It was summertime in Britain, and this naturally meant holidays for many people. Some people like to head away to the mountains. Others prefer to travel to the sea. And still others prefer to go overseas for their bit of fun, enjoying either culture of foreign lands or spending the entire time getting a tan (which they could have done much more cheaply at home).
One part of the land to seaside pipeline is the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. This is a heritage line which runs between Pickering and Grosmont, and runs special trains between Grosmont and Whitby for people wanting to visit this lovely seaside town and take advantage of fish and chips.
The Havens had travelled here for the summer to stay with relatives in Yorkshire, and this meant they were also helping out on the North Yorkshire Moors. This was especially important, as it was hot and dry.
One morning, Zipp and Charles were working the early morning Grosmont to Pickering service. This train ran relatively fast to Pickering so it could be quickly turned around and sent back towards Whitby. As the train rolled into Levisham, the last intermediate stop before Pickering, Charles spotted something on the line ahead.
"What do that engineering crew think they're doing?" he asked. "They're blocking the progress of important engines!"
"Probably another lineside fire," Zipp replied. "They seem to be a particular problem around this time of year."
Lineside fires can be caused by many factors, but the main factor is sparks ejected from the chimney of a steam locomotive coming into contact with dry vegetation. The railway had recruited additional staff to help with the fires, but the fire beaters could only be in so many places at once.
After a few minutes, the fire was out. The water transport retreated to the other platform. "Sorry for the delay, love!" the lead firebeater called to Zipp. "It's these bloomin' fires! We need more water to put them out, but the council have turned the water off to ensure people in the town get enough!"
Zipp nodded. "Good thing they can't turn off the lemonade or the diesel fuel!"
Her attention was then drawn to a commotion on the platform. A passenger and his family had arrived, and they looked very cross.
"We came to ride on a steam train!" said the mother, looking very cross. "This is a steam railway, after all! This box of bolts won't do at all!"
Charles seethed with anger. "How dare you," he spluttered. "I'll have you know I'm just as capable of pulling trains as I was when I rolled out of the works 60 years ago!"
"Heritage railways must operate steam engines! It's the law of the land!" said the father. "These old diesels break down all the time and make a horrendous smell!"
Zipp leaned out of the cab. "We don't have a choice," she said. "Local authority put a steam ban into place with this weather. If you don't want to travel by diesel, nobody is forcing you."
"Then how come the King got a steam train and we don't?" the father retorted.
Zipp resisted the urge to facepalm. "The steam engine was basically decoration. The diesel on the back was doing all the work."
"And you wouldn't want to travel behind that diesel, trust me," Charles added. "Class 67s are silly and look ridiculous."
The child looked to be rather reasonable in temprament. "Why don't we just travel to Whitby?" she said. "It's better than taking the car, and we can make steam train noises as we go along!"
The family begrudgingly boarded, with the father commenting he would be filing a formal complaint with the Board. Charles set off down the line, his engine rumbling magnificently as he set off on the final leg of what should have been a very easy journey.
Unfortunately, things soon started to go wrong. As Charles rolled down the line, there was a strange squeaking sound. "Can you hear mice?" Charles asked his driver.
Zipp popped open the cab window and listened. "Sounds like a bearing's a bit low on lubrication fluid," she said. "Reducing speed until we get to Pickering."
The formation slowed down to around fifteen miles an hour, allowing the passengers more of a chance to enjoy the scenery. The squeaking also got quieter as well, which was always a welcome factor.
At last, the train reached Pickering, and the few passengers who had joined got off. Zipp handed the engine over to another crew to run round. It was standard during the peak summer timetable to have the main driver get off whilst another crew ran the engine round. This allowed them to get refreshment before starting the return trip. Zipp popped into the mess for a quick drink before hearing a familiar voice trying to direct traffic.
"Excuse me? Passengers with surnames ending A to M proceed to the first five coaches. Plassengers with surnames beginning with the letters N to Z proceed to the rear five coaches."
Unfortunately, the passengers were paying absolutely no attention whatsoever to the barrier system, and were simply getting on where they wanted.
Pipp was getting frustrated. "This is like trying to herd sheep!" she said. "You'd think people would be able to understand a concept such as surnames in different lines, but the second they go to another town they all seem to turn entitled!"
Zipp had an idea. She grabbed a megaphone and jumped on top of an old luggage cart. "Good morning, everybody!" she said. "Now then, I know we're having a bit of trouble with the queueing system, but it's very important you sit in the seats indicated in the tickets. Otherwise people might not be able to sit with their families. And you wouldn't want to be responsible for splitting up a family, would you?"
The passengers paid no attention.
"If you do sit in the correct seats, it'll make serving fish and chips faster."
The passengers went to the correct queues almost immediately.
Zipp hopped down from the trolley. "See? Food bribery usually does the trick."
Then Lady Haven arrived. "Hello girls," she said. "I hope you two have been having more luck than I have. Managing the booking office is an absolute nightmare!"
"Your OCD kicking in?" Zipp asked.
"Most certainly," Lady Haven replied. "Not only that, we've had repeated diesel problems. The crews here aren't used to them at all."
As if to prove her point, the sound of a diesel shunter stalling echoed as the driver put it in the wrong gear. "Sorry!"
Zipp rolled her eyes. "If they usually operate steam locos, they'll be trying to drive them like steam locos. The principles are completely different. If only somebody could teach them how to operate them!"
"I have no idea how you rope me into these things, Pipp," Zipp said, her eyes looking to the floor.
"Think of it as doing everybody a good service!" Pipp replied.
"But I'm not a teacher! I do things, not tell things!"
"You never know until you try. None of us knew how AMAZING we are at singing until we tried!"
"That's not the same," Zipp said, as the other drivers began to file in. "Welcome to WINGS. The..." she trailed off as she looked at her paperwork. "The Wonderful Institute of No Goods Services? Pipp, that doesn't even make any sense!"
"We need a catchy name or else people will nod off halfway through the presentation!"
Zipp groaned. "Fine. This course is meant to teach you the basics of diesel operation. Now, who can tell me how a diesel engine works?"
"You put some fuel in it and off it goes," said a voice.
"That's sort of correct. Basically, the engine compresses the fuel and creates explosions, which are then used to drive a generator which turns the wheels." Zipp paused. "In order to operate a heritage one, there are a number of things to keep in mind. Next slide."
There was a click as the slide was changed. "This is the cab of a Class 25, or Rat. You have two of these at the North Yorkshire Moors, so operating them should be fairly simple. The critical controls are the reverser, brakes, throttle, and gauges. Reverser controls direction, but it only has four positions; forward, backward, neutral, and off. Forward and backward are only used when going forward and backward. Neutral is used when the train is stationary, and off is used when shutting down the cab in order to change ends. The throttle controls speed through regulating the speed of the engine. A vintage diesel engine usually has two brake handles; loco and train. Loco brakes only control the brakes on the locomotive, whereas train brakes control the brakes on the train. Finally, there are brake gauges and the amp meter. The traction motor performance is rated in amps. When starting off you should not exceed 1800 amps or you risk shorting them out."
She stopped. "Any questions so far?"
"When do we get to put this to the test?"
"We can do some in-person training once we have an available locomotive. Next slide."
The next slide popped up- with an advert for a local tea shop.
"Pipp?! What's this doing in here?"
"I had to monetize the stream somehow!"
Zipp facepalmed. "Just move to the next slide that actually has something useful on it."
Moments later, they did. "We'll be using a Class 25 for training purposes, so this video will show you how to start off safely. Watch it closely."
Zipp gradually began to work her way through the candidates of the training program, showing them the correct process for running the engine. Things initially seemed to be going pretty well, with most of the recruits having gotten the hang of the idea.
Unfortunately, this didn't always work out. One person was far too aggressive with the throttle. The engine roared as he made the application.
"Reduce power!" Zipp shouted. "You've exceeded the starting amp limit!"
The recruit either didn't hear or didn't notice. There was a bang as a safety system engaged, and the train rolled to a stop. "What happened?" she asked.
Zipp looked over. "You exceeded 1800 amps when moving off, and the safety cutoff has engaged to prevent damage to the traction motors. Unfortunately this means we'll need to wait a few hours." She shut down the cab, then got out. "Sorry, everyone. Engine needs a few hours to cool down."
There was a lot of grumbling. "Steam engines are never this tempramental!" said one.
"I don't trust this new fangled diesel nonsense!" said another, an older person. "It's not our fault it doesn't rain!"
Zipp rolled her eyes. "Why do I even bother?" she said, as Charles was put into position on the train. "I'll need to take a train myself now. Good luck with your information booklets. Hopefully we can do some more when I get back."
As she hopped into the cab, she got the sense she had wasted a considerable portion of her day.
The 10 coach formation made its way up the line, with the passengers enjoying their day on the railway. Zipp was monitoring Charles' performance when she suddenly noticed something odd.
"Power readings are slightly lower than normal," she said to herself. "Possibly a wobbly indicator."
"Zipp?" Charles said. "I've started squeaking again!"
Zipp stuck her head out of the cab again to listen. Sure enough, the suspicious squeak was back. "Did the yard crew remember to top up the bearings?" she said. "I'll do it at Levisham. Reducing speed until then."
But when they got to Levisham there was bad news. Zipp was handed a telegram by the station master. "Train failed stop. You need to collect their passengers at Grosmont stop. Do not stop along the way stop."
"Can we hurry it up?" shouted an impatient passenger. "We want to go to the seaside!"
Zipp reluctantly took power, hoping the bearing problem would hold until they at least got to Grosmont. But as they were moving along, a strange rattling noise joined the squeaking.
"What's that?" Charles asked.
"I don't know," Zipp said. "Reducing throttle again until we can stop."
The guard then radioed. "I've got a lot of passengers asking why we're going so slowly," he said. "Is everything OK up there?"
Zipp radioed back. "No. There's some sort of problem that needs rectifying. I'm running Charles under reduced power until we can figure out what's wrong."
When they got to Goathland, Zipp at last had a chance to take a look at the issues. She topped up each bearing with lubricating oil, then she changed some switches and took a look in the engine room, having slipped on some ear defenders in the meantime.
It was then she saw the problem. The second engine was vibrating badly, but shook more often to one side than the other. "That doesn't look good. Seems like the valves are out of alignment. Now how do I fix this?"
She consulted the diagrams and tried to locate the right circuit, but the pressure of getting there on time and not disappointing the passengers was starting to get to her. Just then, she remembered something.
Zipp had no idea what to do. The set had stopped working and she had no idea why. She'd checked the wheels, the bearings, the pickups, everything. Nothing was working.
"Why won't it work?" she protested.
This, it seemed, caught the attention of somebody else in the house. Lady Haven entered a moment later, followed by Lord Haven. "What won't work?" she asked.
Zipp pointed to the problem. "This train won't run!"
Lord Haven nodded. "Have you looked through the troubleshooting guide?"
"Yes, but no luck," Zipp sighed. "Perhaps it's broken?"
To her surprise, Lord Haven then glanced over to the wall. "The plug's come out," he said. "It's not receiving any electricity." He pushed the plug back in and, sure enough, the train was moving again.
Zipp grinned as the train began moving again. "Thank you so much!" she said.
Lady Haven smiled in return. "Sometimes, Zara, all it takes is keeping calm and having a clear head. If you do that, you can much more easily spot the problem."
Zipp nodded back in the present. "Gotcha, mom." She calmly moved into the cab first and shut down both engines. Then she went back into the engine room and threw two isolator switches. These disconnected the damaged engine and meant it was no longer supplying power.
"Let's see if that at least holds," Zipp said. "You ready, Charles?"
"Let's make this run as good as possible," Charles said. "Full speed ahead!"
Zipp advanced the throttle as they pulled out of the platform. The train roared and rattled about as it flew along, rolling first down the gradient into Grosmont to pick up passengers, and then run onwards to Whitby. The noise was so great people thought a steam engine was passing by. They were instead amazed to see a diesel engine working at full power, doing what it was built more or less to do (though possibly not with a train this heavy).
Upon arrival at Whitby, the passengers were so glad to be at the seaside that they forgot to be cross about the delay, and instead spilled out of the station onto the beach, happy and content.
Zipp handed Charles over to a maintenance crew so he could be looked at. "He did the work of two engines, your diesel did!" said one of the engineers. "Will you be partaking in the sun?"
Zipp walked over to the other platform. "Don't have time, sadly," she said. "I've got some driver training to do. It turns out that just being sensible and methodical with a problem is the easiest way to fix it."