#'develop a good working relationship with these engines' should be the easiest assignment edward ever had

[mean-scarlet-deceiver]

Edward ask headcanon (2 / 4)

You ready for more North Western history/politics? 

Great! 

B. while it may not be realistic it is hilarious [by MY definition of hilarious AnYwAy]:

Okay, here’s an aspect of Edward as Secret-Keeper that I left out of the post in an vain attempt to keep it brief: 

While some of that “master course in Sudrian lore and history” was born of genuine curiosity… there was a period in which his studies were a bit… enforced.   

Specifically, I’m talking about some of the period between about 1924(ish) to 1939 (thank God! a war reprieve!), when Edward was based at Wellsworth, but not yet officially on the branch line… instead more of an ambassador. 

That was because (I propose) the four engines who had been incorporated along with the W. & S. R. were still there: 

#1: ‘the Ulverston’ tank engine (Chester) #2: ‘the Hemel’ tank engine (Sceffa—which is the Sudrian mythologial equivalent to the phoenix) #3: ‘the Farager’ fireless saddletank (Lillibet) #4: ‘the Avonside’ single Farlie (Deanndra) 

(The names are in parentheses because they are a closely guarded secret. The phrases in single quotes are what they were actually known as by the railway at large. It takes Edward being up at Wellsworth for six years before he’s grudgingly allowed “in.” Doesn’t really matter to him, because by this point he can no longer think of them as anything but the Ulverston, etc., anyway.)   

And I further headcanon the line at this time as being an absolute political minefield.  

The W. & S. had been terribly resistant to being incorporated into the larger N.W.R…. at least, not without being able to dominate proceedings. And, although they failed in fact to do so—with the ex-Sodor and Main cohort calling the shots, and later with Topham Hatt, ex.-T. & K. and no friend of theirs, appointed controller—they proudly maintained a policy of “N.W.I.N.O.”—North Western in Name Only. 

They have just enough political heft on their side (including an MP, and some friends on the board of directors) to make things tricky with North Western management as a whole. 

And, frankly, when the North Western was in pure survival mode (until about 1924… at which point, still miraculously free of the L.M.S., they breathed a sigh of relief, and entered into ‘meagre existence mode’), it was easiest by far to just allow “the southern line” all the autonomy it wanted. They weren’t a drag on the railway as a whole, and the controller(s) and board had bigger fish to fry. 

When FC1 did shift his attention to bringing the W. & S. lot to heel, transferring Edward to Wellsworth permanently was part of the campaign. 

The W. & S. lot—people and engines alike—are pretty pissed at this ‘helpful’ gesture. Not least of all pissed because they did need the help: the W. & S. four are all getting on in years, and the North Western board is not nearly as generous with their maintenance budget as they will be in later decades… at the time, they are just a normal board on a normal railway. It’s the controller who is a little different. Because, although FC1 wants to establish his authority over the southern line, he is in fact far more squeamish about scrapping engines than he is willing at this point to admit (even to himself). He certainly does not want to force the W. & S. four into retirement, whatever his issues with their managers.   

(So he’s pretty pissed, himself, at the pushback and suspicion he gets, when he transfers one of “his” engines to the junction there. Like, helllllooo, “his” engine was idle and shedded for a year in very large part because FC1 was protecting “their” engines. The board had been proposing to transfer Edward to the branch line as a replacement for two of the W. & S. tanks, and to avert the withdrawals FC1 had lied—of course he lied—to the board of directors about how urgently the main line required Edward as a spare engine. As we all know, they really didn’t.) 

Anyway. Where were we? Right. Edward is transferred to Wellsworth in ’24—allowing him to take over managing the junction, as well as to fill in for both the main line and the southern line as needed. And at first it’s rather lonely! He’s not about to complain about finally having an assignment, but secretly he does find the timing rather hard. 87546 and 98462 had finally been booted out of Vicarstown, and he, Henry, and Gordon had just started to have some jolly times together. And now finds himself the only engine on site—a new experience, and not the happiest, for someone so social.   

Previously, two of the W. & S. engines would stay pretty frequently at Wellsworth, but they refuse to do so after Edward arrives, and their men accommodate them readily on this point. 

Having been deeply suspicious of “new” main line engines one day forcing them out since… well, ever since the exact summer that Thomas and Edward arrived… they for some while deploy a pointed and sometimes hissing silent treatment when forced to work with Edward. 

Luckily, he was able to make some good friends among the humans in his new home. Otherwise he would have remained rather lonely. 

The workers and staff made useful allies, too, because part of Edward’s assignment was most definitely to ingratiate himself, as a way to smooth things out between the main and southern lines. 

From this perspective, Edward managing to befriend even the wary Wellsworth stationmaster was a major win. 

The stationaster was deeply loyal to his old line, and he loves the W. & S. four, but these two soon developed the ritual of a daily chat, during which the stationmaster was often found advising a bewildered Edward on now to navigate the politics of the southern line… by filling him in, bit by bit, on six decades of tangled history and drama. 

Of course, this new vein of North Western history quickly becomes work, not play. 

Edward likes the stationmaster, but is often frustrated at what he regards as an inability to get to the point. 

Hence, there are a lot of little afternoon chats that go like this: 

Stationmaster: Oh, you’re for it now. Whatever did you do to the Farager? 

Edward: What did I do? Do I ever do anything?   

Stationmaster: Ah, well, you know she’s a bit touchy. But she’s whipping up the whole lot into a right state. What happened this morning? 

Edward: Oh, honestly. I was filling in for the Hemel, you know. I only saw her for ten minutes, and there wasn't a thing out of the ordinary. 

Stationmaster: Well, something happened.   

Edward: It did not. It was all civil and bland to the point of boredom.   

Stationmaster: Let’s hear it. 

Edward: *sigh* I showed up to her yard in plenty of time, we said good morning, I asked whether I had better wait or go in and fetch my own train, she said that second one… I did, she cleared us, we left on time. The end! 

Stationmaster: *squints, thinks* What exactly did you say when you arrived? 

Edward: As close to nothing as possible! 

Stationmaster: *waits patiently* 

Edward: “‘Morning.” Then, I think, I commented that it was a fine day—

Stationmaster: Oh, dear. 

Edward: You must be joking. 

Stationmaster: No, indeed. Everyone ‘round here knows it. You must never say it’s a fine day in the Farager’s hearing. 

Edward: Oh, for heavens’ sakes! Why? 

Edward: —waaaait, never mind, I don’t need to know—

Stationmaster: Well, that’s an interesting question— 

Edward: *scrunching eyes closed, helplessly wishing engines had earplugs* Really! Never mind.   

Stationmaster: