Chapter One: Who Will Pull the Express?

It was one bright sunny day on the Island of Sodor. The sun shined more radiant than ever as no clouds seem to be on the blue blanket sky. It was a hectic day as all the engines had more work than usual. Some engines even had to help other engines on delivering trucks to and from The Mainland. Many passengers came from The Mainland as it was Summer, and many families find Sodor a beautiful destination to have a holiday. All the engines worked very hard for the North Western Railway. They have all proven to be useful except for one engine.

That engine was struggling to pull the express for the past five days as his axles ached badly whenever he puffed down the track as he tried to catch his breath. This caused the engine to go much slower than usual as he didn't want to feel agony or panting after pulling lots of coaches. However, this resulted in many confusions and delays as the passengers arrived late and were all rather cross about it. They even phoned the boss of the railway as they complained, saying how terrible the railway was and that the engine wasn't going as fast as they were promised. Even the engine's driver and fireman reported about the engine's poor condition.

The boss ended up getting so many complaints that he knew that the engine was not only overworked, but something was wrong with him. Even though the boss wanted his engine to be examined and fixed, there was one question that lingered in his head as he knew that the railway was way busier than usual, and most engines had their roles set in stone. The question was, who would pull the express?

…

At Knapford Station, a large blue steam engine with the No. 4 imprinted on the tenders puffed into the station slowly as every move he made; he would wince in agony. He looked very miserable as he had baggy eyes, and he made a huge frown upon his lips. He looked so terrible that he had troubled to focus on when to stop. After a minute of adjusting his position to park at the right spot, his driver and fireman hopped out of the cab as the driver headed to the boss's office while the fireman went to check up on the poor blue engine, "There, there, Gordon.", he spoke softly as he hopped onto his running plate while trying to soothe him, "You should be sorted shortly."

However, Gordon glared as he acted stubborn as a mule, "Hmph! There's nothing with me!", he huffed, "I'm fine, and I must pull the express train!"

This made his fireman frowned as he replied truthfully, "No, you're not, Gordon. You're not feeling well, and you barely have some well-earned rest."

Before Gordon could argue back, he and his fireman heard footsteps coming as they both looked at a slightly overweight man with a suit and a top hat covering his bald hair. It was none other than The Fat Controller as he looked concerned, yet he kept his smile as best as he could, "Hello Gordon.", he greeted him as then started to talk seriously yet in a kind tone, "I'm afraid that I've been getting many complaints from passengers, telling me how bad the railway is."

This made Gordon both cross and upset. Whenever he pulled the express, many passengers praised him or thanked him. He even liked it when the children would cheer for him whenever he sped down the track. However, he did notice that he didn't get any cheers nor praises for the past five days as he did passengers whispering behind his back. A few passengers gave him a harsh glare, "Probably the passengers aren't pleased as I'm the only one pulling the express.", he grumbled as he rolled his eyes, trying to avoid looking at his boss.

The Fat Controller knew that Gordon did make a point as he was the only one pulling the express, but it was no excuse for the passengers' behaviour as they were his top priority, and he didn't want the passengers to feel let down. With that, The Fat Controller sighed as he replied as he began to speak a bit firmly, "Now Gordon. I can see your point, but your driver and fireman had told me that you're going too slow and that you seem to be in a lot of pain whenever you go."

Gordon knew that he was right as his axles hurt him, and just pulling the express coaches was too much for him to bear. What's more, he barely has time to get some sleep as he did both day and night shifts. This made him so lethetic that he couldn't focus on what's ahead of him, causing him to have many near accidents from not stopping at the junction on time to stopping at the wrong area. With that being mentioned, Gordon knew that he needed to be examined and get some rest. However, there was one question in his head that made him rather worried, "But Sir, who would take the express?", he asked as he whined like a lost puppy, "Rebecca and Henry are at The Mainland while James is helping Edward and Nia at Brendam Docks. There's no other engine that can pull the express."

The Fat Controller knew that Gordon was the type to worry about his important job, considering he pulls the express most of his life, and he preferred that job over other jobs unless it's deemed "very important". However, The Fat Controller still doesn't know who would take Gordon's place temporarily until he's fully repaired, "I don't know, Gordon", he replied honestly, "But until I find someone who can take your role, you must go to The Steamworks right away!"

This made Gordon glare at The Fat Controller as he didn't like getting answers or getting told at the last minute, and it didn't help that he was feeling irritable due to lack of sleeping, "But Sir! If no one can pull the express, then I'll still do it!", he grumbled.

"Now Gordon, you know that you're not feeling well, and if you continue to work, it will take longer for you to be fixed.", The Fat Controller boomed, "Now go to The Steamworks right away!"

"But Sir…", Gordon whined.

"No buts.", The Fat Controller cut the large blue engine's sentence as he pointed to the direction of where The Steamworks was, "Now please go and get fixed."

Gordon knew he had no choice but to obey as he knew that The Fat Controller was truly worried about his condition and that The Fat Controller could tell that Gordon's attitude was horrible. With that, Gordon puffed up steam in sadness and defeat as he replied sadly, "Yes Sir, and sorry Sir."

"That's a good engine.", The Fat Controller smiled gently as he was pleased that Gordon listened and apologised for his behaviour, "I'll let you know as soon as I can on who will take your role temporarily."

With that, Gordon's driver and fireman hopped inside his cab as his driver patted him, "Come on, Gordon!", he exclaimed, "Time for you to be examined!"

There, Gordon whistled loudly as he puffed slowly to The Steamworks. Just getting there was already torture to him as he felt old and useless. He knew that Edward and Henry get issues once in a while, but Gordon had never expected this to occur. The last time Gordon needed to be fully repaired was when he was convinced that he was going to be scrapped due to making rattling noise while puffing down the track and making awful noises. With that, he knew that he need to be repaired, no matter what circumstances the situation was.

…

After what felt like an eternity, Gordon finally arrived at The Steamworks, and it was nearly one in the afternoon. Once he arrived at his destination, he caught his breath as he sighed in relief that he didn't have to travel any further. As he entered inside the facility, he spotted a red narrow gauge saddle tank engine with yellow and black stripe buffers and a brass headlamp on his head as he greeted the exhausted engine warmly, "Hola, Gordon! What can I do to help you?"

"Well, Victor…", he sighed as he tried his best to ignore the pain, "For the past five days, my axles have been aching, and I can't catch my breath every time I pull the express. I honestly don't know what's wrong with me, and more importantly, will I get to pull the express again?"

Victor understood the large blue engine's problem, but he couldn't help but had a light chuckle when Gordon asked if he would be able to pull the express again. Gordon didn't like how Victor chuckled as he felt insulted. This caused Gordon to growl as he was so agitated, and he couldn't stand a joke or a simple laugh.

When Victor saw Gordon's irritated expression and heard his growl, he made a heartfelt apology as he answered his question, "Sorry about that, amigo, but don't worry. You'll be able to pull the express again once you are finished examined and being repaired."

This made Gordon feel a little bit better, but he wanted to know how long he would have to stay until he was fixed, "Victor? Do you know how long I would be here by rough estimate?"

"I don't know.", Victor replied, "But I can assure you that you won't be here forever. Now, let's get you examined right away. Kevin!"

When Victor cried out a name, a small yellow crane appeared as he stuttered while speaking in a cheerful tone, "Y-yes boss?"

"Please fetch me some tools so the workers can start to examination!", he requested while shouting.

"Right away, boss!", Kevin replied as he swirled around until he accidentally crashed into a pile of stack metals.

This made Victor closed his eyes in both sadness and annoyance while Gordon groaned. While Kevin got back on track and got the tools for the workers, Gordon was loaded to a crane holder so the workers can have a better perception to examine every part of him while his tender was left aside. As he was being examined, Gordon looked outside as he sighed in sadness. Who would take the express?

…

Meanwhile, back in The Fat Controller's office, The Fat Controller was trying to contact every boss from different railways in hopes to find someone suitable to take a temporary role for Gordon. This was proven to be more difficult as he felt so stressed out. As he looked at all the other boss's contact that he didn't call, the phone rang. This made The Fat Controller fell off his chair as it came unexpectedly. Once he got up and fixed up his hat, he picked up the phone, "Hello?"

"Hello, Bertram.", the caller replied, "I heard that you needed an engine to take a temporary role for one of your engines to pull the express and luckily, I have one engine available that would suit best."

This made The Fat Controller pleased as he knew that he has at least some engine to help his railway for a bit until Gordon was better. With that, he asked one simple question, "And who's that engine?"

When the caller replied with the answer, The Fat Controller grinned from ear to ear, and he knew that not only that engine was strong and useful, but that was well known, especially from Gordon. When The Fat Controller thanked the caller, he hung up the phone as he looked at the window and sighed happily, "Well, at least Gordon can see someone he hasn't seen for quite some time."