October 19, 1925

A sudden blizzard had descended over the island a few nights ago. It had taken many long hours of work during the ensuing days, but the six engines of Tidmouth Sheds had successfully cleared the main line. The NWR's numerous branchlines, however, still needed clearing.

"Alright, everybody, there have been a few updates regarding the LMS' desire to absorb us," a foreman said to the six engines. "There is good news and bad news. The good news is they will let us be."

The engines whistled in joy. They would be safe now.

"However, we have had to reduce our profits so as to lower the competition against them. As a direct result, as we have expected, the Dublin charter has been reduced to running on Tuesdays and Fridays only." Juliet groaned at this.

"Anyway, on to today's schedule. Edward, you will be helping the Coffeepots clear the Ffarquhar branchline. Juliet, you're going to take the Wild Nor'wester and once at Barrow-in-Furness, you shall go to Vicarstown to help clear out the yard. Crovan, you'll be handling a slow goods train to Norramby. Eagle, you're going to take a local on the Brendam line and help clear that. Henry, you're taking a local down the main line. Alfred, you will be using the experimental snow-chopping machine wherever you may be needed."

As he left, Alfred looked confused. "Snow-chopping machine?"

"It's a big boxy thing that has blades inside it to suck snow in and reduce big drifts into powder," Eagle explained. "I collected it from Tidmouth Harbor a few weeks ago with David."

"Speaking of David, I wonder what he's up to?" Edward mused as he puffed onto the turntable.

Crovan scoffed. "He's a common tank engine! Nothing worth wondering about there."

David, meanwhile, was getting ready to leave Knapford Yard for the Waterton branchline to clear it. "Are you sure you can handle the yard by yourself?" he asked a visiting Thirteen.

"Of course I can!" Thirteen wheeshed. "Thirteen's a lucky number after all!"

"No," said a van. "It really isn't." David shot him a glare and the truck shut up. With a hearty whistle, David left.

On the way, he found Dean, who was perpetually unlucky, buried under a drift. "Fancy moving so I can get by?" David asked.

"No," Dean sighed. "My crew's gone off to find help. Until they come back, I'm stuck."

"Huh," David thought. "Well, in that case I'll help spread the word." He reversed to the nearest signalbox and his crew told the signalman what had happened. He switched the points and soon, David was on his way.

Eventually, David came to the Tunnel Runby, where the Skarloey Railway ran alongside the NWR in Crovan's Gate. The tunnel was blocked off by a large mound of snow.

"Guess I'm tackling that boy, then," David said of the mound.

"Don't worry, we can pull through!" said his driver, patting his engine's brakes.

"In that case..." David built up steam and charged forward. "HUZZAH!" But the mound was too big, and David was quickly buried under it. "Phoo!" he said as he spat flakes out of his mouth.

His face was clear of the snow, though, and as a result he saw someone coming. "My my, too hasty, David. What did they tell you about carelessness?"

"It could happen to any engine, Proteus!"

Proteus laughed. The mustard yellow four-coupled Hunslet saddletank was commissioned for the Skarloey Railway in 1892 as a 2'3"-gauge version of Ffestiniog's Lilla. He worked primarily at Crovan's Gate Steamworks, where he shunted trucks of parts to and fro. However, as the Skarloey Railway only had two other engines, he was also sometimes seen outside of the Steamworks. Such as today.

"It could indeed, David. In fact, it happened to Skarloey not two days ago. Tell you what, how about I tell you what happened while our crews get help?"

"Well, I've got nothing else to do except be cold." Their respective crews left, and this is the story that Proteus told:

"Working in the slate mines is never easy. Especially after heavy snowfall. Trucks could fall into the ravine just by breathing on them! In these conditions, the buffers alone aren't enough to stop them, so snow is sometimes used as a 'second buffer'."

Skarloey, his namesake railway's No. 1 Fletcher Jennings Class C, entered the mine with some slate trucks. He looked up at the yard above, and gulped when he saw just how large the snowbanks were. "I don't like the looks of those snowbanks," he said nervously.

"Me either, boyo," his driver, Hywel, agreed. "I'll set off a cap and we'll see if your clattering will be enough to cause an avalanche." He opened a box at the back of Skarloey's cab and took out a tiny bag of sand, spiked with sulfur and potassium chlorate. He left his engine and tied the bag to the rail in front of them, then returned and started Skarloey up.

Skarloey ran over the bag, which exploded with a BANG! under his wheel. "Oh!" complained one of the two Lifer slate trucks in Skarloey's train. "What was that?"

"Just taking a safety precaution, Llechi," Skarloey replied to him. "Is it safe?"

"Yes, it is," Skarloey's fireman, Tegan, affirmed. "The snow's staying up there. Come along now."

"But it wasn't really safe. You see, the winch that hauls trucks up the incline wasn't holding up in the sudden cold snap. When one of the trucks in the train got just a tiny bit derailed, that was enough to break it."

"WHEEEEEEE!" screamed the line of five Lifer slate trucks, accompanied by two lifeless Lugg slate trucks, as they barreled down the line.

"Let's hope the snow stops them!" a workman shouted.

"As you can probably figure out, David, this snow is a very dry and powdery sort. So the trucks just went right through a bank, knocking it into the gorge below. And then there was trouble."

Skarloey heard rumbling and looked up. He gasped. "Cinders and ashes! Avalanche!" He reversed quickly, but the avalanche was quicker, and soon he was buried alive.

"Are they okay?" David asked, shocked.

"They are. You see, Skarloey's boiler had gotten so hot that it melted the flakes, then the cold of the rest of the snow froze them again into a single block of ice. With that igloo in place, he stayed a little bit warm."

Three workmen were digging him out when one of them struck ice. "Whoa!" he exclaimed. "Is there a snowball in there?"

"More like a snow house by the looks of it." They uncovered him completely.

Hywel and Tegan were nonchalantly sipping cocoa in Skarloey's cab. Hywel noticed them and swallowed. "What?"

David sighed in relief. "At least he's okay."

"And by the looks of it, you'll be out quickly yourself." Their crews returned with shovels and began digging the larger tank engine out.

Suddenly, they heard a whistle. "Blasted thing! Work properly!" Alfred growled at the snow-chopping machine, which was mounted to his front. He rolled into the tunnel but the machine spluttered to a stop. He roared in anger, causing the snow on top of the tunnel to fall on him.

David and Proteus burst out laughing. "Cheer up, Alf!" David said. "With your hot temper, you'll have the biggest igloo of all!"

Alfred growled. "Tank engines. I freaking. Hate. Tank engines."

"Oh, that's no way to speak to a coworker, now is it?" Proteus asked.

"Indeed not. Keep this up and we're leaving you in there," David added. They didn't mean it, but their point was made.