"Welcome, you fans of speed! Welcome, fans of steam! Welcome, one and all, to this year's Great Railway Show!" The crowd went wild as the black side tank engine speaking into a microphone attached to his smokebox grinned. He looked to his partner, a black saddletank engine who also had a microphone, and winked.
"Told you they'd like us!" He remarked, before continuing.
"Only here can you witness the mightiest locomotives from all over the world competing in feats of strength, speed, and skill! I am one of your commentators, Jinty…"
"...and I am your other commentator, Pug." The saddle tank engine added in a voice significantly less enthusiastic and far calmer than that of his co-host. Jinty grinned before continuing.
"We will be providing commentary for each of these events for the viewing pleasure of those of you at home, and giving you the rundown on the biggest annual railway sports event in the world!" Pug cleared his throat.
"For those of you who are new to the world of railway sports, we'll explain the rules of the four components of the Great Railway Show. First up, opening our show, is the Best in Show Parade." Jinty grinned.
"And what a parade it is, Pug! As part of the opening ceremonies, the world's best looking engines will all participate in a parade led by Stephenson's Rocket himself! Very exciting, isn't it, Pug? Seeing an engine who shaped hist-"
"Jinty, the rules."
"Yes, right, of course. Depending on how our competitors 'strut their stuff' so to speak, they shall be awarded points by a panel of judges! Whoever receives the most points for appearance, style, and popularity with the crowd wins! Next is the Shunting Competition…" Jinty looked to Pug, who chuckled and rolled his eyes before continuing.
"The Shunting Competition is a time trial in which contestants will have to arrange a train from a randomly organized selection of trucks-"
"Trucks so gracefully organized by the team of our wonderful and talented event coordinator and head referee, Ulli! Give him a hand everybody!" Jinty grinned, and the crowd cheered and clapped. In another part of the yard, a red and yellow diesel shunter who looked like he hadn't slept in weeks grinned for a brief moment as the crowd cheered, before his face returned to its natural scowl. Pug cleared his throat again, before Jinty blushed and looked away, allowing the saddletank to continue.
"As I was saying, the Shunting Competition is a time trial in which contestants arrange a train from a randomly organized selection of trucks. An arrangement that, prior to getting out on that track, they have never seen-"
"Completely blind, folks!" Jinty added.
"Whoever shunts a seven-truck-and-brakevan train, the event standard, in the fastest amount of time wins." He looked to Jinty, who grinned eagerly at having a chance to speak again.
"Following that is the third event, the Strength Competition! Engines competing will be coupled to a flatbed piled high with the heaviest steel girders in the British Isles! I had a chance to attempt to push one myself, and let me tell you all, it is hard to move! Whichever engine manages to reach the finish line first, while being held back by their heavy load, will win! Which finally, brings us onto the moment you've all been waiting for…" Jinty and Pug smirked at each other before speaking together.
"The Great Race!" The crowd went utterly insane, before Pug spoke.
"Yes, folks, you're very familiar with this crowdpleaser. Five engines will race around a specially designed loop of track in a test of raw speed. Whoever reaches the finish line first wins." Jinty grinned.
"Looking at the competition this year, Pug, I'd say we're in for a very interesting show! Sodor is entering the fray for the first time, popular competitors have changed events…" Pug chuckled.
"Yes, Jinty, I'd say this is going to be a very interesting show indeed! Coming at you next, exclusive interviews with all our contestants! Stay tuned!"
"Bring 'em to commercial, Albert!" Jinty grinned.
Team Sodor were astounded by the sight of the showgrounds, although a close behind Vinnie didn't seem very focused on it. Red and yellow diesel shunters raced around the yards, shunting trucks to their proper places. One such diesel was waiting impatiently for the engines to arrive, and raised an eyebrow at the Fat Controller when he stepped down from James' cab.
"You're late." He snapped. The Fat Controller looked to him, scratching the back of his head.
"Apologies, we had a bit of a late start this morning, but we're all here now!" The diesel smirked.
"Hello, Team Sodor. I am Ulli, event coordinator. Members of my team will show you all to your specialized area." Four other diesel shunters with equally disillusioned and exhausted expressions rolled alongside Ulli, and he looked at them.
"Best in Show, go with Boris." One of the diesels grunted.
"Shunting, go with Igor." As did another.
"Strength, go with Dimitri." This diesel simply raised an eyebrow.
"Great Race, you go with Andrei."
"Da." Andrei grunted. Team Sodor (and Vinnie) shared glances before Ulli cleared his throat.
"Chop, chop!" He rolled away, and the engines began following their respective shunters.
Andrei slowly headed towards the racetrack, Gordon trailing behind. Gordon looked around the yard and spotted a familiar engine taking on coal and water. He smirked and puffed closer.
"Well, hello, Scotsman." Flying Scotsman chuckled.
"Nice to see you could make it, little…" He broke off as Gordon braked alongside him. Scotsman gaped at Gordon's new shape. "...b-brother?" Gordon smirked.
"Surprised, are you, Scott?" Scotsman tried to hide his shock.
"Of course not, it's just I thought you'd be coming as… yourself, Gordon-"
"Shooting Star." Scotsman paused.
"Ah… Yes, well, regardless, I'm excited to race you formally, little brother. I-"
"If you expect an easy victory this time, Scott, you're wrong. This time, I'm going to win." Scotsman raised an eyebrow.
"We'll just have to see about that, won't we?" He whistled and started puffing away.
"Good luck, little brother!" He called back, rolling past a completely disinterested Andrei. Gordon seethed angrily and tried to follow only to bump into some buffers. He groaned loudly.
James was led to a part of the yard where four other engines were waiting. He raised an eyebrow, as he recognized one of them very clearly.
"Is that…?" He muttered, and rolled closer. The engines were having a conversation.
"Come on, Carlos! I get that your switching to this event was somewhat last minute, but you could have put a little more effort into your appearance!" An elaborately decorated Indian engine with a crown mused. Carlos, a Mexican engine with an older face and not much decoration at all, scoffed.
"Like you said, last minute! I hadn't any time, chico!" Rajiv smirked.
"Took you that long to get over not competing in the strength competition, eh, old man?" He laughed. A goldenrod tank engine covered in blue flags and streamers, who spoke with a Cockney accent, shot Rajiv a knowing glance.
"Now, now, Rajiv, we all get old eventually. I think the parade's a nice change of pace; The Shunting Challenge is always a nightmare on the nerves!" The tank engine heard an excited gasp, and a whistle. James grinned excitedly as he rolled closer to an old friend.
"Stepney! I didn't know you were here!" Stepney the Bluebell Engine smiled warmly.
"James! I thought I heard you were participating in this! How've you been?" James smirked.
"I've been wonderful, Stepney! I've been ready to win this event ever since I heard I was participating!" Suddenly, James heard Rajiv scoff, and raised an eyebrow at him.
"What?" Rajiv chuckled, before rolling his eyes.
"Oh, nothing! It's just, well...you aren't really decorated, are you?" James turned as red as his paintwork as the Indian engine smirked.
"I don't need to be decorated! My red paint is enough on its own!" He snapped. Rajiv simply laughed.
"Oh, please! Don't think that you're going to win just because you're being minimalist-"
"Minimalist!?" James fumed. A larger red tender engine rolled forwards to diffuse the situation.
"Now, now, you two, calm down; the parade hasn't started yet!" He chuckled, before looking to James.
"My name is Yong Bao of China. It is a pleasure to meet you." Yong Bao smiled warmly. James simply subsided into grumbling, before Stepney rolled alongside Yong Bao.
"Seeing as he's a little too grumpy to introduce himself, I suppose I might as well; this is James of Sodor, everyone!" James smiled as the other engines (except Rajiv) whistled to greet him. Stepney grinned.
"James, you've already met Yong Bao, and this is Carlos of Mexico and Rajiv of India!" Rajiv smirked at James before looking to Carlos.
"Look out, Carlos! Someone's trying to steal your 'non-decorated' thunder!" James was angry all over again.
"I. Don't. Need. To. Be. Decorated." He snarled. Rajiv laughed.
"If you want to look even half as good as me, you do!" James groaned in anger.
"You know what? I'll beat you in this parade, and then you'll have to admit that I look better than you!"
"Try me!" As Rajiv and James squabbled, Yong Bao gave Stepney and Carlos a glance.
"James is a very...vain engine, isn't he?" He remarked. Carlos snorted.
"Yes, but so is Rajiv, eh?" Stepney chuckled.
"They have a lot in common, those two! They could be good friends if they weren't so puffed up!" Yong Bao and Carlos grunted in agreement.
Thomas also arrived in his part of the yard, nearby a canvas wall obscuring the remainder of the tracks, in the middle of another conversation.
"I don't even know why you all bother showing up! I've won this event for the last five shows; I'm simply the best shunter in the world!" A Brazilian engine boasted to three other engines. A brightly painted Indian engine smirked at him.
"I don't know, Raul; I think you're finally feeling your age!" A smaller Italian engine chuckled.
"Maybe you ought to retire, like Stepney!" Raul snorted indignantly.
"Ridículo! I'm still in my prime! I-"
"We've all been training for months for this competition! You can't just expect to win because you have before!" The Indian engine snapped back. The Italian engine chuckled.
"You've just been sitting pretty in Brazil, Raul! Probably bulking up on Welsh Co-"
"They never proved anything and I STILL WON!" Raul shouted indignantly. Thomas stifled laughter, before Raul shot him a glare.
"What are you looking at? Are you trying to pick a fight, azulzinho?" Thomas stammered.
"Well, n-n-no, I-" A diesel engine rolled over before Thomas could speak further.
"Back down, Raul. We've all worked for this, it's not just you!" Raul glared intensely at Thomas, before reversing away towards the canvas, grumbling in Portuguese to himself. The diesel let out a sigh.
"Apologies. Raul is the exception, not the rule. I promise we are all far more pleasant than him." Thomas blushed in embarrassment.
"I'm sorry, I-"
"Hi, 'Sorry'. My name is Ivan of Russia!" The Russian diesel laughed a deep belly-laugh, and Thomas couldn't help chuckling too. The Indian and Italian engine rolled towards Thomas.
"You're Thomas of Sodor then?" The Indian engine greeted. Thomas smiled.
"Yes, I am!" The Italian engine rolled forward and smirked at him.
"Ciao, Thomas. I'm Gina, from Italy. Looking forward to beating your time, bello." She winked at him before scampering away, giggling. Thomas blushed, but the Indian engine clearing her throat snapped him out of it. She chuckled.
"Gina's like that sometimes. I'm Ashima. I'm from India, and it is a pleasure to meet you, Thomas." Thomas smiled, but he still appeared concerned. Ashima raised an eyebrow.
"Is something wrong?" The Sudrian looked away.
"Well, you all have prepared so much, and, well, I don't really feel that prepared at all." Ashima smiled warmly.
"Don't worry, Thomas. If you're here, I'm sure your shunting skills will be more than enough to keep up. All you have to do is be confident, and maybe you might even win!" Thomas smiled back. He liked this Indian engine.
"I don't know if anyone would ever give you that advice, Ashima. Your paintwork has all the confidence you'll ever need!" Ashima chuckled, before shooting a glance at Gina, who was filling up on water.
"You could say that…" She winked at Gina, who grinned.
Henry and Vinnie had been led to the Strength Competition by Dimitri, with Stephen puffing alongside, giving Henry the last of his advice.
"Now, Henry, remember, focus. You know what to do, so do it! I'll be watching from the sidelines!" Henry grinned.
"Will do, coach!" Stephen grinned.
"Atta boy, Henry. I've got to lead the parade, but I'll be cheering you on as soon as I can!" He whistled and slowly rolled away to another part of the yard.
"Break a leg!" He called as he disappeared from sight, Dimitry soon enough following. Henry remained confident and rolled forwards towards his other competitors. Vinnie rolled his eyes and began grumbling.
"Great, now I gotta deal with dis loser in da actual competition...training...pah! I-WHOA!" The big engine had seen that Henry had stopped in front of him and quickly slammed his brakes on. They screeched loudly, shooting sparks. Vinnie groaned.
"What's da big idea?" He snapped, but got no reply. Henry wasn't confident now; he was simply staring. In front of him were the other three competitors of the strength competition and they were all much, much larger than Henry. At least he recognized one of them.
"Oh, hello, Hiro!" The green engine smiled nervously. Hiro smiled amiably.
"Henry! Always a pleasure to see you! How are you?" Henry chuckled.
"Pretty excited to finally get to this competition: I've been training all month with Stephen!" He heard an indignant snort from a large blue engine, and the big dark green engine next to her shot her a glance.
"Don't be a bounce, Frieda!" He scolded in an soft-spoken Australian accent. The German engine, Frieda, rolled her eyes. The Australian chuckled before giving Henry a friendly glance.
"Sorry 'bout her, Frieda can be a little...hardcore. Name's Shane, from Down Under. Pleasure to meet ya, mate. Let's put on a good show for the crowds today, eh?" He gave Henry a wink. Frieda rolled her eyes again before scowling at Shane.
"Shane, this is not vun of your silly tours. This is Great Railway Show, and, more importantly, competition. This is not time to be 'putting on show', as you say. This is time to vin, and I vill, for Deutschland. Hmph." Frieda looked away, before Shane gave Henry a knowing glance.
"Like I said, mate. Hardcore." He chuckled. Hiro rolled alongside Shane.
"Well, Henry, our flatbeds are over there. We might as well go there to wait for the fifth competitor." Before Henry could respond, he heard a voice from behind him.
"I'm already here!" Vinnie, who had reversed to switch tracks and go around Henry, rolled alongside. Frieda shot him a nasty glare.
"You! Du dreckiger, liegender Betrüger! Wie kommst du darauf, dass du das Recht hast, hier wieder dein Gesicht zu zeigen, du nicht so guter Tier! Ich-" As Frieda berated Vinnie, Henry shot Hiro a glance, before the Japanese engine began to explain.
"Last show, Frieda almost won but Vinnie managed to pass her at the last minute. According to Frieda, he cheated and his driver threw something on the line that got caught under the wheels of her flatbed, but the cameras didn't catch it. She's hated him since." To stop Frieda's shouting, Shane rolled forwards.
"Alright, easy, ladies! You're both pretty!" He shouted, surprisingly loud for his normally soft-spoken tone. Frieda stopped her shouting, but gave Vinnie a nasty glance and narrowed her eyes.
"Wenn Sie diesmal betrügen, wird niemand den Körper finden." She whispered menacingly, before rolling towards the starting line. Vinnie winced for a moment, before scowling at Shane, Hiro, and Henry.
"Get a move on, will ya!" He snapped, before rolling towards the starting line. The other engines followed, and soon enough had all reversed into position.
"And now, we wait." Shane remarked under his breath. Henry looked to Vinnie next to him, who seemed to be scanning the stands.
"Looking for someone, Vinnie?" Henry asked, causing the Canadian engine to quickly look away.
"No. Mind ya own beeswax." He snapped. Henry stopped for a moment, before smiling.
"Well, Vinnie. Seeing as we trained together, I just wanted to wish you good luck!" To Henry's surprise, Vinnie shot him a sharp glare.
"Ya don't win with luck, Herring. Ya win by doin' whatever it takes." He gave a glance to Frieda, who was simply staring at the line ahead of her, before looking back at the stands. Henry cringed, and began waiting as well.
Gordon had finally been led to the racetrack, where the other engines were all waiting. He saw Flying Scotsman again, alongside Caitlin, and two engines he was completely unfamiliar with. He glared intensely at Scotsman's tender for a moment, before hearing Andrei clear his throat.
"What, are you waiting for a tip or something?" He snapped. Andrei rolled his eyes and rumbled away as Gordon approached the starting line. As the Shooting Star steamed alongside his brother, he found that the famous engine had a smile on his face watching the conversation between the other three.
"...Mademoiselle, I am, how you say, enchanted, that you would do us ze honor of racing alongside us." An electric engine with a thick French accent said. Caitlin blushed.
"Why, thank you! I'd say that I'm pretty...enchanted, too! I suppose." She chuckled, before the other engine scoffed.
"Hah! Etienne may 'ave a silver tongue, cherie, but 'e can only go where eez pantograph can take 'im. I, on ze other 'and, am a steam engine, so I can go anywhere I want, no?" The Belgian engine smirked, before Etienne began to laugh.
"Axel, mon frere, you never cease to amaze with your, 'ow you say, delusions! Just because I 'ave a pantograph does not mean that I am not fast!...But of course, not as fast as you, Mademoiselle Caitlin." He grinned, flashing his shiny teeth. Caitlin turned redder than ever. Scotsman laughed before looking at Gordon.
"Oh, hello, Gordon! I-"
"Shooting Star."
"Ah, yes, Shooting Star. Caitlin might think she's very popular, but I think she's just gotten in the middle of Axel and Etienne! France and Belgium are always at each other's throats in this show, and those two will go to any lengths to outdo each other! Very nice fellows if you talk to them outside the show, though." Scotsman waited for Gordon to respond, but raised an eyebrow when he saw his brother simply staring at the racetrack.
"Gordon?"
"Shooting Star. If you don't mind, Scott, I'd like to focus a bit before this race starts! That way, I can be completely focused for when I beat you." Scotsman was taken aback, before looking away.
"Suit yourself." He paused awkwardly, before looking up at the sky and speaking again.
"Nice weather we're having." He remarked. Gordon shot him a glare.
"Personally, I think it's too hot." He snapped, and returned to staring at the racetrack. Gordon was too hot, but it wasn't because of the weather…
Chase: Hoo boy, lots to discuss in this chapter! First of all, the surprise return of the Railway Series' Jinty and Pug as the announcers of the Great Railway Show, with Albert (yes, that Albert, from the Railway Series as well) as their unseen cameraman. This idea came up when we had actually already outlined the special already, and as a result we incorporated them in their one scene to explain the revamped order and rules of the competitions. They will appear in the background of the rest of the show, commentating on every single event, hopefully providing a bit of humor with Jinty's more upbeat and excitable personality contrasting with Pug's more lowkey and sarcastic one. While they will be only in the background the special itself for the most part, they do have a big role to serve when we get around to the bonus features of this special...but more on that later. Also making a surprise return (or rather, premature appearance) is Journey Beyond Sodor's Ulli, one of the Mainland Diesel Shunters, who has been repurposed as the Event Coordinator of the Great Railway Show as a means of giving more identity to the show's diesels. In addition to Ulli, we decided to give them all Russian names that were just as goofy as his, and thus the characters of Boris, Igor, Dimitri, and Andrei were born. We have also significantly reorganized the way the Great Railway Show works. We changed the order of the competitions for dramatic reasons, so we could have a way to build up to the Great Race by having the other engines participate in their challenges before it. The Shunting Challenge has also been remade from the ground up as a time trial, making it more distinct from the other "finish first" events as well as preventing it from being an accident waiting to happen like in the canon special (though, don't worry, "POINTS" and "that's my boy", the actual special's highlights of the shunting challenge, will appear in some capacity here).
Don: We tried making the other international engines more distinct from each other, as opposed to practically being interchangeable. Admittedly, most don't play a huge part in the plot but hopefully you can still pick up on their personalities. Here are a few examples: Rajiv serves as James' rival as both are extremely egotistical, and Rajiv's whole "royal engine" shtick has carried over from Season 22. Axel and Etienne are rivals that like to try and one-up the other. Raul is a jerk who is protective of his shunting record, and as established, he grows to dislike Thomas. Also, the engine who is now in the Best in Show instead of Emily is Stepney. It's a similar situation to Caitlin in which we used a preexisting character to fill a slot. He's also there as a means of liaison between James and the other engines in the parade, and we'll see that a bit more next chapter.
So the Great Railway Show is about to begin! Who will win? Who will lose? Will Philip get to the show in time with Gordon's safety valve? Find out in the tenth chapter, "Third Time's the Charm"!