Once all the introductions had been made, Skarloey decided to allow Peter Sam to work with the newcomer first. Luke was glad he got to work with one of the two engines he had met first; he felt a bit more at ease with the green engine.

"So, Luke, where are you from?" asked Peter Sam conversationally, breaking his thoughts.

Startled, Luke replied "Er- a small railway. In Ireland. It's not too far from here. Sodor, I mean." He added hastily.

"Ah."

The two worked in silence for a while, shunting trucks.

Luke asked "So what's with the strange funnel then? It looks like a steamroller had decided to use it as practice for smoothing out roads but didn't do a good job of it." He admitted, before he flushed a dark red. He realised that he should be careful not to be rude to anyone for fear oor causing offence- he already had one reason why everyone wouldn't want to be friends with him...

Luckily, the older engine began laughing as memories came back to him from long ago. "Well the events certainly were unforgettable, I can say." So Peter Sam recounted his accident with the trucks, and then with an icicle knocking his funnel off after going through a tunnel. The little engine listened intently, asking questions about the story, and was roaring with laughter when Peter Sam brought up the drainpipe.

"That's not all," he continued. "Sir Handel even made up a song about it! I'll sing it." He began to sing the verse;

"Peter Sam said again and again,

His new funnel will put ours to shame.

He went into the tunnel:

Lost his old funnel.

Now his famous new funnel's a drain!"

...

Luke was beside himself when Peter Sam ended the song.

"That was really funny Peter Sam!" he chuckled. "Now I can see why Miranda detests funnels so much!"

"Who's Miranda?"

"Oh, a friend of mine back home. She's a diesel." Luke told him, casually.

"Why does she hate funnels so much then?" asked Peter Sam, eager to hear of this strange phobia.

"She thinks all they do is get damaged and cause trouble. I told her that if I found anyone who had trouble with their funnel then I'd have to work with Cork and Waterford for a month."

"Who are they?"

"A pair of goods vans. They're very noisy and obnoxious. They never agree with an engine, they never agree with each other, and they cannot be persuaded to agree on one thing at a time!"

Hm- that sounds tough."

"You have no idea," Replied Luke, biffing the slate trucks in front of him.

"Actually, to be honest with you, they sound a bit like Sir Handel and Duncan on a bad day." Peter Sam confessed, causing both engines to chuckle to themselves.

Carefully, Peter Sam pushed his trucks into position and then paused. He heard a diesel horn echo round the quarry. It certainly wasn't Rusty's horn- Peter Sam recognised, but Luke didn't, and he panicked.

"I have to hide!" He gasped, abandoning the trucks and fleeing for a nearby tunnel.

Suddenly, Peter Sam thought of something- he thought Luke's design looked vaguely familiar... "Wait Luke, who was your designer?" He asked.

"Kerr Stuart. I'm a 'Wren' class." The younger engine explained.

"Well, I'll be." smiled the other engine. "I'm a Kerr Stuart as well- only I'm a Tattoo Kerr Stuart. In fact, I was called Stuart during my time on the Mid Sodor Railway." He added shyly.

Luke paused, processing this information. "So, we're… cousins?" He asked, surprised at finding a relative during a time of emergency.

"It would seem so." Peter Sam smiled again "You don't mind, do you?"

Luke smiled. "Of course not! You're a really friendly engine Peter Sam."

His newfound cousin couldn't help a grin. "I try to be. Plus, I think you are very magnanimous."

The poor engine felt a bit disheartened. That didn't sound good. Still…

"What does that mean?" He asked.

"It means to be kind and forgiving. An old friend of mine told me that."

"Who was it- the old friend?"

"Duke."

The diesel approached, and blew his horn again. Luke raced into the darkness of a nearby tunnel- his secret still needed to be kept under lock and key in his mind.

...

A/N: Hope you like! I was hoping to give Luke a happy moment. Reviews welcomed and appreciated.