Clickety Clack, Clickety Clack, Clickety Clack, Clickety Clack
Truro rattled down the rails, pistons pumping and wheels whirring. Princess Luna sat in the cab, checking the water and fueling the fire. She leaned out of the cab to make sure no obstacles were ahead, all the while smiling like a colt in a candy store.
She had to admit, driving a train was fun. There was a level of finesse she didn't realize was present when driving a train. One thing she never noticed was the way the steam coming from the smokestack stayed white. While she had thought it was merely a design feature, as she did see an older train once that was puffing black smoke out, it was the way one stoked the fire.
She found that when she put a certain amount of coal in the fire, brilliant white steam would pour out. Too much fire and the steam turned jet black. Too little fire would yield the same results. It was all so fascinating to the princess.
The pistons pumped and the wheels whirred as Truro puffed steadily down the dilapidated tracks, white steam pouring out of the smokestack. The tracks creaked and groaned as the train passed over them, but did well to support the train and keep it in line. Leaves and grass flew in the direction of Truro as it passed them by, signifying the impressive speed of 30 Miles Per Hour.
Luna eyed the speedometer as it stayed at that speed. She leaned out the cab window and looked at the side rods. They weren't spinning very fast. At least, not nearly as fast as the Friendship Express' side rods would at this speed. This was certainly due to the driving wheels being so large, but it put a thought in her head. A thought that made her look at the speedometer. The 120MPH speedometer.
Both the Friendship Express' and Crystal Zephyr's speedometers went up to 80. While neither train could actually attain that speed, the speedometers were like that on the off-chance that the trains were going downhill and the engineer decided to have some fun. Another reason they were both 80 was because they were the same speedometer type. This was done to slightly lower the maintenance cost of the Zephyr, which already took an exponential amount of work to keep running.
Speedometers typically went only a bit higher than a locomotive's mechanical top speed, that being a little under 70MPH for the Friendship Express, a little under 80 for the Crystal Zephyr. An older black locomotive Luna had the chance to look inside of had a 70MPH speedometer.
So, by that logic, this speedometer being at 120 meant that Truro could mechanically achieve a speed within 10-20 Miles Per Hour of that.
Which meant that Truro would be able to exceed 100 Miles Per Hour.
That... sounded unlikely. Nothing, not one object on wheels had ever achieved 100 Miles Per Hour, even downhill. The trains that have tried to achieve the unbreakable barrier going downhill would always snap the siderods off, usually destroying the engine due to the speed the siderods snapped off.
But the siderods were moving far slower than those on 50-60 inch wheels. Which meant it would take longer for the siderods to reach dangerous speeds.
Luna tapped her chin. "Can you achieve 100 Miles Per Hour?"
...
"Truro?"
She had no idea why she added the name. It was probably out of habit. All Truro replied with was the steady chuffing of steam.
Luna looked out of the cab down the strangely picturesque line and bit her lip. With an intake of breath, she gently opened the regulator more, allowing more steam into the cylinders and allowing the train to go faster. The speed steadily increased, exceeding 30MPH.
The princess looked back at the two coaches, watching as they rolled behind with little resistance with a smile. She like the smart, semi-aerodynamic look of them. Their smart paint colors that blended well with the locomotive despite the difference in color, and their sheer length gave them a sense of executiveness. It wasn't a long and public passenger train with ultra-short cars. It was a short and spacious train. One of importance and elegance.
She had half a mind to slate this as her personal train.
Over the next hour, Truro continued down the old line, passing by trees and gliding over embankments at what was now 40MPH. Despite this incredibly brisk pace, the siderods still weren't moving all too fast compared to what the Friendship Express' siderods would be moving at.
FOOOOOOOOOO! FOO! FoooOOOooooOOOOO!
The whistle sounded through the forest, piercing through the leaves and branches several hundred feet before cutting off. Luna smiled, but was beginning to feel annoyed. She had been travelling at a brisk 40MPH for an hour and a half now, yet there had been zero sign of civilization. There were no bridges, no tunnels, no water towers, not even a track switch!
Where in the world was she?!
The worst part was that the tender was running low on water. No water meant no steam. No steam meant the train couldn't move. She had to find a water tower, or even a lake. Something with water that can be turned into steam.
Plus, she needed a drink. She hadn't had one for days.
Around a curve Truro went, staying hooked to the rails as Luna shoveled more coal into the firebox, this time with her hooves. She decided she might as well get some exercise. Plus, it felt right to do it this way.
As Truro rounded another curve, Luna saw something that made her smile with joy.
A bridge, spanning a river.
She immediately closed the regulator and applied the brakes, causing the train to decelerate at a surprisingly fast rate. She braced herself against a wall as the wheels turned slower and slower, before the train came to a complete stop just before the bridge. Luna took off the brakes, earning a resounding hiss from Truro.
The princess got out of the cab and made her way down to the water. With a quick purification spell, she began drinking away, spending a full minute satisfying her thirst.
"Ahhhh..." she let out, looking up and eyeing the bridge. What she saw was quite surprising.
It was a very old single structure of two tall wide red brick arches buttressed by two over-land smaller arches. The bridge spanned several hundred feet across the river, linking up to the other side via the same single track Truro was parked on.
What she knew was once a magnificent marvel of a bridge was now overgrown and cracked. Bricks had fallen out, leaves and branches were growing from several cracks, the middle column in the water was the most obscured with a large amount of shrubbery and overgrowth on both sides. Yet despite all this, despite the fact that it was likely the same age as the train and rails, possibly older, it still retained a look of elegance.
Her eyes fell on an old and rusted plaque sitting on one of the walls. Walking up to it, she parted the overgrowth, and let her jaw slack a tiny bit as she read the words.
M a i d e n h e a d . V i a d u c t
Built 1st of July, 1839 by the Great Western Railway.
"The Maidenhead Viaduct?" Luna repeated with a smile. "A most wonderous name."
She backed away and looked at the bridge, then at Truro.
"Hmm... It seems okay. Truro does feel like a rather lightweight train." She looked at the bridge again, noticing a few more cracks. "I am sure this bridge could support a small train such as Truro. But first!" She eyed the water. "I must refill the tender!"
For the next fifteen minutes, Luna used her magic to carry large wads of water to Truro's Tender, depositing it inside the water tank. Once the tank was full, she closed the lid and locked it tight, then got back into the cab. Her ears dropped a little as she remembered what she had to do.
She had to get across the bridge. Or more specifically, Truro had to get across the bridge. Truro and his coaches.
Why Luna had designated Truro as a he, she had no clue.
The bridge was old and almost rickety. Though it seemed to hold itself up easily, with a whole train on it, it could crumble and collapse, taking Truro with it into the river.
Taking in a deep breath, Luna gently opened the regulator, sending steam into the cylinders. Wheel turn by Wheel turn, Truro chuffed onto the single-track bridge. Instantly, the Maidenhead began creaking and swaying, barely ready for the weight now being placed upon it.
The rails groaned as Truro went over them, now approaching the center of the first arch. Bricks fell into the river with accompanying splashes, weakening the Maidenhead. As Truro made past the center of the first arch, the entire weight of the train fully on what may have been the weakest part of the bridge, Luna heard a monstrous creak, and felt the bridge dip ever so slightly downward. Taking in a deep breath, she held the regulator in place, bravely holding her slow and steady pace.
Truro soon edged his way onto the center support column, letting out a hiss of steam as the weight went onto what may have been the strongest point in the bridge. With more bravery, Luna opened the regulator some more, and allowed Truro to go faster over the second part of the Maidenhead. Though the bridge creaked, though the wheels squeaked, Luna and Truro made it back onto solid ground, air hissing from the both of them.
"Okay... Alright..." Luna took in a breath. "Now that that harrowing experience is over, we can continue on our journey," she said as she opened the regulator, steadily increasing Truro's speed.
"Whoever better built that bridge really knew how to build something that will last."