NEW CRANE ON THE DOCK

Based upon the episode by Lee Pressman

The harbor at Arlesburgh was busier than ever. Since the discovery of Captain Calles' lost ship and treasure, more and more tourists flocked to see the new additions. More ships were also sailing into port with cargo. This left the engines of the Little Western and the Harwick branch lines being busier than ever; even Daisy was being requested to occasionally take trucks behind her on her passenger runs, and she was quite vocal about her opinions on the arrangement.

"Trucks! Someone of my caliber being forced to pull trucks?!" she screeched. "The shame of it all! My poor springs will be quite worn out!"

"Cranky can't handle all of the extra cargo on his own at Brendam docks," explained Ryan. "That's why some of the ships have been sent down here instead."

"But what about that hammerhead crane next to him?" Daisy commented. "What was it called again - Big Mickey? Why can't that be of any use in this situation instead of just sitting around for decoration?"

"Rumor has it that they're relocating Big Mickey back to Knapford harbor," explained Duck. "On my way up to Brendam I saw workmen laying down some very wide rails next to Cranky."

"Whatever for?" asked Ryan. "None of us are big enough for that kind of rails."

"Perhaps they're adding a gantry crane to give Cranky a hand with the extra work," suggested Oliver. "Gantry cranes are rather large and given their own rails. That way, they can move back and forth with their loads for easier loading and unloading for the right train or ship."

"But why is Brendam getting this new crane and not us?" whined Daisy.

"I don't need her to help me out with loading and unloading!" protested Cranky. "I've managed just fine by myself for years!"

"What about when Kevin arrived to assist ye?" suggested Salty.

"That was different," argued Cranky. "He was a smaller crane that could move about the ground on his own."

The "her" Cranky was referring to was in fact the new crane. She was painted bright yellow with dark blue railings and stairs, black hazard stripes on her superstructure and base, and the name Carly painted on her sides in dark blue.

"'Ey up, chucks!" she greeted, rolling along her special rail towards the others. "I've just finished unloadin' that ship."

"We really appreciate you helping us out, Carly," said Porter.

"Though you didn't have to be so reckless while doing it," grumbled Cranky.

"Reckless?" asked Carly. "'Ow was I bein' reckless?"

"Swinging your load about while moving on that track," argued Cranky. "You could have accidentally dropped a crate on something or someone."

"You mean like the time you intentionally dropped a crate on Percy when you were new here?" chuckled Porter. He'd heard about how difficult Cranky had been during his own first days on the docks.

"Aye, matey," Salty agreed. "Or what of the time you were in such a foul temper and demolished a building with pipes, trapping me, Bill and Ben with ye?"

"Cranky really did all those things?" asked Carly, both interested and amused. Cranky merely blushed in embarrassment and turned away.

But despite his earlier insistence that Carly was reckless, Cranky was secretly a little jealous; he thought Carly had managed her duties much better than he did on his first day, and was afraid that Sir Topham Hatt would decide to make Brendam her permanent home while he was sent away elsewhere.

"I can't let that newbie show me up," Cranky said to himself. "I'll soon show her who the real top crane is."

Before long, more ships began arriving at Brendam docks.

"Weigh anchor, me hearties!" called Salty. "We're being boarded from all sides!"

"Looks like we've more work to do," called Carly. "Try and keep up, Cranky." She meant this as a friendly tease, but Cranky took it as a challenge.

"Oh, I'll be keeping up, alright," Cranky muttered darkly to himself. "Just stay out of my way."

From there, the two cranes began unloading the ships that were brought into port as well as loading them with goods delivered by the engines. Trying to outdo Carly, Cranky began hauling two loads at a time instead of just one.

"What are ya doin' with two loads at once, Cranky?" asked Carly.

"Just trying to help get the work done faster," insisted Cranky.

Interested in trying this out, Carly too started picking up two loads at a time.

"What's going on with Cranky?" asked Percy. "He's never usually like this."

"Seems like there be a storm a-brewin', me lad," said Salty. "Ever since Carly came on board, Cranky's acted like he's got barnacles in his winch."

Before long, the two cranes had turned their job into an all-out race over who could load and unload the best.

"This is starting to get out of hand," Porter was saying to Salty. "I've barely any time to arrange the trucks into their proper places, and these two cranes don't seem to be stopping any time soon."

"Aye, matey," agreed Salty. "This jealousy battle reminds me of a story. A long time ago, there lived a two-headed sea monster. One head enjoyed eating ships, while the other wanted to enjoy some of the fish that roamed the waters. The two heads could hardly get along about what to eat first, until they finally came to an agreement to work together, eating one at a time."

"So it would seem that Cranky and Carly so far are like the two-headed sea monster in your story," Edward realized.

"That they be," agreed Salty. "And if they don't stop their fightin' soon, they'll both be walkin' the plank."

Back above, Carly and Cranky were now becoming careless with their lifting as well, practically throwing their loads onto trucks or ships.

"Oi! Careful!" called one of the ship's crewmates. "Some of those crates have fragile cargo!"

But the cranes didn't hear this. They were so caught up with trying to outdo each other that they weren't even paying attention to some of their cargo spilling out of their grips.

"Hey, watch it!" cried Porter as another crate flew past his smokebox. "A second later, and that would've hit me!"

Unfortunately for everyone, it was at that moment when Sir Topham Hatt drove up in his car, just in time to see Cranky and Carly's hooks become tangled, causing the surrounding engines to become covered with fish!

"Now look at what you've done!" snapped Cranky.

"What I've done?" argued Carly. "This mess is your fault for being careless!"

"THAT IS ENOUGH!" boomed Sir Topham Hatt through a megaphone. Both cranes fell silent, and then looked down to see the controller looking up crossly at them.

"What is the meaning of all this?!" Sir Topham Hatt continued. "I had hoped that you two cranes could have worked well together in keeping the docks organized, and when I arrive, I instead find the whole yard in a chaotic mess! You have both caused a serious amount of confusion and delay!"

Carly felt ashamed. Her first few days on Sodor, and she'd already made a mess of everything. But Cranky felt worse; he knew the whole mess was his fault, and he had to own up.

"I'm sorry, sir," he apologized. "It was my fault this happened. Carly was doing a great job helping us out with these ships and… I got jealous of her. I was afraid that she was doing so well that you'd want to keep Carly here at Brendam and have me relocated to another part of the Island. So I was trying to outperform Carly to prove that I still had what it took to stay at the docks."

"Don't be silly, Cranky," laughed Sir Topham Hatt. "There's no way I would ever replace anyone on my railway, whether it be engine, coach or crane. Carly was stationed here as part of a trial to see how she could handle work at the docks. Once I could see how well she manages, I'd have her relocated to help at Arlesburgh harbor."

"I guess I'm just as guilty of this as you are," admitted Carly. "I was so excited about starting a new life on Sodor that I got carried away with my jobs and accidentally made you feel threatened. I'm sorry if I scared you, Cranky. I was just trying to be really useful."

"And I'm sorry I let my jealousy cause all this," added Cranky. He then realized the situation they were still in. "Er, little help. please?"

"I've got this," volunteered a workman, and he began to untangle the two cranes' hooks. Before long, Carly and Cranky were free.

The two cranes then wasted no time in helping to clear up the mess they had made with their silly feud. While Carly handled some of the broken crates, Cranky took over on the spilled pipes. Before long, the docks were shipshape once again. And for the next few days, Cranky and Carly worked happily together without any further trouble.

Eventually, the day came for Carly to leave Brendam for Arlesburgh.

"Does she really have to go, sir?" asked Cranky disappointedly. "I've actually gotten used to having Carly around."

"I"m sorry, Cranky," Sir Topham Hatt apologized, "but Carly is needed to help with the increased traffic at Arlesburgh."

"Cheer up, matey," insisted Salty. "You two can still communicate with letters like pen pals."

"Ooh, I like that, Salty," smiled Carly. "Though I'm not sure if people can read hook-writing."

"Might be a bit of a problem with that," chuckled Cranky, laughing along with the others.

Carly now works hard at Arlesburgh, helping to keep the dockyard in shape and make sure that ships and trains head out on time. Thanks to her, the engines no longer had to deal with so many goods trains coming in unannounced, something that made Daisy very happy.

"Now this is how you run a railway," she purred.

"Should any of us mention that the only reason she's not pulling trucks anymore is because the ships coming in have calmed down?" Ryan asked Duck.

"Might not want to spoil her good mood," the Great Western engine winked. The two friends laughed and set back to work. Carly, meanwhile, was talking with Skiff. The little railboat was telling her about some of his adventures.

"...so I wriggled myself upright as best as I could," Skiff was saying, "and then I used my sail as a warning flag to stop Duck and Oliver from crashing into the tree."

"My, oh my," Carly admired. "Talk about quick thinkin'. I'll bet everyone on this railway's had an adventure of their own."

"You can say that again," agreed Skiff. "You never know what's coming just around the bend for ya."

Carly smiled as she carried on with her work. She just couldn't wait for an adventure of her own.

THE END

Author's Comments

It's been a while since I'd done a rewrite away from series 13-16. This one tackles one of the weaker episodes out of series 21, New Crane on the Dock. It was originally going to be a mashup with Cranky at the End of the Line because... why bother dealing with the situation in two episodes when just one will suffice? And that's not even mentioning how Big Mickey received a face and a speaking role... only to do nothing of value afterward. At least Butch and Henrietta contributed something when they gained faces. So I very much reduced Big Mickey to a voiceless character, and no, there will not be a TUGS crossover for my headcanon. Another decision I made was to transfer Carly to Arlesburgh because Brendam was already pretty over-populated, even without Big Mickey, and Carly's presence would make it even more so. With the expansion to Harwick on the west coast of Sodor, it seemed pretty reasonable to me. Arlesburgh's already got an interesting bunch of characters, so it would be nice to see how Carly interacts with them in the near future.

In addition, this rewrite is part of a smaller project of mine in which I write up new stories to fill up series 21 to the usual 26 episode count. (Yes, I know a few episodes from series 22-24 were planned for series 21, but I've already rewritten Confusion Without Delay for The International Railway Series, and there's no point in going back on what I've already finished based upon recent information.) Among the stories part of my expanded series 21 are Oliver's Lobster Surprise, Rosie and the Runaway Horse, Philip and the Troublesome Twins and Sir Handel Spoils the Washing, and I've even thrown in An Engine of Many Colors into the mix, which has so far expanded series 21 to twenty episodes. I've decided to retcon Emily in the Middle out of my headcanon (although some ideas will not go unused) and will be rewriting The Big Freeze, as well as writing up five new stories; two being RWS adaptations, two being magazine adaptations, and the last of them being a new story. Look out for those in the future.