Life of the Whistle

by SteamingWhistle382

The visit of the reporter

A reporter of the Ponyville gazette was slowly walking along a dirt road towards an small house, far away from the main part of the town. It was a small, two story tall house, with a small garden behind it, and a small building surrounded by tall grass a little way away from it. It also looked quite abandoned, with the woodwork in a state of disrepair, and the fence surrounding the house being damaged at some places. Placed everywhere around the house were many different objects, all of which had a connection to the railways. It ranged from lamps, signs and tools, to baggage trolleys, and even an old handcar, standing still and silent in the garden, on an isolated piece of track. The reporter slowly made his way to the door of the house, knocking at it, and waiting for something to happen.

"Um, hello?" She said, hoping to get an answer.

"Mr. Whistle! I'm from the Ponyville gazette! I'm here because of the interview!" The woman said, as from behind the door, the sound of a lock opening could be heard, as the door was opened, giving view of an elderly man with dark gray hair, that looked like it had soots and ashes in it. He wore old, worn out glasses, and had a gray beard. But the most notable thing on him was the old, worn out railway uniform with an even older, worn out leather railway hat, that sat on his head. He squeezed his eyes in a frown, eyeing the woman all over.

"Come in." He grumbled, as he turned away from the door, letting the woman inside.

The house was, opposite to the rundown appearance from the outside, in quite a well kept state. They walked through a small corridor towards an room which probably was the working room of the man. The woman looked around while walking, looking into the other rooms of the house, seeing that the furniture was well kept, although it looked like most of it hadn't been used for quite a while. They reached their destination and both of them got inside. The room was fairly big, with a small workbench in one part, on which several dismantled and partly rebuild toy trains stood, while in another part, a large array of bookshelf stood, most of the books concerning the topic of railway engineering, the history of railways of Equestria, and the history of railways in general. They moved to a small table, that was surrounded by a couch and four chairs, two opposite the couch and one on each end. Above the couch hung many framed pictures and newspaper articles, the pictures having many different locomotives on them, but one loco would always be found: a rustic looking, 4-6-0 tender engine, with the number '382' painted onto the tender in white. The newspaper articles had a young man in them, who was either accompanying the princesses, with an girl that was about the same age as he was on the pictures, or on his own, with headlines reading famous engineer breaking world record or 'the whistle' promoted into royal services. While scanning over the many different articles, the woman noticed one article that stood out the most. It was also the oldest one handing on the wall, already having several ripping and water marks. On it was the picture of an derailed locomotive, with the picture of an string of passenger coaches on a deserted track, which seamed to have been mangled where the front of the first coach stood. The headline of the article was most surprising for the reporter. Cannonball express wrecked! Driver saves passengers, nearly loses his life.

"Take a seat." The man said, as he sat into the chair next to the couch. The reporter took a seat on said couch and pulled out a quill and a notebook.

"Thank you for taking the time for the interview, Mr. Whistle."

"Steaming." Corrected the man.

"What?"

"My family name is Steaming. But because the name Whistle Steaming sounded so bad, I and everybody else got used to call me by my second name, before my first." He explained.

"I see..." Muttered the woman, scribbling onto the notebook.

"Anyways, I've come here to talk about your carrier for the railway." Smiled the reporter.

"I guessed so much. It isn't much worth mentioning though..." Said the retired engineer with modesty.

"Not many engineers can call more than 40 years of dedicated service, with nearly half of it as royal engineer for the princesses, and with such an spotless record as you have." Said the reporter.

"It isn't that spotless..." Muttered the engineer sadly.

"For the time you have worked on the railways, it sure is." Said the woman kindly.

"But there are some blank spots in your history that aren't filled out yet. I had hoped you could help me answer some questions that were often given to us." Continued the reporter.

"Well, you took some of your time off to come all the way out here to talk with me about my past, I guess it's only fair if I answer your question. I haven't planned on doing anything today anyways..." Smiled the railwayman, but muttering the final part to himself.

"Great! Then let us begin." Grinned the woman, as she grabbed her notebook.

"At first, there always was the question of your early days for the railway. There aren't any clear records of those times until the faithful run with the Cannonball Express."

"Ah yes, my early years. Well, it all really started when I was a little boy..."