Disclaimer: All recognisable fictional characters belong to Mattel. All fictional OCs belong to me.

Chapter 3

Thomas was exhausted. He'd just finished his second day of testing under the watchful eyes of Mr Billinton, Mr Riley, and a rather stern engine inspector. The engine inspector had come down from London to supervise the tests and to sign them off. Although Thomas passed all the tests, he'd quickly discovered that the engine inspector was not easy to please. Now, he was resting in the Brighton yard, having just returned from his final run-in test. The test had been a light engine run on the main line from Brighton to Littlehampton; a distance of only eighteen miles. Most engines could easily cover that distance within half an hour, but since Thomas was so new, the journey had quite worn him out.

Mr Billinton wasn't happy about Thomas being rushed into service. Normally, such a test run wouldn't occur for at least a week after a new engine had woken up, but time was of the essence during wartime. A station pilot was desperately needed at London Bridge Station owing to the large amount of rollingstock being kept there now, and Mr Billinton had already assigned Thomas to the role. He hadn't told the little tank engine about his new job yet, because he was concerned that Thomas wouldn't have the stamina to cope with it. The last thing he needed was Thomas getting overexcited and accidentally injuring himself in his enthusiasm.

"New engines need at least a month to build up their stamina," Mr Billinton reminded the engine inspector firmly as they entered his office.

"Look, Mr Billinton, I understand your concern," the inspector replied. He sat down in front of Mr Billinton's desk and took out his cigar case. He offered a cigar to Mr Billinton, who accepted the offer. After they'd lit their cigars, the engine inspector resumed speaking. "I don't like rushing new engines into service either, but time is money during wartime. Your new engine will just have to cope and learn on the job. He seems willing enough to please."

Mr Billinton sighed heavily. He knew that his hands were tied. "I'll make arrangements for Thomas to be transferred to London the day after tomorrow."

The inspector nodded and he stood up to leave. "I'll inform Mr Drew to expect his new station pilot in a few days. I hope you have a good crew lined up for the new engine?"

"Yes, I've assigned Mr Grimshaw and Mr Myers. They'll be here tomorrow morning to meet Thomas and take him for a bit of a run."

"Good. I know Mr Grimshaw. He's good at handling young engines. I'm sure he'll give Thomas a fair chance to learn how to become a really useful engine."

And with that, the inspector left the office.

…

Meanwhile, outside in the Brighton yard, Thomas was standing over an inspection pit, having his ashpan washed out. The cold water made him shiver as an equally chilly ocean breeze whipped around him. He was grateful that the engine cleaner looking after him hadn't dropped his fire yet. It was the only thing keeping him warm.

Mr Riley approached Thomas. As always, he was carrying his clipboard. "John?" he called.

The engine cleaner turned off the hose. "Yes, sir?"

Mr Riley crouched down beside Thomas, so he could make eye contact with John, the engine cleaner, who was still standing in the inspection pit. "You haven't dropped Thomas' fire, have you?"

"No, sir. I wasn't given any instructions on what to do with his fire, so I'm just flushing out the ashpan."

"Okay, good. Leave a warming fire in him overnight. His new crew will be arriving from London in the morning, and I'm sure they'll want to take him for a run as soon as possible."

John wiped his greasy hands on a rag. "Understood, sir. Where would you like him stabled tonight?"

Mr Riley stood up and he looked around the yard. "I think we're in for some rain tonight, so if there's a spare berth, I think he can go inside the shed. You know I don't like leaving engines out in the elements."

"You and me both, sir," John replied. "I'll just finish wiping him down, and then I'll have a shunter drive him over there."

"Good man," Mr Riley said. He gave Thomas' right-hand tank a friendly pat. "The engine inspector said that you did a good job today, Thomas. Have a good rest. You've earned it."

"Thank you, sir. Uh, sir? What is rain?"

Mr Riley smiled kindly. "It's water that falls from the sky. That's how we get water. It fills up the rivers and dams."

Thomas also smiled. "I like the sound of that, sir."

Mr Riley laughed. "Most engines don't mind the rain. I'm sure you'll enjoy it too."

Thomas sighed contently as he watched Mr Riley walk back across the yard towards the Works. His trip to Littlehampton had been a real eye-opener for him. He'd seen both passenger and goods trains being pulled by other engines, and he'd also experienced his first time on a turntable. Another thing he'd figured out was that he didn't always have to obey his driver's controls. He'd discovered that when he was in steam, if his regulator was even slightly open, he could control his speed at will. He could also apply his brakes whenever he liked. That meant that, if he really wanted to, he could completely ignore his driver's controls. It was an exciting discovery for any young engine. However, Thomas was yet to learn the perils of ignoring his driver's orders.

Once John had finished wiping the water and excess grease off Thomas' undercarriage, he climbed out of the inspection pit and went to find a shunter. But Thomas wasn't left alone for very long.

A short, weak whistle sounded above the usual clang and clatter of the yard. Thomas gasped when he saw an engine that looked almost identical to him steam slowly into the yard. It was another E2, pulling a very long and heavy goods train. The poor engine, a female, gasped and wheezed with each turn of her wheels. She shuddered to a stop just within the yard limits.

Thomas was shocked. Looking closer, he could see that her number was 102. Unlike him, her water tanks were much smaller.

That must be one of my older siblings that everyone's been talking about, Thomas realised. He winced when he heard the engine's driver shouting at her.

"You useless piece of junk!" the driver's angry voice carried across the yard. "When I tell you to go, you go! Now, stop fighting me and just move your lazy wheels! I'll have you scrapped if you don't do what you're told!"

The poor engine whimpered as she struggled to try and get her train moving again. Thomas could see her face turning red from the strain.

A shunter climbed into Thomas' cab. He checked Thomas' steam pressure and, satisfied that Thomas had enough steam left to be moved to the shed under his own power, he released the brakes and opened the regulator.

"Excuse me?" Thomas said to the shunter. "May I help my sibling over there, please?"

The shunter looked over at the other E2, who was still straining to get her train moving, despite her driver screaming profanities at her.

"Yes, we'd better give them a hand," the shunter agreed. He added some more coal to Thomas' fire to build up some more steam, and then he drove Thomas over onto the same track as the stranded train.

Thomas moved down the line, facing his older sister. Seeing him coming towards her, she stopped straining, surprised. She was too out of breath to say anything.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" 102's driver shouted as the shunter climbed down from Thomas' cab to couple Thomas to the front of the train.

"You obviously need help," the shunter retorted.

"No, we don't! This ridiculous engine is just lazy. If she was a horse, I'd take a bullwhip to her!"

The shunter coupled Thomas up to 102. Then, he went over to 102's cab to give her driver a piece of his mind.

"I'd like to take a bullwhip to you for being so heartless! Steam engines are iron horses, and everyone knows that if you treat horses kindly, they'll go to the ends of the earth for you. Mistreat them, and they'll drop dead in the shafts. One-oh-two is clearly doing her very best, but that isn't good enough for you fools. I'm amazed she even made it this far with that overloaded train. You know as well as everyone else around here that E2s aren't strong enough for this kind of heavy work. If you haven't broken her physically, you've certainly broken her spirit. I'm going to be reporting this incident with Mr Billinton."

102's driver scoffed. "I don't care what you do! Engines are just machines. They don't have any thoughts or feelings. The sooner you and Mr Billinton figure that out, the better."

Thomas felt his steam pressure rising as he listened to 102's driver. It was his first time experiencing the emotion of anger. It resulted in both of his safety valves going off. The noise of high-pressure steam escaping echoed all around the yard. The shunter hurried back to Thomas' cab, and he shut off steam. He then turned on the injector on the fireman's side, allowing water to rush from Thomas' tanks into his boiler. The cold rush of water quickly brought Thomas' steam pressure back down, resulting in the safety valves closing. Silence filled the yard for a moment.

"What just happened to me?" Thomas wondered.

"You just blew your safety valves," the shunter explained. "Don't worry. It happens a lot. When your steam pressure gets too high, the valves on your whistles automatically open to release the excess steam. Now, let's get this train moving before we get blamed for blocking the line."

The shunter made Thomas whistle to signal that they were ready. When his regulator was opened, Thomas surged backwards. His coupling tightened and strained. He made eye contact with his sister. She had her eyes squeezed closed as she also strained as hard as she could. With Thomas helping her though, they managed to get the train moving up the slight grade into the yard.

After the goods train had been shunted into a couple of sidings, 102 went for a drink. Thomas joined her at the water column.

"Thank you for helping me," 102 whispered as she recovered her breath. "When I got to the grade entering the yard, I simply couldn't keep going. It was hard enough to move that train on the flat. You must be one of my new younger brothers."

"Yes. The men only finished building me a few days ago. They've named me Thomas."

102 looked sadly down at her buffers. "I wish I had a name. My crew might treat me better if I did."

Thomas frowned crossly. "I didn't know men could be so cruel! How do you put up with it?"

"I put up with it, because I have no other choice," 102 replied sadly. "My old crew were very kind to me, and my new fireman is okay, but my driver… I tried fighting him when he was first assigned to me, but it was futile. He just forced me to work even harder by deliberately overloading my trains. He hates me, but I don't know why. Men are and always will be stronger than any of us."

"Gladstone said something similar to me the other day," Thomas mused. "Mr Riley said my new crew are arriving tomorrow morning." He frowned, thinking with worry that his new crew might be just as cruel as 102's.

"I'm sure that any crew you get will be nicer than mine," 102 tried to reassure him. "Not all men are cruel and thoughtless to steam engines. Most care for us very well."

At that moment, 102's crew drove her forward, taking her away from Thomas. The two engines didn't even get a chance to say goodbye.

The shunter patted the outside of Thomas' cab to get his attention. "Come on, Thomas. Let's go and get you bedded down for the night. You've got another big day ahead of you tomorrow."

…

Mid-morning the following day, Mr Billinton was in his office, drafting modifications to blueprints for the K class locomotive design, when someone knocked on his office door.

"Who is it?" Mr Billinton called without looking up from his work.

"Mr Riley. I have Mr Grimshaw and Mr Myers here to see you, sir."

"Just a moment." Mr Riley rolled up his secret sketches and he locked them securely inside his safe. "You may enter now."

Mr Riley showed the two men into Mr Billinton's office.

"Mr Grimshaw and Mr Myers to see you, sir," Mr Riley said as the men entered the office.

Mr Jeremiah Grimshaw, the driver, was a slightly overweight gentleman in his mid-thirties. His handsome face was framed by long sideburns down to his chin. They were the same colour as his dark brown hair. As for the fireman, Mr Brian Myers, he was a clean-shaven dark-blonde haired boy with blue eyes of just sixteen. He'd started his railway career at just seven years of age, cleaning engines before and after school to help provide a little extra money for his poor widowed mother.

Mr Billinton stood up and he shook hands with both men. "Jeremiah. Brian," he said in greeting. "Please, take a seat."

Both men removed their caps as they sat down. Mr Riley left the room, closing the door behind him. Mr Billinton resumed his seat.

"I have a new engine for you two," Mr Billinton began.

"Another one?" Brian exclaimed. He was quickly shushed by a nudge from Jeremiah.

"An E2, I understand?" Jeremiah said.

"Yes," Mr Billinton confirmed. "We've named him Thomas. I know we don't normally name our tank engines, but the decision came from a member on the Board of Directors. Thomas passed his final run-in test yesterday, however, I'll need a more thorough assessment from you both in a few weeks. He is a bit cheeky and very inquisitive, so I'm relying on you two to keep him in order. I can't imagine that we'll have too many problems with him. From what I've seen and heard, he seems keen and willing to learn and work. I know that you two won't let him get away with any bad behaviour."

"Understood," Jeremiah replied. "Do you think he's the sort of engine who we need to be firm with, or is he sensitive to discipline?"

"That I can't tell you, I'm sorry. You'll just have to figure that out for yourselves. Just do your best to teach him everything he needs to learn. I'm sure he'll tire easily over the first few weeks, so try not to overwork him. You'll need to build up his stamina slowly."

Jeremiah nodded in understanding. "I'll make sure Mr Drew doesn't overwork him."

"Which depot has Thomas been assigned to?" Brian interjected.

"I've assigned him to London Bridge as station pilot. He doesn't know about that yet, so feel free to tell him. I know that London Bridge is close to where you both live, so you'll be able to spend a lot of time with him. I've made arrangements for Thomas to double-head with a goods train departing here at two-thirty tomorrow afternoon. The train will stop at Victoria Station, and from there you'll run light engine the short distance to London Bridge. Thomas will undoubtably be exhausted by the time you arrive, so I don't want him to start work until the following day. I've already informed Mr Drew of my directions. I'll ask Mr Riley to leave the transfer orders inside Thomas' cab for you."

"Thank you."

"Do you know how Thomas likes to have his fire?" Brian asked. His question earned another nudge from Jeremiah.

"Mr Billinton has far more important things to worry about than that," Jeremiah scolded.

Mr Billinton opened Thomas's file on his desk. "It's okay, Jeremiah. The comfort and welfare of the engines in my care is very important. Now, I believe the engine inspector who signed off his tests made a note of that. Let's see… Ah! Here it is. He said that so far, Thomas seems to steam best with a flat fire, banked slightly at the sides."

"So, he's a difficult steamer, huh?" Brian mused. "Thanks. I'll try and see if I can teach him to steam better."

"Knowing your skills as a fireman, I'm sure you will," Mr Billinton replied with a smile.

Jeremiah stood up to leave. "Okay, Brian. Let's go and meet our new engine. Thank you for your time, Mr Billinton, sir."

Mr Billinton and Brian also stood up. Jeremiah and Brian headed towards the office door.

"I'll come and see how you're getting along in an hour or so," Mr Billinton promised. Jeremiah nodded as he and Brian left the office.

Author's response to reviews:

racefangurl - If you do read me, I must warn you, I'm not British. However, my TTTE stories reflect show English, so I use some American words. I disapprove of AEG and my first fic was created to express my anger about it. Thomas reminds me of a child in this chapter, the way he acts.

CarsWorldFan – I have zero interest in All Engines Go. As far as I'm concerned, Thomas and Friends has finished. I grew up with the models, so while I am a little bit biased towards them, I do appreciate some of the CGI seasons and movies. Thomas is the engine equivalent of a young child in my story. He has a lot to learn.

mean-scarlet-deceiver - Delighted to meet Boxhill (nods to Thomas and the Great Railway Show) as well as real-life historical figures like Billington and Brand. As with Gladstone and La France, it's just so refreshing to have a good story that draws on LB&SCR history. Within this fandom, the southern region in general seems to be the most overlooked of the Big Four.

CarsWorldFan – When I was studying 2oth century history at university, I created a whole assignment about the history of the Big Four, although I did focus mostly on the rivalry between the LMS and the LNER and their race to have the fastest overnight train to Scotland. You're right in saying that the SR is often overlooked. Personally, I love the GWR and the LMS, so I've learned a lot about the SR while researching for this story.
"Are you a steam engine too?" THOMMMMMMMAS

CarsWorldFan – (Laughs) I had a lot of fun creating that scene! So glad you enjoyed it too.
Brilliant use of his trademark "cheek" right off the bat (even—especially?—in all its innocence).

CarsWorldFan – I like to believe that Thomas was naturally cheeky right from the beginning of his life.
I wrote a lil scene once where a day-old Thomas confused top hats and funnels too (not posted here), though I prefer your fleshed out take on the concept, the way everyone and everything just freezes for a moment (quelle horreur!) Very cute!

CarsWorldFan – Aww, thank you! I'd love to read your take on baby Thomas.
As someone who is still really very ignorant about steam engines, your scene with the firelighter carefully detailing how an engine is lit from cold was INVALUABLE. Unsurprised to read about your experience in the notes, and grateful to have you sharing your knowledge in such an entertaining and compelling way.

CarsWorldFan – I've been very fortunate to have had hands on experience. I treated all the steam engines in my care as if they really were alive, because in my mind, they are. I'll be more than happy to answer any questions you may have about steam engines and, to a limited point, diesels. Your story about BoCo was incredibly realistic and so full of detail. I hope you continue writing more Thomas stories.
Speaking of the notes, cue me blushing. I'm fortunate to sometimes get feedback from readers on specific Americanisms and technical details that I fix on AO3 and tumblr, but it's such a pain to edit things (and there is so seldom any engagement) on this site that I just haven't been bothered to fix anything, over here! You may, however, have inspired me to start making the effort.

CarsWorldFan – I'm so glad I've inspired you to keep improving! I agree that this Fandom doesn't engage very well. It can be so disheartening at times.
Thanks for writing, looking forward to Chapter 3!

CarsWorldFan – Here it is!

Orderofthewhiterabbit - I don't know why, but I'm reading this in the voice of the tv series narrator. Also, as a ww1/history geek, I'm enjoying the history in this story.

CarsWorldFan – I'm so glad you're enjoying this story! As a historian, I love researching to find real events that I can tie in with my stories to make them more believable to the reader.

SpartanPrime101 - I really like this chapter, mate. I had to chuckle at Thomas' cheek towards the Grand-Admiral - no one would ever get away with mocking a high ranking officer of the Royal Navy without some sort of punishment, if it had been intentional. Looking forward to the next update; please, keep up the good work.

CarsWorldFan – Thomas is just like an innocent little child who doesn't realise that he's being cheeky. He's just trying to learn and understand his strange new world. Luckily for him, Rear-Admiral Brand saw the funny side of the situation. That's one thing I love about the British. They have the uncanny ability to laugh at themselves.