Derek the Paxman diesel had been sent to the works to be mended. He had come to the island to help the Sodor China Clay Company with their expansion project, only to be on loan and head back to the other railway. Derek hoped he would do well on the island, but he had broken down on the first day whilst travelling to his destination and broke down again the next day. The Paxman diesel felt depressed, the workmen tried to make him feel better about himself whilst fixing his engine, but nothing could help poor Derek.

At last, by the time Derek came out of the works, the spring sun was beginning to shine and the Paxman diesel was able to move under his own power once again. The Fat Controller came to visit the diesel the day after he had successfully done his tests.

"You must be Derek," he greeted warmly, "I've heard a lot about you from my engines that are and were stationed on the Brendam Branch!"

"You've probably had sir," replied Derek, "I do apologise for disrupting your railway and engines, I was meant to help but didn't in the end."

"It isn't your fault," sympathised the Fat Controller, "your class haven't been that successful and we shouldn't judge an engine by performance."

Derek sighed. "Yes sir," he replied, "so... what's going to happen to me?"

"The expansion is almost complete," replied the Fat Controller, "and the manager and myself have reshuffled the timetable so that both Sodor China Clay and my railway can handle the extra loads."

"Yes sir, sorry sir," said Derek, giving an apologetic look on his face.

"It doesn't matter now," the Fat Controller waved off, "but you won't be going back to the other railway anytime soon, currently an engine working on one of my branch line's is overworked and needs some help, I have taken you off loan from the SCC and want you to work here until the work dies down on that line."

"Are you sure sir?" asked Derek.

"Oh course," smiled the Fat Controller, "you're the only engine available from the other railway and it's better if I don't further make changes to timetables that my engines currently have."

Derek didn't want to the Fat Controller to do that, so complied and was soon heading down the line with a small goods train. He soon reached the next station and went into a yard. "This must be the branch line," he said to himself. Then, from within a small cutting which one track lead down, a red engine appeared. He wasn't an engine Derek had seen before and looked quite dated. But his face barely had any wrinkles. 'Lucky chap,' he thought Derek in bemusement, as the red engine came into the station, 'his face stopped ageing.'

The red engine had no number on his tender or cab though. In fact the tender was bare from any words, letters or numbers, but a black and gold nameplate stood on his middle splasher. He had black stripes on them too, as well on his cab, boiler and tender. The tender was also quite different from the other Fowler tenders Derek kept on seeing. He was quite unique from the others. The Paxman diesel then looked back at the gleaming nameplate, saying it bright gold letters: 'The Soaring Eagle'.

"Hello there," called the red engine, "you must be Derek I presume?"

"Indeed, I am!" replied the Paxman diesel, "and you are...?"

"My name is The Soaring Eagle," replied the engine grandly, "but everyone usually calls me Eagle."

"That sounds like a smashing name!" grinned Derek.

"Indeed, it is," smiled Eagle, "have had it for half a century now, changing the subject now, you must be here to help me, correct?"

"Indeed, I am," replied Derek, "I'm guessing a train is need to be taken then."

"Yes," said Eagle simply, "there's a small goods train needing to be taken to the other end of the line, it would be very helpful if you could take it."

"Don't worry," Derek smiled, "it will be fun!"

And with that, the Paxman diesel set to work.

Derek found his current job to be quite enjoyable. It wasn't as stressful and demanding as his previous one, and his engine seemed to be running nicely. Eagle, though stubborn when he wanted to be right, was kind and smart. He didn't seem to tolerate nonsense and was proud of his work.

Eagle mainly focused on the heavy work such as pulling passenger trains and longer goods trains. He kept a close eye on what Derek was pulling and made sure he was not rushed off his wheels.

One day, Eagle was pulling into Rolf's station with his usual afternoon passenger run. It was a bright sunny day and the heat seemed to be strong coming off the sun which loomed above the clear blue sky. "It's gonna be a lot warmer tomorrow!" called his driver, "the heat will be unbearable!"

"Aye," replied Eagle, "not looking forward to that then!"

The midland engine then heard a horn, and Derek appeared with a small goods train. "Be careful on your way up to Kellsthorpe Road," tooted Derek, "the looks a little rough."

"A little rough," echoed Eagle, "best take care then... thanks Derek!"

And with that, the Paxman diesel set off towards Kirk Ronan.

Soon, it was time for Eagle to leave, and with a blast of his low whistle, the midland engine headed off once more. But as he was heading along the line, Eagle could not find any damage track. "That's odd," he said to himself, the midland engine tried harder but couldn't.

"That silly diesel," scoffed Eagle as he began to pick up speed to Kellsthorpe Road, "there's no damage."

Eagle got to the junction just in time, where Henry was waiting. "One notch faster and you would've derailed," Henry commented.

"Sorry," puffed Eagle.

Later that night, Eagle was in his two-birth shed at the junction, when Derek came into the spare birth. "Derek," started Eagle, "you said there was damage on the track earlier."

"Indeed, I did," said the Paxman diesel.

"Then where was it?" quizzed the midland engine, "because I couldn't see it anywhere!"

"Really?" said Derek, "well... I'm sure I did see a bump in the track."

"Probably the heat playing with you," sighed Eagle.

"No, I don't think it did," Derek replied, "because I kept seeing it for the rest of the day. My driver says I've got a knack of doing that."

"A knack of seeing bent rails?"

"A knack of seeing damage rails," smiled the Paxman diesel, "I would always find a spot of bent or bumpy rails wherever I go, can't explain it really."

Eagle said no more after that and went to sleep.

The next day, the sun was shining, and birds tweeted loudly. Both diesel and steam engine were getting ready for work, then Derek's driver spoke up. "I saw a smoke signal last night."

"A smoke signal?" Eagle's fireman replied, "what was that for?"

"Dunno," said Derek's driver, "I believe the Scouts were just playing around with it at their hut near Wellsworth."

"What's smoke signals?" asked Derek curiously. Eagle looked at the Paxman diesel and smiled.

"Smoke signals are communicating with smoke," the midland engine explained, "you put something above the smoke so it separates, and the smoke can talk to people from a distance."

Derek found it intriguing on what something that seems to be so abnormal to use as way of speaking was actually quite useful, but nobody didn't continue the subject and both engines headed off to work a few minutes later.

As the morning sun continued to climb the clear blue sky, Eagle took a goods train to the small goods yard of Vicarstown. The rough diesel who worked the goods traffic on the Norramby branch, was waiting for the midland engine. He grunted as he saw Eagle puff in.

"Thought you were going to break down with how fragile you look," he said insultingly.

Eagle wheeshed steam. "Moan to your fitter will you," he retorted, "you diesels are always good with that."

The diesel growled his engine. "You'd better watch your mouth," he warned, "because you won't be getting any pity from me when you'd be sent to the scrapyard."

"What about you diesels?" asked Eagle, "you're not as efficient from with all the trials other diesels failing through the years."

"Not my fault," sneered the diesel, "besides, only the class 17 and 28s are to blame for diesel's failure, they ruin our image! But it doesn't matter now, all the class 28s went out of service in the late 60s and the class 17s are being finished off too."

Eagle looked shocked. "Class 17s are being withdrawn?" he asked.

"Yeah they are," smirked the diesel, "started getting disposed off in 1968 and they're planning to finish them off later this year."

He paused, his smirk growing wider by the minute, Eagle's brow only narrowed crossly. "That diesel on your line is a class 17, ain't he?"

"None of your business to know who works on my line," growled Eagle, blowing steam from his cylinders in all directions.

"Alright," sniggered the diesel, "but you'd best say your final goodbyes to the little failure over there."

Eagle fumed and left the Norramby diesel with his boiler pressure shot up and pistons beating hard.

Eagle was soon heading back to his junction with a goods train, still cross about what the diesel had said. But he was soon calming down and thinking about the facts. "Class 17s are being withdrawn from service," he muttered, "but what's going to happen to Derek once he's taken back to the other railway?"

Meanwhile, Gordon was at Kellsthorpe Road with his returning passenger run to Tidmouth. Derek was taking a passenger service and had a guaranteed connection with the big blue engine. Unfortunately for Derek, his engine had played up at Rolf's Castle making him late. This made Gordon cross as he watched as the Paxman diesel came into the branch line platform.

"You're late," he remarked.

"I know," sighed Derek, "I do apologise, it was my engine you see."

"Failed diesel," scoffed Gordon, "I can't have time for late engines! I need to get this train back to Tidmouth on time because that blasted red engine can't seem to steam up properly and I'll have to take his passenger train after an hour when I return to Tidmouth!"

"Oh dear," said Derek, wondering if Gordon was talking about Eagle, "I am sorry about this."

"I hope you are," Gordon replied, "because we can't have diesels bellowing black smoke out his exhaust every two days, there's no use to diesels then!"

He steamed off in a huff, leaving Derek at the platform feeling terrible. His driver comforted him. "Don't bother with him," he said, "he's probably just going to get overworked today and in this heat... well, you can't really blame him to be this frustrated."

Derek agreed and what Gordon said was put to the back of his mind. Eagle soon returned and took over the passenger services for the rest of day, but the midland engine couldn't stop thinking about what the Norramby diesel had said to him for the rest of the morning and Derek noticed Eagle being a little distracted. At midday, the heat began to unleash itself on Sodor. The engines found it quite exhausting and even the diesels, who didn't have fireboxes that heated the steam engines up, were finding the sun treatment towards the ground quite harsh. But Derek, who was being bothered by the heat could see Eagle was not showing his positive attitude. This was shown even more at the small harbour right in front of the top station of Eagle's branch line when Derek was shunting a few trucks.

"What's the matter Eagle?" he called to the midland engine.

Eagle snapped out of his thoughts from within the small station of Kirk Ronan and smiled at Derek. "Oh, nothing," he replied, "just thinking about... birds."

"Birds?" chortled Derek, "seems like a pleasant thought!"

"Yes..." agreed Eagle, "very pleasant thought..."

He trailed back into his thoughts, wondering on what would happen to Derek if he would leave Sodor and what he can do if he was able to get the Fat Controller to let him stay. He was uncoupled from his coaches and began to move forward, a little too quickly, he went over the points and onto the other track, but he was going a little too fast and before anyone could say otherwise, Eagle hit the buffers with a bump. Everyone turned to where the noise came from and Eagle was dazed and surprised.

"What happened there, Eagle?" called his driver, "you're usually very good with concentrating on the job!"

"S-Sorry!" stammered the midland engine, whose cheeks went red as his dark red paintwork. "Must've had my mind going somewhere else."

"You certainly did," called another voice, Derek pulled up. "That sounded like a nasty bump Eagle."

"Felt it too," grunted Eagle, as he felt an ache from his buffers come on.

"Might need to inspect you Eagle," called his driver, "could've damaged something for all we know!"

"But I've got a train to take to Killdane in a few minutes!" Eagle cried.

"I can pull it," suggested Derek.

Eagle and both crews looked at Derek. "Are you sure you can pull it?" asked Eagle, "the goods train is quite a long one."

"Oh, a train like that won't bother me," chuckled the Paxman diesel, "besides it's only to the next station up the mainline."

"But it's quite a long stretch," replied Eagle.

"It might be difficult," added Derek's driver, "but his engine hasn't shown any problems recently."

"I'm sure I can do it!" protested the Paxman diesel, "I'll get the train there on time."

Eventually, Eagle's crew agree and Derek headed off to get ready whilst Eagle was sent into a siding so to get inspected of any damage. The Paxman diesel was excited, he hadn't been out on the mainline for a while and was looking forward to the change of scenery. He was soon buffered up to the train and with a honk to his horn, Derek rumbled out of the harbour and onto the branch line. Eagle could all but watch and worry.

Surprisingly, Derek was doing well, he had managed to get to Eagle's junction, turn himself around and move the brake van and himself so they were on opposite sides of the train, so Derek could head to Killdane. He started off and rumbled over the points to the mainline. The Paxman diesel was enjoying himself.

But the heat was getting unbearable, and Derek felt the strain of the train, he was halfway towards Killdane, until at last, his engine made a choking and spluttering noise and Derek felt the train and his wheels weren't wanting to move no more. He came to a halt on the mainline, black smoke coming out of his exhaust and the baking sun gleaming down on him.

"Oh bother!" cried Derek, "we were going so well too!"

His driver got down and looked at the Paxman diesel's engine. He sighed. "You ain't going anywhere any time soon," he said, "engine is a wreck."

Derek felt terrible, he had been going so well for the past few weeks and now his engine failed at the last minute. He looked down at the tracks, too ashamed of his predicament. Suddenly, he noticed something odd on the down track on the left side of him. He looked closely at it, then gasp. "One of rails is bent out of shape!" he called to his driver.

The Paxman diesel's driver came to look at the bent rail, a few minutes later, he came back up to Derek, who was beginning to have double the black smoke come out of his exhaust than before. "It's pretty bad," he said, "the track will get worse with all this heat."

Suddenly, they heard a booming whistle from within the distance. Derek gasp. "Another engine is coming!" he cried, "they're going to derail if we don't stop them!"

"What are we going to do then?" asked Derek's driver.

Derek pondered and then he gleamed in delight. "We use the smoke from my exhaust as a smoke signal!" he said.

"I do know how to tell someone to stop with smoke signals," said the driver, " but are you sure that's going to work?"

"It's the only chance we've got," replied Derek firmly.

So, Derek's driver quickly ripped a tarpaulin from the first truck and began waving it across the black smoke coming from his engine's exhaust. The driver soon had a smoke signal going into the air and within a few minutes, Gordon the big engine came around screeching and groaning, his wheels flying sparks between them and the rails. He groaned and huffed, he came closer and closer to the bent rails, Derek was sure he was going to derail. But at last, with his sand coming out of his sandboxes and giving him a good grip, he managed to slow the train down to a stop, his leading wheels just coming across the damage track.

Both engines breathed a sigh of relief, it was very close call. Passengers looked out of their windows in confusion and annoyance, the sudden and jolting stop didn't please them one bit, Gordon's crew went to look at the track, whilst Derek went to the nearest signal box to halt further mainline traffic and Gordon's guard had to deal with the passengers.

Gordon, after a minute of pure amazement, finally spoke. "What on earth was that?" he cried.

"What was what?" replied Derek.

"That... thing you did so to stop us," said Gordon, "we saw smoke from nearby and all of a sudden I find my driver trying to brake my train and I to a stop."

"Oh! That was a smoke signal," Derek said and explained to Gordon what they were.

"Lucky thing your fireman knew too," added Gordon's driver once Derek had finished.

"Aye, Scouting always gives you a thing or two," chuckled the fireman.

"Indeed," agreed Derek's driver.

Soon, warnings were placed on the line. A weird engine with a crane arm on top of his boiler with the name 'HARVEY' came. He buffered up to Derek from the front and took him to Killdane.

"Looks like yae had a rough time!" called Harvey, as he brought Derek into Killdane yards. "That smoke must've wreck yae engine!"

"I think it did," sighed the Paxman diesel, "I do apolo-"

"Naaaah, don't worry aboot it!" Harvey cut in, "it's me job and it keeps me busy!"

Derek did not say any more. Gordon eventually came puffing in with shunting his train carefully onto the other line, he had now been scheduled to switch tracks and would return to his original track at Kellsthorpe Road. He came to a stop once he and his train were on the other line. He looked around the yards and at Derek, then he smiled.

"I think," he started, "that an apology is in order, sorry for my rudeness earlier, wasn't very professional of me, I wasn't being fair either since I've given other diesels chances and much respect!"

Derek's cheeks went a deep shade of red. "Well... uh thank you very much Gordon," the Paxman diesel replied.

Gordon grunted and headed back down the mainline, leaving Derek and Harvey alone. Soon, maintenance crews came to repair the damaged track, and an engineer also came to inspect Derek's engine. The Fat Controller eventually on-board Eagle the Midland Engine arrived just as Harvey came back from fixing the track with the maintenance crew. The inspector gave the details on the situation.

"He needs to go to works for another month if he's to run again sir," he explained.

The Fat Controller sighed. "Well... work seems to ease up on the Kirk Ronan branch anyways," he said, "it would be pointless to repair a diesel like you again if your owned by another railway. I'll just have to send you back to where you came from Derek."

Derek looked at the Fat Controller sadly, a knowing glint in his eyes to what would come next. "Yes sir..." he said.

Eagle stared at the Fat Controller, then at Derek, then back again. "Please sir!" he cried quickly, "I don't think that's fair on Derek."

Everyone around the midland engine paused. The Fat Controller shuffled on where he was standing. "What do you mean by that Eagle?"

"You do know what's happening with the class 17s on the other railway?"

"Yes. I am aware."

"Then why can't you keep Derek?" continued Eagle, "after all, he stopped a nasty accident and has been extremely helpful on my branch line ever since he's gotten here! He's been polite and kind, he's a hard worker too."

The Fat Controller pondered, everyone stared at him, waiting for his answer, then the man with the top hat groaned and placed his fingers on the bridge of his nose. "There isn't anyway I can put him on the railway Eagle," he finally said, much to Eagle, Harvey and mostly Derek's sadness. "He could be a utility engine and the works can improve his engine, but not enough for him to be working constantly everywhere! We need a job that doesn't make Derek strain himself."

Eagle sighed and looked at his buffers in disappointment. Derek felt like crying, all this hope he had for a few seconds were snatched away. Suddenly, a low toot of a whistle came, and everyone looked at Harvey the Crane Engine whose face had lighten up from realisation. "I know a job that Derek would suit perfectly!" he cried.

"And what's that?" asked the Fat Controller.

"The maintenance trains!"

Everyone stared at Harvey with puzzled looks. "But Harvey," said Eagle, "you're the maintenance engine."

"Yes I am," replied Harvey, "but as you all know, I also work at smaller yards across the island where I unload goods and other things to where they're needed, the railway has also expanded a little with the Little Western and all, and I'm afraid we've been behind schedule a couple of times."

"That's true," said the permanent way foreman, "it's been quite a hassle with looking after the lines ever since the reopening of the Little Western branch and the paperwork is proof that we haven't been up to schedule as well as we were in 1966."

"He's also has good eyesight with track inspection!" added Eagle, "proof is with today's events."

Everyone nodded and mumbled in agreement, it seemed like it was all up to the controller of the North Western Railway to make the final judgement, with everyone in the yard wanting Derek to join the railway! The Fat Controller nodded solemnly, contemplating what he had just heard. Nobody dared to breath. Derek's lip trembled, hope spurring in his engine. At last, the Fat Controller began to grow a smile and nodded.

"That's it!" he laughed, "well done Harvey, you're a clever engine! Derek shall become a part of our railway and be our permanent maintenance diesel!"

Everyone cheered, the engines blew their whistles and Derek let out a sigh of relief and a tear of joy came down his cheek. "Thank you, sir," he smiled, "I promise I'll never let you down again!"

The Fat Controller winked at the Paxman diesel. "I know you won't," he all but said, and left the yard to make the arrangements.

*

A week later, Derek was brought off the Network Rail. He was given an immediate overhaul and a new coat of paint of BR green. Once he came out of the works, he felt like a new engine and was put on maintenance duties straight after testing. And much to the Harvey and the permanent way crew's predictions, Derek had given a great impact to them. Maintenance ran on time and Harvey felt more relaxed with his trains.

Derek now lives at Crovan's Gate with Harvey and has gained all the engines respect, especially Gordon who made sure James would've get to the Paxman diesel with his insults about diesels. He soon reunited with Bill and Ben and the tank engine twins seemed incredibly pleased to see the Paxman diesel was doing well. But most of all, Derek is always internally grateful to Eagle the Midland Engine who gave him a new lease of life and one with a brighter and happier future.