Lee's Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends
Stories
Harvey and the Motorcycle
Harvey the Crane Engine is a proud engine on the Fat Controller's railway. He loves his work and is a valued member to Sodor and is a good friend to many of the other engines. He may look unusual but Harvey doesn't mind as he gets the job done with ease whether its lifting fallen tree branches or lifting an engine back onto the line. It would have to take something quite serious to get Harvey angry, but it did happen when he encountered Murray the Motorcycle.
They encountered one another on a beautifully sunny day on Sodor where the birds sang and sky looked magnificent as the sun beamed down and made everyone happy. Harvey had just been on a called and lifted a few de-railed Troublesome Trucks back onto the line for Thomas when in the distance he heard an unusual noise. It roared and it gruffed and it bemused Harvey greatly.
"What is that noise?" he questioned to his driver.
"Oh...no need to worry Harvey, its a Motorcycle!" he replied.
"It's a funny sounding one!" remarked Harvey as the roaring and gruffing noise got louder. His driver agreed and they just laughed about how it sounded like an angry Tiger. Soon enough, all of Thomas' de-railed Troublesome Trucks were back on the line, and Harvey made his way. Soon after, Harvey came to a crossroads where the gates were closed, which meant he had to wait. Then all of a sudden, the roaring and gruffing motorcycle noise was heard again, and then it pulled up at the crossroads behind George and Buster the Steamrollers. The Motorcycle was dark blue and grey and had a small face that made its eyes seem very angry indeed.
"Oh come on! Move along slow coach!" gruffed the Motorcycle as George slowly made his way across the crossroads and was then followed slowly by Buster.
"There's no need to be like that!" said Harvey to the Motorcycle. "You'll just have to be patient!"
"Patient? I don't know that word. I'm Murray the Motorcycle, and I don't wait for anyone!" it replied gruffly. Soon enough, Murray and his driver had lost their patience and swerved out to the side of Buster and George and sped straight past them.
"Watch where you're going!" called Buster
"Oi!" cried George. Harvey was left stunned, and so was his driver.
"He's going to cause an accident soon..." said Harvey's driver. Harvey agreed, and in no time at all, both George and Buster were through and the crossroad gate opened and they were on their way again, but Harvey was now very angry with the Motorcycle as it could have caused a severe accident, and Harvey never wants that to happen.
The day was progressing nicely and Harvey was just enjoying the scenery of Sodor as he hadn't been called out since the earlier incident, so he had a free day ahead of him. He steamed around the many twisty lines that Sodor had for him and he just smiled with delight at such a wonderful place that was all around him. He passed many engines along the way and blew his whistle at them, to which they blew theirs back. Eventually, Harvey stopped in Henry's Forest just to admire the beauty of it as it was truly wonderful. While he was there, he saw Trevor and Terence and chatted to them for a good while. This day was so relaxing, Harvey really couldn't believe it. Then, all of a sudden, the roar and gruff of Murray the Motorcycle was heard again.
"Oh dear..." said Harvey as the noise got louder.
"What is it?" questioned Trevor.
"I don't know..." answered Terence as the roars and gruffs from Murray's engine got louder, then he came into view and stopped beside the three of them.
"Good day chaps! I'm Murray and I'm r-"
"Really impatient..." interrupted Harvey.
"How dare you interrupt me!" bellowed Murray. "I am an important Motorcycle! Let me speak!"
"Since when are you important?" questioned Trevor.
"You don't belong to anyone special..." added Terence. Murray didn't speak, but his driver did.
"I think you'll find he does belong to someone special..." said the driver. He then took off his helmet and stood before Harvey, Trevor and Terence, but they didn't know who he was. However, Harvey's driver recognised him.
"I don't believe it!" he said "Its you...you're Sir Handel Brown!"
"Indeed..." replied Murray's driver "To be precise, I'm Sir Handel Brown I." Harvey, Trevor and Terence were left shocked, but were still unsure about who the man was.
"Who is he?" whispered Harvey to his driver.
"Oh, don't you know?" asked his driver to all three of them, but before he could tell them, Murray's driver did.
"I'll care to introduce myself properly then. I am Sir Handel Brown I, and I am Lady Hatt's brother!" he said in his posh voice. The engines did did look stunned, then all of a sudden, a roar came from in the distance, it was another Motorcycle engine, but when this one came into view, it had a sidecar attached to it aswell. The motorcycle then pulled up alongside all of them, and the people riding got up and took off their helmets. When they did, it was very surprising indeed.
"Jane!" called Sir Handel Brown. "How is my wonderful sister doing?"
"Just perfect!" she replied. "It's been a while since we saw each other, isn't it?" she then added in a delighted tone. Sir Handel Brown then spoke to the other person from the motorcycle who'd ridden in the sidecar.
"Bertram..." he said. "You're doing a wonderful job of maintaining this railway...I have to congratulate you on that!"
"Why thankyou..." said the man called Bertram who turned out to be none other than the Fat Controller. Harvey, his driver and fireman, Trevor and Terence were very surprised at this. Not only had they seen the Fat Controller riding in a Motorcycle sidecar, they now also knew his first name. This was a different day to say the least. Then the other Motorcycle decided to speak to them. It was a bright yellow motorcycle, and its smile was very wide.
"Hello..." it said. "I'm Lucinda...but everyone calls me Lucky...how are you?" it then asked.
"Fine..." they all replied in unison. They were still very surprised at the sight infront of them, but one thing puzzled Harvey now. Why was Murray very patient now, and not speaking at all, which seems to have been the complete opposite to when they he saw him earlier, so Harvey asked him.
"You've changed a bit suddenly haven't you?" he asked.
"Oh, you saw me at a bad moment, we wanted to get here as quick as possible to set up our treat for my owner's guests..." Murray replied. Harvey completely understood.
"What's the treat then?" he asked with intrigue.
"A delightful, and bountiful picnic with a special treat of a commemorative plaque for my Sister and her great Husband!" declared Sir Handel Brown.
"A Picnic?" said the Fat Controller. His eyes lit up immediately at the thought of it.
"What a wonderful surprise Handel!" said Lady Hatt. The three of them then sat down and had a wonderful picnic. Soon enough, they invited Harvey's driver and fireman, Terence's driver and Jem Cole – Trevor's driver to join their picnic. Harvey, Trevor, Terence, Murray and Lucky then talked and passed the time well on such a beautiful day on Sodor.
Evening came, and it was soon time to go, but Lady's Hatt's brother was staying for a few more days so Murray would be around too. Everyone had enjoyed their day and had a great time. Harvey then told Murdoch and Salty about his day at the sheds that night. They listened intently, and said they'd wished they were there to enjoy it. Harvey wished it would happen again soon, but he doubted it as Lady Hatt's brother said it would be a good while before he'd be back, but you never know as the Island of Sodor isn't always predictable.
