Diamond Tiara moved the locomotive around to the front of the train. As was convention, she was at the controls of Princess, which was a powerful engine, if not too large. She hoped the other engine crews wouldn’t make too much of a mess of the timetable.
The engine collided with the coaches with a satisfying clunk. The plan was a synchronised departure from opposite ends of the railway. That way, they would pass just outside the tunnel.
The radio suddenly buzzed, and Diamond picked it up. “Hello?”
“Departure, this is control, over,” said the voice of her father.
“Control, we are ready to depart, over.”
The passengers got aboard, but there was one person who stood coldly at the side of the train, on the platform. Diamond hopped out of the cab and hopped over to her mother.
“Come on, mother!” she said. “Won’t you have some fun with us?”
Spoiled looked unconvinced. “This looks so uncomfortable and the carriages rock constantly. Are you sure it is safe, my dearest Tiara?”
“Of course, it’s safe!” Diamond Tiara reassured her mother. “Please mother, just try it. Please?”
Spoiled looked concerned, but then softened. “Well, I suppose that one ride can’t hurt,” she said.
Spoiled took her seat in the carriage, which at least had the benefit of being enclosed with proper windows. Having said that, it was a bit of a squash and a squeeze, although it was entirely possible to sit two abreast. Spoiled would have preferred to not do that. She disapproved of being squashed. She had once, when on “business” alongside her husband, had to catch a commuter train to Crystal City and return. It was so crowded in the compartment of the electric train that she had had to stand, amongst a group of loud, irreverent commuters! As a result, she had acquired a private carriage that could be attached to the back of trains when needed. It certainly helped to be able to count President Hurricane as one member of her close circle of friends.
“Well,” she said, “I suppose that it is rather comfortable.”
“Hi!” said a girl sitting behind her, startling her somewhat. “Aren’t you Diamond Tiara’s mom?”
Spoiled looked at the girl, to immediately realise it was Rainbow Dash, whom she had seen competing for Canterlot High School. “Yes, indeed I am,” she replied. “Is this something you do often?”
“I travel by train whenever I can,” Rainbow replied. Just then Diamond could be seen proceeding up the platform and taking her seat in the cab. She sounded the whistle, and the train began to pull away from the station.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the line, Rumble, at the controls of one of the P2s, took a coal train off down the line, whilst Silver sat at the controls of Refined Steel, awaiting clearance to depart. It wasn’t long before the train was full, and the signal dropped.
Silver sounded the whistle, and away the train pulled. The Duchess class engine was very powerful, easily the most powerful engine they had in the collection. It could pull the 10 coaches coupled to it with ease, and that it was doing. They were limited to 5 miles an hour out of the station approaches, but as soon as the line opened up, they were cleared to run at 25 miles an hour, maximum line speed. This, on paper, did not seem fast, but it worked out to a scale speed of 75 miles an hour, which was very fast indeed, given how well machined these engines were. After all, Dark Steel and Filthy Rich would only accept the best in locomotive engineering, and as a result had built each and every one of these engines by themselves.
They sped through the first station, the wind whipping through the air and down the side of the smoke deflectors and boiler. Silver’s hair would have whipping around had she not been of the mind to tie it back, and the lights up ahead shone green.
The train rumbled onwards, toward the first loop. The express roared past the waiting goods train, Rumble waving as the train flew onwards on its journey.
The train had covered about 5 miles by this point, and the line started to curl away to the left. In addition, it began to decrease in elevation, slowly dropping into a 1-in-200 gradient as it curled around a gentle gradient.
Then, the train dropped into a steeper grade, as it flew into a cutting that had been passed over just minutes before by the railway. As they descended, the tunnel came before them. This had been built under the road, as the original plan to construct a bridge had not worked. This was for two main reasons. The first of those two reasons was the fact that it would have required a gradient so steep most engines would not have been able to cope. The second of those reasons was the fact that the City of Canterlot had refused the bridge planning permission, and as a result they went with the tunnel option.
The train rolled into the tunnel, which was 500 feet long, and Silver Spoon held her breath. It would not do to suffer from the effects of smoke down here, which was why the tunnel was well ventilated. The express roared out the other end, passing the passenger train pulled by Princess going the other way. Diamond sounded the whistle as the train passed, and Silver responded in kind. The train climbed out of the cutting, and the line curved around to the left and ascended a steep grade of 1-in-100. When the track levelled out, the line had completed a 270 degree change in direction, and the railways ran completely straight, until the express reached a smooth stop at the station at the other end of the line.
This was the proceedings of the day, with passengers, goods, and many other workings intersecting perfectly. But the sun eventually began to set, and the last goods train, driven by Apple Bloom at the controls of the 4-8-2, pulled out of the Steel Estate station to return the trucks to the other end of the line. But the engine was steaming poorly, and Apple Bloom pulled the train over into a loop.
“Control, Ah’ve got an engine that ain’t steamin’ properly,” she radioed. “Ah can’t get her back like this.”
Just then, another whistle rang clear through the terrain. And there arrived Princess, pulling the last train of the day, with Diamond Tiara at the controls.