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Chapter 68: Escape

One morning Edward was talking to Trevor in the yard when Douglas came through with a goods train. He saw Edward and thought that he wasn't doing any work.

"Get a move on, Edward," he said crossly, "Stop gossiping in the sun when there's work to be done."

This made Edward cross. Later, he met Douglas at the water tower as he was filling his engine's tender.

"Trevor and I are old friends, and we haven't had a chance to talk in a long time," he said, "Besides, I only stopped for a minute. If I want to talk to my friends, I have the right."

"Well, you could at least finish your job first," Douglas huffed crossly.

"Besides," Edward continued, "You and Trevor have a lot in common as well."

"Oh really?" Douglas said, "Like what."

"Unemployment," Edward said quietly.

Douglas almost jumped out of his shoes.

"Don't say that word!" He said, "Ye know it makes me uncomfortable."

"It's like that for Trevor to," Edward said, "His traction engine was going to be scrapped, and he would've been out of a job, but the Vicar bought it, and hired him to help out around the orchard. He also does a lot to help us around the yards. Without him, it would be a mess."

"Well, ye got me there," Douglas conceded.

"All the same," Edward sighed, "We do need another engine driver to help us around here."

"Aye," said Douglas, "And quickly. Anyway, I'm sorry about how I acted earlier. All of this extra work has been gettin' to me."

"It's alright, Douglas," Edward said, "Sadly, it seems that we may have to put up with it for a little longer. Steam engines aren't easy to come by these days. Well, I must get to my next train. Goodbye."

And with that, Edward departed, leaving Douglas to think about their conversation.

Later that night, Douglas had to take a goods train to the mainland. In recent years, steam was slowly disappearing from British Railways, leaving their yards almost solely inhabited by Diesels. None of the steam engine drivers enjoy coming here, as the yards always seem so dark and menacing.

Douglas had just shunted his trucks into a siding. He was just about to leave when, suddenly…

PSSSSST!

Douglas stopped.

"What was that?"

The PSSSSSSSSSSSSST! Came again.

"Who's there?" Douglas asked, his voice quivering.

At last, a voice spoke up.

"Are you an employee of the North-Western Railway?"

"Aye, and proud of it."

Just then, two people came out from behind a rusting engine. They were both dirty, and looked like they hadn't eaten in a while. The smaller one looked to be about 10 years old, but the older one looked to be at least 20.

"I'm Oliver, and this is my little brother Toad. Our steam engine ran out of coal, and we have nowhere else to go."

"But what are you doing here? This is no place for a steam engine."

"Escaping," Oliver said sadly.

"From what?"

"Unemployment. I used to drive this engine for The Great Western Railway, but once British Railways abolished steam, I've been out of a job. Without it, I can't care for my little brother. When I heard that my old engine was to be scrapped, I tried to make a break for Sodor. But you can see how that worked out for us."

Douglas could see that the two were desperate and on the verge of tears. Then he remembered Edward's story about helping Trevor.

"I'll help you sneak her out," said Douglas, "All we need to do is make it look like we're taking it away for scrap."

Oliver smiled, and all three of them got to work. They took off some parts from the engine and stored it in the brakevan that they were taking with it. Lastly, they wrote scrap all over the engine and brakevan. Afterwards, Oliver and Toad joined Douglas in the cab.

"No time to turn my engine around," Douglas said, "I'll have to drive us back tender first."

And with that the cavalcade set off. However, just before they reached the exit…

"Hey!" shouted a passing diesel driver, "We've got a break out over here. Don't let them get away!"

An alarm was sounded, and a foreman signaled for them to stop.

"Don't worry," Douglas whispered to Oliver, "I'll handle this."

"What do we have here?" asked the foreman, "A Great Western engine, and a brakevan as well. You can't take these."

"Oh, but we can," Douglas said, "We're moving these somewhere safe until it's time to scrap them. Look, we haven't damaged them in anyway."

The Foreman eyed the pieces of rolling stock suspiciously. Oliver and Toad held their breath.

"Alright," the foreman said at last, "Everything seems in order. Off you go."

At last, they left the yard and headed for Sodor.

"That was a close one," Douglas sighed in relief.

"We've been through worse," Oliver said. As they continued their journey, they began to talk about their lives.

"So, if you don't mind my asking, how did you end up taking care of Toad here?"

Oliver looked down sadly.

"Our parents died a few years ago," he said sadly, "And we didn't have any other relatives for him to go to. My job was well paying, and I gave him as good of a life as I could. But when they stopped using steam engines, I was cut from the job. After that, life just took a turn for the worse, and we struggled to get by. When I heard about your railway, I figured that was our last chance to turn our life around. So, we packed our things, snuck into the yard, stole our engine and a brakevan, and drove like our lives depended on it, depending on sympathetic signalmen to hide our engine in sidings. We ran out of coal and water a while ago, and have been hiding ever since."

"Well, don't you worry," Douglas said, "I'm sure Sir Topham Hatt will be happy to hire you."

It wasn't long before they reached Crovan's Gate.

"I'll leave your engine in a siding, and talk to Sir Topham Hatt," said Douglas, before taking out his wallet. "Here. This will be enough for you two to buy a decent breakfast at the station café. I'll be back this afternoon."

"Thank you, Douglas," Oliver said. With that, Douglas drove his engine back to the sheds.

Once there, he told everyone about Oliver.

"Sir Topham Hatt must be told at once," said James.

"I propose that Douglas be the one to tell him," said Gordon.

"Well, here I am," said Sir Topham Hatt, appearing almost out of nowhere, "So what do you need to tell me?"

"Erm, beg pardon sir," said Duck, "But we do need another engine around here."

"Preferably a steam engine," Gordon agreed.

"I'm aware of this fact," Said Sir Topham Hatt, "But unless one is saved from scrap, and we can find someone able to operate it, I'm afraid there is nothing that I can do."

"But sir," Douglas interrupted, "A steam engine has been saved, and there is someone who can run it."

"Yes," said Sir Topham Hatt, "All thanks to you. I am more than happy to hire Oliver to help out around here. He shall work on Duck's branchline. And for your act of bravery, you shall have a well-deserved vacation.

Douglas just smiled happily.

Oliver and Toad are happy with their new lives. Together with Duck, they make their branchline run like clockwork. The others laughed at first and jokingly called it The Little Western. Duck and Oliver thought that it fit, and thus The Little Western it has become.