AGAINST THE CRANE

Early one morning, the Small Railway engines were waking up to start their day's work. Rex yawned as the early morning sun began to shine in his eyes.

"Morning, everyone." He greeted. Bert, next to him, yawned as well.

"Morning, Rex."

"Is it morning already?" Jock yawned, slowly blinking his eyes open. Rex looked around the yards before raising an eyebrow.

"Did Frank shunt the ballast trucks from last night onto the chute?" A loud snore from the siding running alongside the sheds confirmed Rex's suspicion.

"Must have slept in again."

"One of us will have to get it then; I'll do it!" Jock began to roll out of the sheds, but Rex laughed.

"Not so fast, Jock! You know the rules; last one awake does the shunting!" He grinned at the sleeping red engine in the sheds next to him before looking to Bert and smirking. The blue engine snickered, and the two prepared their trick.

"One…two…three…"

"WAKE UP, MIKE!"

"GAH!" Mike's eyes shot open as he woke up. He quickly realized what had happened when he saw Rex, Bert, and Jock laughing at him.

"Alright, laugh it up! What exactly did you feel the need to wake me up for?"

"Some ballast trucks didn't get shunted onto the chute last night; you've got to take them up there before Duck gets here."

"Me? Why me? All of you are already up!" Mike spluttered. Rex smirked.

"Exactly; we're ready to work and you're clearly a little groggy. A stretch of your wheels to start your day will make you feel much better!" Mike rolled his eyes as he puffed out of the shed towards the ballast hoppers.

"Fine." As Mike began to push the ballast hoppers onto the chute, the maintenance crew were heading down the line from the Arlesburgh Goods Yard, getting ready for a day of work.

"Sunny skies are in the forecast, everyone! Everything should be proceeding according to schedule; no delays for this team today!" Norman grinned as he pulled Judy and Jerome along the line with Penelope the Railway Recorder following alongside. Jerome smiled.

"Did you hear that, Judy? A beautiful day ahead! We won't be in the rain this time!" However, Judy didn't answer; she simply looked distracted. Jerome raised an eyebrow.

"Judy? Is something wrong?" Judy winced.

"Oh, sorry, Jerome! One of my stabilizers feels a little loose and I'm a bit worried about it." Jerome winced.

"Oh dear, that isn't good at all! We should stop and have it checked!" Judy chuckled.

"I only said a 'bit'! We can check when we've reached our first stop; don't want any delays!" Jerome was concerned, but the train continued on. However, as they rounded the bend to pass through Arlesburgh West, they found out that they had reason to be worried sooner than expected. As Norman pulled the cranes around the bend, Judy felt her weight beginning to shift; she began to turn outwards!

"Whoa! I'm slipping! Norman, slow us down!" Jerome gasped in panic.

"Norman, stop! Judy's crane arm isn't secure!" Norman gasped and slammed on his brakes, trying to bring the train to a standstill. The small engines (minus Mike), still waiting in their sheds, heard the commotion and gasped.

"That crane's going to hit the ballast chute!" Bert cried. Rex gasped as he saw that Judy's crane arm had jutted out far enough to take out their chute…with Mike still on top of it!

"Mike! Get out of there!" He cried. Mike, having pushed the trucks to the top of the chute, raised an eyebrow.

"What?" However, his confusion didn't last long.

"LOOK OUT!" Judy's loose crane arm slammed into the ballast chute with a loud "BANG" as Norman tried to slow the cranes down, causing a loud scratching noise to ring out as the crane swung back around again.

"Oh no!" She cried. Suddenly, the chute began to rumble; Judy's arm colliding with it had caused an enormous dent in one of the support beams.

"It's going to collapse!" Bert cried.

"Yikes!" Mike reversed as fast as he could; he got out just in time. As soon as Mike's wheels were back on solid ground, the rear support of the ballast chute collapsed, bringing down the long metal structure with it. The small engines shut their eyes in horror as the whole thing crashed to the ground. As the dust settled, a little grey diesel snorted awake, yawning.

"Good morning, everyon-WHAT HAPPENED TO THE CHUTE!?" Frank screeched once he could process what was in front of him. The other small engines, especially Mike, still trying to catch his breath, were stunned into silence.

The cranes set to work quickly in helping clear as much of the mess as possible, and soon the Fat Controller had arrived. He and the Small Controller surveyed the damage to the mangled chute while wearing hard hats.

"I apologize for this catastrophe, Fergus; I'll pay as much of the bill as needed to get your chute up and running again." The Small Controller put up a hand.

"Really, you don't have t-"

"I insist; nothing but the best for a friend of my railway. I'll give Jenny Packard a call; her construction vehicles should be able to fix this in no time." The Small Controller smiled.

"Very kind of you, sir." The Fat Controller grinned and pat the Small Controller on the shoulder before they began to walk elsewhere to discuss the arrangements. As the two men talked, the small engines also surveyed the damage to their chute from the sheds nearby; they were very worried indeed.

"How are we going to keep being useful to the big railway without our ballast chute?" Bert winced nervously. Mike snorted.

"We still have our passengers, Bert! Besides, this accident wasn't our fault…" His eyes narrowed at Judy and Jerome, who were working to pick up the mangled steel support.

"It was those cranes! Reckless things…never have an eye on what they're doing!"

"Now don't say that, Mike; cranes can be very useful!" Rex replied, but Mike simply rolled his eyes.

"To the big railway maybe, but we've gone all these years without a crane on our line and we've been fine!"

"They could tip over and flatten little engines like us!" Frank added. Mike smirked.

"For once we agree on something, Frank; keep those clumsy cranes away from our rails, and we'll be a much safer, happier railway!" He whistled and stormed away, leaving Rex and Bert to share a concerned look.

Kelly is a big blue mobile crane who works for Miss Jenny's Pack, and one of her oldest vehicles. As one of her oldest vehicles, they have gained a lot of wisdom, and Miss Jenny looks to them as the leader of the team. As they drove along the road to their next project, they saw Bertie the Bus stopped in the middle of the road; a tree was blocking the way.

"Is this tree in your way, Bertie?" They asked as stopped alongside. Bertie sighed.

"Yes, Kelly; driver's called for help, but who knows when Butch will get here?" Kelly chuckled as they looked up at their crane arm.

"Well, I think I may be able to help; could you back up a bit, please?" As Bertie backed up, Kelly lowered their hook into place nearby the tree. Their driver wrapped some chains around the tree before attaching it to Kelly's hook; they are a very helpful crane, and will assist anyone who may need their help.

"Easy…easy…" Kelly is also very cautious, and kept a sharp eye on the swaying tree as they slowly and carefully moved it out of the way to the side of the road. Gently, they lowered the tree to the ground, and the road was cleared.

"Thank you, Kelly!" Bertie honked his horn as he rolled past before continuing down the road. Kelly chuckled as their driver unwrapped the chains from the tree.

"Happy to help!" They called. Kelly's driver re-entered their cab and the crane honked their horn before continuing along to where they had been asked to go.

Kelly soon arrived at Arlesburgh West, where Thomas had arrived with Jack, Alfie, and Oliver on flatbeds before whistling and puffing away. Miss Jenny was standing in the yard, and grinned when she turned around and saw the crane carefully rolling through the narrow entrance to the yard.

"Ah, Kelly! Right on time; already being a credit to the team!"

"As usual!" Jack added. The crane chuckled humbly.

"You're too kind; what do you need me to do, Miss Jenny?" Miss Jenny gestured to the collapsed ballast chute; the debris had been cleared from the line but it still couldn't be crossed under.

"We're rebuilding the ballast chute from the ground up. Thomas will be bringing the support beams later today and, once he has, I want you to make sure it's sturdier than it's ever been; think you can do that?" Kelly smiled.

"I won't let you down, ma'am." Miss Jenny gave the crane a wink before turning to her other vehicles.

"Jack, Alfie, I want you two to go to help Max and Monty with the ballast deliveries at the mines; Oliver, you'll transfer ballast from the small railway's hoppers to the big railway's trucks."

"Yes, Miss Jenny!" The three diggers replied. Miss Jenny waved as she began to walk towards her land rover.

"Kelly's in charge; if you hear anything from them, you can assume it comes from me!" She shut the door and drove away, causing Kelly to grin at the other vehicles.

"Alright, let's get to work everyone!"

Kelly had parked on the wharf nearby the ballast chute and placed their stabilizers down before beginning to lift the broken pieces of the chute into some nearby trucks. As they hummed a little tune, they heard a whistle and saw an unfamiliar red engine puff into the yard with a line of ballast hoppers.

"Oh, must be one of the small engines!" They said to themself. After carefully lowering the piece of scrap they had been carrying into a truck, they lifted their stabilizers and drove slowly over to where Oliver was unloading the impatient red engine's ballast hoppers.

"Hello, I'm Kelly; I'm helping repair your ballast chute. What's your name?" To Kelly's surprise, the little red engine didn't seem very friendly at all. He snorted dismissively, trying to avoid looking at the crane.

"Why not read my nameplate?" He snapped. Kelly was taken aback.

"I'm sorry; I was only trying to say hello." The little engine rolled his eyes and looked up at the crane. Kelly noticed his expression subtly shift from anger to being overwhelmed, but he quickly doubled down on the anger.

"Well, I don't want to say 'hello' to a destructive thing like you! Take my advice, Kelly, and stay away from our railway; cranes like you are better off out of the way where you can't hurt anybody!" He whistled and stormed away, leaving Kelly to give an equally baffled Oliver a glance.

"Destructive?" The excavator raised an eyebrow. Kelly's eyes drifted to watching the little red engine disappear into the distance.

"'Cranes like you'…?" They were utterly flabbergasted.

Soon, Thomas came back.

"I've got the new support beams right here! The chute should be stronger than ever!" He grinned as he braked his long train of steel beams alongside where the work was taking place, but he was surprised to see that Kelly didn't look very happy at all.

"Are you okay, Kelly?" The crane sighed as they watched the small engines going about their work nearby; none of them seemed to be very eager to get anywhere near them.

"No, Thomas; none of the small engines seem to want to speak to me, and that red one was very rude to me earlier; he said that all cranes are destructive!"

"Well, Kelly, that couldn't be further from the truth; you're one of the least destructive vehicles I know, never mind cranes." Oliver chuckled as he scooped some ballast from the hoppers into some trucks nearby. Thomas smiled.

"Besides, that red engine is Mike; he's grouchy to everybody!" Kelly gave a small smile, but their frown quickly appeared again once Frank rolled past with a line of hoppers, not saying hello.

"Thank you, you two, but that doesn't explain why they all seem to want to avoid me." Thomas thought for a moment.

"Well, the way the chute was damaged to begin with was by a crane…if I didn't know much about cranes and that was my one experience with them, I would be cautious around them too." Kelly's eyes widened in realization before they began to laugh.

"Well, that's a little ridiculous, isn't it? I'm sure all I have to do is talk with them and show them that cranes are often very careful, then they'll be much friendlier!" Oliver chuckled nervously.

"That'd be nice, Kelly, but I think we better just get on with our work; we won't be here long, doesn't seem very worth it."

"It won't take long at all, Oliver! Besides, they simply don't know any better; once I've had a chat with them, I can bring them around! Even Mike will understand; it'll be easy!"

"If you say so…" Oliver returned to his work, leaving Kelly to begin thinking of a plan.

"Bye, Kelly!" Thomas whistled and puffed away, leaving his trucks nearby; the crane was so lost in thought that they didn't even reply.

Later, Rex, Mike, Frank, and Jock were resting in the yards. They were surprised to see Kelly rolling towards them before they stopped alongside the sheds.

"Can we help you?" Frank asked standoffishly, and Mike snorted before looking away from the crane; Kelly was undeterred.

"Hello, my name's Kelly; I'm a crane." They smiled.

"Well, yeah, we can see that." Mike replied, still not looking at the crane. Kelly chuckled.

"I thought I'd say that because I've heard that you all have had a bad experience with a crane and think that we're all destructive; couldn't be further from the truth." Rex and Jock shared a hesitant look. Mike, however, was far more confrontational.

"Really? Why don't you prove it then?" Kelly remained calm.

"I plan to." They quickly placed down their stabilizers, causing Mike to jump at the sound of them crunching the ballast. The crane grinned as they slowly swung their crane arm around, keeping an eye on their hook.

"Cranes usually keep an eye on their hook when they're lifting things; we keep a sharp watch to make sure that we don't hit anything with what we're moving!"

"Yeah, 'usually'…" Kelly heard Mike mutter to Frank, who harrumphed in agreement. They quickly looked to the other engines; Rex and Jock appeared rather hesitant while Mike and Frank continued to glare at the crane. For a moment, Kelly's confidence wavered, but they quickly got their mind back on their demonstration.

"Now, I'm going to pick up this crate very carefully; we cranes have to be careful. "

"News to me." Frank muttered. Kelly frowned, but got themself on task again.

"Gently now…" They slowly lowered the crate to the ground nearby the sheds. Rex and Jock seemed moderately impressed, but Mike rolled his eyes again.

"Gently? That's a first." The crane was beginning to get rather annoyed, but remained calm.

"There's no need to be rude." They replied as they began to rotate their crane arm around again. Mike winced as Kelly's hook came somewhat close to his face.

"Watch where you're swinging that thing; could take my eye out!" Kelly raised an eyebrow.

"It wasn't anywhere near you!" The normally calm crane was becoming rather cross. Mike snorted.

"What would you know? You're a crane; you have no idea what's going on around you! Now, get away from our shed before you knock it down 'by accident'!" He snapped.

"Easy, Mike." Rex stepped in, trying to diffuse the situation. Kelly was angry now; so angry that they had forgotten that they were still rotating their crane arm.

"Now, listen here, you-"

"WHOA! Hey! Put me down!" Kelly gasped; they hadn't been looking where they were going and their hook had snagged on Jock's undercarriage, lifting the now terrified small engine's front wheels off the ground and leaving him dangling in the air.

"Sorry! So sorry!" Quickly, they lowered him back onto the rails. Jock let out a sigh of relief once he felt the rails beneath his wheels again, but Mike and Frank were more cross than ever.

"Just like a crane! Not looking where they're going and causing trouble!" The diesel rolled his eyes. Kelly glared.

"That was an accident! If you hadn't distracted me, I-"

"Blaming it on us? Unbelievable! Now, Kelly, I think you've made your point, so I think we would all appreciate it if you left us alone!" Mike snapped. Kelly couldn't think of a way to reply, so they simply huffed, lifted up their stabilizers, and drove away.

Kelly returned to work, and didn't try to speak to the small engines for the rest of the afternoon. Rather, they simply focused on their work, and helped lower the new beams for the ballast chute into place. They could see Mike and Frank giving them dirty looks as they passed by, but they didn't care.

"If they want to be rude, that's their problem…" They muttered as they kept a sharp eye on the new support beam as they lowered it into place. Eventually, Kelly finally lowered the new line onto the top of the chute, and it looked as good as new.

"Great work, Kelly! Looks even better than it did before!" Oliver grinned as he rumbled alongside the crane.

"Thank you; good to know that someone appreciates the work I'm doing." Kelly replied; the excavator could see that they were eager to leave.

"Should we head down to the mines and get the others? Seems like our work here is done." He asked. Kelly smiled.

"I'm on it, Oliver; you rest here."

"Are you just saying that because I'm slow?" Oliver chuckled. Kelly rolled their eyes but kept their smile.

"No, I just need a bit of peace and quiet."

"Off you go then." The excavator smiled understandingly. Kelly grinned and honked their horn before driving away down the road towards the ballast mines.

Kelly enjoyed their drive; the road was quiet and Mike and Frank weren't there to say rude things about them. Eventually, they rounded a bend and saw a group of farmhands straining to lift up the wall of a red barn; the men seemed to be having a tough time of it. Gently, Kelly pulled over and rolled to a stop.

"Is everything alright?" They asked. Willie the Farmhand wiped the sweat from his brow.

"We're trying to finish raising the new barn, but the wall's too heavy; we'll never be done by sundown now!" Kelly looked up at their hook and grinned.

"Well, I have a bit of time on my tires; I'd gladly help!" Willie grinned.

"That'd be great! Thank you!" The crane beamed, and promptly got to work lifting up the barn wall.

Meanwhile, on the road outside the ballast mines, Max the Dump Truck was rushing out with the next delivery. As he rounded a bend, he heard a horn and saw his twin, Monty, with a wide smirk on his face coming in the opposite direction.

"How many deliveries are you on now, Max?" He asked. Max raised an eyebrow.

"Five."

"HA! What a joke, I'm on my way back from my seventh; better pick up the pace or you'll end up sleeping outside tonight!" Monty laughed as he sped away. Max groaned as his twin disappeared into the distance.

"Great…how am I supposed to catch up with him now?" However, he saw that the land sloped downhill around the bend and an idea entered his mind; he grinned as he began to slow to a halt.

"They've got so much of this ballast…I'm sure they won't notice if a little bit is missing…" Max began to laugh to himself as he positioned his dumper bed to face the hill and promptly dumped his load of ballast down it before speeding back off towards the ballast mines.

"You're sleeping outside, Monty!" The dump truck laughed as he sped away into the distance, failing to notice his load of ballast rolling down the hill…and onto the railway line, completely covering the small railway's tracks!

Back at the mines, Mike and Frank were preparing to take their final trains of the day.

"I tell you, Frank, I can't wait to get some peace and quiet with that clumsy crane out of our yard! Any longer and something bad could've happened!" The red engine boasted to the diesel. Nearby, Jack and Alfie were resting, but heard Mike's words and each raised an eyebrow.

"Is he talking about Kelly?" Alfie asked, confused. Jack frowned.

"He said 'clumsy'…that doesn't sound like Kelly at all!" The two diggers gave each other a look and rolled forwards towards the two chatting small engines.

"…and they think they're so great just because they've got a h-"

"What did Kelly ever do to you?" Jack snapped. Mike glared.

"Kelly happens to have lifted our friend off the rails today; utterly careless, just like the other cranes!"

"Kelly is the most careful crane I've ever met!" Alfie replied indignantly.

"The smartest too! They've been a part of the Pack even longer than Miss Jenny; they always know how to solve a problem!" Jack added, then looked back to an unamused Mike and a slowly guiltier-looking Frank with a steely glare.

"Pah! Solve problems? All they did in our yard was cause them!" Mike snapped back.

"Maybe if you didn't paint all the cranes with the same brush, you would see how careful Kelly really is! Come on, Alfie!" Jack promptly drove away, leaving Alfie to follow behind. As two little black diesels pushed Mike and Frank's trains into place behind them, the latter couldn't help but feel a little guilty.

"Those two really jumped in to defend them quickly…maybe we were a little bit rude to Kelly?" Frank looked to Mike, but the little engine's face was as red as his paintwork.

"We were as rude as that crane deserved, Frank! In case you forgot, I was almost knocked off the chute by one of those things!"

"Well, yes, but surely they can't all b-" The diesel didn't even have the chance to finish before Mike blasted his whistle and began puffing out of the yard, ignoring Frank entirely. The diesel pouted.

"Y'know, you could listen to what I'm saying!" Mike continued to ignore him.

"It hurts my FEELINGS WHEN YOU DON'T!" Despite the tears welling up in his eyes, Frank simply sucked them up and followed behind Mike, grumbling to himself.

Mike and Frank made their way up the line with their ballast trains, but Mike was still cross about his earlier encounter with Jack and Alfie.

"Silly front loader…just because he's never seen that crane cause trouble doesn't mean that they won't…" As he thundered out of the tunnel, he was so caught up in his own thoughts that he didn't notice the pile of ballast on the line!

"Slow down, Mike!" His driver cried, and screwed on the brake as hard as he could. Mike gasped, but there was no way he could stop in time.

"Oh no! HELP!" He shut his eyes tightly and rammed straight into the tall pile of ballast. His wheels left the rails as he slid up the pile.

"WHOA!" His driver leapt clear as the red engine began to tip over, and soon enough Mike had tumbled to the ground and was now lying on his side next to the tracks, his hoppers still on the rails behind him.

"Ouch…" He suddenly heard a horn and saw Frank, rolling to a stop behind the back of his train.

"Mike? What happened?" The red engine groaned.

"I've come off the rails; can you help me?"

"I can pull you closer to the rails but not upright, Mike; we're trapped until help gets here!" Suddenly, the two engines heard a familiar horn and their eyes snapped to the nearby road. There, Kelly was on their way to the mines after having helped raise the barn, but they braked a stop the instant they saw the accident.

"Oh my! Is everyone okay?" They asked, concerned.

"We're fine! Move along, crane!" Mike spluttered quickly. Kelly raised an eyebrow at the lopsided little engine.

"Certainly doesn't seem that way."

"Mike's come off the line and now we can't get back to the junction." Frank sighed. Kelly's expression slowly turned to a smile.

"Well, I can help with that! I'll lift Mike back onto the rails, and then we can sort out getting rid of all that ballast…how did that even get there?" They wondered. Suddenly, they heard two horns and gasped before moving out of the way as Max and Monty sped past, clearly in another one of their competitions.

"I'm going to win!"

"No! I'm going to win!"

"…figures." Kelly muttered, deadpan as the dump trucks disappeared into the distance. However, their smile soon returned as they began to move towards the derailed Mike. The little engine whimpered as he saw Kelly's tires moving towards him.

"Wait! D-don't come any closer!" The crane raised an eyebrow as they moved their arm into place and lowered their stabilizers; Mike didn't sound angry now. Suddenly, it hit them, and they smiled knowingly.

"Mike, are you scared of cranes?" Kelly asked. Mike turned bright red.

"No! I-"

"Yes, he is!" Frank jumped in. Mike glared before sighing.

"…alright, yes. I was on the chute when that crane hit it…I could see its great big arm swinging toward me and I felt so…small…" The small red engine looked embarrassed and ashamed, but Kelly simply continued to smile.

"Well, don't worry, Mike; this crane isn't going to hurt you." Mike didn't look so convinced as he and Kelly's drivers fastened chains around him. Kelly's driver gave the crane a thumbs up before returning to their cab, and Kelly grinned.

"Going up." They promptly began lifting Mike into the air. The small engine whimpered in fear as he looked down at the ground below.

"Please don't drop me!" He shut his eyes tightly. Kelly chuckled as they kept a sharp eye on the dangling red engine.

"Don't worry, I won't. Almost there…" Mike continued to keep his eyes shut tight as the mobile crane gently lowered him back onto the rails.

"Oh…oh?" The small red engine opened his eyes and saw that his wheels were firmly back on the rails, and Kelly was grinning at him from nearby.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" They smirked playfully. Slowly, a smile broke out across the little engine's face.

"Thank you, Kelly! You saved me!" However, from behind him, Frank cleared his throat.

"But how are we going to get past this ballast?" Kelly grinned as their eyes drifted down the road.

"Just give me a moment; I have to fetch my team."

Soon, Jack and Alfie had dug up all the ballast covering the line and loaded it into a rather ashamed Max and Monty's dumper beds, and the small engines could pass.

"Thank you so much, Kelly! You're a really helpful crane indeed!" Mike called as he rolled past. Frank hooted his horn as he followed behind.

"You're welcome, Mike!" Jack and Alfie shared a confused look, but saw Kelly's knowing smile and conceded that it was better to just roll with it.

That evening, all of Miss Jenny's vehicles were getting ready to head home from Arlesburgh West. Jack, Alfie, and Oliver had been loaded onto flatbeds pulled by Thomas again while Max, Monty, and a very proud-looking Kelly were parked nearby the sheds, where the small engines were resting. Suddenly, Miss Jenny and the Small Controller arrived, walking side-by-side up to Kelly.

"Kelly, I heard about you helping to clear the line today!" Miss Jenny grinned.

"Thank you for helping my railway stay running; without you, who knows how long that obstruction would've stayed on the line!" The Small Controller added. Miss Jenny then looked to the ballast chute and gasped.

"And you've done impeccable work with the ballast chute too! Spot on, Kelly! You'd make my dad proud." She grinned at the old crane. Kelly smiled back.

"Thank you, Miss Jenny, and thank you, Mr. Duncan." Miss Jenny then turned to her vehicles.

"Thomas, you can take the diggers home."

"Yes, Miss Jenny!" Thomas whistled before puffing away with the diggers. Miss Jenny then looked to Max and Monty, who were trying to avoid her gaze.

"Max and Monty, we'll have a talk when you're back in the yard."

"Yes, Miss Jenny…" The dump trucks honked their horns before shuffling out of the yard. Miss Jenny then looked to Kelly.

"Kelly, how would you feel if, when we get back to the yard, I'll give you a polish like the good old days?"

"Oh, yes please, Miss Jenny!" Kelly beamed from headlight to headlight. Miss Jenny grinned.

"See you back in the yard!" She and the Small Controller then walked back over to her land rover. As Kelly prepared to leave, they heard a voice from nearby.

"Kelly?"

"Yes, Mike?" The small red engine sighed.

"I'm sorry for being so rude to you before; I shouldn't have written off all cranes from one event…and you still saved me! How can I make it up to you?" Kelly chuckled.

"You already have, Mike." They could see the other small engines smiling at them and grinned back.

"It was nice to meet you all! Hope I see you all again soon…hopefully not to repair your chute though!"

"Bye, Kelly!"

"Nice to meet you!"

"Have a safe drive!" The crane honked their horn before driving away down the road for home. As the small engines surveyed the chute, they heard Norman's horn and saw the maintenance team coming around the bend on the main line.

"Look, Judy! They've fixed their chute!" Jerome pointed out excitedly.

"Oh, yes! It looks better than before; stronger than ever! Sorry again about the damage!" Judy called as the cranes rolled by. Mike chuckled lightly.

"No harm done!" He called. Rex raised an eyebrow.

"Think the crane did a good job with the chute, Mike?" He asked. Mike snorted.

"Well, of course! What did you expect? That Kelly is a very helpful crane! Perfect for the job!" Rex rolled his eyes and chuckled.

As Kelly drove home, they rounded a bend and gasped when they saw Trevor the Traction Engine sitting in the middle of the road.

"Trevor! Why are you stopped here?" They asked. Trevor sighed.

"I'm sorry, Kelly, but…my cart's wheel has broken off! I have a spare, but Jem left the jack back at the Vicarage and we've nothing to hold it up while he slides it into place!" Kelly looked up at their hook before grinning.

"I might be able to do something about that." They promptly swung their hook into action, ready, as always, to help.

THE END

One thing you may have noticed; Kelly is referred to with they/them pronouns throughout this story. This is very much intentional, as my version of Kelly the Crane has the unique distinction of being the first non-binary Thomas character! I really enjoyed re-interpreting and reintroducing this character who kind of had very little to them in the model series beyond being a crane version of Edward, and I think teaming them up with someone as hotheaded as Mike really brought out a lot of different sides to them; we got to see their usual helpful, calm demeanor, but also that they do have an end to their rope and can be somewhat stubborn about making sure they prove a point. Beyond them, the rest of the Pack and the smallies (especially crybaby Frank) were fun to write as always, as well as giving Judy and Jerome their brief role. Some may think Thomas' appearance was forced here, but he's been shown to work with the Pack in other places so I thought it would be good to have him here too since he's established as working with them. One may have also noticed the mention of two little black diesels at the ballast mines...not going to say anything more on that but know you'll get to meet them formally pretty soon. Beyond all that, this was a pretty simple story but one I very much enjoyed writing! The CGI Kelly, like Soggy and other CGI custom promos you'll see, was made by GoYourOwnWay196 on Twitter!

As always, what's next:

- 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.

- Over Your Headcode - Fed up with delays and waiting, Vinnie decides to put his lamps into an express headcode while working on his heavy goods trains so he can get special benefits, not realizing that he's headed for disaster after speeding through a danger signal and straight towards the cleanup of an accident.

- Skyler in Shallow Water - Challenged by James to prove that the water is faster than the railway, Skyler the Submarine decides to use the canal as a shortcut, not realizing how quickly said canal becomes shallow and putting her in a predicament when rocks on the bottom of the canal scrape her bodywork and cause her to begin to take on water.