Eric Flint - Grantville Gazette.Volume XVI

"A normal run would be Saalfeld, Rudolstadt, and then to Jena. With the regular trains, that would be almost three hours in clear conditions, four in the snow, if at all. If the Goose works as well as our plans say she should, we should be in Saalfeld in less than half an hour and in Jena by mid-afternoon. Say about two hours, including the time to load the patients," Arlen said.

Frieda slipped in from the rail yard, "All the supplies are loaded. We're set. Are we ready to go?"

The shop entrance door swung open again and a group of five track workers from the railroad congregated around the entrance.

"Were you all raised in a barn?!" someone yelled from the shop. A chorus of good natured " ja 's!" came from the group, who were mostly down-timers. "Well, shut the door before you let all the hot air out!"

" Jawohl, we wouldn't want Julius to wander out into the snow." The old joke drew a sharp elbow to the ribs of the joker from Martin.

Julius quickly shot back, "At least they let me in the house now. You, they still keep in the barn." That drew another round of laughter from the track crew.

"If you are all done with your jokes, let's get loaded. Two men are waiting on our arrival. We've got a long day ahead of us. Anybody have anything else they need?" Silence greeted Arlen's question. " Los gehts!" They all filed out into the swirling show in the shop's switching yard and started to board the Goose.

Mike settled into the engineer's seat. Martin took the conductor's seat in front of the passenger area. Mike commented, "You know, without the steering wheel, there's a lot more space here than you would think."

"I sure hope we're in time for those guys in Saalfeld," Arlen muttered.

The only sound as they worked their way through the tracks in Grantville was the hum of the Ford's engine and the clickety-clack of the wheels on the rail joints. The Goose was a ghost through the snow as they approached the station. The Goose slowed and Mark O'Reilly got out and threw the harp switch to move the Goose to the main track. He signaled with his kerosene lantern to have the Goose move onto the station main track. The Goose moved slowly over the switch and picked up Mark as they went by. Arlen then had Mike stop and Martin went into the station to get the train orders for the first leg of the trip. Mr. Nisbet, the railroad's general manager, was waiting inside to personally deliver the train orders.

"You're the only thing on the line today. We've cleared anything that might slow the run. You're authorized to run at whatever speed you feel is safe. Show me what the Goose can do and I'll decide how to present it to Mr. Lowe and to the board, but get those guys there safely. Remember," Mr. Nisbet added sternly, "the trip from Rudolstadt to Jena, it's all older strap rail. You'll have to watch the rail in case the weather has caused any problems." With that, he handed Martin his Form 19. Nisbet's fervor surprised Martin. The railroad manager was known as a cold fish, but maybe he had a heart after all. Martin turned and headed out the door into the blowing snow.

When he reached the Goose, he looked up to check the sky. It was still snowing, and the sky was a uniform grey. The wind had started to blow the fallen snow into drifts in the yards around the station. Martin opened the door and got in quickly, shaking the snow off as he entered. "Here's the Train Order. We're the only one on the line. We need to watch the strap rail on the Jena line. They're not sure what this type of weather might do to it." He felt a little pompous repeating what the written orders said, but railroad regulations required that the engineer verbally acknowledge the orders from the conductor. Since he was acting as the conductor on this run, Martin wanted no questions that he had followed procedures.

Mike acknowledged the orders. Grinning, he added, "At least we don't have to watch for snake-heads like the old-timers did. With the welding and the short sections of real rail at the joints, it's a big improvement over the old style strap rail." Mike then let off the brake and the Goose started trotting its way to Saalfeld.

The silver paint scheme on the Goose blended in well with the falling snow. Only the headlights and red markers on the rear highlighted its departure through the Grantville yard. As it hauntingly glided out of town, the chatter inside the passenger area slowly died down. Everyone knew this was a mercy mission and thoughts of what lay ahead weighed heavily on them.

Mike asked, "What's the speed limit on this short section to Schwarza? The plow seemed to handle the snow in the yard pretty well."

"Hold it down to twenty-five. The wye at Schwarza's not too far and we may have to pick up updated orders there. I'll be glad when the signaling is upgraded and we don't have to get orders at every station." Arlen was concentrating intently on the track and the sounds and movement of the Goose, so Mike just nodded and went back to watching the track for snowdrifts.

Five minutes of waddling later, the small whistlestop station at Schwarza loomed up on their left. It was positioned inside the wye where the three tracks from Grantville, Saalfeld, and Rudolstadt joined together. Mike slowed down, but the station master was standing on the platform with a wooden hoop outstretched for Mike to grab. Mike rolled down the window, stuck his arm out and snagged the hoop. He handed it to Arlen and then rolled up the window. As he brushed off the snow that had come in, Arlen took off the flimsy paper and read it quickly. "Mike, there's a track crew located telegraph break just south of Mile Post 3. Top speed five miles per hour between Mile Posts 2 and 4. Watch for workers and new rail along track. Saalfeld is expecting us in twenty minutes."

"You've got it, Arlen. If you see anything, let me know."

Walt called out from the back, "Any new word on the patients?"

Arlen yelled, "Nope, just slow orders for a crew fixing the telegraph. We should be in Saalfeld in fifteen or twenty minutes. Looks like the track's okay to there."

The track crew was relieved. They hadn't looked forward to working in the snow, if they could help it. As cold and blustery as it was, hands would freeze to rails or tools in minutes if they weren't careful. The news that they would reach the patients in Saalfeld quickly lifted everyone's spirits. As they passed Mile Post 2, Mike slowed down. The spray from the plow subsided and the Goose's waddle dissipated.. Everyone got a good look at where a tree had taken out the telegraph line as they drifted past. There was a bundled up figure with a lantern that waved the Goose through. As they passed, the three telegraph workers gave a muffled cheer that could be heard inside the Goose.

Arlen got up and walked back into the passenger area. "Walt, Frieda, we're about five minutes out. If there's anything you need to do before we arrive, now would be a good time to do it."

Frieda nodded, "Your guys did a great job and got everything set before we left Grantville. We just need our patients now." Arlen accepted the praise quietly and turned back for the cab. He gave Martin a pat on the back. "We'll have to let the shop crew know what a good job they did when we get back. You've really gotten them working together as a team." Martin smiled. In the guild, only a master might ever be thanked for a job well done.

The normal scene inside the foundry was like a vision from Dante's Inferno. Heat and smoke left everyone who wasn't acclimated gasping. The sparks and noise left visitors on edge.

The morning had started out quietly enough. It was Saturday and they were working a light shift. The railroad's experimental casting work was the only major job scheduled. Susan Swisher had hoped to get caught up on paperwork when the scream of the steam whistle alerted him to an emergency. As she bolted out of her office she could see the workers starting to gather in the casting area. There were three groups, each gathered around an injured worker. Thadeus Zakrewicz, the shift EMT, came jogging out of his office, emergency gear in hand and yelled "What's happened?"