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I had first been awoken in the summery season. June, July, and August, It was in those first few months that I learned what it really meant to be an engine and what it actually took to be a yard master with Golden Spike's tutoring. I still wore my dark freight engine-like garb. Blacks and greys were my main colors with accents of a golden yellow. My trim was silver with a row of studs along the accent lines on my sides.
The coaches had all switched to different outfits for our trips. "Autumn color season is ending. The humans will soon have them wear 'Christmas' outfits." is what Golden had told me. Dinah's usually blue outfit was now a cherry red. The winged streamliner gold-trimmed plates in her carriage had recently been taken out to be stored while the 'Christmas' ones with "poinsettias" were taken out of storage. Hartmann's drinks had included pumpkin spice and mulled ciders. He even had vanilla mint and Irish creams. Things that smelled nice but I could never taste. It would hurt my motors and that wasn't something I was programmed to want or experience.
The daylight had been shortening and more of our passengers were beginning to wear coats. I could see on occasion their breath hanging in the air as my exhaust did. Maybe we weren't so different after all? The days were getting colder. The air felt good in my motors as I breathed it in with my turbochargers. It cooled me down in a way that my water jacket didn't. I felt like I could run forever and arrive back at the yard feeling as energetic as ever. Yet the temperatures continued to plummet and I began to feel something different. I felt it myself inside of my motors, inside of my cylinders. It was getting harder to wake up. My oil would be harder to pump and even my fuel began to feel thicker in my fuel lines.
I began to see human staff at the refueling stations and after a full top up, they would give us a dose of a chemical to keep our fuel from gelling in the colder temperatures. Some locomotives were equipped with engine block heaters but I wasn't one of them. The ones like me, without heaters, thought the additive tasted delicious but we could only have it at our top ups....which was also bad for me since my tank was so big.
October 10th
I had trouble waking up this morning and for good reason.. the temperatures had been dropping and that made combustion harder with cold cylinders after a long rest. October 10th my systems read as I open my sleepy eyes. My motors sounded horrible as they warmed up.. I kept 'coughing' dark exhaust through the vents on my face's cheeks. I rev to try to get all my cylinders working together.
"Oh, Reese!" I hear and I know her voice well. I feel Dinah cup my face in her hands and lean down to kiss me where I still lay on our shed's bed. She was all dolled up and ready to go. "Are ya alright my darlin?" I smile up at her when she brushes my hair out of my face. Normally we woke up together at the same time. Today though...
"Hello, sweetheart. It's nice to see you this morning. Did you rest well?" I ran my hand up her thigh, stopping when my fingertips brushed against her skirt. I didn't want to tease her too much, but I wanted her to feel my touch. I squeeze her thigh.
Dinah looked down at my hand and smiled, she blushed and gave me a nod, "I did, love - but you need to get up. It's gettin' late! I know we don't go out today on a trip for our passengers but you know how Golden Spike is. He doesn't like tardiness at all! He might give you a break since he likes ya so much."
I saw that Dinah had my sunglasses in her hands and she was wearing a pair herself. We haven't needed those for a good while. Why would we ever need them now? Especially when it was still dark outside at this time of the day? I didn't take them. "Fuck, you're right baby. I need to- hnnnh.." I grunt as I sit up. After a short moment of sitting there, I sleepily stomp to the entrance of my shed with my hand on my forehead. My strength was inconsistent and I held onto the door frame of my shed for some stability. I open the door to look out, I felt the sting of cold enters my motors. "What's going on!?"
I heard Dinah laugh a little as she walked to me, she tugged on the back of my vest to neaten it. "It's snow darlin' - have you never seen it before?"
"...no. I haven't.." I blinked in disbelief at the blanket of white that covered the rail yard. I actually stepped back fully into the shed and closed the door. I turned to look down at Dinah, my headlights were on in the still-dim inside of the shed. Coaches didn't have headlights, they were made for the indoors of their coach cars. Her silvery surface gleamed with the buttery yellow glow I cast upon her. "Babe. Do I really have to go outside? I...I'm not feeling confident with what I saw out there."
"Reese! What are ya doin'?" Dinah pouted and placed her hands on her hips. She moved forward to get me to scoot back.
I knew this little game well, she wasn't mad at me. She just wanted to move me somewhere. "Dinah! Didn't you just see all that? The- the rails are gone!"
"It's under the snow, sweetheart..." She smiled, her voice was sweet and reassuring. Her hands moved away from her hips and up to touch the black section of my chest. Her fingertips traced the edges of my intake cutouts. "The rails you know are under there. Once you get your wheels on them, you'll get that confidence back. I promise, love."
I hissed a sigh with the air valves at my ribs. I did trust her. She had been in service longer than me and so far, she had not led me wrong. I grumbled and opened the shed door again. Since I was a passenger Engine, my shed was actually the closes to the Coach sheds. My programming made it so I would want to keep my coaches safe and that included shooing other rolling stock out of the area so they could feel safe. I saw a coach looking at me with a smile. A sort of mocking smile.
"Is the Lieutenant afraid of a little snow?" She laughed, "Come on, how does the company or even Golden Spike expect me to respect a diesel who's so nervous about a little snow?"
"Shut it, Florette! I know I'm still new! You can't expect me to....to know this would happen one day!" He felt embarrassed at my lack of knowledge about the world. Why hadn't Golden told me about this? Had it been a simple oversight?
Dinah walked out of our shed, heading toward the yard's canteen. The human workers ate there and it was up to a different set of food handling coaches to prepare the offerings of the day. Just because we loved each other didn't mean we could spend all day together. How I wished that was the case though. I wanted Dinah by my side every moment I could.
I bend down to kiss her and I shot a parting glare at Florette. I unassuredly made my way to the refueling station. I didn't use my wheels. I kept them retracted to feel the ground better and to balance fully on my feet. Once there, I waited in the queue which wasn't very long at this early hour. It was only once I was next to refuel that I see Rail Jack, a centennial engine much like Golden Spike.
"Whoa, what's going on with you? Has the cold caught you by surprise? By the sounds of it, you didn't turn on your shed's heat! Does your shed even have heating? Ask Golden about it! Not that I personally have to worry about that. I've got a lovely steamer to keep me cozy. I got started up just fine!" The red-haired centennial laughed his deep "Ahohohoho!" His red irises glowed brighter than what was normal in the current light levels. He was happy.
"Steamer?" I still couldn't belive that a diesel like Rail Jack slept with one. "You sleep with one of those things? Aren't you ashamed to call yourself a centennial?" My motors throttled up with a hint of disgust.
"Don't talk about my lovey that way. You'll come around to steam engines one day, Daylight. Especially once you feel the heat of their frame against yours." Rail Jack grinned and hooked his fingers into the top two intakes of my chest. He pulled not hard but consistently.
I opened my mouth in surprise and honked my horn. At that moment, he shoved the fuel nozzle into my mouth and down my throat. I didn't gag, diesels didn't have that human reflex, but it did spread the calipers in my throat in a way that made their mechanisms whine. I hadn't been ready for that. I look at Jack with fury in my sunset-colored eyes but when I feel my tank fill up, my glare softens. "You didn't have to put it that far down, Rail Jack.."
"I didn't want it to fall out!" He grabbed the hose and jiggled it a little which quickly made me hold onto the hose above his hand with a warning rev. "Oooh, feisty!"
My motors settle back to their idle and I sigh, "This was for you wasn't it? Wouldn't you need more than what you input? I haven't seen you around the fuel pumps recently so you can't be anywhere near half full." My gaze settles on his torso, below his chest. I notice that Rail Jack had a lot of repair work done to him. I could see parts that were reinforcing his frame, rows of rivets placed almost like stitches in old cracks. His arms were a different color from his elbows down and his face had deep gouges on his right cheek.
"I can't top up anymore, not like how I used to when I was a fresh engine. To put it simply, it just hurts." The red-haired centennial looked like he wanted to pout but he seemed to think of something, " But it still lasts me a long time! If I go anywhere far away, I've been given my own fuel tender by 6900. Anyway, I saw the humans bringing in their fake tree to the yard tower this morning. I helped them with it. They told me that they wanted us to get into the winter spirit. Who knows, maybe we'll get some new vests this year!"
"Huh? What do you mean? Do engines really get outfits like the coaches?" I thought about Dinah's new red outfit for a quick moment. Then the rest of my coaches. They all had such nice-looking threads. I admit I was jealous.
"Freight engines don't but who knows? A passenger engine like yourself might!" Rail Jack laughed again. "Passenger engines are the most coach-like out of the engines if we don't count Multiple Units." He smirked, "but that's none of my business. What I'm saying is, don't be surprised if you do receive an outfit."
I feel my fuel tank being nearly full and I slow down the flow rate of the fuel nozzle. I let it drip into my mouth and then pull it out with a last suck. Delicious. "I would enjoy a different vest. Different looks probably make humans more interested in a passenger train. Those who rode my train before would have a good reason to come again."
"Speaking of trains. We should have a few inbounds soon. I saw a dark trail in the distance. Let's go and get to the platform, sleepyhead. Maybe you should get yourself a hot steamer to keep you warm!"
"No way. I've got my darling carriage, Dinah. Besides, Golden Spike still requires my assistance with his....limited train." I mimic a noise that sounds like I'm clearing my throat. "I have all the company I need.."
Jack's black box whirred, I knew he was thinking and calculating something. His age showed in a slight rattle from one of the cooling fans like the bearings were wearing out. He blinked. "Actually don't come with me. I can't have you slowing me down. Simulations show the probability of that happening is quite high." He patted my back hard three times and revved his motors to speed out of the fuel depot with a blare of his horn.
His acceleration did amaze me. I had seen it and felt it with Golden Spike but Rail Jack was so much more worn down. I would have thought that surely he would have trouble but it looked like the raw strength the DDA40X had was enough for him to power through whatever wear tried to slow him down.
I was beginning to decide to leave as well when I saw a yard job had been assigned to me.
Plow the Eastbound Run Through with UPY #0503
"Plow..... Plow?" I hadn't met UPY#0503 yet but from their number, I knew they were most likely one of our dozens of shunting engines. I let my head hang for a moment as I resign myself to what I'm about to do and stomp into the outside snow once more. I knew I would be out here all day. I needed to get used to the bite of the icy winds being sucked into my very core. My motors. My cylinders.
A steam engine watched me approach, the flames of his lanterns were not where as bright as my headlights. I could see the flames flicker behind his eyes. I could also see, beneath the alligator skin of rust the flaking paint of black, silvers, and reds. The colors of a fallen flag, the Southern Pacific. He finally spoke, a youthful voice. "and you're Pacific Daylight?"
"I am." I grin and nearly beam with pride as being known by this lowly shunting steam engine. How he still functioned despite being full of rust was a wonder to me. How did he even pass daily inspections? I flexed an arm, "Here to light up your day and ease your workload because by the looks of it you sure do fucking need it."
"Uh-Huh. I didn't expect this. You see, the way the master speaks about you..." The steam engine rubbed the back of his neck and he's about to speak again when I interrupt him.
"I'm sure he speaks highly of me but it is not relevant to the task he has assigned me, you rusty thing.." I raise my chin and look down my nose at the steam engine.
"The name is Smuts." His voice told me he was tired. Not of work though. No. He was tired of being called a rusty thing.
"Yeah, sure. Whatever Rusty. Anyway. What's this plowing I'm supposed to do with you?" I cross my arms, still looking down at him like he was some insignificant pile of dirt pushed out of the way by a bulldozer.
Rusty raised a dark eyebrow at me, "What do you mean by 'what's this plowing?'. Please don't tell me you don't know what plowing is."
"I could say something but I'll keep my mouth shut. I don't think It'll help my situation." I uncross my arms and point my silver finger at the space between Rusty's eyes, "I"m more concerned that Golden Spike would ever put me to work with a rusty thing like you. What if I catch it!?"
"It's taken me years to get this rustic patina, you smelly diesel. It wouldn't dare infect you, as it that could even happen." Rusty held up his nose, starting to fed up with me. I didn't know it but he had more years in this yard than I imagined.
My motors revved angrily as Rusty's steam grew fuller and his firebox crackled. I could see the bright flames trying to escape the doors of his firebox. "Cool it!" I stomped, "Just show me how it's done so I can outperform your plowing."
Rusty let out a low angry whistle and gestured for me to follow him.
I instead walk just ahead of him, using my peripheral vision to know where to go. I would not follow him. He led me to a nearby storage shed and pulled out a pair of scooplike contraptions. I took one and carefully watched how he held his. I took a few steps to observe how the plow moved the snow away from the ground ahead of me. "Oh. This is easy. Don't even waste my time explaining. I know how to do this."
I carried the snowplow to the starting marker on the map of the yard that corresponded to this yard job. I quickly found my confidence and extended my wheels to hook their flanges onto the rails. I did the same for the plow, hooking it to the rail. "Try not to get left behind, Rusty!!" I ran forward on my wheels, the snow cascaded off of the sides of the plow as I raced down the track. I let out a low mocking laugh as I looked back at Rusty who had been covered in the snow I had just removed.
"Augh!!" I heard him yell as he began the work as well.
The East bound run-through consisted of 10 tracks, 8 less than the West bound one. We would have this job done in no time. At least, I would. I marked my 5 tracks of the yard job as done, happy with my work. Every track that I had plowed was perfectly clean. I waited at the end of the tracks, leaning against my snowplow when I hear the sound of a large diesel approaching. I can see the fresh snow that was still falling from the sky flutter off of the rail from the vibrations. I look down the line to see an engine that was familiar to me. "Yard Master..!"
"Delight. What's the meaning of this?!" It was Golden, coming to inspect the work. "How have you finished so fast?"
I give him a saute and bow, "Sir, I cleared out each track I was assigned to in the Eastbound Run Through just like you ordered!" I straighten. I'm smiling, feeling proud of having done the job faster than expected.
"Did you hear what I said? You finished too fast but at what cost, my lieutenant? Look closer." Golden Spike crossed his arms, his resting frown almost seemed intentional at this moment. "You still have so much to learn..."
My smile faded slightly and I looked back over my shoulder. Every other track was clean but that meant every track in between the two I had cleared had a heap of snow on top of it instead of the clearance space between them. I frown and look at Golden Spike. "Sir. Rusty did not perform well at plowing!"
"It's not that he didn't perform well. He did his job but it was you who went to fast and made the snow overshoot their destination. As punishment, you will plow the run through again and you will not use your wheels." The centennial uncrossed his arms and spun me right around with his strong hands to fully face me to my job done wrong. He began to push me toward the nearest Run Through rail. "You. Will. Walk. And that's an order."
"Yes sir..." I didn't dare look at Smuts right now who was probably laughing.
Golden Spike spoke from behind me. I could feel the heat of his motors against my back. "UPY#0503. You are dismissed from this yard job. Your new yard job is to help with the incoming train. Your job list has been updated. Pacific Daylight will redo this job properly and I'll ensure he learns from his mistake. Leave your plow where it is. He will also take it back to storage."
I closed my eyes, grimacing at the pain that my ego was taking right now. "You didn't have to say that last part to him..."
Rusty smiled and dropped his plow where it was. "See you around, Delight! Ahahaah!" He was enjoying that. Wasn't He?
I felt Golden let my shoulders go. I feel his hand once more when he slaps my ass. "Get moving."
I let out a deep long sigh and got back to work...