October 23rd, 1960

  Saul Harrison walked along the yard. How much has changed. Ten years ago, the yard would look old, and nothing has changed; today, the yard still looks old, but it's bustling with activity. He could see the old Porter in the yard; it was a resting moment, since Roger had just got back from operating a special Halloween edition of the Roger Heritage Special, now, 75, the man is happy to see the old Porter; he could see a diesel locomotive, and another steam locomotive in the yard. He walks towards Roger.

  “It seems like you’re doing well, Roger,” Saul said as he came up to the old Porter.

  Roger’s eyes were surprised.

  “Saul!” the old Porter beamed happily, “How are you doing? It’s been a while.”

  “It has,” Saul smiled.

  Robert looked at the old gentleman.

  “Is that the man who donated the railway to the Preservation Society?” He asks.

  “Yep,” Roger confirmed, “Saul became owner, president, and general manager after the Bridgeton and Saco River defunct; his older brother was previously the owner and general manager.”

  This got Clair curious.

  “How many owners did this railway go through?” Clair asks.

  “Four actually,” Roger told the little diesel, “Roger Sydney was the first and original owner, he built the railway and named me after him, passed away in 1900, then his wife, Sarah Sydney, became the president, owner, and general manager a year later. Then Saul’s older brother, Clark Harrison, replaced Sarah in 1910, but she became vice president until 1941, then Saul took over, and the rest is history.”

  Robert was surprised.

  “That is impressive,” Robert awed, “Did anyone from the old family come to the railway after it was preserved?”

  “Yep,” Roger smiled, “Roger’s son, Mike, visited after Labor Day weekend, and even rode in my cab before passing away 2 years later.”

  Robert and Clair were surprised.

  “Your history is always impressive,” Clair smiled.

  Roger then looked at the old gentleman.

  “How are you feeling?” the old Porter asks.

  “Better, year 2, no heart attack yet,” Saul beamed happily.

  This made the two engines look worried.

  “Heart attack?” Robert asks.

  Roger’s face fell a little.

  “During his time…he got sick all the time, coughing, wheezing, I thought he smoked, which he told me he never smoked in his life,” Roger told the two engines, “Then, a year later, he got a heart attack, which he survived, then, two years later he got another one, then, a year later, got a stroke. He was fine until the spring of 1950, when he got another heart attack and stroke, to which Mr. Hutton was present that time, then two months later, another stroke, which pushed Mr. Hutton to form the Preservation Society.”

  “Luckily, after retiring in 1951, I’ve been very well,” Saul smiled, “Only one incident in 1958, other than that, I was in good health.”

  “He visited the railway a couple of times,” Roger smiled, “And I’m excited for him for next week's event!”

  The little diesel remembers something.

  “That reenactment event,” Clair remembered.

  “Yep,” Roger smiled, “And the Japanese Americans Civil League event.”

  Since the beginning of the year, Mr. Hutton wanted to reenact the Handover Ceremony on Halloween Day, 1950, to commemorate one of the last runs of the original ownership, but other plans got in the way, the last owner of the line, Saul Harrison, was willing to help with the event, unlike the previous events, this would be only with Roger, and no one else. The last two months have been a busy year to make this a historical month, not just the reenactment, but also another sponsored excursion.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  The Japanese Americans Civil League Philadelphia Chapter has sponsored an event the day before, to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the railway’s part in transferring many Japanese Americans and Japanese immigrants to Westminster City from 1945 to 1946, and Roger was the center of the event, so two big historic events made the Preservation Society quite busy for the fall weekend.

  “I thought I’d heard a familiar voice,” Mr. Hutton smiled as he came up and hugged the old man, “How are you doing, Saul?”

  “Tiring,” He told Ben, “I’m excited to do the reenactment event.”

  “I’m excited too,” Ben smiled.

  The two engines looked at the two men.

  “I’m surprised that your old owner can survive this many heart attacks,” Clair whispers to Roger, “I don’t think a human could survive that much after that.”

  “But he did, and I’m happy for him,” Roger smiled.

  Mr. Hutton turned to the old Porter.

  “Everything seems to be set. The JACL event on Sunday would have a special passenger train with a special dinner courtesy of the cafe,” Mr. Hutton smiled, “Betty would also visit on Saturday because of her request, and she wanted to get ready for the mainline excursion next month.”

  In June and August, the announcement of the mainline excursion chartered by the All Small Steam Locomotive Society from Japan, which includes a doubleheader excursion with Betty and Roger, throughout those two months, all the tickets were sold out by the time October hit.

  “You seemed like a busy engine this year, Roger,” Saul chuckled at Roger, “Just like the good old days.”

  The old Porter smiled.

  “It is,” He agreed, “It really is.”

  October 31st, 1960

  The last few days have been busy for the Preservation Society, since they’re hosting two events, both of which are historical, and getting Roger ready for the big day. Everyone was excited, though yesterday’s event was just as good. The cafe was used as a kitchen, which also has a functional kitchen, to make some Japanese meals for the special event with the help of the League members. It was an interesting event, with Betty displaying in the yard as well.

  The morning was cold, with fall colors and weather that made everyone wear a jacket. Roger was in the yard in steam, which was the day of the Handover Ceremony Reenactment Event. Many folks who purchased the tickets were at the passenger station, waiting for the old Porter to arrive, since this is a reenactment of a special event, Anabel would not be used for this train. It would be just Roger, Taylor, Mary, and Charlotte, that was the only source of passenger service for the last 80 years, with the addition of Anabel.

  After getting some fresh coal and rewatering, Roger left the yard slowly to pick up his coaches and moved slowly to the station. It was an interesting feeling not having Anabel, it was like going back in time, when it was just the little engine and his coaches. After arriving at the station, the railfans and the general folks took as many photos as they could, knowing this could be a once-in-a-lifetime event.

  “It’s been a while since we operated like this,” Taylor told Roger, “It’s almost weird not having Anabel here.”

  “Indeed, sis,” Charlotte agreed with her sister, “Almost weird, odd really.”

  “But at the same time,” Roger mentioned to the sisters, “That our livelihood was just the three of you, it is odd for today since Anabel is part of the family, but it was our job during the last couple of decades.”

  “And, Mr. Hutton’s interest in the few years before the Preservation Society's existence,” Mary added, “It all tied together to keep us running.”

  “You’re right,” Roger smiled.

  The passengers got into the coaches, filled quite quickly, and the train was ready to leave, but before that, Mr. Hutton and Lizzy bought Saul up into the cab; he operated Roger through the 1940s until 1950, so this was a moment in time, and a moment that hasn’t been done in a decade. After a couple of minutes, the old Porter blew his whistle and left the station for the Roger Station.

  The train arrived at the Roger Station, with passengers on the station, on the other side of the interchanging station is Reading 2100, who is the first T-1 of the Reading Railroad, and 2102’s brother. 2100 was hauling the Iron Horse Rambles and stopped at the interchange station after hearing the news of the reenactment. Roger arrived at the station on time and ready for the reenactment to start. The passengers got out of the train, Mr. Hutton and Lizzy got into positions, Saul was in the cab, and many of the members of the Preservation Society were surrounding the man.

  Mr. Hutton cleared his throat, which he was holding a piece of paper, which Roger realized was the same speech he had given 10 years ago, and he kept it ever since. He was surprised that the paper was in good condition; everything looked the same from 10 years ago, except the cafe, the clothing that the passengers were wearing, 2100, and the photographer's cameras.

  “For the people of Westminster,” He started, stopped, and looked at the crowd, then back to the speech, “My name is Benjamin James Hutton, and I’ve been working on steam locomotives since I was 18, and I’ve visited this railway many times in the past, and now, with me and a group of volunteers will keep this railway running, by enthusiasts and volunteers. We formed a preservation society, called the ‘Roger Railway Preservation Society’, because a railway like this deserves to be preserved for many years, to keep history running, and I’ll hand the speech to Saul Harrison.”

  All eyes turned to the 75-year-old man, and he cleared his throat, ready to speak.

  “I know, this would come as a shock, but I’m stepping down as your owner, director, president, and your engineer, or engine driver, as Ben likes to say,” Saul said. He took a deep breath and kept talking, “As you know, my health isn’t doing so well. I tried to operate on Roger everyday and everytime, but my health took a deep blow to me, to the point where I might die any second now, and knowing that I might, I’ve decided to handover the railway to the Preservation Society, the assets, the company, the papers, the stations, the yard, the coaches, freight stock, and Roger, will also be handover to the Preservation Society, I bid them good luck, and I bid farewell to this wonderful railway.”

  Everyone clapped and cheered. Saul was holding his hand on his chest, with a worried look on Mr. Hutton’s face. He walked towards the old gentleman, but he put his hand up. He was alright, but the emotions got the better of him. Saul and Ben came up to each other, shook their hands, and more cheering came. Roger whistled happily. While this is a reenactment, it’s a moment and memories he’ll cherish forever.

  October 29th, 2000

  “So Samson is retiring you?” Roger asks his significant other.

  “Pretty much,” Betty sighed, “I know he doesn’t mean any harm, but it’s very sad after a major overhaul work has been done on me for seven years, with the most modern steam technology, and your boss telling you that you’re fired.”

  “Don’t think like that,” Roger told Betty, “I have known Samson since he was a child, and he knows how much your importance means to Ben, so instead of retiring you and put on display, he gave you to the Roger Railway, knowing that you are a right fit for our railway.”

  “At least I’m still part of the collection and letting me operate on the line,” Betty smiled, though she had a sad look, “I thought I could handle the gradients, I mean, my three coaches and I don’t have problems operating that line.”

  “With the curves and the gradients, up to 1.5 to 2 percent gradients, it’s a tough piece of narrow gauge, even for both of us,” Roger sighed, “The NGG13, NGG16, and NG15 have the power and capabilities to operate on the line, though, passenger increase another reason why Samson retired you, us old engines can’t pull more trains, even with modern modifications.”

  “Yeah,” Betty looked at the ground, “I mean, you’re almost going to retire in 1987 after that boiler tube failure and firebox crack, and yet, you’re still with us.”

  “And doing the reenactment event again,” Roger smiled, “The 50th anniversary year is going to be great next year, and knowing that there will be more excursions on this railway when Samuel gets a chance to tell me.”

  “Oh yeah, after this event, we’re going to the museum,” Betty told the old Porter.

  “Yep, mostly for winter and spring excursions,” Roger told the 2-4-2t, “First a week-long general maintenance, and it’s off to the Hutton Steam Company once more.”

  “Maybe we could operate a mainline doubleheader, a date again,” Betty smiled.

  Roger smiled as well.

  “Yeah,” the old Porter agreed with her, “That’ll be awesome.”