BRANCHING OFF

Loosely inspired from "James and the Trouble with Trees" by Britt Allcroft, David Mitton and David Maidment

Based upon "Peter Sam and the Prickly Problem" and "Sir Handel Comes Home" by Christopher Awdry

Adapted by Zack Wanzer and Rachel Ravens

The Skarloey Railway had a relatively peaceful time compared to those on the North Western Railway, but that didn't mean to say they didn't have their issues. Mr. Hugh and Flyer were heading up the line to inspect some tracks early in the morning.

"Thank the Great Railway that Donald's alright," sighed Flyer.

"I can vouch for that," agreed Mr. Hugh. "I'm glad you lot don't go up to Barrow; there's no chance of you running into Arry and Bert."

"We'd probably run out of fuel before we even made it halfway," joked Flyer.

Suddenly, Mr. Hugh and Flyer saw some branches of trees and bushes reaching a bit too close to the railway line.

"Brakes, Mr. Hugh!" cried Flyer. Thankfully, the inspection trolley managed to stop just short of a low hanging branch. Mr. Hugh jumped down to inspect.

"That could be dangerous if any of the other engines were to run into that," he said.

"You're right, Mr. Hugh," agreed Flyer. "We'd better warn them as soon as possible."

The engines were just waking up to greet the day as usual, and their crews had come to get them ready for work.

"Did anyone hear Bear go by with the Midnight Goods last night?" asked Rusty.

"The only clue we'd have gotten was if he growled past," grunted Duncan.

"I'm not surprised he's taking it as of late," sighed Rheneas. "Donald and Douglas got a massive shock last week."

"Arry and Bert are just monsters if you ask me," Sir Handel said darkly. "They'd need a good scare in order to stop harming steam engines."

"As reckless as Smudger was," agreed Duke, "even he never stooped that low."

Peter Sam and Sir Handel both gave Duke looks of agreement, but before anyone could speak of anything else, Flyer and Mr. Hugh arrived.

"You're back early, Flyer," said Skarloey. "What have you and Mr. Hugh found out?"

"Trees and bushes are too close to the railway," Flyer explained. "Mr. Hugh mentioned something about getting gangers to trim them back."

"Indeed, I have," said Mr. Hugh. "Shrubbery too close to the lines could be hazardous."

"Not as bad as hanging icicles, is it?" asked Peter Sam anxiously.

"That depends on how strong the tree or branches are, Peter Sam," explained Mr. Hugh. "But rest assured, the line should be clear by the time the first train of the day passes through that area. Rusty, you are to clear away some of the branches."

"Yes, Mr. Hugh," smiled the little diesel. "Happy to help out."

The engines all quickly set off to work. Rusty had brought up some trucks to help clear away the cuttings of branches and brambles.

"What do you think we'll do with these branches once they're cleared away?" he asked his driver.

"Probably get them put on one of Henry's log trains to go to the timber mill," she explained. "This lot can be used for all kinds of things. Furniture, building materials, maybe even new sleepers to repair our rails one day."

"Good plan," smiled Rusty. "Maybe we should talk about this with Mr. Percival and Sir Topham Hatt."

Unfortunately, Rusty could only carry a few trucks at a time, which meant the line wasn't completely clear. Peter Sam came puffing up the line with the first passenger train of the day.

"The weather will be cooler before we know it," Peter Sam was saying to Ada, Jane, Mabel and Cora. "But I'll take you out as much as possible before then."

"I'm likely to be used more often for runs like this," said Cora. "Can't have a train without a brake van, after all."

"Indeed not," chuckled Jane. "Something which you and Beatrice make perfectly clear in the evenings."

"It's a good thing we do have you around though," said Ada. "We weren't exactly given a guard's van when we were built."

"That was a lucky break when you were found," said Mabel.

The quintet were so engrossed in conversation, they didn't see what was happening on the track, until…

"Ouch!" yelped Peter Sam as he felt something prickly under his wheels. His driver and firewoman jumped down to see what had happened.

"Well, bless me!" exclaimed the driver. "Look at all these branches, Ellie!"

"We'll never get through that," sighed the firewoman. "Not with Peter Sam in a tangle right now."

"But what about our passengers?" asked Peter Sam. "We'll never make it to the lake and back in time for James!"

"Can you move?" asked the driver. "Or do we need a bus to help us with the passengers?"

"I'll try my best," said Peter Sam. "It's just a couple of branches under my wheels."

But that proved to be easier said than done; although a few branches easily moved aside, there was an area where the branches turned to brambles.

"OUCH!" Peter Sam cried, much louder than he did the first time. Before he knew it, the little green engine found himself stuck in the brambles, completely unable to move forwards or backwards.

"Oh, that's torn it!" groaned the driver. "We definitely need a bus now." They rushed back to the nearest phone booth to call up Wendy, while the firewoman checked Peter Sam over.

"We'll have to get the breakdown train, I'm afraid," she sighed. "Your valve gear's all jammed up."

It wasn't long before Rusty came with more trucks to clear away the rest of the branches and brambles, and Sir Handel brought up the breakdown train. Duncan came to clear away the empty coaches.

"Maybe ye should take a snowplow next time!" laughed Duncan.

"It's early autumn!" grunted Peter Sam, but he was cut off by a wince of pain.

"They're just little branches," insisted Duncan. "Nothin' to get prickly about, surely!"

"Let's get you back to the Steamworks," Sir Handel said quietly, and he and Rusty both shot a dark glare at the yellow well tank engine.

"I'll come in and check on you later, Peter Sam," said Rusty. "Sorry I couldn't clear all the branches in time."

"You were doing your best, Rusty," smiled Peter Sam weakly. "It was my own fault. I just didn't want to be late for the connection, that's all. At least they'll still get there by bus."

"You were thinking of the passengers," replied Rusty, smiling back at him. "That's very admirable despite your reckless actions."

Peter Sam blushed at those words as he and Sir Handel departed.

Called it. Sir Handel gave a small smirk to himself.

With Peter Sam's absence, the other engines had to pick up the slack. However, much to the group's surprise, Sir Handel wasn't complaining.

"That must have been painful," he was saying to Skarloey at the middle station.

"I've had brambles jammed in my valve gear before," Skarloey admitted. "Definitely not a pleasant experience."

"I just hope that that will be the last of those branches we'll have to see for a while," sighed Sir Handel. "And I hope Peter Sam will be okay."

"Stuart? Oh, he'll be fine," said Duke when he came in with a goods train. "You're both fighters, Falcon. I'm proud of how far you've come in the years I wasn't here."

"Thank you, Granpuff," smiled Sir Handel proudly. "Though we have indeed missed you for these years we've been apart."

"Well, things have gotten better," said Skarloey. "And I hope things stay that way."

As more time went by, the weather changed, and it became stormy outside one night.

"Ooh!" shuddered Rusty. "It's a big one tonight."

"A-aye," stammered Duncan. "Er… it's nothin' though. Not scary."

"Are you afraid of the storm, Duncan?" teased Sir Handel.

"Ye were practically jumpin' out of yer paint during one a couple o' years ago!" the yellow engine retorted.

There was an uncomfortable silence at that, but Skarloey and Rheneas glanced between Sir Handel and Duke and back again.

"Are we right in assuming there was a deeper meaning to yours and Peter Sam's fears of storms, Sir Handel?" asked Rheneas.

"We thought Duke would get hurt in a storm due to lack of maintenance on his shed," said Sir Handel quietly.

Rusty and Duncan stared in shock at Sir Handel. Due to his and Peter Sam's secrecy of Duke for so long, and the fact that Mr. Hockings had threatened to scrap Duke so much as he would be mentioned in his presence, that did make a lot of sense.

"That's not happening now, Falcon," Duke said softly. "I'm right here, and I'm safe. Besides, it would take a lot more than that to keep me away from you and Stuart forever."

Sir Handel gave a small smile at Duke's words and started to go to sleep despite the loud noises outside.

The next morning, Peter Sam returned to work with the brambles cleared away from his valve gear, but he was still feeling quite sore from his encounter.

"That's the last time I'll go near a tree," he muttered.

"Glad to see you're back, Peter Sam," smiled Rusty. "I think Mr. Percival wanted you to take the next passenger train."

"Oh, that would be nice," he replied. "Ooh… so long as my pain doesn't kick in too much."

"Do you think you'll be fine?" asked Rusty.

"I think I will," Peter Sam sighed. "Pity there's no such thing as a painkiller for engines…"

"If you do need assistance…" said Rusty.

"That's really sweet of you, Rusty," Peter Sam smiled. "I'll keep that in mind."

Just then, Sir Handel arrived with some slate trucks as Peter Sam went to collect his coaches. "Rusty, Peter Sam, I just heard from Flyer that the heavy rain has caused a few problems for the trees near our line."

"This is all we need," groaned Peter Sam.

"How bad is it?" asked Rusty.

"Apparently, the soil is so damp that it may crumble down the hill," Sir Handel explained.

"Sounds like the trees can jump out at us," shuddered Rusty.

"Jumpin' trees?" asked Duncan when he came in with another rack of slate trucks. "Now Ah've heard everythin'!"

"Not that kind of jumping, Duncan," sighed Rusty, rolling his eyes.

"I don't think it's worth trying to explain this to him," muttered Sir Handel to Rusty. "Either way, we'll have to get back to the quarry." He turned his attention back to Duncan. "There's more trucks of slate to collect."

"Ah'm gettin' there before ye!" Duncan raced off.

"Oi, wait up!" cried Sir Handel.

"I don't think I'll be able to race like that for a while," sighed Peter Sam.

"Go steady, Peter Sam," soothed Gertrude. "It's just one step at a time."

"You'll get back into the swing of things eventually," added Millicent.

The little green engine slowly puffed away to Crovan's Gate while Rusty got back to work himself.

Later on, Sir Handel had been the first of himself and Duncan to collect more slate from the quarry and was on his return run.

"Ha! That's one in the headlamp for Duncan," he laughed as he headed towards the hillside. He was so enthralled in his race that he'd forgotten about Flyer's warning.

The soil on the hill was starting to give away due to the heavy rainfall from the previous night, and on top of it was a tree that had lost its leaves. It started to slowly slip down the hillside.

"What in the world…" gasped Sir Handel. "Driver, brakes!"

Sir Handel skidded along the line as his brakes were applied, with the weight of the trucks pushing him on. Unfortunately, it wasn't quite enough, as he hit one of the lower hanging branches.

"Ouch!" he yelped. "My eye!" Despite being almost blinded in one eye, the blue engine was able to see that he had stopped just before running straight into the soil keeping the tree upright.

"Oh, help!" cried Sir Handel. "Go away, you stupid tree!"

But of course, talking to a tree was about as helpful as talking to a brick wall. Sir Handel tried backing away, but the weight of the trucks on a downward slope kept him from doing so.

"Help!" he cried again, whistling a long blast, followed by two short ones.

Just a short way down the line, Peter Sam was waiting at the station with Gertrude and Millicent.

"Sir Handel!" he cried, giving two long blasts of his own whistle as his driver uncoupled him. "Girls, I'll be right back."

Peter Sam hurried off to see what the emergency was. When he got to the site, he gently buffered up to the brake van.

"I'm here!" the green engine called to Sir Handel as he was coupled up.

"Peter Sam, am I glad to see you," sighed Sir Handel. "I don't think that tree will stand up for much longer!"

"Okay, back up!" Peter Sam said urgently and he immediately began to pull the train. Sir Handel likewise started pushing.

The two engines' wheels slipped a few times, but it was thankful the trucks didn't play any tricks. And it wasn't long before Peter Sam managed to pull Sir Handel clear of the tree… just in time! The tree fell towards their direction and landed on the ground with a loud crash!

"That was a close one," gasped Sir Handel.

"Are you alright, Sir Handel?" asked Peter Sam in concern.

"A branch hit me," Sir Handel admitted. "It wasn't directly in my eye, but it still stings."

"Oh… I'm not sure what the Steamworks can do about a hurt eye," Peter Sam said quietly.

It wasn't long before Mr. Hugh received word about the fallen tree on the line.

"And right before the Christmas season too," he sighed, walking towards Flyer. "We'd better get that tree cut down to logs as soon as possible."

The engines all got word about the incident that evening.

"Well done, Peter Sam," smiled Rheneas. "You were very brave."

"Just helping a friend, that's all," replied Peter Sam. "Er, speaking of which, where is Sir Handel anyway?"

"I'm not coming outside if that's what you're thinking!" called a voice from inside the sheds.

"Why not?" asked Skarloey. "Did you get hurt by the tree and can't work for a while?"

"No, it's not that!" insisted Sir Handel. "I look silly!"

"Whatever is the matter, Falcon?" asked Duke. "You look like you always do. Come on out!"

Sir Handel groaned nervously. "Alright, but promise me you won't laugh…" Slowly, the blue engine puffed out of the sheds and into the open. He did look like his usual self, as Duke had noted, but there was something different about his face…

"Is that an eyepatch you're wearing?" asked Rheneas.

"Unfortunately, yes!" grunted Sir Handel. "My crew laughed and said I look like a pirate!"

"Perhaps we should call ye Captain Handel from now on," joked Duncan.

"Duncan!" snapped Peter Sam. "He didn't want us to laugh."

"Okay, goodness me…"

"Don't worry, Sir Handel, your eye will heal soon," Peter Sam soothed. "Then you won't have to wear that anymore."

"Thanks, Peter Sam," smiled the blue engine weakly.

"You know," said Rusty, "you two make a fine pair. Peter Sam had the brambles, and you had the tree."

"Well… I suppose you do have a point, Rusty," Sir Handel finally managed to crack a smile.

"Indeed," agreed Peter Sam, and they lightly chuckled at their own experiences.

"Let's hope that's the last time we have to deal with falling trees this year," sighed Duke. "Or anything to do with them at all for that matter."

"Aside from Christmas, of course," Rusty remarked.

But all the same, despite Peter Sam's protests, Duncan did continue to mock Sir Handel about the eyepatch, and he slowly started to become puffed up in his smokebox. But I'm afraid his comeuppance won't be for a while…

THE END?

Author's Comments

Here's the latest episode out of Series 5 Redux, being a very loose adaptation of James and the Trouble with Trees, mixed in with elements of Peter Sam and the Prickly Problem and Sir Handel Comes Home. (For those wondering, the visits to the Talyllyn Railway don't happen in the Seventyverse.) As previously established, Rachel and I have made Flying Bedstead (a.k.a. Flyer) the original number seven on the Skarloey Railway, to explain how Duke became number eight. This is the second episode of this redux that is set completely on the Skarloey Railway, and well as the sixth to diverge a lot from the original episode - the others being Toby and the Washout, Rumors and Speculation, Mavis and the Lorries, The Old Warrior and Don't Fear the Scrapper. Thus far, that's almost half of the original series five being diverged from, and there will be at least a few more episodes to follow this pattern.

Upcoming stories:

- Deep Freeze

- Something in the Air

- Put Upon Percy

- Oliver Takes the Post

- Make Someone Happy