Brothers In The Pits: Stories of Industrial Steam

Chapter Six: Yuletide In The Coalfields

     Not long after the appearance of Randall's ghost, the changing of seasons came to Beckington. The air began to grow colder, and the rails were shining and slippery as they became covered in frost. Workmen began to bundle up as they came to work, covered in heavy coats and gloves as they walked about the colliery grounds. It was the coming of winter, and while many people disliked the snow and ice, there was one thing that everyone could enjoy: Christmas.
     Alan loved Christmas more than anyone else at the colliery. He loved seeing the unbroken sheets of snow that covered the ground, and how the stations at Agarus and Norwood Heath would be decorated with lights and tinsel, and even a big tree. Most of all, he loved seeing the passengers chatting merrily to one another and singing carols. "Christmas is a time where everything feels alright again," he would say. "It makes me forget about my old parts and the bad times we've been through. And no matter what happens, we'll always look back at these days fondly."
     Kent, on the other hand, wasn't a fan of the season. In what Alan saw as beauty and happiness, he only saw annoyances. Slippery rails, heavier trains, and louder stations. Worst of all, he was often put in charge of clearing the line after it snowed. This meant wearing the colliery's snowplow, which was battered and worn after many years of use, and struggling to push snow and debris off the tracks. Even downhill, this work was tedious and agonizing, and Kent would always returned to the sheds exhausted and unhappy.
     One day, Kent arrived in the colliery yards with a train of empty coal trucks. He was red in the face, and panting profusely. "Goodness, Kent!" Melissa said as she drew up alongside. "I've never seen you look so tired."
     "I've never felt this tired," the Jinty said crossly. "Fighting to keep the trucks in control on hills in summer is bad enough, it's near impossible to do it now. The diesel giving me trouble at Norwood Heath certainly wasn't pleasant either."
     Melissa frowned. "Always so awful, aren't they?" She said sadly.
     "Not all of them, just most of them," Kent said. "Then again, I guess being built to replace steam engines and still seeing them at work here probably shakes their egos a bit. I'll just be glad when we get our day off." It was customary for the colliery to be closed on Christmas Day, and the engines all looked forward to a long rest in the sheds.
     "I imagine we're all looking forward to it," said a voice. The engines turned and saw Mr. Johnson walking towards them. He tugged his hat further down his head before speaking again. "Just a few more days. Speaking of Christmas," he continued, "We'll be having a small celebration with some of British Rail's engines on Christmas Eve night. Kent, I'd like you to take the workmen from Agarus to Norwood Heath station, then back again when the celebrations are over." With that, he walked to his office for a cup of cocoa.
     Kent grumbled about his special all day long, and even into the night. "I've got enough work to do as it is, why do I have to get saddled with the silly special?" He said to the others in the shed.
     "Just be grateful you're getting the chance to do this," Alan said sternly. "If I was in charge of this train, I'd-" but he never managed to get his point across, as Kent scoffed one more time, then went crossly to sleep. "And to think I'd thought he'd learned all those years ago," the old engine said sadly.
     "He has," Mike said, trying to comfort his friend, "he just doesn't have the Christmas cheer in him. You'll see, he'll be his old self by the time New Year's rolls around." Alan smiled weakly, but he still had his doubts.
     Christmas Eve soon came. The engines finished their day's work as quickly as they could, then scurried back to the sheds to be cleaned. Even Kent looked happy as the thick layers of coal dust were washed away. His mood soured again, however, when it was time to take the special. Buffering up to the coaches, he watched as the other engines steam away to Norwood Heath to get ready for the celebrations. Grumbling dreadfully, he set off for Agarus.
     The trip down the line was uneventful, and the Jinty soon arrived at Norwood Heath with the train. After unloading his passengers and setting the coaches down in a siding, he drew to a halt next to Alan. Mike and Melissa were already waiting.
     Soon, the townspeople came to the station, and it wasn't long before the British Rail engines arrived too. There weren't any steam engines among them, which upset the colliery engines, but their mood soon changed as the passengers began singing carols.
     As the festivities progressed, Kent was thinking. Everyone was so... happy. Why couldn't he feel the same? "Is something on your mind?" Said a voice. The Jinty looked over to see one of the diesels smiling at him. "Why the long face, friend?" She asked.
     "It's nothing, really," Kent said, "it's just... I get the feeling I should be happy, but I don't know what I should be happy about."
     The diesel smiled. "You've always been the grinch, I take it?"
     "More or less. I used to be a station pilot not too far from here, and all I could ever see in the season was extra work."
     "Well, look at it this way," she said. "All that extra work during your time as a pilot got more people home to see their families. And all the work you've done up at the colliery is keeping people all around here nice and warm as they celebrate. That's got to make you feel happy, right?"
     And Kent did. He felt a spreading warmth in his boiler, one that wasn't from his fire. It was the joy of knowing that he'd done some good for people out there. "I never thought of it that way," he said, smiling. "Thank you, err..."
     "Call me Abigail," the diesel said. "Anyway, I must get going, I have a midnight goods train to get ready for. See you around!" Abigail rolled away, leaving Kent very happy.
Alan, who had been listening in, smiled. "I think you see why I love Christmas now, don't you?" He said.
     Kent felt rather guilty. "Yes," he said, before looking at the old engine. "I'm sorry I was so rude."
     "It's quite alright," Alan said warmly. "At least now, we can all truly celebrate Christmas. At least, without any more grumbling, I hope." The two engines laughed, and joined in on the festivities. It was a time the four colliery engines would look back on fondly for years to come. Little did they know, however, that dark times loomed on the horizon.