JOCK THE NEW ENGINE

Based upon "Jock" and "Teamwork" by Christopher Awdry

Adapted by Zack Wanzer and James Riddle

Set during Series 21

The summer season was about to begin for the engines on Sodor. At Arlesburgh junction, the miniature engines were getting ready for the day's work. Bert was simmering happily as he was being steamed up; this was one of those days where the blue engine felt like he could take on any job. Just then, he heard a deep whistle, and Donald puffed in with a train of empty trucks.

"Mornin', wee lads," the Caledonian engine greeted. "Ye'll ne'er believe whit Ah saw at th' Steamworks yesterday."

"What was it, Donald?" asked Bert.

"They're buildin' a new engine!" explained Donald. "It shuid be duin soon!"

"A new engine for our line?" asked Rex. "I'd say it's about time!"

"Why haven't we been told about this earlier?" asked Mike.

"Must've bin a surprise oan th' pairt o' Mr. Duncan," suggested Donald. "It wasn't lik' ony ither miniature engine Ah've ever seen before."

"Why's that?" asked Bert, curiously. "Does it run on logs instead of wheels?"

"Only you would think that a steam engine could run on logs, Bert!" laughed Mike.

The engines laughed at Bert's misunderstanding. But as for this new engine, just what was so unique about it? Let's find out, shall we?

At the Sodor Steamworks, the final preparations were being made. Victor and Kevin were watching over the workmen as they beheld the newly built engine.

"Are all the final tests finished?" asked Victor.

"Yep, we've done them all to make sure everything was put together correctly," said one of the workmen. "We're just about to light the new engine's fire for the first time. And it seems as though some of us here have been placing bets as to what their gender will be…"

"Wouldn't it be a nice change of pace to have a female steam engine on the Arlesdale line?" said another workman.

"It definitely would," agreed Kevin. "Maybe someday, one will be brought in to help too."

"We can debate on that at another date," insisted Victor. "Let the First Firing… commence!"

Another workman lit an oily rag and then threw it into the new engine's firebox. Almost immediately, there was a roaring fire inside, burning nicely. Moments later, the workmen could see the new engine's eyes opening for the very first time, followed by a long yawn.

"That sounded like a male's yawn to me," said one of the workmen. This was followed by several groans from some of the others as money was handed to the winners.

"I'll have a word with them later," the Steamworks manager muttered, before turning her attention to the new engine, showing a more gentle approach. "Hello there."

"Whe-where am I?" asked the new engine, puzzled by his surroundings.

"You're at the Sodor Steamworks, my friend," Victor explained. "You're the first steam engine to be built here."

"Really?"

"Indeed," confirmed Victor. "You have been built for a very important job. You are needed at the Arlesdale Railway to help the other engines."

More tests had been done on the new engine to make sure that he was running properly, and they had gone off without a hitch. By the time Douglas had arrived to take the new engine to his new home, the latter had already been chained onto his flatbed. Douglas looked over the newly built engine, impressed with what he was seeing.

"That's quite th' color yer sportin'," he said. "Tis nae every day ye see an engine in yellow."

"I quite like the color myself," the new engine agreed. "The workmen say it's something called an undercoat, and that I'll be given a proper color once I enter service."

By now, Douglas had been turned around so that he could couple up to the new engine's flatbed. "Ye know," he said, "that color reminds me 'n' Donnie o' th' engines oan th' Hielan Railway, back whin we worked in bonnie Scotland. 'Jocks', we used tae ca' thaim."

"Jocks?" the new engine repeated, intrigued.

"Aye," said Douglas, "'n' Ah'm thinking that's nae a bad name fur yersel', eh, Jock?"

As the Caledonian engine set off with the new engine in tow, the latter pondered this over for a bit.

"You know, I do like this color," he admitted, "and I think the name Jock would suit me well. Thanks for the suggestion… er…"

"Douglas," the black goods engine smiled. "'N' tis na problem at a', Jock."

Meanwhile, at Arlesburgh junction, Rex, Bert, Mike and Frank were waiting anxiously for the new arrival. Duck and Donald were also present, as were Sir Topham Hatt and Mr. Duncan. Just then, they heard a familiar whistle.

"Thir's Douggie!" exclaimed Donald.

"And there's the new engine!" added Rex. As Douglas stopped alongside the platform with Jock in tow, the miniature engines got a closer look at the new arrival.

"He's… not what I was expecting," said Mike. "What with his square windows, his flat-topped dome and his funny color."

"Yellow doesn't look all that funny to me," argued Bert. "I think it looks rather nice on him."

"So do I," the new engine smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you all, and I can't wait to work on the railway. My name's Jock, by the way."

Mr. Duncan was rather surprised; the new engine had no nameplates installed, and yet it seemed as though he already knew what his name was.

"Ah gave Jock his name, sirs," said Douglas, and he explained his reasoning behind it.

"Ah coudnae agree mair wi' that name, Douggie," said Donald, winking at his twin.

"Well then," chuckled Mr. Duncan, "it looks as though you'll have to stay in yellow in order to give your name some point! You don't mind, do you, Jock?"

"Not at all, sir," smiled Jock. "I love yellow, and the name would suit me perfectly!"

"Excellent," smiled Mr. Duncan. "Jock it shall be. Thank you, Douglas; I was struggling to come up with a suitable name, but your suggestion has proven to be a splendid idea!"

"Thank ye, sir," smiled Douglas, proudly. "C'moan, Jock. Let's git ye unloaded."

A few days later, Jock had completed his trial runs on the Arlesdale Railway, and there was to be a ceremony marking his official entry into service. Many people from all over the island wanted to see the new engine for themselves, and Thomas and James were among several engines bringing passengers to witness the ceremony.

"It's always great when a new engine comes to help out," said Thomas.

"He also seems to stick out more than the others," added James. "As a unique engine myself, I understand the importance of embracing what makes one special."

"You, unique?" laughed Thomas. "Are you still counting yourself as the only true red engine on Sodor?"

"Well… the only red engine who's ever lived at Tidmouth, at least," insisted James. Neither big engine realized that Jock had overheard James' comment on being unique.

"That must mean I'm better than the other engines here…" he theorized, not fully realizing what the word "unique" meant.

"Look at that new engine, mommy!" a little girl called out. "He looks so smart and strong!"

"He's definitely one of a kind, dear," the mother agreed.

Jock beamed at the sound of such compliments. Even these passengers seem to agree that I'm great, he thought, proudly.

As the summer season wore on, and the more praise Jock received from the passengers, the workmen and even Mr. Duncan, he grew cockier still.

"I don't know how you lot managed without me!" he boasted to the other engines. "It looks as though passengers are coming to this railway just to see me!"

"That's a whole load of boiler sludge!" huffed Mike. "You're not the only engine on this railway, you know!"

"Maybe," said Jock, "but I'm quite probably the most independent… Er, no, I mean, insensible–"

"I think you mean 'indispensable'," said Rex. "Insensible" would probably fit as well… "But Mike is right," he continued out loud. "We're all a team here on the railway."

"But every team needs its star," sniffed Jock. "And that would be me."

"Any engine who thinks they're better than everyone else is definitely out of this world," muttered Frank. The yellow tender engine simply scoffed and closed his eyes. To him, the others were only wasting their breath.

The next morning, the miniature engines were getting ready for the day's work. A shipment of sleepers was meant to be delivered so that Frank could help the workmen with replacing the old ones on some parts of the line. Unfortunately, the lorry was too wide to travel on narrow roads, much less enter the yard.

"Ohh, now what am I going to do?" groaned the lorry driver, scratching his head. "Without these sleepers, the workmen won't be able to maintain the line!"

"Could I try to bring them in?" asked Jock, puffing over to see what was up.

The lorry driver looked over at Jock skeptically. "The load's far too heavy for a little engine like you," he said.

"I'm the strongest and smartest engine on the line," the yellow engine boasted. "If you were to drive the lorry as far as to the line as possible and then leave the trailer on the rails, I could then pull it the rest of the way."

Still skeptical, the lorry driver did as Jock suggested, and then a cable was fastened between his tender and the trailer.

"Are you ready to do this, old boy?" asked the yellow engine's driver.

"More than ready," Jock grinned. "This is the type of masterwork I was built for!" And with a blow from his whistle, the yellow engine began to pull the trailer into the yard.

"Road or rail, what do I care?" he boasted as he continued to pull. The other engines looked on with amazement; inside, they were dreading what he would say that night.

"He's nothing but an arrogant blowhard," snorted Mike. "All up his own firebox, thinking that he's better than everyone… Pah! I'd like to show him!"

"You know, Mike," said Rex with a smirk, "you're probably the last engine to be saying such things."

"Especially after you blew your whistle off trying to move a cow," added Bert.

Mike glared at the green and blue tender engines. "Well, at least I didn't soak my passengers after getting splashed!"

"I said I was sorry!" protested Bert.

"Will you two please stop fighting?" scolded Sigrid. "Reminding each other of our mistakes is not going to help with our Jock problem."

"Plus, I've got to help the workmen in laying these new sleepers down," added Frank, before rumbling away. No more was said on the matter of past incidents, but secretly, Mike had a little scheme to get his own back at Jock…

A few days later, there were a lot of passengers wanting to travel up the Arlesdale Railway. Daisy was bringing some passengers down from Harwick and saw Mike backing down onto the coaches.

"Well, this is a change of pace for you, Mike," the diesel railcar remarked. "Normally, you complain about having to take passengers."

"Not today, my dear Daisy," replied Mike. "I'm helping Jock out on this run; we're expected to have a lot of passengers today!"

Now, what Mike had just said was partially true. What he didn't tell Daisy, however, was that he'd asked Mr. Duncan personally if he could doublehead a train with Jock, if there was demand for two engines on the same run. Mr. Duncan was surprised at this request, but he agreed to make the arrangements. In Mike's own words, this was mostly so he could "teach the newbie a lesson in humility."

At that moment, Jock came backing down onto the train and was surprised to see Mike already coupled up.

"What's all this, then?" the yellow engine demanded. "I can manage this train by myself!"

"Not without my help," replied Mike, innocently. "It's Mr. Ducan's orders."

"Ah, so you're Jock," exclaimed Daisy, catching sight of the new engine. "Ohhh! And aren't you such an adorable, handsome little devil there…!" she squealed with delight. Jock chuckled and blushed at that compliment, while Mike rolled his eyes in disgust and made a face behind the former's tender.

"Even the female engines can't control themselves around me," Jock grinned, waving his eyebrows in a silly manner.

If you're so in love with yourself, maybe we can talk Mr. Duncan into letting you marry yourself, thought Mike in annoyance. Eventually, after what felt like an eternity for Mike, the guard's whistle sounded, and with a blow of their own whistles, he and Jock set off.

So far, all seemed well as the two engines stopped at the Green. But Jock was so busy taking in the scenery, and basking in the praise from the passengers, he failed to overhear Mike sharing a plan with his driver…

As the two engines departed for the top station at Arlesdale, Jock began to feel as if the train had gotten heavier.

"What's going on back there?" he gasped. "The passengers weren't this heavy when we left."

"It all feels normal to me," said Mike, innocently. He was deliberately going at a slower pace so that Jock would struggle up the hill. It wasn't long before the yellow engine found himself having to work harder than ever up the hill, with smoke and steam pouring out of his funnel. The whole weight of the train, along with Mike, pulled on his coupling.

"I can do it! I can do it!" panted Jock. "The hill's usually easier than this!"

His driver looked back and saw Mike giving his most innocent smile.

"It's not the hill that's the problem," she muttered, grimly.

"Come on, keep up!" teased Mike. "I swear, you younger engines have no stamina these days."

"No stamina?!" spluttered Jock, his face redder than ever. "I'll show you on the downward journey!" And with one final effort, he managed to get Mike and the train over the top of the hill.

Mike was feeling rather pleased with himself as Jock spun around on the turntable. The new engine was glaring darkly at him.

"How dare he make a fool out of me," Jock was muttering. "I'll show him what a powerful engine like myself can do! He's got no right to treat me like this!" Once he'd spun around, he was coupled onto the other end of the train, with Mike shortly following afterward, now leading the train for the downward journey.

"Whatever is you're plotting, Mike," Jock warned as the train set off again, "I'll make sure to be one step ahead! Two can play at that game!"

No sooner had Jock said this when the train set off at a great pace, taking Mike, the drivers and passengers by surprise.

"Whoa, steady there!" called Jock's driver, clinging onto the cab for dear life. "We're not running a race here!"

"That's what you think," muttered Jock, and he continued to surge quickly downhill. "That'll show Mike a thing or two," he chuckled, smirking to himself.

However, when the two engines stopped at the Green again, Jock began to feel rather thirsty.

"I need a drink, please!" he called to his driver, but when she tried to turn on the tap, no water came into the boiler.

"Your injectors must have failed!" she gasped. "We can't run if you can't get any water, so it looks as though Mike will have to pull us as well as the train home."

"What?!" the two engines exclaimed together. Jock was appalled by the suggestion, but Mike's reaction was for a different reason; he hadn't expected this to play a role in his scheme.

Jock's fire was soon put out, and once the guard had blown his whistle, Mike struggled as he pulled the yellow engine and the coaches behind him.

"Get moving, you! Get moving, you!" Mike panted. Jock didn't say anything; he just sulked in silence.

Down at Arlesburgh station, Duck was waiting anxiously for the two engines to arrive so he could take their passengers to Knapford.

"Five minutes late; I hope nothing bad has happened," he said. "Knowing Mike's luck, he might have lost his temper at another cow and Jock might have broken down laughing at him–"

But then everyone could hear the sound of Mike's whistle as he pulled into the station, exhausted, but triumphant. Behind him, Jock was feeling very sorry for himself, and felt even worse as the passengers crowded around Mike, praising his strength.

There was, however, only one person who noticed Jock…

"I heard from your driver about your injectors failing, Jock," said Mr. Duncan, rather sternly. "She also added that it could have been prevented if you hadn't pushed yourself so hard on the return journey. You should know better than to damage yourself for the sake of showing off."

"Yes, sir…" muttered Jock, shamefully looking down at his buffers. "I'm sorry, sir."

"Please, sir," confessed Mike, "it's partially my fault as well." He then explained about his trick on Jock and how he and the other engines were getting fed up with his boasting.

Mr. Duncan sighed and shook his head. "I appreciate your honesty, Mike," he said, "but let me make it clear that I expect both of you to not let your pride get in the way of your work in the near future. Perhaps spending the rest of the day in your sheds will help you think about how you can behave better tomorrow."

"Yes, sir," the two engines replied.

"Thanks for sticking up for me, Mike," said Jock as he was shunted into the sheds. "I'm sorry that I'd been so full of myself since I first came here."

"And I'm sorry too for tricking you," added Mike. "If I hadn't done that, perhaps your injectors wouldn't have failed."

"It served me right, though," Jock admitted. "It's just that being admired by so many people and other engines made me feel special. I just wanted to make a good impression on everyone who held me with such praises, and make them all proud."

"I guess that's a problem with having so many fans with high expectations," insisted Mike. "Sometimes, it pushes us to jump through hoops to please everyone, only to end up making others miserable without realizing it."

"Well, from now on," Jock promised, "I'm going to stop showing off to please everyone who cheers for me. And instead, I'm going to learn from the older engines on how to truly be a really useful engine.

Once his injectors were fixed, Jock was as good as his word. He took all advice from the other engines to heart and, while still proud of being strong and valuable, has become far more humble about his work. While he still received admiration from passengers and other engines, Jock no longer let such praise get to his smokebox.

Despite having a bumpy start in his first few weeks, Jock now feels like he's one of the team.

THE END

Author's Comments

So here's the second half of the Jock duology, based upon the latter half of the book of the same name! And no, I didn't forget about Sticking Power; that story's had some dialogue incorporated into the duology, but rest assured, there will be a story about Bert to complete this sequel trilogy to the Arlesdale trilogy from Series 20. I really liked writing for Jock, for he's such a fun character with room to grow after his debut appearance in the books. I especially loved seeing his quarrel with Mike and their subsequent resolution; two hot-headed engines who are proud of their own strength but for different reasons. Among several additions to the original story include the presence of Thomas and James at the ceremony, a reference to the 1994 board book James and the Fat Controller, which features Jock in the illustrations. Another radical departure from the original story is that the roles of the breakdown are reversed. That was inspired from a rewrite of Jock's book by The Jolly Mariner, but with Bert in Mike's place.

More stories to come!