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The Fowler Twins
Written by BNSF1995
Proofread and Corrected by Broa Island
Hellifield MPD, 1966
If you were to ask what the most scenic line on the entire BR network was, the answer will always be the Settle-Carlisle line. The route, which crosses the remote, scenic regions of the Yorkshire Dales and the North Pennines, runs between Settle Junction, on the Leeds to Morecambe line, and Carlisle, near the English-Scottish borders. The historic line was constructed in the 1870s and has several notable tunnels and viaducts such as the imposing Ribblehead.
On this line, you could once find a pair of non-faceless steam engines. Their names were Tim and Chloe, and they were twins. The last two LMS Fowler 4F locomotives built, they were considered the "mascots" of the S&C. They knew every person and engine along the 73-mile line, and everyone knew them.
Tim and Chloe were built at Derby in 1941 as part of the final batch of 4Fs. Originally numbered 4607 and 4608, they were renumbered 44607 and 44608 at the advent of BR in 1948. To say they led an interesting life up to this point is an understatement. During their trial run, they were pursued by a Junkers Ju 87 Stuka (particularly the B-1 variant with the "Jericho trumpets"). They ran straight into a tunnel and stayed there for at least eight hours before another engine came along and told them the Stuka had been shot down by the RAF.
Throughout the war, they were kept busy on the Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway (SDJR) moving troops and war materiel. Of all the engines on the line, they worked the hardest...perhaps a bit too hard, as they barely slept and could often be found pulling long trains through the night. In many cases, they took trains long before they were due, allowing other engines an extra bit of rest. While the yardmasters and shunters didn't like dealing with constant onslaught of trucks, the twins' shedmaster and controller were very pleased with their work ethic, and every engine in the shed came to like them.
After the war, they remained on the SDJR, before they were sent to their permanent shed at Carlisle Upperby in 1948, assigned to work the Settle-Carlisle line. For 18 years, they were a regular sight on the line from Carlisle to Skipton, pulling passenger and freight trains of all kinds, and often working on the branch line from Garsdale to Hawes. Life, it seemed, couldn't get any better.
Then 1955 came, and with it, the Modernization Plan. Tim and Chloe didn't think much of it at first, and even assisted in building the Kingmoor Marshalling Yard. Diesel started appearing, but again, the twins thought nothing of it, as every diesel they met was friendly. Tim, in particular, took a liking to the MetroVick Type 2s (later Class 28) and English Type 3s (later Class 37), and soon came to like the Sulzer Type 2s (later Class 24) and English Type 4s (later Class 40).
But everything started going wrong in 1959, when the branch line to Hawes was closed. Then, the twins began noticing exactly what was going on: BR didn't care about the S&C. Maintenance was being neglected, mining subsidence was causing speeds to dip, and more and more, diesels were taking more of the work, many of them revealing their true colors as malicious usurpers.
At this point, something snapped in Tim, and he began openly cussing at the diesels, calling them every swear word in the Oxford Dictionary. Chloe tried to stop him, but ultimately found herself doing the same thing. They were finding themselves with less and less duties, until they had come to this point.
Tim and Chloe were sitting in Hellifield MPD, cold, lonely, and miserable. Their controller had just visited, and told them effective immediately they were withdrawn, and were to be scrapped. ALIVE. Tim had lit his fire to run the man over in fury, but the controller held a blowtorch up. All the while, the cruel man was calling them "living reminders of communism", and they knew exactly why. They had heard of the Awdry Leaks, of the atrocities being committed against non-faceless steam locomotives. They just didn't know why they would disobey the law, unaware that Parliament itself was in cahoots with the United Nations, in the largest case of corruption in human history.
It had taken three hours for Chloe to get Tim to stop crying. He had a paralyzing fear of death.
"We're done for, finished!" he wailed, "I'm not ready to die!"
"Tim, please!" said Chloe, frantically, "Don't speak like that! Things look bad, yes, but they also looked bad with that Stuka. And you remember what happened, right?"
"We...survived."
"Exactly, Tim. You and me, we're survivors. If need be, we'll run away to a nice heritage line."
"Oh, you will, will you?" said a smarmy voice. It was an English Type 4, numbered D261 and named Matthew, who was backing into the shed. "No steamie will escape while I'M around!"
"Fuck. Off." said Tim plainly.
"Naughty, naughty!" Matthew taunted, "Such language will never do! You WILL show respect to your better!"
"Why should I show respect to someone who shows none himself?"
"Because I'M the superior engine!"
"WERE." snapped Chloe, "You WERE the superior engine. If I'm not mistaken, though, your class is being demoted from express services by the Brush Type 4 and English Type 5. Too heavy and not enough power compared to those fine specimens."
Matthew was livid! "I am five times better than the Deltics! I am the future of BR! I am the greatest thing that has ever happened to Britain's railways! I-"
"SHUUUUUUUUT UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUP!"
Matthew was silent, as was Chloe. It usually took a lot to rile Tim up, but Matthew had done it in a matter of minutes.
"You're NOT infallible, you're NOT the future, you're FAR from the greatest thing to ever happen to Britain's railways, and you are NOT superior! You think you're a god, but you're as mortal as we! You've already been superseded by more powerful diesels, and someday, another class of diesel will come along and replace you outright! And if you can't comprehend what I'm saying and think I'm a heretic, kindly KILL YOURSELF, YOU BASTARD!"
Matthew was speechless. His mouth hung open and his eyes were wide for a minute or two, before his face became very red.
"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO ME LIKE THAT, YOU IMPUDENT WHELP! I-"
"SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP, YOU IDIOT!"
The shouting match between Tim and Matthew continued until the shedmaster came.
"What's with all this racket?!" he demanded.
"This kettle said he was gonna blow up Ribblehead Viaduct!" Matthew lied. The shedmaster didn't believe him one bit.
"Bullshit!" he spat, "Now, Matthew, I suggest you go collect your next train."
Not wanting to argue, Matthew rumbled away. "This isn't over, communist." he sneered.
"Go die in a fire, you minging tosser!" retorted Tim.
"Ooh, good one!" laughed the shedmaster. He preferred the steam engines over the diesels.
"Thanks for breaking that up, sir." said Chloe gratefully.
"Oh, it's no problem. Those diesels are all the same: rude, egotistical, but Matthew takes it a step further by having a God complex."
By now, Tim had calmed down. "So, why are you here? Do you have work for us?"
"No, but don't worry. You'll have plenty of it soon enough."
"What do you mean?" asked Chloe, "Has BR reversed course on dieselization?"
"Unfortunately, no. But where you're going, they have no plans for widespread dieselization. A request for the transfer of two locomotives came to the regional office earlier today, from the North Western Region. And I've decided that you two will be sent."
"Absolutely not!" came a voice. It was the controller. "These two are to be scrapped alive! No exceptions!"
"You don't control their fates, the shedmasters do!" said the shedmaster.
"You're too soft on these, these...communists! Until steam is abolished on BR, we will continue to look like a railway in the Soviet bloc! The Yanks abolished steam seven years ago, and they are the bastion, the arsenal, of democracy! As long as these two...THINGS continue to exist, so does the threat that Ol' Blighty will fall to communism!"
"That's enough! You know as well as I do that the Steam Holocaust violates every single word of the Living Vehicle Act of-"
"I AM ABOVE THE LAW!"
"Nobody is above the law!"
"Yes. I. AM! Parliament says so! These two, like all other non-faceless steam engines in Britain, have an essence that can be refined!"
"You're gonna MINE US?!" spluttered Chloe.
"Exactly!" replied the controller, looking smugly satisfied with himself. "Think of it as one last test of loyalty to capitalism!"
"THAT IS IT!" snapped Tim, "I AM GOING TO SHUT YOU UP ONCE AND FOR ALL!"
"Wait, wha-"
Before anyone could react, Tim had lit his fire, and violently shot forward. When he stopped, the controller was on the ground, looking up in fear.
"DO YOU GIVE?!"
"Y-y-y-yes…" whimpered the controller.
"WILL YOU APPROVE OUR TRANSFER TO THE NORTH WESTERN REGION?!"
"Mother…" the controller squeaked.
"I'll take that as a yes."
And Tim backed away as the controller hesitantly stood up and walked away.
"Not gonna lie, Tim," said Chloe, "I really thought you had killed him for a second there."
"Believe me, nothing would bring me more solace than splattering his innards all over the goddamn sheds. But I figured intimidation would work better. Besides, I wouldn't last a single minute in Rail Gate."
Through the night, workmen cleaned and inspected Tim and Chloe for their trip to the North Western Region. Just before the sun rose, they were ready. Their brass gleamed as the first rays of light peaked over the Pennines, and they hadn't felt so fresh in years.
"So, how are we getting there?" asked Tim.
"I do believe your train is arriving right now." replied the yardmaster.
Pulling into Kingmoor was a long Class C goods. And at the front…
"Jessica!" exclaimed Chloe.
"Tim! Chloe!" Jessica exclaimed, "You two are the new engines?"
"How did you know we were being transferred to the North Western Region?" asked Tim.
"Probably because that was where I was transferred last year!" Jessica, a BR Standard 9F, had been a regular sight on the S&C, powering big, long freight trains and even subbing on the Condor when the MetroVick Type 2s weren't working. She had become familiar with Tim and Chloe and was a good friend of theirs.
"Well, no use prevaricating around here!" said Tim, excitedly, "Let's go!"
Moving for the first time in months, the twins coupled in front of Jessica, and with a whoosh of steam, they were finally off with the first train they had pulled in a while.
The run was uneventful. Tim and Chloe marveled at the new sights and scenery, and made sure to take them all in, as they knew they'd be on the North Western Region for the long-haul.
Soon, they reached a station. "This is Barrow-In-Furness." said Jessica, "The junction ahead will take us to Sodor."
"Sodor?!" spluttered Tim, "The North Western Region is on Sodor?!"
"Uh...yes?"
"Ooooooh my goooood!" he screamed in pure joy. He and Chloe had heard the stories of Sodor, of Thomas the Tank Engine and his friends.
They had to wait for a bit to allow a passenger train to come in. At the head was a Brush Type 4. After bringing the train to the platform, she uncoupled and went to the yard, pulling up next to Tim.
"Salutations!" she said.
"Uh...what?" said Tim. He was puzzled by the use of such an archaic greeting.
"Oh, sorry. Force of habit. Anyway, my name's Penny. You must be Tim."
"Am I really that famous?" he asked.
"Of course! News travels fast around the London Midland Region. You sure scared our controller straight!"
"What do you mean?"
"He's given the order to stop live scrappings and to preserve as many non-faceless steam locomotives as possible. Tim... you've saved hundreds of lives that would otherwise be snuffed out for some alternative fuel nonsense."
"You're not going to give me the usual 'diesels are superior' spiel, are you?"
Penny's face darkened. "I also heard about your run-in with Matthew. I can't stand that guy. He keeps saying that my class stole his thunder. Well, it's not my fault his class was built too heavy and too weak!"
"Oh, thank god, you don't know how much hearing that means to me. I was just about ready to have another shouting match."
"Well, you won't have any of those on Sodor."
"Do you work on Sodor?"
"No, I don't. But I've been there several times, and I'd really like to stay. They're like a family over there, compared to here, where we diesels are considered nameless drones."
"I just hope they're nice."
"Well, there are a few who're a bit rough around the edges, but they mean well. They're all very nice overall."
"So, if you don't work on Sodor, what's that train you just brought in?"
"That's the region's top-link express service, the Wild Nor' Wester. It runs all the way to St. Pancras station in London. The Sudrian engines have to hand it over to the London Midland Region because they don't meet current safety standards. I'm pretty sure Jessica is the only engine they have whose AWS-equipped, but I've never really asked."
As she finished speaking, they heard a whistle, and saw a large blue LNER Class A1 backing down on the train.
"Afternoon, Penny." he said, "Everything go alright?"
"Nothing but smooth running from London to here, Gordon." she replied. "By the way, the new engines The Fat Controller requested are here."
Gordon looked over to see two LMS Fowler 4Fs.
"Ah, Fowler locomotives! I'm biased towards Gresley, but Fowler's designs are a fine breed!"
"Well, never thought you'd be complimenting us!" said Tim, flattered, "I thought you'd be saying things like 'I'm the fastest and best!' or 'little engines like you are annoying'."
"Wilbert's books rarely accurately represent Sodor and its residents." said Gordon plainly. Presently, a guard's whistle blew. "Oh, must be off now!"
"I think we'll be following on a block or so behind you." called Jessica.
"Very good, Jess. See you three at Knapford! And see you tomorrow, Penny!"
With two toots of his whistle, Gordon pulled out of Barrow with his express. A few minutes later, Tim's signal turned green, and the guard's whistle blew.
"There's our signal." he grunted. He, Chloe, and Jessica muscled the train into motion.
"Bye, Penny! Hopefully we'll see you again!"
"Oh, I'm sure we will! And when you get to Knapford, tell Ruby I said hi!"
"Who?" asked Tim. Chloe was just as confused.
"Oh, you two will LOVE Ruby!" tittered Jessica.
Rounding the curve at the junction, Tim looked ahead and saw a large bridge.
"A Schertzer rolling bridge!" he exclaimed.
"We're about to cross the Walney Channel." said Jessica, "This marks the border between Britain and Sodor."
The bridge lowered, and the train rumbled over.
"Tim, Chloe, welcome to Sodor!"
The twins were shaking with apprehension. They were here, on Sodor, a place they had only heard of in books.
"We'll have to pull into the yard up ahead to clear customs. Don't worry, all new engines on Sodor go through this. Pretty routine stuff."
Pulling into the yard at Vicarstown, Tim looked around. It felt a lot like Hellifield, only flatter and more homely. It was also quieter.
"When the agent walks up, just answer his questions." said Jessica.
Soon, a customs agent walked up. "Name?"
"Tim."
"Class?"
"LMS Fowler 4F."
"Purpose of visit?"
"Transfer from Hellifield."
"Right, you're cleared. Welcome to Sodor."
Next, the agent walked over to Chloe.
"Name?"
"Chloe."
"Class?"
"LMS Fowler 4F."
"Purpose of visit?"
"Transfer from Hellifield."
The agent looked at his sheet. "You're cleared. Welcome to Sodor. We've been expecting the both of you, actually. I would wave you through, but customs wants every new engine coming to Sodor recorded in triplicate."
Finally, he moved to Jessica. "You're good to go, Jessica. Right away, guard!"
The guard blew his whistle again, and the train began moving again.
An hour later, they rolled through Maron. Along the way, they had passed several other trains, all of whom gave friendly greetings.
"Coming up on Gordon's Hill." said Jessica, "We should be careful. This is one of the steepest railway grades in the British Isles, a 1-in-75 ruling."
"Ais Gill was steeper." said Tim, "This hill should be child's play."
And indeed, it was. Though they had Jessica helping, Tim and Chloe didn't strain at all, and they were over the hill with minimal effort.
"Wow, that was nothing!" chirped Chloe, "Tim's right, Ais Gill is much steeper than that!"
The rest of the run to Knapford was easy, coasting down the hill with the wind and rumbling through Wellsworth and Crosby, and over the Sodor Suspension Bridge.
At last, they saw a large town in the distance.
"There it is! There's Knapford!" exclaimed Jessica.
The twins looked ahead and saw a large six-road station. In it was an LBSCR Class E2 with three coaches, an LMS Black 5 with a rake of Mark 1 stock painted in a mix of Maroon and Rail Blue liveries, and a BR Standard Class 4 tank engine with a rake of non-corridor Mark 1 stock.
The train entered one of the tracks next to the station, where Tim saw a GWR 57xx Class sitting on the next track over. The three engines brought the Class C to a slow and smooth stop.
"Hullo!" said the 57xx, "I-"
"You must be Duck the Great Western Engine!" said Tim excitedly.
"Uh...yes. Sorry, I often forget many non-faceless engines have heard our stories."
Duck was about to speak, when a stout gentleman walked up.
"Ah, my newest acquisitions! Welcome to Sodor! My name is Sir Charles Hatt II, but the engines call me The Fat Controller!"
"That doesn't sound very PC…" said Tim.
"Oh, I don't mind. I really do have a portly figure, see? One thing you should know about me: I love food! Now, I trust your run from Hellifield went smoothly?"
"It did, sir." replied Chloe, "Jessica told us about what we should expect on the way over."
"Splendid! And Tim, way to stick it to your old controller!"
Tim was surprised. "You've heard about it here, too?"
"Oh, that man is horrid! But I heard you changed his mind. You should be proud, Tim. Not many engines have been able to make any meaningful social change, but you did it without knowing it."
"I... thanks?" Tim was never one to brag or gloat. He didn't like the spotlight much, always content to keep things running.
"Leave that train there, please." continued The Fat Controller, "Duck will sort it all out."
"I'm guessing he's going to sort them into different trains to be taken to the various stations along the mainline and branch lines?" asked Tim.
"Exactly!" Duck said, "Maybe you'll take one of the stopping goods today?"
"I'd really like to." said Tim, "Slacking off is the last thing I'd ever do."
"Same with me." added Chloe, "An engine who isn't willing to work isn't an engine at all."
"That's exactly the kind of work ethic I admire in an engine! You two will fit in just fine around here! Now, after your long journey, I suggest you two have a rest at the harbor sheds."
"Yes, sir!" the twins said in unison. After being uncoupled from Jessica, they ran light engine to the sheds at Knapford Harbor.
They found the sheds in short order, and after turning on a turntable at Knapford Heights, they backed in. On the next track over was a black tender engine.
"Oh, hello!" she said cheerfully, "You two must be the new engines!"
"That we are indeed." replied Chloe.
"Anyway, I'm Ruby!"
"Ruby?" asked Tim, "We heard about you from Jessica on the way over from Hellifield. Oh, and Penny says hi."
"Oh, she's a dear, she is! Anyway, did you say Hellifield? That's near Yorkshire. I used to work there before the Sodor & Mainland acquired me in 1902."
"Ah, a fellow Midlander!" said Tim, "We were built by the LMS using modified Fowler designs! I'm gonna take a guess and say you were designed by Aspinall?"
"Is it really that obvious? Hehe, yes, I'm an Aspinall Class 2."
"We worked alongside quite a few Aspinall-designed engines on the S&C." said Chloe, "Mainly the 23s."
"The 23s? I'm not familiar with that class."
"Well, they used to be the 25s, but then they got rebuilt as tank engines." said Tim.
"They rebuilt the 25s into tank engines?!" spluttered Ruby, "That's just wrong!"
"Well, it didn't hinder their work ethic. The non-faceless 23s were absolute delights to work with. Always working hard, never complaining. Say, are there any other Midlanders in this region?"
"Well, there's Henry. He's a Stanier Black 5 but...he wasn't always like that. When he was built, he was a mix between two LNER designs, said to have been rejected by Gresley. He had a bad crash during the Freeze of '35, what you know as the Flying Kipper incident except...ice and snow didn't cause the accident. It was orchestrated by another engine named Klondike; whose crew died in the brakevan."
Tim and Chloe were silent. They thought they knew the whole story of Henry's accident with the Flying Kipper.
"So...it wasn't ice and snow, but foul play?" asked Tim, a bit shaken at the revelation.
"There's a reason the Reverend rewrote and simplified the story. Anyway, Henry was taken to Crewe and given a new body via essence transfer."
"Essence transfer?!" spluttered Chloe, "How did he survive that?!"
"Stanier was in charge of the operation."
"Ah, that makes sense." said Tim. "Any other Midlanders here?"
"There's Edward, Furness Railway K2 Class. You won't find a wiser and kinder engine. Then there's Eagle, one of my cousins, he's an L&YR Class 28. There used to be eight others, but...seven of them were killed when a German U-boat torpedoed an American tanker at Kirk Ronan Harbor while it was loading fuel. They were in a shed next to the fuel depot and loaded gunpowder vans. Then there were three left, but one of them, the only female of the group, succumbed to despair and took her own life."
"I... I'm sorry." said Tim sadly.
"Now it's just Eagle left."
"I thought I saw a red 28 on the way in, with the number five on his tender. Was that Eagle?"
Ruby's face darkened even more. "No... no, that was... James. I don't talk to him."
"Would you be offended if I asked why?" asked Tim.
"Not at all... I'm sorry I don't think I ever got your names."
"Well, I'm Tim, and she's Chloe."
"Thanks. Anyway, back in 1935, the three big engines, Gordon, James, and Henry, went on strike. The old railway board had sold almost all of our tank engines and a Stirling Single named Emily in '32 when the Depression was at its peak. They did so without any of their permissions, in blatant defiance of the Living Vehicle Act. They were cruel human supremacists, thought non-faceless vehicles were an unholy perversion of God's will. Anyway, we tender engines had to shunt our own trains. Most of us, myself and my surrogate sister Yang, didn't mind, but those three, OH THOSE THREE, THEY DID CARE! They went on strike, and Edward came as a scab shunter. They were satisfied...before trying to force their ideology on the rest of us! They bullied us, called us names. Then, one day while I was shunting at Maron…"
Ruby paused, and Tim was worried. "You don't have to tell us if you don't want to, because I think I have a good idea where this is going."
"No, no, it's fine. I guess I've been burying the memory. So, I was shunting, and James...shoved me off the tracks, down an embankment, and into the street. I almost collided with a pie shop. I wish I had, though, because I'll never forget what he said next."
Ruby closed her eyes, remembering…
"I've got a joke for you: What do you get...when you cross an important red engine, with a CONTROLLER, that ABANDONS HIM AND TREATS HIM LIKE TRASH?! I'LL TELL YOU WHAT YOU GET! YOU GET WHAT YOU FUCKING DESERVE, YOU ****!"
"He...called me the c-word."
The twins were horrified! "He didn't!" spluttered Tim.
"He did. Apparently, Gordon and Henry weren't too happy when he told them. I remember I was just so inconsolable. I couldn't stop crying. I couldn't even muster a smile until The Fat Controller's father, Sir Topham Hatt, acquired a tank engine, a gentlemanly GWR shunter named Percy. Do you know what it's like to be called that word?"
"Horrible." said Tim, "It must make you feel like you're worthless, like you aren't a woman, or an engine, like you're less than dirt."
"Exactly!" said Ruby, "You nailed it right on the head, Tim! So, eventually, those three had the book thrown at them by the RIU. James had also t-boned Thomas at the junction just outside Knapford when he refused to shunt his train, seriously injuring his crew and demolishing a signal box, and Gordon and Henry had been involved in minor intentional collisions. Yang gave them quite a tongue-lashing, I heard, and a few days later, those three got local confinement. Since then, I've forgiven Henry and Gordon, but James...he may have saved me from being killed by Klondike during the sting they pulled a month after Henry's crash, but he made me feel like less of a woman. And for that, I will NEVER forgive him. I'm just glad I got my revenge back in '58 when that diesel shunter was spreading lies, and the big engines bought them hook, line, and sinker."
The twins were silent. "I'm...I'm sorry you had to go through that."
"Thanks, Tim. You know, I don't think I've ever talked about the whole ordeal, not even with Yang. I feel like a large weight just got lifted off of me."
"You keep saying that name, Yang." said Chloe, "Who is she, and why does a non-faceless British locomotive have a Chinese name?"
"Yang is my surrogate sister." replied Ruby, brightening up, "She's a Brighton H2. The Tidmouth, Knapford, and Elsbridge Light Railway acquired her as their express engine in 1904."
"But I thought the H2s was built in 1912?" said Tim, confused.
"Yang was an experimental version built in 1903. We didn't meet until the two halves of the North Western Railway were connected the day World War I ended. When we met, something just... clicked, as if I had always known her."
"She sounds like a wonderful engine." said Chloe.
"And a good sister, like Chloe is to me." added Tim.
"She is." said Ruby, "She really is. And might I say, Tim, you are quite the gentleman."
She and Tim laughed. Chloe smiled. She knew exactly where this was going, and she approved.
Over the next few days, Tim and Chloe became acquainted with the railway and the other engines. Tim's first run was double heading a through freight to Barrow with Ruby. Along the way, Tim asked questions about the operations and what to do on certain parts of the line, and Ruby answered them all.
"You mentioned Kirk Ronan the other night." he said as they passed through Killdane, "What kind of traffic goes down there?"
"None." said Ruby glumly, "The shipyards there closed a few years back, and that was all Dr. Beeching needed to justify closing it."
"The Beeching Axe hit here too? What other lines got closed?"
"Fortunately, it was just the Kirk Ronan and Norramby branches. The mainline and every other line, believe it or not, were recommended for further development. In fact, Beeching had nothing but good things to say about the North Western Region, says we're the most profitable part of the network."
"Is that why there's more goods traffic here than on the S&C these days?"
"Exactly. I can tell you really like working. What's your preference?"
"I have no preference. Variety is the spice of life."
"You are so right! I could never imagine being assigned to one specific task! That's what's so great about us utility engines!"
"Utility engines?"
"That was the old NWR's designation for engines that go anywhere and do anything. I'm a utility engine, so are Yang, Donald, and Douglas. You and Chloe, too, are utility engines."
"So that means I'll be going hither and yon around the region doing anything and everything?"
"Precisely! Everything except shunting. We have our own designated utility shunters that go to any yard that needs sorting. Right now, we only have one, an LNER Y8 named Josh, but The Fat Controller is looking for more."
All through the week, Tim and Chloe bustled about the region. Whether it was pulling stopping passenger trains on the mainline, or taking china clay trains from Brendam, they did it all with professionalism and efficiency.
That Friday, The Fat Controller came to see them at Vicarstown. "I knew I made the right choice acquiring you two! The region has never run so well!"
"Well, we're just doing what we did on the S&C, sir." said Tim modestly.
"Yes, it's really nothing. We're just glad to have any work at all after how horribly we were treated back at Hellifield, especially by a diesel name Matthew."
"Did you say Matthew?" asked The Fat Controller.
"You know him?"
"Know him? I was forced to trial him three years back. How bad has he gotten?"
"Would you believe me if I said he developed a God complex and refuses to admit his class has been superseded?" asked Tim flatly.
"That's even worse than what I was thinking! Well, then, I won't allow him to come anywhere near this region again! If I wanted a diesel, I'd rather have a Western hydraulic."
He looked up, and saw Tim and Chloe were watching him ramble.
"Anyway, hardworking engines like you are the ones I value the most. You truly are Sudrian engines! And to show it, I'd like you two to go to the Steamworks to get new numbers and nameplates!"
"Oh, thank you, sir!" they said.
At the Steamworks, Tim and Chloe's transformation into true Sudrian engines was carried out. While they still had their BR liveries and logos, they did receive new numbers, these being 53 for Tim, and 54 for Chloe. They also had nameplates mounted on the sides of their smokeboxes, and a few hours later, they were out and working again.
Tim and Chloe are now considered valuable members of the North Western Railway. They're light enough to work on the branch lines, strong enough to handle suburban passenger services and goods trains with ease, and old enough to be respected members of the fleet. Every engine has the highest respect for them, none more so than Ruby towards Tim. They're friends with everyone, the kind of engines you can hold a conversation with for hours. Even so, they refused to talk to James, and for good reason.
But that's a story for another day...