Eric Flint - Grantville Gazette.Volume XVI

As Arlen was putting the finishing touches on the plan, Martin Erlanger came in the front door of the shop, shook off his coat and stamped his boots clear of snow. "Such a day, not even a wild pig would go out!"

"Any word on how long they think this will last?" Arlen was starting to get worried that the weather could ruin the next day's wedding festivities. He knew everyone coming was already in town, but trudging through snow was not his ideal of how a wedding party should leave the church. He didn't want Mimi to be disappointed.

"I just stopped by the radio station and what reports they could get from the west and north show a wide area of snow. They think it will probably go through tonight or maybe tomorrow morning. They also had just gotten an emergency signal from Saalfeld. There's been another industrial accident, this time at the steel works, with some serious injuries. They had to use the radio because the telegraph line was out. They think there was a snow slide or a tree down somewhere along the rail line. I hope they are able to handle the injuries at the steel works' clinic. The hospital's full and this storm has all the roads closed between here and Saalfeld."

The phone rang. Martin answered, "Hello."

Everyone could hear his end of the conversation and watch his body language. Immediately, they all could tell it wasn't good news. "No, the engine's not ready. You'll have to talk to Arlen about that." Martin held out the receiver. "Arlen, Mr. Lowe from the railroad. He has some questions I can't answer."

Arlen had a bad feeling about what was coming. "Arlen Goss here. What can I do for you, Mr. Lowe?"

"Arlen." Mr. Lowe sounded rushed. "We've had a serious accident at the Saalfeld steelworks. We need to transport two serious burn cases. I've talked to Dr. Adams at the hospital, and he has some real concerns about where best to treat these cases. They've still got a number of people they're treating for that chemical spill and they've got a heavy load of flu cases. Two of their staff members who have some burn experience are at Jena right now working with the university to set up a new trauma unit. Jena hasn't been hit with the flu yet, and this snow should slow down travel enough that it shouldn't spread there too soon. The big question is, can we get them there? Is Number Four done with its rebuild? It's the only engine with a plow that's big enough. We don't have anything else that could get through heavy snow."

"Number Four has a cracked rod. We won't be able to get it rebuilt before Monday."

All Arlen heard was a deep sigh on the other end as Hugh thought back to his conversation with Dr. Adams. The doctor had gotten on his soapbox about all the world's medical problems always having to come to Grantville to be cured. The current overload at the hospital made this an ideal opportunity to showcase what other facilities could do. Hugh decided to see if there was any other way to get the patients safely to Jena. "Is there any way to accelerate the work? The men that got injured were doing some experimental test castings for the railroad and I really want to help."

Arlen saw his chance. "We just finished that railbus I was telling you about last week. It's got enough power to buck the snow and we can put a plow on it. Should take us half an hour to hook up and by the time the medics are ready and get here, we should be ready."

"Great! I'll call the hospital and tell them to have their EMT's meet you at the shop. Just be ready to roll as soon as you can. The reports I've gotten indicate at least two serious burn cases and one fatality already. I'll also send a track crew along, in case there's any trouble on the line."

"We'll be ready, Mr. Lowe." Arlen hung up and motioned the staff to gather round. "Martin, call the county road shop and tell them they need to bring over the old wedge plow truck so that we can use the plow. Vandy Rowland, the foreman, will know which one we need. Julius, get the Goose fueled and make sure we've got extra fuel for the motor and the stove. Stefan and Joachim, take off the arm rests on the last four sets of seats. Put boards between them and get some sleeping bags so that we can use them as beds. Mike, give Mimi a call and tell her what's happening. Also, I'll need an engineer, can you handle it?"

"Sure, but don't you want someone with more experience than I've got running the Goose?"

"You are the most experienced engineer we've got for it. Nobody outside the shop has even been in it and Martin and I will be along if any problems crop up." Mike's eyes went wide, but his military training kicked in and he just saluted and went to finish his tasks.

Arlen took a deep breath and started going through a mental checklist on what else might be needed. This would be the Goose's shakedown run and there were a lot of things that could go wrong, especially with the amount of snow they had already gotten and what was still coming.

"Spare drive chain, extra sand for traction, rerailer, bars, shovels and jacks in case of derailment, track bars and spike mauls in case of track problems, two chainsaws, extra blankets, food and water in case we're stranded and a rabbit's foot for luck." As he thought of each item, Arlen called out to the shop crew and they located and loaded the item into the freight compartment. Martin got two of the shop crew to help him top off the sandboxes on the Goose and then added four fifty-pound bags of sand in the back. By the time he'd finished his loading, the truck had arrived with the plow. Mason Sizemore came in, shaking off snow like a small bear and sputtering about proper channels for requisitioning government property.

"Mason, please, we've got an emergency. Just help us get the plow switched over to the railbus."

Mason looked like he wanted to say some more but then acquiesced. "The snow is breaking branches and trees that are blocking the roads. Where did you say you want the plow set?"

Arlen pointed out towards the yard. "We've cleared a space on one of the crossings out front. If you can set the plow on the tracks so we can just hook up and go, that would be great. It'll save us time and that's the most important thing right now."

Mase went out at the fastest jog Arlen had ever seen him do. The sound of gears meshing told him that the truck was being positioned. Then, brakes squealing brought Arlen to the window to see what had happened. It was the ambulance from the hospital pulling in. Walter Allen and Frieda Zimmerman, both EMT's from the Fire Department got out and unloaded their gear from the back.

"Come on in here and tell us what more you need!" Arlen called. "We're getting the plow installed now and should be ready to go in five minutes."

"Has anyone called with an update?" Walt seemed extremely concerned. "The last radio call we got was that there was one definite fatality and two serious burn cases." While Walt was talking to Arlen, Frieda and Martin were transferring additional supplies from the ambulance into the Goose. Just then, three more figures came high stepping through the snow in the yard. The snow swirled in through the door as they entered. Lucas Chehab from the VoA radio station was followed by Mimi and Dee.

"Walt, I've got the status update for you. Michael Koester and Fredrich Klein have got second degree burns on their arms and upper bodies. Their team leader, Gustav Arndt, received third degree burns over most of his body and died shortly after the accident. They're not sure exactly what happened. Mr. Pierce sent word that he thinks they have enough pain killers to hold the two for about two hours. You'll need to get there before then or they may lose both of them to shock."

Walt took a moment to digest the news. His conversation with Dr. Adams when the call came in had been short and to the point. The hospital was full. If the patients could be transported to Jena safely then it was Walt's responsibility to make the call and get them there. This was a golden opportunity to start expanding medical care expectations to other sites. It looked like the parameters were a go for transporting to Jena unless something came up while they were enroute to Saalfeld. "Arlen, how long will the trip from Saalfeld to Jena take?"