PEN PALS
One summer day, Thomas the Tank Engine was pulling the Local along the main line when he saw his friend, Paxton the Diesel, traveling in the opposite direction.
"You look excited today, Paxton!" Thomas remarked as he passed. Paxton beamed.
"I am, Thomas! The Fat Controller told me to go to Crovan's Gate today; he says he has an important job for me!" The diesel grinned.
"Aren't all your jobs important?" Thomas teased. Paxton laughed.
"Well, yes, but this one is especially important! Bye!" He called as he continued on his way. Thomas chuckled to himself before continuing on his way down the line.
When Paxton arrived at Crovan's Gate, the Fat Controller was standing on the platform. Arthur the Big Tank Engine was there as well, and gave Paxton a curious look as he braked alongside. However, the Fat Controller spoke first.
"Ah, Paxton, you're here! Excellent! Now, your important job; a company on the Mainland have placed an order for a large amount of stone from the Blue Mountain Quarry, and I need you and Arthur to take that order to the Wharf to be loaded into their barges. I know you're familiar with how things are done up there, so show Arthur what to do!" He explained. Paxton grinned.
"Yes, sir!" He replied. The Fat Controller smiled.
"That's a good engine. Run along now; there's a lot of stone to be delivered!" Paxton honked his horn and rolled away, Arthur following close behind after a blast of his whistle.
"We won't let you down, sir!" The tank engine called as he and Paxton disappeared into the distance.
After a short journey, Paxton and Arthur arrived at the Blue Mountain Quarry. Arthur looked incredibly impressed with the enormous quarry, looking around at all the machinery and the little engines hard at work. Paxton smiled back at the big tank engine.
"What do you think of the quarry, Arthur?" He asked excitedly.
"Well, it's certainly nothing like the fishing village." Arthur chuckled. However…
"HELLO, DOWN THERE!" The tank engine gasped, startled at the booming voice, as he braked to a stop. Paxton, however, was unfazed, and simply smiled at the source of the loud voice.
"Hi, Owen!" He called up at the enormous Owen the Incline Engine, who grinned back at him.
"Good to see you, Paxton! Who's your friend?" He asked. Arthur still looked utterly dumbstruck by Owen's sheer size.
"I…I…"
"This is Arthur! We're taking stone trains to the Wharf today!" The diesel replied, oblivious to how stunned Arthur was. Owen chuckled.
"Well, if it's stone you want, you've come to the right place! Why don't you load up first, Arthur?" He asked. Arthur jumped, but simply gave a nervous smile as he headed towards the incline engine.
"Erm…yes! Alright." As the tank engine turned around on the turntable to back onto his trucks, he was surprised by the amount of questions Owen was asking.
"Haven't seen you around here before! What part of the island do you normally work on?"
"…Well, I work on the branch line that runs down to the Fishing Village, Norramby Boardwalk…that general area, you know." Arthur replied. Owen gasped happily.
"Ah, the seaside! I'm sure the weather down there must be lovely. Do you get much chance to see the beach?" He asked. Arthur smiled; he was beginning to get more comfortable with the incline engine.
"Yes, actually! I take passengers down there all the time; it's just as beautiful as you'd imagine…" As Paxton watched Arthur and Owen chatting, he smiled to himself. However, as he looked elsewhere in the quarry, he saw something rather curious.
"What are they talking about?" Several of the narrow gauge engines were gathered in the sidings and appeared to be discussing something rather important in hushed voices. Paxton slowly rolled towards them.
"Hi, everyone! What's all the whispering about?" He asked. Peter Sam and Rusty gave each other concerned looks.
"Thank you for bringing Arthur today, Paxton; you've made Owen very happy." Peter Sam began carefully. Paxton smiled.
"Of course! Always happy to help introduce new friends to one another!" He beamed. However, the other engines still looked worried.
"When we say 'very happy', we mean it; this is the happiest we've seen him in a while. He's just shut down as of late and only focuses on his work; he's said more to Arthur than he's said to any of us in weeks." Rusty explained. Paxton frowned with concern.
"Oh dear." He muttered, giving Owen a concerned glance. Luke sighed.
"Merrick thinks it's because he's lonely and can't go anywhere. We have our rails to take us to other places, and even he has his gantry rail to move back and forth, but Owen's just stuck; the only way he can meet new faces is if they happen to come into the quarry."
"Which isn't very often." Rusty added.
"He won't talk about any of this with us; Owen's never been one to open up, no matter how hard we try." Peter Sam continued.
"Poor Owen." Paxton looked at his incline friend with concern.
"Indeed. However, I think having Arthur around will cheer him up for the time being. We think he wants to hear about places he can't see himself." Rheneas replied gravely. Paxton felt rather sad.
"I wish there was something I could do for him…" He sighed. Rheneas smiled.
"We all feel the same way. I think, for now, bringing Arthur is enough." He replied. Before Paxton could respond, he heard a loud whistle echoing through the quarry; it was Owen's.
"You're all loaded up! Have a safe journey!" He boomed down to Arthur. The big tank engine grinned.
"Thank you, Owen! Come on, Paxton, we can't be late for our first run!"
"Coming!" Paxton called and quickly sped towards the train. However, as he buffered up behind the trucks, he couldn't help still thinking about Owen.
"Imagine being trapped in one place…" He muttered. Arthur whistled from the front of the train and the heavy stone train set off, slowly puffing out of the quarry.
"Enjoy the seaside!" Owen called as the train disappeared into the distance. However, once they were out of sight, Owen's smile vanished and a frown took its place. He looked around at the busy quarry and sadly sighed before heading back to work. The narrow gauge engines could see this and gave each other worried looks.
Arthur and Paxton made good time with their first train and soon arrived at the Wharf.
"Whoa…look at all these barges!" Paxton marveled at the ships and barges docked all around, being unloaded by all sorts of stationary cranes. Arthur smiled.
"The Wharf's always busy; I prefer it to the Docks since you can actually tell what's going on!" He chortled. As the train braked to a halt, Paxton's eyes wandered across the quayside. Suddenly, he saw an unfamiliar green steam crane unloading a barge on the other side of the yard.
"Arthur? Who's that crane over there?" He asked. Arthur looked to where the diesel had referenced and raised an eyebrow.
"That's Colin. He seems nice enough, but we aren't very close."
"Why?" Paxton asked. Arthur grimaced nervously.
"Erm…we don't really…click, so to speak; not much in common. Maybe you two will get along better than he and I do." He chuckled. Paxton grinned and, once he was uncoupled from the train, starting rolling towards where Colin was working. As the diesel rolled closer, he saw that the crane was rather focused on something he was doing facing the water.
"Hello!" Paxton called. Colin yelped in surprise as he whipped back around, causing Paxton to jump back to avoid his hook almost swinging into his face.
"Whoa!" The spacey crane, his eyelids droopy as always, blushed in embarrassment.
"Sorry, diesel dude, you snuck up on me. I totally wasn't dragging my hook across the water to watch the ripples it made or anything like that." He smiled, causing Paxton to chuckle; he liked this crane already.
"It's alright! My name's Paxton! You're Colin, right?" The diesel asked.
"Suh, Paxton! What brings you to the Wharf today, man?" Colin beamed. Paxton was rather confused.
"'Suh'?...Oh, yes! Arthur and I are bringing stone trains here from the Blue Mountain Quarry!" He explained. Colin's eyes, while not opening the whole way, lit up.
"Awesome! Dude, I can't tell you enough how bodacious it is to see new faces around here!"
"Nice to meet you too!" Paxton chuckled, but Colin seemed to be staring off into space.
"It distracts me from the bottomless loneliness I can't seem to escape from no matter how hard I work, man. Every day, I wish that I could see more of the world than just my one little corner of the Wharf, but I'm constantly reminded that, even though the engines can go all over the island and see all sorts of amazing things, all I'm ever going to get to see is the Wharf. No one else gets it, dude. I can't talk to anyone about it because they wouldn't get it. I'm going to be alone forever, man…" He ranted, his gaze not shifting. Paxton was horrified, but was even more startled when Colin's smile returned and he looked back at the diesel.
"Sorry, Pax-man, I totally zoned out. Was I saying something?" Paxton felt terrible for Colin; if what he said was true, then he was miserable! However, he decided to say nothing.
"…um, no Colin, I didn't hear you say anything." Paxton heard Arthur's whistle from the other side of the Wharf.
"We're unloaded, Paxton! We should get going so we can stay on schedule! Don't want to let the Fat Controller down!"
"Coming!" Paxton called back. He smiled at Colin.
"Nice to meet you, Colin! Hope we can talk again!" As Paxton reversed away, Colin grinned.
"Peace out, Pax! Safe travels!" As the diesel buffered up behind Arthur's now empty trucks, the tank engine looked back.
"How was meeting Colin then?" He asked. Paxton sighed.
"He's really friendly, but he seems really unhappy…I wish there was something I could do to help…just like Owen…" He mumbled. Arthur felt rather awkward, so he simply blew his whistle again.
"Well…not much we can do now, Paxton. There's work to do!" As the two engines left the Wharf again, Paxton continued to worry about both Colin and Owen. Colin, however, was back to dragging his hook across the water to watch the ripples, chuckling to himself. However, as he watched one of the ripples disappear, he saw his own reflection in the water and grew sad, sighing.
"This is bogus, man…" He muttered before returning to work.
Paxton and Arthur worked hard all day, puffing between the quarry and the Wharf with heavy loads of stone. The diesel enjoyed being busy, but couldn't help thinking about Owen and Colin's problems.
"Owen can't see new things, Colin's lonely…I wish that there was a way for them to be friends, they have so much in common!" He muttered to himself. However, he heard a snort from his train and looked back.
"How are Owen and Colin supposed to be friends? They can't move, never mind meet!" A stone truck sneered.
"Moping machinery isn't your business, you silly diesel!" Another added, and they all laughed. Paxton frowned as he continued down the line. He was so upset that he didn't notice Arthur pass with another train in the other direction and give him a friendly whistle. The tank engine frowned as Paxton disappeared into the distance.
"He didn't say hello…oh, dear; something must be wrong." He muttered.
At the end of the day, Arthur and Paxton left the last of their trains at the Wharf. As the diesel moved his train into a siding, Arthur puffed alongside with a smile on his face.
"Great job today, Paxton! You seem tired after rushing about all day; stone trains are heavy work!" He greeted. Paxton smiled.
"Yes, I'm looking forward to a rest at the Dieselworks." He replied.
"The Dieselworks is a long way away, especially when you're coming right back here the next day…tell you what, why don't you stay the night at my shed in Norramby? I certainly have the room; wouldn't be a bother at all." Arthur replied, grinning at Paxton. The diesel thought for a moment before smiling.
"Alright, sure! Thank you, Arthur!" The tank engine beamed before whistling.
"You're welcome; delighted to have you as a guest! The shed's not far, just a ways down the line. Shouldn't take too long at all!" He began puffing down the line, and Paxton honked before following behind.
When the two engines arrived at Norramby Boardwalk that evening, Paxton was surprised to see something rather peculiar in the platform.
"What are they loading onto that train, Arthur?" He asked. There, being unloaded from a steam lorry in the car park, were boxes and boxes of souvenirs. They were being taken up the platform by the station staff and loaded into a bright pink boxcar that wore a banner saying "Knickknack Emporium". Arthur chuckled.
"That's not a train, that's Jeb and Bonnie, the Knickknack Emporium; they're always here."
"The 'Knickknack'…what now?" Paxton asked.
"They're the station's gift shop, selling merchandise to the passengers and whatnot. I'd be careful around them; they're always trying to make a sale." The tank engine chuckled to himself. Paxton was fascinated, and quickly rolled forwards to get alongside the duo.
"Hello!" The diesel greeted. Jeb the Camelback Engine, who had been dozing in the setting sun, snorted awake with a start.
"Huh? Who? I haven't done nothing, honest!" He quickly rambled. Bonnie, the boxcar, snorted with laughter.
"It ain't the cops, Jebbie!" She giggled. Paxton chuckled as well, although he wasn't sure why. Jeb rolled his eyes.
"Alright, alright, yuk it up…" However, he saw Paxton and his eyes widened before a huge, cheesy grin crossed his face.
"How can I help you, potential customer?"
"Jeb, we're closed for the d-"
"SHUSH!" Jeb hissed back at Bonnie before looking back to Paxton and his smile returned.
"Have you any interest in some of our wares? We have Norramby Boardwalk embroidered towels, Norramby Boardwalk coffee mugs-"
"Norramby Boardwalk snow globes!" Bonnie cut in before Jeb gave her a glare.
"Come on, Bon, we are above selling snow globes in the summer."
"We have so many!"
"You know very well we're saving those for Christmas shopping! They're going to be huge, and in demand, so we can charge more for them! Supply. And. Demand. Think with your business brain, Bonnie!" Jeb snapped. Paxton grinned nervously.
"Actually, erm…I wasn't going to buy anything. I just wanted to say hello!" He smiled. Jeb and Bonnie's expressions quickly dropped.
"Oh." They replied in unison, disappointed. Bonnie's smile quickly returned.
"Well, hello to ya too! I'm Bonnie, and this here is Jeb!" Jeb didn't respond, still grumbling. Bonnie promptly cleared her throat.
"Hey." The camelback engine grunted. Paxton smiled.
"I'm Paxton!" Suddenly, all three heard the clinking of glass bottles on the platform. Jeb's eyes snapped to the left.
"Easy with my-our paycheck! You break those bottles, that's at least two hundred in sales down the drain!" He barked at the stationmaster. As the man shrugged, Paxton felt rather confused.
"Why are you selling empty bottles?" He asked. Jeb, sensing the opportunity to make a pretty penny, put on his "salesman" grin again.
"My dear Paxton, these aren't empty! They're Norramby Boardwalk-brand messages in a bottle! A fine way to make friends in faraway lands; you'll be a diesel of the world in no time if you simply write a letter, put it in the bottle, and send it out into the ocean for someone to find. In no time at all, voila! You now have a pen pal in a place you couldn't go on your own; perfect for long-distance communication, and only one pound and fifty pence per message…plus tax." This had given Paxton an idea.
"A pen pal…a friend in a faraway place…that's it!I know how to make Owen and Colin happy! Thanks, Jeb! Thanks, Bonnie!" He honked his horn and reversed back to the shed.
"You're welcome!…for…something." Bonnie replied, rather confused.
"Wait, come back! Don't you want to buy something?" Jeb called, before beginning to grumble to himself again once it was clear that he didn't. Paxton rolled into the brick shed alongside Arthur, who was just preparing to sleep.
"Oh, hello again, Paxton! You seem like you're in a better mood." The tank engine yawned. Paxton beamed.
"I am! I can't wait for tomorrow!"
"That's the spirit! We've lots of work to do tomorrow, so let's get a good night's rest. Goodnight…" Arthur yawned again and promptly fell asleep. Paxton, however, stayed wide awake; he was too excited about his plan to make Owen and Colin happy.
The following day, Paxton raced off to the Blue Mountain Quarry as soon as his driver arrived. He was so excited that he didn't even wait for Arthur!
"Paxton!…I guess I'll just catch up with you later, then?" The tank engine called, feeling rather awkward about being left behind as the diesel raced into the distance.
Owen was moving some stone trucks down the incline when he suddenly heard Paxton's horn and saw the diesel rushing into the quarry.
"Owen! Owen!"
"Good morning, Paxton. What's gotten you so riled up?" Owen asked, rather startled at Paxton's entrance. The diesel beamed.
"I think you need a pen pal!" He practically shouted. The incline engine was still confused.
"A…pen pal?"
"You write a letter and I deliver it to a friend in a faraway place! It's so you can see what life is like outside the quarry; I know you've been feeling cooped up!" Owen blushed red as Merrick turned to look at the source of the noise while some of the narrow gauge engines looked up at him from below. He felt rather embarrassed.
"I would prefer if you kept that private, Paxton." He whispered before clearing his throat, causing everyone else to return to work. It was the diesel's turn to blush now.
"Sorry!…I think you should try it, Owen; it never hurts to make a new friend. Besides, you aren't the only one who's stuck in one place who needs someone to talk to out there." He smiled. Owen contemplated this for a moment before letting out a sigh.
"Alright, Paxton; pass it up here." The diesel grinned as his driver jumped down from the cab, jogged up the ramp of the stone loader, and passed a blank sheet of paper to a workman. The workman then weighed it down with a rock in the front of a truck, which Owen took up his platform. Another workman at the top picked up the paper, shook off the dust, then took out a pencil before looking up at Owen.
"Make sure you address it as 'dear pen pal'! That's very important!…I think." Paxton called. Owen looked down at the workman before clearing his throat and beginning to whisper, the man writing down what he was saying. The diesel could hardly contain his excitement as the workman finished the letter, folded it, and sent it down the ramp on top of another truck. The workman at the bottom passed it back to Paxton's driver, who climbed back into the cab. The diesel was beaming!
"You won't regret this, Owen! I promise!" He called, and quickly coupled up to his stone trucks before darting out of the quarry as fast as he could. As he sped out of the quarry entrance, he passed Arthur on his way in, but he was too excited to notice him.
"Hello, oh…alright, goodbye. Apparently." Arthur muttered before entering the quarry to pick up his own stone trucks.
"Come on! Come on!" Paxton called back to the trucks as he sped along the branch line on his way to the Wharf.
"Someone put caffeine in your tank, buddy?" A truck grunted as they rattled along and the others giggled. The diesel was so excited to bring his two friends together that he took no notice. He clattered over the junction leading to the Wharf and braked to a screeching halt alongside Colin with an enormous grin on his face. However, the crane simply continued working, not appearing to notice Paxton's presence there at all.
"Colin?" Paxton called, before the crane finally slowly turned around.
"Oh hey, Pax! Sneaking up on a crane like that is mad foul, dude; could've dropped what I was carrying!" At that moment, the pipes Colin was carrying began to slide to the left and overbalance before he promptly pulled them back upright.
"How can I help you today, man?" He asked, acting like he hadn't almost dropped his pipes on the wharfside.
"Actually, Colin, I'm here to help you! I have a letter for you!" Paxton chuckled. Colin raised an eyebrow.
"A letter? Who'd be writing to me?"
"Your pen pal!"
"…who?" Paxton's driver stepped down from the cab with Owen's letter in his hand and handed it to a workman, who opened it up and held it in front of Colin. The crane squinted at the letter for a moment before the workman cleared his throat and held up a large pair of reading glasses.
"Ah, that'd help." Colin muttered as the workman climbed up to his cab and slid the glasses on. Now able to read, he scanned over the letter as the workman held it up.
"Dear pen pal…"
"Erm, Colin, you don't need to read it aloud." Paxton whispered, but Colin continued reading.
"My name is Owen, and I help shift trucks at the quarry. I love my work, but waking up, seeing, and doing the same thing every day is starting to get really monotonous. The little engines wouldn't understand; they have their rails and can go wherever they want, whether it be to the seaside, to the mountains, or even to castles! Now, I'm not a very fancy sort and I don't need to be hanging around castles, but a change of scenery would be nice to get away from all the blue stone and the dust and the trucks. Paxton says you're stuck in one place too. This may be silly because I don't even know who I'm writing to, but you should know that you aren't alone. I know I'll never get to see the world, but hopefully talking to you makes our worlds feel a little bit bigger. Talk soon, your pen pal." The crane was wide-eyed and stunned as he finished reading before tears began to appear in his eyes.
"Far out, bro…" He muttered. Paxton raised an eyebrow.
"Colin? Are you alright?" He asked. Colin slowly broke into a wide grin.
"Pax, dude! This pen pal stuff is amazing! I gotta write this guy back!" Paxton beamed with satisfaction; he was bringing them together!
"That's wonderful, Colin! I have to take on fuel, but I'll come by again and you can give me your letter before I leave!"
"Yo comprendo, Pax-ster! I'll get it to you as soon as I've unloaded your trucks!" Colin called as the diesel rolled away, leaving him with the trucks. Paxton smiled to himself before going over to refuel on the other side of the Wharf. As he reversed onto the siding containing the fuel tanker, he suddenly heard a whistle and saw Arthur puffing into the yard on the line alongside him, pulling a line of giggling stone trucks.
"Ah, Paxton! There you are! I was worried that I wouldn't catch up…" The tank engine panted. Paxton beamed.
"Oh, hello, Arthur! Sorry I can't stay and chat, but I'm all fueled up and have to deliver a letter to the quarry!" The diesel began rolling away, causing Arthur to raise an eyebrow.
"Don't you have trucks to deliver too, Paxton?" He asked. Paxton braked to a halt instantly.
"Oh, oops! Silly me! Thanks for the reminder!" As Arthur looked on with concern, the diesel rumbled towards Colin and coupled up to his trucks. The crane had just finished dictating his letter to a workman and was trying to use his hook to remove his reading glasses as the workman handed the letter to Paxton's driver.
"Here's my letter, man! Tell Owen that his pen pal says that his letter was totally righteous!" Colin called cheerfully, before bonking himself on the nose with his hook.
"Ow…" The workman who had written Colin's letter promptly rolled his eyes and removed his reading glasses for him, causing the crane to grin sheepishly. Paxton chuckled.
"Will do, Colin! I won't let you down!" He honked his horn and left the Wharf, his rather perplexed empty trucks in tow.
When Paxton returned to the quarry, Owen was delighted to read Colin's letter.
"What's good, Owen? My name's Colin, and I load and unload trucks and barges at the Wharf. Pretty radical job, dude, but seeing the same stuff all day everyday isn't radical at all. I just want to see more than the Wharf, man, but I can't really tell the little engines that either because they can go anywhere their rails can take them! A quarry sounds SO SICK though, bro! I'd love to come and visit but, I mean, if I could we wouldn't be writing to each other, and that would be…not good. Totally feel your pain about the whole 'being stuck in one place', and no need to feel silly at all! The world's big and whatnot and we might never get to see it, but at least we aren't alone anymore! I would love to hear about your quarry, and talking to you has made my world feel bigger already! Rock on, your pen pal…" Owen finished reading to himself before grinning down at Paxton.
"Paxton, this is one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me; I can't thank you enough!" He exclaimed. Paxton smiled with pride.
"Of course, Owen! Now, let's get your next letter on its way; wouldn't want to keep your pen pal waiting, would we?" He called. Soon enough, Owen sent his next letter down in a slate wagon before Paxton's driver plucked it out.
"Sit tight, Owen! See you later!" The diesel called before rolling cheerfully out of the quarry, passing an entering Arthur with empty trucks in tow.
"Paxton!" The tank engine called, trying to get his attention, but Paxton was too excited about the letter he was carrying to listen. Arthur winced as he braked to a stop and stared across the quarry. A nearby Rheneas raised an eyebrow.
"Something wrong, Arthur?" He asked.
"Yes…it appears Paxton's left his trucks behind." Arthur noted, looking at the sneering empty trucks sitting nearby a cheerfully humming Owen.
"Ah. That is a problem, isn't it?" Rheneas noted. The bigger engine didn't respond, so he simply left. Arthur gulped.
"He's just excited about his letters…I'm sure he'll be back for those trucks!" But he wasn't.
Paxton rushed back and forth between the Wharf and the quarry, eagerly ferrying letters between Owen and Colin. Every time he showed up with a new letter, the delighted expressions on both of their faces filled him with joy and motivated him to return to the other location.
"Colin's been to a party!" Owen laughed mirthfully at Colin's latest letter, making the diesel smile.
"OWEN'S SEEN A METEORITE!? WHOA!" Colin gasped with amazement at Owen's response. Paxton's grin grew wider. As the crane and incline engine bonded, Paxton began to forget all about what his job for the day had been in the first place! Arthur, however, did not forget, and grew increasingly nervous at Paxton's empty trucks sitting in the quarry.
"He'll get them…I don't have to worry! No need to worry at all! Nope, nope, nope!" The tank engine muttered furiously to himself as he stared down the line of trucks. Finally, his eye twitching, he rolled forwards before pushing his own trucks onto the rest of the train.
"Ah, you know what? I'll take them myself. Load me up please, Owen!" He called. Owen, still excited about his letters from Colin, wasn't paying attention to the length of Arthur's train and loaded him up with stone. Merrick, however, spotted the long train from across the quarry and raised an eyebrow.
"You sure you want to pull that train, Arthur? Looks rather heavy to me!" He asked. Arthur chuckled.
"Oh, don't worry at all! I'll manage!" He whistled and promptly tried to pull the long train away, but had no success. Merrick watched with interest.
"It really doesn't seem like you're managing…" He muttered. Arthur gasped furiously as he finally stopped pulling and chuckled again.
"Well…I've always been a better pusher anyway! I'll head around; these trucks can't be late or it'll go on my record-I mean make the Fat Controller cross!" The burgundy tank engine puffed around the back of the train and whistled before pushing the long and heavy train out of the quarry, snorting with effort. Merrick and the narrow gauge engines watched with concern, but Arthur gasped on nonetheless.
"No need to worry Paxton with this…I'll get all this stone delivered myself!" He panted and struggled on. Towards the front of the train, the trucks shared glances.
"So we're totally messing with this guy, right?"
"I didn't know we hadn't decided already!" They snickered to themselves, leaving Arthur none the wiser.
Meanwhile, Paxton was arriving at the Wharf with Owen's next letter for Colin, braking to a stop alongside the wharfside crane.
"Hello, Colin! Got your next letter right here!" The diesel greeted cheerfully as his driver handed the workman a letter. Colin grinned.
"Noice!…actually, question for you, Pax-man."
"What's up?"
"Now, I might have just zoned out, but I'm pretty sure you were supposed to be delivering stone too, dude?" Colin raised an eyebrow. Paxton gasped in horror as he looked behind himself to see no train.
"Oh no! I completely forgot! Arthur must be working his wheels off! Sorry, Colin, I have to go back to the quarry!" He honked his horn and sped away, leaving a worried Colin behind.
"Gettin' bad vibes with the way this is going…" He muttered.
Paxton sped back into the quarry, but was shocked to see that his empty trucks were nowhere to be found!
"Owen! Where are my trucks?" He called up. Owen, still re-reading letters, wasn't paying attention.
"Hmm? Haven't you been taking them with you, Paxton?"
"No! Arthur took them when Paxton kept forgetting them! He's still en-route to the Wharf!" Merrick replied. Paxton gasped.
"All of those trucks by himself! I have to stop him, that's far too much stone for one engine!" He honked his horn and sped out of the quarry to catch Arthur.
Arthur, still pushing the heavy line of trucks in front of himself, was currently struggling up a hill on the route. He poured sand on the rails as his wheels slipped and struggled, but the most progress he was making was a slow crawl. The trucks weren't making things easier either, and giggled gleefully as they held all their weight against him.
"Hold back! Hold back!"
"Can you please not do that?" Arthur asked in a raspy voice, clearly exhausted from having pushed the heavy train that far. Suddenly, he heard a horn and looked back to see Paxton rushing up the hill behind him.
"Arthur, I'm so sorry! Let me give you a push!" The diesel buffered up behind Arthur and began pushing him up the hill. The tank engine sighed in relief.
"Oh, thank you, Paxton, that's a load off my buffers."
"I completely forgot about the stone because I was so excited about Colin and Owen becoming friends…you must be exhausted from doing my work as well as your own!" Paxton apologized profusely. Arthur chuckled.
"I am, but I appreciate you helping out now. Now, we can get all of this stone to the Wharf on t-did you hear something?" Paxton listened carefully, but was shocked when Arthur shot forwards, the screaming trucks sailing down the hill in front of him…and dragging him with them.
"On! On! On!" The silly trucks yelled.
"HELP MEEEEEEE!" Arthur cried as the heavy train dragged him further down the line. Paxton gasped from the top of the hill as the tank engine rocketed into the distance.
"Arthur! Oh no! Hold on! I'll save you!" He honked his horn and sped up, giving chase to the runaway train.
Arthur braked as hard as he could, but the screaming stone trucks seemed to drag him on and on. He groaned feebly as sparks flew from his wheels.
"This is going to give me a wheel flat…" He muttered before continuing to strain. Behind him, Paxton was trying hard to keep up, but couldn't seem to close the gap between him and the runaway train.
"Keep braking, Arthur!"
"I'm trying!" The tank engine screeched past a signal, which Paxton knew led to…
"The Wharf!" He cried. Sure enough, the Wharf came into view. Colin turned around at the noise and his normally half-closed eyes widened in shock.
"Yikes! Hold on, man!" He shouted, and promptly wound up before trying to launch his hook across the rails to pull the points switch. He, of course, missed, but hit the roof of a goods shed where several workmen were sitting. The noise caused them to turn and see the oncoming train, and one quick-thinking shunter leapt out of his seat and changed the points, directing Arthur's long train into a siding. The tank engine gasped as his trucks snaked into the siding and screwed his brakes on even harder.
"Come…on! Come…on!" Finally, Arthur managed to get the trucks under control and braked the train to a halt, the front truck stopping just before the buffers. He panted with exhaustion as the trucks groaned in disappointment.
"Stopped at last…" Arthur gasped. However, he heard a panicked horn and looked back to see Paxton, desperately trying to brake.
"ARTHUR!" He cried. Before the tank engine could even reply, Paxton rammed into him, causing him to ram into the trucks, which put the front-most trucks through the buffers before they scraped across the pavement and smashed into a factory wall adjacent to the siding. As a car alarm blared, the two engines opened their eyes hesitantly before looking at the mess.
"You dudes alright?" Colin called.
"I'm fine, I think…Arthur?" Paxton asked.
"NOT MY FAULT!…sorry, force of habit." Arthur replied. Paxton could only stare at the accident and turn red with shame.
When the Fat Controller arrived, he was not pleased to see the severity of the accident.
"Trucks damaged, stone lost…the factory owners will not be happy to hear about what has happened to their wall, you two." He turned to an ashamed Paxton and an exhausted Arthur. The diesel sighed.
"It was my fault, sir. I got…distracted, so Arthur tried to take both of our trains at once to keep us running to time. I tried to help him when I caught up, but we lost control of the train, sir." He admitted. Arthur, recognizing that he had more culpability than he initially claimed, looked down at his buffers in shame. The Fat Controller's eyes, however, were solely on Paxton as he put his hands on his hips.
"'Distracted', Paxton? What could you have possibly gotten 'distracted' by?" Before the diesel could reply, he heard a voice from nearby.
"That'd be me, boss man." Colin interrupted. The Fat Controller raised an eyebrow.
"You, Colin?"
"Yup. Pax-man here wasn't being lazy, sir, but he was just trying to help me stay in contact with my new pen pal, Owen, up at the quarry."
"I got so excited about the letters, sir, that I forgot about the stone. I'm so sorry, sir." Paxton finished, ashamed. The Fat Controller, however, simply turned around, thinking. Before he could reply, they heard a bicycle bell and saw the Thin Controller approaching, cycling onto the Wharf.
"Sir Topham! I came as soon as I heard!" He called, hopping off his bike and leaning it up against a building before walking towards the Fat Controller.
"Hello, Perry. It seems Paxton here has been playing courier between Colin here and Owen up at the quarry; have you heard about this?"
"Oh yes, indeed. In fact, just as I was about the leave the quarry, Owen told me everything and requested I tell you that it wasn't Paxton's fault. Now, the property damage we certainly have to deal with, but I think you'll find that Owen found Paxton's kindness and compassion far more notable."
"THAT'S MY DUDE!" Colin shouted before clearing his throat once both controllers turned around in surprise.
"What I mean to say is that the Pax-ster helped me and Owen work through some stuff we were feeling by giving us a way to connect. This is the best I've felt in weeks and it's all thanks to my pen pal, Owen, and my bro-migo, Paxton." Paxton gave Colin a weak smile, but still expected the worst. The Fat Controller pondered for a moment before nodding at the Thin Controller and turning back to the diesel.
"Well, Paxton, I believe it's clear that, as you were the cause of the accident, you should help repair the factory wall…"
"Yes, sir…" Paxton replied sadly, but the Fat Controller wasn't finished.
"…by taking special trains of stone between the quarry and the wharf, taking any, ahem, additional items that may need delivering with you." He smiled and gave Paxton a wink. The diesel's eyes lit up as he looked across the Wharf to Colin.
"Thank you, sir! I'll fix that wall right on time, sir!" He gushed, but his joy wasn't coming from the job; it was from the smile on his friend Colin's face.
Soon enough, Paxton was working hard taking stone to the Wharf to repair the factory wall. He worked hard, but he always made sure to have a letter from Owen to Colin.
"Here's your letter, Colin!" The diesel called as he rolled past the crane, who had his reading glasses already on in anticipation of his arrival.
"Thanks, dude!" Paxton honked his horn before heading back to the quarry, where he'd always have a letter from Colin to Owen.
"Appreciate it, Paxton!" Owen called as the diesel left with another stone train. As the diesel rushed back and forth between the two locations, helping repair the factory wall, the crane and incline engine couldn't help but talk about him in their letters.
"You know, Colin, we owe a lot to Paxton. Without him, I'd never have met such a great friend as you."
"Chill with that, Owen! But yeah, you're my bro. Friends to the end! We're mad lucky."
"Lucky to have friends like each other?"
"Well, duh, but also lucky to have a friend like the Pax-man too."
"Couldn't agree more."
"Best, your pen pal." The two letters finished the same way as Paxton crested over the hill with a line of stone trucks, honking his horn before happily continuing on to keep maintaining this new friendship.
THE END
We're back after a long hiatus! I apologize immensely for the delay with this next installment, but I've been rather busy for the past few months and only managed to get this done recently, but I should be updating this regularly from now on! Featuring another Buffman Bomber character, this is the introduction of my interpretation of Colin the Wharfside Crane into the Original Episodes fold! I love writing his Californian surfer dialect and establishing his character in a more fleshed out way here was a blast, as was exploring Owen as a character, a rarity in the fandom. This story was inspired by a tweet I saw several years ago by a good friend of mine, enterprisingengine93, where Colin and Owen would lead an episode together over FaceTime. Obviously, the route I ended up taking was far more different than that, with the main drivers of the action being Paxton and Arthur, a character combination you don't see everyday. While the combo isn't the most obvious in the world, writing the two of them together was a blast and I loved getting to see how they interact with one another, along with the return of Rampage of the Rail Bandits' Jeb the Camelback Engine and Bonnie the Boxcar, A.K.A. The Norramby Knickknack Emporium! The CGI Colin you see as the promo for this story was made by another good friend of mine, GoYourOwnWay196, and I can't thank him enough for helping enhance the aesthetics of my universe!
As always, what's next:
- Lightning Never Strikes Twice - Stepney the Bluebell Engine's return to the island quickly puts a bitter Class 40 in a horrible mood, especially after he breaks down on a hill and needs to be rescued by the former. However, when Stepney experiences technical problems prior to a railtour, Class 40 is the only one who can step in and save the day.
- Employee of the Month - Spamcan is hired by Deltic to work at Buffman Global when the workload gets busier, but quickly proves himself a careless, utterly horrible employee, which Deltic stubbornly refuses to admit since he fought so hard for him to the other engines to begin with.
- Dowager Hatt Moves In - Fed up with the arguing between his mother and his wife, the Fat Controller is utterly terrified when he sees Dowager Hatt riding from station to station with tons of suitcases, and quickly dispatches Bill and Ben to cause chaos across the railway in order to prevent his mother from trying to move in with him.
- Rocky & Regina - Rocky, lonely due to not having a companion like Judy has in Jerome, is delighted when he meets another crane named Regina and the two decide to work together. However, Regina requires constant validation and argues with and criticizes Rocky over every little thing he does, quickly bringing the rescue crane to the end of his rope.
- Old Habits Die Hard - Due to their infamous historical feud, Duck and Diesel quickly butt heads when Diesel comes to do Oliver's work while he is ill, causing Bulgy the Double-Decker Bus to swoop in and try to turn the two against each other to make the railways look bad and reap the benefits.