Stephanie was just sitting in Sir Topham Hatt's office as he was doing work, just doing some homework that she needed to do for the next week since it was due.
A few times, Stephanie would push her hair back from her face and continue with what she was doing.
She would even push her glasses into place at times, too.
After the last page of her homework was finished, Stephanie placed the pages back into her binder and back into her backpack, thinking to herself of what she could do next after finishing her homework.
The phone rang, and Stephanie perked before smirking gently to herself as she counted with her fingers, hearing an 'Oh, bother that telephone…' when she got to the three-minute mark.
A soft giggle came from her after waiting for the response from Sir Topham Hatt about the telephone.
Then, she decided to listen a little to the conversation from him.
Although she did want to carve something in some wood, Stephanie denied that in her mind with worry.
Because it would leave a mess on the ground without anything to catch the shavings and get her into trouble with Sir Topham Hatt.
"Oh, hello!" Stephanie snapped out of her thoughts when she heard Sir Topham Hatt's voice, listening to the conversation from him. "Mr. Richards?"
A soft, confused expression appeared on her face when she heard the name 'Mr. Richards,' thinking that it was one of Sir Topham Hatt's friendly conductors.
"It has been years!" Stephanie continued to listen to Sir Topham Hatt, feeling curious by the minute. "How are you?"
The call lasted a few minutes, but Stephanie heard something about 'coming to visit' and 'won't take too long.'
After it finished, Sir Topham Hatt stood up from his chair, and Stephanie asked, "Who's Mr. Richards?"
Somehow, Stephanie's curious question seemed to startle Sir Topham Hatt as he flinched, turning around and noticing that it was her.
"Oh," he sighed, placing a hand on his chest. "You startled me!"
"I'm sorry, Sir." Stephanie sheepishly apologized as she blushed. "I didn't mean to scare you like that."
Sir Topham Hatt chuckled a little after Stephanie apologized to him before assuring her after walking up to her after she stood up from her chair, "It's fine, Stephanie. But I have good news!"
"Is it about this 'Mr. Richards?'" Stephanie asked curiously, cocking her head to the side a little.
"Yes," Sir Topham Hatt nodded his head, usually knowing that Stephanie had listened to his conversation. "Mr. Richards is an old friend of mine and my father before me. It has been a long time since meeting him at the Culdee Fell Railway. I think you would like to see him and his railway!"
"I sure do!" Stephanie excitedly smiled as she gently knocked her knuckles together. "The railway sounds like an impressive place to be at!"
Sir Topham Hatt nodded her head in agreement and led Stephanie outside as she followed behind him with curiosity and excitement.
But before she could leave, Stephanie picked up her backpack from next to her chair, placing it on her back as she followed.
She had never heard of the Culdee Fell Railway but felt excited about what the locomotives looked like there.
Stephanie even wonders to herself about what the railway would look like too!
Once they were standing outside Sir Topham Hatt's office, Stephanie felt confused about what they were waiting for until Gordon appeared at the station.
Stephanie remembers the last time she tried boarding Gordon's coaches when he appeared at the docks, thinking that the same person would be there and push her again.
But, to her luck, the same man was not there standing near where they were.
Just to clarify, Stephanie took Sir Topham Hatt's hand in worrying about repeating the same incident again.
Sir Topham Hatt glanced over at Stephanie after feeling her take his hand but went back to what he was doing, knowing that she felt a little uncomfortable with all the people standing around her.
The guards opened the doors, and most of the workers, allowing people to step out from the coaches as new people stepped inside.
Stephanie felt a little crowded as people entered Gordon's coaches before sitting in a seat next to Sir Topham Hatt, still holding his hand with the worry of accidentally separating.
Once everyone was seated, the doors closed, and the whistle blew as Gordon did the same with his whistle.
Gordon puffed forward, and the coaches behind him did the same, following behind him as he exited the station.
Stephanie felt half worried about crashing, but with the assuring grip of Sir Topham Hatt's hand, Stephanie's post-traumatic stress disorder died down a little.
However, there were still bits of her anxiety mingling into her post-traumatic stress disorder.
Gordon stopped at Crosby after a few minutes passed, and his passengers were dropped off there before picking up new passengers as Stephanie watched with curiosity.
Mostly, Stephanie liked the ride, feeling the rocking and the gentle tremors of the rails.
It felt like she was in her mother's arms again, gently rocked back and forth as a gentle song was singing from her.
As much as Stephanie wanted to think more about her parents, she shook her head a little and went back to reality.
However, Sir Topham Hatt seemed to notice a slight change to Stephanie's personality as she sat next to him, seeing that she remembered something from her past, but shook it off and went back to reality.
Did she remember something in her past about her family?
Instead of asking her what she saw, Sir Topham Hatt instead went silent, deciding to have a conversation with Dowager Hatt once they got back from the Culdee Fell Railway.
Once the new passengers were seated in their seats, Gordon heard the guard's whistle and whistled in return before exiting Crosby.
During the ride, Gordon stopped at Wellsworth, dropping off passengers and picking up new ones, hearing the whistle from the conductor.
Gordon returned with his whistle and puffed out of the station.
Stephanie thought to herself about Gordon, wondering how long Gordon had been working on the mainline, watching as he stopped at Maron, Cronk, and Kildane.
Once they had stopped at Kildane, Sir Topham Hatt suddenly stood up, causing Stephanie to stand up too.
"Is this our stop?" Stephanie politely asked.
Sir Topham Hatt nodded his head after Stephanie asked him as they stepped off from Gordon's coaches.
"Yes, now we are going to ride in James' coaches to Kirk Machan." Sir Topham Hatt explained to her as Stephanie nodded her head in agreement.
They waited for James to come as they stood on the platform before hearing, "Herrrre's James!"
Stephanie smiled after noticing James as his passengers exited out of his coaches, looking a little bumped up.
"Again, James?" Sir Topham Hatt mumbled to himself. "I'll have a conversation with him later."
Stephanie giggled a little after Sir Topham Hatt mumbled before boarding James' coaches.
It was a little tighter than Gordon's coaches, but it was enough for him and her to fit inside without having to be stuffed inside.
Once Sir Topham Hatt, Stephanie, and everyone else was in James' coaches, James hears his guard's whistle and whistled in return before exiting the station.
Unlike in Gordon's coaches, James puffed a little quicker than him and caused his coaches to be jostled a little, as Stephanie flinched a little.
Sir Topham Hatt looked unamused after being jostled a little but had a hand on Stephanie's chest from being accidentally flung forward.
The ride to Kirk Machan station was a little jostling and bumpy, but Stephanie enjoyed it, other than Sir Topham Hatt, who made a mental note to speak to James.
Once they had reached the station, like last time, James screeched into the station instead of slowing down like Gordon, causing Stephanie to yelp a little as belongs went flying.
"Ohh, James." Sir Topham Hatt hissed, removing his hand from Stephanie's chest after protecting her from being flung forward.
Stephanie shakily chuckled a little after Sir Topham Hatt hissed, never seeing him this annoyed about an engine screeching instead of slowing down, but was worried about being in the way.
As they exited his coaches, Stephanie paused a little as she looked around at where they were, seeing that they were almost close to a mountain.
"The railway is a mountain?" Stephanie asked, her voice sounding surprised.
"Yes, and climbers climb up there." James nodded, mentioning to climbers that have stepped out of his coaches. "Even the engines that work there too!"
'Holy moly, that's brave of them!' Stephanie thought to herself, looking up at the mountain from Sir Topham Hatt and James.
While Sir Topham Hatt was lightly scolding James for screeching into the station without slowing down, Stephanie was staring at the mountains with curiosity, wondering what type of locomotives had worked there.
But Stephanie paused a little from looking away from the mountain, noticing that there was something... purple coming down the rails on the side.
'What's that?' Stephanie thought to herself as she lifted a hand up over her eyes, squinting more to get a better look at what it was.
She took a step forward to look more to the mountain to see what was the purple object coming down from the side before hearing, "Excuse me?"
Stephanie flinched after hearing a voice from someone behind her before looking over to see who spoke.
To her surprise, it was a locomotive, but a little different from the narrow gauge engines or the minis.
The locomotive is painted in the same color as the one from the mountain.
The locomotive's basis was a Snowdon Mountain Railway's Snowdon, which is an unusual basis Stephanie had seen before.
The locomotive is painted purple with an orange lining, with the number four painted on the sides and back of his cab in yellow.
He has a red nameplate with a gold border on each side of his tanks with the name 'Culdee' on them, also in gold.
"Who are you?" he asked, cocking a little to the side. "And what are you doing standing here alone?"
"'Alone?'" Stephanie asked in confusion, turning around only to see that Sir Topham Hatt was not standing behind her, scolding James. "Oh, not again."
Stephanie gently facepalmed herself with irritation at the fact that she was accidentally forgotten again.
"What do you mean 'not again?'" he asked with confusion. "Were you with someone?"
Stephanie turned back around to the locomotive and said, answering his question, "Yes, I was with Sir Topham Hatt. Do you know where he went?"
He paused a little after Stephanie asked before answering, "No, not really."
Stephanie softly groaned after he answered, facepalming again as she rubbed her nose bridge from underneath her glasses.
"But I can help you find Sir Topham Hatt!" he perked with a gentle smile on his face. "Do you know what does he look like?"
Stephanie perked from the little locomotive's gentleness before nodding her head, describing, "He is a stout gentleman with no hair, brown eyes, and wears a uniform, almost like Mr. Percival."
He nodded after Stephanie explained to him as his cab door opened as his fireman stepped out to her.
"I think I do know where Mr. Percival is with him." he smiled. "Climb aboard."
Stephanie smiled and allowed his driver to pick her up from the ground before boarding his cab.
Once he was inside, his driver placed Stephanie back down and went to start him up as he whistled his whistle and puffed away from the station.
As he was puffing away, Stephanie glanced back at the mountain to see if the locomotive was still there.
But to her confusion, it was not there anymore.
Without asking the locomotive or his driver or fireman, Stephanie instead went silent as she stayed in the cab with her arms around his driver's legs for protection, watching as he puffed down the line.
"Oh, I forgot to ask," the locomotive said as Stephanie glanced over to him. "What's your name?"
"Stephanie," Stephanie answered with a smile. "Stephanie Allen. You?"
"My name is Culdee." he smiled politely. "Although, I thought you were this Sir Topham Hatt's daughter."
Stephanie chuckled after Culdee asked, saying, "No, I am not his daughter. I am just staying over at his mansion for the time being since… well, accidentally being separated back in America."
Culdee instantly screeched to a halt when he came to the switch box, startling Stephanie as she yelped, moving her hands up a little as his driver placed a hand on her head for protection.
"'Accidentally being separated?'" Culdee repeated with a surprised tone in his voice. "How on earth did it happen?"
Stephanie went silent after Culdee asked, hugging his driver's legs a little more, murmuring, "I… can't remember."'
This seemed to make Culdee a little more confused about her before glancing back at the light, seeing that it had switched to green.
He whistled his whistle and continued down the line, entering a station Stephanie had never seen before.
It was filled with some locomotives almost the same as him but a little different to her curiosity.
Culdee stopped near the shed, and his driver opened his cab door as Stephanie lifted her arms up a bit to let his driver pick her up.
She did not mind it since the last time she was picked up, imagining herself as a rabbit compared to others.
"Wait here as I look for him, okay?" Culdee spoke. "Once I find him, I'll come back over here and pick you up."
Stephanie nodded her head after Culdee explained to her before whistling his whistle and puffing off, leaving Stephanie standing at the shed's entrance.
After Culdee left for a few minutes, a different engine appeared from the corner of her eye, startling her a little.
But she instead relaxed when she noticed it was an engine like Culdee, except a bit different.
His basis is a Snowdon Mountain Railway's No. 4 Snowdon like Culdee, but with side blades.
He is painted in a Chinese-orange with an African-black lining and side blades.
His buffer beams are painted lime-green and gold nameplates with the name 'Chang Tai' and numbers on a black background drop on either side with the number seven.
There was Chinese writing underneath his nameplates, which could either read his name or something else.
"你好!" he greeted Stephanie in Chinese.
Stephanie was hesitant at first but responded to him in Chinese, "嗯, 你好?"
The Chinese locomotive perked after hearing her speak fluently in Chinese, eagerly puffing forward and asked, "你也是中国人吗? 太好了, 您叫什么名字?"
Stephanie smiled a little with nervousness, but eventually answered, "抱歉, 我不是中国人. 但是, 我叫斯蒂芬妮, 斯蒂芬妮·艾伦."
The Chinese locomotive made a mention with his body as if he shrugged, saying as he bowed to her as she did the same thing to him, "可以, 但是很高兴认识你, 斯蒂芬妮! 是什么把你带到了科尔迪费尔铁路?"
"Topham Hatt爵士不小心把我抛在了后面," Stephanie answered as she ducked her head down a little, rubbing the back of her neck with a hand. "我认为这是我的错, 因为我分心了."
The Chinese locomotive paused a little after Stephanie sighed, responding as he spoke in fluent English, "It's not your fault you were separated, Stephanie. It was only an accident, and there was no one to blame."
Despite the accent in his voice, Stephanie was a little surprised at how fluent he spoke.
"谢-谢你, 长泰." Stephanie thanked in Chinese, politely bowing to him.
The Chinese locomotive did the same after Stephanie thanked him in Chinese before noticing a snobbish locomotive was coming over to where they are.
The locomotive's basis was a Snowdon Mountain Railway's No.6 Padarn and, like Culdee, is painted purple with yellow lining.
He has red and gold nameplates with the name 'Lord Harry' and number plates on his sides with the number six.
The locomotive noticed the curious Stephanie, asking, "Chang Tai, where did this little… child come from?"
Stephanie's stomach sank from the tone in his voice, indicating that he does not like her.
The Chinese locomotive, named Chang Tai, huffed with irritation as a large puff of steam came out of his funnel and moved forward.
He was almost acting like a tiger protecting its young from a threat.
"Be nice, Lord Harry," he hissed at the other locomotive's confusion. "She is just here after being accidentally separated from Sir Topham Hatt."
Lord Harry, the pompous locomotive, expression faded into a surprised look as Stephanie ducked her head a little.
"Oh…, do you know where he is?" Lord Harry asked, his voice changing a little more than being irritated.
"No, I do not." Chang Tai answered.
"C-Culdee is searching for him." Stephanie softly stammered, still mentally blaming herself for being distracted.
"Ah, of course!" Lord Harry huffed, rolling his eyes. "Always willing to help everyone around. That Culdee."
"Is there something wrong about Culdee?" Stephanie asked, perking a little.
"No, nothing is wrong about Culdee." Chang Tai chuckled. "He's helpful and very kind! You'll understand what we mean after getting to know him more."
Stephanie nodded her head in agreement and continued standing where Culdee told her to stay.
Chang Tai and Lord Harry went back to work after having a conversation with Stephanie.
She was even confused about how Lord Harry could move backwards without bumping into things, seeing that he was coupled to the front of them.
'Huh, that's weird.' Stephanie thought to herself. 'I thought there were turning tables here.'
She continued watching with curiosity but soon got bored after watching them, wondering how long Culdee was taking.
As much as she wanted to venture around the mountain like the climbers, Stephanie only decided to wait at Culdee's orders.
So she went back to what she was doing, continuing to wait for Culdee to come.
But as Stephanie was waiting, she noticed that logs were lying around the shed, looking like they were not used in a long time.
She paused thoughtfully to herself when she noticed the logs lying around before remembering that she had taken her carving tools with her in her backpack on her back.
So, Stephanie pulled up a clean stump and sat down on it as she took her backpack off from her back.
She pushed her glasses into place and picked up one of the logs on the ground, looking at it thoughtfully to herself.
Stephanie remembers hearing about Mr. Richards and thinking about the map in Sir Topham Hatt's office, thinking that he was using that too like him.
So, she decided to make more locomotives to help around with the maps of the railways.
She took a tool out of her box of carving tools and started getting the bark off the log on her lap, not minding the debris landing on the ground and sticking to her pants.
Slowly, the log became bare after the last of the bark came off, and Stephanie went sketching on it with a pencil, marking where to chip off and leave behind.
Stephanie continued with her work on the log in her lap as it slowly took form.
She even smoothed out the edges with sandpaper after finishing some parts of the object.
Stephanie continued working on the other logs after finishing one of them, then moving on to the next, and the next, and the next.
She carved the basis of the locomotives she had met, ranging from Chang Tai, Lord Harry, and Culdee.
Not only that, Stephanie even made the basis of Ace from one of the carvings, who she remembered him asking about making one like him.
She even made wooden carvings of the Star Tugs she had met before, too, going from Sunshine to Ten Cents, even O.J, who could be hard to make.
But with an enormous amount of patience and steady hands, Stephanie manages to make all the carvings look perfect.
As soon as she finished the last log with Captain Bluenose, although a little scared about making a wooden carving of him, she reminded herself that he is not here.
Stephanie placed the carving to the side and brushed the carvings off her pants to the ground before placing the tools back into her backpack, taking out the small pots of paint.
Picking up a small plate for mixing colors and a small cup, Stephanie poured water into the cup from her water bottle and began to carefully paint each carved locomotive and tug boat.
She painted the designs and the numbers they have, even adding in a few touches to them.
Little did she know that Chang Tai was coming back to check on Stephanie, only to stop when he noticed the wooden carvings and the paint pots.
Rather than being impatient and whistle his whistle, Chang Tai patiently waited for her to finish, watching at how talented she was.
Once the last wooden carving was finished, Stephanie started to clean up as the carvings were being dried until she looked at Chang Tai for a moment, before a second time, flinching in startlement.
"Oh, Chang Tai." Stephanie sighed. "Please don't scare me like that."
"Forgive me, Stephanie." Chang Tai apologized. "I was waiting for you to finish painting the carvings."
Stephanie blushed a little as she glanced over at the wooden carvings, asking, "You liked the carvings?"
"Of course," Chang Tai nodded politely. "You are very talented!"
Stephanie blushed after Chang Tai remarked before Culdee approached the shed with Sir Topham Hatt in his cab.
He stepped out a little as he noticed Stephanie sitting there, sighing in relief.
"There you are!" Sir Topham Hatt remarked. "I'm sorry for leaving you like that."
"It's fine, Sir." Stephanie chuckled. "At least no one pushed me without you or Ms. Hatt watching."
Sir Topham Hatt opened his mouth to respond before closing it, remembering what had happened before.
"Yes, you're right," Sir Topham Hatt nodded in agreement before noticing the carvings. "You made more carvings?"
Stephanie looked worried after Sir Topham Hatt asked, as Chang Tai frowned a little.
"Is there a problem with that, Sir?" Chang Tai asked, cocking a little to the side.
"No, there is no problem," Sir Topham Hatt responded, although a little confused by how weirdly protective he was of her. "She has done this before."
Stephanie blushed a little at the response to her carving skills before picking one of them up that looked like Chang Tai.
"Oh, I, um, made this, Chang Tai." Stephanie blushed, showing the carving. "I did it while I was waiting."
An impressed expression appeared on Chang Tai's face after seeing that Stephanie had made many locomotives, including cars, tugs, and others!
"They look wonderful, Stephanie!" Sir Topham Hatt remarked as he picked up one of them. "Mr. Percival and Captain Star are going to be proud of this!"
Stephanie paused a little after Sir Topham Hatt remarked, feeling confused about why Sir Topham Hatt left out a name she was expecting him to say.
"What about Mr. Richards?" Stephanie softly asked. "Isn't he running the railway?"
Sir Topham Hatt glanced over at Stephanie after she asked, pausing a little as he handed the carving back.
"Well, Stephanie," Sir Topham Hatt said as she went silent. "Mr. Richards is retiring."
Surprised expressions were placed on the locomotives' faces after Sir Topham Hatt answered, as Stephanie's expression softened.
"He's retiring?" Stephanie asked.
"Yes, I am." Sir Topham Hatt turned around after hearing a voice, seeing that it was Mr. Richards himself.
He had fair skin with short aging white hair and dark hazelnut eyes.
He wore a brown coat, a black fedora, a pair of brown trousers, and a white shirt with a tie over it.
"You're Mr. Richards?" Stephanie softly asked after placing her now-dried carvings into her backpack with the tools and paint.
"Yes, I am." Mr. Richards nodded softly. "I have been working on this railway for a very long time. I think it is time for me to retire and allow Mr. Percival to take over."
Stephanie paused thoughtfully to herself after Mr. Richards explained before softly asking, "What happens if he has to work with two railways? Won't he get easily stressed?"
Mr. Richards chuckled after Stephanie asked with a worried tone in her voice, walking up to her with a cane beside him, placing an assuring hand on her shoulder.
"Do not worry about him, young one." Mr. Richards assured her. "Mr. Percival is a wonderful hard conductor. He cares for his railway and his engines. You might do the same if you owned a railway."
That seemed to make Stephanie think to herself about what Mr. Richards had said to her, as Sir Topham Hatt smiled a little from the words he had said to her.
So, that night, while Stephanie and Sir Topham Hatt were at the retirement party for Mr. Richards, the engines were thinking to themselves about the Manager retiring from the railway, wondering if this 'Mr. Percival' could be a hard worker like he used to.
Other engines were in the sheds with them other than Chang Tai, Culdee, and Lord Harry.
Each of them was respectfully painted in the same livery as the others and had a different basis.
One of them has its basis as a Snowdon Mountain Railway's Enid and is painted in the Culdee Fell Railway's livery of purple with orange lining.
His number two is painted on the sides and back of his cab in yellow.
And has a red nameplate with a gold border on the sides of his tanks with the name 'Ernest.'
The name is in gold, like the lining.
Another has the basis of a Snowdon Mountain Railway's Wyddfa and is painted purple with an orange lining.
The number three is painted on the sides and back of his cab in yellow, and he has red nameplates, with the name 'Wilfred' in gold, on the sides of his tanks.
Another had the basis of a Snowdon Mountain Railway's Moel Siabod and was painted purple with an orange lining.
The number five is painted on the sides and back of his cab in yellow, and he has red nameplates with the name 'Shane Dooiney' in gold on the sides of his tanks.
Another has the basis of a Snowdon Mountain Railway's Ralph and is painted in the Culdee Fell Railway's livery of purple with orange lining.
His number seven is painted on the sides and back of his cab in yellow.
He also has a red nameplate with a gold border on each side of his tanks with the name 'Alaric' on them in gold, and his buffer beams are painted red.
The last locomotive's basis is a Snowdon Mountain Railway's Eryri and is painted in the Culdee Fell Railway's livery of purple with orange lining.
His number eight is painted on the sides and back of his cab in yellow.
He has a red nameplate with a gold border on each side of his tanks with the name 'Eric' on them.
"Is it right for him to retire?" Lord Harry asked, sounding worried and confused. "He has been working here for nearly fifty-seven years."
"But, what if he gets older?" Culdee asked. "Sometimes conductors need to be retired. Do you remember the last conductor before Mr. Conductor?"
The locomotives thoughtfully paused to themselves after Culdee reminded them about the previous conductor, nodding as they glanced back.
"Yes, we remember him." a diesel nodded. "I think we should bid him farewell."
The diesel's basis is a Snowdon Mountain Railway's No. 9-12 and is painted mostly purple with orange-yellow lining.
Her roof, radiator, and diesel funnel are painted black as her rear buffer beam has yellow and black stripes.
She has red and gold nameplates on her side with the name 'Olwyn,' and on the front and rear that reads 'C.F.R.'
Other locomotives nodded in agreement after the diesel spoke before noticing that someone was walking over to where they were.
To their confusion, it was Stephanie, carrying a small plate of food in her hands.
"What are you doing all the way out here, Stephanie?" Culdee asked with confusion. "I thought you were with Sir Topham Hatt?"
"I was." Stephanie nodded after Culdee asked. "It got crowded in the party so, I asked Dowager Hatt if I could step out to have a moment from being in the chaos."
"Not the one for being in the crowd?" Lord Harry asked, sounding less irritated with her.
"Yes, I get easily fretted." Stephanie nodded as she glanced away from them, blushing a little.
Culdee and the others nodded in agreement before Stephanie paused a little in thought after eating some cake, asking, "Were there any locomotives on the mountain over there?"
Stephanie mentioned the mountain with the fork in her hand where she saw the purple locomotive was at, as everyone glanced over to the peak.
After glancing over at the mountain, they glanced back over at Stephanie.
It looked like they knew that something was not right.
The diesel slowly asked, "What did the locomotive look like?"
Stephanie thoughtfully paused as she thought about the locomotive, answering, "Well, the locomotive was painted like Culdee, but the base of the tank engine looked to be a Snowdon Mountain Railway's L.A.D.A.S."
Instantly, all the locomotives' expressions changed from confusion to shock, as Stephanie looked puzzled by the sudden change.
"Is there something wrong?" Stephanie asked, stopping herself from eating.
They glanced back at themselves after Stephanie asked before Culdee puffed forward a little, saying, "Stephanie… have you heard a story about Godred?"
Stephanie paused a bit after Culdee asked, asking in return, "The king?"
"No, not the king," Culdee chuckled after she asked before pausing a bit. "Although he did act like a king."
"Who?" Stephanie curiously asked, perking more.
Culdee faintly smiled when he noticed how curious she was about things she does not understand, almost like a cat.
"Alright, let me tell you a story about Godred," Culdee smiled as Stephanie walked up to him. "The engine, who fell from the Devil's Back."
It all began many, many years ago, in the nineteenth century before you were born.
We were built in the Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works in Winterthur, Switzerland, and arrived at Sodor in time for the railway's inspection.
"What did the railway look like before?"
Ah, that's a good question, Stephanie.
It looked like man never touched it and had beautiful flowers growing and trees growing all around the mountainside.
"It must've been beautiful there!"
Yes, it is during the springtime.
Now, on with the story, I wasn't the only engine to be at the railway for the inspection.
"Who were they?"
They were Ernest, Wilfred, Shane Dooiney, and Godred.
Now, Godred was named after the famous Sudrian king, which I think is where he got the idea from.
"What was the idea?"
The idea that 'nothing bad was going to happen to him.'
"…It didn't work out?"
No, Stephanie, it did not.
The accident happened in June, in the same year as we had just arrived.
Godred was coming back down the mountain with his coach, taking mountain climbers up.
Just as he was about to reach down the other side of the mountain, he was suddenly derailed on Devil's Back and rolled down.
…Poor Godred was destroyed by the wreck, but, luckily, his passengers and coaches have survived being derailed.
"…What happened to him, Culdee?"
…He was scrapped since it was expensive for him, and he was beyond being repaired.
So, the controller scrapped him, and we never heard of him again.
But there's a little twist at the end of the tail, Stephanie.
"What is it?"
That locomotive you saw on the mountainside of the Devil's Back… was the ghost of Godred.
Stephanie softly gasped after Culdee finished the story about Godred, saying, "So… the locomotive I saw… climbing Devil's Back… was a ghost?"
Culdee and the others nodded their heads after she slowly asked, as one of them said, "The legends say that he is still trying to climb that mountain, trying to finish his task he started with."
"And… what happens to anyone who comes into his way?" Stephanie asked.
They paused after Stephanie asked, glancing at each other for a moment, before Culdee answered, "They would be pushed over the mountain like how he did."
Stephanie nervously gulped after Culdee answered, before hearing him mumble a little, "I thought he was sealed away in that kettle…"
Stephanie paused a little after Culdee mumbled to himself, thinking about the kettle too.
Did someone shatter it on accident… or on purpose?
Little did they know, the ghost of Godred was watching them from the back of the shed without them noticing, with a soft, sad expression on his face.
After staring at them for a while as they talked, he disappeared into thin air.
