A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for no updates last week, but I had a bit of writer's block. But I'm back now, with a story featuring our favorite miniature railway residents! Fair warning, this story will feature characters who exist in the railway series canon, but were never featured in the stories for one reason or another. With that out of the way, let's begin.

Chapter 80: The Old Warrior

When the Arlesdale Railway was built over the old Mid Sodor Railway, some of the old mines were used as sources for ballast for all the railways on Sodor. However, most of the old mines had run dry years ago, and lay dormant along with most of the line. One of the most famous ones was the old Cas-ny-Hawin mine, which was said to be haunted. It had been untouched for years, until Mr. Fergus Duncan, the man in charge of the railway, came upon it while hiking through the woods. Although the rails remained, the site was rusted and deserted.

"This mine could make an interesting tourist destination," he thought to himself, "It plays an important part of Mid Sodor's history, and the local ghost stories could be a good Halloween spot. I'll bring it up with the railway board."

The board agreed, and plans were soon underway for the restoration. Since he couldn't close the railway while the project was undertaken, Mr. Fergus split the work among his engine drivers. Sigrid, Rex, and Frank would handle the restoration of the mine, while Mike, Bert, and Jock would handle the passengers, with the Blister Twins left in charge of the maintenance and other goods trains. Sigrid was not happy.

"Why must I be stuck doing dirty goods work?" She grumbled. Although she was a nice girl and normally didn't complain about her work, she hated doing goods work, as she thought her diesel was too good for it. "My diesel was built for passenger work, not pulling up weeds."

"I don't see why you're complaining," groaned Mike, "I'd take goods work over passengers anyway. Passengers are annoying, and they never shut up. It's especially bad when I have to take those dumb open topped carriages, as I can hear every word they're saying. It's one thing to talk about someone behind their back, but when they're in earshot…"

"We get it, Mike," Bert said firmly, "Now I know that this arrangement upsets you two, but it's the Small Controller's orders, and there's nothing we can do about it. Besides, they're nothing wrong with a little change in scenery."

"Just make sure that you watch your engine's whistle, Mike," Rex teased, "I don't think we have any spares in the workshop, and the passengers can't be your whistle all the time."

"Shut up, Rex."

Work progressed smoothly, and the mine was set to open to the public the next month. But as the work progressed, the workmen noticed some odd occurrences. Whenever they got to work in the morning, they found everything rearranged from the way they left it the night before. Not only that, but they could sometimes hear noises at night, as if it were an engine puffing down the track. But the only engines out at the time were all at the quarry. No one knew what was going on, and they passed it off as their minds playing tricks on them.

One evening, Sigrid was just about to head back to the house when the foreman came up to her.

"Just a minute, Sigrid," he told her, "It's your turn to stay watch tonight. I don't know who keeps messing with us, but we need to find them."

"But I'm tired. Can't Bert or Frank do it."

"It's your turn, and that is final. Goodnight, Sigrid."

Frank saw a chance to put her in her place, so he walked up to her.

"Be careful tonight, Sigrid," Frank said, "Otherwise, the old warrior will get you."

"The Old Warrior?"

"The ghost engine that haunts this mine. Legend has it that when the mine closed the engine that worked here was left behind, to rust to nothing. Now every night, it lights its fire and goes hunting, seeking revenge for being forgotten."

Sigrid just rolled her eyes.

"Do you honestly expect me to believe that? There is no such thing as ghosts. Now leave me alone before I do something you'll regret."

"Don't say I didn't warn you. Have a good night, Sigrid."

"Whatever."

It soon got dark. And as the moon rose into the night sky, and fog rolled in, Sigrid thought more about Frank's story.

"There's no such thing as ghosts, there's no such things as ghosts," she muttered to herself. Just then, she heard a noise, like a steam engine.

"Who's there?" She called out timidly. There was no reply. The sounds just got louder.

"Stand back, I'm warning you."

Still nothing. The noises just got louder, and louder, until they sounded like they were coming right for her. Sigrid screamed out in terror.

"Are you alright, miss?"

Sigrid opened her eyes to see and older man standing in front of her.

"I came running when I hear you scream. My name's Bertram, and I live near here. Come on, you look like you need someone to talk to."

Bertram lead her to his house, where she told him everything.

"Seems like you've had a rough night. Can't say I've ever seen anyone messing around that old mine at night. Most people seem to believe its haunted."

"Why do you live around here? Doesn't seem like a very pleasant place."

"I used to work on the old Mid Sodor Railway. When it closed I got a job in town. Wasn't quite ready to move. Also, it was the perfect place for me to work on my special project. Would you like to see it?"

Sigrid nodded, and he led her to his workshop out back. In it was a narrow gauge tender engine.

"Used to drive this old girl in the old days. They used to call me The Old Warrior because I was brave enough to take on any job, no matter what. But she broke down years ago, and the railway went bankrupt before they could repair her. They were going to scrap her, but I bought her at the last minute. I just couldn't let her go."

"She's beautiful," Sigrid responded, "I'll tell Mr. Percival about it, maybe he'll have it restored and send it to The Steamworks. But there's something I don't quite understand."

"And what would that be?"

"Before you came along, I hear a steam engine puffing, as if it were coming right for me. That… that couldn't have been you, could it?"

"Are you kidding? This old girl hasn't run in years. I can't even get the fire to light up, much less get her in motion."

"Then… that must mean…"

Sigrid was silent for several minutes. She began to think that maybe ghosts weren't made up monsters after all. And she would never forget that night.