotten clear of the airport a short while before, Henry made his way along the Southern Main Line with his train full of mail and parcels. Though he was going along very smoothly, he was still feeling quite cross from what had just taken place back at the airport station earlier. The altercation that he, Gordon and James had with Chris Hargensen at a short while before had left a very bitter taste, and seemed to prove to him that Carrie was right about what she had gone through back in her home town. He wasn't looking forward to seeing those people again, and he was also wondering what he would say to the other engines when he saw them later on.
Meanwhile, Carrie was sitting quietly in the fireman's seat, and she was still in some shock from what had happened. Having just gotten the shock of her life when she saw her former classmates and teachers again at the station, Carrie was deeply afraid as to what was going to happen in the near future, and what might happen to her when she saw them again. Eventually though, Carrie stood up and took another go at the shovel, placing fresh coal into the firebox to keep the fire burning bright and hot.
It wasn't long before Henry finally arrived at Wellsworth Station and, after giving a short blast of his whistle, he slowly pulled into the platform on the line for Knapford. On the other line, he saw S.D.J.R. 7F Class 2-8-0 No.53810 head past with a heavy coal train, heading towards Gordon's Hill with the former Midland Railway Lickey Banker Bertha pushing the train hard from behind. As Henry came to a stop at the platform, he saw Edward sitting in the short siding on one end of the platform.
"Morning, Henry! Did you manage to get the Flying Kipper to Barrow-in-Furness on time?" Edward asked, as Henry came to a stop. Edward was feeling rather cheerful this morning, in quite contrast to how Henry was feeling right now.
"Yes, I did…, and we managed to arrive there well ahead of time. But a short while ago, Carrie and I ran into a rather unexpected problem…" and Henry then told Edward about what had happened over at the airport a short while earlier. Upon hearing all of this, Edward was stunned.
"Oh, my goodness! Carrie, are you feeling all right after that?" Edward asked, having noticed Carrie step out from Henry's footplate.
"Yes Edward, I'm all right, except…it's just that…I never ever expected to see any of them over here on Sodor after the last year. And especially this close to Christmas." Carrie said, still somewhat shaken up and trying what she could to keep her nerves calm.
"And are your classmates still back at the airport?" Edward asked, feeling a bit anxious. But before Carrie could answer that question, Henry spoke up.
"Well, they were back there at the time when we left. But I imagine that they're on their way over to Knapford right now aboard Gordon's train." Henry said.
"Oh dear…" Edward said, now feeling a little worried about what would happen now that Carrie's classmates were now on Sodor.
In the meantime, while Henry was stopped at the station, the heavy vans and converted coaches, between half a dozen and a dozen of them in total, that were filled up close to bursting point with sacks of mail and countless parcels were pushed up to the back of Henry's train. After the red tail lamp was taken off the back of the last vehicle, the line of vehicles were slowly pushed up to the back of the train by B.R. Standard Class 2-6-0 No.76040, who had helped to bring this part of the train up from Brendam Docks to Wellsworth a short while before. After he arrived, he was then uncoupled from these vans and converted coaches, went over the line and buffered up to the back, and then pushed the train onto the back of Henry's train after he arrived. Slowly, he pushed the vans up before they connected up to the back of the train with a slight bump. Once that was done, the shunter coupled up these vans to Henry's train and then connected up the brake pipes.
While Henry and Carrie chatted to Edward while they waited to set off again, there came the sounds of a familiar whistle from along the line in the direction of Gordon's Hill. On hearing it, Carrie went into Henry's cab over to the fireman's side and looked back along the main line.
"Oh, here comes Gordon now." Henry said, knowing that all of Carrie's classmates were on the coaches and would see them stopped here. Edward waited anxiously, unsure of what would happen within the next minute. Sure enough, with a loud blast of his whistle and his pistons pumping, Gordon passed through the middle of Wellsworth Station on the middle line with his coaches. Looking out from Henry's footplate, Carrie watched as the train went on by, unsure if she could clearly see any of her classmates and teachers in the coaches. But she didn't get a clear view, as Gordon was going just a bit too quickly for that.
From the coaches, many of Carrie's classmates, their families, and teachers were looking outside at the views passing by as they passed through Wellsworth Station, and many of them clearly saw Henry waiting at the platform. Some of them, including Sue and Tommy thought they saw Carrie leaning out from the right-hand side of Henry's cab and looking out, but they weren't very sure about that. The train was going slow enough that they also saw Edward sitting in the short siding by the station.
As Carrie watched Gordon's train go by, another thought flew into her head…and this was the one that got her the most concerned; what would her father and her friends say when they found out about this? She knew that she would have to tell them at some point, and she was also concerned as to whether they would believe her or not. She wished that Simon was here with her to give her some advice, as well as to comfort her in her time of need.
Watching the last of Gordon's coaches disappear into the distance towards Knapford, Carrie became aware of another sound from somewhere behind her. Turning round, she saw the driver and fireman step back onto the footplate, and they had freshly refilled tea cans as well as some brown paper bags in their hands.
"Ready to head off again, Carrie?" the driver asked, as he sat down on his seat, while placing one of the tea cans onto the warming plate over the firehole doors.
"Yeah, I am." Carrie said quietly, as she stood up and waited for them to set off again.
"We both felt that you might want to have a little something after your unexpected shock over at the airport a little while back." said the fireman, as he offered one of the paper bags to Carrie. Taking it with a small smile on her face, Carrie opened the bag and saw there were two large Christmas cookies inside it. And they were quite large Christmas cookies, thick and topped off with tiny coloured sweets.
"Thanks. I think this is certainly needed right now." Carrie said, as she gave a small smile in gratitude while she removed her work gloves, stuffed them into the side pockets of her overalls, before then pouring some tea into her enamel mug and then settling back into the fireman's seat to enjoy the tea and one of the cookies.
Once the signal ahead of the station had dropped, to show the line was clear, the guard stepped out and blew his whistle while waving his green flag.
"Okay, let's get going!" the driver said, as he released the brakes and then opened the regulator a little. Slowly, with a blast of the whistle sounding, Henry set off on his way, with his driving wheels slipping a little as he took up the weight of the heavy train behind him.
"See you later, Edward!" he said, as he started on his way again.
"Good luck, Henry!" Edward called, as he watched the train leave the station. He was now really deeply concerned for what was about to happen now that Carrie's classmates were here on Sodor, as well as how Carrie would be able to deal with them.
Meanwhile, Gordon was soon making his final approach to Knapford Station. He had to go slowly as there were a number of other trains that were going in and out of the station, but he was soon able to arrive on the line that ran adjacent to Platform 3. By this point, he had calmed down somewhat from earlier on, though he was still feeling cross from what had taken place over at the airport, as well as seeing how upset Carrie had been. As he slowed down while he rolled into the station, those who were on the train looked out at Knapford Station; it looked no different from any other railway station they had seen before, only that there were plenty of Christmas decorations put up, including brightly decorated Christmas trees, twinkling Christmas lights, and other decorations strung up wherever there was space found for them.
After Gordon came to a stop at the platform, the station staff opened the doors to the coaches and the passengers began disembarking, taking their luggage and belongings with them. From the forward coach, which was the First-Class coach, Chris Hargensen and her parents, along with Donna and Tina and their parents, stepped off and onto the platform. From all the other coaches, everyone else in the Chamberlain group also disembarked, and within moments Platform 3 was a mass of noise as the passengers made their way along towards the footbridge and then made their way up it and over the two lines that were running between Platforms 1 and 2 over to Platform 1.
As they made their way along the platform up to the footbridge, they all walked past where Gordon was standing, and some of them turned to look at the big blue engine as they went on by. From where he was, Gordon looked towards Carrie's classmates with a heavy frown on his face, and that did somewhat intimidate some of those students who had bullied Carrie over the years, including Heather, Sue, Nicki and Lizzy, Jessica, Rachel, and Vicky, and they turned their gazes away from Gordon and carried on heading up the footbridge. As they did so, they could all feel the gazes from Gordon following them as they went along, and that got them a little nervous.
But when Chris, Tina, and Donna passed by Gordon, they glared at him just as hard as he was glaring at them. They were clearly not too intimidated by this big blue engine, from the outside at least, and Gordon was still feeling quite cross from the conversation he had heard them have back at the airport. After a few seconds of the girls and big engine glaring sternly at each other, Chris, Tina, and Donna turned and made their way up the footbridge with their parents and luggage.
As the group made their way out from the station entrance to the main car park, they all paused and waited for everyone else to catch up to them. Once everyone was gathered together, they made their way out from the car park and headed off to the hotel, which was only a short walk of a few minutes away from the railway station. Going along the footpath on the side of the main road going through the town of Knapford, many of those in the Chamberlain group looked around at the different sights they could see as they went through the street. Just then, they heard the sounds of a bus tooting its horn as it went along the road. Turning round to look, they all saw the sight of Bertie the Bus turning off from a side street with a smile on his face. And the sight of a road vehicle with a face on the front of it also shocked many of those from Chamberlain, having not expected some of the road vehicles to have faces on them too.
"You know…I knew that Carrie was a freak…but I never expected her to have come to a place like this, where the engines and road vehicles have faces on their fronts, and that they could look around and talk too." Chris whispered to Tina and Donna.
"I agree. This certainly is quite a strange place to be." Donna said, in agreement.
"I'm a bit disappointed that we're spending Christmas all the way over here instead of where we wanted to go back home…but I suppose that we'll just have to make the best of it." Tina said.
After seeing Bertie go on past them in a very cheerful manner and then head on his way down the road, Sue and Tommy were somewhat stunned to see a bus with a face on its front, having already been shocked by the sight of big steam locomotives with faces on their fronts earlier on in the morning.
"Do you think that we may see more vehicles with faces on their fronts?" Sue asked.
"I think that there's a very high chance that we will. After all, I think the Island of Sodor is quite a unique place." Tommy said. At the same time, a lot of the others in the group were talking amongst themselves about that the morning had been like, and many of them were wondering what else they would see before their time on Sodor came to an end.
They soon arrived at the hotel, and were lining up to check-in at the reception desk. Due to the number of people who had come over from Chamberlain, it took quite a while for everyone to check-in, but it wasn't very long before everyone had checked-in and were upstairs and settling into their rooms. From the room she was staying in with her sister, Sue looked outside the window down to the main street below her. They were up on the fourth floor of the hotel, and they had a good view of the street, as well as a good view of the roofs of much of the town of Knapford, including the top of Knapford Station in the distance.
From the interconnecting door, Sue could hear the sounds of her parents as they began to unpack their things and settle in, while inside the room she was sharing with her sister, Sierra was also unpacking her things and placing them into the presses and drawers. Sue was still a bit concerned about what had happened earlier at the airport station, but she decided to push that to the back of her mind for now, and set about getting herself settled in.
Elsewhere in the hotel, everyone else was settling into their rooms; up on the sixth floor, Chris Hargensen and her parents were settling into their suite, which consisted of two bedrooms – each with their own ensuite bathroom – and a living room. It was the finest suite in the hotel, and John Hargensen could easily afford to have his family in it. From her bedroom window, Chris looked out at the view of the roofs of Knapford, as well as towards Knapford Station. She saw columns of white-grey smoke rising over the station and beyond it, as engines went on by with their trains and heading off to wherever they were going.
"You just wait, Carrie…" Chris said quietly, as he looked out, "…I'm gonna get even with you for ratting out me and my friends for what you did. You just wait. I'm gonna get even." After a few moments, Chris turned away and continued on with getting settled in.
Down on the second floor, Rita Desjardin was settling into her own room. The view she had outside her own bedroom window didn't have as good a view out as the rooms on the upper floors, but she wasn't complaining about that. Going into the bathroom, she placed the toiletries she had around the sink and by the bathtub so that they'd be close at hand. After making sure she had the towels in a spot where she could find them, she went back out into the bedroom and continued on unpacking her bags. Up on the third floor, Tommy Ross and his parents were settling into their own rooms, with an interconnecting door in between the two rooms. Down on the first floor, the four officers from Chamberlain and their families were also settling into their own rooms. In the meantime, some members of the hotel staff were going about and giving assistance to the newly arrived guests who may have needed some help, or else they were delivering things, such as more towels, to rooms if the guests felt like there weren't enough of them.
(Meanwhile, at Tidmouth Sheds)
In the meantime, Henry had already delivered all the mail and parcels to the mail depot at Knapford, and had then made his way back to Tidmouth Sheds. After he arrived there and was turned on the turntable, he told the other engines who were there about what happened at the airport earlier on in the day. All the other engines were shocked to hear this unexpected bit of news, having not ever expected to hear that Carrie's classmates and teachers to have come all the way over to Sodor.
"How in the world did they all manage to find out that she was over here on Sodor?" asked L.M.S. 8F Class 2-8-0 No.48484, a look of clear shock on his face.
"I don't know how they managed that…but Carrie is very upset about it too!" Henry said, still feeling quite cross from what happened. After they arrived, Carrie had made her way over to the crew building and was now sitting inside the cafeteria there, still in some shock after what happened.
"I just hope that all of those people don't do anything to upset Carrie. After all, I think that Carrie was hoping that she wouldn't ever have to see any of them again!" added No.61475, an L.N.E.R. B16 Class 4-6-0 (121).
"I wonder if we'll ever get to come face to face with them, so that we can tell them what we think of them!" added B.R. 9F Class 2-10-0 No.92151.
"I'm not sure if that'll ever happen…but I would like to see the looks on their faces if they try to argue with us!" said B.R Standard Class 2MT 2-6-0 No.78030.
"I'm not sure about that. But we'll have to wait and see what the future brings." Said B.R. Standard Class 3MT 2-6-0 No.77001.
"I saw that Carrie was very upset. I just hope that Simon and the others can comfort her after her unexpected shock." Said L.M.S. Fairburn 2-6-4T No.2189.
"Well…I saw Simon get back not too long before, and I hope that he can do what he can to comfort her." Said L.N.E.R. K4 Class 2-6-0 No.3441 Cameron of Lochiel.
"Yes, I hope so too. After all, Carrie was very shocked by seeing her classmates again." said Henry, looking over towards the crew building with some concern.
(121): The North Eastern Railway's S3 Class (L.N.E.R. B16 Class) 4-6-0 engines were designed by Vincent Raven for work on mixed-traffic work, though they were initially described as fast goods engines. It was the culmination of engines built with a 4-6-0 wheel arrangement that had been started by Wilson Worsdell with the S Class (L.N.E.R. B13 Class) all the way back in 1899.
After the end of the First World War, the N.E.R. experienced a major increase in both freight and passenger traffic, with the heavy goods trains often being handled by S Class (L.N.E.R. B13), S1 Class (L.N.E.R. B14), and S2 Class (L.N.E.R. B15) 4-6-0s. The problem was that these three classes of engines were difficult to operate and had quite a high coal consumption, though the fitting of superheating elements made the engines much more free-steaming than they had been before, but even so they still struggled to keep up with the increase in traffic. At the same time, the express passenger trains were being handled by the N.E.R.'s V & V/09 Class (L.N.E.R. C6 Class) and Z Class (L.N.E.R. C7 Class) Atlantic 4-4-2s, as well as the N.E.R. R Class (L.N.E.R. D20 Class) andR1 Class(L.N.E.R. D21 Class) 4-4-0s. Although the 4-4-2s did quite well, the 4-4-0s began to struggle with the heavy train loads.
So, in order to deal with the increasingly heavy trains running on the N.E.R. system, the company's Chief Mechanical Engineer, Vincent Raven, began work on a new 4-6-0 design that had the ability to be used on both freight and passenger trains. The N.E.R.'s standard three-cylinder layout was used on the new design, as it promised to offer plenty of power and speed, and 5ft 8in driving wheels were used, as they offered a good balance between power and adhesion. In fact, the new design shared many parts that were in common with the Class T3 (L.N.E.R. Q7 Class) 0-8-0, though it's thought to have been a deliberate attempt to meet many of the wartime standardisation plans of the A.R.L.E. (Association of Railway Locomotive Engineers). Stephenson's valve gear was also used on all three cylinders, instead of Gresley's conjugated valve gear.
The original boiler that was used on the new design, and which could also be interchanged with the Q7 Class 0-8-0s, had 102 boiler tubes, but from 1933 onwards these were increased to 109 tubes. At the same time, other changes were made to make the B16s more suitable for use on faster services. The driving wheel axleboxes were replaced by solid bronze axleboxes with cast steel horn guides and forged steel horn stays. A new laminated spring design was fitted, and an additional mechanical lubricator was fitted. New crankshafts and modified couple rods were also fitted.
The first orders for the first 10 new S3s were placed in November 1918, with orders for 25 more engines being placed even before any of the first new engines of the first order were delivered. In total, 70 members of the S3/B16 Class would be built at Darlington Works between December 1919 and January 1924. Initially, the class were numbered between No.840 and No.943, though not contiguously, with those being built after late 1922 directly receiving their new L.N.E.R. numbers.
The B16 Class had three cylinders, which were 18.5in in diameter with a 26in piston stroke, a boiler that was fitted with superheating elements and pressed to 180psi, and six driving wheels that were 5ft 8in in diameter, all of which combined to give the class a maximum tractive effort of 30,312lbf. All three of the cylinders drove onto the leading driving axle. The tenders that the class were paired with ran on six wheels and could carry up to 5 tons of coal and about 4,125 gallons of water. The tenders often had coal rails fitted at the tops. in order to allow the tenders to carry more coal than they normally could.
There were three sub-variants of the class built. These sub-variants included;
B16/1: this was the original version that had been introduced by Vincent Raven, and had Stephenson valve gear fitted on all three cylinders, as well as right-hand drive controls inside the cab.
B16/2: introduced in 1937, when Sir Nigel Gresley rebuilt No.2364 with Walschaerts valve gear on the outside cylinders, and his conjugated valve gear for the middle cylinder. Doing this meant that the leading bogie had to be moved forward by 9 inches and the main frames lengthened, and the opportunity was also taken to raise the running plate over the driving wheels and fit a new cab. In total, seven B16/1s were rebuilt to the B16/2 standard.
B16/3: introduced in 1944, when Edward Thompson rebuilt B16/1s to have three separate sets of Walschaerts valve gear for all three cylinders, as well as converting the engines from right-hand drive to left-hand drive. In total, seventeen B16/1s were converted to B16/3s between 1944 and 1949.
When they first came into service, the B16s were initially used on mixed-traffic duties along the East Coast Main Line. Some were allocated to Dairycoates in 1925 in order to replace older Q10 Class 0-8-0s from the Hull and Barnsley Railway, as the Q10s were finding it difficult to cope with the heavier trains. During the 1930's, the class were used frequently on trains taking holiday makers to the Yorkshire coast, as well as on football specials to football games, with extra coaches often being added to these services at very short notice, and the B16s coped well with this heavy traffic. On multiple occasions, over thirty different B16s could be seen at Scarborough on the same summer Saturday. They were also used on fast freights, express passenger trains, and on occasional slow trains.
During the Second World War, the B16s were used on trains that ran along the Great Central Main Line, where they were often seen at places like Banbury and Woodford Halse. After the war, they were also seen working on trains south of Peterborough, often as a replacement for failed V2 Class 2-6-2s or B1 Class 4-6-0s.
Withdrawals of the class first began in late April 1942, when No.925 , along with A4 No.4469 Sir Ralph Wedgewood , was damaged beyond repair after being struck by a bomb during a Luftwaffe air raid on York; it was withdrawn and then scrapped not long afterwards. The class remained intact until 1958, when the age of the class, as well as the introduction of newer diesel locomotives, caused formal withdrawals to begin in earnest, when No.61474 and No.61405 were withdrawn in January and February respectively that year. The rest of the class followed along over the next six years until July 1954, when No.61435 was withdrawn from service. The member of the class that covered the greatest mileage during its working life was B16/2 No.61455, who covered about 1,159,799 miles during her career. Sadly, no members of the B16 Class have survived into preservation.
(With Carrie, in the crew building canteen)
Meanwhile, still in some disbelief from what happened earlier on that morning, Carrie was sitting at one of the tables inside the canteen with a cup of hot tea in her hands. Simon, having gotten back from his shift a little while before, along with Alice, Oliva, Saoirse, and Sophie were sitting with her as well and trying their best to comfort her. Carrie had just told them about what had happened earlier on, much to the disbelief of all of them, and she sat at the table deeply afraid for the first time in quite a long while.
"Oh, what's my father and the Fat Controller going to say when they find out about this?" Carrie said, as she took a long sip of tea.
"I've got no real idea on what the Fat Controller is going to say about this. But what I do know is that Ralph isn't gonna be too happy when you tell him. And you're going to have to tell your father at some point, Carrie." Sophie said.
"I know…and that's one of the things that worries me." Carrie said.
"Try not to worry too much, Carrie." Simon said, as he gently patted her on her back, "I'll be there for you, I promise you. I'll not let them go anywhere near you. And if they try to lay a finger on you…I'll fight for you."
Looking up at Simon, Carrie could see that he meant what he said.
"Thanks, Simon." Carrie said, as they gave each other a quick hug.
"I'm…just simply amazed that your former classmates and teachers found out that you were over here. I still can't believe it now." Alice said, as she took in another forkful of her slice of chocolate cake.
"Yeah, I'm sure that you hoped you'd never have to see any of them again for as long as you lived." Saoirse said, as she took a sip of her tea.
"Yeah, that's pretty much what I hoped, Saoirse. And I'm…astonished that they tracked me down to the Island of Sodor after more than a full year." Carrie said.
"I wonder how they managed that." Olivia said.
"There has to be a good reason why they found you here after all this time." Alice said.
"I hope that I find that out when I have to face them again. And something tells me that it'll be much sooner than I think." Carrie said.
"Well, try not to worry about it too much, Carrie. After all, if you do think about it too much…you'll not be able to get to sleep tonight." Simon said.
"I'll try not to, Simon. But I can't help it." Carrie said, as she rubbed down her forehead.
"And something tells me that the rest of us will also be facing them very soon as well. And I can't wait to tell them, especially to Chris Hargensen, to their faces what I think about them." Sophie said.
"Yeah, I think they'll be quite intimidated when they come face to face with us." Olivia said.
"Let's hope so. I think that you could use all the support you can get, Carrie." Saoirse said, as she reassured Carrie.
"Thanks, guys. I think that I could really use your help." Carrie said, as she looked outside the window at the grey winter sky, and wondered that the immediate future would hold for her.
And that's it for this chapter! As we've seen, Carrie was mightily shocked at seeing her former classmates and teachers again, as well as the way Henry , Gordon , and James stood up to Chris Hargensen at the airport. Having just received the biggest shock of her life, Carrie is obviously worried about what the future is gonna bring for her in the next few days. What's going to happen and will Carrie be able to take on the challenges that life is gonna throw at her? I hope to get the next chapter up as soon as I can, and so…in the meantime, please enjoy this chapter!