Chapter Five: Blue Feelings

Within only a few minutes, two blue steam engines arrived at Vicarstown Station.

Edward arrived first from the east, slinking slowly into the usually overflowing station, and was taken aback by how quiet it was. Only a few haggled looking passengers and tired station workers remained on the cold, empty platforms, with more huddled away inside the warmth of ticket offices, gift shops and the café. In the silence, every noise Edward made seemed to be magnified by the giant roof, and all eyes turned towards him, some people looking hopeful as if their train had arrived, but they quickly went back to their own thoughts, staring towards Sodor, waiting for their train.

It is the end of the day, I guess, Edward thought as he came to a stop, Marco pulling up alongside. I think Gordon is the last train of the day… but still, it is always very odd whenever there is an empty station. It felt as though the snow was keeping everyone away, bringing the Island slowly to a stand still, and it only made Edward worried for what could await him outside of the station.

He had made moved slowly across the bridge, wanting to put Marco into his place for his rudeness, whether it had been intentional or not. Edward regretted it though as soon as the wind began to slam into him, making his entire frame rattle and shake, an uncomfortable experience prolonged by his lack of speed. The snow had covered the tracks for the whole journey, going undisturbed as there were no other engines about, and Edward wondered if he would even make it to Crovan's Gate before he became caught in a drift that he would not be able to push aside.

"Are your stations always this empty?" Marco remarked loudly, staring around. "It isn't a very nice station though, is it, quite old and dirty like you… are all your stations like this?"

"This is one of our busier stations, but it is a bit quiet at the moment due to the time and the weather," Edward said, trying not to get angry, though he had expected it to be busier during the holiday season. He watched his driver rush off to talk to the stationmaster and explain their delay, and wished he would hurry up so Edward could distance himself from Marco once again. "And no, only two of our stations are this big. The other one is Tidmouth on the other side of the Island, though Vicarstown is bigger due to its access to your railway, the rest are only about two platforms." Marco pretended to look interested, but Edward could see his eyes darting around the station, a frown appearing on his face, clearly dissatisfied with his journey. A loud whistle sounded in the distance, and for once in his life, Edward felt glad to hear the sound of Gordon's whistle.

The Express Engine arrived from the west, moving quickly but slowing down as he approached the platform. Gordon had meant to have gone slowly, but when they saw no sign of Edward and instead saw more snow falling and gathering around the lines, his crew decided it would best to get the passengers to the station quickly and safely, and they had gathered speed and ploughed through the snow that had gathered. Gordon had cheered himself up doing this, feeling strong and powerful as the building drifts were sent flying. It was fun and helped to distract him from the threat the weather posed, though Gordon was unlikely to admit his enjoyment at such tank engine-like behaviour.

He was glad for the shelter Vicarstown provided, and slid proudly into the silent station. Gordon too noticed it was strangely silent, with only a few people scattered across the platforms, many moving forwards as his train approached. It wasn't until Gordon had stopped though and the continuous noise of coach doors banging open had subsided that he noticed Edward on the other side of the platform… and the engine next to him.

"Hello there Edward!" Gordon boomed out, though he wanted purely to attract the visiting engines attention, his curiosity and worry creeping back to him now that his journey had stopped for the moment.

"Hello Gordon, safe trip?" Edward asked.

"Snow is nothing to such a strong engine like me!" Gordon replied. "My snowplough was able to push it all aside, so the path is clear for you and your friend." Edward laughed, glad for some pompous behaviour that he could properly deal with.

"Thank you Gordon, that's very kind of you," the old engine said, and wondered when Gordon would ask about Marco, the diesel-electric engine seemed uninterested in the presence of another steam engine.

"Why on Earth are you so late though?" Gordon asked as the last of his passengers moved away. "I thought you were due a half hour ago, I had to wait at Crovan's Gate thinking you had had an accident!" Edward struggled not to glare at Marco, and instead wheeshed a small amount of steam that floated ghostly across the platforms.

"Sorry about that, Marco here was late in arriving," he explained with a touch of bitterness that peeked Gordon's curiosity. "Marco," Edward said, getting the multiple units attention, "this is Gordon, one of the Main Line engines on our railway. Gordon, this is Marco, a tilting diesel-electric engine that is here to put on a display for the Electric Branch Line."

"Hello there Marco, how do you do?" Gordon asked, fearing what the engine might say to him.

"This station smells strange… why is that?" Marco asked, barely even looking at Gordon, and the big blue engine's face fell. "Can you smell that? It smells like… something got burnt, perhaps?"

"Maybe it's the fact that Gordon and I run on burnt coal?" Edward suggested. "Though coal smells a lot better than fuel…"

"What was that?"

"Nothing," Edward said, and Marco believed him, going back to examining every inch of the station that he could see. Gordon nearly smirked, but saw the glare on Edward's face and kept his face blank. He looked at the yellow, red and silver engine, wondering exactly how he tilted, what secret contraption was built into his streamlined frame, the engine looking remarkably un-spectacular. Marco did not strike him as bright or interesting, but Gordon was still keen to make an impression and show off, never being able to control himself.

"Marco, have you ever met the Flying Scotsman?" Gordon asked, as he noticed a station manager approaching his cab. "Quite a famous steam engine that just so happens to be a cousin of mine!"

"Flying Scotsman…," Marco said, looking confused as he thought the name over. "Oh right, that really old engine! Wow, that must make you really old as well! You don't look it though… well, actually, I guess all of you steam engines do look pretty old, compared to me…" Gordon's eye bulged out of his face at this, and he was left speechless, shocked by the casual rudeness and insolence of this engine. He wanted to say something, but Marco had already forgotten about it, looking around at a different area of the station. Gordon looked at Edward and saw the old engine was staring at him with a knowing look, understanding completely what Gordon was thinking.

"Seriously?" Gordon said stunned, his voice barely a whisper but it carried in the silent station.

"Quite," Edward replied with a roll of his eyes. Gordon was flabbergasted, barely noticing the station master now talking to his driver. The insult was so blatant and shocking, even though the big engine had expected something like this, and though Gordon tried not to show it, the words hurt. Maybe my fears were right after all…

"Gordon, we are heading back now," his driver said, appearing near his buffers. "We are shunting the coaches in the yard, using the turntable and then we are going to go back, but leading Edward and Marco."

"Why?" Gordon asked, confused.

"There are fears that the snow is getting to heavy out on the main line, so the stationmaster has asked us to go in front of Edward and clear the track as he has no snowplough," his driver answered. "We only have to go with them up to Crovan's Gate and then we go back to Tidmouth Sheds as quickly as possible. There are just delays up and down the line, there is some communications problem that is preventing some stations from calling each other, so we have to make sure everyone and everything is safe and no one gets trapped."

"Alright then," Gordon said gloomily, though he did not want to spend any more time with Marco. Reluctantly, Gordon chugged forwards and out of the station, leaving his coaches in a siding where they would be shunted by Arianna at some point. The turn table moved slowly, a cold wind battering Gordon as he remained still, silent, thinking, watching the dark clouds above as the snow fell lifelessly to the yard around him.

I knew Marco would make me feel old, but not this old… Gordon thought as he chugged back to the station, eyeing the last of Marco's coaches that remained out in the cold. Why was he even brought here if not to replace us all… He looked at Edward as he passed by, and the look on his old friend's face matched his own. Gordon sighed as he was switched onto their line, snow drifting down onto his snowplough, a sign of what to expect ahead as this constant storm raged on. Edward had seen the look in Gordon's eyes, and knew the big engine was offended, even if he would never admit it. He glanced across at Marco, who seemed oblivious to the fact they were about to leave, and wondered just who else this special new engine would insult before his visit was over.

A whistle sounded as a sign for Gordon to go, and both blue engines began to leave the station, both of them fearful for the journey ahead but unable to shake the thoughts Marco had put in their minds as they set off on the last, freezing leg of their journeys.

There may be some differences to how Vicarstown Station is meant to be in the books. I had always thought the big station was on Sodor, though I read something that confused me about its exact location, so I am sticking with my gut feeling.