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“What are they doing?” the pannier hissed impatiently.
Her driver looked back towards the source of his engine's grievance.
Some workmen were idling around one of the nearby sidings, happily chatting with a man from the village. A small boy, evidently the man's son, was curiously looking towards the old tank engine.
The engine rolled her eyes, unamused by the attention she was getting.
“Oh lighten up Alice” soothed the driver. “Just a few locals is all. I’ve seen ‘em before and they're perfectly harmless”.
Alice huffed. “That’s all well and good” she grumbled, “But they really should stay on the platforms. I don’t know what they think is so special for them to wander out here”.
“Well I can think of one thing” the driver replied. “Leave it to you to turn away a compliment. You're just being fussy”.
Alice just grunted, and let off steam. “So what if I am fussy?” she hissed. “I’d say I’ve earned it with all my years of service”.
Her fireman laughed. “Oh, is that how you say you're old?”.
The pannier hissed again, but then she gave a light smirk. She knew there was no malice in her crew’s teasing. It was a way to pass the time while waiting for their next duties.
With bigger engines being built, fewer trains needed help through Box Tunnel anyway.
Eventually, the father and son walked away back into the town.
While the yard was quiet, Alice grew lost in thought.
“Why was he so interested?” She puffed quietly.
“Who?” asked her driver.
“That boy” explained Alice, “What’s so special about me that caught his attention?”
Her fireman laughed. “Maybe he thought you were one of those big Star Class engines, and was wondering where your tender’s gone”.
Alice wheesed indignantly. Her safety valve started to lift.
“Easy there” soothed her driver. “He’s only joking”.
At that moment, Alice heard the whistle of another engine, and a long goods train appeared, rumbling into sight under the road bridge.
The train stopped, the soot stained mogul at the front sizzling impatiently, and with a shrill whistle, they called for the banker.
“Right, come on old girl” said the driver, and eased open the regulator.
Alice rolled out from her siding, and quickly buffered up behind the train.
With another brief exchange of whistles the heavy train heaved its way back into motion, and the two engines turned their attention fully to the hard climb ahead.
They reached the hill just beyond the station, as the line burrowed into Middle Hill Tunnel. This is the shorter of the two tunnels, and they are soon back out into the light again, puffing hard up the bank past clusters of houses built near the lineside.
Soon enough though, after this stretch of open hill, the grand western portal of Box Tunnel loomed before them, and the train entered the darkness once more.
The sharp puffs of the engines echoed off the tunnel walls, and the air became thick with smoke.
Finally, the air grew cleaner, as with a final effort the train stormed out the other end of the tunnel, and the top of the climb was reached.
Passing by sidings filled with stone trucks, Alice’s driver eased off on the regulator and allowed the train to pull ahead on its own, as with a thankful whistle it disappeared into the distance.
With her work now finished, Alice stopped just before an old brick signal box. She watched the train go on without her for a moment. Then, having caught her breath, she rolled back down the hill, through Box and Middle Hill Tunnels, and back to her small shed just beside the station to wait for her next job.
……
Box Station was nothing remarkable, but being on the Great Western mainline it was hardly a dull place.
Train came through all the time, night and day. Passenger trains would stop, and the guard and station staff would usher people into and out of the coaches, before departing once more.
Goods trains would also come through, sometimes stopping to drop off a truck or two, or to collect trucks of stone from the small goods yard.
Then there were the big express trains, which didn’t stop. They would rush through the station, whistling their approach, before thundering away up the line and disappearing as fast as they had arrived.
Alice sat waiting just outside the small shed next to the station, her boiler sizzling comfortably in the mid-day sun.
A distant whistle drew her attention, and she looked out towards the hill and tunnel beyond the station.
Around mid-day, there were two trains which were scheduled to pass each other at Box, once coming down the hill towards Bristol and Bath, the other going up and heading towards London.
One of the railway’s Saint Class engines, Saint Bartholomew, usually pulled the down train, while the up train was often headed by the railway’s flagship engine The Great Bear.
A whistle sounded from up the line, and Saint Bartholomew rushed into view down the hill, and sped on through the station as usual.
But Great Bear was nowhere to be seen.
Alice wasn’t sure, but she thought she heard the Saint scoff as he went through. He was always a stickler for punctuality.
Ten minutes later, a hoarse puffing sound could be heard, and Great Bear clanked huffily into the station.
Alice, who was still resting nearby, opened an inquisitive eye, and watched in surprise as the train came to a stop at the platform.
But then she saw the crew climb down from the cab to inspect their engine, and she sighed knowingly.
Great Bear had always been a finicky sort.
“They’ll have to be quick with whatever they're doing,” mused Alice’s driver. “They’re late enough already”.
Alice chuckled. “He may be called Great Bear, but he moves like a Great Snail”.
They waited and waited, but the train didn’t move.
Passengers began leaning out of the carriage windows, and the Stationmaster and the porters all looked to see what was happening.
“What on earth are they doing?” wheeshed Alice.
“Beats me,” replied her driver.
The express engine’s crew had now gone around to the front of their engine. Alice couldn’t quite hear what they were saying, but they were making animated gestures, while Great Bear whispered something beneath fitful hisses of steam.
Both tank Engine and her crew stared, as the express engine’s driver threw his hands up in exhaustion, and began walking crossly towards them.
The express driver climbed up and said something to Alice’s crew. Then he hopped down and stomped back to his still grumbling engine.
“What was that about?” asked Alice.
Her driver shrugged. “Apparently they want our help up the hill”.
“Well why didn’t he whistle then” Alice puffed, “it’s like he…” She paused. A wry smile grew across her face.
Great Bear was still sizzling grumpily at the platform, when a loud whistle blasted out from the station yard.
Alice rolled smugly out from her shed and buffered up to the back of the train.
“ PEEP! PIP! PEEP! PEEP! PEEP! ” she whistled again, emphasizing each sound as much as she could.
Great Bear winced. “Lousy tank engine” he huffed under his breath, “You’re in a station. Unnecessary whistling is to be strictly avoided”.
“Ah, but calling for the banker is necessary isn’t it?” said Alice sweetly, “So I whistled for both of us. Figured I’d help you out since you seem to have forgotten”.
The big express engine just harrumphed indignantly in reply.
“I shouldn’t need your help” he grunted.
“But you do,” chuckled Alice.
“Circumstances beyond my control” Great Bear hissed, “It is not befitting our railway’s image for its flagship engine to be seen to need assistance. The least you can do is be more discreet about it”.
“You thought you were being discreet ?!” Alice wheeshed, and she laughed some more.
The big engine just glowered as the station porters ushered some curious passengers back on board.
The guard blew his whistle, and with a curt ‘Pip’ from Great Bear and a dramatic ‘PEEEEEEP!’ from Alice the train moved out from the station, and quickly gained speed to charge at the hill.
For all Great Bears talk of ‘not needing help’ , the train was hard to keep going.
By the time they reach the top of the hill, Alice was out of breath and sighed with relief as the heavy coaches moved on without her.
Great Bear began to move quicker than he had all day, and was soon speeding away into the distance, without even saying thank you .
……
The rest of the day was uneventful. Trains went through with no more excitement from the usual routine.
Alice sat idling in her shed, watching the world move on around her.
The sun had long since set by the time she was needed again.
A long and heavy goods train groaned its way into the station, pulled by an ancient looking six-coupled loco who wheezed painfully with every wheel turn.
The engine’s brakes squeal as the train ground to a stop, steam leaking in all directions.
The old engine breathed a sigh of relief as he looked to see Alice standing nearby.
“p-peeeeeep peeeep p-peeeeep” he whistled hoarsely, the last note a dying whimper devoid of steam.
“You poor thing” thought Alice, and she rolled out from her siding, and buffered up gently behind the train.
“I’m ready when you are,” she whistled reassuringly.
The old engine wheezed a breathless sigh. “It’s no use” he coughed. But as he felt Alice nudge the train gently forward, his cylinders hissed with what little strength he could muster.
As they passed through Middle Hill Tunnel, and the grade steepened, both engines' vociferous puffs echoed against each other.
“I can’t do it, I can’t do it, I can’t do it” the old engine wheezed. His strength grew weaker, and the couplings slackened.
Alice felt the train grow heavier and barked in reply, “Oh Yes You Can! Oh Yes You Can! Oh Yes You Can!”
They struggled on out from the tunnel, the noise of the old engine wheezing in front and Alice puffing fiercely behind sounded out through the nearby town.
Slowly, but surely the train kept going, and as it did the old engine began to grow more sure.
“We can do it. We can do it” he hissed through leaking steam.
“We will do it! We will do it!” replied Alice.
Box Tunnel loomed ahead. As they entered, Alice’s wheels slipped suddenly. With a pained but determined effort, the old engine in front kept the train moving, and with a careful hand on her regulator, Alice quickly regained traction.
The two engines struggled onwards, their puffs and pants bouncing together off the tunnel walls.
“We Can Do It! We Will Do It! We Can Do It! We Will Do It!”
Smoke and steam filled the tunnel. The old engines wheezing grew worse once more, but he and Alice kept moving slowly but surely ahead.
At last, they reached the end of the tunnel, and the line grew level.
“We’ve Done It Together! We’ve Done It Together! We’ve Done It Together!” Both engines puffed in unison.
As they approached the station at the top of the hill, Alice’s driver shut off steam.
The heavy train rattled along, getting further and further away.
Though he was out of breath, the old engine still managed a small “Peep Peep! Thank you! ” as he puffed steadily away into the distance.
Alice stopped and watched till the dim red light of the train's tail lamp had disappeared into the nighttime countryside. Then, with a tired sigh, she moved slowly away back down the line.
She made her way back through the tunnel at a gentle pace, and as she coasted along on the open stretch before Middle Hill, Alice noticed something.
At the edge of the town, not far from the railway line, a single light glowed out from a house’s window.
Alice couldn’t help but let a small smile grow on her face, realizing that she and the old engine must have woken somebody as they fought their way uphill.
She gave a quick whistle, as though to say “goodnight” , and then puffed silently home.