The Long Way Home by Phillip Overton
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Up ahead the guard had left the driver and fireman behind in the cab of the locomotive having just coupled a short string of wagons onto the front of the train. He walked the length of the train until he came to the most recently coupled freight wagon and stopped to connect the air hose.
“Okay Charlie, she’s good to go.” He said over his 2-way radio.
“Gotcha Ray,” a voice crackled back at him. “We’re just gonna give her a few minutes to pump the air back into the brake line, plenty of time to make your way back to the brake van.”
“Right O, I’ll let you know when I’m on board. Over.”
Ray opened the air valve to a hissing sound as he left the hose to do its thing and restore the air brakes throughout the length of the train. Keeping his torchlight shining directly on the ground in front of him he began to walk towards the end of the train. He followed the curve of the freight train until he reached a string of passenger carriages stabled in the south end of the yard and stepped into the shadowy gap between the two stationary trains. Ahead of him a bright light flared, immediately bringing him to a halt. He trained his torchlight directly in front of him but couldn’t make out what it was. He thought it may have been an oncoming train on the adjacent line but then remembered he was standing between two parked trains.
“Hello.” He called out but there was no answer.
After a short moment the light subsided and his torchlight was left shining on someone only a few carriages in front of him walking in his direction. As the person neared he could see it was the outline of a man dressed in green coveralls carrying what looked like a young child. Only the child was not moving.
“What happened?” Ray asked, suddenly realising the seriousness of the situation. He ran forward in desperation to meet the stranger. “Good grief, is he alright?”
“We need to get him to a hospital.” The man in the green coveralls said as Ray reached him. “He was climbing on top of one of the carriages back there and touched the overhead wire.”
“What was he doing up there? Is he alive?” Ray asked as a look of panic spread across his face.
“He’s breathing but he’s unconscious at the moment. Can you call for help?”
“Yeah sure, I’ll radio for help right away.” He said as he turned and began to hurry alongside the stranger back towards the front of the train. He fumbled with his 2-way, dropping it to the ground. Picking it up he was surprised to find that it still worked.
“Charlie hold the train, we’ve got an injured boy back here do you hear me?”
“Say that again Ray?” A voice crackled back over the 2-way.
“We’ve got an injured boy back here. Climbed on the train and electrocuted himself. We’re going to need an ambulance right away.”
“Okay Ray, how far back are you?”
“We’re ‘bout half a train back, making our way towards you now.”
“Gotcha Ray, I’m coming back to meet you now. I’ll get Trev to radio ahead, is he alive?”
“Yeah he’s breathing but he’s out cold.”
“Okay Ray, just hurry as fast as you can. Over.”
The two of them hurried along the stony ground towards the front of the train. The freight train curved away towards the Donnison Street overpass where the locomotive had pulled up a short distance from the station platform.
“How’s he doing now?” Ray asked the man in the green coveralls.
“He’s breathing but still not conscious.”
“He’s lucky that you came along. How’d you find him back there?” Ray asked.
“I was cleaning inside the carriages.”
“It’s a wonder he’s not dead you know? A couple of kids died last year in Sydney the same way. Here, let me take him to give you a rest for a bit.” Ray said as he stopped for a moment, clipping his 2-way radio back onto his belt.
“Thanks.” The man said as he stopped to pass Simon into his arms. “He’s going to be alright, make sure you let his family know that won’t you.”
Ray took the young boy in his arms and began to run towards the front of the train, still clutching the torch awkwardly in one hand while aiming it at the ground. His feet crunched over the ballast as he passed one wagon after the other. Before too long he was met by a torchlight coming from the other direction, it was Charlie.
“Oi, Ray how is he?” He asked between bursts of heavy breathing. “Trev’s gone ahead to the station and they’ve radioed me already to say an ambulance is on its way. Think you can make it to the station with him?”
“Yeah he’s breathing but we’ve gotta get him to the hospital straight away.”
“So how far back did you find him? It’s a wonder he wasn’t killed.”
“I know. We found him a fair way back, the cleaner here is the real hero.”
“We? Who’s we? And what cleaner?” Charlie asked him puzzled.
“The guy in the green….” Ray trailed off before coming to a complete stop. There was no one there!
“Guy? What guy?” Charlie asked.
“He was right here. I swear he was right behind me, he only just passed the boy to me to carry for a bit.” Ray stood motionless while his eyes scanned back along the string of carriages but there was no one there.
“There’s no one else here Ray, I would have seen them when I was running towards you.”
“Hey! Are you coming with us?” Ray yelled back into the shadows.
“Ray, we can’t stop. We have to get this kid to the hospital.”
“He was wearing green overalls, said he was cleaning inside one of the carriages when it happened.” Ray said as he began making his way towards the station, still looking suspiciously over his shoulder.
“We can’t wait for him now Ray, if it was one of the cleaners we can find out who later on.”
The two men hurried under the overpass to where the diesel locomotive sat chugging in the still night air and were met by a half dozen flashlights bobbing their way towards them. Beyond that was the glow of the railway station lights and an ambulance waiting to rush Simon to the emergency ward.