Of Sea and Sand by Jonah
Simon and Garret are here again,looking after their young family.If you are unfamiliar with this family,we first met Simon in 'A Letter from America' back in 2019. He was a teenager then,now he is well into adulthood. Garret originated in another author's story. I want to thank Jacob Lion, in the USA for his permission to use his characters in my story. That's one of the things I want to make plain,all the characters in this,and all my other stories are wholly fictitious. They aren't based on real people. The other thing I want to make plain is that, while Simon and Garret are both gay, as are some other characters, this is a story about love - not sex,lust,or any other substitute,but real Christian love. If it's pornography you want, you'll have to find it somewhere else. Lastly,this story is brought to you by Nifty,free of charge. Nifty doesn't charge me to publish it, nor you to read it,but it does cost money to bring it to you. Please consider donating to Nifty at https://donate.nifty.org/ so that these stories continue to be available for all to read.
Chapter 9
Next morning I was up and showered early. I was still curious to know what Garret had up his sleeve.
By nine o' clock we were all up and tucking into our cereal and fruit and ham and cheese. Rob joined us with the twins just as we were finishing up.
"Sharon's just getting Crystal bathed and changed," he told us, as if we had asked where she was.
"Good night last night?" I asked.
"Oh yes, but we won't be able to do that every night." he replied.
"Well,if you're doing it tonight, we'll probably come with you." I told him then pushed past him and took the stairs two at a time.
I picked up my windcheater, though I was sure I wouldn't need it, and put on outdoor shoes. All three boys put in an appearance so I directed them to do the same.
"Where are we going?" asked Philip.
"To the moon and back," I replied. "Honestly,you're asking the wrong person. You'll probably have to wait till we get there, the same as I will."
We were all strapped into the car within ten minutes and Garret set off towards the station. He took us through Westgate onto the Canterbury Road. We had three excited boys and an excited adult in the back. Of course, I was entirely laid back about it all. Through Canterbury, we ran alongside the city walls. We got occasional glimpses of the top part of the cathedral. It may be the most important Church in the country, but it's certainly not the most impressive.
We were not going to Canterbury, as I at first thought. Garret drove straight through and out the other side. We headed towards Ashford, where he did the same thing, but that was where the road signs started to give clues. Tenterden, Northiam, Bodiam - I felt fairly sure that I knew where we were going.
We turned into the car-park at Tenterden Town Station,which I knew to be the headquarters of the Kent and East Sussex Railway. Garret deserved a hug, but it might have to wait till later.
Garret Immediately headed for the booking office where,he said,he had already booked tickets for us. We headed for the buffet where I ordered three coffees and three cans of Vimto. We had just sat down to sup our beverages when Garret rejoined us and handed me two tickets and a timetable leaflet.
"That's tickets for you and Barry," he explained. "Philip can come with me, then Lloyd can tell Grev how the railway works."
Grev took a couple of tickets from him and we sat back to sup.
"Are they all steam trains here?" Barry wanted to know.
"They've got a diesel multiple unit, a class 14 and some diesel shunters," I told him, "but,I should think the trains today will be steam. They've only really got tank engines here."
That was the moment when a steam engine passed the window. To make a liar of me, it definitely had a tender. In less than a minute the platform was heaving with people. I was intrigued by the locomotive power that I had just glimpsed. To the best of my knowledge the K&ESR had a couple of Terriers, a P class, some USAs and Austerities and a couple of industrial saddle tanks - all tank engines. There was obviously something that I didn't know.
I forced myself to sit still and drink my coffee. We didn't need to rush out and claim seats immediately. The loco would have to run round.
Having supped our drinks we went out onto the platform. The column of smoke at the far end of the platform had separated from the train. We entered the nearest coach and, while the others looked for seats, I stuck my head out of the window on the six-foot side.
A locomotive was heading our way. It had a distinctively foreign appearance and was certainly a tender engine. I realised that it was a 2-6-0 of Norwegian origin, similar to one that the Great Central Railway had once had. So the K&ESR did have a tender engine after all. I wandered down the corridor and found a seat in a TSO next to Garret and Grev. The boys sat together on the other side of the gangway. There was the clunk of buffers and we waited patiently for something to happen. I listened to a brake test being carried out and Garret consulted his watch. I didn't even know what time we were supposed to depart (I had given the timetable to Barry) but it wasn't long before the guard whistled and we were soon in motion.
The garden of England is a very pretty county and our boys appreciated it. They had all travelled on steam trains before but that didn't lessen the excitement one iota (whatever one of those is). We were travelling along the valley of the River Rother and the river was never far away.
For the most part,once clear of the complex at Tenterden, the line seemed to run on a low embankment between fields. A level crossing with a small crossing-keeper's hut attracted the boys' attention. We saw more fields and the another level crossing saw us drawing to a stop in Rolvenden station platform. Plenty of activity could be seen at Rolvenden, though not many passengers boarded or alighted. As we got into motion again we saw the line's engine shed and yard. A class 14 diesel was parked with a smaller diesel, and an austerity saddle tank was in the yard. More running between fields and through a shallow cutting and we passed some stock in a siding. The train came to a stand at Wittersham Road Station.
This diminutive station, with its equally diminutive - but attractive - signalbox, really is in the middle of nowhere. We had only stopped to let an austerity saddle-tank with a Northbound train pass on the main line. It did so within a few minutes of our arrival.
We were soon on the move again and it's more trees and fields. We cross the river not long before arriving at the next station at Northiam.
A beautiful litte Barclay 0-4-0 saddle-tank sits beside the road here to attract the attention of passing motorists. It is certainly a cute little station.
We didn't pause long at Northiam and the terminus at Bodiam is not much further on. Garret and Philip opted to stay in the train and keep our seats while the loco ran round. Grev and Lloyd set out to explore the station. Lloyd was indeed explaining to Grev how everything worked.
Barry and I headed for the front of the train. Barry has always been fascinated by steam locomotives, and the foreigness of this one made it intriguing.
"Want to take a look?" the driver asked.
The expression on Barry's face as I lifted him to the cab steps was priceless. I turned and resumed inspecting the wheels and motion.
"Oy!" shouted the driver. "You were going to keep that quiet weren't you? You're an engine driver? Get up here."
I hadn't anticipated that Barry would shop me to the driver.
I climbed to the footplate just as the fireman climbed on the other side.
"I bet you haven't seen anything like this on the North Norfolk,"said the driver.
""No, but this is like 'King Haakon' that used to be at Loughborough."
"Yes it is. You'd better sit in the seat."
I did exactly that. The controls looked unfamiliar, but seemed to be in the right place.
"Clear this side," shouted the fireman.
"This side too," said the driver from behind me, to save me from having to look down. I looked anyway.
I wound the reversing wheel into full forward and knocked open the cylinder drain cocks. Easing off the steam brake,I opened the regulator. The loco moved easily so I let her have two chuffs then closed it again, immediately opening it on the main port. Another chuff and I closed it again as we approached the trailing points. I began to wind her towards back gear as I gave a quick whiff of the steam brake. The fireman was climbing down so I applied the brake and left it on.
I wound the loco into full back gear and, moments later the fireman rejoined us. He resumed his own seat as I turned in my seat to look back along the tender.
"Clear this side," shouted the fireman.
I released the steam brake and opened the regulator. Slowly we moved back over the points, but I left her on the pilot valve. We gently crawled past the coaches while I kept my hand on the regulator. I was watching those coaches, as Bob Turner had taught me years ago. I had no intention of knocking off somebody's head if they poked it out at the wrong moment. That could seriously spoil their day. As we approached the last coach I reached up and gave a quick blast on the whistle.
As soon as the tender was clear of that coach I slammed the regulator shut and reopened it again. Our speed increased as the engine began to bark. We were approaching the level crossing gates so I shut the regulator and started giving short whiffs of steam-brake. I brought her to a stand just short of the gates and the fireman looked over. I had started winding her into forward gear.
"Clear this side" came the shout.
The coaches were not too far away so I gave a blast on the whistle, knocked off the steam brake and opened the regulator on the pilot valve. I could see the guard calling me back. I closed the regulator and coasted until the guard's signals changed to 'slow down' signals. A whiff of steam brake brought us to a crawl, then as the guards hands went up, the brake went on hard. The fireman was winding on the tender-brake as I got out of the seat. "We'd best find the others," I told Barry then, to the driver, "thanks for that mate. If you're ever in Norfolk, and want to drive a big engine, give us a shout. I'll let you have my number."
I climbed down, then helped Barry down. Grev was watching the fireman coupling up, as Lloyd explained the process to him. The fireman coupled the brake hoses and stood clear. Moments later the ejector started up.
"We need to be on board," I told Grev. Lloyd and Barry led the way.
The journey back was every bit as pleasant. Before we alighted I wrote my name and contact details on a page that I tore from my diary. I walked forward and handed it to the driver while his fireman was uncoupling.
I found the others in the buffet. They had just supplied themselves with cornish pasties and tea,and squash. I supplied myself with sausage rolls and tea. After lunch we explored the Kent and East Sussex Railway Museum, then bankrupted ourselves in the souvenir shop - or would have done if we'd bought everything the boys tried to get us to buy.
We were back in Cliftonvile in time to do justice to Mrs.Kesteven's cottage pie, and even to her Bakewell tart and custard. By six o' clock a thunderstorm had rolled up, with heavy rain,so nobody fancied going out.