AGING WITH GRACE
After the Great Railway Show, the party at Vicarstown station went long into the night. People and engines alike celebrated Sodor's achievements in the Great Railway Show with food, drink, and a lot of dancing (well, from the people, engines can't dance). None were more celebrated than Henry, the victor of the Strength Competition.
"Speech! Speech! Speech!" The engines chanted. Henry grinned as a slightly tipsy Fat Controller walked alongside him, appearing to be struggling to maintain his balance.
"Henry, you have proven yourself to be a worthy representative of the island with your hard work, both in being a-*hic* valuable member of my railway and in preparing for this competition."
"YEAH, HENRY! ATTA BOY!" Henry grinned as Stephen's cheering rang out over the crowd.
"To celebrate your great achievement, you will taking *hic* express services alongside Bear in a special headboard that shows that you are Sodor's champion!" The Fat Controller gratefully accepted the glass of water Lady Hatt discreetly handed him and stumbled off to drink it, leaving everyone to continue to cheer.
"Henry! Henry! Henry!"
"Thank you, everyone!" The green engine beamed. However, as everyone celebrated, a rather peculiar cavalcade snuck out of the station.
"Why do we have to leave? The party's just starting!" Samson complained from the front of the train. Bradford, being pushed by Harvey at the rear, snorted.
"It's almost four o'clock in the morning, boyo. I'm tired, you're tired, and when the 'speech' chants come out you know it's time to leave." He said simply. Samson rolled his eyes.
"Because you know so much about fun parties, Bradford."
"Bradford's right, Samson; besides, it doesn't matter if we're tired, we have tae get these two to the Steamworks!" Harvey added, before looking up at the two engines they had between them.
"Gordon cannae stay streamlined forever, and…um, sorry, I dinnae know yer name." He looked up at the dark blue engine, who snorted.
"Vinnie." He grunted, clearly not having enjoyed the party much at all.
"Vinnie needs repairs too! Look at all his dents!"
"Watch it, bud!" Loud snoring came from Gordon, bringing everyone's attention to him.
"Poor engine; fancy getting disqualified for a missing safety valve!" Samson noted pityingly. Suddenly, Bradford looked up and gasped.
"WATCH THE LINE, SAMSON! RED SIGNAL!" He barked. Samson gasped as he slammed his brakes on, bumping into Gordon, Vinnie, Bradford, and Harvey and sending a ripple throughout the train. Gordon yawned as his eyes slowly opened.
"Am I at the Steamworks yet?" He opened his eyes and saw the back of Samson's cab.
"Evidently not." He grunted. Harvey smiled.
"Dinnae worry, Gordon; we'll have ye at the Steamworks in no time. Henry's handling yer express runs while yer being repaired, so it's in good hands…erm, buffers." Gordon looked down at his buffers.
"I suppose…but I would like to get back to service soon." Bradford raised an eyebrow.
"If I were you, I'd appreciate the rest. Not too often an express engine like you gets a few weeks off." Gordon gasped.
"Weeks! That won't do at all; I need to feel my wheels pounding the rails again!" The brake van grunted.
"Then maybe you shouldn't have rushed the workmen and left your safety valve behind." He retorted. Gordon rolled his eyes.
"Wake me up when we're at the Steamworks." He yawned and went to sleep again, but with a clearly troubled expression on his face. The signal dropped and Samson whistled.
"SAMSON! BE QUIET!" Gordon groaned as he shut his eyes tightly. Samson chuckled.
"Sorry!" The cavalcade continued on towards the Steamworks.
Soon enough, repairs on Gordon and Vinnie had begun. Victor, Kevin, and the workmen worked hard, but Gordon wasn't satisfied with their pace.
"Hurry up! I need to get back to work!" He barked from the corner of the Steamworks at a passing Kevin, who could only give him a nervous look.
"Sorry, Gordon! We're going as fast as we can!" Gordon frowned.
"Well, you're clearly not, Kevin, seeing as I'm still sitting in the back of the Steamworks instead of pulling my express!" Kevin winced.
"More parts! Right away, Gordon!" He sped away, leaving Gordon to grumble. Vinnie, who could see the interaction from the hoist, raised an eyebrow.
"Aren't ya bein' a bit dramatic? It's not like there's no one takin' ya train." The big blue engine snorted.
"I'm not being 'dramatic'! The Express is an important train, it's not like I can just trust anyone to take it!" Kevin rolled alongside again with a pallet of parts and smiled.
"You can trust Bear!" Gordon glared, but Kevin was oblivious.
"And Henry! And James! And BoC-"
"Not the point!" Just then, Victor puffed in and gave Gordon a stern look.
"Gordon, you need to calm down; we'll have you back in service soon! You're the number one priority for us right now, and we're making sure we do a good job so you don't have to pay another visit in the near future. Now, please, let us work at our own pace; we know what we're doing!" Gordon sighed.
"Alright…just, please, I'd really like to be out on the open rails and forget this whole streamlining fiasco entirely." Victor smiled.
"And you will, Gordon." As the works engine went to fetch more parts, Gordon continued to sizzle impatiently. From the hoist, Vinnie grit his teeth.
"'Number one priority'…what am I, scrap metal?" He grumbled.
Gordon's repairs were soon complete, and he excitedly rolled out of the Steamworks.
"Finally! I'm back, and ready to take the express again!" He boasted grandly. A nearby Victor and Kevin shared a look.
"'Finally'? We got you out ahead of schedule, Gordon!" Victor pointed out. Gordon blushed.
"Oh, yes…thank you, Victor. Thank you, Kevin." The two smiled before the big blue engine looked out towards the open rails again.
"Now, off to take my express!" He excitedly puffed away from the Steamworks, looking forward to getting back to pulling his favorite train.
Bear was waiting in the platform of Knapford with the express when he heard a horn and saw Philip excitedly darting alongside.
"Bear! Bear! Gordon's coming back today!" Bear gasped.
"Really? It's been ages! Should be good to have him back!" Suddenly, the two diesels heard a whistle and Philip gasped.
"Here he comes!" Sure enough, puffing triumphantly across the junction came Gordon, an enormous grin on his face. He approached the platform and whistled grandly as he braked to a halt.
"I'm back!" He called. Philip grinned.
"Hi, Gordon! How was the works? You were gone for a long time!" Gordon smirked.
"Well, I'd say I was in the works for too long! All I could think about was getting back to my express, and-Bear, have you grown a beard?" He blinked in shock when he saw the brown beard that had grown around Bear's mouth and chin. Bear looked down at it.
"Oh, yes! Just something I've been trying out recently; do you like it?" Gordon thought for a moment, trying to be friendly but still convey what he wanted to say.
"It's a little…scruffy for the express, isn't it?" Bear chuckled, and was about to retort when a voice suddenly called from the platform.
"Morning, Bear!" Bear looked back to see one of his regular passengers, a man in a business suit and a thick beard similar to his. He grinned.
"Morning, Jeff!" He looked back to Gordon.
"One of my regular passengers." He explained. Gordon raised an eyebrow.
"The express isn't what it used to be…" He muttered. Bear chuckled.
"Time passes, things change, Gordon." Gordon looked to the platform, where several more passengers boarded.
"Hmm." He murmured. Bear could notice Gordon was uncomfortable, and smiled.
"Say, would you like to take my run today? Seeing as you just got back and I could use a bit of a rest; Henry's been an enormous help but my engine needs a break all the same." The big blue engine was happy again.
"Would I ever! Thank you, Bear." The diesel grinned and rolled away as Gordon went to the turntable to turn around.
Gordon was coupled to the express, and whistled as he headed on his way.
"Enjoy your run, Gordon!" Philip called. Gordon smiled.
"Thank you, I will!" He started to speed up and rocketed onwards toward the main line.
Gordon was soon enjoying himself.
"It's wonderful to feel the wind on my boiler again, especially when it's so nice too!" He laughed triumphantly as he sped through another green signal, his coaches rattling behind.
"Come along! Come along! Come along!" He began to go faster and faster, his wheels pounding the rails furiously. He soon approached Elsbridge, where Henry, still in his headboard that proclaimed he was "Great Railway Show Champion, Strength" was waiting with his local train alongside Thomas coming up the branch line. Gordon whistled grandly and both engines looked back in excitement.
"Gordon!" Henry called happily. Thomas grinned.
"You're back!" Gordon beamed as he sped past.
"Glad to be back! Can't stop now, have to be on time, you know!" He called as he rattled by. However, as he approached the junction, something happened.
"Ouch!" Gordon cried, as he felt a sharp pain in his undercarriage. Suddenly, a loud rattling noise began sounding out and he felt himself beginning to slow down.
"Gordon! What's wrong?" Thomas called, but Gordon couldn't respond. He simply gasped for air as the once proud express engine slowed down and began to roll to a stop, right across the junction. Once Gordon has stopped, steam hissed everywhere and the big blue engine finally managed to catch his breath as he looked frantically around.
"W-w-what happened?" He spluttered. Thomas and Henry could only look nervously at each other; they didn't know.
Arrangements were quickly made, and James arrived to collect Henry's local while the green engine took charge of the express.
"Sorry for the delay, everyone! I'll make up the time as best I can!" Henry explained to the passengers before whistling and puffing out of the station, leaving James to wait for a road with his own. Gordon had been moved into a siding, out of the way, and had not said a word since stopping; he simply looked shocked. Annie and Clarabel looked at him sympathetically.
"Oh, poor Gordon…" Clarabel lamented. Annie looked to Thomas.
"You should take him home, Thomas." She said quietly. Thomas smiled.
"I can give you a push back to the yard if you want, Gordon." He offered. Gordon looked up.
"Yes, thank you, Thomas." Thomas whistled and went to move Annie and Clarabel onto a siding before buffering up to Gordon. The once proud express engine remained in stunned silence as he watched James leave with Henry's local and Thomas backed onto him. The tank engine whistled before pulling away.
"What happened, Gordon? Are you alright?"
"…I don't know. One moment, everything was fine, and then…" He trailed off, still processing it. Thomas looked at the line ahead in concern, but decided not to say anything.
Thomas left Gordon in a goods shed in the Shunting Yards, where the Fat Controller had called a team of workmen to take a look at him.
"Don't worry, Gordon; we'll figure out what's wrong soon enough." He told the big engine, leaving Gordon to look at him nervously in response. The men inspected Gordon for hours, but couldn't seem to find the problem. Other engines passed by and could only give Gordon sympathetic looks, but he could still hear everything they said.
"He just got out of the workshops too! Poor engine…do you think there's something wrong with him?" Stanley asked Philip as they rolled past Gordon's shed with two lines of trucks, leaving the big engine to try and ignore them. However, the whispers continued.
"Not like the Steamworks to not catch something like that…" Gordon heard Toby mutter to Henrietta as they entered the yard. He frowned, but soon heard a horn and saw Diesel slink by with a smirk on his face.
"You steamers are so old that fixing you can only do so much; would be far better for you to retire and get out of the way so the rest of us can run safely!" He sneered. Gordon was fuming!
"Now, you listen here, you devious diesel! I'm not old! In fact, I'm in my prime! I-" Gordon trailed off when he realized that Diesel wasn't even listening and had slunk on ahead. He harrumphed and looked down at his buffers.
"I'm not old…" He muttered, sounding far less sure than before.
The men worked long into the night, trying to find the problem. Gordon tried to sleep, but was haunted by nightmares. He dreamt of himself flying down the line with the express, looking rather proud. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his cylinder and gasped as he began to slow down.
"No! No!" His pistons began to wheeze and he began to slow to a truly pitiful speed. On the road alongside the railway, he could see George the Steamroller passing him, meandering along at his usual slow pace.
"Can't you go any faster?" The steamroller taunted. Gordon tried to reply, but his voice was only a wheezing gasp. Suddenly, he felt himself being directed onto a side line and was soon surrounded by piles of scrap metal. Horrified, he began to brake to a halt as he saw 'Arry and Bert come into view.
"Ah, old Gordon!"
"We've been waiting a long time for you, 'aven't we, Bert?" Gordon gasped and tried to scream as the Iron Twins cackled and began to advance slowly towards him, but he hadn't the steam to do so. He shut his eyes as tight as he could…
…before they shot open with a start at the sound of a whistle.
"GAH! WHO'S THERE?" Gordon shouted. To his surprise, he heard bemused chuckling.
"Easy, Gordon! It's only me!" He looked to the side of the goods shed to see his brother, the Flying Scotsman, giving him a smile. Gordon raised an eyebrow.
"Scott? What are you doing here?" The famous engine chuckled.
"Sir Topham called my owner last night, told him that you were having some technical issues and he needed another engine to run express services until the problem could be ironed out; always happy to lend my little brother a helping buffer!" Gordon frowned.
"Hmm." He murmured. His brother could see he was upset and gained a concerned expression.
"I also wanted to check on you. Have they figured out what exactly went wrong yet?" He asked.
"No, but…I have a suspicion." Flying Scotsman raised an expectant eyebrow before Gordon looked away.
"It's silly."
"Gordon." Gordon sighed.
"I think I might be…getting old." He waited for Scotsman to laugh, but could only see his brother pondering.
"It's certainly a possibility. No shame in it, Gordon, older engines are simply more vulnerable to failures like these." Gordon looked at his buffers.
"I know, it's just…what if I can't pull the express anymore? I was going nowhere near my top speed yesterday…or at least, what was my top speed." Flying Scotsman wasn't quite sure what to say, but he tried to keep a brave face.
"Well, Gordon, if that's what time has dictated, that's the way it is. There are plenty of other ways to be useful besides pulling the express." Suddenly, Philip rushed up.
"Your coaches are waiting in the platform, Flying Scotsman!" The famous engine smiled.
"Thank you, Philip." He looked back to Gordon.
"I'm here for the time being, so please reach out if you need anything." Gordon gave a small smile.
"Thank you, Scott." Flying Scotsman whistled and headed away to collect his train, leaving Gordon still looking rather upset.
Finally, they managed to get Gordon's fire lit again, and the big blue engine clanked slowly towards the station. The Fat Controller was waiting for him.
"Well, the men say they couldn't find anything wrong, but I'd rather you stay on slower services for the time being. I know you aren't going to like this, but could you please take the slow goods today?" Gordon looked to a line of trucks left in another platform and grunted.
"I suppose I should start getting used to it…" He muttered and rumbled away to collect it, leaving the Fat Controller to watch him, concerned.
Gordon rolled slowly along the line, wincing as he heard his undercarriage clanking. He felt like everyone was staring at him as his trucks trundled along behind him.
"Oh, what's that noise, lads?" A truck whispered.
"I think old Gordon's clanked his last!" Another responded, and the rest giggled. Gordon fumed as he pulled into Elsbridge.
"Won't you silly trucks be quiet?" He snapped and bumped them hard as he came to a stop. The trucks groaned.
"Oh! Oh!" Gordon rolled his eyes.
"Gordon, you're back!" He looked to the other platform, where Thomas was waiting. He snorted.
"Hardly." He muttered.
"Well, all the same I'm happy to see you out and about again. How are you feeling since yesterday?" To the tank engine's surprise, Gordon glared.
"I don't want to talk about yesterday, especially with silly little tank engines like you!" He snapped. Thomas frowned.
"Fine. Excuse me for being concerned." He looked back to the track ahead, avoiding making eye contact with Gordon, before hearing a faint voice.
"Wait, Thomas…I'm sorry. I shouldn't have lost my temper like that, I've just…had a lot on my mind." Thomas was surprised to see Gordon looking rather ashamed.
"Truth be told, my failure yesterday has put quite a bit into perspective for me. I'm an old engine now, Thomas; my age is starting to catch up with me. I think my days of pulling the express are behind me." Thomas scoffed.
"Gordon, don't be ridiculous! You-"
"I think I'm going to retire; static display in the Earl's railway museum is what makes most sense for me now." Thomas was stunned.
"Retire!? But who will pull the express?"
"Bear has been handling the train perfectly well without me."
"You have plenty of years of service left in you, Gordon! Plenty of engines on this island are older than you and have been working even longer; they're in fine working order! I'm sure all you need is a tuneup and you'll be as good as new." Gordon smiled sadly.
"I just had a tuneup, Thomas. I appreciate it, but retirement is what's best for an old engine like me." Gordon's guard blew the whistle and the big engine set off with his goods, still looking rather upset. Thomas could only watch the once proud Gordon shuffle sadly away in concern and disbelief.
That night at the sheds, Thomas told the other engines about Gordon's 'retirement' plans.
"Gordon's been pulling the express for years…since the railway began even! There's no way he can…just retire!" James fumed that night. Percy snorted.
"He's being ridiculous! Gordon's been through far worse and come out fine; breaking down could happen to any engine!"
"His boiler did almost explode at the Great Railway Show, Percy; something like that happening could rattle anyone, even after repairs." Emily said gravely.
"Plus, we're all familiar with Gordon's attitude towards older engines; I would've been shocked if that attitude didn't extend to himself." Edward added. Thomas looked down at his buffers.
"I suppose you're right, but all the same this isn't like him…I wish there was something I could do to help him feel like his old self again."
"We all do, Thomas, but when he's in a funk like this, it's hard to get through to him." Henry replied. Before Thomas could respond, the engines heard a whistle and saw Gordon clanking slowly and sadly towards the turntable. The sheds fell silent as the once proud big blue engine reversed somberly into the sheds after turning around.
"Good evening, everyone." He said quietly, and promptly shut his eyes without another word. The engines shared concerned looks.
"Not like Gordon at all…" Percy muttered to Thomas, and the tank engine couldn't help but agree.
The following morning, Gordon spoke to the Fat Controller.
"Retire? Gordon, why on Earth do you want to retire?" The Fat Controller spluttered. Gordon looked down at his buffers.
"I can't be useful anymore, sir; my accident and age have taken my speed from me. How is an express engine supposed to be really useful if he's not fast? I'm far better off out of the way, and Bear and Scott seem to be handling the train fine without me…" The Fat Controller sighed.
"Gordon, we're all not as young as we used to be; that doesn't mean that we're suddenly incapable. I'm sure there's something the workmen haven't caught that's the cause of your issues, but we haven't enough engines to send you to the works right now. For now, I want you back on slow goods trains, but I promise that we will get to the bottom of this and you'll be pulling the express again before you know it." Gordon couldn't look up.
"Thank you, sir." He replied, and whistled before going off to fetch his trucks. The Fat Controller watched him leave with concern.
"Oh dear, oh dear…" He muttered, and returned to his office.
Gordon picked up his trucks and soon rumbled out of Knapford station. He was so upset that he couldn't even grumble about pulling a goods train! As he puffed across the junction, he heard a whistle and saw Flying Scotsman returning from the other end of the line with the express.
"Good morning, Gordon!" His brother called. Gordon whistled back, but didn't verbally reply as he made his way towards the Main Line, leaving Flying Scotsman concerned as he slowed down to approach the platform. As he braked to a halt, he could only look back to see Gordon's brake van disappearing. However, he heard a horn, and saw Bear struggling to roll towards the platform.
"Sorry! Been having engine problems all day, just managed to get started!" However, a loud growling noise emanated from Bear's engine and echoed around the station, startling the passengers considerably. Philip, who had been shunting trucks on the other side of the station, yelped in surprise.
"Yikes!" He sped away as fast as he could, terrified by the noise. Flying Scotsman raised an eyebrow at the now red-faced Hymek.
"Engine problems, Bear?" Bear chuckled nervously.
"Ah, I'm sure I'm just overworked. All I need is a nice long run and I'll be as right as rain!" His engine growled loudly again, causing Bear to furiously cough black smoke. Flying Scotsman winced before smiling.
"I think what you need is a rest in the shed. Tell you what; I'll take the next train for you. You let your engine rest for a little while." Bear smiled gratefully.
"Thanks, Scotsman! You're the best!" He honked his horn and rolled away to the shed, leaving Flying Scotsman sitting at the front of the express. The famous engine yawned before looking up at the clock. His eyes widened in surprise.
"I'm due out in two minutes? Well, better make the best of what rest I can get." He shut his eyes, but promptly heard the guard's whistle.
"Time to go, Flying Scotsman!" The guard called. Flying Scotsman could only yawn again as he began to speed up and headed towards the main line, considerably more tired than he would've liked to be.
Flying Scotsman thundered along the line, his wheels pounding the rails, but he still felt a little short of breath.
"Goodness…I don't know how Gordon used to do this by himself…it's only my second train of the day and I'm already exhausted!" He soon rounded the bend and saw Elsbridge come into view, where Gordon was waiting for Thomas to come up the branch line to add more trucks to his train. The famous engine whistled at his brother as he thundered past.
"Hello again, Gordon!" Gordon was too caught up in his own thoughts to whistle back. As Elsbridge disappeared from view, Flying Scotsman focused on the line ahead.
"Come on! Come on! Mustn't be late! Mustn't be late!" He puffed. However, to Scotsman's surprise, he heard a hissing and the train began to grow heavier and heavier.
"Huh?" He began to puff harder, and grew red in the face as the express continued to slow down. Gasping for air, he desperately tried to continue.
"Come…on! Come…on!" He grunted, but his struggling was in vain as he finally came to a stop. His driver stepped down to inspect.
"You've a cylinder leak, Scotsman; all your steam is escaping instead of going through the boiler like it's supposed to. I'm afraid we're stuck here for the time being; we can't repair it out here." Flying Scotsman winced nervously.
"But there's a connecting train at Vicarstown! If we don't get going again, the passengers might miss it!" The driver sighed.
"Nothing we can do about that except wait for help, old boy." So that's what they did.
News spread down the line fast, and Thomas arrived at Elsbridge to hear the stationmaster talking on the telephone in his office about it.
"Flying Scotsman's broken down? We'll send help as soon as we can!…Yes, I know time is of the essence!" Thomas' eyes darted to Gordon, who was sitting in the other platform with shut eyes and a moody expression.
"Gordon! Did you hear that?" Gordon snorted as he opened a sleepy eye.
"Hear what?" Thomas frowned.
"Flying Scotsman's in trouble! You have to get out there and help him!" The big blue engine's eyes shot open.
"What?" The Stationmaster burst out of his office.
"Gordon! Flying Scotsman has broken down and the express cannot be late! You need to go down the line, take the train, and make up the lost time so the passengers don't miss their connection!" Gordon assumed a determined expression.
"Right." However, before he even puffed very far, he came to a stop.
"Wait…what am I even going to be able to do?" The Stationmaster raised an eyebrow.
"Pardon?" Gordon sighed.
"You're better off waiting for Henry or James…they'd be better to save the day than an old engine like me…" Gordon reversed back to the platform. Thomas was stunned, which quickly gave way to being very cross.
"I can't believe you! Shame on you for abandoning those passengers like that!" He snapped. Gordon glared.
"I didn't abandon them! There's absolutely nothing I can do to help them, Thomas!" The tank engine remained steadfast.
"That's not true! I thought there was nothing that could be done to pull me out of that mine, but then you came to my rescue! You were the only one strong enough!" Gordon didn't reply, so Thomas continued.
"You rescued Percy after he ran away! You helped James up the hill when he started to slip down! You kept that nasty bully from hurting Philip at the Great Railway Show! If there's one thing I know about you, Gordon, it's that you don't give up when there are people and engines who need your help, and your brother and those passengers need your help! What on Sodor are you still sitting around here moping for?" Gordon was shocked, but quickly put on a game face.
"You're right. Who cares if I'm old? Who cares if I'm not fast? I'm GORDON THE BIG ENGINE!" He looked back towards his trucks.
"Driver, uncouple me! I have an express to save!" The driver quickly uncoupled the trucks and Gordon puffed off, still clanking but traveling as fast as he could. He groaned, but fought through the pain as he sped away. Thomas grinned.
"Go, Gordon! You can do it!" He called, and whistled as loudly as he could.
Gordon thundered down the line, clanking furiously but not caring a bit.
"Come on! Come on! Come on!" He puffed, red-in-the-face but continuing to speed onwards. He rounded a bend and saw his brother's coaches sitting in the middle of the main line before beginning to gently brake alongside. As Gordon caught his breath, Flying Scotsman was very surprised to see his brother.
"Gordon! What are you doing here?" The big blue engine grinned, albeit still panting in exhaustion.
"I couldn't leave our passengers out here without catching their next train; that wouldn't do at all! Besides, have to help my brother out!" He winked. Flying Scotsman laughed as Gordon puffed forwards to reverse onto the train.
"Well, glad to see you're back to your old self!" However, his expression changed to one of concern when he heard Gordon beginning to clank again.
"Or are you?" He asked. The big blue engine frowned as he was coupled to Flying Scotsman and began to move him onto a siding out of the way.
"I don't know what's wrong with me; it could be age, it could be something else, but it doesn't matter right now. What matters is getting these passengers to their destination on time." His brother smiled as Gordon gently pushed him into the buffers.
"Very admirable, Gordon." Gordon smiled as he backed onto the express and whistled before starting to struggle away.
"No…really useful!" Clanking once more, Gordon struggled off, leaving Flying Scotsman to watch in concern.
"Be careful!" The big blue engine snorted.
"I'll be on time!" He called confidently, and raced away.
The express was heavy, but Gordon struggled valiantly on, ignoring the pain throbbing throughout his undercarriage.
"Must be on time! Must be on time! Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!" He grit his teeth as his wheels pounded the rails. He roared past Henry, traveling in the other direction with a goods train.
"Good on you, Gordon! Keep going!" He called. Gordon grinned and focused his eyes on the track once more. As he thundered along, he passed other engines, who gave him words of encouragement.
"You can do it, Gordon!" Emily called as the express sped by.
"You're almost there!" Edward added. Gordon was so happy to be encouraged by all his friends, giving him cheers, whistles, and hoots as he thundered past, that he started ignoring the pain! Soon enough, he approached the junction outside of Vicarstown station. Various engines watched his approach and encouraged him as loudly as they could.
"Go, Gordon, go! WOOHOO!" Caitlin cheered loudly, grinning as she waited for the connecting train.
"Bang on time, Gordon!" Connor added. Gordon grinned, but he suddenly gasped in pain as he felt something on his boiler. His driver stuck his head out of the cab.
"You're steam pressure's off the charts, Gordon! We need to stop!" Gordon grit his teeth as the platform grew even closer.
"No! We're almost there!" Wheel-turn by wheel-turn, Gordon managed to just puff into the platform, slowly rolling to a stop with his coaches just inside the station. He gasped furiously for air and was red in the face, but he looked up at the clock and grinned.
"I made it!" He panted. As the express passengers disembarked and headed towards Caitlin's coaches, some went up to the front of the train.
"Thank you for getting us here on time, Gordon!" A woman said.
"We'll be sure to tell the Fat Controller about how good of a job you did!" A man added. Gordon smiled.
"Thank you." As they boarded Caitlin's train, the streamlined engine smiled at him.
"Well done, Gordon! You've certainly got a lot of resilience; that's what my driver calls it!" Gordon chuckled.
"Why thank you, Caitlin." Caitlin beamed as her guard blew the whistle.
"See you later!" She called and sped towards the Vicarstown Bridge. Gordon smiled, but once Caitlin was out of sight, he frowned.
"If there is a later…" Rosie and Connor, who were still in the station, looked at each other with concern for the big blue engine.
Gordon was far too tired to move under his own power, so he was moved onto a siding out of the way instead. As his driver and fireman tried to repair him, he watched the other engines go about their work with a smile. His driver looked up.
"You certainly did a number on your pistons, Gordon; they'll need very extensive repair to even get close to running again." However, Gordon's smile remained on his face.
"Perhaps retirement won't be so bad…" He mused under his breath.
That evening, Rosie shunted Gordon to the Steamworks. When they arrived, the big blue engine was surprised to see Thomas, Flying Scotsman (getting some repairs of his own), and the Fat Controller all waiting for him, alongside Victor and Kevin (and Vinnie dangling from the hoist in the midst of his own repairs).
"Well done, Gordon; a lot of your passengers made calls to me to tell me how good of an effort you put in to get their train to arrive on time! I'm very proud of you." The Fat Controller smiled proudly, but Gordon's expression was more bittersweet.
"Thank you, sir; it was my last journey, so I might as well have made it count." Thomas raised an eyebrow.
"Last journey?" Gordon smiled.
"I don't think I can come back from the damage from that last run, so I think it's time for me to retire. I'm happy for it though; just knowing I made you proud on my last train is enough, sir." To Gordon's surprise, Victor snorted.
"What nonsense! Gordon, the only reason you were having any trouble at all is because you rushed Kevin and I through your overhaul before we could work out all your problems; some time in the works now-"
"Without you rushing us…" Kevin added.
"…should make you just as useful as before! Or even better!" Victor finished. Gordon gasped with joy.
"…Really?" The Fat Controller smiled.
"And as soon as you're repaired, you'll be out pulling the express again as good as new!" The big blue engine beamed.
"I will, sir! Thank you, sir!" The Fat Controller beamed at his number 4 before walking away. Flying Scotsman smiled at his brother.
"Guess it wasn't age after all, eh, Gordon?" Gordon laughed, and soon Thomas, Scotsman, Victor, and Kevin had all joined in. Vinnie just scowled from the hoist, but no one paid any attention to him.
Victor and Kevin were as good as their word, and in a few weeks, Gordon was back on the express again. He was just as fast as he was before…but some of the engines thought he could go even faster!
"Still think of yourself as an old engine, Gordon?" Thomas teased as Gordon tore past Elsbridge with the express. The express engine chuckled.
"Well, I am older than I once was, Thomas…but I think I've aged with grace!" He called as he rocketed into the distance. Thomas chuckled as Gordon and his train disappeared from sight; he was glad to have his friend back again.
THE END
Welcome back! It's certainly been a while, but I'm very happy to be back with Set 3 of my original stories, and what an opener to begin on! Beginning exactly where The Great Race left off, this was a really fun way to explore Gordon outside of his standard traits of grumpiness and pomposity and show his more vulnerable side. Touching on a lot of Gordon's past dynamics, such as his alliance with Thomas and his closer relationship with Flying Scotsman following The Great Race, was really nice and it helped me ground what Gordon was going through here. Plus, there have been other changes to the status quo as well; Vinnie is now a Sudrian engine and, although he's still in the works at the time of this story, you'll get to see him in action in the next one! Bear also has had a bit of a design change and now has a thick brown beard, a feature I love for the character that I was inspired to incorporate by TheDukeyOfSodor on Twitter's version of the character!
A few other things:
Thomas & The Buffman Bomber, The Great Race, and Season 21 Redux - We're heading into Set 3 with a lot of new additions to the cast! Murdoch, Colin, Deltic, Soggy, Curtis, Skyler, Vinnie, Stepney, Bulgy, Carly, Hannah, and Big Mickey will all be appearing throughout the Set, so if you haven't yet, read the specials that introduced/re-introduced them to this universe! And although it doesn't affect Set 3, read The Rails to Redemption as well if you haven't! There's plenty of new Set 3 has in store on its own, so make sure you're caught up as it's been a while!
Promo Pics - Although not on display for this story in particular, the CGI promos that are the cover image to accompany the story have received a bit of an upgrade this time around, all thanks to the phenomenally talented GoYourOwnWay196 on Twitter, who had made all the custom promo images that you will see throughout the story; please check his stuff out when you get the chance as he's been an enormous help!
Episode Count - As opposed to Sets 1 and 2, which featured 26 episodes, Set 3 sets a new standard for episode count; this set will feature 28 episodes, all of which I'm excited to share with you!
Leave a review to tell me what you thought, follow and favorite for more of Set 3, and, as always, what's next!:
- The Boxing Match (title by enterprisingengine93) - Frustrated with the backlog in the Container Yard while subbing in for Murdoch after his repairs are complete, Vinnie bullies Soggy the Shunting Tractor for being small and weak, causing him to seek help from Henry in order to play a trick on the aggressive engine and show him just how strong he really is.
- Against the Crane - Kelly the Crane is called to help repair the small railway's ballast hopper after Judy's loose crane arm knocks it over, but the small engines, especially Mike and Frank, are not too keen to have a massive crane around after the accident, causing Kelly to try to prove that cranes aren't dangerous at all.
- Railway Cop Roy - Sergeant Roy quickly finds himself very bored while working as a traffic officer near Knapford station due to Detective Regan falling ill, but soon discovers a railway handbook sitting on the station platform and reads it cover-to-cover, causing him to enforce the rules of the railway on any engine who enters his domain…which the engines are not happy about!
- Blisters! - After crashing through the back wall of the shed, Frank is forced to spend the night at the ballast mines where the infamous Blister twins, two diesel shunters who were allegedly sent off to the mines after demolishing a shed and being declared too dangerous to work on the railway, live, and tries to survive without incurring their wrath.
- The Horse & Cart - Duke and Cora the Tool Van tell Thomas and the other engines the story of how the reckless Smudger learned to be patient while managing the slow goods service on the Mid-Sodor Railway by learning the value of a horse and cart that repeatedly holds him up at the crossing.