The Cronk and Harwick: Life of the Valley-The Second World War
On September 3, 1939, War was officially declared between Britian and Germany. Germany's u-boats prowled the Atlantic ocean, sinking ship after ship. Sodor ports were quickly filled to capacity as ships from the Americas raced for safety. From the ports, Long North Western trains raced towards the mainland day and night. The London Midland and Scotland had given up its plan to starve the North Western of coal several years prior, but they struggled to ramp up delieveries of coal to the railway in the face of the wars never ending demands. The weight of the North Western once again fell on the Ooyre Valley's shoulders. Trains ran day and night, Leeks and Manifolds massive headlamps blazing a path through the dark, whistles sounding as they charged the hills.
British warships patrolled the coast line, daring any submarine to try and sever the flow of coal. On the shore anti-aircraft embankments were built en masse, to defend the skies.
Seemingly overnight the railway went from having a surplus of power, to struggling to meet demand. They needed every engine running, and that included Sapphire. They couldn't afford the time it would take to overhaul her themselves. The board of the Harwick Shipping Company were desperately searching for more ships to haul coal and slate, so on October 13th, 1939, the Cronk and Harwick Railway directly met with the North Western Railway for the first time. Sir Topham Derek Hatt immediately phoned the admiralty upon hearing their request. That night as the clock struck midnight, Sapphire was loaded onto the deck of the light cruiser D52 HMS Enterprise, bound for Tidmouth Harbor. Sapphire was raced across the Island in the dark on an express freight hauled by the NWR's No.4, the fastest engine on the Island. Crovan's Gate was already developing a reputation as one of the best, and they did not disappoint. On January 3rd, 1940 Sapphire was lowered back onto C&H metals, but she wasnt alone, she brought two new engines with her.
In early 1906, the Mid-Sodor railway finally found an engine that could take the place of their fallen No.3. Originally named Beddgelert, the engine had been built by Hunslet Engine Co. in 1878 for the Bryngwyn Branch of North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways. A powerful 0-6-4 saddle tank, she had served the line for nearly thirty years, but by 1906 the poor engine was clapped out. The NWNGR was surprised to get an offer from the Mid-Sodor to buy the engine, and sold Beddgelert for less than scrap. The Mid-Sodor repaired her as best they could and put her into service as No.5 Hawk. The makeshift repairs had only ever been temporary, and she was once again on her last legs by 1915. It seemed she was once again destined for scrap, but she would once again be saved by a surprise offer. The North Western Railway needed a narrow gauge engine for their newly built Crovan's Gates Works. The Mid-Sodor happily sold her, believing the North Western were fools for buying the worn-out Hawk.
Two months later, the newly restored Beddgelert had the Mid-Sodor board seething with envy. For the first time in years, Beddgelert was at her full strength. She originally enjoyed her work at Crovan's Gate, but slowly as the years went by she began to struggle with being restricted to the works, missing the ability to make longer runs. By 1939 she was desperate for a change of pace, but the North Western had no other narrow gauge track for her to work.
When Beddgelert shunted Sapphire into position at the works she found two other narrow gauge engines undergoing overhaul. One was a Baldwin 4-6-0, with a strange cab and funnel, the other was an England class 0-4-0. The England introduced himself as Mid-Sodor No.1, Duke. Sapphire recognized him as the No.1 from Jennings' stories, and told him of Jennings restoration and rebuild. Duke was delighted, but throughout it all the baldwinn remained silent. Quietly starring down at her buffers.
"That was our number eight until a few weeks ago," Duke explained quietly. "She was sold to pay for my rebuild. I'm afraid her story is no kinder than Jennings'."
No.8 had no name, she had been built in 1917 by Baldwin Locomotive Works in America for use in the war. After the war she had been sold to a small railway in Wales in 1921 to handle their freight service. She had been the odd one out, there, but the railways three engines had always treated her as one of their own. Unfortunately by the 1935 the line was in dire straits, and she had been sold to the Mid-Sodor to keep the lines head above water. In the years to come she would wonder if scrap would have been kinder.
The Mid-Sodor was in bad shape, over-expansion in the twenties had left the railway vulnerable during the depression, forcing the closure of many of the railway's branchlines. The line may have been able to weather the storm and reopen the lines, had it not been for the North Western Railway's Peel Godred branch.
Since its opening in 1875, the Mid-Sodor had been the only rail connection Peel Godred had to the outside world. Freight and passengers rode the railway for years, but that changed with the construction of the Peel Godred Hydro-electric Dam. The Mid-Sodor had initially been approached to carry the equipment needed for the Dam. While the loading gauge would have to be increased, it was a feasible project, and would be cheaper than bringing the equipment in any other way. The Mid-Sodor's management knew this, and asked a hefty sum for the service, believing the Project had no other choice. They were wrong. The high asking price had led to the Project's board to approach the North Western Railway. The North Western offered to build a new standard gauge branch North from Cronk at cost, powered by the very electricity the Dams would produce.
The Peel Godred city council voted unanimously to sponsor the branch's construction in order to break the Mid-Sodor's monopoly.
The new branch decimated the Mid-Sodor's traffic, as the standard gauge trains could carry more freight and passengers with greater speed and comfort. The Mid-Sodor's former customers fled to the North Western, and by 1935 all but three of the line's engines had been sold off to keep the line above water, leaving the line short on motive power. It was in this state that the line bought No.8 to cover the work of the former engines.
No.8 was disliked by the management even before her arrival, as one of her siblings had served as the lines No.2 following the war, and had rode poorly due to being improperly regauged. The No.2 had quickly become known for derailing, and management had eventually forced him to take Jennings's old place as generator at the sheds, stripping him to the frames. Despite the former No.2 being sold to the Cas-ny-Hawin Mines the year before her arrival, No.8 inherited the disdain for her sibling the moment she arrived. She was quickly put to work, carrying out the duties of three of the former engines. She was overworked and neglected. Washdowns were rare to say nothing of maintenance. The three other engines helped where they could, but had their own loads to carry. She tried to impress them, to prove herself. If anything these attempts deepened their disdain for her. Slowly her attempts to talk to the crews slowly then stopped. By 1938, even the other engines could not rouse a word from the no.8, much to the management's satisfaction.
The arrival of the war changed everything, the railway was suddenly needed once more, as lead flowed from the mines. Pearl was worked harder than ever, and the neglect finally took its toll. Hauling a full load of slate down one of the lines grades, her motion gave out. She rolled down the track, gaining speed as her shattered motion tore itself apart. Her crew having jumped clear the moment she failed.
Down the line No.3 Falcon was in a passing siding with a load of empty trucks waiting for her to pass when he was warned of the runaway. Rather than stay in the siding as ordered, he left his trucks there and stormed up the line, as the runaway approached he reversed quickly and caught the train on his buffers. Braking hard he brought the train under control, but the damage had already been done. When she was gently pushed into the sheds that night by Falcon, the engines already knew she wouldn't be repaired. Her motion was completely obliterated, and much of her undercarriage had been damaged as the motion tore itself apart. The next morning the manager announced she was being sold to Crovan's Gate to pay for No.1's overhaul, remarking that the works probably needed all the scrap they could find.
No.8 was loaded onto a flatbed alongside No.1 and shipped to the NWR without a second thought from the management, leaving No.3 and No.4 to run the trains.
Sapphire was appalled at No.8's story, and resolved at once take the poor engine with her when she returned to the Cronk and Harwick. Duke immediately backed her plan, determined to see the engine he had failed so badly finally have a home.
Together the two convinced the C&H board to attempt to buy the No.8 from the North Western.
When the board approached the NWR, they were surprised to learn the North Western had purchased No.8 with the intention of restoring her to help the Cronk and Harwick deal with the wartime traffic. It was more important for the North Western to have a steady supply of coal than to directly regain their investment in number 8. Her overhaul and repairs would be finished alongside Sapphire's.
However, the North Western did have another engine they were willing to negotiate the sale of. Bedgellert's depression had not gone unnoticed by the Crovan's Gates crews, and it was hoped she would be happier working in the Cronk and Harwick. The North Western's asking price was more than fair, and on New Year's Day 1940 three locomotives left Crovan's gate on a westward freight, bound for the Cronk and Harwick.
Sapphire and the new engines were quickly put to work. Sapphire reclaimed the passenger services, freeing Glynn to assist Manifold and Peregrine with the coal work, allowing trains to run around the clock while still giving the engines time to rest.
Beddgelert became the lines No.13, and their dedicated banker. She relished the challenge and could often be found grinning as she charged the hills. Despite the crews best efforts, there was almost always a layer of dirt and grime covering her, much to her satisfaction.
The former Mid-Sodor No.8 joined Jennings in handling the supply trains and farm work, becoming the lines No. 14 .When Jennings had arrived to collect Sapphire and the new engines from the dock, Jennings had taken one look at the silent Baldwin and all but adopted her fellow Mid-Sodor survivor on the spot, naming the quiet engine Pearl. When they had arrived at the sheds a commotion had erupted as the the Beyer-Peacock trams had swarmed the Baldwin, their happy whistles and shouts echoing down the valley. Once the three had been calmed down enough to explain, it was revealed that the newly named Pearl had been the fourth engine on their line, sold the year before they were in an attempt to keep the line going.
Pearl remained mute throughout this unexpected reunion, but a soft, hesitant smile spread on her face for the first time in months. She quickly proved herself a hard worker, and while unwilling to speak, she was always willing to listen. The longer she worked with Jennings, the more she opened up to the other engines, who quickly grew protective of their newest fleetmate.
The War raged on through 1940, then 1941, 1942, and on. The heavy workload wore on the engines, but the railway pressed on. There would never be an attack on the valley during the war, although whether this was due to the lack of intelligence on the valley or the heavy defenses is unknown. There was an attempt on the Harwick Shipping Company's R.M.S. Megantic, serving as
The troopship HMT Megantic in early 1942 off the Tidmouth coast. A torpedo from the u-boat U-112 missed, narrowly as the Megantic swerved to Starboard. Before U-112 could attempt to either dive deeper or launch another salvo, a shot rang out over the water and a 6 inch shell tore through the u-boats bow. The U-112's crew had dismissed the Sodor Star line's RMS Mauretania, serving as Troop Ship HMT Mauretania exiting Tidmouth Harbor, believing themselves to be far out of range of the 6 inch gun mounted on her bow. This would prove to be a fatal mistake for U-112, with her bow pierced she was forced to fully surface, and there was no way she could escape the 2 inch guns of the Megantic, which were swing around to face the stricken u-boat, much less the Mauretania or shore emplacements. U-112 was left with no choice, but to surrender.
The war traffic seemed endless as the conflict dragged on, but finally on the 8th of May, 1945, Sapphire charged up the valley once again, shattering the quiet morning with her whistle. Germany has surrendered, and the war in Europe had ended.
A/N: Hello Loves! Yes the Cronk and Harwick is not abandoned, even if updates will be slow, Love Y'all!
