SMOKE AND FIRE

Based upon "Smokescreen" and "Fire Escape" by Christopher Awdry

Set during series 17

Connor and Caitlin are a pair of streamlined tender engines who take trains full of people from the mainland up to Ulfstead Castle. They are both built for speed and are quite proud of this, sometimes even challenging each other to races. While Caitlin had a tendency to get over-excited at times, Connor was usually calmer and more rational.

One afternoon, Connor had just pulled into Vicarstown station feeling stuffed up. Henry was waiting on another platform with a goods train for the mainland.

"Good afternoon, Connor," called Henry. "Is something wrong?"

"Oh, yes, Henry," panted Connor. "It's this low-grade coal. My tubes are clogged up something awful and I'm having trouble breathing."

"I'm sorry to hear that," sympathized Henry. At that moment, Gordon was pulling into the station with the express.

"It's alright, Henry," sighed Connor. "Fireman says that we'll have to make do with it until a better batch comes in."

"A good sneeze would probably help," suggested Henry. "You'll feel much better then."

"What a preposterous suggestion!" said Gordon. Henry and Connor jumped with surprise; they hadn't noticed the big blue engine pull into the station.

"Sir Topham Hatt would never approve of engines blowing ash when there's people nearby," Gordon continued. "And besides, Henry, if I remember correctly, he didn't like you sneezing on those troublesome boys."

"But at least that kept them from causing more damage to railway property," Henry retorted. "Certainly better than deafening them with a never-ending whistle."

"It wasn't my fault, and you know that!" protested Gordon. "It was those same boys that knocked it loose!"

"Of course it was," smirked Henry.

Just then, Connor heard the sound of the guard's whistle.

"Well, I best be off then," he told Gordon and Henry. "See you later!" And with a blast of his whistle, Connor pulled out of the station, leaving the two big engines to continue arguing.

But as the journey went on, Connor was feeling more stuffed up than ever as he sped through Crovan's Gate. As he neared Kellsthorpe station, tears were slowly welling up in his eyes, and he and his crew knew there was no way to prevent the inevitable…

"Atish… atish… ATISHOOOO!"

A thick, black smokescreen shot out of the teal engine's funnel before settling all over Kellsthorpe station.

"Whew… that's much better," sighed Connor, and he carried onto Ulfstead Castle. Unluckily for him, the scene he had just sped through was not a pretty picture…

A party of wedding guests, all in their best clothes, were standing on the platform by the time Connor had sped through. Soot flew all over the guests, and waves to the streamlined engine had turned into shaking fists.

"You great, foolish engine!" the bride screamed furiously. "This was supposed to be my happy day, and now you've gone and ruined it with your smoke!"

"Alright, Camilla dear," the groom said. "It's probably not that bad-"

"Not that bad, Warwick?!" the bride shrieked to her new husband. "This dress belonged to my mother! I'm going to complain about this to the stationmaster!"

Many of the other guests had had the same idea as the bride, and the stationmaster was soon swamped with angry guests in her office.

Meanwhile, Connor had made it to Ulfstead Castle without further incident. Despite his good run, a message from Sir Topham Hatt was waiting for him.

"Sir Topham Hatt says you blew smoke all over a wedding party as you sped through Kellsthorpe station," the inspector said. "He's had to cancel a trip to the mainland to apologize to the guests and he'll have a stern word with you when he gets the chance."

"B-b-but I couldn't help it!" protested Connor. "It's this rotten coal I've had to take today! It's hardly my fault at all!"

"I can't help this situation either," said the inspector, "but that is what Sir Topham Hatt said, so there it is."

Connor groaned inwardly. Stephen was nearby on the other platform, and he felt sorry for Connor.

"It's alright, Connor lad," he said kindly. "It was an honest mistake; just a bit of bad timing is all."

"But now I'm in trouble with Sir Topham Hatt," said Connor. "I almost feel like I'll never be allowed to run on his railway again following this incident!"

"Never mind that," assured Stephen. "I'm sure he'll understand. After all, soot's good for the garden, so my driver says."

"But not wedding clothes," muttered Connor.

The return journey was mostly uneventful for Connor by the time he had reached Vicarstown again. He had taken extra care not to cause any more smokescreens, but he couldn't help but worry about what Sir Topham Hatt would say to him.

"Are you feeling alright, Connor?" called Caitlin from another platform.

"No," groaned Connor, and he told Caitlin about what had happened at Kellsthorpe.

"I don't think he'll send you away just for blowing a bit of smoke," said Caitlin. "Isn't that what steam engines do?"

"Well, yes," said Connor, "but that was a smokescreen we're talking about, and that was caused by bad coal. I even made the bride angry, from what I heard."

"It could've happened to anyone," said Caitlin as she departed. "I'm sure it'll all be fine in the end."

But it wasn't.

Sir Topham Hatt was standing on the platform at Kellsthorpe station. He had just apologized to the wedding guests for the incident and had promised them compensation for their spoiled clothes. He was waiting for another train when Caitlin sped through the station. But as she did so, a cloud of something had landed on Sir Topham and his top hat. He coughed loudly and then took off his hat, seeing that it was covered in ashes.

"CAITLIN!" he shouted, waving both his ruined hat and a fist at the fuchsia streamlined engine.

"What is it with streamlined engines causing trouble for me and my railway?" Sir Topham Hatt grumbled. "And that's the third hat this month that's been ruined!"

As Caitlin arrived at Ulfstead Castle, the same inspector who had delivered a message to Connor also had one for Caitlin, also from Sir Topham Hatt.

"Sir Topham Hatt," said the inspector, "says that you blew ashes on his top hat as you passed Kellsthorpe station."

"What?!" exclaimed Cialtin with horror and indignation. "I never did such a thing! I wasn't even blowing a smokescreen out of my funnel!"

"I'm afraid that is what he says," said the inspector. "You and Connor will now both get a talking to when he gets the chance."

Caitlin looked down sadly at her cowcatcher; now both she and Connor were in trouble with Sir Topham Hatt for incidents that were beyond their control.

"He'll never let us back on his railway now," Caitlin said that evening at Vicarstown sheds.

"I still blame this on that rotten delivery of coal," said Connor. "Thankfully, a new batch will be coming in soon, but I doubt it'll be enough to get Sir Topham Hatt to change his mind."

"But maybe some good runs tomorrow will," suggested Caitlin.

The next day, however, irony would come and hit Caitlin hard as a last minute passenger at Vicarstown meant that she had missed her path at Crovan's Gate.

"Oh, bother," groaned Caitlin. "This just isn't mine and Connor's week, is it? So much for a fast service to Ulfstead Castle. Now what'll we do?"

Peter Sam was nearby on the narrow gauge line and felt sorry for Caitlin.

"Never you mind," he said kindly. "Good things do eventually come out of bad situations; you wait and see." Caitlin felt a little better, but she was still apprehensive when she was finally allowed to depart.

Caitlin hurried down the mainline to make up for lost time. Thankfully, it was a clear run for her after Crovan's Gate, and eventually, upon reaching Maron, she was switched off the mainline onto the extension to Ulfstead Castle. Caitlin was making good time and was halfway up the hill leading to the castle when it happened.

"Ouch!" she cried, feeling a clatter beneath her cab. "What's happened?" She then felt a blast of cold air in her middle, as if there was a gap between her boiler and cab, and felt her speed and steam pressure beginning to drop.

Caitlin's firewoman looked inside her engine's firebox and saw a gaping hole in the middle of her fire.

"The firebars have collapsed!" she exclaimed. "And now part of the fire's gone out! Of all places, it had to be on the hill!"

"Come on, come on," gasped Caitlin desperately, but her fire wasn't strong enough. Her crew needed to act fast.

"Can you find the biggest piece of coal you can?" asked the driver.

"Just found a pretty big one," said the firewoman. "Do you think it'll be good enough?"

"It should work," said the driver. "Now put it across the hole; that'll stop some of the coal dirt from getting in, and we'll hold steam better until we reach the station."

Caitlin's firewoman acted quickly, and almost at once, the streamlined engine felt better. The firewoman then built the fire gently around the edges. The driver then adjusted Caitlin's controls to make the best possible use of her steam.

"It's up to you now, girl," said the driver. "Try not to puff too hard or else you'll blow out what's left of your fire!"

With a short blast of her whistle, Caitlin slowly but cautiously puffed up the hill leading to Ulfstead Castle.

"I can do it, I can do it," panted Caitlin, taking care not to do so too hard. Her eyes were shut tightly as she struggled on upwards.

Sooner than she or her crew thought, Caitlin began to feel the slope flatten out. She opened an eye cautiously. Yes, she and her train had finally made it to the top of the hill, and from there on out, it was smooth sailing all the way to the platform where Stephen and Millie stood waiting.

"Are you alright there, Caitlin?" called Millie. "We could hear you puffing before you even got there!"

"Firebars… collapsed…" Caitlin gasped as she slowed to a stop. "Crew had to… improvise…"

"Well done, Caitlin," cheered her driver, mopping his brow. "That was a wonderful performance there, but now, you deserve a rest."

Caitlin was uncoupled from her coaches and was moved onto a nearby siding. Some of her passengers had come over to tell her how useful she had been.

"You've certainly got everyone here fired with enthusiasm, Caitlin!" remarked Stephen, and the others chuckled at his wit. "I've heard quite a few stories of crippled engines plowing on, but this is a whole other level of determination!"

Later that day, Connor had pulled up light engine to Ulfstead Castle, and inside his cab was Sir Topham Hatt.

Oh dear, thought Caitlin. What will he say now about the delays?

But to her surprise, Sir Topham Hatt was smiling.

"I must say, Caitlin," he said, "that your performance today was splendid, despite a few, erm, delays. Nonetheless, I am pleased with your work."

"Thank you, sir," said Caitlin, but she was still worried. "Also, we're sorry for the trouble we caused yesterday…"

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Caitin," assured Sir Topham Hatt. "It turned out that a steward was emptying an ashtray from a carriage window yesterday. I should be the one apologizing for assuming that you had spoiled my hat, so we'll say no more about that incident."

"Oh, thank you, sir," smiled Caitlin, now feeling much better.

"But… what about my incident with the wedding guests, sir?" asked Connor anxiously. "I didn't mean to ruin their clothes."

"I know that, Connor," said Sir Topham Hatt. "It was that bad shipment of coal on the mainland that led to your, er, smokescreen. It wasn't an intentional act of rudeness, and the guests have agreed to not press charges."

"Does that mean… we're not being sent away?" asked Connor hopefully.

"Oh, certainly not!" laughed Sir Topham Hatt. "We've recently established a service from the mainland to Ulfstead Castle, and I'd have to be foolish enough to cancel it altogether! And," he continued, "Caitlin shall soon be taken to the Steamworks where she will have new firebars fitted."

Both streamlined engines couldn't have felt happier with this news!

Caitlin was then taken to the Steamworks by James, and a few days later, she was soon back in service, taking passengers from the mainland to Ulfstead Castle and back again.

"Things couldn't be better," she said as she sped on down the mainline. It wasn't long before she saw a rake of teal coaches up ahead, and smirking to herself, Caitlin drew up alongside Connor.

"How about it, Connor?" she said. "First one to Vicarstown wins."

"You're on, Caitlin!" grinned Connor, and began to pick up speed, with Caitlin following suit. The two friends laughed as they raced all the way to Vicarstown, glad to be helping out on the North Western Railway.

THE END

Author's Comments

The last time I uploaded here was way back in November, and that was adapting the remaining two stories out of The Three Railway Engines into a singular narrative. That's a long time to update this collection of stories. Anyway, this rewrite of two Christopher Awdry stories basically as an early-Brenner era vibe to it, such as Connor and Caitlin being established as running a service between Ulfstead Castle and the mainland. Not much else to comment on here; hopefully there will be more rewrites like that coming soon in the future.