Tales From The Tracks & Beyond

by Teh Kew1 Storyteller

Are you a Thomas & Friends fan? Do you like reading fanfics of it that are a little bit different from the usual fanfics? If so, then you might wanna check this out. This story has things that Thomas & Friends dosen't, like action. If you wanna see a story that involves trains that are a little bit different, then you might wanna read this.

8. Usefulness

=|=|=| Episode 8: Usefulness |=|=|=

Riptide is a happy little tank engine, he loves working on The Leafy Line together with his driver Tim. They would do the jobs that Mr. Fred gave them until it was almost the end of the day. Then the whole thing repeated itself all over again.

Riptide had the short version of the LBSCR E2's side tanks. But that's because he was supposed to represent the early version of the E2s. Ever since Riptide found out about the thing with his tanks he'd been asking Mr. Fred when he'd get the second version of the LBSCR E2's side tanks. A.k.a. the extended version. Mr. Fred would say that even though he wanted to give Riptide extended side tanks, he couldn't. Because he was having a bit of trouble with money recently. But he promised that as soon as his money problem was taken care of, he would give Riptide extended side tanks.

A lot of time has passed since Riptide first asked Mr. Fred to give him extended side tanks, and he still didn't get it. Mr. Fred was still having money problems. Riptide didn't mind this much, as he knew why Mr. Fred couldn't give him extended side tanks now. Besides, even without extended side tanks he could still do his work just fine.

One day, Tim and Riptide were cruising along the line pulling a passenger train. They talked about extended side tanks for a while.

"I wish I could get extended side tanks soon. I'd be able to do more work with those!"

"Yeah, I know. But you heard Mr. Fred. He's having a bit of a problem with money right now."

Tim and Riptide continued to chat with each other until they reached the station they were supposed to get to. When they did, Riptide was still thinking about extended side tanks.

"I wish I could get extended side tanks soon..." Riptide muttered to himself. But Tim heard him and said "Don't worry Riptide, you do your jobs well in the way you are right now.". "With extended side tanks, I'd be able to do them better." Riptide added. Tim was about to reply, but the guard told them that it was time to go. Tim made Riptide whistle before making him start and leave the station.

When Tim and Riptide got back to the sheds, they rested for a while. Then, Mr. Fred came up to them and said "Oh, hello Tim and Riptide.".

"Oh, hello sir. What is it? Is there another job for us?" Tim asked, "Yeah, and it's a special one." Mr. Fred replied. "Oooh a special one! What is it?" said Riptide, he and Tim wondered what the special job was.

"Tim and Riptide, the both of you will help on the Lithernwick Railway for a few days. They need another engine's help." Mr. Fred answered. "The Lithernwick railway?" Tim asked, he hadn't heard of it before. "Yes. The Lithernwick Railway is a sandy place. In fact, some of the sand that the engines use come from there." said Mr. Fred.

"I've heard of the Lithernwick Railway, almost all of their engines are purple." Condor chuckled, "Really?" asked Tim and Riptide. "Yes!" Condor chuckled even more.

"Well Tim and Riptide, the both of you should go to Aquaria Docks right now. There's a ship waiting for you there." said Mr. Fred, "I can't believe it! We're going to another railway!" said Riptide excitedly, "Yeah, me too." agreed Tim as he drove Riptide to the docks.

While Tim and Riptide were making their way there, they chatted with each other for a bit.

"I wonder what the Lithernwick Railway will be like?"

"Mr. Fred said there's lots of sand there. We should probably bring some swimming gear eh?"

"Hahahahahahaha! Good joke Tim!"

"Let's make sand castles."

"Maybe if we have some time, hehehe."

"I... -I still can't believe we're gonna go to another railway!"

"Yeah! Me too! But... -here it is. It's happening."

When Tim and Riptide got to the docks, the ship that was waiting for them was already there. They were surprised when they saw who it was, it was Great White!

"OI YOU TWO! Get here as quickly as possible! I haven't got all day!" Great White shouted, "Alright, no need to be rude." replied Riptide.

Soon, Riptide was loaded onto Great White. He was on a piece of rail with buffers at the ends and was held by chains. Soon, Great White sounded his horn and went into the waters.

"Finally, I get to go somewhere else other than the rails for the first time!" said Riptide excitedly, "Yeah, this is quite a nice change." Tim agreed.

The trip to Lithernwick Railway took a few days, as it was quite far from The Leafy Line. But eventually, Great White was able to get there.

"Look! I see what looks like a railway!" said Riptide, "And there seems to be lots of sand on the ground too. It must be the Lithernwick Railway." Tim replied.

Great White stopped near the docks of the Lithernwick Railway. Then, Riptide was unloaded from him and put onto the tracks.

When Riptide was onto the rails, Great White honked his horn and went away. "Well, we're here." said Tim, "So this is the Lithernwick Railway." said Riptide.

Just then, an engine arrived. It was Jason, he was one of the engines who got so scared in the last episode. Tim and Riptide took a look at him, he was an indigo 0-6-0 saddle tank engine. He had a nameplate and silver buffers.

"Oh, hello. I haven't seen you around. You must be the engine that was sent to help us." said Jason, "My name's Riptide, and this is my driver Tim. What's yours?" said Riptide. "Jason." Jason replied. "Well Jason, nice to meet you." Riptide added.

Just then, Mr. Seth came. He saw Tim and Riptide from the distance and ran towards them. "Ah, you must be the engine that will be helping us for a few days." he said. "Yeah I am." said Riptide, "Good. Jason, please show him the ropes." Mr. Seth added. "Yes sir. C'mon Riptide, I'll show ya around." said Jason as Tim and Riptide followed him.

When Jason was done showing Tim and Riptide around, they went to where Mr. Seth was. "Ah, you two are back." he said to Riptide and Jason. "Yes sir." replied Jason.

"What's our first job sir?" Riptide asked, "You are to take a load of fish to the market." Mr. Seth answered. "Fish?" Riptide asked again, "Yes, why?" said Mr. Seth. "Fish smells bad." Riptide continued. "Well, you'll still have to take them anyway." said Mr. Seth as he got in his car and left.

"C'mon Riptide, I know fish smells bad but we still have to take it. It's our first job for today." said Tim, "But I don't want to take smelly fish!" Riptide replied. "Sorry Riptide, but it's our first job and we must do it or Mr. Seth might get mad at us." Tim said again, "A-Alright..." said Riptide. But he still didn't want to take the smelly fish.

When Tim and Riptide backed down onto the train, Riptide said "Phew! What a disgusting smell!". "I know, but we gotta do this." said Tim.

Just then, a familiar face came along. Then, black smoke came out of the engine the person was driving. When the engine's driver looked at her right, she said

"Wait... -TIM?! -RIPTIDE?!"

"-KAITLYN?!"

It was Kaitlyn, she worked on the Lithernwick Railway. "-Wh-what're ya doin' 'ere? I didn't expect you two." she said in surprise, "We're the ones who're supposed to help you guys for a few days." Tim answered. "So you two are the new faces." muttered Kaitlyn. "What?" asked Tim.

"-N-Nothing. -A-Anyway... all I can is... -good luck." Kaitlyn replied smirking a bit. Then, she started he engine. But when she did...

*...ffffffWWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!*

"-ACK-"

"-AAAHHH-"

"-AAAHHH-"

Black smoke flew everywhere again! This time, it was much thicker! It went all over Kaitlyn, Tim and Riptide! But they weren't the only ones who were covered in coal dust! The smoke went towards some of the fish trucks as well! Some of the fish was covered in coal dust and was now black all over!

"Look what you've done!" Riptide said angrily, Kaitlyn coughed and said "-O-Oh Oh shit er-uhhhh... -s-sorry. I didn't mean to do that I swear! My engine just has problems from time to time.". "Why don't you get it fixed?!" said Tim, "I don't have that much time to maintain my engine properly anymore. The work I do is really tiring that by the time I'm done I just want to sleep most of the time after. Besides, my engine has had this sort of problem for a long time. I've had people try and fix it so that the problem would go away for good. Nothing worked." Kaitlyn replied.

"Get a new engine." said Tim, "I don't think that would be all that good, even though my engine sometimes shoots so much black smoke at least it can do it's jobs well. It's fast, strong and reliable." Kaitlyn said back. "Suit yourself. But now me and Riptide will have to wait until new fish is loaded to replace the ones you covered in black smoke." Tim said a bit grumpily.

Just then, someone came along. "Hey! What's all this?! -And why are some of the fish now covered in... whatever that is!" he said. Tim pointed to Kaitlyn and said "Her engine covered everything in black smoke.". "Oh... yeah. This sometimes happens." said the man.

Soon, the dirty fish were replaced by new fresh ones. Riptide was coupled to the train, then Tim made him start off. But by the time they got to the market, they were late.

"You're late!" a man said, "It wasn't my fault! Some careless driver accidentally made her engine cover some of the fish in dirty black soot. Those fishes had to be replaced." Tim replied.

By the time Tim and Riptide got back to the engine sheds, Mr. Seth was already waiting anxiously for them. "What took you two so long?" he asked, "It was Kaitlyn sir. Her engine covered some of the fish in black soot. So they had to be replaced." Tim answered. "Ah, well this sometimes happens." Mr. Seth said.

Back at The Leafy Line, everything was running like usual. But with Tim and Riptide gone, the engines and their crews had to do Tim and Riptide's work as well as their own. Eventually, the work became a bit too much that Mr. Fred decided to rent another engine to help with Tim and Riptide's work even though he was having a bit of a money problem right now. Renting an engine would be expensive, but he couldn't afford the backlogging of work on his railway.

He was able to rent one from the Southern Railway, it was a green SR (Southern Railway) USA class locomotive. The SR USA class was an 0-6-0 tank engine.

The next day, the new engine arrived. She was unloaded from Great White and was placed onto the tracks.

Sunshine was working at the docks during the time and saw the new engine. She was green and had the Southern Railway logo on the sides of her tanks, she was numbered 30072.

"Oh, that must be the new engine." Sunshine said, "C'mon, let's check it out." said her driver as he made her move forward. As Sunshine was approaching the new engine, it looked back and saw her.

When Sunshine stopped beside the new engine, she said "Hello! I'm Sunshine. You must be the new engine.". "Indeed I am." the new engine replied. "So tell me, what's your name? Mine's Sunshine." Sunshine added. "What a cute little name ya got there eh?" the new engine said smirking, she was teasing Sunshine but Sunshine didn't know this.

"Thank you." said Sunshine, but the new engine said "I was being sarcastic. Your name is like a baby name or something.". Sunshine said "Oh." and just pouted a bit before asking "Well, what's your name?". "Lucy." the new engine replied.

"Well Lucy, welcome to the railway." said Sunshine trying to lighten up the atmosphere, but Lucy just scoffed and said "I don't have time to speak to little engines like you." before puffing away.

Sunshine was hurt, but decided to not to think about what Lucy said. "Come along Sunshine, don't bother with her. Let's just do our work." said her driver, "Yeah, you're right." Sunshine smiled before puffing away.

When Lucy got to the engine sheds, she looked around. "Oh wow. Mr. Fred's money problem is THAT bad that he has to rent A LOT of engines from other railways too." she said. What she didn't know was that there were working replicas of engines from other railways on The Leafy Line. "Hey! Some of us may be replicas of engines from other railways, but we do our jobs well." said Rainwater. "Pah! If Mr. Fred can make people make replicas of existing engines, why not make his own?" Lucy added.

"He has made his own engines. I'm a TLL A3 and I was designed by him!" said Lightningstreak, Lucy just rolled her eyes and went into the sheds.

Condor had to show Lucy around the railway, but Lucy would sometimes say something bad at some of the things she saw. Like how the engines of The Leafy Line had "crazy liveries". She also said that there was too much grass on the railway and that it should be cut. But Condor replied saying that the neverending growth of the grass on The Leafy Line was one of the reasons it got it's name. And that the grass didn't bother anyone or anything too much as it could only grow very short. But Lucy didn't listen.

Soon, Lucy had to start working. Mr. Fred came up to her and said "Lucy, you have to take a goodstrain to the docks.". Lucy's driver then started her and she puffed away.

Lucy went to the yard to get some trucks for the delivery. But she was biffing and bumping the trucks around. The trucks didn't like it. They tried to get her to stop, but nothing worked.

At last the trucks had had enough. "Let's teach that silly little engine a lesson!" they whispered to each other.

Soon, Lucy managed to form a train. Then, she took them to platform 1 where they were loaded with food for the market. Lucy then ran around the train so that she could couple up to them in front.

The shunter fastened the coupling. And when the signal dropped the guard blew his whistle. Lucy's driver made her whistle back before starting off. The trucks' chance was going to come soon.

When Lucy got pretty far from the station, the trucks began to put their plan into action. "Hold back! Hold back!" they whispered to each other, so they did. This made it hard for Lucy to pull them. "Is it me, or did this train get a bit... heavier?" she said. But she decided not to think about it and carried on.

But as the journey went on, Lucy found it harder and harder and harder and harder and harder to pull the trucks. "Ugh! What's wrong with this train! Hey you trucks! Stop this nonsense at once!" she yelled, but the trucks said "What? We're not doing anything. Maybe you're just not strong enough to keep pulling us!".

Unfortunately, Lucy believed them. "Maybe I am getting a bit tired. I'll stop for a bit, then I'll go on my way again." she said as she stopped at a siding.

After Lucy took a rest, she tried to start off again. But the trucks weren't satisfied with the trick they played on Lucy and started holding back again.

Lucy's wheels kept slipping and slipping, she tried moving the train with all her strength but it was no use. "C'moooonnnnn!..." she grunted until finally... the train started moving again.

But when Lucy reached the docks, she was late. "You're late!" said a man. "I'm sorry sir, the train was heavier than I thought!" said Lucy. "-What?! The train isn't THAT heavy! Those trucks must've played a trick on you. You must've done something to them if they did." the man added.

But the trucks said "We aren't doing anything. This engine just isn't strong enough to pull us for long.", "Aha! I knew you were doing something back there!" said Lucy. But the trucks kept saying that Lucy just wasn't strong enough.

Lucy and the trucks argued for a while until finally the man said "Stop!". Then, Lucy just went back after the load of the trucks had been delivered.

When Lucy came back to platform 1, Mr. Fred was already there. "What took you so long?" he asked, "It was the trucks sir! They held back when I was pulling them and made me think that I wasn't strong enough to pull them for long!" Lucy answered. Then, Mr. Fred turned to the trucks and said "Well?". "It's not our fault sir. This engine has been bumping us around. So we decided to teach her a lesson." the trucks said.

Mr. Fred then turned back to Lucy and said "Lucy, why did you bump the trucks around?", "Because they were being silly sir," Lucy replied. "Rubbish! You're just mad 'cuz no one would agree to the bad things you said about The Leafy Line." the trucks said back.

"Bad things? What bad things?" said Mr. Fred, the trucks told him everything. When they did, Mr. Fred turned to Lucy and said "Well, if you've got a problem with the railway I can always send you back where you came from.". "-N-No sir! I'm sorry sir!" stuttered Lucy, "Good. Now then, wait in the engine sheds while I think of what job I'll give you next." Mr. Fred added. "Yes sir." said Lucy as she puffed away.

A few days later...

A few days later, Tim and Riptide were getting the hang of working in the Lithernwick Railway. They were even able to make friends with Kaitlyn, who could be a bit hard to get along with sometimes because of her attitude. The three worked together, and sometimes pulled trains together.

When Tim, Riptide and Kaitlyn were on their breaks, they had a bit of a chat with each other.

"Hey Kaitlyn, when I first met you I thought you were just a boastful person. But now I can see that you can be good too."

"Well... -yeah."

"Why are you a bit boastful sometimes anyway Kaitlyn?"

"I... I was just tryna be cool. Y'know? Cool people have cool 'tudes?"

"Well, if you want people to like you then you should just be friendly. No one likes someone with a bit of attitude."

"I... I guess."

"Tell ya what, why don't I help you?"

"Help me on what?"

"On getting people to like you more."

"Maybe later Tim. Right now it's kinda busy."

"Oh, ok."

It was kinda busy. After their breaks, Tim, Riptide and Kaitlyn worked hard. The railway was busier than usual today. But they managed to get through. Tim, Riptide and Kaitlyn sometimes even helped each other.

The work was a bit hard and tiring, but eventually it was done. "Phew! What a busy day! My wheels hurt a bit." said Riptide, "Phew!" said Kaitlyn's firewoman, who was called Alexandra by the way.

Alexandra is a pale skinned woman with brown eyes, her hair was short, blonde and a bit fluffy at the end. She was the one who kept Kaitlyn in order just in case she was gonna do something stupid. However, she didn't know about Kaitlyn's little gig with the underground locomotive hangout.

"Man, I need sometin' refreshing." said Alexandra, "Let's go buy somethin' for ourselves. said Kaitlyn. Then, she, Alexandra and Tim went off to buy something to cool off.

After Tim, Alexandra and Kaitlyn ate and drank what they bought, they decided to wait in the sheds. Soon, someone came up to them and said "Jason has been derailed! We need someone to help him!".

"I'll get the cranes." said Kaitlyn as she and Alexandra got inside the engine and got them. When the cranes were coupled to the back of Kaitlyn's engine, Tim and Riptide were coupled from behind. Then, they, Kaitlyn and Alexandra went off.

Meanwhile, Jason was on his side derailed. For some reason, his brakes failed and couldn't slow down on the sharp bend. "I wish someone would come here and help me soon..." he said, "Don't worry Jason, help will come here soon." said his driver.

At last help did come along. It was Kaitlyn, Alexandra, Tim and Riptide. "Oh no, Kaitlyn's gonna laugh at me and tease me again!" Jason thought, but this time... Kaitlyn didn't. Tim and Riptide had taught her how to be nicer.

"Don't worry, I'll get ya outta there." said Kaitlyn smirking, Jason just rolled his eyes as Kaitlyn put the cranes in the right spot.

Then, the chains of the cranes were put on Jason. Then, the cranes started lifting him back onto the rails. Then, Kaitlyn and Alexandra helped clear the mess along with Tim and Riptide.

When the work was done, Kaitlyn buffered up to Jason and took him to the works. While Tim and Riptide went back to tell Mr. Seth everything.

When Tim and Riptide got to where Mr. Seth was, they told him about what happened. Mr. Seth understood and said that he would like to talk to Kaitlyn later. Tim and Riptide said ok before going back to where Kaitlyn was.

Meanwhile, Kaitlyn was talking to Jason.

"I'm surprised Kaitlyn, normally you would laugh and tease me a bit. Wh-what happened to you?"

"Well... someone taught me how to be nicer."

"Who?"

But before Kaitlyn could answer, the answers came right in.

*Engine whistling!*

"Hey everybody!"

"Tim, Riptide. You two are back, what're you two doin' 'ere?"

"Kaitlyn, Mr. Seth wants to talk to you. Don't worry, it's nothing bad."

"What is it?"

"You'll see."

So Tim, Riptide, Kaitlyn and Alexandra went to where Mr. Seth was. They they got there, Mr. Seth saw Kaitlyn and started speaking.

"Kaitlyn, I heard about what you did. You've started being a bit nicer to others."

"Well, Tim and Riptide here taught me how to be nicer."

"Tim? Riptide? Is that true?"

"Yes sir."

"Well, thank you Tim and Riptide."

"We were just doing something good sir."

Meanwhile, back at The Leafy Line... Lucy was worse than ever. She often made rude remarks about the engines and some of the things in the railway.

She was also doing some stupid things as well. Right now, she was going up to a signalbox.

"Hehehe, I'll show Sunshine not to mess with me!"

Lucy wanted pay Sunshine back after the small engine called her out on her bad behavior in front of many others. When she got to the signalbox, she whistled long and loud.

*-WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! -WOO-WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!*

"-WH-WH-WH-WH-HUH?!" said the signalman before getting out of the signalbox and going up to Lucy. "What's the matter?" he asked, "There's been a change in plans. Mr. Fred said that you should switch the points to let Sunshine through." said Lucy. "Why? What happened?" the signalman asked, "Chestnut broke down in the middle of nowhere. So Mr. Fred's letting Sunshine through while he's trying to get another engine to take Chestnut's place." Lucy added. "Very well." said the signalman and switched the points.

The signalman didn't know that Lucy was lying. Chestnut didn't break down. In fact, she heard his whistle in the distance. "-I-UH-wait... -is that..." said the signalman. But before he could finish his sentence, Chestnut sped along. Unfortunately, he didn't know that the tracks had been switched to where he wasn't supposed to go and accidentally went the wrong way.

"Ugh. This wasn't my plan." Lucy said, then an idea flew into her smokebox. "Hey, maybe I can work with this. Hehehe. Alright, new plan." she added.

Chestnut realized he accidentally went on the wrong track, so he decided to go back. But when he almost got to where the points were, there was Lucy blocking the line. "Get out of the way!" said Chestnut, "Hmm... -nah." said Lucy. "Why you little!" said Chestnut.

The passengers were angry that a troublesome engine was blocking the line. They were going to be late. "Come on you silly engine! Get out of there!" one of them said, but Lucy just blew steam at him.

The passengers all yelled angrily at Lucy, but she still wouldn't move. Then they went and complained to the signalman, who said that he would try and get a new train for them at once.

Soon, Cremini came with some coaches. The passengers got on board, then Cremini set off. But before he did, someone came down from the coaches.

"-LUCY!"

It was Mr. Fred, he found out about what Lucy did and spoke to her severely.

"You have been a very troublesome engine! You will stay in the sheds until you learn your lesson! Tricking the signalman and blocking the points and Chestnut is NOT acceptable!"

But Lucy replied with "Hmm... nah. I don't think I wanna stay in the sheds.". "You will." said Mr. Fred as he sent another engine to take Lucy there.

Soon, Lightningstreak came. "Ah, there you are. Please take Lucy to the sheds and make sure she stays there until she's learned her lesson!" said Mr. Fred. Lightningstreak whistled and buffered up to Lucy. When he was coupled to her, he was able to pull her easily despite Lucy resisting. Lightningstreak was a bigger engine anyway.

When Lightningstreak took Lucy to the sheds, he said "At least you won't be causing any trouble here." before leaving to do his jobs. Then, two people came. It was Lucy's driver and fireman.

"You're a silly engine! What were you thinking?! Sneaking off like that, tricking the signalman and blocking the points! Maybe this will teach you a lesson!"

And so Lucy's driver and fireman left. Leaving Lucy to sulk in the sheds.

Meanwhile... at the Lithernwick Railway...

Meanwhile at the Lithernwick Railway, Kaitlyn was cruising along the line. As a reward for starting to become nicer to others, her branchline was extended.

When she got to a platform, she saw Tim and Riptide. "Oh, heyo." said Kaitlyn, "Hey." Tim replied.

"So... watcha doin'?" Kaitlyn started, "Oh, just pickin' up passengers." replied Tim. "I heard it won't be long before you're leaving soon." Kaitlyn continued, "Yeah." Tim added. "Well, I just wanna say... thanks. You showed me how to really get along with everyone more. Both of you." said Kaitlyn, Tim and Riptide just smiled.

Soon, the guard blew his whistle and the signal dropped. "Oh, that's for me. I gotta go now, bye!" said Tim, "Seeya 'round Timmy boy." replied Kaitlyn. "Hey!" said Tim laughing, he knew Kaitlyn was only joking. Timmy boy was a nickname given to Tim by Kaitlyn as a joke. Then, Tim and Riptide went off.

Soon, the day was almost ending. The sun was setting and Tim, Riptide, Kaitlyn and Alexandra were watching the sun set.

"Well Tim, it's almost time for you and Riptide to go home." said Kaitlyn, "Yeah. It's been fun working here. But there's no place like home." replied Tim. "Well, good luck. And safe travels." Kaitlyn added, "Thanks. Good luck to you too as well." Tim said back.

Soon, Riptide was loaded back again onto Great White. Tim and Kaitlyn waved goodbye to each other as Kaitlyn saw Great White set off into the seas.

Meanwhile...

Meanwhile, back at The Leafy Line... Lucy was just as bad as before. She didn't learn her lesson, but since the railway still had a lot of work Mr. Fred had no choice but to let her out of the sheds anyway.

The others wondered when Tim and Riptide would be back, -until they heard a familiar whistle.

*-WOO-WOO!*

"-Guys! It's Tim and Riptide!" said Sunshine as they saw the blue tank engine and his driver in the distance. Everyone cheered as they saw Tim and Riptide.

"Hello everybody! Weeeee're back!" said Tim. "Welcome back dude!" said Condor. Then, Tim and Riptide noticed Lucy. "Who's the new engine?" Tim asked, "That's Lucy. She's trouble!" Chestnut replied. "Oh? How?" Riptide asked. "First she said bad things about the railway, then she played tricks on us and caused trouble too!" said Lightningstreak. "O-oh." was all Riptide could mutter.

Lucy looked at Riptide, then she made a disgusted look and said "Hmm... an LBSCR E2? This railway really is a dump.". Riptide got angry and said "Ha, joke's on you. I'm not a real LBSCR E2. I'm a working replica that's able to do his job better than the real ones!". But Lucy just scoffed and said "Rubbish. Everyone knows that the E2s were useless piles of metal only fit for scrap.".

"It's not like your class was flawless either." Tim replied, "I know. But E2s were WORSE. They can't go very far even after they were given extended side tanks. And for the job they were built for they kinda did it poorly. They were rough riders and would sometimes shake around when you took them to high speeds. Their wheelbase is too long, so they couldn't go on some curved tracks. Everything about the E2s is NOT what a locomotive should be." said Lucy.

"Your class wasn't perfect either. They couldn't go very far because their axleboxes could overheat. And didn't the class' fireboxes rust and fatigue easily? Some of them even had to be put aside until new fireboxes were made for them. Oh and didn't two of your class get dumped at Tonbridge because of the overheating axlebox problem? Your class isn't perfect either Lucy, you should know that." Tim replied back. Almost everyone else laughed.

Lucy: "W-W-W-Well at least from the looks of it, my class will have more of a chance at being preserved than yours. After all, there was practically NOTHING GOOD about the E2s. So why would people bother preserving trashy engines?"

Tim: "Like you? With an attitude like that I wouldn't be surprised if you got scrapped first."

Lucy: "If our class does go out of date someday, at least I'm sure that at least some of us will be preserved. While the E2s will be left to rot in the sidings waiting to become scrap."

Tim: "At least the E2s will go with dignity. Didn't one of your kind get bought as a way to become spare parts for the others?"

Everyone laughed at Lucy again.

"Tim, Lucy, stop it. This argument is getting kinda annoying already." said Rainwater, "She should be the one to stop, not me!" said Tim pointing at Lucy. "Alright enough! Tim, just go somewhere else. And Lucy, stop bullying Riptide!" said Condor. Lucy just scoffed again and went away. Tim and Riptide went somewhere else as well, but in a different direction.

Lucy went to the yard. She began to think of a plan. Then, an idea flew into her funnel. This was going to be fun... -for her anyway.

Soon, Mr. Fred ordered Tim and Riptide to take a train to Mr. Tom's farm. The trucks were full of hay, they were for Mr. Tom's livestock. Tim and Riptide backed down onto the train.

The shunter fastened the coupling. And when the signal dropped the guard blew his whistle. But just before Tim and Riptide could start off, a certain engine secretly buffered up from behind. It was Lucy! And it looks like what she was doing was a part of her plan.

Then, the shunter came up to Lucy. He was confused as to why she was behind the train, so he asked "Lucy, why are you at the back of Riptide's train?". "Mr. Fred said that he thinks Tim and Riptide should need extra help just in case. After all, he'll be going through the Loop-de-loop mountain." Lucy replied. The shunter felt suspicious about what Lucy said, but the Loop-de-loop mountain was indeed hard to cross. So he coupled Lucy up to the train anyway.

Tim made Riptide whistle before setting off, they didn't know that Lucy was doing her plan. "Hehehehe... this is gonna be fun! I'll show that silly Tim not to mess with me! Along with that stupid Riptide!" she said. But Tim and Riptide didn't hear her, and continued on their journey.

When Tim and Riptide got a bit far, Lucy began acting out her plan. She held back a bit, making the trucks harder to pull. "Hmm... is it just me, or are the trucks getting harder to pull?" said Riptide, "Wait, really?" said Tim as he looked back. He couldn't see Lucy because she was covered by the trucks. "That's weird, hay is lighter than some of the things we usually deliver." said Tim. "Well, there's more trucks than usual. Which means there's a LOT of hay." replied Riptide, "Yeah, you're probably right." agreed Tim.

So Tim began shovelling coal in Riptide's firebox and made him speed up a bit. Lucy knew that this happened and held back a bit more. She snickered quietly as she did so.

"The trucks are still kinda heavy..." said Riptide, "Okay, that's weird. But I guess there's just too many trucks. Guess we'll have to take it a bit easy." said Tim as he made Riptide go at a steady but fast pace.

As Tim and Riptide were approaching the Loop-de-loop mountain, they noticed that they were having a harder time than usual crossing it! Riptide's wheels kept squealing as he tried to go faster. But he couldn't.

Tim then tried using Riptide's sandbox, but it still didn't do the trick. At last Riptide was tired and he had to stop to take a rest.

"Phew! Crossing this mountain is a bit harder than usual today!" said Riptide, "Probably because we have more trucks than usual. We can rest for a while then get back on our way." said Tim. "Mmmhmm." said Riptide.

After a while, Tim and Riptide started off again. But when they tried to move the heavy train, they found it hard to do so! Lucy was holding it back and they didn't know it.

Riptide's wheels began squealing again as Tim tried to get him to be able to move the train. Riptide pulled and puffed and puffed and pulled until he couldn't do it anymore.

"I... I can't pull the train anymore!" said Riptide panting, "Don't worry, I'll call for help." said Tim as he called Mr. Fred on his phone.

"Hello?"

"Mr. Fred! It's me, Tim."

"Tim? What did you call for?"

"C-Can you please send someone to help us up the Loop-de-loop mountain?"

"Wh-what?! Why? I thought you two could usually handle this kind of stuff."

"I think there's a bit more trucks this time, so that's why we're having a hard time. Plus there's more load, so that makes them heavier."

"Alright, I'll get someone to help you."

When Tim hung up, he decided to go back down the mountain to check if there as something wrong with the train. However, when he did he saw more than he bargained for.

"-L-LUCY?! -WH-WHAT'RE YOU DOING ON THE BACK OF ME AND RIPTIDE'S TRAIN?!"

"Uh oh.-" Lucy muttered as she tried to run, "-HEY! COME BACK HERE!" yelled Tim as he ran towards her and got in her cab before shutting off steam and stopping her.

Lucy tried to go backwards again, but Tim wouldn't let go of her controls. "-L-LET MY CONTROLS GO YOU LITTLE-" said Lucy, "So YOU'RE the one who made things harder for me and Riptide!" said Tim.

Eventually, Cremini came. And inside his cab, was Mr. Fred. Tim had called Mr. Fred again and told him all about Lucy. When Mr. Fred got down form Cremini's cab he walked over to Lucy and said

"-YOU! You've been playing tricks again! And this time it's on Riptide! -And Tim too! When this whole thing has been dealt with, you can go back to the railway where you came from!"

Soon, the hay had been delivered. And Lucy was sent back to the railway she came from. Meanwhile, everyone was happy because Tim and Riptide were now back. It also meant that work would finally get done as they should be.

Everyone worked hard, especially Tim and Riptide. They liked working on another railway for a change, but they missed their home as well.

Soon, things got better. "Finally, all the extra work that needs to be done is now finished! Now everything will be back to normal again." said Riptide, "Yeah, that Lucy messed everything up. But she's finally gone." replied Tim.

Just then, Mr. Fred walked up to Tim and Riptide. "Tim, Riptide. I want to thank the both of you for working extra hard during the times where you two needed to. I also like how the both of you helped others whenever they couldn't do their work. I know the work was tiring, but I'm surprised that you two managed to get through. And more." he said, "Oh well, you know me. I like driving trains and other train stuff. So that was kinda easy for me. It was nothing." replied Tim.

"And I also have good news. Riptide, I can finally give you extended side tanks." Mr. Fred added, "Oh, thank you sir! It means a lot to me." said Riptide smiling.

Now Riptide is as happy as can be, together with his driver Tim. With his new extended side tanks, Riptide was able to do his jobs better. And more. "So, how do you feel now that you have extended side tanks?" said Tim, "This is amazing! I can do my jobs better! And I can do more jobs before running out of water!" Riptide replied.

Well, Riptide's happy. Good for him. Now he can do his jobs better and do more of them. Find out what else happens to Tim and Riptide on Tales From The Tracks & Beyond.