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Description
I've figured out a way for Sparky to work in this situation; A generator.

Of course, she hates taking power from it, an electric running on any power collection system besides overhead or 3rd rail is usually a tired, cranky, weak one, sort of like a steam locomotive with a bad fireman.

Sparky was woken up the next morning in the works at Crovan's Gate. She groggily awoke to the sound of her own air compressor competing with a noisy diesel generator on an empty conflat. It was right on her front end, and the steeplecab scowled at the noisy box. Her pole drooped down further than usual, as it did when she was upset. After a few minutes of airing up, and testing the vacuum hose, her motorman, who was a retired BR EMU driver, jerked the sleepy electric from the siding. The coupling jolted and Sparky yanked the flat truck into motion, he didn't seem to talk much. She switched noses to look where she was going, and saw an impressive lineup of locomotives. They had also come from different countries, and Sparky groaned at the sight of crowds. Being a locomotive, she normally loved the attention of cameras, but certainly not today. Sparky kept trying to keep herself awake as she moved along, the generator having trouble producing power. As she came closer to the crowds on the station platform, she clicked her heels, and rang her own bell a few times, trying to get attention from the other locomotives. She just couldn't help wanting a few pictures by then. Her motorman checked her, braking with a sharp squeal, as he still wasn't fully used to Sparky's air brake. The electric glided to a stop next to two steam locomotives, brightly painted in stunning colors. Her black with yellow handrails and white walls didn't seem so nice now. They both giggled to themselves when they heard the growling generator truck. Sparky yawned, and looked at the nearest engine.
"S'cuse me, but what is so funny?"
She pondered, the other engine grinning.
"That screaming box of yours, where did you find it?"
Sparky gasped, and her air compressor snorted.
"Why you! What's with that extra set of driving wheels? They're useless if they can't reach the track! And if I had my overhead, I'd-"

Before the argument of hissing safety valves and hissing air tanks got to anything worse, a news crew came past the fencing, and walked along the ballast towards them. They asked each locomotive some questions about their part in the race, Sparky looked quite puzzled as they asked an Italian tank loco a few.
Sparky whispered something to the Class X.
"Psst, hey, why are they asking us?"
The rack tank next to her didn't pay any attention.
"This is just weird, why are they even talking to us? It's like interviewing racehorses instead of the riders."
The news lady came towards Sparky.
"So, American, what is your greatest edge on the competition?"
Sparky just looked confused. She wanted to say 'Who cares? Find something else to write a story on.', but didn't.
"Ah, well, I'm an electric locomotive, so I can start heavy trains more quickly."
Then came the next question.
"So, how well do you think you're going to do?"
Sparky looked up, trying to come up with an honest answer. 'I think I'm gonna get laughed at for having this thing stuck to me' no, no, that's not it. 'I'm going to win this because I'm a strong, independent, electric locomo-' nope, nah, uh...
"Well, I expect to do... Good... With this... Ah, I'd like to point out that I have to get power from this generator, so I think it would be more fair of a competition if these pufferbellies over here had to drop their fires and run on their remaining steam, because I'm not at my strongest."
Sparky's mind spoke again. 'No! No! You idiot, that was horrible.'
The reporter left, and Sparky looked down at the rails.
"This is going to be fun."

The time drew near, as the bells in the town clock rang two o' clock. Sparky felt ashamed of having the noisy generator coupled on, and scowled at the other two locomotives.
'This is humiliating, why do they get all the attention? I'm stuck dragging this guy around, and the worst part is that I'm not allowed to ring my bell for some reason. What's the deal with that?'

Description
I've figured out a way for Sparky to work in this situation; A generator.

Of course, she hates taking power from it, an electric running on any power collection system besides overhead or 3rd rail is usually a tired, cranky, weak one, sort of like a steam locomotive with a bad fireman.

Sparky was woken up the next morning in the works at Crovan's Gate. She groggily awoke to the sound of her own air compressor competing with a noisy diesel generator on an empty conflat. It was right on her front end, and the steeplecab scowled at the noisy box. Her pole drooped down further than usual, as it did when she was upset. After a few minutes of airing up, and testing the vacuum hose, her motorman, who was a retired BR EMU driver, jerked the sleepy electric from the siding. The coupling jolted and Sparky yanked the flat truck into motion, he didn't seem to talk much. She switched noses to look where she was going, and saw an impressive lineup of locomotives. They had also come from different countries, and Sparky groaned at the sight of crowds. Being a locomotive, she normally loved the attention of cameras, but certainly not today. Sparky kept trying to keep herself awake as she moved along, the generator having trouble producing power. As she came closer to the crowds on the station platform, she clicked her heels, and rang her own bell a few times, trying to get attention from the other locomotives. She just couldn't help wanting a few pictures by then. Her motorman checked her, braking with a sharp squeal, as he still wasn't fully used to Sparky's air brake. The electric glided to a stop next to two steam locomotives, brightly painted in stunning colors. Her black with yellow handrails and white walls didn't seem so nice now. They both giggled to themselves when they heard the growling generator truck. Sparky yawned, and looked at the nearest engine.
"S'cuse me, but what is so funny?"
She pondered, the other engine grinning.
"That screaming box of yours, where did you find it?"
Sparky gasped, and her air compressor snorted.
"Why you! What's with that extra set of driving wheels? They're useless if they can't reach the track! And if I had my overhead, I'd-"

Before the argument of hissing safety valves and hissing air tanks got to anything worse, a news crew came past the fencing, and walked along the ballast towards them. They asked each locomotive some questions about their part in the race, Sparky looked quite puzzled as they asked an Italian tank loco a few.
Sparky whispered something to the Class X.
"Psst, hey, why are they asking us?"
The rack tank next to her didn't pay any attention.
"This is just weird, why are they even talking to us? It's like interviewing racehorses instead of the riders."
The news lady came towards Sparky.
"So, American, what is your greatest edge on the competition?"
Sparky just looked confused. She wanted to say 'Who cares? Find something else to write a story on.', but didn't.
"Ah, well, I'm an electric locomotive, so I can start heavy trains more quickly."
Then came the next question.
"So, how well do you think you're going to do?"
Sparky looked up, trying to come up with an honest answer. 'I think I'm gonna get laughed at for having this thing stuck to me' no, no, that's not it. 'I'm going to win this because I'm a strong, independent, electric locomo-' nope, nah, uh...
"Well, I expect to do... Good... With this... Ah, I'd like to point out that I have to get power from this generator, so I think it would be more fair of a competition if these pufferbellies over here had to drop their fires and run on their remaining steam, because I'm not at my strongest."
Sparky's mind spoke again. 'No! No! You idiot, that was horrible.'
The reporter left, and Sparky looked down at the rails.
"This is going to be fun."

The time drew near, as the bells in the town clock rang two o' clock. Sparky felt ashamed of having the noisy generator coupled on, and scowled at the other two locomotives.
'This is humiliating, why do they get all the attention? I'm stuck dragging this guy around, and the worst part is that I'm not allowed to ring my bell for some reason. What's the deal with that?'