The Abandoned Island

Steaming Stanley

As Zeph walked away from the works, she sighed. While what she said was true, she also wanted to relax for a bit, and a run up to Glennock seemed like a nice way to unwind. Looking towards the transfer yard behind the engine shed, besides the gleaming rails that were installed, there were several lines of narrow gauge flatbeds stacked high with even more rails and sleepers. All of them ready to be taken up the tracks to continue building. She walked over to the sheds and softly rapped her knuckle on the shed door to let the engines inside know she was about to open them. After waiting a few seconds, she pulls the doors open and smiles at the little engines. "So, what do we owe this visit to?" asked Skarloey with a grin. The young lady points towards Rusty, "I'm gonna need him. I'd like him to roll behind Stanley as we do a light run up to Glennock. This way, we can make sure there are no issues with him, and he can pull a little bit of weight." Hearing that, Rusty started his engine happily and began to roll out of the shed from beside Skarloey. "Though, Skarloey, you can come along if you'd like. It would be nice to get a history lesson as we go along, and you can introduce Stanley to everything." The old engine looked to his side, seeing Rheneas to his side. "If it is ok with the others, I wouldn't mind," he said, and as soon as he finished saying that, everyone in this shed said they were ok with it and encouraged him to go. Zeph chuckled and helped Rusty pull him from the shed and to the station before rolling over to the carriage shed where Stanley currently rested. The doors were opened, and Stanley smiled at her, "I caught part of the plan. We are doing a light run?" She nodded and guided the little diesel in front of Stanley and coupled them up before he was moved to the water tower. Zeph helped Rusty move and back down in front of Skarloey, who she coupled up to the little diesel. Rusty promptly shut off his engine and smiled, "It is going to be weird to be pulled along like a truck." "I have to agree, Rusty, but I've grown used to it, at least being shunted around," added Skarloey.

As Zeph walked over to Stanley, she pulled her fireman's hat out of her pocket. She put her hair up into a bun and put the hat on. This way, her hair wouldn't get caught on anything. She always did this when operating any of the steam engines, just as a safety precaution. As she drew nearer to the little loco, she could see he was incredibly nervous, "Stanley, calm down. You're putting yourself under so much pressure that I could run you down the line without a fire." The not so little engine' face flushed, "S-sorry ma'am. I'm just worried, is all." She patted his side tanks as she began to fill them with water from the tower, "You have nothing to worry about. This is why we are doing a test run, so we can iron out any issues before you start running with full trains." That eased his worry, though not by much. Filling his tanks completely took a while, but they were eventually brimmed to full, and Zeph had filled his coal bunker while his tanks were filling. Once both resources were practically overflowing, she gave him, Rusty, and Skarloey one last oiling before she began to get Stanley's fire going. The engines eyes practically sparkle as he felt the first beginnings of steam start to fill his systems. It had been so long that he thought he had forgotten the feeling, but now that it was back, he smiled as he knew he truly could never forget this feeling. He could have started his own fire, similar to how the diesels start their own engines, but this being his first firing of his new life, he wanted to give that honor to the lady who found and rescued him. Zeph made sure to keep his fire happy and made sure everything was going well. After nearly an hour, he was simmering happily, and he had to actually let off steam. It was a feeling he sorely missed.

Once he was ready, he took his first puff in many years. It was strong sounding, and he felt like he could pull the world as he slowly puffed along the tracks and over points. In a matter of a few minutes, he had crept to the station and backed down onto his "train." Zeph then coupled him up to Rusty before hopping back in his cab. "Just go nice and slow, Stanley. We have plenty of time." she said warmly. Stanley slowly rolled forward, taking the slack up in his chain before Rusty began to roll, and then Skarloey. Feeling the weight behind him, he couldn't help but grow excited and surged forward, taking all three of his passengers by surprise. The two engines coupled behind him might as well weigh nothing as he powered along and soon had a decent speed going. They glided through Cros-ny-Curin without a single issue, and Skarloey gave everyone history as they went along. Soon, though, they entered a valley that ran parallel to a standard gauge line. All along the hills and the overgrown standard gauge track were bright blue flowers. "What are these flowers?" Zeph asked as she looked at the hill side that was absolutely covered in the flowers. "Ah. These are bluebell flowers. I love coming through here during spring," Rusty answered happily. As they puffed through the little station here that connected the standard and narrow gauge lines, Zeph actually noticed a single shed on a small siding for the standard gauge line. It could hold maybe Edward, at best. She got an idea as they slithered past and continued effortlessly up to Glennock, Skarloey resuming giving them all history lessons. Once they arrived, Stanley was uncoupled from Rusty and ran around behind to Skarloey before he was coupled up again. "I have to say. These rails are wonderful and smooth. Reminds me when you first joined our little railway, Rusty. " The little diesel chuckled at his friends words. "I remember you saying that if you couldn't see the familiar faces and places, you'd you think you were on a different railway. However, this time, I know what you mean." Stanley quietly added, "I've never been on such smooth rails before. The ones on the MSR were bumpy and weren't laid very well in some places."  "Well, starting tomorrow, we will be resuming work on the railway." Zeph stated matter of factly. Rusty and Skarloey immediately grew interested. "Does that mean you completed one entire line of the main line?" asked Skarloey. Zeph nodded as she stood on the platform of the quaint little station. "Yep! We are going to start working again tomorrow. The day after are clay runs, then we'll be alternating between this line and the Little Western. Two days here, two days the other. With Stanley here, we should be able to bring up a lot more supplies. No offense, Rusty." The little diesel laughed, "None taken. I agree, though. His strength will be a great boon now and in the future."
Only Zeph could see the flushed face of Stanley. With a smile, she climbed back in his cab, and the quartet headed back along the lines, this time at a slightly slower pace since he was running backward. By the time they had arrived back at Crovan's gate, the day was coming to a close. So everyone was moved to their respective sheds, goodnights were said, and everyone parted ways. Zeph flopped on her bed while everyone else, minus Edward, was asleep. "So, how did it go, dear?" She rolled onto her back and sat up, "It went perfectly! There wasn't a single problem going up or down the line, and Stanley is immensely powerful for being a narrow gauge engine. I'd reckon if he was gauged for standard track, he could be a shunter like Thomas or Percy." "That definitely sounds like some high praise indeed. Hopefully, everything continues to run smoothly." Zeph agreed and went to sleep at once, with Edward soon following. By mornings first light, Zeph had gotten up, wiped herself down with a damp cloth, and gotten dressed in clean clothes. She then headed back over to the Skarloey Railway and began to get Stanley ready for his day of work. Zeph noticed he looked rather tired, "Are you ok, Stanley?" The large red engine yawned, "Yeah yeah...I was so excited to work that I ended up being unable to sleep." "I see. Should we hold off on working today so you can rest? It isn't wise to work when you are exhausted." Almost immediately, Stanley snapped, "I'm fine! I can work!" Zeph was stunned at first, but quickly sighed and walked around to his front and looked him in the eyes, "Stanley. Despite what you think, I actually care about you all. If you are feeling unwell, then you tell me. It wouldn't do good for you to be in an unfit condition to work, then try to work anyways, and then break down because you are sick. If something is ever wrong, I want you to tell me, no matter if you think I won't care or it is too insignificant. Understood?" Stanley stared into her unwavering eyes before he looked down, "Understood, ma'am. But I truly am ok to work." Zeph slowly nodded and resumed getting him ready for work. Once his fire was lit and he began to make steam, she walked over and got Fred ready for work. With Stanley pulling the rails, only one little diesel was needed to bring up a crane. Fred rolled out of the shed, and Zeph worked with him to get him backed down onto and coupled up to one of the narrow gauge cranes.

Once he was ready to go, Zeph let him leave by himself while she went over and began to help Stanley back down onto his line of trucks. There were twenty flatbeds in total, ten with the new heavy-duty rails, and the other ten with the heavy duty sleepers, and at the end, a brakevan. It wouldn't do anything except make the train look complete. There were several trains made of the same cars. As soon as Stanley was hooked up, Zeph walked along the train, unlocking the brakes before climbing into Stanley's cab. The engine began crawling away slowly. It was slower than when he pulled Skarloey and Rusty, but he still hardly struggled to bring the train up to speed. Within moments, they were trundling down the line in high spirits, and within the hour, they met up with Fred at Glennock. The two engines would talk at length about anything and everything while Zeph began working on the track. Like the many times before, with it being just her, it was slow but steady going. Cutting the rails into smaller pieces before using the crane to move them off to the side, then ripping up the old sleepers before installing the new ones and then the new rails. By the end of the day, they had arrived at a large lake with a causeway running through it, and on the right side was a large castle. "Whoa! This is beautiful!" Zeph said in awe. She had never seen anything like this before. However, her eyes fell back on the causeway and she gulped, "That is going to be a pain to work on, but if we want to reach Rheneas station, we're gonna have to do it. Stanley, we'll run back and grab more rails and sleepers." She climbed into his cab and took the trucks full of old rails back down the line and parked them back in the siding they had gotten them from. Retrieving another load of rails and sleepers, they headed back up the tracks and began to slowly and carefully work on the old causeway. For better or worse, it had hardly deteriorated. Like everything on the island, it seemed like the engineers and architects took great pride in their work and built things to last. They were able to get across the causeway before the sun was low in the sky. Only then did they call it a day and head back to Crovan's gate, where Zeph helped them shunt the trucks and equipment before helping them into their sheds. She then walked into the Works just as everyone else was going to sleep. Zeph, however, wasn't going to bed despite how exhausted she was. She walked to the back and began working on the little P class for another hour or two before then finally going to bed.