Heavy storms soon plagued the Josephine Railway for weeks. The storm damage was severe; many of the engines were struggling against the wind, rain, and the hail: Anna needed two backing engines to push her up to speed, Charlotte and Diana doing whatever they can to try and keep their passengers dry, with Austin, Max, Johnny, and Gwen not taking a glance about the weather, for they continued on with their work, with engines going up and down the line using their sanders to get any traction they can to get up to speed. Liliana also had some trouble with her trains, and since she can only pull so much, she could pull only small trains of only three trucks and one coach due to the weather.
Up in the hills, not far away from the branch line and the mainline, there was a large brick dam between two hillsides, while behind it was a large lake and lagoon, similar to Gatun Lake in the centre of Panama, part of the Panama Canal, the biggest waterway for shipping in the world, only smaller.
The dam stood over 60m tall, taller than the banks on the sides of the dam, made a long time, and was made out of over 5,000 stone bricks that are the size of a single mattress bed. Two large concrete pipes, which were installed during the 80's and 90's to filter the flow of water out of the dam, were down at the bottom of the dam, and it was the only thing that was channeling the water safely down the hills, heading off to the river, running alongside the branch and mainline.
One day, Liliana was sitting down one of the stations down the track, sitting by a junction that'll lead up to the old dam. All around her, she saw that everything was wet, wet, and even wet. Even the river flowing nearby was reaching the tops of the banks, and was racing downstream. She didn't like the rain, since she can't pull heavy trains in this weather.
Just then, Braedey and Shadow pulled up next to her with their double-head passenger train, stopping opposite of a water tower. "Liliana. I've just gotten word from Hawk." Braedey spoke to the little engine. "There's more rain heading this direction. You will have to be extra careful when you go to the dam alone."
Hawk is a brand new orange and white Sikorsky S-92 search & rescue helicopter, who had just been acquired by Mr. Franklin for emergencies. He is equipped for almost any and all sea and mountain rescues that could happen.
"I will try." Liliana chugged bravely, and as Braedey and Shadow watched anxiously, she gently puffed away.
Liliana soon crossed over an old steel bridge over a large lake and river. The bridge had seen better days, especially since the iron and metal had been rusted away, due to the sun, rain, and wind. The bridge also hasn't been used for some time. The river below surged dangerously beneath it.
Soon, Liliana arrived at the old dam. She looked rather concerned for having to cross the old structure, but she knew she had to. Little by little, the tank engine rolled slowly onto the dam.
"Easy now, Lili." Her driver coached the green engine gently, slowly shovelling small amounts of coal into her firebox. "We'll be across the dam before you know it."
'The dam does not look safe.' Liliana thought to herself. But, as she was almost to the other side, she paled very much in the face at what she saw. 'Oh, no...'
There, down the wall, there was what could be seen as a small leak of water seeping out of the wall. Then, another leak appeared on the wall. And another, and another. There was one grim conclusion...
"The dam's breaking up!" Her driver cried, leaning out from the cab, and saw the leaks on the dam wall. "We must warn everyone down below!"
Liliana shifted into reverse, and she shunted back as fast as all her four wheels could carry her. She didn't want to stop until she was far away from the dam.
All the while, Hawk the Rescue Helicopter was flying nearby, and making long search patterns for anything out of the ordinary. Hawk noticed the little engine running away from the dam, and had some suspicions. He decided to head down to see what was going on, his pilot sending a call back to base about what's going on.
Meanwhile, Braedey and Diana were all waiting at the old bridge for Liliana to come back safely. The water in the river has risen so high, that the entire bridge was in danger of collapsing from the torrent of water.
Just then, Liliana arrived on the other side of the river. She whistled in a frantic rush, and came to a stop just before the bridge. "The dam is breaking up! We must reach higher ground!" Her driver called.
"You'll have to cross the bridge to get to the other side where it's safer!" Braedey yelled back.
Liliana then eyed the rushing torrent of water below the bridge. "It doesn't look safe to me." She wailed.
"It's our only chance, Liliana!" Her driver told the little engine, now prepping her to cross. "If that dam breaks, we're done for!"
Little by little, Liliana began to chug slowly onto the old bridge. It creaked and crunched under her weight, and from the torrent of water pushing against the old rusting bridge supports. Her driver watched the river below, and had kept a close watch on Liliana's gauges. Braedey and Diana all watch on anxiously, and were guiding Liliana in to safety.
The little tank engine and her driver were just halfway over the bridge, when disaster struck.
The top part middle section of the dam wall began to fall away and collapsed down from the wall, as all the water and the leaks made the wall finally give way with a tremendous roar and a crash. Now, over thousands of tonnes of dammed up water began to flood down into the river, heading off to the town below. The only parts that remained of the dam after it had failed was the two sides of the wall, and the track on the top of the dam, which was swaying in the wind like a rope bridge.
Liliana stopped right in the centre of the bridge, once she and the two male engines all heard that terrifying and dreadful sound. The sound of a dam collapsing and falling apart was the worst sound to be heard.
"Help!" Liliana cried.
Suddenly, the water level in the river had risen up so fast and so high, the middle section of the bridge had been torn away from the rest of the structure. Now, acting as a raft, the bridge section began to take Liliana and her crew down the river, all to Braedey and Diana's shock!
"Diana! We have to hurry and rescue Liliana!" Braedey said to the Caledonian engine. "You head back down to the station and go tell Mr. Franklin." Diana whistled, and she steamed away quickly. "We'll follow them down the line! It meets up with the river further down!"
With a loud whistle, Braedey headed off to the rescue.
Meanwhile, Hawk was now inspecting the damage sustained to the dam. Hawk and his flight crew soon began to place massive sandbags down into the hole of the dam, seeing if they could stop the flooding for the time being, and try to prevent any more of the water to flood down into the valley.
A moment later, then Hawk's pilot got an emergency call from Mr. Franklin over the radio. The call told the pilot that one of his engines was now stuck on part of a broken bridge, and was now floating down the river. Once getting this information, Hawk's pilot got the copter ready to go, and they soon got airborne. After doing that, Hawk began to fly off and head down the river, seeing if anyone has been caught in the torrent. He soon saw the remains of the bridge, and he assumed something must have gone wrong.
As Liliana floated helplessly down the river on the remains of the bridge, she and her crew hoping rescue will arrive soon. But then, they saw a sign that made them shudder.
The sight read 'BEWARE THE WATERFALL'.
"If we end up going over that waterfall, we are doomed!" Liliana's driver cried, holding onto the controls.
Just then, the sound of whirring rotors could be heard from above. Liliana and her crew looked up to see Hawk flying in. The Sikorsky S-92 swooped low to them, and began to hover above them.
"We're going to drop a rope to you. Attach it to yourself, quickly now!" Hawk called down below.
A moment later, Hawk's crew reeled down a cable from a powerful winch built to the helicopter's mainframe. The cable lowered down to Liliana and her crew, which they made into a loop. After that, they hooked the cable to one of Liliana's buffers. Once done that, Hawk began to pull the bridge section away from the waterfall, his engine revving and he pulled as hard as he can.
Over by the left bank of the river, Braedey arrived on the scene, pulling up on one of the two track sidings. The crimson engine whistled out to Liliana, and she whistled back in relief. Braedey's driver soon ran up to the rear of Braedey's tender, then opened an panel on the rear, pulling a lever behind the panel. A moment later, a panel opened up, revealing what was a harpoon gun.
"Heads up!" Braedey's driver yelled out to Liliana's crew, as he pushed a button.
The harpoon launched from Braedey's tender towards the bridge section. The harpoon, with a four-side barbed head, then latched itself onto part of the old bridge, and the cable was taught, keeping Liliana in place.
"We're hooked!" Braedey's driver called.
Hawk flew over above Braedey and his crew. "Catch the cable, and pull Liliana to safety." He called, the cable cutting, and it dropped to the ground.
"Let's go." Braedey called out.
Braedey's crew then tied the cable to one of Braedey's buffer, and they were ready to pull. The crimson engine then began to pull forward, using all of the steam available in his boiler, and the coal in his tender, as he began to try and pull Liliana back in. But, his wheels started to slip on the slippery wet rails, and each puff and chug was getting harder and harder to do.
"We need more pulling force!" Braedey realised, and started to pull harder and harder, but to no avail. "We need immediate backup!"
"Backup has arrived." The GWR 4900 locomotive looked to see Anna, Shadow, and Madeline pulling up ahead, all of them buffer to buffer.
"Let's get to work!" Shadow whistled.
Anna coupled up to Braedey's front buffers, with the others coupled up behind her. Once all coupled up, Anna, Shadow, and Madeline all pulled with Braedey with all their might, all four engines began to pull the bridge in. Madeline's face went as red as Braedey's paintwork, whilst Braedey, Anna, and Shadow chugged and puffed as hard as they can. As they do so, the bridge section started to pull closer towards the shore, Liliana smiling as she's pulled away from the waterfall.
"Heave Ho!" Braedey, Shadow, and Madeline called out in unison. "Heave Ho! Heave Ho!"
After a few more moments, the bridge section was soon pulled up against the shore with a loud crunch of metal against stone. Liliana was safe at last.
Diana pulled up with Mr. Franklin onboard, as well as the Breakdown Train, a Cowans Sheldon 30-tonne breakdown crane, as well as a works coach, the cranes and flatbeds painted dark grey, as is the coach, and "WORKS UNIT" painted on the coach's sides in white.
"Don't you ever scare us like that again, Lili." Diana scolded, as the cranes began to lift up Liliana off the bridge section, and began to swing her over to the flatbeds.
"I'm sorry, Diana." Liliana apologised. "I promise to make sure nothing happens again."
At that moment, the rain soon dissipated, and the light of the sun pierced through the clouds, and blue sky began to appear through the clouds.
Soon, the storm was finally over. With the remains of the dam, after the water was up against a coffer dam, it was knocked down, and a brand-new dam had been built in place of the old one, but made out of stronger and more sturdy materials.
Liliana had been checked over at the workshop sheds, making sure she hasn't sustained any damage. Over that time, Diana decided to help out her friend, taking her maintenance trains, while the others helped out whenever and wherever they can. After a little while, Liliana left the workshop sheds, after being given a clean bill of health. After that, everything soon began to return to normal.
The day after Liliana was back on her wheels, the people of the railway soon celebrated a big party for the small green engine, hosted by Mr. Franklin himself.
"You were a very brave engine, Liliana." Mr. Franklin said to Liliana.
"Well, I did have a good set of friends to watch out for me." Liliana looked to Braedey and the others, Hawk sitting in a field nearby. "I wouldn't be here without them or Hawk."
"Always happy to help." Hawk spoke out with a smile.
"Diana." Liliana started the conversation. "I wish to thank you and the others for saving my life that day. Without you all, we'd probably not be having this conversation."
Liliana showed a small smile on his face. "You're welcome." She replied, and Diana whistled gently to her.