Henry solemnly clanked into the platform, where Percy had shunted his coaches for him. The little green engine waited in the platform adjacent to Henry's, smiling as he approached.
"Glad to see you up and about, Henry!" He greeted. Henry snorted.
"In the loosest sense of the phrase, Percy. I should have been 'up and about' on my morning goods train a few hours ago…now I'm stuck on the local because I can't build up a fire. It's…"
"Disgraceful, disgusting, despicable?" Percy finished cheekily. Before Henry could retort, he heard a familiar voice clear his throat.
"Ahem." Henry and Percy both looked to the Fat Controller, who was standing on the platform near Henry's cab, having taken off his hat and coat and putting on overalls instead. Henry raised an eyebrow while Percy stifled laughter.
"Sir?"
"I'll be riding in your cab today, Henry. We're going to get to the bottom of your issues today, so we can actually solve them permanently!" He stepped into the cab as the driver and fireman made room for him. Percy chuckled to himself before giving Henry a genuine smile.
"Shake a wheel, Henry!" He whistled and rolled away to shunt more trucks. Henry smiled to himself, but his smile quickly fell once the guard's whistle blew. He took a deep, nervous breath.
"Alright…here we go." He whistled and began to try and leave the station. However, he couldn't go very fast, and the coaches weighed him back. Henry huffed, trying to catch his breath, and finally managed to struggle out of the platform onto the main line. Percy watched from the yards, concerned.
Henry rumbled along the main line, trying to build up speed but never really getting beyond a crawl. His face was red from all his effort, but it wasn't amounting to much. In the cab, the fireman was trying his best to strengthen Henry's fire, but to no avail. He had just added another lump of coal to the fire, but it didn't increase the size of the flame. He groaned in frustration.
"Is something wrong, fireman?" The Fat Controller asked, brushing coal dust off his overalls. The fireman sighed.
"Henry's a bad steamer. I build up his fire, but it just doesn't make enough heat." The Fat Controller frowned.
"Hmm." Henry rumbled onwards, trying his best to speed up.
"Come on, come on, come…on!" He grunted, breathing hard. However, as Henry approached Edward's station, he suddenly began to gasp.
"I can't go on! I can't go on!" Henry coughed furiously as he managed to drag his coaches into the platform. Finally, he came to a loud, clanking stop, coughing furiously. The driver looked at one of the gauges in the cab before frowning.
"No way he has enough steam to make it up the hill…we need another engine to take over." Henry groaned in embarrassment.
Henry had limped onto a siding out of the way as Edward took charge of the train. The blue engine gave Henry a sympathetic glance before whistling and puffing away. As Edward and the train disappeared from sight, the Fat Controller and the crew stood nearby Henry, discussing his issues.
"What do you think the problem is, fireman?" The Fat Controller asked. The fireman thought for a moment before continuing.
"Excuse me, sir, but the fact is the coal is wrong. We've had a poor lot lately, and today's it's worse. The other engines can manage because they had big fireboxes. Henry's is small; it can't make the heat." Henry frowned in shame. The Fat Controller, however, appeared deep in thought.
"Well, that is a problem. The question is…how can we solve it?" The three men pondered for a moment, before the fireman cleared his throat.
"Well, sir, maybe, if you'd allow it, sir, we could try giving Henry…Welsh coal?" The Fat Controller's eyes widened.
"Welsh coal? Money doesn't grow on trees; the board would lose their minds! I-" The Fat Controller looked to Henry, whose face was frozen in a perpetual miserable pout. He thought for a moment.
"It is expensive…but Henry must have a fair chance." Henry's eyes widened with surprise.
"Sir?" The Fat Controller smiled.
"Henry, I'll send in an order for Welsh coal as soon as I've returned to my office; you'll be really useful yet!" Henry grinned in surprise.
"Yes, sir! Thank you, sir! I won't let you down, sir!"
The process of ordering the Welsh coal was long and arduous, and the Fat Controller frequently found himself in meetings with the railway board to try and convince them to allow the order. As a result of this, the engines did not see a lot of him in this time, and couldn't really get in contact with him.
"Is the Fat Controller here?" Thomas asked the Stationmaster eagerly as he pulled into Knapford. The stationmaster shook his head.
"He's in a meeting." Thomas frowned as the Stationmaster walked away.
"Don't worry, Thomas. I'm sure you'll find time to talk to him about Glynn before he goes on holiday." Annie soothed, but Thomas remained nervous.
Finally, one morning, Henry was woken up by the sound of James' whistle. His eyes popped open as the red engine arrived with a long train of coal trucks.
"It's here! The Fat Controller got it after all!" The driver gasped. James snorted.
"You better appreciate-"
"-what the Fat Controller went through to get it, I know!" Henry interrupted, not keeping his eyes off the coal trucks. James' eyes narrowed, offended.
"No one cares about what I had to do! I had to go to the Mainland at four in the morning to get this stuff, and I don't get as much as a 'thank you'! Hmph!" Percy, who was shunting trucks nearby, giggled.
"No rest for the hard worked, James!" James frowned.
Henry's crew carefully built up his fire.
"Bigger lumps on the outside, smaller lumps over the flame!" The driver pointed out as the fireman carefully placed another lump in the firebox from the shovel. The other man snorted.
"Don't tell me how to do my job." Henry wasn't used to the structure, and felt rather uncomfortable.
"You're going to spoil my fire!" He complained, but the fireman chuckled.
"No worries, old boy. Once we're started, we'll have a roaring fire!" This made Henry smile. The warmth spread through his firebox as the flame grew, and soon enough the green engine was moving out of the sheds. The driver stuck his head out of the cab.
"Now we'll show 'em, Henry!" Henry grinned determinedly.
"Yes, we shall!"
Henry backed down onto the coaches, feeling incredibly comfortable. The water was boiling so nicely that he had to let off steam.
"Ah…" He sighed happily as the steam escaped.
"Feeling good then, Henry?" Henry jumped as the Fat Controller walked up.
"Gah! I feel fine, sir!" The Fat Controller chuckled.
"Excellent. How's the fire, driver?" The driver stepped down from the cab onto the platform, the fireman following behind.
"Never better, sir! He's plenty of steam, and I have a feeling a smooth run is ahead of us." Henry smiled at the Fat Controller.
"Thank you so much for giving me a second chance, sir!" The Fat Controller smiled back.
"I'm glad I was here to see it; I was worried that the shipment wouldn't be ready until after I had left for my holiday! Good luck, Henry. No record breaking!" As Henry began to get ready to leave, the Fat Controller walked back towards the cab.
"Don't push him too hard." He discretely whispered to the driver, who chuckled in response.
"Henry won't need pushing, sir. More likely we'll have to hold him back!" The Fat Controller laughed.
"Splendid! I must be off to make sure the last of my things are packed for my holiday, but I expect to hear news of a splendid run!" The driver grinned.
"That you shall, sir!" As the Fat Controller walked away, Henry looked excitedly out onto the main line ahead of him. As the last door banged on the coaches, Percy, plus Judy and Jerome the Breakdown Train who were waiting on their siding for any emergencies, watched with anticipation. The guard's whistle blew, and Henry began to pull out of the station. To Henry's surprise, it was all seeming easy!
"I feel so well! I feel so well!" He chanted as he pulled his train out onto the junction and towards the Main Line.
Gordon thundered along the Main Line with the express, just having left the big station a little while before Henry. He had built up speed and was just beginning to enjoy himself, when…
"Make way!" Gordon was startled by a loud whistle as Henry rocketed past on another line, much faster than Gordon. The passengers ooh-ed and ah-ed from inside the coaches, and peered out their windows to watch Henry rocket past. Gordon jolted with surprise.
"Wh-Henry!?" Henry sped along the Main Line, laughing as fields and roads seemed to fly by.
"I've never felt so good in my life!" He whooped and cheered. His driver chuckled and began to slow Henry down. The green engine pouted as his speed decreased.
"Can't we go faster?" He asked. The driver poked his head out of the cab.
"Steady, Henry! There's plenty of time! Besides, we're almost at our first stop!" Elsbridge station came into view, and Henry slowly began to brake to a stop. As he drew to a halt, he whistled loudly at his arrival.
"We're here!" He announced. Gordon had finally managed to catch up, and managed to hear Henry's whistle as he rumbled by on the outside line. He winced at the noise.
"In a station? Harrumph!" Henry didn't take any notice of Gordon, who was out of sight just as quickly as he had appeared. The passengers disembarked from Henry's train as his driver pat his side from inside the cab.
"Good job, old boy." The green engine beamed. Suddenly, he heard a whistle from down the line, and Thomas pulled into Elsbridge.
"Henry? You're…early?" The tank engine was bewildered. Henry was about to respond, but then he got an idea and smirked.
"Where have you been, lazybones?" Thomas spluttered in shock, trying to respond.
"Oh, never mind, I can't wait for dawdling tank engines like you." The guard's whistle blew and Henry began to pull out of the station.
"Goodbye!" He called. As Henry and his coaches disappeared from sight, Thomas finally managed to find words.
"Well…have you ever seen anything like it?" He remarked to his coaches.
"No indeed." Annie replied.
"I never have." Clarabel added, as they watched Henry leave the station triumphantly.
Toby, Henrietta, and Elsie arrived at the top station of their line for the last train of the day. Toby drew to a stop in the platform and rang his bell.
"We're here!" He called. A single passenger walked out of Henrietta. Toby gazed across the yard, and watched passengers disembarking from a stuffed-to-the-brim Graham, who sneered at them from the bus stop. Elsie groaned.
"It's unfair!" Henrietta sighed.
"It's life, Elsie." The luggage van glared.
"I remember the days when you used to be full, and we would have nine trucks behind us! Now, we get one passenger on our last train of the day? It's unbelievable!" Henrietta grimaced.
"It's just the state of the world, dear." Elsie harrumphed and fell silent. Toby looked back.
"Cheer up, Elsie. We'll have a nice peaceful journey back up the line to our shed, so that should be nice!" Elsie's scowl softened before she shot a glance at Graham.
"Well, anywhere away from him is bound to be peaceful!" All three of them laughed as Toby brought the trio towards a siding with a water tower, Elsie being closest to the buffers. As Toby began to settle down for a nice long drink to get him home, Graham glared at them from across the yard. He saw Elsie, actually managing to relax, and heard her words from several weeks earlier in his head.
"If anything should have happened a long time ago, it's you having your tires removed and made into an ice cream stand!" A wide smirk came across Graham's face, and he began to whistle innocently as he began to three-point-turn in the car park to get himself home. Neither Toby, Henrietta, nor Elsie noticed how close Graham was getting to their siding.
"Heheheh…" The bus chuckled under his breath. Suddenly, before anyone could realize what was happening, Graham reversed too far and rammed straight into Elsie, knocking her off the rails.
"OUCH!" Elsie's rear wheels scraped the ballast, causing Toby and Henrietta to gasp with surprise. Graham, of course, pretended to be surprised as well. Elsie turned red-in-the-face with anger.
"Watch where you're going, you clumsy twit!" She snapped. Graham gave a sheepish grin.
"Whoops! Guess Oi didn't see yer dare! Oi'm ever so sorry!" Toby glared at Graham.
"You did that on purpose!" He growled. The bus simply continued to feign innocence.
"Naw idea waaat you're blatherin' aboyt! if yer canny git 'er back on de rails, Oi tink it might be a gran' idea ter a go 'er into an 'ice cream stan'! Toodle-loo!" Graham cackled as he drove out of the car park, leaving Toby glaring after him. Henrietta looked back at Elsie.
"Are you alright, Elsie?" The luggage van groaned.
"Oh, I'm absolutely peachy!" She snapped. Toby's driver got down to inspect.
"You've knocked one of your wheels loose…we'll have to head home slowly and try to repair you when we're there." Elsie fumed as Toby rolled to a grab the crane, which was thankfully nearby.
"That idiot bus! What was he playing at?" Henrietta sighed.
"He's just a nasty sort, dear." Toby soon enough returned with the crane and Elsie was craned back onto the rails. She hobbled and rattled on her chassis as Toby began to gently pull the train home.
"When I get my buffers on that bus, I swear-" Elsie began. Henrietta cleared her throat.
"We'll deal with him later. For now, we just need to get home." She noticed that Toby remained silent.
"Toby? Are you alright?" Toby scowled from the front of the train.
"I'm fine. Just…tired, that's all." Henrietta could only look on sympathetically as the trio began to head slowly home as day turned to night.
Henry has recieved his Welsh Coal, Graham has knocked Elsie out of commission, and the Fat Controller is about to leave on his holiday! This chapter was a fun one to write, as I've always thought that "Coal" is a really underrated story. Adding the extra layer of making the Fat Controller so busy trying to get it that Thomas doesn't have time to talk to him about Glynn was just icing on the cake. Now, Henry is finally really useful (albeit with some help), but how do the other engines feel about it? How will Toby and Henrietta deal with Elsie needing repairs? And most importantly, how will the Fat Controller's holiday go? All these questions answered and more in the next chapter: "The Fat Controller's Holiday"!