Turntable
Steam power
Coming home backwards
Signals are at ?
Evening arrival
Mothballed
USA - 40s weekend.
Topping up!
"Departure"
Journey Home
A story based on a train journey.
The train stopped with an unexpected jerk which threw Eddy forward against the opposite seat. He lifted his pack off the shelf, slid down the window and stepped out into a cloud of steam and down onto the familiar platform.
He stood still for a moment adjusting his beret and belt and let the train pull quietly away before lifting his pack and making his way down to platform 4 where the local train stood idly hissing steam. He walked slowly down the platform looking for an unoccupied compartment. He found a non-smoker just behind the engine and was soon settling in a corner seat away from the platform with his back to the engine. As he relaxed into the warm comfort of the seat, he became aware again of the dull pain in his back, the numbness in his arm and a salty taste in his mouth. His mind tried to recap on the journey that had bought him back from France but try as he might the details were a complete blank, there was the vague recollection of a tiring journey and a deep desire to get home.
The shrill note of the guard’s whistle shook him back from his thoughts. Eddy glanced at his watch which to his surprise was full of condensation to the extent of being completely opaque, however the station clock was in view and was showing 18.00hrs. Dead on time home by 19.30 at the latest. Eddy had always taken a pride in being on time even before joining up in early 1940.
As the speed of the train picked up the town was soon left behind and the green open fields again came into view. Eddy contrasted this peaceful scene with the horrors of the of the previous hours in that other country that now seemed worlds apart. His mind’s eye overlaid these green fields with the view of a flat French beach partly obscured with smoke, the tide was rising across the golden sand and groups of British soldiers were trying to find shelter from hostile fire from the sea wall and buildings beyond.
Eddy tried to focus his mind’s eye on an area of shore to one side of the main group, but it was if he was looking through a fog, in an instant the scene had vanished to be replaced by the rushing fields and hedges and the rising and falling wires of the railway telegraph shredding the smoke of the engine.
Eddy now realised that the pain in his back had returned, and he had lost the feeling again in his right arm, at the same time he felt terribly cold. Leaning back in the seat Eddy closed his eyes and concentrated on the warm evening sunshine that was now falling on his body. As he absorbed the warmth the pain diminished and feeling again returned to his arm.
The train was now rushing down the long incline towards the station that he had got to know as a child on family visits to the seaside. The driver was now applying the brakes and the reassuring grind and hiss that signalled their application was soon accompanied by a slow but steady loss of speed until they glided into the small country station.
Squinting against the low evening sun Eddy eyed the five waiting passengers lining the platform. Eddy caught his breath as he recognised one of the passengers as a young man of his own age one who in their school days had been his chief enemy. It was not fear but the reluctance to make forced conversation that caused him to slide further down into the seat. All in vain however, his old adversary strode purposefully directly towards Eddies compartment. At the last moment with his hand on the handle the man hesitated. "Thank God" thought Eddy thinking the man had changed his mind. With that the man turned and waved towards a fat woman who was struggling with a large suitcase. "Come on, in here,” shouted his old adversary. Eddies old hatred welled up as if the battles of school days were only yesterday. He knew that with his distinctive red hair he would be instantly recognised.
The door opened just as the train lurched forward about a foot throwing the man off balance just as he attempted to enter, cursing the man fell into the compartment, stood up and then selected the corner seat diagonally opposite Eddy and sat down. The woman lifted the suitcase up onto the rack opposite, belched and sat down heavily in the seat opposite Eddies "friend". Both the man and woman glanced around the compartment, to his surprise there was no look of recognition or even acknowledgement on either of their faces. Perhaps the uniform had effectively hidden his true identity and he was seen as just another soldier going about the business of war. With that the faint sound of a whistle started the last leg of the journey home.
The man reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out an evening newspaper and began to read. the headlines were clear: "FOOTHOLD IN EUROPE Yesterday Allied forces landed on the beaches of France and established a firm foothold against stiff opposition." Eddy closed his eyes as the voice in his head repeated over and over again the words "YESTERDAY, YESTERDAY", again the distinctive taste sea water was in his mouth and the pains in his back and arm.
From the angle of the train Eddy was aware that the train was taking the final tight curve into his home station and again the evening sunlight moved across his face and shone through his closed eyelids. As the train eased to a halt Eddy slowly and painfully rose from his seat, lifted down his gear and exited the train again with no significant reaction from his fellow passengers.
The porter who also collected the tickets at this country station had known Eddy from a child. He was bent over the flower bed that had now been sown with peas and carrots where the summer roses once had bloomed. "Keep it up Fred" whispered Eddy. Fred responded with a snort that could equally have been directed at the swarm of midges circling around his head despite the thick swirl of smoke issuing from a pipe clenched firmly between a complete set of dentures.
Eddy made his way through the small booking hall with its greeting smell of "Goods", that mixture of sacking, clean straw, cardboard and sawdust overlaid with the odour of day-old chicks and young calves. Seven paces took him through and out into the station yard where the reflected warmth from the gravel yard hit his cold face.
It was now only a short walk to the village and his mother’s shop, and he set out with raised spirits. Where the yard joined the quiet country lane two small rabbits yet to be caught for the pot eyed him with curious suspicion hopping reluctantly to the hedge as he passed.
The sun was now sinking down onto the heads of the surrounding hills and its golden rays were being scattered by the fresh green leaves of the horse chestnut trees that lined the banks of the lane that led to the village.
It was about ten minutes before Eddy reached the first cottages and now everything had lost its daytime colours and could only be seen in shades of black red or gold.
The first sight of his mother’s shop was made as he turned left into the narrow street by the side of the pub to which several old regulars were making their eager way. Eddy could see the light from the shops front window reflected in the windows of the cottages on the opposite side of the road. In a matter of seconds, he was outside the window looking in, there was his mother bent over the counter with the account book in front of her.
Eddy thought how tired she looked since he had last seen her and realised now that war took its toll in so many different ways. Out in the small room behind the shop Eddy could hear his sister busy with the washing up.
Just as he was about to push the shop door open and surprise his mother, he heard the rattle of the bicycle being peddled hard down the slope from the pub. Its distinctive noise bought back boyhood memories of early summer evenings when he too would ride his old bike down that very slope risking his own and any pedestrian’s life with his reckless riding.
Instead of turning the handle and entering the shop something made him step back into the shadows and watch the breathless figure of the small post boy skid to a halt within feet of him, drop his bike against the old pump and burst into the shop.
Eddy stepped forward and gazed through the corner of the shop window to see his mother take the telegram from the boys sweating hand and wave him away. Seconds turned to hours as his mother opened and read the buff slip of paper, she read it several times before letting it slip from her slim fingers and flutter to lie face up on the counter. She looked up, gazed directly at Eddy and then turned slowly and left the shop to join his sister closing the door gently behind her.
The post boy brushed past Eddy as he left the shop, picked up his bike and pushed it slowly up the slope past the pub where he jumped on and peddled off towards the Post Office. Eddy had seen from his mother’s face that she had had a severe shock and he was reluctant to enter the shop for several minutes. Summoning up his strength however he pushed the door open and entered the empty shop. he crossed the floor to the counter noting the strangely bare white painted shelves that surrounded the shop walls.
He picked up the cause of his mother’s distress and read the few black inked words. As he read the neat hand-written note that familiar pain intensified, and the salty flavour returned to his mouth. "Regret to inform you that your son Eddy was killed this morning during allied landings on the coast of France. signed G. Low Officer Commanding 44 Commando .6/6/44
Suddenly the battle scene appeared again in his mind’s eye and focused on a small group of soldiers, this time the scene was crystal clear, and eddy could see that they were huddled around the body lying face down in the rising tide. As he watched one of the troops gently turned the body over and with horror Eddy found himself staring at his own glazed eyes. His red hair lay stuck to his forehead and his right arm hung in shreds held in place only by the remnants of his tunic top.
Now the room around him began to turn and he was faced not by the scene of battle but by a long dark tunnel and Eddy knew that he had an even longer journey to take.
Ron Blundell
“The Train Journey”
A story of two young mice on the WSR?.
Bella and Moppy were excited, summer was here and they had decided on an adventure.
When Dad had gone to the farm in the spring to get food for the picnic he saw something which he had kept to himself until a week ago. One night when he thought all the children were fast asleep he told Mum what he had seen. He said that down near the farm there was a train line with an engine that puffed like a “dragon”. Bella and Moppy had overheard this and that is what had made up their minds to have an adventure and see the “dragon”.
Early one bright summer morning they set off. Down the long drive of the house and then turn left down the lane towards the farm. Just before the farm they went between two high stone walls. Here they decided to climb up on one of the walls to see if they could get a better view to see if they could find the dragon. The wall was high and it took them several minutes to get to the top. At the top the wall was wide and they crossed to the opposite side of the wall from the road to take a look. What they saw made them feel very dizzy. A long way down below the level of the road there was two metal rails that came from under the bridge and on around the corner as far as they could see.
Bella and Moppy had seen nothing like it before. As they looked they were aware of a strange chuffing and clanking noise coming from the other side of the bridge. These strange noises were accompanied by lots of black smoke and white steam. Try as they might this was all they could see but whatever it was it was coming through the small tunnel formed by the bridge.
They turned again and looked down onto the rails. Suddenly the dragon emerged below them in a cloud of smoke and steam. At the same time a bus shot down the road behind them heading for the bridge. What with all the noise and movement Bella lost her balance and started to fall forward and downward towards the dragon. To save herself she grabbed her sister’s paw. This caused Moppy to overbalance and now they were both falling down through the steam and smoke.
Down and down - then with a hard bump they stopped.
Can you see the mice falling off the bridge?
They had landed on a great pile of coal behind the “dragon”. As they looked around and the steam and smoke cleared they realised that the “dragon” was in fact a steam engine. Now the speed of the train increased and the coal dust was stirring up around them covering their fur and whiskers. They sat up and looked around at the views that were now speeding past. Now the train was going downhill through fields with lots of animals and big trees growing out of the hedgerows. Every thing around them was rattling and shaking, pieces of coal were falling down from the small coal heaps and the mice had to keep their tails and paws well out the way to stop them being squashed. They also had to hide behind the largest lumps so they were not seen by one of the two men who kept coming back towards them with the big a big shovel that he was using to get more coal for the bright fire.
Now the mice sniffed the air, the smell had changed, added to the steam and smoke was the smell of the sea. That salty tangy smell of sea, sand and seaweed bought another trill of excitement to the sisters.
Now the train was slowing down and finally stopping.
The sisters looked up and saw the big sign which they could not read.
Perhaps you can? Give it a try the sign is in the picture below:
There were lots of people getting on and off the train and the mice had to keep hidden amongst the lumps of coal. Wilt a shriek of the whistle the train started to move again and the sisters had a good view of the sea as the train travelled along close to the beach.
By now the mice were getting worried, how would they get home, it was far too far to walk back to the house. They decided that when the train stopped next they must get off. Again the train started to slow; they were coming into a station. Now would be their chance, but no, there were far too many people and one man with a flag and whistle stood right by the coal tender stopping their was off.
The mice noticed another sign but of course they could not read it, perhaps you can?
The man with the flags waved the green one and blew his whistle and with a hiss of steam and a cloud of black smoke they were off again. Now the train was pulling hard and swinging from side to side, perhaps it knew it was near the end of the journey and here the line was straight and true which meant it could go really fast. The wind blew across the heaps of coal and blew it into the sisters noses making the sneeze and their eyes watered with the bits of grit that found there way everywhere.
There was soon a grinding noise as the driver applied the brakes really hard. The mice looked ahead and could see that the line came to an end with a big red sign. Now the station roof jutted out towards the train and the mice felt that they could reach out and touch it but it was just out of reach. As the train stopped all the people started getting off the train and the platform became crowded with people who were all pushing and shoving towards a ticket office where a man was clipping their tickets. The two mice crouched lower behind a large lump of coal so no one could see them. Even the two men on the engine and got off and headed for an office door on the platform laughing as they went.
In minutes all was quiet on the platform apart from the gentle hiss of steam from the “dragon”. The mice decided that now was the time if they were going to get off. They scrambled down the heap of coal, down where the two men had been and out onto the platform. Just as they got out onto the platform and made their way to a wall under a drinking fountain the two men came out of the office and go back on the train.
"The drinking fountain – perhaps you know where it is?"
There was the sound of a whistle and slowly at first and then getting faster; back the train went, back the way it had come.
The two mice were left alone on the platform in a cloud of steam and smoke. Slowly the cloud cleared and the smell of soot and coal was soon replaced by the fresh smell of the sea and sand and seaweed. The mice decided to take a look.
Out from the station ran Bella and Moppy, past the ice cream shop where they made the lady scream as the scuttled past: Across the road being very careful not to be seen by any passing cars. Now all that was left between them and the beach was a high wall but it was made from large stones and it was easy for the mice to find places for their paws to grab hold of and they climbed up. In no time they were at the top and it was a short drop onto the soft sand.
The beach was very quiet. There was a man with his dog a long way away down near the sea. A boy was playing in the water where a stream ran down the beach to join the sea. The mice could see a harbour with big boats but it was far too far for them to walk on their tiny legs.
They started to explore a grassy area of the beach. In no time Moppy had found a half full packet of crisps discarded from an untidy family’s picnic. They both tucked into the crisps as they were very hungry after their journey on the “dragon”. Now it was time to play, they built sand castles, played hide and seek and when the boy left had a drink from the stream.
Now the sun was getting near the top of the big hill near the harbour and they both knew that somehow they had to get home. But how could they? The train was gone. All they could do was go back to the station and perhaps follow the line back to the bridge near their house. They both knew this would take them weeks on their tiny legs and there must be many dangers on the way. There were probably many owls, weasels or even foxes that would all be glad to eat them for dinner.
Off they went across the beach, up the wall, across the road, past the closed ice cream shop and onto the station platform. They had several near misses, a car had nearly ran them over, a man shouted that he had seen a rat, and Bella thought she had seen a cat which turned out only to be a lost cuddly toy.
How surprised and relieved they were to see that the train was back. There it was standing at the platform in a cloud of steam but facing the opposite way to before. It was easy for the mice to get on the train using the cover of the steam and climb back up onto the heap of coal. This time there was more coal than before and Bella had to help Moppy to climb to the very top and hide behind the biggest lump.
The mice were very happy to hear the whistle sound and feel the clunk and bang as the train started forward. Out from the station the train chuffed, past the signal box, over the level crossing, getting faster and faster. The steam and smoke were streaming back over the mice and catching the red glow of the setting sun. One or two cows looked up as they passed but none saw the two sisters in the coal. On and on stopping at the two stations Bella and Moppy had seen before. The telegraph wires seemed to rise and fall as they raced past. The mice knew that they must be getting near the bridge where they had fallen onto the train.
Would they whiz past and be taken far away, even as far as London?
Suddenly there was a squeal of brakes and the train was slowing down. The driver was shouting and waving out to one side of the engine, now the train was almost stopped very close to the bridge. Bella looked and there, just where the line went under the bridge was a very large cow. A farmer was pushing and shoving her off the line and back through the hole in the hedge where she had broken through. The train driver was very angry and so was the farmer, there was lots of waving and shouting but finally the line was clear.
Bella and Moppy knew this was their chance; they scrambled across the coal and jumped the long way down into the bushes at the side of the line. With that the train started to move again, the carriages rattled past and with a final cloud of stream and smoke the train disappeared under the bridge. For several minutes the sisters hid in the grass under the bush. The sound of the train faded away and all that could be heard was the far away shouts of the farmer as he guided the cow home.
It was getting quite dark now and the sisters knew that they must get home.
Up the bank they ran, over the bridge wall and down the lane.
They ran as fast as they could, their tiny paws were sore and they were getting out of breath.
Now they were at the end of the houses drive, not far now.
Up the drive they ran on and on, were the hoots and squeals real, were their minds playing tricks?
Nearly there, up the steps, just ten more paces and safety.10.9.8.7.6.5.4.3.2.and 1
Yes they were through the hole and safe in the hall.
Now what will Mum and Dad and the rest of the family say about their adventure with the “dragon”?
What do you think their Mum and Dad will say?
What do you think their brothers and sisters will say?
Please let me know?
Ron Blundell