(Happy belated Halloween! Sorry this is a day late, but I've been busy)
Playing Ghosts
Written by Michael White
It was nearing the end of a blustery autumn afternoon. Jock was just returning to Arlesdale Junction after having picked up an order of hay bales from Farmer Willie's farm.
Jock took a breath of fresh air and looked up with awe at the blustery autumn wind from above him, as he approached the Junction up ahead.
PEEP-PEEP!
"Afternoon, Bert!" he greeted, as he reached the top station, before looking up at the wind above him. "Golly! Can you feel the chill in the air?"
"Heh!," the blue engine bluntly responded, looking anxiously at the wind and the trees all around him. "And so what if I can then?"
Jock chuckled as he watched the commotion.
"What's gotten your wheels in a knot?" he cheekily remarked.
"It's the blustery autumn wind," Bert groaned. "It gets me in such a flurry, not to mention how spooky the trees are, reaching out as if they're about to grab you!"
"I know," Jock wondered with awe, before raising his eyebrow with surprise.
"Say," he wondered. "That reminds me of a story that driver told me about a ghost train he saw the night before."
"It does?" Bert wondered.
Rex arrived back at the Junction in time to hear this and greeted the two engines cheerfully.
"Oh, please tell us, Jock" he insisted.
"Yes, yes, please," Bert added.
"Very well," Jock decided, then took a deep breath, as he decided to tell his ghostly tale:
… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …
"Long ago, one dark and blustery October night, a little engine was just returning from a useful day's work. The wind howled, though his lamp shone brightly against the rails, as the mist poured slowly down above his line."
The engine, in the same shape and ochre color as Jock, chuffed steadily through the night, as his lamp shone through the falling mist.
"The engine seemed to be making good time, as he carried into the night, when all of a sudden, he heard a strange revving sound and looked to see a big bright light flashing towards him."
"Huh?" the engine wondered with confusion, as the force moved quickly towards him, then reacted with surprise as it knocked him off the rails. "Woah!"
"The sudden force revved right into the engine, and pushed him off the rails…into the ravine below!"
SPLASH!
… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …
"Oh, my," Bert gasped, as he listened closely.
"What happened then?" Rex wondered.
"Well…" Jock went on.
… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …
It took some time, but the crew was eventually found, and soon recovered from the incident…
A barge arrived and the men aboard helped carry the engine's crew to safety, as breakdown cranes were brought to search the ravine for the engine himself.
…but nobody knew what became of their engine.
… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …
"Was…the engine ever found?" Bert wondered.
"Shh! Listen!" Rex excitedly exclaimed.
Jock chuckled.
"I was getting to that part," he replied. "Listen up now!"
Then he went on to finish the story, as Mike got back from his passenger train, and his passengers got off and gathered round to hear the rest of the story.
… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …
The engine was never found, and never to be seen again. However, legend has it...
As the story finished, the silhouette of the engine roamed across the track from out of the mist, smoke billowing out from his empty undercarriage in place of his wheels and his light flashing against the rails.
…that every year on the date of the incident, the engine's spirit roams the track…as a warning to others…letting out his ghostly whistle and looking for another engine's boiler to steal!
PEEP-PEEEEEEEEP!
… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …
Mike's passengers reacted to the end of the story, with intrigue, as Bert and Rex were left in awe.
"Huh!" Mike scoffed. "Whatever are you blabbering on about, Jock?!"
"The ghost train," Jock replied. "One that driver saw the night before!"
"Where?!" Mike doubtfully demanded, raising an eyebrow at the ochre engine.
"He didn't say," Jock confirmed. "But I must confess: it does make my wheels wobble to think of it!"
Rex chuckled as he looked over at Mike.
"Maybe he'll be out to get you, Mike!" he remarked teasingly.
"Nonsense!" Mike expressed with disbelief. "Why me?!"
PEEP-PEEP!
"Just because…" Rex grinned, as he went back about the junction.
"Heh!" Mike scoffed. "What a whole bunch of stuff and nonsense! You're just a silly engine, Jock! The rest of us three have run this line long before you have, and we've never encountered a ghost, especially at night!"
"Hmm…" Jock wondered, then grinned before ironically insisting, "I guess that neither of you three have ever been out on the date of the incident then…"
"Huh!" Mike scoffed.
PEEP-PEEP!
He whistled loudly as he left the scene in a huff, whilst Bert and Rex sniggered quietly to each other as they passed. Jock expressed a look of surprise as he went back about his work.
"Hmm…" he wondered confusedly to himself, as he advanced towards the top platform. "I wonder why Mike didn't believe in my ghost story…"
"Ah! Jock!"
He was caught off-guard as a familiar figure walked out of the station to greet him.
"Oh," he chuckled. "Erm, Mr. Duncan, sir."
"I have an important job for you to do, Jock," the Small Controller told him. "I'm wondering if you could deliver a special goods train to Arlesburgh Harbor."
"Oh," Jock wondered, thinking for a moment. "Well, I…guess I could, sir. I mean, I have no other job at the moment…"
"Capical!" the Small Controller beamed. "Your trucks will be waiting in that siding over there! Frank will have them ready for you soon enough! Off you go now! And don't worry, you should be back by dark!"
PEEP-PEEP!
Jock cheerily set off about the junction, feeling rather confident in himself about his evening stroll about the line!
As he arrived at Arlesburgh, the skies were already beginning to darken and the townsfolk were tying down their boats for the night.
"It's a good thing you came at a reasonable time, Jock," a nearby Skiff remarked, trembling as he rolled back and forth in his place.
"Why?" Jock wondered, looking up at the skies, quite unconcerned.
"High winds seem to be kicking in," Skiff predicted. "I do hope Joe can get back soon. It may be a very blustery night."
Before Jock could answer, Skiff's faithful captain came running into sight.
"Oh, Skiff," he sighed with relief, as he ran up before him. "Thank goodness. Sorry about that. I just had a few papers I needed to sign. But I'm back now."
"That's alright, Joe," Skiff beamed, as he watched his captain hopped aboard his sail. "The important thing is that you're back now, and I'll soon be back in my nice, cozy shed."
Jock watched the pair set off, before waiting as his last truck was unloaded.
As soon as his trucks were fully unloaded, Jock made his way home into the sunset. As darkness kicked in, he was quickly at ease and his lamp shone brightly against the track ahead of him.
"Steady now, Jock," his driver cautioned. "We aren't in any hurry, are we?"
"No worries," Jock replied. "I think I know where we are. We're nearing Arlesburgh Green. We shan't be long now."
His driver gradually slowed him down, as he continued steadily through the mist.
Jock and his driver were making good time on their route, but little did they know that there was trouble up ahead…
… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …
Further up the line, Farmer Willie was attempting to move a cartload of lime at the level crossing, though he was encountering troubles with his radiator, and was finding it rather difficult to press forward.
Jock approached the sight of the level crossing and saw the commotion from just up the line.
"Yikes!" he screeched.
"Woah, Jock!" his driver gasped, and applied his brakes hard.
"Oh, no!" Farmer Willie gasped.
He tried hard to speed up, though he wasn't able to get the tractor across in time when…
CRASH!
The driver managed to jump clear, but Jock stood dazed and surprised as he carefully opened an eye to see what had happened. His wheels were still on the rails, and he had just missed tipping over, though he was covered from funnel to cab in white lime!
Jock looked to one side to see both his driver and Farmer Willie looking at him with dismay, then opened the other eye to see the tractor on the other side, strayed beside the line.
"What…happened?" he wondered.
"It was my fault," Farmer Willie immediately apologized to Jock and his driver. "I mustn't have checked the radiator before setting out with my delivery. I'm sorry."
"Not to worry," the driver kindly assured him. "It's the least of our worries now. But whatever are we going to do about Jock?"
"I suggest we clean him up quickly," the farmer suggested. "Otherwise the other engines may make him out to be a ghost!"
Jock widened his eyes, then chuckled.
Farmer Willie's words made an idea fly into Jock's funnel.
"How about we pretend I'm a ghost?" he suggested.
"Come again, Jock," his driver wondered.
"And scare Mike," Jock went on. "Certainly, it'll teach him a lesson for calling me silly."
The driver sighed.
"Very well, Jock," he agreed, a reluctant look on his face as he hopped back aboard his cab. "But only under the condition that you let the others in on your plan. You wouldn't want to scare them as well."
"Of course not," Jock beamed, as he made his way long. "It's only Mike I'm looking to scare. Surely Bert and Rex will gladly play along with my prank!"
He set off back for the Junction, confident in his plan.
Jock arrived back at Arlesburgh West just as Douglas was leaving with ballast trucks.
"Ay! Jock!" the Caledonian twin wondered. "What happened?"
"No time to explain, Douglas!" Jock replied.
He hurried past and made his way to the top station, as Frank backed down on his perch of trucks in time to observe his appearance. He looked rather puzzled and raised an eyebrow.
"Please, Frank," Jock begged, sighing. "Don't ask!"
"You look ridiculous," Frank bluntly remarked. "Are you heading to the washdown next?"
"Not exactly," Jock sighed. "I'm trying to get Mike back for not believing in my ghost story. I'll let Bert and Rex in on it too."
Frank shot him a look, then looked away with disinterest.
"Please, Frank," Jock begged, "don't tell Mike…or the Small Controller. It's only a little joke after all."
"Very well," Frank sighed in slight agreement. "It's not like the other engines talk to me much anyway."
He went slowly back about his shunting, as Jock sighed with relief.
"Phew!"
Just then, he heard a slight chuffing sound and a lamp up in the distance.
"Well now," he assured himself. "I hope it's Mike."
He waited as the engine came out of the dark and arrived at the platform across from Jock, but it wasn't Mike; it was Rex!
"Oh, Rex," Jock wondered, rather surprised.
"GAHHHHHH!" Rex screamed, reacting with surprise.
He went on to race off to the shed, much to Jock's surprise.
"Wait, Rex!" he called. "Come back! It's only me!"
"Say, that was nicely handled," Frank remarked, as he passed by.
Jock groaned with dismay.
"Oh, dear," he wondered. "However am I going to convince Rex that I'm not a ghost?"
At that moment, Bert arrived back at the Junction too, right beside the ballast hoppers, when he looked over to face Jock all covered in white. He gasped.
"GHOSSSSST!" he wailed, and raced off as well.
"Bert!" Jock called after him. "Bert!"
But it was too late. Bert had already ran off to the sheds!
"Oh, no," he groaned, as Frank stopped across from him. "Seems like my plan did indeed backfire, Frank. I wanted to scare Mike, but I ended up scaring the others instead."
"I strongly suggest you get cleaned off right away and tell the others it was you before you cause even more trouble," Frank told him.
He went off to collect more trucks, as Jock sighed sadly to himself.
Realizing that Frank was right, Jock set off for the washdown immediately.
However, as he arrived, he found that no one was there except for the foreman.
"Sorry, Jock," the foreman sighed, as he walked up to him. "The men have all gone home for the night. You do look a mess, but I guess you'll just have to wait until morning."
"No worries," Jock sighed.
He watched the foreman walk off, then saw his driver walk over to him.
"Well done, Jock," he jokingly congratulated. "You seemed to have scared the others instead. I should have told you this wouldn't have been a good idea. I must say, though, it did earn you the late night special instead since Rex won't come out of his shed."
"Oh, dear," Jock wondered, as his driver hopped aboard. "I never meant for that to happen. Only Mike."
"Nothing we can do about it now, Jock," his driver assured him, as he got him started. "Come along now. We have a train to fetch."
Jock let out a sigh of regret as he made his way along, though his expression immediately shifts to confidence as he advances towards the yard.
At the shed, Mike arrived back from his evening train in time to see Bert and Rex, as their drivers struggled to get them started.
"Come along now, you two!" Rex's driver insisted. "The wool due out is already late enough, Rex."
"We have coal to deliver, Bert," his driver added, standing right before him. "Show a wheel now!"
"Me?!" Bert spluttered. "I'm not setting one wheel out there!"
"M-m-me neither!" Rex added. "The g-g-ghost engine might be out to get us, just as Jock's story foretold."
"Ghost engine?!" Mike wondered, raising an eyebrow. "What a load of rubbish! You're both a bunch of scaredy engines!"
A radio call came in from Bert's cab, and his driver ran to answer it.
"Hello? Oh, hello, stationmaster."
Rex's driver sighed and walked over to Mike's driver.
"Is there any way we can help?" Mike's driver asked.
"Well…" Rex driver wondered, thinking hard.
Bert's driver walked over to them.
"It doesn't seem like nor Bert or Rex are going to come out of their sheds, and stationmaster says Jock's already due out with the coal that Bert was meant to take," he confirmed.
"Perhaps you and Mike could take the wool," Rex's driver suggested. "It's the least that could be done in this circumstance."
"Very well," Mike's driver obliged, and walked back towards his engine.
"Come along, Mike!" he said, as he hopped aboard. "We've got a train to pull!"
"But, but…" Mike stuttered, immediately reluctant. "It's…dark out and we might get lost in the mist."
"Nonsense," his driver dismissed, as he got him going. "Your lamp is sure to resolve that."
"Heh!" Mike scoffed, as he slowly made his way away from the shed. "That might not make a difference, at least not in the dark."
"Oh," his driver wondered cheekily. "Not afraid of ghosts, are you?"
"Absolutely not!" Mike huffed. "Not like Bert and Rex, at least."
His driver smirked impressively, as they advanced along, making their way toward the top station.
Mike arrived at the top station all in good time, though he was in a hurry enough as it is.
PEEP-PEEP!
"Hurry up, Frank!" he whistled impatiently, as the diesel brought his train steadily into the platform.
He let off a wheesh of steam as his train was coupled up, and Frank rolled up alongside him.
"Silly Bert and Rex!" he remarked to the diesel. "All steamed up over some ghost engine! Seems like Jock's story got to their head!"
"Ghost engine?" Frank wondered, thinking hard. "Do you mean J-?"
"Sorry, Frank. Wish I could sit around and chat but I got a train to pull," Mike suddenly replied.
He set off confidently into the night as soon as his guard's whistle blew, much to Frank's bewilderment.
"Huh…" the diesel wondered to himself.
Meanwhile, Jock was just finishing coal to the last station before the woodland route.
"Turning in for the night, Jock?" the stationmaster asked.
"Not quite," Jock confirmed, looking at the dark sky around him. "A few more stops before I make it back to the Junction. The woodlands should lead me there."
He whistled as he exited the station and continued into the night, the stationmaster waving after him.
All around on the woodland track, spooky shapes of tree branches hung over Jock as he made his way along.
"I'm not afraid of anything," he boldly assured him, as he bravely pressed forward.
Even still, the blustery wind howled as he looked at the full moon above him.
"Nothing to it," he said confidently, looking all around at the woodland way.
"Woah, Jock!" his driver gasped, and gradually let off steam
All of a sudden, Jock's driver applied the brakes as they noticed an obstacle on the line up ahead. It was a fallen tree on the line!
"Oh, botheration," Jock groaned.
He stopped just before the fallen tree on his line, and sighed with dismay.
"Not to worry," his driver assured him, as he hopped off his cab. "I'll go and call for help."
"Oh, dear," Jock wondered worriedly. "Now I'm sure I'll be late with the rest of the train."
Mike was making his way steadily along with his own delivery of wool. However, he was still cross about having to do so!
"Silly engines!" he scoffed. "Ghost engine?! What rubbish!"
However, as Mike approached the woodland up ahead, the mist being to come down over his track.
"That's strange," he wondered to his driver. "It wasn't misty when we started our journey back at the Junction."
"We're in a more distant part of our line, Mike," his driver replied. "Besides, your lamp should us see through all this mist."
Mike didn't answer as he advanced further along, but as he made his way through the mist, shadows of branches hung over him against the blowing wind.
Mike looked around at the spooky shadows with anxiety, as he made his way cautiously forward.
"There's no such things as ghosts. There's no such things as ghosts," he muttered to himself.
HOO! HOO!
He gasped and looked all around him, before looking up at the full moon above him to distract him. As he did so, he reacted with surprise as a flock of black birds flew over the track. He came to a sudden stop, shivering a little.
"Relax, Mike!" his driver chuckled. "What's gotten you all fired up?!"
"Nothing," Mike assured him.
He advanced further along, not noticing a set of yellow eyes suddenly peaking out towards him to his left. All of a sudden, more sets of eyes begin illuminating, revealing themselves to be a flock of bats as they flew out and over Mike.
"GAHHHH!" Mike screamed, rather frightened.
His driver chuckled and advanced him steadily onward.
"Huh! It's only bats!" Mike wondered dully to himself. "What else could be creeping around at this time of night?"
SCREEEEECH!
"Ah!" Mike screamed, and came to be an abrupt halt. "W-w-what was that?"
"Settle down, Mike," his driver chuckled. "It's only an owl."
"Oh," Mike thought, then laughed nervously. "I knew that all along."
His driver grinned as he advanced him further along, his lamp shining brightly against the track ahead of them.
Further up the line, Mike and his driver saw another light illuminating against them.
"W-w-what is that?" Mike wondered nervously.
"Easy, Mike," his driver calmly assured him, as he gradually let off steam. "It must just be something on the line."
"Oh, dear," Mike groaned, coming to a halt right before the fallen tree branch. "Now I'm sure to be late."
"You're not alone on that," a voice suggested from nearby.
Mike startledly looked over in shock, and gasped as he saw Jock.
"GHOOOOST!" he wailed, and attempted to reverse back, but his driver applied his brakes hard and hopped off his cab.
"Get a grip now, Mike!" he encouraged. "That's no ghost."
"Huh?" Mike wondered, raising an eyebrow as he looked over at the ochre engine in disguise.
"Nothing to worry about," Jock's driver went on tell them. "Help will come first thing in the morning."
Mike examined his 'ghost engine' a little closer, and found that he really DID turn out to be familiar!
"Jock?!" he spluttered, than angrily demanded, "whatever are you playing at? Not only scaring me but Rex and Bert as well? You've caused me the night shift, you know that?!"
The ochre engine in disguise chuckled nervously.
"I totally didn't think it through," he sheepishly admitted. "It caused me the night shift as well. I didn't mean to scare either of them. I thought it'd be fun for them to play along, but it didn't go as planned."
Mike glanced at him for a brief moment, taken aback by his explanation.
"What do you mean by…'playing along'?" he demanded.
"Well, erm…" Jock wondered, going a little red in the face as he was lost for words.
"Well, Jock," his driver encouraged. "Perhaps you should tell Mike the truth after all."
Jock sighed and took a deep breath.
"I thought it would be a fun prank to play on you, Mike," he admitted. "And that maybe it would teach you a lesson for calling me silly and not believing in my driver's ghost story."
Mike spluttered with disbelief, as Jock's driver thought for a moment, then laughed, much to the surprise of both engines.
"Oh, Jock," he chuckled, then admitted, "it was a real ghost I saw. It was only a pretend one on television!"
"Huh?" Jock wondered.
Mike watched with surprise as his driver stepped away from his bunker in intrigue at the thought and walked over to Jock's driver.
"Say," he wondered. "Don't you mean that program of the ghost engine that got lost in the mist?"
"Why, yes," Jock's driver chuckled in reply, his engine widening his eyes with shock as he went on. "It was broadcast on television last night."
"I know," Mike's driver immediately added. "I saw it too. It's legend, isn't it?"
"Not exactly," Jock's driver confirmed. "I never got to finish it before heading off to bed, but my wife might have. I'll ask her first thing tomorrow."
Now Jock felt really foolish, having believed in a silly old story and went through all the trouble to scare Mike by inadvertently getting his friends instead!
"Oh, dear," the ochre engine sighed sadly. "What a silly engine I've been."
"You can say that again!" Mike snapped. "I simply couldn't agree more. In fact…"
"Now, now, Mike," his driver encouraged. "Perhaps you should think about how silly you've been as well now."
"Me?!" Mike spluttered.
His driver chuckled.
"Why," he humorously revealed, "you've been scared of owls and bats on the way here. And of a little mist. You might have perhaps believed in the story after all."
Mike groaned with embarrassment and went as red as his paintwork, as Jock glanced over at him and grinned.
"Oh, alright," he confessed. "I guess I was a little bit frightened. Perhaps being brave isn't quite as easy as I thought it'd be."
Jock now felt sorry for Mike and smiled over at his friend.
"Being scared is nothing to be ashamed of, Mike," he assured him.
"No?" Mike wondered.
Jock chuckled.
"Nobody's brave all the time. Why, even though I've been boastful in regards to believing driver's ghost story, I, for one, have attempted to be brave myself, but even I got a little frightened."
Mike thought about what Jock had said, then took a deep breath, feeling better as he gave his friend a look of remorse.
"I'm sorry for calling you silly, Jock," he apologized. "I probably should have handled the situation better, perhaps by asking my own driver about the story instead of instantly trying to let you down the way I did."
"That's alright," Jock replied. "I definitely should have handled the situation differently as well. My joke had indeed been taken a step too far."
The two friends smiled at one another, as the owl hooted and the moon shone in the night sky.
The next morning, Harvey arrived to lift the fallen tree off the line and clear the track so that Mike and Jock could be on their way.
"Well now," he wondered, looking at both engines, who looked away with embarrassment. "Seems you both some night."
The two humbly said nothing as they whistled to each other and set to work without another word.
Later on that evening, Jock had just returned to the yard after finishing his last job and decided to take a rest by the Junction.
"Please, driver," he asked, as he watched him hop off his cab. "Do you know the rest of the ghost story that you told me?"
"Sorry, Jock," his driver apologized. "I never get to watch the rest of the program as I went to bed that night before I could. However, my wife did say it aired again last night where we were out and that she was able to watch it through and tell me what happened."
Bert and Rex pulled in just in time to hear this and gathered round as Jock listened on with excitement
"Oh, do tell us, driver. Please!" Jock begged.
His driver chuckled.
"Alright, alright, very well."
He cleared his throat, took a deep breath and grinned, before starting.
… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …
People had searched the ravine for the engine for days, but he was indeed never found. Eventually, his crew gave up, but were nonetheless haunted by the ghost of their engine returning to the town…as a warning to them both…letting off his eerie whistle!
PEEP-PEEEEEEP!
The silhouette of the ghost, smoke billowing out from his undercarriages, lurked through the town, letting off his whistle, as a set of eyes watched from outside the window.
… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …
"And so," Jock's driver finished. "If that faint old whistle of his meant anything, it was that every year, on the date of the accident, the engine's driver would still hear the sound of their engine chuffing through the mist. He would often look out his window, but by the time he did, the engine would be gone."
"Hmm," Mike thought, as he was hitched up to his train. "I thought the ghost engine was out to find another boiler to steal."
"That's what I thought when driver first told me the story," Jock added.
"That's only the backbone of the story's beginning," his driver confessed. "Eventually, the engine came back and warned his crew to leave the town and never return."
He thought for a moment, then laughed.
"What difference would it make anyway?" he wondered. "It's all silly make-believe anyway
"I know that now!" Mike stressed.
"Oh, do you, Mike?" Rex teasingly wondered, as Bert and Jock sniggered quietly to one another.
"Huh!" Mike scoffed, and set off huffily with his evening train.
"Ghost engines," he wondered to himself. "What a bunch of silly nonsense!"
HOO! HOO!
"Ah!" Mike gasped, and looked above him to see an owl standing on a tree branch looking at him.
Rex and Bert chuckled at this, as Frank laughed quietly, passing by with his own perch of trucks.
"Well, what do you lot know about all that?" the diesel wondered, stopping right beside them.
"I don't know," Jock replied, thinking hard. "Anyone would think from just seeing Mike in such a state that he had just seen a ghost!"
The four friends laughed in agreement, as Mike gulped and carried on into the night, the mist coming down as the moon shone above him.
Up Next...
… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …
Gordon Gets It Right - Gordon is often susceptible to teasing from Bill and Ben, and tries his hardest to stay wise to their pranks. However, he may find that the twins are being serious for once when it comes to warning him about the Viaduct being under maintenance!
I Do Not Like Them, Peter Sam!(inspired by Green Eggs And Hamby Dr. Suess) - Peter Sam tries to get Sir Handel to be kinder to the coaches, but he insists that they are out to get him and refuses to take any of Peter Sam's advice on how to be kind to them.
Snow Problem For Daisy (based on Snow Problem by Christopher Awdry)- when a snowfall on the Other Railway delays Daisy's return journey, she lands herself in deep trouble getting caught in a blizzard
Driving Home For Christmas - The Fat Controller strives hard through bad weather to make it home in time for Christmas Eve but encounters several obstacles along the way, as his family waits eagerly for his return!
Murdoch And The Kipper - when it is Murdoch's turn to take the Kipper, Henry's tall tales leave him unconvinced that he'll have an accident as well, but finds that sometimes things can happen when you least expect them to.