TOBY AND THE WINDMILL

Based upon "Toby's Windmill" by David Mitton and Jan Page

Adapted by Zack Wanzer and Rachel Ravens

Many years ago, Toby the tram engine used to work on a little tramway in East Anglia with his faithful coach Henrietta. They would take trucks from farms and factories to the main line, where the bigger engines would then take them to London or elsewhere. Henrietta was often full of passengers, but for the longest time, she and Toby were happy.

However, as much as we wish the good times would last forever, that's never the case, and soon enough, Toby and Henrietta saw changes coming to East Anglia in the form of buses and lorries. One day, they encountered a green bus with a white stripe and roof waiting by the station platform.

"Oh, look what we have here, folks!" the bus sneered nastily. "A garden shed and a henhouse on rails! Aren't they a queer sight!"

Other nearby buses and lorries all laughed, sneered or smirked at the duo.

"He should be in a museum, not running trains," remarked a light green lorry.

"We may look old, but we're very useful."

"Useful? Pah!" she snarked back. "Just you toodle off!"

"Toodle?!" spluttered Toby.

"Come on, Toby," soothed Henrietta. "Don't bother to argue with her. We'll go to the flour mill instead." Seething, Toby trundled off with Henrietta and a few trucks.

But when they got to the flour mill, Toby and Henrietta were shocked to see a loader.

"Sorry, old timer!" remarked the loader. "We're doing your work now!"

"We were contracted here for years!" huffed Toby. "You can't take our jobs from us!"

"It's not our doing," insisted the loader. "Take it up with the owner of this place!" So Toby's crew did.

"Times are changing around here," said the owner. "It's much quicker by road, after all."

"Toby and Henrietta might be old, but they're reliable," insisted his driver.

"Come on, you two," assured the fireman. "We'll go to the farms. They'll still use us."

But alas, despite these reassurances, the more that Toby and Henrietta saw buses and lorries, the more the traffic on the tramway dwindled, and they soon went from pulling nine trucks to either three or four. It wasn't all doom and gloom, for one day, they were visited by Sir Topham Hatt and his family… but that's a story you already know.

Present Day, 1993

Spring was blooming once again on the Island of Sodor, and on the Ffarquhar branch line, Toby, Thomas, Percy, Mavis and Daisy set off for work.

"Ah, the scenery in spring weather," Henrietta smiled as Toby coupled up to her. "It never gets old."

"It is quite remarkable," Toby agreed. "I can't wait to see the windmill."

"It's been on Sodor for many years," Thomas put in, coupling up to Annie and Clarabel next to them. "I can't quite explain it. Sure, it grinds up flour for us to deliver, but there's… something grand about it."

"Maybe Edward would know," suggested Toby.

"Perhaps, Toby." Thomas would have shrugged if he could. "We'll see you two later."

"See you three later!" called Henrietta.

Toby soon arrived at the windmill with Henrietta and a few trucks. The sails spun slowly in the breeze, and the old tram smiled.

"Ah, good morning, Toby and Henrietta," smiled the miller, with a coffee in his hand. "How are you two doing?"

"It's a pleasure to see you," replied Toby. "Just enjoying the sunshine and our work."

"An engine after my own heart," nodded the miller. "If I wasn't a miller, I might have taken up being a driver or fireman for you, or a guard for Henrietta."

"That's not what one of our old contractors said," Henrietta sighed.

"It was one of them who replaced you with those lorries, wasn't it?" the miller grunted.

"It didn't help that they would get themselves into accidents, likely down to foolishness," Toby confirmed. "I hadn't had an accident back in East Anglia for years, but I suppose an accident-free record wasn't enough for them."

"Seems like they wanted things done quickly instead of safely," agreed the miller. "But fate had something good for you two. Now you have lots of colleagues on a branch line."

"It's nice to have Annie and Clarabel to talk to," smiled Henrietta. "Much more sensible than my sister…" she added quietly.

Just then, the guard's whistle blew. "Oh, that's us," said Toby. "Sorry we can't stay and chat. We'll see you later."

"Goodbye, Toby and Henrietta," called the miller. "Have a safe run."

Further along the branch, Percy was delivering stone to the harbor. He was admiring the sparkling sea to himself, now realizing why Duck was so captivated by it in the first place.

I wonder if Harold's had to fly out there today, he wondered to himself. A loud honking broke Percy out of his thoughts. "Huh? That doesn't sound like Mavis or Daisy…"

"Finally!" said a new female voice. "Those traffic jams aren't worth anyone's time!"

Percy glanced back to see a loader painted in a deep purple. She was in a tearing hurry, looking around for something. The loader came in so fast, in fact, she was heading for a familiar quayside…

"Look out!" he whistled. "That quay isn't safe!"

"Huh? Ohhh, brakes, driver! BRAKES!" Her brakes screeched on, barely missing the sunken quay. A sign read "DANGER: KEEP AWAY." She turned around and panted. "Oh, thank you, good sir. If you hadn't warned me in time, I'd have taken a dip into the sea!"

"Trust me, it's not a pleasant experience!" Percy sighed. "Glad you're okay. Are you new to the island?"

"Oh, yes!" replied the loader; crates were being loaded in her haul. "My friend and I were just hired by the Pack to help with their projects. My name's Talia."

"And I'm Percy," said the green engine. "It's nice to meet you, Talia."

"You too, Percy," she smiled. "I also run a few other unrelated duties around the island." She chuckled. "Lorries are needed all over the place. Sort of like you engines."

"I know what you mean," Percy grinned. "You'll get on great with David, Alex, Jasmine and Poppy."

"I sure hope so," said Talia. "It's great to get a fresh start–"

"Come on, Talia," said her driver. "The Pack needs us as soon as possible!"

"Good luck, Talia!" called Percy as he too had to leave. "Nice meeting you!"

"Thanks, Percy, you too!" replied Talia as she left.

Later that day, Toby and Henrietta were on their way to the windmill again. They were both humming to themselves before they heard a horn from the road. At first, they thought it was Bertie, Caroline or one of their Pack friends, but Henrietta got a closer look at who honked their horn at them.

"Oh no…"

"What is it, Henrietta?"

"I don't think you're going to like this, Toby, but…"

"Well, well! We meet again, garden shed! It's been a while!"

"Not long enough, Olivia," said Toby, glaring crossly at the light green lorry. "What are you doing here on Sodor?"

"The Pack needs more motive power!" she snarked. "None of them mentioned anything about you and your henhouse–"

"Leave my girlfriend out of this, Olivia!" Toby wheeshed angrily. "The Pack kicked Horace out, and they'd be just as willing to do the same to you!"

"Pah! Not when they see how fast I can go with delivering my loads!" And she raced off.

"Hey! We're not finished yet–"

"Easy, dear," soothed Henrietta. "She'll get her own."

"I hope you're right, honey," Toby said under his breath.

Henrietta was right, but not in the way she or Toby would've expected. Olivia charged towards the windmill, and loads of flour sacks stacked outside.

"What are you doing coming here so fast?!" cried the miller. "Stop, or you'll cause a mess!"

"Nonsense, I– wha!" she gasped. "Brakes, driver!"

Olivia's driver stamped on the brake pedal, but it wasn't enough to prevent her from crashing into a load of flour sacks. She coughed as flour flew everywhere.

Toby braked to a much gentler halt at the platform. "Rattle my cowcatchers!" he exclaimed.

"Well, I was hoping this lorry would be as helpful as Miss Jenny's other lorries," said the miller, "but I can see she's as bad as Horace!"

"Why am I not surprised?" Toby huffed, glaring once more at the flour-covered Olivia. "Trying to run me out of business again? Well, guess what? Sir Topham Hatt would never do that to me or my fellow engines! You should just toodle off back to the mainland!"

"You engines always act so high and mighty!" growled Olivia. "It's no wonder you were thrown off the mainland!"

"Olivia!" A loud honking noise pierced the air. Talia drove in, with Percy coming on the opposite track. "What in the Great Highways are you doing?!"

"I'm delivering dynamite. What does it look like I'm doing?" Olivia huffed sarcastically.

"Looks more like you've run into several sacks of flour," said Percy. "Do you know her, Toby and Henrietta?"

"All too well…" the coach sighed.

"And Olivia's not the only one!" added Toby, now turning his glare towards Talia.

"Oh… hello, Toby, Henrietta," said Talia, a little nervous. "I know we haven't left on good terms and all…"

"Too right!" huffed Toby. "Because of you, Olivia and the other lorries, we were thrown out of business!"

"Do you seriously think we got off scot-free?!" Talia cried in outrage. "After you left, my fellow lorries and I had all the deliveries. But many of the roads were highly unstable for that area, and therefore, we continuously had accidents. When they were refurbished, we thought we would be alright, but instead, more powerful lorries took our jobs! We were left in storage!"

Toby looked shocked with what he'd just heard. Left in storage… just as he and Henrietta had been? They were there for only one night, and even then, it was only because Sir Topham Hatt found out about them. But to be in there for weeks, months or possibly even years like Duke was? That was a completely different situation altogether.

"I… I didn't know…" he said at last.

"Just go!" growled Olivia. "Take what's left of the flour. See if I care."

Percy looked between the two lorries, then at his friend, his eyes clouded with grief. "Toby… you have a lot to think about." The little green engine puffed away, hoping to find a phone box to alert Butch.

The sheds were quiet and awkward that night, other than a raging storm outside. Toby was still feeling terrible for how he didn't take Talia and Olivia's perspective into account, even though the latter's rude comments still got under his paint. Thomas wasn't as angry at the tram engine as Percy was, quietly sighing.

"I can't blame you too much," he said. "Especially because of Olivia sounding like a female Horace."

"Could it have been a defense mechanism?" Toby wondered. "It doesn't excuse her behavior… but… I acted similarly to passengers making rude comments about me."

"One way or another, we'll sort this out," Thomas assured. "Once this storm passes…"

The next morning, the storm had passed, but like many a great storm, it left a lot of debris in its wake. Toby's crew seemed especially concerned as they got their engine ready.

"We'd better check every inch of the line," said his driver.

"Yes, driver," Toby agreed. "Percy, you check up on Mavis at the quarry. Thomas, you and Daisy go down to Elsbridge and work your way back up from there. I'll follow you two on my way to the windmill."

Thomas, Toby and Daisy – the former two with their coaches in tow – made their way down the branch line to where the windmill was. What they saw horrified them, for the windmill's sails were down, and the building looked like it had been burned.

"Lightning struck the windmill last night," the miller explained sadly. "It's bad news for my business. I can't afford the timber to repair it."

"Oh no!" gasped Clarabel.

"Sodor's lost an important landmark…" trailed Annie sadly.

"We can't let this happen!" cried Thomas. "If only we could find some way to help out…"

There was a solemn silence for a moment before Toby spoke up.

"Maybe we can," he said. "We passed some felled trees on the way here, so perhaps…"

"We could use them to help repair the windmill!" Henrietta finished. "That's a clever idea, Toby!"

"Let's report to Sir Topham Hatt," said Thomas. "Between us, Percy and Mavis, we can get the timber here in no time."

Meanwhile, out on the roads…

"Talia… you know that other brother I mentioned?" Olivia trailed.

"Horace, the No. 1 lorry before Poppy was built?" asked Talia. "Kind of. What about him?"

"Well… I saw him today… as a pig trough." She bit her lip. "I… I thought it was a bad dream I had the previous night… but Buster confirmed it to be true! Could I have turned out… like him?!"

Talia paused and looked at her bumper. "You… were quite rude to Toby back then," she admitted. "He was blind to our circumstances, but… to be fair, we were blind to his as well. But that other engine, Percy… he saved me from taking a dip in the sea."

Olivia nearly jolted backwards in surprise. "You're joking."

"No, I'm not," insisted Talia. "Olivia, while we do have more range than the engines, the engines can carry more than us. And Percy… well, we had a good chat after we introduced ourselves. And he does seem close with Toby as well. I think what comes around, goes around. If we start being nicer to Toby, then maybe he'll be nicer to us too."

Olivia didn't say anything, but she knew that her friend had a point. As the two turned down another street, the lorries heard a cracking sound.

"Talia!" cried Olivia. "Tree!"

Both lorries screeched to a halt, just as the loud thud of a tree hit the middle of the road.

"That was a close one," gasped Talia. "Thanks, Olivia."

"It's okay," sighed Olivia. "Great… how are we supposed to get back to the yard now?"

Just then, the two heard a bell ringing from down below. Toby was trundling along with Henrietta. "Great Railway Above; what's happened here?!"

"Toby, Henrietta!" called Talia. "This tree fell down and blocked our road to the Pack's yard!"

"Hold on, you two," Toby advised. "We'll fetch some workmen, and use some of the timber for the repairs on the windmill!" He and Henrietta quickly filled them in.

"Oh no…" gasped Olivia, thinking quickly. "Toby… is it alright if Talia and I bring some of the timber back to the windmill? The Pack doesn't need all its lorries in one place at a time."

"I don't see anything wrong with it," Toby smiled. "We could do with a little help in getting that windmill fixed."

And so, Talia and Olivia were able to take the timber down more often than the engines were. They had several other duties to tend to on their line, which only increased due to the storm damage.

Thanks to Toby's idea, as well as help from Talia and Olivia, the windmill was fixed as good as new, and the miller was very happy.

"Thank you, Toby," he smiled. "Your idea has saved an important piece of Sodor's history."

"Olivia and Talia were a big help," Toby sighed, looking at the two lorries. "I'm… I'm really sorry for my hostility towards you."

"Look, Toby," Olivia said quietly, "I wasn't helping the situation either. I was a hotshot and brash when I was young, and when I got older… I started walling up. I didn't want to believe Horace's story about being a pig trough at first, but… now I do. I swear, I will never end up like him. I'm sorry, Toby."

"Same here," added Talia. "You were just trying to get by, just as we were."

"And now… we all can," said Toby. "Sir Topham Hatt and Miss Jenny work closely together on construction projects. I'm sure we'll see each other around."

And I'm pleased to say that they do. Toby still gets into arguments with Olivia sometimes, but it's mostly due to their headstrong nature. All in all, Toby is now good friends with the two lorries.

THE END

Author's Comments

For Series 6-7 Redux, pretty much every adaptation from this point onwards will be from Series 7, with the few remaining Pack episodes thrown into the mix. Starting off with this adaptation of Toby's Windmill, this one is tied into the next adaptation, and it also introduces the characters of Olivia and Talia to Sodor. Olivia is actually the gender-flipped Oliver the lorry, who appeared in the fifth illustration of Thomas and Bertie, as well as its pop-up book adaptation, in which Clive Spong gave Oliver his name. We've already got two Olivers on Sodor, so it seemed reasonable to gender-flip the lorry. The flashback at the start also adapts two scenes from Horrid Lorry that didn't appear in Series 5 Redux, slightly expanding on Toby's backstory, as well as his grudge towards the two lorries, showing he was just as much in the wrong as Olivia was.

Upcoming rewrites:

- Mountains Out of Molehills (Buster 1, Moles 0)

- Bulgy Rides Again - retooled

- Another Fine Mess

- A Skarloey Wedding (The Grand Opening/Best Dressed Engine)

- The Star of the Show (Harold and the Flying Horse/Percy Gets it Right)