Disclaimer: All recognisable characters belong to HIT Entertainment. All OCs belong to me.

Chapter 1 – "Tender Engines Don't Shunt!"

"Oohh!" Gordon groaned with annoyance. He was standing on platform 1 at Knapford Station, waiting for Thomas to bring over his express coaches. His passengers were all waiting on the platform, but with no coaches, they couldn't board.

Gordon glanced at the clock again. It ticked over to his scheduled departure time. And there was still no sign of Thomas with his express coaches.

The Fat Controller came out of his office. He was surprised to see Gordon still at the platform. "Gordon? What are you still doing here? And without your coaches as well…"

"It isn't my fault, sir. Thomas is late with my coaches."

"Thomas is busy doing a job for me, Gordon. You'll have to fetch your own coaches today. In fact, you'll have to collect them from now on. Thomas already has more than enough work to do, without having to shunt your coaches as well."

Gordon was shocked. "But, sir! Tender engines don't shunt! I've been saying that for years. It is beneath our dignity. If Thomas can't fetch my coaches, get Percy to do it."

"Percy has his own work to do as well, Gordon. That is, when he's in service. Right now, he's at the Works undergoing some maintenance. Now, hurry along. The express is late enough as it is."

"But, sir!" Gordon protested, but the Fat Controller was already heading back towards his office. Fuming, Gordon headed off to the carriage yard.

Back inside his office, the Fat Controller pondered the situation. It had been years since the Knapford yard had had a permanent shunting engine, and he had an idea to teach Gordon a lesson.

"Now, where did I put that paper…? Ahh! Here it is!" With the located paper in his hand, the Fat Controller picked up his phone to make a call.

…

Meanwhile, Thomas was on his way back from the docks. Cranky had broken down that morning, delaying the transfer of goods from the ship into Thomas' trucks. That in turn had made him late leaving the docks, and now he was late to take his morning train on his branch line. Thomas hurried, but he was still exhausted from being up all night taking the mail train for Percy, who was away at the Works undergoing regular maintenance. Thomas' crew had been able to swap over to a relief crew that morning, but poor Thomas didn't have that luxury. He'd just have to keep going to get all of his, and Percy's, work done before the end of the day.

As Thomas approached Knapford, he saw Gordon rapidly approaching him from the opposite direction with the express. Thomas whistled cheerfully in greeting, but Gordon ignored him and rumbled on past. Thomas frowned, but since it was Gordon, he didn't think too much of it.

Once Thomas had arrived at Knapford, he shunted his trucks into the yard, and then he went to fetch Annie and Clarabel.

"Thomas! Where on earth have you been?" Clarabel demanded.

"Yes, Thomas," Annie added. "We're late."

"I know, I know," Thomas replied, irritably. "But I can't be expected to do all the work around here, and still be on time." He stiffed a yawn. "I am so tired…"

Annie and Clarabel were immediately sympathetic.

"Oh, you poor engine," Clarabel said.

"Just do your work, and then I'm sure the Fat Controller will let you have a rest," Annie added kindly.

A shunter coupled Thomas to Annie and Clarabel. He then took them over to Platform 1.

Thomas stood panting in the station, while his passengers boarded. All he wanted to do was to go back to his shed for a nice, long sleep, but he still had far too much to do. Still, he thought, it wouldn't hurt to close my eyes for a few minutes…

The sound of a guard's whistle woke Thomas abruptly a few minutes later. He was surprised that he'd actually fallen asleep, and he started with a rough jerk.

"Oh! Thomas!" Annie and Clarabel exclaimed in unison.

"Sorry," Thomas apologised as he accelerated out of the station.

…

Later that evening, Thomas found he could barely keep his eyes open as he made his way back to Tidmouth shed. He only hoped that the Fat Controller would be able to find someone else to take the mail train that night, because he was far too exhausted to do it.

Thomas had just settled down to sleep, when the Fat Controller drove up in his car. The other engines watched as he walked over to them.

"Don't get settled, James. I need you to take the mail train tonight."

"But that's Thomas' and Percy's job," James protested.

"I don't think Thomas is capable of staying up for another night," the Fat Controller replied, indicating towards his number one engine.

Sure enough, Thomas had already fallen fast asleep. Frowning, James reluctantly set off. The Fat Controller watched Thomas sleeping for a moment. He knew how hard Thomas had been working in Percy's absence, and so it wasn't fair to him to have to fetch coaches for Gordon as well. He only hoped that his plan would work.

…

The next morning, the Fat Controller waited at Knapford Station on platform 3 for Pip and Emma to arrive from the mainland. The high-speed diesels were a great asset to the railway, because they enabled passengers from the Island of Sodor to travel to London without any delays for engine swap-overs like there had been in the past.

The Fat Controller glance at his pocket watch just as an announcement came over the P.A. system.

"The train arriving on platform three is the eleven twenty-five London express. This train will stop at Wellsworth, Crovan's Gate, Barrow-in-Furness, Crewe, Manchester, Wolverhampton, and will terminate at London Euston."

Pip and Emma glided smoothly into the station platform.

"Ah! Good morning, Pip…or is it Emma?" The Fat Controller said.

"I'm Emma," the engine who was now going to head the train said.

"I really need to get nameplates made up for you two," the Fat Controller muttered as he climbed aboard. Emma was surprised.

"Are you going to London today, sir?"

The Fat Controller paused in the doorway. "No. I'm going to Wolverhampton, and I hope to return with a new engine."

"Ooohh!" Emma squealed excitedly. "Will it be diesel, steam or electric, sir?"

"Steam. Now, I hope there are no delays."

"We won't let you down, sir," Emma promised.

Minutes later, Pip and Emma departed Knapford, heading for the mainland.

…

Many hours later, the Fat Controller arrived by car at the Severn Valley Railway's Engine House at Highley. The railway's manager had been kind enough to collect him from Wolverhampton. The Fat Controller sighed sadly as he got out of the car.

"It's a shame you can't have all of your engines in service," he mused.

"I'd love that too, but the sad reality is that we simply can't afford to keep fifty locomotives running all the time. It's different for you, of course, since the North Western Railway is still part of the mainline." He unlocked a heavy wooden door. "Normally, this building is open to the public, but it's closed today so the engines can be cleaned. Even though they're not running, we still try to keep them looking immaculate."

Upon entering the building, the Fat Controller looked around sadly at all of the engines who, in all likelihood, would never steam again. Many of them looked very sad too. There were a few diesels, but the majority were steam engines. The manager led the Fat Controller over to the far corner where the he saw for the first time the engine that he wanted. The engine was sleeping, so the Fat Controller took the opportunity to walk all around the engine, examining him closely.

The engine was a glossy black Ivatt Class 2 -2-6-0 tender engine. The Fat Controller brushed his fingers over the engine's builders plate. It read – Built 1950 Crewe. One year before grandfather sent Henry there to be rebuild.

The Fat Controller climbed inside the engine's cab. Ivatt tender engines were unique from other tender engines for one obvious reason; their cab was fully enclosed. That, and their specially tapered tender, enabled them to work just like a tank engine. It was exactly what the Fat Controller wanted.

Crouching down, the Fat Controller opened up the engine's firebox door. The engine stirred slightly. The manager handed a torch up to the Fat Controller. After turning it on, the Fat Controller looking inside the engine's firebox.

"So, you're sure it's just the tube plate that needs replacing?" he asked.

"Yes, although it wouldn't hurt to give him a new set of tubes as well," the manager replied. He patted the engine's running board. "It's a shame we can't afford to do the work ourselves. Ian's been very reliable and hard-working. He'll be an asset to you, I'm sure."

The Fat Controller stood up and he turned off the torch. "All right. I'll take him."

"Hello?" the engine called sleepily. "Who's in my cab?"

"It's just me, Ian," the manager replied. He and the Fat Controller moved in front of the engine, so he could see them.

"Oh. Sorry, sir, I didn't know it was you," Ian apologised. He studied the Fat Controller curiously.

"That's all right," the manager said. "Listen, I know you've been very unhappy since I took you out of service, so I've got some good news for you. This gentleman is Sir Topham Hatt. He controls the North Western Railway on the Island of Sodor, and he wants to loan you for a year or two. Since we're not likely to use you again soon, I've agreed."

Ian brightened for a brief moment, but then he looked sad again. "But…I'm still broken."

The Fat Controller stepped forward. "Never mind about that, Ian. The men at my Works will have you repaired and ready for service within a week of your arrival. Unfortunately, because of your current condition, you'll have to be transported to Crovan's Gate by lorry."

Ian smiled slightly. "I don't mind that, sir, as long as I can pull trains again, and stretch my wheels. I haven't moved from this spot in five long years!"

The Fat Controller hesitated. "Well actually, Ian, I need you to be a yard shunter."

Ian looked sadly down at his buffers. His disappointment was impossible to hide. "Oh… Well, sir, I suppose anything will be better than staying in here for the rest of my life." He brightened again. "Will there be any other engines for me to talk to?"

"Plenty," the Fat Controller smiled. "And you'll be very well looked after, as long as you promise to work hard and do what you're told. You might even have the opportunity to leave the yard from time to time."

"Then, I'll be happy to work for you, sir. I love to work hard. My fitter used to say it was good for me, and he was right…"

"Excellent! I'll make the arrangements to transport you to the Island of Sodor as soon as possible."