Lee's Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends

Stories

The Tragedy of the Sodor Haulage Firm

It was just getting dark on the Island of Sodor and Duck, the great western engine was just about to relax at the depot shed. He'd had a very long and arduous day and was grateful that a rest was about to happen. Sadly, his moment of relaxation was interrupted by Bill and Ben the quarry twins. They were not in a good mood at all and soon stopped beside Duck.
"What's the matter?" Duck asked exasperatedly.
"Whoever we work with…" began Bill.
"…just doesn't do things the way they should." finished Ben.
"There's a silly lorry that just won't do as they're told!" Bill then complained.
"Lorries are no-one's friends!" Ben added. "They don't deserve our respect!"
"Oh really!" Duck said. "You two need to learn that you respect everyone you work with even if they can be different!"
"Whether on road or rails, respect is needed all around!" then added a voice. It came from BoCo as he joined the others at the shed.
"Indeed…" agreed Duck. "I think it's time that you two were told about the most respected lorries to have ever been on Sodor."
"Who were they?" asked Bill and Ben eagerly.
"The Sodor Haulage Firm…" smiled Duck as he then began to tell the tale…

"Many, many years ago near Crest Mountain in Misty Valley stood the base and hub of all hauling activity on Sodor. There stood the Sodor Haulage Firm. They were a group of four very distinct lorries that did all the jobs trains simply couldn't get to. Their leader was Margaret. She was an old purple sentinel lorry that reveled in being in control but as the years went on, she mellowed greatly." Duck began grandly.
"She sounds like Mavis…" murmured Bill.
"Be quiet…" silenced Duck. "Next…" he then continued. "…was Logan. He was the biggest lorry of the firm and was painted grey all over. He could haul more than any other lorry Sodor has ever seen. He was incredibly cocky though, but the others got used to it."
"Sounds like you two…" laughed BoCo. Duck laughed too but the twins didn't like fun being made of them. Duck decided to continue on.
"Then, there was Madison; the other sentinel lorry…" smiled Duck. "She never liked to be bossed about by Margaret but she always did the work well. She loved her maroon paint and hated it to be in any way damaged, but that was never possible working in a haulage firm. She never liked to admit it was a mother-daughter relationship between her and Margaret, but it was most certainly there. Finally, there was Lawrence. He was a blue and grey loading lorry. He was the youngest of the firm and was quite shy really but as time went on; the four of them formed a great team and made the firm ever so popular. It's just a shame that they are no longer around…"
"Why? What happened to them?" asked the twins.
"A terrible disaster…" BoCo said as he then took over the storytelling duties…

"The firm's base beside Crest Mountain has always drawn the mist around it and this day, the terrible day was no different at all. Mist rose all around and the firm were just waking up to a very big hauling duty." BoCo began to tell.
"Looks like the headlights will be needed today then!" Margaret said. The others agreed too as their drivers got them all ready. The Yard Manager soon came to tell them of the duty for the day. He informed them that the rocky road that goes along Crest Mountain has a new base at its peak and here is a new hub of power for the Island. The firm had been selected to take key essentials and other work items to help finish construction work and other jobs at the new site.
"I think I'll manage on my own everyone!" Logan said cockily. "I can take all of this without even having to try!"
"I doubt that…" Madison said. "We all know I am the best Logan, you're just cocky. I can prove myself!"
"Who can haul the most though?" Logan asked with a wide smile as he already knew the answer.
"Does it matter who's best?" Lawrence then asked.
"Well said!" cheered Margaret. "It doesn't matter who claims to be best. We are the Sodor Haulage Firm and we are much appreciated here, and by working as a team, we keep our good reputation!"
"Exactly!" Logan agreed. "But we all know I'm best…" he muttered to himself as the men of the yard loaded him and everyone else up. Soon, they were off and began on the slow trek up Crest Mountain.

The mist got even heavier as the firm began the trip up the rocky road. Their headlights weren't helping much at all in the conditions and the winds were picking up too. Crest Mountain had also been known from time to time over the years for rock slides and Lawrence was most fearful of this.
"Please don't fall, please don't fall…" he said to the rocks.
"Don't worry…" said Margaret. "I've been along here many times and not one small tiny stone has dared fall as we go by. We are safe." Lawrence began to feel much better and as they all continued going along, Margaret's wise words helped everyone with any nerves they had. The further up Crest Mountain the firm went though, the thicker the fog got, the stronger the winds got too and rain also began to fall.
"This is hardly magnificent Sodor is it?" Logan huffed as he could barely see a thing.
"Seeing the back of you is hardly a magnificent site either…" Madison said as the back lights of Logan's trailer were the only things poking their way through the thickening fog from her view. It was getting harder by the minute to cope along the way and soon trouble occurred. The fog got so thick that Logan, who was leading the firm up Crest Mountain couldn't see a thing. His driver was struggling just aswell and suddenly they went over a fallen rock which jolted Logan right into the side of Crest Mountain itself. Logan slammed into the rocky face with a crash and the rest of the firm struggled to stop in time.
"Logan!" called out Lawrence and the others but soon their thoughts all turned to something else. Rocks slowly one by one began to fall from above them.
"Oh my…" Margaret muttered to herself. Her voice was trembling with fear.
"We'll be ok, won't we?" asked a panicked Madison.
"Of course…" replied Margaret but she wasn't sure as soon many, many rocks fell on top of them all. Luckily, their drivers had run free before the rocks fell but the firm were well and truly in trouble.

"That's terrible!" Bill then cut in.
"Horrible even…" Ben added. "What happened next?" Duck just smiled to BoCo as the pair of them could see the story was working its magic.
"Well then…" said BoCo. "Here's how it finished…"

With the rock slide at an end, men tried frantically to free the firm and after many hours of trying, they found them all. They were battered and bruised and incredibly damaged by the heavy rock fall. Logan's trailer was crushed, Lawrence's loader was smashed and Madison and Margaret felt incredibly squished. It wasn't long before they were urgently taken back to the yard where the men then tried their best to fix them. The days soon passed into weeks and without any work being done, the firm was losing money. The money the manager had was being spent on repairing the treasured team and he simply couldn't let them go. Soon though, it became apparent nothing could be done to save the team and indeed the business as trains and other vehicles had taken their duty. The Sodor Haulage Firm was no more…

"That's awful!" Ben said.
"Were they scrapped?" Bill then enquired.
"No…" Duck said simply.
"Well what happened?" the twins then asked.
"They're at a scrapyard, somewhere. Maybe here on Sodor, maybe on the Mainland." BoCo answered. "They are all together and are all happy."
"How can you be happy at a scrapyard?" Bill asked indignantly.
"Because they're a family unit there. They remember their great days hauling and being respected by everyone - trains and people." Duck replied. "Gathering dust and rusting altogether doesn't bother them obviously."
"They're not normal…" Ben said.
"But do you respect them now? Can you respect a lorry?" BoCo asked.
"Yes…" they eventually replied. "They sound good…"
"Good!" smiled Duck. The twins looked noticeably calmer now and it was a pleasant contrast to earlier on. Duck and BoCo were very pleased with the stories effect.
"Please, can you tell us more stories about them?" Bill and Ben then asked eagerly. "We want to know more about them!"
"Oh of course…" Duck and BoCo smiled. "But they will have to wait until another time…"