Turning the Tables
Written by: PercyFan1998
One morning James was having trouble, he needed to be turned around but the turntable was jammed. "It's no good, James," his Driver said, "we've tried everything to move you, but we just can't. You'll just have to pull the train backwards."
"Bother!" James huffed, and sulkily left to collect his trucks. He hated it, because it meant having to face the leading truck the whole way up. They snickered amongst each other and made James furious.
BoCo watched him go. "Poor James," he said out loud. "Having to run backwards for him must be the worse…"
"Compared to us diesels, it shows just how unreliable steam engines can be," oiled Diesel as he sidled up alongside. "Unlike them, you never have a need for turntables, your Driver could easily just go to your other cab - and you'd be off, no bother, no waiting."
"Don't be silly," said BoCo, "the steam engines are just as useful as you and I."
"Says you," Diesel grunted. "But you don't see yourself using those turntables now do you?"
"No…"
"Exactly, it'd be a waste of time." And with that, Diesel purred away. The harbor yard was busier than ever, so Sir Topham Hatt had had to ask Diesel to come to help with the work. Not that he was welcomed back at all.
The next day BoCo arrived back at the yard with his freight cars. But as he went about collecting his return train, it happened.
Some trucks were waiting for him on a siding near the turntable, but as BoCo began approaching them, he suddenly swerved onto a different line, one that lead to the turntable, but the turntable's rails weren't set to it. "Horrors!" gasped BoCo, he tried to brake but couldn't stop in time and he tobogganed into the ballast with a crunch!
"Ow my frame…" he groaned, and he sat bruised with his front bunker sitting in the well.
Diesel was called to help. "How absurd," he drawled, "that you of all engines could end up in this situation BoCo. Most inconvenient."
"Wasn't my fault, the points were set against me."
"This," Diesel continued, "would never have happened if this stupid turntable wasn't installed here in the first place, a glorified watering hole this is. Turntables are of no use to anyone, at all."
"Och aye," Donald snapped. "We tender engines still need those turntables ye ken, not that'd you'd appreciate that, you could hardly pull as much as me and Douggie could, ye'd struggel ye greasy nuisance!"
Diesel decided to say nothing and scuttled away..
"Muckle o' nuisance," Donald huffed.
"He's got his own way of thinking about things," BoCo sighed.
Diesel meanwhile returned to the harbor and bumped a truck hard.
"Well well," squeaked Bill. "Someone's in a right state."
"Too right," Ben agreed. "And how about you watch exactly what you're doing oily?"
"Yeah, that truck is carrying important glass tables for the Vicar."
"And I don't think he'd appreciate them showing up all turned around."
"Yeah, no one wants turned tables!"
Diesel glared at the choice of wording and growled lowly.
"Hey, don't get into a tizzy over it," Ben defended.
"Or should he, Ben? Because if he did, he'd go pop!"
"And pop goes the Diesel then!" The twins roared with laughter at their pun. Whilst Diesel rumbled furiously away.
"All this talk about tables, bleeding mercy…" he growled.
The next day things were no better, Diesel bumped the trucks hard, so hard one of their back couplings snapped and he had to waste time towing it to a siding out of the way. This took too long to do, and he was late starting off. "Be quick now," the Foreman grumbled to him as he was coupled back up to his train. "This train has to be picked up by a main line engine later, so hurry to the yard."
Diesel set off with a jerk, the trucks didn't like that at all. They chattered irritably amongst each other, "First he bumps us when coupling up…"
"Or attempting too, that is."
"...then he bumps us again when we set off! We should pay him out."
"Yes, let's!" The trucks sniggered to each other and waited for the chance.
The day had started out wet, but by now the skies were clear, but the rails were left slick. Diesel wasn't going fast, but was riding roughly and at max speed, sulking all the while.
"I'll show that BoCo, he's too soft… Defending the steam engines the way he does… Absurd!"
They reached the yards when it happened, Diesel needed to stop before some points that lead to the turntable, then leave behind the trucks there and go back to the yard. But Diesel was too busy thinking of a way to show BoCo up that he wasn't paying attention, the trucks saw their chance.
"On! On! On!" they yelled, and bumped into each other, catching his Driver unaware and causing him to fall over.
"Grr!" growled Diesel and tried to hold them back, but the heavy load and the damp rails prevented him from gripping the rails properly.
"GrrrRRRR!" he roared, but could do nothing as the trucks pushed him into the turntables well and he skidded through the ballast - the trucks piling up behind him.
The Fat Controller was not happy. "Well Diesel. I heard you've taken a dislike to our turntables, but in doing all your griping you've only achieved one thing, showing how stupid it is to not pay attention to what it is that you are doing!" he bellowed. "And now thanks to your idiocy, the turntable has sustained heavy damage, costing more than it would to fill it up, you damaged yourself, the trucks, and the goods which we must now compensate to their owners for the damage they have endured.
"Ugh…" he continued. "I hope after this in future you'll think twice before letting your 'diesels are best' rhetoric get in the middle of your work. When you are lifted out you will stay in your shed till you are wanted again."
"Yes Sir…" Diesel oiled weakly.
"Well…" Ben began, as he helped clear up the mess with Donald. "Diesel really got the tables turned on him, didn't he?"
"Ayy! That he did. A real turn table, wouldnae ye say?"
"Grr…" Diesel growled. From now on, Diesel doesn't plan any time soon on continuing to voice his thoughts on the steam engines, at least for a while anyways.