The Modern Railway Series No. 10

EMILY'S EXCITING ADVENTURES

Original stories by Laura Beaumont, Paul Larson and Davey Moore

Foreword

Dear friends,

Most of the engines on Sir Topham Hatt's railway have received a book to themselves. But one of them which I've yet to showcase is Emily. She let me know how she felt about not getting a book to herself like the others. Seeing the mishaps she's gotten into recently, as well as how much she strives to be a really useful engine, I figured she rightfully deserved one as well. Emily will indeed be pleased.

The author

Emily saves the world

Emily is a beautiful tender engine. She has a wonderful coat of emerald paint, shiny brass, and two big driving wheels. Emily was delivering sand to Brendam Docks one day. She had heard of many exciting deliveries the other engines had gotten over the years and wished she could have one herself, just like the others. Emily was feeling sorry for herself when she arrived at Brendam Docks. Thomas noticed how she felt and wanted to cheer her up. But Emily didn't feel better despite his encouragements. She wished she had something really exciting to deliver instead of just sand.

The very next day, the Fat Controller sent Emily off to collect a special load. "It's bound to be more sand," sighed Emily. But when she arrived at the shunting yard, she was amazed at what she saw. Emily had to take a giant model of the world to the Animal Park! "This is the most exciting delivery I've ever had!" exclaimed Emily as she got coupled up to the flatbed. "I can't wait to show the other engines!"

But as Emily puffed across the island, there weren't any other engines to show her special delivery. "Where are all the other engines?" she wondered. Emily wanted to show someone her exciting delivery. So instead of going straight to the animal park, she went away to find another engine. Then there was trouble. As Emily went under a bridge, the walls scraped against the ropes holding the model down. Then, they snapped. As Emily turned round a bend, the model fell out of the flatbed, and rolled on the ground away from the track.

Emily spotted Thomas taking on water. "It's Thomas! Oh, at last!" she thought happily as she came up to him. "Hello, Thomas! If you really want to see an exciting load, look at this!" she said feeling proud. "What do you think? It's great, isn't it?" Thomas looked at Emily's flatbed. "What's great, Emily? There's nothing on your flatbed." Emily looked behind her, and saw that Thomas was right. The globe on her flatbed was gone. "Oh no! I lost the globe! How could it have come off?" she exclaimed. Emily puffed away to find it.

Meanwhile, the globe was going on its own little journey. And all the time, Emily was searching everywhere. At last, Emily spotted the globe rolling right on top of the tracks and she chased after it.

Thomas was pulling Annie and Clarabel further down the line. "I can't believe Emily made up that story about having a giant globe to deliver!" said Annie. "I know, Annie," laughed Thomas. "That was very silly." But Clarabel saw something that made her eyes widen. "Excuse me, you two," said Clarabel anxiously. "You might want to hurry it along a bit!" "Why?" asked Annie and Thomas. "Because there's a giant globe heading right for us!" cried Clarabel. Thomas rushed into a siding out of the way. The giant globe rolled onward. Thomas couldn't believe what he had seen. Then he saw Emily race by, puffing after it as fast as she could.

The giant globe rolled all the way to Brendam Docks. "Clattering Colombus!" cried Salty. "The world's heading straight for us!" Cranky tried stopping it with his hook. It bounced back, just as Thomas and Emily arrived. They both tried to catch it, but it bounced off of them, and rolled right off the end of the docks. Even Cranky couldn't reach it now! "How am I going to tell the Fat Controller?" said Emily feeling worried. Then, a blast from a horn came from somewhere. Captain, the rescue speedboat had rescued the runaway globe.

Cranky fished the giant globe out of the sea and put it back onto Emily's flatbed. "Thank you, all of you!" said Emily as she sped out of the docks. It was evening by the time Emily arrived at the Animal Park. She apologized for being very late, and the Fat Controller appreciated that she at least got her job done in the end.

Soon, the globe was fixed into place inside the animal park and everyone thought it looked grand indeed. "Well, Emily," laughed Thomas. "I think you managed to make that the most exciting delivery ever!" "Maybe a little too exciting, Thomas," smiled Emily. And the two engines laughed.

Flatbeds of fear

One misty day, Emily and Henry were at the shunting yard, when Thomas arrived. He was feeling shaken up. Thomas told the two engines about a spooky tale of the Flatbeds of Fear, which Salty had told Thomas earlier that day at Brendam Docks. But they both didn't really believe Thomas. "This doesn't sound very convincing," said Emily. "There must be a perfectly sensible explanation." "You're just a silly little engine, Thomas," huffed Henry. "Believing some tale. There's no such thing as the Flatbeds of fear." And with that, Henry puffed away.

The next morning, Henry was sent to pick up the pipes from the shunting yard and take them to Vicarstown. "Silly Thomas. Who believes in the Flatbeds of fear? There's no such thing," he said feeling rather confident. Suddenly, he heard a moan in the distance. It echoed around the countryside. Henry didn't know what it was, and he didn't feel sure. "It's probably just the wind," he puffed. Then, Henry heard another sound. It sounded like a ghostly whistle. Henry was beginning to feel nervous. "Hello?" he called. Nobody answered. "It's probably just another engine, that's all," he thought nervously.

Henry finally made it to the shunting yard and picked up the pipes. "Could it be…? No, it couldn't," he wondered. "Even if they were real, they certainly won't scare me." But then, Henry heard a ghostly wail coming from somewhere around him and very close. "Oh no!" he cried. "It's… it's… THE FLATBEDS OF FEAR!" Henry was so spooked by the wailing, that he was too scared to keep on puffing. His driver ran him onto a siding, thinking there was something wrong with him. Henry stopped and wouldn't budge.

Emily had to be called to take the flatbeds to Vicarstown. "You are being very silly, Henry," she told the big engine. "There really are no such things as the flatbeds of fear. "But there are! I heard them!" protested Henry. "Nonsense," puffed Emily. "What did you actually hear?" "I heard a whistling and a wailing sound!" called Henry as he went out of the siding. "Just like Thomas said!" "Well, I still think there must be a sensible explanation," said Emily as she got coupled up to the flatbeds and went on her way with the load.

Then, Emily heard something too. "What's that noise?" Emily thought it must've been Thomas or Henry. But she couldn't see either of them around. Emily puffed as fast as she could, but the whistling and wailing was right behind her. "Oh no, maybe there isn't a sensible explanation," worried Emily. "Maybe it really is… the flatbeds of fear!" Emily puffed faster and faster as she tried to get away from the flatbeds of fear.

Then there was trouble. Emily took a turn too fast. The pipes came loose and rolled off the flatbeds! Emily came to a stop, and was upset about the accident. But then she felt better when she couldn't hear the flatbeds of fear anymore. "They must've gone after another engine," she thought with relief. Rocky had to be called to help the spilled pipes onto the flatbeds again. Soon, they were all cleared up, and Emily continued on her way to Vicarstown.

That night, Emily was late getting back to the sheds. "Oh, Thomas! You were right, the flatbeds of fear are real!" she exclaimed. "What do you mean?" replied Thomas. "You're the one who was right. There was a sensible explanation." "Really? But I heard the sound, and it kept following me and," gasped Emily. "What explanation?" "It was indeed one of Salty's tall tales. That noise was just the wind blowing through the pipes," said Thomas. "Wind? Blowing through the pipes?" repeated Emily as her face went a bright shade of red. "Oh… I see… I knew it had to be something. I wasn't really scared." But everyone knew that Emily really had been frightened. And after that, nobody spoke about the flatbeds of fear again.

No snow for Thomas

It was winter time on the island of Sodor. The wind was cold and it looked like it would snow very soon. So all the engines had to wear their snowploughs. Thomas didn't like wearing his snowplough, so he puffed into a siding and did something very cheeky. He played a trick on his driver and told him that his snowplough didn't fit and had to be removed. "Now, I won't have to wear it anymore," he thought with joy as he left it on the siding.

Thomas puffed back to Tidmouth Sheds. "Thomas? Where's your snowplough?" asked Emily. "I can't find it," replied cheeky Thomas. "If it snows, I'll just have to go out without it." And it did snow. By the next morning, Sodor was covered in a thick blanket of fresh white snow. The engines were all wearing their snowploughs when they puffed off to work, except Thomas. The Fat Controller was not happy. "Thomas, as you don't have your snowplough, you will have to wait in the shed. It is too dangerous to go out without it." "Very well, sir," grinned Thomas. He was delighted that he didn't have to wear his snowplough.

The Fat Controller sent Emily to clear the snow from Thomas' branch line for him. She was not very happy. "It's not fair," she grumbled. "Why do I have to wear a silly snowplough? Thomas doesn't." Then she heard some children laughing, and worried that they were laughing at her snowplough. But as she cleared the tracks, she saw the children playing in the snowy fields. "Oh, the children are having fun in the snow!" exclaimed Emily. "Maybe snow can be fun after all."

Thomas was still in the shed. It seemed like a very long day. "At least I don't have to wear my snowplough like Emily," he thought slowly. But Emily was having a great time now. She was having so much fun, she cleared the tracks in no time. The Fat Controller was very pleased with Emily when she was done, so he allowed her to pull Annie and Clarabel on Thomas' branch line. "Thank you, sir!" puffed Emily, feeling very pleased.

Back at Tidmouth Sheds, Thomas was very bored. "I wish I had something to do," he sighed. Then he saw Emily returning back. "I don't know why you don't like your snowplough, Thomas," she called. "Clearing snow is great fun!" "Really?" asked Thomas. "And now, I get to take Annie and Clarabel on your branchline," said Emily. Thomas was horrified. "But, they're my coaches! That's my job!" he exclaimed. "You can't go out today, Thomas," laughed Emily. "Not without your snowplough."

Thomas wasn't happy as he watched Emily puff away with Annie and Clarabel. He wanted to go out in the snow with his coaches. Then, Thomas had an idea. If he found his snowplough, the Fat Controller would let him pull Annie and Clarabel. So Thomas puffed away quietly. He looked for the siding where he had left his snowplough, but none of the sidings had been cleared, and they all looked the same. Thomas didn't want to go back into the sheds. He wanted to pull Annie and Clarabel again. "Maybe I don't need my snowplough," he thought. "After all, Emily has cleared the tracks for me." So Thomas went off to find Emily.

Then there was trouble. It started to snow again. "Must find Emily, must find Emily," panted Thomas. Thomas puffed harder through the falling snow, but the snow was getting thicker and thicker. And soon, Thomas was well and truly stuck. "Oh, no!" he cried. The snow kept falling. It got higher and higher. "I wish I hadn't hidden my snowplough now," sighed Thomas as he felt himself getting colder and colder.

Then Thomas heard the sound of engine puffing towards him. It was Emily. "Emily! Am I glad to see you," said Thomas. "Hello, Thomas!" replied Emily. "We were looking for you in the shed, but you weren't there." Then the Fat Controller came up to him. He looked cross. He reminded Thomas of how he wasn't allowed to go out without his snowplough. Thomas apologized and explained that he hid his snowplough and he couldn't find it anywhere now. "That's why we've been looking for you," said Emily. "We found your snowplough buried in the snow!" "Thank you, Emily!" said Thomas.

Thomas was very happy to have his snowplough back. He promised that he would always wear it in the winter from now on. Then, Emily wanted to show Thomas something. She led him to the field where the children were playing. Thomas couldn't believe it. "You see, Thomas?" said Emily. "Snow can be great fun!" Thomas smiled back at Emily, agreeing that snow can indeed be fun after all.

Emily in the middle

One winter day, Emily was on her way to Brendam Docks. She was sent to help Gordon and James deliver a large shipment of steel to Vicarstown. As Emily arrived at the docks, she could see the two engines arguing about how they'd take the train. "I can keep a better look-out, Gordon," said James. "You go on at the back." "Goodness, no," argued Gordon. "Express engines do not shunt. You go at the back!" "Excuse me," said Emily. "Am I hearing that this train needs help from another engine?" Emily puffed off to the back. "Well," sneered James. "Looks like Emily and I will be off on our own. The Fat Controller would indeed be proud of us both." "Now wait a minute," exclaimed Gordon crossly. "You're not taking this train without me!" Gordon went round the back and buffered up to Emily. The engines whistled, and hauled the heavy train out of the docks.

As the engines puffed along the main line with the very long freight train, Gordon began boasting to Emily. "I've never had any silly accidents myself, not like James here." "Really?" asked Emily curiously. "Oh yes. I remember when he couldn't climb up my hill with the express. I had to help him up all the way." Emily thought it was pretty funny. She laughed and laughed. Her laughing echoed through the steel pipes on the flatbeds. James heard what was going on and became cross.

When Gordon told Emily about James' bootlace incident, the train abruptly came to a halt, and the two engines bumped into each other. "What's going on?" Emily called. James reversed on a different track and came up to them. "I want to swap places!" he huffed. "What? Why?" asked Gordon. "It's not fair for me to be stuck up in the front on my own!" replied James. "Go on, Gordon. You take the front of the train. Please?" asked Emily. Gordon didn't want to swap places, but he agreed to it anyway. "But only because you asked nicely, Emily," Gordon told Emily as he got uncoupled.

Soon, the two engines had swapped places. James was still sulking as he pushed the back of the train with Emily. "Never mind him, James," said Emily trying to cheer him up. "I don't really believe he's never had any accidents himself." James felt better, and then grinned. "Well, I don't know if you've heard about the time Gordon fell into a ditch, and me and Henry had to get him out!" "No way!" exclaimed Emily as she laughed again. Gordon could hear them from the front of the train, and he came to a stop, right on top of his own hill. The back engines bumped into each other again. "Now what's the hold-up?" asked Emily feeling annoyed. "Alright, James. That's enough!" called Gordon. "We're swapping back!" "Oh, you always want to have it your way!" replied James as he got uncoupled.

But poor Emily was left holding up the flatbeds all on her own, as Gordon and James argued with each other. And as Emily began finding herself slipping down Gordon's hill, there was the sound of buffers bashing into each other. And then, something fell onto the hill next to the track and rolled down. It became a snowball that grew bigger and bigger. Emily was struggling to hold the train back, but then she noticed the snowball rolling straight at her as she rounded the bend. "Help!" she cried and shut her eyes. There was a crash, and the train came to a stop.

Emily wasn't hurt, but she was covered in snow and lay miserably on her side and off the rails. Gordon and James hurried to see what happened. They tried explaining what went wrong, but then began blaming each other and argued whose fault it was. At this point, Emily was so annoyed, that she gave a huge blast from her whistle and shut the two engines up. "For goodness sake, you two!" she bellowed. "I was trying to help you out! If you would just stop arguing for one minute, you'd see it's me that needs some help now!" Gordon and James were speechless and didn't dare to say another word.

As Emily was helped back onto the track, Gordon and James apologized for their misbehaviour. "We never meant for any of this to happen," said James feeling regretful. "We might as well have let our egos get the better of us. We're sorry, Emily," added Gordon feeling remorseful. Emily appreciated it from them both. And they all came to an agreement, that Emily would be the one pulling the train at the front, while Gordon and James pushed from behind together. And soon, they got their delivery to Vicarstown on time.

Emily may be a sensible, friendly engine, but she knows where to draw the line. No engine would dare to argue in front of her now. Especially if trouble got involved. But whatever the circumstances and whatever the situation, Emily is still a really useful engine at heart.