It was a foggy night on the Island of Sodor. The engines were trying to get some sleep after a hard day's work, but were feeling very restless.
"I don't like nights like this…", moaned Percy, "It's very spooky."
"It's only fog, Percy.", replied Thomas with a yawn, "Don't pay it any mind. It should go away come morning."
"Nights like these reminds me of stories long ago," said Edward.
Thomas and Percy looked to Edward curiously, wondering what the wise old engine was talking about.
"What sort of stories?", asked Percy sheepishly.
Edward smiled, "The kind of stories about our island's history, namely engines that are no longer with us."
"Pah," muttered James, "not another ghost story of yours, Edward…"
Edward looked to James and, with a wink and a laugh, he said, "Perhaps, but it did happen on a night like this."
The engines listened as Edward began to tell the story.
Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, there was the Old Railway of the Cronk and Harwick line. It was one of several railways that was laid in the old days of Sodor. On this line, was a small engine. This small engine would carry goods, from the mine in the quarry of Cregwir, to the docks in Harwick harbour.
The engine took pride in her work, and would always make sure to give a friendly whistle to everyone she met. The engine's name was "Ffortiwn", but to everyone on the island, she was nicknamed "The Golden Lady".
"She sounds very nice," interjected Percy.
"Whatever happened to her?" Thomas asked with piqued curiosity.
"Well…", Edward looked up to sky in thought, "It's a sad story…"
One day, Ffortiwn was instructed by her controller that she was to go and collect some trucks filled with rubble at nightfall. During the day, workers in the Cregwir mines were hard at work, blasting away to make a new shaft, in the hopes for the night crew to explore and collect Zinc crystals.
Not one to disappoint her controller, Ffortiwn happily agreed to do her work, and set off after she had pulled her last passenger service of the day. When she had arrived at the quarry, the night sky was in bloom, without the light of the moon in sight.
The smoke from the mine shaft clearing had settled the air and ground all around the mines, making visibility very limited to a few paces in all directions. Ffortiwn's driver aptly stated, "It's as thick as pea soup. We had better keep a good eye for the foreman, and ask him to spot for us."
Ffortiwn was a bit unsettled, it was bad enough that she couldn't see very far, but the night owls and the stillness of the night gave an eerie feeling. She had hoped to just collect her goods and be away as quickly as possible.
Just then, the night foreman came into view, much to Ffortiwn and her crew's relief, and said, "Ah, there you are, the trucks are on a siding near the front entrance. If you follow me slowly, I'll take you to the set of points and spot you to them."
"Thank you," said the driver, "It's very hard to see with all this fog."
The foreman walked alongside Ffortiwn as she trundled slowly along the line to the set of points. Once the switch was pulled, she carefully brought herself to the trucks waiting for her. As the fireman was coupling the trucks, Ffortiwn and her driver heard a low grumbling sound. At the time, neither she, her crew, nor the foreman knew what it was.
Just then, Ffortiwn felt a 'ping' on her front plate, and then another, and then another. The fireman was unsure of what was going on, but the driver, a native to the line, had an inkling as to what it was, and went as white as a sheet as the low grumbling sound grew louder and louder.
The next words he spoke was a mix of sheer panic and realisation.
"R-rockslide! The mine is going to collapse!"
Thinking fast, he ordered the foreman and fireman to run, as fast as they could, as far away from the mine as their legs could go. The foreman cried out, "But- the men are still in the mine! They need to get out as well!"
Ffortiwn's driver replied, "It's alright, Ffortiwn and I will save them!"
Without wasting any time, he built up enough steam in Ffortiwn's boiler, and said, "Its just you and me, Golden Lady. Let's do our part."
With enough steam in her boiler, Ffortiwn let out a series of loud whistles, warning anyone within ear shot to clear the area. The sound of her whistle echoed through the shafts of the mine to warn the miners digging below.
She did not stop whistling, nor did her driver leave his post…he kept pulling the chain as rocks of different sizes rained down upon them. Even as many miners fled to safety, Ffortiwn kept whistling on, to the very end…
The engines were stunned and very silent.
"T-that's awful…" said Toby, sadly.
"And yet, very brave…", lamented Gordon.
"What….what happened afterwards?" asked Henry.
Edward looked down to the front of his buffers and sighed in reflection, "Suffice to say, Ffortiwn and her driver never survived that incident. However, to those that they rescued, would say that their lives was owed to their selfless act. This is why, when so ever a miner goes down the mine, some oft say, "May Fortune herself favour you"; in remembrance to the lone Guardian of the Mine, whose spirit still lingers in the mines of the railway".
