Chapter 1: The Engines' Rebellion

Written by Rachel Ravens, James Riddles and Zack Wanzer

The newest engines of the North Western fleet, Donald and Douglas had been very well meaning and hard working twins. Unfortunately, the Fat Controller had only been expecting one engine, and he was planning on sending one of them back…

He had been in his office when the phone rang, and he picked it up. "Hello?"

"Hullo, surr. This is th' controller fae th' scottish region."

"Oh, good morning," said the Fat Controller, a bit surprised but composed himself quickly. "What can I do for you?"

"A've bin searching fur an engine that haes gaen aff oor records fur a few weeks noo," replied the other controller.

"Really?" asked the Fat Controller. "What is this engine's name?"

"He does nae hae yin, bit his nummber is 57647."

"I see…" The Fat Controller nodded thoughtfully. "57646 is here, but we did get another engine. And they lost their numbers."

There was a grunt from the other end, and a slight tap on the table. "57646 haes a gruffer sounding voice," said the other controller, "57647 is th' gentler sounding yin."

"That's what I needed to know," said the Fat Controller. "Thank you for your time."

He hung up the phone, and ventured out of the office. He hoped he could do this quietly, as it was no secret the engines were very fond of the twins.

Duck had shunted a rack of coaches to the platform for Rebecca's train, and was just going back to the yards to get some more coaches for Gordon.

"Hey, Douglas?" called Duck as he returned to the yard. "Could you please get some trucks for Merlin's goods train?"

But much to his surprise, Duck couldn't find any sign of the Scottish engine.

"Maybe he's at the water tower." he guessed, and he puffed along. But as he rounded the bend, he heard something which made his firebox run cold.

"Douglas, I had just gotten a call from your controller!"

"What the…" Duck panted, hiding behind some coaches in a siding.

"Er… aye, surr…" stammered Douglas, not quite sure what to say. "Did he wantae see how we wur gaun?"

"He said that engine No. 57647 has gone missing from the Scottish Region records for weeks!" the Fat Controller said crossly. "And he's also told me that you had a more gentle voice than your twin."

Douglas gulped in shock. Oor plan fell apairt, he thought anxiously. Och, how come did ah ever think this wis aff tae wirk?

"I will not have engines playing truant on my railway," he went on. "Douglas, I want you to go back to where you came from."

"Bit… bit…" Douglas panted. "Ah cannae dae that. Donnie 'n' ah ur twins, sur."

"Leave!" The Fat Controller demanded.

With tears streaming down his face, Douglas puffed away. Duck was utterly horrified.

"No!" gasped Duck. "This isn't fair." Immediately, he rushed into Tidmouth station and gave a special signal; one long blast from his whistle, followed by two short ones.

Donald, who was at the coal tower, and Edward, who had just come in with some passengers from the Wellsworth branch, both came over to the pannier tank engine.

"Duck, what's wrong?" asked Edward.

"It's Douglas," he said, and quickly told them what happened, Donald's expression becoming pale.

"Losh sakes!" he gasped. "Mah brother! Oor controller wull scrap him whin he gets back."

Now it was Edward and Duck's turn to have pale faces.

"We cannot allow it!" exclaimed Edward.

"Edward, you go after Douglas," Duck said urgently; Edward was off before Duck spoke again. "Donald, come with me. We'll assemble the other engines for an indignation meeting."

"Aye, Dook," Donald agreed, and they raced off.

Edward, meanwhile, was puffing along as fast as he could. It wasn't nearly as bad as when James raced off without a driver, but he still knew how urgent this was.

"Douglas!" he cried at the top of his voice. "Douglas, please stop!"

The Scottish engine looked back in surprise. "Edward, whit urr ye daein'?"

"Donald told Duck and I what would happen to you if you went back," explained the blue engine, "and we're not going to let that fate befall you."

"Ye'r nae?" he asked, finally braking to a halt. "Bit Edward, ah dinnae really belong 'ere."

"The other engines would tell you otherwise," Edward replied, his eyes becoming gentle as he halted next to him. "We promise we'll keep you and Donald safe at all costs."

Douglas was touched by Edward's words, his eyes looked like they were about to leak tears.

"Come with me to my branch line," Edward told him gently, "And I promise we won't let the Fat Controller near you until he sees sense."

Douglas gave a small smile. "Thank yer, Edward."

Both tender engines puffed away down the branch line when they got to Wellsworth junction.

"Follow me to Brandam," said Edward as they headed down the line. "I know where we can hide you until the time is right."

While all that was going on, Duck and Donald swiftly rounded up the rest of the engines on the North Western at the turntable. Donald was in no shape to lead the meeting, so Duck puffed onto the turntable and quickly explained the story.

"Disgraceful!" spluttered Gordon.

"Disgusting!" put in James.

"Despicable!" fumed Henry. "Especially after what his father did to have me rebuilt too!"

"Not to mention allowing Henrietta to stay here," added Toby. "When he heard she was going to be a henhouse, he didn't question my choice any further."

"And Emily, Flora and I were found and restored to working order," added Wilson. "Em and I hadn't been used since the S&M closed in 1910 before we were rediscovered."

"How can the Fat Controller condone this?" asked Neville quietly. Charlie blinked in confusion.

"It means to allow something morally wrong or offensive," elaborated Emily. "I just… can't believe our controller would break apart a family…"

Donald had tears streaming down his eyes. "We've git tae save Douggie somehow. Ah coudnae bare tae be parted fae him."

"Yes, but how do we do it?" asked Rosie.

Before any of the engines could ask or comment on something else, a booming voice interrupted the meeting.

"What in Sodor's name is going on here?!" demanded the Fat Controller. "The trains are being delayed and there's passengers complaining at Tidmouth station!"

"What is going on here?" Thomas spoke, his voice dangerously calm. "What, is that the best question you can come up with?! We are discussing the issues of a broken family! Donald and Douglas are twins, separating them is like separating the coal from a fire!"

The Fat Controller was taken aback by the response he'd been given.

"How could you?" growled Porter. "I know Douglas made that mistake with the special coach, but he was new to the job. I made that same mistake while filling in for Duck a few months ago, and you forgave me."

"And didn't you listen to Douglas when he was complaining about that brake van?" added Flora. "I saw him struggling past Knapford when I was taking a quarry train up there last week."

"Why bother sending Douglas away anyway?" added Merlin. "You know how much busier the Island can get when we least expect it. Let them both stay."

"I can't do that," insisted The Fat Controller. "Donald was the only one I legally purchased. But Douglas came here illegally without permission from his controller. Unless I send him back to his own railway, there's a possibility his controller will sue me for theft."

"That's your big excuse for trying to ruin the twins' lives?" snapped Jetta. "All for the sake of saving money? You don't truly care about your engines at all, do you?! All you really care about is making money so you can stuff your face with cream buns! You are a disgrace to the Hatt Family! You do not deserve our respect!"

The Fat Controller stared in absolute shock. He was very proud to be controller of the railway his father had run for many years, but now, all the engines were turning their backs on him.

"I consider this meeting adjourned," said Duck quickly.

With that said, the engines left the sheds. None of them spoke to the Fat Controller. They just gave him cold glares. Thomas was the last one to leave the sheds.

"You have a lot to think about, Mr. Hatt," he scolded, not mentioning his controller by his knighted title. Hearing this made the Fat Controller feel very hurt.

"I was just... doing my job…" he whispered sadly.

On his delayed express run, Gordon met up with Sir Handel at Crovan's Gate.

"Fifteen minutes late, Gordon," Sir Handel grumbled. "What kept you?"

Gordon explained about the situation regarding the Fat Controller and the Scottish Twins. When he had finished, Sir Handel was just as outraged.

"Breaking apart a family?!" he exclaimed. "You're kidding!"

"I wish I were," Gordon confirmed grimly. "To that oaf, making money is more important than thinking about the feelings of your workers."

"I'm glad the Thin Controller doesn't seem to have that mindset," sighed Sir Handel. "Still, I'll get this message to the others. With an indignation meeting like that, I don't blame you for the delay."

That evening, the Fat Controller was still feeling down. "What would you have done about this, father?" he asked to a framed photograph of his father, the previous Fat Controller. "I know you had to deal with Henry, Gordon and James going on strike back in the early 1930s, but this is even bigger than that. I was just about to send Douglas away for arriving here illegally, and now all of my engines - our engines - have turned on me. I feel as though I've let you down, father. I'm so sorry…"

Just then, the Fat Controller heard footsteps coming into the room. He looked up and noticed that it was his wife.

"Charles," she said quietly, "what's the matter? You haven't even touched your dinner."

"My apologies, Amanda," sighed the Fat Controller. "I guess I'm a bit too down to think about food."

"More confusion and delay from the engines," she sighed. "What happened this time? James in a frenzy about goods trains?"

"Not even close." The Fat Controller told Amanda all that had transpired.

"Oh my goodness," she gasped. "This is indeed a very serious dilemma."

"I'm at a loss, darling," continued the Fat Controller. "If you were the one in charge, what would you do if you purchased one engine only for its twin to illegally sneak over with it?"

"I think the best thing to do is let the poor dear stay," insisted Amanda. "Many times, people or engines don't run away from their homes unless there is something wrong that only they know about."

The Fat Controller thought seriously about what his wife had said.

"Well, in that case, I think I'll look around British Railways for a while," he sighed. "I'm not sure what I'm not seeing, but I can't face the engines like this. Amanda, could you and Barbara keep an eye on things here until I get back?"

"Of course, dear," smiled Amanda.

Amanda quickly telephoned her sister-in-law, the colonel's wife, about the situation.

"Gracious!" she gasped. "There's something really serious about this. Thank you for the heads up, Amanda."

"Think nothing of it," replied Amanda. "Let's hope that he sees sense about this whole ordeal so peace can return."

The next day, the mainline engines were getting ready for work as usual. They heard footsteps, but pretended they didn't know who was coming.

"Tell me," Rebecca said casually, "has the Fat Controller gotten a new cat?"

"Oh, perhaps," Merlin commented. "Or maybe a dog has come to say hello."

"Either would be better company than Mr. Hatt," grunted Gordon.

But instead of a new pet, they were greeted by Barbara Jane Hatt. The engines stopped ignoring her at once.

"Good morning, everyone," she greeted.

"Barbara Jane Hatt?!" gasped Henry. "This is a surprise."

"A pleasure to see you, ma'am," smiled Rebecca. She was among the engines who had filled in for the eight famous engines while they were in London - Gordon specifically - and Barbara had been substitute controller.

"I will be in charge of you all for a while," explained Barbara Jane. "My brother will be leaving the Island for a while to rethink his decisions."

The engines all looked at each other.

"Rethink things, ma'am?" asked Duck.

"Your scolding made him think he hadn't been doing a good job as railway controller," Barbara Jane added. "So he's gone to visit British Railways for a while to clear his head."

"Ah sure hawp that git thro'," sighed Donald. "If anythin' ever happened tae Douggie, ah would nae forgive masell."

Barbara stared at the new engine. "What do you mean… er… Donald, was it?"

Donald looked very scared to speak, but Barbara's eyes were gentle, and the rest of the engines looked over at her with trust.

"Th' ither railway," explained Donald. "Thay dinnae lik' steam engines anymair."

"They don't?" she asked quietly. "Why ever not, dear? They are the backbone of a whole railway network."

"Aye," agreed Donald. "Bit ever sin yon diesels cam aboot, thay think we're oot o' date. Noo, mony steam engines ur bein' sent fur…" His voice cracked a bit. "...scrap."

Barbara almost cried at Donald's words. "That can't be true… Oh, Donald… this is why you snuck Douglas over here?"

"Aye," sighed Donald.

"Why didn't you warn us about this from the moment you both arrived?" asked Barbara Jane.

"We… we wur scared…" Donald sobbed. "We dinnae think yer brother wid ken, n' noo, it seems oor theory wis correct."

Barbara Jane put a comforting hand on the Scottish engine's bufferbeam.

"You poor darlings…" she sympathized. She looked over at the engines. "Which of you is the closest to Donald?"

"Duck's been spending the most time with him," said Rebecca. "And Douglas too, for that matter."

"Right then," said Barbara. "Duck, I want you to stay close to Donald for the moment. I will try and see if Amanda and I can find Douglas before it's too late. So long as I'm in charge, both twins are free to stay."

The mainline engines and Duck all looked at each other awkwardly.

"Uh… ma'am, about that…" Merlin said quietly. "Did your brother say Douglas left?"

"Y-yes," Barbara stammered. "He said he last saw Douglas puffing away from Tidmouth, crying."

"He didn't get very far," James admitted. "We're not sure if… er… your brother mentioned this, but Edward was absent from the indignation meeting yesterday."

"That's because Duck sent him after Douglas," explained Henry, and he quickly explained about Douglas hiding on Edward's branch line.

"Oh, I understand," Barbara nodded. "In that case, I'll alert Amanda and she'll speak with him while I manage the railway." With that, she set off to find Amanda to let her know what happened and the engines all headed off to work.

Here's yet another alternate story for Donald and Douglas. So far, Hufflepuff Batboy and I have done three of these. One: Donald coming alone [which you can check out on DA if you like]. Two: the CGI mashup with Four Little Engines, (which is the most accurate to the books and/or TV series). Three: [Which was also done with the help of our friend sodormatchmaker] what if Donald hadn't of crashed into the signal box?

The third one may seem insignificant at first, but you have to remember: it's because of Donald's crash that inevitably saved Douglas. Pay attention to this line which Sir Topham Hatt says to Donald.

"I've decided to send Douglas back and keep you. You've upset my arrangements."

Now, with that in mind, I've always wanted to see what it would be like if the engines were to turn on their controller, and nearly sending Douglas away is the perfect candidate. This also shows an indignation meeting taken very seriously for once. Sure, you could say the one in Bowled Out was kind of serious I guess, but the stakes are set very high in this story, considering they invited literally every North Western Railway engine on the island to the meeting.

James, Zack and I also included a role for Amanda Coarie Hatt and Barbara Jane Hatt, Sir Charles Topham Hatt's wife and sister respectively. They take a much gentler approach to the situation and we see Barbara immediately understanding the sadness of the twins' plight. This will come into play for Chapter 2.

In case you're curious as to how each of the TV series characters seen and mentioned in this story got to Sodor, here's some quick descriptions down below. Please note, this is all the characters on Sodor at the time of 1959, so other characters come in later. This does not include off-rail friends or engines owned by private companies, as I've not figured out the former. As for the latter, while there are other private owned companies besides the China Clay works, I've still got a thing or two to sort out there.

- Charlie: Former W&S engine, was Tidmouth's station pilot until around 1934, when he was switched to Edward's branch line.

- Emily: Former S&M engine, her restoration was complete shortly after Edward was sent to be mended following his chase with James.

- Neville: Came during WW2 and did such a great performance on Sodor he was kept.

- Flora: Discovered as a stationary boiler on Toby's old tramway in East Anglia then restored to working condition just in time for Toby to be sent to be repaired [Double Header]. Fun fact, Flora's coach is Hannah.

- Merlin: Following Neville's transfer to the Kirk Ronan branch no thanks to Diesel's failed trials, Sodor needed another goods engine immediately. Merlin was purchased.

- Wilson/Whiff: Discovered by Edward when he found an old shed at Crock's Scrapyard. Rebuilt into an LNER J72 tank engine.

- Rebecca: Called to take the express after the triple header broke down [Triple Header is placed in 1959, by the way]. Fun fact, Rebecca filled in for Gordon during the 'Fat Controllers' Engines' excursion to London.

- Harvey: Purchased by Sir Topham Hatt in 1927 to help keep Crovans Gate works in order.

- Porter and Rosie: They got hand-in-hand. They both came at the same time to fill in for Duck and Percy respectively when they broke down during Triple Header. Rosie is now on the Ffarquhar Branch helping Percy with goods trains and Porter works at Brandam Docks. Rosie filled in for Duck during the 'Fat Controller's Engines' excursion to London.

- Jetta (Magazine character): She was one of the engines who Sir Bertram Topham Hatt's brother, Mr. Earnest Lowham Hatt, found for sale while he was travelling, and gave the details to his brother. She eventually is privately owned by the Search and Rescue Center, freeing the 11 spot for Oliver.