A BETTER VIEW FOR GORDON

Based upon the episode by Britt Allcroft, David Mitton and David Maidment

Adapted by Zack Wanzer and Rachel Ravens

Following Derek going in for his rebuild, the engines were once again trying to pick up the slack.

"What is it with engines going in to get restoration as soon as we get them?" asked Audrey at Kellsthorpe Road. "First Emily, and now Derek!"

"Hey, Derek can't help his design flaws!" Bear scolded. "And Emily was in a very sorrowful state when I found her."

"How would you like it if you were constantly failing or in a scrapyards for years?" added Lauren sternly.

Audrey went respectfully silent at the large tank engine's words; her sibling and brother didn't dare to speak.

Lauren sighed. "I'm sorry about those three, Bear. But all the same, with our workload so high and with two engines out of action, we may not get everything done."

"Don't sweat it, Lauren. I know what you mean," said Bear. "At this rate, the Dieselworks may never get completed due to all of these setbacks as of late."

Just then, Johnson arrived with some trucks from Knapford yards.

"What's all that for, Johnson?" asked Bear.

"Haven't you heard?" asked Johnson. "We're getting another station built down here."

"We've already got two stations going down from here," said Lauren. "Is this third one going to be at the branch line's namesake? I mean, there has to a reason it's called the Kirk Ronan branch."

"Yes, it is at Kirk Ronan," explained Johnson. "The people of this town used to have trains stopping there all the time when the Sodor and Mainland Railway was in operation. However, due to the war, the station was bombed and it never was restored. Sir Topham Hatt decided to rebuild it so we can provide more passengers and goods for the railway."

"Yikes, I wouldn't have wanted to be around during a war," shuddered Bear. "But I'm glad to see the station's being restored."

"The question is," said Johnson, "who will be running this branch line once it's been rebuilt? There's not enough small engines to run it as it is."

"You two, Julie, Nicole and Katie have been wonderful help," Bear said warmly. "I wish you were part of our railway permanently so you could help with this branch line and the Norramby one."

"Indeed," said Lauren. "Maybe that will get James to be quiet."

"Great Railway forbid he get a branch line of his own," grunted Johnson. "First he steals my color, and then he'll try to steal my chance of running a branch line!"

The first part, of course, wasn't true; James' real reason for being repainted red was because he saw one of the Coffee Pot engines, Glynn, in that color and he wanted to honor it. Johnson, however, believed otherwise, and the two tender engines very rarely got along for that reason.

"He does realize we're all red, right?" muttered Lauren to Bear. "We've worn it since we were first built."

"You all look good in that livery," said Bear. "Personally, I wouldn't fancy wearing it myself. And if I were green, passengers may confuse me for BoCo or Derek."

Laruen chuckled as Bear's guard blew his whistle.

Later, Bear was giving his news to the main line engines at Tidmouth sheds.

"Another new project?" gasped Henry. "How many is this island having at once?"

"I've honestly lost track… er, pardon the pun, when Derek first came here," sighed James.

"This may put the construction of the Dieselworks on hold," muttered Diesel. "At this rate, it'll take until next year before it's ready."

"I feel like those trips to London may have caused an increase in traffic, and now more people want to see us," said Bear.

"I can't say you're wrong, Bear," Gordon put in. "We may as well bring back the visiting engines from our London trip as permanent residents."

Hopefully it's not Jackie that returns, thought Diesel to himself. In his mind, he was still in Jackie's bad books after his first visit to Sodor. The fact that Arry and Bert had already scrapped Collet would put her in danger too.

"Or maybe those Midland engines are finally going to join us," suggested Henry. "There's already two branch lines that don't have any permanent engines there." One other branch line, running from Killdane to Peel Godred, was operated by four electric engines, hence Henry didn't mention it.

Sir Topham Hatt had been considering what to do with the Midland quintet since they arrived during the locomotive shortage prior to Thomas' arrival. He had initially planned to send them back after acquiring his first few engines after becoming controller, but kept them on when the coal mine grew busier, James started taking the express once in a while and there was no one set in stone to run the Kirk Ronan line. His first plan was to have Duck run the branch line, but when Diesel's first trial had failed, that slipped through the cracks. Not only that, the Midland engines had grown quite acquainted with living on Sodor, and would've been disappointed to leave when the time came.

"I should have arranged for them to come to London too," he said sadly under his breath. "Hmm… well, this won't change what I've done, but I hope this will…"

The telephone started ringing.

"Oh, what now?" He picked it up. "Hello?"

"Hello, Topham."

"Oh, Mandy!" he said in surprise when he heard his daughter-in-law. "What can I do for you?"

"Topham, have you sent the Midland engines back yet?" she asked.

"No," he admitted. "They're all still here. Why do you ask?"

"Well, there've been a lot of tourists on my heritage railway," Mandy explained, "and Jackie, Katrina and the others here have been having trouble keeping up with it. We were hoping one or two of them could help us."

"Hmm, I see," said Sir Topham Hatt. "I'll have to ask the Midland engines to see which of them is willing to go."

"Thank you, Topham," smiled Mandy. "Oh, and Charles, Stephen and Bridget all say hello. Jackie and Katrina also want to say hello to their brother and cousins too, and Flora to her brother."

"I'll make sure to pass the messages on," chuckled Sir Topham Hatt. "I'll see you on your next visit." He hung up and drove off to go and see the Midland engines.

"Sir," said Katie when he got to the sheds, "what's going on? Is something wrong?"

"Quite the opposite, actually," said Sir Topham Hatt. "You see, my daughter-in-law runs a heritage railway on the mainland, not dissimilar to that of the Bluebell Railway. You remember both Jackie and Katrina from their visit here?"

"That's Duck's sister and his and Oliver's cousin, right?" asked Nicole. "I think I saw them come by with 'through' trains from the branch lines."

"That is correct, Nicole," Sir Topham Hatt confirmed. "Anyway, it's been very busy lately, and she needs an engine or two down there as soon as possible. Do I have any volunteers?"

The five engines all considered this possibility for a few moments.

"I'd like to go, sir," said Katie.

"Me too, please, sir," put in Nicole.

"Well, that was quick," remarked Sir Topham Hatt. "Once Derek is rebuilt, he'll take over construction for the Norramby branch, and I'll send you two there."

"What about the rest of us, sir?" asked Julie. "Will we have to go back to our old home once another engine comes to run this branch line?"

"I've already picked out three engines to run the branch line!" laughed Sir Topham Hatt. Julie, Johnson and Lauren looked at each other with surprise, and then back towards the controller.

"You mean…" gasped Lauren.

"You three are no longer on loan, Lauren," he said proudly. "Welcome to the North Western Railway."

The five engines all whistled and cheered at this announcement, and it wasn't long before word spread around the railway.

"I'm glad to know all of you are permanently in safe hands," smiled Henry.

"So are we," said Lauren. "Though we will miss Nicole and Katie when it's time for them to leave."

"You, Julie and Johnson will be going in for your repaints soon, right?" said Henry. "If that's true, then we'll make sure the railway's in order until you get back."

"Thanks, Henry," smiled Lauren. "I knew we could count on you."

"So, hold the line, Henry," Gordon was saying at Knapford that afternoon. "That means that we'll be more engines down?"

"It's not like it'll take months to get a new coat of paint," insisted Henry.

"I suppose so," grunted Gordon. But all the same, with one engine being restored and another being rebuilt, the railway was a bit pressed for motive power, and he was still complaining in the sheds that evening.

"Why are you complaining so much lately?" grunted James.

"Because I'm a big blue engine and I know everything!" snapped Gordon. "I shall complain whenever I want. You're just a small red engine with ideas above your station."

"Hey, I'm big too!"

"Well, technically, you're medium sized," Bear tried to interrupt, but this only made James annoyed at Bear too.

"I can't see anything," said Percy when he and Thomas were backing into the empty berths. "Where are they?"

"Any what?" grunted Gordon.

"Ideas above the station," said Percy. "The sky's empty."

"Like your smokebox, Percy," laughed James. Thomas and Percy both scowled at the red engine's rude remark.

"One day, I'll show you just what a big engine can really do," huffed Gordon.

"So what can a big engine really do?" asked Diesel.

"Not speak to silly little shunters like you for a start," replied Gordon, and he puffed away to pull the evening Wild Nor'Wester.

"He's getting too big for his smokebox again," muttered Thomas. "He should be grateful we have three of the Midland engines permanently joining us."

Gordon backed down onto his coaches and Edward was waiting on the next platform with the red coaches.

"Good evening, Gordon," Edward greeted, but then he heard a squealing noise coming from the bigger engine. "Is something wrong, Gordon?"

"I thought I was okay," Gordon said. "Er, maybe something needs oiling, that's all."

Edward wasn't fully convinced, but he decided to not further question it.

"Er, any luck on the Dexter situation?" asked Gordon.

"I'm afraid not," sighed Mick. "We haven't seen him since that fire broke out near Henry."

"Coaches do not just vanish into thin air," grunted Harry. "He's got to be somewhere in the coach yard."

"I get there early sometimes just to see if there were tracks I missed," said Edward, "but I don't see him."

"It's been just about a year since Dexter went missing," said Sean. "This is very serious."

"Surely there must be an area we haven't checked," Gordon sighed. Before he could say anything else, his guard's whistle blew.

"Ah, I better be off then," the big engine said. "Goodbye, Edward, you as well, coaches." He puffed off, but he felt he was starting slightly faster than he should have.

"Ah well, I must be off to a smooth start," he said to himself. "I'll be at Crovan's Gate in good time."

Indeed he was, and Rheneas and the old coaches were waiting with passengers while the other narrow gauge engines were sleeping in the sheds. However, upon hearing a squealing noise, the other six engines woke up.

"Time for work already?" yawned Rusty.

"It can't be," said Sir Handel. "The sun's still down."

"Oh dear, sorry, everyone," called Gordon. "I'm getting my driver and fireman to check me over after my run is over."

"Just mind how you go," said Skarloey. "And we'll try to get back to sleep."

But Gordon's driver and fireman never had the chance to check him over. When the big engine got back, his driver got a message.

"Oh dear," he said. "My wife's woken up sick. I'd better go and see if she's okay."

"Well, I won't keep you away from her," said Gordon. "And I don't want one of you to check me over alone, so you can both head home."

"Thanks, Gordon," said the fireman, and the big engine went to sleep.

The next morning, Sir Topham Hatt came to see Gordon.

"Good morning, sir," said Gordon.

"Gordon," replied the controller, "the new station has been making good progress, and when it's ready, I want you to take an empty express to test it. You can make up time afterwards."

"Why can't Henry or Bear do it?" grunted Gordon. "They like idling about in stations."

"You will do as you are told," said Sir Topham Hatt sternly.

Gordon sighed and went to the platform. Diesel shunted some empty coaches behind him.

"I guess we should call this the Wild No'Wester," joked Diesel. "There's no passengers on this train." To add insult to Gordon's injury, Duck had arrived on the next platform with Old Slow Coach, and they were laughing too.

"Oh, ha ha," muttered Gordon, rolling his eyes as he puffed away.

As he headed down the line, however, Gordon felt a bit strange.

"First I was going faster than normal, now I can't get up to speed," he muttered. "Come on, speed, be consistent!"

"Maybe it's your pipes," suggested his fireman. He had a relief driver with him too, as his regular driver was looking after his sick wife. "Perhaps I should've looked you over last night after all…"

Soon, Gordon had arrived at Kellsthorpe station where he would be turned around to face Kirk Ronan. As he came to a stop, the squealing noise came once again.

"I should really get oiled on my next break," Gordon muttered as he was turned around. He was soon coupled onto the coaches again and once the guard's whistle sounded, Gordon set off down the branch line to Kirk Ronan.

"So, you finally turned yourself around on branch lines, did you?" grinned Julie when Gordon passed her at Rolf's Castle. The big engine rolled his eyes but said nothing; he was grateful, however, that the lines were strong enough to hold his weight.

He finally got to Kirk Ronan. He heard the odd story about it from Edward who had heard about it from some of the other pre-grouping engines. At first, Gordon was impressed with the new station, but as he got closer, his mood soon changed. All he was facing was a set of buffers and a blank wall.

"What a boring view," Gordon grunted. "Important engines like me should have a panoramic view where I can see people and people can see me."

"Maybe that's why you were picked to test out the new station," commented Lauren when she came in with Audrey, Hilary and Mark. "So no one could see you."

"Yeah, who'd want to see a big blue galloping sausage anyway?" laughed Hilary, and their brother and sister joined in.

"Pah!" scoffed Gordon, and he let off steam angrily. "I'm glad you decided to take these glorified milk vans as your own, Lauren. Maybe they are the reasons the wall is blocking the view."

Audrey, Hilary and Mark let out gasps of outrage as Gordon's guard blew his whistle, indicating it was time to leave.

"You asked for it," scolded Lauren. "Now hush up!" The trio of coaches did so for the rest of the day.

Gordon was back on the main line, trying to make up lost time.

"Come on, come on!" he snorted. "I can go faster than this. Sick, me?! Never!"

However, his squealing got worse and he grew more feeble.

"Of course, I could be wrong…" he muttered as he was diverted into a siding. "What's happened, fireman?"

He jumped down with the relief driver to inspect the damage.

"One of your boiler tubes has collapsed," said his fireman. "Now you really will have to go to the Steamworks."

"Oh, bother…" muttered Gordon.

It wasn't too long before James arrived to collect the express.

"Well, well, well, so much for knowing about everything," laughed James. "You've got too puffed up in your boiler. It serves you right."

Bear also arrived to take Gordon to the Steamworks.

"A breakdown can happen to any engine," Bear said kindly. "You'll be right as rain in no time."

"But now we're three engines down again," sighed Gordon. "I hope Derek's rebuild is finished soon."

"I think he'll be ready next week," smiled Bear. "We won't have to worry about that for too long."

While Gordon was still being repaired, Derek was finally ready to go, and that meant it was time to say goodbye to Nicole and Katie.

"Farewell, you two," called Edward.

"Say hello to Flora for me," said Toby.

"And my sister and our cousin," added Duck.

"We'll pass the messages," smiled Nicole. "It's been a pleasure to work on Sodor for so long with you all."

"We hope to come back and visit again," added Katie, and the two engines puffed away.

The next day, Gordon was finally repaired and arrived back at the sheds.

"Finally good to be out of there," he said. "Hello everyone… Derek!" he gasped in surprise. "Oh, I almost didn't see you there."

"Hello, Gordon," the diesel greeted. "They're building another berth for me down at the China Clay works. Until that's ready, I'm staying here."

"Ah, I see," replied Gordon. "Are Nicole and Katie still here?"

"You just missed them yesterday," Diesel explained. "They headed to Mrs. Hatt's heritage railway."

"Oh," sighed Gordon. "That's a bit disappointing, after all they've done for us over the years."

"At least we know they're safe now," said Henry. "Who knows what could have happened if they went back to their old railway now?"

The other engines shuddered at that notion. Just then, Sir Topham Hatt arrived.

"Good to see you back, Gordon, and just in time," said Sir Topham Hatt. "We're going to the official opening of the new station."

"It's today, sir?" exclaimed Gordon in surprise. "Well, what are we waiting for?" He puffed away with a smug look on his face, causing Henry, James, Diesel and Bear to groan.

"Does this happen a lot?" asked Derek.

"You don't know the half of it," remarked James.

As Gordon was heading towards Kirk Ronan, he didn't realize that his brakes were left stiff by the Steamworks.

"Okay, Gordon," said his driver; his regular one was back by now. "Let's slow down."

But much to his surprise, his driver couldn't apply the brakes properly.

"I think they're sticking!" he cried.

"Let me try," said the fireman. There was no effect on the big engine.

"What the…" Johnson exclaimed when Gordon passed him. "Gordon, Kirk Ronan's not far from here! Slow down!"

"I can't!" the big blue engine cried. "My brakes must have failed on me!"

He was still going too fast as the station drew closer. His driver, fireman and Sir Topham Hatt managed to jump clear from his cab just in time, and the last thing Gordon remembered before blacking out was a crowd of people screaming for their lives as he ran through the station wall, and landed onto the ground below.

When Gordon finally came to, he was on a hoist at the Steamworks, groaning in pain.

"Gordon!" cried Henry, having a flatbed and Judy and Jerome in tow. "Can you hear me?"

"I… I hear you, Henry," he replied. "What exactly happened?"

"It's quite a long story," the green engine explained. "You were going too fast as you arrived at Kirk Ronan station, and you plowed right through the station wall. Butch had to be called in to bring you closer to the rails, your fireman's arm is in a sling, and Sir Topham Hatt received a black eye in the accident."

"Oh no…" gasped Gordon. "I'm so sorry I got them hurt. What about my driver?"

"Miraculously, he's okay," Henry replied. "And faulty brakes are hardly anyone's fault." He sighed. "You just get better, okay? James, Bear and I will look after your express until you're mended."

"Thank you, Henry," Gordon sighed as the green engine set off again.

Once the engines heard word of Gordon's accident, they were horrified.

"Knocked out?!" exclaimed Bear. "You sure, Henry?"

"Just like I was in the Flying Kipper crash, yes," Henry sighed. "He was very lucky to survive, as was everybody at the station. It's amazing that few people were injured."

"I thought it was bad enough when I had stiff brakes," said Thomas. "Yet the worst that happened to me was that I left the station with Annie and Clarabel empty."

"Wait, when did that happen?" asked Diesel.

"It was around that time when… well…" Thomas couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence.

"Oh…" Diesel seemed to understand. "Just after Duck filled in for you, I see." He sighed. "I hope Gordon will be alright."

The other engines had to agree. And it was a massive relief when a few weeks later, Gordon was finally repaired again.

"Welcome back, Gordon!" cried Henry. "Good to see you're out and about."

"Good to see you too," smiled Gordon. "I have to have a relief fireman for a while, but it's good to be back in working order."

Sir Topham Hatt then arrived; his black eye had since healed.

"Okay, Gordon, now that you're back," he said, "let's try this again. We're going to the new Kirk Ronan station… for its second official opening."

The engines couldn't help but laugh at Sir Topham Hatt's comment as he jumped into Gordon's cab and the big blue engine puffed away.

This time, Gordon managed to head to the new station safely, and everyone cheered as he came to a smooth stop. The wall had been repaired, but something was different about it…

"There's an engine shaped hole in the wall," chuckled Julie.

"And I can see the town below," Gordon remarked.

"I heard you wanted a panoramic view, Gordon," said Sir Topham Hatt, hopping out of the big engine's cab. "Although your accident was not the way to achieve it, it's here to stay. I trust you and many other engines who come here will always see through it from the safety of your own rails."

"Couldn't agree more, sir," chuckled Gordon. And that's exactly how it was. Whenever an engine came to Kirk Ronan, they could look through the view and see the people on the other side, always giving cheerful waves to the engines or sometimes even taking their number.

The station wasn't the only new building at Kirk Ronan; a new shed had been made for Lauren, Julie and Johnson for them to sleep at so they could be closer to their branch line.

"As long as Gordon's method is not repeated," said Johnson, "I think this was a welcome change to the station."

"And I'm glad we have a branch line we can run together," said Lauren.

"I hope Nicole and Katie are happy on their heritage line," Julie sighed. "I wonder who'll be running the Norramby branch line now, and who will reside at Vicarstown with us down here."

But those are stories for another day.

THE END

Author's Comments

Here's the tenth episode of Series 5 Redux, based upon another famous episode from said season, A Better View for Gordon. Again, if you're unfamiliar with who Julie, Johnson, Lauren, Nicole and Katie are, go check out North Western Origins on Rachel's page. The presence of the former three on the branch line is to provide an explanation as to why we never see much of the Kirk Ronan branch line in the later model seasons, much less the CGI ones. That's a similar reason as to why Arthur and Molly are (eventually) allocated to the Norramby branch line. Again, save for the additions noted, little changed about the original episode's structure. It's fairly light hearted, especially when you compare it to the next episode that's coming up...

Upcoming stories:

- The Old Warrior

- Lady Hatt's Birthday Party

- Gordon and the Gremlin

- Don't Fear the Scrapper

- Branching Off