Oliver And Jock
Oliver is a Great Western engine. He likes working on Duck's branch line with his brake van, Toad. He thinks it is one of the best jobs of the whole railway.
One particular day, Oliver had finished delivering a load of pipes to Knapford yards. He left the flatbeds and took Toad back home. "Nice job, isn't Mr. Oliver?" Toad said. "Of course," smiled Oliver.
However, on the way, Oliver decided to visit a special place on the Island of Sodor. He usually goes there once in a while. He took a train of empty trucks to the destination. Lucky for Oliver that the trucks play no tricks on him. "Luckily, there's no turntable near this line for those devils to push me into," Oliver thought.
"And this track is smooth and flat," Toad said, "So they can't make me the uncontrollable leader." Eventually, Oliver reached his destination, a railway yard hidden in the mountains. On the side stood another railway. Oliver had been to this place once.
"Hello, little engines," Oliver whistled, "I'm here to make a visit." Soon, five engines showed up. Five little engines to be exact. All ran on the narrow railway, much narrower than the Skarloey railway. "Rex! Mike! Bert! Frank! And Jock!" Oliver said, "Nice to see you again.
"Hello again," smiled the five little engines. "Sorry I haven't visited in a while," Oliver said. "No problem," said Rex, "Things are usually quiet around here." "Yep," agreed Mike, "But only if I pull trucks all the time."
"Oh, Mike," smiled Bert, "You're joking, right?" "Wrong," answered Mike. "Never mind him," said Frank, "We're just doing our job." "So how's life going on your railway?" asked Jock.
"Things are going along very well," answered Oliver with a smile. "Uh, Mr. Oliver," Toad said, "These trucks are getting impatient." "Ugh, the little devils," Oliver said, "Hold on a minute." "No problem," said Jock, "I'll load them up for you."
Jock collected a train of hopper trucks full of ballast and shunted one onto the chute. Oliver had shunted his trucks underneath the chute. "Ready!" Oliver and Jock said together.
The ballast had emptied from Jock's trucks into Oliver's trucks. "Thank you," Oliver said to Jock. "No problem," smiled Jock. "Well, I must be off," Oliver said, "See you tomorrow." "All right," replied Jock, "See you then."
With that, Oliver set off for home. On his way, he delivered his train of ballast at a place on Edward's branch line, then he returned home with Toad.
"I wonder where Olver has been all day," Percy said. "Not sure," replied Sara, "But we'll find out one day." "All right," replied Percy. Both tank engines left.
The next morning, Oliver returned to the little railway with another train of empty trucks. "Hello, again," whistled Oliver. Today, he only saw Jock at the main yards. "Sorry," said Jock, "I'm the only one not working today."
"Why are you sorry?" asked Oliver, "I'm glad to see you here now." "Aw, thanks," replied Jock, "I'll be leaving for a job in a few hours, so we can talk until then."
"All right," Oliver said. So the two chatted about what they do during their jobs. They had a good time. So much that one hour had passed. "That was fun," said Jock. "Right," agreed Oliver.
"I should be going now," said Jock, "It's time that I get to work now." "All right," said Oliver, "I should be getting back to my work as well. See you later."
Oliver began to back out of the siding. But then, Jock noticed something. "Oliver, watch out!" Jock shouted, "Stop!" "What?" Oliver replied. He did stop just in time. "Some naughty trucks deliberately blocked your path," Jock explained, "You've nearly ran into them backwards." "Oh," Oliver replied, "Thanks for the warning."
"You're welcome," smiled Jock, "I should be going now. But I should see you out of here first." "All right," said Oliver, "But you should go on to work. I'll figure something out." "If you say so," Jock sighed.
Then he left. 2 hours passed and Oliver remained blocked by the stupid trucks. But suddenly, the trucks moved. "They're moving!" Oliver said. Of course, it was Sara and Percy who shunted the trucks away. "So what's this?" asked Sara. "Another railway," Oliver said. "Oh," Percy said, "So is this like some kind of miniature railway?"
"Yep," smiled Oliver. Then, Jock returned. "I'm back for a minute," said Jock, "I see that you're with some friends." "Yep," smiled Oliver, "Meet Sara, Thomas' sister and Thomas' best friend, Percy."
"Yes," replied Percy. "Sara and Percy moved the troublesome trucks out of the way for me," Oliver explained. "I see," said Jock. "They're good friends," said Oliver, "And you, thank you for warning me." "No problem," smiled Jock. "So, can we be friends?" Percy asked.
"We're already friends," smiled Jock. "Right," agreed Oliver. "I agree," said Sara.
