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Zoey and the Vintage Lorry
Written by Broa Island
Proofread and Corrected by the "Sodor: True Stories" Team
Adapted from various Railway Stories by Paul Larson & Daniel "tardisrescue" Long
Isle of Sodor: 2001
The Fat Controller's workmen were replacing the signals between Knapford and Elsbridge. But the work was, though unintentionally, causing a lot of delays. Thomas was often held up collecting the 'Farmland Flyer'.
It was market season on the Ffarquhar Branch Line, and all the farmers were using the railway to transport their goods to the butchers and greengrocers in the nearby towns and villages. While the engines didn't mind the hard work, it and the lineside maintenance was beginning to take their toll on them. To lighten the workload on the Branch, the Fat Controller sent Zoey, Thomas' older and stronger cousin, to assist Percy with the Market trains.
This was great news for Percy and Toby, but not so much for Thomas.
One day, Zoey was waiting at the Junction with a train of fruits and vegetables for Market. Thomas soon came panting into the station with his Branch Line service, eleven minutes behind schedule.
"Sorry I'm late!" the tank engine wheezed, coming to a halt next to Zoey.
"Third time in as many days," Zoey teased. "And I thought you were never late, Cuz."
"I AM never late," retorted Thomas bluntly. Zoey, grinning cheekily, gestured to the station clock which said otherwise. Thomas cringed at the reminder. "W-It's never my fault. It's the signals at the Big Station. They're faulty!"
Zoey didn't look convinced.
"Honest!" persisted Thomas.
"Dude, if those signals of yours are causing you grief, why don't you get rid of them?" asked Zoey.
"A railway isn't proper if it doesn't have signals," Thomas muttered darkly.
"What about the line to the Harbor?"
"What about it?"
"Well, that's on your Branch Line and that doesn't have signals. So, by your logic, that's not proper either!"
Just then, Zoey's path cleared and the E4 puffed away, leaving a seething Thomas behind.
The Harbor Line doesn't have signals. Instead, engines carry a token which they collect from the signal box. Without the all-important token, no engine can travel on the Harbor Line.
One morning, as the Market rush began to die down, Percy awoke with a sharp pain in his right cylinder. "It's my cylinder cocks," he told his Driver. "I think they're blocked!"
"Well if that's the case," the Driver murmured, "there'll be no work for you today, I'm afraid. We should get you to the Steamworks sooner rather than later."
"But who'll look after my trains from the Harbor? Toby can't possibly do it and his own work."
"Why not me?" asked Zoey. "Now that the Market buzz is dying down, I've got nothing better to do. No offence Percy, but I'm much stronger than you, so covering your shift will be a breeze."
Their Drivers and Firemen agreed, as did the Stationmaster once he was informed of the situation. Arrangements were made in haste. While Percy was taken to Crovan's Gate on Thomas' morning suburban, Zoey made her way to the Harbor.
She slowed down as she passed the signal box, allowing her Driver to grab the token from the waiting signalman. "Oh yes," she smirked to herself. "You'll never see my token going wrong. That'll show that old fusspot Thomas."
Soon, Zoey arrived at the Harbor. It wasn't like the hustle and bustle of Brendam Docks she was used to, but she supposed that's what made this place so quaint. Zoey would've taken some time to take in the sea air if it wasn't for the young workman that came running up to her.
"Oh, thank God you're here!" the man panted.
"Woah, where's the fire, man?" asked Zoey's Fireman.
The workman didn't answer for a moment, as he was still catching his breath. "There's a special shipment of coal bound for Chichester, West Sussex. But the ship ran into trouble, so they came into port here! The Dockmaster has spoken with the Fat Controller, and he's arranged for Jessica to take the lot on to the Mainland; but you'll need to get them to Elsbridge first."
Zoey eyed the line of seven loaded coal wagons waiting on the quay. Unlike most of the trucks on Sodor, these were made entirely of steal and were rather heavy even when empty!
Zoey's Driver was anxious and wasn't afraid to make his worries known. "What?! Those mineral tippers AND our goods?! Zoey will never be able to move all of that alone in one go! Can't we bring in another engine?"
"Only if you want to waste time moving the token to the other end of the line," the workman replied bluntly.
While Zoey shared her Driver's worries, she put on a brave face and laughed. "Don't worry Aaron," she chuckled. "It'll be a pain, but I can get this lot to Elsbridge on my own. We don't really have any other options now, do we?"
The Driver bit his tongue. He knew Zoey was right but was still rather hesitant.
Zoey got to work marshaling her trucks, all the while saving the tippers for last. Soon everything was ready. The Guard showed his green flag, and with a grunt, Zoey jerked the heavy train into motion.
Once the trucks were moving, the journey was quite easy. But that wasn't the case once the line began to climb a gradient. Zoey felt the coupling on the first truck tighten as the full weight of the train pulled against her own. Despite her efforts, it wasn't long before the train was moving at a snail's pace.
"One-Two-Three, One-Two-Three," the poor engine panted. She wanted to stop; but her own will and determination wouldn't let her.
Her crew were quickly becoming worried. "Take it easy, old mare," said her Driver. "Keep thrashing yourself like this and you'll hurt yourself!"
"You just had to say that didn't you?" the Fireman grumbled.
SNAP!
Zoey yelped as her wheels suddenly lost their grip on the rails! With a defeated whoosh of steam, the train came to a halt besides an old farm. Her Driver and Fireman looked her all over and quickly found the problem.
"Bloody hell, one of your crank pins broke!" exclaimed the Driver. "Snapped clean off thanks to the pressure you were putting on it! We shan't be going anywhere now."
Zoey cussed under her breath. But secretly, she welcomed the chance to rest.
"We'll need to call in another engine to help," observed the Fireman. "There must be a telephone around here somewhere."
"No can do," said the Driver, shaking his head. "Remember, no engine can come down here without the token. Unless we can get the token back to the Toyreck – which is about a mile's walk from here may me remind you – then we're stuck here!"
"Hey. What's that?"
Both the Driver and Zoey turned to what the Fireman was referring to. There, sitting by the lineside, cold, alone, and forgotten, was an old wooden shed. The walls were covered in mold and wet rot, and there was a dozen or so holes in the roof. It was a no brainer to say that no one had used this shed in a long time.
"Perhaps there's a bicycle in there," the Fireman pondered. "Or maybe even a car if we're lucky. That should make the trek back to the signal box much faster and easier on me legs." He and the Driver then walked over to investigate.
"Do hurry!" called Zoey. "And be careful, it looks like someone died in there!"
The padlock on the shed's doors had corroded over time, but it still took the Fireman about six minutes of fiddling to get it off. The two men then adventured into the dark building. Zoey stayed quiet and strained her funnel to hear inside.
Then, without warning, an unfamiliar voice boomed from inside the shed: "Do you mind? I'm trying to sleep!"
Zoey jumped! She didn't know why, or didn't want to admit it, but she was starting to become rather uneasy. Then her Driver and Fireman appeared from the shed's doors.
"What was that?" asked Zoey nervously. "Is it a serial killer?!"
"It's a surprise," her Fireman teased, ducking back inside. Zoey didn't find that reassuring at all.
To add to the tank engine's confusion, the Fireman reappeared with an old wheelbarrow. He took some of Zoey's coal and headed off to the shed.
"How long has she been here?" the Driver asked the Fireman inside the old shack.
"No clue," answered the Fireman. "But she could get us to Ffarquhar."
The Driver, as always, remained sceptical though. "That is if her boiler holds."
It had been at least half-an-hour since her crew last entered the shed. Zoey, anxious, was about to call out to them, but her train of thought was derailed by some sort of "growling-chugging".
"What… the heck?" she mused. At last, the doors flung opened kicking up dust and filth into the air.
"Zoe; I'd like you to meet Elizabeth," said her Fireman.
Out from the darkness chuffed a dirty, grimly steam lorry. She was painted maroon with a big orange tipper on her backend. Zoey was amazed! She was at a loss for words.
But Elizabeth had one or two things to say. "So, you're the little puffer that's broken down," she sniffed. "Why am I not surprised that it was a locomotive that knocked herself to bits?"
"Puffer? PUFFER?!" Zoey seethed. "I was wondering why you were left in that outhouse, but I guess the answer's clear as day now! And your one to talk! Your just an old Sentinel lorry!"
"My, my, no lady should ever use such language, no matter their – er – motive power," snapped Elizabeth. "And it's Vintage Sentinel lorry to you, young lady!"
"Why you little shit!" Zoey growled, her steam pressure building. Elizabeth, however, just ignored her.
"Now then, your Driver and I are off to Ffarquhar. There we'll pass on your 'token' to another locomotive, who'll then come to your rescue. And next time, DON'T be so careless!" she scolded.
Zoey's Driver climbed into Elizabeth's cab, token in hand. Then, with a crackle and a pop, the Vintage Lorry roared into life and swanked away down the road.
Zoey thought Elizabeth was the rudest lorry she had ever met!
The Driver was concerned. Elizabeth was making awful grinding sounds.
"She's not built for hills," he said anxiously. "You're losing steam!" he called.
"Just… catching my breath," Elizabeth chuffed.
And finally, she made it.
At Ffarquhar, Thomas was taking on water before his next train. His Driver was about to turn off the standpipe's valve when they all heard a strange grinding sound. Over the hill appeared Elizabeth, who raced down the incline and into the yard.
Thomas was flabbergasted! "E-ELIZABETH?!" he spluttered. "I-I-I-I… WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?! HOW ARE YOU DOING HERE?! I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD!"
"Yes, well it was fun while it lasted, I presume," Elizabeth said calmly. "I see they've finally fixed those ridiculous frames of yours. Shame that your – er – lifestyle choices aren't as straight as your buffers."
Thomas let off steam angrily. "And now I wish you stayed dead."
"The feeling is somewhat mutual, love. Anyway, I'm glad I found you Thomas."
"You didn't seem very 'glad' to see me a few seconds ago. Why the change in tune?"
It was then that Zoey's Driver appeared form Elizabeth's cab. He explained the situation to Thomas and his crew. "There's an urgent coal shipment on her train that needs to get up to Elsbridge on the double!" the Driver exclaimed.
"Well, urgent or not, I can't go up to rescue her without the-"
"Without this?" asked Elizabeth smugly as the Driver passed the token on to Thomas'. The blue tank engine grumbled to himself as he, nevertheless, set off to the rescue.
Elizabeth, on the other hand, was pleased with herself.
Thomas soon found Zoey, who was still waiting by the old shed. The larger tank engine's face was bright red with exhaustion and embarrassment.
"Um… Hey," she greeted meekly.
"Hey…" replied Thomas bluntly.
"So… Elizabeth got you the-?"
"Yeah…"
"And you came to-?"
"Yeah…"
"Um… How late am-?"
"By about two hours… It's not exactly fool-proof, this 'token' stuff, is it?" Thomas added.
"N-no."
"No… This whole escapade wouldn't have happened with signals, would it?"
"No."
"No…"
Jessica, Quinn and the Fat Controller all waited impatiently at Elsbridge Station for Thomas and Zoey. At last, tired but triumphant, the two tank engines steamed into the station just in time! Before the train had even stopped moving, Quinn quickly got to work marshaling the coal wagons to the back of the 9F's container train.
"What took you so long?" asked the Fat Controller sternly.
Zoey told the Fat Controller all about her broken crank pins and token-related escapades. She wanted to tell him how rude Elizabeth had been when, with a growl and a chug, she rolled right into the car-park.
"Oh… It's you," said Elizabeth, looking up at the Fat Controller. "Have you learnt to drive properly yet?"
"Oh-ho-ho-ho, she's for it now!" whispered Zoey to Thomas.
But to everyone's surprise, the Fat Controller was smiling! "Elizabeth!" he said fondly. "My Great-Uncle's lorry! You and he used to give me driving lessons during my high-school days, I remember them well. I thought you'd been lost!" They were old friends.
It was too much for Zoey.
Then Elizabeth told everyone how she had been left in the shed for years once her Master passed away. "I thought I would never get to see the light of day again," she recounted. "Of course, rather in there than out here with these dirty, clanking steam kettles."
"Why, you slimy puffed-up COAL BURNING MOTHER FU-
After a rather brief investigation, it was found that the inadequate token system was to blame for the incident. At once, the Fat Controller ordered for signals to be put up along the Harbor Line. The engines were sorry to see the token go, but they knew it was for the best. Besides, having signals meant that when the Harbor workload became too heavy, it was much easier to send for another engine to help.
But what about Elizabeth? Well the Fat Controller was so pleased that she had been found, he commissioned the Workshops up by Skarloey Lake to restore her to her original beauty.
A few weeks later, Elizabeth emerged from the garage and made her way down to Crovan's Gate to meet the Fat Controller. She had a rich dark colour and gleaming coach works!
"You're the grandest lorry on the whole island!" the Fat Controller said proudly.
"I know," said Elizabeth, even more proudly.
And while they may have their hostilities toward her, both Zoey and Thomas had to agree. She did look grand.