The Modern Railway Series No. 28
MORE BRANCH LINE ADVENTURES
Original stories by Andrew Brenner, Helen Farall & Lee Pressman
Foreword
Dear friends,
Thomas has still taken great care of his branch line ever since he had earned it all those years ago. But sometimes he can let the importance of his branch line get to his head and feel entitled every now and then. Percy and Toby always put up with it, but even they have their own limits. See if they can get cheeky Thomas to stop being so full of himself.
The author
Three steam engines gruff
One day, Percy was puffing along Thomas' branch line. He was passing over the stone bridge, when he heard a strange noise. "What was that?" he exclaimed. Percy got nervous. Then, it got louder. It sounded like a nasty growl. Percy jumped and shivered with fright. "Get away from me!" he screeched and he pumped his pistons as fast as he could. He wanted to get away from the bridge before whatever was under there got him.
Percy was exhausted when he came to the sheds at Ffarquhar that night. Thomas and Toby could see that something was wrong. "What's the matter, Percy?" asked Toby. "Something scary is hiding under the stone bridge up the line!" said Percy. "I think it might've been a troll… it growled when I rolled over it…" Thomas took one look at Percy, and then burst out laughing. "Fancy letting your imagination get the better of you, Percy!" he chuckled. "A troll? There's no such thing! Silly engine…" Percy was cross with Thomas. And so was Toby. "Stop teasing him, Thomas!" he scolded Thomas. "It can happen to anyone! You wouldn't be laughing if you got scared by something, would you?" Thomas rolled his eyes. "There's no such thing as a troll. And even if there was, it wouldn't scare me." And Thomas went off to sleep.
Percy and Toby stayed awake. "Are you sure there is a troll under the bridge, Percy?" asked Toby. "I guess not, but I did hear something," replied Percy. Toby thought about it. "Don't worry, Percy," he said kindly. "I'm sure there must be a logical explanation. There really is no such thing as a troll." Percy felt better hearing this, but he still felt a bit worried.
The next day, Percy led Thomas and Toby to the stone bridge. By now, it was beginning to rain. And it was beginning to get difficult to hear over the rushing raindrops. "So, where is this troll then, Percy?" asked Thomas. "Right under there!" whimpered Percy, glancing at the bridge ahead. Thomas merely scoffed. "Well, get a move on, then! I haven't got all day!" Percy nervously crept towards the bridge. Then, he sped across it as fast as he could. He could hear the noise coming from underneath it once again. It sounded scarier this time.
Percy made it to the other side in no time at all. "Be careful!" Percy called to the others. Thomas snorted. "Don't be ridiculous!" he huffed as he went towards the bridge very slowly. There was no noise coming from underneath now. "See?" laughed Thomas triumphantly. "You must have been imagining it, Percy! There's no such thing as a-" But he spoke too soon. There was a very low and clear, menacing growl right underneath Thomas' wheels. Thomas gasped and froze. "I don't believe it!" he gasped. "There really is a troll! EEEEEEK!" Thomas raced across the bridge as fast as he could. He rushed past Percy and didn't stop.
Percy glanced back at Toby. Toby was still not very sure. "Look out, Toby!" called Percy. "The troll might get you!" But Toby listened carefully. The rain was clearing up by now. And when he heard the growling noise this time, it didn't sound like it came from a troll. It sounded like the call of an animal. "I think I might have found our troll!" said Toby. Toby's driver and fireman carefully inspected the bridge, and when they climbed down, they saw what was making the noise. It was a cow that had run away from Farmer McColl's field. And it was stuck. "There's nothing to be frightened of, Percy!" said Toby. "There was no troll after all!" Percy felt relieved. In no time at all, the cow was rescued and brought back to Farmer McColl's farm.
Thomas was so frightened, that he stayed in the sheds, kept his eyes shut, and refused to come out. His driver and fireman couldn't get him to start. So Percy took care of Thomas' passengers and pulled Annie and Clarabel for him.
That night, Percy and Toby had a good laugh. They told him the truth, but he was still too scared to really believe them. "Fancy letting a cow frighten you!" laughed Percy. "And I thought you weren't scared of anything." "I wonder if poor Thomas is now afraid of trolls, or bridges?" said Toby, and they both continued to laugh. Thomas promised that he would never tease Percy about being scared again.
Unscheduled stops
Thomas and Bertie like to race each other to the end of the line. They both know that the first to the level crossing usually wins. One day, Thomas lost to Bertie, but he noticed something wrong with the red bus. "Don't worry, Bertie," said Thomas. "We'll race as soon as you're ready to again. Unless you were pretending to have a problem because I was winning?" 'Excuse me!" snapped Bertie. "I was clearly ahead, and I would have crossed first if there wasn't something wrong with my engine!" Bertie's driver examined the damage. "You've blown a gasket, Bertie." "Oh, but what about my passengers?" moaned Bertie. "Maybe I can help!" offered Thomas. "Some of your stops are close to my stations." "Oh, thank you, Thomas," said Bertie.
So Bertie's passengers boarded Annie and Clarabel and Thomas went on his way. Thomas came to a stop at Farmer McColl's farm. But one of the passengers asked for Thomas to stop between the two stations, since his wasn't very close. "If Bertie can stop between stations, so can I!" said Thomas. Annie and Clarabel didn't think that this was such a good idea. But Thomas thought he was being really useful.
So he made his first unscheduled stop halfway to the next station. "This will only lead to trouble," muttered Annie. "I quite agree, Annie," whispered Clarabel. And it seemed they were right. Soon, Thomas was making a lot of unscheduled stops for Bertie's passengers. And he felt that he was being really useful. But his usual passengers were not very happy. "We told it will lead to trouble!" said Annie. "You've made your usual passengers late!" said Clarabel. "Well, I won't do it on the way back," replied Thomas.
But the word had spread and people were waiting at the unscheduled stops. By the time Thomas got back to Knapford, he was very, very late indeed. "Sorry, sir," said Thomas. "But Bertie broke down, and taking all his passengers delayed me a little." "I know all about Bertie breaking down, Thomas," said the Fat Controller. "And unfortunately he's not coming back anytime soon. You should expect extra passengers again tomorrow, and I expect you to be on time!" Thomas was worried.
The next day, Thomas decided he wouldn't make any unscheduled stops at all. But he didn't want to leave anyone stranded, so he did stop whenever he saw a passenger waiting. And so it went on all day long.
"Late again, Thomas!" said the Fat Controller as Thomas arrived at Knapford station that afternoon. "Taking Bertie's passengers shouldn't make that much difference. You're still stopping at the same stations?" "Yes, sir," said Thomas. "But there are a lot more of them, so it takes longer when they get on and off!" Thomas didn't want to tell the Fat Controller about the unscheduled stops he'd been making. "Well, I'd better get going, sir!" And Thomas hurried away. The Fat Controller was beginning to get suspicious.
The next day, Thomas continued picking up Bertie's passengers at his unscheduled stops. And all the time, the Fat Controller was watching him like a hawk. Thomas had no idea that he was being watched.
Thomas was on his way back to Knapford, but he was very late again. He came to the level crossing, but the gates were closing. Thomas put on his brakes and screeched to a stop. Then, a Hatt blue car pulled up in the middle of the road, and the Fat Controller stepped out. "Thomas the tank engine!" "Sir?" gasped Thomas. "Wha-what are you doing here?" "I know all about your unscheduled stops, Thomas! I've been following you." "I am really sorry, sir," whispered Thomas. "I was trying to help Bertie's passengers, but, it got a bit out of control." "A bit?!" repeated Annie. "I'll say!" agreed Clarabel. "Then you'll be pleased to know I've made other arrangements to help Bertie's passengers," said the Fat Controller. "Bertie? He's back?" asked Thomas perking up. "No, Thomas. He isn't," said the Fat Controller.
And pulling up next to the him, was a bright red, double decker bus. "Bulgy?!" gasped Thomas. "But, I thought you've been turned into a hen house!" "Only for a while," replied Bulgy. "But now I'm back in service! And if you don't mind me saying so, we'd all be better off if everyone simply used roads instead of railways…" Thomas fumed. "Now, now, Bulgy," said the Fat Contorller. "Don't go getting all anti-rail again, or I might find some chickens who need a place to live." Bulgy didn't like the sound of this. "Yes, sir. Sorry, sir," he mumbled. Thomas promised to be right on time, since the Fat Controller assured Thomas he didn't need to worry about Bertie's passengers anymore. As the Fat Controller left, Thomas challenged Bulgy to a race. "Certainly not!" huffed Bulgy as he drove away. "Down with railways!" But Thomas thought that was a challenge, so he raced off to Knapford station as fast as he could.
Terence breaks the ice
It was almost Christmas and the tracks have become very icy. The fields and trees were covered in snow and there was ice on the pond. But none of that was of any concern to Terence. Terence is a crawler tractor with caterpillar tracks instead of wheels. He was working with the woodsmen. They were cutting down trees to take to Tidmouth for Christmas market. "Hi, Terence!" whistled Thomas. "Hello, Thomas!" greeted Terence. "Are these all my trees?" asked Thomas. "We're just collecting a few more. Won't be long now," replied Terence.
As the trees were being loaded onto Thomas' train, Terence noticed that Thomas was wearing his snowplough. "Well, it's very snowy out here," said Thomas. "Not that you've ever been bothered by snow and ice. Your caterpillar tracks are proving as useful as ever!" "Oh, now they're useful, eh?" laughed Terence. "You didn't seem to think so when we first met, remember?" Thomas remembered the time he insulted Terence's caterpillars, and Terence rescued him from the snow. "I do remember," replied Thomas feeling embarrassed. "You have to be sensible if you want to stay safe!" added Terence. Thomas agreed.
Thomas arrived at Knapford station with the trees, where the Fat Controller was waiting for him. "Perfect for Christmas market! But, where's the big tree for Ulfstead castle?" "What big tree, sir?" repeated Thomas. "Didn't I ask you to bring back a really huge tree for the Earl's Christmas fair?" asked the Fat Controller. "You never said anything about that, sir," replied Thomas. The Fat Controller realized he never mentioned it, and got worried. Thomas promised to ask the woodsmen to bring the biggest tree they could find.
The snow was getting heavier as Thomas came back to the field. "Are you back for more trees, Thomas?" asked Terence as Thomas arrived. "Just one very big tree for Ulfstead castle, please?" said Thomas. Terence found an enormous tree just on the other side of the pond. "Don't go over the pond, Terence!" warned Thomas. "The ice isn't strong enough!" "I told you, Thomas, snow and ice don't bother me with my caterpillar tracks!" Terence rolled over the frozen pond with great ease. He had no trouble getting quickly to the other side.
The woodsmen soon cut down the huge tree and secured it onto Terence's wagon. Terence crawled back onto the pond and headed across. Thomas was anxious. The ice close to him was cracking. "Terence! Go back! The ice is cracking!" called Thomas. "Don't worry!" replied Terence. "I'm almost at the other-" CRACK! The ice underneath the tractor cracked, and Terence began to feel himself sinking. "Thomas! Go get help!" called Terence's driver. "There's no time!" replied Thomas. "Get some rope! I'll pull him out!" Thomas' fireman brought out a chain and fastened it between Terence and Thomas' snowplough. Thomas felt the chain stretch. He began to pull Terence out. "That's it, Thomas!" cried Terence. But Thomas' wheels slipped on the icy rails. Thomas began to lose his grip and Terence started sinking again. Thomas pulled and pulled as hard as he could. Slowly but surely, Thomas pulled Terence out to safety.
And then there was trouble. The coupling between Terence and his wagon snapped. The huge tree sank into the water and deep below. "I'm sorry, tree!" moaned Terence.
"Thank you, Thomas," chattered Terence, who was covered with a tarp to keep warm. "I thought I was being clever and I could go anywhere with the caterpillar tracks. I should have listened to me own advice. You have to be sensible," "If you want to stay safe!" said Thomas and Terence together.
On Christmas Eve, Thomas and Terence were up at Ulfstead Castle. "I'm sorry I lost the Earl's tree, sir," sighed Terence. "It's more important that you are safe, Terence," said the Fat Controller. "I am, thanks to Thomas," replied Terence gratefully. "Look! I think the Earl's ready, now!" said Thomas. "Welcome, welcome, everyone!" announced the Earl. "Time to turn on the Christmas lights!" "Five… four… three… two… one!" And there it was. The beautiful Christmas tree. Bright, and shiny, and very small, perched on top of a great pile of presents. "It may be small, but it's very beautiful!" exclaimed the Earl. "Thank you, Terence! Thank you, Thomas! And a Merry Christmas to you all!"
Misunderstood engines (Original story written by myself)
Thomas has been running his branch line for a long time. He never bores of letting other engines know how it is the most important part of the railway, much to their dismay. He also sometimes talks about his livery and which ones look the best on an engine. Percy and Toby often got fed up with him. Rosie, the lavender tank engine, sometimes goes up to help out on Thomas' branch line, whenever she's not working at Knapford. Rosie sometimes listens to Thomas whenever he's boasting, but she soon got fed up just like the others.
One morning, Thomas was talking to Rosie at Dryaw station. Rosie didn't like hearing his condescending words. "Blue is really the best colour suited for engines." "That's not true. Engines are really useful no matter what their colour is," replied Rosie. "Maybe if you were in a different colour, you wouldn't feel the same now, would you?" Thomas snorted. "How should you know? You're only painted lavender. I haven't seen anyone else in that colour." Rosie was speechless. Then she raced away quickly, as Thomas realized what he had just said. "Oh no! Wait, Rosie! I'm sorry!" But Rosie was too cross to listen. Thomas felt terrible.
A fierce storm was on the way. As Thomas went along his branch line, he kept thinking about how he had hurt Rosie's feelings without realizing it. Thomas met Toby at Ffarquhar station. He was not amused. "So I've heard from Percy that you've been boasting again, haven't you?" Thomas said that he did, shamefully. "Have you seen Rosie?" asked Thomas. Toby said that he hadn't seen her all day. "She hasn't come back to the sheds yet." This made Thomas even more worried. "Oh no, what if she's lost out there? She could be in big trouble! I've got to find her!"
Thomas raced across the raging storm, searching for Rosie. "Thomas! What are you doing?" called Annie. "Slow down! You'll get yourself into an accident!" called Clarabel. "I can't stop now," replied Thomas. It was beginning to get difficult to see. And Thomas didn't notice the red signal, until it was too late! Thomas' wheels knocked against the points and jumped off the rails. Thomas skidded on the ground as he was approaching the stone bridge. He crashed through some bricks, and before he knew it, Thomas was perched right on the edge, on the verge of falling down below with his coaches. "Oh no! I can't get back up! Help!"
Thomas began to feel himself slowly slipping further forward, and further over the edge. "Oh dear… I wish someone could find us!" Then, he heard a whistle and an engine hurrying towards him. It was Rosie. "Rosie! Oh thank goodness you're alright!" gasped Thomas. "Thomas! Don't move! I'm going to get you out!" replied Rosie, who was horrified to see him in danger. The lavender engine switched tracks and backed down onto the coaches. "Hold on!" she called as she pulled. By now, Thomas' wheels were hanging over the air. Rosie's wheels slipped on the wet rails. But she did not give up.
Slowly but surely, Rosie pulled Annie and Clarabel out, and then Thomas safely back onto the rails. "Thank you, Rosie…" gasped Thomas in relief. "You saved me and my passengers!" "We're ever so grateful!" sang the coaches. "I'm just glad you're okay too, Thomas," said Rosie.
Rosie brought Thomas and his passengers safely back to Ffarquhar and led him to the sheds. Percy and Toby couldn't believe what had happened while Rosie explained everything to them. And Thomas apologized to Rosie for their misunderstanding. And the next morning, when the storm had gone away, Rosie brought Thomas to the Steamworks to be repaired. When they got there, the Fat Controller was waiting for them. "Well, I can't say that I'm not disappointed in you, Thomas," he told Thomas. "I hope you'll pay better attention to signals in the future." "Yes, sir," replied Thomas. "I'm very proud of you, Rosie. Your act of bravery and competence in saving the lives of Thomas and his passengers shall not go unrewarded!" praised the Fat Controller. "So, I think you deserve a new coat of paint!" Rosie was delighted. Then she had a thought. "Sir, could I be repainted in a different colour, please?" "What colour do you want, then?" asked the Fat Controller. Rosie thought for a bit. Then she made her decision.
Soon, Thomas was as good as new. And Rosie came out with a brand new livery. A lovely colour of cherry red, with white stripes and a yellow running board. Thomas thought Rosie looked very smart indeed. From then on, Thomas took care to not be boastful as often, if ever at all.