"The MAINLAND!?"
All the engines at Tidmouth were shocked when they heard the news.
"Yes!" Percy exclaimed, "Blake said so! She said he left yesterday evening..."
"...You've got to be joking." James complained, "Not the first time he's done it..."
"He could've at least told us..." Henry sighed.
"Poor Thomas..." Emily lamented, "Wherever could he be..."
"His own fault." Gordon huffed, "He's the one running off without letting anyone know."
"We have to go and find him." Edward stated.
"Huh?!"
"Don't be ridiculous Edward!" Gordon grumbled, "He could be anywhere!"
"This IS Thomas we're talking about Edward!" James agreed.
Edward just sighed, "He would do the same for all of us. So we should do the same for him."
"But he could be anywhere..." Henry pointed out, rather worriedly, "Out on...the Mainland..."
"Hmm...maybe he hasn't gone far." Emily questioned, "Maybe if we leave now, we might be able to catch up with him!"
"Yes! We have to find him!" Percy agreed quickly, "We have to go and find him!"
Gordon then spluttered, "W-What about my Express!?"
"And my coaches!" James whined!
"Oh our jobs! I forgot all about them!" Emily whimpered.
"And what if WE end up getting into trouble too!" Henry huffed worriedly.
The engines started debating amongst themselves, they weren't sure what was the right idea. Then Edward steamed forward, heading out of Tidmouth.
"You lot stay here. I'm going to have a talk with the Fat Controller." Edward decided.
All the engines watched as their old friend steamed ahead.
Thomas continued to steam through the lush English countryside, flying down the rails and taking in all the sights they had to offer. The Mainland was certainly more beautiful when it was daylight. Thomas was amazed! It was ever so beautiful! More beautiful than he thought it could be!
He even began to remember some of his younger years down in Brighton. Those were some of the good days. There had been other rare occasions when Thomas went to the Mainland, but he was more excited about the occasion he forgot to sight-see.
Thomas began to arrive in York, a very populated area. Thomas enjoyed looking all around!
But then he heard the sound of horns!
"Hey! Look out!"
"Watch it buddy!"
"Get off the rails!"
"Rail-hogger!"
"EEP!" Thomas peeped worriedly and hurried onto a siding, watching in shock as a parade of trains sped past!
They weren't steam engines. And they didn't seem like diesel engines either.
"Sorry there mate!"
"Keep out the way!"
"Watch where your speeding numb-box!"
"Oi! I'm dropping off passengers here!"
Thomas looked around, he had approached a very busy looking station. York Railway Station...and it was bustling with passengers and trains alike. Most of the trains were stopping off, letting off passengers and picking them up, before suddenly speeding off again! They were quite fast!
"Whoa...this is a...very busy place." Thomas wondered, he wanted to get past, but he didn't want to attract a lot of attention.
"I must get past the station...but how..." Thomas looked around. He then saw a train pull into the station – formed of 12 coaches. "Hmm...maybe if I sneak past that engine, I might be able to...yes!"
Thomas tried to puff alongside the engine as quietly as he could. As he puffed up to the front coach, he suddenly sped up and fled the scene – leaving the poor engine in a cloud of steam!
"Steam!? Here!" The engine exclaimed, coughing from the steam in her face!
Thomas giggled to himself as he sped off. He thought he was very clever. Looking around, Thomas was enjoying the view. The hustle of a big city was very different to that of most of Sodor.
"Hey, you there!"
Thomas looked around, "Huh? Someone there?"
No one answered.
"Hm...must've been my imagination-"
"Over! Here!"
Thomas stopped in his tracks, and looked to the left. On a siding, coated with bushes, he saw a beautiful, red locomotive. She gave him a small smile.
Thomas thought she looked...oddly familiar.
"If I was you, I'd try and get on a siding – now!"
"Huh? Why-"
"EEP! LOOK OUT!"
Thomas gasped and looked behind him – the very engine he sneaked past was fast approaching him!
"Tank engine! Siding! Right ahead!" The red engine cried!
Thomas panicked, and looked ahead – seeing the siding the engine was referring too! He sped up, and narrowly swooped down into the siding, missing the engine behind him by inches!
Thomas panted tiredly, that was a close call, "That was so close...I'm sorry!"
"Watch it buddy!" The engine cried as she sped off on her way, "You almost made me hit you!"
Thomas watched the engine speed away and caught his breath. He felt a gentle bump behind him, and felt himself being pulled away.
"H-Hey! Who's there!?"
"This way tank engine! Gotta get you somewhere safe!"
"W-What? Hold on! I can travel by myself you know!"
The engine continued to pull Thomas backward and pulled him onto a small turntable. As Thomas turned around, he got to see face-to-face with the friendly engine. She was a large engine, and she was painted in a glamorous red, and she appeared...streamlined?
She really did look familiar.
"Odd to see a steam engine out on the Mainline without it being a special or something." The engine giggled, "Although I have to inquire – you do look familiar. Have we met before?"
Thomas looked at the engine curiously, "Hmm...nope. Don't remember you before...but your face is familiar..."
"Hmm..."
The two engines gazed at each other.
"...Does the year 1990 sound familiar?" The engine inquired.
Thomas tried to think hard. He remembered the year...
...The year he visited the National Railway Museum in York-
"OH! I remember!" Thomas peeped, "Are...you one of the National Collection engines!?" Thomas peeped eagerly!
The engine giggled, "I might be. Oh I remember now! How can I forget the blue engine with the big number 1 on his tank!"
Thomas blushed sheepishly.
"...Thomas, wasn't it?"
Thomas then beamed, "Yes! That was me!"
The engine chuckled, "Now I remember – that Boxhill never did stop talking about you two and your time back in the London Brighton and South Coast. And that Green Arrow chap sure talks nothing but golden about you. And more recently that Flying Scotsman fella keeps talking about you Sodor engines – he is one polite fella but at times his ego is larger than his smokebox."
Thomas giggled cheekily at the comment.
"Only problem with most of the great Gresley's locomotives – grand and fast, but almost always arrogant and always with ideas above their station."
Thomas just laughed. He liked this engine already.
The engine just gave a warm smile, "My name is Duchess of Hamilton. You remember me – I was positioned next to Mallard for the day you arrived."
Thomas tried his best to think. He did remember a beautiful red engine when he saw Mallard – the world's fastest steam locomotive – but...Duchess didn't look anything like that engine now.
"Was...was that really you?" Thomas wondered, "But you look so...different?"
Duchess giggled, "Well, I have had an overhaul since then...they decided to streamline me. Not exactly my most favourite look in the world, nor is it a proper credit to the beautiful locomotives Stanier has built, but hey, it works. Just gets some getting use to."
"Wow Duchess of Hamilton..." Thomas looked in awe, "You do look amazing!"
"Oh, do just call me Duchess." Duchess chuckled, "If you called each of me and my other 37 sisters by our full names you'd be here for a fortnight."
Thomas looked at the great Duchess of Hamilton in awe – only to notice her face suddenly fell.
"Duchess...you okay?"
Duchess just gave a small smile, "Well...me and my...other two sisters now. There's only me, Duchess of Sutherland, and our poor sister City of Birmingham..."
"What happened to them?" Thomas wondered, innocently.
"...What happens to all engines eventually." Duchess sighed gravely, "Well, suppose we were lucky. Stanier's legacy lives on in us, and our other famous cousins."
Thomas saw Duchess' smile grow as she began to talk about her fellow Stanier locomotives.
"You got those 'Black Five' locomotives, proper credit to the British railway they were. The Jubilee class are also proper good ones too, and our other famous cousins, the Princess Royal class. We were the most beautiful back in the day." Duchess giggled.
"Why were all your other sisters...scrapped?" Thomas wondered, "It doesn't make sense..."
Duchess looked at the young tank engine worriedly, "You...really don't know why?"
"No..."
Duchess looked at him sympathetically, "Honestly...it is best if you don't ask. And...sometimes things are best if they are never found out. It does things to your poor smokebox – especially sweet, young engines like yourself."
Thomas was more confused then ever.
"Goodness!" Duchess exclaimed, "Don't tell me you've travelled all the way from Sodor to York without refilling your coal and tanks! That is most dangerous!"
"Huh? Oh! Right...I'm sure I can refill on my way-"
"Come through, right this minute!" Duchess insisted, "We can all give up a little coal and water! No steamie gets left out there on today's rails. It's far too dangerous!"
Thomas continued to defend himself, only for Duchess to pull him inside.
"You're going where?!"
"We have to go across the Mainland and rescue Thomas." Edward confirmed, talking to Mariah and Matthias, the Welsh twins and two of the newest arrivals on Sodor.
"We have to find him and bring him back!" Percy peeped up.
"W-What!? ALL of you!?" Matthias cried, "You can't pull of a stunt like that!"
"My words exactly!" James spoke up.
"I am missing my Express for THIS." Gordon grumbled.
"Oh stop your whining you two!" Emily huffed, "You can complain later!"
"Will you two help do our jobs while we're away?" Henry asked nicely.
"We can try." Matthias spoke, "Me and Mariah can handle freight, I'm sure Blake won't mind looking after the branch lines. Anastasia will have to pull the Express-"
"HMPH!"
"But seriously, you engines are considering this...I mean, this is serious..."
"The Fat Controller has given us permission to go and find him." Edward spoke confidently, "Now we have to find hi-"
"This is NOT something you can simply puff away from!" Mariah busted out, "This is the stupid British Railway we're talking about! What was once the best Railway in the known world has now dissolved into nothing but a corrupted organisation where the stupid people running it only do what is financially beneficial for THEM and NO ONE else!"
All the engines were taken aback by Mariah's outburst!
"And trust me – all the engines who work there? They NEVER get to have a break. They work and work and work – until SOMETHING breaks!" Mariah carried on angrily, "Not only that – if you lot get spotted on the network, you will all be sent to the bloody scrapyard!"
"Marie, Mari-"
"Shut up Matt!" Mariah growled, "Seriously, we've been there, we've SEEN what selfish things they do! We were narrowly lucky to have been saved! I highly doubt you lot will be as lucky!"
"...I think she's just saying...good luck." Matthias sighed, as he and Mariah puffed off, "You guys will certainly need it..."
The engines all looked at one another nervously. But with their boilers bubbling and their axles fizzing, they took off, heading across for the Mainland – and to find Thomas!