Chapters In the few weeks that have passed since we last visited the narrow-gauge engines, things have changed dramatically. The Equestrian government has announced a modernisation programme, which will accelerate the introduction of diesel and electric trains. This had led to fears that the steam engines are to be withdrawn completely.
The news, thankfully, does not affect the narrow-gauge railway, which is not part of the nationalised network. Even so, it cannot be denied that the world is changing.
One morning, Cheerilee was in her office, discussing the situation with Elaina.
“I’m worried that our competitors may gain an advantage over us,” Cheerilee said.
“I wouldn’t worry,” Elaina told her. “As a matter of fact, we have appeal in running heritage locomotives.”
“Even so,” Cheerilee reasoned, “maybe we should trial modern narrow-gauge traction.”
Elaina stepped out of the office-to see the three logging engines sitting outside. “Were you waiting for me?” she asked.
There was no denying that Elaina had had a dramatic effect on the engines, who were seemingly keen to see her as often as possible.
“What was that about modern engines?” asked Featherweight.
“Don’t worry about that,” Elaina smiled. “Now don’t you have logs to haul?”
“Yes ma’am!” they chorused, and sped away into the distance.
Elaina walked over to the depot to see the other engines waiting, fully steamed. Ocellus straightened up and spoke up. “All engines ready for inspection, ma’am!”
“Very good.”
Button Mash spoke up. “Mom,” he said.
“Mom?” Scootaloo snorted. “You were built in a factory!”
“She’s looked after him for so long, she’s a mother figure to him,” Sweetie Belle explained.
“Anyway,” Button interrupted. “We’ve been hearing stories about other railways scrapping their engines. Will that happen here?”
“Of course not!” Elaina said. “Wherever do you get these silly ideas from?”
“What do you want us to do today?” asked Apple Bloom.
Cheerilee had appeared by this time. “You are all to go about your usual jobs,” she said. “Scootaloo, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, you are to work in the quarry today. Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara, you are on passenger duty. Snips and Snails, you are to stay on standby until you are needed. Button Mash, I want you to work on the wharf.”
“What? Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?” Button whined.
“Because it needs doing!” Cheerilee told him.
“It’s really boring!” the shunter exclaimed.
Elaina rolled her eyes. It was worrying how immature he could be at times. “Button,” she snapped. “Go to work, NOW.”
“I’m going, I’m going,” the tank engine fussed, as he rolled past her.
Button hated working on the Wharf. It meant only doing something once every few hours. Every day was the same. Push some trucks over to the main line, wait for them to be loaded, move them to a siding, get some other trucks, move them to the same siding, wait for them to be unloaded, move them to another siding, take the same trucks from earlier to the main line again, get them unloaded, move some more trucks to a siding, repeat.
“Why don’t I get to do anything exciting?” he complained, as he moved some trucks for the umpteenth time.
“Cheer up, Button!” Ocellus said to him. “At least you can run here!”
“True,” Button sighed. “But the work is boring.”
Behind him, he could hear other engines working in the hills. How he wanted to be there, rather than on a stupid wharf with nothing but trucks for company.
A few weeks later, 2 diesels rolled into the shed and surveyed them. The first had a rear mounted cab, with a long engine cover and radiator grills. It was painted blue, with white and orange lining. The other was the same shape, but smaller. It was painted an extremely pale green, with two-tone turquoise lining.
“Look at them!” said the first. “They’re all old Equestrian locomotive designs!”
“Don’t be rude!” said the second. “They work here!”
Cheerilee introduced them. “Engines, these two locos are new to us, straight off the production line. The blue engine is called Gallus, the other is Sandbar. Please be nice to them.” She walked away, with a confident smile on her face.
Gallus grinned. “Don’t think they can outperform us,” he laughed.
“We work harder than you!” Babs exclaimed. “We’d bring a train in on a broken cylinder if need be, whereas all you diesels do is moan for a fitter!”
“I can pull way more than all of you put together!” Gallus laughed. He realised Sandbar was staring at him. “What?”
“Shut up!”
One day, Button was working, yet again, in the wharfs. Just then, Ocellus ran over to him.
“You’re wanted at the first station! Something urgent!”
Button set off as fast as he could toward the station. There he saw Gallus, revving his engine angrily.
The Station Master came over to them. “For Celestia’s sake, somebody take this diesel away,” he said. “He’s broken down and all he does is complain.”
“That’s not true!” snapped Gallus.
“Quiet you!” snapped the Station Master. “Else I’ll take my can-opener to you.”
Gallus just seethed with anger as Sandbar rolled past on a passenger train.
“What was all that about reliability?” Button laughed.
Gallus hoped Sandbar hadn’t noticed.
Sandbar hadn't noticed. He was having problems of his own. His coaches seemed to be getting heavier. His engine roared even louder, which did absolutely no good.
All locomotives have a special pump called an ejector, which draws air out of the braking system. If it leaks, air is let into the system, causing the brakes to come on. Sandbar’s ejector had malfunctioned, causing his brakes to come on. He ground to a halt a quarter mile down the line, being able to do nothing but growl in frustration.
“Brilliant!” said the station master. “Now I have two failed diesels on my hands.”
An idea suddenly flew into Button’s funnel. “How about I move both of them back down the line?”
“Are you sure you can do it?”
“I’ll most certainly try!”
Button was coupled to Gallus, who did not help at all. The tank engine pulled him backward as best he could, and coupled up to the coaches attached to Sandbar.
The Guard of the passenger train disconnected the hoses, and linked the braking system through Button. “All clear!” he called.
With an audible grunt, and Sandbar’s engine revving loudly, Button got the train moving. It gained traction, slowly at first, but gained momentum and was soon moving along at a smooth rate.
Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash was waiting in the platform with the express. It was getting late, and she was worried.
Just then, the strangest train she had ever seen rolled into view. Sandbar out front, pulling as hard as he could, Button sandwiched in the middle, and then a goods train at the back. But the passengers were happy to have made it home.
Cheerilee was present to see thius, and was not pleased. “Keep Sandbar,” she said. “Send Gallus back to Griffonstone works for modifications.”
That evening, Button was very much the hero of the rails. “Hey Sandbar,” he said. “You did a pretty good job out there.”
“Thanks man,” Sandbar replied. “It’s always nice to know you have friends."
One day Scootaloo, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were hanging around at the lake station. The last train of the day had gone, and the engines had been allowed to go and enjoy themselves in the glorious summer sun.
They were also aware of dramatic changes that were occurring. Sandbar was now a regular sight on the railway, although his noisy engine remained a problem.
“What a lovely day!” exclaimed Scootaloo.
“What do you propose we do?” asked Apple Bloom.
Suddenly, the sound of sobbing could be heard nearby.
“Crying?” asked Sweetie Belle. “How is that a productive activity in the summer sun?”
“I’m not crying!” Scootaloo exclaimed. “It’s coming from over there!”
Nearby, was an old railway line. On the track was an engine. An engine unlike any they had ever seen before.
Her wheelbase was longer than Scootaloo’s or Apple Bloom’s, but shorter than Rumble or Pipsqueak. She had a massive boiler which looked like a standard-gauge boiler had been put on a narrow-gauge frame. She had not one dome, but three! She had a large cab, with sliding cab windows, and a bunker hanging off the back. Her cylinders were situated on the outside of the locomotive, and she had double frames. She also had a leading and trailing axle, and a cowcatcher at either end.
“Hi, are you OK?” asked Sweetie Belle.
“Thank you for asking, but no,” she replied.
“Whatever’s wrong?”
“I’m escaping.”
“From whom?” Apple Bloom enquired.
The tank engine puffed forward, and stopped next to them. She was painted pink, with blue and white lining. But on her tanks, 3 words were barely visible; Tartarus Mining Corporation.
“You’re escaping from Tartarus ?" Asked Scootaloo. “I’m not surprised.”
“They’re horrible,” the engine said. “They never overhauled us, and simply forced us to work until our boilers gave out.”
“How does this not breach any laws?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“What’s your name?” asked Scootaloo.
“I’m Cozy Glow, it’s very nice to meet you,” she replied. “But you’ve got to promise not to sell me for scrap, because I’m not going back there!”
The three engines took their new friend down to the shed, where Cheerilee was waiting.
“Hello girls,” she said. “Who’s the new engine?”
“Her name’s Cozy Glow,” said Scootaloo. “She’s escaping from Tartarus .”
“Tartarus ?” Cheerilee was shocked. “Isn’t that the deep mine near Rock Farm?”
“Yeah,” added Apple Bloom. “Numerous counts of engine cruelty. Ah’m amazed they haven’t been shut down yet.”
“If that’s the case, we need to get her in for repairs, pronto!” Cheerilee said. “What class are you, Cozy?”
Suddenly, a loud, harsh whistle echoed over the terrain. Applejack approached on a heavy goods train, consisting of 40 hoppers loaded with coal. A purple J94 was banking her up the hill. Applejack paused for a breather outside the yard.
“Howdy, ya’ll!” she exclaimed. Her expression fell when she saw the new engine.
“Um, hi?” Cozy ventured.
“Ya can drop the act, Cozy Glow!” Applejack snapped. “Ah know yer true colours.” And with that, she puffed away angrily.
The J94 rolled to a stop at the wharf. “I need to warn you; Cozy Glow is nothing but trouble.”
Cheerilee swung around. “May I remind you Twilight that this is MY railway, and I give the orders?”
“Just warning you,” Twilight said, puffing away.
This, unfortunately, left more questions than answers. Cheerilee looked at the new engine. “Is there something you’re not telling us?” she asked.
Cozy looked worried. “They thought I was bad, OK but it wasn’t my fault!”
“Do tell.”
“Back in the old days, I worked on a railway far north of here. Problem was, I was too large for the track, so I frequently came off. This was a problem for the management, as they though I did it on purpose.”
“So, they sold me to Tartarus. It’s the locomotive equivalent of Hell. Boiling hot, 24 hour working days, and no repairs or overhauls. There was one engine who was cobbled together from 3 others. We called him Cerberus.” Cozy gulped, before continuing.
“But the nastiest was Tirek. He was unlike any other engine I’ve seen before or since. He was so aggressive, he had to be confined and only worked in the deepest part of the mine.”
“One night, I was working the night shift, and saw the exit to the mine was unlocked. So, I ran for it. I just kept going, until I ran out of coal and water. I wound up here.”
Cheerilee looked at her with pity. “It sounds like you simply had a hard life. We will repair you, and give you a better life here in Ponyville.”
Cozy smiled. “Thank you, Miss-?”
“Cheerilee.”
Cozy had returned from the works, fully refitted and ready for work. Cheerilee decided to put her to the test.
“Cozy,” she said. “You are much more powerful than many of my other locos. As a result, we have decided to lengthen the passenger train from 8 to 10 coaches. You ought to be capable of such a job, so I want you to do your best.”
“Understood Miss Cheerilee!” Cozy beamed.
Cheerilee walked away, muttering to herself, “I don’t understand how she’s so cheerful the whole time.”
Cozy collected her coaches, and took them into the platform. Passengers were waiting to board, and did so quickly. The guard blew his whistle, and off they went.
It was a bit of a bumpy start though. Cozy was considerably more used to heavy coal trucks, and started off with a little too much power. The passengers were sent flying, though they were now used to this as a fairly common occurrence.
At the first station, Cozy passed Diamond coming down the line. “Hello!” she called.
“It's nice to see the new engine out and about,” Diamond said. “Enjoy the run, but remember the passengers. You’re not pulling coal anymore!”
Once the signal dropped, Cozy set off once again for the Top Station. The rest of the run up went witj little incident, but at the Top Station the Stationmaster came to see her.
“They need an additional engine up the quarry,” he told her. “You are to head up there immediately.”
Cozy was decoupled, and puffed away up the line toward the quarry. When she arrived, she found Scootaloo, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle hard at work, rearranging trucks for the down train. They were struggling to move the trucks around due to the weight.
“Cozy, boy is it good to see you!” said Scootaloo.
“Could you help us?” asked Apple Bloom.
“Sure!” Cozy replied.
With her help, they got the train ready in next to no time. The three engines coupled onto the train, the small tank engines taking the front, and Cozy onto the back.
The massive 30 truck train reversed down the hill, with the brakes on full.
The train started to slip and slide out of control, even with the brakes on. It then became apparent that the trucks had not been pinned down appropriately beforehand, which was the cause of the problem.
The three engines skidded round the bend, but the train held the curve thanks to Cozy’s braking.
Luckily, they got back to Ponyville without any further difficulties. The engines stabled for the night.
Suddenly, a huge engine appeared on the mainline. It had the frames and boiler of an A3 Pacific, the tender of a Black 5, and cylinders from a 9F. It growled loudly, waking Cozy with a start.
“Cerberus?” she whispered in fright.
Another engine appeared on her right. He consisted of a long frame mounted on two power bogies, each of which had 6 driving wheels, as well as 2 leading wheels and 2 trailing wheels. His boiler was very long, and the engine’s face was mounted on the smokebox, right behind the water tank. He was painted red, with two-tone black lining.
“Hello Cozy,” he laughed. “Do you want to be friends?”
Cast-in order of appearence
Author's Note
The following images are the inspirations for the new characters in this story:
Rumble is almost universally employed on the log trains. One morning, he was shunting the yard of trucks when Ocellus arrived to give him a message.
“We have our passenger engines out of action today. We need you to pull a passenger train whilst we get them back into action.”
“Will I be any good?” he asked.
“Sandbar will assist you.” Ocellus put her hand on his footplate. “I know you can do it, Rumble.”
Rumble backed into the platform, rolling onto the coaches with a bump. He wasn’t used to having coaches, or any railway vehiles for that matter, coupled to his rear coupling.
“I’d feel happier pushing these coaches,” he admitted.
“You ready?” called Sandbar, from the back of the train.
“Let’s do this!” Rumble exclaimed.
With a rattle and a roar, and with his cylinders flying round and round, Rumble pulled out of the station with Sandbar contributing a din at the rear.
Due to the fact he was built for power, not speed, Rumble rolled along at about 14mph. The passengers were annoyed at the slow progress, until the guard reminded them that the alternative was walking.
At the lakeside station, Rumble came to a stop. It was then Pip came into the platform with a load of logs.
“Enjoying yourself Rumble?” he asked.
“I prefer the old line,” he admitted. “Besides, last time I came down here was out of control in reverse!”
“I thought we agreed not to bring that up!” Pip said.
Just then, the logging line whistle went.
Due to being used to that being his whistle, Rumble immediately set off. But Pip began setting off as well. Sandbar pulled as hard as he could, but Rumble was more powerful, and so dragged the train up the hill.
Rather unfortunately, he left the passengers on the platform!
Sandbar shouted up the train as best he could. “You’ve left your passengers! You’ve left your passengers!” But Rumble, being so loud, couldn’t hear a word he was saying!
He pulled into the Top Station. Button Mash was there waiting for him. “Hello!” he said. “I don’t often see you up here Rumble.”
“I’m pulling a passenger train.”
Button looked confused. “Where are your passengers?” he asked.
“We left them behind!” Sandbar shouted.
Rumble looked very embarrassed. “We’d better go back and get them!” he cried.
Down at the lakeside station, the passengers were all complaining what a bad railway it was. Then they saw the train pull into the station. They saw how sorry Rumble looked, and immediately forgot to be angry. But this time, he did it properly, and the rest of the run went without any major difficulty.
But for weeks afterword, Rumble was referred to as ‘the engine who pulled a passenger train, but forgot about the passengers’!
