The Cable Bypass

Brake release confirmed. I engaged low throttle and rolled clear of the bookcase siding, emerging onto the open oak floorboards. Ten feet ahead, a white braided power cable lay stretched across my line of travel like a rigid pipeline. Inspection confirmed the obstacle: cable diameter exceeded cowcatcher clearance, risking an axle high-center. I initiated a reconnaissance arc. Three inches to the port side, the cable looped around the turned wooden leg of an armchair, leaving an open corridor of clear wood. I notched throttle up, guiding the front wheels into the detour seam. Silver tender, brown coach, and green gondola tracked through the curve in unbroken alignment. Clearance maintained. Transit continuous.