John Gilbert > Great Locomotive Caper 3

The Great Locomotive Caper by John Gilbert
Chapter 3

Hey, where are you going?" shouted Ralph as Sam walked past his house.

"That's a stupid question," Sam called back.

"Wait up and I'll go with you," said Ralph as he cascaded down his front steps.

"Why are you walking?"

"I've got a lot on my mind," Sam replied. "Anyway I've got to save my gas. I'm a little short on cash this week and besides, it's only four blocks to the park."

"Had any luck with the train yet?" Ralph asked.

"Nope. Dad seems to be the only one even remotely interested."

“Hey, how 'bout me?” Ralph protested.

"Since when?" Sam asked.

"I like that old train too. It's just that I like basketball better. You're problem is that if someone doesn’t feel the same way about one of your hobbies, then they’re not interested. How would you feel if someone was going to tear down the old fire house my great-grandfather helped to build?"

"Well, I probably wouldn't like it," Sam replied.

"Would you try to move Heaven and Earth to try and save it?" asked Ralph.

"Probably not. But I still wouldn't want to see it torn down."

"That's my point. I would be the one upset but that doesn’t mean that you wouldn't care."

"I see what you mean," replied Sam. "Gee, that makes me feel better."

"That's what friends are for. To make you feel better, you big jerk," grinned Ralph as he punched Sam in the arm.
Just then they rounded a corner and the park came into view. They paused for a moment and gazed across to the picnic area. Behind a row of tables stood an open shelter that housed locomotive #468, its tender, and a faded red caboose. A car passed and the two proceeded across the street and in a moment were standing at the footplate of the locomotive.

"Let's climb aboard," said Sam as he grabbed the handrail.
Ralph followed suit as Sam made his way to his favorite place in the cab; the engineers seat.

"Wouldn't it be great to see this thing working again?" Sam asked as he pulled on the throttle lever.

"Yeah, that would be neat," replied Ralph as he turned a steam valve.

"Look at what great shape it's in. I'm sure it wouldn't take much to put her back in running condition. She was overhauled two months before she was taken out of service and she's been under this shelter ever since. In fact she was brought here under her own steam. Barney Albright told me that he was at the throttle when he parked her at this very spot. He said that there used to be an ice house here and this was its siding."

"Have you thought about talking to Barney?" asked Ralph. "I'll bet he wouldn't want to see this rolling tea kettle scrapped either."

"Say, that's a good idea. I wonder if he's home," said Sam.

"He's always home and he's always in his garden my mom says. She and Mrs. Albright always work together on the church bazaars and she says that he's been trying to raise the perfect tomato. The only problem is that he lives across town and you don't have enough gas."

"I have enough gas if it means saving this old train!" exclaimed Sam jumping from his seat. "Let's go!"
Sam and Ralph left the engine to the roosting sparrows and headed home for Sam's jeep.

Barney Albright had worked as a mechanic for the East Coast & Short line Railroad in his younger years and had to retire 20 years ago on account of a bad back. Sam loved to hear Barney reminisce about the good old days and how it was to work around the shops and roundhouses. At almost 70 years old he could still spin a good yarn. Sam liked the tale of how someone once drove a locomotive off the end of track in the rail yard. While the crew was trying to figure out how to get the locomotive back onto the track, Barney climbed the cab, threw the engine into reverse, and drove the locomotive back onto the rails.
Before long the two had arrived at Barney's house and explained the problem.

"Going to cut up 468! With a blowtorch! Sell her for scrap iron!" exclaimed Barney. "Over my dead body!"

"Now calm down dear," insisted Mrs. Albright as she brought a plate of milk and cookies into the livingroom. "Here boys, I baked these this afternoon."

"Yum. These are great!" mumbled Ralph with his mouth full.

"Calm down! Who can calm down at a time like this? This sounds like something Pugmyre would do. I tried to tell people not to vote for him. When did he say 468 is going to be scrapped?"

"Well, he didn't say it was definitely going to be scrapped," Sam answered.

"My dad heard the mayor talking to some real estate guys about it," said Ralph the instant before shoving a third cookie into his mouth.

"Real estate guys! Pugmyre is in real estate. If I were a betting man I'd bet my last dollar that he's going to make a good deal of money out of this. Pugmyre doesn't do anything unless he can turn a profit."

"What can we do?" asked Sam.

"I've got an idea!" exclaimed Ralph after gulping a swallow of milk. "Why don't the two of you go to the mayor and offer to raise the money and buy the locomotive from the city. If he agrees we can start a fund raising campaign."

"Well, that's a good idea," commented Sam, "But from the interest I've already seen, it wouldn't appear too promising. I guess we could give it a try but if that doesn’t work then what do we do?"

"We could always steal it and put it in my basement," chuckled Barney. "Know anyone that has a pickup truck that will haul a 100 ton locomotive?"

"I'll carry it on my bike," Ralph joked.

"We're going to have to get a truck to haul you if you eat anymore cookies," snapped Sam. "You're making a pig out of yourself!"

"It's alright," said Mrs. Albright. "I know that Ralph has a healthy appetite."

"I wonder what it would take to get her running," pondered Barney as he sat back in his rocker, his eyes fixed on the ceiling.

"What are you talking about?" asked Sam.

"She's sat under her shed for almost 40 years. We kept her oiled and greased because there was a possibility she might be used during the war. For the next ten years the railroad kept her maintained just in case she might be needed to haul timber off of Oak Mountain. After I retired I would check her out each fall to make sure water hadn't collected in any of her lines so they wouldn't freeze in the winter. My only concern would be her boiler."

"How would you check that out?" asked Sam.

"It's called a static test. You fill the boiler with water then charge it with compressed air. Then you look for leaks."

"We could do that," said Sam. "My dad has a portable air compressor and there's a fire hydrant not 50 feet from the engine."

"Couldn't we just charge the boiler with air?" Sam asked.

"I suppose we could but it would take all day with a small compressor," replied Barney.

"Let’s do it!" exclaimed Sam. "Tomorrow's Saturday. Come on Barney, what do you say?"

"Well, I don't see why we couldn't," said Barney.

"YES!" Sam shouted.

"Couldn't we get in trouble?" asked Ralph.

"If anyone asks I could always tell them I'm getting it ready for winter, even though it's spring. Yes, let's do it. You boys meet me at the park at 9:00 in the morning. Sam, I'll get Billy Granger to bring his truck mount compressor over to the park. We would burn out your dad's compressor trying to charge that boiler.

"All right!” Sam shouted. “We'll see you in the morning.”

Now read Chapter 4 of "The Great Locomotive Caper"

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