This might be my last thing I'm writing before the new Year. So, Merry Christmas and a Happy new Year!
Tales from old times (Part 1, Lukas' Story)
The Morning after the unfriendly welcome at Arlesburgh, Jasmine woke up to see Lukas next to her. He gave her company as the sheds were empty at the Time they arrived at the Sheds. Jasmine thought back to the last evening and nearly started to Cry. She had hoped that she could leave her past behind, but that seamed out of reach now. The soft sobs of Jasmine woke Lukas up. He looked around to see that Jasmine was crying.
"Jasmine, what's the matter?" He asked.
" Its just that, ever since the West Somerset saved me from scrap, the other Great Western Engines were rude towards me, and after I heard that I would go to Sodor, I had hoped that I could begin a new life here as well. But now, I don't think that I can do that any more." Jasmine sobbed.
"Of course you can. Look at me! I was an outcast at both my old Home and here! And now, I'm one of the main Engines on Edwards Branchline."
Jasmine looked at Lukas with an confused look.
"What do you mean by, you were an outcast at both your old home and here?" She asked.
Lukas looked at here, not knowing what to say to here.
"Well" He began "It would be best if I would simply tell you what had happened, the first few Weeks at my old home, and my first few Weeks here on Sodor."
- Weimar, Thuringia, Germany, 1999 -
It was an cold morning in Weimar, a Town in Thuringia, not far from Erfurt. At the small Railway Museum, stood two Steam Engines. Both were big 2-10-0 with long, four wheeled Tenders. The only difference at which one could tell one apart was the livery and the Numbers. One Engine had the Number 50 3626-4, and the other had the Number 52 8109-2. Both were World War 2 Steam Engines, with the 50 being a slightly older Engine. The 50's Name was Tobias, and the 52's name was Alex. Both were proud of being the only Steam Engines in the whole Museum. The Museum was an open air Museum, with many of they're Engines being outdoor, because the Sheds were too small to store many Engines at once. On this Morning, Tobias was standing inside the Shed, getting his Paintwork in its original form. Till this day, he wore a grey Colour scheme, as a protective Paint. As the Man were finishing him, Alex, who was standing outside the Shed, saw a steam cloud, right on the other side of the Tunnel that was between the Museum, and the Train Station.
(For all readers, the Story is going to be written with English dialogue. Sorry if you wanted to read something in German.)
"Tobias, do you know if there is and Engines scheduled to make a stop at our Shed ?"
"Nope, Uwe didn't said something about that, why ?"
"Because I can see an Steam Engine coming this way."
"Really? Well, maybe the Engine will be a new resident at the Shed."
"Maybe. Would be good to talk to someone that isn't a oil can on wheels or an Iron Crocodile."
The two Steam Engines laugh hard, but that soon stopped when the Engine came into view. It was a small Tank Engine. But it wasn't from German Design. It lagged the outside Cylinders, the Sand dome, and the automatic bell. It had only a high Funnel, an Dome of the same size, and Side tanks with an box that leaned out at the front. It had the livery of the Deutsche Reichseisenbahn, with the Number 80 110. It had red Wheels, with silver con rods. The Cab, smoke box and Boiler were deep black, while the Whistle was a golden colour. The Engine looked nervous as it steamed in front of Alex, who eyed him with an curious expression. Out of the little Engines Cab jumped a Man in his early-mid 40's. He had Black Hair and a short beard. He walked up to the front of the Engine and looked at Alex.
"Well Lukas, welcome to your new Home. Excuse me, Mister 52. Could you tell me where the owner of this Museum is ?" Asked the Man as he looked at Alex.
"Trough the Door next to the Signal and upstairs. And its Alex." Said the big Engine.
"Thank you Alex. My Name is McCoach. Lukas McCoach, and this is my Engine, Lukas." McCoach said, and with that, he left the two Engines to speak with the Owner of the Museum.
"So, he named you after Himself?" Alex asked.
"Yes, he said that he wanted to have an Engine that would be exactly like him, the Name included." Said Lukas.
"What Class are you? Never seen an German Engine without the Sand dome and the outside Cylinders. I think the only Engines with inside Cylinders were from the 19th century." Alex asked.
"Well, I'm based on a British Steam Engine. A London, Brighton and South Coast Railway E2 Class Tank Engine. McCoach said that I am one of the last survivors of my Class. Isn't that great ?" Said the young Engine with happiness.
But the big 2-10-0 didn't thought so.
"No, it is not! Why would you be proud of you? You're just an stupid English designed Puffball. You aren't worth to live here! You should..."
"That's enough, Alexander!" Came another Voice. It belonged to Tobias, who was shunted outside the Shed by an Battery Powered Engine.
"And why should I ? He is just an excuse for an Steam Engine." snorted Alex.
"You know perfectly well that everyEngine is worth working on the Railway! And in Times like ours, we need to stick together. We are Steam Engines, an race that is near the extinction. We can't have such childish behaviour, especially not from an Engine that is over 50 Years old! Now Alex, say sorry to Lukas here." Tobias said.
Alex looked at Lukas for a Moment, before Muttering an excuse.
"Perfect. Now Lukas, I would like to be the first one to say, Welcome to the Thüringer Eisenbahnverein. I know it isn't much, but it is our Home." Said Tobias as Lukas saw around him. Everywhere were old or broken Engines, Trucks and Coaches. But there were some that were in quite good condition. The Sheds and some other Buildings were in a rather poor State. The Roof of the Shed was leaking badly, and the Turntable in front of it was rusty. The old Water Tower hat a big crack on one side, and the Coaling Plant was broken and overgrown.
Suddenly, McCoach came back, with an Man in his late 40's. He had black, fuzzy Hair and had an Orange warning vest on. On the left side of the Vest was his Name: Uwe Belikant.
"Good news Lukas! We can stay here. Uwe here said that we can stay here, and that we can work on Branchline Specials!" McCoach said.
"All right, now that you know all what you can do, we need Lukas to shunt Alex here over to the Sheds. After that, you can Park him in a Siding." Said Uwe, as he walk back into his Office.
-Tidmouth, Sodor, Great Britain 2013-
"And that was how it was in Germany. I became good friends with the Local Engines there, and even with some special Guest." Lukas said.
"What special guests ?" Asked Jasmine.
"Oh, there was the Time when the fastest operational Engine in the world came for a Visit. She was a very good friend for Alex, and it was really funny to see him blush when she pulled him around the Yards. Then there was Heinrich. He is one of Alexs brothers. He works as a Cab ride Engine at our festivals. Then there is Isabelle. She is a Class 03 Light weight Tender Engine who works the fast Main Line specials for our Museum. She is a beautiful Engine and I had a little Crush on here when I was younger." Lukas said with a light blush.
"Wow, you had seen quite a few Engines there." Jasmine said with wonder.
"That I had. But they all had one thing in common." Said Lukas with light sadness.
"And what was that?" Jasmine asked.
"They all thought I was a wimp. They always said that I was a useless Tank Engine who was send to the wrong Country. Isabelle was the only Engine, except Alex and Tobias, that was nice to me." Lukas said sadly.
"That's sad." Jasmine said.
"I know. After I was sent to Sodor, I thought that nobody would laugh at me, or say bad things towards me, but that was crushed too!" Lukas said, tears building up in his eyes as bad Memories from earlier that year were coming up.
"What happened ?" Asked Jasmine.
"I tell you." Said Lukas.
-Wellsworth, Sodor, Autumn 2013-
Lukas was standing in the Yards of Wellsworth, waiting for Bill and Ben to bring him the China Clay Wagons that he was supposed to bring to Crovans Gate. While he was waiting, McCoach and his Fireman were having Lunch with the Stationmaster. He stood in the Sun, dozing of. But what he didn't know was, that some Teenagers with aerosol cans were sneaking around the Yards. When they saw Lukas, still in his DR Livery, the smirked deviously. They sneaked up to the sleeping Tank Engine and started with the spraying. Half an Hour later, and McCoach and his Firemen came back from Lunch. As they were walking back to Lukas, the Fireman saw something that made his blood boil with Anger. Lukas looked at what the Fireman was raging about and nearly screamed with terror. There, on Lukas' side Tanks were Nazi Swastikas! Lukas woke up, and noticed that his driver and fireman were ranting about something.
"Is something the matter ?" Lukas asked.
"You bet there is! Someone painted Swastikas on you Side Tanks!" McCoach said, angrily.
Lukas was at a loss of words. He had hoped that no one would ever make such an remark of his German heritage, and now there were two Nazi Swastikas on his Side Tanks! His driver and fireman quickly got to work in order to get rid of the Symbols. But it didn't helped a bit. The Paint was dry and they only could get rid of it at a real Engine wash down. The two Man sight in defeat and walked up to the Engines front.
"I'm sorry Lukas, but we can't get this Paint of your Tanks. It seams like you need to run your Train with 'those' on." McCoach said.
"But I can't run around with 'them' on! Everyone would thing I'm a Nazi Engine!" Lukas cried.
But try as he might, he couldn't convince them. Soon Bill and Ben came and gave him his Trucks. They stayed respectfully silent as Lukas took over the Trucks. He steamed of, but everywhere where People or Engines were, they would look at the Tanks in Shock. After what felt like an eternity, Lukas puffed into Crovans Gate. He puff quickly into the Yards. There, Skarloey and Peter Sam were shunting Trucks filled with Sleight and Farm Products around. They stopped that quickly when they saw what Lukas had on his Tanks.
"Lukas, what happened?! Why do you have Swastikas on your Tanks?!" He cried.
"I don't know. All I know was that I was Waiting in the Yards at Wellsworth and after a quick nap, I was woken up by my driver, saying that someone had Painted Swastikas on my Tanks!" Lukas said sadly.
"If I were you, I would drive as fast as I could to the wash down." Peter Sam said.
"That was my only thought after I left Wellsworth." Said Lukas, and he puffed of, heading for the Wash down."
-Tidmouth, Sodor, Great Britain 2013-
"Wh-, What happened afterwards ?" Jasmine asked, shocked.
"Well, the Boys were caught and were forced to work as cleaners for the Railway for 4 Months. I was cleaned, but a long time afterwards, Many People called me 'the Nazi Engine'." Lukas sobbed.
Jasmine could only watch as Lukas braked down, as tears fell from his Face. What both of them didn't know was that two more Individuals were watching what was Happening. Miss Hatt had watched the Scene from the Start, she had wanted to give both Engines they're Jobs for Today, but after Lukas' brake down, she decided not to do so. The other one was Oliver. He had watch the Scene from when Lukas told her about the Swastika incident. He was shocked after hearing it. He was now thinking why Lukas told Jasmine about that time. He only knew her for what ? 1 maybe 2 days? Why would he tell her about that Time. 'Maybe' He thought 'This Jasmine isn't as bad as the other S&D Engines.'