The Story of Pender

This is the story of Pender. Pender is a small, green steam engine. Once upon a time Pender worked all day pulling carriages full of holidaymakers. 1

Pender had a driver called Engineer Eric. Engineer Eric knew everything there was to know about steam engines. He knew how to start them, how to put the coal in and where to put the water. He knew everything. 2

Pender also had a fireman called Forgetful Fireman Fred. He forgot his cap, he forgot his shovel, he forgot where to put in the water. He forgot everything. He would have forgotten his own name if it hadn’t been written on his jacket! 3

Early every morning Eric and Fred arrived at Pender’s coach shed. “Where’s your cap, Fred?” asked Eric. “I forgot it,” said Fred. “Make sure you don’t forget it tomorrow,” said Eric. “Now let’s get Pender ready for a day’s work.” 4

5 So Fred and Eric got Pender ready for the day. “Check the coal,” said Eric. “Where’s the coal?” asked Fred. “In the bunker,” said Eric. “But where’s the bunker?” asked Fred. “Right there,” said Eric, pointing to the bunker.

6 “Plenty of coal,” said Fred looking in the bunker. “Now shovel the coal into the firebox,” said Eric. “Where’s the firebox?” said Fred. “Right there,” said Eric. “Oh, I see,” said Fred, and he started to shovel the coal in.

7 “Now check the water,” said Eric. “Where’s the water?” said Fred. “In the tank,” said Eric. “Where’s the tank? said Fred. “Right there,” said Eric, pointing at the tank. “Plenty of water,” said Fred, looking in the tank.

8 “Now light the fire,” said Eric. “Where?” said Fred. “In the firebox,” said Eric. “Where’s the firebox?” said Fred. “Right there,” said Eric, pointing to the firebox. “Oh, I see,” said Fred, and he lit the fire.

9 “Now we must wait,” said Eric. “What for?” said Fred. “Until the fire in the firebox has heated up the water in the boiler,” said Eric. “And what happens then?” said Fred. “The water boils,” said Eric. “And turns into tea?” said Fred.

10 “No,” said Eric, “it turns into steam!” “Now check the chimney,” said Eric. “For steam?” said Fred. “No,” said Eric, “for smoke.” “Chimney smoking,” said Fred, looking at the chimney.

11 “ Now check the steam dome,” said Eric. “Yes, I’m checking it for smoke,” said Fred. “No,” said Eric, “for steam.” “Steam in the steam dome,” said Fred, looking at the steam dome.

12 “ Now check the cylinders and pistons,” said Eric. “What are they?” said Fred. “This is the cylinder,” said Eric, “and inside is the piston.” “I see them but what am I checking for?” said Fred.

13 “Is the steam pushing the piston up the cylinder,” said Eric. “Yes,” said Fred. “Is the steam pushing the piston down the cylinder?” said Eric. “Yes,” said Fred.

“Is the connecting rod turning the wheels,” said Eric. “Where’s the connecting rod?,” said Fred. “Right there,” said Eric. “The connecting rods are turning the wheels,” said Fred, looking at the connecting rod. 14

“Off we go then,” said Eric. So off steamed Pender with Eric and Fred on the footplate, ready to fill the carriage with holiday makers. Every morning all summer long, they got Pender ready and then worked all day pulling carriages full of holiday makers. 15

He had forgotten to set his alarm clock and was fast asleep in bed! 16 Then one morning, Forgetful Fireman Fred arrived at the engine shed as usual, but Engineer Eric was nowhere to be seen.

“Oh no!” said Fred, “I don’t think I can remember how to start Pender all on my own. All the holidaymakers will be disappointed.” “What am I going to do?” What can Fred do? Do you think we can help him remember how to get Pender ready? Let’s try. 17

Is Fireman Fred right? What should he be checking? THE COAL!! “Where will I find the coal”, thought Fred. Do you know where it is? IN THE BUNKER!! 18 “First of all, I must check the potatoes.”

19 “Look’s like there’s plenty of coal,” said Fred. “Now,” thought Fred, I must shovel it into the fridge.” Is Fireman Fred right? No!! Where should he shovel the coal? INTO THE FIREBOX!!

Where will he find the water? IN THE TANK!! “Looks like there’s plenty of water,” said Fred. 20 “Next I must check the water,” thought Fred, “but where will I find it?”

Where does he light the fire? IN THE FIREBOX!! So Fred lit the fire in the firebox. 21 “Now I must light the fire,” thought Fred, “but where do I put that?”

Is Fred right? No!! What does the water in the boiler turn into? STEAM!! 22 “Now I must wait until the fire heats up the water in the boiler and it turns into tea,” thought Fred.

Is Fred right? No!! What should he be checking the chimney for? SMOKE!! “Lots of smoke coming from the chimney,” said Fred. 23 “Now I must check the chimney for steam,” thought Fred.

Is Fred right? No!! What should he be checking the steam dome for? STEAM!! “Plenty of steam in the steam dome,” said Fred. 24 “Now I must check the steam dome for smoke,” thought Fred.

Can you tell Fred what he should be looking for? CYLINDERS AND PISTONS “Here’s the cylinder,” said Fred, “but where’s the piston?” Can you tell Fred where the piston is? INSIDE THE CYLINDER!! 25 “Now I must find the whatsits and the thingumajig. But what are they really called?” thought Fred.

Can you remember how? THE STEAM PUSHERS THE PISTON UP THE CYLINDER AND THEN DOWN THE CYLINDER. “Well that’s working alright,” said Fred looking at the cylinders and pistons. 26 “So here’s the cylinder and inside is the piston but I can’t remember how the steam pushes the piston.”

Pender’s going to be late picking up all the holidaymakers if we don’t all help Forgetful Fireman Fred. 27 “That’s everything ready. I’ll just go through it one more time.” First I shovelled the coal into the … erm? Now what’s it called?”

28 Where did Fred shovel the coal? INTO THE FIREBOX!! Where did Fred light the fire? IN THE FIREBOX!! What did the fire heat up in the boiler? WATER!! What did the water in the boiler turn into? STEAM!! What did the steam go into first? THE STEAM DOME What came out of the chimney? SMOKE!! What did the steam push up and down in the cylinder? THE PISTON!! What did the connecting rods turn round? THE WHEELS!!

So off steamed Pender to pick up all the happy holidaymakers. All thanks to Forgetful Fireman Fred and you of course. 29 “We’re ready!” shouted Fred. “I remembered… well, with a bit of help from my friends.”

And what happened to Engineer Eric? Well, he got there in the end … but look, HE’S FORGOTTEN HIS CAP!! 30

Pender in the Power Hall at the Museum of Science and Industry, Manchester