For several years, despite not receiving as much attention as many of the other Sudrian engines, Carole, Stevie and Lisa have run the Peel Godred branch line well, and they seemed to be quite content with a quiet life. However, as time went by, they needed assistance and so another electric engine was brought in to help out with the increasing traffic. His name was Simon, and he proved to be a valuable asset to the crew. But good things are not meant to last forever…
VOLUME II: THE NEW ELECTRIC ENGINE
A few years had passed by for the horse-loving electric trio, and their lives had been mostly peaceful. However, life has a habit of changing things…
"I dunno, Stevie and Lisa," said Carole one day. "I think something's up with the engines of the aluminum works."
"No, Carole," said Stevie. "There's something fishy going on, and it's not Sophie's favorite pizza."
"They have become very quiet lately," sighed Lisa. "Falcon and Stuart don't want any of the other engines to know their names."
"Maybe the steam engines have some theories on that," suggested Carole.
"I'm due to take some passengers down to Killdane," said Lisa. "I'll ask whomever's down there."
Lisa collected the coaches and set off. It was a weekday, so Sophie, Lara, Kareen and a new friend they made named Patch wouldn't be with their horses until the afternoon.
"I wonder who's taking the main line local today," said Lisa. "James or Henry?"
But Lisa, Ashley, Melanie and Jess were in for quite the surprise when they reached Killdane station. Waiting for them with four red coaches in tow was a blue tank engine with six small wheels, a short stumpy appearance, and the number one painted in yellow on his tanks.
"You're not James or Henry!"
"Nope," laughed the tank engine. "I think I'd be too small to qualify. Besides, I'm the wrong color and have the wrong number."
"Oh, I think I know who you are," said Lisa. "You're Thomas, right? You were initially the station pilot before you rescued James, and then got your branch line."
"That's right," smiled Thomas. "You must be one of the electric engines that Edward, Henry and James told me about."
"My name is Lisa," replied the reddish-orange electric engine. "These are my coaches, Ashley, Melanie and Jess. Two other engines, Stevie and Carole also work here." Lisa then looked curiously at Thomas. "What brings you so far from the Ffarquhar branch?"
"There was a strike among the big engines following my promotion," explained Thomas. "Apparently, tender engines don't shunt, and so Sir Topham Hatt purchased a new tank engine called Percy to take over my previous position, and he also shut Gordon, Henry and James in the shed until they learned sense."
"They went on strike?!" cried Ashley.
"That's insane, alright," said Jess. "Sounds like they're being lazy."
"I'm surprised at Henry," gasped Melanie. "I thought he was more grounded than the other two."
"Edward suspects there's more to Henry's case," said Thomas. "But he didn't elaborate too much to Percy or myself."
"Speaking of suspicion," said Lisa, "Stevie, Carole and I have been worrying about the aluminum works quartet, especially the newer duo."
"Who are they?" asked Thomas. This was his first time having heard about the aluminum works.
"Oh, they are four little engines that reside up at Peel Godred," Lisa explained. "Have you met Skarloey and Rheneas yet? If so, picture those four engines on their gauge of track."
"I think I saw one of them on my way to get repainted," said Thomas.
"Well, two of them are called Bertram and Freddie," added Lisa. "The other two… don't really have names."
Thomas gasped in shock. "But that's just cruel! All engines ought to have names."
"That's partly why we're suspicious," sighed Lisa. "We're not too certain what's going on there, and we need to help these engines in any way we can. If you or the others get any ideas, please let me or my friends know."
"Of course, Lisa," said Thomas. The guard's whistle blew and Thomas started off.
"Oh, and tell Percy we said welcome to Sodor," called Lisa.
"I will," replied Thomas.
The strike ended after a week and life returned to normal on Sodor, with Percy being a new member of the team, of course. But those on the Peel Godred branch line were facing new challenges of their own.
"Phew!" panted Carole. "That's the fifth load today, and it's only lunch time." She glanced down the track and Falcon was panting into the depot.
"Falcon, good afternoon," Carole said warmly. "How are you holding up?"
"I feel as though I've run a marathon," the No. 3 engine gasped breathlessly.
"Maybe you should take a breather," suggested Carole. "You and the others work hard enough for two engines each."
"If only we could," sighed Falcon. "But our manager… he… runs a tight ship."
"So does Sir Topham Hatt," said Carole, "but he does understand our feelings and lets us rest our wheels."
"Well…" Falcon was about to say more when he looked at the clock. "Oh, bust my buffers! I'll need to take the empties back right now!"
Falcon puffed off in the blink of an eye.
"Poor Falcon…" trailed Carole.
At the sheds, Carole was talking about things to Stevie and Lisa.
"The mountain quartet are getting busier with tourists too," said Lisa, "but they still get a good rest at Kirk Machan before climbing up or from rolling down the mountain."
"Either way, it looks like the aluminum quartet aren't the only ones who need help," said Stevie. "More business from both those companies means more work for us too."
"But we can't manage things by ourselves," said Carole. "We'll need another engine to help us out, but someone like James or Johnson can't be spared all the time."
"That's exactly true, Carole," said Sir Topham Hatt, walking up to the trio. "A fourth electric engine will be bought to help run the branch line with you."
Lisa, Stevie and Carole all beamed at the news, wondering what the new engine would be like.
The new engine arrived the next day. He was painted black and had his nameplates on his side just like the original trio. Henry brought him to Killdane.
"You're sure to enjoy life on Sodor," he smiled at the newcomer.
"I sure hope I will," he replied. "This is my first time running trains."
Carole was the first to meet up with the newcomer when she brought in a goods train for Henry to take up to Cronk.
"Pleasure to meet you," she said warmly. "My name's Carole. What's yours?"
"I'm Simon," he replied. "I'm glad I'm not the only electric engine on this island." He glanced over curiously at Carole's train. "So, what's my first task of the day? Goods trains? Passengers? Shunting?"
"Slow down there," chuckled Carole. "You're new to the line and have to learn it. For now, you can double head my return train with me."
Simon and Carole were coupled together and they started their return trip up the branch line. Simon was captivated by his new surroundings.
"It's so peaceful out here," said Simon as he listened to the birds in the trees twittering a song.
"If you think that's good, wait until we get to Hawin Lake," grinned Carole.
"Let me guess; it's full of ducks and swans?" asked Simon.
"Oh, you'll see," giggled Carole.
Hawin Lake soon came into view, and to Carole's delight, her friends were out riding on the trail. Kareen, Sophie and Lara were well into their teen years now, and Patch was about the age they were when the girls met the engines.
"Hi, Patch, girls," greeted Carole. Comanche, Starlight, Prancer and Belle seemed to roll their eyes.
"Oh, don't think I'd forget the four of you," chuckled Carole. "You're looking lovely too." The horses tilted their heads in a friendly manner at Carole. Simon stared over at the horses.
"Er… they are quite tall…" he said quietly.
"Is something wrong, Simon?" asked Carole.
"I-It's nothing, Carole," stammered the black electric engine. "I just… wasn't expecting… them…"
"They won't hurt you," said Carole. "If anything, the horses would be more scared of you than you are of them. We are much bigger than them."
"I… don't want to hurt them," Simon said quickly. "It's probably best if we head off before they stray into the tracks."
Carole, still a bit surprised, picked up the pace. "I'll bring feed for the horses a bit later," she called to the group. The girls, Patch and their horses were equally surprised by this turn of events.
"Wonder what that was all about," said Lara, stroking Prancer's neck.
Further up the line, Carole and Simon finally reached Peel Godred.
"That track's smaller than ours," gasped Simon. "I didn't think that was possible."
"That's what's known as narrow gauge," explained Carole. "There was also some back at Kirk Machan, except the engines there run on a rack railway."
"Wow," gasped Simon. "There sure are a lot of tracks on this island."
"And we have to make tracks in order to keep to time," panted another voice. Carole's eyes widened to see Freddie racing in.
"Hello, Freddie," the purple electric engine greeted. "This here is Simon, our newest member."
"Ah, welcome to the island," smiled Freddie. "I have a few other co-workers on this railway here too - Bertram, Falcon, Stuart and Colin."
"Sounds like life won't be dull around here with you lot," chuckled Simon. "By the way, you looked as if you were in a tearing hurry."
"Oh, er…" said Freddie. "I try and beat my own personal best. And this time I was really close to my time."
"And just what was your 'personal best time'?" asked Simon.
"I… er…" Freddie was at a loss for words when he glanced up at the clock. "Oh, Bertram's waiting for me! Gotta go!" And the large gray tank engine rushed off before either electric engine had a chance to reply.
"Well, he seemed friendly," remarked Simon. "Though doesn't he like newcomers?"
"Actually, he loves to talk to newcomers," said Carole. "But Freddie and his friends have been on a tight ship in recent times."
"A tight ship?" asked Simon. "Whatever for?"
"That's what we don't know," sighed Carole. "And here's another red flag: Falcon and Stuart had their nameplates fall off on their first day here, and their manager refuses to call them as such. They were also painted gray without any consent on the color change."
"Oh my," gasped Simon. "Is that also part of the reason I was brought here?"
"Well, the traffic spike is the reason, yes," said Carole. "But we do need help figuring out the truth with the little engines. Falcon and Stuart are worried about their names going outside the Peel Godred branch as well."
"We'll need to do anything we can to help the engines," said Simon determinedly. "I just hope no one will get hurt…"
However, the next day, Carole met up with Falcon and got some distressing news.
"Bertram's been scrapped?!" she exclaimed with shock.
"Y-yes…" Falcon stammered. "H-he… went out bravely…"
"May he rest in peace in the Great Railway…" whispered Carole. "He will be missed…"
Carole swiftly told her friends about this that evening.
"Poor Bertram…" sighed Lisa. "I wonder what brave act he performed."
"I dunno," said Stevie. "Maybe he saved Falcon from an avalanche or something."
"I didn't hear anything of the sort from the news," said Simon. "Surely an avalanche would have made the headlines."
The girls stared at Simon with shock.
"You don't think…?" Stevie began.
"It's possible," said Lisa, "but we need more information."
The four engines decided to sleep on the matter, knowing there was more to this mystery than any of them had realized.
Author's Comments
Zack: And so we kick off the second volume of The Peel Godred Chronicles! This chapter is set around the time frame of The Adventure Continues and Why So Blue?, the latter of which can be read as part of the first set of Between the Lines, and it also further elaborates on the circumstances of Bertram's demise. (And yes, Bertram is dead, so please don't ask for us to have him revived. A replica is also off the table, so... nice try.) In fact, this whole second volume will be detailing the downfall of the aluminum company at Peel Godred. As well as that, we are introduced to Sodor's fourth electric engine, Simon.
Rachel: Initially, this chapter had a very different set-up: Simon was supposed to come very early in the chapter and he would have had this desire to go beyond the Peel Godred branch, except because of his pantographs, this ends in disaster, something akin to what happened in Marvelous Machinery. But when we decided to have a plot arc surrounding the aluminum works, we decided to take another approach. I also would have chosen Phil, Stevie's boyfriend, to be the fourth electric engine, except we already had a Phillip in the TV show so I chose Simon, a character from series three, instead. He's a good friend of the girls but is closer with another girl in the series, Desi, who it's implied he has a crush on. Sadly, we won't have an engine equivalent of Desi to ship with him.
Next time, we shall Cut to the Quick!
