Troublesome Engines – SpartanPrime101 Adaptation: Chapter 2

Hello, everyone. This is SpartanPrime101, bringing you the next update for my next Thomas the Tank Engine fanfiction story. I know that the first chapter was very similar to the original story written by the Rev. W. Awdry. But considering how many fanfiction authors and Youtubers have written their own version of this story, I hope that mine will be just as good.

Before I do or say anything else, I want to give praise and glory to God Almighty. Lord, I thank you for being with me and for guiding me over the past few months. Thank you for giving me the strength to acknowledge and battle the demons that resided in my soul. Thank you for the wonderful people in my life, including my family and mentors. Thank you!

Disclaimer: I don't own Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends. If I did, it would be just like the old-style episodes that aired before the CGI episodes – when they actually cared about making an actual story rather than simple, childish ramblings and decisions.

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Chapter 2: Trouble in the Sheds (Written by Reverend W. Awdry)

The Fat Controller sat in his office as he listened to the growing rabble outside. The passengers were angry, and were steadily getting louder as the minutes passed by.

"Oh, bother those passengers!" he grumbled, crossly. "I have enough to worry about with the construction along the mainline. And now, I have to worry about this. How can I possibly work with all this noise?"

Just then, the Stationmaster came in, looking very worried. "Excuse me, sir, but there's trouble in the sheds. Henry is sulking, there's no train, and the passengers are saying this is a bad railway."

"Indeed!" said the Fat Controller. "We cannot allow that. Could you go and quieten the passengers, please? I will go and speak to Henry." And with that, he grabbed his top hat, and marched out of his office towards his car.

Soon, he arrived at the engine sheds to find his three big engines, Gordon, James and Henry, looking quite cross. He marched up towards the big green engine. "Come along, Henry. It's time your train is ready."

But Henry didn't answer; it was Gordon who spoke. "Henry's not going anywhere! And neither are James or I. We won't shunt like common little tank engines. That was Thomas' job. We are proud, important tender engines! You fetch our coaches and we will pull them. Tender engines. Don't. Shunt."

And with that, all three engines let off steam in a cheeky way.

The Fat Controller was not impressed. "Oh, indeed? We'll see about that. Engines on my railway do as they are told, and they are certainly not too important for small jobs." And he got back into his car, and drove away to find Edward.

"The yard just hasn't been the same since Thomas went off to run his new Branch Line," he thought sadly to himself. "While I'm sure Edward would appreciate a change, we still need another engine here to handle the sorting and arrangement of trains."

When he arrived at Wellsworth, he found Edward shunting in the yard. He came up to him as he was sorting out a line of trucks. "Leave those trucks please, Edward. I need you to sort out coaches for me at the big station."

"Oh, thank you, sir," said Edward, kindly. "That will be a nice change."

"That's a good engine. Off you go then."

And so, Edward left for the yard. Soon, he found coaches for the three engines, and the trains ran as usual for the rest of the day.

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The next morning, the Fat Controller arrived in the yard to see how Edward was getting on. But to his surprise, he found Edward looking downtrodden and miserable. Then, Gordon came clanking past with the Express. He wheeshed steam loudly and rudely at Edward, then snorted away down the line.

"Bless me!" said the Fat Controller. "What a noise!"

"They all Hiss me, sir," said Edward, sadly. "They all say proper tender engines don't shunt. And last night, they said…I have black wheels. I haven't, have I, sir?"

"Of course not, Edward," the Fat Controller said, kindly. "You have nice blue ones, and I'm proud of you. Gordon, James and Henry are wrong; tender engines do shunt. But all the same, you'll be happier in your own yard. We really do need another tank engine here. Alright, I want you to work in your yard for the rest of the day. I'll be back later with a new engine."

"Yes, sir," said Edward, and he puffed away towards Wellsworth.

The Fat Controller went to an Engine Workshop on the mainland, and they showed him all sorts of tank engines. There were big ones, and little ones. Some were happy, some were sad, and some looked at him anxiously, hoping he would choose them.

As he walked up and down the row of engines, he soon came across a smart little green Saddle Tank Engine with four wheels. "Hmmm, yes. I do believe that's the one. I say there, if I choose you, will you work hard?"

"Oh, sir. Yes, sir," said the tank engine, excitedly.

"That's a good engine. I think I'll call you…Percy. Do you like that?"

"Oh, yes sir. Thank you, sir."

"Very good," said the Fat Controller, and he went to the manager's office. As he was about to finalize the purchase, there came a loud 'wheeshing' sound from the yards near the main warehouse. Both the Fat Controller and the manager walked outside, and were greeted by a spectacular sight.

A large LB&SCR L Class tank engine with olive-green paint was chuffing into the yard. It was pulling a long goods train, along with a large tender engine that was leaking steam from its boiler. The tank engine came to a stop just beside the workshop. Workmen rushed to uncouple him from the train, and inspect the tender engine for damage.

"Botheration!" said the foreman, crossly. "What's happened now?"

"His safety valve burst again," came the reply. "He stopped right on a level crossing, and his train was blocking the main junction points. Good thing this tank engine was there, otherwise he'd still be stuck there moaning like a sick bull."

The manager shook his head and chuckled in dry humor. "It looks like Robert had to come and save you again, 'Old Teapot'. And here I thought you were finally going to be a proper, reliable engine."

The tender engine growled, but he didn't have any steam to say anything. The tank engine, red in the cheeks from the effort, chuffed slowly towards the water tower for a much-deserved drink.

The Fat Controller, rather impressed, spoke to the manager. "Excuse me, sir. What can you tell me about that engine right there?" and he pointed to the tank engine.

"That's Robert," the manager answered. "He's one of those modified 'Baltic' engines from Brighton. He's quite handy at pulling heavy freight as well as passenger trains. We usually have him sort out trains of new parts and machinery from London and Manchester. However," he said ruefully, "lately, he's been handling the other engines' jobs as well as his own. Especially old 'Teapot' over there. I've a right mind to send him away, and bring in another, more reliable engine." This made 'Teapot' splutter and growl even louder, though no one took any notice.

"Is that so?" pondered the Fat Controller. "Is he reliable?"

"Oh, yes indeed, sir," said Percy, who had been brought out of the warehouse, "He's very friendly, sir, and hard working too. He's always willing to lend a helping buffer, sir, and is also quite friendly, sir. Oh, please sir, could he come with us, sir?"

The Fat Controller said nothing as he thought it over. He waited and watched as Robert chuffed towards them. "Phew! Well, that's one way to get a good run!" he said jokingly to Percy. "Though, you would think that he would be wise enough to not overwork his safety valve so soon after his last incident." This earned a laugh from Percy, and a chuckle from the manager.

"I must say," said the Fat Controller, "that was an impressive display. Robert, is it? I'm in need of an engine to help with the goods trains on my railway, as well as the maintenance work along the mainline. If I purchase you, do you promise to work hard?"

"Of course, sir," said Robert, feeling surprised and excited for the offer. "I'll work my hardest, sir."

"That's a good engine. You and Percy here will make fine additions to my railway."

And so, the Fat Controller spoke to the manager, who agreed to the arrangements. Soon, both engines were chuffing away towards the yard at the big station. Once they arrived, he introduced them to Edward.

"Edward," he said, "here are Percy and Robert, our new tank engines. Will you show them everything, please?"

"Of course, sir," said Edward.

Percy and Robert soon learned what they had to do, and they had a happy afternoon. The workmen and passengers were quite impressed by the new engines; the three big engines, however, glared scornfully after them.

Later that day, Henry came chuffing into the yard, hissing as usual. He made his way towards the engines, ready to wheesh loudly at them. But as he neared, Percy took a deep breath, and…

"WHEEEEEEEEESH!"

Everyone jumped at the noise, and turned to look at the little green engine. And Henry was so startled, that he jumped and chuffed away as quickly as he could.

Edward laughed and said," how beautifully you wheeshed him, Percy. I can't possibly wheesh like that."

"Oh," said Percy, bashfully, "that's nothing. You should hear them in the workshop. You have to really wheesh loudly to make yourself heard."

"Yes, indeed," chuckled Robert. "Sometimes, it got so loud, that everyone compared it to a fleet of ships tooting their horns from the River Thames. We could barely hear ourselves amongst the racket, let along anyone else."

And chuckling to themselves, all three engines went back to work.

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The next morning, Gordon, James and Henry woke up later than usual. It didn't take long for them to realize their crews hadn't come. Instead, they saw the Fat Controller walking towards them.

"Excuse me, sir, but where are our crews?" asked Henry.

"Well, Henry," started the Fat Controller, "I can answer that: they are not coming."

"What!" cried the three engines.

"I've heard that you've be extremely rude to Edward, despite all he's done to help you around the yard. I've also heard of how you've been rude towards our new engines, after I had brought them here to make things easier for you. I can assure you that I will not stand for that sort of behavior on my railway."

"But sir," Gordon started to complain. "We were just–"

"Furthermore," interrupted the Fat Controller, "I've received complaints of how you've been rough with your trains, and causing needless unrest throughout the yards. It's high time that this childish behavior was put to an end. So, as punishment, I'm having you all shut up in your sheds until further notice."

"WHAAAT!"

"Enough!" bellowed the Fat Controller. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I must go and meet the other engines." And with that, the Fat Controller walked back to his car, leaving the three big engines alone, and speechless, in the shed.

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Later, Thomas arrived from his Branch line. "Hello, Edward," he greeted the older engine.

"Oh, hello Thomas. This is Percy and Robert. The Fat Controller brought them to work on the railway from now on."

"Oh, indeed," said Thomas, and he greeted the new arrivals. "Well, you're certainly big for a tank engine," he said to Robert. "I suspect you'll show those big engines a thing or two."

Robert chuckled, and said, "Well, this isn't too different from the big engines on the mainland. They think that, because they're selected for special jobs and responsibilities, they're too important for other, less savory jobs. In the end, they end up being complete fools who are too big for their britches."

The other engines chuckled. "That describes Gordon and James to a 'T'," said Thomas. "I expect that's why the Fat Controller needs my help."

"Indeed, he does," said Edward. "Shh, here he comes."

They all saw the Fat Controller walk up to them. "Well done, Thomas. You've been quick. Listen, Henry, Gordon and James are sulking. They say they won't shunt like common tank engines. And so, I've shut them up, and I want you and Edward to run the mainline for a while."

"Common tank engines, indeed," snorted Thomas. "We'll show them!"

"That's a good engine. And Robert, you will help take the goods trains between the station here and that on the other end of the line."

"Of course, sir," said Robert. "I'll be sure to work my hardest."

"I'm glad to hear it," said the Fat Controller. "And of course, Percy here will help out too."

"Oh, sir. Yes, sir. Please, sir!" answered Percy, excitedly.

And so, Thomas and Edward worked along the mainline. They started at opposites of the line, and whistled to each other as they passed by. They made sure to greet Robert as he passed with the goods trains, and he would give a whistle in return whenever he would see them. Percy, meanwhile, puffed along the Branchline. Thomas was worried for Annie and Clarabel, but the Driver and Guard promised to take care of them in his absence. They soon came to enjoy Percy, and helped him learn the ins and outs of the line.

There were fewer trains now, but the passengers didn't mind. They enjoyed greeting the smaller engines, and found that they were less rough with their trains as they puffed in and out of the stations. And, they also knew that the big engines were having a lesson.

Gordon, Henry and James were left in the shed, feeling cold, lonely and miserable. They wish now they hadn't been so silly.

I'd say they deserved their punishment, don't you?

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And with that, another chapter is finished. And quite quickly if I do say so myself. As you can all guess, Robert is an OC I've made for this story. Obviously, this will deviate from Awdry's original story; considering that other writers do the same with their fanfic stories, I can't say I feel too guilt-ridden about it.

Until next time, please read and review.