The midnight goods is one of the most important goods trains on the North Western Railway. It is an express train that runs to Bridlington Goods Yard on the mainland late at night, so as not to have as many delays from the bustle of British Railways as during the day. While some engines take it in turns each week, the most frequent volunteer for the job is Douglas. Douglas takes great pride in the train, seeing as it was his opportunity to help Oliver escape from scrap long ago.
One evening, Donald and Douglas were resting in Knapford Yard after a long day's work when Thomas pulled in with his last branch line train for the day.
"Evening, you two." peeped Thomas from the station platform. "How's your day been?"
"Well Douggie here wouldnae stop complaining about the order of the trucks on our train." joked Donald.
"Och aye, Donnie, who puts the fuel tankers at the back?" snapped Douglas. "Think of the wee guard if one of them were to catch fire! It's simply the safest to have them in the middle of the train."
Thomas giggled, as he always found the twins' arguing to be quite amusing.
"Well, I'm about to take the midnight goods to the mainland," continued Douglas, "but due to switch failures on the main line I'll have to detour up the canal branch line."
"That means you'll probably meet Beresford." remarked Thomas.
"Beresford? Who's that?" asked Douglas.
"An old crane who works by the canal that I met when I went to the mainland." described Thomas. "He's rather lonely, and will try to make sure you stay a while to talk before heading off. Be sure not to egg him on."
"Imagine being late because of some kooky old crane." smirked Donald.
"I'm more than capable of handling him, Donnie." Douglas retorted. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have trucks to collect."
By 9:30, Douglas had crossed over the Vicarstown bridge and onto the mainland. He made good time, keeping the detour in mind. When he reached Barrow Junction, Douglas was diverted off the main line and onto the branch line. Douglas was so busy admiring the moon's reflection in canal that he had forgotten Thomas' warning - until an old cargo boat was suddenly dropped onto the line in front of him.
"HALT!" bellowed a deep, booming voice.
Douglas jumped in surprise and slammed his brakes on, stopping almost instantly.
"Who goes there?" came the voice again.
Douglas looked up to see a tall blue gantry crane staring down at him, and then remembered Thomas.
"You must be Beresford, I suppose…" sighed the Scottish engine.
"Ah, you know my name!" Beresford said excitedly. "Now might I ask yours?"
"My name's Douglas, and I'm from the Island of Sodor."
"A Sudrian engine! The last Sudrian engine to come by here was a little blue tank engine. But that was some time ago. Now tell me, what brings you here?"
"I'm taking this goods train to Bridlington, and it has to be there by midnight."
"Midnight?" intrigued Beresford.
"Yes, it's the midnight goods train." Douglas explained reluctantly, eager to get moving again. "Then I have to head back to Sodor immediately afterwards to get back to work in the morning."
Beresford's eyes widened.
"So, you'll be travelling back through the junction late at night?"
"Yes I will, now please move this boat." insisted Douglas.
"In that case," said Beresford, his tone growing more grim, "keep your eyes out for the ghost."
"A ghost?" puzzled Douglas.
Beresford gazed dismally at his reflection in the canal.
"A long time ago, there was a small diesel shunter who used to pick up cargo from the boats here. I would load them into his trucks while we would chat away about our days. Then one day, he never returned. I later learned that he had perished when he missed a signal at Barrow Junction and was hit by a high-speed express train. 2:14 AM was the time of the accident. He was damaged beyond repair, so he was scrapped. Afterwards, some workmen claim to have seen his spirit passing through the junction, but he never reaches his destination."
Douglas was speechless for a few seconds before aggressively blowing his whistle.
"I'm sorry, but I have nae time to dawdle about with ghost stories." he snapped. "I have a job to do! Now let me through."
Beresford sadly lifted his boat, finally allowing Douglas to pass through.
"Hope to see you again…"
Douglas just grumbled to himself.
"Thomas was right...he seriously needs more regular company."
Because of the detour and Beresford's delay, Douglas was nearly an hour late. He was still grumbling as he prepared to make the return journey from Bridlington. He fetched his brake van and began to head back to Sodor. As he passed back through the canal port, he puffed as quietly as he could so as not to get Beresford's attention. Beresford was fast asleep and snoring loudly, but still managed to detect Douglas passing by.
"Beware...beware…" he mumbled in his sleep.
Douglas winced.
"What a kook…" he muttered to himself.
But for some reason, Douglas couldn't stop thinking of Beresford's story. He found it most unusual that he would bring up such a story when they had just met. When they were nearly to the junction, his driver noticed a train on the line ahead of them.
"That's odd...I thought we were the only ones on this line tonight."
Douglas was shocked. He made out about four trucks and a brake van being pulled by what appeared to be a small diesel.
"It's probably just a shunter from a nearby yard." he scoffed.
But an eerie tint of green surrounded the train, and the lamps shone brighter than usual. Douglas was growing more and more worried.
"Excuse me." he peeped, trying to get the engine's attention.
But the engine didn't reply. The details of Beresford's story swirled in Douglas' mind and he began to feel rather freaked out.
"It's just a silly story by a silly old crane…" Douglas muttered nervously.
Just then, he noticed the red signal before the junction. Douglas came to a stop, but the train in front ran past. A heavy chill ran through Douglas' funnel.
"Hey, stop!" he called out. "The signal's red!"
But the engine didn't listen. He wandered carelessly out into the junction. Then, the horn of a large diesel blared. Douglas jumped and saw a Class 37 speeding into the junction with a line of express coaches - on a collision course with the shunter.
"Look out!" cried Douglas, and blasted his whistle several times.
Douglas shut his eyes, bracing for the collision. But to his surprise, no crash was heard. Douglas peered one eye open as the express thundered past him. The small engine and his train had completely disappeared. He sighed in relief, but was immediately frightened when he realized what this meant.
"The ghost!" he exclaimed. "It's real!"
His driver and fireman were spooked too. Their watches read 2:14 AM. The second the signal turned green, Douglas sped away from the junction as fast as his wheels could carry him, and didn't stop until they were back over the Vicarstown bridge and on Sodor.
Douglas spent the rest of the night in Vicarstown sheds, but barely slept a wink. He was only just managing to catch some sleep when Donald bustled into the yard.
"Rise and shine, Douggie! We're on ballast duty today."
Douglas opened a sleepy eye. "Can ye wait a few, Donnie? I had a rough night."
"You can tell me 'bout it on the way to Arlesburgh, now get moving!"
The twins picked up a line of empty ballast hoppers and set off for the other side of the island. Douglas, however, was still feeling shaken up from the night before.
"Ye won't believe this, Donald, but I saw a ghost last night!"
Donald raised an eyebrow.
"A ghost? Wee nonsense - there's no such thing."
"But I did!" Douglas protested. "Beresford told me about the spirit of an engine who ran a red signal at Barrow Junction-"
"Beresford?" scoffed Donald. "Ye mean that wacky old crane Thomas warned us about? Och, you're losin' yer steam, Douggie…"
"He may be lonely, but he was telling the truth!" insisted Douglas. "I saw the engine pass the red signal and get hit by the passing train, just like in his story! Only he disappeared instead because he's a ghost-"
"I havnae the time nor patience to listen to silly ghost stories, Douglas." snapped Donald. "What you saw was probably just some careless engine who got away with breaking the rules. Now I'd rather not hear any more of this today…"
Douglas sighed disappointedly.
"Of course he doesn't believe me…"
For the rest of the week, the other engines dismissed Douglas and even laughed at him whenever he tried to explain his ghost story.
"Honestly Douglas, you're the last engine I'd expect to hear this stuff coming from." chuckled Duck.
"I doubt you'll find any more engines in danger on the mainland after rescuing me." remarked Oliver.
Douglas was sulking at Arlesburgh Yard one day when Samson arrived with a train of building materials. He too, seemed rather shaken up.
"What's the matter, Samson?" inquired Douglas. "You look as if you've-"
"Seen a ghost?" Samson sputtered. "I swear, I saw a ghost engine at Barrow Junction last night! Ran through a red signal and disappeared behind an express!"
Douglas was both shocked and excited.
"I saw him too!" he exclaimed. "When I was coming back from taking the midnight goods. Beresford told me his story beforehand"
"Beresford?" said Samson. "What would he know about all this?"
"He told me the story when he stopped me on the canal branch line. Didn't he stop you too?"
"No, I took the main route." replied Samson. "They've finished repairing it, and I'd rather not have to take the branch line again. That crane is way too lonely…"
Samson was uncoupled from his trucks and left the yard to fetch Bradford at Knapford. Douglas was now feeling emboldened knowing that somebody else believed him. When the next midnight goods shift came around, Douglas refused to take it, much to the surprise of the Fat Controller.
"I can't have engines who don't do as they are told." scolded the controller. "If you can't take the midnight goods, then you can get up bright and early tomorrow to take waste trucks to the dump."
"Aye, sir." agreed Douglas.
Donald scoffed at the whole ordeal.
"Seriously Douggie, abandoning yer favorite job all because of some silly ghost story? This is low for you. I'd get the job done nae bother."
"Then you can take the train, seeing as your brother is unwilling." ordered the Fat Controller.
Donald wasn't particularly pleased, but found it best not to argue.
"Yes sir." he muttered.
Donald collected the train and quickly hurried off across the bridge to the mainland. He grumbled as he passed through Barrow Junction. He didn't have to take Beresford's line since the main route had been repaired.
"Silly Douggie...only believin' such nonsense cause he talked to that crazy old crane. There's no such thing as ghosts."
Donald made it to Bridlington on time without any delays or distractions. But there was trouble awaiting. After delivering the goods, he was supposed to bring a steel train back, but the Steelworks engine had been delayed. Donald waited impatiently under the stars until Merlin bustled in just over an hour later.
"Sorry I'm late," he explained, "but there was a big slag spill at the Steelworks, and nothing else could be done until it was cleaned up. Safety does come first, you know."
Donald sighed and blew off steam.
"At least I can finally get going now…"
Donald collected the steel and raced back to Sodor, determined to finally get some rest. He didn't stop until he reached the red signal at Barrow Junction. His driver looked at his watch, and it read 2:13 AM.
"If we hurry, we'll be able to get a good four hours of rest before our first train." advised the driver.
Donald yawned, very much ready to turn in for the night. Suddenly, a passing train caught his eye. A small diesel shunter coming from the canal branch line had run the red signal.
"What does he think he's doing?" Donald muttered. "Doesn't he know red means stop?"
Donald blew his whistle as a warning. The sound echoed around the junction.
"Get back here!" he scolded.
But the engine didn't respond. Donald, growing more frustrated, was about to blast his whistle a second time when the horn of an approaching express diesel blared. Donald could see that it was headed right for the shunter. He began to freak out.
"Hey! Look out!" he cried, and blew his whistle several more times.
The little shunter was oblivious to the oncoming danger until it was too late. The express hit him, poofing him and his train into disappearance. Donald had seen everything, and couldn't believe it.
"Douglas was right…" he stammered. "He DID see a ghost...and so have I!"
Donald's crew was just as shaken.
"Let's get out of here!" cried the driver.
And they ran for home before the signal could turn green again.
Donald was unusually silent the next day, until he met Douglas at Wellsworth.
"I'm sorry, brother…" he said sadly. "I should've known ye wouldn't make up such a horrific thing."
"You saw the ghost?"
"Aye…"
The twins agreed not to say anything else about the matter and worked as usual for the rest of the day. But that night, Douglas suggested visiting Beresford whenever they got the opportunity.
"He's really not that bad, just lonely. Cannae say I blame him considering how few engines come around."
Donald agreed, and a few days later they went to his port when they had the morning off. Beresford was delighted to have the company of both twins, and they went on chatting happily like old friends. But when the subject of the ghost came up, Beresford took a more somber tone.
"His name was Lawrence, and he was a kind, hardworking engine. Back when the canal was busier, I would unload the boats and it was his job to deliver the goods to the stations. He and I were the best of friends. Until that one night, he made the careless mistake of running that red signal, and it cost him his life. I was devastated, and as a result the boats stopped unloading here as much and took their services to the lorries. Ever since, I've just spent my days fooling around and waiting for someone to visit me. But nobody ever seems to have the time to just wait and have a conversation."
Donald and Douglas felt very sorry for him.
"Well, we'll try to come around as much as possible, and we'll tell the other engines to stop by as well." said Douglas.
"Indeed." replied Donald.
A big smile spread across Beresford's face.
"Thank you." he said gratefully. "It means a lot to have friends again."
Douglas soon returned to taking the midnight goods, and would visit Beresford on his way back. One night, as they were chatting, Douglas noticed something materializing in front of them. Surely enough, Lawrence appeared, and departed for the junction. This time, Douglas wasn't scared, but felt sad knowing the fate that awaited him. Beresford looked down at the spirit of his old friend and sighed a heavy sigh.
"Just a useful engine still dedicated to his work, even after his time has come."