REBECCA'S SAD STORY
Rebecca and Gordon were making their way back to Tidmouth sheds.
"What a day this has been," said Rebecca.
"You're telling me," said Gordon. "At least it felt nice being able to pull passengers again. Though I wouldn't be surprised if Sir Topham Hatt took me off of express duties for good..."
"What are you talking about, Gordon?" asked Rebecca.
"With you here taking the express now," Gordon explained sadly, "it would seem that I will never get the privilege to pull it again. I've been replaced."
"Replaced?" gasped Rebecca in shock. "Oh no, you've got it all wrong, Gordon. Sir Topham Hatt didn't bring me here to replace you. He brought me here to help you."
"Help me?" Gordon asked, sounding a bit puzzled.
"I'm here to supplement you on your express duties," Rebecca explained. "That way, you don't have to be so overworked all the time."
"Well... the express had been getting heavier lately," Gordon admitted.
"Things will get better," Rebecca promised.
"Regardless," Gordon went on, "one of my cylinders feels a bit funny. I'd better go to the Steamworks so Victor can look it over."
Suddenly, Rebecca braked hard to a stop. Gordon was surprised by this sudden reaction.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"You can't go to the works!" Rebecca cried. "It's a terrible, terrible place!"
"Why?" asked Gordon. "Victor's one of the friendliest, most helpful engines we know."
Rebecca wasn't sure what to say; it was too much for her to talk about, but she knew that Gordon would not stop bothering her until she finally spoke about it. Reluctantly, Rebecca closed her eyes and began to tell Gordon why she was afraid.
"Before I came to Sodor," she began, "I worked with many of my brothers and sisters on the southern part of England, but the one I was the closest to... was Miranda..."
Rebecca was one of the youngest of the Bulleid Light Pacifics, coming from Eastleigh works in Hampshire. Most of her siblings were built at Brighton, where Thomas had come from. While many of Rebecca's siblings had a sense of class and dignity about them, Rebecca herself was seen as a bit of a nuisance for how eager and excitable she was.
One of them, Miranda, one of the oldest of the Bulleid Pacifics, was willing to take young Rebecca under her wing. For many years, the two were inseparable. But like many good things, it wasn't to last forever.
One day, Rebecca had just arrived at the works for routine maintenance. However, she was surprised to see how busy it was.
"Excuse me," she called to a workman, "but what's going on in here?"
"There's been an accident," the workman explained. "Miranda's brakes failed while taking a goods train to Southampton, causing her to overrun a signal and fall down an embankment."
"Oh my," gasped Rebecca. "I hope she's okay."
"I... I hope so too, Rebecca," the workman agreed, but he didn't sound so sure of himself. From what had been said so far, the damage Miranda had taken was very extensive. Another engine had already been sent to fetch the breakdown train to clear away the accident.
"Please be okay, Miranda," Rebecca said to herself. "Please be okay."
Several hours went by, but to Rebecca, it seemed like forever, but at last, Miranda had finally arrived at the works. The younger Bulleid pacific stared in shock at the damage her older sister had taken.
"M-Miranda!" she stammered. "H-how did this happen..."
"I... I don't kn... know, Rebecca," groaned Miranda. "I tr... tried to slow d... down, but m... my brakes failed on me..."
"You Bulleids never did have the best brakes," another workman said grimly. "They've completely shattered."
"I-it wasn't our fault!" Rebecca cut in. "W-we didn't choose to be built like that!"
"Please don't..." sighed Miranda. "This argument's n... not worth it."
"But Miranda-"
"Rebecca..." trailed Miranda. "You have a pure heart and a gentle soul... please remember that, my little sister."
"Of... of course," Rebecca whispered, on the verge of tears. "I will always remember that, Miranda."
The two sisters never saw each other again after that fateful day. Although Rebecca would soon return to service, she never saw Miranda outside of the works. Rebecca was hoping for a best case scenario in that Miranda had been saved at the last minute and bought by a preservation company, but one day, she couldn't bear it anymore and finally asked one of her other siblings about what had happened to her.
"Vaughn, do you know what became of Miranda?" Rebecca asked one cloudy day. "Is she alright?"
Vaughn, one of the rebuilt Bulleid pacifics, looked at his youngest sister with a grave expression.
"I wish she was," he said, hoping to break the news gently to Rebecca. "Unfortunately, the damage was so extensive that... that... she couldn't be put back into service."
Rebecca gulped. "Y-you mean she's on static display somewhere?" Her voice sounded like she was in denial.
"No, it's not that," said Vaughn. "Miranda's... not around anymore."
Rebecca's eyes suddenly felt like dams about to burst.
"NO!" she wailed. "Not Miranda! Sh-she can't be... she's not..."
"I'm sorry, Rebecca," said Vaughn gently. "We all are." But Rebecca couldn't stand for this and quickly raced away.
By now, the rain had begun to fall, and it was pouring down harder by the time Rebecca had arrived at the works.
"M-Miranda..." she stammered, peering into the works fearfully. "What happened to her?!" she nearly shrieked at a nearby workman.
"Rebecca..." sighed the workman, clearly upset about the ordeal himself. "Miranda was in a lot of pain, and many of her parts couldn't be replaced."
"You could have waited until I came to say a proper goodbye!" Rebecca sobbed. "Don't you know how important Miranda was in my life?! My sister, my best friend, my mentor... gone in one swoop!"
"Rebecca... I'm so sorry..." the workman said quietly. "Really, I am."
Rebecca couldn't say anymore; she was very badly shaken by what she had just heard, and left the works, her tears blending in with raindrops as they hit her face.
By the time Rebecca had finished her story, she was crying quietly, tears trickling down her face.
"Ever since that day," she sniffed, "whenever I go near a workshop, I keep thinking about how my sister was taken from me. I never even got to say goodbye to her..."
Gordon was speechless from Rebecca's story. He had heard of many engines having close calls from being scrapped - Douglas, Oliver, Emily, just to name a few. But hearing someone actively lose someone that close to them... it rocked him to his firebox.
"Rebecca, that... that must have been horrible," Gordon whispered.
"It was the most horrifying thing I've ever experienced," Rebecca agreed.
"It always hurts losing someone you care for," said Gordon. "I know how that feels."
"You do?" asked Rebecca.
"Years ago," Gordon explained, "I found out that all but one of my siblings had been withdrawn and scrapped. I felt awful. Not only had I lost a great deal of family, but I didn't even get to say goodbye to them. I was so upset that Sir Topham Hatt arranged for Flying Scotsman, my last surviving brother, to visit and cheer me up."
"No..." Rebecca gazed with awe. "The Flying Scotsman?!"
"The one and only. As much as we care for each other, he just can't resist teasing me by calling me his 'little brother'."
"You are younger than him, right?" asked Rebecca.
"Actually, I was the first built in the class," Gordon explained. "Scott likes to call me 'little brother' because of his extra tender to carry water; it helps for him to travel long distances."
"Oh, I see," Rebecca said with understanding. She then looked up at the sky; it was about to get a lot darker.
"Looks like the sun is setting," said Rebecca. "I think we'd better get home very soon."
"I... don't think I can," Gordon said quietly.
"Why not?"
"Uh... I wasn't exactly hospitable to the other new engine Nia," Gordon explained, rather ashamed. "The others were understandably upset."
"Oh yes, you did mention that," Rebecca sighed. "Did you have a chance to explain your behavior to them?"
"Not yet," said Gordon. "I don't know if they'd listen to me."
"You won't know until you try," Rebecca insisted. "Come on." And with that, the pair set off once more for Tidmouth.
Gordon and Rebecca had finally arrived at the sheds. Nia, James, Thomas, Percy and Emily were already there.
"...and that, Nia, is how I met Harold for the first time." Percy was finishing a story.
"Engines racing helicopters," she chuckled. "Whatever next?"
"Rebecca coming to the sheds with a certain big engine that shouldn't be here?" retorted James.
"Ha, good one, James."
"Um, I don't think James was joking there," said Thomas. He and the others glanced over to see James' statement wasn't an exaggeration.
"What is he doing here?" asked Emily crossly.
"Look, everyone; I know you aren't happy with me right now..." Gordon began.
"Got that right we aren't!" Thomas cut in. "Nia had done nothing wrong and you weren't exactly very welcoming!"
"Yes, I'm aware of that," said Gordon, trying not to lose his patience. "Now if you'd let me finish..."
"Edward and Henry chose to go to different sheds because they wanted a change of scenery," Percy interjected. "Plus, it was more convenient for them to get their trains at Wellsworth and Vicarstown, respectively."
"You practically acted as if they were being outright replaced and scrapped," James added. This was probably not the best thing to say, as before the red engine could continue, Rebecca spoke up.
"Don't use that term lightly, James!" she snapped. The engines were taken aback by Rebecca's sudden response, and were equally surprised to see her looking angry. "You guys have said that some of you and other fellow engines on the island had some close calls which nearly cost you your lives! I thought you'd be more careful on what you say about things like that."
"R-Rebecca..." gasped Emily, wondering just the newer engine had gone through.
"And on top of that, you weren't even asking Gordon for his side of the story!" Rebecca added with fury.
The other engines fell silent at her words.
"She... does kind of have a point," Thomas said quietly.
"I appreciate the gesture, Rebecca," said Gordon, "but I suppose I'll have to sleep by myself again..." He slowly puffed away before anyone else could reply to him.
The rest of the night was unusually quiet at Tidmouth sheds, especially after Rebecca's outburst. Only Nia had stayed awake. Making sure that the engines to her left were fast asleep, she glanced over at the streamlined tender engine.
"Rebecca?" she whispered softly. Rebecca had been half-asleep, and gave a soft yawn.
"Nia..." she trailed. "What are you doing awake?"
"I was just wondering; what did you mean by your reaction to James' comment about scrap?" Nia asked. "You sounded particularly tense there."
"I... just got finished telling the story to Gordon before I got here tonight," Rebecca explained.
"Story to Gordon?" Nia raised an eyebrow with curiosity. "What story was it about?"
"My sister, Miranda," Rebecca explained, and she gave Nia the full low-down of Miranda's accident and subsequent scrapping. When Rebecca had finished, Nia didn't say anything at first. She looked at the bigger engine with a mixture of shock and sadness.
"I... I know what it's like to lose a family member to scrap as well," the Kenyan engine said at last.
"You do?"
"Back in Kenya, I... didn't have a good manager," Nia explained. "He would often threaten my friends with scrap, and... actually went through with it a few times. It was thanks to Thomas and Sir Topham Hatt that I was able to get a better life here, and my remaining friends got a better manager."
Rebecca shuddered; compared to what Nia went through, the Bulleid engine had gotten off lightly. "That's... that's awful."
"I know," said Nia. "Still, it's at least good to know you're not alone... right?"
"Yes, it's comforting to know," Rebecca replied. "I wish Gordon wasn't alone right now..."
"To be honest... so do I." Rebecca was surprised; after everything Gordon had said to her, Nia wished for him to return to Tidmouth sheds?
"Yes, what he said that night was uncalled for," said Nia, "and it cut me deep inside. But seeing him interacting with you tonight and the way you stood up for him... it made me start to think he's not so bad."
There was a brief pause between them before Rebecca spoke up again.
"Oh, and Nia... is it okay if we keep this talk about Miranda between ourselves? I don't think I'm ready to tell the others about her just yet."
"Of course," smiled Nia. With that, the two went to sleep. They both hoped that by morning, this issue with Gordon would be resolved once and for all.
Miranda's accident was based upon a derailment that occurred with No. 34084 253 Squadron on February 20, 1960 at Hither Green. The engine was hauling a goods train and overran signals resulting in a derailment before falling down an embankment and onto its side. The locomotive was fully recovered after eight days and pushed back into service before being withdrawn from service in October 1965. The engine was in unrebuilt form.
Author's Comments
Well, that got pretty serious, didn't it? Not to worry, though; there is a happy ending to this fourteen part saga. The character of Miranda came from a working name Rebecca was intended to have before the latter got her final name, but I still liked the sound of the name Miranda. So, when planning this saga out, I made her an older sister to Rebecca. Miranda looks a lot like Rebecca, but she has an older looking face, an unrebuilt tender and is painted in a darker shade of green. The other of Rebecca's siblings, Vaughn, is one of the rebuilt Bulleid pacifics in the same shade of dark green.
Only one more chapter to go for the saga, but will everyone stay Friends Together to the End? Hopefully!
