HARVEY TO THE RESCUE

Based upon the episode by Jonathan Trueman

Adapted by Zack Wanzer and Rachel Ravens

Diesel was resting on a siding at Knapford yards. It had been a very busy day, and no trains were due for at least an hour.

"Did your brakes get jammed?" joked a female voice. Diesel glanced over to see his sister, Ali, giggling away on the next siding.

"You don't know when to quit," the black shunter chuckled back. "Let me guess; you had water in your tank?"

"Okay, Jasper," snarked Ali. "You got me too." The two siblings laughed together.

"But seriously, though," said Diesel, "I'm very grateful you could help me with the shunting. I'd ask one of the tank engines to help, but they've all got their branch lines to tend to."

"Ah yes," chuckled Ali. "I heard Gordon remark it was a bit of a curse back then. A tank engine would stick around for a few years, or a few weeks in Thomas' case, and then get a promotion elsewhere."

"I almost wish that you could join us here on the North Western," Diesel sighed. "But you've already got Prisca and Lyla to look after at Barrow."

"Yeah, I'd love it if all three of us were part of the railway as well," agreed Ali. "But we do see a lot of you down at Barrow."

"You're certainly better company than… some of the family." Diesel bit his lip on that comment. He still remembered Arry and Bert. The last time he saw them… they and Addison Darnell nearly got Duck killed. He still had conflicted feelings with that. He wanted to hate them, but… they were his brothers. What if… they went after someone else?

"They won't get anymore of you," said a familiar voice. "Not if I have anything to say about it."

Diesel and Ali looked up to see Sir Topham Hatt walking towards them.

"Oh, sir," gasped the black shunter. "I…"

"It's alright," said Sir Topham Hatt. "Remember, Diesel, we're all here for you, no matter what."

"Indeed," added Ali, "No matter our traction, no matter where we're built, we're all a family. Don't you forget."

Diesel gave a small smile. "Thank you." He paused and looked over at his controller. "Is this what you wanted to talk to us about?"

"About getting another engine to help you out in the yards," explained Sir Topham Hatt. "I've managed to find a tank engine from a steelworks company in the Scottish Highlands."

"Another tank engine, eh?" chuckled Ali. "I'm willing to bet they'll be going to work on a branch line a few years down the line."

"Considering the last few station pilots have," said Diesel, "that's not too much of a stretch."

Sir Topham Hatt cleared his throat; Diesel and Ali quickly straightened up. "In some other news… Ali will be going back to Barrow once the new engine gets here."

"Oh," said Diesel. "Well, in that case, I hope to see you again soon, sister."

Ali smiled and dropped her voice to a whisper. "Knowing the track record of the other station pilots, I think we can count on it."

A few days later, Diesel, Ali and several other engines were gathered at Knapford yards to greet the new engine; their schedules had been adjusted so they could do so.

"How big do you think they'll be?" wondered Percy.

"I doubt they'll be as big as me," said Lauren. "My siblings and I weren't what you'd call flexible in tight corners."

"Maybe they'll have six wheels like Thomas, Duck and Katie," said Julie. "Or four wheels, like us, Percy."

Just then, a deep unfamiliar whistle rang through the air.

"That must be them," said Oliver.

The new engine puffed into view. He had four wheels and was painted dark burgundy with yellow lining, and had wooden buffers. Both of these aspects were highly unusual for the North Western engines.

"Welcome to the island," smiled Edward. "My name is Edward. What is your name?"

"Hullo, everyone," the new engine greeted; he spoke in a Scottish accent. "Mah name's Harvey." The other engines introduced themselves to the newcomer in rapid succession.

"Why, ye come fae th' Hielands, don't ye?" asked Donald. "Douggie 'n' Ah met a few engines fae thare. Mibbie we know someone ye'v met."

"Perhaps so," chuckled Harvey. "Ah cannae wait ta get ta know ye all better."

"What's that crane arm on your boiler for, Harvey?" asked Julie. "None of us have anything like it."

"Ah, yes," said Harvey. "Ah was built wi' this crane arm ta help th' workmen lift crates onto the trucks."

"That's very helpful," smiled Duck. "You wouldn't believe how many times crates spilled out of trucks around here."

Just then, Sir Topham Hatt arrived outside.

"Ah, welcome to Sodor, Harvey," he greeted. "I see you've made a good first impression with the engines. This will go over nicely with the railway board. I hope that you'll be as a hard worker as you are a good friend."

"Aye, sir; ye can count on me!" the crane engine grinned.

"I wonder what number will be given this time," remarked James.

Harvey blinked and looked over. "Er… there aren't twenty-one steam engines besides me?"

"Sir Topham Hatt lost count after twelve," chuckled Oliver. "There's actually sixteen of us, you included."

"Maybe some numbers are being saved for future arrivals," Julie suggested.

It didn't take Harvey very long to learn about how to handle things in the yards. Having worked in a steelworks for years, shunting just seemed to come naturally with him. As Harvey was shunting some trucks for Henry to take out, he saw some workers struggling to move a large crate on the platform.

"Excuse me, but do ye need a helpin' hook?" Harvey called out.

"Oh, that'd be great; thanks, Harvey," smiled Henry. "This train will be delayed at the rate the workers are going."

"We're not going that slow," snorted one worker. "This crate is just too darn heavy for one person to move alone!"

"Are they always like this?" asked Harvey as he puffed over.

"You're lucky," said Henry, stifling a chuckle. "Sometimes, that worker is worse."

"I heard that!"

Diesel and Harvey worked well in the yards together; the latter proved to be especially helpful in moving cargo onto and off of trucks.

"Ah almost forgot how good it was ta work wi' another engine," smiled Harvey.

"It was good having my sister helping me out," said Diesel. "But I'm glad to have you here too." He gave a slight chuckle. "Though, if you were to talk to me years ago, things would have been different."

"Oh? How so?" asked Harvey.

"Long story short… I did some things that I really shouldn't have," sighed Diesel. "Though that was on me… a lot of engines misjudged me on the mainland. They… didn't give me a fair chance…"

"Do ye want ta talk aboot it?"

"It started like this…"

As the engines were talking, in another siding, Judy and Jerome had been observing the crane engine.

"He's just swooped in and believes he can do our work better!" cried Judy.

"How could he just steal our job?!" snapped Jerome. "What is he? Cranky on wheels?"

"Well, he doesn't have Cranky's demeanor," said Emily, buffering up to the two cranes. "You have to give him that much."

"Emily?" asked Judy. "Where's the emergency? What's wrong?"

"Carole's front wheels have come off the rails at Hawin Lake," Emily explained.

"Ah, right," sighed Jerome. "Let's crew up!" Once the rescue crew had gotten into the works coach, Emily set off.

"So, why's Harvey gotten you in a twist?" she asked.

"Harvey's able to get to a lot of places in the yards and use his crane arm," said Judy.

"Meanwhile, we just sit in a siding and wait to be picked up for emergencies," added Jerome.

Emily pondered for a moment. "Have you been used to load cargo before?"

"A few times," said Judy, "if the workmen were really struggling to lift heavy things."

"Now it seems like Harvey wants us replaced!" gasped Jerome. "What if he starts to work on rescues too?!"

Emily bit her lip. "I know how that feels…" she winced. "My siblings and I were being rendered obsolete by the C1 Atlantics…"

The trio arrived at Hawin Lake. Carole's wheels came right off the line, where the black cat Snowball was looking curiously over at her.

"Yes, I know I'm not supposed to have derailed," sighed Carole. "But thank you for keeping me company." Snowball gave a "meow" in response.

"Are you alright there, Carole?" asked Emily. Judy and Jerome got right to work.

"Poor maintenance of the branch line is taking a toll on us," she sighed. "The workers and station staff do their best to keep it running, but still."

"Why hasn't Sir Topham Hatt acted sooner?" asked Emily. "You'd think that he'd have done something by now."

"It's quite the mystery," sighed Judy. "Where's a friendly blue puppy when you need one?"

"What about a person in a green striped shirt?" chuckled Jerome.

"This is serious, you two," grunted Carole. "Things just haven't been the same since…" She trailed off. "Stevie…"

"I've heard her name before, but not the full story," said Emily. "What happened?"

"Barely a week after Duck came to Sodor," began Carole, "there used to be four of us. Lisa, Stevie, myself and Simon. Stevie was the shunter of the branch, painted blue, and she was quite the jokester." Carole chuckled, before swallowing hard. "We… we suddenly lost Stevie. A truly evil man, Jacob Hockings, forced black water into her system. Simon, Lisa and I were asleep when this happened…. Then when we woke up… Stevie never did."

Emily goggled in horror. "And I thought Duck had a close call. Stevie… she died?!"

"Sir Topham Hatt only came to the branch line twice after that." Carole's breath was shallow. "Once during the investigation of Stevie's murder, and the other for her funeral service."

"We'll need to have a firm talk with him about this," said Emily with determination.

Out on the Ffarquhar branch line, Toby was waiting at Ffarquhar with some trucks. Thomas was at the platform with Annie and Clarabel.

"Harvey's settled in quite well," Toby commented.

"Do you think he'll pass from the railway board?" asked Thomas. "I mean, there have been a few members who are… not the best."

"Don't worry, Thomas," said a cheerful voice. "My grandfather will make sure that Harvey will get into their good books." That voice had belonged to Annabelle Regaby, who was serving as trainee guard on Thomas' train.

"I'm sure you'd make an excellent member of the railway board someday," smiled Annie.

"Aww, you're just saying that, Annie."

"It's true," added Clarabel. "Annie and I haven't had a guard this good in a long time."

Just then, Toby's guard blew his whistle. "Oh, that's me. Say hi to Mavis when she gets here."

"As always, Toby," smiled Thomas, as he, Annabelle and the coaches called "goodbye".

The little tram trundled off down the line. He was looking forward to taking Henrietta on their next passenger run, when he came across a bump on the track.

"Oof!" he exclaimed as he felt his frames rattle. "We'll have to warn the workmen about this bad bit, driver. Er… driver? Fireman?"

"Toby?!"

The tram engine's crew had been knocked out of his cab when he hit the bad bit.

"Oh no! I don't have my driver or fireman!" Toby cried. "Help!"

On the road nearby, Bertie had been driving up to Hackenbeck. Suddenly, a little boy on board let out a gasp of shock.

"Are you alright?" asked Bertie to the child, but he soon realized why. "Toby!" In the distance, the red bus could see the tram engine and his train running out of control with no crew on board. "Driver, we need to find the nearest phone booth and call for help!"

Down the line, the trucks had taken full advantage of Toby's situation and were now pushing him at dangerous speeds as they passed Maithwaite.

"Faster we go! Faster we go! Push him along, don't let him slow!" they chanted.

"Help!" wailed Toby again. He couldn't apply his brakes. "This is why I'm afraid to go without my driver and fireman!" He was hoping that the guard would apply the brakes in his van, but he didn't.

"Mmm, this is very good cocoa…" the guard smiled to himself.

Much to Toby's horror, he was approaching the river bridge at Callan.

"Not again, not again…" he gulped.

"Gotcha!"

Toby heard the sound of brakes squealing as he slowed down. For a split second, he thought his crew were back in his cab. But it wasn't his own brakes being applied.

"Are you… okay… Toby?" asked a puffed out voice.

"Thomas?! Oh, thank goodness you've caught me!"

"Thank Bertie…" Thomas panted; his driver scrambled over to Toby to apply his brakes. "He saw you… and his driver… alerted me…"

"I can't say any buses on my old tramway would have done that," Toby smiled. He then looked over at his front wheels. They were above the grass at the top of the bridge. "Uh… Thomas… it's a long way down…"

"Driver, fireman!" called Thomas. "We've got to pull Toby back!"

"We can't do that, Thomas," said his driver. "Not with Toby in his current position. It might make things worse for everyone involved." Thomas and Toby both gulped at the prospect.

"So now what do we do?" asked Thomas. "I can't go back for help."

"Maybe not," said Annabelle. "But we can." She was also referring to Toby's guard, whose coat was now stained with cocoa.

"I don't believe this!" he moaned. "The best cup of cocoa I've ever had, and now it's been spilled all over my uniform!"

"Good to know that your priorities are straight," huffed Toby, rolling his eyes.

"Well, maybe I can," sighed Annabelle, also unimpressed with Toby's guard's priorities.

Back at Knapford yards, Harvey had just finished unloading a flatbed when the yard foreman came running up.

"Toby's gone and derailed just before the River Callan Viaduct on Thomas' branch line," he explained.

"Toby?!" gasped Diesel. "That sounds serious."

"We'd get Judy and Jerome to help out," added the foreman, "but they're already out on another rescue mission."

"Ah can help out," Harvey volunteered. "Diesel, do ye think ye can manage the yards by yerself until then?"

"Of course I can," said Diesel. With a blow of his whistle, the crane engine set off to the rescue.

Back at the River Callan viaduct, Thomas and Toby were staring daggers at the guard.

"So, not only has this guard nearly gotten you into an accident Toby, he's also managed to delay my passengers," grunted Thomas. "And I believe you were on your way to get Henrietta after this?"

"I was," Toby agreed. "At this rate, Daisy and Bertie may have to cover for both of us."

Just then, a deep whistle cut through the air.

"Ah believe Ah've been called in ta help," Harvey grinned. "Don't worry, Toby; Ah'll have ye back on th' rails in no time!"

Chains were quickly attached to Toby and Harvey's hook, and he started to pull the tram back up.

"Do be careful…" Thomas whispered. Part of him didn't want to look. But all the same, he was curious to see Harvey in action. Much to both Toby and Thomas' relief, the former was safely hauled back onto the rails.

"Thank you, Harvey!" Toby said gratefully.

"Think nothin' of it, Toby," he smiled.

"That was the best demonstration I've ever seen," said a familiar voice. The trio of engines glanced over. There was Sir Topham Hatt with Annabelle and the railway board on Bertie the bus.

"Sir?" exclaimed Harvey. "Ye were watchin' this whole time?"

"Well, this rescue operation wasn't exactly part of the plan for your demonstration," Sir Topham Hatt admitted, "but you just happened to be in the right place at the right time."

"Indeed," said a railway board member. "And you've definitely passed your trials!"

"Alright!" cried Thomas. "Welcome to the North Western Railway, Harvey!" Thomas blew his whistle, Toby rang his bell and Bertie honked his horn in acclamation. Harvey blushed modestly.

"You'll go to be repainted tomorrow," said Sir Topham Hatt. He turned to Toby. "How did you lose your crew?"

"They fell out of my cab when I hit a bad bit on the line," Toby explained. "I was meaning to bring that up with you, but I didn't intend for it to be this way."

"Oh dear…" sighed Sir Topham Hatt. "Don't worry, Toby. We'll get that sorted. Now, Annabelle, what were you saying about that guard?" The guard gulped and tried to run, but it was promptly tackled by an agitated swan. Toby, Harvey, Thomas, Bertie and Annabelle all burst out laughing.

Later, Harvey brought Toby and his train to Knapford yards the same time Emily returned with Judy and Jerome.

"Gracious, Toby!" cried Emily. "Are you alright?"

"I am thanks to Harvey here," the tram engine smiled. "Where did you take Judy and Jerome?"

"To help Carole." Emily quickly explained what happened.

"Still under poor maintenance?" asked Diesel in shock as he purred over. "You'd think Sir Topham Hatt would look at it by now."

"Perhaps he must be hiding something we don't know about," suggested Toby. "Whatever it is, it must be serious."

Or maybe he just wants to forget that Carole, Simon and Lisa exist, Emily thought.

"So… you managed to pull off a rescue all by yourself?" Judy grunted, breaking the silence.

"Are you trying to take our place as rescue cranes too?" added Jerome.

"Replace ye?" Harvey asked, surprised. "Now how can a little engine like meself replace two big cranes? Ye'd have ta be mad ta do so! Besides, how could Ah manage ta help Carole without any help meself?"

"Harvey does have a point, you two," said Toby. "I would've been stuck where I might've been for ages before help arrived. Or…" He said no more, but left that implication hanging.

"Don't even go there!" Diesel cried.

"I wouldn't want to think about that either," agreed Judy.

"Perhaps we over-thought this too much," admitted Jerome. "From what Toby's said, Harvey, you did great."

"Yes, you were very useful indeed," added Emily.

"Oh, Ah'm just glad ta help others in need," Harvey smiled. Just then, at the station, Gordon's whistle and Bear's horn drifted through the air.

"Duty calls," smiled Harvey. "Let's go, Diesel."

"Lead the way." And the two friends headed off.

A couple of days later, Harvey had been given his repaint. His name was now painted on his tanks in large capital letters, and on his crane arm was the number twenty-seven.

"Well, that's another case of the weird numbering system for you steam engines," chuckled Diesel.

"It doesn't affect performance," said Harvey. "So it's okay by me." The two engines laughed.

But what about Toby's guard, you ask? Well, I daren't repeat what Sir Topham Hatt and young Annabelle said, but it wasn't very polite. But I will say that the guard lost his job, and had a very rude awakening one night…

PEEP PEEP!

"Ugh… why must the mail run be so loud?!"

THE END

Author's Comments

At long last, we're introduced to the one and only Harvey the crane engine himself! His debut episode, besides the elephant in the room concerning Edward's behavior, is pretty solid overall with a strong message that being different isn't such a bad thing. The only other major downside is that later episodes down the line (i.e. Thomas and the New Engine) tried to replicate what Harvey to the Rescue accomplished but ended up amplifying its problems and making the Steam Team come off as unlikable. We hadn't used Toby that much in starring roles since this redux began, so it was nice for the tram engine to get more involved in the action, and apparently, him and bridges do not mix. Likewise, it was fun to give Judy and Jerome a more active role, thinking that Harvey is out to replace him, except that they can do things together that he can't solo and vice-versa. This also hints at what is to come for when we get to Rocky's debut story, which will inevitably get reworked since it was first rewritten back in 2020.

Upcoming stories:

- Oliver Takes the Road

- No Sleep for Cranky

- Edward and the Brass Band

- Piece of Cake

- No "I" in Team