Kate could see into the house, where her father was setting the table for her birthday dinner. He looked a thousand miles away.

“I wish it were a real train,” she said quietly. “I mean I wish it could really go somewhere. Like on an adventure.”

“Yeah.”

Just then a big lever shifted forward with a clunk.

Kate frowned at it.

“That was weird. Did you do that?”

“No,” said Tom.

She stuck her head out the window.

“Uncle Herbert? Something just moved in here.”

Uncle Herbert looked up at her.

“What do you mean, moved?”

“Like by itself.”

He frowned. “Couldn’t have.”

But now a couple of the brass wheels were spinning, too, and some of the needles and gauges were stirring and twitching. A couple of switches flipped.

“Uncle Herbert, really! Things are moving! Like, a lot!”

It was the first time Kate had seen her uncle look unsure of himself.

“Right. You might just think about climbing down from there.” He was using that cautious tone you use when you’re trying to reason with a cat. “Both of you. Maybe quite quickly actually.”

“Kate,” Tom said. “Maybe we should.”

“But what is this? Is it a game?”

“It doesn’t matter!” Uncle Herbert said. “Just get out of the train!”

Tom went to the door, but Kate stayed where she was.

“You can go,” she said. “It’s okay. But I want to see what happens.”

Tom thought about it.

“I’m going to stay too,” he said finally, in his most serious, solemn voice.

Now white steam was leaking and poofing out of the train everywhere and drifting across the lawn. A knob turned and a pure, bright white light stabbed forward from the nose of the train, lighting up the grass and the trees and the side of the house next door. From somewhere below came a sharp, satisfying crack. Not like something breaking, more like something that had been stuck for ages finally being released.

“That was the brakes!” Uncle Herbert yelled. “Come on! Get out!”

Chuff.

The engine made a deep, hoarse sound like an ancient beast waking up from a very long sleep and snuffing the air.

“Wait—is this pretend or real?” Kate yelled.

“It’s magic!” Uncle Herbert yelled over the hissing of steam. “You didn’t think I got rich by working hard, did you?”

Kate very much doubted that this was true, because unlike in books, in real life magic did not in fact exist. But right now it wasn’t like she had another explanation.

Chuff…

Chuff…

Chuff…

Hissing and clanking sounds came from all over the train. The whole thing, all 102.36 tons of it, started rolling forward along the tracks as smoothly as a boat across a still pond. With something that heavy, you just knew there was no stopping it once it got going.