Destination Unknown
Emmet St. Bridge
Admiral Biscuit
The underside of a bridge was protected from the weather, and the steel beams that supported the deck served as a windbreak. While the sloped concrete abutments were easily climbable, and did sometimes provide shelter to humans or animals, the pillars weren’t. A small space, true, barely big enough to turn around in, but for now it was hers, safe and unassailable.
Or at least reasonably so; the local avians occasionally squawked their displeasure at her intrusion.
She’d already checked for nests; there weren’t any in her current hidey-hole, and she and the birds had eventually come to an uneasy truce.
•••
Trains were big and noisy and trains had no right to sneak up on a mare. They sounded their horns all the time, but not before arriving at the overpass.
Just to the south of the bridge was the crew-change point. She’d flown off a southbound freight when it stopped, her car far short of the bridge—she’d needed a chance to stretch her wings and to explore Battle Creek.
Now that was done; she’d seen what she’d wanted to see, she’d earned some bits from her singing, and she’d even toured a cereal factory. Now it was time to move on again. Time to stow away on another freight train, time to go wherever the rails took her.
The locomotive glided under the bridge, prime mover idling, nearly silent on the steel rails. A gust of diesel smoke befouled her temporary perch, eddying around the girders and the train’s slipstream, and then it was gone. Two of the more aggressive sparrows chirped after it in a vain attempt to scare it off; Sweetsong and the veterans of the Emmet St. bridge stayed put, watching it pass below.
Mixed freights were the best, giving her a wide variety of cars to choose from. Humans liked to ride grain cars with high-sided ends or boxcars with easily-opened doors, while she preferred freight cars that were open on top.
Coal cars were not good, even if they were open on top, and that’s what the train had to offer. In her experience, trains carrying coal hauled nothing else, so as soon as the first aluminum gondola swept beneath her, she slumped back down on the abutment.
She’d tried riding a collier once; it was oily and grimy everywhere and took countless baths to wash out of her fur. Out west, train after train was nothing but coal gondolas, and she’d gotten impatient—but she’d learned her lesson.
Sweetsong flicked her tail and fluffed her wings, unintentionally inviting a few chirped threats from the birds. She wanted to go, and she could; she could abandon her temporary perch and fly along the tracks until a better train came into view beneath her.
It’s just one train, there’ll be more. Riding into Battle Creek, she’d seen an abundance of trains passing northeast, and it was reasonable to assume that the southeast track was just as busy. She had a good spot, all she had to do was wait and the right train would not only come along, but it would stop below her just like her last train had, just like the coal train was, taunting her with the view of an empty aluminum hopper streaked with coal dust.
She settled back down on the cold concrete and waited.
•••
After a crew change and brake check, the coal train moved on, and as the sun crept towards its zenith, no new trains stopped. A priority container train swept by underneath, slow enough that she could find a spot if she really, really wanted to, but it wasn’t worth the risk. If the car had a proper floor at all, it was barely a hiding space; it wasn’t a matter of if she’d be seen, but how quickly. A better train would come along if she waited. Patience was a virtue.
Sweetsong wasn’t patient enough to sit on the abutment forever; a half-hour after the container train passed she stuck her head down below the girder, looking up and down the tracks for another approaching train. When that failed to provide any gratification, she dropped off the concrete and flew out from under the bridge, followed by a few birds who thought they were chasing her off.
She climbed up and circled, following the tracks with her eyes, looking for a train going in the right direction. Ten miles of visibility, maybe; she could see Bellevue’s water tower poking above the trees and trains were long enough that even with some of the tracks obscured, she ought to be able to see one if one was there to be seen.
Sometimes she got impatient, and followed the tracks along in the hope that a train going in the right direction with a suitable car and going slowly enough that she could land might pass beneath. Most often what she’d get instead was sore wings and a veritable cornucopia of inviting railcars that were too fast to catch, cars she could have boarded if she’d been more patient. As she glanced to the south, she spotted a mixed freight that was headed in the wrong direction, swore at it, and then reminded herself that another would come, another would stop in the yard, and she’d have her pick of cars to ride.
Amtrak was also an option, they had a station in Battle Creek and if she knew where she wanted to go she could buy a ticket there, but half the fun in riding the rails was not knowing where she was going to go until she got there.
•••
When she returned to her perch, the birds didn’t welcome her back, but she didn’t care. They could deal with it; she wasn’t going to be a fixture all that long.
Napping was the traditional pegasus way of dealing with boredom, and while the concrete was cold and un-sunwarmed, she dozed off until the distinct whine of a dynamic brake and the clatter of slack action perked her up. Sweetsong’s head was over the edge of the concrete in time to get a blast of exhaust from the locomotives, and then her eye was on the train as it rumbled by underneath.
A motley collection of box cars and grain cars, then a string of tank cars—nothing she could ride, but a mixed train nonetheless. The first gondola, empty but for some leftover dunnage, two centerbeam flatcars loaded with lumber—those were a possibility, but cramped and dangerous if the load shifted. Coil steel cars, with mismatched covers, two stray autoracks likely collected as an afterthought, another cluster of mixed grain cars, and then, trailing a Wisconsin Central boxcar, was a low-side gondola with no cargo in it.
The train police didn’t like people or ponies getting a free ride on the train. Being in the yard was risky; the longer the train sat still the more likely somebody would spot her. She’d found her car; she could fly to the other end of the yard and catch it as the train left.
That was the wise thing to do: unnecessary risk was foolish and would get her nothing, any more than flying along hoping to spot a slow-moving train beneath her. She knew that, and yet, like a thunderstorm building on the horizon, her wanderlust nagged at her, demanded action. Her army blanket looked like a tarp, and she could blend in with the leftover dunnage in the car. She’d have more time to settle in while the crew got changed.
Sweetsong sighed and shifted on the bridge as the gondola passed beneath. She could have dropped straight down in it and nobody could have seen her, and now it was gone. Now a trio of auto racks skimmed by, nearly touching the bridge beams.
All the other nearby bridges were close to businesses that would be open, she’d have to fly all the way out of Battle Creek to catch the train again, and right now the autoracks on her train and the cars on the next track provided excellent cover, almost as good as dropping in the car from her perch.
Patience was a virtue, but impulsiveness got things done. She grabbed her gear and caught up to her gondola as the train braked, landing on the scarred floor two car-lengths beyond the bridge.
Waving a goodbye to the birds wasn’t really necessary, but she did anyway. They still had their bridge, and now she had her train. As soon as it got a new crew, she’d be on her way south.
It begins!
Hold on, everypony, it's gonna be a fun ride.
This was a neat little story!
Ooh, there's gonna be more?
...Huh?
Pony Hobo!
As a rail fan myself, I always enjoy stories about ponies and trains. The fact that Sweetsong is a Pegasus is just a plus!
Looking forward to more of her adventures!
So I take it this story will be a long one?
Will we see steam power in the story?
10997651
It will be!
10997659
Thank you!
There is, yes; Sweetsong only just started her journey after all.
Oops. Fixed that!
10997685
Like the ancient nomadic pegasi, except she doesn’t have to drift around on a cloud, she can go wherever thousands of horsepower will carry her.
10997700
Me, too, to both! Surprised I haven’t written more with ponies and trains as a focus, to be honest.
Pegasi are the best ponies, I think.There is a certain type of carefree nature which the pegasi have that I don’t think the other tribes tend to as much.
It’s gonna be fun!
10997730
Fifteen to twenty chapters, probably the high side of 30k. So not super long, as those things go, but a respectable length.
10997734
Not on any mainline trains, obviously. But Sweetsong’s often up for a diversion on a tourist line, if she happens to find one.
Freight trains go along tracks not too far from my home.
My issue with them is that they will park the train on the track with the engine idling for at least an hour at sometime between 01:00 and 03:00.
The engine is 1/4 mile from my house, but due to local geography (a layer of granite that runs diagonally under the town, roughly 30ft below the surface), I can feel the vibrations of it in my house.
Since the MBTA also uses those tracks occasionally, they have just (in the past 2 years) put up fences along the tracks.
Thus robbing my towns delinquents of one of their preferred hang-outs: in the short tunnel right by the convenience store.
(It's more of an underpass. They clearcut through a hill for the tracks, and put a bridge on top for the road)
You had alluded to this story at EFNW. Can't wait to read it!
Ponies? Trains? Yes please.
Pony Hobo. Hm. Pobo or Hony?
10997844
Like where the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad, Tennessee Central Railway Museum, or others.
(sigh) I love having a home of my own, but this story makes me long for the open road with no destination in mind.
I'm guessing this will cover the United States predominantly?
I'm riding down the rails
Destination unknown
A wanderlust pegasus
All alone
I can't make a connection
Can't alight
With no fight.
You've heard of Snakes on a Plane...
Now get ready for......
Pegasus on a Train!
Also, I love how obsessively following Silver Glow on Google Earth has given me a disproportionate level of knowledge of the Kalamazoo/Battle Creek area for someone from Las Vegas who has never been to Michigan! I almost immediately had a good mental image of where Sweetsong was. I love the idea of a nomadic Pegasus on Earth and I look forward to what awaits in her next adventure!
I like train stories. There's just something to them that calls out to me. Let's see where this one goes...
10997857
I used to live close to tracks, but not any more (it’s like 20 miles or so to the nearest active rail line).
Hmm, I’d consider that a benefit, but that’s just me. Weird how the land can carry the vibrations like that.
Probably best that the delinquents stay off the tracks, to be honest. In a town not too far where I live, there were a few kids who’d take a shortcut home from school by walking along the very active Canadian National tracks. It was only a matter of time before one of them didn’t get out of the way of the train. . .
10997878
Funnily enough, the bulk of this one was written before Buttons, I think last winter, then it got side-tracked (heh) for other projects.
10997889
It’s such a great combination, let’s be honest. And there aren’t enough stories focused on that.
10997949
My vote’s on Pobo.
10997966
There are quite a few steam locomotives of all sizes she could come across, as well as various rail museums and static displays.
I will say that she might have less nostalgia for steam locomotives than someone who comes from a time or world where there aren’t any other choice. Not that riding one is any less fun, mind, and sometimes even if there isn’t the nostalgic pull, there’s the comfort of familiarity.
10998040
I feel the same way sometimes. That’s one thing that you could do on occasional roadtrips, just pick a direction and go wherever seems interesting on the way.
I’d probably get bored of it before too long, but one thing I’ve always thought would be interesting to do is raft down the Mississippi. Just put in somewhere up north and see if you can get all the way to the Gulf.
I’m sure it’s been done before. . .
10998096
Yes, since that’s where I’m from and that’s where I know the trains.
Feel free to adapt the idea for other ponies in other countries, though! I feel that pegasi especially would tend to have wanderlust, and they do have several advantages when it comes to getting on and off moving trains.
10998097
Oooh, I like! Thank you!
10998113
I know which one I prefer.
In some ways I was surprised when I found out people were doing that, and then I just rolled with it and put in enough details that people who were looking could find some of the places Silver Glow went that weren’t named. And the good news is that this one is going to be the same way, you can follow her journey along on Google Maps if you are so inclined. There’ll be a couple spots that might be troublesome, where there are a lot of tracks, but overall it might be a nice tour, especially during the upcoming winter (for some).
I feel that a lot of pegasi would be like that, preferring to drift around and get work where they can, rather than be pinned down to one place all the time. There’s always a need of weather work, I’m sure, and I have to imagine that the seasonal changes (i.e., Winter Wrap-Up) kind of rely on migrating pegasi to supplement the local weather crews.
10998665
I agree, and I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to write some.
West, for a start, because we all know pegasi like to go west.
Oh, nice. :D
10998914
10998904
It's two A.M.
The last train's gone
I'm sittin here waitin
The breeze still warm
My wings and hooves are tired of takin chances
They let storms on the loose, put horns in your head
But now I'm wrapped up in silence, the switchlight is red
I have no agenda, my path spins 'round the country
I'm not sure I can do this whole song for this fic. The rhythm of 'Help I'm slipping into the twilight zone' is hard to turn in to any other phrase.
10998903
I'd be interested in having a crack at this idea, just with Britain's railways.
10998899
What about Classic Diesels like the F7s, E9s, GP-9s, Alco PAs & FAs, and others to name a few.
The collier trains beieng repurposed for wood chippings for so called greener power stations?
this is a fun short story i like this.
One question, she gonna keep on CSX and NS rails or she gonna head out to BNSF and UP territory? And is she gonna spend any time on KCSR?
10999283
You totally should! The general default of ponies on Earth (at least that I’ve read) seems to be the US, and there’s a lot of world out there.
I do have one pony in England story that does at least mention trains, but they’re not really a focus of the story.
10999569
She does mention later getting a cab ride in a GP35. Not exactly classic, but the one in question is riding on Alco FA trucks IIRC.
Off the top of my head, it seems like it would be harder to find operators simply by searching online (steam’s usually easier, ‘cause there’s a smaller pool to pick from) . . . one of my local-ish railroads is still running GP9s for freight.
I’ve also been on a tourist train behind a CF-7 of all things.
10999999
Not so far, but who knows? There was at least one railroad that used wood chip extensions on coal cars (wood’s less dense). Railroads will haul most anything if you pay the rates.
Lansing (near where she is) is closing all its coal plants, so that’ll be fewer coal trains on that route. I think they’ve still got one open as backup, but it’s on the way out as newer plants come online.
11001686
Thank you!
11005535
She’s got no particular railroad loyalty, she’ll take whichever train will take her where she wants to go. I don’t want to tell you all the railroads she winds up on since that’s a bunch of spoilers (obviously, big Class 1s are less spoilery than others). She’s currently on CN track although I think they share Emmet St. with NS. She does not ride KCS on this trip although she surely has in the past.
10999059
Hmm, I never was all that good at re-lyricing songs myself, best I could ever do was a few lines. I like what you’ve got so far
It’s funny, one of the things I’ve never really gotten much of is fanart for my stories. A few pieces here and there, but nothing much. But what I have gotten more often than I would expect is poetry, and that never ceases to amaze me.
Also that’s a great song
11019259 I shall be creating a plant that uses pseudointellectual BS as fuel! THE POWER WILL BE LIMITLESS!!
It is a good thing that Sweetsong is a pegasus because RailSecurity can be violent to hoboes, so now she should have an easier time escaping by flight.
11208006
That is a huge advantage she has. Not only rail cops (or real cops), but also other riders or anyone else that might be a threat--she can just fly away.
It also gives her some advantages when it comes to boarding trains, such as hiding in bridge girders, trees, rooftops, etc.
She's like a pony hobo ninja, only her target isn't some senior government official but an open-topped freight car.
11019267
10999059
Which song is this?