End of an Age

by The Blue EM2

Memories

It was a typical day in Canterlot. The Crusaders were getting up to fun, alongside Dinky and Cozy Glow. They had come back from a railway trip, when Scootaloo opened up her phone and noticed the date.

“Guys,” she said. “It’s August 11^th.”

“So?” said Dinky.

Sweetie Belle suddenly looked sad. “She doesn’t know, does she?”

“Know what?” Dinky asked again.

“11th August is the day steam ended.” Apple Bloom’s tone was solemn.

“But there are still steam engines, aren’t there?” Cozy inquired.

“They did preserve them, yes. But that’s the day that mainline steam ended.”

Scootaloo was unusually quiet. “I wonder what that day was like.”

“So do I,” said a voice behind them.

The girls jumped round, to see Miss Cheerilee standing behind them.

“Mom, you scared us!” Scootaloo exclaimed.

“I overheard what you were discussing, and thought I’d join the conversation.”

Dinky’s eyes suddenly lit up. “I have an answer!”

“You do?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Dad’s got a time machine, so we can ask him if we can go back to that day.”

“Oh golly, that would be exciting!” Cozy cried.

“What are we waitin’ for, y’all?” Apple Bloom asked. “Let’s go!”

They arrived at Dinky’s house, where the girl excitedly on the door.

Time Turner opened the door. “Hello dear!” he said.

“Daddy, can we borrow the TARDIS?”

“Whatever for?” Turner replied.

“My friends want to go back to 11^th August, 1968, and witness the End of Steam.”

Turner looked concerned. “That day is a very sad one in history. Are you absolutely sure?”

Apple Bloom took up the conversation. “We’re certain. We weren’t there, so we wanna see what it was like.”

Turner nodded. “Very well,” he said. “But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

They walked through the halls of the house, and came to a blue Police Public Call Box. There was a light on top of it, and the windows glowed with an unnatural energy.

“Ditsy!” Turner called. “We’re heading off in the TARDIS for a bit, see you in a second.”

“OK!” came the reply.

Turner opened the doors, and in they stepped.

The Crusader’s jaws dropped when they saw it. The control room spanned two levels, and a massive column marked the centre of the machine. Great pipes ran up the centre, and levers and switches surrounded the console.

Cheerilee gasped. “It’s smaller on the outside!”

Turner shrugged. “That’s new.”

He walked over to the scanner screen, and began punching in some numbers. “11th August, 1968,” he muttered.

The girls gathered on the control room platform as Turner through the switch. The column began to move up and down, and the control room began to move and shake. All the while this was accompanied by a strange wheezing and groaning noise as they travelled through time itself.

At last, the machine stopped. “Here we are!” Turner exclaimed. “11th August 1968. A sunny day, by all accounts. But it was also a busy time. ‘Mony Mony’ is Number One in the Charts, bleurgh.”

“Where have we landed?” Dinky asked.

“We’ve arrived at Liverpool Lime Street station. This is where the last steam passenger service departs, the ‘15 Guinea Special’. The platform is packed, and we’ll need to get moving if we want to see the sights!”

He threw open the door, to find they had landed on the street opposite the station. They sprinted to the platform as fast as they could.

Peter Beet looked over proceedings as 45110’s fire was lit. Soon, it was burning nicely, and the engine made a healthy dose of steam.

“She’ll run sir,” said the cleaner. “We take her as far as Manchester Picadilly, then 70013 takes over for the remainder of the run to Carlisle.”

“Very good,” Beet replied. He wiped something from his eye.

“Sir, are you OK?” the cleaner asked.

“There was just some soot in my eye, that’s all.”

“Do...do you think they’ll remember us?”

Beet thought for a moment. “Yes, they will. We are bringing to an end what Stephenson and Hackworth began all those years ago. Right away, driver!”

Meanwhile, the Crusaders and co had marshalled on the platform, waiting for the train. A pair of noisy, smelly diesels rolled through, horns honking loudly as they did so.

Cozy shook her head. “Never liked the diesels!”

“That’s the spirit kid!” said a man next to her. “Steam will live on!”

Scootaloo bit her lip. She had to watch what she said, or else disrupt time itself.

At last the passenger train pulled into the platform, and what a sight it was!

On the front was 45110, gleaming with a fresh coat of polish. Affixed to the smokebox door bracket was the headcode, upon which sat the letters 1T57. OK, 3 numbers and one letter, but let’s not be too pedantic.

Behind it were 10 coaches, a mixture of maroon and corporate blue. The engine came to a stop, and the doors opened. Passengers piled onboard, as this was the last chance to ride a steam service under BR.

On the footplate stood Dr Beet himself.

Sweetie Belle stared in amazement. “It’s Doctor Beet!” she cried. “He sa-”

Apple Bloom quickly put her hand over Sweetie’s mouth. “Nice to meet ya sir!” she said.

Beet stepped off the footplate. “Thank you, miss-”

“Apple Bloom.” Bloom extended her hand to shake his.

“We came to see the last train,” Scootaloo explained.

“That’s good of you,” Beet replied. “Because I’m not sure how well the preserved railways will cope. Soon the Keighley and Worth Valley will be the only steam in the Pennines.”

The guard’s whistle went. “We’ve got to go!” Beet called.

“Good luck!” Cheerilee called to him.

The Black 5 whistled, and pulled away, the noise wonderful as the sound built up into a two-cylinder exhaust beat. The train clattered over the junction, and away into the distance.

Returning to the TARDIS, they then flew to a different location. They stepped out onto the lonely moors, overlooking Ais Gill.

“Look!” called Time Turner. There, in the distance, was 70013, steam soaring into the air as it stormed across the viaduct. The safety valve lifted, and the whistle screamed as it roared past. Sweetie Belle had brought a camera with her, and recorded the train passing by her.

Alas, their time in the past was over, and they returned to the present day, heavy of heart, but glad to have participated in this most significant of historical events.

As they stepped outside, Time Turner spoke to them. “Remember, that day was not the end. Rather, it was the beginning of a new age. But that age can only endure if you let it endure.”

“Yes sir!” Scootaloo said.

Turner looked wise. “Who care if one more light goes on, in a sky of a million stars? Well, I do?”

“Sorry, what?” Cheerilee said.

“Nothing,” Turner replied, and walked back into his house. “Should be more careful, that hasn’t happened yet.”

Indeed, but the memory of the day hung true in their hearts, as they had been there. But something else was clear to them. The Golden Age had ended, yes, but the Platinum Age was here to stay.

Author's Note:

This short story is a tribute to one of the saddest days in British history. But although it brought about the end of steam on the mainline, it lives on in preservation. The North and South Poles are the only places on Earth without preserved railways, so do please remember to support your local lines.

Comments

[Booster Spice]

Just on checking. The train used the next nearest line to where I live, via Darwin and Clithero to the Settle and Carlile line at Hellifield, because taking the Clifton,Stubbins, and Colne route to Skipton was no longer available or possible I suspect with the power available.

But at least the ELR has 2 of the carriages and one of the Black 5s, which pretty much form its steam backbone.

Suprising to see though, that it wasnt just a withdrawal of mainline steam service, but an actual full ban on all powered steam operation and I think even transport on the lines.

Except for one singular exception.

The Scotsman.

[Brony_Headbanger]

What a cool story. Steam will always live on. Diesels? Eh.

We need steam back! It’s like they always say. Scrap the diesels! Bring back steam!

[The Blue EM2]

9282978
That is true. Got to see one of the 1T57 locos in action on the Jacobite back in April.

[The Blue EM2]

9283584
Thank you for your comments. Mind, you'd be surprised at the following that diesels have these days!

[Booster Spice]

Something I wouldve loved to have seen. A classic shape, exterior design, but with an automatic flash steam boiler in place of the firebox, the normal boiler being the water tank and economiser, with the exterior being the tube and fin condensing radiator. The great thing being the faster the train goes, the greater the cooling airflow, but at cruise it uses less power than when accelerating, so its more fuel efficient.

What I really wouldve liked to see, is the flash boiler placed itself in a pressure vessel, and a turbocharger used to pressurise the burner space to near the same as the steam pipes, to remove the pressure stress on them, so the pipes have temperature but not pressure, and the enclosing vessel takes pressure but not temperature. I was hoping to remove expensive specialist materials, and the thinner pies lead to greater efficincies. Add in rifling for turbulence conduction and strengthening ribs, etc.

As for the chuffing noise getting out of the station, you could have a trade off in just how big a variation the closed loop can handle, so the chuff would be the excess steam gate firing off? If it can be done in Hornby, it can be done in Settle.

[The Blue EM2]

9283761
I'd recommend the theories of David Wardale.

[Wessexbrony]

I actually travelled behind 70013 on the Great Central Railway's end of steam gala in August (which had 48624 disguised as 48476 and 73156 disguised as 73069, but no Black 5, funnily enough). On the final run back (a 1T57 recreation), the staff at the stations removed their hats as we passed through.

Here's a TS2018 depiction of the train: https://www.deviantart.com/georgeuk90/art/The-Final-Curtain-758474231

[The Blue EM2]

9417297
45305 was still being repaired at the time.

I've got those Black 5s, and an currently doing my own rerun (though the Liverpool and Manchester run will be via Warrington).

[Wessexbrony]

9417305
Then again, I did get two Black 5s (45231 and 45379) at the MHR's 1968-themed spring gala, which also had 73096 and 92212 at Ropley shed looking as though they had just been withdrawn.

[The Blue EM2]

9417312
Lucky you. I live too far away from the MHR to be able to just pop down there.

Quite a few of my stories are railway themed. What do you think so far?

[Wessexbrony]

9417919
I really like your railway-themed stories, as well as the way you turned Anon-a-Miss into a whodunnit.

[The Blue EM2]

9418734
Thanks. If you wouldn't mind commenting on them in more detail, I'd really appreciate it.

Yeah, I felt that AaM was getting a bit turgid as a genre, so I tried some stuff I'd never seen done before.

[sharkdog1221]

the golden age of Railroading was not ended with the phasing out of Steam engines, rather, it was ended by the rise of automobiles and aircraft (semi-trucks and aircraft-cargo in particular did quite a number)

[The Blue EM2]

11710105
The emotional context of the demise of steam power, which had powered the rail system of Britain since 1830, was a real indication to the public that the world was changing, faster than a lot of them wanted.

[ScisetShimmerEvan]

The girls gathered on the control room platform as Turner through the switch. The column began to move up and down, and the control room began to move and shake. All the while this was accompanied by a strange wheezing and groaning noise as they travelled through time itself.

Turner threw the switch.*

He threw open the door, to find they had landed on the street opposite the station. They sprinted to the platform as fast as they could.

Wouldn't it been better if they wore attire from that era so people didn't question them?

Cozy shook her head. “Never liked the diesels!”

Same. Though it depends on class.

Apple Bloom quickly put her hand over Sweetie’s mouth. “Nice to meet ya sir!” she said.

That was too close!

As they stepped outside, Time Turner spoke to them. “Remember, that day was not the end. Rather, it was the beginning of a new age. But that age can only endure if you let it endure.”

And the start of the preservation era for trains young and old.

I may not be a doctor who fan, I still found this story fascinating nonetheless.