Dieselisation of the Dock Railway

Written by Jonathan Downs, Rachel Ravens and Zack Wanzer with elements of Old Stuck-Up by Christopher Awdry

Whilst Jimbo's initial breakdown during his trials revealed teething troubles with his design, the benefits of diesel over steam became clear as the technology advanced. Aside from the obvious of diesels being easier to start up in the mornings, they are also cheaper and easier to maintain. In addition to this, diesel locomotives can be safely operated by one person whereas a steam locomotive requires an engineer and stoker (or driver and fireman in the United Kingdom) to operate.

For this reason, diesels were starting to take off in the United States with General Motors' Electro-Motive Division (EMD) making a name for itself in the technology. In late 1949, it was announced that three EMD Model 40 diesel switchers would be coming on trial to the Dock Railway, as had been suggested by Little Owl.

It was on the day of the diesels' arrivals that Porter was waiting at the Railhead for Zob. When the railway tug arrived, there were three engines on board, which Porter correctly assumed were the diesel switchers. They looked quite different from the steam engines as they had no funnels or boilers – just giant bonnets and rear cabs – and all three had four wheels. Zob seemed rather put out – or more so than usual. Frank and Eddie looked put out as well and Porter soon found out why.

"Hmmm," said the first switcher, who was male. "I wasn't expecting something like New York or San Francisco, but… it's adequate, I suppose."

"I think it looks wonderful, No. 1," said another switcher, also male. "Oh, I can't wait to get to work!"

"Of course you would, No. 3," said No. 2; this one was female. "You were built last out of us."

"Hello there," greeted Porter, getting ready to help unload them. "I see you're the new switchers Mr. Lloyd's put on trial."

No. 1 groaned with disgust. "Of course there had to be a steamer on our new line...!"

"I beg your pardon?" asked Porter, sounding a little offended.

"We're a new type of engine that are being built," explained No. 2. "We only require diesel fuel to operate instead of coal and water."

"And anything that uses coal and water is a danger to the environment!" added No. 1 rudely. "The sooner we're rid of you lot, the better!"

"No. 1, that's not nice!" exclaimed No. 3. "We've only just arrived here! I'm sorry about my brother's behavior," he said to Porter.

"Nah, it's water off a duck's back," said Porter as he helped to unload the three switchers. "We've witnessed far worse. Oh, and by the way, my name's Porter. Do you have names?"

"No, just numbers," sighed No. 3. "If we do a good enough job, do you think we'll get names?"

"I'm almost sure of it," smiled Porter. So far, his views on the new diesel switchers were mixed; No. 3 was polite enough, and No. 1 seemed incredibly rude. No. 2, Porter was unsure about at the moment, but at least she wasn't like No. 1.

"No. 1 was like this on the way down," sighed Zob. "Going on how steam was outdated and diesels were the future. Watch your back with him."

"Thanks for the warning," replied Porter as he puffed away with the three diesels in tow.

Soon, the diesels were brought to the sheds where Puffa and Little Owl were waiting.

"Welcome to Bigg City," called Puffa. "I'm Stanley, but everyone calls me Puffa."

"And I'm Little Owl," said the goods engine.

"They call you Puffa?!" laughed No. 1. "I knew steam was outdated, but come on!"

"And who in their right mind would name an engine after a bird?" exclaimed No. 2. "That's the most bird-brained decision I've ever heard of!" She guffawed at her own joke while Puffa and Little Owl glared crossly.

"Shut up, you two!" snapped No. 3, before turning back to the two engines. "I'm sorry about my siblings. They seem to have left their manners back at the workshop we came from!" The other two diesels scoffed at this while the steam engines' glares softened.

"Then they'd better find new ones here," said a stern voice. It was Mr. Lloyd.

"Are you our new manager?" asked No. 3.

"Mr. Frederick Lloyd, at your service," greeted the manager politely, before turning to the other diesels. "Now, you two listen to me. These three engines have given years of valuable service to the railway along with two other engines who used to work here until one of them was killed in the war and the other left for the United Kingdom to help them rebuild. I would advise you to show some respect. Understand?"

"Yes, sir," grumbled No. 2 whilst No. 1 just grunted.

"I hope that was a 'Yes, sir' from you, No. 1," said Mr. Lloyd as he sternly walked away. Clearly, this diesel was going to be difficult.

Soon, the three steam engines were showing the diesels around. Puffa and No. 1 were double-heading a train, but No. 1 was still making rude remarks, and Puffa was doing everything he could to keep level-headed. Then, they saw O.J. with a barge of timber.

"What's this?" sneered No. 1. "A paddle steamer?! Your captain must be mad for a fleet of steam tugs like you."

"I won't have you disrespecting Captain Star like that!" snapped O.J..

"Show some respect!" Puffa exclaimed angrily. "That's O.J., the oldest member of the Star Fleet."

"Ha!" scoffed No. 1. "With an ancient tug like him, they might as well be the 'Falling Stars'."

Moonlight Oceans above, O.J. thought to himself. It's almost like Zeus has come back from the dead.

No. 2 was working with Little Owl at the Logging Camps. Melody was there with Sea Rogue, Warrior, Big Mac and Pisces. Although No. 2 was grumpy, she wasn't impatient and wanted to make sure her loads were secure.

"And you're certain the logs are secured properly?" said No. 2.

"Yes," said a workman. "We check them once."

"Did you double-check?" replied No. 2. The workmen did so and saw that some of the ropes had come loose.

"Make sure you double-check them next time," said No. 2 crossly. "Had Little Owl and I been moving, there would have been an accident."

"We'll keep that in mind," promised the workman.

"She micht nae be th' friendliest engine," sighed Big Mac, "bit she is careful. I'll gie her that."

"Sort of like Zob in a way," said Warrior.

"True," agreed Pisces. "Hopefully with time, she'll soften up a bit."

No. 3 was definitely the friendliest of the three and got along with the tugs who passed by. He was talking to Zebedee and Zip about their past in the Z-Stacks.

"I'm sorry to hear about what happened to Zorran, Zug, Zilly and Captain Zero," No. 3 said sympathetically.

"At least Zorran, Zilly and Captain Zero died heroically," replied Zebedee. "But poor Zug didn't deserve his fate."

"Thank goodness I never met Zak or Zeus though," replied No. 3.

"Yeah, those two were right bullies," agreed Zip.

Then, a thought crossed No. 3. "What was Captain Zero's first name?" he asked.

"Sean," replied Zebedee.

"Well, if it's alright with you," said No. 3, "I'd like to be named after him."

"That would be touching," Zip said with a smile.

For the next few weeks, Sean proved his worth to the railway, and Mr. Lloyd, Puffa, Little Owl, Porter and Zob were impressed with his performance. Although No. 2 was grumpy, she still worked hard. No. 1, on the other hand, proved to be quite troublesome. He would either bump freight cars and damage the loads inside or derail at the points and cause massive delays.

When it came to sleeping in the sheds, No. 1 refused to do so as he did not want to share a shed with the steam engines. Whilst No. 2 was reluctant, she did so to avoid the elements and Sean was more than happy to share a shed with his friends.

One cold frosty night, the engines were heading back to the sheds.

"Come on, No. 1!" called Sean. "It'll be hard for you to start up in the morning if you stay out here all night."

"I'm not going to let those filthy steamers spoil my perfect image!" sneered No. 1.

"I'd rather spoil my image with all that smoke and dust than fail to start up tomorrow," retorted No. 2. "But if you want to start outside, fine. Just don't come crying to us."

With that, No. 2 followed the other engines to the shed whilst No. 1 was left on a siding.

Inside the sheds, the engines were toasty warm. Although No. 2 normally preferred to get some sleep, she couldn't help but feel intrigued by Puffa, Little Owl and Porter's stories and was amazed at how they helped the tugs save Bigg City from the Nazis and the communists.

"Maybe you steam engines aren't so bad after all," she admitted.

"Nice to see you blooming at last, No. 2," said Puffa.

"I know a good name for you," said Little Owl. "Camellia. It's a type of flower that blooms in mid-to-late winter."

"Camellia," said No. 2 thoughtfully. "Why not? It's better than a number."

"Then Camellia it shall be," said Porter. And with that, the five engines went to sleep.

The next morning, the engineers and stokers came to start the engines up for work. When No. 1's engineer tried to start him up, his engine spluttered and stopped. The engineer tried again and again, but each time, No. 1's engine would refuse to work properly. Thick clouds of smoke flew out of his exhausts until his engineer eventually gave up trying.

"It's no good," he groaned. "Your engine's all frozen. That means you'll have to spend the day getting it thawed out."

"Oh dear, Frosty," chuckled Little Owl. "Maybe you should have joined us in the sheds after all." No. 1, now "Frosty", just growled as the other engines laughed at his predicament.

By the end of the day, Frosty's engine was thawed, but he had missed a whole day of work as a result of his hubris.

"You've been a troublesome engine, No. 1," Mr. Lloyd said sternly. "I don't like troublesome engines on my railway. You'll go to the workshops as soon as I can arrange it."

"Anything's better than working with those outdated kettles," Frosty muttered to himself as Mr. Lloyd prepared to head for home. However, fate had other plans in store…

Mr. Lloyd was on his way home and was driving carefully to the risk of ice on the roads. However, another driver was running late with his delivery and was driving too fast. It proved to be a big mistake with the road. By the time he and Mr. Lloyd saw each other, it was too late.

CRASH!

The engines awoke ready for the day's work, but were surprised to see Thomas Star coming to their yard.

"Oh, hello, Officer Star," said Little Owl in surprise. "What brings you here this morning?"

"Hello, Little Owl, engines," said Thomas solemnly. "I'm afraid I have some bad news. Mr. Lloyd was involved in a car crash last night."

"WHAT?!" the engines cried in shock.

"Is he alright?" asked Puffa worriedly.

"He was taken to hospital," explained Thomas, "but his injuries were too severe. He was pronounced dead on arrival."

The engines fell silent at this. Mr. Lloyd was gone.

News of Mr. Lloyd's death spread around Bigg City Port. I was briefing my tugs about it.

"Poor Mr. Lloyd," sighed Moonlight. "He was such a good man."

"Indeed," agreed Zob. "He will be sadly missed."

"It's the engines Ah'm worried about," said Sunshine. "They don't have a controller anymore."

"Don't worry, Sunshine," assured Ten Cents. "They'll find a new one."

"For now," said Venus, "we'd better give the engines our utmost support during their mourning period."

"A funeral service for him will be held next week at the Railhead," I said.

The following week, we all gathered at the Railhead to pay our respects to Mr. Lloyd.

"I hope your journey to the Great Railway was a smooth one, sir," called Puffa.

"I'm really going to miss him," sobbed Little Owl. "I know Mr. Lloyd was often frustrated with me for that grudge I held towards the Z-Stacks, but things improved after I let go of it."

"Poor Henney would be heartbroken if she knew what's happened," sighed Porter. "After all, she and Mr. Lloyd were really close."

"Hopefully he is reunited with Top Hat and Kirke," said Zob solemnly. We all had to agree.

Once the funeral service was over, Puffa took the funeral train to Uptown where Mr. Lloyd was buried.

Shortly after the funeral, a new manager for the Dock Railway was appointed. His name was Martin Hobbs, and he was, what I would call, a bean counter. In other words, he mostly cared about money and wanted to cut costs down. Since the end of the Second World War, the roads had improved and over time, many businesses found it cheaper to transport their goods via trucks instead of using the railway. That, combined with Kirke's death and Henney moving over to the United Kingdom, had caused the railway's profits to dip.

Mr. Hobbs knew that steam engines like Puffa, Little Owl and Porter were very expensive to maintain, whereas diesels like Frosty, Camellia and Sean were cheaper to maintain and run. To that end, he made a decision that would change the dock railway forever…

"We're being withdrawn?!" Puffa, Little Owl and Porter exclaimed in shock.

"But why, sir?" asked Sean. "These three have run the railway efficiently for years."

"Mr. Lloyd would never approve of this," agreed Camellia.

"I'm afraid that times are changing," replied Mr. Hobbs. "The roads have become more competitive, and we have to keep ahead of the competition."

"Maybe you should persuade Captain Star to dieselize his fleet," said Frosty with a smirk.

"Only if he wants to," said Mr. Hobbs. "Maybe if he sees how efficiently this railway will run, he'll decide to do so, but for now, the railway alone will be dieselized. To that end, two EMD GP7s are being built to replace the steam engines. That will be all." With that, Mr. Hobbs walked away. Zob, Frank and Eddie had overheard everything.

"This isn't good," gasped Frank. "Puffa, Little Owl and Porter could end up being scrapped!"

"We can't let that happen!" agreed Eddie.

"No indeed," replied Zob. "I'll speak to Captain Star about this, and hopefully, he will find the three steam engines a new home."

Later, Zob returned to the Star Dock and told me what had happened. I nearly dropped my megaphone in shock.

"But those three have given years of valuable service to Mr. Lloyd!" I said, trying to recompose myself. "He wouldn't have let this happen."

"I agree," sighed Zob, "but Mr. Hobbs only cares about money and saw the steam engines as too expensive to run. Do you think you can find them a new home?"

"Well, I could contact the Indian Valley Railroad where Tillie works," I suggested. "They might have some work for them."

"Good idea, Captain Star," replied Zob.

A week or two later, Zob, Frank and Eddie arrived at the Railhead with the two new GP7 diesels in tow. Like the three EMD Model 40s, they didn't have names, just numbers – No. 4 and No. 5.

"Why on earth did that Mr. Lloyd keep such filthy, out-of-date objects?" sneered No. 4. "Dirty slow things. Ugh! If you ask me, steam engines should be kept strictly in their place and not allowed on the main line without special permission."

"Oh, shut up, No. 4!" snapped No. 5. "You know full well I don't like the idea of replacing steam engines!"

"We must!" insisted No. 4.

"Finally, someone who agrees with me," replied Frosty as he helped the two diesels off Frank and Eddie.

Meanwhile, Captain Lucky and I came to see the three steam engines.

"I've contacted the Indian Valley Railroad," I said, "but due to financial difficulties, they can only afford to buy two of you."

"That means one of you will have to stay behind," said Captain Lucky.

"I'll stay," said Porter.

"What?!" gasped Puffa.

"Porter, you can't…" began Little Owl.

"I know," sighed Porter. "But Puffa, you're a rare design, and Little Owl, it's no secret you and Tillie got on well during her time here."

"I understand," I replied. "I'll let the Indian Valley Railroad know about this."

A week later, Puffa and Little Owl were bought by the Indian Valley Railroad and everyone came to see them off. Whilst we were glad that the two engines were safe, it was still a sad day, knowing that we had to say goodbye to two of Bigg City Port's most well-known residents.

"Ah'm really goin' to miss you two," said Sunshine, trying to fight back tears.

"This railway won't be the same without you, Puffa and Little Owl," agreed Zip.

"We're sorry about this," said Sean. "I wish we hadn't come to the Dock Railway now."

"Don't say that," said Little Owl. "It was Mr. Hobbs' decision, and we must comply."

"Just promise us you'll keep the railway going through the hard times," said Puffa.

"We'll try," promised No. 5, a small tear coming from her eye.

"And don't worry, Porter," called Little Owl. "I'm sure the IVRR will come back for you once their financial situation has improved."

"Thank you, you two," called Porter. "I'll keep the faith."

Then, Zob gave a blast of his hooter and took the two engines to the main line railhead where an engine from the IVRR would be waiting to take Puffa and Little Owl to their new home.

"Well, goodbye, everyone," called Puffa.

"Farewell, you two," Hercules called back.

"May the rails guide you two safely to your home," called Venus.

"Take care, you two," said O.J..

The next day, Zob was at the Railhead where he saw No. 5 looking distressed.

"Porter's gone," she sobbed.

"What?!" gasped the railway tug.

"We think some scrap thieves broke in during the middle of the night and took him away," sighed Camellia. Sean came up alongside.

"I can't find him up the line," he said sadly.

News of Porter's disappearance and possible death spread around Bigg City Port.

"He was a good engine…" sobbed Sunshine.

"W-why couldn't the Indian Valley Railroad save them all?" Ten Cents said, his voice all shaky.

"They tried, m'dears…" sighed Hercules. "They sure did try…"

"At least he's reunited with Kirke, Mr. Lloyd and Top Hat now…" agreed Zob, who then looked up at the sky. "Welcome him into the Great Railway…"

A private memorial was held for Porter at Lucky's Yard where everyone shared their memories of him.

"Do you remember when we frightened Zak off by pretending to be ghosts?" laughed Penny.

"Oh, yes," chuckled Ariel. "Porter then went in and rescued Little Owl."

"He was such a good brother towards Henney as well," said Zip.

Both Frosty and No. 4 were pleased at Porter's disappearance.

"That's better," said No. 4. "How can an engine rest with all that hissing and clanking?"

"Now all we need is for all the captains in Bigg City to replace the steam tugs and we're on easy street," said Frosty. But both diesels wouldn't be smug for long.

Later that day, Frosty was shunting some fuel tankers, but he stopped too roughly and some oil spilled onto the tracks.

"Uh-oh," gulped Frosty. "I'd better hide the tankers before I'm caught."

So Frosty scurried away before he was seen, unaware that the oil had spilt near the sheds. No. 4 came back and demanded to be cleaned before his next train. The cleaning equipment was inside the sheds.

"If I'm going to impress the passengers," he said proudly, "I must look my best."

So No. 4 scuttled forward quickly. However, he failed to notice the spilt oil on the tracks, and when he tried to stop, he couldn't.

"Ohhh, bouncing bogies!" he wailed. "I'm slipping!" No. 4's wheels locked and he shut his eyes in horror. He didn't come to a stop until…

CRASH!

No. 4 wasn't too badly damaged, but a terrible draft came through the hole in the shed wall.

"So much for trying to prove yourself, Crash!" smirked Camellia. "Crash" just rolled his eyes and grunted.

When Mr. Hobbs heard what had happened, Frosty's driver came clean about the oil. Mr. Hobbs then spoke sternly to the two diesels.

"It's going to cost money to repair the sheds," he said sternly. "There's proving yourselves to everyone in Bigg City, and then there's showing off! I will not tolerate dangerous behavior on the railway, so you two will be demoted to maintenance work – indefinitely!"

Frosty and Crash gulped at this.

The news soon spread to the other engines.

"Serves those two right," Camellia smirked at Sean and No. 5.

"Crash, that suits him down to the rails," agreed Sean. Then he glanced over at a flower box, which had marigolds growing from it. "Say," he said to No. 5, "you still don't have a name. How would 'Marigold' suit you?"

"I like that," said No. 5 happily.

From that point forward, Marigold became the main passenger engine with Camellia handling the goods work and Sean handling the switching duties at the Railhead. Frosty and Crash were only ever used for maintenance work where the workmen would keep an eye on them. Both diesels were miserable and felt degraded, but considering their attitudes, I think they deserved their punishments, don't you?

With Sean's help, Marigold soon befriended the tugs and whilst Camellia was still grumpy, she cooperated with them.

The tugs never forgot Porter though, and kept in touch with Puffa and Little Owl. Whilst both engines were saddened to learn about Porter's disappearance, they were both glad that Sean, Camellia and Marigold were keeping the railway running. I'm pleased to say both Puffa and Little Owl still work on the Indian Valley Railroad to this day with the former helping with the goods work whilst the latter assisted Tillie with switching duties.

I'm also pleased to say Mr. Hobbs decided to let me, Captain Lucky and Captain Salvage run our fleets as we saw fit. Of course, another fleet of tugs was about to come to Bigg City, but I mustn't say anymore or I'll spoil the next story.

The End

Arthur's notes: Yet another game changer in this series. The Dockside Railway has now lost it's beloved steam engines. And as a foregone conclusion, Porter is alive and ends up on Sodor. Just how this happens... it will be revealed in another story.

Join us next time as the tugs have New Rivals? on the horizon... maybe?