CHAPTER XVIII – Tom Swift and His Elec­tric Loco­mo­tive opens in the wake of a three-hour delay caused by a wreck along the transcon­ti­nen­tal line—an inci­dent that very near­ly placed the Her­cules 0001 at risk. Though the loco­mo­tive itself remained untouched, Tom Swift’s instincts are alert. He and Ned New­ton spot famil­iar fig­ures near the crash site—namely Andy O’Mal­ley and Mon­tagne Lewis, whose pri­or sab­o­tage attempts have earned them noto­ri­ety. O’Malley’s abrupt dis­ap­pear­ance upon being rec­og­nized con­firms their sus­pi­cions. Tom sees the tim­ing of their pres­ence as too con­ve­nient to be coin­ci­dence. The inci­dent doesn’t just delay progress—it rein­forces that some­one is work­ing active­ly against them.

Arriv­ing at Hen­drick­ton, Tom and Ned are wel­comed by Mr. Richard Bartholomew, the pres­i­dent of the Hen­drick­ton & Pas Alos Rail­road. His inter­est in the elec­tric loco­mo­tive is more than curiosity—it’s dri­ven by the need for per­for­mance inno­va­tion in a com­pet­i­tive trans­port land­scape. Bartholomew believes in Tom’s capa­bil­i­ty but wants proof. He dreams of trains trav­el­ing at two miles per minute, a feat which only the Her­cules 0001 might achieve. Tom, though con­fi­dent, knows such expec­ta­tions require pre­ci­sion. The machine must not only reach unprece­dent­ed speeds but also han­dle steep grades and long dis­tances with­out fail. Tom out­lines the tests planned through the Pas Alos Range—terrain that has chal­lenged steam pow­er for years.

The prepa­ra­tion phase brings togeth­er skill, strat­e­gy, and cama­raderie. Ned assists with logis­tics while Koku, Tom’s tow­er­ing aide, pro­vides strength and lev­i­ty. Koku’s enthu­si­asm is unmatched, even if his grasp of engi­neer­ing is loose. As the test day nears, engi­neers, brake­men, and fire­men from the H. & P. A. line col­lab­o­rate with Tom to ensure every bolt and con­tact is ready. Safe­ty is para­mount, not just for pas­sen­gers but also for the locomotive’s rep­u­ta­tion. The Her­cules 0001 sym­bol­izes more than metal—it car­ries Tom’s vision for the future of rail. Among the crew, there’s a shared curios­i­ty: Can elec­tric­i­ty tru­ly out­per­form steam in real-world rail con­di­tions?

Tom walks the length of the engine, check­ing cables, cool­ing sys­tems, and con­trol levers. Dis­cus­sions between him and the H. & P. A. engi­neers touch on fric­tion resis­tance, regen­er­a­tive brak­ing, and sus­tained out­put over grade. For many, this is their first time work­ing with an elec­tric loco­mo­tive of this scale. Skep­ti­cism lingers in small remarks, but Tom engages each ques­tion with data and dia­grams. It’s not arro­gance that dri­ves him—it’s assur­ance backed by test­ing. Yet in the back of his mind, the recent sab­o­tage attempt casts a shad­ow. He sta­tions extra guards near the switch­es and alerts his team to watch for unusu­al activ­i­ty.

The actu­al test run begins with cau­tious opti­mism. The Her­cules 0001 pulls out from the ter­mi­nal smooth­ly, its hum replac­ing the roar of steam. Its accel­er­a­tion is fast but sta­ble. Onlook­ers along the route track its speed with stop­watch­es, while Bartholomew observes from a trail­ing coach. As they climb the first incline of the Pas Alos Range, Tom mon­i­tors pow­er draw and wheel torque. Every­thing stays with­in lim­its. The loco­mo­tive doesn’t just meet expectations—it begins to exceed them. At one point, they near the two-miles-a-minute mark. Ned cheers, and even the sea­soned rail crew exchange sur­prised looks.

Still, Tom keeps his focus on per­for­mance under pres­sure. He wants to know how Her­cules 0001 will behave after long stretch­es and steep climbs. Can the pow­er unit cool effi­cient­ly? Will the trac­tion hold on the tighter curves ahead? He watch­es each met­ric, not­ing minor adjust­ments for future refine­ments. Koku, mean­while, stands guard at the rear of the train, still on alert after O’Malley’s reap­pear­ance. Tom has instruct­ed him to sig­nal if any­thing unusu­al hap­pens. The past has taught them that inno­va­tion often invites inter­fer­ence.

As the chap­ter clos­es, the loco­mo­tive con­tin­ues its tri­al deep into the range. The pace remains steady. Bartholomew, increas­ing­ly impressed, remarks that this may be the turn­ing point for his rail­road. Tom says lit­tle in return. He’s not ready to cel­e­brate. Suc­cess must be proven not just in one run, but consistently—and safe­ly. The jour­ney isn’t just about speed. It’s about endurance, reli­a­bil­i­ty, and gain­ing the trust of those still tied to tra­di­tion. Tom knows that if Her­cules 0001 can con­quer the Pas Alos, it won’t just be a vic­to­ry for him. It will be a vic­to­ry for elec­tric propul­sion as the future of rail.