THOMAS, PERCY AND OLD SLOW COACH

Based upon the episode by Britt Allcroft and David Mitton

Loosely inspired from "Fire" by Andrew Brenner

Adapted by Zack Wanzer and Rachel Ravens

It was springtime once again on the Island of Sodor, and down at Ffarquhar sheds, Thomas, Percy, Toby and Daisy were getting ready for work.

"Everyone is so much happier when springtime comes," said Thomas.

"Everyone except Sir Topham Hatt," grumbled Daisy. "He seems to be working us harder than ever."

"But you must enjoy these coastal runs," smiled Toby. "Looking at the ocean reminds me of my days at the harbor at Yarmouth."

"Besides," added Percy, "Sir Topham Hatt just wants everything to be ready for the summer holidays. The salty air makes me all cheerful in my smokebox."

"I suppose you do have a point," sighed Daisy. She purred away to take the first passenger run of the day.

"Well, an engine's work is never done," chuckled Toby. "Come on, you two."

The steam engines puffed away to find their own trains.

For the first few hours, things on the branch line were rather uneventful, until Thomas and Percy came into Knapford with their respective trains. They saw Sir Topham Hatt on the platform.

"Thomas, Percy," he addressed the tank engines, "you're to take some trucks up to Barrow-in-Furness."

"Really?" asked Thomas in surprise. "I don't recall there being a train to take up there."

"Is it some stone from the quarry, sir?" asked Percy. "I thought Mavis would have mentioned that to me when I saw her earlier."

"No, it's not that, Percy." Sir Topham Hatt paused, trying to think of a way to tell them this gently. "Well… there are some old trucks that haven't been in good condition."

"Oh…" Thomas winced, immediately putting two and two together. "Er… yes, sir, we'll be onto that."

"Oh, why there?" Percy gulped. "So many engines and rolling stock have lost their lives down there!"

"I don't like this either, Percy," sighed Thomas, "but we've got a job to do."

Just then, the tank engines heard Diesel purring up.

"Sir, is it okay if I go with them too?" he asked. "There's more trucks than we initially thought."

The controller was a bit surprised by Diesel's request, but agreed. Thomas and Percy were relieved about this, especially given that two certain shunters worked there…

Soon, the trio made their way down there, Donald and Douglas were covering for Thomas and Percy until they got back, and the other engines were forced to shunt their own trains, much to Gordon and James' dismay.

"Well, it always could be so much worse," said Bear. "We could have so few engines that we can't keep up with the workload at all."

"I suppose that's true," grunted James. "Still, at least I'm going to be taking these trucks to the countryside. It's the only place to be."

Bear couldn't help but chuckle as James puffed away with some fuel tankers. "He's getting all fired up, it would seem."

"Oh, he'll cool down soon," Henry laughed as he puffed off with his own train.

Down at the scrapyards, Thomas, Percy and Diesel couldn't help but wince when they saw the remains of engines come into sight.

"I can't believe my brothers would be as cruel as this…" Diesel said quietly. "You two go on either side; I'll take the middle so I've got you both in sight."

"Right," said Thomas as he and Percy got into position with their trains.

The tank engines went over to shunt their trucks on the left and right track. As Diesel was on the middle track, he didn't have any clue on what Percy and Thomas were about to find.

"I hope you've found peace up there," Percy whispered sadly to the empty shells. He felt like he was about to cry a waterfall for all the engines he didn't have a chance to know.

"It is a harsh truth," sighed Thomas. He was thinking about all the siblings he had lost.

"Truer words couldn't have been spoken," said a female voice.

Thomas and Percy looked over in surprise at the source of the voice. It was a bogie coach of Great Western origin, and her paint had become dirty and grimy due to years of disuse.

"Wh-who are you?" asked Percy in shock.

"I don't have a name," said the coach. "However, the workmen here call me Old Slow Coach. When I was working on Sodor, I used to be pulled by a kindly Great Western engine named Tasha, and sometimes Edward would pull me."

"You know Edward?!" gasped Thomas. "He runs the branch line down to Brendam."

"I always assumed he would get a branch line at some point, the dear engine," smiled Old Slow Coach. "He was young when I first met him. I didn't know the Tidmouth, Wellsworth and Suddery Railway had grown so much if you both know him."

"Oh, it's called the North Western Railway now," explained Percy. "My name is Percy, and this is Thomas. He's like my older brother."

"We were both mentored under Edward," Thomas put in. "And as of right now, the railway has twelve steam engines - our latest one is under restoration at the moment - and four diesels, plus three engines owned by private companies."

"There are five engines from the Midland railway who haven't been officially bought by the North Western Railway," Percy went on, "but they've been on a long term loan. There's also four electric engines who run the Peel Godred branch line, not sure if you were aware of that."

"I did know of that last one," Old Slow Coach admitted. "But besides that, the railway really has changed a lot since I was last there." She gave a sad sigh. "Once, many passengers would ride in me to destinations all over the Arlesburgh branch line, but now… only the mice want to use me as shelter."

"Well, you might be dirty, but you look to be in solid shape," said Thomas.

Just then, the yard manager arrived.

"There's some trucks that you two and Diesel need to take back," he explained.

"Excuse me," said Percy's driver, "but what about this old coach?"

"You mean Old Slow Coach? She's been here for years. She'll be broken up when we find the time."

Thomas and Percy felt a wave of dismay hit them.

"We can't let that happen," said Thomas, his voice cracking.

"Especially since she knows Edward," added Percy. "We have to reunite them." But neither of the tank engines knew how.

While Thomas and Percy were chatting with Old Slow Coach, Diesel kept on guard while doing his shunting. There have been times where he didn't feel too highly of the steam engines, but scrap was a line he definitely did not want to cross, even on his first visit to Sodor. However, he did overhear two voices drifting through the air near the ironworks building.

They'd better not come this way, Diesel thought to himself.

"Oh, Oi still remember that day that Western tank engine got away!" grunted Bert.

"That's 'cause ya got th' idea to take off right when Oi did!" snapped Arry.

"It wuz you 'oo took off first!" argued Bert. He sighed. "Well, at least we go' e'en when we go' that other Western tank engine a few years back."

Diesel blinked. Other Western tank engine? he thought. It couldn't have been Jackie or Katrina as they helped out when we went to London, and they are on a heritage railway. So who…?

There were a lot of Duck's brothers and sisters who worked at Paddington and elsewhere on the Great Western, and Oliver had quite the number of siblings too. However, out of all of them, two tank engines had confronted Diesel the day he got back to the mainland, and Jackie had been confirmed to survive.

"Oi remember 'is screams as 'e was cut up into tiny little bits!" chuckled Arry. "Serves 'im right for threatenin' Diesel like that."

Collet! Diesel realized with a sinking feeling. He must have tried to escape like Oliver. But when was that?

"Yeah, ya mess wit' one o' us, ya mess wit' all o' us!" laughed Bert. "Pity Diesel wa' sent ta Sodor shortly before this, and even passed 'is trials."

Diesel went pale; words were inadequate in describing his feelings right now. Yes, what he had done to Duck on his first trial on Sodor was inexcusable, and Jackie and Collet had rightfully called him out for it, but Arry and Bert's payback was far beyond anything Diesel was willing to do.

I should have been here, he thought. I might have been able to stop this.

Just then, Thomas and Percy came up with their share of the trucks.

"Diesel, there's some more trucks for you on track… four?" Thomas trailed off. "Er, Diesel? Is there something on your mind?"

"Arry and Bert," Diesel said quietly. "I just… overheard them doing their usual things." He wasn't sure how to explain this bombshell to the tank engines, much less Duck. How would the pannier tank engine react upon learning that one of his siblings had been scrapped at the buffers of two of Diesel's brothers?

"It is awful," sighed Percy. "But we did find an old coach that we're planning on saving. She's from the Great Western Railway."

"Really?" asked Diesel, giving a small smile. "Well, count me in. Let's get back to Sodor so we can think of a plan."

The trio headed back down the line, trying to think of ideas.

"I think I know," said Thomas. "We could surprise Duck and Oliver with her. She can be shared between them."

"Excellent, Thomas!" Percy grew excited. "They'll be so happy."

As they continued down the line, the three engines saw James go by on the up line with his trucks.

"This is the life!" he chortled to himself. But unfortunately, James was heading for trouble. Some sparks were flying from his funnel, and one of the fuel tankers was leaking.

"Do you smell smoke?" asked the fireman to the driver.

"You mean from James' funnel?" the driver asked back. "Seems normal to me."

"No, a different kind of smoke," insisted the fireman. He looked back and gasped at what he saw!

Thomas, Percy and Diesel glanced back in shock.

"Diesel, you go and raise the alarm!" said Percy. "Thomas, some of our water may be able to keep the fire at bay until the fire brigade gets there."

Meanwhile, James had been uncoupled from his burning train, and was moved onto a siding out of the way.

"This is probably how Henry felt when the drawbar for his tender broke," he said to his crew.

"The only difference is that your tender's still attached," his driver pointed out. "We should be safe on this siding while the fire brigade takes care of the inferno."

It wasn't too long before the fire brigade got there, and Thomas and Percy went to refill their tanks afterward.

"Are you alright, James?" asked Thomas.

"Apart from a bit of dirt, I'm fine," gasped James. "How could that leak have happened?"

"Maybe one of the tankers got damaged," suggested Percy. He sighed. "Do you think it can be repaired?"

"After that inferno? Doubtful," said James.

"I guess that's another tanker to take to the scrapyards," Thomas sighed.

"Let's hope that's the last fire outside of a firebox we have to witness today," Percy said with feeling.

Eventually, the fire was put out, and the damaged trucks were put onto another siding so they could be inspected later.

"When I was saying the countryside gets me fired up, I didn't mean like that," James said under his breath as Thomas and Percy continued on their way.

Unknown to Thomas and Percy, Duck and Oliver had been having a drink down at Tidmouth Hault.

"I swear, there's more passengers than ever," Oliver commented to Duck. "We may need another coach for them all."

"It's time like these you wish Isabel and Dulcie were here, don't you?" asked Duck.

"Exactly," sighed Oliver. "And you had Alistair, Mirabel and Benjamin on the Great Western Railway before coming here too."

"I do miss them too," Duck agreed. "It would be wonderful to have them all here, though I'm glad they are all safe with Jackie and Katrina on their heritage line." He then had a thought. "Jackie didn't mention anything about Collet though. Maybe he's on another heritage line…"

Duck's thoughts were suddenly interrupted when he and Oliver heard alarm bells ringing.

"What's going on?" asked Duck in shock.

"There's a fire at the workman's hut," explained the pannier tank engine's driver.

"Let's go see if we can help," Oliver suggested.

The two tank engines' drivers and firemen made sure their tanks were firmly shut, and shut off the water before rushing to the scene.

"How did that fire happen?" Duck asked the workmen, who were standing a distance away from the burning building. Thankfully, the fire brigade had arrived and were tending to the fire.

"One of us was making chips for lunch when the pan caught fire," explained one of the workmen. "I think he used too much cooking oil."

"Er… yes," sighed the workman in question. "I tried putting it out myself, but I accidentally made it worse!"

Just then, the fire chief realized there was a problem.

"We've used up most of our water in putting out James' tanker fire!" he exclaimed. "We can't use water from the sea because it would clog up our works."

"Why don't you use our water?" asked Oliver. "Duck and I just refilled our tanks."

"Anything to stop that fire from spreading," Duck agreed. "Good thinking, cous."

The firemen wasted no time and hoses were put into Duck and Oliver's tanks.

"You're not the only engines to help us out with a fire today," remarked one of the firemen.

"Yes," nodded another one. "Thomas and Percy had the same idea."

"They did?" asked Duck. "We'll have to ask them about that once this fire's put out."

Thanks to Duck and Oliver's efforts, the fire was finally out.

"Now we've got another problem," sighed Oliver. "Where will the workmen stay when they're on the job?"

"Well, all I know is that they can't sleep on the beach," said Duck.

After refilling on water, Duck and Oliver took their trains to Knapford. Though the passengers were a bit delayed, they didn't mind, given the circumstances of what went down.

"What took you both so long?" asked Diesel.

"A fire at the workman's hut near Tidmouth Hault," Oliver explained. "Duck and I used our water in our tanks to put it out because the fire engines were out of water."

"Two in one day?!" gasped Diesel. "Was anyone hurt?"

"Thankfully, no," said Duck. "Although the workman's hut is quite the mess."

At that moment, Thomas and Percy arrived, having taken longer to get back.

"The workman's hut burned down?" gasped Thomas. "Oh no! There's got to be a way to solve that problem, and quickly."

"Of course!" exclaimed Percy. "Thomas, Diesel, this has worked out better than we thought."

Duck and Oliver exchanged a puzzled look.

"You lost us there," said Oliver.

"Old Slow Coach could be the workman's hut." Percy then went on to explain about their trip to Barrow.

"A Great Western coach?!" gasped Duck.

"Er… it was supposed to be a surprise for the two of you," Diesel admitted. "But given what's happened…"

"Well, it's a perfect solution to the problem until a new hut can be built," smiled Oliver.

"We'd be honored to work with her," added Duck.

The five engines quickly told Sir Topham Hatt when he walked out of the office a few moments later.

"I remember her!" gasped Sir Topham Hatt. "She used to work with Edward until the old railway board forced Mr. Dry's hand. I'll send up the workmen and Duck and Oliver, you two will collect her."

Alarm bells started going off in Diesel's mind.

Arry and Bert would get both of them for sure, he thought. "Er, sir, don't Duck and Oliver have a lot of trains on the Little Western at the moment?"

"That is a good point," Oliver admitted. "Besides, I'm not exactly thrilled about going back to Barrow scrapyards."

"I understand, Oliver," nodded Sir Topham Hatt. "And thanks for reminding me of that, Diesel. I'll get Bear to collect Old Slow Coach then."

Diesel smiled with relief. Though Oliver, Thomas and Percy had moved off, and Sir Topham Hatt had gone back to his office to make the phone calls, Duck did catch sight of it before departing himself.

Is there something I'm not aware of? he thought to himself.

Later, Bear came to Barrow to collect Old Slow Coach. Any holes in her roof were non-existent, her wheels were now stable on the rails, and her new paintwork shone in the sun. She was once again painted in the chocolate and cream livery worn on the Great Western Railway.

"You must be one of those kind diesels I've been hearing about," said Old Slow Coach. "What is your name?"

"My name is Bear," smiled the Hymek. "It's a pleasure to meet you, miss. Oliver gave me my name after my engine was growling a lot."

"Oliver, huh?" asked Old Slow Coach. "I think I've heard that name a few times. I think he was in the sidings in the main yards with a brake van."

"That was Oliver and Toad alright," Bear confirmed. "They fought their way to get to Sodor to escape being scrapped. Douglas saved both of them, and now you're going to join them. Oliver, Toad and Duck are all from the Great Western Railway like you."

"Oh, that's wonderful to hear," smiled Old Slow Coach. Bear pulled her away, and Arry and Bert were both displeased with this.

"Firs' that ol' steamer, an' now 'e's taken that coach?!" exclaimed Arry.

"Oi didn't know the coach was there," cried Bert. "Ya should 'ave looked o'er there."

"Oh, so now yer blamin' me fer not inspectin' that sidin'?!" snapped Arry.

"Oi was just sayin'…" insisted Bert. An argument ensued between the 08s, and Bear chuckled to himself as he headed for the bridge.

Thomas, Percy, Duck, Oliver and Diesel were all at Knapford yards when Bear arrived with Old Slow Coach in tow.

"Hello, everyone," she smiled. "It's so good to be back on Sodor."

"It's a pleasure to meet you!" grinned Duck. "I'm Duck, that's my cousin Oliver, and you've already met Thomas, Percy and Diesel."

"Actually, Old Slow Coach and I haven't officially met," Diesel admitted. "Er… it's good to have you here."

"I can't thank the five of you enough," Old Slow Coach smiled. "And Duck and Oliver, I'd be proud to work with the two of you when I'm back in service as a coach."

"So would we," agreed Oliver.

When she was put as a workman's hut, everyone agreed there was nothing old or slow about Coach, and she was really useful at the beach before finally becoming a coach again on the Little Western. Duck and Oliver love taking turns with her on the branch line, and she enjoyed working with them too.

THE END

Author's Comments

Here's the fifth rewrite for Series 5 Redux, based upon the episode of the same name. Probably one of the biggest missed opportunities since its release has been Old Slow Coach; her design and that livery are fantastic, and yet we never got to see her interact with Duck and Oliver once for the brief timespan she appeared. As I showed with Emily's Coach Trouble, probably the oldest original story in the Seventyverse, I think Old Slow Coach would fit right at home in the CGI series, especially given the presence of the Slip Coaches. Diesel's presence is probably the biggest twist of this rewrite, especially as he learns something shocking regarding Arry and Bert - this will further come into play when we get to Thomas and the Troublesome Diesels. Old Slow Coach will be working with Duck and Oliver until at least the events of Duck and the Slip Coaches, and Isabel and Dulcie will show up at some point during The International Railway Series.

Upcoming stories:

- Rumors and Speculation

- Baa!

- Mavis and the Lorries

- Double Teething Troubles

- A Better View for Gordon