*chapter 1*
it was winter on the island of sodor and all the engines were wearing their snowploughs as they chuffed along the tracks. snowploughs are very important on the railway. they stop the engines from getting stuck in the snow. but sometimes the engines do get stuck. which is when the sodor search and rescue team is sent out to help them. thomas the tank engine was working on his branchline with his two coaches annie and clarabel. thomas was wearing his snowplough too. thomas hated his snowplough. it was big and uncomfortable and it made his buffers ache. thomas had biffed and bashed it once which got him into lots of trouble.
'why do i have to wear this stupid thing' said thomas.
'thomas you have to wear your snowplough weather you like it or not' said annie.
'it stops you from getting stuck in the snow thomas' said clarabel.
'i know you two but it's just really heavy i wish they made lighter ones' said thomas.
'lighter ones?' said annie.
'oh thomas you are funny' chuckled clarabel.
just then thomas saw bertie the bus driving along the road. thomas sped up and blew his whistle. bertie heard him and tooted his horn. annie and clarabel were surprised.
'i say thomas slow down' said annie.
'this is far too fast thomas' said clarabel.
'come on you two it's just a race' said thomas.
thomas was now next to bertie.
'you might as well give up bertie you know for a fact that i am going to win again' said thomas.
'is that so thomas well i hope you can go faster than that catch me if you can' said bertie.
thomas and bertie dashed ahead. annie and clarabel rattled and shook.
'i would be careful if i were you bertie' said thomas.
'why's that then' said bertie.
'because there's a vehicle coming your way' said thomas.
butch the tow truck was heading right for bertie. butch gasped. bertie skidded past him.
'coming through butch' said bertie.
butch skidded to a stop.
'bertie be careful will you' said butch.
bertie ignored him and sped on.
'i would keep your eyes on the track if i was you thomas' said bertie.
'oh yes why's that then' said thomas.
'because there's an engine coming your way' said bertie.
Wolfdash was heading straight for thomas.
wolfdash gasped and slammed on his brakes. thomas changed tracks and steamed past him.
'coming through wolfdash' said thomas.
wolfdash screeched to a stop.
'thomas be careful will ya buddy' said wolfdash.
thomas ignored him and raced on. annie and clarabel were cross.
'thomas i demand you stop this minute' said annie.
'we are going to cause an accident' said clarabel.
'don't worry you two' said thomas.
'look out bertie' said thomas.
'why thomas' said bertie.
'because there's a tractor on the road' said thomas.
terence the tractor was chugging towards bertie. terence gasped. bertie revved past him.
'bus coming through terence' said bertie.
terence came to a stop.
'oi watch it will you' said farmer finney.
'bertie you silly bus you almost hit me' said terence.
bertie ignored him and sped on. annie and clarabel were not enjoying it anymore.
'i think i'm going to be sick' said annie.
'my wheels are going to clatter off' said clarabel.
thomas was now in the lead.
'i win again bertie' said thomas.
'oh no thomas watch out' cried bertie.
'oh no bertie i'm not falling for that one' said thomas.
'no thomas i'm serious you have got to stop' said bertie.
'why' said thomas.
'because the points have been switched and your heading for a siding' said bertie.
'what' said thomas.
thomas looked ahead. he was heading for a siding. thomas put on his brakes. but thomas just slipped on. sparks flew from his wheels.
'fizzling fireboxes this is bad' said thomas.
thomas slipped into the siding hit the buffers and cluttered off the tracks. thomas' snowplough came off and plunged into the ravine. thomas was dangling over a big snowy cliff.
'CINDERS AND ASHES!' cried thomas.
annie and clarabel screamed in horror.
'i really am going to be sick now!' said annie.
'we are going over!' said clarabel.
bertie came to a stop and gasped.
'fume my radiator' said bertie.
thomas blew his whistle in fright.
'help somebody please help me!' said thomas.
'what are we going to do' said bertie.
just then they all heard a whistle. just then a black tank engine arrived on scene.
'don't worry i'll save you' said the engine.
the engine puffed up to clarabel and was coupled up.
'don't worry thomas i will pull you to safety hold on' said the engine.
the engine pulled back with all his might. he pulled and he hauled. at last thomas was back on the tracks. everyone was relieved.
'thank goodness' said annie.
'thank god that ordeal is over' said clarabel.
'thank goodness everyone is alright' said bertie.
thomas looked at his rescuer. he was painted black with red stripes. he had a winch on his buffers. and the name 'Rodger' on his sides in gold.
'cinders and ashes who are you' said thomas.
'the names rodger my good friend and you must be thomas' said rodger.
'that's right how did you know i was in trouble' said thomas.
'easy really i had you whistling and calling for help as i was coming down this line' said rodger.
'well thanks you were great rodger' said thomas.
'thank you thomas well i best be off stay safe now' said rodger.
and with that rodger puffed off.
'i really am a lucky engine today' said thomas.
'can we just get to the next station now thomas' said annie.
'i agree that's quite enough racing for one day thomas' said clarabel.
'okay you two see you later bertie' said thomas as he puffed off.
'see you later thomas maybe we can race when the weather is better' said bertie.
and with that bertie drove away.
when thomas arrived at knapford station the other engines were not happy about what had happened to him.
'oh the indignity thomas are you trying to hurt someone' said gordon.
'flatten my funnel thomas what were you thinking' said james.
'you could have hurt yourself thomas' said percy.
'racing in this sort of weather is very dangerous and silly thomas you should know that by now' said edward.
'you are getting sillier everyday thomas' said gordon.
'it was just a little race gordon' said thomas.
'a very dangerous one at that little thomas' said gordon.
'it wasn't dangerous gordon' said thomas.
'yes it was thomas you silly little tank engine and you know it' said gordon.
'no it wasn't gordon you big fat...' thomas started.
just then rodger arrived.
'hello all how are we today' said rodger.
'who are you?' said gordon.
'the name's rodger and you lot are' said rodger.
'i'm gordon for starters' said gordon.
'i'm james the smartest engine on the railway' said james.
'hello there i'm edward' said edward.
'and i'm percy it's great to meet you' said percy.
'nice to meet you all' said rodger.
'so what do you do then' said gordon.
'i rescue engines of course' said rodger.
'you a rescue engine don't make me laugh' said gordon.
'it's true i pull engines back onto the tracks and i rescue people too' said rodger.
'i see' said gordon.
'i can tell you about some of my daring rescues if you want' said rodger.
rodger started to tell them. the engines groaned.
'oh the indignity' said gordon.
'let's get out of here before he bores the bolts off us' said james.
'good idea' said percy.
and with that all the engines puffed away. rodger stopped talking and noticed that everyone was gone.
'eh where did everyone go... was it something i said' said rodger.
'i think they all had a tight schedule to keep' said a man.
soon james was puffing along the mainline with his goods train.
'what a nice winters day' said james.
just then james saw an engine at the signal.
'hello who's that' said james.
james pulled up alongside her and gasped. she was the most beautiful engine he had ever seen. she was painted white with dark blue stripes. she had light blue cab windows. and the name 'Shalen' on her sides in glowing gold. she also had bright red lips. james blushed. the engine smiled at him.
'uh... uh... hello my name is james' said james.
'hello my name is shalen nice to meet you james' said shalen.
'what brings a nice looking engine like you to sodor' said james.
'your controller brought me and he promised that his railway was good for me are you blushing by the way' said shalen.
james was brought back to reality.
'blushing me no i'm not blushing' said james.
'it's alright if you were everyone does that when they see me they say i am the most beautiful engine that was ever built' said shalen.
'that's so true' said james.
just then the signal went green.
'well i better be going james goodbye' said shalen.
and she puffed away.
'she is so pretty' said james.
just then thomas pulled up.
'hello james who was that engine you were talking too' said thomas.
'oh thomas i think i'm in love' said james.
and as soon as his signal went green james chased after shalen. thomas could not believe what he had just heard.
'i think james has lost his mind again' said thomas. annie and clarabel chuckled.
'isn't it obvious thomas' said annie.
'what's obvious' said thomas.
'james has got a girlfriend' said clarabel.
'james a girlfriend now i've heard everything first an engine saves me and now james has met another engine that he is now in love with cinders and ashes it's going to be a long week' said thomas.
'actually thomas' said annie.
'the week has only just started' said clarabel.
as thomas set off again he was wandering what annie and clarabel were talking about.
later that day the fat controller came to tidmouth sheds. he had a special announcement to make.
'the duke and duchess of boxford are having a new log cabin built in the snowy mountains and all of you will be helping' said the fat controller.
the engines were excited.
'but remember that you must all puff carefully as the mountains can be a dangerous place' said the fat controller.
'don't worry sir we will work very hard and get the cabin ready on time' said thomas.
'there's good engines see you all tomorrow then' said the fat controller.
and he walked away. as soon as he was gone all the engines started talking about the log cabin.
'flatten my fender i wonder what it will look like when it's finished' said edward.
'i bet it will be very big and strong' said henry.
'it will look very grand' said gordon.
'i hope it's going to be shiny and clean like me' said james.
'it's going to look wonderful' said percy.
'it will be made out of wood just like me' said toby.
'aye i hope they decorate it with pretty things' said emily.
'we will be very busy won't we thomas' said rosie.
'of course we will rosie in fact all of us will be very busy i can't wait to get started' said thomas.
'neither can i it's going to be fun' said rosie.
and all the other engines agreed. they knew that they all would be really useful.
meanwhile up in the snowy mountains harold the helicopter had just saved some mountain climbers and was on his way back to the rescue centre.
'another rescue complete' said harold.
as harold flew along he was making sure that there was no other danger. he checked all the mountains and peaks that he saw. there was no danger to be seen.
'everything seems clear right back to the rescue centre' said harold.
and harold flew away. then there was trouble. as soon as harold was out of sight a big snow drift started and crashed down onto the tracks below. and to make matters worse it was one of the tracks that led to the construction of the new log cabin.
at the sodor search and rescue centre the rescue vehicles were standing by waiting for an emergency. but they were getting bored.
'i wish there would be an emergency soon' said belle.
'all this waiting around is making my wheels feel wobbly' said flynn.
'my crane arm has got icicles all around it' said rocky.
'my dock is all frozen and my rotors are giving me the chills i'm not going anywhere' said captain.
just then butch arrived. he looked cross.
'what's up with you butch' said flynn.
'bertie the bus that's what's up!' said butch.
'what about bertie' said belle.
'he and thomas were having another one of their so-called races again and the silly bus nearly rammed me off the road!' said butch.
'that's buses for you' said flynn.
'that bertie he should know the rules of the road by now' said belle.
'you can say that again' said butch.
just then harold flew in with the climbers.
'another rescue complete chaps' said harold.
'well done harold did you save the climbers then' said belle.
'of course i did chap' said harold.
'good work harold' said flynn.
'couldn't of said it better myself' said rocky.
harold noticed butch.
'what's the matter with butch' said harold.
'bertie nearly rammed him off the road again' said flynn.
'i swear that he did it on purpose' said butch.
'okay butch that's enough' said belle.
'maybe you should become a helicopter like and have a pear of really useful wings what do you think of that butch' said harold.
'your not helping harold' said butch.
'it was just a joke chap' said harold.
'oh ha ha then' said butch.
'stop arguing you two' said belle.
'we are supposed to be acting like a team not like enemies' said flynn.
harold and butch looked at each other.
'sorry harold' said butch.
'apology accepted chap' said harold.
'don't worry everyone i'm sure we will get an emergency soon' said rocky.
'i hope so' said belle.
'don't worry belle just think positive' said flynn.
and all the rescue vehicles smiled and started to talk about their past rescues.