The days passed and Thomas worked as hard as he could. He shunted in the Yard while Ferris' engine was fixed, and he helped Brooke and Swan deliver passengers and goods along their lovely line.
The news of Thomas's visit soon spread, and more passengers came just to see him. "I haven't seen so many passengers in a long time," said Brooke.
That gave Thomas an idea. "If the passengers come back to the branch line and see how beautiful it is, all of you will be busy again and your line won't have to close."
The Manager liked Thomas' idea and soon, posters were being put up at stations and in the towns. So many passengers were arriving that the engines needed extra coaches to carry more of them.
Everyone was very happy…but then, one morning, the Manager received a letter in the mail and walked out to the sheds looking very sad. "What's wrong, Sir?" Swan asked.
The Manager sighed. "It's not good news. The Railway Board has decided that our line isn't needed anymore."
"But Sir," cried Ferris, "we've been getting more passengers than ever thanks to Thomas."
"It seems that they didn't come soon enough. I'm sorry, everyone."
Brooked was disappointed. "How much longer do we have, Sir?"
"Three weeks, but hopefully, I will be able to find new homes for all of you." And the Manager walked back to his Office.
"But…I don't want to leave," said Ferris sadly. "This is the best yard I've ever worked in. This is our home."
"It's not fair," added Thomas.
Swan interrupted. "Now, now, you two, we all knew this could happen. Time's time and we can't stop it."
"But where will we go?" asked Brooke. "Not the scrap yard, I hope."
"I'm sure the Manager won't let that happen."
That gave Thomas another idea. "I know! you could all come back to the Island of Sodor with me! We can always use another engine, and the Fat Controller would love to have you work on his Railway."
"That's kind of you, Thomas," Swan replied, "but I don't think your Controller could take all of us at once."
"They may move us to the same shed when we close down," said Brooke thoughtfully, "and we want to stay together if we can."
Brooke and Swan were trying to be brave, but Ferris nearly cried. "But…but…our home…"
"Cheer up, Ferris," said Brooke. "Your much younger than any of us and you're still very reliable. This may be your first yard, but Swan and I have lived at many different ones over the years. You may like our new yard."
"But it won't be the same."
"Brook is right," Swan smiled. "Don't be sad. We still have three weeks until we leave. Let's make them the best three weeks we've ever had."
"And maybe," added Thomas, "if we work hard enough, the people of the Railway Board will see you're all still Really Useful and keep your branch line open."
"Or, at least, keep us together," agreed Brooke. "It's worth a try." And that's just what they did.
The four engines worked harder than ever. Brooke thought Thomas should continue pulling coaches as an attraction for the passengers while she would help Ferris in the yard if there was trouble. Thomas agreed. The passengers cheered and waved whenever they saw him and so did people on bridges and the lineside.
If it seemed that Ferris had lots of work to do, one of the engines would stay behind to help. Even if the engines weren't doing much, they continued to work as hard as they could to keep the trains running on time.
Then, one night, there was a storm. The wind whistled fiercely, and the rain poured down heavily.
"I hope everyone else is safe out there," said Brooke.
Thomas was worried. "I've seen storms like this cause lots of damage before."
"So have we," said Swan.
"I hope our line will be alright," squeaked Ferris. "I don't want to leave early."
"The important thing is that everyone is safe," replied Swan seriously and everyone agreed.
