Chapter 15
15
Despite appearing to be cool with it, Ethan had found that he was mesmerised by having Libby close by in his kitchen.
They had bumped into each other around Cranfield before now, of course. At various parties or even just grabbing a coffee from Platform 1. So he was used to seeing her around.
And yet, this was different. Closer. More personal, if anything, because she was in his home.
As he left Libby, Flora and Harriet cleaning his kitchen, he reminded himself that he had a very long to-do list to be completed over the next couple of weeks to keep both his mind and body occupied.
‘Good morning,’ he said to his dad as he headed inside the train workshop.
The steam engine was parked up inside the large hangar, away from the steady drizzle that was coming down. In the remaining space of the workshop, there were the two train carriages which his dad and grandad were so intent on getting renovated in time for the Halloween train run in a few short weeks.
‘Morning, son,’ replied Bob, poking his head out from behind a set of wheels underneath one of the carriages.
‘How’s it looking?’ asked Ethan, going over to his dad to crouch down next to him.
‘I reckon with a bit of grease, the mechanism should be all right,’ said Bob, nodding.
‘No bad rust?’ said Ethan, running his hand over the metal.
‘Not that I can see,’ replied Bob.
Ethan was relieved that there was hope that the wheels might not have seized despite not being used for a couple of decades. ‘Is grandad around?’ asked Ethan.
‘He had a bit of a lie-in this morning,’ Bob told him. ‘He’ll be on his way shortly though.’
Ethan straightened up and looked along the length of the railway carriage and further to where the next one stood.
Long since abandoned when the train line had closed, they had remained in the same place for a couple of decades. Built in the 1950s, the classic green paint was a little faded but had still kept its shine. From the outside at least, they didn’t appear to be in bad condition.
‘I remember when these used to be full of people,’ said Bob, coming to stand next to him.
‘Let’s hope they’re up to the task now,’ said Ethan, crouching down to peer at the underside of the carriage.
‘At least they’ve been safe in here, away from whatever Mother Nature could throw at them,’ remarked Bob, looking up at the windows.
Ethan straightened up and followed his gaze. A bit of new putty would help secure them in place, but who knew what other major renovations would be required.
‘I guess we want to keep them feeling authentic,’ said Bob as they walked towards the steps to the door at one end of the carriage.
‘We want whatever it takes to keep the costs down,’ commented Ethan.
They stepped cautiously inside the carriage, warily looking at the floor as they went. But to Ethan’s surprise, and relief, it appeared to be pretty sturdy.
Immediately, it felt as if he were stepping back in time. It had such a different feel to the open, bright interiors of the modern day trains. Instead, a long corridor stretched out in front of him, half panelled with wood. On one side was a long line of outside windows. On the other were the doors to the individual seating compartments. Each one had two long upholstered benches facing each other. The cloth was the traditional British Railways blue checked design but, again, didn’t appear too worn. Perhaps only being used on the short line into Aldwych, the wear and tear hadn’t been too high.
‘Good morning,’ said Eddie, as he appeared at the end of the corridor, slightly out of breath.
‘Morning, Grandad,’ replied Ethan. ‘We were just doing an inspection. Doesn’t seem to be in too bad condition, although it’ll need a proper once-over to ensure it’s safe for everyone to come onboard.’
But his grandad didn’t appear to be too concerned about the wear and tear as he looked into one of the compartments with misty eyes.
‘Took your grandmother out for the day in a train just like this when we first started courting,’ said Eddie, heading inside to sit down on one of the seats. ‘I had big plans. It was almost Christmas and the snow was beginning to come down. We weren’t sure we were even going to make it home from Aldwych if the snow began to pile up.’
‘What happened?’ asked Ethan. He had always enjoyed hearing about his grandparents’ happy marriage, as opposed to his own parents’ disastrous one.
‘We made it, just,’ said Eddie. ‘And after everyone else had left the compartment, I made a big thing about having to tie my shoelace so I was already on one knee when I proposed to her.’
‘Grandad, you’re an old romantic,’ Ethan told him.
Eddie nodded. ‘That I am, lad. Or at least where your grandmother was concerned. I’m not a wine and roses kind of chap, but when it’s true love you just know, don’t you?’
‘So that’s why you’re so set on getting the Christmas train up and running,’ said Ethan, finally understanding.
Eddie sighed. ‘I’d love one last journey in the snow. For old times’ sake. I’d always dreamt of taking her out on a train on Christmas Eve.’ His grey eyebrows knitted together into a frown. ‘Too late now, of course. Time ran out and we didn’t have the train ready before… you know, we lost her.’
Ethan felt a little choked up as he saw the grief etched on his grandad’s face.
‘Well, hopefully the Halloween train will be a good trial run for the future,’ Ethan said softly.
He didn’t want to disappoint his grandad, but there was still an awful lot of work to do before the thirty-first of October.
‘Thanks, lad,’ said Eddie, standing up and placing a hand on his grandson’s shoulder. ‘It would mean the world to me to see it one last time.’ He nodded. ‘Now, how about I put the kettle on?’
‘Sounds good to me, Dad,’ replied Bob.
As Eddie slowly climbed out of the railway carriage, Ethan took another look around. Of course, the seats would all need cleaning and the whole place would need a decent wax and polish. The main problem would be checking the rusty wheels to see if they all turned in unison.
But that wasn’t his main concern.
He turned to look at his dad. ‘Listen, are we really set on this Halloween train idea?’ he asked in quiet tone. ‘Because I’m not sure we can get all of this ready on time for the end of the month.’
Bob frowned. ‘I know, son. It’ll take a lot of work. But your grandad’s set on it happening.’ Bob hesitated before carrying on. ‘He’s been a bit tired recently. I thought that perhaps it might perk him up a bit.’
Ethan stepped forward to give him a brief hug. ‘Okay, Dad,’ he said. ‘We’ll do our best.’
Bob nodded. ‘Course we will. We’ll make it a Halloween to remember, eh?’
Ethan smiled and nodded along with his dad. But all the while he was just hoping it wasn’t going to be for all the wrong reasons.