PRECISION AND PERFECTION

Written by Zack Wanzer and Cameron Stevens

Set during Series 17

Porter is a new engine on the Island of Sodor; he had arrived to help Salty at Brendam docks to shunt trucks and arrange trains for other engines, although the red diesel had thought at first that he'd be replaced. Now, Salty and Porter work together like a team, and although he'd not been there for very long, it felt as though Porter had been working at the docks for years.

"Very nicely arranged, Porter," smiled Edward as he came to pick up his next train. "How is it you manage to get things done around here so efficiently?"

"Back when I worked with some of my siblings in New York," explained Porter, "we'd each developed a routine for ourselves and it all came down to making sure that things were organized around the dockyards and that trains left on time. If something was even the tiniest bit out of place, it would throw things out of whack and it'd lead to chaos."

"An organized dockyard is an efficient dockyard," agreed Edward. "But take my tip; be careful around Bill and Ben. They're sure to cause trouble for newcomers, but they mean no harm."

"Oh, don't worry about me, Edward," smiled Porter. "I've dealt with cheeky, troublesome engines like that all the time back in New York; mostly from bigger engines who came to collect their trains. But I'll take your word for it. I'm not gonna let a pair of cheeky twins get the better of me!"

"I wouldn't get too cocky if I were you," advised Edward. "Even if you can evade their tricks, they sometimes don't let up."

"No problem," said Porter. "Nothing a dockyard shunter from the States couldn't handle!" And he rolled off to tidy up some more trucks. Although Edward was impressed with his work ethic, he was still concerned for Porter.

"If this ever gets out to Bill and Ben, I could only imagine how this would end…" the old blue engine sighed.

Edward was right to be concerned, because a long while after he'd left with his trucks, Bill and Ben arrived with their train of china clay. And judging by the raised voices, the twins had gone about their usual arguing which came as no surprise to anyone.

"Quit slacking off at the back, Bill!" called Ben. "We're already behind schedule because of the heavy weight of you and this train!"

"I'm not slacking!" snapped Bill. "I'm pushing as hard as I can! You're just going too slow for me to do all the work!"

"I am not!"

"You are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

As soon as the twins entered the yards, their argument immediately subsided to a form of surprised gasps. Bill and Ben had never seen the dockyard so neat and tidy. All the trucks had been arranged into their proper sidings for the engines to pick up which, in turn, made the engines, the workmen and even Cranky satisfied. But the dockyard crane never wanted to admit it, though.

"Erm… I'm not sure if I'm dreaming, Bill, but have you ever seen the dockyard this neat and tidy?" asked Ben.

"It wasn't this tidy since we made our china clay deliveries yesterday," added Bill.

At that moment, Salty rolled up after hearing the twins' conversation and laughed.

"Ye've got Porter to thank fer that, me hearties," the red diesel grinned. "He's been a real blessin' to the docks since he first came here!"

Bill and Ben were confused.

"Who's Porter?" asked Bill.

"Is it one of the railway crew helping out?" added Ben.

"Don't be silly, Ben!" snapped Bill. "How can a person move one truck around the docks, let alone tens of them?"

"At least he can move around a porter's trolley with all the heavy luggage, unlike you can move a heavy train of china clay on your own!" retorted Ben.

Before another argument between the twins broke out, Salty just chortled, once again gaining their attention.

"Now, now, ye two," he chuckled. "Porter's a new engine that Sir Topham Hatt brought in to help with the growin' demand of the work we've been gettin' at the docks lately. And he was right in doing so, because thanks to Porter, the dockyards have never looked as ship-shape than a sailin' pirate ship crossin' the Seven Seas!"

Bill and Ben were intrigued. They thought about Porter for a brief moment until they both looked at each other and grinned slyly.

"Oh, I've seen grins like that before!" Salty grunted, before sternly addressing them. "Now, don't ye be gettin' those silly ideas of playin' those tricks on Porter now, ye hear me? He's new here and would very much appreciate it if ye give him a chance to know his surroundings first!"

But Bill and Ben, being the mischievous twins that they always have been, were so eager to meet Porter that they didn't listen. Salty blew his horn to get their attention.

"Oi! Have either of you been listenin' to me?!" he burst out. Bill and Ben were snapped out of their trance and quickly composed themselves.

"Oh, er… y-yes, Salty!" Bill said, quickly.

"Of course, Salty! We wouldn't even dream of playing tricks on a newcomer like Porter! Right, Bill?"

"Absolutely, Ben!"

Salty didn't seem convinced and rolled away with an empty rake of vans, ready to be loaded with the morning catch of fish. As soon as he was out of earshot, Bill and Ben smirked to each other again. The twins had already begun making a plan to make Porter's first impressions on Sodor a memorable one.

Later that morning, Porter was resting in a siding after he had finished arranging some trucks for the morning trains of the day. The dockmaster was so impressed with Porter that he decided to let him have a rest. The viridian saddle tank engine was feeling pleased with himself as he dozed in the sun with the sound of seagulls filling the air.

"Couldn't be better," he sighed, contentedly. "I knew all my shunting skills back in the States would pay off!"

Porter was enjoying his rest when he was rudely interrupted by the approach of two more engines rolling up on either side.

"Say, Ben," Bill said, trying to sound casually innocent, "is this the new shunter Salty told us about?"

"Seems like it to me, Bill," added Ben in the same tone of voice. "I guess he's right! He does have quite a reputation for shunting!"

Porter blinked and eyed the twins curiously. "Are there two of you?"

"Yes, we're twins!" they chorused.

"Oh. Well then, pleased to meet you two," Porter said with a smile. "My name's Porter, and yes, I am that same shunter everyone's been talking about as of recently. And you two must be those tank engine twins - Bill and Ben, I assume?"

"Yes, that's right," said Bill. "I take it you've heard of us then?"

"Partly," replied Porter. "But I was mostly told that you two have a reputation yourselves. A reputation for playing tricks on the other engines, if I'm correct?"

The twins grinned slyly at this. "Maybe…" Ben said, deviously; Porter noticed this and knew that Edward was right about them. He was not going to let them play any tricks on him, especially not since he was new to the island.

"Oh, I think I can see what you two rascals are thinking," Porter said, defiantly. "Well, I'm onto the two of you! If what Edward said about you is true, then I would prefer it if you just let me continue my work in peace and not have it disrupted by the likes of you. You got that?"

Bill and Ben were taken aback at this; they hadn't expected Porter to stand up to them so quickly. Presently, Porter's driver and fireman returned from their lunch break and climbed aboard his cab.

"Come on, old boy," said his driver. "Time to arrange the afternoon trains."

Porter grinned at this before he turned his attention back to the twins. "Now remember," he said, sternly, "I'm onto you!" And he rolled away leaving Bill and Ben in a stunned silence.

That afternoon, Bill and Ben were back at the china clay pits. Marion the steam shovel was digging away at some loose rocks when she noticed the twins' sulky expressions.

"Well, well, I've never seen you two this down in the dumps like this before," she chuckled. "Is anything the matter?"

"It's that Porter," pouted Bill. "Who does he think he is, coming down to the docks and telling us what to do?"

"Yeah!" agreed Ben. "He's a real bossy, bumpy boiler, that one!"

"Bumpy boiler?" asked Bill.

"Well, duh! It's because he's got three domes on his tank like a camel," explained Ben. "Made it up myself."

"It does suit him," chuckled Bill.

Marion hadn't met Porter yet because of how busy she was working at the clay pits. Although Marion was kindhearted and sometimes scatterbrained, she thought that Porter was being rude to the twins and not vice-versa.

"Oh dear," she said. "That Porter sounds like bad news to me. Well, you shouldn't let him tell you what to do!" she said defiantly. "You should show Porter who's boss! Make sure that he knows his place!"

Bill and Ben thought about what Marion had said before grinning slyly to each other.

"But how are we going to do it?" asked Ben.

"I think I have an idea," smirked Bill, and he whispered it to his twin. The twins thought it was a good plan and decided to put it to action tonight.

The next morning, Porter awoke to a dreadful sight; trucks were scattered all over the dockyards, and there was very little room for him and Salty to move around in.

"What in the blazes has happened here?!" shrieked Porter, which startled a few seagulls who were resting on the rooftops. It even startled Cranky from his sleep.

"Ugh… would you keep it down already?!" he grumbled, sleepily. "You're already making too much noise-" He trailed off and noticed the trucks scattered around in all the wrong places. "Well, this is a fine how-do-you-do, isn't it?"

"Sounds as though some scoundrels have moved the trucks about in the night when we were asleep!" remarked Salty.

Porter thought for a moment before frowning angrily. "Ohhh, those little tricksters!" he growled. "Edward was right about them! Bill and Ben never let up with their tricks, and now they've ruined all of my finest work yet! Now there will be delays with the morning trains and the other engines will blame me for it all!"

"Calm down, me hearty!" Salty interjected. "No use in blowin' yer safety valve over this mess. We may need another engine to help us out…"

"But who?" sighed Porter, worriedly. "I don't see anyone here to help us. And Edward's not due to return here with his first passenger train of the day either!"

As luck would have it, they both heard the approach of another engine, followed by a bumping sound from one of the trucks nearby.

"Ouch!" the truck in question yelped. "There's no need for that! I was in the middle of a lovely dream too!"

"Sorry!" said an unfamiliar voice. "Who put all these trucks here, anyway? I wasn't expecting this when I first came to the island!"

Porter and Salty looked around, trying to figure out where that voice had come from.

"Cranky, do you know who it is that spoke up?" called Porter.

Cranky looked down and spotted someone trying to make his way through the trucks across the dockyard. It was a small dark blue saddle tank engine with four wheels and what looked to be an oil barrel on top of his bunker.

"There's your answer, Porter!" called Cranky. "Must be that new engine for the clay pits we were told about last year!"

Porter and Salty looked, and there was the dark blue tank engine, pushing his way through the last of the trucks before he finally reached the sheds.

"Oh, there you are!" the engine sighed. "I was told I'd meet two more engines here in this dockyard. But what's with all these trucks doing out here? This dockyard is a mess!"

"Argh, it's a long story, me hearty," Salty said. "I do apologize fer the state of the dockside. It's usually tidier than this before we start our work fer the day." He then eyed the new engine. "Hmm… ye must be new 'round here, aren't ye? The name's Salty. And this here's Porter; he's new to the island too."

"Nice to meet you two," the new engine smiled. "My name's Timothy. I was meant to be heading to the clay pits, but I was running low on oil and thought I could find the nearest fuel pump here. Mind you, I never expected the docks to be this messy!"

"And I certainly have Bill and Ben to blame for that…" muttered Porter.

Timothy was puzzled. "Er… who's Bill and Ben?"

"I'm sure we'll tell ye about them later, me hearty," Salty interrupted. "But fer now, we need to sort out these trucks before the mornin' trains of the day."

"Anything to help Sir Topham Hatt and his engines get their trains running!" agreed Porter. He then turned to Timothy. "Maybe perhaps you'll help us?"

"I don't see why not," smiled Timothy. "Although… I am still new here, and I may not be able to keep up with all the shunting skills you have. Not to mention I am still a little low on fuel."

"Trust me, Timothy," grinned Porter. "If you're with one of the most skilled shunters like myself, you'll learn from the best!"

"If ye'll help us sort out these trucks, we'll help ye get refueled, matey!" Salty said with a wink.

"Sounds like a fair wager," smiled Timothy.

"Well then, me hearties, let's get to work and get this dockyard all shipshape once again!" Salty declared.

Meanwhile, Bill and Ben were double-heading another long train full of china clay. They were looking forward to seeing Porter and were delighted by their trick.

"He's going to be hopping mad when we see him!" giggled Bill.

"That was a good trick!" laughed Ben. "This will teach him not to boss us around!"

But as they drew nearer towards the docks, they noticed that the trucks they had left yesterday were no longer there.

"Say, Ben," asked Bill, "weren't the trucks we shunted yesterday meant to be here this morning?"

Ben was puzzled at that question. "Yes…? Why?"

As they entered the docks, the twins were most surprised! All the trucks they'd shunted into their incorrect places had all been tidily arranged once again! Everywhere they looked, the trucks were put back in their original places ready to be picked up by the other engines.

"Wha- Bu- How di-?! Th-th-that's impossible!" Bill and Ben exclaimed.

"Hello, you two."

Bill and Ben jumped; it was Porter who had spoken to them, and standing next to him was an engine unfamiliar to the twins.

"Porter?!" they gasped.

"I see you two have seen what Timothy's capable of," the viridian tank engine smirked.

"Timothy?" asked the twins in unison.

"That's right," smiled the new engine. "I'm Timothy, the new engine for the clay pits. And the engine that gave Porter and Salty a helping buffer with cleaning up the mess that you two have made!"

Bill and Ben were speechless! Their trick had failed all because of a new engine that they'd never met before arriving at the worst possible time.

"Which reminds me," said Porter, now sounding annoyed with the twins. "Would both of you care to explain why you decided to disrupt my finest work and place all the trucks that I've worked so hard to arrange all over the dockside?!"

"I think I deserve an explanation as well!" boomed a well-known voice.

"Oh no…!" Bill and Ben winced. It was Sir Topham Hatt who had arrived, and he was annoyed too. Bill and Ben panicked, trying to think of what to say as he strode over towards them.

"Oh… er… well, you see, sir…" stuttered the twins.

"I'll tell you!" interrupted Sir Topham Hatt, sternly. "It has come to my attention that only a few trains departing the docks were slightly delayed because Porter and our newcomer Timothy had been helping Salty put everything back to order, all because the trucks had been scattered around the dockside! This isn't something I would expect from Porter since he did an outstanding job since he arrived! Am I to assume that you were the ones responsible for all this confusion and delay?!"

Bill and Ben looked at their buffers, ashamed and at a complete loss for words.

"Yes, sir…" they sighed in unison. "It was us, sir…"

Sir Topham Hatt groaned in annoyance. "Oh, you two have really done it this time!" he snapped. "I expected the both of you to treat a resourceful and hardworking engine like Porter with open buffers after he made an everlasting impression at the docks, and yet you two have disrupted his work ethic and nearly upset my arrangements! I am extremely disappointed in you two!"

Bill and Ben said nothing and continued to look at their buffers in shame.

"However," Sir Topham Hatt continued, "it's a good thing that Timothy was able to help Porter pick up the pieces and put right everything you've done, despite some trains being only slightly delayed."

"Anything to help keep your railway running on time, sir," smiled Timothy, modestly.

"And I couldn't have done it without you, Timothy," added Porter, appreciatively.

Bill and Ben, still feeling ashamed, looked at Porter. "We're sorry, Porter…" said Bill, solemnly. "We only wanted to pay you out for preventing us from playing any tricks on you…"

"But now we both realize you aren't such a pushover after all," added Ben. "Especially since Timothy came along."

Porter let out a small smile. "Well, I suppose I could forgive you two for that," he replied. "And I'm sorry too if I came off as so bossy. The only reason why I meant what I said was because back when I worked in the States, I've had to deal with cheeky engines like you who often took advantage of my work ethic and kind nature. I just didn't want it to happen again… until now."

"We promise we won't take advantage of your work ethic again," said Bill.

"Although," smirked Ben, turning to Timothy, "there are plenty of other engines to play tricks on-"

TOOOOOOOOT!

Bill and Ben suddenly snapped out of their trance thanks to Porter blasting his whistle to get their attention.

"Have I not made myself clear since yesterday?" he asked sternly. Bill and Ben froze after that. But then… Porter started laughing! And so did Timothy. Eventually, even Bill and Ben couldn't help but laugh as well.

After that, Porter was kept very busy at the docks, doing what he does best; marshaling the trucks into their proper places and arranging them into different goods trains for the other engines to pick up. And eventually, in time, he earned the twins' respect. Even Marion, after learning from the twins that he wasn't a pushover, grew quite fond of Porter too, and even owned up to Sir Topham Hatt as well.

"I understand why you said what you did," he told the steam shovel, "but next time, please try not to believe in unprofound claims." Marion promised that she wouldn't.

And as for Timothy, Bill and Ben decided that, just for once, they'd allow Timothy to know his surroundings and let him do his work in peace for his first few days on Sodor. But after he learned of their stories from Porter and Salty, Timothy knew that Bill and Ben would soon be back to playing tricks on him and the other engines again. After all, it is who they are.

"I bet they'll never go through one day without causing any mischief," he chuckled to himself. As Timothy was coupled up to some trucks for the docks, Marion noticed the newcomer and pulled up alongside.

"Oh, hello there!" she smiled. "Are you that new engine that's going to be working here at the clay pits?"

"That's right," Timothy replied. "I'm an oil burning engine, you see. That means I don't run on coal and water."

"Oh, so you're the engine that will be using that new fueling pump that had been built for the clay pits!" Marion exclaimed.

"Indeed I am," said Timothy. "I'll be able to make multiple trips to and from the clay pits with oil being the only fuel source I'll take!"

"Well, welcome to Sodor, Timothy," Marion said, kindly. "I'm sure there will be plenty of work for you to do while you're here at the clay pits."

That was just what he wanted to hear, because nowadays, as Timothy would make china clay deliveries with the twins, he often saw Porter at the docks and the two engines would always whistle hello to each other. And in between jobs, they would often chat and laugh like old friends with Salty accompanying them. Even Edward, who had learned the whole story from Salty, was pleased that Porter and Timothy were settling into their new working lives on Sodor.

"They seem to be fitting in just fine," he chuckled to himself.

THE END

Author's Comments

Has it been a couple of months since I last posted a Thomas story? Well, much of it comes down to personal changes for me in real life; not helping was creative burnout from constantly writing a lot of stories back to back for the past year or so, as well as recently getting an itchy throat (hopefully from allergies and not COVID). So yeah, it's a long story.

Anyway, Precision and Perfection. That story ranked fourth in a poll I did a while back, and it was one that I'd wanted to do for a while as I hadn't written much about Porter and Timothy. This provides an explanation as to how the latter ended up working on Sodor, being previously hinted at in The Monster of Brendam in Series 13-16 Redux, as well as hopefully giving Porter more to work with. His bio describes him as being a perfectionist, and so we managed to weave that into the story with him getting upset at Bill and Ben's trick in messing up his hard work. As a matter of fact, the entire story is very much contained to the Brendam area of Sodor, with no Steam Team members barring Edward (since it's his branch line) making an appearance.

Upcoming stories:

- If the Roller Fits