DIESELS AND BLUEBELLS

Written by Zack Wanzer, Rachel Ravens and Cameron Stevens

Set during Series 7/Alone in the Shed

On the Bluebell Railway, some of the engines were waiting at Sheffield Park for a visitor to arrive. Not too long ago, the manager of the line, Mr. Holden, had sent a letter to Sir Topham Hatt asking if the North Western Railway could send one of his engines to visit them, as many visitors were unable to come to Sodor. It wasn't long before everyone could hear a horn in the distance, and there, rolling towards the station was BoCo. His green coat of paint gleamed in the sunlight as he rolled to a stop.

"Ah, BoCo," Mr. Holden greeted. "Such a pleasure to see you again. Welcome to the Bluebell Railway."

"Likewise, and thank you," replied the diesel. He caught sight of an ochre tank engine in the crowd. "Stepney! It's been too long!"

"It has indeed, BoCo," the terrier engine chuckled. "I'd like you to meet some of my friends – Bluebell, Primrose, Captain Baxter, Adams and Cromford."

"It is an honor to have one of you Sudrians come visit our humble little line," said Adams.

"Stepney has spoken non-stop about you Sudrians," said Bluebell. "And we've had a few letters from Sodor to see how you were going."

"Ah, yes," said BoCo. "We've been writing letters a lot more since our London trip and when Katie and Nicole went to the Rolling Hills Railway."

"Oh, you have to tell us more about that!" said Primrose, who was most intrigued. "But how about you do that while taking some enthusiasts with us?"

"Sounds good to me," smiled BoCo. "I'll follow your lead."

While Stepney and their friends were pleased to meet BoCo, the enthusiasts were a completely different story altogether…

"A diesel?!" one exclaimed in surprise. "And a Metro-Vickers, no less? Those were some of the worst performers on British Railways!"

"Why did Sodor send for one of these instead of Duck or Oliver?" asked another.

"Or any of them, for that matter," muttered a third. "In fact, I'm surprised Thomas wasn't sent. He would have fit right in with the engines from the Southern Region."

BoCo had overheard what the enthusiasts said and was rather hurt by their comments.

"Ah, yes, we probably should've mentioned that," said Stepney. "Because the Bluebell is a heritage railway, enthusiasts expect to see steam engines running the trains."

"Some people on Sodor are like that too," sighed BoCo. "Rail enthusiasts are some of the most difficult people to please."

"Huh! They should be grateful we have a guest here at all," grunted Captain Baxter. "Don't they know how busy fully operational railways can get?"

"Oh yes, Thomas and Duck have their own lines to run with other engines helping them," agreed BoCo. "As do Carole, Lauren and… Edward…" He stopped and sighed wistfully at the thought of the old blue tender engine, the first engine to welcome him with open arms despite being a diesel.

"Edward's your best friend?" asked Adams.

"More than that," said BoCo.

"Ah, you finally said it to him," chuckled Stepney. "Took you long enough."

"Yes, well," said BoCo, cheering up slightly, "Nicole was heartbroken when she saw that Edward didn't feel the same way about her, but she accepted that it's who Edward is, and gave us her blessing."

"That's so sweet," said Primrose. "And if Edward can welcome you with open buffers, and we can too… why can't these people?!"

"People are hard to read sometimes," sighed Adams. "I mean, I even have trouble figuring out what my crew is thinking, much less someone who visits our railway!"

"I wouldn't worry too much about them," soothed Stepney. "After all, some passengers are very opinionated regarding certain engines, even though they can sometimes be hurtful…"

BoCo just sighed; he hoped that his visit would turn out better for him in the end.

Later on, BoCo was double heading a train with Birch Grove, a green 0-6-2 tank engine with the number 473 on her tanks.

"Some of those passengers can be the pits," she grunted. "Don't let it get to you too much, BoCo. Give them time, and they'll get used to seeing you around."

"If they ever get used to the idea of a diesel being here…" muttered BoCo.

Just then, two people looked over in surprise.

"I say," said one. "Is this our Sodor guest?"

"Looks like it to me," said the other. "We were expecting a steamer, weren't we?"

"Well, BoCo was the engine chosen!" snapped Birch Grove. "You can either live with it or go home!"

"Er…" gasped the first one quickly, "what we meant was… Sodor has more steam engines than diesels, and we're just surprised."

"Yeah," added the other one. "It's not a big drama or anything. We're… very pleased to see a Sudrian here on the railway."

"Oh, er… thank you," said BoCo, surprised. "Sorry, I didn't catch your names. You are…?"

"I'm Baz, and this is my companion, Bernie."

"Hello."

"I'm BoCo," replied the diesel.

"Er… just curious," said Baz. "How many engines does your railway have?"

"Well, there's six diesels on the North Western, myself included," said BoCo, "three electric engines and eighteen steam engines. And that, of course, doesn't count privately owned engines."

"Six, three, eighteen…" Bernie recounted. "So that's, er… six thousand three hundred eighteen, right?"

BoCo and Birch Grove had to hold back a laugh.

"No, Bernie! An island as small as Sodor wouldn't be able to fit that many engines!" snapped Baz. "That's twenty-seven engines total! Do you even understand basic arithmetic?!"

"Uh…"

"What's two plus two?"

"…twenty-two?"

"Well, we know that Bernie isn't a math teacher," chuckled Birch Grove to BoCo.

"I should tell the other engines about this when I get back," said BoCo. "They could use a laugh."

"Ah, and BoCo," said Baz, "before you head to the next station, is it okay if we take your picture?"

"I don't see why not," smiled BoCo. "It's not very often you see a Metro-Vickers diesel in active service."

The two men each took a camera and snapped some photos; they got some of Birch Grove too. The green diesel couldn't wait to tell the others.

"That's great, BoCo!" grinned Earl of Berkeley, a Great Western "Dukedog" class engine. "Looks like you got lucky after all."

"I sure hope they got your good side," said Fenchurch. "Once, I blew so much steam at a station, the enthusiasts only got a picture of my funnel!"

"Your crew must've gotten a bit of a laugh when they saw the result," joked BoCo.

"Oh, they did," chuckled Fenchurch.

"You should have seen my first photo," laughed Ella. "One enthusiast was so surprised I was a diesel, they tripped and the camera snapped the shot as it was falling."

"Say," said BoCo, "Diesel mentioned he had a cousin; it's nice to meet you at last, Ella."

"Likewise, BoCo," she replied. "And… from what Stepney said, Diesel is very grateful to you too. It was thanks to you he found his place on Sodor as station pilot, and that the other engines gave him another chance."

"Ah, all I did was talk with him a little bit," BoCo admitted. "After that, he was making changes to his life on his own."

"Sometimes, the right words are all it takes to make a difference," said Stepney.

"Indeed they are, Stepney," said a blue railway traction engine. "So long as you do things right, you'll go far in life."

"For once, you have a point, Fergus," remarked Cromford.

"Hey! What do you mean, 'for once'?!"

The other Bluebell engines laughed, even though BoCo was a little confused.

"You know, engines," said Stepney, "that gives me an idea. Why don't we all have the guests at the station, and BoCo can tell them about his time on Sodor? All the impacts he's made on his friends, and how he managed to win other engines over?"

"Oh, that's a capital idea, Stepney," smiled Bluebell. "His influence cannot be understated."

"Well… a little friendly anecdote doesn't hurt anyone," said BoCo. With that, the engines all fell asleep, eager about the idea.

Little did the Bluebell engines realize that they were not exactly alone; and I don't mean BoCo's company…

"Wouldn't it make more sense to get this 'Edward' character?" said Bernie. "I mean, BoCo said–"

"And go all the way to Sodor to cause more suspicion?!" snapped Baz. "Look, our boss said that Stepney is close with all the Sudrians – steam, diesel and electric."

"Right. And…?"

"They're the Bluebell's most prized locomotive; the first one for their railway, in fact!" Baz put a hand to his forehead. "Ugh, didn't you listen to any of the lectures of the Bluebell's history and their working relationship with Sodor?"

"I might have napped during a few of them…"

"Ugh! Come on, and not one sound!"

The two men started to sneak into the shed, but Bernie didn't see where he was going.

"Ugh! Silly bucket! Who put that there?"

"Shh!" Baz hastily put a hand over Bernie's mouth.

Earl of Berkeley opened a sleepy eye. "Hmm… must be having a weird dream…" he quickly fell back asleep.

"That was too close for comfort," hissed Baz. "Just follow my lead, and don't utter so much as one syllable. Understand?"

Bernie nodded, and after removing the bucket, the two slipped into Stepney's cab. The ochre tank engine yawned as their fire spread through their boiler.

"A bit early for work…" they said quietly. "Maybe I'm dreaming…"

"It's a bit tight in here, isn't it?" asked Bernie. "I can barely move around! And how do you fire one of these–"

"Just… shush!" snapped Baz. "Ugh… go get the backup plan. This first one sure isn't working like I thought."

"Huh… oi!" cried Stepney. "What's going on in there? Driver, fireman, is this a joke?!"

"Stepney…" yawned Ella, "are you alright?"

"There's someone in my cab that isn't my regular crew!"

"What?!" cried Bluebell; the whole shed was wide awake now.

"Oh, bugger!" gulped Bernie. "We're in for it now! Do you still think we should go to the backup plan–"

"Just release the brake!" cried Baz frantically. "That handle which I'm pointing at!"

"Oh no, you don't… okay, you did!" cried Stepeny. "Aah! I'm a runaway! Help!" All the other engines could do was watch as Stepney rolled out of the sheds with Baz and Bernie in their cab. All, that is, except for one…

"Don't worry, Stepney!" called BoCo. "I'll save you from those thieves!"

"Let's go, ol' boy!" BoCo's driver – who had secretly been following Baz and Bernie – jumped straight into the cab. Due to him being a diesel, all the driver had to do was turn on the starter, and BoCo was off.

"Good luck, BoCo!" called Primrose.

"Ugh…" groaned Captain Baxter. "I feel so helpless here!"

"There's not much we can do, Bax," said Birch Grove. "BoCo's the only one of us who is, A; a diesel, and B; not blocked by anyone else."

"Don't forget C; he had his driver on standby," added Ella. "Besides, I'd be too slow to be much help."

"Please be alright, my sibling…" begged Fenchurch.

Meanwhile, Stepney was speeding through Sheffield Park at a dangerous speed.

"You two will get sued for this!" barked the terrier.

"Engines can't sue people!" Bernie retorted.

"My crew can!" growled Stepney. "And so will Mr. Holden!" Just then, they, Baz and Bernie heard the sound of a diesel horn approaching them.

"You stop Stepney right now or else there will be consequences!"

"BoCo!" cried Stepney. "Oh, thank throttles you're coming to my rescue!"

"Alright, BoCo," said his driver. "We just have to get ahead of Stepney and push back against them."

"Understood, driver," said BoCo.

"What?! How is that–"

"Just trust me on this one, Stepney!" BoCo called. "Everything's going to be okay, I promise."

"O-okay…" The terrier shut their eyes and braced themself.

BoCo went as fast as he could to get ahead of Stepney before crossing over on the points in front of them.

"Hey! What's that diesel doing now?" asked Bernie.

"He's getting in our way!" cried Baz. "Ah, no matter. We'll get him out of our way if we can!" He opened up Stepney's throttle as wide as it could go. The ochre tank engine bumped into the back of BoCo, but the diesel anticipated this; he'd slowed down after getting in front of Stepney and began to brake as hard as he could.

"What the–?! He's slowing us down!" cried Baz.

"Where's a backup plan when you need one?!" cried Bernie.

"Right behind you!" called a voice. Two tank engines showed up from out of the darkness; one looked similar to Birch Grove, and the other had eight driving wheels and outside cylinders.

"Hop on board!" called the eight-coupled tank engine. "I'm sure the boss will want a word with you two."

"Oh, great…" muttered Baz. "Anyone but the boss…"

"It's not our fault!" growled the Birch Grove lookalike. "Come on!"

Quickly, Baz and Bernie jumped out of Stepney's cab and each landed into the other tank engines' respective cabs.

"It sounds like they're getting away in those other engines!" cried BoCo.

"Never mind them," said Stepney. "I'm just glad they didn't take me to who knows where!" BoCo's driver had jumped down from the diesel's cab and climbed into Stepney's, shutting off steam.

"Thanks for helping me out there, BoCo," said Stepney.

"Any time, Stepney," panted BoCo. "Come on, let's bring you back to the sheds. The other engines were worried about you!" As the two engines headed home, neither realized that they were being watched by an enthusiast…

The following morning, BoCo was out on one of the first runs for the day. As he waited at the platform, he noticed a large group of enthusiasts walking towards him.

Great… BoCo thought, resignedly. Here come the hate comments…

"Hey, there he is!" called an enthusiast. "The Metro-Vickers hero himself!"

"Huh?" BoCo blinked in surprise. "Where did you… how did you…"

"I got it on video!" said another enthusiast. "I'm planning on sending it to the police so they could bring the criminals to justice, but… well… everyone was just curious to see what happened."

"Yes, where did you come up with such a heroic idea like what you did?" asked a third.

"Er… well, my driver helped," BoCo admitted. "And it just… happened. I love all my friends, and if anyone goes after them, I will make sure they understand it's a huge mistake."

"You are truly a brave engine, BoCo," said a little boy. "Sir Topham Hatt must be proud to have you on his railway."

"Aww… thank you," BoCo said modestly.

"So what?!" snapped a fourth enthusiast. "Any engine could have saved Stepney. Their brother was in the shed–"

"If Fenchurch tried to go after Stepney," the second enthusiast retorted, "his fire would have taken forever to start! And two people would have needed to operate him, so that would have wasted even more time!"

"Er… well, er…"

"Mom's got you there," chuckled the little boy.

"I think this calls for a celebration!" said a fifth enthusiast. "Let's hear it for BoCo!"

Everyone started cheering for BoCo as they boarded his train. The green diesel was praised at every station he stopped at, by both engines and enthusiasts alike, and lots of photos were taken. Some of the kids even drew his picture.

"You've made me proud to have you as a guest, BoCo," smiled Mr. Holden. "Thank you so much for saving one of my engines."

"Any time, Mr. Holden," replied BoCo. Stepney, who was passing through, smiled and winked at the green diesel. BoCo was thrilled to see that his visit to the Bluebell Railway was off to a good start after all.

The news report eventually reached the home grounds of Sodor. The engines were listening to it on the radio.

"Bust my buffers!" exclaimed Percy. "BoCo's been a hero!"

"You did well, my love," Edward said quietly. "Keep up the good work."

"I have no doubt that he will," smiled Toby.

"Hmm…" The engines looked over to see Thomas looking thoughtful.

"Thomas?" asked Edward. "Are you alright?"

"They said an eight-coupled tank engine and an engine who looked like Birch Grove tried to assist the kidnappers," he said. "Something about those two engines seemed familiar to me, but I can't quite put my buffer on it…"

"What were those engines' names, Thomas?" asked Toby.

"Charleston and Sandra," replied Thomas. "What they were doing on the Bluebell Railway, I don't know…"

"You mean to tell me that Stepney and that big green buzz-box caterpillar got away?!"

"Er… yes…" trailed Baz.

"Oh, and there was someone filming us," added Bernie. "It was like we were on… er, television, but without a script… I think there's a term for it–"

"That's all we need!" groaned the boss. "If that film gets on the news, the coppers will be on to us… including my ex-best friend's mother!"

"Honey," said a female figure, "did you say we were doing this for the greater good? If so, we won't be in trouble with the police."

"Well, they've been brainwashed into thinking that our cause is wrong," sighed the boss. "One of these days, they'll wake up and see that I was right all along!"

"I sure hope so," said Charleston. "That Stepney's a tough nut to crack."

"You and Sandra did your best, Charleston," said the boss, gently setting hands on their bufferbeams. "We'll have to work on the Bluebell Railway later. For now, we need more motive power…"

THE END?

Author's Comments

If you'll recall in Alone in the Shed from Set 2 of Between the Lines, BoCo went to the Bluebell Railway, serving as an ambassador of sorts to the North Western Railway. This story takes that from another angle, showing how BoCo's initial arrival to the Bluebell Railway went down. Not just that, we're also given early development of the Anti-Diesel/Electric League Revolution as spearheaded by a young Addison Darnell (with a little help from Evelyn and her family, of course), with Charleston and Sandra being amongst the first engines to join. They're a pair of OCs I created years ago, but now they've been refreshed for the SeventyVerse; the former is an E4 tank engine, having previously appeared in Hercules from TUGS: The Bigg City Chronicles, and the latter is a Z Class tank engine, No. 952, which was actually considered for the Bluebell Railway, but was passed over in favor of Stepney instead, and the rest is history. This is what drives Stepney's engine-napping, using them as bait so that they could scrap BoCo, which, thankfully, did not get past the first step.

Upcoming stories:

- Catering Gator - What happened when Gator returned to Sodor for the holidays? (Christmas 2023 story)

- A Special Friend for Duck - Duck witnesses an incident at Knapford station in which a child is belittled for being unable to handle big environments.

- Serious Sigrid - A new diesel is brought to help out on the Arlesdale Railway, but Rex, Bert and Mike soon find out that she'll stand for no nonsense from anyone.

- Caroline's New Friend - On one of her travels, Caroline encounters an elderly bus named Edgar, who hasn't worked under Sodor Roadways for years, so she tries to find someone who could save him from a worse fate.

- A Kyndley Gesture - When Mrs. Kyndley's cottage needs some repairs, she temporarily moves into Dowager Hatt's house at Maithwaite, but can she put up with the eccentric old lady's antics?