The train driver in the courtyard

Woo hoo hoo. Eat like crazy, eat like crazy, eat like crazy
The rescue train was emitting black smoke as it raced along the railway line towards the northeast.

The Patriotic Type 2 steam engine is an improved model of the Patriotic steam engine, known for its high power. Li Aiguo pushed the air valve to the bottom, and the speed of the train soared to 95 kilometers per hour.

What Li Aiguo did not expect was that as part of the fuel supply system, the boiler operator Chen Boya performed quite well.

Each shovel of coal weighs more than ten pounds, and Chen Boya adds coal one shovel after another. In order to ensure the high-speed operation of the train, Chen Boya has not rested for a moment since the train entered the main line.

At this time, his face and hands were black, only his teeth were white. The temperature next to the boiler was very high, and it was like a steamer in summer. Sweat kept flowing down from his head, and his clothes never dried.

Driver Zhang wanted to help light the fire several times, but was rejected by Chen Boya.

"I can hold on. You should keep your eyes on the road ahead. The train is going very fast right now, so we can't be careless."

"Hey, I don't know if you can be a train driver, but you will definitely be an excellent fireman."

In front of Li Aiguo, Driver Zhang specifically praised Chen Boya.

Li Aiguo nodded, then turned to look at Liu Qingsong: "Old Liu, there have been five car flooding incidents this quarter?"

"Yes, there has been a lot of rain this year, and many railway bridges were built before liberation, so their heights do not meet the standards." Liu Qingsong was overwhelmed when this matter was mentioned.

Although these accidents did not cause any casualties due to timely rescue.

But it is better to be safe than sorry. With accidents happening so frequently, there will always be one that will cause big trouble.

For example, the car flooding incident this time was extremely dangerous.

Li Aiguo asked, smoking a cigarette, "Was there no early warning?"

"In fact, since the section was established, it has paid special attention to meteorological changes and has been specifically connected with the Junwei Meteorological Bureau to receive relevant meteorological forecast data."

Liu Qingsong is the leader of the rescue team and is familiar with these things. He said slowly, "It's just that these forecasts are not accurate at all. In addition, there seems to be a problem in Jinling recently, and the weather forecast work has been interrupted."

At that time, Jinling was at the forefront of domestic research on meteorology and geological disasters, with two research institutes directly under the Academy of Sciences, namely the Jinling Institute of Geophysics and the Jinling Zijinshan Observatory.

At the opening ceremony of the Red Star Computing Institute, Li Aiguo and Zhao Jiuzhang of the Jinling Geophysical Institute agreed that one day they would work together to apply computers to the forecasting of meteorological and geological disasters.

Something happened now?

Li Aiguo's heart skipped a beat, but he calmed down and asked which unit had the problem and what happened.
"I don't know about that. I just know that the weather forecast in Jinling has been interrupted recently. But it doesn't matter much. After all, that thing is not accurate anyway."

Liu Qingsong stood up and pointed ahead: "We have passed the Mashan switch station and are less than 16 kilometers away from the site where the K train crashed."

Hearing this, Li Aiguo breathed a sigh of relief and refocused his energy on driving the train.

At this time, the K16 train was like a wounded dragon, lying quietly on the rails.

Train conductor Zhou Fang looked at the heavy rain outside the window, feeling both relieved and melancholy.

This story started last night. After the train left Shenyang Station, the rain started to get heavier.

The train was running in the heavy rain, and the deputy driver Huang Jing suddenly noticed some flickering lights on the tracks ahead.

She immediately took the initiative to brake.

Later we learned that the railway bridge ahead had collapsed. In order to prevent the train from having an accident, the switchman at the Hushan Switch Station walked seven or eight miles in the heavy rain and finally blocked the train before it reached the railway bridge.

The K16 train was lucky to escape death.

What's sad is that according to the switchman, the heavy rain here has been falling for nearly seven or eight hours, and the dam upstream may collapse at any time. At the critical moment, the train gave up.

"I don't know if Comrade Huang Jing and her team have repaired the train."

Thinking of this, Zhou Fang could no longer sit still. While asking the flight attendants to comfort the passengers, she opened the door and walked down.

It was raining so hard outside at this time. Although it was morning, the light was almost as bright as dusk.

Braving the rain, Zhou Fang came to the front of the car and leaned under it: "Xiao Huang, what's the situation?"

"Captain Zhou, it's probably a gas line problem. I don't think it can be fixed."

Huang Jing had been up for a whole day and night, her body and face were covered in mud, and she looked extremely miserable.

"Don't worry. The Hushan switch station has already notified the section, and the rescue train will arrive soon." Zhou Fang knew that at the critical moment, the most important thing was to stabilize the morale of the troops.

As soon as she finished her words, a gunshot was heard in the distance.

The gunshots whistled through the rain, and the scene seemed to be paused.

Huang Jing held a wrench in her hand, half of her body stuck out from under the car, and asked in a daze, "What happened?"

"Quick, quick, Captain Zhou, Driver Huang, get on the train." The switchman hurried over, shouting, "The gunshots are a signal of a dam breach. The upstream dam can no longer hold."

boom!
Zhou Fang only felt her head buzzing and her heart beating violently.

The train is located in a low-lying area, less than three or five centimeters away from the river surface. Once the dam breaks, the flood will sweep in and the consequences will be unimaginable.

Fortunately, her years of experience saved her from panic.

In the pouring rain, Zhou Fang wiped the rain off her face, which was impossible to wipe off, and straightened her chest: "Get in the car!"

At this time, the passengers in the car also heard the gunshot.

Some people said that it was hunters in the mountains hunting.

Some people also said that they were trying to capture enemy spies.

A local passenger shouted at the top of his voice: "This, this is the dam about to burst. Everyone, run!"

When the passengers heard the shouting, they all panicked, especially the young men who were bragging. They reacted quickly, stood up and were about to jump down.

"Stop right there!" Zhou Fang had just gotten on the bus and saw this scene and yelled.

I have to say that a driver may not have other skills, but he must have a loud voice.

The loud thunder shocked everyone to the spot.

A young man in a respectable woolen Zhongshan suit said anxiously: "This place is going to be flooded, we are all going to die here!"

Zhou Fang pointed outside the car window and said coldly, "Look outside."

The passengers opened the windows and looked out, but after just one glance, they were all stunned. They saw pitch black outside and a roaring flood rushing towards the train.

"It's too dangerous to go out now. The rescue train is on the way. We have no choice but to hold on."

"Who knows when help will come. No, I can't just sit there and wait for death."

"Comrade, please calm down and trust us." Zhou Fang patiently advised him when she saw that he was getting emotional.

Several of Lu Zhongshan's friends also advised him: "Lu Zhongshan, let's listen to the conductor, right? The railway will not refuse to save us."

"You are all fools. They are keeping us here first and will escape later!" Lu Zhongshan waved his hands and shook off the hands of his friends.

"How is this possible! Stop kidding." Seeing Lu Zhongshan getting angry, several friends felt helpless.

"Okay, if you want to stay here and die, then it's up to you. I don't trust anyone anyway."

Before Zhou Fang could react, Lu Zhongshan climbed out of the window, jumped into the darkness, and disappeared.

"Captain, do you want me to stop him?" The conductor came over and asked in a low voice.

"It's too late. We must concentrate on protecting the safety of the train." Zhou Fang had no choice but to ask the train attendants and police to mobilize the passengers and find ways to drain the water when the flood comes.

Although this method can only delay the time for a little while, sometimes this little bit of time can turn the situation around.

A clear voice came from the radio hanging on the roof.

"Dear passengers, the K12 train is trapped by floods. Please don't panic. The rescue train is on the way. Please cooperate with the crew and be prepared for the flood."

These days, most passengers have a special trust in uniformed train attendants.

Even with Lu Zhongshan's encouragement, they quickly recovered from their panic after figuring out the situation.

Enamel jugs, aluminum lunch boxes, beer bottles - everything that could hold water was taken out. Some young men even took off their clothes and prepared to stuff the clothes into the gaps between the car doors and windows.

Outside the train.

The raging flood rushed towards the train like a monster.

Inside the train.

The flight attendants, police officers and passengers were united in their efforts.

A flash of lightning streaked across the sky and illuminated the scene, and a war between man and nature was about to break out.

Just now.

Woo woo woo.
There were whistles sounding in the distance.

The slightly shrill sound of the whistle seemed particularly pleasant at this moment.

"The rescue train is here!" The conductor opened the door and looked into the distance. He saw the bright red flag on the roof fluttering in the heavy rain and shouted excitedly, "We are saved!"

Zhou Fang had been holding on, but after hearing the news, the strength in her heart suddenly disappeared and her body swayed. Huang Jing quickly supported her.

"Conductor, are you all right? Ah, conductor, you have a high fever."

"I can hold on." Zhou Fang patted Huang Jing's hand, signaling her not to let the passengers notice. After Huang Jing put down her hand, she smiled and said, "Huang Jing, let's go and cooperate with the rescue team."

Zhou Fang handed the task of comforting the passengers to the deputy conductor, and took Huang Jing to the back of the train in the rain.

At this time, the flood had already submerged the ankles, and the rescue train was coming along, splashing water.

"Reporting to the chief driver, I saw the K16 train and there were two people. They gave a signal." Driver Zhang, who had his head sticking out of the window, reported to the director at this time.

Li Aiguo gently loosened the air valve and pushed up the small gate.

The rescue train slowly stopped right behind the K16 train, with the distance between the two being less than three meters.

"This train driver's level is almost the same as my master's."

As a train driver, Huang Jing knows very well how difficult it is to accurately calculate the braking distance in such a complex environment.

"Let's go, let's hurry over there." Zhou Fang wiped the rain off her face and strode over.

The door of the driver's building opened and a familiar figure appeared at the door.

"Dache Li? Really, you really came here in person?" Zhou Fang was stunned at first, then became excited.

"Master, Master!" Huang Jing was so excited that she didn't know how to express her feelings.

She felt that the sky suddenly brightened.

Li Aiguo jumped down from the driver's building, stood in the cold flood, squinted his eyes and looked around: "The situation is critical, Captain Zhou, please return to the train immediately and ask the passengers to prepare for the return journey.

Driver Huang, go and cooperate with Captain Zhou."

"Master, I want to stay here and help you." Huang Jing said timidly.

Li Aiguo frowned and said, "Driver Huang, there are comrades from the rescue team over here. Please follow their instructions."

"Yes!" Seeing that Li Aiguo was angry, Huang Jing saluted Li Aiguo, turned around and followed Captain Zhou back to the train.

When the passengers saw the two people get on the bus, they all asked anxiously.

"Captain, what's the situation?"

Captain Zhou raised his fist and shouted excitedly: "The comrades from the rescue team have arrived. We will be rescued soon."

Wow!
There was warm applause in the carriage, and some passengers even shed tears with excitement.

Rescue work is similar to fighting a war, and the most taboo thing is disagreement.

The rescue scene can only accommodate one voice.

After arranging the work on the K16 train, Li Aiguo smiled at Liu Qingsong apologetically. Liu Qingsong said without any concern: "Aiguo, I will listen to you today."

"Okay!" Li Aiguo pointed to the last car of the K16 train and said, "Take your men and connect the two trains immediately."

The members of the rescue team have all received professional training and are very experienced. Although they were braving heavy rain and half of their bodies were squatting in the flood, it only took them a dozen minutes to complete the connection work.

At this time, the flood water had risen to the calf area.

"That is, the exhaust hole of the steam engine is facing upwards. If it was a truck, we would have been doomed by now." Li Aiguo sighed, asked the rescue team members to get on the truck quickly, and then gave a signal to the driver of the last section of K16.

"Dear passengers, the rescue work of the rescue train will be launched soon, please sit down and stand firmly."

Accompanied by the clear sound from the radio, Li Aiguo blew the whistle.

Woo woo woo.
You should know that the K16 train is equipped with 16 passenger carriages and is fully loaded with passengers, weighing about one thousand tons.

And now the rescue train is in the flood water.

Can it pull the K16 train?

At this moment, everyone's heart was in their throat.

Li Aiguo is an experienced driver. He did not push the valve up directly, but pushed it one tenth first.

Feeling the drag from the rear, he pushed the air valve little by little.

As the power increased, black smoke billowed from the chimney of the Patriot 2, and the couplers connecting the two vehicles rubbed violently, making a squeaking sound.

The person who invented the coupler was indeed a genius. It is amazing that such a small coupler can carry such a huge traction force.

While adding gas, Li Aiguo kept an eye on the pressure gauge. When he saw the needle on the gauge dropped half a notch, he immediately shouted, "Driver Zhang, help shovel the coal!"

"Yes!"

Driver Zhang jumped up from the passenger seat, picked up a shovel, and joined the coal shoveling team.

With a whoosh sound, as shovelfuls of coal were loaded into the furnace, flames suddenly jumped up, and steam expanded wildly in the enclosed space, making a sharp hissing sound along the pipe.

The rescue train began to shake violently.

The rails shone coldly after being soaked in the flood, and the sweat from Li Aiguo's palms wet the joystick.

The K16 train did not move at all.

"come on!"

"come on!"

Some passengers in the carriage of the K16 train began to shout loudly.

A young man raised his hand and said, "Brothers, the train is fueled by coal, shouldn't we ask for more coal?"

Passengers: “.”

Flight attendants: “.”

After a while.

"Add coal!"

"Add coal!"

"Add more coal!" Li Aiguo's roar drowned out the roar of the steam engine.

Driver Zhang slammed the shovel on the coal pile, and his face was covered with coal dust.

Chen Boya's face was already red, and veins on his arms were throbbing, but each shovelful of power he used was bigger and faster than the last.

As the flames in the furnace grew rapidly, the needle of the barometer began to tremble and climb, and the wheels of the Patriot 2 finally made the first water mark on the rails with great difficulty.

When the rescue train finally dragged K16 slowly forward, cheers swept through the carriage like waves, and Zhou Fang's hand that was leaning against the door suddenly lost strength.

The dizziness caused by the high fever instantly engulfed her, and the scene in front of her was distorted into a blurry spot of light.

She staggered forward, but was caught by a pair of strong arms before she fell into darkness.

"Captain!" Huang Jing had been worried about Zhou Fang and rushed over.

"The conductor is sick, help her back quickly."

The passengers around couldn't help but applaud Zhou Fang when they thought of how she had just rushed into the heavy rain despite having a high fever.

The applause was particularly crisp.

In the evening, the rain got heavier, but the passengers on the train relaxed.

At this time, the K16 train had left the low-lying area under the towing of the rescue train and was slowly running towards Shenyang Station along the railway track.

Only a few young people were feeling a little depressed.

“I don’t know where Lu Zhongshan ran off to.”

"I heard that before liberation, his father relied on his position as the stationmaster of the Beijing-Fengtian Railway to do a lot of things for the Japanese. Considering that he was also forced, Zhengwu simply fired him and did not pursue the matter further."

"Hey, he helped the devils, his father deserved it. How could he hold a grudge against the railway now!"

"Do you think there is a possibility that if this disaster happened before liberation, no one on the railway would come to rescue people. Lu Zhongshan knew all this and thought it was still before liberation, so he ran away."

"."

The heavy rain pounded against the car windows. Several young people huddled together and sighed, thinking that Lu Zhongshan was in great danger this time.

Suddenly a passenger shouted at the top of his voice: "Look! There's a dead pig floating in the river!"

The word "pig" always attracts people's attention in times of material scarcity.

Everyone crowded to the window and stared at the dark shadow on the water.

"Oh, there really is a dead pig. There is no village here. Where did the dead pig come from?"

"Wait, why does the clothes on this pig look so familiar?"

"Why are Lu Zhongshan's clothes on a pig?"

"."

"Oh shit, it's Lu Zhongshan! His Liberation shoes have been washed away!"

"Staff, steward, help!"

Zhou Fang was drinking hot water from an enamel pot. The antipyretic medicine had just taken effect.

As soon as she heard Huang Jing's report, she slammed the jar on the table and ran to the back of the car.

The moment I opened the car door, the rain poured down on me.

But she saw Lu Zhongshan bobbing up and down in the water at a glance. His military cap had long disappeared, and his work pants were caught on tree branches, which could be swept away by the flood at any time.

"Hurry up and find a way to save them."

"Li Dache!"

Li Aiguo was driving in reverse at the time and could not hear the shouting at all. It was only after receiving the report from driver Zhang that he found out that someone had fallen into the river outside.

"Someone got off the bus?"

The conductor recounted the incident in which Lu Zhongshan refused to listen to advice.

"This guy is courting death and bringing trouble to others. Li Dache, the tracks are now soaked in flood water. If we stop the car, we might not be able to start it. It's too dangerous."

At this time, the passengers on the K16 train also learned the news.

At that time, several passengers found the driver Zhou Fang.

"Comrade Commander, look, that person has been floating on the water for who knows how long. He must be beyond saving. There is no need to take risks."

"Yes, if we stop the car to save people, all of us passengers might be in danger."

Amid the constant dissuasion, several passengers even rushed forward to pull her sleeves: "You can't gamble thousands of lives for one person!"

Lu Zhongshan's companions huddled in a corner, not daring to make a sound.

As the conductor, Captain Zhou Fang's duty requires her to protect the safety of passengers, but to save people, she will have to put more people in danger.

On one side is a person whose life or death is uncertain, and on the other side is the safety of thousands of passengers. If this happened in later generations, it would be a classic trolley problem.

Captain Zhou Fang was unable to make a decision for a moment.

She subconsciously looked towards the rescue train: "Li Da Che, are you going to save them or not?!"

When driver Zhang heard the shouting, he blamed Zhou Fang for being ignorant.

It was obvious that this man could not be saved.

By doing this, Captain Zhou Fang inadvertently dragged Li Dache into the water.

Train drivers must rescue passengers even at the risk of their own lives. This is an iron rule in the locomotive depot.

Driver Zhang wanted to stop Zhou Fang at that moment and was about to say, "Captain Zhou, you are the conductor, it is up to you to decide."

But just as he was about to speak, he saw Li Aiguo stand up and say, "Lao Zhang, you come and watch the train and take my place as the driver! Captain Liu, take the rope and follow me!"

“Li Da Che! This is too dangerous!”

"I know! But I'm a train driver!" Before Li Aiguo finished his words, he had already opened the side door, stepped on the swaying hook and jumped out.

Liu Qingsong followed closely behind with a dozen team members.

Driver Zhang watched them rush into the rain and couldn't help but sigh.

He is also a train driver, but he does not have this kind of ideological awareness. Li Aiguo deserves to be considered a national advanced train driver.

Chen Boya's eyes sparkled as he shoveled coal: "It has to be Li Da Che! He is decisive at the critical moment!"

However, both of them knew that it was easy to make a gesture, but it was extremely difficult to rescue the person without endangering the lives of other passengers.

The strong wind and heavy rain came down on our heads.

Li Aiguo jumped to the back car swiftly, quickly glanced at Lu Zhongshan's figure bobbing in the waves, and pulled Zhou Fang into the car: "Don't just stand there! He's drifted almost two miles away, and the rope can't reach him at all!"

He wiped the rain off his face and yelled at the top of his voice: "Tell everyone to take off their clothes and belts and twist them into ropes! Move quickly!"

Zhou Fang was still in a daze, but was startled by the roar. She turned around and shouted into the car: "Take off your clothes! Untie your belt! Save people!"

In fact, she didn't need to shout, the passengers in the front seat had already heard it and were busy pulling up their clothes.

As the news spread along the back of the car, the men took off their shirts and the women untied their belts, and the colorful fabrics piled up into small mountains.

These were twisted into ropes and sent to the rear of the car.

Although it was summer and the passengers were wearing few clothes, they were enough.

Li Aiguo took the rope and quickly connected it with his team members into several long ropes, one end of which was tied to the guardrail and the other end was tied around the waist.

He turned around and shouted to his teammates, "Hold on tight," then jumped into the surging flood.

The trolley problem is not without a solution.

——As long as someone is willing to rush over before the tram arrives and kick the person off the track, no matter how difficult the obstacle is, a way out can be found!
Liu Qingsong also tied the rope around his waist at this time and shouted: "If you are not afraid of death, follow me!"

Two more members of the rescue team tied ropes and jumped down without hesitation.

(End of this chapter)