Edward proved to be more of a help on the Peel Godred's construction than 87546 ever was: he worked with the workmen instead of at his own pace and before long, they had reached Kirk Machan two full weeks earlier than anticipated, on the 10th of May. There, a surprise awaited him.

"My lord! I've never seen engines so, uh…" Edward trailed off, unsure how to talk to the narrow gauge purple tank engine standing next to him at the station that was already there, for it had a face on the rear end!

"Don't vorry, friend," chuckled the engine in a Swiss accent. "You're not zee firscht vun to be schtartled by zee fact I haff two faces. Oh, vare are my manners? My name is Culdee."

"Edward," the K2 said.

"So nice to meet you, Edvard," Culdee replied. "Zis here is my coach, Casserin." He was referring to the semi-open coach in front of him, painted orange with cream upper panelling and a grey roof.

"How long have you been on this island?" Edward asked.

"Since 1900, ven zee railvay opened," Culdee answered. "I'm actually named after zee mountain zis railvay climbs, Culdee Fell."

"You climb a mountain? How?"

"Take a look at zee rails I'm on: see anysink unusual?"

Edward did so, and noticed a strange, black thing in between them.

"Yes: some kind of black thing I can't describe."

"Zat, Edvard," explained Culdee, "is a rack rail. My veels haff teess zat allow me to grip it as I go up."

"And you push your coach instead of pulling her?" Edward asked.

"Much safer zat vay," said Culdee. "Casserine and her guard keep a good lookout for me as I climb to zee summit. Vee aren't coupled to each usser: inschtead, an electric cable is run between me and Casserin, vich enables zee drifer and guard to signal each usser by buzzer. The cable is designed to pull free if vee separate. Not beink coupled prefents her beink dragged down zee mountain if I derail."

"Are you the only engine on your railway?" asked Edward.

"Good heffens, no!" chuckled Culdee. "Zare are sree ussers: Ernescht, number 2, Wilfred, number sree, and our number fife, Schane Dooiney, voo's named after a neighbourink mountain. Each of us has our own coach."

"Don't you have a number one?" asked Eward.

"Vee used to," said Culdee.

"What happened?"

Culdee looked down.

"He died."

"Oh… I'm sorry for your loss. How did he die?"

"He died beink an idiot," Culdee replied. "Vould you like me to tell you how?"

But Culdee's guard blew his whistle before Edward could answer.

"Oh dear, seems I'm due to depart. Neffermind, Edvard: if you schtill vant to know, I'll be back down later."

And with that, Culdee whistled and pushed Catherine out of the station. Edward watched them, amazed.

"I must tell the other engines about this!" he exclaimed.

But when he got back to the yard, that evening, he found Thomas and Gordon getting into an argument.

"Listen, blue bug. You are the one to blame," snorted Gordon. "I told you to fetch my coaches…"

"That's exactly it!" interrupted Thomas. "You said to fetch your coaches, but not which ones!"

"Are you stupid?! You know I always pull the Teaks!" Gordon snapped.

"There are coaches from various railways over here. Maybe I'll give you some Caledonian coaches tomorrow if you keep this up!"

"You do that, I'll push you into the…"

"ENOUGH!"

Edward's voice cut through the argument.

"You two need to give it a rest," he said sternly. "It's been two weeks since Olive crashed, can't you just let this die?"

"I will when Gordon apologises for calling me useless," said Thomas.

"I never called you such a thing!" snapped Gordon. An argument broke out between them again. Edward felt exasperated.

"Well I know I won't be sleeping with a pair of arguing brats," he said. "You need me, I'll be at Kirk Machan."

And Edward steamed away, leaving Thomas and Gordon to keep fighting.

When the K2 arrived at Kirk Machan, three more purple engines were shedded next to Culdee in the Culdee Fell's engine shed. Edward puffed onto a siding that the workmen had laid for trucks and blew his whistle.

"Oh, Edvard, you're back already!" said Culdee. "See you lot? Zis is zee schtandard gauge engine I vas tellink you all about."

"I take it these are Ernest, Wilfred, and Shane Dooiney?" Edward asked.

"Ja," answered one of the other engines: since he couldn't see his nameplates, Edward couldn't tell who it was. "So, vat brinks you down here?"

"Well, uh…"

"Vilfred."

"Well Wilfred, two of my fellow engines, Thomas and Gordon, had gotten into a tussle when I returned," said Edward. "Honestly, it felt better to sleep here than with them."

"You aren't tryink to afoid zee problem are you?" asked Culdee.

"Maybe," admitted Edward. "I just wanted to get some sleep."

"Zat's underschtandable," said a third engine. "I mean, nobody really likes beink up all night."

"Oh, yeah, I just remembered: Culdee, I forgot to ask: how do you make sure you don't roll down the mountain too fast?"

"All of us are equipped vis automatic brakes," Culdee answered. "Vee go ofer 5 miles per hour, zey juscht slip on."

"Automatic brakes, very clever!" admired Edward.

"Oh I'm not clefer, and neisser are my siblinks: vee vere all built to climb schteep slopes."

"Also, could you tell me how your number one died?"

"Ah, yes, zat's right: I promised I'd tell you zat next time vee met," said Culdee.

"Vye does he vant to know? Godred vas an idiot, but vee owe due to zee dead," said a fourth engine.

"Now calm down, Schane," said Culdee. "Zee more ussers know about Godred, zee more he vill be remembered. After all, nobody vants to be forgotten."

"Godred? Do you mean…King Orry?" asked Edward, confused.

"Partly," admitted Culdee, "for you see, Edvard, our number vun vas named after him. I suspect zat went to his smokebox and made him zee arrogant engine he vas."

(Flashback, 1900)

Instead of keeping a good lookout, he'd roll down the line looking at anything but the track.

"You need to be more careful, Godred: you keep zis up, you'll haff an accident," I warned.

"Pooh!" he snorted. "I've got automatic brakes, haven't I? And driver's got his air brake. What more do you want?"

"More sense from you," I said. "No engine can schtop at vunce if he isn't ready to obey his drifer's controls."

(Flashback cut)

"I remember learning that myself," said Edward gravely. "Indeed, I nearly crashed through some buffers when I threw my crew out of my cab in my young days. First time I learned all engines need drivers."

"Godred nefer learned sense," said Culdee.

(Flashback)

His driver, fireman, and the Manager all spoke to him. When he refused to listen, they went so far as to take him to pieces, hoping the problem was mechanical. But he still went on in the same way.

A month after we opened, I went up the mountain, and stopped at Devil's Back. There, I waited for Godred to pass me. As I waited, so it happened: one moment, he was on the track, the next, his crew jumped clear as he rolled over and went tumbling down the mountain!

Luckily, nobody was hurt. His coach stayed on the rails, and the guard raked her to a halt.

He was brought home the next day. When he was, the manager came to speak to Godred later.

"You, Godred," he said, "have been a very naughty engine: this is what happens when a mountain engine disobeys his driver's controls!"

"I'm sorry sir!" said Godred sadly. "It won't happen again, I promise!"

"You bet it won't," said the manager, "because due to the fact we've just opened, we have no money to mend you. Therefore, you, Godred, will be put in the back of the shed!"

And that is exactly where he went. As time went on, poor Godred became smaller, and smaller, and smaller, until nothing was left."

(Flashback ends)

"He was scrapped?!" asked Edward.

"Not juscht scrapped," said Ernest mournfully. "His parts vere used…to mend zee rescht of us."

Edward could not believe what he had just heard!

"That's…cannibalism…I feel sick…"

Culdee decided to cheer Edward up.

"You know," he said, "vee haffn't seen a schtandard gauge engine up until now. Haff you had any interestink adventures you'd like to schare vis us?

Edward smiled.

"Actually, I think I have plenty," he said. "Many of them involve a friend of mine, Thomas, and his driver, Conan. But before I tell you all, have any of you ever heard of a Water Bond?"

"Can't really say I haff," answered Culdee, and the other Mountain Engines murmured in agreement.

"In that case, what I'm going to tell you must not reach the public," Edward said firmly. "You can tell your crews and your Manager, but keep it out of the public as much as possible." Though confused, the Mountain Engines agreed. "Right, well, a water bond occurs when a person drinks black water and…"

"Black vater?! Are you nuts?!" Shane shouted. "Black vater kills us machines, how can it form bonds?!"

"Well, Shane," said Edward, "humans drinking black water is different: when they drink it, a bond is formed with sentient locomotives. Afterwards, whatever locomotive they bonded with feels what the person feels and vice-versa, and it also tightens their life force together, meaning if one dies, so will the other." Edward gave a sad sigh. "I myself used to have a water bond, until he committed suicide. I don't know how I survived that."

"Sorry for your loss," said Ernest.

"Well, anyway," Edward said. Throughout the night, the K2 told the Mountain Engines all about the adventures Thomas and Conan had shared, from dealing with Rebecca and Fernby to the fight with Boomer.

By the time the sun rose, all the Mountain Engines were staring in amazement.

"Vow! Voo knew an engine could get jealous of a human?" Ernest remarked.

"Unt I'm glad zat Fernby didn't get avay vis his attempt to scrap Thomas," put in Wilfred.

"I can definitely say, Edvard," put in Culdee, "Conan is one lucky guy. Sough I do haff to ask: vat vould happen if Conan and Jewelie had kids? Vould zey inherit zee immortality?"

"I hope not," admitted Edward. "Too many immortals can cause trouble."

Shane Dooiney just snorted,

"I schtill find it hard to belief zis all comes from Black vater," he said. "I mean, zat's vat leads to us dyink, vye does it bond us to people?"

"Zee same sink sat not all fehicles haff faces," Culdee answered. "A question I sink is bescht left unanswered."

It was then that Ernest felt his fire lighting up and realised what time it was.

"My god! Vee've been up all night!" he exclaimed.

"I guess it's true," remarked Wilfred. "Time does fly ven you're hafink fun. Sanks for zee stories, Edvard. I look forvard to talkink to you more."

"Same with me," agreed Edward. The K2 yawned and closed his eyes, spending the rest of the morning in a peaceful sleep.

Meanwhile, at Vicarstown, Gordon and Thomas had already gotten on everyone's nerves. Emily found herself struggling to keep the peace.

"Come on, all of us are tired!" she groaned. "Please, stop! You've been at it all night!"

"I'm leaving," groaned Petunia. "Who comes with me?"

All the engines, barring Thomas and Gordon of course, agreed to do so: anywhere was better than with those two.

By the time Conan arrived to fire up Thomas, he was still arguing with Gordon, if he could call it that: to him, it sounded like they were shouting random gibberish. He tried to speak, but his voice wasn't heard, so he kept trying, until he had enough.

"SHUT UP!" he shouted.

Both stopped arguing.

"Honestly, if this keeps up, I'll have Jewelie put both of you in the goods shed," he growled.

"The goods shed?! How undignified!" shouted Gordon.

"Well, I've heard you from my house," intervened Jewelie. "And yes, I'll send you both to the goods shed or the carriage shed if you don't shut up."

"I'll shut up when he shuts up," snorted Thomas.

"You're the one who needs to shut up, pest," snorted Gordon. "I'm an important engine and…"

"I'm more important than you'll ever be!" interrupted Thomas. And before anybody could stop them, they began arguing again.

Conan and Jewelie shared an aside glance.

"We gotta do something before things get worse," groaned Jewelie.

"Well, yes…but what?" asked Conan.

Jewelie began to think, and both her and Conan interchanged ideas.

"Maybe we can have one do the other's work?" suggested Conan.

"No: Gordon's too large for shunting and Thomas wouldn't get that far with the express."

"Any suggestions, then?"

While they thought, Thomas and Gordon set off to work.

"You see, little blue bugger. I am an express engine, which means YOU have to fetch my coaches. And you HAVE to get the coaches I tell you to," Gordon said.

"Let me think about it…NO! I'll decide what coaches you get, so shove off!"

"Really?! You'd never see ME pulling Caledonian coaches. It wouldn't do. There isn't anything bad in those coaches, but…They belong to the competition."

"THERE'S NO COMPETITION HERE!" And the E2 steamed off.

Gordon began to come up with a plan. He was going to teach Thomas a lesson.

Thomas got the first coaches he saw: ones from his home railway.

"This will show him," he puffed. And he began to shunt until he had a rake of 8 coaches, including a buffet car. Gordon was surprised when he saw the coaches.

"These aren't my teaks!" he shouted. "THOMAS!"

The E2 scampered away before Gordon could find him. Gordon gritted his teeth until one broke, in a very painful way.

"OW!"

His driver looked concerned.

"Everything ok, Gordon?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm fine," groaned Gordon. "I just broke a tooth."

His driver was worried further by that.

"Should I call in another engine?" he asked.

"No, I can still pull this train!" Gordon insisted. "A tooth won't bother me!"

When Gordon found Thomas after he returned, he gave the E2 a bump. It was harder than he intended, however. The E2 flew backwards and smashed through the buffers!

"What was that for?!" demanded Thomas, with a pained look on his face.

"For giving me the wrong coaches and damaging my tooth!" Gordon shouted.

"Clearly you're too lazy to see a dentist if you have tooth problems," said Thomas cheekily. That earned Gordon shoving a truck at him. The next morning, as Gordon was filling up on coal, Thomas made sure coal dust got all over the A0, making his green paint all dirty.

"THOMAS!" roared Gordon, as Conan tried to defuse the situation.

"Let's not get physical here," he said. Unbeknownst to him, this was only the beginning of the plan: Gordon had no time to get cleaned before he departed, which meant he ran to Tidmouth with a dirty paint job. He was cleaned there, but it took so long he was running late and had to hurry to make up for lost time.

Gordon was exhausted when he finally returned to Vicarstown, and rolled slowly into a siding. He closed his eyes and began to snore when suddenly…

"PEEP PEEP!"

Gordon awoke with a start!

"Wake up lazybones, do some hard work for a change! You can't catch me, nah nah nah nah nah!" And Thomas ran off laughing rudely. "Definitely not the best of Sir Bagel Ginsley!"

"IT'S SIR NIGEL GRESLEY!" Gordon roared. That deliberate mispronunciation was the final straw for Gordon: instead of going back to sleep, he began thinking of ways to get back at Thomas.

"That was embarrassing," muttered Conan, some hours later. It was lucky for him the Fat Director had agreed to let him drive other engines while Thomas and Gordon were feuding.

Jewelie sighed, in agreement.

The next morning, Thomas was having trouble waking up: everytime his crew tried to get him to start, his fire would go out and there wasn't enough steam.

"Thomas, you need to wake up," said Emily. "It's nearly time for the Wild Nor Wester to depart: people are waiting to board."

"Five more minutes, mum…" muttered Thomas.

"No, Thomas, you need to go now!" Conan shouted. "Stand aside," he said to the replacement crew. "I'll get him going."

"Good luck with that," muttered the fireman

It took two minutes, but Thomas was fully awoken.

"Wh-what time is it?" he asked.

"Time the express was due to leave," answered Conan. At that moment, Thomas finally started.

"Oh dear, oh dear," he yawned.

"Come on," fumed the coaches, "hurry up!"

Thomas gave them a rude bump and took them to the station.

"Don't stop dawdling, don't stop dawdling," he fussed.

"Where have you been? Where have you been?" asked the coaches crossly.

Gordon was waiting at the station, furious. Then Thomas fussed in.

"Where were you?" he asked. "Hurry up, come on!"

"Hurry up yourself!" snapped Thomas. This gave Gordon an idea.

"Yes," he muttered, "I will." And almost before the coaches had stopped moving, Gordon reversed quickly and was coupled to the train. "Get in quickly, please!" he whistled. The people did so, the clock struck the hour, the signal dropped and the guard waved his green flag

Thomas usually pushed behind heavy trains to help them start, but was always uncoupled before the train started, so that when the train was running nicely, he could stop and go back, but not this time: Gordon had been running late, and the A0 started with such a jerk there was no time to uncouple Thomas! Thomas found out when he tried to slow down, and found himself unable to!

"Help, help! Stop, stop!" he shouted. But Gordon just laughed.

"Come on, keep up!" he laughed, as the train went faster and faster, until it was too fast for Thomas to keep up.

"Stop, stop!" he pleaded.

"Hurry, hurry, hurry!" laughed Gordon.

"You can't get away, you can't get away!" laughed the coaches.

Poor Thomas was going faster than he'd ever gone before. He was out of breath and his wheels hurt him, but he had to go on.

"HENRY!" he called as they raced through Henry's Tunnel.

"THOMAS?!" the Green Engine shouted in surprise.

"I shall never be the same again!" the E2 thought sadly. "My wheels will be quite worn out!"

At last, they stopped at Crovan's Gate, to the surprise of everyone there. They all laughed at the sight of him puffing and panting behind. Thomas was uncoupled, feeling very silly and exhausted.

"Well little Thomas," chuckled Gordon, as Thomas puffed onto the exchange siding, "now you know what hard work is really like, don't you?"

Poor Thomas couldn't answer: he had no more breath. He just stayed where he was to rest and had a long, long drink.

Some time later, he went back home very slowly, and was careful afterwards never to be cheeky to Gordon again.