People flocked to Celgerb City Yards last Friday following Sir Allen Featherington’s announcement of a special event for the holiday season. The yearly Crotoonian Holiday Express was unveiled to the public, with mail trains Percy and Tracy dressed up for the occasion! The reveal showcased not only the lucky engines who'll be running the train this year, but also the Crotoonian Mail Company's sponsorship of the travelling fundraiser. The company will match pound-for-pound donations made during the tour.
The Crotoonian Holiday Express, which runs until Christmas Eve, visits town-to-town with entertainers and prizes to help raise money for local food banks and charities in the country. Visitors donate canned goods and money for admission, as the host stations are quickly greeted by the engines in their delightful holiday gear and a special show from local entertainers. Hundreds come out each holiday season with families, friends, and loved ones for this exciting showcase of lights, music, and good cheer.
"I'm really excited to be working the Holiday Express this year!" says Tracy, bundled with lights, wreaths, and bows. "We engines are lucky to get from town to town helping those in need during the season and go on our own little adventure at the same time!"
"It's fun being dressed up in all these decorations,", comments Percy (unavailable for the photo shoot due to some last-minute mending needed), "but you never know what you might get when you've been covered in snow, treacle, and chocolate. And caramel. Frostini was not happy this July."
The Holiday Express will spend its final days at Gridinia Bay Junction, where the annual Crotoonian Christmas Carnival will be hosted. The Wobbly Dodger will also be attending, accompanied by Belle, Calley, and Fireman Sam (aboard Jupiter). To find out when the Crotoonian Holiday Express rolls through your town, check your local station timetables.
As the holiday season roars in once again, so does many a snowdrift causing mayhem for the railway lines. And even when equipped for snowplowing, engines can sometimes run into trouble!
While clearing his electrified line on Monday, Jacob Pneumatic (part of the Celgreb City Public Rail team) suffered trouble his plow jumped loose and wrecked a derelict coal tower. Authorities say, luckily, no one was hurt. But Jacob insists to "watch out for rocks on the line. Someone dropping off stone down the line must've dropped it astray!"
With this, snowplowing experts Donald and Douglas, along with members of the Crotoonian Fire & Rescue Service, encourage engines and staff to join them for "YOUR SNOWPLOW AND YOU" seminars touring the country this week. Engines will learn of the top-of-the-line plowing equipment, the safe way to handle drifts, and what to do in case of emergencies. Hot drinks and snacks will be provided courtesy of The Big Donut, along with special kits for each station to have on hand.
"We really hope that yon wee engines learn to take this as seriously as ye can!" say Donald and Douglas, during a top-up at a fueling point. "We dinnae wanna see ye lot end up stuck in the snow as some have the last few years. Especially when that lass got us stuck til spring thaw!".
Shortly after this report was penned, Harrison and Gordon puffed by with their machines. This reporter had to stay indoors for two days afterwards.
"YOUR SNOWPLOW AND YOU" will be touring your local station soon.
Deep in the heart of Crotoonia, a new spur line is about to unleash a sweet treat.
With the rising bumper crop of maple syrup during Crotoonian winters and springs, the town of Whitemireland (south of Weldon) has officially opened for service the Whitemire Sugarbush Spur Line, running through the dense maple tree farms of the cozy little county town to the Whitmire Sugarworks, where fresh tapped sap during the harvest season will be boiled and readied for delicious maple syrups. With the high demand increasing, a new locomotive named Cassidy has been brought over to run the new line and work freight on the mainline off-season.
"The moment I was asked to work a maple syrup line, I said 'YES!' as loud as my whistle!", comments the smart Canadian engine. "Working along such a sweet treat is already exciting, but to have my own line too? Choo choo, baby!" Cassidy explains she was mostly used for freight work until recently, mostly working on city lines before being invited to work at the Cliffstone Junction Yards for a trial this summer. "The noise and action got too much for me, especially when that tank engine's firebox caught fire! I'm glad I'm working in a quieter space and a job I can easily keep track of things."
Crotoonian maple syrup has become a hot treat since the Whitmireland Sugarworks expanded in 2019. Known for its richly sweet and buttery flavor (through a special evaporation process that's a family secret), shipments of the sweet treat were enough to bring a new member of Crotoonia's fine exports into the fray. With the booming success and an enthusastic engine, local maple farmers are excited for their new "Sugar Shack Express" to start work when the harvest begins in the coming weeks.
Welcome to our third edition of ASK A CROTOONIAN, where we ask a Crotoonian of your choice about their day-to-day lives on the railway and all the burning questions you've wanted to ask them! What coal do you take? What water works the best? What copies of bad movies are safe to chuck into your firebox?
Very carefully.
Friends? Not sure about that front, but I am CLEARLY not a wolf! You don't see me delivering medicine across frozen ponds, do you?
It SUUURE gets busy here when Skarloey and the gang head back! It SUUURE gets busy! But we've had some other new engines helping us too! Train's always nice always nice always nice.
I first met Peter Sam when I joined the railway! He helped me to show me around the whole yard and where we all sleep. I met Sunshine at the Wharf next, then a kindly bargeman named Joshua Jones!
D: Soap during a washdown helps keep it nice!
T: An odd water tower hijack too.
Life overseeing that all the railways work together can be a heck of a headache if things don't go to plan...but when our railways come together and get the job done, it's something beautiful. And THAT I wouldn't trade for the world.
When you're sittin' in the logging camp on your days off, you wanna get a little wild.
Other engines are fast asleep. I'm SLOW asleep. A quick shovel of coal (not too ripe!), drink of water, fetch my wagons, and I'm off!
T: It's not quite that easy! The sides of the lines can be really tight, and our trains can't just jump the tracks with us! Besides, jumping off the tracks only leads to red flags!
S: Like Tootle said, I can't just leap off my rails. I have a timetable to keep! But...and you keep this secret...I do sometimes like to hop off at Great Wolf Forest and smell the flowers in it.
He's a rather speedy chap, but he knows when the going gets tough...the tough get going! Jolly good fellow to have on our crew.
Yes.
It wouldn't be a Crotoonian Christmas party without them!
If you wanna get your favorite Crotoonian on our next edition, get your butt over to