Meanwhile, out on the main line…

"Come on, Caitlin, keep up!" Connor and Caitlin were racing again, and were running side by side, but Connor was pulling slightly ahead. He smirked as his wheels pounded the rails.

"You've been falling behind, Caitlin! Maybe you're starting to slow down!" The two rounded the bend towards Vicarstown, and the junction approached. Caitlin panted, exhausted, but suddenly strained and whistled.

"No, maybe you are!" Connor gasped as Caitlin barely managed to pull ahead as they approached the station, and whistled as she crossed the "finish line"; she had won their race.

"I won this time, Connor!" She teased, her face bright red. Connor looked upset for a moment, before smiling.

"Good game, Caitlin! You had me on the ropes with that one!" Neither of them noticed a smartly dressed gentleman with a briefcase disembarking from Connor's train and begin walking towards them. However, what did get their attention was the arrival of Thomas, who pulled into another platform with Annie and Clarabel, grumbling dreadfully.

"Why should I have to take James' train if he's getting repainted again? How am I supposed to have time to practice my shunting for the Great Railway Show if I'm doing all of James' work plus my own?" He scowled. Annie and Clarabel rolled their eyes.

"It's the Fat Controller's orders, Thomas." Clarabel replied.

"Although James could go without his second repaint in two weeks…" Annie muttered under her breath. Caitlin grinned across the platform to Thomas, and he instantly cracked a small smile.

"Hello, Caitlin! Hi, Connor!" He called. The two engines grinned back, but were interrupted by a voice.

"Hello, Connor and Caitlin, long time no see!" The two streamlined engines gasped as they looked at the smartly dressed gentleman on the platform.

"Mr. Claremont!" They shouted in unison. Thomas raised an eyebrow.

"Mr. Claremont?" Caitlin chuckled.

"Mr. Claremont is Connor and I's old controller from when we worked in America, Thomas!" Thomas looked at the man, who seemed to have a fatherly, friendly look about him.

"Hello, Mr. Claremont! My name is Thomas!" Mr. Claremont smiled warmly.

"Hello, Thomas."

"If you're from America, sir, what are you doing here?" The tank engine asked. Mr. Claremont chuckled.

"Well, you see, Thomas, I got a letter asking me if I wanted to send one of my engines to the Great Railway Show-"

"I'm going to the Great Railway Show, in the Shunting Competition! I-"

"Thomas, don't be rude!" Annie chided. Mr. Claremont laughed jovially.

"Well, the famous 'Thomas the Tank Engine' is just as cheeky as they say!" He remarked. Thomas blushed as the man continued.

"As I was saying, I was asked to send one of my engines to the Great Railway Show to represent America, but none of my current stock is fast enough. So, I decided to pay a visit to two of my former engines to see if one of them would want to participate, and Caitlin, if you want to, you may have that spot." Caitlin gasped and began beaming with pride.

"Yes, sir! Of course, sir! I'd be delighted, sir! Thank you, Mr. Claremont, sir! I won't let you down! I-" As Caitlin gushed to Mr. Claremont about her excitement for the Great Railway Show, Connor rolled his eyes and smiled.

"Congratulations, Caitlin." Thomas chuckled, and looked back as his guard's whistle blew.

"Yes, congratulations!" He called, and slowly pulled out of the station.

"Bye, Thomas!" Caitlin called, and continued gushing to a smiling Mr. Claremont.

Caitlin raced back down the Main Line to Ulfstead Castle. She was very excited about the news she had received.

"I can't believe it! Me at the Great Railway Show! Oh, this is so exciting!" She gushed to herself. As she approached the castle, she could see Henry and Vinnie each pulling a very heavy train and Stephen shouting encouragement. Caitlin pulled into the station, very confused. Millie was already there, watching the scene with amusement.

"What on Sodor are they doing?" Caitlin whispered, so the three wouldn't hear her. Millie rolled her eyes.

"I think Henry and zat other engine are training for ze Great Railway Show; Stephen is acting as zere coach." Caitlin raised an eyebrow.

"Their coach? But he's not a coach, he's an engine." Millie started laughing.

"No Caitlin, not a railway coach. A training coach. I'm not really sure of it myself, but Stephen seems to know what he's doing." The two quieted down so they could listen.

"Come on, Henry, you can do it!" Stephen encouraged. "Good, better, best, that's it!" Henry and Vinnie were almost at level. Vinnie gnashed his teeth.

"Oh no ya don't." He snarled, drawing ahead. Henry did his best to follow. Millie chuckled.

"It means more work for me, but it makes him happy." The two continued listening to the training session. Stephen grinned as Henry slowly continued to gain on Vinnie.

"That's it, Henry, just a little more! You have the strength in you! You don't need any modifications like ol' 'streamlined Gordon'! You can make it by on pure grit!" Vinnie snorted in defiance. Caitlin was still confused.

"'Streamlined Gordon?'" Millie raised an eyebrow.

"You didn't know? Gordon's getting streamlined for ze show!" Millie's guard blew the whistle and she drew out of the station. All of her passengers had their ears covered from how loud Stephen was. Caitlin gasped in horror.

"Gordon is getting streamlined?!"

Flying Scotsman pulled into Vicarstown, where several rail enthusiasts were waiting on the platform, readying their cameras. They were just about to take their pictures when Caitlin rolled in front of them. The enthusiasts lowered their cameras and shook their fists at Caitlin.

"You miserable streamliner!"

"Know your place!" The enthusiasts dispersed, still sulking. Caitlin blushed in embarrassment.

"S-Sorry!" She called sheepishly. Scotsman smirked.

"Trying to steal my fame just because you got nominated, are you?" He teased. Caitlin gasped.

"You know about that already?"

"Why, of course! The news is all across the Mainland by now." His smirk dropped and he became serious. "Well done on earning that spot. I heard you had quite the race." Caitlin smirked back.

"Nothing I can't handle." She dropped her voice to a whisper. "I think there's something you should know, Scotsman." Flying Scotsman raised an eyebrow.

"Oh?" Caitlin looked around to make sure no one was listening to them.

"For the Great Race, Gordon is... being streamlined!" A look of horror momentarily crossed Scotsman's face. He then burst out laughing.

"Now that would be a sight to behold! What a joke, Caitlin! You got me with that one!"

"It's not a joke!" Caitlin persisted. "I just heard it up at the castle!" Scotsman rolled his eyes, still chuckling.

"You shouldn't believe everything you hear, Caitlin. That must've just been some silly rumour. Gordon hates the idea of being streamlined! Er, no offense." Scotsman whistled and started to leave. "He would never be so desperate. Anyway, goodbye, Caitlin! Good luck at the Great Race!" He chuckled. "You'll need it." Caitlin chose to ignore the last thing he said.

"Well, you're in for a big surprise…" She muttered.

Chase: This chapter's a bit shorter than previous, and as a result there are only a few talking points. One of them is Thomas' arc of not being able to practice his shunting for the Great Railway Show. It won't be addressed for a while, but know that it comes back later!

Don: The other talking point is this chapter is where Caitlin comes into play. Why did she replace Spencer? Well, in our newly established rules of the show, there can only be contestant per country per event, so with Scotsman in, Spencer had to go, leaving a vacant spot in his place. We decided to put a pre-existing character that would make sense in the spot instead and I think it worked out alright.

The show is growing ever closer, but there's still a few bumps to go before actually getting there. What will those bumps be? Find out in the seventh chapter, "Braking Point"!