Thomas and Friends: Tales from the Mainland Volume 3

by The Blue EM2

The Day Cornwall Stopped, Part 1

Of vital importance to anywhere in any country is transport infrastructure. Without a proper system for moving vital equipment and people from one place to another, a region will begin to fall apart. This is especially serious when it comes to areas of the world with limited transport setups.

Let us, for example, turn our attention to Cornwall. Cornwall is a county that is characterised by isolation. It has no motorways, and only three major roads run through the county. Similarly, only one major railway line runs through Cornwall, connecting it to Devon, but severely reducing capacity over former years. This leaves the rest of Cornwall's transportation needs to be settled by either the rest of the road system, which was never designed to cope with large volumes of traffic, or by sea, which is the only effective way to serve some settlements when roads are impassible.

One day, all of the major crises and problems that these transport systems suffered from came together in the worst possible way. In a classic case of everything going wrong at the worst possible moment, Cornwall's transport infrastructure fell apart at the very moment the county needed it most.

This is the story of the Day Cornwall Stopped.

---

It was a day that began like most others at that time of year. The holiday trade was beginning to get underway, and many people were travelling into Cornwall for a short break away from their usual lives. This was common at this time of year, especially as not everybody could commit to going overseas, but it also put a lot of strain on the transport network.

Goldie had set off from home at her usual time to reach her place of work with plenty of time to spare, and her train arrived at Truro so she could catch her connection to Plymouth. As she crossed the footbridge to the Plymouth platform, her phone suddenly buzzed.

"It might be an important call," she said to herself, so she pulled it out of her pocket and took a look. It wasn't a call. It was a news bulletin. There were reports of very heavy congestion on the major trunk roads, so people were being advised to avoid driving where possible. Goldie shrugged. This often happened at this time of year.

As her connection pulled in, she noticed something strange. "That's odd. The train is considerably more full than normal." As the train stopped and the doors slid open, she stepped onboard, having no idea she would find herself caught up in one of the worst transport messes in the history of the county.

---

Down at Falmouth, the engines were already at work. The dockside was being shunted, and this meant plenty of work. Salty and Porter had split the work between them, so Salty was working the western quay. "Plenty of fish here!" he said. "It must be a bumper season!"

"Sounds like it," Sunny said. "Dad's planning a fish pie for tonight. It's something to really look forward to."

Meanwhile, at the station, Charles was being attached to the passenger coaches, but noticed something seemed to be wrong. The train was much busier than usual, and seemed to have more people onboard than was usual at this time of day.

"Zipp, the train is busier than normal," he commented. "The porters are loading more mail than is normal, and the passengers are still boarding with only a minute to departure!"

Zipp looked back and nodded. "You're right," she said. "I haven't seen this many passengers since a diesel gala. The BBC did warn to expect potential problems on the road today, so maybe they're taking the train."

There were so many people trying to board that the guard delayed the departure to allow them to get onboard. But at last the train got underway. Charles rumbled out of the station and shifted the weight up the line, passengers adding considerably to the weight. And as he made his way from station to station, more and more passengers got on, to the point the coaches seemed to be packed with nothing but bodies. Some people were even riding in the luggage van on the back of the train (which, obviously, was not designed to carry passengers).

After a tough run up the line, Charles rumbled into the platform and stopped. The doors opened and the passengers got off, changing platforms for their connections.

Charles then spotted Alexandra sitting in the bay platform. "It's a busy morning!" he said. "Any idea what's going on?"

"Not a clue," Alexandra said. "All I noticed was that I had a lot more passengers than normal- the commuters for Plymouth were there in bigger numbers than for that bit of the day, normally."

Charles sighed. "I can only hope nothing bad has happened."

Zipp hopped out to get Charles uncoupled and run round, when she felt her phone buzz. She knew the sound very well. A few years ago the United Kingdom had introduced a national alert system based on the American Emergency Alert System, to warn people if something serious was happening and to avoid it where possible.

The alert this time was warning people that Newquay Airport, the main airport in Cornwall, was shut. This, apparently, was resulting in a spike in road travel and cars and trucks on the road. This was a serious problem, as all that extra road traffic was likely to cause turmoil at some point.

---

Down at Falmouth, things were already going wrong. The road from Falmouth to Truro was now shut after a lorry had crashed into a barrier. The tank it was carrying had swung across the road, blocking both lanes and preventing any traffic from passing.

The emergency services were waiting on a crane to help with recovery efforts, but in the meantime the road was shut, and this meant any freight had to be moved by rail. This was being loaded into vans and trucks, ready to be conveyed up the line.

"Did you hear what's happened?" Sunny asked Izzy. "Apparently there's been a serious crash on the A21."

"Which one's the A21?" Izzy asked.

"The main road into and out of Cornwall," Sunny explained. "The road's completely blocked. Traffic is completely at a standstill, and otherwise people are being encouraged to seek other forms of transport."

"No wonder the station is so busy," Izzy said.

"And we're being rushed off our wheels," Porter added. "It's been nothing but chaos here!"

In fact, some students at the University who lived in other towns had been unable to get into lectures and were taking them from home.

---

Goldie was still on the train, despite the fact she should have been at work an hour ago. What made it even more frustrating was that they were held just outside the station, which was annoying to her.

"Passengers," said the driver, "we apologise for the delay. There has been a signal failure, which means we are being held here until further notice. We at Great Western Railway apologise for the inconvenience, and ask you continue to stay patient."

Goldie had already notified her employer what was going on, and continued to wait there as there was not much else she could do. Temperatures were beginning to climb onboard the train as the air conditioning had failed. This was going to be a very warm day indeed.

---

Back at Truro, more and more freight was arriving at the goods yard to be processed. Brookes and Nigel were working as fast as they could to get the mess shifted, but it was proving to be very tough.

"I can't believe they're expecting us to handle all this stuff!" Brookes grumbled.

"I know they say that this sort of thing is vital for the nation, but this seems excessive," Nigel concurred. "The freight is arriving faster than we can process it!"

"The load will eventually lighten up," Onyx said, although her optimism in her voice was not exactly matched by her facial expression.

They kept working as best as they could, but it was proving to be more than they could handle. On the nearby goods line, Bellerophon wheezed to a stop with a heavy freight train. "Never... again..." he wheezed. "That was much heavier than I'm designed to pull!"

"We all need to pull our weight, but if this is what's to come I'll need a break before long," Misty replied.

The situation was so desperate anything with wheels was being wheeled into service. Vans which hadn't been touched in years were being loaded with fish and cargo, and being used to convey heavy loads to their destinations. Ships were constantly docking and unloading cargo at such a rate that Salty and Porter couldn't keep up.

The dockside was now profoundly smelling of fish. Overloaded passenger trains made their way up and down the line, with virtually every goods loop packed with outbound trains and returning wagons.

Unfortunately, the day was only going to get worse.

Author's Note:

This chapter is based on The Day Britain Stopped, a 2003 mockumentary which depicts the complete disintegration of Britain's transport infrastructure in the buildup to the Christmas season. Considering the chronic lack of maintenance to critical components of Britain's transport system, the film seems eerily prescient given how the railway always seems to have a meltdown around Christmas.

The jammed signal is based on something my father experienced; his commuter train got held for over an our outside his destination as a signal had failed and the driver lacked clearance to pass it.

Britain does have its own version of EAS, which went into service in 2023. It has rarely been used, however; information like that is usually distributed through local news networks.

Comments

[shining paladin]

great chapter mate keep it up cant wait for the next chapter

[The Blue EM2]

11842773
Glad you enjoyed.

[ScisetShimmerEvan]

"Sounds like it," Sunny said. "Dad's planning a fish pie for tonight. It's something to really look forward to."

That's a thing?

The alert this time was warning people that Newquay Airport, the main airport in Cornwall, was shut. This, apparently, was resulting in a spike in road travel and cars and trucks on the road. This was a serious problem, as all that extra road traffic was likely to cause turmoil at some point.

Just what they needed.

In fact, some students at the University who lived in other towns had been unable to get into lectures and were taking them from home.

Damn!

Unfortunately, the day was only going to get worse.

Gulp.

The jammed signal is based on something my father experienced; his commuter train got held for over an our outside his destination as a signal had failed and the driver lacked clearance to pass it.

over an hour*

[The Blue EM2]

11842807
1. It is indeed. A British delicacy.

2. Indeed.

3. Can confirm this happens.

4. Indeed.

5. Fixed.

[Thomlight Sparkle 1]

11842710
That they did.

Comments on the chapter:
This is quite a chapter here! You don’t often get anything like this in Thomas stories.

[The Blue EM2]

11843317
Thanks. I fancied trying something a bit different.