WWII: A Railway Series Tale

Chapter I - Double Header

It was the end of August in the year 1939, and the British Island of Sodor was busier than ever, its railways providing the transport of goods and passengers from Barrow in Furness on the Mainland to Arlesburgh Harbour, a coastal town on the west coast of Sodor. While most railways aren't as popular on the Mainland, the North Western Railway is what some might call "magical". Instead of smoke boxes, the locomotives have real faces, and do their best to be really reliable, right on time, and of course, really useful. Despite their hardworking nature, the busy summer season had worn them out due to the surplus in goods and tourists.
        One evening, Henry the Green Engine was nearing the last station on the main line, Vicarstown, with an express full of passengers from the Mainland, as well as those on their regular commute from their jobs. Henry was a big, green tender engine with a ton of strength and a big heart. Ever since Gordon the Big Engine was sent to the works at Crewe to be rebuilt, the Black Five was assigned as the main passenger express engine. Henry adored this job and took great pride in it. Henry hasn't always been a strong engine. He used to have trouble steaming, and required Welsh coal in order to make a strong fire in his small firebox. After a nasty accident involving icy points on a cold winter morning a few years ago, Henry was rebuilt into an LMS Black Five, and feels better than ever before.
        Henry had just pulled into the platform at Vicarstown, when he felt a cramp in his boiler. He told his driver about it as they began to prepare for a light goods train headed for Wellsworth. His driver and fireman checked him over, inspecting his pistons, wheels, and coupling rods. "Hmm," began his driver, "Everything seems in order on the outside, we've no spare time to take a better look at your parts, so we'll have to make do with a sticky situation. Do you think you'll be able to pull the train to Wellsworth, old boy?" Henry put on a brave face "Of course, driver. I just hope nothing goes wrong." he replied. Henry made his way to the sidings, where a train full of crates, tankers, and flat trucks awaited him. "Definitely not 'light' goods." he muttered. He backed down in front of his train, and when the guard blew his whistle, Henry roared into life, wheeshing and puffing as the big green thoroughbred departed for Wellsworth.
        Henry was making good time as he thundered through Maron station, but when the goods train reached the gradient at Gordon's Hill, everything seemed to happen at once as his puffing became wheezing and his wheels began to slip on the steep line. "I feel so achy, driver!" Henry complained "Keep at it, old boy! We're almost at the top! Power through!" His driver and fireman both replied with confidence. That was all they could do, keep a good mind for the poor engine. Henry wasn't the kind of engine to give up. He was determined to get the train to Wellsworth, where he would have all the weight of the train off his buffers and get a good night's rest at Tidmouth. "I...won't...give...up!" Henry groaned. Finally, Henry made it to the crest of the hill. "Well done, boy, well done! It's all downhill from here!" cheered his crew! Henry smiled widely as he felt the cool breeze lapping against his boiler. Just five minutes later, Henry and his train pulled into Wellsworth Station. Henry shunted his cars into a siding in the yards and went to fill his tender up with water. "Mm, that's good!" Henry sighed in relaxation. And when all seemed fine, there was a crack, and a WHEESH! "Oh, I feel such a pain! Driver, whatever was that?" Henry moaned as his driver damped down his fire and shut off steam. "Well if that doesn't take the biscuit!" growled his driver in annoyance. "You've burst your safety valve, Henry. Something must have broken inside you when we were at Vicarstown, and pulling the train up Gordon's Hill must have made it worse." he explained to Henry. "Botheration." the green engine grunted.
        Thankfully, Edward was shunting some coal cars into their sidings at the station, and he was more than happy to shunt Henry home. "Oh dear, Henry. A burst safety valve." Edward sighed sympathetically as he began to push Henry to Tidmouth. "Indeed. And the worst part is that I don't know how it happened. Everything was fine all day until I felt a pain at Vicarstown." the green engine said with disappointment. "Things like that happen out of nowhere, my dear engine. You should be proud of yourself for getting that train to my station, even if it meant damaging yourself." soothed kind Edward. "And besides, a burst safety valve is nothing the repairmen can't mend at the Works!" he added. Edward's words made Henry feel much better. A half hour later, Henry and Edward made it to Tidmouth Station, where they met Thomas the Tank Engine, who was shunting some coaches from James' train that had arrived around the same time Henry had arrived at Wellsworth. "Oh dear, Henry! What happened?" Thomas asked in surprise. "My safety valve burst, Thomas." Henry explained briefly. "Nothing they can't fix at the Works." Edward repeated. "Well, tell me more about it at the sheds!" Thomas said as he puffed backwards to Tidmouth Sheds. The two tender engines followed him slowly.
        "Thank you for shunting me home, Edward." Henry said with gratitude as the blue engine pushed him into his berth and puffed back onto the turntable to be rotated to his berth. "My pleasure." Edward winked. "Ah, I'm glad to see you've made it back!" said a voice. A tall man with Sudrian-tan skin stepped away from an emerald colored car, his footsteps crunching against the gravel of the yard as he walked. "Good evening, Mr. Watson." the engines greeted the man. Matthew Watson was the temporary manager of the North Western Railway while the Fat Controller was overseas doing service on a Mainland Railway with the Royal Engineers. He was a kind gentleman who had had a passion for steam engines, but like Sir Topham Hatt, he stood no nonsense. He would often say "There is no point in crying over spilt milk." whenever an incident occured or whenever he tried to make a point, which the engines often found repetitive. The phrase only ever served its literal meaning once, just last month. Percy was being cheeky with a train of milk tankers at Elsbridge, bound for the Mainland. As he approached the tankers, he jumped the points and smashed into one of the tankers. Milk tracked all over the yard and Mr. Watson was not pleased. Milk was spilt and Percy the Small Engine shed some tears. "There's no point in crying over spilt milk, Percy." Mr. Watson had scolded.
        Mr. Watson turned his attention to Edward and Henry with a smile. "Henry, I'm proud of you for powering through despite your setbacks. Because of your perseverance, we were without delay. You're a very useful engine! Tomorrow, we shall mend your safety valve at the works and give you a brand new coat of green paint with red stripes." Mr. Watson told the big green engine. "Oh, thank you sir!" Henry beamed. The man then directed his focus on all the engines. "Because Henry will be at the works, we are without our main express engine, and Gordon isn't due to return from Crewe for another week. So, I have decided to make some adjustments. James and Edward, I want you two to double head the Express to Crovan's Gate tomorrow, where a relief engine from the Mainland will meet you halfway. It will be a hard job, and I expect you both to be really reliable, right on time, and really useful! No delays!" Mr. Watson explained. James and Edward grinned "Yes, Sir!" they answered. "That's good! Meanwhile, Thomas and Percy, I am purchasing another engine with the consent of the Fat Controller. She will be arriving tomorrow, so please be sure to make her feel welcome." he told the two tank engines. "Goodnight, all." he saluted and turned to his car. "A new engine! How exciting!" Percy squeaked. "Thank goodness! We've all been working our buffers off ever since Gordon left for Crewe." sighed Thomas wearily.
        Meanwhile, James had a very cheeky idea for his friend Henry. "Good gracious, Henry! I thought they fixed you for good at Crewe! It's a shame you keep breaking down. Any day now you could just up and fall to pieces." the red engine sighed dramatically. "Oh, buzz off, you bloody old sausage." Henry growled in irritation. "Sausage, me? Says you, you're the one who needs exercise." James shot back. "Tread lightly." Edward warned. "Not my fault Henry broke down. Good night." James said in annoyance, and backed into his shed for the night.
        Next morning, both Edward and James' crews arrived bright and early to get the two engines ready for the express. "Shall I take this train myself today, Edward?" asked James. "Why ever would you ask that?" Edward raised an eyebrow at James as his driver and fireman polished his brass. James looked at Edward from the corner of his eye "Because..." he paused dramatically "You're not nearly as strong as me. You could never pull this train on your own." "James, that is why Mr. Watson asked the pair of us to pull the express. Neither of us can pull the heavy express. This isn't like the local express that you usually pull. This is heavier, longer, and faster." Edward advised James, who scoffed. "Oh, please, I've handled heavy trains before, this will be a piece of cake!" "Suit yourself." Edward said finally, deciding that it was best to ignore the red engine's nonsense. At 8:15, James and Edward backed down onto the platform. "Ah, ah, ah." Edward stopped James before he even thought of backing down behind Edward. "What now, Old Iron?" James groaned. "I believe I was the one who shunted the coaches. I'll take the front. Back down, my dear engine." Edward said coolly. James was speechless as the old blue engine backed down in front of him. "Quiet are we? Good. Now, it's time to go!" Edward grinned, just as the guard blew his whistle and the double header pulled out of Knapford Station.
        "Come on! Come on!" James said to the coaches as they trundled down the main line. "We're coming along! We're coming along!" chirped the coaches. The cavalcade made their way down the line at a nice speed, passing green fields and villages. Edward and James stopped at Crosby first. Passengers got out and more got in. James was cross with Edward for making him go at the back. "How can people compliment my shiny red paint if I'm stuck behind you?" he complained as the doors to the coaches slammed behind him. "Nevermind, James. I'm sure they already think you're very splendid." Edward soothed, trying to keep James in high spirits. The guard blew his whistle, and the express set off once more for Wellsworth.
        Wellsworth wasn't far from Crosby, but the beating sun made the journey seem endless. Even Edward found himself out of breath as they slowed to the platform at the station. Their drivers and firemen gave them a quick drink at the water tower, before they started off once again to continue their route. The two engines knew that they had to tackle Gordon's Hill to get to Maron Station, and with a groan from James, the express clacked toward the bottom of the hill. "We can do it, James! Don't give up!" Edward encouraged as the two tender engines hauled the heavy express up the steep hill. About halfway up, they felt the drag as the train seemed to get heavier and heavier. "We can do it, we can do it!" James tried to be confident as he saw Edward going above and beyond to get up the hill. The two snorted and chuffed as they made it to the top of the hill, and like Henry did the night before, they felt the cool breeze circulate around them as they sailed down the other side of Gordon's Hill. "We've done it! We've done it!" the two mixed traffic engines cried happily. "You've done it, good job! You've done it, good job!" chirped the coaches with glee. After stopping at Maron, they travelled across the Viaduct, where they felt the sea winds wrap around them. "These winds are so strong, we might get blown away!" James cried in surprise. As quick as they approached it, they reached the other side of the viaduct and sped on, stopping at every station from Cronk to Killdane, and from Kellsthorpe Road to their final destination, Crovan's Gate. "Well done, chaps!" said a smart looking engine. She was a GER D56 painted in GER Blue with the letters 'Great Eastern' painted on her tender in yellow. "Why hello there. You must be the relief engine that will be taking our train." Edward said kindly. The engine beamed "Yes, indeed. My name's Claudia. I'm what they call a 'Claud Hamilton' locomotive." the engine introduced herself.  "Oh yes, I've heard about your class. How does it feel to have over a hundred and twenty siblings?" Edward asked, intrigued by the elegant-looking engine. "Well, most of my siblings are all over the place, working for the LNER, GER, NE, so many yards and stations, so I don't have much of a personal connection with them. But my closest sibling is my sister Millicent, who works with me back in our yard on the Mainland. She's very shy, but very smart when it comes to being a really useful engine. I call her Molly for short, as she finds that 'Millicent' is too fancy for her liking." explained Claudia. She looked at James, who rolled his eyes. "Blimey! I don't believe you've introduced yourselves!" she blushed. "My name is Edward. And the splendid red engine behind me is called James." Edward said politely. "Well, it was lovely to make your acquaintances, but I must take this train the rest of the way. I hope we meet again!" Claudia smiled widely as Edward and James were uncoupled to the train to allow the D56 to be coupled up to the coaches. "Yes, and thank you very much for taking our train!" Edward thanked in return as he and James huffed into the Crovan's Gate yards for a rest and a drink.
        They stopped beside an old little engine. He had an exhausted, but kind look on his face. "Hello, Old Faithful." Edward greeted the engine, who had the name 'SKARLOEY' painted across his saddle tank. "Good afternoon, Edward." Skarloey's eyes lit up when he saw his old friend. "How are things on your railway?" he asked the two engines. "Gordon is still at the works, and last night, Henry burst his safety valve." Edward explained briefly. "Ah, so that is why you are both here with his express train. That other engine, Claudia, was such a kind-hearted engine. You must be thankful that she took the weight of those passengers off your buffers." Skarloey chuckled. "Good riddance to that express train. I felt like my axles were on fire! How can that engine pull that train on her own?" James complained. "She's from the Other Railway. Those engines are used to pulling long distance trains on their own. She definitely seems a confident sort of engine." Skarloey explained to a red-faced James. "Well, I'm glad she can deal with that heavy train now." he grunted "I wish Gordon would come back soon."
        Edward and Skarloey looked at each other and laughed. "Oh, dear, James." Skarloey sighed as he found his composure again "You must have more sympathy for those passengers. I feel awful just sitting here for a rest while dear Rheneas is out pulling coaches on our line." he told James. "Speaking of which," Edward changed the subject, "How are things on your line?" "It's a challenge, I'll admit. Lately, Rheneas and I have been running up and down to and from the stations, halts, and the quarry so much that by the time the day's work is over, we're asleep before our drivers even brake us to a stop!" the little old engine exclaimed. "However, we know that if we don't run on time, our railway could close and lord knows what would happen to the pair of us."
        "My goodness." cried James in surprise "I didn't know two little engines could have so much on their buffers at once! I hope you and Rheneas get through it." he said to Skarloey sympathetically. "Thank you very much, James. Your splendid red paint makes me feel all cheerful inside." Skarloey's old eyes twinkled in the afternoon sunlight. "Well, I must get back to work. It was wonderful to see the both of you today!" Skarloey said as his driver and fireman hopped into his cab. "Goodbye, Skarloey!" the two standard gauge engines saluted as the little engine puffed off to get his next train. "I'm sorry I was so rude to you earlier, Edward." James apologized. "That's alright. Just remember that we are a team, you and me. We must try our best to be really useful." Edward whispered kindly. "Come on, you two. Time to go home now." Edward's driver said to the two engines. As they trundled back to the big station, James thought about what Skarloey had told him earlier, and what it meant to be really useful.