August 28th, 1960

  It’s no surprise that Roger is quite popular, famous to be exact, ever since his railway has been preserved. The increase in the old Porter's popularity has skyrocketed. Folks in the past would admire the railway, and now every state is talking about America’s first preserved railway. Labor Day is another part of history, as it marks 10 years since the Preservation Society was formed. This Labor Day weekend will be a special day for the engines.

  “I’m excited for this Labor Day,” Roger smiled happily at the end of the operation day.

  Elizabeth looked confused.

  “Why does big bro look so happy?” She asks Clair, “I mean, he deserves it, whatever it is.”

  “It’s the Roger Railway Preservation Society's 10th anniversary next week,” Clair told the Garratt locomotive, “The Society was formed in late August of 1950.”

  The Garratt locomotive was amazed.

  “Wow, that long,” Elizabeth said in awe.

  “I thought Ben told you about the history of the Society?” Robert asks, “He told Clair and me.”

  “He must’ve forgotten,” Clair guessed.

  “He must have,” Elizabeth told the young saddletank, “He only told me when we first met that I’m perfect for the heritage railway, and that’s it.”

  Just then, Mr. Hutton came to the yard.

  “I’m pleased with today’s run,” He smiled at the engines, “And the look on Roger’s face seems like he knows what’s happening next week.”

  “Yep,” He grinned.

  Which made Mr. Hutton sigh.

  “It has been 10 years,” Ben said, as he looked fondly at his engines, “I remember forming the Society, and people thought I was ridiculous, but look at it now.”

  “I remember the newspaper headline,” Clair smiled, “It reads, ‘Small Railway in Pennsylvania preserved by enthusiasts’, and now being a part of it, I thank the Society.”

  “They raise funds to have me built!” Robert cheered happily, “I remember that day.”

  “And they also treated me so well when I came here,” Elizabeth smiled.

  “The Preservation Society has done so much for us,” Clair agreed.

  “What’s the plan on Labor Day?” Roger asks Mr. Hutton.

  “Nothing too special,” He told the old Porter, “But the Preservation Society and I are planning a special passenger train for you, old friend.”

  Roger was curious.

  “What kind of passenger train?” He asks.

  “It’s something I’ve been thinking about since Elizabeth arrived,” Ben told Roger, “And it’s a passenger train for the folks that are willing to pay a high price.”

  “High price?” Roger asks.

  “Well, the normal tickets cost 2 dollars for the last 9 years, so adding 3 extra dollars for these special passenger trains,” Mr. Hutton told Roger, “I call it the ‘Roger Heritage Special’, dedicated to you, Roger.”

  Roger looked at his owner.

  “What’s this special train about?” He asks.

  “It’s where, on selected days, a passenger service is only operated by you, and only you, it’s a dedication after 80 years of service,” Mr. Hutton told Roger happily, “Only for a half day, like morning or after till night service.

  “Wow,” the old Porter was surprised, “I’m honored, will this be permanent? Or I can still haul regular passenger trains.”

  “I’m planning to make this permanent,” Mr. Hutton told Roger, “But it depends on our current fleet. So far, Robert, Elizabeth, and sometimes Clair would operate the regular season trains, and you would operate your train on selected days every month.”

  “Are you thinking of getting another steam locomotive?” Robert asks.

  Mr. Hutton thought for a few minutes.

  “Let’s wait 3 years first,” Mr. Hutton suggested, “We have 3 steam locomotives, we’re good for now, but if the passenger service increases by those three years or earlier, we may need another engine, especially if one of us is in an overhaul.”

  “Especially since the summer season is usually the highest for our passenger numbers,” Roger told the others, “I can feel it, it’s a heavy train.”

  “Having this special service can let Roger rest a bit,” Mr. Hutton told the others, “The four coaches we have are priceless, part of our history.”

  “I do notice passengers wanting to ride on Roger,” Robert commented, “Some even waited at the station until it’s Roger’s turn to pull the train, mostly young kids and teenagers, but some were adults as well.”

  Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

  “And that’s another reason why,” Mr. Hutton pointed out, “I have to put on my dad stare so the younger passengers don’t crowd around the station. So far, it works, but a few teenagers flip the bird at me, the special can help for the younger folks to enjoy a nice passenger excursion without problems with the regular season passengers.”

  “So this Labor Day event will start with this special service?” Roger asks, to which Mr. Hutton nods.

  “Hopefully, with the summer almost over, we could try it out,” Mr. Hutton smiled, “And it’ll be a special train that’ll be operated throughout the year.”

  Roger liked the thought of operating a special passenger train in his railway heritage.

  “Count me in,” He smiled.

  September 5th, 1960

  The Labor Day weekend was successful for the Roger Railway, as usual, trains were sold out, but despite the theme of the 10th anniversary weekend, Elizabeth got the biggest spotlight. Being a Garratt locomotive in America was weird and odd to the new passenger who had never ridden on the line before. Tickets to ride on the regular train hauled by Elizabeth were sold out. Roger didn’t mind; he felt like Elizabeth deserved it, since she was a new engine on the railway. The old Porter was in steam and operated throughout the yard, but no passenger trains on that day.

  Monday came, the last day, it’s usually the biggest day in terms of turnout, no schools or work means that everyone could visit the railway before the end of summer, Roger was in steam at the station with his coaches, he was excited since this would be the day he would operate the Roger Heritage Special, but didn’t on Saturday and Sunday, but today’s the chance for this.

  “I didn’t get a chance to operate a passenger train Saturday and Sunday,” Roger said as he waited for passengers, “So this is a great day.”

  “It is,” Mary agreed.

  “But why would Mr. Hutton tell us we weren’t operating on those days?” Taylor asks, “I was most in shock from what he told us.”

  “I’m thinking today is the day of the Roger Heritage Special,” Roger guessed, “He did tell me he’s going to unveil it during the Labor Day event.”

  “If that’s the case, then expect many passengers,” Mary told her sisters, “Seats are going to be filled.”

  “What’s his Roger Heritage Special?” Anabel asks.

  Roger told the sisters what this special train is, and they were quite happy.

  “My oh my, aren’t we the fancy type?” Mary smiled at what the train was.

  “It’ll be nice to operate without the problems of the regular passenger service,” Taylor sighed happily.

  “It’s going to be a big change, but we’ll still have to operate within the regular service days,” Roger told the coaches, “But it’ll be like a special time, like in the morning, afternoon, and night, no other passenger trains, only us.”

  “Though, wouldn’t this upset the regular folks?” Charlotte asks.

  “That’s why I think Mr. Hutton put selected dates on this, so this wouldn’t be an everyday thing and messed up regular passenger services,” Roger told the coach, “We’ve been spoiled by Mr. Hutton, first visiting the Hutton Steam Company, operating and returning to mainline excursions, now this, it’s like a gift from Santa.”

  “What happens if this becomes an everyday thing?” Anabel asks.

  “Then it becomes an everyday thing,” Roger told the coach, “Whenever something gets popular, and the result can be one a day turns into an everyday, that’s how life goes, but I’m sure Mr. Hutton will work with that whenever this special train does get extremely popular.”

  “I guess that this is a sign that time is changing,” Mary noted.

  “It is,” Roger smiled, “And a new era, hopefully this decade would be better than the last one.”

  Mr. Hutton came to the station with a paper in his hand, meaning a speech was about to be performed.

  “I’m guessing today is the day that the Roger Heritage Special is going to be inaugurated?” Roger asks Mr. Hutton.

  “Yep,” Mr. Hutton smiled, “I apologized for not telling you on Saturday, but knowing there were a lot of people, I think it’s best to keep it quiet until Monday.”

  “It’s okay,” Roger assured Ben, “I’m guessing you have a speech for the inaugural train?”

  “Yep,” Mr. Hutton smiled, “Wrote it an hour ago, hopefully it sounds good, wish me luck.”

  Mr. Hutton cleared his throat, to which the passengers were all looking at the man; despite doing this several times, he was still nervous.

  “To end this Labor Day Weekend event,” He announced, “The Preservation Society and I decided to have a special day with Roger, and a special time to enjoy the history of the railway and the Preservation Society, after 10 years of forming the Preservation Society. I bring you the ‘Roger Heritage Special’, it’s going to be operated on selected days, mostly on the weekends, but some on weekdays, and it’s where we have a whole day, full morning, or a full afternoon till night to operate only Roger, and only Roger, with his coaches, for a true experience of the past before preservation.”

  There were a lot of folks who had excited looks on their faces.

  “The train will cost 5 dollars,” He told the crowd, “3 dollars more than the regular train, but the added benefit is that the money will go towards the Preservation Society for improvements and doing individual events with the Roger Heritage Special.”

  To be fair, it was almost like selling a product, but knowing the passengers are willing to pay the extra 3 dollars, and being fans of the old Porter, this was a chance to take. The passengers were quite excited to ride a train where the Roger Railway history is the theme of the train, and knowing that individual events were going to coincide with the Roger Heritage Special, this would bring many passengers.

  “To be fair,” Roger whispered to Ben, “You sound like a salesman going door to door.”

  “It’s a risky one,” Mr. Hutton rubbed his arm, “Despite being good-natured and with a preservation society, you still have to sell a service, and this is part of it.”

  After the passengers got onto the train, the inside of the four sisters was given a nice clean, and some added touches, like picture frames of the Roger Railway in the past; luckily, some were from the older volunteers who donated their negatives, and it was all nice and presented. Roger blew his whistle and left the station slowly, as some of the passengers were chasing the train on foot; it was an amusing sight to behold.

  The countless times that Roger has operated this stretch of track many times were too many to count; the old Porter was moving at his usual pace, but with the day just for him, he made an impression on the folks alongside the tracks. It was a trip back in time, with the addition of Anabel in the fleet, this was like the train of yesterday, and with the passengers being part of it, this was a great time for Roger.

  “It’s nice to go on a nicely paced excursion,” Mary sighed happily, “No timetables, no waiting for Robert or Clair, none of that.”

  “Indeed, sis,” Charlotte agreed, “Very nice and smooth ride.”

  “What kind of events will be part of this special?” Taylor asks.

  “I’m guessing chartered trains, and probably special events that coincide with other events,” Roger told the coach, “I know that Mr. Hutton and Lizzy told me that they wanted to add a wine tasting event since they visited one in Westminster.”

  “Mainline excursions?” Anabel guessed.

  “Could be,” Roger said as they passed the small bridge, “With the upcoming mainline excursion in November, which, remember, last year, our Southern Railway excursion was titled, ‘Roger Heritage Special’, coincidence?”

  “I’m surprised that you didn’t tell that to Mr. Hutton,” Mary asks the old Porter.

  “I suspected he knew that name was from the mainline excursion last year, and used it as a way to purely have us and only us,” He told Mary, “Since we’re the only rolling stock from that period of time, with no additional engines until the Preservation Society was formed, we represent a time period, in addition to Anabel.”

  “Do you think the others are going to be jealous?” Taylor asks.

  “I highly doubt it,” Roger told Taylor, “Especially since my presence does bring extra passengers, and people willing to wait till it’s my turn to operate. I think Robert, Clair, and Elizabeth won’t mind; besides, an extra rest isn’t a bad thing for engines like us.”

  “And today we have a full-seated passenger train,” Mary said gleefully, “I’m excited for this new change, though Betty would be sad if she weren’t part of this.”

  “From a relationship standpoint, yes,” Roger told Mary, “But from a historic standpoint, it would be weird for a locomotive from Tennessee pulling a passenger train from a railway in Pennsylvania; the railfans wouldn’t be happy.”

  “Who cares about the railfans and what they said?” Taylor exclaimed quietly.

  “The same railfans that are paying for our service,” Mary told her sister, calming her down, “While the regular folks probably don’t care, but it wouldn’t make sense at the end of the day, it’s like asking why there’s Cinderella in a Snow White movie.”

  The old Porter saw a group of railfans taking photos, passing them.

  “I understand the feelings,” Roger told his coaches, “But also, Mary has a point. I think Betty would understand. I’ll tell her when I visit the Hutton Steam Company.”

  “Or maybe, you can ask Mr. Hutton to write her a letter,” Mary suggested.

  “That’s not a bad idea,” Roger agreed with Mary, “Can you, Ben?”

  Mr. Hutton popped his head out of the cab.

  “Yes,” Mr. Hutton smiled, “Just ask me when.”

  Roger arrived at the station. The station looks the same, but with some improvements over the years, the passengers got off and went to the cafe, a popular spot for passengers to grab a bite to eat and relax before the train leaves. Mr. Hutton and Lizzy got out of the train to walk around, to stretch their legs; it’s common for any crew since they’re standing in motion all day, only moving to add coal to the fire.

  “Today was a success,” Roger said as he looked at the passengers, “The passengers look pleased with the new service.”

  Mr. Hutton smiled.

  “I think this is going to be a great service for years to come,” He told the old Porter, “Seeing all the happy passengers.

  Roger smiled.

  “I agreed,” the old Porter beamed happily.