By the time they had succeeded in shepherding all of the passengers to the station, they were running more than two hours late. This was not good for a number of reasons, not least because they had now missed their booked slot on the mainline and would be stuck running behind several other trains.
Another issue was that the snow had continued to fall, resulting in some of the coaches being buried. Track crews were working to get them dug out, but it was taking time.
"Brrr, it is cold," Izzy said.
Zipp looked over. "I'll get Charles hooked up and get him providing steam heat." She disappeared off into the distance towards the shed whilst the others tried to get the passengers into the correct coaches. This was made rather more difficult by the lack of light, as the gas lights struggled to work against the combined forces of the raging snowstorm and the darkness, which was not being complemented by fog.
Charles was soon attached to the coaches and was producing heating for half the train, whilst Rebecca heated the other half. Whilst Hitch checked her motion for any ice buildup on the frames, Sunny hopped into the cab to adjust the steam heating controls to properly warm the coaches. "Passengers, we do apologise for the delay," she said over the intercom. "We'll be trying to get you back on the move shortly, but as you can see the weather is being less than cooperative."
More people were still boarding their coaches, mostly complaining about the length of the concert and how quality should always be prioritised over quantity. Most of them seemed to be oblivious to the fact that one of the stars of the show was right there on the platform, hearing every word they said. Or maybe they did know and just didn't care. Both are equally bad.
After much fumbling with the people onboard, the train was finally loaded and ready to depart. Pipp fired Sophie up and attached her to the train. "What a pea souper!" Sophie said. "It reminds me of last year."
"There's a Christmas that could have gone better," Pipp admitted, as she grabbed the radio. "Zipp, I'm ready to pull."
"Roger."
"My name's Pipp."
"Affirmative, Roger Pipp."
The two diesels roared as they pulled the first five coaches out of the platform before stopping at the shunt limit and waiting for the points to change. They then pushed forwards onto the other train and coupled onto the stock, resulting in a complete train.
"Please drive carefully!" Izzy said. "They're currently serving the Christmas dinner that was part of the package!"
"Understood!" said two voices, and after receiving permission to depart once more they rattled away up the line. The snow bit at them and threatened to slow their course, but they kept ploughing along, for they knew the alternative would be unnaceptable to the passengers and everybody around them.
Hitch monitored all the onboard equipment, but couldn't help but feel that something was wrong as they rumbled back down the line towards Wareham. The two diesels eventually dropped the engine off in the platform, but as he tried to reset for forward travel he encountered the problem, proving his instincts correct.
"Guys, we've got a problem!" he said.
"What's happened?" Pipp asked.
"Rebecca's cutoff is stuck in the reverse position," Hitch replied. "The locking bolt has frozen solid, and I can't free it with the equipment I have in the cab. We won't be going anywhere fast."
"And we're out of bootlace as well," Zipp said dryly over the radio. "Talk about Murphy's Law."
Suddenly, a voice from Izzy had an idea. "Remember how we all drove down from our respective homes last year?"
"Indeed you did," Sunny replied. "Where are you going with this idea, Izzy?"
"Why not take Rebecca off the train and have a rescue diesel tow her back, and Charles and Sophie work the train back to Falmouth?"
"We'll need to clear it with the railway first, but in principal it's a good idea."
After a few minutes on the radio, all was ready and planned. Hitch threw Rebecca's fire out (which had the added benefit of melting some of the snow) whilst Charles was used to move the stricken steam locomotive out of the way and into a nearby siding. Moments after that, the diesel was attached to the train.
"Let's get these people home," Zipp said, as she took the radio once more. "Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your new driver Zipp Storm speaking. Owing to unfortunate and unforseen circumstances we are unable to return to Falmouth under steam power tonight. Instead, two relief engines will power your train home tonight. Otherwise, nothing has changed. We are currently awaiting line clearance and should be on the move shortly."
A stopping train rolled through the snow and crossed over the lines to terminate, as the line beyond Wareham was currently blocked by snowfall. "Best of luck!" the EMU called.
"Thank you!" Pipp replied, and at last the signal changed.
The train accelerated away out of the platform. "POWER!" Charles shouted.
Zipp fiddled with some settings as they powered along the line. She certainly had to keep her coat on, as the cab heater was having next to no effect on the cold air around her. "This is what living in the arctic must be like," she said to herself, noticing that Charles' onboard lights were barely making a dent in the gloom.
"It's a right pea souper, this!" Charles called. "I know people often wish for white Christmasses but this is ridiculous!"
They roared along the West of England mainline, making short work of Honiton Bank. The line had been cleared for them- all other traffic had been halted in loops or sidings to let them pass.
The passengers had wonderful hot food and songs to enjoy courtesy of Pipp, who mostly focused on playing cheerful ones about sun and being warm to raise their spirits. They pulled into Falmouth, having made up about an hour of the schedule, and the passengers trooped home, exhausted but happy for their day out.
Pipp and Zipp stayed overnight at a nearby hotel before travelling back to Swanage in the morning. Life, otherwise, returned to normal for the team. A few days after this excitement, Zipp decided to host another Zoom call, and opened the system up to connect to her friends in other parts of the country.
One by one their faces popped in on the screen. "Hey Zipp!" Sunny said. "That was great fun. Thank Misty for the great idea."
"No problem!" Misty said, looking a lot better for a few days' rest.
"We couldn't have done it without you guys, though," Pipp said. "Brilliant idea to use all the onboard systems, Sunny." She smiled. "We even had time to do absolutely everything!"
Izzy gasped. "I forgot to give you guys the presents I'd wrapped!"
Hitch raised a quizzical eye. "You've wrapped presents? Izzy, you are aware it's only the Twelth, right? That's plenty of time for them to travel through the mail. And you live in the same town as two of your friends."
"Speaking of town, we'll soon have fun packing up the stuff to take back to Falmouth," Zipp said. "That half of the year is quickly approaching."
"We'll certainly appreciate the extra horsepower," Sunny said. "There's usually a surge in shipping traffic at that time of year, but apparently this year's weather produced a larger quantity of sea ice than is usual these days."
"Zipp, do you think cherry or cinammon would work better for the decorations?" Pipp asked, showing the assembled speakers some ribbons.
Zipp sighed. "They're both red, Pipp. I doubt anybody will notice the difference when the lights have been turned down." She noticed the confused looks on the others' faces. "We're decorating the town for something taking place next week or so."
"Just under two weeks," Pipp corrected. "Now, where did I put my scissors..."
Sunny suddenly chimed in. "Something in me thinks we may have gotten the best gift ever already."
"And what was that?" Misty asked.
"Each other. I know for some of us our relationship didn't exactly get off to the best of starts-"
Pipp shrugged. "Sunny, that's all in the past. Water under the bridge, so to speak. Knowing you guys has been so worth it."
"-And you guys shared your family traditions. Hitch got to introduce all of you to Grandma Figgy, Izzy got to show us northern tree traditions, and Pipp and Zipp gave us the gift of music along with all the other performers."
"Joyous, joyous Christmastime!"
Zipp facepalmed. "The day I never have to hear that again cannot come soon enough."
"But what matters the most," Sunny said, "was that we got to spend the holiday together as friends and share in the festive spirit. Merry Christmas, everybody."
Izzy turned slightly. "And a Merry Christmas to all of you reading this story at home!"