Vince nodded agreement.
Beth continued, "The bad news is the locomotive. The ground there is now part of the pond that the dam was built to deepen. The surrounding ground is either too steep or too soft to try and set up any equipment to lift the engine out. Even if the pond is drained, the ground would still be too soft. The loco has sunk so far in that it's impossible to drag it out either. Believe me, we tried! We could squeeze six oxen, yoked to a cable, into the ravine. All we managed to do was drive the engine in deeper. As far as I can see, the only hope is that it doesn't sink too far by the time it starts to freeze. We might be able to dig it out next winter."
Vince sat there, taking in the report and wondering why Hugh had asked him here. When Beth emphasized digging, a light began to flicker. Hugh interrupted his thoughts with a question for Beth.
"So what you're saying is that I'm short an additional locomotive until the winter freeze?"
"Basically, yes. Unless Vince can come up with some way to lift the engine out without losing his equipment to the bog, you'll have to wait."
"I suspected as much from the description Karl, the conductor, gave me of the accident site. But as short as we are for engines, I had to hope. Vince, if there ever was a time you could pull a rabbit out of a hat, this is it." Hugh looked like a drowning man searching for a rope.
"I don't know about rabbits, and without seeing the site, I can't say for certain, but we do have some new toys that may be of use." The prototype boiler he'd had Arlen working on was ready and had the power needed. Adapting it would be the problem. "Colonel, could you stop by the Werks with me when we finish and describe to my chief engineer what you're facing. I think with a little brainstorming we might come up with some possibilities."
Vince's optimism brought a smile to Hugh's face. "I'd like to send Karl with you, Colonel, as my liaison. He's laid up right now with a broken arm, but has had some exposure to railroad engineering. He knows everyone on the line and should be of some help."
Beth just nodded, her attention fastened on the kitchen doorway. The waiter had just arrived with the additional strudel. It was smothered in fresh whipped cream and perched on a huge scoop of ice cream. Beth checked her belt, to make sure proper attention could be given to the dessert.
****
Two sets of legs stuck out from under a damaged passenger car. Recognizing both, Mimi Goss walked over and gave the longer pair of them a kick. "Arlen Goss, are you going to let Martin have a lunch break, or are you both planning on starving me to death? The aroma of cheese and oregano brought both men out from under the car. Mimi stood there with a fresh pizza and two bottles of beer. "Junior is kicking, telling me it's way past time to eat! Now go clean up and get back here before I finish this whole pizza. The doctor says I need to watch my weight and you're definitely not helping."
After a quick, apologetic kiss to his wife, Arlen grabbed Martin and headed to the nearby wash sink. As they cleaned up, Arlen surveyed the crowded shop. A crew was unloading car part castings from some flat cars. "You know, Martin, we may need to expand again. Those ore cars are taking up a lot of space, especially broken down like they are for shipping. The work keeps coming in faster than we can finish it."
Martin gave Arlen a poke in the ribs and pointed to Mimi with a bar of soap. "Work here's not the only thing expanding. When is she due?"
Arlen smiled at the jest. "Not for a couple of months yet. The doctor isn't sure, but it may be twins. She goes back to see him next week. We should know then." The object of the discussion picked up her second piece of pizza and scooped the cheese string into her mouth. "We better hurry or there won't be anything left!" Arlen tossed a hand rag back on the sink and headed toward his wife. When he got to the table he was rewarded with a cheese-flavored kiss.
Just about the time the last of the pizza disappeared, Vince Masaniello came through the open shop doors with Colonel Pitre and two others. Mimi turned to Arlen, "Looks like my cue to leave. Your boss is here with visitors."
Arlen motioned for her to remain seated. "Stick around. He mentioned he might be stopping by with visitors and needed to discuss a large project . I'll want your thoughts if it involves travel. With a baby coming, I don't want to get stuck too far from home. Your being here may remind him of that fact. Vince can be a little too focused at times."
Vince pointed out the cars that were in for repairs to the visitors and then brought them over to the table. "Arlen, these are the visitors I mentioned. I believe you know Colonel Pitre."
Arlen nodded a greeting. He had worked with the TacRail commander on a number of projects. Her presence at least reduced the likelihood of a long trip. "Good to see you again, Colonel. Were those parts I sent last week what you needed?"
"Yes. We didn't even need to do any extra machining."
Arlen turned to the other two visitors. The female was familiar, but he couldn't place her name. The man with the arm in a sling was a total stranger. Vince continued, "This is Karl Alpendorf, a conductor on the railroad and his companion is Lynn Pierce, a mechanical engineering student. They'll be involved on this project."
Arlen snapped his fingers and pointed at Lynn. "Now I remember! You work at your father's steel works. I thought I remembered seeing you somewhere. You were there when I was meeting with him on that large parts order for the ore cars." He pointed to the arriving castings. "You made the design suggestion that reduced the weight on the wheels."
Lynn smiled. "I'm flattered you remembered."
A swift kick under the table reminded Arlen of his manners. He turned to his table companions, "Let me introduce the head of our car construction, Martin Erlanger, and my wife, Mimi." Both nodded acknowledgement.
Vince pulled up some nearby chairs. When Martin and Mimi started to rise, he told them to stay. "This is just a preliminary brainstorming session. Outside ideas would be welcomed."
Arlen asked, just a little puzzled, "And just what, exactly, are we brainstorming? If it's about the wreck, the cars are here and should be relatively simple to repair."
Vince shook his head. "The problem is the locomotive. The railroad needs engines, badly, and the wreck has left one mired in a bog. The colonel has spent the past few days trying to lift, pull, or push it out. All that's happened is that it's stuck even deeper now in the muck. You know as well as I do that USE Steel is making parts as fast as they can, but we can only build locomotives if the parts are here. If we can get this engine raised, it should be a simple repair job. You were at the site to get the cars here for repair and know what the situation looks like. Is there any way we could use the new prototype steam engine to get that locomotive out?"
Arlen said, "That site is was heavily wooded along the ravine and around the pond the loco is submerged in. There's no way to pull the engine out until the ground freezes. I assume we can't wait for winter?"
Vince sighed. "Nope. Hugh needs it now!"
"Just asking." Arlen looked over at the prototype. It was supposed to generate over two hundred horsepower. It could be mounted vertically on a sledge for transport to the site and outriggers added for stability. The problem was finding a way to lift the weight of the loco without toppling the equipment. Somehow, the lift point had to be right over the loco. He started to get an idea. He doodled on a napkin, laying out the site as he remembered it. When he finished he pushed it across the table to Beth. "Is this about how you remember the site's layout?"