Many engines on the Island of Sodor have a number. Oliver is 11, Donald and Douglas are 9 and 10, Duck is 8, Toby is 7, Percy is 6, James is 5, Gordon is 4, Henry is 3, Edward is 2, and Thomas is the No. 1 Blue Engine.
Now Philip is No. 68, and when he paid heed to that fact, he had no idea why that was. The Fat Controller offered to check the archives on Philip's record to find out an answer while Philip kept thinking to himself about that number. Then he managed to create his own conclusion for his number after he saved all 68 of Farmer McColl's sheep, deeming it his lucky number.
But there are several engines who don't have a number on Sodor. Victor, Stephen, Spencer, Caitlin, Connor, Molly and all the diesels except Diesel 10, all don't have a number. Among these many numberless engines, Emily is also one of them. She never had a number in her life ever since she was built along with the other engines of her class. The GNR Stirling Singles all had letter initials and numbers given to them, but she wasn't one of them. She didn't give very much thought to it before with her life on Sodor and her love with Thomas.
But one day, Emily suddenly began thinking about numbers and found herself looking at the tenders and boilers of engines she passed by and it made her begin thinking about why she never had a number. She finally took some time to acknowledge that no one talked about her having a number or not, and it made her come up with questions she really wanted answered. What was her engine class like? Did they not have numbers either? Were they meant to be numberless? And what did they have that she didn't?
That evening, as she returned to Knapford Station and saw the Fat Controller. Then Thomas came into the station and performed a greeting.
"Hello, Knapford. Thomas, the No. 1 Blue Engine is here!" he whistled. Emily heard Thomas and looked at the number on his boiler as he left the station again, thinking even more about numbers.
"Emily?" said the Fat Controller. "What are you staring at?"
"Oh, sir," said Emily. "I was thinking today…I never thought much about it before with living my life on Sodor…but…I see that many engines on Sodor have a number…but why don't I have a number? What were my Stirling brothers and sisters like?"
The Fat Controller looked at Emily. Indeed, she didn't have a number anywhere. But he did know what her engine class was like when he was younger.
"Hmm…" he said. "Well, Emily, I'm not sure why you don't have a number, but the other engines of your class certainly did have things that you don't. You see, the other Stirling Single engines had 'GNR' painted on their tenders. That means 'Great Northern Railway' of course. And, interestingly enough, just like Thomas, they had 'No. 1' painted on the side of their cab on both sides."
Emily's eyes widened a little with interest. "Th-they were No. 1?" she asked. "Like Thomas?"
"Yes, they were, Emily," said the Fat Controller. "Maybe you just weren't given those out of coincidence."
This gave Emily an idea. Seeing as Rosie got a complete makeover with livery, maybe she could do a few things herself.
"Hmm…well, please sir," said Emily. "Do you think I could be briefly painted closer to my engine class' real livery, just to see what it's like?"
"I see no reason why not," agreed the Fat Controller. "I think that's a fine choice, Emily. If you want to keep the changes, or be repainted back to normal afterwards, feel free to let me know."
Emily became very excited. "Oh, thank you, sir!" she smiled. "I'll have initials and a number!" And she happily set off, thinking of what might happen with her having a number of her own.
The next morning, Emily went right to the Steamworks and explained her idea to Victor. Victor kindly agreed and workmen got straight to painting Emily closer to what her Stirling siblings were really like. Eventually, she came huffing out of the Steamworks. And she indeed had some changes to her paintwork. Just like the other engines in her class, her tender now had "GNR," painted on both sides of her tender, with each letter inside each yellow square. And on both sides of her cab, she now had No. 1 painted in yellow.
"Amazing!" gasped Emily. "Now I'm just like my original engine class through and through! I wonder what Thomas will think of this…" And she set off excitedly to find him.
Thomas was taking a goods train along his branch line and stopped at Elsbridge station. He was of course taking a moment to enjoy his number, when he suddenly heard Emily's voice.
"Thomas! Where are you?" she called from behind him. Then she came up right beside him.
"Hello, Emily," said Thomas. "You look excited. What's up?"
"Thomas…do you notice anything different about me?" asked Emily.
"Hmm…" said Thomas, looking closely at her. "Your buffers were polished?"
"No," smirked Emily. "Keep guessing."
"New coat of paint?" asked Thomas.
"Close, but not quite," said Emily.
"Well…uh…you're with me instead of by yourself?" asked Thomas.
"Oh, you're silly, Thomas," giggled Emily. "Here…I'll show you." And she huffed forward until Thomas saw her tender…and the extra features.
"Cinders and Ashes, Emily…you look just like all the other engines of your class. 'GNR.' That looks lovely for your tender," murmured Thomas.
"He-he! Like it?" giggled Emily.
"I love it, Emily," said Thomas. "A little extra detail to really finish a look."
"But that's not all, Thomas," said Emily. "Look just beneath my cab…"
Thomas looked down, and what he saw made his heart stop for a few seconds. There was Emily's own No. 1 right there.
"Emily…y-you're No. 1 too!" he gasped.
"Oh…I hope you don't mind, Thomas," said Emily. "You are the true No. 1 on Sodor."
"No, I don't mind, Emily," said Thomas. "I think it's very honourable that you're now No. 1 too in some way."
"Oh…you like that too?" asked Emily.
"Yes," said Thomas. "Just like me…but…" he trailed off with a shrinking smile.
"But what, Thomas?" asked Emily.
"I'm just concerned…what if being No. 1 yourself gains you too much attention?" asked Thomas. "Many people talked about me quite a bit after I was repainted in my standard livery for Sodor…but with you being the next No. 1…I just wonder if they'll pander you with too many questions or excitement…"
Emily did not think of that and remained quiet for a few moments before speaking again.
"Well, the 'GNR' shouldn't grab too much attention. The number should do something," said Emily. "But it might not be too bad. I think the engines will be interested. We'll wait and see." And Emily set off to start her work, while Thomas felt both happy and concerned for Emily's temporary change.
First, Emily went to the yards and gathered her goods train. As she coupled to her train, she saw Gordon arrive to take the express. She wondered what would happen if he saw her and took a chance.
"Hello, Gordon. Like my new changes?" called Emily. Gordon looked at Emily and noticed nothing at first…but then he saw what she was talking about.
"Well, I say," said Gordon. "Your tender looks grand."
"And…I now have a number, just like the rest of the Steam Team!" announced Emily.
Gordon looked at her cab and spoke again. "So…you're No. 1 too…Like little Thomas…"
"Yes, Gordon. I decided to try being more like the other Stirlings built with me…with their railway initials…and…oh, I'm so excited! I have a number too!" smiled Emily. "I got repainted at the Steamworks and now I'm a full and complete Stirling Single."
At that moment, Donald and Douglas whistled by and were in a playful, teasing mood.
"Douggie! Look at the lassie!" exclaimed Donald. Douglas could see what Emily had changed and was quite impressed, but he had other ideas…to tease about.
"Well, my goodness, Emily! Look at you! There's somethin' different!" said Douglas. "Let me guess…you took a big shipment by yourself!"
"No, Douglas" said Emily.
"No? Oh…well, let's see," said Douglas. "Polished buffers?"
"That was Thomas' guess," smirked Emily.
"Hmm…" pondered Douglas. "I can figure this one out."
"Nae true! Let me try!" insisted Donald.
"You're nae good at guessing games, Donnie!" argued Douglas.
Emily looked and could see Gordon looking annoyed already as the twins kept arguing back and forth.
"You guessed enough, Douggie! No, I didnae! You wouldn't get it! I would! Nae true! Let me try! Nae! You are-" This time, it was Gordon's turn to stop the arguing.
"She's got a NUMBER, you imbeciles!" he wheeshed. "She went to the Steamworks and had her railway's initials and number painted on! Flaming Funnels, already!"
"Aye, we knew that," said Douglas.
"Well, why didn't you just tell me first thing?" asked Emily.
"Oh, we be just havin' a little fun," winked Douglas. "And those bonnie new initials! So elegant and perfect for you!"
"But we mustn't argue around Emily, Douggie," said Donald.
"True enough," said Douglas. Gordon set off with the express while Donald and Douglas set off on their own line. Emily thought about how they treated her upon her new appearance.
"Hmm…well, they didn't pander over me for too long, and they appreciated my appearance," she said to herself. And she set off with her goods train, eager to hear more compliments, but also a little wary of what Thomas said about too much attention.
On the Main Line, Emily stopped at Crosby Station and suddenly heard Percy's whistle. Then he came around the bend with his own goods train.
"Hello, my little Percy!" whistled Emily. "You wanna see your mummy's new looks?"
Percy looked carefully and he saw the tender and number.
"Wow, Emily…mother…" he peeped. "Your tender looks lovely! And you're sharing Thomas' number. That is very nice!"
"Thank you, Pip," smiled Emily, using Thomas' nickname for his best friend. "I'm seeing how I do with my new looks will do today." And she set off again with her train.
"Well," she thought. "It's not too bad. They seem to like it quite good without too much excitement…"
But then things started to change. Emily kept huffing along the line when she suddenly heard two familiar and mischievous whistles. There were Bill and Ben rushing about, up to more of their trucks until Edward would come along and stop their nonsense.
"Ooh, look Bill! It's the new No. 1 Engine!" teased Ben.
"I thought Thomas was No. 1!" said Bill.
"No. We were wrong! Look at Emily's cab! Looks like YOU'LL get a branch line now, Emily! The No. 1 long-funneled beauty!" they teased together.
"Poor Thomas! Number stealer!" hissed Ben.
"Find your own number, Emerald Thomas!" giggled Bill.
Emily blew her whistle loudly at Bill and Ben in retaliation a she continued down the line. She hadn't gone far before she saw James with his shiny red coaches.
"My goodness! Well, hello there, No. 1 lady!" he whistled teasingly. "Playing Thomas? Sensible engine!"
Emily hissed annoyingly as she passed James. "This won't do," she said to herself. "I didn't want any of this."
Emily finished her goods train and made her way to Knapford Station to do a few passenger runs. She didn't feel so confident now.
"Oh dear," she sighed. "Some engines respected my change, but now some are teasing me. I only hope the passengers won't tease me..." Emily was beginning to have second thoughts about her new looks now. Maybe having complete details wasn't the best idea. But when her passengers arrived, before they boarded her coaches, they immediately took notice of her tender and number and became overly eager.
"Look at this!" said a man. "It seems that Emily now has a number! The new No. 1 alongside Thomas!"
"And look at her tender!" said a woman. "It has her railway initials painted on it! 'GNR.' Oh, this is fascinating!"
"So much to ask and find out!" said another passenger, and the chattering continued as they hastily boarded her coaches. Now Emily began to sense something wrong. What questions would she have to answer, and how many would she be asked? She set off nervously with her coaches until she reached the first station. As soon as she stopped, several passengers came swarming out and then to her.
"We saw your new looks, Emily!" said a passenger. "What made you want to make this change?"
Emily almost answered when several more questions came out after.
"So, Emily, why are you called a Stirling? Who designed you? Do you know? What was he like? What did he want to do through creating your engine class?" So many questions before the passengers settled down and let Emily answer.
"Well," said Emily. "From what I can remember since I was built, the reason my engine class were called Stirlings were because my designer had the same name: Patrick Stirling. When he came to the Great Northern Railway, he wanted to make the rolling stock more standard for the railway transportation. And he was a very wise and creative person."
"That's wonderful," said another quick-talking passenger. "When were you built? And why are you called a Stirling Single? The single part."
"I don't quite remember when I was built, but I can assume it was closer to 1895, since I'm…well, young and beautiful and always will be. The first Stirlings were built in 1870 and continued being built until 1895. That's because of my single large driving wheel on both sides," said Emily. "I heard that Stirling was inspired by similar engines from the Great Eastern Railway to design my class. Many of the engines of my class were chosen for fast-travelling passenger transport from the York Railway to London."
One passenger gasped, then whispered in a proud manner, "That is fascinating."
"So Emily, what kind of engine were you back then? Fast, useful? Slow, not very much?" The passengers kept asking.
"Excuse me," said the stationmaster. "This train can't fall behind schedule. Emily must move on."
This made the passengers leave while more excited passengers boarded Emily's train, talking even more about her new looks.
All afternoon, into the evening, Emily kept getting more and more hassle. Several more engines, including 'Arry and Bert, Diesel, and even Sidney all saw her No. 1 and their troublesome trucks kept calling her out on being a female Thomas. More and more passengers, with more and more questions were loading Emily with so much attention that she could hardly think straight.
At last, Emily's work was done for the day as she returned to Knapford Station that evening with the last of her passengers. She was absolutely exhausted and let off a tired cloud of steam after her passengers left.
"Too much for me," she breathed before she yawned wearily.
As night fell over Tidmouth Sheds, Thomas was the only one awake, waiting for Emily to come back and tell him about her day with a number and initials. He had hoped she was alright and didn't have too much to deal with.
But when she came back, she looked very sleepy after all her socializing with engines and passengers. She let out a long yawn as she reversed into the berth beside Thomas.
"Hello, Emily. You look very tired," said Thomas. "What happened today? How does it feel being a full Stirling with a number?"
Emily sighed. "I wish I could tell you a lot of happy news, Thomas…but it was actually very irritating! The day started alright. Gordon, Donald and Douglas all saw me first when I first collected my goods train. At least they were kind to me about it. Then Percy saw my looks and he was happy too. But then Bill and Ben teased me even worse right after! James teased me over being the new No. 1. Diesel, 'Arry and Bert, and Sidney all called me out on being No. 1, and the trucks all called me a female you!"
Thomas was surprised and feeling sorry for Emily. "Oh…that's not fair for you," he said. "What about passengers?"
"Oh, heavens!" groaned Emily. "That was even worse! They had SO many questions about my looks and my engine class history! I'm supposed to be pulling trains, not answering questions! I'm not a teacher. And passengers are supposed to enjoy their rides, not pepper an engine with unimportant questions just about how they look! I thought having a number and initials would be fun, but it seems to have given me too much fame."
Thomas had a feeling that Emily would draw too much attention, but he was not expecting to hear this much.
"Well…" he said. "Maybe they were just excited because you looked new. Maybe once they get used to it, their excitement will fade enough to leave you alone."
"Well, in light of all this," said Emily. "The Fat Controller did say I could change back if I wanted to. I'll just wait and see what happens tomorrow."
"Don't worry, Emily," said Thomas. "Even without a number and initials…you're still my beautiful emerald angel." And he blew a kiss to Emily. Emily managed to smile and she blew a kiss back to him.
"Thank you, Thomas," she replied before she and Thomas fell asleep with the rest of the engines.
But the next morning at 8:00 a.m. things only got worse. As soon as Emily arrived at the platform for her first passenger run, passengers came flooding onto the platform and chattering away to her yet again.
"Oh no," she huffed quietly to herself. Then suddenly, her eyes felt sudden flashes. Some people were so excited and hyper, they were taking photographs of Emily already. Luckily, the Fat Controller was there to stop the fuss.
"Excuse me!" he ordered. "No flash photographs in the station!" The excited passengers quieted down, put their cameras away and got into Emily. The whistle blew and Emily was on her way, already feeling worried about what else would come that day. At Crosby Station, the passengers asked Emily a few questions, but she was so overwhelmed by what happened the day before, she couldn't answer. Luckily, those passengers had a schedule of their own and had to leave. Then Emily heard another voice.
"Goodness, Emily! You have a number…and…and your railway initials!" Emily looked and saw Henry.
"Oh, hello, Henry," she said. "I wanted to see what it's like to have a number, so I got repainted closer to the other Stirlings like me…but it's been quite a hassle. Engines calling me 'No. 1' and too many questions from excited people!"
"That's a shame," said Henry. "Why don't you just tell them you don't feel like talking? Tell them you're busy."
"Hmm…I guess I could try that, Henry. Thank you," said Emily as she moved on with her train. Eventually, she reached Wellsworth Station where more passengers were to depart and arrive. Unfortunately, there were several children with the passengers, and they all made quite a fuss over Emily's new looks.
"Wow! Look at Emily! This is new! What did you do, Emily? What? WHAT? Tell us! Tell us!"
"Children!" snapped their parents. "Settle down!" But even as they entered their coach, the children kept chattering loudly about Emily. Emily groaned impatiently with what was going on…then she heard a familiar whistle she was surprised to hear.
"Hello there, Emily." It was Edward. He had moved to Wellsworth with Philip and was now seeing Emily again.
"Oh, hi, Edward," she sighed. "I'm not doing very well."
"Why not?" asked Edward. "I see you're wearing 'GNR' and No. 1, like your siblings. I think you should be very happy, especially now that you have a number."
Emily told Edward all about the trouble she had gone through from the start of her new look and how it was happening again right now. Edward understood how Emily felt and decided to help her even though he wasn't living at Tidmouth Sheds anymore.
"Don't shy away because of eager questions, Emily," said Edward. "If you don't like what's happening, speak up. Let yourself be heard. Then they'll understand. I know you can do it."
"Alright," sighed Emily. "I'll try. Thank you, Edward." As Emily kept on with her passenger duties, more passengers kept pandering her with questions and excitement. At first, Emily couldn't find the nerve to speak up as she didn't want to disappoint her passengers, but she could tell doing nothing was only making things worse. The excitement was becoming less of an inconvenience, and more of an annoyance.
But then at Kellsthorpe Station, there were so many people at the platform, Emily gaped with shock. The people could see her coming and already started shouting excitedly about her being No. 1, and of course, asking more questions than she ever thought of. The voices were ringing in her ears to the point that she couldn't make out what they were saying. Just then, Thomas came up behind Emily and could see all the fuss. He could see how much stress she was going through now.
In that moment, Emily decided to take Edward's advice and speak up.
"Hello?" she tried to say out loud. "Excuse me!" But her voice was drowned out by all the clamoring and shouting.
"Excuse me!" she exclaimed again. The chatter kept going. Right there, Emily decided to do what she had to do. All of a sudden, it happened. "QUIET!"
Everyone went silent as Emily looked sternly across the platform for a moment. Then her expression softened.
"Thank you," she said. "Please, everyone, I just wanted to see what it's like to have a number like many others on the island. I'm happy to talk a little every now and then…but I can't manage all this excitement. I can see my new looks are exciting you quite a bit. I like that you admire me, but I also need my own quiet time, as well as needing to do whatever work I need to do. This is a railway after all, not a party house."
The people had all calmed down now and apologized for all their excitement. Emily smiled in response as they all left the platform. Then Thomas came up beside her, wearing a faint smile, but his eyes were full of pride.
"You certainly have a way with people," he said.
Emily giggled back, then spoke. "Edward told me to speak up, Thomas," she said. "But…I think I've had enough of having a number. I think I need to talk to the Fat Controller." Thomas winked to Emily…
That evening, one passenger just finished speaking to the Fat Controller at Knapford Station, just as Thomas and Emily arrived at the platform.
"Hello, sir…" panted Emily. "I…"
"That passenger just told me what happened," said the Fat Controller. "It seems your number has caused too much fuss for you, Emily."
"Yes, sir," said Emily. "I tried getting through the day, but by now, all this excitement and attention is just too much for me! Please, may I revert back to my old livery with no initials or number?"
"Hmm…very well, Emily," said the Fat Controller. "If you wish to be yourself again, that's perfectly alright with me."
Emily sighed happily. "Thank you, sir…so much," she smiled. "But…what about you, Thomas? Are you alright with me changing back?"
"You don't need a number, Emily," assured Thomas. "That's not what makes us really useful. You being my angel and Sodor's queen is much more important to me than any initial or number on you."
Emily smiled even more. "Thank you, Thomas," she sighed.
"Now, let's get you to the Steamworks and get you back to normal." With that, Thomas coupled to Emily and they set off together.
When they arrived at the Steamworks, Victor was waiting.
"Hello, you two," he said.
"Please, Victor," said Emily. "I tried being like my Stirling livery all the way, but it seems to have gained me too much fame and attention. May I be repainted so I can just be Sodor's Stirling?"
"Of course, my friend. Right away," said Victor.
Thomas watched as Emily's tender got repainted. The letters "GNR," were all covered up by new emerald paint. And then, Thomas watched as the "No. 1," was covered up by paint too. He felt a little disappointed to see it disappear, but it didn't much matter. He was already No. 1 and that's all Sodor needed. Emily sighed with relief to be back to normal.
"There, Emily. Do you feel better?" asked Thomas.
"Only one way to tell…" said Emily. "I still have an evening train to work with." And she set off to fetch her train, now looking as she usually did.
As she huffed along the line this time, she came to a level crossing and saw a few cars waiting for the gate to open. At first, some people leaned out of the windows in excitement, but when they saw Emily's regular appearance, they settled down.
"Good evening, Emily," was all they said. Emily heard them and whistled back.
"It's working," she whispered to herself. She kept huffing along until she reached the yards again and saw Gordon and James together. They looked up and saw her too.
"Ahh, here comes…oh…there's nothing," said James. "I don't see any of it."
"Any what?" asked Gordon.
"Emily? Your initials are gone…so is your number…" said James.
"Exactly," said Emily. "I thought having a number would be fun, but it seems to me that it gained me too much attention and hassle. I'm happy just to be the Sodor Stirling I always was."
"Well, I certainly agree," said Gordon. Emily smiled to thank Gordon as she huffed on through the yards to collect her train. As she took her train along the line, engines only greeted her politely, and so did people who saw her. It was much easier for Emily to be her original self and she finished her train in good time.
That night, when Emily returned to Tidmouth Sheds, she huffed right to Thomas' berth and kissed his lips.
"I feel much better, Tommy," she smiled. "It's much nicer being myself. The same old Emily."
"I'm so happy, Emily," said Thomas as he kissed her cheek. "I love you."
"I love you too, Thomas," said Emily. She kissed his cheek and backed into her berth to settle down peacefully. And so Emily gained herself a number and initials. It was quite an experience to be like her engine class all the way, but now she felt she could be perfectly happy being the way she always was. No number, no initials and no public hassle. Just Emily of Sodor, kind and loving to her friends and Thomas.
This is a story that I admittedly wasn't all that too interested in, but now that it's all here, it's much better than when I first heard the idea. Now, the next story on the list is one of my most long awaited stories, no more pushing it back, it's finally time to my favorite little Italian senorita her own time to shine. Next time, we're heading into *Gina the Italian Engine*, So for now, please leave your thoughts on this story in your reviews and get ready for some fun in the next story!