Lee's Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends

Stories

Percy and the Hovercraft

It was summer on the Island of Sodor and holidaymakers were lining up along the beaches and seaside resorts to take in the hot weather and stunning sights around them. It's at this time of year when some of the engines are at their happiest with Flora and Percy among them. For Flora, it's a chance for her to go along the coast with her tram coach in tow and bring happiness to many. Percy meanwhile just loves the sun, even if it damages his paint and makes it fade, but he really doesn't mind. One morning though, when Percy was coming along the Norramby Beach coastline, he noticed something strange in the distance. It was red, but he couldn't make out what it was.
"Do you know what that thing is?" he asked to his driver.
"No, I'm afraid not." came the reply. "I'm sure it's nothing to worry us though." the driver added as Percy continued to pass through. Coming to a halt at the platform just past the main section of the beach, Percy saw Flora, but she wasn't looking happy at all.
"What's the matter?" he asked to her.
"Something new is here." she said. "Something to take the tourists away from us, I heard the holidaymakers talking about him."
"Him?" wondered Percy. "Who is he?" he asked but before Flora could answer, a buzzing like noise began to grow louder and louder. It was coming towards them. Percy, Flora and their crews looked on as the red shape came nearer and nearer.
"What do you think it is?" asked Flora with a slight tremble in her voice. Percy didn't respond…

To the pair's surprise, the red shape turned out to be transport vessel as passengers disembarked from it with grins almost as wide as their face. The vessel looked like just an ordinary boat but it has two propellers on its top that helped power it along. It also had a white and grey underneath that looked like a pillow too and that seemed to puzzle Percy, but the craft looked mightily impressive all the same and soon it moved along the shoreline to get as close to Percy and Flora as it could without leaving the safety of the sea.
"Hello!" it called out loudly. "How are you doing? I'm Weir by the way." the vessel then sounded through its loud and confident Scottish tone. Percy didn't know how to respond but sheepishly replied.
"F...f...fine." he said. "I'm Percy and this is Flora."
"Glad to meet you." smiled Weir. "I am a hovercraft by the way." he then informed. "Just in case you were curious."
"A hover what?" asked Percy.
"A hovercraft," said the red craft again. "I fly on a pocket of air across the sea transporting tourists to locations you just possibly couldn't reach."
"But air doesn't have pockets…" said a bemused Percy. Weir just laughed while Flora was also doing her best to stifle a laugh. However, deep down she was concerned about Weir and as he started up his engine, she and Percy gave each other a look before they watched Weir soon set off into the distance. Percy was still confused though. "How can air have pockets? It's not a coat and it's not a pair of trousers."
"I hope he doesn't take tourists away from us trains." Flora then cut in. Percy thought the same but soon a guard's whistle sounded and he had to set off.
"I'll make sure he doesn't take them away from us," he said to Flora. "I promise."

A promise was much easier said than done for Percy though as whenever he passed by Norramby Beach, all he could see was families heading towards Weir. He was practically surrounded by people every time Percy passed by and even though Weir called out a hello to him each time he was near, Percy just ignored him. "He's taking us away from the passengers…" he thought. "This isn't right. I need to speak to someone." he added and when he was on his next break, Percy turned towards the tourist submarine, K60 who had also caused a little upset when he first arrived but had soon been welcomed by all. The submarine loved to tour the seas around Norramby but was also finding the new-found Weir effect a worry.
"He's just strolled in, hummed his way round the seas and is taking my tourists." sighed K60.
"They're mine too." pointed out Percy.
"Oh, of course, but I am the only sea-faring transport near here. Engines don't go in the water, do they now?" asked the submarine. Percy remembered a time long ago when that wasn't quite true for him, but he didn't want to bring it up.
"What do we do about him though?" Percy then asked.
"Wait Percy," suggested K60 as the summer sun glimmered across his shiny paintwork. "If we bide our time, I'm sure the novelty will wear off for many. I never thought I'd get a rival on these seas, but Sodor throws up many surprises doesn't it?"
"So I have to wait?" Percy asked.
"Yes," said K60. "It's for the best. Be patient Percy." he advised and for the next few days, Percy waited. He'd told Flora just to do the same and so they did. K60 took his own advice on board as well and the three just waited patiently for the novelty of Weir to wear off. It wasn't wearing off though.
"Oh please! Stop!" giggled Weir loudly as the crowds kept bustling around him. He was having his photograph taken almost all the time and even an artist came down to the beach to paint the new attraction. Percy, Flora and K60 couldn't quite believe it.
"How is he doing this?" wondered the submarine as he sat waiting by his docking point. "Just how?"

As the days continued to pass and the sun continued to shine down on Norramby, the trio of patient waiters grew tiresome. Their waiting was doing nothing but prove how popular Weir was. Even the Fat Controller and Lady Hatt had come to have a tour on the hovercraft and they both seemed delighted with Weir.
"An outstanding purchase for Sodor." remarked Lady Hatt.
"Indeed." agreed the Fat Controller. It was things like this that were beginning to make Percy jealous and although he didn't tell anyone, he wanted Weir to have a problem; a breakdown, a malfunction, just something. Percy's wish came much sooner than he'd expected as later that day when out on a tour with passengers, Weir was beginning to experience problems. His engine was making a funny sound and his skirting where the pocket of air was kept feeling strange too.
"I'm not quite myself," he muttered under his breath as he hummed along the Norramby seas. His passengers were just marvelling at what they were seeing but then a loud bang was heard. Passengers screamed in shock as black smoke began to plume out around them. Weir's engine had gone. "Oooh no," he groaned. "This isn't right," and it wasn't. With his engine gone, Weir couldn't move and out in the middle of the Norramby seas, he and everyone else was stranded in the middle of nowhere...

Back on land, Percy was pulling some trucks through Norramby when his fireman noticed the plume of black smoke far out at sea.
"That doesn't look good at all." he said before reaching down in the cabin for a pair of binoculars he had onboard. A quick look through them made him gasp at what he saw. "It's Weir!" he said. "The smoke's coming from him." Percy smiled at first but soon realised that this wasn't good at all. People were onboard Weir and no matter how he felt about losing passengers, people were trapped in the middle of the sea. Racing along the line, he soon arrived at the platform where his driver alerted the stationmaster.
"Something's up with Weir," he said. "That smoke over there is coming from him." The stationmaster nodded and rushed to the nearest telephone he could get to. Just then, Flora came to the platform.
"What's happening?" she asked. "My passengers keep looking at the smoke and asking."
"It's Weir…" said Percy. "I think he's broken down." Flora was shocked.
"Oh no," she said. "I wished something like this would happen to him just before I went to sleep last night. He was making me jealous. Oh dear…"
"I wished the same thing…" admitted Percy. "Oh no…"
The noise onboard Weir was a chaotic mess with passengers screaming and shouting for help. Weir's crew had tried to radio for help but the smoke was blocking out their signal. Everything was going against them.
"Too many trips in a short time, that's what's done it." said Weir's driver. "We've overdone it, lad."
"Typical…" muttered Weir. "Just as I was really getting into it too." he then grumbled. The smoke around him wasn't clearing and was making things hard for everyone onboard. The passengers were coughing loudly and were peering out of the side windows to shout for help, but no-one could seemingly hear them. Just then, they heard a horn in the near distance. Through the smoke, Weir's crew looked out of their window and saw a barge heading their way.
"I was passing by and heard you were in trouble," said the barge, who turned out to be stern Stella, a friend of Bulstrode's at Brendam Docks. "I'm not the strongest barge in the world, but I can take a new-fangled hover-me-thingy with ease. Here's some rope!" she then added as her driver threw out rope for Weir's crew to attach. Soon, Stella and Weir were roped up and it wasn't long before the brick red barge was taking the red hovercraft back to shore; the plume of black smoke following them as they neared the beach. Holidaymakers on Norramby beach had been told to clear the way for the returning Weir but they couldn't help but watch on from afar as they saw the stricken hovercraft brought back into sight. Stella brought him as close as she wanted to before undoing herself from the rope and setting off on her own way.
"Hope you get fixed." she said, tooting her horn as she left. Weir was extremely thankful and was trying his best to keep a smile on his face despite the smoke still rising high into the sky.

"Thank you very much," he said to Stella. "I'd have been stuck there forever if it wasn't for you."
"Don't thank me dear, thank Percy." said Stella in a motherly tone. "He raised the alarm; I merely did the next part. You need to thank him."

And after Weir was repaired, a few days later he said his thanks to Percy in person.
"I really would have been stuck there if it wasn't for you." he said in a quiet voice, nowhere near like he had spoken before.
"It's no problem," said Percy. "I understand you're new and want to impress, I did the same when I first came here, but I got jealous this time. I wished you'd breakdown and you did. I shouldn't have done that."
"It's no worry, Percy." said Weir. "I shouldn't have taken all your passengers. The same for Flora too and that nifty submarine as well. I did too much too soon. I regret that, my engine does too!" he smiled. "I won't do that now." he promised and to this day, Weir hasn't taken all the passengers. He is still a big attraction on Norramby Beach, but he lets Percy, Flora and K60 get their fair share of passengers too. Weir knows he loves the attention of many, but now realises that quiet days by the sea with your friends are just as good too…