LIFE ON THE SLOW LANE

Written by Zack Wanzer and Rachel Ravens

Set during Series 17-18

It was an early summer morning on the Island of Sodor. Down at Kirk Ronan sheds, three red engines were being fired up for the day's work. Lauren the flatiron engine looked forward to Tuesdays and Fridays for one particular reason.

"Come on, Audrey, Hilary and Mark!" she called to her coaches. "It's that time of week again!"

"Yes, yes," said Audrey, rolling their eyes. "You say that every time we do this, Lauren."

"Oh, come now, Audrey," said Hilary. "Let her have her fun."

"In either case, we're making good time," said Mark.

Soon, they heard the sound of a ferry. "It's here!" cried Lauren. "All the way from Dublin!" Sure enough, the ferry docked alongside the port, and the passengers began to depart the ferry to start boarding the coaches. "Welcome, travelers. I sure hope you enjoy your ride with us… and your stay, of course."

As soon as the passengers were on board, the guard blew the whistle, and Lauren set off.

It wasn't long before Lauren and her coaches arrived at Kellsthorpe Road. "One of the main line engines should be here any minute…" Lauren said to herself. However, she was surprised with the whistle she heard. "Or… not?"

"Did Sir Topham Hatt get a new engine?" gasped Audrey. Suddenly, a magenta streak sped right through the station, shortly followed by an aquamarine one.

"Make that two new engines," Hilary corrected. "Hmm… they don't seem to have their North Western Railway numbers yet."

"Do you think they could be from the mainland?" suggested Mark.

"Two American-built engines from the mainland?" Lauren wondered. "That seems far-fetched. I mean, Rosie's case was a bit extreme, but there are a couple on the Brendam branch that Edward mentioned."

Whenever Lauren took her ferry services, she would go beyond Kellsthorpe Road and make extra stops at Crovan's Gate and Vicarstown, so that Irish visitors could travel on the Skarloey Railway or travel to the mainland beyond Sodor. Today, it was Peter Sam who would be making the connection with Lauren's ferry service.

"Hello, Lauren," smiled the smaller tank engine. "Always a pleasure to see you and your coaches."

"Likewise with you and your coaches," replied Lauren. "Er… Peter Sam, you and your coaches haven't seen a pair of magenta and aquamarine streamlined engines lately, have you?"

"As a matter of fact, yes," said Ada. "Connor and Catlin are recent additions to Sodor."

"If they are," said Lauren, "then why haven't we seen new numbers on their tenders?"

"That's because they're not owned by the North Western Railway," said Jane. "They work for the Earl of Sodor and run services from the mainland up to Ulfstead Castle."

"Ulfstead Castle?" Lauren and her coaches repeated together.

"Working for the Earl of Sodor has to be one of the biggest honors any engine could have!" exclaimed Audrey.

"Indeed so," said Peter Sam. "Oh… I sure hope Granpuff will like them."

"Duke's still not out of the Steamworks yet?" asked Mark.

"No," admitted Peter Sam. "I swear, the Steamworks hasn't been the same since that storm hit it a few years ago."

"Don't worry, he'll turn up sooner or later," said Mabel. "And maybe you and Sir Handel can be the ones to show him what's changed."

The group all chuckled before Lauren's guard whistle blew. "We'll see you later. Bye, Peter Sam; bye, girls."

For the next several runs, Lauren often kept her eyes out for Connor and Caitlin, but never got a chance to talk to one or both the duo. One day, however, her chance came when Connor was early to Vicarstown station.

"Ah, you must be one of the Kirk Ronan branch engines," said Connor. "Lauren, I presume?"

"Yep, that's me, alright," said Lauren. "And my coaches behind me are Audrey, Hilary and Mark."

"I've heard a bit about you and your Midland friends," said Connor. "You came to help out with a locomotive crisis back in the early days of the railway, if I remember right."

"We did indeed," said Lauren, "and now me, Johnson and Julie run the Kirk Ronan branch line. Katie and Nicole live on a heritage line now, but we still keep in touch."

"So, you've been living the slow life since Katie and Nicole left?" remarked Connor.

"Actually, Nicole and I ran the line until– excuse me, what?!" cried Lauren. "What do you mean, living the slow life? Is there anything wrong with that?"

"I mean, from what I hear," said Connor, "your branch line is on the quieter side compared to Thomas or Duck's. What with less stations there. Plus, you don't go nearly as fast as what Caitlin and I do." Now, Connor didn't mean to come off as condescending, but to Lauren, it felt like it.

"Just because it's not as busy and I don't need to go as fast, doesn't mean it's not important!" she retorted. "Passengers and goods customers rely on it just as much as any other line on this island."

"Whoa, Lauren!" cried Audrey. "Take it easy there."

Before the other coaches or Connor could say something else, the guard's whistle blew, and Lauren started off a bit more quickly than intended.

"Lauren!" called Hilary. "Are you trying to be a horse? It's a bit bumpy back here."

"Who does that Connor think he is, thinking that our lives are slow?" Lauren huffed crossly. "They are very eventful! Julie, Johnson, my coaches and I work very hard to keep our branch line going."

"Do you think you could slow down a bit, Lauren?" asked Mark. "We're approaching Crovan's Gate!"

"Oh, flatten my funnel," cried Lauren. "Sorry, you three!" But what Lauren didn't realize was that an oil tanker had leaked. As she started to take the crossover, she skidded on the rails, and came off at the points, her wheels crunching against the ballast.

"Goodness me!" exclaimed Sir Handel; he, Gertrude and Millicent were at the platform. "Lauren, are you okay?"

"Not really," groaned Lauren. "Just my luck…"

It wasn't long before Lauren was lifted back onto the rails by Rocky. Belle had brought the big red crane with her, along with Sir Topham Hatt.

"I'm surprised at you, Lauren," he remarked. "You're usually never this careless when taking passengers."

"I'm sorry, sir…" sighed Lauren. "I was just… having an off day." She seemed hesitant to tell Sir Topham Hatt the real reason she'd derailed. Glancing back, she saw the passengers had boarded Sir Handel's and Caitlin's respective trains. A very off day… she added to herself.

"I see," said Sir Topham Hatt. "Well, Lauren, you don't seem too badly damaged, but you and Johnson will swap jobs for the rest of the day."

"Yes, sir…" said Lauren. "Johnson won't like this…"

"I can't believe this, Lauren," grunted Johnson. "Because of your blunder, I have to handle the old hen houses again!"

"We heard that!" snapped Mark.

"Johnson, don't make this even harder!" Lauren retorted. "I've already had a hard enough day as it is!"

"What happened, Lauren?" asked Julie. "Usually, you're the most focused of any of us… well, besides Nicole before she left."

Lauren quickly explained what Connor had said. "Please be honest with me," she said. "You don't think we live slow, mundane lives, do we?"

"Of course not," protested Julie. "This is the Island of Sodor! There's never a dull moment around here. Besides, Annabelle and her aunt Amanda have been working on all those books of us, have they not?"

"Well… yes," said Lauren. "But we're not usually the center point of them."

"Look at it this way, Lauren," said Johnson. "We don't get into nearly as many scrapes as some of the other engines do. That's got to be a good thing."

"Well, there is the incident today," pointed out Lauren.

"Yes, that is true," said Julie. "But don't let that get to you too much. Our branch line may not be the center of everything, but it's still fun, right?"

Lauren managed a weak smile. "I guess you have a point, Julie."

Several days went by, and Lauren soon forgot about what Connor had said, returning to her normal routine. However, Connor couldn't shake off Lauren's harsh remark.

"I still haven't found a way to apologize to her," said Connor to Caitlin. "I didn't mean any offense, you understand."

"I know you didn't, Connor," said Caitlin. "But you have to remember, the Kirk Ronan engines don't get as much recognition as some other engines on the island. Gordon said they are a bit sensitive to remarks like that."

"I'll keep that in mind," sighed Connor. Just then, his guard's whistle blew. "I'll catch you at Ulfstead Castle, Caitlin."

"Say hi to Millie and Stephen for me!" she smiled.

Connor was soon out on the main line, having just sped through Crovan's Gate. Things were going smoothly for him until…

"Watch out, ol' boy!" cried his driver.

"For what– whoa!" Connor's brakes screeched on. The passengers were surprised by the train coming to a quick stop, some even being flown out of their seats. "Sorry, everyone!" As Connor overcame his shock, he saw a brown and white bunny twitching its nose.

"Oh… Is that it?" he asked, looking at the cute, fluffy obstacle on his track. A few of the passengers couldn't resist saying "aww" upon seeing the bunny. The bunny, upon seeing the big machine in its path, hopped away in fright.

"Sorry about that, little fella," Connor called to the bunny. "Well, we'd better continue on our way now." But as he began to set off again, something felt wrong. "Oh, now what?!"

"Your brakes are jammed," sighed his driver. "There's no way we can carry on like this."

"Oh dear…" sighed Connor. "Now how am I supposed to get the passengers to Ulfstead Castle?"

At Kellsthorpe Road, Lauren had just arrived when the stationmaster had a message for her driver and fireman.

"Connor's stuck and his passengers are stranded," the driver explained.

"Really?" asked Lauren, as she and her coaches ventured onto the main line. "How did that happen?"

"A bunny?!" She and her coaches were in hysterics. "Your brakes got jammed all because of a cute little bunny on the line?"

"Hey, if I didn't stop, the poor thing would have been hurt, or worse!" cried Connor.

Everyone stopped laughing then. "Well… you did the right thing, Connor," said Mark.

"Yeah, it's good to look out for animals and people," agreed Hilary.

"But still… I can't move," sighed Connor. "Lauren… could you and your coaches take my passengers for me?"

"Well… okay," she agreed. "Mind you, it might be a tight squeeze in my coaches."

"Yes," said Audrey. "We're much smaller than your coaches, Connor."

"I completely understand," said Connor. "Also, and I didn't plan on it being this way, but I wanted to apologize for upsetting you the other day, Lauren. I didn't know you and the others would take such comments this hard."

"It's okay," smiled Lauren. "I'm sorry too for responding the way I did. It was completely uncalled for."

It wasn't long before Connor's passengers had boarded Audrey, Hilary and Mark; the old coaches were feeling fuller than they'd ever been.

"One more, and I think I might burst," groaned Hilary.

"Don't worry, you three," said Lauren. "We can manage." With the guard's whistle blowing, she puffed away as quickly as she could.

Lauren and the old coaches were soon making their way to Ulfstead Castle.

"Phew!" panted Lauren. "I didn't think it would be this long a journey!"

"It's very crowded in here," groaned Mark. "Are you sure you'll be alright on your own, Lauren?"

"I… I'll be alright, Mark," said Lauren. She slowly started to climb the hill. "Phew… this has got to be the steepest hill I've ever climbed!"

"You can do it, Lauren!" called Audrey. "Maybe sand will help!"

Lauren dropped sand in order to get a better grip on the rails, and at long last, she reached the top of the hill, and there was Ulfstead Castle.

"Bonjour, C– Uh– you're not Connor!" cried Millie.

"He had a problem with his brakes," explained Lauren, "so we're helping him out. You must be Millie and Stephen. I'm Lauren."

"And we're Audrey…"

"Hilary…"

"And Mark!"

"Oh, it's a pleasure to meet you all," smiled Millie. As soon as Lauren had come to a stop, the passengers poured out of the old coaches, relieved to get a chance to stretch their legs before going on their tours of the castle grounds.

"We thought we'd never make it," said one of them, "but thanks for helping us get to our destination."

"You and the coaches were very brave, Lauren," said another. "Thank you so much for your help!"

"We're just happy to lend our services to you…" replied Lauren, tired but proud.

"Does this mean we'll have to take them all back down again once the tour's over?" asked Hilary.

"Don't worry, Lauren," said Stephen. "I'm sure Sir Topham Hatt will have figured out alternative arrangements by then. You did a grand job getting here."

"That's good to hear, Stephen," smiled Lauren.

Suffice to say, after that heavy train, Lauren was glad to get back to her branch line traffic. And she was glad to have a new friend in Connor.

"You know, Lauren," said Connor, "sometimes being slow isn't that bad. You must get to see a lot on the branch line at a more steady pace."

"Not just there, but on the main line too," said Lauren. "You should try it sometime. Some beautiful birds singing in the trees, or flowers dotted all over the countryside…"

Little did Lauren know that Connor would one day take this to heart…

THE END

Author's Comments

After writing up something as lengthy as Thomas, Between the Lines, I think it's only right that we did a story that was more slice of life in comparison. It was fun to put Lauren in the spotlight once again, along with Audrey, Hilary and Mark the old coaches, and with Connor in a starring role. Originally, I wanted to include Pip and Emma in the story, but the more I thought about it, the more I felt it was far too similar to Gordon Proves His Point, so they were swapped out for Connor instead, since he and Caitlin haven't appeared all that much in Between the Lines anyway. This story is very much something of a reversal of last set's Branch Line Blues, whereas while Johnson was hesitant about adjusting to branch line life, Lauren embraces it and even gets defensive if it's criticized for being "the slow life". While Lauren is usually a chill, laid-back sort of engine, it's never a good idea to make such a remark like that in her presence.

Upcoming stories:

- Blind Puffing - While out on a rubbish run, Whiff's glasses break and he has to try and complete his tasks without them. However, he soon runs into trouble with a shipment of bananas at Brendam docks.

- Gordon in a Sulk (adapted from Gordon's Express and In a Sulk) - Gordon ends up in a bad mood following an accident that results in him going to the Steamworks. Meanwhile, Donald and Douglas end up managing the express in his absence.

- It Don't Come Easy - Sidney is rostered to help out on the Norramby branch line, but as it turns out, his forgetfulness and Arthur's fussiness do not mix.