Chapter 55: Edward's Exploit
Some important visitors were taking a tour of the island of Sodor, and had made their way to Edward's Branchline. Edward was to take them to Brendam, where Bill and Ben would take them to the China Clay Pits for a tour. But as he pulled out of the station, he found that his engine had trouble pulling the heavy train. Gordon, James, and Henry watched in amusement.
"Just look out how weak his engine is," Henry laughed.
"He'll never make it out of the station," James agreed.
"Utterly pathetic," said Gordon, "His engine should be preserved before it's too late."
Duck and Boco were horrified.
"Edward's engine might be old," said Duck, "but it's still useful."
"Quite right, Duck," Boco agreed, "Come on Edward, you can do it."
Slowly but surely, Edward struggled out of the station.
Bill and Ben were happy to have visitors, and once the visitors had taken pictures of them and their engines they took them to the Clay pits in a brake van special. They enjoyed their tour, and took so many pictures it made Bill and Ben dizzy.
At last it was time for them to leave, and Bill and Ben took them back to Brendam. By the time Edward had arrived, however, dark clouds began to gather overhead. By the time he had reached the next station, the rain had come bucketing down.
"Oh, dear," Edward said, "This can't be good. The rain will make it even harder to climb that hill."
And he was right. Too make matters worse, the engine's sanding gear jammed, and the guard had to ride in front to drop sand on the rails by hand. Then, just as it looked like they might make it, a loud bang was heard, and the train came to a halt.
They soon found the problem.
"One of the crank pins broke," said Edward, "We'll have to remove the siderod and practically limp to the top station. It won't be easy, but we'll have to manage. Otherwise, these people will miss their boat home."
It took a while to remove the siderods, but the visitors didn't mind all that much. Soon, they started off again. It wasn't easy, but Edward pushed onward. At last, they reached Knapford, tired, late, but triumphant. Sir Topham Hatt was at the platform, and he was not pleased.
"Edward! Do you not realize what time it is!" he snapped. He then turned to the visitors.
"I am sorry for the inconvenience," he said apologetically.
"Are you kidding?" said one of the passengers, "He was rather brave! Even after his engine broke down, he continued onwards without a second thought."
Edward just beamed proudly.
"Hmm, I see," said Sir Topham Hatt, "Very well, Edward. I shall let this slide, since the visitors were not bothered. But I would appreciate it if you did not make a habit out of this."
"Yes, sir," said Edward.
Edward returned to the engine driver's house that night, feeling very pleased with himself. The others had heard of his actions and remained respectively silent.