Rescue | Teen Ink

Rescue

May 24, 2023
By TheAmazingLivesofTrains BRONZE, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
TheAmazingLivesofTrains BRONZE, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

Favorite Quote:
A bump in the tracks doesn't derail your train.-Me


It was a busy day for Norfolk N! Lots of trains, lots of traffic, but not a lot of locomotives. Only 2 were at the yard of Chicago where a manifest was waiting. Since everyone else was busy or in another yard so 3600 and 3647 had to work alone. They coupled up and once given the right away they started. Their wheels slipped and sparked due to low drive power but they didn’t give up and eventually they got moving. Along the journey they picked up more speed. Then they met a downhill grade and up along was a..“SHARP BEND!” 3600 shouted. They slammed their brakes onto Emergency but they were going too fast to stop in time.

They stayed on the tracks for a little bit until 3600’s front axle jumped off the tracks then everything else came with them. The derailment banged up their axles, cowcatchers, knocked off their brakes, and scraped them. But luckily they derailed in a silent area. 3600 and 3647 were in a daze. They sat there waiting for help what felt like days but in reality was only 2 hours. Then help arrived. The freight was uncoupled as 25 was still on the rails and only 5 came off the rails with 3600 and 3674. The freight was put back on the rails first and the derailed cars were sent away for repairment and a spare locomotive took the other 25.  Then it was time for the brakeless engines. They were gentle with the 2 as any harsh movement could severely damage the 2. They were gently dropped onto some flatbeds then shipped away to the works. The 2 still were dizzy but were conscious enough to understand the current situation. The 2 fell asleep then woke up in an industrial building where they found themselves floating in the air. Then they heard men's voices. “Tighten the brakes.” One said. “Alright now release them.” The brakes whooshed. “Alright. Lower him.” 3600 fell and felt the thud of the tracks. 3600 and 3647 were taken to the turntable. “You 2 get some rest.” 3600 wanted to ask who was speaking to him but all he could do was close his eyes back and fall asleep. “Excuse me sir.” 3647 said. 3600 knew 3647’s voice but it was muffled. He opened his eyes again just to find that his vision was still blurry. “Is 3600 gonna be ok?” 3647 asked the man. “He’s fine. He just slammed into the tree really hard. He should be back to himself by tomorrow.” The man answered. “Thank you. What’s your name?” 3647 asked. “Daniel Larris. But you can call me Danny.” Daniel answered. “Thank you. I’ll be sure to explain that to him in the morning.” 3647 said. “No problem. Have a good night now.” Daniel finished. Later came morning. “What happened? I was just pulling a train.” 3600 asked. “We got into an accident. You slammed into a tree which caught our derailment. It messed up our axles, brakes, and cowcatchers. A man named Daniel fixed us up.” 3647 explained. “That’s what the voice was?” 3600 asked. “Yep. It was Daniel. But I think you should take today off before taking on mainline service. You might pass out while in operation.” 3647 explained. “I guess. Thank you for looking after me.” 3600 said. “No problem.” 3647 replied. So the 2 stayed at the turntable as 3600 recovered and the following day 3600 was as good as new.


The author's comments:

Rescue is a Norfolk Northern story about the tragedy of 3600 and 3647 and their mixed manifest. Once they were freed from the Chicago Yard the downhill tracks doesn't treat them very well.


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