Chapter 93: Grandpuff
One night, the engine drivers on The Skarloey Railway were sitting in their common house before bed, sharing stories of their work day. Duncan was grumbling about his day.
"All I did was take slate trains to and from the quarry," he grumbled, "Back and forth, back and forth, I'm sick of it!"
"You should be glad you have a stable job," Sir Handel said, "Not everyone can say that."
"Indeed," said Peter Sam, "If it hadn't been for Mr. Percival, our engines would've been scrapped, and we wouldn't have a job."
"You know, you two never talk about what life was like on The Mid Sodor Railway. Do you mind telling us?"
Sir Handel and Peter Sam looked upset.
"Oh, I didn't mean to-"
"No, no it's fine Skarloey. It's just a bit of a hard topic for us, but you would've found out eventually. You ready, Peter Sam?"
"Ready."
And this is the story they told.
(Flashback)
Many years ago, when Sir Handel was called Falcon and Peter Sam was called Stuart, they worked on a little line in the heart of Sodor. They worked with a man named Daniel Jones, given the nickname Duke because he was good friends with The Duke of Sodor. He was older than the two, in his mid-forties, but they were all good friends. Although they did get tired of Duke's stories about his grace.
Many engine drivers came and went on The Mid Sodor Railway, but Duke outlasted them all. Whenever he saw Falcon and Stuart messing about, he would say:
"That would never suit his grace."
Stuart and Falcon liked to tease Duke. They would often call him Grandpuff, as they thought the smoke from his pipe looked like that of a steam engine. And whenever they saw him they would chant:
"Engine drivers come and go, but Grandpuff will live forever."
Eventually, Duke lost his patience.
"Impertinent scallywags," he muttered, "Whatever are you young ones coming too?"
"Never you mind, Grandpuff," they teased, "We're only young once."
"Well you'd better mind, unless you want to end up like Smudger."
"Who's Smudger?"
"Smudger drove our number 2 engine and was a showoff. He drove far to roughly and often came off the rails. I warned him to be careful, but he took no notice."
"Listen, Dukie," he snarled, "Who worries about a few spills?"
"We do here," I would say, but he would just laugh.
But one day The Manager got fed up with his behavior and told him he'd make him useful at last. Smudger stopped laughing then.
"Why, wh-what'd he do?"
"He turned the engine into a pumping engine and sent it and Smudger to work in the mines. They still work down there to this day. His engine will never move again."
Stuart and Falcon remained quiet for several days. They didn't make fun of Duke anymore.
The three engine drivers enjoyed many good years of working together, but the railway would soon fall on hard times. Goods traffic was on the decline, and less and less passengers came to the railway.
One day, all three of them were working at last open mine when an alarm sounded.
"The pumping engine broke," said the foreman, "The mine is flooding. Everyone evacuate, quickly!"
All three of the engine drivers began to evacuate, but Duke's engine wasn't as fast as the other two. Falcon rushed back to help him.
"Save yourself!" Duke called, "I'll be fine."
"I won't leave you!"
But before Sir Handel could reach him, the flood rushed out of the mine, sweeping Duke, his engine, and several trucks far away. Falcon barely escaped.
"NOOOOOO! Duke!"
But it was too late. Duke was never seen again.
(End flashback)
All of the other engine drivers looked on in horror. Sir Handel finished the rest of the story.
"After that, the railway stood no chance of remaining open. We struggled on for another month, but eventually we had no chance but to close. The two of us were lucky to be hired by The Skarloey Railway."
He looked down sadly. "It should've been three. If I had just gotten to him sooner-"
"Then you would've been swept away as well. Duke wouldn't want you to beat yourself up over this. He'd be happy to know that you've found a new home."
Sir Handel smiled.
"Thanks, Skarloey."
"Hey, I just thought of something," Rusty chimed in, "Why did you guys change your names?"
Sir Handel and Peter Sam just laughed.
"We didn't. Sir Handel and Peter Sam are our real names. Falcon and Stuart were just nicknames Duke would call us. Payback for calling him Grandpuff, I guess."
"Can you please tell us more about your life on The Mid Sodor Railway?" Rheneas asked.
"I think we should all get some rest," Skarloey piped up, "We've got a long day tomorrow."
"But we'll be happy to share more stories later," said Peter Sam.
And with that, everyone went to bed, the story still fresh in their mind.