The other Magical Railway

by Rick the magical engine

What if there was another Magical Railway? What if this railway had it's own universe? What if this railway looks like the NWR? What if this railway has four magical engines and rules that differ from the magical railroad we know? What if Edward knows a lot about this universe and has connections to it? In this story we will explore this concept. Please enjoy.

5. Chapter 3

Hanne and Nore walk into the Research Facility a week later. They walk to one of the test sidings, on which Rick is still stationed. "How did it go?" Nore asks the green engine. Rick smiles cheerfully. "It went well. It is a shame the two of you couldn't do the test with me." Hanne laughs. "We would habe only lowered your results. We are nowhere near experienced enough to run such extensive tests with you." Rick just smiles, before looking over at Lizzie and Melody, the latter of whom joined them with the tests a couple hours after they started. Did it go well with the two of you?" he asks the two girls. They smile. "Yes, it went well for me." Melody answers cheerfully. "I think it went well." Lizzie says. Katie pats her buffer. "Don't worry dear, you did very well for an engine your age." Lizzie smiles weakly. "Thank you Katie." A whistle is heard, and Angel steams into the building, being escorted by Libby, Ellery's twin sister. "How did it go, you three?" "It went well. How have you been this past week? How is your loneliness?" Rick asks slightly worried. Angel smiles brightly. "I haven't been lonely at all, mister Hodgson has given me a lot of jobs all around the island. The steelworks hasn't been that busy lately, so I had the chance to do those jobs." Rick gets a big grin on his face after hearing this. "That is good, very good." He turns to the purple boxtank. "I take it that we will get the results of these tests soon." "Yeah, by the time all the sensors are removed from your body we will have the basic results of the tests ready. The more technical details will be worked out tomorrow." she tells him.

About an hour later the three Furness K2's are fired up again and Libby comes back with the results. "I must say that I am impressed with your results Rick. It appears that you are capable of strengths comparable to a normal Union Pacific Big Boy now." Rick looks impressed. "Really? I must thank miss Ailie then." Libby hums. "Her design is really impressive indeed. Lizzie's result are also impressive." Lizzie looks surprised. "Really?" Libby smiles. "Yeah, you appear to be as strong and efficient as a BR class 9F." Lizzie looks at her with a blank stare. "Remember, I am only a week old. That didn't mean anything to me." Libby blushes slightly, embarrassed. "Of course, sorry. The 9F's are according to many people the pinnacle of British steam locomotive design." Lizzie smiles happily. "Nice. So that means that I will be useful, right?" Scott pats the side of her cab and chuckles. "Indeed, you would have been useful anyways." Lizzie gets a confused look on her face. "Wait a minute, don't I have the same design as my father? How come I am not as strong as him?" Rick thinks about it. "Does it really matter? I mean, you are young, and with great power comes great responsibility. I think it might be for the best that you aren't as strong as me yet." Lizzie huffs. "I still want to know why I am not as strong as you." Libby chuckles. "The sensors we used during your tests didn't detect nearly as much mysterium in your body as in Rick's. So you don't have your performance boosted by magic." Lizzie sighs. "Oh, okay then." Libby looks at Rick again. "Oh, before I forget, Chloe will be going to the island of Sodor in Chloe tomorrow with various representatives from businesses around the island. She will also deliver the results from your tests to Sir Topham Hatt."

The next day most of the mainline engines of the NWR are parked in Knapford yard. Sir Richard Topham Hatt climbs om to a oil barrel and blows on a whistle to grab the attention of the engines. "Dear engines, as most of you know, about a week ago I, Thomas, Lady, Edith and Edward left the island for a day. One of the reasons was to get a better relationship with a very special railway. Today an engine will arrive from that railway with businessmen from companies that said railway serves to see if they can make some deals with the NWR." Duck looks curious. "Which railway is it sir?" he asks. "The Obbeeys Railway." The older engines that worked on the NWR's predecessors gasp in shock. "Gordon huffs. "Never heard of that railway." Neil chuckles. "Of course you don't Gordon, we lost contact with that railway before you were built." "Who will be coming sir?" Emily asks curious. "A Stirling Single named Chloe." Alfred looks surprised. "I thought the only Stirling Single besides Emily was No 1." the green B12 says confused. Emily chuckles. "Young engines such as yourself wouldn't know about this, but the Obbeeys Railway is located in another universe. They have a couple of magical engines like Lady and her railway." Gordon scoffs. "Sure, like I would believe that." he says indignantly. A whistle is heard as Edith and Edward enter the yard with a goods train. "Is something wrong dear?" Edith asks the blue pacific. "Emily is claiming that there is another magical railway with magical engines." Edward chuckles softly. "Not exactly, that railway isn't magical itself, necessarily, but there are five magical engines on the island." Emily frowns. "Five, I thought there only were the Magical Quadruplets." Edith giggles. "One more has appeared, I'll tell you the details later." Gordon raises an eyebrow, utterly confused. "Wait, you believe this nonsense Edward?" Edwards cheerful face drops. "Yes I do Gordon. Those magical engines just happen to be siblings of ours." he says strictly. Gordon looks embarrassed. "I am sorry Edward, I didn't mean to offend you." Edward smiles reassuringly. "I know that Gordon, don't worry." Sir Topham blows on the whistle again. "In about a month three of these magical engines will come to the island. I ask of you to be kind to the visitors. That is all, you're all dismissed."

Several hours later a blue Stirling Single puffs over the Vicarstown bridge pulling two coaches. She looks around curiously. "It has been a while since I was last here. I wonder what has changed." Chloe says to herself. She gasp as she sees Vicarstown station come into view. "Oh dear, a lot must have changed. This station was rather small the last time I was here." She slows to a standstill at one of the platforms, and a stout gentlemen in a suit wearing a top hat is waiting there for her. "You must be Chloe. My name is Richard Topham Hatt, and I am the controller of this railway." "It's a pleasure to meet you, sir. I have been told I needed to visit several places on the island, including the harbours." Sir Topham smiles. "I have assigned one of my engines to accompany you. Her name is Emily, and she is a Stirling Single, like you." A whistle is heard and a dark green Stirling Single steams into the station. She stops next to Chloe and smiles at her. "You must be Chloe. My name is Emily, it is nice to meet you." Chloe smiles. "Nice to meet you to." "Let me get turned around, and then we can go." Chloe's driver hands the Fat Controller a document. "These are the test results of Melody, Rick and Lizzie." he says.

Emily and Chloe steam through Crovan's Gate. "Thank you for showing me around Emily." Emily smiles cheerfully. "Don't worry about it Chloe. I usually pull railtours anyway." Chloe frowns. "Do you enjoy pulling those? I couldn't imagine pulling railtours all the time myself to be honest." Emily sighs. "Sometimes I wish I could pull express trains again, but I am just to weak for those. Don't you have that problem?" "Not really. I probably am more powerful than you." Emily frowns and huffs indignant. "What do you mean more powerful?" Chloe chuckles. "Calm down. I mean that the Obbeeys Railway hasn't stopped developing steam technology, unlike most other railways. We are often given more modern technology, making us more powerful and efficient. As a result I am able to pull trains rather easily."span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanEmily looks at her with big eyes. "Really!?" Chloe smiles. "Yeah."

Sander Hodgson walks to Bea sheds, where Rick and Lizzie have been staying overnight. "Good morning Rick, Lizzie. I have a job for you Rick." Rick raises an eyebrow. "Yes sir, what can I do for you?" "There are two new engines that will arrive at Keeshyn Harbour this morning, and I want you to welcome them to the railway. Could you do that for me?" Rick looks at his daughter. "I would love to, but I need to educate my daughter. I would like her to have some basic knowledge about railway operations before we go to the NWR." Evan, a red 9F, pipes up. "I can teach her some things for you if you want me to Rick." "Are you okay with that Lizzie?" Lizzie smiles brightly at her father. "Of course I am fine with it." "Well then, I'll take you up on that offer Evan." Rick then turns back to Sander. "I would love to welcome those two new engines for you then." Sander smiles. "They are from the US, so they will need to be delivered to the Works. My daughter Emma will accompany you."

Nore gently applies the brakes as they approach Claddan station. "What did Emma look like again? It's been a while since I last saw her." Rick asks his crew. "Emma has blonde hair and fox ears and a fox tail." Hanne answers. Rick hums. "Okay." They stop at one of the platforms at Claddan. A timid voice calls out to the engine. Rick looks over and sees a girl that fits Hanne's description perfectly. She has brown eyes, and is wearing large round glasses. "You must be Emma." She nods, trembling a bit. "It is an honour to meet you sir." Rick sighs. "You don't have to be so formal dear. I won't hurt you. Just call me Rick." The young girl stops shaking and breathes a sigh of relief. "I-if you say so." Rick smiles and mentions with his eyes. "Hop on."

Emma leans out of Rick's cab as they coast along the line through the countryside. She sighs contently, before looking over towards the front of the engine. "Have you met Ailie yet?" she asks. "Not yet, but I would like to. Her design suits me very well, so I want to thank her. What does she look like?" "She is a bear of a woman, and is partially bear as well. She is a survivor of the Sloat Rail Disaster back in 2000, losing her right leg and her parents. She was adopted by the family of my boyfriend and has been around Bea Works since childhood." Emma suddenly remembers something. "Rick, did they test your eyesight during your stay in the Works?" she asks the engine. Rick frowns. "What do you mean? We engines don't need to test our eyes." he says confused. Emma shakes her head in disbelief. "They didn't? Unbelievable!" Hanne looks surprised at Emma. "Why is that unbelievable miss?" Emma sighs. "In more recent years we have started testing the eyesight of our engines, and as a result some of them have received glasses. Engines as old as Rick should especially be tested. They have a bigger chance to have bad eyesight after all." "Hmm, I guess I will ask the Works to check my eyes in that case then." Rick muses. "Good."

Nore sighs blissfully as she enjoys the sound Rick makes as he glides along the rails. His wheels turning around, his exhaust leaving his chimney, the sounds he makes when running over points, the crackling of his fire and the sound of his two whistles. "I could do this forever." she whispers. Hanne chuckles happily. "Me to sis, me to."

Rick whistles at Eva as she pulls out of Keeshyn Harbour with a goods train as he enters the harbour. He looks around and spots two unfamiliar engines at the key. Emma points from his cab. "There they are."

Erika looks around the harbour with disgust. "I don't understand why we couldn't stay in the States. This place is a dump." the black and orange Southern Pacific GS-4 complains. "I think this place is quite quaint." Audrey says quietly, the Erie Railroad 2-8-8-8-2 triplex painted blue with red stripes prepares for a verbal attack. She is spared from it by the arrival of a small green tender locomotive. "Hello, and welcome to the island of Obbeeys. My name is Rick and I hope the two of you had a pleasant trip here." he greets the two American locomotives with a smile. A young woman steps out of his cab and walks towards them. "My name is Emma Hodgson, the daughter of the controller of this railway. I am here to welcome you in the name of my father." She looks at the orange 4-8-4. "You must be Erika." she asks the passenger locomotive. Erika grins. "Indeed I am, the most beautiful locomotive in the world, ready for express duties ma'am." she announces importantly. Emma nods, her expression turning into one of minor annoyance. "And you must be Audrey." Audrey smiles shyly. "Yes ma'am. That's me." "You're an Erie Railroad 2-8-8-8-2 right?" Rick asks. "Yes, you've heard about me?" Audrey asks surprised. Rick chuckles. "Your class was the inspiration for my rebuilt. I am not a compound like you though." Audrey frowns, being confused how a locomotive as small as him could be a triplex while not being a compound. Before she can ask him about it, Erika starts complaining. "Who cares about that? Now, where is my shed?" She wheeshes steam at Rick, disgust written on her face. Emma gives Erika a furious glare before turning around to face Rick. "Rick, would you explain to these two what is expected of them? I will go to the harbour master to finish their paperwork." Rick grins at her. "Of course Emma."

Erika scoffs at Rick the moment Emma is out of eyesight. "Listen here you little switcher, I am the one in charge here. You are to respect-" She is large cloud of steam being released by the green engine. "Listen here youngster, you have only arrived this morning and have already started giving your seniors orders. I don't know how things were on your old railway, but over here things don't work like that. You don't have the authority over the other engine working on this railway, and that attitude won't get you very far on this island. I am the one tasked with introducing you to the railway, so I am the one in charge of the two of you right now. You will behave yourself!" Rick says, getting himself worked up. Erika just snorts at him, but stays silent. "Good. You will pull Audrey to the Works so-" "I what!? I am not going to pull that piece of old iron anywhere!" Erika yells furiously, moving in reverse in her anger and bumping into Audrey with force. For some reason, Audrey's brakes weren't applied, and she starts rolling backwards, onto a sloped part of the dock.

"Help!" Audrey screams as she begins to pick up speed rolling down the slope. She franticly looks around as she tries to apply her brakes, but it is too late. Three of her drive wheels start to leave the rails when she comes to an abrupt standstill. Dazed, Audrey looks at her knuckle coupling, around which a green, slightly translucent chain is wrapped. She follows the chain with her eyes to its origin, being Ricks front coupling hook. "I've got you." the green locomotive grunts as he holds her. Workmen run towards the big triplex to secure her.

Rick grunts as he heaves Audrey back onto the tracks, with the guidance of the workmen. His front set of drivers slip for a moment, before regaining their grip on the rails. Nore stands beside him, watching the green K2 perform a manoeuvre she is sure she couldn't pull of anytime soon. Erika observes him with an unimpressed expression on her face. Emma walks over to the three engines, closely followed by the harbour master. "What happened here?" she asks Rick. He looks over, giving the final heave to pull Audrey back onto level tracks. "Erika decided to throw a tamper tantrum and bumped Audrey, resulting in her rolling down the key." he tells her, anger present in his voice. Emma glares at Erika, who rolls her eyes. "It doesn't matter, she didn't fall into the sea so it is fine." she says uninterested. "Put out her fire, I'll let Rick pull them to the Works." Emma orders the workmen around her. Erika huffs proudly. Rick glares at the passenger engine. "Don't think there won't be any consequences for this, young lady! Putting others into danger is not something we take lightly here. No matter the status of an engine, doing such things won't be unpunished." he says, a dangerous glint in his eyes. Erika scoffs at the small tender engine. Emma smiles devilishly at the orange engine. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. Rick has about the same amount of authority as my father has." she says with a giggle. Erika looks taken aback by this, before wearily glancing at Rick. Emma turns around. "I'll finish the paperwork, so I don't want to hear any commotion from you, Erika. Do you understand?" Erika grumbles.

Audrey looks gratefully at Rick. "Thank you for saving me." she thanks him. Rick smiles warmly at her. "Don't mention it." Audrey looks a bit nervous, before asking him a question. "Are you one of the Magical Quadruplets?" Rick chuckles. "I am indeed." Erika gulps nervously. Hanne jumps out of the green engine and walks to Audrey. "You are rather slow, am I right?" she asks the triplex. The large blue engine smiles sadly. "Yes, I can't go faster then 10 miles per hour. My boiler can't produce enough steam for me to go faster." Hanne grins at her. "Bea Works can fix that problem. They will be able to make you a lot faster." Audrey's eyes light up. "Really?!" Hanne nods./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"About half an hour later, Emma returns to the three engines, paperwork in hands. "Did anything go wrong?" she asks Rick. Rick smiles. "Nah, she stayed pleasantly quiet." Emma nods as she climbs into his cab. The green engine moves forward and couples to Audrey through a converter, and then shunts Audrey to Erika, whom is coupled to the large triplex. Audrey looks impressed as Rick starts to reverse out of the harbour. "You are a lot stronger than you look." Rick smiles at her. "Thank you."

Emma sighs frustrated. "Is something wrong miss?" Hanne asks her concerned. "I am a bit frustrated with Erika's attitude. I don't really know how we can correct it." Hanne shrugs. "Maybe putting an older engine in charge of her. Maybe an engine that has corrected the behaviour of another troublesome engine before." "Maybe the Caledonian twins will do the trick." Rick chimes in. Emma nods. "That could work."

Diesel 10 rolls into the yards at Tidmouth, pulling a maintenance train. Lady is shunting there, still unaware of the big yellow diesel approaching her. The moment Lady sees the warship her mood turns sour. "Good afternoon." the diesel greets the purple tank engine shyly. "What do you want?" Lady growls at him. "I am just doing track maintenance." Lady scoffs at him. "Don't lie to me. I know you are planning something, you foul villain." Diesel 10 sighs sadly. "I guess you still haven't forgiven me." Lady rolls her eyes. "And why would I? You tried to kill me, twice! That isn't something you can forgive so easily." Diesel 10 sighs again. "I can understand that you don't like me, but at least give me a chance to make it up to you." "Why would I? You tried to kill me without a reason!" the purple tank engine snaps at him. Diesel 10 looks at his buffers, a tear rolling down his cheek. "You don't know what I have been through." he mumbles under his breath. Lady rolls her eyes. Clover, one of Sodor's own 4-10-0+0-10-4 garratts, steams into the yard with a goods train. The sound of scraping metal is heard as she limps into a siding, her right front running gear being torn to shreds. "Dear god Clover, are you okay?!" Lady gasps in shock. "Of course she isn't, look at her!" Diesel 10 snaps at her. He then turns to Clover. "Do you need me to take you to the Steamworks Clover?" he asks the blue garratt. Clover smiles weakly through the tears running down her cheeks. "Yes please, thank you Russel." Lady looks confused as the workmen from the maintenance train run to Clover and begin to disassemble the damaged running gear. "Russel?" she asks puzzled. "Yes, do you want something?" Diesel 10 replies. Lady's eyes grow wide. "Wait, your name isn't Diesel 10?!" Diesel 10, no, Russel scoffs. "Of course not. That was just what my previous owner called me. All Sodor engines have a proper name. Mine is Russel." he explains as he couples to the front of Clover. He then gently pulls out of the yard, leaving a perplexed Lady behind. "You are welcome to visit the Dieselworks whenever you want." he shouts over to her.

Rick pulls Audrey and Erika into Bea Works. The smell of molten metal and oil fill the air. A man with dark blonde hair and blueish grey eyes walk to the green engine, being followed by a large woman with the lower body of a blue scorpion instead of normal human legs, red hair tied in a ponytail with a big green ribbon, blue spider eyes above her main eyes, and her main eyes having black instead of eye white and blue pupils in the shape of gears. Rick smiles at the blonde human as he sees him. "Hello mister Verheiden, how are you?" The man smiles at the engine. "Today has been going quite good, what about yer day?" "Had to deal with a difficult engine, but otherwise it went good as well." Emma jumps out of Rick's cab, being caught by the man and giving him a kiss. "Good afternoon Rick." she greets the man. "Good afternoon darling." mister Verheiden replies. "Chief, we have work to do." the redheaded woman tells him. "Ah yes. Rick, ah belief that ye have nae met me second in command. This is Daphne Peters, th' assistant manager o' th' Works." The green engine smiles cheerfully at Daphne. "Tis a pleasure to meet you Daphne." Daphne does a small bow. "The pleasure is all mine." Emma points to her eyes in the green engines view, and he winks at her. "Daphne, do you know how to check my eyesight?" he asks. Daphne blinks with a blank expression. "What do you mean? Didn't you already get your eyes checked?" Mister Verheiden shakes his head. "We dinnae, we thought it would be better if we waited until at least a week after they returned tae service before we did it in order tae determine if their eyesight had deteriorated tae a point it would be bothersome." Rick chuckles. "Did you ever think about the fact that we might have had bad eyesight from the start? We engines didn't get our eyes checked until after we got stranded after all." Daphne smiles at the green engine. "I'll check your eyes." Mister Verheiden nods at Rick. "Leave Audrey here, and take Erika tae th' tender engine section." Rick whistles, moves around the two American engines and couples to Erika, before taking her to the correct section of the Works. He hears mister Verheiden over the intercom. "Fiona, we have an engine at th' entrance that needs tae be shunted into th' articulated engine section."

Ailie waves as she sees Rick back into the siding used for optical checks, leaning on her crutch. She is wearing durable brown pants, a black shirt and has a brown cloth wrapped around her neck that can be used as a mask. She has her long brown hair tied in two ponytails and has golden cross-shaped earrings in her bearears. A pair of soldering goggles rest on her forehead and her cheeks have a couple of scars and she has red eyes. Hanne and Nore climb out of the cab when he comes to a standstill. The twins greet the brunette with smiles on their faces. "Good afternoon Ailie." Ailie smiles back at them. "Morning ye two." She then turns to Rick. "How has yer redesign been working out fur ye Rick? Ah hope it has been satisfactory." Rick grins at her. "Oh, it has been absolutely perfect so far. By the way, have you received my message?" Ailie nods smiling widely. Hanne and Nore look confused at Rick. "What message?" Nore asks. "Remember when Hanne suggested those builders plates?" The twins nod. "I called Romy and Norm, and asked Melody about it when we were doing tests. We all agreed that we would like to have those, so I called the Works about five days ago to order them." Ailie holds up a golden looking builders plate. "And they are ready tae be installed." Hanne shakes her head and holds her hands in the air. "Wait wait wait. What do you mean 'you called them'?" "Ye dinnae know? Due tae th' fact that they got stuck on a branch line because they dinnae have any way tae contact others they requested tae have radios installed sae they could call up people themself if necessary." "Huh… that is smart." "Anyway, why are ye in this siding?" Ailie asks Rick. "I am going to get my eyes checked." Daphne joins the group. "Are you ready Rick?" she asks him. "Yeah."

After Daphne has tested Ricks eyes, she goes into the small office next to the siding to get the results. Rick looks over at Ailie. "Ailie, I have noticed that I have trouble seeing at night, always have. Could you give me something to fix that problem for me?" Ailie nods. "Tae be honest, ah had a feeling ye would say that. Ah have some old American headlights in storage, would ye like tae try them out?" "Yes please."

Daphne returns to Rick, being surprised at the large amount of workmen surrounding the green engine. "What's going on here?" she asks confused. "He said that he had trouble seeing in the dark, so they are installing some old headlights onto him." Hanne tells the scorpion woman. "Really, and what is that over there?" she points to his splasher. "We're installing a builders plate." Ailie answers. Daphne shakes her head chuckling, and walks over to the front of the engine. "Rick, the results have returned, and we've determined that you indeed need a pair of glasses. They will be finished in a couple of days. Rick smiles at her. "Thank you Daphne."

The atmosphere at Tidmouth sheds is tense this evening. "How dare he! How dare he! Inviting me to the Dieselworks! I know he is planning something. I will find out what it is. I swear I will!" Lady rants, her face red in anger. "SHUT UP!" Everyone looks shocked at Henry, whom has not snapped at anyone like that in decades. "You are overreacting and completely wrong. Russel clearly deeply regrets what he has done to you. He is a nice chap if you get to know him. Just get over yourself already!" Lady stares at Henry, a scowl on her face. "Diesel 10 is no good, I am sure of it. And he dares to say that I don't know what he has been through." "You don't know. You never showed genuine interest in him." James reprimands the purple tank engine. "Then what did he go through?" Lady asks, calming down slightly. "We don't know, we never told us. And before you go of again, his reasoning for not telling us is that he believes that you have the right to hear his story first. All we know is that he was treated poorly in the past." James tells her, succeeding in calming the magical engine down. "You have given me a lot to think about."

The door slams shut, leaving her all alone in the dark. She shivers as the cold autumn wind slips through the cracks in the walls and burn her cheeks. Tears run down her face, stinging her cheeks as darkness slowly overcomes her and she falls into a nightmare filled sleep.