Tales from the rails

Sally the Snowplow Shunter

When snow gets bad on the D&D Railway, Eddy is normally dispatched to clear up the snow along the line, he has a massive snow plow that covers his face, it has a little window for him to see out of while he's clearing snow so he can see signals and such. He normally clears the line at night when most of the engines are asleep. But when it's daytime and snowing heavily, Eddy often clears the lines mid snowstorm so important trains like the express or express goods can get on. He and Jojo often double head the express when this happens. One morning, Eddy had to clear the shadow mainline. There is a big cut through the valley that Eddy once had to save Dan from on Christmas Day when he, his crew, and the Christmas tree were buried under an avalanche. He loves going through this place, just something about how the mossy stone walls look in the spring when all the snow is melted. In the winter through, he would need to be careful as the line was known for rocks falling onto the rails. "Come on, come on, clear out, clear out!" He puffed as he raced along the track. The snow flew to either side of the track as he thundered through. Then there was a loud, "BANG!" And Eddy slowed to a top. "What was that?!" He yelled as he reversed a little. His crew inspected the damage. "It seems like we hit an ice patch hidden in the snow." Said his fireman at last. "More like it hit us." His driver commented. "Anyways, we can't clear the line now, there's a massive dent at the bottom of the plow." So his crew got in the cab and the three reversed down the line.

Once Eddy got back to the works, he was unhooked and he could take a deep breath of fresh air. "It gets really stuffy in there, good lord!" Eddy said as some of the workmen got to work on the plow. "Oh, I can't wait to head out!" Said a voice from the other side of the shed. "Hahaha, calm down Sally, you'll be out soon enough." Said a workman. He poked his head out of where her engine block should have been! Eddy was stunned at this. Sally looked to be a class 08 shunter with a snowplow fitted under her front buffer beam. She was painted green, she was wearing goggles over her eyes and the snowplow was painted in black and yellow hazard stripes. Eddy rolled up behind her. "Hello. Might I ask what happened?" He asked. "I'm a Snowplow Shunter, one of three. British Railways removed my engine and replaced it with a weight. Through its not very good, so we're replacing it with a new one." Sally explained. "So what happened to you?" "Uh, my snowplow just broke. Ran into a bad ice sheet in the valley and now the bottom is busted." Eddy said, a little ashamed. "Oh, I can deal with the ice sheet for you." Sally said. "Just give us a few minutes." Eddy listened to her and waited. He left the shed to give them a little privacy and to not stare and watch The workman returned in a few minutes, "She's ready." He said as he walked way. Eddy rolled into the shed and buffered up to Sally, "What's your top speed?" "I'm built for 50 miles an hour." Sally was coupled up to Eddy "Think you can do 60?" "Let's try!" She said enthusiastically as the two rolled out of the shed. They then began their way down the mainline. They were going to start at Vale station and shoot down the shadow mainline and clear one of the lines in full. Once the two made it to Vale, Eddy simmered at the platform for a moment, Micheal was shunting trucks around the yard in the cold weather and the signals were all green. Tracey then puffed by with a goods train, "PEEP PEEOP!" She whistled as she passed, her trucks clattering behind her. Eddy whistled loudly and his wheels spun around. The two shot forwards, Sally and Eddy crossed over the junction past the yard and then continued down the mainline. Sally was having a grand time, Eddy was clocking in speeds of 40 miles an hour as they went over the junction. Eddy was a little worried as he saw the beginning of a hill, a massive cut through the hill which was tunneled decades before. They had entered the valley.

Eddy and Sally were cutting through the snow like butter. "WHEE!" She cried out as she blazed through the snow. Eddy was enjoying himself too, he picked up speed as they forged down the line. The snow flew to the right side of the track, towards the wall of the valley. The snow was beginning to grow thick and the rails cold. Sally's plow just kept the two going. The couldn't even feel if they were hitting ice or not. "Come on, come on, quick, quick, quick, quick, quick!" Eddy puffed as his pistons pounded the rails. Soon they ran into the last bit of snow that Eddy was trying to clear before his snowplow got banged up. "We did it!" Sally called out. They were then switched onto the mainline, they slowed down as they approached the works station. "WHOO!" Eddy cheered as they rolled on the turntable. Eddy knew what they had to do next. The two were turned around and Eddy was soon ready set off down the mainline in reverse. As they sat at the platform with a red signal, Jojo thundered past. "WHEEP PEEP PEP!" He whistled as he thundered past with the express. A minute or so later, Eddy and Sally set off down the line. They had to clear the second line of snow from Pleasentville all the way to Vale station along the shadow mainline. "Let's do this!" Sally said as they made their way down the mainline. "Yeah!" Eddy added he whistled at the signal. The two forged their way down the mainline, Sally clattered along the tracks like a truck. Soon they made it to Pleasentville Station and went to a platform and waited for a green signal. Kevin arrived with the mainland express and Eddy and Sally's signal turned green and the tracks switched for him. The two began their way down the shadow mainline.

Eddy hurried along the line. Sally pushed the snow and ice out of the way and the two were having a grand time. "WHEEEEE!" Sally yelled as they hit another snowbank, blowing it out of the way. "I never thought this could be so much fun!" Eddy called out. "Me either!" Sally agreed as the two forged down the line. Finally, they made it all the more to Vale station. Saint Mungo was departing the station with a "Peeiop!" The sun was beginning to set in the distance, so Eddy and Sally began their way back to the sheds. "That was oddly fun." Said Eddy. "I don't think I've ever had that much fun ploughing snow on the mainland." Sally said. "Why's that?" "I couldn't go as fast as that without literally jumping off the rails." She said as they crossed over a junction. "I will never understand why BR turned you into a snowplow and couldn't do it properly. I mean, even when I was in the hands of BR, they couldn't fix an engine properly like they could back when Crewe was still around!" The two laughed as they back onto the mainline, they made it back to the sheds where workmen began to clean the two and inspect Sally. "So how fast were you going. "I wanna say like 40, maybe 50." Sally said. "Wow, that fast? Not a single derailment?" "Nope!" "That's great! It means we solved your weight issues. Not even a little bouncing around?" "Nuh uh." "This is great! We could send these weights to your sisters and then boom! Problems solved." "Thats good." Sally said as the workmen cleaned her once spotless plow. "So, I have to clean a section of mainline tomorrow. Wanna come?" Asked Eddy. A big beaming smile crossed Sally's face. "Oh boy do I ever!"