It had been another busy day, and the engines were settling down for the night. "What a day," sighed Kana. "Thank goodness we have our lovely Sheds to come back too."
"That's exactly how I feel," said Kenneth.
"If I wasn't so fast, I might have had to spend the night in Eskdale."
"That still would've been nice."
"Really?" said Marcus. "That's funny coming from you, Kenneth?"
"Why?" asked Kana.
"Well, Kana, before you came here, Kenneth had never slept away from home."
"You mean he came here as soon as he left the Workshop?"
"He did."
"It's true," Kenneth sighed. "My first night away from Whitehaven was hard."
Now, Kana was curious. "What happened?"
"It happened on the same day we were given our biggest job yet, not long after Tracy first arrived," replied Marcus and the two engines began their story.
It was a sunny morning in Whitehaven and all the engines were ready for work. Then, the Tall Controller arrived. "Good morning, Sir," called Marcus.
"I wish it was. I just received some troubling news. There's a big delivery that needs to be in Attleborough tomorrow. With Noel being repaired, Laurence was supposed to take it, but now, there has been an accident on the Main Line, and they need an extra engine to help."
"Excuse me, Sir," said Laurence, "couldn't three of the other engines take it?"
The Tall Controller looked doubtful. "I'm afraid they all have other work to do."
"I'm sure Nathan can manage alone," chipped in Tracy. "He's very strong, so he can easily do our work as well as his own."
"Of course, I can," said Nathan confidently. "Anything for my friends."
"And I was able to find my way here from Birmingham, Sir. With Marcus, Kenneth and I working together, I'm sure we can manage."
The Tall Controller pondered. "…Very well, Tracy. You, Marcus and Kenneth will take Laurence's train. Nathan, when Laurence gets back, I'll send him to help you. I'll also inform the Quarry Master in Carlisle and ask if Slater can help too."
Marcus, Kenneth, Tracy and Laurence made their way to the Shunting Yard where Laurence's train was waiting. "Flatten my funnel!" exclaimed Marcus. "That's a lot of trucks."
"It is, Marcus," said Laurence, "and they have a long way to go. That's why I asked for the three of you to work together."
"Where did the Tall Controller say they were going?" asked Kenneth.
"Attleborough, it's on the other side of the Country.
"Wow, that is far."
"Very far," added Laurence. "It's too long of a journey for you three to make in one day. That's why you'll have a stopover in Scunthorpe."
"A stopover?" asked Marcus.
"That means you'll be spending the night there and finish the journey tomorrow morning."
"That is exciting!" Marcus and Tracy were looking forward to their long journey…but inside, Kenneth was nervous.
After taking on as much coal and water as they could carry, the three engines coupled up, Kenneth nearest the train, Marcus in the middle and Tracy in front. The Guard blew his whistle and with a puff and a heave, they were off.
Laurence was right. It was a very long journey; even Scunthorpe was a long way away. Luckily, the three engines made good time and there were so many sights to see as they huffed and puffed along the line. The signal lights shone green, and engines whistled and tooted 'hullo' as they passed.
"Are you sure we'll be alright all the way out here?" puffed Kenneth nervously.
"Of course, we will, Kenneth," Tracy chuffed. "The Tall Controller's made the arrangements, and he told us where to stop for more coal and water. We have nothing to worry about."
"But what if we breakdown or have an accident?"
"I'm sure the Tall Controller will find a place for us to be fixed," said Marcus. "Don't worry, Kenneth." But Kenneth was worried.
At last, evening came, and the three friends arrived at Scunthorpe Station. "Ah, Tracy, Marcus and Kenneth, I've been expecting you," said the Stationmaster. "You can leave your trucks in the sidings and rest there tonight."
"Thank you, Sir," said Tracy politely.
When the engines puffed into the sidings…Kenneth could see nothing but trees, grass and empty tracks. "Where's the shed?" he asked.
"There isn't one here, Kenneth," said Tracy, "but don't worry. It's a warm night, so we'll be fine until morning."
"You mean…we're sleeping outside?"
"Yes," said Marcus, "isn't it nice? We have a wide-open space all to ourselves and we can listen to the animals in the grass and trees."
Suddenly, there was a loud 'hooting' sound, and Kenneth gave a loud frightened 'peep'. "I can't do this!" he cried.
"Do what?" asked Tracy.
"I can't sleep here! There's no roof over my funnel and there are those scary animals that I can't see! I want to go back to my Shed!"
"Why didn't you tell us before?" Marcus asked.
"I didn't want you to make fun of me for being a scaredy engine."
"Kenneth, you're my best friend," said Marcus calmly. "I would never make fun of you. I used to be nervous about sleeping away from home."
Kenneth was surprised. "You were?"
"Of course, I was."
"So was I," added Tracy. "I was even nervous about sleeping in Whitehaven for the first time."
"But…you still had a Shed to sleep in," Kenneth protested.
"I did, but it was still new to me, and I missed my friends back in Birmingham, but then, I remembered how welcome all of you made me and I felt better knowing I had new friends by my side."
"But what about those strange noises?"
"They're nothing to be scared of," replied Marcus. "Those 'creak, creak' sounds are just crickets. They're little insects that only come out at night. They almost sound like the 'trickety-trock' of our wheels on the rails."
"I…suppose so," said Kenneth slowly. Then, he heard the 'hooting' sound again. "And that?!"
"That's just an owl," said Tracy. "They're like big birds, but they can't hurt us."
Just then, a large red shape jumped out of the bushes and shrieked. "Aagh!" Kenneth cried, "what's that?!"
"That's just a fox," said his Driver. "They like walking around at night, but they're very friendly.
Sure enough, the fox stared curiously at Kenneth before it turned around and jumped out of sight. Kenneth smiled. "That fox did look cute."
"That was a mother protecting her children, I think," said his Fireman.
"You mean they come out at night too and they're not scared."
"They can be, but they learn to be very careful around strange things like us."
Kenneth was puzzled. "But they don't have to be scared of me."
"They don't have to be," replied his Driver, "but they can be."
"The night can still be beautiful, Kenneth," Tracy added. "Look up there."
Kenneth looked up at the sky. "Wow, I've never seen so many stars…and I've never seen the moon so bright. Maybe the night isn't so bad after all."
"That's right," smiled Marcus.
"And I think I know how we can make this stopover even more fun," said Kenneth's Driver.
The engine's Crews all set to work. They made a small circle of rocks, filled it with wood and started a fire. They fetched some long poles from the side of the yard and attached an old tarpaulin to them before hanging it over the engines like a tent. Finally, they collected supplies from a shop in the town and made a picnic supper on the fire.
Everyone laughed and told stories until it was late, and Kenneth was very happy indeed. "Thank you, everyone. These sidings may not be home, but this is still lots of fun."
"It is," yawned Marcus, "but I think we need some sleep now."
"That's right," said Tracy, "we have a long day tomorrow."
The next morning, some big lorries brought more coal and water for the engines. They said 'goodbye' and 'thank you' to the Stationmaster and set off again to finish their journey.
"I had so much fun last night," said Kenneth, "but I wish we could do that again."
"Actually, we can," said Tracy. "After we leave Attleborough tomorrow, we'll have to stop at Scunthorpe again."
"Hurray!" whistled Kenneth, "I can't wait." And his friends just smiled.
"How exciting," said Kana. "I didn't know engines could go camping."
"And now, I'm not afraid to sleep away from home anymore," replied Kenneth sleepily.
"And now, I say it's time we got some sleep," chuckled Marcus and it wasn't long until they did.