The Modern Railway Series No. 6

JAMES AND THE WESTERN ENGINES

Original stories by Andrew Brenner, Mark Huckerby and Nick Ostler

Foreword

Dear friends,

The engines on the Little Western have no trouble running their own part of the railway and have been generally well respected by all the other engines. Well, all that is except James, who still has got an ego bigger than his smokebox. But upon interacting with the Little Western, he never seems to come out on top in end. How exactly, you may ask? Read these stories and find out for yourself!

The author

Signals crossed

One day, Oliver was on his way to Knapford station to bring workmen to a broken bridge on his and Duck's branch line. He was bringing Toad, his faithful brake van with him. "Pardon me, Mr. Oliver," said Toad. "But you must be very careful at Knapford junction." "Why is that, Toad?" asked Oliver. "There are a lot more signal gantries there, now," replied Toad. "You must pay attention to your signal." "Don't worry, Toad," said Oliver confidently. "I know all about signals. They won't bother me." Toad didn't feel certain.

When Oliver got to Knapford junction, he couldn't believe how many gantries there were and it seemed busier than the last time he had seen it. "My, my! Just look at this place!" he exclaimed. "And so many signals!" "Don't worry, Mr. Oliver," assured the brake van. "Just remember. It's red for stop, and green for go." Oliver looked up at the signals that hung above him. They were all at danger. One of them turned to 'clear'. Oliver puffed forward, but he stopped abruptly as Gordon rushed by with the express. "Look out, you silly engine!" he called. "And learn your signal!" "Sorry, Gordon!" replied Oliver. "Never mind, Mr. Oliver," said Toad. "Just go back and try again!"

Oliver backed up and looked at the signals. Two of them turned green. "One of those has to be mine," he thought. But it wasn't at all. "Look out, Oliver! Wait for your signal!" wheeshed Henry as he thundered past. "These signals are so confusing!" exclaimed Oliver.

All morning, Oliver went backwards and forwards. He was making himself more and more confused, as the signals turned from green to red, and back again. Now, Oliver didn't feel like he knew everything about signals. "I don't mean to object, Mr. Oliver, but my buffers are aching," gasped Toad. "Hold on, Toad," said Oliver. "I'm going in!" Oliver shut his eyes and raced through Knapford junction as fast as he could. He narrowly missed other engines puffing to and back. The workmen were waiting for him at the platform. But Oliver was so frantic, that he rushed straight past the platform without stopping and puffed off, leaving the workmen behind. "Mr. Oliver? Where are we going? You need to head back!" cried Toad. But Oliver didn't stop until he reached a siding.

Oliver returned back to the platform after Toad had explained to him which signal he needed to pay attention to, and he picked up the workmen. As Oliver slowly puffed out of the station, he looked up at the signal directly above his line, just like Toad had told him to. It was at 'danger', so he didn't move. But the workmen were getting cross. "Come on!" "What's the hold-up?"

Then James came up to the platform. "Hurry up, Oliver! You're making me late, too!" Oliver looked up at his signal. "Sorry, James," he told the red engine. "But my signal is still red!" "Nonsense!" exclaimed James. "You probably don't even know about how these signals work. It surely ought to have been green by now!" James gave Oliver and Toad a shove. But Oliver applied his brakes on and stopped in time, as Gordon passed by with the express again. The engines backed up.

Then, the Fat Controller arrived. He was not happy. "What are you still doing here, Oliver?" he demanded. "Your signal must have turned green by now!" Oliver looked up at his signal again. It didn't change. "No, sir," he replied. "It's still red." Just then, the signalman ran up to the Fat Controller. "Pardon me, sir," he exclaimed. "But one of the signals appears to be broken." The Fat Controller looked up at Oliver's signal, and he couldn't believe it. "So it is, indeed!" he said. "Well done, Oliver. Going through a red signal is very dangerous. You prevented a serious accident. I'm proud of you!" "Thank you, sir," smiled Oliver. Toad cleared his throat at James. "Sorry, Oliver," said James. Toad squinted. "Sorry, Toad as well," he added. Toad just smiled.

The Fat Controller ordered the signals to be fixed at once. And from that day on, Oliver takes great care when he approaches Knapford junction. And he has got Toad to thank for it.

Toad's adventure

One day, Oliver left Toad at the shunting yard, and went away with his coaches, Isabel and Dulcie. Oliver had been telling him about the time they escaped from being scrapped. Toad got tired of hearing it so often, and longed for an adventure of his own. Then he heard some grumbling nearby. "I don't know why I need a brake van at all," muttered James. "I never have accidents." Toad perked up at hearing this and offered to be the brake van for James' train. "What's so special about you?" sniffed James. "I love looking after whole wagons, and my brakes are so strong," said Toad. "Oh, please, Mr. James?" "Oh, very well," said James. "Come along then. I haven't got all day."

So Toad was coupled up to James' freight train. He was delighted to be heading off to Vicarstown. James began boasting about how bright and splendid he was, and Toad didn't mind listening to this. But what he did mind, was how fast James was going when he began to speed up. His coal trucks rattled, and coal dust spilled out. Toad coughed and spluttered. "Do we have to go so fast, Mr. James?" he cried anxiously. "I'm no slow coach!" said James. "The sooner I get these trucks to Vicarstown, the sooner I can get back to pulling coaches."

James went faster and faster. More dust and chunks of coal flew out of the trucks and landed behind, which made Toad cough and choke even more. "Please slow down, sir!" he protested. "This is dangerous! Oliver would never go this fast with a full load!" "Nonsense," replied James. "I know what I'm doing."

They were now approaching Gordon's hill. James had no trouble getting up to the top as he built up even more speed. Toad decided he didn't want an adventure anymore. James was going so fast, he didn't notice a large tree branch that had fallen on the line, until it was too late. The next he knew, Toad was speeding back down the hill. His guard quickly applied the brakes. James was horrified. "Stop those trucks!" "I'm trying, Mr. James!" called back Toad.

Emily was taking the Fat Controller and his mother, Dowager Hatt to the Mainland to go to the opera. Then, Emily came to a stop. "Why have we stopped, Emily?" called the Fat Controller out of one of the windows. "Up ahead, sir!" replied Emily. The Fat Controller noticed the runaway train, and ordered Emily to back up. But Gordon soon came up from behind with the express and Emily couldn't reverse. "Look out, Gordon!" she called to the big engine. Gordon saw Emily up ahead and put on his brakes, before coming to a stop just behind her coaches.

Toad gasped. He could see that Gordon and Emily didn't have enough time to reverse and clear the line. Toad knew he had to save them all now. Emily shut her eyes. When she opened them again, she saw Toad, with his buffers barely an inch away from her own. Toad had stopped the coal trucks just in time. Everyone was very relieved. "Well done, Toad!" said Emily. "Thank you, Ms. Emily," wheezed Toad. "Just doing my job…"

James came back down the hill. "Sorry, Emily! I lost my trucks on the hill. Is everyone alright?" "No, James, everyone is not alright! I demand to know how this happened!" boomed the Fat Controller. James began to explain how he had gone too fast, but Toad stepped in for him. "There was a fallen branch on the line, sir. It was nobody's fault, but merely an accident!" The Fat Controller understood and Dowager Hatt praised Toad for saving everyone from a disaster. Toad couldn't have felt more proud.

Back on their way to Vicarstown, Toad offered James to go a little faster if he wanted to. But James politely declined and preferred to keep his speed just right. And when they got back to the shunting yard after their delivery was finished, James thanked Toad for his help that day. "And thank you very much, sir," said Toad. "Call me James," replied James modestly. Then Oliver arrived. He was about to tell Toad what he had been through himself that day, when he was cut off. "Actually, Oliver, I think you should ask Toad about the adventure he had today," said James, giving Toad a wink as he left the yard.

Oliver was confused. He asked Toad what he had been up to. Toad smiled and began telling his adventure on the main line. And all the time, other engines who were shunting nearby got curious, so they came up to him began listening as well. Oliver said he couldn't believe it, but Toad said that was okay. He'd tell him the whole story again tomorrow.

Duck in the water

There had been a lot a rain on the island of Sodor. The rivers ran high, and puddles covered the ground. Harold was inspecting Duck's branch line, when he noticed that a part of the line had been flooded. He flew away to warn the Fat Controller. But it was too late. One moment, Duck was on dry rails. The next moment, he was up to buffers in freezing cold water. He perched on top of the flood, shivering all over.

At Knapford station, James was just settling down to have a rest in a siding, when he saw the Fat Controller coming across the yard. The Fat Controller sent James to fetch Rocky and help rescue Duck out of the water. James didn't like it one bit. But he agreed when he heard that he'd get to pull his next passenger train, as soon as he got Duck out.

James found Rocky helping a freight train back onto the rails. He buffered up to Rocky and was ready to start. "Okay, James," called Rocky. "But you'll have to wait while I have my crane arm secured." James didn't want to wait any longer. "The sooner we get Duck out, the sooner I can get back to doing something more suitable." And James pulled away, before Rocky's crane arm had been secured. "James! We need to stop!" Rocky called frantically. "Oh, get a hold of yourself, Rocky," replied James. "You'd think you've never responded to an emergency before." Rocky's crane arm swung back and forth. It hit the walls of a tunnel James pulled him through. His hook hit a water tower, a railway sign, and a scarecrow in a field.

As James approached the flooded track, a signal warned him to go slower. He slowed down. But as he passed it, Rocky's crane arm swung towards it, and knocked it over. "What was that?" he cried. "What was what?" repeated James. "I knocked something over!" gasped Rocky. "I'm sure it couldn't have been anything important," said James. Boy, was he proven to be wrong soon enough.

"Hurry up! It's cold and wet in here," called Duck. "Keep your steam in, Duck," said James. "We're coming to rescue you." "I don't have any steam, James," replied Duck. "My firebox has gone out." James had to position Rocky in front of Duck, so that the crane could get him out of the water.

But as Rocky began lifting Duck up, Oliver was puffing along Duck's branch line too. Since the signal was knocked over, he couldn't see any telling him to slow down. But when he saw James up ahead, he applied his brakes. Oliver bumped right into James, who bumped into Rocky, who lost his grip and dropped Duck back into the water. Nobody was hurt, but James was cross. "Oliver! Why didn't you look where you were going? There was a red signal back there!" Oliver was confused. "I didn't see any signal." "Umm, excuse me?" said Duck. "Could I get out of the water now?"

Rocky started to lift Duck back up again. And Oliver began to back up, so that his driver could put up a warning flag. But then there was more trouble. Percy was coming up with a freight train of his own. There was a sequence of bumping between engines, and Duck once again landed back in the water. Harold saw everything. He flew away to pick up the Fat Controller.

At last, Rocky managed to lift Duck out of the water. Then Harold landed with the Fat Controller on board. He couldn't believe how many accidents have happened. Rocky explained that it was his fault. "I must've knocked down that signal pole. My crane arm kept swinging about!" But James told the Fat Controller that it was his fault, not Rocky's, and explained that he didn't give Rocky time to secure his crane arm. "Well, James," said the Fat Controller. "I can't say I'm very happy about this. But I am glad that you admitted your mistake. Perhaps it would be suitable for you to pull Duck's trucks while his firebox dries out." "Yes, sir. I'd be happy to," replied James.

Pulling trucks may not be his favourite job, and James knows that he can't always do the jobs he likes best. But so long as the sun is shining, he is a very spending looking, bright red engine indeed.

Duck and the slip coaches

One summer night, Duck stayed at Tidmouth Sheds, so he could help with all the extra passengers in the morning. Duck was telling the other engines about his old days back on the Great Western railway. Everyone was interested, except James, who thought he was a bit annoying. "We carried so many holiday makers, we used to call our railway, the sunshine line," he continued. "In those days, I used to pull slip coaches. They are coaches, which could be uncoupled without even stopping. That way, we always ran on time, and there were never any delays." "Wow, I've never heard of slip coaches before," gasped Thomas in amazement. "You have to be careful, though," said Duck. "Go too slow in the station, and they'd bump into the back of you. It took a lot of skill and expert timing. " "Sounds easy to me," muttered James.

All the engines were asleep, except James. He overheard the Fat Controller worrying about getting all the passengers to their destinations on time tomorrow. This gave him an idea. So he came up to the Fat Controller and explained to him all about the slip coaches and how they helped avoid delays.

Duck awoke the next morning among whispers and gasps from the other engines. When he saw what they were looking at, he couldn't believe his eyes. "I don't believe it! My own slip coaches!" The Fat Controller was announcing the new slip coaches he had brought from the Mainland. This made Duck feel even more excited. "But it wasn't my idea," continued the Fat Controller. "It was James'!" Duck gasped. "That's right, sir!" said James as he coupled up to the slip coaches. "Thanks to me, there will be no more delays on Sodor today!" And he puffed away with pride, pulling the slip coaches behind him. The other engines cheered for James as they left the sheds. "But, I told James about the slip coaches!" protested Duck. "It was… my idea…" But no one was left to listen to Duck. Feeling rather sad, he steamed away.

James was very pleased with himself. He liked it when people waved at him. He thought he was very clever for pulling the slip coaches. "Do you think James knows what he's doing?" asked the first slip coach. "I don't know," replied the second coach. "I hope so," added the last coach.

James was approaching his first stop. Duck watched him and felt worried. "Prepare to release the first coach!" announced James. "Now don't slow down too much in the station, James, or the last coach will bump into the back of you!" warned Duck anxiously. "Yes, yes, thank you, Duck," replied James. "I know what to do." Then he ordered for the first coach to be released. The first coach was uncoupled, and rolled forward by himself. But James liked everyone to see his shiny red coat, so he slowed down. But the last coach bumped into the back of the other slip coaches. Duck gasped as James came to a stop. Luckily, nobody was hurt. But after that, the slip coaches refused to move. "We won't go with James!" muttered the first slip coach. "He doesn't know how to use slip coaches!" cried the second coach. "No, not at all!" agreed the last coach.

That was when the Fat Controller arrived, and found all the passengers complaining, and saying what a bad railway it was. "Oh, James! What have you done? These slip coaches were a terrible idea!" exclaimed the Fat Controller. "But sir, they just take a bit of getting used to, that's all," protested James. "Maybe I could help, sir?" asked Duck as he came up to him. The slip coaches were overjoyed to see their old friend Duck. "Hello, Duck!" they exclaimed. "Hello, slippies! I've missed you, Jonathan, Rebecca and Steve!" replied Duck with joy. "Do you mean to say you know these slip coaches, Duck?" asked the Fat Controller. "Of course, sir!" said Duck. "I used to pull them on the Great Western railway, as I was telling James last night." Suddenly, the Fat Controller understood. James didn't feel so clever now. "Duck, perhaps you would like to pull the slip coaches around Sodor," said the Fat Controller. "If that's alright with them, of course," he added. "Yay, Duck!" said Jonathan. "Of course it is!" exclaimed Rebecca. "Capital idea!" put in Steve.

So Duck took over pulling the slip coaches. And even though it was the busiest day Sodor, thanks to Duck and the slip coaches, everyone reached their destinations on time. And all the passengers agreed that it was a very good railway indeed. Duck handled the slip coaches so well, that even James had to admit it. He might've found Duck annoying at first, but he soon began to find himself truly respecting the Great Western engine from then on. He even apologized to Duck for stealing his idea, and Duck accepted his apology. He even offered to teach James how to properly handle the slip coaches. This made James grateful, and respect him more than ever before.