THE INTERNATIONAL RAILWAY SERIES No. 12

GORDON IN THE OUTBACK

Based upon the episodes by Tim Bain and Christopher Awdry

Adapted by Zack Wanzer and Rachel Ravens

Foreword

Greetings, readers.

As the old year was coming to a close, I made my overseas trip to the Land Down Under itself, Australia! Of course, I'm not the first of my kind to make the trip there, but I believe those are stories for another time. While I was down in Australia, there were a lot of things that I was not expecting to find out, but rather than give too much away, I think you'd best read these stories for yourself.

Gordon

GORDON THE TOUR GUIDE

Based upon "Outback Thomas" by Tim Bain

It took about a month by ship, but at long last, Gordon was unloaded from the ship onto the rails of the land called Down Under – that of course, being Australia.

"It's good to feel rails under my wheels again," Gordon said to himself. Curiously, he glanced around the area. Several buildings loomed in the distance on one side, while the other side was mostly coastlines. Shade had described Australia as "the biggest island" but "the smallest continent". A bit self-contradictory, but–

"Ah, there he is!" called a familiar voice. "G'day, Gordy! Welcome to Australia!"

Speaking of his international acquaintance… "Shane. It's a pleasure to see you again."

"Oh, you don't know how much I was looking forward to your visit!" he grinned. "Why, after the Great Railway Show, I was missing all of you Sodor folk."

"And it's wonderful to finally put a face to the name," a female voice spoke. She sounded gentle, but not soft spoken or shy. Gordon glanced over to see two unfamiliar engines; the one who spoke was a yellow tank engine who looked to be permanently attached to a green coach. "My name's Tamika," she giggled. "I mostly work in the nature reserve with Ranger Jill."

"We have something like that back on Sodor too," Gordon explained. "The Animal Park and Henry's Forest."

"I can imagine that those locations are beautiful," smiled Tamika.

"We've got a long way to get back to the Outback!" said a black Garratt engine. "Come on, Gordon. We'll show you the way. Oh, where are my manners? I'm Edith. And there's two other engines down there you have to meet as well!"

"Well, I look forward to meeting them," Gordon smiled.

The four engines started to head towards the town known as Alice Springs. As Gordon started to pick up the pace and drew alongside Edith, he was surprised. She was almost twice his size!

Nia said that engines like Kwaku were big, he thought, but I never thought they'd be this big! If Thomas hears I was dwarfed by another engine, I'd never hear the end of it.

The quartet soon reached Alice Springs. There were a considerable amount of trees closer to the likes of dams and rivers, but the landscape was mostly desert.

"How does anyone live out here?" Gordon asked in shock as he backed down onto some coaches.

"Ah, you'd be surprised," Shane chuckled; he backed down onto two sentient coaches and was coupled up. "Lots of animals make their homes in the Outback."

"Most of the human population lives closer to the coastlines," one coach piped up.

"But out here, it's not too uncommon for all the people to at least have some knowledge of one another," said the other one. "Makes it easier for us to spot tourists," he added with a chuckle.

Something stirred within Gordon's memory as he looked closely at the coaches. "Let me guess – Aubrey and Aiden, correct?"

"Yeah, that's right!" grinned Aubrey. "Shane told us about his brief visit to Sodor!"

"Welcome to the Outback, Gordon!" greeted Aiden. "We've been looking forward to your visit for months."

"I don't suppose Sodor's another planet though," joked Aubrey. "Your accent sounds funny!"

Gordon wheeshed steam crossly at the coaches. "Well, I never!"

"Ah, don't blow your safety valve over it, Gordy," assured Shane. "Aubrey and Aiden are only jokin'."

Just then, the guards' whistles blew, and Gordon and Shane set off with their respective trains. Annie and Clarabel never joked like that… he thought.

"Righto, you lot! I'm Shane. Shane the plane!" Gordon and a few passengers stared incredulously at the Australian engine, but Shane, Aubrey, Aiden and other passengers chuckled. "Just kiddin', folks. Shane the train and I'm here to entertain!"

"Isn't a train something we pull?" Gordon asked quietly.

"Yeah, but it sounds catchier, eh?" replied Shane. "Locomotive's a bit of a mouthful, you know." The blue express engine couldn't argue with that statement. Shane blew his whistle and pulled out with his coaches; Gordon followed on the other track. "Now let's roll! Welcome to the Outback, folks! A wide, grand land full of mystery, adventure and fascinating animals!"

As Gordon, Shane and the latter's coaches travelled further, they came across a river. Some crocodiles could be seen emerging from the water.

"Kakadu National Park," Shane announced. "Crikey, mates! Watch out for the crocodiles. Once, a sneaky croc snuck aboard and hitched a lift!"

"Wait, what?!" cried Gordon. "Tell me no one became dinner that day!"

"Luckily," chuckled Shane, "no one was hurt." Gordon wasn't quite sure what to make of that statement, but Shane continued, "But seriously, folks; Kakadu is home to ten thousand crocodiles. Some of them are as heavy as a small car." He glanced at the water as one bobbed up. "Hey, look! There's one now!"

Intrigued, some of the tourists took photos. "Here in Australia, there's a man who was known for catching crocs so people could help preserve and study the species. His name was Steve Irwin – the Crocodile Hunter. However, a better name would actually be the Crocodile Protector."

"I think I've heard a little bit about him," Gordon admitted. "Duck had befriended a child named Julian and he is fond of the Wiggles, who did an album about him and Australia Zoo."

"Yes, he has," chuckled Shane. "Steve did that because his daughter, Bindi, was a huge fan of the Wiggles when she was little." The Australian engine frowned a bit. "Sadly, Steve had died to a stingray attack, who most likely mistook his shadow for a shark. Steve even admitted before his death that it was not the stingray's fault."

Gordon gasped quietly. "Oh… may he rest in peace, Shane. He sounds like he was a noble man…"

"Yeah… he was." Shane and Gordon were respectfully silent for a bit, as were the two coaches as they coasted along.

Soon, the group had arrived at some mounds of dirt. By now, Shane had resumed his color commentary.

"…and here are luxury high-rise apartments… for termites!" At this, lots of passengers laughed. "Otherwise known as a termite mound!" As they rounded a corner, Gordon heard an unfamiliar whirring. "Look! A flying koala!"

"What?!" gasped Gordon. "I… thought koalas were sleepy animals?"

"Nah, just pullin' yer wheel, mate!" laughed Shane. "It's only Isla! She's a rescue plane, you see. G'day, Isla!"

"G'day, Shane, Aubrey and Aiden!" she greeted in return. "And you must be Gordon. Welcome to Australia!"

"Thank you, Isla," he replied. "Pleasure to meet you too. Hmm… we have an emergency air vehicle on Sodor called Harold. He's a helicopter, and he often flies patients to the hospitals too."

"Sounds like Sodor and Australia have lots in common!" remarked Aubrey. "I bet you've also got loads of desert back at home!"

"Er, no, actually; we've got plenty of beautiful green countryside," he explained.

"Oh, my pilot will have to show me some pictures," smiled Isla. "I can't stop now; must keep time, you know. Nice meeting you, Gordon!"

"Likewise, Isla!" he called as the red and white plane flew away.

A few days later, Gordon was settling into his temporary routine of helping Shane take the tourists around the Outback. However, as the two engines were getting ready for their next tour at Pine Tree Station, it happened.

"Oh, that's just great!"

"Edith!" cried Shane. "Are you right, mate?"

"No, I've run a cropper!" she groaned. "My cylinder's broken and I've got to get a goods run up to Alice Springs!"

"Ah, don't worry about it, Sheila," said Shane. "I'll take your train for ya."

"I thought her name was Edith?" asked Gordon, puzzled.

Edith, Shane and the coaches chuckled. "It's an informal word used for 'woman' or 'girl'," Shane explained.

"And a very sweet way to put it too," giggled Edith. "Thank you, Shane."

"But if you're going to be helping Edith," said Gordon, "who's going to help me on your tours, Shane?"

"'Fraid you might be alone on that, Gordy," said Shane. "I could be gone for a couple of hours."

"Well, in that case," said Gordon, backing down onto Aubrey and Aiden, "how hard can it be?"

"Great, we're stuck with the engine with the funny accent!" laughed Aiden; Gordon wished he could glare back at him.

Nonetheless, Gordon brought Aubrey, Aiden and his own coaches to Pine Tree Station. "Welcome to the Outback… er…" He glanced around, trying to find the words. "A vast desert, home to several weird looking animals."

Aiden and Aubrey smirked and chuckled lightly. "This is going to be a laugh, eh, sis?" the former remarked to the latter.

"Oh yes… the crocodiles," Gordon said. "They live here at the… er… Currumbin National Park. There's ten million of them and… they could eat a car."

Some passengers raised eyebrows. "Isn't Currumbin in Queensland?" asked one.

"And eating a car?" remarked another. "Wouldn't that make them sick?"

Aubrey and Aiden snickered. "Isn't it embarrassing?" chuckled Aiden.

"He's making a total wombat of himself!" laughed Aubrey.

"Hmm… no, that doesn't sound right," Gordon muttered under his breath. "Ugh… pull yourself together, Gordon…!"

"Hey, what's that?" called a passenger. Gordon glanced over and saw the mounds of dirt again. Great Railway, what were they called again…

"Er… here's a… luxury mansion for, er… ants?" he guessed. Ants often crawled around everyone and everything; it made sense. However, most of the passengers mumbled, unconvinced.

"Ugh… not again!" Gordon groaned to himself. "Good thing Henry and James aren't here to see this…" Suddenly, a hopping animal came out from the corner of his eye. Ah, there's something easily recognizable, he thought. "And if you look to our left, you can see a kangaroo, one of Australia's biggest icons."

"Oh!" one little girl giggled excitedly. "Just like Splodge from Blinky Bill! Take a picture, please, mommy!" Her mother nodded and snapped her camera.

"What's that big red thing across the desert?" another tourist asked. Gordon glanced over at the huge red rock. Ugh… Shane told me before… what was it? "Er… U-lo-roo," he said, at which Aubrey and Aiden snickered. "It's forbidden to climb the rock, due to it being a sacred spot for Aboriginals." Both coaches immediately fell silent at that. The express engine smiled slightly upon at least remembering that fact correctly.

"I don't think he's actually a tour guide," a male passenger remarked.

"Go easy on him, daddy!" cried the little girl. "He's probably just new to the job."

While it was comforting to hear the little girl defend him, Gordon had to admit that her father had a point; being a tour guide wasn't exactly his forte. Perhaps I could've saved myself the embarrassment and helped Edith instead…

As Gordon was contemplating this, he didn't realize the points were not switched correctly.

"Gordon," whispered Aubrey, "you've taken the wrong track!"

"Wait, don't tell me," he scoffed. "I suppose this is where Queen Kylie III lives. I've had enough of your nonsense for one day!"

"I'm not playing around!" Aubrey insisted. "You need to stop and go back!"

"She's right, Gordon!" Aiden backed his sister up. "Go back before we reach– The old rickety bridge!"

By this point, Gordon slammed on his brakes. He was just in time, as he barely stopped over some hanging rails. "HELP!" He wailed.

"Back up!" the coaches cried.

Gordon tried to do just that, but his wheels couldn't grip the rails. "Oh, bust my buffers! I'm sorry, everyone! I'm not a tour guide at all!" And now I know how Toby feels… he added with dread. But at least he just had stone trucks with him… I have two sentient coaches and passengers! One of which is a little girl! He gulped.

Just then, Gordon and the coaches heard the whirring of a familiar plane up in the sky. "Isla!" they all called. "Go get help!"

But unfortunately, the plane was too far away for her to hear them.

"We'll never get home now…" whimpered Aubrey.

"And anything could happen out here in the Outback…" added Aiden.

Time seemed to tick slowly by for Gordon; it must have been hours since Isla had gone for help, wasn't it? Or had Gordon lost track of time? Either way, the sky had gotten darker, and the tourists seemed to have gone eerily silent, as did Aubrey and Aiden. Gordon hadn't felt this lonely since goodness knows when.

Suddenly, he felt the bridge groan underneath his weight and gasped.

"N-no! I-it can't be collapsing!" he cried. Then he looked down in terror and saw a few crocodiles looking up at him, snapping their jaws. They seemed a lot bigger than he was!

"Ohhh, someone help me, please!" wailed Gordon. "I don't want to be a crocodile's next meal!"

But it was already too late, as the bridge finally gave away underneath him, and Gordon screamed as a crocodile's jaws closed in on him… when he heard a voice call out to him.

"Gordon? Gordon!"

"Ahh!" Gordon opened his eyes to see that he was now slowly backing away from the bridge. He looked down to see that there were no crocodiles to be found, and sighed in relief.

"Sounds like you were havin' a real horror show there!" remarked Shane. "Sorry I took so long to help ya; the train to Alice Springs got delayed because Tracy was delayed with her passengers." He laughed. "This looks like a complete dingo's breakfast!"

Gordon raised an eyebrow. "Hmm?"

"A complete mess!"

"Oh… that makes sense…" Gordon blushed, embarrassed. "Er… Shane, now that you're here, I don't suppose you can correct me on a few things?"

"Aubrey and Aiden didn't help you?" Shane remarked, his voice becoming stern. "You two know Gordon is new to this! Why didn't you lend him a helping buffer?"

Both coaches gulped. "Er… we, er… wanted a laugh?" Aiden said quietly.

"B-but we did try to dissuade Gordon from coming to the old bridge," Aubrey said quickly. "Honest!"

"Sounds to me this could have been avoided if you two weren't being a pair of galahs!"

Both coaches sighed. "Yes, Shane…" murmured Aiden. "Sorry, Gordon."

"Sorry…" added Aubrey.

"I'm sorry too," Gordon admitted. "I should have taken your advice and turned back." He glanced back at Shane. "What is a galah?"

"A type of bird with pink feathers and gray wings," he explained. "But in this case, it means someone who wasn't thinking straight."

As the two continued venturing back, Shane, along with the coaches, continued to help Gordon correct any mistakes he made on the Outback tour.

"…a queen called Kylie?" Shane laughed. "Oh, no, Gordon. Kylie is a famous Aussie singer; Kylie Minogue!"

"I… think my crew have played her songs before," Gordon admitted. "One such song is rather popular on Sodor called 'The Loco-Motion'."

Shane grinned. "Ah, yes! That song wasn't actually written by her; it was a cover! We could ask my crew to play it at the sheds tonight, if you want to listen."

"That does sound like a capital idea!"

Now it was Shane and the coaches' turn to be confused. "Hmm?"

"Ah, British slang," Gordon chuckled. "It just means 'I really like the idea'!"

"Ah, I get ya!" smiled Shane. Both engines laughed as they headed back to the sheds.

Author's Comments

And so we begin Season 3 of The International Railway Series! We kick things off with the Australia-centric episodes of Series 22, beginning with this adaptation of Outback Thomas, and with Gordon taking center stage, previously hinted at in Season 2. It seemed strange to me that Shane and Tamika were the only engines to appear in Australia; surely there were at least more than them? That was where I brought in Edith the Garratt from the Really Useful Around the World shorts (while also filling in the plot hole about Shane's absence which kickstarted the second half), Tracy the tram from the Aussie Football Adventure shorts and Narrabri the City Circle Tram from the book Thomas Comes to Australia. (The latter two will show up in the next story.) It really helped to populate Australia and give Gordon more characters to interact with throughout the saga.

Next time, albeit one month late, we're celebrating Christmas Away from Home!