Chapter 2

"There you go, James." said the cleaner as he finished polishing James' paint. "Do you think I look good enough for the special train?" James asked hapilly. The cleaner grinned. "You'll do just fine." he laughed as he got into his truck and drove away. James waited a few minutes until his crew showed up. He got his coaches ready, and puffed to the station where he waited for Skarloey to show up with the passengers.

But Skarloey was already 10 minutes late. That made James feel angry and worried at the same time. Finally, he was relived when he heard the little old engine's faint whistle.

"Sorry I'm late," Skarloey panted. "I was held up because the coaches were-" "Never mind that," James cut in. "Are those special passengers on?" Skarloey smiled. "Yes they are. And they're quite nice at that!" he exclaimed. Then James saw the passengers get out of Skarloey's coaches and walked over into James'. The conductor blew his whisle, and James puffed out of the station.

"Thank you for that wonderful run, James." a passenger told him at the station. James smiled. "Thank you. It was nothing, really." he replied. The passengers got on a bus, and left. Just then, Jamess heard some voices coming from Sir Topham Hatt's office.

Sir Topham Hatt sat at his desk, while a man wearing some overalls and a dirty, smashed down hat sat at a chair in front of the desk.

"And you would like to be a railway repairman?" Sir Topham Hatt asked. The man nodded. "Yup." he replied in a somewhat American accent. Sir Topham Hatt flipped through some papers on his desk. "All right," he replied. "I suppose you can start soon..." Then he looked out the window. A small, brown pickup truck sat out there.

"Is that yours?" he asked. The man nodded. "Yup. Ol' Buck an' I been together for years. Plus I got some special wheels put on him so he can ride on them old railroad tracks." Sir Topham Hatt smiled. "And what is your name again?" he asked. "Gary."

"Okay. You and Buck can start tomorrow. I would like it if you can do a quick survey of the area." Sir Topham Hatt told him. Gary nodded and got up. Then he noticed the book on the desk.

"Nice book." Gary commented. "Mind if I look at it?" Sir Topham Hatt showed no objection. So Gary picked it up and flipped it open to the bookmarked page. He scanned it, and set it back down again.

"What'ya think about that golden engine story?" Gary asked. "I believe it's true. In fact, in the near future, I plan to go and find it." Sir Topham Hatt replied. Gary glanced at him. "I read in another book that Benjamin has great power. If used by good hands, it can benifit all man. But if used by evil...well, you know." he noted. Sir Topham Hatt pointed to the door.

"Okay, that's enough. I'll talk with you tomorrow. Good night." he said. Gary waved good-bye and walked out the door. Soon Sir Topham Hatt left, also.

The next morning, Gary and Buck were getting ready to survey the area around Thomas' Branch Line. Gary was putting some gasoline in Buck's tank, when Sir Topham Hatt waddled over.

"So I hear that you and Buck are going to survey Thomas' line." he said. Gary nodded. "Yup." he replied as he walked into Buck's cab. He hit a small button, and another set of wheels came out from the bottom. But Sir Topham Hatt noticed something...those wheels were train wheels!
"A while ago, I got Buck here fitted with those. That way I can run the line and all works a lot quicker." he explained. Topham nodded in agreement. "Would you like to go to the pub and have some food after work?" he asked. Gary smiled. "That would be great," he told him. "I'l meet you at Arf's Pub at 6'." And with that, Gary hit the gas pedal, and he and Buck drove away.

Gary and Topham picked a table near the piano. The pianist was hitting some hard notes and playing a lovely ballad. The waiter came over and they ordered a plate of shrimp and some beer.

Gary dipped his shrimp in the dip sauce given to them. "I was looking at a book," he said. "And it said some more stuff about the golden engine, Benjamin." Sir Topham Hatt took a sip of his beer. "Well, I'm going to prove the legends are true. I'm leaving for the Culdee-Fell Mountains tomorrow morning." he replied. Gary narrowed his eyes.

"I'm afraid I'll be the one who proves it's true." he shot back. Topham laughed. "Sorry, but there is no way that you'll beat me." Then the waiter came over, they paid their bill and walked outside.

"Gary, I'm sorry, but I have all sorts of documents in my office about the engine. I'm memorizing them and leaving in the morning." Sir Topham Hatt told him as they walked outside. Gary got an angry look in his eyes. "Oh trust me." he muttered. "I will be the one who finds the engine. Do not try to argue with me." Gary opened Buck's door and drove off immediately.

"We have some work to do." he told Buck. Buck grinned. "Like what...?" he replied back. Gary whispered some stuff out his window to Buck while the silly trucks smiled with mischief. "Oh that'll place the old man in his place..." Buck laughed. And they both laughed wildly until they got home.