Railhead
Written by Jonathan Downs, Rachel Ravens and Zack Wanzer
With elements of "Thomas, Percy and The Coal" by Christopher Awdry
I've always considered tugboats to be the backbone of harbors, ports and waterways, but railroads have proven just as important for the mass transportation of goods to and from the harbour. The Bigg City Dock Railway was no exception as it served the dockyards of Bigg City Port as well as Mittsville and Uptown for any passenger who wished to travel to Bigg City. The most important part of the line, however, was the Railhead, which was located by the Coal Yard and Fire Dock. Puffa and Little Owl would shunt their freight cars here, which are then transferred onto Frank and Eddie for either Top Hat or Zob to take away for transfer to other parts of the ports. A long sloping piece of track spans from the small bridge in the Canal and ends at the end of the dock strip. There is also a small yard with several sidings where trucks can be arranged.
Puffa and Little Owl were hard workers, but there was more than enough work for the two engines. The line's manager, Mr. Lloyd, had promised that other engines would be found to help them. It took a long time, but at last, he was able to secure three engines from the Brooklyn East District Terminal in New York. On this day, Top Hat was at the main line railhead with Frank and Eddie to meet the new arrivals. Presently, he heard a whistle and a freight train arrived at the railhead, hauled by a jolly looking Pennsylvania Railroad K4 with the number 612.
"Howdy!" said the K4. "Hank's the name, haulin' trains is my game! Is this the main line railhead?"
"It is indeed, old chap," replied Top Hat. "You must be here to deliver the Dock Railway's recruits."
"Yup," replied Hank. "These fine little engines are just behind me."
Top Hat looked at the new engines. They were saddle tank engines with six wheels and three domes on their boilers. All three were painted black with the letters B.E.D.T. on their tanks. Each had different numbers – eleven, twelve and thirteen.
"Ah! H.K. Porter engines!" he said. "I must say, Mr. Lloyd's made an excellent choice."
"I'll take that as a compliment," smiled the engine with the No. 12. "My name's Porter, by the way, after the works that built me and my siblings, Henney and Kirke. Those are the other two engines behind me."
"Hello," said Henney, who was No. 13. "I… I don't particularly like conflict…"
"I see," said Top Hat. "Then allow me to warn you that my fleet, the Star Tugs, are in a rivalry with the Z-Stacks. My rival is a former Pennsylvania Railroad tug named Zob. He's a grumpy tug, but very hard-working and professional in his work."
"Zob's from the Pennsylvania Railroad too, you say?" asked Hank. "That's interesting. There was a tug owned by us – USS Pennsylvania Railroad No. 9. It was loaned by the military between 1917 and 1919 for the war effort, and returned to us in '19. I've not heard much of him since then, but I don't recall the name Zob."
"How peculiar," replied Top Hat. "Oh, where are my manners? My name's Top Hat."
"I can see that, 'Hat Stand'," Kirke said cheekily – he was No. 11.
"I beg your pardon?!" Top Hat spluttered indignantly.
Henney bit her lip.
"Kirke! Don't be so rude!" Porter said sternly. "Look, you've upset Henney now."
"Perhaps we'd better get these three unloaded before anything else happens," said Hank.
Hmm, Hank doesn't recall the name Zob? Top Hat thought to himself. Surely, Zob can't be lying. Captain Zero said he'd bought him from the PRR. So why can't Hank recall the name?
Soon, Porter, Henney and Kirke were on board Frank and Eddie, and Top Hat set off across the harbour. They passed Zorran, Zebedee and Zip, who were trying to remove Little Ditcher from the Duchess' berth.
"Nice work, dummy," Zorran snapped to Zip. "You just had to get Little Ditcher stuck in an ocean liner's berth, didn't you?"
"Well, the Duchess isn't here right now," said Zip. "And we didn't get the contract for her, so… not a huge problem, right?"
"We might've gotten fined for this if the Duchess was here!"
"Not that it stopped you and Zak from pushing Sunshine–"
"Shut it, Zebedee!"
"Getting an A-Frame stuck in an ocean liner's berth!" laughed Kirke. "That's not very clever now, isn't it?"
"Kirke, that's enough!" said Porter, but the No. 11 saddle tank wouldn't listen.
"Hey! How many Z-Stacks does it take to fit a lightbulb?" asked Kirke. "It doesn't matter – the lightbulb would shatter anyway!"
"What?!" snapped Zorran. "Why you…!" But, in trying to get Kirke, the line between him and Little Ditcher became taught.
"Ouch!" yelped Little Ditcher. "Can't you loosen the line, Zorran?"
"I'm trying, I'm trying!" he grunted, but it was easier said than done.
Kirke just laughed at this whilst Zorran seethed in fury.
"Kirke, please, that wasn't very nice…" sobbed Henney.
"Shh, easy, sis…" whispered Porter. "Those two will work it out…"
"Make that two excellent choices," muttered Top Hat; he had a feeling that Kirke was going to be troublesome.
Puffa and Little Owl were at the Coal Yard Railhead with Mr. Lloyd and were awaiting the new arrivals. Zob was also there, collecting some coal. At last, they heard Top Hat's whistle.
"Special delivery for Mr. Lloyd!" Frank and Eddie called.
"Puffa, Little Owl," Mr. Lloyd said proudly, "I would like to introduce our newest editions. Say hello to Porter, Henney and Kirke."
"Hello, you three," Little Owl said cheerfully. "Welcome to Bigg City Port!"
"And I am Zob," said the Z-Stack's railway tug.
"Oh, another Zero idiot!" snarked Kirke. This earned a glare from Zob; Top Hat, who had respect for his rival, also glared at Kirke.
"Finally, someone who agrees with me about the Z-Stacks," said Little Owl. Puffa just rolled his eyes.
"It's been nearly two years, Little Owl," he said, "and you still won't let go of this stupid grudge."
"May I ask what happened?" asked Porter.
"It happened weeks before I arrived," said Zob, "but one of my colleagues, Zak, was stupid enough to crash a steel rig into a railway bridge, which collapsed just before Little Owl approached."
"Fortunately, Lord Stinker had a brilliant idea for me to push him under the rail so he could catch her," said Top Hat. "It worked brilliantly, hence why Little Owl is still in operation."
"I've said it before, and I'll say it a–"
"That will do, Kirke!" Porter said sternly.
"That Kirke is a real pain in the bunker," said Zob.
"Yes, he also annoyed me and Zorran as well," said Top Hat.
"Has he always been like this?" asked Puffa.
"Yes," sighed Henney. "He often liked to wind other engines and tugs up and was very disobedient on the B.E.D.T.."
"Oh dear," sighed Mr. Lloyd. "Something tells me I'm going to have one of Captain Zero's angry tears moments later."
"What do you mean, 'angry tears moments'?" asked Porter.
"I'll explain later," said Puffa as he and Little Owl went to move the three B.E.D.T. engines off the car floats.
Once Porter, Henney and Kirke were on the rails and had taken on coal and water, Puffa and Little Owl set to work, showing them the ropes.
"Be careful when you enter the siding with the water column," warned Puffa. "Those buffer sops don't look very safe. Mr. Lloyd's been meaning to replace them for ages, but other issues took priority."
"Understood," replied Porter. "By the way, what's with that boarded up tunnel?"
"Oh, that was an underwater tunnel from when the line was first built," explained Little Owl. "However, it proved problematic due to the smoke and steam from our chimneys. When Captain Star bought Top Hat, it was decided to close the tunnel and use car floats instead as that system had proven successful in New York."
"Of course," said Porter. "We saw plenty of those back in Brooklyn."
"Are the engines in Brooklyn saddle tank engines like you?" asked Little Owl.
"Goodness, no!" chucked Porter. "Henney, Kirke and I were just three out of five engines on the B.E.D.T.. The three engines that have replaced us there are side tank engines like you and Puffa."
"I don't mean to worry you guys," said Henney nervously, "but…"
"Don't tell me, I can see," groaned Porter as he noticed Kirke being reckless with his shunting and taking the sidings too fast.
"Take it easy, Kirke!" called Puffa worriedly. "If you go too fast, you're bound to derail."
"Hey!" retorted Kirke. "I managed just fine in Brooklyn."
"Emphasis on 'just'," grunted Porter. "Puffa's right. You've got to be more careful."
But, Kirke wasn't one to listen to instructions.
Later that day, Henney and Little Owl were double heading the mail train. Then, after passing through Mittsville and coming towards an open stretch of line, Little Owl heard some weeping from behind her.
"Henney, what's wrong?" she asked. "Why are you crying?"
"This stretch of line…" sobbed Henney. "It's so beautiful!"
"You never got any of that in Brooklyn?" asked Little Owl.
"No, we only ever worked in the dockyards," replied Henney.
"Maybe I can ask Mr. Lloyd to let you out more so you can see the world beyond Bigg City Port," said Little Owl.
"Thank you, Little Owl," Henney said gratefully.
Back at the Railhead, Porter was sorting out Puffa's next train for Mittsville. Kirke had just shunted some freight cars full of coal into a siding. Zob was also there, having dropped some freight cars from the Jersey Central Line and they were going to be part of Puffa's train.
"Your tank's running low," said Kirke's engineer. "We'd better fill up in that siding over there."
"You're going to have to wait," said Porter. "These freight cars are being troublesome."
But Kirke didn't want to wait. Everytime he tried to move forward, his engineer would stop and reverse him. At last, Porter was done.
"Finally!" said Kirke as he charged forward towards the siding. But the water column was on the same siding with the unsafe buffer stops that Puffa had warned him, Porter and Henney.
Suddenly, Kirke found he couldn't stop. The buffer stops didn't stop him either.
"Whoa!" cried Kirke as the buffer stops collapsed. "Help!" With a loud clatter and a crash, Kirke found himself wheel deep in coal.
"I warned him," groaned Puffa, "but he wouldn't listen."
"And he said us Z-Stacks were Zero idiots," snarked Zob.
"Well, if that's the case, then Kirke must be -100!" Porter said crossly. Kirke just blushed in embarrassment.
Later, Porter brought the rail crane to rescue Kirke. Mr. Lloyd was on board and had some stern words for him.
"You're a very naughty engine, Kirke!" he said sternly. "Engines should never charge quickly into sidings! That is how accidents like this happen! When you're cleaned and mended, you will be on maintenance trains for a month!"
"I'm s-sorry, sir," said Kirke sadly.
The damage was only minor, so Kirke was soon back in service and put on maintenance trains. The other engines, Mr. Lloyd, Top Hat and Zob were still cross with him for his carelessness. Kirke felt really low.
One afternoon, he was resting in a siding where he saw a woman come up towards him. It was Captain Lucky who had just come from a business meeting with Mr. Lloyd.
"Hello," she said.
"Hello," said Kirke sadly.
"My word, dearie, you look like you've been withdrawn," said Captain Lucky.
"I might as well be," sighed Kirke. "I caused enough trouble for Mr. Lloyd, and on my first day."
"What happened?" asked Captain Lucky. Kirke explained what had happened and Captain Lucky had an idea.
"I think you think you need something to talk to," she said. "I'll have a word with Mr. Lloyd and see if we can arrange a counseling session for you," she said.
"Err… okay," said Kirke.
"Do you expect me to take that troublemaker to Lucky's?" Top Hat asked indignantly.
"Now, come on, Top Hat," I said. "Captain Lucky wants to help Kirke and there aren't any rails to Lucky's."
"Then Zob should do it," replied Top Hat. "I have no interest in…"
"TOP HAT!" I thundered, losing my patience. "Let me remind you that you are still on thin ice after your cowardly behaviour on the night of the munitions incident and your rude remarks towards Jimbo! You should know full well by now that I absolutely hate arguing with you!"
"Oh, very well," sighed Top Hat, unwilling to risk further angering me. "I'll collect one of the car floats and take Kirke to Lucky's."
"Good," I said.
Later, Top Hat brought Kirke on Eddie to Lucky's Yard where Captain Lucky was waiting.
"Thank you for bringing him, Top Hat," she said. Then, she sat down in her chair and looked at Kirke.
"So, Kirke," she asked as Top Hat left, "where would you like to begin?"
"Well," said Kirke, "it was often busy at the Brooklyn District Eastern Terminal; very rarely was ever a time to rest. I would see tugboats come in and out of the harbour. Some were friendly, but there were those who would boast about their superiority and would brag that they were more powerful than us little toy engines."
"I see," said Captain Lucky, writing that down. "Is it possible that your attitude derives from your anger towards them?"
"Yeah, I suppose it is," said Kirke. "I thought that I could wind up the tugboats, it would serve them right, and the reason I might have been rushing about was to try and keep up with the workload."
"Well, why don't we explore this further and come up with ways you can improve yourself," suggested Captain Lucky.
After an hour or so, the session was finished. Top Hat got ready to take Kirke back to the Railhead.
"Thank you, Captain Lucky," said Kirke. "You've given a lot to think about."
"Glad to have helped, dearie," smiled Captain Lucky.
On the way back, Kirke looked at Top Hat.
"Hey, listen, Top Hat," he said. "I'm sorry I was so rude to you."
Top Hat was surprised. He hadn't expected this apology this soon.
"Oh, well… thank you, Kirke," he said.
Top Hat and Kirke came across Zorran, Zebedee and Zip.
"Er… sorry, everyone…" he said quietly.
"Oh… erhm… I suppose it's alright…" Zebedee replied.
"Yeah," Zip blinked in surprise. "It's fine…"
"I guess…" Zorran added. "Though if Captain Zero finds out, you're on thin rails, you hear?"
"Crystal clear, Zorran."
Soon, they arrived at the Railhead, where Zob was.
"Sorry, Zob."
"Hold up, you are?" Zob asked in surprise. "Erh… okay. That's alright."
Soon, Eddie was docked at the Railhead and Puffa headed Kirke off.
"Listen, Puffa," said Kirke. "I'm…"
But Puffa left without a word. Kirke sighed. He knew it was going to take more than just words to regain the other engines' trust.
The next afternoon, Puffa was heading back to port with a train from Uptown when he felt thirsty.
"I need a drink, please!" he said to his engineer. When the engineer tried to turn on the injector, nothing happened.
"We've got a problem!" he said, putting on the brakes. "Your injector's failed. I'd better get the conductor to run back to Mittsville and call for help."
Kirke was up at the Railhead when he saw Mr. Lloyd running up towards him.
"Puffa's injector has failed," he explained. "They've dampened the fire but he needs to get home. Can you come and help please?"
"Err… sure," said Kirke, setting off to the rescue.
Puffa was surprised when he saw Kirke coming up towards him.
"Don't worry, mate," Kirke said as he was coupled up. "We'll get you back to Bigg City." Once everything was ready, the conductor blew his whistle and Kirke set off. It was hard work pulling such a heavy train, but Kirke wouldn't give up. Puffa was impressed.
"Well done, Kirke!" he called. "Keep it up!"
"I will," panted Kirke. "I won't… stop…"
At last, with one final puff, Kirke managed to get Puffa and his train back to the Railhead. Little Owl, Porter, Henney, Mr. Lloyd, Top Hat and Zob cheered for him.
"Thank you, Kirke," said Puffa. "I'm sorry I didn't give you the chance to apologise last night…"
"No, Puffa," interrupted Kirke. "I'm sorry for being so silly and not listening to your advice, and Mr. Lloyd, I'm sorry for being so troublesome on my first day."
"Well, you've more than made for it with your actions today," said Mr. Lloyd proudly. "As a reward, I've decided to lift your punishment early."
"Thank you sir," said Kirke. "I promise I'll behave myself from now on."
Kirke was as good as his word. Ever since that day, he and Porter would do the shunting work at the Railhead, which freed up Puffa, Little Owl and Henney to run trains along the line. Now, Kirke still had a tendency to be snarky because he was that sort of engine, but he was much more obedient and took greater care in the sidings.
Little Owl even spoke to Mr. Lloyd who arranged a passenger service for Henney.
"Oh, wow…" she smiled. "This is just wonderful." She saw the Star switchers working in the canal. "Good morning!"
"Welcome to Bigg City," Ten Cents and Sunshine called.
Porter and Puffa became the father figures to the other engines and the three new engines soon became friends with the tugs of Bigg City, except for Zak and Zeus, of course. Porter, Henney and Kirke were soon given new liveries – viridian with yellow stripes and the letters B.C.D.R. and new numbers on their cabs – Porter was three, Henney four and Kirke five. All five engines were happy together for many years and they all made Mr. Lloyd proud. That was until… but I mustn't say anymore, or I will spoil a very future story.
The End
Arthur's notes: Surprise! Hank and Porter from Thomas and Friends appeared here, thus sort of making this series a crossover. Porter also has two siblings based on some engines from Thomas and Friends: Engines Near and Far. There's the sweet and sensitive Henney, and the more snarky and boastful Kirke. Kirke's snarky remarks were slightly based on an old draft for the episode Sunshine. And there's a nod to Thomas, Percy and the Coal.
Next time, we get to see how Hercules the ex-Navy ocean going tug joined the Star Fleet. I'm pretty excited for that one and the next two stories to come.
