Coaled Weight

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***Coaled Weight*** is the sixth episode of the tenth series of *The Dark Railway Series*.

## Plot

One morning, whilst still in the works, Dave notices Zeke wandering around looking flustered and calls over to him. Zeke tells Dave that he had forgotten about a coal miners' strike now taking place across the country, meaning that the railway is now facing a coal shortage. Dave suggests that Zeke buy some coal from abroad instead and Zeke approves of the suggestion, complimenting Dave as he leaves to make the arrangements.

A large supply of coal is soon imported from the continent, but problems quickly arise among the engines. Abomination develops a nasty persistent cough, while Hannah is also quick to notice something wrong with the coal. Her crew dismiss her complaints as just being a typical Western reaction to non-Welsh coal, but she quickly starts to feel ill as she goes about her day. Over the next few weeks, Hannah starts having trouble steaming which results in several instances of stalling mid-journey due to a lack of steam. Eventually, Zeke makes the decision to withdraw Hannah from service, attributing her troubles primarily to her Western status much to her annoyance. Hannah realises that this means she is going into the museum as previously discussed, though she convinces Zeke to let her spend a few days in the works with Dave first.

De la Trip also starts having major problems with the coal, much to the frustration of Clyde. One day, Trip crawls into Walschurch feeling terrible. To generate more steam and warm up his firebox, his fireman opens his dampers, which appears to do the trick nicely. Unfortunately, when Trip gets underway again, he starts to feel a pain in his firebox. Then, to his crew's astonishment, Trip's cab fills with steam as a firebox stay breaks, followed by his fire falling out entirely from beneath him. As the train is brought to a stop and his fire put out, Trip's crew sadly inform him that his firebox became so hot that his firebars have melted and several stays have collapsed, meaning that he can no longer work. Trip is devastated by the news, feeling he has let Zeke down and knowing he will be out of service for a very long time.

Zeke comes to see Trip, finally realising the impact the coal is having on his engines. He blames himself for the troubles they face, and informs Trip that he will have to go into the museum in Brian's place. Trip sadly accepts this, as Zeke goes to make further arrangements. That evening, Brian, 257 and Eustace discuss the matter at Colhapper. They aren't affected by the coal in the way the others have been due to their more modern designs, and vow to pick up the pace helping the others, though they quietly hope more help will be arriving soon.

## Characters

* Dave
* Brian
* Raymond
* Theo and Otto
* Sir Eustace Missenden
* 257 Squadron
* Abomination
* Hannah
* De la Trip
* Clyde
* Warrior
* Zeke Dark
* Ryan (*cameo*)
* Goose (*mentioned*)
* Mr. Dark (*mentioned*)
* Mr. Smash (*mentioned*)
* Mr. Chairman (*mentioned*)

## Locations

* Caracus Smash Ltd
* Galen Junction Railway Museum
* Colhapper Shed
* Merecombe Shed
* Walschurch
* Upway Bank
* Axley

## Trivia

* The title of this episode is a reference to the Ian Pooley song "Cold Wait".
* The events of this episode, particularly the impact of the bad coal on certain engines, were inspired by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
* The ending credits foreshadow the events of the following episode.