Chapter 6
6
Ethan stood in the driver’s cab of the steam engine and exchanged nervous but excited looks with his dad and grandad.
‘So it looks like we’re good to go,’ Ethan told them both.
‘Well,’ said Bob, rubbing his hands together. ‘No time like the present.’
‘Aye, son,’ said Eddie, nodding. ‘Let’s get this show on the road.’
The boiler was already packed with coal and with the water tank also full, the engine billowing out clouds of steam from its chimney. All it needed now was a release of the brakes for the train to move forward.
‘Better give the folks another warning,’ said Bob.
Eddie smiled. ‘You do the honours.’
But Bob shook his head. ‘Together, I reckon, Dad,’ he said.
‘All right,’ replied Eddie. ‘Together.’
So they both reached out to the chain hanging from the ceiling and gave it a hearty couple of tugs.
The train whistled and Ethan found that, despite the heat from the nearby coal fire, he had goosebumps up his arms. It was really happening, he reminded himself.
He thought back to the early days of his childhood, riding the trains with his dad and grandad, then rushing home to play with toy replica models. But this was a real-life, full-size steam engine. He could hardly believe it.
However, there was no time to reminisce as Bob pulled a couple of levers whilst Eddie hung out of the side of the cab to check the wheels. With a small jolt and another large puff of steam, the locomotive began to move forward. It was a slow movement but enough for them all to exchange another brief round of smiles.
Slowly but surely, the steam train puffed its way forward into the bright sunshine.
They all kept checking the gauges for temperature and water levels, but all seemed okay as they drew nearer to the station.
Ethan glanced down as they went past, waving at Ryan and Katy, who gave him wide smiles as they waved back.
Everyone else on the platform was recording the journey on their mobiles. So Ethan stepped back to let his grandad smile and wave at everyone.
‘How far are we going?’ asked Ethan.
‘To Cranley junction,’ shouted Bob, above the noise. ‘We can turn around there.’
The single railway track ran for ten miles until the main station in Aldwych town. Cranley junction was situated about halfway along. As the train chugged and puffed past the station, Ethan glanced out of the driver’s cab once more and briefly saw Libby and her father standing at their back gate. Eddie gave a wave of greeting when he too saw them.
Seeing Libby standing there, Ethan absent-mindedly felt for the bump on his head and smiled to himself. Libby still didn’t come with a rulebook.
Then the train went past his new home, the old school, a little square box in the same sandy bricks that the whole village had been built in. Despite being an impulse purchase, he quite liked the feel of the place. The large rooms and high ceilings were a plus point and it overlooked the railway line and then the lavender fields and countryside beyond.
Besides, he had happy memories of that little school. Those had been happy, carefree times and he remembered playing outside with Ryan, Flora and Libby. Before they all grew up and life and hormones got in the way of their relationships, he thought, feeling his ringless wedding finger. Of all the things he had ever planned for his future, getting married had never been one of them.
He had been in Las Vegas for a work convention but had grown weary of his colleagues and had taken a walk along the Strip to clear his head. He had been shocked to come across Libby, of all people, watching the fountains in front of the Bellagio Hotel.
It had ended up being a crazy, drunken night in a glamorous, glittering city with Libby, his oldest friend. After the disaster of the prom, he’d thought they would never be able to get back what they had lost, but that particular evening, the bright lights and romance of Las Vegas, along with enough alcohol to fell a moose, had broken through the barriers that Libby had dramatically put up between them. All he wanted to do was take Libby in his arms and admit how he really felt about her. But something went awry in the haze of alcohol and one of his jokes had suddenly become reality.
For a man who hated the idea of marriage, he had to admit to himself that he had been the one to drag Libby into the wedding chapel. Suddenly, they were buying cheap rings, signing a licence and standing in front of a fake plastic altar. The only clear memory he had of that whole evening was slipping the ring onto Libby’s finger. A sober Ethan would have been horrified but somehow he remembered feeling nothing but pure happiness in that moment.
Afterwards, they had drunk even more alcohol before passing out in his hotel suite. He had woken up to find himself alone, Libby’s wedding ring left behind on the bedside table as the only evidence of the previous evening.
The marriage could have been easily and quickly annulled and yet he had never completed the paperwork. For some reason, a tiny part of him was happy to remain married to Libby and he still didn’t know why.
Libby had never mentioned anything about the marriage and it was pretty obvious that she had regretted getting married to him. So to make things easier for them both, he had carried on as if it had never happened, even though he still carried with him a small sense of wonder that the whole night had even taken place.
The school was the last building at the edge of the tiny hamlet and as the train moved on, Cranfield was suddenly behind them and they were surrounded by the open countryside. It was slow progress as nobody wanted to max out the steam engine on the first outing. They had made a few tentative moves back and forwards within the confines of the train workshop, but this was the first time in the open air. And it was glorious, thought Ethan, shovelling in more coal. The sound was incredible. The hiss of the steam, with the clanging of the engine right ahead of them, along with noise from the air whooshing around them as it went past.
Time seemed to fly past until suddenly they were at the small junction near the village of Cranley. In the very far distance, just peeping out through the woods, Ethan could see Willow Tree Hall, the grand stately home, and figured that they must be right at the end of the estate.
The train slowed down as it neared a level crossing and they gave another toot of the horn to ensure that everyone in the vicinity knew that it was coming along the tracks. After the crossing, the train slowed down ever further until it ground to a shuddering halt with a hiss of steam coming up from all of the wheels.
All three men sighed a sigh of relief.
‘It works,’ said Eddie, with a huge smile.
‘Of course it works,’ replied Bob, laughing.
‘Let’s hope it works just as well in reverse,’ said Ethan through gritted teeth. ‘Otherwise we’ve got a long walk home.’
It had all gone too smoothly, he thought. Gone too well. He wasn’t a superstitious person, but surely nothing was perfect?
A few levers were pulled so that the engine would be able to reverse back up the railway track the way it had come. More coal was shovelled and gauges checked and then, with another jolt, the steam engine puffed back into life and they were off and running once more, this time with the driver’s cab at the very front.
Ethan was overwhelmed with what his dad and grandad had achieved over so many years, along with a bit of help whenever he returned home. His love of engines had all stemmed from these men standing beside him, both grinning from ear to ear like small children as they trundled along the tracks.
Soon, he could see the tiny hamlet of Cranfield along the tracks. The village was surrounded by rolling hills, all beginning to lose their green hues as autumn rushed in and replaced it all with its resplendent bright yellows, oranges and scarlet colours.
In the distance, just down the narrow path on the other side of the railway tracks was Cranbridge, the village split down the middle by the river. It had a well-stocked corner shop and a popular pub, The Black Swan Inn.
As they approached the station, the train slowed right down so that it crept along the platform. Then, with more steam, and the hiss and clanking of huge metal cogs and wheels, the steam engine ground to a halt just beyond the station.
Bob turned to look at his son and father, his teeth bright white against the sooty black-smeared face. ‘We did it,’ he said, with a laugh. But his blue eyes shone out with pride. ‘It’s been a dream come true to go out on the engine we’ve worked so hard on.’
Eddie nodded slowly, his eyes looking watery but he was smiling too. ‘Well done us,’ he said.
Bob and Ethan stepped forward at the same time to embrace Eddie and all three of them stood there for a moment, relishing the result of their ambition.
Even Ethan could feel his throat contracting with tears and emotion. ‘That was amazing,’ he told them both.
Bob nodded, still looking extremely stunned. ‘Let’s have a drink to celebrate!’ he declared.
‘It’s only half past ten in the morning,’ said Ethan, checking his watch and laughing.
‘Yes, but we’ve been waiting twenty years for a pint to celebrate the first run!’ said Bob with a grin.