Chapter 256: Oliver's Find

Oliver was hard at work on the Little Western, taking a train of Ballast to the Junction. It was a bright, sunny day, but his mood was rather downcast. Toad, his brother, took notice. When they had a moment to rest, he decided to confront him about it.

"Is something wrong, Bro? You seem kind of out of it today."

Oliver sighed sadly.

"I'm afraid there is, Toad. I'm...well, I'm bored, to put it simply. The Little Western is a lovely line, but it is rather short. I long for a good run to stretch my wheels."

"Perhaps you should talk to Sir Topham Hatt then? I'm sure he'd give you a change of scenery."

Oliver decided that it couldn't hurt, and did just that later that evening. Sir Topham Hatt smiled, and agreed.

"Percy could use a rest, I think. Would you like to take his mail train tonight?"

"Oh, yes sir!"

"Excellent. The mail train is a fine run for an engine like yours."

This made Oliver smile. He was glad he asked, this was the change of pace that he needed.

Later that evening, he met Thomas at the mail depot, and he explained everything Oliver needed to know.

"Percy usually takes the South route, and I take the North. Does that work for you?"

"Sounds good to me."

"Great, good luck! And remember, if you're not sure which track to take, ask the Signalman."

Oliver was making good time, dropping off all of the letters and parcels at the right spots and on time. But when he reached Dryaw, he had to wait for Harold to drop off a load of mail before he could set off once more. He waited and waited, but Harold was still absent. Oliver was beginning to lose his temper.

"Hurry up, Harold!"

At last, Harold landed his Helicopter, looking very sheepish.

"Terribly sorry about that. Had a bit of engine trouble. It wanted to stay down when I needed it to be up, so to speak."

Oliver rolled his eyes, and set off once all of the mail had been transferred to his vans.

"Percy's right, Harold does say some weird things."

Now Oliver was very late, and not in the mood for any more delays. But when he got to the signal box, he found a fork in the road, and he wasn't sure which way to go.

"What was it Thomas said? Oh right, ask the signalman!"

Oliver blew the whistle, but got no response. The signalman had dozed off, leaving Oliver without a clue. Eventually, he gave up.

"I'm sure he's already set the points. Just one more station, and I'll have finished the run!"

But what Oliver didn't know was that he was going down the wrong line. The line they were going down was old and hadn't been used in a long time. Toad began to notice how bumpy their route was.

"Erm, Oliver? Are you sure we're going the right way?"

"Hmm, this does seem odd. I'll turn around at the next station."

But they never got the chance. When they reached the station, they found their route had been switched towards an old shed. Oliver braked, but the train was going too fast, and they crashed right into it.

When Oliver didn't return the next morning, Sir Topham Hatt sent out a search party. Riding in Harold's helicopter, he found him and Toad in no time at all, along with a very interesting discovery.

"Well, I'll be! I had forgotten about this little line..."

Once they had found their missing employees, Harold landed the helicopter and Sir Topham Hatt got out to see them. Oliver was okay, though he felt very sorry for himself.

"I'm sorry, sir."

"Its alright, Oliver, accidents happen. I'm just glad you're not hurt. What's more, you've made a brilliant discovery. I'd forgotten about this little branchline here, but this beautiful lake will make a fine tourist spot. A really useful discovery, old sport!"

Oliver just smiled proudly.