March 10th
Diamond River Yard, Diamond River Tennessee.
The sights, sounds, and smells of the yard flooded the senses of young Fluttershy. The smell of oil, grease, and coal smoke combined with diesel exhaust wafted through the air. The chuffing of steam and screech of steel on steel echoed through the yard as trains were switched around or taken away from the yard. General goods on flatbeds, boxcars, and liquids in tankers sat in sidings or were pulled behind diesels and steamers as they left the yard. There was another commodity as well, coal, which sat in dirty open-top hoppers in what seemed like their own part of the yard away from the cleaner goods.
Fluttershy turned away from the cars and made her way to the roundhouse. She walked past men in overalls like her going about their business working on smaller switch engines, eventually reaching the roundhouse. It was a giant brick building sporting eleven births for eleven engines. She crossed the dirty ground, walking around the beast of a turntable that measured over two hundred feet in length. The births were mostly empty say for two, one of which was closed with the other wide open. Inside this wide-open part of the shed was a single steam engine, long and black, a mountain of steel.
It steamed in the early morning sun, a light hiss emanating from it. As she entered the birth and walked beside the engine she was in awe. The short pink-haired girl was no more than an ant compared to the beast called the Titanic Class. It was articulated with three sets of drivers arranged in a 4-10-10-10-6 arrangement. The machine far outsized the Diamond Class with its 4-10-10-4 configuration and the Indian Class with its 4-8-8-2 arrangement. Its tender was longer than some engines, holding tons of black coal and gallons of water.
An engine of this magnitude would be unable to round many curves, so it was kept on the Dynamite Run between Diamond River and Meridian Mississippi. A long stretch of mostly straight track with high-speed limits and few signals to worry about.
"Hey, kid!" Fluttershy was snapped from her thoughts by the booming voice of Ed Billings, the fireman of this beast number 2090. He was inside the cab, already looking dirty and slick with sweat, his square mustached face was stuck in a look of frustration. "It's about time you showed up, get an oil can and help Thatcher!"
"Y-Yes sir!" The young girl sputtered out in return. She was an engineer in training, though currently an in-cab breakman. Her job was to watch Aaron Thatcher, the engineer, drive the train. She found an oil can nearby and went about circling the engine and lubricating the moving parts of its giant drive wheels. Then she met Thatcher, a burly man with a dark brown beard and tired green eyes, he was an experienced engineer. They finished their job, Thatcher not saying a word to Fluttershy. He was known for being a silent type, some say he had some disorder that made it hard for him to speak.
The two climbed into the cabin, being helped by Ed up the steep ladder into the tall engine. The cab was a gorgeous monument built from colored valves and controls, a wide firebox door at its center feeding into an even larger firebox. A fire was already roaring inside the firebox.
"Table's set!" Ed called to Aaron, who took his seat on the right side of the cab, still sitting quietly. Aaron turned and gave his fireman a nod. Ed went to work, taking his wide flat shovel and grabbing a load of solid black coal from the tender, tossing it into the ginormous firebox. He did this three times working with machine-like precision. Fluttershy watched as Aaron slowly released the break and opened the regulator, allowing the beast to roll forward with creaks and groans. It hissed loudly as it rolled onto the turntable, Aaron quickly closed the regulator and put his hand on the brakes.
Ed pulls the chain that rung the hefty brass bell with resounding clangs. The engine screeched to a halt as Aaron threw on the brakes. The table turned and they were soon facing straight along one of the yard's lines.
"Alright kid," Thatcher said, his voice deep and quiet. "You get up here and get us to our train, it should be on track three leaving the yard. Keep ole 2090 slow, she's hard on the points," He gave her a kind smile as he moved from his seat and let the thin girl in. "Now, you're gonna wanna let off the brakes and ease on the regulator, give the whistle a toot first," Fluttershy obliged and pulled the chain on the cab's roof, letting a long lonesome shout echo from the brass whistle. She release the brake and crept the regulator open.
The engine groaned as its drivers crept along the steel rails, moving the iron giant forward. With chuffs and puffs, it slowly rolled along the tracks between empty tracks and a long line of greasy and grimy diesel engines that sat quietly. The train crept over the yards points, Fluttershy keeping an eye on the drivers from her window. "Looks good s' far," Aaron stated as he looked down from the gap between the tender and engine cab, which sat over the third set of drivers. The engine had several bind drivers to make passing over points easier for the giant.
The points clacked as they crossed over them, Ed ringing the bell as they strolled through the yard. They rolled on until they reached the points to reverse. "Now put on the brakes," Fluttershy closed the regulator and slammed the brakes on, giving the whole crew a strong lurch forward and nearly sending Aaron out of the cab.
"Goddamn!" Ed shouted as he was thrown from his seat. "Get that kid off the controls!" He shouted as he rubbed his head.
"S-Sorry Mister Billings..." Fluttershy meekly proclaimed, looking down in shame. Aaron got off the floor and adjusted his cap before telling Ed off.
"Now, Ed lay off the girl, she's new and learnin'," He then turned to Fluttershy. "Don't listen to him, he's always been a hard ass, just go easy on the brakes,"
"Damn right, if you're that rough on the mainline we'll come off the rails," Ed added, still angry at his misfortune.
"Shut the hell up, Ed, and get your ass out there to guide us onto the train, the breakmen ought to be here soon," Ed grumbled but still obliged, climbing from the cab and going to the rear of the tender. Aaron took the controls instead of Fluttershy. "This is more delicate here, it's best I do this 'un," He threw the engine in reverse and gave three toots of the deep whistle before letting the brakes off and allowing it to coast backward. The train met the dirty gray Snail Rail hoppers with a loud clang. Aaron locked the breaks to allow Ed to properly couple the cars together.
Ed rejoined them in the cab and with the go-ahead from the brake crew over the cab phone, Thatcher inched the engine and its train forward to the coaling and water towers near the end of the yard. The crew stepped out of the engine while it was loaded with coal and water. Ed and Aaron both smoked cigarettes while Fluttershy simply sat on some old crossties stacked next to the track. She thought about her family, the people she was doing this for.
Fluttershy didn't come from a well-off family, her father worked in the coal mines that were a part of Diamond River, which was a mining and railroad town. Her brother was in the same place as her, an engineer in training. This was her contribution to keeping her family alive.
"She's all full!" Called one of the men running the tower. The two men tossed their smokes away and climbed in, Fluttershy following them up. She was put in the driver's seat, the cab phone rang, Aaron answered it.
"Mhm, alright," He hung it up. "The helpers are here, they'll get us out of the yard," He turned to Fluttershy. "Just ease on the regulator and let the gravity do the rest," Fluttershy nodded and let the breaks go, giving two toots of the whistle to signal they were going. A jolt was felt as the helper started off, Fluttershy opening the regulator in response. The pistons chuffed and puffed, slipping a bit with the heavy train. "Drop some sand," Aaron ordered calmly. Fluttershy pulled a lever and dropped some sand along the drive wheels to give them that extra grip needed.
The wheels soon rolled without a single slip, the engine picking up speed as it glided along the tracks huffing and puffing with each cycle of its wheels. Smoke billowed out in plumes of black smoke. Fluttershy inched the regulator open, Thatcher seated behind her to guide her. "That's it, kid, just ease it open, we'll hit the mainline soon and you can really open it wide," They exited the yard and a loud ringing filled the cab, on a rotary scale above the speedometer. "Speed's now seventy-five for freight, we're on the Dynamite Run now," He turned to Ed. "Get her stoked up nice and hot,"
He turned back to Fluttershy. "Keep easy on the regulator, open her up slow and easy," The hoppers lacked along the track as they left the yard, the last one clearing some minutes later with the two forest green cabooses following behind and the 2-8-0 helper staying behind. Fluttershy was easily getting the hang of her job, easing the regulator open as Aaron watched the speedometer. "There we go kid, keep bringin' her up we just hit forty-five," Fluttershy was in awe, a train this heavy should hardly even move, let alone push speeds that high.
"Keep pushin'. we're gonna hit the big 5-0 in a minute! Ed! Stoke the fire!" Ed obliged and kept the fire going with shovel loads of coal. "forty-seven... forty-eight... forty-nine... Fifty!" Aaron shouted, a huge smile across his face. Fluttershy's face lit up as she heard that, a small laugh coming from her. It was exhilarating, feeling the wind rush past and blowing her braided hair. The hissing and chuffing of the massive steamer. It was like taming a beast, a hissing beast fired by coal and water. They reached a level crossing and she took the whistle and held it down.
"oh boy!" Ed called, he too was smiling. "We got a southbound freight up ahead y'all, let's give 'em a show!"
"Hell yeah! I heard there was some enthusiasts along the line too, c'mon Flutters, show up these freight boys, show 'em what a coal train can do!" Fluttershy nodded, a big smirk on her face as she opened the regulator. "We're about to hit the big sixty kid!" The engine chuffed hard, its wheels turning impossibly fast. They roared past the caboose at the end, past boxcars and tankers. Past flat cars and covered hoppers. Fluttershy looked out along the long boiler at the red-painted supports of the massive Diamond River Bridge.
She didn't let up as the engine and coal train roared over the wide and glistening Diamond River into Mississippi. They kept roaring by, passing cars upon cars until they reached the lead. Four old diesel engines roared as they pulled their long mixed freight train. Fluttershy didn't care about that, what she saw was a dozen people camped along the tracks with cameras to watch them pass. She did what any good engineer did and gave them a show, sounding the whistle in song as they roared past the diesel lead mixed freight.
Aaron and Ed laughed triumphantly, all was laughter and joy until Aaron noticed something. "Goddamnit!"
"What is it, sir?" Fluttershy asked a look of concern crossing her face.
"She's sparkin'," Aaron said. Fluttershy stuck her head out of the window and looked up, sure enough, there were sparks flying from 2090's chimney.
"Oh, dear..." Fluttershy said quietly.
"Keep her goin' we'll make it to Meridian... Hopefully..." Fluttershy nodded, her joyous mood now gone, one of determination in its place. She kept the train roaring along at a steady sixty miles per hour. All was well for some time until Ed checked the gauges.
"Shit... She ain't steamin'!"
"What?!" Aaron jumped up from his seat and checked the gauges. "Goddamnit!" He took the phone and rang a signal box. "Yeah... Hello... This is C333, we need to be switched off the main 'cause of steamin' troubles... Alright..." He hung the phone up. "Alright, kid... slow her down..." Fluttershy nodded and eased the regulator shut, slowing the train down before eventually getting it to a nice coasting speed. They soon reached the signal box, rolling into a long siding and screeching to a halt. With boiler pressure getting high they were forced to dump the fire.
Fluttershy sat in her seat surrounded by smoke and steam, sniffling quietly. "Cheer up kid," Aaron said, putting a large hand on her shoulder. "This ain't your fault, and you did a damn fine job driving today. Fluttershy smiled at his comment, brightening up. "Now, come out here and help us clear the smokebox," She nodded and climbed down from the cab with a shovel in hand. They walked around and went to the front to clear the smokebox. As they did, the freight that they had passed some time ago rolled by, giving them a taunting show of their horn as they rattled past at an easy fifty miles per hour.
Author's Note
Yes, I know a 4-10-10-10-6 is basically an impossibly large engine, but let a man dream.
