The Acton Affair

Thomas smiled and said "What a lovely story Neil. Now I see why people liked this gentleman."

"You should've known why, Mr. Holmes journal point you out." Thomas blinked and he frowned "Excuse me? I've never met or heard of Mr. Holmes."

"Ah, you engines use titles a lot. The royal jelly man you knew him as I believe." Thomas's face looked perplexed before he realized who they meant. "That was Mr. Holmes?! Bless my parts, the old man from the Acton affair! I wondered why Inspector Bradstreet seemed so friendly with him!"

"That is correct. One of the Inspectors final cases with Mr. Holmes." a member added.

Thomas looked impressed and said "Mr. Holmes was starting to get into retirement ages then. I'm impressed he was still going."

The members nodded and their leader asked, "What happened?"

"Well, the year was 1916. I still technically belonged to the London, Brighton and South Coastal at the time. I was at Vicarstown."

March 2nd, 1916

Thomas sent a truck into a line causing the vehicles to scream "Oh! Oh! Oh! Whatever is happening?" He giggled as the trucks tried to figure out what happened, Thomas chuckled and sped to collect another group of trucks. Geoffrey, an engine from the mainland helping the NWR get on its feet watched with some amusement. "Good shunting little one. Not so much noise though." He said.

Thomas winked and simply went to get some vans, before he could rush them, a military man blew a warning through his whistle and the tank engine slowed. Geoffrey scoffed and said "Surely those vans could survive a small knock." The military man glared and said "No tricks. These vans and guns are for the men in France."

Thomas whistled and pulled the vans to the train, then went to collect some flatbeds with guns on it (covered with a tarp) and pulled them. Just as Thomas came up to the war train, his driver spied the shunter crossing the track. Whistling a warning the man threw the brakes on and they slowed enough to allow the shunter to run across. One of the flatbeds tarps flew open due to the jolt and out came pipes. For a moment Thomas thought they were simply gun tubes but the military man's whistle and roar told him otherwise.

Soldiers rushed the area and after a moment the Lieutenant overseeing the operation flew into a rage. The 18 inch gun parts on the flatbeds were replaced by forgeries! The tubes with pipes, the firing mechanism with scrap formed to assume the likeness of a gun, even the wheels were replaced! Thomas and Geoffrey were horrified as a passenger train from the docks came in. The Lieutenant ordered all the passengers and workmen held while the army men searched them, the luggage vans and the yard.

After a few minutes the passengers were, for the time cleared. The workers though were kept in the shed and interrogated. Soon enough, an older gentleman came down the platform and over to the yard. He talked to two soldiers and one seemed confused while the other aggressive, then when he showed him a paper the soldier led him to the shed.

The lieutenant, gentleman and soldiers came out a few minutes later and searched around for clues. Eventually some pieces were found and more worryingly, some twenty pound notes. To Thomas's surprise, two soldiers went into the shed and dragged out one of the yard managers.

The man was protesting his innocence, soon though it became apparent as to why the man was suspected. He had been gambling for years, thus his finances were depleted. However the older gentleman then intervened and pointed to certain indentations in the ground and the managers impeccable clothes pointing out how his high handed nature would prevent him from working with the people needed. The army men seemed unconvinced at first but slowly came to understand. They agreed while the man in question looked relieved but miffed at the supposed attack on his intelligence.

Then the gentleman looked at the trucks who were in the sun looking somewhat pleased and walked over to the trucks followed by some of the soldiers. The trucks were somewhat confused and one or two were rude to the gentleman who then said a phrase Thomas and Geoffrey both later grew angry at.

"Ah well, I'll talk to the engines. They probably saw something." The gentleman said.

An older S&M private owner wagon, who many called toothpick and many wished would become said product, creakily laughed. "Those fools saw nothing!"

The men turned to the truck who said "Those blasted engines were asleep. It happened two nights ago, the guns were taken by horses! Yardmaster was speaking Hebrew or something like it to the men overseeing it."

The original suspect realized something, "It was Fletcher!"

The army men looked in confusion as he explained that Fletcher was a new arrival but had come with impeccable credentials from the Dublin and South Eastern Railway. As he said the railway, the army men's faces blanched and they left to arrest Fletcher.

Thomas and the others heard little about what happened next over the next three years but years after the war, the full truth came out.

William Fletcher was a Irish sympathizer from Dublin and had made connections to the Irish resistance movement at the time. He had managed to learn that the parts for a battery of guns with a week's worth of ammunition was coming through and had contacted them. The Irish had sent operatives to recover the guns and ammo and had managed it with a frightful professionalism.

However the voyage across had not gone their way and over half the guns were recovered by the Royal Navy and forty percent of the ammunition had been destroyed. Unfortunately the guns that were not recovered found use in the Easter uprising a month later. Unluckily for the Irish, the warnings from Sodor had been heeded and a strong counterbattery fire quickly reduced the uprisers support and caused the rising to falter.
Thomas and the other engines soon forgot about the gentleman and instead focused on keeping the area secure, wheeshing men in the night they didn't recognize. A practice that caused many complaints and rashes from wet clothes.

William Fletcher had flown the coop though and lived the rest of his years in his native Dublin a hero of the Irish cause.

Present

"Ruddy business that was." Thomas replied. The listeners agreed with this statement as he finished it. The head of the society chuckled and said "Rare for one of Holmes's rogues to escape and benefit."

"Most likely Fletcher knew better than to flaunt, he was recorded as being cordial and pleasent plus generous. If he had acted like an ass or gotten cocky, then the English would've had a noose around him faster than I could whistle." Thomas replied.

James looked nervous and said "Yes, yes. Well, let's get moving. Lots to do!"

Sir Topham Hatt grinned wolfishly and said "Oh no James, your free for today. Your story is the main course today."

James's face fell as the Society leader asked "Why is James embarressed?"

"You've read James the Red Engine?" Sir Topham Hatt asked, the man nodded. "Remember how my father made it seem like James's crash was his fault?"
"That was odd for me to read. Can you explain further?"

"The results of James's case leads right into the crash on the first day." James blanched as the others eyed him curiously.

"Now then, let's go back to 1924 and explain what happened." Sir Topham Hatt said.