A/N: Greetings, All! I hope you all had a good new year! To start off the new year for me I'm going to do something I have never done before: a remake of an episode from the early CGI era! Yeah, this is going to suck. But sit back, relax, and enjoy!

Chapter 42: Charlie

Summer had arrived on the Island of Sodor, and with it came visitors to the island. All of the lines on Sodor were swamped with passengers wanting to see the sights. Yards were backed up as a result, leaving Gordon, James, and Henry to fetch their own trains, as the other engine drivers were too busy on their own lines. They didn't like this one bit.

"I know that Sir Topham Hatt is trying his best," Gordon said one evening, "But with all of this extra work we have, I'm not sure if we will be able to keep up with the timetable. We hardly get any rest."

Henry and James agreed, however they all knew that it would do them no good to complain and continued with their work.

The next night, Sir Topham Hatt called a meeting of all of his drivers at the sheds.

"Now I know that we are all feeling overwhelmed with the extra work," he began, "And I appreciate you all for doing your best to cope. I have hired a new engine driver to handle shunting in the yard. He shall arrive in a week's time. I hope that you all will make him feel welcome."

Everybody smiled at this and agreed to give him the best welcome they could.

A week later Thomas was called to the main station. When he got there he found a purple saddletank engine on a siding. In its cab was an unfamiliar man speaking to Sir Topham Hatt.

"Ah, Thomas," Sir Topham Hatt said as Thomas approached, "This is Charlie. He shall be driving this fine engine. He still young, but I believe that under your tutelage he shall become a fine driver indeed."

"Oh, thank you sir," Thomas beamed proudly. He had never gotten a chance to mentor a driver before, and he wanted to make a good impression. He walked over to him and held out his hand, which Charlie shook. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Charlie."

"Thank you," Charlie said, "But the honor's all mine. I've heard all about you and your friends, but I never thought I'd get the chance to work with you. You're my hero."

Thomas just blushed.

"We best get to work," Thomas said, "The express is due soon, and we need to get Gordon's coaches to platform one.

"Do you always take them there?" Charlie asked curiously.

"Unless there's a special due, then yes," Thomas said.

"But that's boring!" Charlie whined, "How about instead we shunt them to platform 3? Just to play a little trick on Gordon."

Thomas just sighed. He could see that Charlie was still a little kid at heart, and still wasn't quite used to the adult world.

"It may be boring," Thomas said, "But that's just how we do things. Sir Topham Hatt would not be pleased with us."

Charlie let the matter go, and they got the coaches to the platform right on time.

"Thanks you two," Gordon called before he left, "Keep up the good work!"

I'm sorry to say that the day did not go much better for Thomas. Charlie didn't seem to understand what he tried to teach him, and wanted to shunt the trucks and coaches his way. Thomas managed to get him to do it the proper way, but he could tell that Charlie was getting unhappy with him.

Later in the afternoon a shunter came up to the two as they were finishing up lunch.

"There's a train of supplies going to Maron on platform 4," he told them, "But everybody else is busy. Could you two take it, please?"

"Of course," said Thomas. The journey went well, with Charlie not trying to make things "more fun" as he put it. However, the peace did not last. Just as they reached the top of Gordon's Hill, Charlie opened the throttle to 100%.

"What are you doing!" Thomas cried.

"Seeing how fast this baby can go," Charlie said.

"But that's dangerous!" Thomas said, "At this speed we'll derail as soon as we reach the bottom!"

"Don't be such a worry wart, Thomas;" said Charlie, "I'm sure we'll be fine. Just relax."

But Thomas would not and immediately applied the brakes. But it was too late, and as he predicted the engine went off the rails and tipped over. The trucks followed suit, spilling their loads everywhere.

Sir Topham Hatt soon came with Edward and the Breakdown train.

"Thomas!" he shouted, scaring the man, "I trust you to train Charlie, and I come to find out that you two went sledding? I never would've expected this from you."

Charlie felt awful for what he had done and spoke up.

"Please sir, it wasn't Thomas's fault, sir," he said, "I was the one who wanted to go fast. Thomas tried to slow us down. Truth is, sir, Thomas has been the voice of reason all day. I've wanted to mix things up for fun, but he tried to make me see reason, but I wouldn't. Don't blame Thomas for my mistake.

Sir Topham Hatt pondered what Charlie had said for a minute.

"Thank you for owing up, Charlie," he said at last, "But I cannot allow such behavior to exist on my railway. However I am a reasonable man, so I shall allow you to have a second chance. For now I shall put you under the guidance of Edward."

He then turned to Thomas.

"I'm sorry for believing you were responsible for this mess," he told him, "As a reward for your hard work, you can the next two days off. You deserve it."

With that he walked away.

"I'm sorry I haven't listened to you, Thomas," he said.

"It's alright, Charlie," Thomas assured him, "I know you'll be a great engine driver one say."

Charlie smiled happily.

"Besides, you're not the only one to mess up during their early days," Thomas went on, "Let me tell you some of my stories."

And so Charlie listened to his stories all night.