Fuelling the Flames
It appeared that the accident was not being cleared any time soon, as BoCo could see the stationmaster talking irritably on the phone as the diesel peered through his window. The entire main line seemed to be coming to a halt, as Cole's crew had joined BoCo's driver in the staff lounge, leaving their engines to swelter with many passengers in the sun.
"So, are you going to get back to the serious side of your first few weeks, or is this all going to be ways you embarrassed yourself and the railway?" Cole asked cheekily, and BoCo chortled once more, pleased to see the saddle tank was moving away from his anger with Bill and Ben.
"Oh yes, it is all hardships on the Island of Sodor!" The diesel said with a slight smirk. "As you can imagine, the steam engines did not take too kindly to me laughing off crashing into the Inspector's car, and though I enjoyed putting them in their place, I became a bit nervous that it may have pushed them away further. Instead, it appeared that I had forced them to find new ways of complaining about me."
'Henry, can you smell something?' Gordon said about a week after I had crashed into the car. Duck and I were still facing the opposite direction, so we were only able to hear half of the conversations they had, but this one instantly got our attention.
'Smell something?' Henry replied in genuine confusion. 'What sort of something?' Gordon made a grunting noise, possibly as he had not received the desired answer, and he moved on to the next engine.
'What about you James, can you smell this odd aroma?' The blue engine called out. 'It has been hanging around our sheds for a few weeks now.' Duck and I exchanged looks at this, knowing where Gordon was going, but James had not yet caught onto the joke.
'I can't smell anything!' He said in a whine. 'What am I supposed to smell?'
'Fuel!' Gordon cried dramatically, and Duck and I nodded knowingly and rolled our eyes to our own amusement. 'Even since our new green… friend has arrived, the smell of fuel has been increasing for weeks! I must tell you both, it is making my eyes water just thinking about it! Barrels of sticky black fuel keep getting piled high in the corner of our shed, and the foul substance seems to end up more on the ground than it does inside the diesel! I saw a large patch as I pulled into the shed tonight, covering two sets of track, and my driver told me it was fuel! What if someone had an accident by slipping upon spilt fuel and crashing into the walls? It is simply outrageous!'
'Are you showing genuine concern for the rest of us Gordon, or are you afraid that you are going to end up slipping on it?' Duck called out with a sly grin Gordon didn't see. I imagine Gordon was pleased to have drawn us into conversation, though his tone only highlighted his annoyance at Duck's mocking.
'I certainly won't slip on filthy fuel!' Gordon huffed. 'I am not stupid enough to go anyway near the near stuff!'
'Than who are you saying is stupid enough to slip on fuel?' I asked, and Gordon fell silent, having just backed himself into a corner that he could not get out of, and I felt satisfied with putting him in his place. 'You know what I find troublesome Duck?' I asked before Gordon could recover.
'What's that BoCo?'
'Coal. I am not sure if you would notice this, but I always find coal to be quite messy. I took several trains of it last week, and my paint became so covered in coal dust that you wouldn't know I was painted green! And whenever I push the trucks, I always see pieces of coal bouncing off onto the rails. Imagine what might happen if an engine came racing along the tracks and struck a piece of coal! The result would be disastrous.'
'I never thought of it that way,' Duck replied, and I remember him struggling terribly not to laugh. His pained face was so hilarious that I nearly cracked up myself, but the two of us managed to remain silent, and for the first time the shed was utterly quiet as I left Gordon, Henry and James with a lot to think about."
"The next morning, I went back to Edward's branch line. I slept at Tidmouth Sheds as it was easier after delivering my last train of the day to Tidmouth Harbour, whatever it may be, than continuing to race backwards and forwards across the Island. I always found it refreshing to escape the darkness and tension of the sheds and sail by open fields and past homely cottages and let the fresh air and wind wash across my face. Edward's line, as I am sure you are aware by now, possesses its own uniqueness in lifestyle and landscape, and for the most part is more quaint and relaxed than the city life that encompasses the rest of Sodor, and during those first weeks, it felt as though I was travelling to an entirely different place free of any of the anger that the Main Line held.
"That day, as always, my destination was Brendam Bay. The small harbour was different back then, with old wooden cranes starting to slowly give way to metal devices that would now be considered outdated, fewer boats came in than today, and there were only a few warehouses, some of which are still standing, but it was slowly growing into the harbour it is today.
"When I arrived, I found Bill and Ben had just arrived with the same sort of trucks you currently have behind you. Edward was there as well, about to depart with a long line of full coaches, and it was pleasing to see someone smiling at me for once.
'Hello BoCo,' Edward called with a beam as I came to a halt near my trucks. 'It seems I have been seeing you less and less! I do hope that the main line engines have not claimed you for their own so shortly after you arrived here.' I laughed, though Edward's comments inadvertently brought my mood down.
'Don't worry, there is no chance of that happening any time soon,' I replied, and sadness must have shown in my voice as Edward's face sunk.
'Are Gordon, James and Henry still struggling to accept a diesel in their midst?' The wise engine asked. 'Duck mentioned to me when I took some enthusiasts to Tidmouth that they were being a pain.' I said nothing, but was pleased that Duck had told Edward for me, as I would not have been able to at the time. 'They are always difficult when it comes to accepting change. They were more willing to be locked in their sheds for weeks than shunt their own trucks and coaches after Thomas left Tidmouth, but they learnt their lesson in the end. Hang in there and give it a few weeks, and I am sure they will be worn down eventually.'
'Gordon tried to say my fuel was endangering his life last night,' I replied with a hint of a smile, 'so I countered with the dangers of coal falling from trucks.' Edward laughed exactly as the guard blew the whistle, and a cloud of steam erupted around him.
'Put Gordon in his place and he will back down once he realizes there is no way he can win,' he called as he set off. 'But if he keeps being a pain, don't be afraid to come and talk to me! I can deal with him in a flash!' I watched as Edward left, feeling sadder than when I had arrived. I felt more at home on Edward's line than the Main Line, even though I spent most of my time there, and Edward only made me worry that I was not going to get through to those engines. His offer to deal with them for me was kind, but I did not want another engine to fight that battle for me as the three engines would never respect me if I did." Cole understood where BoCo was coming from: he wanted to stop Bill and Ben annoying him, but asking another engine to stop them would only provoke them further.
"I backed down upon the trucks awaiting me and waited for the shunter to couple me up. I would have liked to have spent longer at Brendam, staring out at the water as it calmly crashed against the sides of the harbour, watching the gulls flying overhead, enjoying the simplistic peace that even this busy place had, and delay the time before I would have to return to the main line and the hatred.
'So, Gordon's being a pain, is he?' A voice suddenly spoke to my right.
'He does seem like that painful sort of engine, doesn't he?' Another, nearly identical voice said to my left. I am sure you would have had similar experiences with this, and even though it had happened to me before, I was still stunned to suddenly find two yellow engines on either side of me."
"That is very familiar," Cole laughed, and for a few moments, both engines could not help but chortle to themselves.
'Hello Bill and Ben,' I said once I had gotten over the shock. I had presumed they had gone back to the China Clay Works after delivering the trucks, but there they were, looking at me with wide eyes and devious smiles that I was beginning to find familiar. I was not close with the twins yet, and back then, I did not want either of them going around spurting tales of me tattling on Gordon to Edward, or however those devils may have twisted it. 'Yes, Gordon is being a bit of a pain, but it is nothing for you to worry about.'
'Are you sure?' Bill asked. 'We know how much of a pain Gordon can be –'
'He is always a pain to us, you see,' Ben interrupted.
'We can put a stop to him if you like.'
'He won't even see it coming – you didn't!'
'Thank you for the kind offer, but I think I can deal with him on my own,' I replied, and that moment, the guard blew his whistle and I roared back into life. I left happy once more as I imagined what Bill and Ben might have been planning, and that smile stuck with me all day. However, I do remember Bill and Ben exchanging glances just as I pulled away, and I have a feeling that they got revenge on Gordon in the end, but that comes into play later…"
"Later that week, I was moving along the Main Line towards Wellsworth with a train of fuel tankers rattling behind me, en route for Brendam. It had been a stormy day, with grey clouds in the sky and cold wind roaring across the land. However, after weeks of intense sunlight and heat, it was more of a relief than a worry, and I remember smiling as the wind brushed against me, and I eagerly anticipated the first drops on rain to cool me down.
"However, my happiness did not last the entire journey. With only a few miles to go until Wellsworth, my train went over the level crossing before the station. Wellsworth was in sight, and I was wondering if Edward would be there. I passed between the wooden gates and the line of cars waiting on one side, taking them in, but you know how it is when you're on the rails: half of the time, you can drift away when something's playing on your mind, and as the day was peaceful and the trip seemed to be going well, I began to think of Gordon and his fuel comments now that I was pulling so much of it behind me.
"I had just left the crossing when I heard a loud crack. My driver stopped the train on instinct and went to make it sure it was nothing serious. I glanced behind and could see one of the gates had come loose and whacked into a tanker. A hole had been torn in the side of one tanker, and the guard and a lorry driver were rushing towards it.
'Bugger,' my driver cursed. 'That is going to get onto the tracks!' I knew his concern was valid: if the fuel caught alight, the spreading black patch would erupt in flames, and that would not end well for anyone that came along. After a brief discussion, the lorry driver rushed along the lines for the station while my driver and the guard tried to prevent the situation getting worse.
'Once we know the line is cleared, I will move us out of the way onto a siding,' he told me as he turned on my lamp light as a warning symbol. 'This is not good at all… all of this fuel is being wasted, and it is going to cause grief for everyone!' His comments made me worry: I did not want any further sorrow for this incident, even though I was not too blame. The engines would not have seen it that way though, and at the time, the only thing I could think of was what Gordon would say, which only shows how young and insecure I was at the time.
"But as I thought of Gordon, I saw something racing towards us from the distance, and within half a minute I could tell it was the big blue engine tearing towards Wellsworth. The Express only stops at Crovan's Gate, you see, so the big engine was going to bypass Wellsworth all together and come straight towards disaster. I thought he would stop, but when Gordon passed between platforms, I realised the lorry driver had not reached there in time.
'Gordon's coming, there is going to be an accident if we don't stop him' I yelled to my driver, imaging the tankers exploding behind him. 'Sound my horn, it might be enough to warn them in time!'
'Good idea,' my driver replied anxiously, and he leapt into my cab and did just that. The sound cut through the silence that comes before a storm, my driver setting it off in short, sharp blasts to get the fear across. I saw Gordon's curious face as he approached us, but his crew appeared to have worked out something was wrong and applied the brakes. A screech filled the air at the same time as I felt rain drops against my face, and I watched as the coaches slammed into one another. I could imagine the passengers being thrown throughout the corridors, but my attention went towards Gordon's shocked face as he approached the fuel. Sparks seemed to be flying from his wheels, and I thought for a moment that this was all going to go up in smoke. However, Gordon finally came to a halt as wheels touched the fuel, pulling up directly alongside me so that I could see into his cab. The coaches were tittering amongst themselves as they rocked into place, and I saw his crew looked stunned as they stood on the footplate, looking out into the accident they had driven directly into.
'That was a close one!' Gordon's driver said, fanning himself with his hand. 'Your horn has saved us all BoCo!' I smiled widely then as the rain properly began to fall, the cool beads taking away the last heat of the day as I imagined what expression was on Gordon's face as he realised I had saved his life.
Cole beamed at the tale, his eyes flickering back towards the level crossing where BoCo's victory had occurred.
"A proud moment, I take it?" He asked, and BoCo could only beam back in response. "I imagine that Gordon was not happy with the outcome, even if you did save his life?"
"It is sad to say you are right," BoCo replied, the grin falling from his face. "He was definitely relived not to have set himself on fire, but he was not happy that I was the one that saved him. The only upside to this is that he was suffering more from embarrassment than disgust at being rescued by a diesel. He had his comments turned around against him, and I myself was quite satisfied to see him put in his spot."
"But surely he must have treated you better after that?" Cole asked, his image of this younger Gordon making him doubt the engines he was meant to work with. BoCo could see the shock and disgust on the saddle tank's face and wondered what his words were making the grey engine think.
"I cannot say that Gordon changed in that moment, but the spilt fuel was enough to put a severe crack in his thoughts on diesels," BoCo explained. "It took a while to clear the fuel away, but once it was cleared enough Gordon was able to reverse and switch onto another line. When he went past me, I saw a look very similar to the one I had seen at Tidmouth Station when I offered to take his coaches. His look was curious rather than judgemental, and I could tell from a glance he wanted to thank me, but the words just did not come out. But I remember smiling back at him to let him know I knew what he meant to say, and I believe Gordon understood things, because that night, while fuel came up in conversation many times, Gordon did not speak a word about diesels."
"He still should have thanked you properly!" Cole huffed, but BoCo kept on smiling, part of him knowing Cole was right, but his more sensible side knew the truth.
"It is a difficult thing to accept change, especially when it is forced upon you," the diesel replied. "That night, Gordon was starting to see me as an engine and a companion rather than just a filthy diesel, and those first steps marked the biggest progress I had made with any of those engines, and at the time, I couldn't have asked for anything less."
"Besides, you don't know about what Bill and Ben did next…."
