Chapter 328: King of the Railway Part 4

Thomas led Stephen away from the castle and down to the mainline.

"Come on Stephen, I'll show you all around the island!"

"Great."

Thomas could sense that Stephen was upset about something.

"Something wrong, Stephen?"

"It's just that I want to help Dad rebuild the castle, but he won't let me do anything! We don't get to spend a lot of time together, but railways and history are the two things that always bring us together. I just feel like he doesn't want to spend time with me."

Thomas wanted to tell Stephen about The Earl's surprise, but he promised he wouldn't, so all he could do was offer a kind smile.

"I'm sure it's not like that! The Earl's just busy getting things ready. I'm sure he'll be happy to spend lots of time with you when everything is said and done."

But Stephen wasn't so sure.

Gordon was racing down the mainline with the express when he heard an all too familiar whistle as Spencer pulled up alongside.

"Hello, cousin," he sneered. "Care for a race?"

"You know what?" Gordon said in exasperation. "Fine. First one to Knapford wins!"

"Agreed. Ready, set, GO!"

The two surged ahead, racing down the mainline at a breakneck pace. For a second, it looked like Gordon would win…

Until he saw Stephen ahead of him on the same line, going much slower.

"WHOA!"

Luckily, he slowed down just in time to avoid a collision, but it cost him the race.

"Too bad," Spencer called mockingly. "Better luck next time, old sport!"

"Get out of my way! He shouted impatiently. "This is the express line, I'm supposed to be going fast!"

"Back when The Rocket was new, this was fast!" Stephen chuckled. Luckily for Gordon, there was a junction up ahead,and Stephen was diverted to allow Gordon to make up for lost time.

"Railhog!" He shouted as he raced off. "Put that thing in a museum where it belongs!"

This made Stephen upset.

"Don't pay him any mind," Thomas said comfortingly. "He thinks speed is all that matters, but we both know that's not true."

"Yeah," Stephen said, putting on a smile.

"I know! Why don't I show you my friends at the Skarloey Railway? The Blue Mountain Quarry is down this branchline."

"Lead the way!"

Gordon grumbled as he drove into Knapford Station.

"Stupid Thomas, stupid Stephen. I totally would've won if they hadn't been in my way!"

His grumbling soon stopped as he saw Spencer pulling driving away with a long train of garbage, just as cross as he was.

"Huh?"

As he pulled into Platform 1, he found Caitlin getting her own train ready on Platform 1.

"Howdy, Gordon!"

"Hello, Caitlin. Was that Spencer I saw leaving with the trash train?"

"Sure was! Apparently, he was caught speeding on the main line, so Sir Topham Hatt assigned him to that as punishment. Pretty stupid, am I right?"

Gordon chuckled sheepishly.

"Yeah, real stupid."

"I mean, Connor and I love to race, but only when we're given permission!"

Before anything else could be said, her guard blew his whistle.

"Oh my, look at the time! I need to get going."

But before she left, she kissed Gordon on the cheek.

"I'll see you around!"

Gordon was too stunned to say anything, just wordlessly waving goodbye as she drove off onto the mainline.

"Here we are, Blue Mountain Quarry!"

Stephen whistled at how big and busy the quarry was, with The Narrow Gauge engines rushing too and fro with trains of slate.

"Wow!"

Just then, Skarloey drove up in his engine.

"Hello Thomas, who's your friend?"

"Hello, Skarloey! This is Stephen, The Earl's son. He asked me to show him around."

"Well, welcome to Blue Mountain Quarry, Stephen!"

"Thanks, happy to be here! Any trucks you need me to take? I'd love to test the engine's pulling power."

Skarloey scratched his head.

"Well, there's a line over there, but are you sure it can handle it?"

"Sure I'm sure!"

At last Skarloey shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, if you say so."

So Stephen backed down onto the train, and coupled up.

"Now I'll show you what The Rocket can do!"

And with a blast of the whistle, he threw the throttle open and set the engine in motion. But no matter how much coal he shoveled into the firebox, the train didn't move. So the shunter detached one of the trucks, but still it was too heavy for him. This went on for a minute or two until finally Stephen managed to get the train moving…

While only pulling one truck. Before he could get very far, though, the foreman stopped him.

"Sorry Stephen, but this won't work at all. If I transported slate one truck at a time, the job would never get done."

Stephen sighed sadly.

"I understand, sir."

"Don't worry, Stephen!" Thomas said cheerfully, trying to cheer him up. "I'm sure we'll find the perfect job for you."

"What's the point?" He said glummly. "Maybe Gordon was right, she belongs in a museum, not on a working railway."
"Stephen-"

"Thanks for trying Thomas, but right now I think I need to be alone."

Thomas could do nothing but watch as Stephen sadly drove away.

"Stephen."