Causey Burn

The noise of the huffing and puffing of the engine made its way across the burn and through the trees to the old waggon way high up on the banks of the gorge.  A short blast on the whistle told that the engine was on its way.   It was struggling to pick up speed and the carriages were moaning and grinding as they were dragged behind up the shallow slope.  The noise grew, the train came closer and there it was on the other bank, a cloud of condensation, a puff of smoke and a flash of green. 

It was gone as soon as it came and all that was left was the dappled sunlight falling between the branches onto the cinder track high up on the east bank.  The rattling and clanking of the train died away to a faint whisper but the smell of burning coal and wood hung in the air, carried on the gentle breeze.  Soon the huffing and puffing had stopped and the distant slam of carriage doors came down the stream as the path got closer and closer to the Causey burn and the burn got closer and closer to the railway tracks.  The rocks of the gorge had disappeared by this point and the land became more open.  The river banks were stitched with broad-leaved trees and wild flowers and they peeled back away from the burn to a flatter and more open piece of ground. 

The railway took the opportunity to cross the water only a few feet above the surface on a small iron bridge, no more than a few girders and some stone piles, a distant relative of the magnificent single arched bridge further downstream.  The ground was scarred and pitted, broken with dandelions and thistles and paved with concrete slabs and loose clinker.  A sign said East Tanfield Station.  The buffers let it be known that this was the end of the line and there it was, the small green saddle tank engine waiting, waiting patiently for the return journey, with its red pin stripes and arched name plate.

It rested on the tracks, breathing deeply and slowly, while excited children climbed up into the wooden varnished carriages.  The guard blew his whistle and waved his green flag and driver on the footplate made to start the engine but it already knew what to do.  It took a couple of deep breaths and clouded leaden smoke rose from the chimney.  It then gave a small shake and the chains clanged between the carriages as they took the strain.  The train pulled away out of the station, back along the tracks towards the Causey Arch and the guard waved his hand as I watched them depart.