On the Josephine Railway, the life has begun to settle down to a casual pace, without being such a hassle or so. With this happening, Shadow was asked by his controller to return back to his railway. Although it was a sad departure, Shadow promised he'll come back to the railway, and maybe one day, they could come over to his. With that, Shadow headed off back to his home.
With Shadow gone, Diana decided to take Braedey's Lake District trains, with the latter taking the trains back and forth from Marion, to Barrow-in-Furness, and onward to Vicarstown. Diana was happy to help out Braedey, with the GWR 4900 engine thanking the blue Caledonian locomotive, and the two began to work very well in unison, and Diana was getting more and more confident in herself.
~*~*~
On a calm Friday morning, Braedey was making his way down to Barrow-in-Furness, the coaches behind him almost full of passengers and tourists. This run was definitely a good opportunity to stretch his wheels, and to go the distance.
"This is lovely. Clear skies, calm air, and plus, not a bad bolt in sight." Braedey smiled to himself.
Once arriving at Vicarstown, Braedey watched as the passengers disembarked the coaches, and they began to make their way to joining trains on other platforms. It was always a hive of activity here at the station, and it's definitely worth watching for enthusiasts.
Just then, Braedey could see Gordon pulling in at the other platform. But, the LNER A1 Pacific looked to be rather flustered and out of breath. He hissed steam from his pistons, and a low clunk could be heard.
"Sounds like something's broken inside you, Gordon." The blue engine's driver called from the cab. "Now, you'll really need to go to The Works."
"But... who will pull the Wild Nor' Wester?" Gordon muttered in worry.
Braedey could hear what was going on, and he knew that this 'Wild Nor' Wester' was a very important train. He gave a whistle to get the stationmaster's attention. "Sir. If you can, maybe I can take the Wild Nor' Wester to its destination? It should be pretty straightforward." He asked.
The stationmaster gave it some thought. He ran to his office to call the controller of the NWR. A few minutes later, he came back, and informed the red GWR 4900 engine that the arrangements were made.
Sure enough, Gordon limped away from the coaches, and Braedey immediately ran around, coupling up to the 'Wild Nor' Wester' train. He looked to the LNER A1 Pacific, who limped over next to him.
"Thank you so much, Braedey." Gordon thanked. "Now, all you have to do is head from Vicarstown to Knapford. It's the big station at the end of the mainline. You can't miss it."
"Of course. Happy to help." Braedey nodded. "And thanks for the directions."
Sure enough, the guard blew his whistle, and with a toot of his whistle, Braedey started to charge on out of Vicarstown.
Braedey couldn't help but marvel at the sights around him, as he made his way along. He passed through Ballahoo and Crovan's Gate, whistling hello to the narrow-gauge engines as he passed by. Braedey soon whizzed by Kellsthorpe Road, and passed through the stations of Kellaby and Balladrine at speeds of up to 60mph, the speed limit on the mainline.
Soon, Braedey arrived at Kildane Station. This wasn't a stop, but Braedey needed to top up on water for the big push. He waited for about five minutes, topping up the water in his boiler, and he was soon underway.
Braedey charged on through the station of Cronk, and he carried on. He then crossed over what was an iconic stone viaduct, with three lines of track, and he carried on. Braedey smiled at the lush and green trees and fields, seeing some farmers tending to their field and livestock, and it's a definite change of scenery. He then goes through Maron Station, and he heads towards what was nicknamed 'Gordon's Hill'.
'Gordon's Hill' is one of the most difficult climbs and descents on Sodor. It's over a distance of 8km (5 miles), the line climbing around 100m (280ft) from Suddery Junction to reach Maron, meaning a gradient of 1:75, so it's always a severe test for engines.
Braedey climbed up the tracks to the top of the hill, now seeing the landscape around him. He then crested over the top of the hill, and being quick, shuts off his regulator, puts his reverser into reverse, and began applying his brakes, slowing his speed down the descent of the hill. With a bend down at the bottom of the hill, he didn't want to risk flying off the tracks. He managed to reach the bottom at a cautious 30mph, then once reaching the bottom, he gets back up to speed, and continued on down the mainline.
"Boy, that's one heck of a hill to traverse." Braedey thought aloud, taking a deep breath, all the while going on down the line. "I'd hate to see the others try and get up a hill like that."
Braedey continued on, now whizzing on through Wellsworth Station, catching the attention of some of the engines of the NWR, who whistled to him, and he whistled back to them. The GWR 4900 engine soon carried on through Crosby Station, and eventually, he arrived at what was Knapford Station.
Knapford Station has a large glass canopy roof in four sections. The station has six tracks total, four being through tracks and two being terminal tracks. The station has a refreshment kiosk, the Engine Drivers locker room, plus what could be an office, and a bookstall. The station also has signal gantries above the lines.
Braedey pulled into Platform 1 right on time, and came to a gentle and smooth stop. He looked around at the station, and he had to say, it definitely looked rather impressive and extravagant. It wasn't like home, but it oddly felt like so.
"Hello there. You must be the engine who covered for Gordon." Braedey looked towards the platform to where the voice came from.
Braedey looked to see a stout gentleman in a black suit outfit with a yellow shirt on underneath, as well as a white shirt underneath, a black tie, as well as dress shoes, and a top hat on his head.
"Oh. Indeed, I did, sir." Braedey smiled gently to the stout gentleman. He then looked curiously at the man. "Are you the controller of the North Western Railway?" He asked.
"Oh, yes. That, I am." The gentleman tipped his top hat to the GWR 4900 engine. "I am Sir Topham Hatt, controller of the North Western Railway." He then gave a small chuckle. "I'm also referred as 'The Fat Controller' by the engines here."
"What? Really?" Braedey gave a small chuckle. "I'm sorry, but that name is rather amusing to me, sir."
"It's quite alright, dear engine." Sir Topham reassured to Braedey. "It happens a lot for visiting engines. Well, I have to thank you for bringing the passengers home safe and sound." He thanked the crimson engine.
"Happy to help, sir." Braedey smiled. "And my name is Braedey. I'm from the Josephine Railway over on the mainland."
"The Josephine Railway?" Sir Topham echoed, then cupped his chin in thought. "Your manager wouldn't happen to be a Mr. Franklin, is it?" He asked.
"That, he is." Braedey smiled. "You know him?" He asked.
"From extent, and over the phone." Sir Topham replied back. "He and his family are good acquaintances of mine, and we have been thinking of transferring each of our engines to one another's railway for a few days to see how they can cope or so." He then looked to Braedey. "Since you have travelled so far from home, I think it be best that you stay here until you calmed down and you can make your way back home." He suggested to the engine.
Braedey thought about what Sir Topham had said to him. He has travelled a long way to get here, and plus, he'd been wanting a good long rest.
"Of course, sir. Thank you." Braedey thanked, now uncoupling from the coaches. "My wheels need a good long rest. Plus, I feel like I might enjoy my time here." With that, Braedey pulled out of the station to cool off, as Sir Topham walked back to his office
Braedey pulled up to a nearby water tower on the opposite side of Knapford Station, where there's also a coal tower to top up on coal. He breathed a sigh, feeling the water flow into his boiler. It was refreshing, and it cooled his tubes. He then got some fresh coal in his tender, and he felt his fire burn better inside.
'I guess their coal is better than home's coal supply.' Braedey thought.
Once topped up, Braedey chugged his way over to the town of Tidmouth, not far from Knapford, and he goes over to where was a set of engine sheds. The sheds looked to be that of a German-style roundhouse with seven berths and a turntable out front. It was almost similar to the roundhouse at the Josephine Railway.
Braedey rolled onto the turntable, coming to a stop right at the perfect spot. He waited as the turntable spun around 180°, so he could reverse into one of the empty berths. He relaxed with a sigh to himself, steam swirling around his wheels.
"I have to say; this is pretty nice." Braedey commented of the interior of the roundhouse sheds. "Sir Topham Hatt knows how to make his engines feel at home."
Just then, a gentle steam whistle broke the calm of the air. Braedey looked ahead, and his eyes widened at what he could see approaching the sheds. He watched as the engine rolled forward onto the turntable, and stopped to be turned around.
The engine was a Furness Railway "Larger Seagull" K2 Class 4-4-0 steam locomotive. The engine has two builder's plates on the sides of the cab. The engine is painted in NWR bright blue with red and yellow lining. The number 4 is painted on the sides of the tender in yellow with red lining, and the lining around the cab windows is yellow.
"Oh, my..." Braedey muttered in awe and shock, the Furness Railway engine pulling up in the berth next to him. "A Furness Railway steam locomotive? Wow, I've never thought I'd ever see an engine like you in my lifetime." He commented to the engine.
"Oh, hello there." The blue engine looked to Braedey. "You must be the new engine that Gordon spoke of a few days ago. Pleasure to meet you. I'm Edward."
"Pleasure to meet you too, Edward." Braedey greeted. "I'm Braedey. I'm visiting here on your railway for the time being."
"Really? For how long?" Edward asked curiously.
"Only until Sir Topham and my owner says I can go back." Braedey replied to Edward. "On the other hand, I'm not sure of what will happen for tomorrow."
"Of course." Edward acknowledged. "So, you are new to this railway?" He asked.
"Yes. I've only made trips from my home railway, to Barrow-in-Furness, then onward to Vicarstown." Braedey explained. "It's my first time going this far."
"I see." Edward noted. "Where is your railway?" He asked.
"I'm from the Josephine Railway, over at the Lake District National Park." Braedey clarified to Edward. "I work with a number of other engines, some of them being unique engines and those that haven't seen the light of day for over 60 years."
"Impressive. Your controller must really care for engines like yourself." Edward commented.
"Yes. Our controller and his family really likes us old vintage locomotives, and they've run the railway similar to that of your railway." Braedey added in. "Sometimes, other engines from nearby heritage lines comes over to assist us when the work gets too much for us engines."
"Very interesting." Edward complimented.
Sure enough, by the late evening, Braedey and Edward got along very well, almost like they're old friends. Also, the other engines of Sir Topham Hatt's railway arrived at the sheds, and they soon got acquainted with Braedey, welcoming him to their home and island. Among the engines were Gordon and Edward, as well as a big green engine named Henry, as well as James; a red mix-traffic engine, along with Thomas and Percy, two shunting engines, the former in blue, and the latter in green.
Henry is an LMS Stanier 5MT "Black Five" 4-6-0 tender engine, with a one-window cab with an LNER-style tender, his Belpaire firebox replacing his original tapered, added neckholders, and a top feed. Henry is painted in NWR apple green with red and yellow lining. His number 3 is painted on the sides of his tender in yellow with red lining, and the lining around his cab windows is yellow.
James is a L&YR (Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway) Class 28 'Hughes' 2-6-0 mixed-traffic tender locomotive. James is painted in NWR red with black lining and gold boiler bands. His dome is brass, with his roof being black, and his number 5 is painted on the sides of his tender in yellow with black lining.
Thomas is an LB&SCR E2 Class 0-6-0 Tank engine, with 6 small blue wheels, a short stumpy black funnel, a short stumpy boiler, and a short stumpy dome. He has blue paint with red lining around the boiler tanks, red buffer beams, and a number 1 in yellow on the sides of the tanks, along with a gold whistle just in front of his cab.
Percy is an Avonside Engine Company 0-4-0 saddle tank locomotive. Percy is painted in NWR apple green with red and yellow lining. His number 6 is painted on the sides of his cab in yellow with red lining and the lining around his cab windows is yellow, while he carries two builder's plates on the sides of his cab.
"I have to say, you all are very unique engines, and it seems you've had a fair share of adventures on this railway." Braedey said to them all. "For me and my crew, we've had a few mishaps here and there, but overall, nothing too bad."
"Well, we've all had a number of incidents." Henry admitted. "I mean, I had my first crash with the Flying Kipper train back in 1935, and I got my rebuild at Crewe after that into the shape I have now."
"Wait. So, weren't always an LMS Stanier 'Black Five?" Braedey asked in curiosity.
"I was built from rejected plans for Sir Nigel Gresley's A1 with the added design of an LNER C1 Atlantic. The plans were stolen from Gresley by an anonymous rival." Henry explained to the GWR 4900. "The result was I had a superficial likeness to Gordon, but aesthetics were as far as this went. In my old shape, I developed performance issues from flaws in the design. I was a bad steamer: with good-quality coal, I could get enough heat to make plenty of steam, but when there was a poor lot delivered, my undersized firebox could not hold enough coal to make a proper fire."
"Wow. That's something." Braedey commented. "Well, I'm glad you got your rebuild. You work much better in that form."
"Well, thank you." Henry thanked him.
"Are there any other red engines on your railway?" James asked. The other engines rolled their eyes at James' question.
Braedey chuckled. "Nah. I'm the only crimson red engine on my line. I mean, we do get visiting engines that are in a multitude of colours, but as a main engine, I'm the only one who's red." He replied to James.
"So, who's the quickest out of your group?" Percy asked.
"Well, we've never really settled on a race, since our line runs through forests and nearby lakes, so we don't take such risks." Braedey replied. "But, Liliana may be the fastest due to her small size and versatility."
"Have you had any... rude engines?" Gordon asked. "We've has our fair share over the years."
"Well, every now and then, we do get visiting engines, but most of them are steam engines, and we welcome them in with open buffers." Braedey clarified. "But, we do have an occasional diesel, but some of them are actually friendly."
"Really?" Thomas asked in surprise. "We do have some friendly diesels here, but the others are just horrid."
"We have one shunting diesel, and he really likes being around steam engines. But, Croghan..." Braedey hissed steam from his pistons in vexation. "He's a nasty piece of work. He claims to be the ultimate revolution of rail locomotion, even thought he's the ONLY one of his kind to be built, and he sees diesel and steam engines as being beneath him."
"Wow. Sounds like he has a Napoleon complex." Gordon commented.
"That's what myself and the others think he has in his engine block." Braedey chuckled, the other engines laughing as well.
Soon, the Sodor engines had gone off to sleep in the sheds. Braedey was still awake, looking up at the twinkling stars up above. He was thinking about his friends back home, and hoping they're okay with him on the NWR.
'I'm sure they'll be fine without me for a few days or so.' Braedey thought to himself with a small smile on his face. 'But, who knows what I'll be doing for tomorrow.'
With that on his mind, Braedey soon headed off to sleep, the stars twinkling up above the smokeboxes of the steam engines. It was a calm evening, and one the engines were taking advantage of.
~*~*~
Back on the Josephine Railway, Diana, Max, Austin, and Liliana were back in their sheds after a busy day of work, and they were in need of rest. Even Austin had been out of puff from shunting heavy goods about for most of the day, and he needed a long rest before the next day.
"Braedey hasn't come back home all day." Diana sighed. "Does anyone know where he is?" She asked.
"Well, last I saw him, he was heading to Sodor." Austin replied. "I was in the shunting yards just outside of Barrow-in-Furness when I saw him leaving with one train."
"Everyone." The engines looked to see Mr. Franklin walking up. "I've just got a call from an old friend of mine, Sir Topham Hatt, and he's told me Braedey is over on his railway on Sodor. Braedey will be over on Sodor until he gets the chance to come back home."
"Okay. That's some good news." Max sighed.
"Sir. Who will take his trains?" Liliana asked an important question. "I'm not sure all of us can juggle that many trains at once."
"Not to worry, Lili." Mr. Franklin reassured her. "I've already made some phone calls and arrangements, and the engine to assist you will be arriving tomorrow morning."
With this new information on the mind, the engines soon went to sleep with smiles on their faces, all the while thinking about Braedey, and hoping he'll be fine. Also, they were in wonder of who the helping engine might be.