Chapter 71: Special Funnel

Although some time has passed since Peter Sam's accident at the slate quarry, his engine had not been fixed fully, while most of its broken parts had either been fixed or replaced, the funnel remained loose and wobbly. They could not fix it, and there were not any spares, so they had to wait for a new funnel to arrive from the mainland. Although Mr. Hugh, the railway's chief engineer, had cleared it for work, Peter Sam was still worried. The funnel would wobble about in the cold winter wind, and he was afraid that it would fall off.

"I wish the new funnel for my engine would hurry up and get here," he moaned to his co-workers, "Mr. Percival said that it will be something special.

"You and your special funnel," they all laughed. They liked Peter Sam, but they did like teasing him about his constant worrying.

The weather got worse over time. Rain had come, causing the streams to overflow and threatened to wash the line away. Rusty worked hard, ferrying workmen up and down the line to clear fallen branches and allow the water to flow away.

One day, Mr. Hugh came to Rusty with bad news.

"There's been a washout near the tunnel," he told Rusty, "The trackbed has been swept away."

"Oh dear," Rusty said, "We must get there straight away."

The work took a long time. Time went by, and the air got colder, but the work continued. At last, in the middle of February, they were finished.

Peter Sam took the first train over the new bridge. He was enjoying himself immensely, and for once wasn't worrying about the funnel. But his luck was about to run out.

Soon, they approached a tunnel. It was short and dark. Peter Sam could hardly see a thing. Then-

"There's something on the roof!" Peter Sam cried.

CLUNK!

When they reached the other side, Peter Sam inspected the damage.

"Oh, for pete's sake!" Peter Sam cried. Whatever hit them had knocked his engine's funnel right off. Beatrice came up holding an icicle.

"This is what hit us," she told him.

"Never mind that," Peter Sam moaned, "How are we going to continue without a funnel? It's too dangerous without something to control the steam."

"I'm afraid we don't have much choice," said Beatrice, "We'll just have to drive carefully until we reach the next station to call for a replacement."

Begrudgingly, Peter Sam continued. He was more worried than ever now. Soon, they rounded a bend. Peter Sam had just passed it when Beatrice applied the brakes. He got out and walked back to see her standing near a small ditch.

"What seems the matter?" he asked her.

"I've found the answer to our problem," she said, turning around to reveal a drain pipe in her hands. Peter Sam was indignant.

"Have you gone mad?" He huffed, "Everybody will laugh at me."

"I'm afraid it's our only choice," Beatrice said, "As you said yourself, it's dangerous to drive an engine without a funnel. It'll at least let us control the smoke, and we won't have to waste time waiting for someone to take over for us."

Realizing that Beatrice was right, Peter Sam reluctantly agreed. They got some rope and tied the pipe to the engine, and set off. The journey became easier, but Peter Sam was still embarrassed.

Later that night, Peter Sam drove his engine into the yards. The other engine drivers thought it was funny, and Sir Handel even sang a song about it.

Peter Sam said again and again,

His engine's new funnel would put ours to shame.

He went into a tunnel,

And lost the old funnel.

Now the famous new funnels a drain.

Everybody laughed, but Peter Sam thought they were just being silly.

A few days later, the new funnel finally arrived. Mr. Percival presented it proudly.

"Oh dear," Peter Sam said sadly, "Someone's squashed it."

Mr. Percival laughed.

"Don't worry, Peter Sam," he said, "This funnel is something special indeed. Just you wait and see."

There were special pipes in the new funnel, making the engine's puffing much easier. Peter Sam found that he had a much better time driving his engine.

"She runs like she's just been built," he laughed. Even Sir Handel was impressed.

"It's like he doesn't even have to try," he said to Skarloey.

None of the other engine drivers make fun of the engine's new funnel now. They wished their engine's had funnels just like it.