Chapter 141: Bluebells of Englanfd

Douglas was resting in the break room when Percy walked in, humming a little tune to himself.

"The Bluebells are coming, a ho a ho.

The Bluebells are coming, a ho."

Douglas sighed wearily.

"Ooch aye, Percy. If you must sing, can you at least sing in tune? Or at least get the lyrics right. The song ye be singing is about campbells."

"Well mine is about Bluebells."

"Well then you're daft. Flowers cant come, they're planted in the ground to grow."

This made Percy cross as he sat down across from Douglas.

"My song isn't daft."

"It is. Singing about silly flowers. Now, the Bluebells of Scottland, on the other hand..."

"The Bluebells of England aren't flowers. They're engines, a whole fleet of them actually. And one of them will be coming next month with their

controller. Sir Topham Hatt told us last week, weren't you listening?"

Douglas blushed sheepishly.

"I um, was sick."

Percy rolled his eyes.

"Well, let me fill you in on the basics. Im sorry to say that steam engine drivers aren't safe on the Other Railways. Their comtrollers don't care much

for them and they...give them the sack, leaving them without jobs. Throw their engines onto cold sidings and give them pink slips. Next, their out on the street, no work and no place to call home."

Douglas's face fell.

"Aye. If I hadn't left with Donnie, the same would've happened to me. We're lucky Sir Topham Hatt has such a kind heart."

His face then contorted into an angry scowl.

"Its the fault of those diesels! Swanking into the yards, boasting about how smart and strong their engines are and how out of date ours are. They're devils, the whole

lot of them."

This made Percy upset.

"Now that's not true! Some of them are actually really nice. There's Boco, Mavis, Daisy, Salty, Rusty..."

Douglas sighed, knowing Percy had a point.

"Yer right, Percy. I've just had bad experiences with Diesels before. But back to the topic at hand, what is this business with Bluebells?"

"The Bluebell Railway is a group of rail enthusiasts who want to save steam engines. They even have a special place in England just for them. They bring in old engines,

give them new lives, all the coal and water they need, and give the out of work men new jobs. Its like a trip to the past."

Douglas smiled at this.

"Oh, that does sound nice."

"Sir Topham Hatt says the first engine they ever saved was an engine named Stepney. That's the one who will be visiting us. Oddly enough, the driver has the same

name."

"That's all well and good, but what about yon diesel drivers? Surely they'll be out to get him."

"I was worried about that too, but Sir Topham Hatt has reassured us that they'll never get him. 'Stepney can outsmart any of them,' he said. Besides, there's not much they can do anyway. The engine belongs to the Bluebell Railway, and anyone that dares try and scrap it will have to answer to the police."

Douglas laughed heartedly.

"He's a brave lad, then. Preserved or not, it takes guts to fight one's way through Diesel country to reach Sodor. He has my respect."

Just then, the wall clock chimed 1:00 PM, and Douglas got up.

"I'd love to stay and chat, Percy, but my lunch hours over. I'll see you later."

"By Douglas. Tell everyone on The Little Western I said hello."

"Aye, will do."

And with that, Douglas left, leaving Percy to his excitement.

A/N: And done! Hope you guys liked it. I kept debating on if I wanted to do this story, Rusty to The Rescue, or some combination of the three to kickstart the Stepney

arc. Eventually I settled on this because I just couldn't make the other two work no matter how hard I tried. Also, I know the story ends with Stepney arriving on Sodor, but I decided to move that to the next story to keep with the TV Series. See you guys next time!