Oliver yawned as he puffed into Killdane. He had been asked to take a slow goods train across the Island and was the only engine available. Normally he would not mind however not only was he without his trusty brakevan Toad, as he was out on a run with Donald, but Killdane was home to one of Sodor's biggest Iron works. IronWorks is what they liked to call it, it sounded normal, unthreatening. In reality making Iron was only part of its duty. The other part being the scrapping of unwanted and old steam engines. The thought of scrap made him shiver, as it would most engines but due to his history of running away from scrap it hit him worse than others. He puffed into the station yard, it was late and the sun had already started to set. There was no one there so he shunted the train away himself. By the time he was finished it was dark and he heard a familiar whistle. It was two tone, like the ones used on the Great Western Railway in the old days when he had worked there. He had one himself but rarely used it.
"That's odd… I didn't think any sodor engine had one…" he said to himself out loud. Intrigued by it. The Puffing grew closer and he gasped. A little tank engine who looked just like him puffed into the station pulling a long line of Well wagons. He could not believe what he saw on them.
"Oh, hello there, sorry you caught me, I try not to be seen much, with this train at least" The engine said. Her voice was soft and had a hint of shyness to it. His eyes were locked on her well wagons. The train must have been about 30 wagons long and each one had an old rusted engine sitting on it.
He looked back to the engine who didn't seem phased at all by her morbid train but as he read her side tanks he understood. "SODOR IRONWORKS" they read. The engine seemed to notice this as his face turned from one of shock to anger.
"I…" Oliver didn't know what to say. A steam engine, a sister of his own no less working in the Ironworks and taking a train of engines to their final resting place. The engine sighed.
"Yep, your reaction is typical… and why I run it when no one should be around… So what's your name Great Western?" said she trying to change the subject.
"Murderer…" Oliver said darkly.
"Pardon? Odd name for an engine don't you think?" He said a little confused. Oliver's face grew darker still.
"Enjoy cutting them up do you?" He asked bluntly. The engine was taken aback by this.
"What? Well… I guess, it's just a job that must be done, '' she said plainly but this only filled Oliver with rage.
"Just a job?! Engines like me risked everything to escape the cutter's torch...how can any steam engine live with themselves if they help others to their fate?" He shouted, angry and full of emotion. The Engine thought for a moment before she spoke again.
"You said it yourself. It's their fate, if I don't do it some diesel will. These engines get scrapped either way. It's not pleasant to think about but as far as the job goes it's a good one, the shuntings light but rewarding. But I doubt a Great Westerner like yourself who carries the logo of heartless killers would understand anything about a pleasant job, now if you excuse me I need to help these poor engines to their final resting place." Her voice was a lot calmer then Oliver but no less emotional. She blew her two tone whistle and puffed off leaving Oliver speechless in the dark as he just watched engines big and small pass him by on the well wagons.
When Oliver returned to the shed Duck and the Scottish twins were already there. They could see something was wrong.
"What's the matter Oliver?" Asked Duck kindly.
"It's...odd… I met this engine at killdane… An 14xx just like me…" he said, looking down at his buffers. His face was a mix of emotions. Donald was confused.
"Surely that's a good thing though?" Oliver sighed.
"Normally it would be...but...she was pulling…engines ready for scrap…" The shed fell silent as the other 3 engines gasped. No one dared say anything. Donald and Dousglas knew first hand what Oliver felt about scrap as both of them were also once at risk of being scrapped. They seemed to give him a knowing look, but neither knew what to say. Duck also felt uncomfortable when the topic of scrap came up, however for a different reason. Out of the four of them he was the only one who had no experience for scrap so while he disliked the idea of it he didn't know of the horrors the others had lived through and was very sensitive to not upset them because of this. He was about to comfort him when Oliver spoke again.
"And she said I carried the logo of heartless killers…" Duck looked confused as he looked back to the GWR logo on Oliver's tank. He and Oliver both loved the Great Western railway.
"Why would she say that?" He asked in a huff.
"Who knows… I did just call her a murder so maybe she was just throwing insults…" Duck wanted to agree but someone felt that there was something more to it.
"Where does she work? You would think we would have heard of another Western engine on the Island." Duck said.
"At the Ironworks at Killdane, its name is plastered onto her tanks" added Oliver, the anger in his voice growing again.
"Traitor to her own kind" Scoft Donald.
"You either escape scrap or you embrace it, and she has chosen to betray steam engines by embracing it" Oliver said.
"Bet she has no clue what it's like to be desperate for a second chance… no offence Duck" Douglas put in, blushing a little as he forgot Duck was there for a moment.
"None taken" he said but something about all this felt wrong to him. He wanted to find out the truth.
The Next Morning Duck woke up early and told the Driver his plan.
"You sure Duck? I mean I think he would agree to it but it's an odd request…" Duck wasn't sure himself. It would not be pleasant but he just had to know for sure.
"Yes sir, I just need a change of pace…" He lied, he knew his driver very well and that he would see right through his lie. However he knew his driver would understand Duck would have a reason. He knew his Driver would not understand if he told him the truth however. Somehow, even the nicest humans didn't seem to understand how the fear of scrap felt.
"Very well then I will ask" The driver said as the fire lighter lit Ducks fire. About an Hour later HIs driver returned, everyone else was still asleep. "He has agreed, duck, we leave right now" Duck smiled as his let off some steam, waking Oliver a little.
"Oh...Morning Duck, where are you off to so soon?" he yawned.
"Oh… Fat controllers order, I am taking a train to killdane" Oliver gasped and was about to argue when Duck spoke up. "Don't worry, I am going nowhere near the Ironworks. I will be back tomorrow" That made Oliver feel better as Duck set off.
Duck had of course been lying to Oliver, knowing he would try to stop him. He didn't like lying to his friend but it had to be done. What he had asked the Fat Controller for was to be sent to work at Killdane Iron works for a day. He felt a little uneasy as he turned off the mainline onto the branchline to the Ironworks. He puffed though the big Iron gates which shielded the outside world from the horrors within. Some piles of scrap laid around which made him shiver, however it wasn't as bad as he was expecting. He saw two diesels working hard moving trucks of scrap around.
"Well well Bert, seems we have a guest" one oiled as they spotted him. The other chuckled.
"And a steamer no less Arry, my my, what lovely scrap you would make" Duck was shocked, and a little scared however he plucked up courage and spoke up.
"I am here on the Fat controllers Orders… I am not to be scrapped..." He hoped the Diesels would not sense the fear in his voice.
"Oh for pete's say, another steam engine working here" grumbled Bert. "We are supposed to be replacing you lot, not the other way round" Duck smirked, at least they didn't want to scrap him.
"Oh...you have another steam engine working here? Could I meet them?" he asked, pretending to have not known.
"No, she is out on a run, in the meantime make yourself useful and shunt these trucks away" Said Arry Gruffly. Duck gulped but agreed as he started to shunt the trucks. It was very odd.
He felt bad for the engines who had been scrapped, however he got a hit of the rewarding feeling he always had when he shunted trucks neatly. He had expected that to have gone with such a gruesome job. He tried to be respectful while he shunted however it soon felt no different to any other kind of shunting and he wasn't sure if that was a good thing. He was lost in thought when he heard a two tone whistle as an engine puffed up beside him.
"So Great Western changed your mind huh? I- oh sorry… I thought you were someone else" She said, her voice going from confident to shy when she pulled alongside.
"Ah, so you're the engine Oliver was talking about." He said the engine looked confused.
"Oliver?" she asked before realising. "Oh that was his name, he never gave it… So what's a friend of an engine like that doing here?" She asked politely. Part of Duck was also wondering.
"Well I...Well part of me had some questions about you" He asked truthfully.
"Mmm...Well considering you came to work I may as well answer them, however we have work to do…" Duck's face fell as she smirked. "Oi you two, me and this one have a train to take, have these trucks shunted when we get back" She called out. Arry and Bert goaned.
"Fine, but don't be long," Bert said. Duck was shocked, he had never seen anyone put those two in their places before.
Once they reached Killdane the engine led him into the empty shunting yard.
"How did you do that back there?" Duck asked.
"Do what? Of the Diesels?" She gave a soft chuckle. "Oh those two and I go way back, they respect me." She laughed as Duck smiled back.
"Impressive… So I guess the first question I should ask is what is your name and why are you working in the Ironworks?" he asked. She sighed.
"Well My name's Bisse and as I told your friend it's good work, but I doubt you would understand it either" At this duck spoke up.
"Well...I actually do… when I was shunting back there I was...well I am not sure if it was fear or discomfort but after a while it felt… like normal shunting." Bisse looked surprised.
"Well then, I would say you do understand it then, say what's your name?" She asked suddenly.
"Montague, though most people call me Duck" She thought for a moment before speaking up.
"So Duck… You're the first engine to understand it…but why did you come to a scrapyard just to find me?" She asked. Duck felt a little easier now she seemed to like him.
"Well...It was in part to find out why you started working there and to ask you why you called the Great Western Railway Killers…" Her face dropped as he Mentioned the Great Western.
"Well I can answer that question at the same time" She scoffed and it took Duck by surprise.
"I used to work on the GWR in the old days… but when the Beeching axe came down on my line I was one of the first to be sent off for scrap… I felt so betrayed… I was only a year old and already being told I was out of date and no use for anything. I begged them to reconsider but they would not. I was left to rust in sidings for months as they tried to find a scrapyard who were willing to scrap an engine so small… They said it wasn't worth the scrap money for some of the bigger yards… Finally It was decided I would come here to sodor to be scrapped. To that scrap yard even. That's when I met Arry and Bert." Duck was Speechless.
Well then how come you're still here?" asked the Duck in amazement. Bisse Laughed.
"Well its thanks to those two strange enough.
The Cutter was careless and left the rubber pipe for his torch across the tracks and just as he came to start on me Bert rolled over it cutting the gas for it" She chuckled. "Then he got such a shock by it he jolted forwards and came off at some unset points. Because he was out of action I spoke up. I asked to help them in exchange for a few more days of being useful. The manager had no choice with Bert away at the works. It was tough work however by the time Bert returned I was sure my time was up but Arry told the manager about how useful I had been and convinced him to keep me." Duck was amazed as he heard Donalds works bounce around his firebox. "Bet she has no clue what it's like to be desperate for a second chance" If anything Bisse knew that better than any of them.
"That's...amazing, That's high praise from him" Bisse Laughed.
"You're telling me it is, never heard him praise me since" Duck joined in laughing as well.
"You must forgive Oliver. He worked with me on my branchline, there's 4 of us and I am the only one there who hasn't nearly been scrapped." Bisse listened closely to what he said and thought about it.
"He seems harmless, if a bit quick to anger, however I doubt he would ever forgive me for taking engines to their fate" She said, sighing a little. However, Duck had an idea.
"Mmm...Unless…" He told his driver to ask the Fat Controller for one more favour.
Oliver was sat at the platform with a passenger train. It was late in the day and he was ready to take the last train of the day up the line to Tidmouth when he heard Ducks whistle.
"Mmm odd, he said he would be back tomorrow" he thought but he gasped when he saw him. Coupled up behind Duck was the engine from the Ironworks and both were smiling.
"Hows it going Great Western" Bisse teased.
"I...Duck...What is she doing here?" he asked, confused.
"Oh didn't you know Oliver, there's only two ways of doing things…" Duck started however Oliver wasn't amused.
"Yes, the wrong way or the Great Western way, but it doesn't answer my-" But Duck just laughed and cut him off.
"Oh No Oliver, you said so yourself, you either Escape scrap or Embrace it, and Bisse here did Both!" The two laughed as they explained Bisse's story to Oliver. Once they had he felt bad.
"I'm sorry I was so rude to you, if I had known you had escaped from scrap yourself I may have been less...heated" he said with a blush but Bisse only laughed.
"Oh don't worry Great Western, I also let my feeling for the Great Western railway get the better of me" Oliver looked up.
"You can call me Oliver you know" He laughed.
"Nope, I like Great Western" she teased but before they could continue speaking Oliver's guard blew his whistle and Oliver had to leave.
Now they are all friends, even Donald and Dosglas like Bisse now they know she is one for putting engines in their places. She still takes the late night scrap trains and very few engines see her but now she takes the time, when there's goods at Killdane to take, to travel to the Little Western and see her new friends.
