𝙷𝚊𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝚘𝚏 𝚂𝚝𝚎𝚊𝚖

Chapter Twenty-Six: Working Together

After Jonson and Kieron had been purchased and brought to the Josephine Railway, they have both been instrumental to goods work and shunting performance in the yards and goods trains. Jonson handled medium and heavy goods work with the big engines, Kieron helping out Max, Austin, Jane, Belle, and Liliana with shunting and light goods and passenger work.

Thanks to the two locomotives, they've improved the efficiency and performance to the railway, and it's a rather impressive piece of work to Mr. Franklin and many of the other workers.

~*~*~

Today, Braedey was taking his regular passenger train along the mainline. He was making express time and was going along at speed. He smiled to himself as he goes along.

But then, a loud metallic clank came from his sides, and Braedey yelled out in pain from feeling something break inside of him, his driver and fireman immediately shutting off steam and began to apply the brakes. The train soon groaned and eventually came to a stop down on the mainline.

"What happened?" Braedey groaned in pain. He's never broken down once before, so this felt rather unnatural to him. "Why have we stopped?"

Braedey's crew immediately began to look him over, the two trying to examine their engine. They made their way to the front of the red locomotive. "Something must've broken inside of you, Braedey. We can't check you over until you've cooled down." The fireman informed to Braedey.

"Now, you have to go to the works." Braedey's fireman added in.

"But we can't leave the passengers here on the mainline." Braedey said in concern, now looking back at his passenger train. "What do we do?" He asked his crew.

The driver pulled out his phone. "I'll call Mr. Franklin to see if he can get an engine out to help us." He made the call, while Braedey waited patiently for an engine to come along and collect them all. He just hoped the passengers will understand.

~*~*~

At the main station Marion, Mr. Franklin had just stepped out of his office with a huff. He had just been in a rather rough and annoying conversation with an eccentric man on the other end of the phone, the man wanting to purchase one of the engines, but Mr. Franklin wasn't having any of it.

'Arrogant man...' Mr. Franklin thought to himself.

Just then, the stationmaster ran up to him at once. "Sir, we've just gotten a call from Braedey's crew." The stationmaster informed. "Braedey has broken down and is stuck on the mainline. They need help and fast."

Mr. Franklin now realised he had a big problem: his own express engine was broken down, and the passengers onboard needed to get back. But there's a problem: all the other engines were working and couldn't be spared to assist. This was a problem. But then, the sound of an approaching engine got his attention, and he saw Kieron pulling up to the coal hopper, Jonson being parked up nearby.