POLAR BEAR

Written by Zack Wanzer and Rachel Ravens

Set during Series 5

It had been an eventful year for the engines on Sodor; it started when Gordon took over an express to London to cover for another engine after an accident, but the trip turned out to be disappointing on his end when the station was not King's Cross, but St. Pancras. Some time afterward, there were the visits of Gordon's brother Flying Scotsman, and a tank engine from the Bluebell Railway called Stepney.

Then there were the trials of two diesels, one of whom was dubbed Bowler after sucking an inspector's hat through his air intake, and the other Bear for the way his engine made growling noises. While Bowler was sent away in disgrace for his rude behavior, Bear became a part of the North Western Railway. He would also be among those who joined the rest of the engines for the two trips to London while others took their places.

Bear would go further to solidify his place on Sodor by rescuing an engine named Emily from a scrapyard, and she was afterward purchased for restoration by Sir Topham Hatt. Given that she'd spent decades rusting away, it would take a lot of work to bring Emily back to working condition.

Now, things were both winding down and winding up for the engines, as they prepared for the yearly Christmas rush. Bear had pulled into Knapford station with the Limited, when he saw a big Christmas tree being decorated. Annabelle practically skipped over to him with a bauble in her hand.

"What's that you've got there, Annabelle?" asked Bear. The Railway Girl giggled and held up her possession. Bear gasped in surprise; his name was written on it, along with the number D4. "Oh, Annabelle… that's so sweet."

"Grandmother Mabel and I do it for all the engines here," she explained. "We're glad to add yours to the tree. And we'll be adding some for Scotsman and Stepney too."

"They'll be with us in spirit," smiled Gordon, coming alongside with the Yuletide Express. "Good show, young Annabelle."

"Thanks, Gordon," she replied. "Once Emily is restored, you can be certain we'll do one for her too."

"Ah, yes," said Bear. "Have you heard about her progress, Annabelle?"

"Peter and Sophie say that they're helping with her restoration as a part of work experience," said Annabelle. "Emily's going to be right as rain… but she'll get lonely up at the Steamworks. I mean, human company is one thing, but you engines will be her family once all is said and done."

"Don't sell yourself short, Annabelle," said Gordon. "You're as much our family as our crew or Sir Topham Hatt himself."

"You mean besides the fact he's my maternal grandfather?" she giggled, as did Gordon and Bear themselves. "Don't worry, I get you, Gordon. Emily is going to make us proud one day, just as you two do."

"Thanks, Annabelle," said Bear. Soon, both guards had blown their respective whistles, and the two engines set off.

Later, Gordon had arrived at Elsbridge station just as Percy did with Annie and Clarabel.

"Oh, by golly, have a holly, jolly Christmas this year… oh, hello, Gordon," Percy greeted.

"Hello, Percy, Annie and– Annie and Clarabel?!" gasped Gordon. "What's going on? Is Thomas okay?"

"Just a five-yearly service," Annie assured. "Don't worry; Thomas didn't get stuck in a snowdrift this time."

Gordon chuckled. "Heh, I should hope not. Terence has enough snow to deal with as it is."

"And so do we!" cried Percy. "Driver says it's due to be very heavy this afternoon. At any rate, we may need both our headlamps and Rudolph to guide us through."

Clarabel giggled. "I think Rudolph is a little busy at the North Pole, Percy."

"All the same," said Gordon, "this could make Christmas deliveries and passenger runs more difficult this year. We'd better tell Sir Topham Hatt."

"Good plan," agreed Percy. "I'll let Toby, Daisy, Mavis and Katie know. You be careful, Gordon."

"Same with you three," called Gordon as his guard blew the whistle. As Gordon began to move out of the station, he felt a strange twinge in his cylinder. "Hmm… that's probably just the cold getting to me…" he said under his breath.

But as Gordon continued along the main line, it wasn't the cold that gave him that strange twinge. A rattling sound was getting louder and louder as he picked up speed.

"Ugh… by Gresley's name!" he gasped. "What is going on here?!"

"I don't know what it is," said the driver, "but when we stop at the next station, we'll see what the problem is." No sooner had it been said, however, when…

"Argh… Ow!" Gordon winced.

"Oh, that's torn it!" sighed the fireman. "Looks like we won't be completing this run, ol' boy."

"We at least need to get to the next station; the passengers can't be stranded," Gordon insisted. "My other cylinder's fine."

Up ahead, as Bear was approaching Wellsworth, he could just make out the stationmaster waving a red flag. "Hmm?" he wondered. "What's wrong?"

"I've received a call from Crosby station," said the stationmaster, "and Gordon's cylinder has failed on him. He's been moved to a siding, but the Yuletide Express is down an engine."

"Oh dear," said Bear sympathetically, "but what about the Limited? That will need an engine too!"

"Don't worry, Bear!" called BoCo, as he came over from the siding. "I've been assigned to the Limited. You go help Gordon."

"Be quick now," added the stationmaster. "Time and Sir Topham Hatt wait for no engine!"

"Ah, thanks, BoCo!" the Hymek smiled gratefully as he purred away.

Back at Crosby, Gordon sat on the siding while his crew inspected his damaged cylinder. The passengers in the coaches were waiting anxiously for updates.

"It's all been fixed, ladies and gentlemen," said the stationmaster. "A new engine shall be coming here shortly to take over, and then you'll be on your way again."

Sure enough, after a few more minutes of waiting, there was the sound of an engine rumbling, and Bear came backing down onto the Yuletide Express.

"Looks like you've been through a real workout, Gordon," he remarked as he was coupled up.

"I've handled worse," said Gordon. "But it's a relief to see you, Bear. You should be careful out there. Percy said the snow's going to get heavy soon."

Bear glanced worriedly at the sky. "Well, he's not wrong there," he said. "The rails could be slippery if I'm not careful." When the guard blew the whistle, the Hymek set off, tooting to Gordon as he departed.

As Bear carried on up the main line, as predicted, the weather changed for the worst. Flakes of snow that once fell gently were now blowing harshly against the train, as if threatening to derail it.

"Ohhh, this is dreadful!" exclaimed Bear, squinting in an attempt to see through the snow. "It's almost as if every snowstorm in history is coming in at once!" Of course, Bear was quite young, so he didn't know the full extent of the worst snowstorms in history.

"Still, I hope I can make it through this snowstorm," said Bear. "It was only thanks to Henry that I got to earn my keep on Sodor earlier this year…" He gritted his teeth. "I have to do this!"

"Easy on, ol' boy," soothed his driver. "Don't break down on this run. The others would want you in top condition."

"Don't think I don't know that!" Bear growled. "I won't let anyone down! Not my passengers, not my friends… and not Sir Topham Hatt!"

Inside one of the coaches, the passengers were singing carols. Amongst them were Gwen and Franklin Regaby, Annabelle's cousins, and their parents Elliot and Kelly.

"It's a good thing Bear was nearby," smiled Kelly. "I hope Gordon's alright."

"He'll be fine, mom," assured Franklin. "Annabelle says that a loose bolt is hardly the worst problem Gordon's had to go through."

"I'm worried about this snow though," Gwen admitted, looking out the window. "Engines have gotten stuck in it a lot…"

Suddenly, the passengers felt their coach shaking for a brief moment or two.

"What was that?" cried Franklin.

"I don't know…" trailed Elliot.

Outside, Bear strained hard and his motor growled. "Oh, come on!" he snapped. "This just isn't my day!" Suddenly, he ran into another block of ice and snow on the track. "Oof!"

"Oh, blast it…" sighed the driver. "Are you damaged, ol' boy?"

"I've handled worse," Bear insisted. "It's just a paint scratch, driver. Nothing a touchup can't fix at the Steamworks. Hmm… why do they call it that, anyway? I mean, we diesels get repaired there too…"

Inside the buffet coach, kitchen utensils, pots and pans were shaken off of their hooks, and crockery and bottles fell to the floor, shattering to pieces on impact.

"The windshields have fogged up!" cried Bear's driver, rubbing his hand to try and clear his vision. "Bear, you're going to have to tell me what's going on out there!"

"The storm's very heavy now, driver!" he reported. "If we're not careful, we could hit a rock on the line or something!" He shivered. "I hope the others aren't having nearly as much trouble…"

The passengers slowly stopped singing carols when they began to feel their ride getting bumpier.

"I don't like this at all!" cried Gwen, now clinging onto Franklin with worry. "What if we come off the tracks?!"

"Er… sis…?" winced Franklin. "That's a bit tight…"

"Sorry, little brother…"

"We have to get off this train now!" cried Elliot. "Otherwise…" He gulped. "Otherwise, we could end up like…"

"Like whom?" asked Gwen.

"Er… you two don't need to worry about it," Elliot coughed.

"I don't think we'd be able to get out if the weather looks this awful out here," Kelly pointed out. "We'd get lost in the snow!"

Suddenly, all the passengers felt a sudden jerk, with some even flying out of their seats.

"We've stopped!" exclaimed Franklin. "But how?"

"I don't know," said Gwen, readjusting her glasses, "but I think the guard will tell us what's happened." No sooner had it been said, when the lights in the coaches one by one went out.

"Ohhh, this is bad!" whimpered Franklin. Although he couldn't see, he was now clinging onto Gwen for safety.

Now all the passengers were talking amongst themselves with worry. Just then, they heard footsteps, and some could see the guard carrying a torch.

"Everyone, please try to keep calm while we address the situation," they announced. "And don't leave the coaches."

"In this weather?" scoffed another passenger. "It'd be a foolish move…"

"Nevertheless, sir, I'll be checking in with the driver to see what the situation is." And with that, the guard exited the coach and bravely trudged their way through the snow.

Outside, the guard shone their torch so that they could get a better look at the damage, and was shocked with what they could just about see. The Yuletide Express had stopped just outside of Henry's Tunnel, but Bear and the first two coaches were partially buried in snow. Inside the Hymek's cab, the driver struggled to open the door.

"Come on…" he grunted as he used his body to try and force the snow out of the way.

"Er, driver," cautioned Bear, his voice muffled by the snow, "you may want to–"

"Oof!"

"…watch out for the snow…" he muttered. The guard had made their way over when they saw the driver accidentally dive towards the snow.

"Is everything alright?" the guard asked, helping the driver back on his feet.

"Could be better," remarked the driver. "The last thing I was expecting was an icy, outdoors bath!"

"Evidently, it doesn't look like the Yuletide Express will be going anywhere any time soon," sighed the guard. "You'd better find a telephone and hope that its line isn't down. I'll stay here and keep an eye on the passengers."

"And please hurry!" called Bear. "It'll be difficult for me to start up again in this frost."

At the Sodor Steamworks, Thomas had just been given his final inspection to make sure he'd passed all his tests. He looked over to see Gordon being shunted in by Henry.

"Gordon? What's happened to you?" he asked.

"A loose bolt," he sighed. "That's the bad news."

"I guess there's no good news to report?" asked Thomas.

"Well… Percy's managing Annie and Clarabel very well," Gordon replied. "And Katie is also assisting with the goods traffic."

"Oh, that's a relief." But the good news didn't last long, for the Steamworks manager had grave news to report.

"Bear and the Yuletide Express are stuck in a snowdrift outside of Henry's Tunnel," he reported. "Because of the weather, Sir Topham Hatt has canceled all trains until this blizzard blows over."

"But how are we going to get home now?" asked Sophie.

"Never you mind, Sophie," assured the manager. "I've phoned your father, so you'll have to spend the night here. The same thing goes to you too, Peter."

"And Bear and the stranded passengers?!" gasped Gordon. "What about them?"

"It's bad enough for us engines," agreed Thomas, "but humans could get frostbite!"

"And Bear could have trouble starting again in this cold," Henry put in. "We can't just sit around here chatting our smokeboxes off!"

"I'm sorry, you three," said the manager. "Going back out there now would put even more at risk. Bear's guard already risked their life just to phone someone about the situation!"

"Weren't Gwen and her family on that train?" asked Peter. "Annabelle's going to freak out when she finds out…"

"Trapped in the snow?!"

"Don't worry, Annabelle," soothed Sir Topham Hatt. "I promise your cousins will be home safely."

"But how long is it going to take?" protested Annabelle. "I don't even know if they'll survive the night in such awful weather!"

"You trust me and my engines, right, dear?"

Annabelle weakly nodded and glanced at Bear's decoration on the tree. "I… I do, grandfather. I hope Bear's alright too…"

"So do I, Annabelle…"

Back at Henry's Tunnel, although he couldn't go anywhere, Bear had his steam generator on to provide heat for the passengers and staff inside the coaches. Despite the bad situation that they were in, the passengers had opted to make the most of it while they could. Food and drinks were limited, and despite many broken dishes, the staff prepared what food they could to keep the passengers well fed.

However, Bear was not coping well at all. He shivered miserably, and his motor, the chatting from the passengers and the wind kept him up. One passenger in particular, a retired military major, seemed rather chatty.

"…so there we were, standing right on the edge of the waterfall with Jerry in our sights! Came down at us with his giant birds, he did, but were we about to surrender to them…"

"Great…" Bear groaned. "I was trying to help Gordon, only to end up making an even bigger mess of things. The other engines are sure to make me the latest laughing stock when I get back to the sheds." He sighed. "I wonder what they're chatting about now? Or if the wind is keeping them up too…"

"…he'd jumped out of his big bird and came back down to earth with that gosh-darned parachute of his! So once Jerry and his comrades were down on the ground again…"

Early the next morning, the blizzard had stopped, and Sodor was covered in a thick blanket of snow. As Thomas and Henry had spent the night at the Steamworks, they were the first engines dispatched to rescue Bear and the passengers – Gordon couldn't come because he was having his cylinder fixed. With their snowplows attached and a workman's coach in tow, the two engines set off for Henry's Tunnel.

"Donald and Douglas can handle a lot of snow, but I think we all need to pitch in this time to clear the tracks," remarked Henry.

"Yes, we must keep the railway going if we're to bring everyone home for the holidays!" agreed Thomas. "And that includes Bear."

"I hope he's okay," Henry commented. "This is the second time I've come to his rescue."

It wasn't long before Henry and Thomas arrived at the site of the snowdrift. By this point, the passengers on board had been served breakfast, and were very glad to see their rescuers, none more so than Gwen and her family. Bear was also glad to see them, albeit still rather embarrassed about the situation.

"I-I-I'm v-very s-sorry about th-this," he shivered.

"Bear, it's okay," said Thomas. "Don't worry; we'll get you out and warmed up in no time."

However, because it had snowed a lot last night, it would be a lot longer than that. The rest of the coaches were now partially buried, possibly even frozen to the rails, so bringing them back to the station wasn't an option at the moment. Nonetheless, the workmen began digging away at the snow.

"I've never seen snow this thick before!" exclaimed one.

"It's hard to dig at…" groaned another. "We may as well be digging at rocks!"

Thomas was quiet for a moment before remembering something. "Henry, when Toby helped push Mavis out of the farm lane, his fireman used hot cinders from his firebox to melt the frozen mud."

"Hmm… that might work here too, Thomas," the big green engine considered.

Their drivers and firemen agreed to the idea, and soon, hot cinders were spread out to melt the hardest chunks. This helped, but it would still be a long job. The passengers didn't mind; they continued to find ways to keep themselves entertained while the rescue operation was going on.

"Now here's a trick I learned from a woman in old Bombay," said one of the passengers, shuffling the cards. "She knew how to improvise when it came to card tricks." When he presented the deck face up, it showed the King of Spades. Then, with a bit of sleight of hand, the card had changed to show the Ace of Hearts. The onlookers "oohed" in amazement.

"That card's practically a substitute for the number one," remarked Gwen to Franklin. "Just like Thomas." The blue tank engine let out a light chuckle at being acknowledged.

Soon, it was early evening, and the rescue operation was still nowhere near done. Thomas and Henry had since been rotated out for Donald and Douglas, and the coaches, save for the first two, had been dug out. Bear, however, was still stuck in the snow and sighed.

"S-Sorry this t-took you all out of y-your regular tr-trains…" he shivered.

"Bear," said Donald, "it's a'richt. Bein' stuck in a tunnel is nae business fur ony engine."

"'N' neither is bein' stuck in th' snaw," added Douglas. "Ah know Thomas kin attest tae that."

"F-Funnily enough, he w-was there with Henry," remarked Bear, chuckling slightly.

"Aye," agreed Donald. "Besides, ye did really weel, a' hings considered."

"Ah heard Gwen say that ye kept pushing oan 'til th' snaw wis tae thick," smiled Douglas. "Some engines back in Scotland wid gie up whin thare wis barely ony snaw oan th' ground." He chuckled as he went for the freed coaches. "Donnie 'n' Ah wid gie thaim a richt telling aff." Donald smirked and even Bear had to let out a small laugh at Douglas' joke.

Once he was coupled up, Douglas slowly began to pull the coaches back to Crovan's Gate. All of the passengers were on board, but with two less coaches, it was quite a tight fit inside.

Nonetheless, it wasn't long before Douglas arrived at Crovan's Gate with the coaches in tow. Annabelle was on the platform, being consoled by Rheneas, when she saw four passengers squeeze out of the coaches.

"Gwen! Franklin! Uncle Elliot and aunt Kelly!" she cried, running over to them. She hugged each of them tightly, much to Rheneas' relief.

"Good show, Douglas," he smiled.

"It's nae ower yit," he admitted. "'N' Christmas isnae far aff…"

It had been a couple of days, and several other engines were rotated during the rescue operation, but finally, Bear and the two remaining coaches were finally freed from the snowdrift. Perhaps fittingly enough, now that his cylinder had been repaired, it was Gordon who brought Bear home.

"Thanks, Gordon…" Bear sighed. "Oh, it was freezing out there! I'm sorry I couldn't get everyone home in time."

"Bear, that was beyond your control," Gordon reasoned. "Incidents like this happen to everyone."

"Including loose bolts?"

"Well… yes, that too…" Gordon chuckled awkwardly at that. "My point is," he said after clearing his throat, "you gave it everything you had, and still worked into the night to keep the passengers warm. That kind of dedication is what would make Sir Topham Hatt proud."

Bear smiled weakly. "All the same," he sighed, "it's my first Christmas on Sodor, and chances are I won't be able to make it to the party."

"We can't allow that!" Gordon cried, trying to think of what to do. "Hmm… I remember Thomas telling me something about… aha! Yes. That's what we'll do!"

Bear looked confused, but didn't press the issue further.

It was the morning of Boxing Day, the day after Christmas, and Bear stood alone inside the Sodor Steamworks. The only other company he had was Emily, but she was currently under green water due to her rebuild.

"She's in good hands…" Bear muttered to himself before yawning. "Shame that I've spent my first Christmas on Sodor al– huh?!" He glanced up in surprise, now fully awake. The whole Steamworks was covered in several Christmas decorations.

"Merry Christmas, Bear!"

"Guys?!" Bear could hardly believe it. All the North Western engines, as well those from private companies and the Midland quintet, were inside the building; even some of the engines from the Skarloey Railway were present as well, as were Annabelle and some of her friends and family. "Wh-what are you all doing here?!"

"On my first Christmas on Sodor," Toby explained, "Thomas and I went to visit Mrs. Kyndley with our coaches when she was sick, as thanks for saving him and his passengers from that landslide."

"So this year," added Thomas, "Gordon decided to bring the party to you."

Bear beamed, utterly touched; he almost cried tears of joy. "Thanks, Gordon, and all of you… you have been an amazing group of engines to work with. Merry Christmas, everyone."

"Or… how about, 'Happy Hanukkah'?" asked Gwen with a giggle.

"Hanukkah?" asked Bear. "What's that?"

"It's another holiday that takes place around December, sometimes slipping into the end of November or the start of January," said Franklin. "Basically, it's a story about how a candle was supposed to have enough oil to last for one night, but it lasted eight nights instead. It was a miracle. And that's why we celebrate it for eight days."

"Our mother's family celebrated Hanukkah long before we were born," added Gwen, "and this year, it starts today."

"Don't forget how two years ago, we celebrated both Christmas and Hanukkah!" Annabelle pointed out.

"Wow," Bear exclaimed. "Maybe we can incorporate some Hanukkah traditions into this celebration today. I'd love to learn more about it."

"It is something we all don't know much about," conceded Oliver.

"And we all come from different railways ourselves," pointed out Percy. "It would be fun to see other holiday traditions once in a while."

"That's a very good point, Percy," Sir Topham Hatt smiled. "Let the celebrations begin!"

And with that, the friends and families had a wonderful celebration. They told stories, played games, and sang various songs, all while the engines were educated about the traditions of Hanukkah. For Bear, he never felt more at home than he did right then and there. It was great to be a Sudrian engine, and leaving his roots of British Railways behind.

THE END

This story was partially inspired by an incident that took place about seventeen miles west of Donner Pass in Nevada County, California on January 13, 1952. 222 passengers and crew aboard City of San Francisco, a passenger service for the Southern Pacific Railroad, were stranded for three days when a blizzard dumped so much snow around the train that it couldn't move forward or reverse. While the rescue was going on, the passengers kept themselves entertained by making conversation and playing a few games, even holding a talent show.

Author's Comments

Yep, the pun in the title was probably inevitable. And it's rather fitting that our Christmas story for the year features Bear in the lead role, with Gordon, Thomas and even Gwen Regaby having their own parts to play. The story was a bit of a struggle to write up after the first act, but once I found some story inspiration, it became a lot easier; interestingly enough, it's the same event that's said to have inspired The Deputation, although I'm pretty sure there's other incidents that might have inspired said story. I just hope that we've made our version different enough so that they can co-exist alongside each other. For the final twist at the end with Gwen and her side of the Regaby family being Jewish, I'm not sure if anyone out there has written a story that involved Hanukkah in any capacity outside of a mere mention; Christmas isn't the only holiday that takes place in December, after all. If not, then this story could possibly be the first! That said, I've love to expand upon the concept in a future story, so long as we've got the right idea to go along with it.

This will be the final Between the Lines story for 2024, so I'd like to wish you all a Merry Christmas, a Happy Hanukkah, a Cracking Kwanza, and of course, happy holidays in general. We look forward to writing up more in 2025!