Loading Grain
Based on the annual story of the same name
Adapted by Jonathan Downs, Rachel Ravens and Zack Wanzer
As you've seen in previous stories, there have been times when the Stars and Z-Stacks worked together. Another regular instance was when grain would be needed to be transported to Delta Queen, and both fleets were also working with engines of the Dock Railway. The engines would collect the grain from inland and carry them inside covered hoppers to a grain dock where it would be loaded via cranes for the tugs to take over to Delta Queen. Up and down they would go along all day, transporting the grain to Delta Queen.
This year, there was a massive load of grain to deliver. The tugs and engines needed some help, so Captain Zero and I came up with a plan.
On the morning of the grain deliveries, both Star and Z-Stacks were gathered at the Star Dock, all except for Zob. Hercules was up the coast, so he wasn't present either.
"Right, Star Fleet and Z-Stacks," I said. "We have an extra delivery of grain to make this year. Captain Zero, Mr. Lloyd and I have had a meeting. Zob is at the main line railhead, collecting three engines who have come to help the engines on the Dock Railway with the grain transportation. We've also arranged for help for you as well. Unfortunately, Sea Rogue, O'Malley and Moonlight are busy with their own work, so we've made alternate arrangements. Captain Zero?"
"We have chartered an ocean-going barge from up the coast to help with the deliveries," said Captain Zero, "and he should be arriving any moment now."
Then, we heard a horn and a large barge rumbled into the dock. His name was Bulstrode and I'm sorry to say he didn't look friendly in the slightest.
"Oh, great!" sneered Bulstrode. "Tugboats! That's the last thing I need!"
"Excuse me?" O.J. said indignantly.
"I don't know why they insist on having you rustbuckets haul barges around instead of just installing barges with motors like I do," Bulstrode said rudely. "Far more efficient if you ask me."
"Yeah, well, no one's asking you, are they?" retorted Ten Cents.
"Alright, that's enough!" I boomed. "Bulstrode, you are to help the tugs with the grain deliveries, not make rude remarks. Now the rest of you, please do your best to avoid any disturbances."
"I'm warning you now, Bulstrode!" snapped Captain Zero. "Any funny business, any at all, and you'll find yourself on the beach as a children's playground! Now all of you, get to work!"
"I shouldn't be doing menial jobs," grumbled Bulstrode. "I should be sailing from port to port, delivering cargo and…"
"Listen here, you!" snapped Zorran. "I don't care whether you're making a delivery to Washington D.C. or not! Every job is important!"
Bulstrode just grunted.
Mr. Lloyd was addressing his engines.
"To help with this year's grain deliveries," he said, "I have loaned three engines from a logging company in Oregon. Zob has been sent to collect them from the railhead and he should be arriving now."
As if on cue, Zob's whistle sounded through the air and the Z-Stacks' railway tug came into dock.
"We're coming through!" said Frank.
"Got some very important deliveries aboard!" said Eddie.
"Yes, yes…" sighed Zob as the three unusual locomotives were starting to be unloaded.
One of them was a black tender engine with a three-truck design, the additional powered truck being beneath a water-carrying tender articulated to the locomotive, and had inclined cylinders which were not to any of the wheels, but rather, a gear situated between the first two trucks. There was a smaller locomotive with four wheels who was also painted black. She had a stovepipe chimney, a wooden cab and what looked like a large wheel in front. The third engine, who was painted turquoise with a gold cowcatcher, was the most unusual, however; they had four driving wheels with four smaller wheels in front and an unusual tender which consisted of two barrels on a bogie. But the most unusual feature was that their cab was at the front.
"Well, helloooo there!" the cab-forward engine said cheerfully. "I'm Alexandria from the Pine Hollow Lumber Company in Oregon, but you can call me Lexi."
"Hello, Lexi, I'm Puffa," said the Dock Railway's No.1. "These are Little Owl, Porter, Henney and Kirke. I take it you three are logging engines."
"Eeyup," replied the three-trucked engine. "All three of us are from Pine Hollow. Ah'm Placido, by the way. Ah'm a Climax Class C."
"And my name's Maeve," said the smaller engine. "I'm a gypsy locomotive. Now, my 'wheel' in front is actually a special yarding mechanism. It allows me to haul logs when the gear is engaged."
"Wow!" said Little Owl. "That's really clever! I bet you could haul logs to the top of the hill."
"It would be in 'Top Gear' then," said Maeve with a chuckle. "Get it?"
"One thing to know about Maeve," replied Lexi, "is that she loves to crack jokes whilst Placido's more quiet and reserved."
"Eeyup," replied Placido.
"Lexi loves to change their voice for fun," said Maeve.
"Well, I hope you don't joke around too much," said Porter. "This is a railway yard, not a playground."
"Don't worry," replied Maeve. "We know our limits when it comes to joking and we're always careful."
"That's a relief," said Henney.
"Yeah, the last thing we need is some 'Shake Shake Bridge'," snarked Kirke. The engines had to laugh at the absurdity. Just then, Top Hat arrived with some fuel barges.
"Special delivery for the Dock Railway," he said proudly.
"Looks like our oil's arrived," said Placido.
"Oil?" Little Owl said in surprise. "But you're not diesel-powered!"
"So, why do we use oil?" asked Lexi.
"I take it you get asked that a lot," asked Porter.
"Yeah, can't say I blame anyone for it," said Maeve. "Placido and I are designed to burn wood and oil, whilst Lexi just burns oil."
"Oh yes," said Puffa. "I burn wood too, because there's less risk of sparks flying from our funnels and setting the trains on fire. Very helpful for… munition loads…"
"Er… is something wrong?" asked Lexi.
"Let's just say that there was an incident with munitions that is difficult to talk about," sighed Puffa.
"Oh, that's very dangerous that it happened," agreed Placido. "And it's also dangerous to spark if you work in a forest like we do."
"That's why Top Hat's bought the oil," explained Mr. Lloyd, "so neither engine runs out during the day. Anyway, let's get you three unloaded and we'll set to work."
Soon, the tugs, barge and engines were at work, delivering the grain. Some of the fuel tankers were placed near the grain dock and another set was placed near the granary.
Lexi and Placido helped Puffa, Little Owl and Henney bring the grain into the harbour whilst Porter, Kirke and Maeve shunted the grain into the siding ready for the tugs and Bulstrode to be loaded up.
Delta Queen was moored up by her pier and was waiting for the grain.
There was a lot of rushing about, and the Star Tugs and Z-Stacks were steaming around at top speed, almost running into one another as they hurried about their work.
"Watch out, Sunshine!" called Sally Seaplane as the Star switcher dodged past her, causing her to rock to and fro in her wake.
"Sorry, Sally!" called Sunshine.
"It's alright," she replied.
"O.J., could you come over here?" called Ten Cents. "There's a large consignment of grain waiting in the dock. We have to transport it out to Delta Queen for her to take up the coast."
"Coming, Ten Cents!" replied O.J.. "I'll be right there."
"Wait for me, you two!" called another voice. Zip had gotten another barge full of grain.
"Come on," said Ten Cents. "Let's all go together." The Star switcher looked over at Zip with a smile. Just like old times, he thought.
Zip smiled too. Maybe our friendship won't have to be a secret this time…
The Stars were keeping a suspicious eye on the Z-Stacks, just in case they tried to do something devious. However, so far they seemed to be behaving themselves.
"Mibbie it's because Zak 'n' Zeus ur still dry docked," suggested Big Mac.
"Perhaps so," said Warrior. "Zip and Zug have been helpful to us since the freightliner incident."
"Zebedee and Zob have been open to helpin' us too," said Sunshine. "And Zorran… he's like a whole other tug without Zak and Zeus around."
"Wonder whit that's a' aboot," Big Mac mused to himself.
The engines worked hard as well, and the logging engines got on well with the tugs.
"Big Mac, eh?" said Maeve. "Sounds more like a burger or a fictional horse named after an apple?"
Big Mac let out a chuckle at that remark.
"Funnily enough, Ah made a remark lik' that wance," he said before his face turned serious. "Althoogh this wis while that time O.J. Wis a'maist illegally scrapped."
"What happened?" gasped Maeve.
"Weel, 'twas a trial o' mistaken identity," said Big Mac as he explained what had happened. Maeve never once made a joke about it – to her, scrapping was a serious topic.
"Thank goodness you got there in time," she gasped.
"Aye," said Big Mac. "If Burke 'n' Blair try again, Ah'd sink baith o' thaim."
"Can't say I blame you," said Maeve.
Placido was helping to bank the heavy trains up the hill near the granary. He was about to bank Little Owl up the hill.
"Are you ready back there?" called Little Owl.
"Ready," came the reply. With that, the two engines set off. Little Owl was impressed with Placido's strength. Whilst the Climaxes were not the fastest engines, they were certainly powerful. In no time at all, they reached the top of the hill.
"Thanks, Placido," called Little Owl as he puffed away.
"You're welcome," replied Placido.
Whilst Lexi was getting refueled, she and Ten Cents were having a chat.
"So Zeus got himself quarantined on his first day?" Lexi laughed.
"You should have heard Captain Zero's reaction," said Ten Cents. "I can't repeat what he actually said, but his rant was extremely vulgar. He used every bad word in the English dictionary. When Zeus got back from his quarantine period, Captain Zero threatened to scrap him if he ever did something so stupid again."
"Oh my!" said Lexi. "That Captain Zero sounds unpleasant."
"Yeah," agreed Ten Cents. "I'm glad I work for Captain Star as he's more of a fatherly figure to us. But the gold medal of kindness goes to Captain Lucky."
Ten Cents told Lexi about the times Captain Lucky gave the tugs some consoling over their traumatic experiences, particularly the incidents with the munitions fire and the White Fleet's presence.
"What a sweet captain," said Lexi. "I'd love to meet her someday."
Ten Cents chuckled. "Maybe she can visit on a day off."
Back at the loading dock, Bulstrode was getting impatient.
"Come on! Come on!" he snapped. "Why haven't I been loaded already?"
"I can only do one bucket load at a time," replied the crane operator sternly.
"P-please be patient," said Henney, biting her lip.
"And what would a kettle like you know?"
"We certainly don't need a bully like you!" snapped Maeve.
Bulstrode just growled as he was finally loaded and left for Delta Queen.
"Sorry about that," said Maeve, looking over at Henney who was being comforted by Porter.
"It's not your fault, Maeve," sighed Porter. "It's that Bulstrode. He's going to land himself in trouble with that attitude."
"Those engines Mr. Lloyd loaned are certainly proving their worth," said Delta Queen.
"They sure are," agreed Zebedee. "Shame I can't say the same about Bulstrode."
"Oh, I agree," said Delta Queen. "With those dangerous speeds he's going, it's a miracle that he's not had an accident yet. Not to mention his rude behaviour."
"You know, Delta," said Zebedee quietly, "this year has been… eye opening for me."
"Yeah?" she said.
"When Zak and Zeus were dry docked… Zorran has been unusually kind to the rest of us Z-Stacks," he went on. "Whenever we'd help the Stars, he promised not to tell Captain Zero. And he hasn't. And helping the Stars has felt… good."
"Well," smiled Delta, "it could be the beginning of the end of the Stars and Z-Stacks rivalry."
"Who knows?" said Zebedee. "If it does happen, I don't think I'd mind too much."
"I think I agree, Zebedee," said Zug, pulling up. "I remember when I was trapped Up River with most of the Stars. Sunshine… she was so kind to me. And O.J. came up with that idea of the battering ram. Big Mac and Top Hat weren't half bad during that incident either." He sighed. "I wish I hadn't interfered with Ten Cents and Zip's friendship back then."
"Well, no time like the present to heal things," said Zebedee. "Come on, let's get back to work before Zero has our boilers for this."
"Right, Zebedee."
By the afternoon, the engines and tugs had nearly finished. Warrior, Bulstrode, Big Mac and Ten Cents were waiting to take the last loads of grain. Zorran was at the front and his barge was being loaded, but Bulstrode was impatient and wanted to be next, so he shoved into Warrior.
"Hey, stop pushing! Wait until Zorran's finished," Warrior shouted, but the bad-tempered barge took no notice. Bulstrode rumbled up and clipped Warrior on his side, pushing him and Zorran forwards.
"Hey! What are you doing?" snapped Zorran as he swung round. With a crash, the grain which was being loaded into Zorran's barge poured out of the crane bucket, straight onto Warrior, completely smothering him.
"Here! What's going on?" yelled Zorran angrily.
"Are you alright, Warrior?" called the crane operator. "Sorry about that, but I couldn't help it. I'd already released the lever before you moved."
Warrior was choking and spluttering, unable to get his breath.
"Sorry, Zorran," he coughed. "Someone pushed me."
"It's not my fault!" snapped Bulstrode. "You were in the way! I couldn't help it!"
"You were being impatient!" argued Ten Cents.
"Urr ye a'richt, Warrior?" asked Big Mac.
"AH! AH! AH!" gasped Warrior. "I think I'm going to… ATISHOO!"
Warrior gave an enormous sneeze and as he did so, clouds of grain flew off of him and landed all over Bulstrode, who was nearby.
"Hey! Watch it!" snapped Bulstrode.
"Er, sorry, Bulstrode," grinned Warrior, feeling much better. "I couldn't help it!"
"It's nothing to sneeze at, eh, Bulstrode?" laughed Ten Cents.
"Let's bless ourselves no one was hurt," Big Mac added.
"This will blow over soon," Zorran couldn't help but join in. Big Mac, Ten Cents and Warrior stared for a split second before all four tugs burst into laughter. Maybe… the Stars aren't so bad after all…
Soon, Warrior's barge was loaded, but as punishment for being impatient, Bulstrode had to wait his turn whilst Big Mac and Ten Cents got their loads sorted.
At last, it was Bulstrode's turn to be loaded.
"Finally!" snapped Bulstrode as he was loaded up with the last of the grain.
Once the self-propelled barge was ready, he set off at top speed. This would prove to be a big mistake. You see, there was a sharp turn leading from the loading bay, which the tugs had to take carefully; otherwise, they would risk capsizing. The Stars and Z-Stacks knew this and were always careful here. But Bulstrode was impatient and when he turned sharply, it happened.
One moment, he was upright, and the next, he found himself tipping over and his load spilled into the water.
The Stars, Z-Stacks and Delta Queen watched in disbelief.
Soon, Big Mac brought Mighty Mo to lift Bulstrode out of the water. He only had minor damage, but the grain was lost. Captain Zero and I were on Zip's and Sunshine's decks, respectively, and we were both angry with the barge.
"Bulstrode!" Captain Zero thundered. "What in Neptune's name were you thinking?! Taking a sharp turn at dangerous speeds! You could have killed someone with that dangerous stunt! And all because you were impatient! As soon as you're mended, you're going to go straight home and we will not be inviting you back to Bigg City Port ever again!"
Bulstrode gave out a sheepish chuckle.
"Don't you dare be facetious, Bulstrode!" I snapped. "Nothing, absolutely nothing justifies your obnoxious behaviour, which includes your rude remarks towards our tugs! They've proven today that they can bring in the grain safely and without any accidents! You can be sure we'll be writing an unkind report to your owner!"
Bulstrode gulped at this.
"That will teach you to be so high and mighty," Zorran said with a smirk as he towed Bulstrode to Lucky's.
"Well, he was barging into everyone's business," chuckled Sunshine.
"At least we're rid of the argy-bargy now," Zip laughed. I had to admit, even Captain Zero and I exchanged a laugh.
Later, Top Hat came to take Lexi, Placido and Maeve back to the main line railhead.
"Lexi, Placido and Maeve," said Mr. Lloyd, "I would like to thank you three for your help. If I ever need help again, you three will be the first ones I call."
"Thank you, sir," said Lexi. "We'll be ready and waiting to help."
With that, Top Hat set off for the main line railhead.
As for Bulstrode, his owner had to pay a hefty fine for the lost grain and he had some cross words for the barge.
"You will be in dry dock for a month!" he said sternly. "And if it happens again, you will spend the rest of your days on a beach. Is that clear?"
"Yes, sir," muttered Bulstrode.
"Good," said Bulstrode's owner.
"Good luck with those miscreants Zeus and Zak," muttered Zorran, who was watching from nearby.
The last I heard of Bulstrode, he was working on Sodor and whilst he didn't take any careless risks ever again, he was still unpleasant and disagreeable. I have a feeling that he will end up as a children's playground on a beach someday. What do you think?
The End
Arthor's notes: Well, plot twist. Bet you didn't see Bulstrode and Lexi coming into the TUGS part of the series, did you? There's also two OCs, Placido and Maeve, who take up the basis of Bash/Dash and Ferdinand, but are far more pleasant to be around. This story also delves into some slice of life antics with the Stars and the Z-Stacks, as they slowly start to mend the rift between the fleets. That's partly thanks to Zeus and Zak still being dry-docked. Heck, Captain Star and Captain Zero exchange a laugh. Could this be the beginning of a beautiful friendship of both fleets?
Next time, we see things get shaky as the TUGS recover from an Earthquake.