Rusty's Snowy Story
Based on "Snow" by Britt Allcroft and David Mitton
Adapted by DuckGWR08
It was mid-winter on the Island of Sodor. An extra thick blanket of snow covered the island, causing numerous delays and inconveniences. As a result, Thomas' branch line was temporarily closed beyond Elsbridge, as the valley was at too much of an avalanche risk. Without a line to run, Thomas was left to clear snow on the main line. Thomas hated snow. It was coming down particularly heavily that morning.
"Stupid stuff…" he grumbled. "First I lose my branch line, and now I have to plow the whole island."
"That's January for you." said his driver. "The snow only gets worse after Christmas."
Thomas sulked. Just then, he saw Percy up ahead with a small goods train. Percy was up to his footplate in snow.
"Oh Thomas, thank goodness." he shivered.
"Percy, what happened?"
"I'm stuck. The snow was too much for me."
"Shouldn't Donald and Douglas have rescued you by now?"
Donald and Douglas, the Scottish Twins, were the main snow-clearing engines.
"We called for them, but they couldn't come because Douglas derailed. He couldn't see that the points were against him. The snow was covering them."
Thomas knew helping his friend would make him feel better. He switched lines and began to clear the way for Percy. Together, they made their way to Maron. When they got there, the Fat Controller was waiting.
"Ah, Thomas. Just the engine I was looking for. I have a special job for you."
"What kind of job, sir?"
"I need you to take Rusty to the Dieselworks. He's waiting for you at Crovan's Gate.
"Yes, sir!" peeped Thomas excitedly. "Anything to get out of clearing snow."
"But who will clear the line then, sir?" asked Percy.
The Fat Controller chuckled. "Don't worry Percy, I've set Gordon to work with an electric snow machine. Fitting that he was available, as his express can't run in these conditions."
"I bet he loves that." Thomas chuckled to Percy.
"Off you go then, Thomas." said the Fat Controller.
Thomas blew his whistle and set off. He battled his way through the falling snow, determined to get his job done before it got worse.
Rusty was waiting for Thomas at Crovan's Gate Yard. He had been loaded into a well wagon, as narrow gauge tracks couldn't reach Vicarstown.
"Hello, Rusty!" peeped Thomas as he entered the yard.
"Ah, hello Thomas." greeted Rusty. "Thank goodness you're here. I can't wait to get out of this snow."
"Neither can I." replied Thomas. "I've been plowing the main line all day. I can't imagine what this like for you narrow gauge engines."
"It's tougher for us. We're smaller, so the snow's an even bigger hazard. If we're not careful, we could end up buried whole! In fact, that's what just happened with Skarloey a few days ago."
"Really? What happened with Skarloey?" asked Thomas as they began their journey.
"I'll tell you." said Rusty.
And this is the story he told:
Skarloey is a brave old engine; he's not afraid of a little snow. When given a risky situation, he always takes proper safety precautions. He never tries to show off like he did in his younger days. Skarloey had been assigned to deliver coal to the villages in the mountains. In order to do so, he had pass through a narrow ravine that was at high risk of avalanches. We couldn't close the line because the roads were too slippery and this was the only way of getting to them. One day, he was passing through the ravine on his way back when he noticed a large bank of snow hanging dangerously over the edge.
"Whoa!" said Skarloey.
His driver stopped the train.
"What's the matter?"
"That snowbank looks like it could come down at any minute."
The crew looked up to inspect.
"Hang on." said the fireman. Doesn't the slate quarry overlook this ravine?"
"It does." advised Skarloey. "That's why we need to be careful. If something goes wrong up there, it could trigger an avalanche."
"Right you are." the driver said at last. "We'd better do a safety test. Good eye, Skarloey!"
Skarloey beamed with pride as his driver placed a detonation cap on the line ahead. Then, they ran over the cap. A soft bang echoed around the gorge. Skarloey and his crew looked around to see if any snow was coming down. After a minute, it was safe to say that it was okay to pass through.
"Nothing happened." smiled the driver. "We can proceed. All's well."
But it wasn't.
Up above at the quarry, the winch that hauled trucks up and down the incline was malfunctioning. Heavy amounts of snow and ice constantly jammed the gears. This caused confusion and delay. Sir Handel was on quarry duty, and the constant delays were making him crazy. He had just arranged some empties and was waiting to take away the loaded trucks.
"Come on!" he growled as the winch stopped for the upteenth time.
"Get a move on, you stupid machine!
The trucks weren't particularly fond of this either, but they especially weren't fond of Sir Handel.
"Stop complaining!" one called.
"We can't control the weather!" said another.
Sir Handel's temper was getting the better of him. He lost patience and banged the empties going up.
"Oh! Oh! Oh!" they cried.
However, he had only made things worse; he had banged them so hard that they derailed. The winch finally began working, only for it to stop again when the empty trucks' wheels got jammed in the sleepers. Sir Handel seethed with embarrassment.
"WHY AM I LIKE THIS?!" he yelled.
His yell echoed through the mountains. Skarloey heard the echo down in the ravine.
"What was that?"
Suddenly, a huge icicle smashed to pieces in front of them.
"We'd better hurry." said the driver.
By this time, the loaded trucks were completely fed up. They didn't feel like waiting any longer.
"Let's teach him a lesson!" they chanted. Of course, the trucks were too dumb to realize that Sir Handel was on the opposite track, so they couldn't hit him even if they wanted to. As workmen tried to rerail the empties, they began to tug on the winch. The winch groaned.
"Break it!"
"Snap it!"
And they did. A coupling snapped.
"On! On! Faster! Faster!" giggled the trucks as they rocketed down the slope.
"Oh no!" cried Sir Handel. "Look out!"
The trucks sped past him and towards the buffers. The buffers were backed up by a huge bank of snow. Unfortunately, this was the same bank Skarloey had noticed.
"The snow bank and buffers will stop them!" shouted a workman.
At that moment, the trucks crashed through both the buffers and the snowbank and into the ravine.
"...me and my big mouth…"
Skarloey and his driver heard the noise. Then they looked up. The huge snowbank was beginning to fall!
"Avalanche!" cried the driver.
Snow began pouring down the ravine.
"Full speed!" cried Skarloey.
They sped forward, but the snow was catching up behind them. Just then the trucks landed ahead of them, blocking the line.
"Ow!"
"This totally wasn't worth it…"
Skarloey slammed on his brakes.
"We're trapped!" cried the fireman.
Skarloey looked ahead grimly. He knew what he had to do.
"Run!" he yelled to the crew. "Run for your lives!"
"We can't just abandon you here!"
"You can climb over the trucks. Save yourselves!"
Without anymore hesitation, the driver, fireman, and guard all ran as fast as they could over the blockage and out of the ravine. Skarloey looked up and gulped. The rest of the snow came tumbling down, engulfing him whole. By the time the avalanche had finally stopped, there was no visible sign of him. He had been buried deep in the snow
Thomas gasped.
"Cinders and ashes! Was he alright?"
By then, it had stopped snowing. Thomas was so focused on Rusty's story that he hadn't noticed.
"You haven't let me finished." chuckled Rusty.
"Anyway…"
Since Skarloey had sacrificed himself, his crew had been able to run to the next signal box and phone for help. I was in the yard when the alarm sounded.
"What's the matter?" I asked.
"Skarloey's been buried in an avalanche!" cried the yardmaster. "We must help him right away!"
"Oh no!"
I dropped what I was doing and picked up some coaches, and a bunch of workmen started piling in with shovels. One of them even brought their Saint Bernard. I then set off immediately for the quarry ravine, where I was told to go.
"Emergency! Emergency!" I yelled, and I tooted my horn as loudly as I could.
All traffic was halted. Once we reached the ravine, I saw the biggest pile of snow I had ever seen. The workmen immediately started digging. Skarloey's crew returned and valiantly began digging as well.
"Hang on, Skarloey!" I called. "We'll get you out!"
In no time, Skarloey was freed from the snow drift. But a thick layer of ice surrounded him. The heat of his boiler had formed an igloo around him, protecting him from being crushed by the weight of the snow. Skarloey, although dazed and weak, was okay. The workmen cheered and I honked my horn - but only for a few seconds before his crew reminded us that any more noise could set off another avalanche.
"Wow!" said Thomas, amazed. "I knew Skarloey was brave, but I never thought he was that courageous!
"Indeed." said Rusty with admiration. "Didn't your driver read the Sodor Times that day? He was on the cover! He was sent to the Steamworks a hero. The Thin Controller will honor him when he gets back. They'll be honoring me too, for responding so quickly in an emergency. He also rewarded me by sending me to the Dieselworks to have my engine tuned. And we'll both be receiving new coats of paint!"
"I hope I can come to the ceremony." smiled Thomas.
"Sir Handel has never felt more guilty for thinking he was the cause of all this, so he offered to do both of our jobs until he returns. Hopefully this will teach him how to manage his temper."
"I sure hope so. I don't know what I'd do if I - oof!"
Thomas had ran into a huge snowdrift blocking Henry's Tunnel.
"Perfect." he sighed. "Now we won't get to the Dieselworks!"
Just then, they heard Gordon's whistle.
"Or maybe we will!" beamed Rusty.
Gordon was shunting a huge rail snow machine. It had a big blade at the front which cut up snow and ice, and funnel on top that spewed it off the line.
"Oh, the indignity…" he complained. "From an express engine to a snow clearer. The shame of it!"
"Lighten up, Gordon!" laughed Thomas. "You're doing the rest of us a favor."
"I'm doing myself a favor." sneered Gordon. "The sooner I finish clearing the track, the sooner I can get back to pulling the express!"
Gordon wheeshed steam loudly. However, he didn't notice that he was below a big pile of snow on the arch of the tunnel. The snow began to rumble.
"Uh oh…"
Snow poured down, burying Gordon's front almost whole.
"Heeeelp!" he wailed in distress.
Thomas and Rusty couldn't help but laugh.
"Or maybe we won't after all!" laughed Rusty.
"If a little engine like Skarloey can survive a full-blown avalanche, then surely a big engine like you can handle a little snow!" teased Thomas.
"Pah…" muttered Gordon, his voice muffled underneath the drift.
Thomas and Rusty chuckled some more, then fell as silent as the snow as they waited for help.