April 2nd, 2015:
The time and location are set for the final showdown between Casey and Spencer, and the word spread like wildfire. A pushoff, 6:00 PM, Vicarstown Harbor. When he wasn't doing his usual work, Diesel was behaving like a gambling booth to see who would win.
"I'm betting thirty gallons of fuel on Spencer, care to meet the wager Paxton." He asked slyly.
"Um, I don't know Diesel, how are we going to pay the winner if we get our fuel for free?" Paxton asked confused.
"It's simple really, if I win I get to take thirty gallons from your tank, and vise versa if you win." Diesel explained. Paxton grinned.
"Oh, alright then, you're on. I have a lot of confidence in Casey." Diesel snickered to himself. He assumed that he was gonna have more fuel than he'll ever be able to drink by day's end. Meanwhile, Casey backed into the works to be checked over for if he needs maintenance before doing battle. Of course he didn't tell Victor what he was going to do, he figured the little tank engine would forbid him from leaving until he changed his mind and called it off. Casey couldn't let that happen, he had to deal with the haughty A4 once and for all. After his maintenance, he puffed out of the station, and went on to do his scheduled work. A heavy freight from Knapford to Kildane, a passenger car transfer to Welsworth, and then another heavy train to Ballahoo. After that he'll have enough time acquire coal and water to head to Vicarstown. Truth be told Casey was a little nervous, he knew he was a lot stronger than Spencer, but he also knew that Spencer is nearly twice his speed, he might win by a fast start before the Ks-1 could reach full power. His best option would be to apply the brakes and use his weight to his advantage, that would at least give him time to go into full throttle and push Spencer back.
But for now, he had to focus on his work, and that's what he did. The cars gave him no trouble to Kildane, neither did the coaches on the way to Welsworth. But the cars to Ballahoo were up to no good, they held back, adding unneeded weight and making the trip that much more difficult. He fought hard to keep them moving and he applied his brakes hard whenever he felt them push. He kind of hoped they would misbehave, at the works he got new brakes and he wanted to break them in and the cars were helping him do that. However he did have to move slower than usual, and this caused him to be over taken by Peter, Henry, and James who all gave their good lucks as they passed. Of course he was too focused on the cars to answer minus a short whistle blast. When he finally made it to Ballahoo, the cars have forced him to be a couple minutes late, this meant that he will have to rush his light engine travel back to the harbor. Unfortunately that would also mean that he would have to burn a lot of his freshly acquired coal and water, which can seriously hurt him in the end. The signal dropped and off he went, quick as a flash. Now what do Jerry and Brittney think of this? Well, Brittney was worried, Jerry on the other hand was supremely confident in his engine.
"You gotta have faith in your engine if you wanna drive him." He said.
"I know, but I can't help but feel like we're in over our heads this time." Brittney replied as she shoveled coal into the fire. "Remember, we are facing an A4."
"It may seem that way, but you gotta remember too, we're facing a British engine, and a very cocky one at that." Jerry replied.
It didn't take long for Casey to make up for lost time and allow for slower speeds to reserve fuel, but he did burn a good amount doing it. His nerves ran high as he got closer and closer to Vicarstown. Even more so when he finally got there with basically half of Sodor present to watch. Including every regular resident of the Vicarstown sheds, Tidmouth Shed, and a few other various engines. And then, on the track he shared, was Spencer, oozing with arrogance.
"Ah, Casey, right on time, I'm impressed for the moment." He said haughtily. Casey said nothing and let out a deep breath. Over to his right he could see Edward looking at him worriedly.
"You don't have to do this. You can still back out, for Spencer will never learn." he said quietly. Casey looked at him, then at Spencer, and then back to Edward.
"Unfortunately Edward, I do have to. I've done tried everything else." He told the old engine. Edward signed and moved into position, and once Casey did, Henry moved in twenty yards behind him while Bear moved in behind Spencer. The crowd cheered loudly until Edward called for silence.
"Alright gentlemen, here are the rules. You will push each other until one of you touches the buffers of the engine behind you. The engines behind will blow their horn or whistle once they are touched. To add to this, they are forbidden from moving one centimeter until the contest is over, if one breaks that rule, we will reset and start over. You may forfeit at any time if you wish by blowing your own whistle three times. Now are you ready?"
"As I'll ever be." Said Spencer.
"Ready." Casey answered. The two engines moved up until Spencer's buffers were up against Casey's pilot.
"Alright, keep it clean, and may the better engine win." Edward said.
"Of course I will dear Edward, I'm the greatest class in the world." Spencer replied rudely. Edward rolled his eyes.
"When I blow my whistle, the contest shall begin. Ready?
one...
two...
three!" With a blast from Edward's whistle, Casey applied his brakes as Spencer spun his wheels fiercely. The fast start forced Casey back half way to Henry until the brakes stopped him. Jerry slowly opened up the throttle to keep the Southern engine from slipping on the rails and allow for maximum grip. It was working, but as soon as Casey's brakes were released, Spencer managed to push him back slowly and steadily. Out of all the engines that were present, the only voice he could hear, was Sarah's.
"Come on Stewart, I know you can do it." She said. Casey pushed harder after this, even more so as he could sense how close he was getting to Henry. Edward puffed along side, keeping a close eye on the buffer beams as they drew within six inches of each other. At that point, Spencer started boasting, but Casey didn't understand a word he said and pushed harder until he finally managed to bring the two to a stand still. Now Spencer was pushing with all his might, but he could not move Casey and further. He shouted as he felt himself be pushed backwards.
"What? No! It can't be!"
But it was, and while Spencer apparently weighed 230,600 pounds without his tender versus 214,000 pounds for Casey without his. The A4's tractive effort was only 35,455 lbf whereas the Southern Railway Ks-1 class had a tractive effort of 46,700 lbf. Casey's wheels spun greatly against the rails, sparks flew, and Spencer was pushed back very slowly until finally they reached the midway point. At that moment Spencer felt something inside him get very hot. It was his third cylinder, and it got hotter and hotter until...bang the bearing on his third cylinder melted and blew out and Casey shoved him back with ease, accidentally slamming him into Bear, who groaned in minor soreness as he tooted his horn. Casey stopped, panting and red faced, He could see Spencer groaning in agonizing pain of his own. Without thinking about the fact that he won, he began to pull Spencer back to move him into the works. Henry gasped and quickly moved onto another track as he saw the big consolidation surge past him, with Spencer in tow, and it didn't take long For Casey to find the Vicarstown works. While it's not the place it used to be, having been replaced by the Sodor Steamworks as the main works place on the island for steam engines, it is still perfectly capable of handling Spencer's little problem. The inspectors checked all over Spencer as the Duke and Duchess who owned Spencer arrived with Sir Topham Hat. They were annoyed, but not with Casey, they had been informed of all the trouble Spencer has caused beforehand. But they were also worried for Spencer, a blown cylinder bearing is not an easy fix, but they were relieved to find that was the only thing that went wrong with Spencer. As for whether Casey truly won or not, the inspectors all agreed that Spencer was pushed past his breaking point, and he would have lost anyway if he wasn't.
"How are you feeling?" Asked the duke.
"Dreadful, and it's not just the pain in my bearing. I lost." Spencer groaned.
"Ya put up a good fight." Casey spoke up, and he inched closer to Spencer so that he could talk to the A4 properly. "I honestly thought I was gonna lose for a while."
"Are you here just to gloat? Go ahead, I deserve it."
"Nah, I ain't gonna do that. You've got enough pain to deal with." Casey's joke brought a small chuckle from Spencer.
"Well, I did ask for it. Congratulations Casey, you win, and I'm sorry I was such a bastard to you."
"Thanks Spencer, get well soon, and I do hope he can be more civil with each other in the future." And with that, Casey backed out of the works, to find lots of cheers and whistles from the other engines. All around him he could hear his name and many voices, but one stood out from the rest.
"Casey, you make me proud to be your wife." It was Sarah, who moved up beside him and nudged him lovingly.
"Aw shucks." Casey blushed. "I just did what any other engine should. Stand up for yourself, and help others in need."
"Yep, now come on, I haven't had a decent moment alone with you for two years." And she raced ahead, with Casey right behind her. Where were they headed? Nobody knew, but they all had an idea of what they were doing. Valve popping in a private location where they could be truly alone, and together again. What does the future hold? Well, we're not sure, but it is going to be a fun ride.
Epilogue:
Cadence, the BR Class 03 diesel shunter looked from one side to another as she scurried along the line one night. Eventually she came to a junction with a well hidden line that led into the woods. The line was very much overgrown with weeds, which made her slip a little as she ran over them. She went on for another ten minutes until her lamp began to reflect off of something. It was a metal door to a very large shed, large enough to hold a single Big Boy. Her driver quietly stepped down from her cab and unlocked a lock, that looked brand new against the rusty chains that held the door closed. Afterwards he walked back and picked up a huge bucket of lubrication and carried it inside.
"Oh, it's only you. Ya scared me Cadence." Came a timid female voice from inside.
"You should be used to this by now." Cadence replied bluntly.
"I know, I can't help it."
"Well, you might not have to sit in that shed for much longer, there's a bunch of American engines here now, including a few 4-8-4s like you."
"Any engines from the South?"
"Three, two Southern engines, and one from Texas."
"Southern? What were they?"
"One consolidation number 645 and one mikado number 4501."
"That's Casey and Sarah, well I'll be a monkey's aunt, so out of all the Southern engines, they survived." The voice laughed.
"You know them?" Cadence asked.
"Vaguely. I just wish my siblings were here to see this place." The voice was now somber.
"I'm sorry, but keep your chin up. Soon you'll be gracing the rails again."
"...I hope so."
Thank you for reading, it's been fun. Now stay tuned for "Saved by the Stearns." Where it will be Sarah's turn to tell stories. T.T.F.N. Ta Ta For Now (laughs like Tigger)