Disclaimer: All recognisable fictional characters belong to Mattel. All fictional OCs belong to me.

Chapter 5

Thomas was awoken early the following morning by a noisy firelighter. After a deep yawn, Thomas looked around at his new home. He was parked near the front of a large brick engine shed. The shed had five roads of track inside it, and to Thomas' surprise and delight, the shed was filled with a variety of different steam locomotives. They all belonged to the LB&SCR. Most were still asleep, but others were beginning to stir as the firelighters slowly woke them up for the day.

Parked alongside Thomas was a tank engine who looked very similar to Boxhill. However, this engine was slightly bigger than Boxhill, and although painted in the same umber colour scheme, he had the name Cheapside painted on his tanks. Upon hearing Thomas yawn, Cheapside glanced at him.

"So, you're the new E2 who's come to replace one-oh-one?"

"Erm…" Thomas hesitated, unsure of what to say. "I suppose…?"

Cheapside frowned. "Are you, or are you not, the new station pilot?"

"What? Oh! Yes! Yes, I am."

"Good, because there's enough work here for five engines, and ever since your brother left, there's only been three available. Well, two really. Charles, over there, is always breaking down…"

"I don't!" an indignant voice on the far side of the shed retorted. "I keep telling you, it's just teething troubles!"

"No engine has teething troubles for more than six months!" another engine called from the back of the shed.

"And that's St Leonards," Cheapside told Thomas. "The three of us will be working under you in the shunting yard. We're not allowed into the station yard though, and that's where you come in."

"My crew have explained my duties to me," Thomas said. "But I'm afraid I didn't understand everything. I'm only a few days old, you see."

"Rushed you into service, did they? Never mind. I'll teach you everything you need to know."

"Thank you!" Thomas gushed with relief. "By the way, my name's Thomas."

"Sorry I didn't introduce myself," Cheapside apologised. "They call me Cheapside."

At that moment, a passenger express train raced past the engine shed with the dull roar. Thomas' eyes widened in surprise. He'd had no idea that steam engines could go that fast!

"More of our boys heading off to the front," the firelighter inside Thomas' cab muttered sadly. "Most of them will never see dear old England again."

"Shu' yer trap!" an engine cleaner said as he approached Thomas from behind. "We'll no 'ave any anti-war sentiments 'ere!"

"I'm entitled to share my opinions along with everyone else," the firelighter retorted. He then started whistling the tune to 'It's a Long Way to Tipperary'.

Brian arrived then, along with most of the other engines' firemen. Thomas breathed a small sigh of relief when Brian shooed the firelighter out of his cab.

"Morning, Brian!" Thomas called happily.

"Morning, Thomas," Brian replied. He glanced at Thomas' steam pressure gauge before he added a shovelful of coal to Thomas' fire. "Did you sleep well last night? You were out of it when we left."

"I slept very well, thank you. I can't wait to start work though!"

"Oh, to be young and energetic again…!" the C2 class engine parked behind Thomas groaned wearily.

Over the following couple of hours, the engines inside the shed slowly raised steam until they were able to move. By then, their drivers had also started arriving. Thomas, Cheapside, and Charles were the first engines to be made ready, and when they were, they headed over to the shunting yard. While Thomas' crew were refilling his water tanks and bunker, Cheapside explained his duties to him.

"Okay, it's fairly simple. The five roads on the side of the yard closest to the station is, as you can see, primarily for coaches. The rest of the yard is for trucks. We get a lot of rollingstock from other railways passing through here, especially since the start of the war. Coaches are painted in different liveries for each different railway, and the trucks all have the name of their home shunting yard written on the sides. I guess I'll have to teach you how to read…"

Thomas just blinked in response. Cheapside was a very fast talker, and given Thomas' youth, the younger engine quickly lost concentration.

"…And I think that's all you need to know for now. Does that make sense?

"Um… Not quite?" Thomas ventured cautiously.

Cheapside gave an exacerbated sigh. "It might be easier to show you what to do. As soon as your crew have finished refilling your tanks, you need to take that rake of teak coaches from road one over to High Level Platform C. Do you think you can manage that?"

"Yes, I can do that," Thomas replied confidentially.

"Good. Let me know when you've finished, and then I'll show you how to sort out the trucks."

Cheapside steamed further into the goods yard, leaving Thomas to his own devices. Once Thomas was ready, Jeremiah drove him into the siding where the rake of eight corridor coaches were parked. Thomas saw that the coaches had the letters SE&CR painted on their sides.

"What do those letters mean?" Thomas asked his crew as a shunter coupled him to them.

"South Eastern and Chatham Railway," Jeremiah replied. "They share this station with us, but they don't have a station pilot here, so we need to look after their rolling stock."

Once Thomas had been coupled to the coaches, Jeremiah put him into reverse so that he could shunt them into the station. It took Thomas several attempts to get the heavy coaches moving, but after Jeremiah had opened Thomas' sanding gear and sprayed some sand onto the tracks, Thomas managed to get them moving slowly. They crossed over several sets of points before Jeremiah put Thomas into forward gear so that, after the signalman had changed the points, he could push the coaches into the station platform.

Thomas looked around in awe while he pushed the coaches into platform C on the SE&CR side of the station. Many passengers were already gathered on the platform, ready to start boarding. Thomas smiled at a little boy who he noticed was staring at him. The boy patted his mother's arm to get her attention.

"Mummy, mummy! Look at how shiny that engine is! I can see myself in his paintwork!"

The boy's mother gave Thomas a cursory glance before she turned her attention back to the porter who was loading her luggage.

Once the handbrakes had been applied to the coaches, a shunter uncoupled Thomas from them. Just then, a large, fancy SE&CR E class tender engine passed Thomas on the adjoining track. The engine completely ignored Thomas, which surprised him. He'd never been completely ignored by another engine before.

"You could at least say 'thank you'," Thomas muttered. However, the E class had moved well out of earshot and didn't hear him.

Jeremiah drove Thomas back to the goods yard, where he met up with Cheapside, St Leonards, and Charles. They were busy sorting out the trucks from several trains that had arrived overnight.

"Okay, everyone!" Thomas called. "I'm ready to learn. Show me what I need to do."

For the rest of the morning, the three shunting engines taught Thomas everything he needed to know about shunting and sorting trucks and coaches. However, every time a train terminated or departed from the station, Thomas had to go and attend to the coaches. Some trains were heavier than others, but Thomas soon learned that if he gave the coaches a hard jerk, he got them moving a little easier.

On one of Thomas' trips to the station, he saw a large LB&SCR H1 class locomotive resting in a siding. As Thomas passed by the engine while pulling a rake of coaches, he whistled loudly, startling the sleeping engine awake.

"Wake up, lazy wheels!" Thomas teased. "You should be working hard, like me! There is a war on, you know…"

Perhaps it's lucky for Thomas that the other engine was too stunned to say anything. He just let off steam, loudly. Thomas returned to the shunting yard feeling a little better within himself.

When it came time for the men to have their lunch, Jeremiah parked Thomas in a spare loop in the yard. Once they'd ensured that Thomas was settled, Jeremiah and Brian took out their lunch boxes. Brian sat in the doorway of Thomas' cab, with his feet planted on the steps, while Jeremiah perched his lunch box on top of the running board. He leaned against the running board while he ate his sandwiches and read the newspaper. Thomas was feeling exhausted already, so he closed his eyes for a nap in the early afternoon sunshine. The yard had become surprisingly quiet, considering most of the engine crews had stopped their engines to have lunch. In fact, it was so quiet that Thomas could hear some birds whistling in the distance.

The serenity was broken by an approaching humming sound. Thomas' crew immediately became alert, looking up at the sky. Thomas also looked up as the strange humming drew closer. Then, five flying objects emerged from the clouds. They looked like birds, but their four wings were ridged.

Thomas gasped as the flying machines passed by low overhead. The humming came from their engines. Jeremiah breathed a small sigh of relief.

"It's okay," he declared. "They're our mob." He calmly returned to his lunch and newspaper.

"What are those things?" Thomas wondered.

"They're bi-planes," Brian explained. "Most likely doing a reconnaissance flight."

Thomas frowned in confusion. "I didn't understand any of that. How do they stay in the air?"

"Just think of them as man-made birds," Jeremiah quickly interjected. He whispered to Brian, "If you try to explain motors to him, we'll be here all night."

Brian nodded in silent agreement. Hearing the crunch of approaching footsteps on ballast, both men looked up to see Mr Drew coming towards them from behind Thomas' bunker.

"Afternoon, sir," Jeremiah began.

"Mr Grimshaw," Mr Drew replied. "I just thought I'd stop by and see how you're going with the new engine. Have you had any teething problems with him?"

"No, he's been running very nicely," Jeremiah answered.

"That's good, because I have a special task for you this afternoon. A train of horseboxes will be arriving from Dover in a couple of hours. They need to be transferred from here to Victoria Station so they can go out with the five-thirty goods train to Derby. Do you think you can manage that?"

Jeremiah nodded. "Of course we can, sir. Is there any rollingstock that need to be transferred from Victoria, or are you happy for us to return light engine?"

"Come back light engine," Mr Drew replied as he made a note on his clipboard. "When you get back, you'll need to transfer the night mail train from the SE&CR line to ours. After that, you can shut your engine down for the night."

Jeremiah tipped his cap in acknowledgement. "Aye, sir. We can manage that."

"Good," Mr Drew said before he walked away.

After his crew had finished their lunch, Thomas went to find Cheapside. He found the older engine having a nap inside the engine shed. Thomas whistled loudly to wake him.

"Wake up, sleepyhead!" Thomas called.

Cheapside groaned crossly as he reluctantly woke up. "Don't you young engines have any respect for your elders? I need my sleep, you know. Goodness knows I've earned it!"

"Sorry, but I need to talk to you. Mr Drew has assigned me to do a transfer of some wagons this afternoon. I need you to manage the yard without me."

Cheapside yawned. "That's okay. We've managed without you for the past few weeks anyway. Why should today be any different? Go and have some fun exploring London."

"Thanks Cheapshide!" Thomas called as he steamed excitedly away.

A few hours later, Thomas watched from an empty siding as the goods train from Dover arrived. The engine, an older SE&CR G class engine numbered 679, was wheezing terribly when he steamed into the yard.

"Are you okay?" Thomas asked anxiously.

"No…" 679 whispered. "I can't breathe properly."

"I'm sorry."

"No need to apologise. It's not your fault. I need new tubes, but the men don't have time to fix me because of the war."

Thomas sighed sadly. It seemed to him that most of the engines he'd met were suffering because of the war. It made him feel conspicuous due to being so new.

Without saying another word to 679, Thomas shunted the ten horseboxes that were to be transferred off the goods train. During the shunt, he saw St Leonards filling up at the water column.

"St Leonards?" Thomas called.

"Yes, Thomas?"

"Once you've finished your drink, the rest of these wagons need sorting. I'm just going to take these wagons on transfer to Victoria Station. Mr Drew's orders."

St Leonards smiled kindly. "You're really learning fast. I think you'll be the best station pilot we've ever had."

Thomas flushed. He wasn't used to receiving praise, so he wasn't sure how to react. "Er… Thanks! I'd better get going so I'm not late. Need to be back in time to shunt the night mail train…"

The distance from London Bridge Station to Victoria Station wasn't far, but Thomas had to wait at numerous signals for more important trains to pass through the junctions first. Finally, he arrived in the goods yard outside Victoria Station.

While Thomas was shunting the train of horseboxes onto the train that would become the 5:30 goods train to Derby, he saw another E2 shunting nearby. The two engines stared at each other for a moment, each as stunned as the other. They were completely identical. Even their facial features matched.

"You must be one of my older brothers," Thomas finally said. "I was told that I have five older siblings."

The other E2 steamed closer to Thomas. "We're not just brothers. We're twins! None of our other siblings look like us."

"Really? I met one of our sisters while I was in Brighton, but none of the others."

"Most of our siblings don't work in London. I'm one-oh-five, but my crew call me George, after the king."

"I'm one-oh-six. Mr Billinton officially named me Thomas."

George smiled. "I like that name. It suits you so well! So, are you just visiting London, or do you live here?"

"I'm assigned to London Bridge as the station pilot," Thomas replied. "Today is my first day. I'm not even a week old yet."

George gasped. "And you're already in service? I'm about three months old, but the men spent two weeks testing me before I was sent here."

Thomas sighed heavily. "They rushed me into service. And after seeing just how poorly many of the other engines are, I'm starting to understand why. Not all men care about us steam engines, do they?"

"Sadly not. I'm lucky that I have a kind crew who care about me."

"My crew are nice too. So, are you based in London too?"

"Yes. I'm the station pilot here, at Victoria Station. Now that I think about it, I seem to recall seeing the men at Brighton Works building you. We were supposed to be built together, but I think Mr Billinton delayed your construction for some reason."

"That might explain why we're twins," Thomas reasoned. "If we were supposed to enter service together… I wonder why my construction was delayed?"

"Maybe it was because they wanted to test me first, to ensure that our re-design worked?" George suggested.

"Maybe," Thomas agreed.

Jeremiah patted Thomas' side. "I hate to interrupt this touching reunion, but we need to get back to London Bridge to take care of the night mail train. Can't hold up the mail."

Thomas and George stared longingly at each other.

"Do you think we'll get to see each other again?" Thomas wondered.

"I sure hope so! At least we're not far from each other."

"Yes," Thomas agreed. He felt Jeremiah slowly opening his regulator. Steam rushed into his cylinders. "Well, it was great to meet you, George."

"You too, Thomas! Take care."

"You too!" Thomas called as he reluctantly steamed away.

Author's response to reviews:

racefangurl - My Thomas sensitivity was stirred when Thomas upset just outside London. Poor little (sic) Thomas feelings happened to me. I like driver comforting engines in fanfics because they did in the model era of the show, like when Thomas forgot his train. If you haven't found my Sodor Tales anthology yet, just go to my profile.

CarsWorldFan – I love how the crew interact with their engines as well. It shows just how much they care about them. They're not just machines to the crews. I've taken a look at some of your stories. You have some very creative ideas! Well done!

mean-scarlet-deceiver - Rough! Very rough! 440 and Mr Drew deserve each other, but no, we'll just stick poor Thomas with both of them instead. :(

CarsWorldFan – Not everything can be all sunshine and roses for Thomas. The war put pressure on everyone, and unfortunately for Thomas, he entered service at the peak of tensions.
Loved this installment, though. Great characterisation as usual—it's so easy to actually see various classic Thomas face masks at different points in this fic. Plus, the notion of baby!Thomas playing in the rain was so adorable and on-point. Plus how HE FELL ASLEEP and so Jeremiah and Brian tiptoe out.
CarsWorldFan – Aww, thank you! It's not always easy to imagine him as a young engine, considering how long he's been around.
I look forward to more.
CarsWorldFan – Here you go!
Re: last exchange, my comment was a joke about wanting to rescue 102 ;)
CarsWorldFan – Noted!
I have belatedly remembered that I have written a good bit more haranguing of engines than I'd realized. 'The Cured Engine' on Ao3 (that was a fic I collaborated on with a co-writer) had a good example. Sadly, though one would think that hotheads would be less aggressive with their tech were it sentient, I think the scary thing is that we know many of them wouldn't. :/

CarsWorldFan – So very true! I've been reading all of your stories, including your latest 'The Bird at Barrow Central'. I'd never heard of the Coppernob, so after reading your story I went and researched it. I love the way you give the human characters as much personality as the engines. Once this story is finished, I'm thinking of writing a story that focusses on some of the humans on Sodor. I think the perspective will be...interesting…considering we're so used to seeing Sodor from the engines' POV. I'm keeping the details to myself for now though, so no spoilers, sorry!