Chuffy Bumpy Beep Sheep
Along Thomas' branchline lies a large farming estate owned by Farmer McColl. He and his family raised sheep, cattle, and other livestock to sell at markets in Elsbridge and Ffarquhar as well as fresh produce for mainland-bound trains. The farm depended upon the railway constantly, and it was always Thomas and his friends' pleasure to help at the farm whenever they could.
One early spring morning, Thomas was on a passing siding at Farmer McColl's with some vans, taking some of the farm's sheep and produce to market. The driver, fireman, and guard all helped with carrying crates of produce and herding the sheep gently into the vans, with the sheep offering pleasant bleats of compliance as they stepped aboard their special train. Thomas took the time to relax and simmer down, when a shrill whistle broke through behind him.
"Morning, Thomas!" Reymond called, passing by slowly with Thomas's replacement service, "Nice passengers you got!"
"Says you!" Thomas shot back, smirking, "And do be careful on the line today, it might get bumpy!"
"You got it!" Reymond called as he sped away with his two coaches, clearing Thomas's line.
A few minutes after Reymond had left, Thomas's siding was lined up to the branch main and the vans were closed with a bang. The guard climbed back into his brakevan with Farmer McColl and blew his whistle, with Thomas responding in kind. Slowly but surely, the little blue engine puffed away from the farm with the sheep, taking extra special care not to bump the vans.
Up the line, Reymond was already letting passengers off at Ffarquhar and readying for a run back down the line. His driver had exited his cab and took his spot inside Trish's cab to operate from there. A few minutes later, some new passengers filled up the train and, with a blast from his whistle, Reymond departed the station for Hackenback.
Meanwhile, down the line, Thomas was just coming up to the tunnel where he once had gotten stuck in a snowdrift. With his driver checking speed and the train holding fast, Thomas surged up the grade as if he was racing Bertie, his wheels bucketing along the rails. All of a sudden, Thomas felt himself jerk forward forcefully, banging the vans.
"Wh-what's going on!?" He called to his driver, feeling himself slow down as his driver shut off steam.
"Rails might be a bit bumpy!" His driver called back, looking back to check the condition of the train, "All seems alright though, we'll keep going!"
Thomas agreed and continued on until right as they got to the tunnel. Another massive bang shook the train as they rolled over a cracked piece of track, forcing one of the van couplings to come unhitched! The sound of Thomas's heavy puffing into the tunnel masked the loud clang of the uncoupled cattle van , the train coming in half as Thomas sped out of the tunnel quickly, hoping to make up time for slowing down. As he did speed off, Thomas neglected to hear Farmer McColl and the guard calling after him, as well as the plaintive bleat of the bumped sheep.
Up the line at Hackenbeck, Reymond's driver was waiting for the line to clear as the guard ushered new passengers inside the train and assisted others in departing the station. Reymond was also waiting boredly too, humming to himself as his fireman watched the red signal intently. Thomas should have come through by now, the big tank engine thought, where is he?
As if by coincidence, Thomas rocketed through Hackenbeck as fast as his wheels could carry him, whistling urgently. "Sorry for making you late!" He yelled as he sped off into the distance, surprising Reymond. He didn't have time to stay surprised though, as the signal finally dropped and his driver rang Amy's bell.
"Ding ding, Reymond!" Amy and Trish cheered, finally relieved at being able to go again.
"You got it, girls!" Reymond chuckled back and started off again, hoping to have a nice fast run down to Elsbridge to make up the delay.
Thomas meanwhile had finally arrived at Ffarquhar, completely out of breath as he pulled up to the platform. The market was already bustling with activity as Toby and Henrietta were on the other track with the Fat Controller, waiting to depart. The Fat Controller had noticed Thomas come in rather quickly and approached him as workers began to unload the vans.
"Thomas, you're a few minutes late!" Said the Fat Controller, "What happened?"
"S-sorry sir.." Thomas panted, "I got held up at the tunnel, some of the track went bad by the south portal!"
"I see… the Fat Controller mused, scratching his chin, "So where's Farmer McColl?"
"H-he should be right-" Thomas stopped suddenly, knocked on his cabside by his driver. The engine and his crew looked back, only to find four produce vans trailing behind, and no sign of any cattle cars or a brakevan.
"Oh no!" Thomas gasped, "I must have left them behind somewhere!"
"Do you know exactly where, Thomas?" Toby asked, glancing worriedly to his friend.
"I-I don't know…!" Panicked Thomas, "But it must have been somewhere near the tunnel!"
"Thomas" the Fat Controller said sternly, trying to calm the engine down as Thomas jerked backwards, ready to run, "Do you know who else might be on the line?"
Thomas thought for a moment, and then realized, "I don't know sir, I don't…"
Reymond's driver relaxed into Amy's cab seat as the train traveled backwards through the curve. The journey seemed normal, until the tunnel was bearing down on the train. The driver tugged on Amy's bell twice.
"Ding-ding~!" Amy hummed, "Whistle, Reymond!"
"Sure!" Reymond replied back and whistled again. As they approached the mouth however, the driver found no light was shining through the short tunnel. All of a sudden, the whole train rammed into a blockage, Amy's buffers driving headlong into a van's. The passengers were rocked roughly out of their seats, and Reymond was brought to a quick stop by the fireman, who had lost his footing and knocked against the back of the cab. The driver wasn't as quick either, having found himself faceplanting into the push-pull coach's windshield.
As everyone eventually came to, Farmer McColl brought his flock of sheep back towards the empty vans as Thomas' guard ran inside the tunnel and shined a light on the train.
"...'Ello?" Thomas' guard called out, "Anyone awake?"
"Y-yes.. I think so…" Amy groaned quietly, opening her eyes to find herself staring at a rather curious sheep who followed the guard inside. The coach was curious as well, and as Farmer McColl joined Thomas's guard to see to the driver and Reymond's guard from the coaches, the sheep let out a little bleat at Amy.
"Beep?" Amy squeaked in response.
"Baah!" replied the sheep.
As the coach and sheep began to 'beep' and 'baah' at each other, Farmer McColl finally reached the front and found Reymond, a bit dazed but still maintaining steam. The large tank engine peered down at the two relieved men and blinked.
"Can I help you, Mister…?" Reymond groaned a little, seeing his driver join them.
"I believe you can!" Thomas' guard replied, "Our engine broke off going to Ffharquar, and these sheep need to be at market quickly!"
"Would you mind pulling us there?" Farmer McColl asked, patting Reymond's buffer.
Reymond looked to his crew, who nodded as his own guard calmed the passengers down, and replied, "I believe I can."
With the derailed van re-railed and the sheep all loaded aboard, much to Amy's displeasure, Reymond cautiously rolled the rest of the train past the damaged track and started for Ffarquhar. The noise from his stack deafened the little valley as the tank engine roared forward up towards Hackenback, not used to hauling mixed trains. Through into Hackenbeck, Reymond passed the stationmaster on the platform, who rang ahead to Ffarquhar to deliver the good news.
Thomas waited on a siding track out of the way, having been admonished slightly by the Fat Controller. "You should have looked behind you, Thomas," the Fat Controller said, standing by the engine, "That way you can be aware if something like this happens."
"Yes sir…" Thomas replied quietly, then perked up when he heard a shrill whistling from afar. The Fat Controller turned as Reymond hurried into Ffarquhar station, towing two coaches, four cattle vans, and a brakevan with Farmer McColl inside. The market workers got to work unloading the sheep to a proper pen off the platform, as Farmer McColl waved hello to Thomas and the Fat Controller.
"'Ello, sir!" Farmer McColl called, "Didn't end up too badly getting here thanks to this fast engine!"
"No problem at all, glad to see you can make it!" The Fat Controller heartly replied, and turning to Reymond, said, "Good job Reymond, congratulations on being really useful and making it here as soon as you could."
"Think nothing of it sir!" Reymond called out, whistling happily, "Now can you get these vans off me so I can make up for lost time!?"
"You heard him Thomas", the Fat Controller said, turning to Thomas, "Now run along!" Thomas whistled and quickly got the vans uncoupled from Amy. With a whistle and hiss of the steam, the passengers cheered as Reymond finally departed south for Knapford. As they began to leave, however, the Fat Controller and Thomas both noticed an odd passenger inside Amy's driving cab. The two beginning to warn Reymond, both engine and man were instead greeted by a rebellious, gleeful "BAAH!" from Amy and her new friend.