Snow Engine

It was winter on the Island of Sodor, and heavy snow had been falling for several weeks. The main line engines managed fine with their snowploughs, but the Small Railway engines had a problem. Snowdrifts that the mainline engines could easily push aside were deep enough to bury the small engines. They had to be very careful, even with their small snowploughs. Trains were often late or cancelled altogether because of the weather, and that made the engines cross.

"Snow!" huffed Mike one morning. "Why do we have to have it?"

"There are some places in the world that don't get snow," Rex told him.

"That's cold comfort," Mike grumbled.

"I think it's pretty," Jock smiled.

"But it can be dangerous," Frank reminded him. "Just remember to keep your eyes focused on the track at all times."

"Track? What track?" Mike snorted. "You can't see it under all this snow!"

"You still need to watch it."

"Huh!" Mike scoffed. "And what would you know? I'm a lot older than you, so don't you try telling me what to do!"

Mike let off steam loudly, just as the Small Controller walked into the shed.

"My! Someone's cross this morning," the Small Controller exclaimed. "Settle down, Mike, or I'll make you plough the snow this morning instead of Frank."

Mike seethed in silence. The Small Controller turned to the other engines.

"You'll all be pleased to know that Bert is coming home from the Works tomorrow," he announced.

The engines started talking at once.

"How is he?"

"Have you been to see him?"

"Is he better now?"

The Small Controller held up his hand for silence. "To answer those questions: Rex, Bert is fine. Mike, I've just been to see him. And Jock, Bert is still undergoing some final testing today, but so far his breathing has greatly improved. He was very happy to see me, and he's really looking forward to coming home."

Sure enough, when Donald returned Bert to the Small Railway the following day, he was grinning broadly. Mike, Rex, Jock and Frank were lined up to greet him as he was carefully lifted off the flatbed truck by a crane.

"Oh, it's so good to be home at last!" Bert exclaimed happily once he was safely back on the rails again. "How are you all?"

The engines couldn't stop staring at Bert. He looked so different! His funnel, dome and cab were taller, making him look very similar to Jock.

"Why are you all staring at me?" Bert wondered.

"You look like Jock!" Mike blurted out.

"Are you taking my name in vain?" Jock challenged.

"I…no!" Mike spluttered.

"I think Bert looks great," Frank said. "You look very happy, Bert, and we're all glad to have you back."

"Now he just has to pull his weight around here at last," Mike muttered.

"Ignore him," Rex told Bert.

"I am."

The next morning, the Small Controller told Bert to spend the morning resting after his long journey home. This made Mike really cross.

"Why should Bert have a rest?" he grumbled. "He's been resting for months at the Works, while we do his work as well as our own!"

"Bert's been through a lot over the last few months," his driver explained. "Being rebuilt is a serious operation, and it'll take him a while to recover from it. He's going to be going out for some more tests later this afternoon, so he should be able to do a bit of work after that."

"Sez you!" Mike sneered.

Soon, Mike was heading for the quarry with some ballast hoppers. As he rounded a corner, he saw a large snowdrift blocking the track ahead of him.

"Stop!" he shouted to his driver, but it was too late. Mike ploughed straight into the snowdrift.

He wasn't hurt, but he couldn't move. His driver switched on the radio-telephone to talk to Control.

"We're stuck," he said simply.

"We'll send someone to get you out," Control replied.

Sure enough, help soon arrived in the form of Bert. Mike was not pleased to see him.

"Control said you need help, and I can see you do!" Bert chuckled as he drew to a stop behind Mike's train. Mike didn't bother to answer.

Bert took the empty ballast hoppers away, but he soon returned to help Mike. A chain was attached between the two engines, and Bert's driver sprayed plenty of sand down onto the track to help Bert grip on the icy rails. When everything was ready, Bert took up the strain. Mike was surprised by the strength of Bert's tugging, but he still said nothing.

Finally, Bert pulled Mike out of the snowdrift. Mike was greatly relieved.

"I'm sorry I teased you about your new look yesterday," Mike said meekly as Bert helped him home.

"That's okay," Bert replied. "I know it's different. I didn't like it at first either, but I really like it now. Especially since it's really helped me with my breathing."

"But why did they give you a different funnel and cab?"

"My new exhaust pipe that helps me breathe better wouldn't fit with my old funnel, so they had to give me a new one. And they made my cab and dome taller so I'll look in proportion."

"You really do look like Jock now. At least you two aren't painted the same colour."

"Now THAT would be confusing, wouldn't it?" Bert chuckled happily. Mike also laughed, and the two friends continued on their way.

This is the last story for this 'book'. I have two more planned, so stay tuned! Please review. I greatly appreciate any feedback.

Disclaimer: I have nothing to do with the Thomas and Friends franchise. I write these stories for my own enjoyment and to try out different forms of creative writing.