CAB YOUR FEAR

Based upon "The Old Bridge" by Paul Larson

Adapted by Zack Wanzer and Rachel Ravens

The viaduct over Rheneas gorge is one of the most significant tourist attractions on the Skarloey Railway. It's also vital for the engines to bring passengers and goods from one side to the other. One particular day, Rusty and Flyer were heading out to check it.

"Quite a view from up here," Flyer called to Rusty. "You can see all the way to the waterfall!"

"It never gets old," chuckled Rusty. He glanced worriedly over. "But that handrail over the side looks rotten."

"Ooh, good observation, Rusty," winced Mr. Hugh. "A person could fall if they lean against that."

"We'd best get the workers to fix that," said Flyer.

"I'll do that," assured Rusty. "You continue up the line and report any more damage."

"Ugh," shuddered Sir Handel at the sheds that evening. "That would be terrifying."

Many of the engines winced in agreement, but Fred smirked. "Afraid of heights, are we, Sir Handel?"

"No!" snapped Sir Handel. "I'm just saying that it's important to keep engines and people safe."

"Well, ye did tell us the story o' when ye nearly fell off the Mountain Road–"

"Duncan!" hissed Peter Sam. Sensing the glares given to him, Duncan quickly went silent. Skarloey and Rheneas remained quiet, exchanging looks with each other.

"Heights are not something to be taken lightly, Fred," said Rheneas. "Especially with what the bridge used to be made of."

"What do you mean?" scoffed Fred. "The viaduct's always been made of stone."

"Need I remind you, Fred, that Skarloey and Rheneas have been here longer than any of us?" Duke put in.

"The viaduct over the gorge wasn't always built out of stone," said Skarloey. "When the railway first opened, it used to be a large wooden trestle bridge."

"That doesn't sound very secure," Rusty gulped.

"Yes, well, as they say, hindsight is 20/20," agreed Skarloey. "And it nearly cost me everything…"

"Wait…" gasped Peter Sam. "This was when you nearly fell off the bridge?!" The others' eyes widened. Skarloey mentioned this many times, but never before went in depth with the tale.

"Yes." Skarloey closed his eyes to collect his thoughts. "This was after I had gotten my cab and Rheneas helped me out of that mudslide…"

Past

Many years ago, Skarloey and Rheneas were very different from what they are now; the former was still female, and the latter had no cab. Because of this, Rheneas found himself unpopular with the crews whenever the weather turned bad, so Skarloey was used more often, come rain or snow.

"Not again!" Skarloey cried as she went out. "I hate getting drenched. My paint could be spoiled!"

"Are you sure cabs are worth it?" smirked Rheneas.

"For our crews, it seems that way," huffed Skarloey. "Why can't they see we shouldn't get wet either?"

"The covers would be far too cumbersome for us to carry around," chuckled Rheneas.

"I think they'd not be very… er… 'cucumbersome' or whatever it was you just said."

Rheneas just chuckled again and rolled his eyes. "I think I need a quick sleep…"

"Wake up, Rheneas!" said his driver. "We need to take some empty trucks up to the quarry."

Rheneas let out a great yawn and sleepily opened his eyes. His fireman prepared his fire, and soon, it was burning nicely and made plenty of steam.

"What happened to not being much use in rainy weather?" asked Rheneas.

"Skarloey's already out with a passenger run," the fireman explained. "You're the only other engine available."

"We could do with another engine around here," sighed Rheneas as he puffed out of the sheds. His crew nodded in agreement; both of them had raincoats over their usual work outfits.

"You'd think we wouldn't need to take on water in this weather," joked the driver. "We'll be up to our legs by our first stop."

"It's times like these I wouldn't mind having a cab…" But Rheneas said that to himself.

Back then, health and safety at the quarry was not a priority; the workmen didn't wear safety helmets or high-visibility vests, so they were in constant danger with flying pickaxes and loose stone shards.

"Whoa!" cried Rheneas. "Look out over there!"

One of the workmen looked up, and quickly got out of the way of the falling rocks; thankfully, it wasn't a large pile.

"That was a close one," the workman remarked, panting heavily. "You've certainly saved the missus some terrible news, Rheneas."

"Just keeping an eye out for everyone, Dougal," Rheneas smiled. He wasn't smiling for long, however, as he stood in the rain, waiting for the workmen to load up his trucks.

"Where's a shed around here when you need one?" he grumbled. "Skarloey's lucky; her passengers are nice and dry in the coaches, as are her driver and fireman. Huh! My own crew can at least get shelter in one of the workmen's huts!"

It was a long, tedious process, and it felt like forever before Rheneas could finally set off with his train for Crovan's Gate.

"At last, we're off! At last, we're off!" he puffed as he left the quarry. Unfortunately, he and his crew had forgotten something…

Rheneas and his trucks were soon approaching the wooden trestle bridge that spanned over the gorge that bore his name. But as they got closer, he began to slow down.

"Driver, fireman, what's happening?" he asked, worriedly.

"You're out of water, old boy," remarked the driver. "And what a place to do it!"

Indeed, it was a terrible place to be. And there was only one track across the bridge…

"Oh, what's the hold up?" grunted Skarloey. She and the coaches had been halted at Rheneas station; the stationmaster had received an urgent telegram.

"Rheneas has run out of water," sighed the stationmaster.

"Isn't his name the Sudric meaning of 'divided waterfall'?" giggled Beatrice. "That's quite ironic if you ask me." Agnes, Ruth and Lucy all groaned at that joke; Jemima hadn't heard it, for she was dozing.

"Now who's the one who needs my help?" remarked Skarloey as she headed off.

At the bridge, Rheneas heard Skarloey's whistle.

"Dear, oh dear, Rheneas," she smirked. "Run out of water, have we? You could've used the rain to catch some and fill up your tank!"

"Oh, be quiet!" huffed Rheneas. "Being stuck on a bridge is no laughing matter!"

"It is to me," laughed Skarloey. She was coupled up and pulled her brother back to the water tower at Rheneas station.

Skarloey had been delayed by coming to Rheneas' rescue, so she hurried as much as she could to make her connection with the Sodor and Mainland Railway at Crovan's Gate. She'd managed to make up some lost time, but judging by some of the passengers' grumbling, it wasn't enough.

"Goodness me," gasped Mary. "What's going on, young one?"

"Old fuddyduddy Rheneas thought it'd be a clever idea to run out of water in the middle of the bridge and delay my passengers," huffed Skarloey.

"That's not funny," snapped Mary. "If an engine runs out of water, there's the risk of their boiler exploding!"

Skarloey gulped and goggled with horror. "Ex-exploding?! Y-you mean… they… die?"

Mary looked on seriously. "Survival from that would be very slim, young Skarloey. From the sounds of it, Rheneas had just enough water to prevent that from happening."

"Maybe… the rain is more useful than I first assumed," sighed Skarloey. "Thank you, Mary."

The following morning, the rain had stopped, but the storm had left its impact.

"Oh dear!" cried Ruth as she and the other coaches awoke. "There's leaves and branches everywhere."

Mr. Mack, the railway's first controller, informed Skarloey and Rheneas about the storm damage.

"Regular services are being put on hold until this mess has been cleared up," he said. "You'll both assist the workmen in clearing away loose branches and brambles."

Skarloey was not pleased to hear about this.

"So the rain can be troublesome too?" she groaned. "Why can't it make up its mind?"

"There are some things we just can't control, and the weather is one of them," sighed Rheneas. "Besides, would you rather have our passengers see a messy lineside when they ride our trains?" Skarloey could not argue against that, so she said nothing.

"Look," said Lucy; she and Ruth were with Rheneas, as well as a non-sentient brake van. "There's some cute little ducks who decided to make use of the flood water."

"Looks as though they're having fun," giggled Ruth.

"They are really cute," said Rheneas. "But who knows where that flooded water will end up? We need to keep it away from the railway."

Meanwhile, Skarloey started to cross the bridge with the other three coaches, Agnes, Jemima and Beatrice.

"You can see so much from here!" the red saddle tank exclaimed. "Why, we could probably see all the way to the… the North Pole!"

"That's a bit of a stretch, my dear," huffed Agnes. "I can only see trees and greenery miles from here."

"Oh, and speaking of the North Pole, I do wonder what snow is like," said Beatrice. "Some passengers say it's beautiful."

As the quartet crossed the bridge, Skarloey could hear some creaking underneath her wheels, but she didn't think much of it.

"It's probably nothing," she mused to herself. But little did Skarloey realize was that the creaking was nothing to take lightly…

Soon, the workmen had begun to remove some branches.

"I guess you could say the railway is branching out," Beatrice joked.

"Again with these jokes," Agnes groaned.

"Our guard says you have to make light of a bad situation," Beatrice remarked.

"What are the workmen going to do with those branches once they're in the trucks?" asked Skarloey.

"Good question," the driver shrugged. "They could potentially make new trucks, some new sleepers, or even new furniture for houses."

"Well, one way or another, at least they're being put to good use," said Skarloey.

As the number one engine started back down the line to Crovan's Gate, Skarloey had to cross the bridge again.

"I just don't understand," she muttered. "Why do storms have to create such a mess?"

"Mother Nature can be very unpredictable at times," said her driver.

"If we all knew what would happen, these troubles could be… pre-sent-able…"

"I think you were trying to say preventable," said the fireman. "However… I don't think that is quite accurate."

Just then, Beatrice let out a yelp. "Did anyone feel that?"

"Feel what?" called Skarloey. She soon found out what, when she heard loud cracking.

"Stop, driver!" she cried, beginning to panic. The driver quickly slammed on the brakes.

"No, don't stop!" shouted Agnes. "Get us off as quick as you can!" But Skarloey didn't dare move after stopping; she believed that if she did, regardless of which direction, it would only make things worse.

"Oh, help!" wailed Skarloey, blowing her whistle frantically.

Rheneas, Ruth and Lucy had heard Skarloey's whistle from the other side of the bridge.

"Girls, wait here!" Rheneas shunted the coaches into a siding and dashed off.

"We're coaches," cried Ruth. "We couldn't move if we tried."

"Never mind that!" Lucy retorted. "Skarloey needs help! I hope Rheneas gets there in time." Ruth could only agree.

"Move it, Skarloey!" cried Jemima. "We'll fall!"

"I… I can't!" she wailed. "It'll break faster if I move."

"It'll break still if you don't move," retorted Agnes. "You don't have much of a choice, you know!"

"Skarloey!"

The other engine glanced up to see Rheneas on the other side of the bridge.

"Please, help us," she whimpered. Rheneas' crew had brought a chain with them so they could link the two engines together. Cautiously, the fireman walked on the bridge to put the other end of the chain around Skarloey's front coupling.

"You should be good to go," he said, before walking back to Rheneas. The vermilion tank engine started to slowly back up. The chain tightened, and Skarloey slowly began to move off of the bridge, followed by Agnes, then Jemima, then Beatrice, and last of all, the trucks full of cut up branches and brambles.

Rheneas was just in time. Before everyone knew it, there was an echoing cracking noise, and the middle of the bridge collapsed into the raging river below.

"Th-thank you," stammered Skarloey. "That… was too close…"

"Are you alright?" asked Rheneas as his crew removed the chain between them.

"Y-yes…" she sighed. "I'm sorry I teased you for getting stuck on that bridge yesterday." Skarloey wasn't sure if she should mention that Rheneas could have exploded due to lack of water. The very thought made her shudder.

"And I'm sorry I was making fun of your cab," Rheneas replied. "They are useful for keeping our crews dry. Not to mention safer during work at the quarry."

That evening at the sheds, it seemed as if Mr. Mack shared Rheneas' sentiment.

"You shall be fitted with a cab so that you can perform your duties whatever the weather," he said. "Meanwhile, because of the wooden bridge's collapse, it appears that passenger services past Glennock will have to be taken over by horses until a stone viaduct is built. We may need another engine to help you two out…"

Present

"It was Proteus who arrived to help you two, wasn't it?" asked Peter Sam.

"Indeed it was," smiled Rheneas. "The stone viaduct we use today was completed within months, although Skarloey was scared to cross it at first."

"I was," Skarloey sighed. "But, Rheneas was there to help me. Thanks to him and Proteus, I slowly worked to overcome this fear."

Sir Handel gave a small smile. "I had similar problems after the Mountain Road incident. Duke, Jennings and Alfred were a big help to get me back on track… er, no pun intended."

Duncan hadn't said anything since the story began; he was thankful that he had stalled on the stone viaduct and not the wooden trestle bridge. That was something he didn't want to think about.

"I guess being afraid of heights isn't too far fetched after all," Fred said quietly. "I'm sorry, Sir Handel and Skarloey."

Skarloey smiled. "We're all young once, Fred. And we all learn from our mistakes." The other little engines could not have agreed more.

THE END

Author's Comments

This rewrite was a long time coming, and it's one that Rachel's been excited to get to. The Old Bridge is an episode that I feel gets a pretty bad rap in the fandom, because Skarloey is somehow out of character. I don't really think he was; it doesn't matter how old you are, for a near-death experience like that can be traumatizing. But, on the other hand, some people have pointed out that the episode could work as a flashback story, which I find hard to disagree with. It's just Skarloey and Rheneas who are present, after all. I'd imagine that had Very Old Engines been an entirely flashback-centric book, this would have been the fourth story. And to those of you who are confused about Skarloey being female in the flashback but male in the present, this takes place prior to his coming out as transgender as depicted in Skarloey's Secret from Between the Lines: Set 2.

Upcoming stories:

- The Lorry of the Forest