It was a quiet morning at the Repair Yard and Loni the Rail Crane was helping the workmen clear the area. Sandy the Speeder looked on as the sand hopper was filled. Her eyes twinkled in amazement.

Then, Marcus puffed in. "Good morning, Marcus," called Loni. "What do you need?"

"My sandboxes are almost empty."

"Well, you're lucky. The sand hopper's just been refilled."

Sandy watched with interest. "This is so exciting."

"You really like sand, don't you?" grinned Marcus.

"Well, they don't call me 'Sandy' for nothing," she laughed. "It's so useful. It helps engines grip the rails, people can use it to make sand-sculptures, children can build sandcastles on the beach, and it's where pirates sometimes buried their treasure."

Just then, Laurence backed into the Yard with trucks covered in tarpaulin. "Good morning, you three," he whistled.

"Good morning, Laurence," Marcus replied. "Are these my trucks?"

"Indeed, they are."

"What's in them?" asked Sandy.

"Actually, Sandy," chuckled Laurence, "it's a delivery of fresh sand."

Sandy gasped. "Where is it going?! The beach near Ravenglass?! Kent Bank Lighthouse?! OUR SAND HOPPER?!"

Laurence couldn't help laughing. "Calm down, Sandy. This sand is for the Construction Yard in Coniston. They need it for making cement, concrete and their next construction site."

"Wow, I didn't know sand could be used for all that. I wish I could help."

"Well, the Yard is quiet right now," said the Manager. "Why don't you go with Marcus?"

"Are you sure?"

"Of course. If we need you, we can call you on your radio."

Soon, Marcus was out of the Yard with Sandy leading the way. "I can't wait, I can't wait," she honked.

"Steady, Sandy," laughed her Driver, "we don't want to cause an accident." But Sandy could hardly contain her excitement.

Then, they passed a pond. Sandy could see some ducks crossing the line…and they didn't notice her approaching them. "Grinding gears!" she cried. "Brakes, Marcus!"

Marcus managed to stop just in time and the ducks made it safely across the tracks. "Thanks, Sandy," he said. "Maybe I did need help after all."

Further along the line, Sandy noticed something else. "Look out, Marcus!"

Marcus stopped and saw a tree across the line. "It must've been damaged in the storm last night."

"Thank goodness I'm here," smiled Sandy. Her Driver made a call on his radio, and it wasn't long before Loni arrived to move the tree.

Later, Marcus stopped at a water tower for a drink. "Carrying sand is hard work," he panted.

"I wish I could help pull the trucks," said Sandy, "but I don't think I'm big or strong enough."

"Don't worry," wheeshed Marcus. "You've still been a big help." And that made Sandy feel better.

As they neared Coniston, they came to a hill, but as Marcus started to cross, his wheels started to slip. "Fizzling fireboxes, this hill is steep."

Then there was trouble.

His Driver tried to open the tap to drop sand on the rails…but none came. Marcus tried to go on, but it was no good.

"Oh no!" Marcus puffed and he started to roll backwards. His Driver quickly applied the brakes and they stopped safely at the bottom.

"What happened?" asked Sandy.

"The sanding gear's failed," sighed Marcus' Driver. "We can't make it up the hill on our own."

"Sandy, can your Driver call Loni again?" asked Marcus.

"But she could be back at the Repair Yard by now and there are no other engines due through here." Sandy thought hard. "I could try to push you."

"You know you're not strong enough for that," said her Driver.

"How are we going to deliver the sand now?" wheeshed Marcus.

Then, an idea flew into Sandy's exhaust pipe. "That's it!" she cried. "We still have plenty of sand. If we drop it on the rails ourselves, Marcus will be able to climb the hill."

Everyone set to work. The two Drivers gathered as much sand as they could and climbed aboard Sandy. Marcus' Fireman took control while his Driver leaned out of Sandy dropping sand on the rails. Very carefully, Marcus slowly started up the hill behind his friend. His wheels slipped again, but with the extra sand, they started to grip the rails again.

"Go it, Marcus!" called Sandy. "You can do it!" And at last, they reached the top. "Well done, Marcus!"

"And well done, Sandy," puffed Marcus. "What a clever idea."

The Foreman was waiting at the Construction Yard when Sandy and Marcus arrived, and their Drivers explained what had happened. The Foreman smiled. "Well done, all of you," he said.

"We couldn't have made it without Sandy's help," said Marcus. "I would've been delayed or had an accident without her."

"And I didn't even need to be here to begin with," Sandy added.

"But you were still in the right place at the right time," said her Driver and everyone cheered.