With Diana back in action and working harder than ever before, the other engines try to keep up with the blue Caledonian locomotive, much to their exhaustion and struggle. Diana just smirked at them and said to them 'You're just not trying hard enough. Maybe you should try and do some hard work for a change'. The others knew that she was just playing around, so they smiled at their friend's resolve.
In addition, with Miss Sunohara now being inducted and is now part of the railway team, she has been a big help and assist for those who need some therapy. She even helped out Diana and has been instrumental for the latter's recovery and improvement. She also has been a helping hand for others as well.
Meanwhile, down at Vicarstown Station on Sodor, Anna had arrived about five minutes ago, and was now getting her boiler and tender topped up for her return journey. She had actually done better and broke her own record of arriving to Vicarstown from Marion.
"You've now broken your record once again, Anna." Anna's driver said to her. "About five minutes faster than the last run you performed."
"Ha! I am the fastest out of the Josephine Railway." Anna smiled proudly to herself. "No way that anyone else could even keep up with my speed or time."
Gordon, who's been sitting at a platform opposite of the crimson LSWR Class T14 locomotive, smirked over at Anna. "You claim to be the fastest of your railway?" He asked to her.
"Well, I am built for speed, so yeah." Anna smiled back. "I mean, the others can't keep up with my speed. Braedey could, but he'd break his valve gear doing so."
"Still, being the fastest doesn't always garner much." Gordon advised to her. "Best you heed my words, or else it'll get you in more ways than one. Even I learnt the hard way." With that, the blue LNER A0 blew his whistle and puffed out of the station with his express.
Anna wheeshed steam out from her pistons as she soon coupled up to her coaches, and she waited to leave with her train. As she waited patiently, she now watched engines like Thomas, Henry, Peter, and others going about their business, travelling in and out of Vicarstown or shunting trains. Soon, Anna's guard blew his whistle and waved his green flag. Anna blew her whistle loudly, and she now pulled out of Vicarstown station out onto the mainline with her Josephine Flyer. After only an hour or so on the line, Anna arrived back on the Josephine Railway, and came to a stop at Marion station. She came to a smooth and gentle stop at the platform, as Belle now arrived to now take the coaches away. The LB E1 took away the coaches as Anna pulled away, now pulling up to the nearby water tower and coal hopper to reload. As she does so, she now looked over to see Diana and Jane pulling up to the water tower to top up their tanks.
"Hey, girls." Anna greeted to the two engines. "Once again, I'm back and feeling better than before." She sighed with pride in her voice.
Jane rolled her eyes. "We know. You've said that 20 times already, you know." She said monotonously.
"You can be just as boastful as Gordon can be on a bad day, you know that, Anna?" Diana said to Anna, the latter taken aback by her words. "Well, I'm here to relay this to you and the others: Mr. Franklin is calling us to the sheds later this evening to tell us something important." She then informed to the two.
"Oh, what might that be?" Anna wondered in curiosity.
"I'm not sure what it could be, but it sounds important from what Mr. Franklin had told me." Diana replied, and she now pulled away to go and take her next train, leaving Jane and Anna curious about what may occur.
Later in the afternoon, as day turned to dusk with the setting sun, the engines all gathered up at the sheds. Braedey, Diana, Belle, Max, and Liliana sat in their shed berths, with Charlotte, Anna, Kieron, Jonson, Shadow, and Madeline sitting outside by the turntable, Austin sitting on the turntable as a platform for Mr. Franklin, as the latter stood on top of the green tank engine's boiler.
"Ladies, gentlemen, and engines." Mr. Franklin spoke out to everyone. "I've been talking to Sir Topham Hatt over the phone regarding an express service from the Josephine Railway to the North Western Railway. After some negotiations, we have formed a joint-railway operation between the J.R and the N.W.R to better link our railways together."
"Ooh..." The engines sounded interested and intrigued about this operation.
"This sounds interesting." Austin commented.
"A joint-railway operation..." Belle mused.
"That'll be something." Max agreed.
"Think about the revenue of such an operation." Liliana included.
"Sir. If you don't mind me asking you this question." Braedey spoke up, now getting Mr. Franklin's attention. "Who will be taking this new joint-railway express? We already have everyone working on their respected jobs, and it seems like a lot for just us 9 engines to handle."
"I know, Braedey. That is why Sir Topham Hatt will have some of his engines assist us in this new endeavour, as will we be assisting his engines." Mr. Franklin clarified to Braedey. "Braedey, you shall take the first train to Sodor. It'll leave first thing tomorrow morning, and you'll leave from here to Barrow-in-Furness, since it's the closest big station to here. From there, you carry on non-stop to Knapford Station on Sodor."
"Whoa. A non-stop run from Barrow-in-Furness all the way to Knapford? That's almost 62 miles across the whole of Sodor itself. That's a rather long journey." Jane commented, looking down to her buffers as she calculated it in her smokebox.
"That maybe, Jane. But luckily, we know what we're doing." Mr. Franklin reassured to her, then he looked back to the GWR engine. "Braedey, you and Shadow will take care of the new express."
"Does it have a name as of yet?" Shadow commented.
"Not yet. We're mixing up some names here and there." Mr. Franklin shrugged innocently to him. "Anyway, that is all. Take care and sleep well, everyone." With that, he climbed off of Austin's boiler, and he headed off to his car to drive off for home, along with his family.
Miss Sunohara looked over to Diana, and gently patted her buffer beam. "I'll see you tomorrow morning." She said, and she headed off to go to the carpark.
Braedey looked to Shadow and be smiled, the two of them now settling into the berths of the sheds. As the others go to sleep, Anna was looking kinda miffed that she was not allocated to take the new express service. She then considered she already has her Josephine Flyer, so she couldn't be in two places at once.
'Still... it be nice to travel further than normal.' Anna thought silently to herself as she soon settled for sleep.
The next morning, Braedey was up bright and early, and collected the coaches for the express. The crews were all set for action, and he's ready to go. Once the train was ready, Braedey now left and made his way off to Barrow-in-Furness before the others could wake up and get going.
When he arrived at Barrow-in-Furness, Braedey sat by patiently at the platform as he awaited the passengers to board. He saw some engines coming and going as he waited for the time to go. This was the trial run, and Braedey now just had to go as well as he can.
'Alright, just do your best.' Braedey thought to himself. 'You just have to get to Knapford and be on time.'
Soon, it was 7:00AM. Sure enough, the guard blew his whistle, and waved his green flag. With a toot of his whistle, Braedey now started to charge out of Barrow-in-Furness in a cloud of steam, now heading out on the mainline.
Braedey headed off along the line, travelling at speeds of up to 60mph, blowing his whistle as he passes by some places along the line. He was making good time as well, all the while his crew making sure to check on his boiler pressure and water capacity. Soon, Braedey approached the Vicarstown Bridge up ahead, spanning crossing over the Walney Channel. Braedey started to slow himself down for the bridge to cross. He crossed the structure at 25mph, and once he crossed the channel, he accelerated back up to around 40mph, now on Sodor soil and rails, and charging on ahead.
After a few more minutes of crossing the meadows and fields, Braedey could see Vicarstown Station up ahead. This was the starting point for him to traverse 62 miles East to West of the island. So, he powered on, passing through the station as Braedey blew his whistle at the other engines, who whistled back to him as he rockets down the line. Braedey next passed through Ballahoo and Crovan's Gate, whistling hello to the narrow-gauge engines as he charged by. Braedey soon whizzed by Kellsthorpe Road, and passed on through the stations of Kellaby and Balladrine at speeds of 60 to 70mph. Soon, Braedey passed through Kildane Station, then he charged on through the station of Cronk, and he carried on. The GWR locomotive then crossed over the triple-track stone viaduct, and he carried on with a roar and a whistle down the line. Braedey smiled at the lush and green trees and fields, seeing farmers tending to their field and livestock. He then goes through Maron Station, and he charged towards Gordon's Hill. Braedey climbed up the more gentle gradient to the top of Gordon's Hill, now seeing the landscape around him. He then crested over the top of the hill, and being quick, shuts off his regulator, now shifting his reverser into reverse, and began applying his brakes, slowing his speed down the descent of the hill. With the bend down at the bottom of the hill, he didn't want to risk flying off the tracks. He managed to reach the bottom at a cautious 30mph, and once reaching the bottom, Braedey gets back up to speed, and he continued on down the mainline. Braedey continued on down the tracks, now whizzing on through Wellsworth Station, whistling out to any engines that were there, and they whistled back to him. The GWR 4900 engine soon carried on with his express on through Crosby Station, and he eventually arrived at Knapford Station after his non-stop express.
Braedey slowed himself down to a gentle pace as he approached Platform 5. He applied his brakes and he came to a gentle stop, the coaches gently buffering up behind him. After that, Braedey looked over to the clock, and he could see that only about 2 hours have passed since he left Barrow-in-Furness, and it was now 9:00AM on the dot.
"Arrived here in two hour's time." Braedey noted with a smile, albeit slightly out-of-breath. "Not a bad first trial run. Still, maybe a little bit quicker or so."
"Braedey. Good to see you again." Sir Topham Hatt now walked up to the crimson locomotive with a smile on his face. "Mr. Franklin has told me that you would be arriving. Have to say, he predicted you would arrive maybe an hour later than you are now." He noted.
"Well, this is a non-stop service, sir." Braedey replied casually and took a deep breath. "Although, I'm glad that another engine will take my place for the run back to Barrow-in-Furness and so forth until I feel ready to go again."
"That is good." Sir Topham Hatt nodded in agreement. "We can't have you engines running yourselves into the ground and wear down your parts." He added in, the workmen now uncoupling Braedey from the coaches. "Now, I understand another one of your fellow engines will be waiting at Barrow-in-Furness to take the next train."
"Yes, sir." Braedey acknowledged. "Shadow will be there. But, who will take the train forth to Barrow?" He asked.
"I will take the train for you." Braedey looked over, and to his surprise, there was Spencer, or now Silver Link, sitting over by the sidings, humming quietly.
"Silver Link? Wow, didn't expect to see you back here." Braedey smiled back. "Did the Duke and Duchess of Boxford have you on loan to Sir Topham?" He asked.
"Of course. After everything I've been through, I'm proud to help out wherever I can." Silver Link replied. "And for that, I'll take your train back to Barrow."
"Thanks a lot, my friend." Braedey smiled.
"Braedey. Since you'll have to stay to recover, I'd like you to take some empty trucks to Brendam Docks." Sir Topham Hatt said to Braedey.
"Yes, sir." Braedey acknowledged.
Braedey whistled back as he slowly puffed out of the station, now going ahead to be turned around at the turntable. Once he got there, he saw a few engines, and he whistled to them as he was turned around on the turntable. Once done so, he made his way back to Knapford, collecting a line of trucks and flatbeds, and the crimson locomotive began to make his way back down the line, though not as fast as he arrived earlier. He goes by the stations he had gone by earlier, now switching onto the Brendam Branch, taking it nice and slow as he chuffed by the vicar orchard, where he saw the traction engine Trevor, and he continued on down to Brendam.
Brendam Docks. One of Sodor's most famous ports, it is located on the coast of Brendam, down at the end of Edward's Branch Line, known as the Brendam Branch. Brendam Docks is the biggest and busiest dockyard on the Island of Sodor. Cranky the Crane is stationed here and he always loads and unloads cargo to and from the dock. The station of Upper Brendam serves the town itself. A coastal branch line runs from the port and is used for fish traffic. The Express stops here on its way to Vicarstown to collect passengers from ocean liners that come in here. The mail barge also docks here. The Docks here are large and extensive, with many warehouses, cranes, rail yards and canals in the area.
Braedey slowed his pace as he entered the docks. He pulled to a stop at a nearby loading bay, and he was uncoupled from the trucks. He saw the hustle and bustle all around him, seeing ships coming and going, other trains going along, and many personnel going about their business, ships importing and exporting the goods they have onboard their holds. Once uncoupled from the trucks, Braedey made his way along down the tracks, going to go and collect more trucks to take to Wellsworth.
Suddenly, two sharp peeps of a whistle could be heard. Braedey jumped, screeching to a stop in the middle of the tracks. He looked left and right, just as the sound of an engine chuffing could be heard over to his right. He eyed to his right, and he sighed in exasperation.
Braedey looked over to see two Bagnall 0-4-0ST tank engine twins in the sidings nearby. The two both have brass nameplates with yellow writing named 'Bill' and 'Ben' on their saddle tanks, the initials "SCC" painted on the sides in yellow and "BRENDAM BAY" on the front of their saddle tanks.
"Bill and Ben... the tank engine twins..." Braedey sighed in exasperation. He eyed the two of them.
"Haha! We got him good, Bill!" Ben said cheekily.
"What? It was my plan!" Bill huffed.
"It's not, it's mine!" Ben scoffed. Bill took no notice.
"S'mine!"
"S'not!"
"S'mine!"
"S'not!"
Edward, who had been resting nearby, saw their argument and he was quick to stop them at once. He chuffed over and looked at them sternly. "That's enough of that, you two. Or the only thing you have left to share is..." Both twins suddenly moved forward without warning, crashing into each other, and derailing each other once the two tracks converged into one. Edward rolled his eyes. "...trouble."
"Oh, for Gresley's sake." Braedey muttered softly.
"Silly!" Bill snapped.
"Silly yourself!" Ben grumbled.
"That's enough, you two." Braedey spoke up sternly, cutting the two off. "Now I see why others get annoyed while working with you two."
Just then, the dockyard manager came walking over to the twins; he was very annoyed and made his point clear and blunt. "Bill and Ben! Behave yourselves or I will send you back to your sheds!" The manager shouts, which nearly made Bill and Ben jump out of their frames. "We have a very important contract to fulfil and I can't have any more delays. It's bad enough you've derailed each other just now, which is going to set us back by having you re-railed when you can be working." The manager turned to Edward. "If you could fetch the breakdown crew for Bill and Ben that would be much appreciated." He looked back to Bill and Ben. "And no more tricks!" The manager then strode crossly away to his office, leaving both Bill and Ben feeling ashamed of themselves.
"Bill, Ben, if I were you, I'd get back to work with no fuss as soon as you're re-railed." Edward whispered forebodingly. He then puffed away to collect the breakdown crew for Bill and Ben, Braedey doing the same.
Braedey eventually arrived at some sidings, now taking note of three engines parked up nearby and they seem to be just relaxing for the time being. Braedey eyed the three of them curiously, curious about who they are.
The first is a Peckett Class W4 1867 0-4-0T, painted in a burgundy livery with golden stripes and black wheels. He had W written on his cab and 1 written on his bunker in gold.
The second engine is an Adams Radial 4-4-2T, with the W burgundy with gold lining, gold dome, and "W " written on his tanks and the number 3 written on his bunker in gold.
Lastly, the third evening is an LSWR 02 Class 0-4-4T. She looks to be painted in the W maroon and gold livery with black wheels and golden borders and stripes. She has W written on her tanks and 2 on her bunker in gold.
"Hello there." The LSWR 02 Class engine greeted to Braedey. "You must be new here."
"Actually, it's not been the first time I've been here on Sodor. But it's the first time I've been to Brendam Docks." Braedey clarified. He eyed the three engines. "You three wouldn't happen to be the engines by the names of Colin, Lily, and Adam, wouldn't you?" He asked to them.
"Yes. How do you know?" The Adams Radial engine asked to the GWR 4900 locomotive.
"Two friends by the name of Kieron and Jonson have told me about you three and how you all once worked on Miss Angelise's Railway." Braedey stated to them.
"Really?" Colin asked in amazement. "Where are they now?"
"They now work on the Josephine Railway, where I also work and come from." Braedey clarified to the three. "They got purchased by my owner when Miss Angelise had no choice but to close her railway."
"Yes. We were sold to Sir Topham Hatt in order to compensate for the monetary issues that Miss Angelise had during the time the railway being functional." Lily agreed.
"Yeah, it had been a bit of a troubling issue." Adam added in. He then smiled to Braedey. "Anyway, I'm glad to hear both Jonson and Kieron are doing well on your railway."
"Yeah. They've done rather well and improved much on my railway." Braedey agreed with them. He now saw his crew climbing back into his cab. "Right. I'm off to work." He announced, then looked to the three engines. "See you later." With that, he reversed away from the sidings, heading off to go and collect another train.
Meanwhile, over on the Josephine Railway, Silver Link had arrived with the fast-express that he took over from Braedey earlier. He had arrived about 5 minutes earlier than before, but he didn't boast about it, for it was no longer in his nature. Spencer AKA Silver Link looked at his surroundings and sighed to himself as he relaxed.
Shadow soon puffed up nearby, ready to take over the fast-express. "So, Silver Link, how did the run go?" He asked to the LNER A4.
"Pretty good. Smooth like rails." Silver Link replied back to the fellow LNER locomotive. "Anyway, you're taking the next train?" He asked.
"Of course. We must provide excellent service for the passengers going to and fro." Shadow shrugged his frame. He headed forth to the coaches, now backing down onto them, and was coupled up. "It'll definitely be a good workout for me."
"Well, take care of yourself while out on the mainline." Silver Link advised to the LNER V4 engine. "In addition, best keep an eye out for anything suspicious."
"I will. Thanks for the advice." Shadow replied. Just then, the guard blew his whistle, and with a blast of his whistle and a cloud of steam, Shadow pulled out of the station with a snort and a puff.
After half-an-hour of ongoing motion, Shadow was still going on forth down the tracks, having just gone by Cronk and crossed the viaduct, charging on forth past Maron, and gone up and down Gordon's Hill without any issue.
Shadow now noticed what could be a diesel up ahead of him. As he looked on while getting closer, his eyes now widened at the sight of the diesel. It happened to be a BR Class 35 "Hymek" Bo-Bo diesel. He is painted in BR Brunswick green with a narrow band of lime along the bottom of his sides and cream window surrounds. His yellow warning panels on his front and back end are small. His rooftop is in grey. His number (D3) is painted on the sides of his cab in white.
"Wow. A Hymek diesel... I never thought I'd ever get the chance to see such a see one." Shadow commented. He decided to be friendly and blew his whistle to the Hymek. The diesel tooted his horn back in response, as the two engines go past one another.
'Guess this island has got more to show for.' Shadow thought to himself as he continued on down the mainline at speed. 'No time to lose. Better get to Knapford, and step on it...'
Eventually, after a long journey and seeing the sights all around the mainline, Shadow eventually arrived at Knapford Station in just under two hours, now coming to a slow stop at Platform 5. Once he had arrived, he was uncoupled from the train, and Shadow prepared to make his way over to the sheds, so he could top up on coal and water.
"Alright. Time to take some time off, and then be ready for another job." Shadow said to himself, steam hissing from his pistons and funnel.
"Well, you look rather unique for an LNER engine." A female voice spoke up. Shadow now looked around to try and find where that voice came from. He soon found where the voice came from, which is from a female engine by Platform 1.
She is a Great Northern Railway (GNR) G3 Stirling Single 4-2-2, with 8ft 1" driving wheels and outside cylinders. She is emerald green with yellow lining and brass fittings. Her running-boards are chocolate brown. Her buffers are bronze, her buffer housings in black, and her front running board is in a dark grey.
"Oh, wow. A Stirling Single..." Shadow commented in surprise. He then cleared his throat. "Sorry. My name is Shadow. I work on the Josephine Railway alongside a GWR 4900 Hall Class engine by the name of Braedey. Do you know him?" He asked.
"Yea, I know him. By the way, my name is Emily." The Stirling greeted to him with a Scottish accent. "Braedey's been such a big help around here."
"Yeah. By the way, do you know a Hymek diesel with the initials 'D3' on its cab?" Shadow asked.
"Oh, that is Bear. He's quite a friendly diesel when you get the chance to meet him." Emily answered back to Shadow.
"Well, he did look rather friendly." Shadow agreed with Emily's words, and he headed off to go and top up on coal and water as Emily chuffed away to Kirk Ronan.
Meanwhile, James was taking a slow goods train down to Brendam Docks from Crosby. He was silently grumbling to himself about taking the goods in the first place, but unfortunately, he was the only engine that was available when the order was called in.
'Of course, I handle more goods than passengers, despite the fact I am a mixed-traffic engine.' James thought to himself. 'It means I take goods AND passengers. Not one or the other...'
James dropped off the goods at their designated siding, but as he was about to leave, he could hear what could be Braedey, but he sounds frustrated and annoyed. Curious, James slowly made his way over to where Braedey's voice was coming from, and much to his surprise, he saw Braedey arguing and yelling with Diesel himself, the two of them in a heated argument.
'Oh, boy...' James thought to himself. 'This is going to end badly, but mostly for Diesel.'
Diesel is a British Rail Class 08 diesel-electric shunter. He is painted in the BR mixed-traffic black livery, and his side rods are painted black.
"It wasn't a request for you to move." Braedey said sternly at Diesel. "I am ordering you to get out of my way so I could collect the trucks."
"You are just slow and old." Diesel spoke out harshly at Braedey. "You can't pull heavy trains anymore. The time of Steam is over. It is diesels forever and-"
"Oh, go suck on some oil, you shoe-box on wheels." Braedey spat out, steam blasting out of his cylinders, as if he were a mad bull. "You were built in 1952. You are 62 years old! You're an antique among diesels. You're so-called 'Revolution' died out when British Rail came up with the Modernisation Plan. You are not as revolutionary as you think." He now shunted forward, bumping into Diesel's buffers, looking the shunter right in the eye. "If you think just because you're a diesel and that makes you indestructible... I'll show you how weak you truly are." He said the last part in a low tone of voice, one that could make hairs stand on end.
Suddenly, Braedey pushed with all of his might, amazingly pushing Diesel across the tracks, the BR Class 08's wheels screeching along the rails as he was being pushed by the GWR 4900 locomotive. Diesel shuts his eyes as he was being pushed along, only to stop when he now felt his rear buffers bump up against something. Diesel opened his eyes, taking note that he had been shunted right into the buffers. He looked to Braedey, who gave him a stern and darkened look.
"You come and sabotage me again..." Braedey again bumped into Diesel, nearly threatening to push the shunter off the rails. "In fact, if you ever go anywhere on this island, sabotaging any one of the engines here, and I will find you. I will drag you from one side of the island to the other without mercy, and will make an example out of you to any other diesel with malice intent or prejudice against steam engines like you, and you will serve as a warning to others."
"What... will you say?" Diesel squeaked softly. He did not sound so smug or tough anymore.
"Diesels like you... will never be welcome... on the Island of Sodor." Was all Braedey replied darkly, and he reversed away to collect his train, leaving Diesel alone to think about what he said.
James had seen and overheard everything. His eyes were wide in shock and amazement. He had never seen any engine do something like that to Diesel, let alone deliver a threat like Braedey did. It was kind of scary in James' opinion. The red engine looked over to see Braedey storming out of Brendam Docks with his goods train, and James immediately headed off back to work, feeling a level of concern rise in his boiler.
That evening, the engines had all turned in to the sheds for the night, all of them taking the time to relax and cool down. Gordon had just finished taking his last Express train in, and he pulled into his berth, listening in to the conversation that was going on between his fellow engines.
"Diesel has been rather quiet and didn't say anything rude to me." Percy commented to the others.
"Aye. He didn't even call me old." Emily added in.
"He did his job without fuss or complaining when I was at the Docks." Henry included.
"That is so unlike Diesel." Thomas spoke to the others with confusion and curiosity in his eyes. "He would take any chance to proclaim he's better than us steamies, but when I got to the Docks to drop off some trucks, he looked... scared."
"Diesel? Scared? Of what?" Percy scoffed at such a thing.
Gordon looked over to James, who'd been silent during the whole conversation. The big blue engine wondered to know what was going on inside the red engine's smokebox, then took note that James was eyeing over to someone opposite to Gordon, and he saw it was Braedey. The crimson locomotive was fast asleep, but Gordon could sense he might be tense with something.
'Braedey must've done something to really put Diesel in his place.' Gordon took a guess mentally, and he showed a small smirk. 'Definitely one in the headlamp.' He thought, as he soon fell asleep with the others.
Meanwhile, back over on the mainland and on the Josephine Railway, Shadow and the others have gone back to the sheds and began to cool down and relax. All the while, Diana was staying over by the carriage shed and siding, not wanting to be around the others. She's been rather silent for a while, and Miss Sunohara wasn't sure on what might be going on with her.
"It's days like these that make me wonder..." Shadow sighed softly.
Liliana looked over to Diana's form, sighing sadly. "I just hope we can help her in any way we can."
"I know, Lili." Belle said to her. "I know."
"For the time being, we just have to do whatever we can." Austin spoke softly to the two engines. "Still, I wonder when Braedey will get back soon."
"Last I heard, Braedey's staying on Sodor for now." Shadow informed to them. "Still, we are now juggling about all the work, and not all of us can do everything at once."
"Shadow is right. But we all aren't built like you big engines." Jane commented next. "For now, it's Braedey, Shadow, Anna, and Diana that handle the express and passenger trains, with the rest of us handling either goods or shunting duties. We don't have much in the way of another engine helping us out."
"That is true, Jane." Kieron agreed. "But I'm not sure if Mr. Franklin will be able to purchase another engine to help. Maybe hire one, but not for long."
As the engines conversed, Mr. Franklin had overheard his engines and their conversation, and he considered on what to do. He then remembered that he had gotten word from one relative that the LNER Society had just finished the construction of a brand-new A4 Pacific, for the first time since 1938, and he's passed his steam trials.
With this on his mind, Mr. Franklin now headed off to his home to make some arrangements...