#TTTE: Back On Track!

[spaceboid]

Back on Track! - Topham Twins, Troublesome Trucks and Faithful Friends

Hello all! It's been quite a while since I last shared some development done for Back on Track! hasn't it? Well, I happened to have some more work done for my AU! More in-depth details are below!

The Topham Twins - As some of you are may be familiar, a re-introduction shouldn't hurt now, should it? Meet Sir Topham Hatt of The North Western Railway! - He runs one side of the island with The Sodor Steamers and is very proud of his engines.

Whereas you may be introduced to Mr Lowham Hatt of The South Eastern Railway, a railway that is all things industrial and Diesel-focused. Lowham may not be as serious some say compared to his brother but, he still runs a reliable railway with his fleet of revolutionary diesels.

Troublesome Trucks + Friendly Freight - As you can see, a lot of trucks and freight have been designed! Wanted to expand the railway as much as possible and include some Express Coaches too with their own special livery to match Gordon! As he is the premier express engine after-all.

Faithful Friends - Now for two coaches everyone knows, Annie and Clarabel! Had to finally figure out how to do these two and stylise them for Back on Track! Now Thomas has his two faithful coaches to pull passengers with!

That's all for today everyone, hope you'll hope on board for the next Development Destination for Back on Track! Until then!

[jasminesanriofan]

Aishiko if she is in TTTE; Back On Track!. AU by @spaceboid.

[bruhstation]

(redraw of last year's art!) happy new year 2024, everyone! hopefully things go well this year, too :]

[ 2023 version | 2025 version ]

[masterj]

Shoutout to Sooty Will on Youtube, for his latest episode of his series which has to be the best adaptation of The Missing Coach I've ever seen, hands down. Some great comedy in this! :)

[kate66s]

OK so for those of you keeping track of my posts you'll know I said I was working on a Train Character sense I recently got pulled back into TTE/TTTE (Thomas the Tank Engine) and haven't said much after that. WEEEEEEEELLLL

SAY HI TO KAI, an experimental 1890 Baldwin 0-4-2T.

Now for those who have a good memory (or just look up the engine) you'll notice automaticly that Kai doesn't have a saddle tank, that is because his saddle was taken off to instead give him a well tank. That way his center of gravity was more well balanced, making him less likly of toppling over or derail. Now for scale here is a human next to him

Yeah, still big but compare to many other engines he is quite small. I still need to give him his livery which I very hard to figure out. anyways yeah.

[jayde-jots]

Uni has been kicking my ass, so after kicking it right back a decided to destress with some headcanons and brotherly fluff!

Context- I adore reading fanfics about engines turning human, and I sort of have my own head cannons about the trope.

I think if an engine were to turn human, their human bodies would reflect their physical health before the transformation. Like Scotsman for example, his irl engine self is not in good health at the best of times, and if we're to believe that TTTE universe Scotsman also went to America I don't believe for a second that the guy wouldn't have some PTSD. So mentally and physically he'd not be doing so hot as a human. Then take Gordon, big G has been potentially pulling the express for over 100 years by this point, and still going strong. The fat controllers we know take care of their engines, so more than positively Gordon has been kept in pristine health his whole life. If Gordon were to turn human, I don't doubt he'd be a strapping human with an 8 pack. But then it turns to personal experience.

In the story of this image I've hinted that Gordon has been human for much longer than Scotsman has, and while Gordon did pop out of his engine to human transformation being absolutely ripped in the beginning, I like to think that once the engines discover more of what humanity has to offer they'd indulge more of their personal interests. James for example I imagine would like to model and maybe do drag, or hell, maybe even design clothing! Henry I think would adore gardening and maybe animals, I imagine him volunteering at an animal shelter or the one putting in the most work at a community garden. I think Edward would find pride in his community, he'd adore things that you'd find at the Earl of Sodor's castle, he'd adore history, and the slower crafts of humans like painting and join Henry in some gardening, maybe some cooking to. Thomas I think would find his competitive nature, finding the joy in sports, liking to race people on a track, seeing how far he can hit a baseball, dancing around players in basketball, or just simply working out and liking the burn. And Gordon I imagine finds his interests with food, enjoying the sensation of taste, and also more of what the mainland would have to offer, I think he'd do a little exploring and also find the fun in traveling with other modes of transport. Which leads me to the brotherly fluff! I think that after a while some mainland engines who visit Sodor often would eventually feel the effects of the engine to human transformation. Scotsman would have seen Gordon as a human many times by now, and the two would sit and chat at Vicarstown before Scotsman would have to go back on his return journey. This is over the span of many months and each week Scott sees Gordon he notices his brother gaining a little more in the human part of him that reminds him of a boiler. At first it concerns him, until he's told that's how humans gain weight, and how they become fat. Once that happens he begins to poke fun at Gordon, calling him "big brother" in a new mocking way. Gordon becomes more hurt at that because to him it's far more personal than Scotsman knows, so afterwards he distances himself from his brother for a few weeks that span months until Sir Topham tells Gordon that Scotsman is in hospital after turning human, which leads to now. Gordon catches the next train out closest to the hospital and is very surprised to find Scott looking the polar opposite to him. He's so thin he appears anorexic, and even if Gordon had been in his first body type he would have still towered over Scott if the pair stood up side by side. The doctor had been informing Scotsman and the museum director of what his diagnosis was when Gordon burst into the room! Scott was very happy to see Gordon, bursting into tears and crying into his shoulder when Gordon scooped him up and hugged him close. Scott had ended up being diagnosed with Crohn's disease, type 1 diabetes, along with many more mental health conditions. PTSD, depression, and anxiety, but the most prominent being extreme separation anxiety. Once Gordon showed up it was all or nothing, Scotsman wouldn't leave his arms and refused to even go back to the museum, even not wanting to go back into the hospital bed or a wheelchair unless Gordon was right next to him or the one pushing the chair. The doctor suggested that Scotsman go with Gordon so he could receive treatment without possibly going into a panic attack, Gordon was okay with this as he and the others had managed to secure jobs and cash pooled their money together to afford a house. So that leads to the picture of Gordon and Scott talking as they probably walk out of the hospital together. Enjoy!

[unpopularvivian]

My Ttte Human Designs (James):

Headcanons:

Vain, loves attention and extremely overconfident.

Touch his red paint and die.

Often very rash and can be very impulsive at times. Even if she makes the same mistake 80 times, she'll still do it.

Sodor's #1 Drama King/Queen

"SOMEBODY HAS TO BE THE FAVOURITE!!!!!"

Pansexual and genderqueer. Uses any pronouns.

Her human age is 38 while her actual age is between 112-115

Is an extremely talented swordsman/swordswoman. The sword that they use is a fencing sword. It's behind their back in the design.

When he first came to Sodor, he had a black coat of paint, kinda emotionless and sometimes seemed like he wasn't there all the time. That changed when he met Gordon, who became his role model afterwards. (Bad choice James)

Has a fear of being forgotten and abandoned. That's what basically happened at her old railway. When it shut down, she was left all alone in a shed before the Fat Controller managed to find her and offered her to work for his railway. When they were given the choice of being repainted, they choose the color red since it was very flashy and hard to ignore.

Has many outfits that range from masculine, feminine to gender-ambiguous. The design shown right here is his main outfit that he wears when he's working.

MASSIVE Lady Gaga Fan. Has listened to all of her songs, knows everything about her and would buy tickets immediately if Lady Gaga ever planned on visiting Sodor for a tour.

She and Edward used to be engaged together in a relationship. It started mostly because their personalities were opposites. However, everything didn't go their way when the relationship became very toxic. Eventually, Edward just decided to break up when he couldn't take it anymore, causing James to fall into a period of depression. The other engines worked hard to get her back on track and to mend her's and Edward's relationship.

They didn't like Toby when he first got here. Unfortunately, that dislike turned into hatred when they found out that Edward and Toby were starting a new relationship. Feeling extremely jealous, they took their anger on Toby very often. That continued in Journey Beyond Sodor when James lashed out on Toby about their feelings on how they felt that Toby basically replaced them as Edward's partner. Eventually, the two had a heart-to-heart conversation and decided to forgave each other.

Fears Diesel 10 due to the events of Thomas and the Magic Railroad. Has scars across his arms when Diesel 10 tried to assault him multiple times.

Is part of the Strike Trio with Henry and Gordon.

Hates and fears bees with all of his heart. Like, if you placed a fake bee on his bed, he would scream like a child.

If you're struggling with fashion in any way, go to her for advice. She has wore hundreds of clothing, wore dozens of makeup and even studied color theory for goodness' sake.

Is shorter than Henry but is only a few inches taller than Edward.

[clancy14guy]

Old Stuck-Up (My TTTE AU)

Ok, I know that in the RWS book called "James and the Diesel Engines" in 1984, the same year that the TVS, the G1 Transformers cartoon and also when a BR Class 46 diesel crashed into a nuclear flask, Old Stuck-Up is a BR Class 40 and is numbered "40125", but in my universe, he's a BR Class 55 and numbered "55007" also, he is still also one of the arrogant Mainland diesels A.K.A….. the Mainland Gits next to Diesel 261 "Bowler", Diesel 199 "Spamcan" and Diesel 6975 "Lumpy" also, he is really and very pompous, rude and arrogant like a lot of unfriendly diesels, and believes that steam power is inferior to diesel power while also being highly stubborn as he refused to go further into the shed where the steam engines rest. He soon made himself an enemy of the steam engines, particularly a pissed-off James who christened the nickname "Old Stuck-Up" and began his rant about diesels. BoCo, who was showing the diesel round, lost patience with him, the next day when he wakes up the next day, remembers he has to refuel and be cleaned. In the part of the shed where BoCo alongside Bear, Derek, Western and Goyle sleep is a cleaning stop. The diesel decides to use it, but goes forward too quickly, slips on the oily tracks the 5 diesels stood and crashes into the back of the shed. After a stern talking to by the Fat Controller for insulting the North Western Railway, the diesel then goes home in disgrace, never to return

[anonymousboxcar]

TTTE/RWS OC: Bessie the Bicycle Locomotive

A while ago, I posted about this steam engine:

[Image ID: a steam locomotive with one large driving wheel sits on a monorail and is attached to a track running above. It has a double-deck cab, with one man (the fireman) on the bottom and another (the engineer/driver) on the top. The Wikipedia caption explains the locomotive belongs to the Boynton Bicycle Railroad. End ID.]

And now I’ve made an OC out of her! I’ve decided her name is Bessie. Enclosed below the cut is my story for her. Hope you enjoy! :)

Bessie steamed to life in 1889, in Portland, Maine. Her creator, Eben M. Boynton, believed the monorail was the way of the future, thinking it would be cheaper to build than regular tracks. He built her to fit with that early monorail vision.

She ran for a few weeks on the Boynton Bicycle Railroad in the summer of 1890. Pulling trains with two-story cars in Long Island, she realized from the odd looks she received that her design was… unusual. She developed a shy, soft-spoken personality as a result.

Bessie also worried about whether her “experimental” nature would be deemed a success or a failure. The entire railroad was something of an experiment; each train was a test run. So while often silent, she worked very hard. She kept to time and never complained. She felt like she had to be perfect.

And she was right to worry. After several weeks of easing into a routine, of learning how to be an engine, the railroad pulled her from service. The experiment was over. They had no more need of her.

As far as anyone knew, including Bessie, she wasn’t bad at her work. But they decided they could improve on her design and on their monorail model. She overheard talk of an elevated monorail and an electric locomotive as they pushed her into storage, shutting the doors behind her.

Bessie awoke an indeterminate time later to the sound of doors opening on rusty hinges. “I say!” said a voice.

As it turned out, Sir Robert Norramby was in the midst of his travels around the world. While in America, someone told him about a bicycle locomotive and a summer’s experiment. He became intrigued and managed to sniff out her location.

She braced herself for a confused stare. But Sir Robert had a wide smile as he walked around to her smokebox. “Hello! What’s your name, my dear?”

It took her awhile to remember how to speak. But he waited, beaming as her hoarse voice rattled out, “Bessie, sir.”

“What a lovely name. Tell me, Bessie, however did you wind up in this place?”

They got to talking. Bessie felt herself relaxing around Sir Robert, bewildered but also glad to be spoken to like any decent engine. And she gradually realized this was her chance to escape storage.

In the end, Sir Robert took her to Sodor at her request. He had a monorail with an overhead guiding track built at Ulfstead so she could pull tourists on a small line around the estate. On occasion, she also pulled goods trains as well.

It took some time for Bessie to settle in to her new life. For one thing, she only had a few weeks’ worth of experience from 1890. Everything was new again and she had learn as well as relearn things.

For another thing, she was still on-edge and reserved. Sir Robert seemed nice, but so did Mr. Boynton. And she knew what storage was like now. She never wanted to go back to it.

The result was Bessie holding herself to impossible standards and being too afraid to ask for help. Every slight mishap — missing platforms, not starting after the guards’ whistle, etc. — only made her more anxious and withdrawn. At night, she was the first back to the sheds and the first one asleep so no-one could talk to her.

Stephen, Glynn, and Millie noticed all of this and worried about her. They debated how to break the ice. Stephen wanted to race her, Glynn wanted to have a chat, and Millie wanted to leave her be until she made the first move.

In classic Sodor fashion, it didn’t happen as any of them suggested.

You see, one of the few comforts Bessie had was that she wasn’t too out of place. While she was a novelty, so were most of Sir Robert’s other engines. Tourists took her photograph and whispered about her, but they moved on to someone else a few minutes later.

One day, Ulfstead had special visitors. They were aristocrats from the Mainland, invited by Sir Robert as part of renewing alliances after his time away on his travels. He took them around the estate and introduced them to his engines where they rested in the sheds.

Bessie saw the visitors’ gritted smiles from a mile away. She knew very well what disdain looked like. They described her as “experimental,” “distinctive,” and “so very American,” and she knew it was a backhanded compliment.

It was like 1890 all over again. She felt like she couldn’t speak, couldn’t move an inch under their cool gazes.

And then they turned to Glynn. They called Glynn quaint, a relic of a bygone age. She saw the flicker of naked hurt on his face.

It was the same flicker she trained out of herself all those years ago. It spoke to a greasy, creeping feeling of boiler-sludge she knew he was feeling, because she had been there, too.

Bessie never wanted to be there again. She realized then that she never wanted anyone else to be there, either.

Stephen went red in the face, about to snap something at the visitors. But Bessie spoke up first, quiet and low: “Glynn has years of experience with today’s railroads, sirs. I only have weeks. He’s more modern than I am.”

Glynn’s gaze flicked over to her, startled. “Well,” he said after a pause. His voice softened with his eyes. “You’re a fast learner, Bessie. I don’t think you’re too far behind.”

“Yes, because we’re glad to help each other,” Stephen interjected, scowling at the aristocrats. “We’re one railway, sirs.”

Millie smiled a not-very-nice smile. “Is there anything else you would like to say to all of us, sirs?”

The aristocrats blinked, but Sir Robert — who watched everything with a look of dawning realization — folded his arms. “I think not,” he sighed. “Forgive me, dear engines. I suddenly have a pressing appointment with these… gentlemen.”

Those aristocrats never came back to Ulfstead. As Sir Robert apologized to them again that evening, Bessie kept thinking about they all stood up for her as well as Glynn. For the first time, she felt like she was part of a railroad. She felt like she believed them.

And so, little by little, she began to speak with them more. She asked for help when she didn’t know something. She did small talk with them at station platforms. She smiled at Glynn and Stephen’s silly arguments, giggling at Millie’s dry asides.

She couldn’t help them pull or shunt their trains, but she took on passengers or goods in her double-deck cars when they had too many or when they broke down. She told stories about America when nobody could sleep.

While still reserved in comparison to Ulfstead’s big personalities, Bessie is more at ease today. She pulls her trains without any issues, working to repay everything Ulfstead has done for her. She knows she’s home.

[luminartistwriter]

AU off of OhMyStarryNight’s human ttte AU :) (I got permission)

In this AU, the previously mentioned au is the same, except in this one when one gets charge of an engine, they sometimes receive what I consider ‘enlightenment’ through visions or sometimes physical powers like elemental or something like that. The purpose of this is unknown but always beneficial to the receiver. The engines, visibly not alive, is unknown if they are sentient or just vessels for such enlightenment or something else in entirety. It is rare to receive such enlightenment and even more rare to achieve a physical element to manipulate. Only one (later two) is known to have regular enlightenment and physical manifestations of power, which is Stephen.

The beginnings of this branch AU for me, which involves Thomas, James, and Edward. Thomas, as the rascal he is, decides to endeavor in another random shenanigan which results in his engine being in need of repair for the breaks. However, Thomas, despite various warnings decides to ‘home repair’ his engine breaks. It fails. Miserably.

On a return trip down to somewhere, Thomas’ breaks fail. With a full load of trucks. Thomas, panicking, alerts the attention of Edward, who chases Thomas down with his engine and ends up ✨fancily✨maneuvering down the line of trucks into Thomas’ cab. However, it was too late to try and stop as they are nearing the bend that led to an overhead bridge pass.

Edward, in an act of love, shoves Thomas out and down into the shrubbery alongside the forestry next to the track. Edward crashes. And it was a nasty one. The overhead bridge breaks with James crossing it and ended up pinning Edward underneath James’ engine and the wreckage of the stone overpass bridge. Thomas, screaming, went to go and get Edward out of the wreckage but ends up being held back by James. Edward gets rescued by the rescue team but is quickly evident that he is paralyzed from the waist down and is put on hospice notice.

Thomas, inconsolable, takes care of Edward and barres everyone out; except James. Edward ends up passing away while James dragged Thomas to be outside for the first time in months and that, added with Edward’s death, sent Thomas over the edge mentally. Thomas withdraws and ends up refusing the rebuilt #1 engine and gets hired as a diesel worker.

Afterwards, Thomas finds himself having visions through his new engine and gains the ability of super strength, similar to Diesel 10 who possesses the same ability and mentors Thomas. Taking this as a sign, Thomas renames himself as Spark and becomes (and behaves) like a diesel worker, taking the break handle from his former engine as a souvenir and a weapon.

The rest of the team, estranged and grieved with the symbolic and literal loss of two of their teammates kinda wait for a miracle. A miracle they got….after Sodor was almost taken over. The railway was run over by runaway bandits and was saved by the diesels and steamies working together, but the real winner was on Christmas Eve. This was Spark’s lowest point and in his grief created a new ability; soul splitting. Spark, in his grief memory, created a childhood version of himself and ultimately rejuvenated Edward as well. Using these projections, Spark and the steamie team both got what they wanted. Spark got his peace and the team got their friends back.

Spark occasionally gets teased and is called ‘the original’ but he also wears a partial mask to hide his scars after fighting off a wave of bandits in the steam works and getting burned badly by the equipment.

feel free to ask me questions! :)

[lordvonbunnyv]

Human ttte road trip headcanons:

Thomas: loves road trips, doesn’t have a schedule, or a plan, spends most of the road-trip with his head out the window.

Edward: likes to travel with company and just talk about life.

Henry: always takes the scenic route, has to stop and take a picture of the scenery, will pull over to take pictures of wildlife.

Gordon: likes to drive fast, gets a speeding ticket every time.

James: radio blaring, windows down, causes the biggest ruckus he can make, also forgets the map and gets lost and spends more time getting ready for the road trip than actually going on a road trip.

Percy: gets very car sick very easily. Needs to pee every mile.

Toby: just likes to take it slow and enjoy the road, drives so slow that he creates a whole line of traffic behind him because old man at the wheel. Also needs to stop at every sheep he sees.

Duck: has a strict schedule, no stops, “oh you have to pee? Too bad we’re not stoping”, hates riding with Toby and backseat drives when he isn’t driving. Has to stop at the beach every time.

Oliver: goes off on an “adventure”, gets lost, and has to back track.

Donald and Douglas: their car has broken down in the middle of nowhere.

Emily and the other girls: blasts pop music at full volume, sunglasses on and out, they are off for a good time, oh crap, they left someone behind.

Bill and Ben: Bill steers while Ben works the pedals before breaking out into an argument over who’s driving, end up in a car crash. Also forgets their spare tire, gas, map, snacks, water, and everything you need for a road trip

Diesel: pure concentrated road rage.

Bertie: is the only normal driver here, until her challenges Thomas to a race.

George: is the road construction that causes traffic to be back up for miles and when one of the drivers honks their horn, he will go up to them, and flip them off.

Skarloey: old man driving 2.0, can’t see over his dashboard and drives so slow that he causes traffic to be backed up for miles.

Stephen: is in the passenger seat with Skarloey talking smack about how everyone nowadays drives. Is also a nursing home escapee

Glynn: is also in the same car yelling at every car who honks at them to calm down. Had also escaped the nursing home with Stephen and are now on the run.

Rheneas: is in the same car sleeping.

Duncan: is in the same car cussing and yelling at every single car that passes them, backseat driving galore, reaches over to honk the horn, and has to listen to the rock station before Skarloey finally pulls over and makes Duncan get out of the car, and drives off.

Duke: went inside the gas station store to get a snack and was left behind.

Millie: is searching for Stephen and Glynn.

[spaceboid]

Back on Track! - Steamers 'n' Stations / Diesel's Depot

Here's some more engines who'll be puffing about in this AU, did these as a practice to get more used to redesigning the engines in this new style!

And wanted to pracitce some enviorment/buildings too, for two key stations nicknamed 'Big Tee' and 'Big Vee' - Why they're called that? You'll have to find out,, 👀

[asimpledreamwanderer]

i'm a little ill right now and honestly don't have motivation to make sketches (i haven't posted my art here in a long ass time- and honestly good for me because i look back to those pictures and think damn, was that me??) so here's some little emily headcanon / backstory thing i came up with based on these facts about her on the ttte wiki and the official wikipedia page about her basis:

so without furder ado, my emily backstory headcanon(s):

so we all know that emily is the safety engine- and compared to the other members of the steam team, she doesn't get herself into very silly accidents or derails often- sure, sometimes she can't read the atmosphere or does gestures that aren't exactly helpful to a specific situation (such as getting mavis flowers when she was down), but she's very introspective, often being able to tell what's up with her friends and frankly, doing odd jobs until she becomes the safety engine- but also having a bit of a bossy attitude about her when it comes to such things, like bossing around thomas and percy following a storm, and becoming impatient when she feels as if the other engines have little regard for their work or her work- but the question remains- why?

it's known that emily's engine class faced issues with traction and staying smoothly on the rails- something that we see frequently in the model series, she lightly "rocks and rolls" on the track- additionally, her engine class got into two big derailment accidents- one where the engine derailed on broken rail, killing a passenger, and one where the removal of a speed restriction on the track caused the engine to derail and kill two people

additionally, only the first of the class is left preserved in the current day- i headcanon that in ttte, this engine was last minute bought by the fat controller to help out on the northwestern railway- something that emily remains thankful for, but unused to.

i headcanon that since most of her class was removed from service around the 1890's (just around when edward was born), emily has little to no experience about railways in the more recent times, and that emily remained pulling passenger trains on her former railway with an "engines are seen, not heard" attitude- similar to what duke says to peter sam and sir handel about his younger days. additionally, since emily was the first of her class, i would assume she would be subject to more experimentation and/or exposure of what actually happens to engines rather quickly, given her curious personality- she would probably spend a lot of time at the steamworks on the gnr, with the workers there adoring her curious personality and her desire to be learning new things- leading to them talking to her through any and every modification she might receive, any repairs she might receive, any repairs that other engines might receive- the works. the workers there treat her very humanly, almost as if she's purely a human without arms or legs- they let her smell and experience the texture of human food and drinks (receiving some funny reviews from her in the process), read the paper out loud to her, teach her how to do things such as mathematics and telling her about literature- you get the point. around when her class became decomissioned and the railway preparing to send the other engines for scrap, the workers talked to her about it- and her reaction was very very human. more human than most other workers had seen throughout their lifetime.

while emily was devastated over her siblings' deaths, she also remained confused- she had not officially been named by her controller at the time, and she experienced the same issues as the rest of her class did, but up until then was lucky to never have derailed or killed another being in the process. the engines on the gnr were given numbers after older locomotives- essentially taking their places on the railway as the older locomotives would soon be forgotten- making emily wonder "why? why do i deserve to stay and be preserved and restored to working order while all my siblings are sent for scrap?" this also made her feel queasy about being a new engine and/or about seeing new engines on the railway- she began to worry about how it was unfair, that older engines would be sent to scrap as newer ones came, but also terrifying her to realize that they didn't even stand some sort of protection in the process, and that the vast majority of steam locomotives would eventually face the same fate as their predecessors (additionally, i like to think the gnr had a "no-fraternizing-during-work" policy for the engines, and most of the engines would be too exhausted at the end of the day for deeper conversations with one another- also leading to emily panicking about who even are the engines she worked with, what are their likes/dislikes, etc- this also leads to why she got frustrated at thomas when he slept with her in the sheds in calling all engines but that's a point i'll get to later)- sure, she spoke to the engines while they worked, and in fact sometimes told them what was going on and tried to reassure them while she was in the works- but it was never enough to keep the guilt about her being chosen to be preserved and an engine's life cycle away.

due to all of these things- most of emily's relaxed conversation occuring with humans, the majority of her knowledge coming from humans and their perspective, and the lack of fraternizing with other engines while at work, emily became somewhat stunted developmentally- sure, she's older than edward by a good twenty years- but she doesn't even know how to act on a running railway anymore- after all, the times have changed. this leads to emily's occasional short temper with the other engines, and even leads to the events when we first meet her, where she takes thomas' coaches on accident- she was not used to asking, she simply did as she was told on her own railway- twisting her attempts at becoming friendly with the engines on sodor at first

when sir topham hatt first bought her, the workers at the steamworks were delighted that emily would not only be able to run again, but that she would be in a place that she would be cared for, that sir topham hatt would be able to put the time and energy into repairing her and taking care of her that the workers at the gnr were beginning to lose access to- this led to a little "going away" party for emily- many tears were shed, and many memories were shared- even if now most of the workers are gone, emily looks back at them fondly, probably telling the engines about her times with them, and her times on the gnr.

here's where emily's safety engine backstory comes through- remember how her engine class used to derail and "rock and roll" quite often? this led to her become a worrywart- not just about herself, but about the other engines and their safety as well- she was concerned about henry when his tubes were leaky, she stood up for salty against thomas and percy's teasing, she looks at james and thomas almost like her little brothers (because obviously, they get into some of the dumbest and most careless accidents- and in the earlier series, don't really learn from it)- the list goes on, but she essentially ends up worrying about herself and the other engines A LOT. however, deep down this is because of her revelation about scrapping while she was at the gnr- she herself does not want to be scrapped, but she doesn't want any of her new friends to be scrapped either- especially since many perfectly working steam locomotives would be sent to the scrapyard at alarming rates.

now this is where her probably not socializing with many other engines whilst working or resting during her time at the gnr comes in- remember when thomas sleep whistles, keeps chatting off to her, and snoring when they shared a shed together? and just how annoying she found it? i believe she was overstimulated by it, seeing that she was still a rather new engine at the time, and slept by herself at knapford sheds. secretly, she was probably scared thomas' sleep whistling might send her away, or distract her from her rest and cause issues tomorrow- when she realizes that that isn't the case, when thomas leaves she begins to feel lonely, having enjoyed the company of her friend and realizing that nothing was going to happen to either of them after all- and when she was invited to take a berth at tidmouth sheds, she was delighted- with some learning curves, obviously- after all, she's very new to this

i imagine that edward would take to her endearingly, realizing that she's probably having an inner conondrum she doesn't openly speak of, thus being easier on her- he would also probably wonder how he ended up being an engine younger than her by the years but older in personality, but chooses to not mention it- sometimes they get along talking about their days on their old railways, and it would imagine they can get into pretty deep philosophical conversations (do engines have philosophy?) if emily ever lets her guard down

similarly, henry would probably look to her for advice and learning how to stand up for himself, and being kinder- not only was he more of a cynical character in the early series, but he was also very very ill- and that combined with his desire to prove himself past all his ailments probably turned him into a very harsh person- something he originally couldn't really understand- and something that emily was able to help him through, talking about his feelings

obviously in the series she also has her bossy moments, being impatient when clearing up the rails from a storm and taking gordon's express- i imagine that it was taken control of by sir topham hatt in a much different manner, remembering how emily was at the gnr's steamworks- he speaks to her almost like a teenager about her actions, letting her bask and self reflect instead of immediately assigning her to other work until she can be trusted again- thus making her one of his more sensible engines

however, emily does have her own moments of not being so sensible- for example, when she wished to be streamlined like caitlin, admiring her (and victor was basically like nah you don't need that 💀)- insecurity from her old age and wishing to be something more than just an odd jobs engine probably made her a little bit insecure. another great example is when she's with whiff- obviously, she's not one for smells, but to go on and laugh at him and be frantic about being seen with him just because her peers laughed at him? clearly she had a moment of smokebox fog there.

i imagine that emily actually wouldnt have much prejudice towards diesels- sure, she got mad at him for taking the coaches when being ill, but that was because he was ill and pushing himself- it has nothing to do with him being a diesel (something i assume would surprise diesel, especially for such an old engine like emily)- i believe that she wouldn't even know what diesels actually are for a while, but she would see them as any useful engine, and that once she did learn about the steamie/diesel conflict she would try to calm her inner crisis about scrapping- sir topham hatt wouldn't do that, and they're only doing their purpose after all

additionally, emily probably doesn't take kindly to hearing about engines getting scrapped- in her younger days, she probably remained blissfully unaware of the mechanics of it, but as she got older and learned more about scrapping it probably terrifies her, and she believes that all engines can be useful and don't deserve to be damned to the scrapyard for any reason

back to thomas and james? yeah. she probably sees them as her "annoying little brothers" that she loves very dearly- which is confirmed for james in a magazine story- but it's definitely a much different relationship than what she had with younger engines at the steamworks, with her relationship with the two being more freeflowing. i assume james has some sort of insecurity about being a "failed prototype" and an experimental engine on his old railway, and emily manages to help him get through it while talking about the positives and the actual mechanics of it, and reaffirming that he still is a really useful and really good engine.

and as for thomas? playful banter. so much banter. sometimes they act silly and fight like actual human siblings would, but at the end of the day they do care for eachother deeply- think of her having to hold a metaphorical leash on him, at times 😭

back to emily's conondrums- this leads to her being a very safe engine- in fact, being one of the safest on sir topham hatt's railway- initially i imagine she wouldn't care much for not being numbered, as it soothed her inner panic of not taking a scrapped engine's place, but over time as she began to heal i imagine that she would desire it in some way- and experience such delight when she is numbered and given the position! she wears her number very proudly on the nwr and is very very proud of being the nwr's safety engine :)

sheesh, this was LONG- i'm taking some time away from the phone- if you managed to make it this far i hope you're having a lovely day :) (also can you tell i'm an older sister 💀💀)

[fictionkinfessions]

𐔌 . ⋮ CANON WINTER .ᐟ ֹ ₊ ꒱

────୨ৎ────

୨୧ ꒰ ; ꒱ ୨୧

Winter in Sodor was always much of a spectacle . Often times the track would freeze over , and you'd have to hope and pray your sand-boxes would work . When the snow settled in , and the weather got dull , out - come the snow ploughs / plows and suddenly you're twice as bulky and clanky as you were before ! It wasn't all bad , though . Of course , us engines didn't celebrate so much , not with the work-loads and the over-flow of passengers and special jobs we were all very busy indeed ! We did , however , get to help out ! Fetching the perfect Christmas trees , transporting ornaments to each station to be decorated , pulling passengers to parties and places , seeing the lights . That was always my favourite , especially as the nights grew darker earlier and I watched my home light up in the soft glow of Christmas , the music and the buzz of the people seemed to follow you even when there wasn't a radio in sight . Some years , there'd be parties hosted nearby and some engines would be specially repainted with festive patterns to decorate their livery , I think I three a fit when they decided I'd be painted back to normal . I like to think of it as " when Christmas truly felt like Christmas " , the magic stuck around into early February , as they dragged new years out as long as they could, too .

────୨ৎ────

‍~ ` • James , The Red Engine , TTTE ( thomas the tank engine ) #j.5✨️ < if that's not a bother ! >

w

[keaalu]

Pendennis Castle (and friends)

I feel like I've been adopted by the spirit of Pendennis Castle. (Perhaps I lived there, in a former life, firing cannons for King Henry?)

Point being, the very first time I caught the Riviera Sleeper to Cornwall in 2017, the diesel loco that pulled the train was Pendennis Castle - and ever since then, the name keeps. Coming. Up. So I think I have slightly adopted it.

This holiday, I went to Falmouth and explored Pendennis Castle itself (“Castle On The Hill Castle”, haha). But more excitingly, look what I encountered in Didcot!

Pendennis Castle! (And holy moly she is a big beastie. And constantly LOUD, her chimney roaring away like a massive kettle you forgot to take off the boil.)

Granted, standing on the station next to her, she's obviously huge - I was STILL not as tall as her. But it’s only when you’re at ground level right alongside, staring up at at this towering piece of noisy engineering and realising that the top of your head doesn’t even come to the top of its wheel, that you realise what absolutely monumental vehicles these actually were. I had to stand on tiptoe to look into her cab.

She's at the coal stage here (above), about to have her tender refilled. The camera was on my eyeline. Even in these photos you can't really grasp how thunderingly enormous this old lady is. 120 tonnes! And even when she was not doing anything at all (her crew weren't even aboard), she was noisy.

Here's an even bigger one! This is King Edward II, who escaped the scrapyard by about 30 minutes and (I think) was in such a state it took longer to restore than it was in service. (I asked the tour guide and it's slightly shorter than the Flying Scotsman but heavier, at 135 tonnes, and more powerful. Apparently there was a bit of a pissing competition between GWR and LNER over who had the better engine, which resulted in these behemoths being designed. They had to do lots of weird things with it because otherwise it wouldn't have fitted through tunnels/alongside platforms/etc.)

Yeah. These are big beasts. (Even the dinky little tank engine they had outside weighed in at almost 23 tonnes.) If I get anywhere with this thing I'm noodling away at, I really want to try and carry that off.

It's quite sad, in a way, seeing them preserved and just sitting there - getting lots of love and polish, granted, but I wanted to see them escape onto the mainline and really run. Watching Pendennis Castle shuffle up and down her 750m of line was a bit like watching a racehorse pace around in a paddock.

Of course I was busy taking notes. (I didn't quite get brave enough to ask the volunteers "so if you were in the middle of nowhere, just an engine and crew, and you'd stopped for some reason, and the driver then had a heart attack, how would you get help?")

(Something something someone runs down the tracks to a lineside phone to call the signalmen to put a stop on the line, and the engine sits whistling the hell out of an SOS because he's not quite got the steam pressure back up to run, until a policeman comes along to help.)

In a final turn for the weird, this holiday, I was just getting ready to leave my hotel on the final day, and heard the toot of a steam train. That can't be a steam train, I said, it's a mainline railway station next door. But I hurried away anyway, and look what was sat in Bristol Temple Meads station! (I left the people in for scale. Even here, the loco is lighter than Pendennis - 72 tons vs 81 tons.)

She left literally not even a minute after I got to the platform, so that was a huge touch of luck. It's a special one-off service running on the mainline up to Shrewsbury. So this is on my list for next year!

(If there isn't already a character in TTTE called Dennis, WELL THERE SHOULD BE. Who used to work the tin mines and speaks Cornish so no-one fucking understands him.)

(The sleeper is my favourite way to travel on holiday. Go to sleep in London, wake up 250 miles away in Penzance!)

[str33tydr1ft]

| "You have to say it back." | LATE Fathers Day | TTTE AU : Sodor's Dragons |

(I HAVE NO IDEA WHY IM GETTING SO MANY FATHERS DAY IDEAS BUT I SAW A CLIP ON YT ABT THOMAS AND GORDON MOMENTS AND A CLIP FROM ITSV SO- ENJOY)

<Thomas : Blue>

<Gordon : Purple>

If it wasn't for the big event today, it wouldn't have been another average long working day. No, it was Fathers Day. It was a common thing for humans to celebrate. On the other hand, not many engines could experience it. But there were a few who could.

Two of those engines are Henry and Gordon.

Gordon, the big pompus asshole that you can't help but adore, and his husband, Henry, who often forgets holidays that isn't Halloween or Christmas.

On this day, Henry was asleep, as per usual. He was often the last one to wake up, but the others didn't mind it. Gordon however ussualy woke up before Thomas and Percy. Those two were the last two to leave the sheds before Henry.

So when Gordon woke up, he smirked and naturally blew his whislte as loudly as he could (without fearing that he'd wake Henry up by accident since he's a heavy sleeper) . Percy and Thomas were startled and woke up, Percy nearly bashing his funnel over the top of the shed door with how high he managed to jump.

" Wake up, you two! You know what day it is? "

Thomas groaned while Percy was trying to get over his disorientation.

" Fathers Day, right? " Thomas growled out as he glared at Gordon.

Gordon, with the biggest smile on his face, " yup "

" oh wow wee how excited I am! "

Gordon rolled his eyes, deflecting Thomas' sarcasm.

---

Gordon was waiting at the station with the express. He had an idea. What that idea was, I couldn't tell you it since that would spoil the story.

When Thomas pulled up in platform 2 with his branchline train for the morning, he had completely forgotten about being so grumpy about the day focused around his dad.

" Hey old man, "

" Is that what you and Percy are calling me now? "

" maybe "

" As long as you two don't call Henry that, then I'm alright with it, " Gordon smiled as he spoke.

" I won't! Anyway, I can't thank you enough, "

" For what? "

" For taking me in when you found me, "

" well you were a little tiny thing stranded in some docks which turned into a graveyard afterall, "

" I know, but you saved my life, I can't thank you enough "

Gordon felt a tear trying to escape his eyes. He refused to give in, but he did appricate his sons words.

" Anytime, Kiddo, promise me you'll be safe when you take your train okay? "

" I will, "

" Love ya kiddo, "

Thomas just smiled and managed to get a minutesworth away from the station before he heard Gordons whislte. Then Thomas' grumpy mood suddenly returned to him again.

The perks of being a train, he managed to unhinge the wheel joints in his wheels so he was out of drive mode. He then turned around and glared at his father, making sure to uncouple from his coaches first.

" w h a t - "

" You have to say it back "

Thomas looked around, there were engines in the yard stopping what they were doing to watch what was happening, alongside everyone waiting for their trains at the station observing the two.

" But Dad- "

" You have to, " Gordons face said it all. He knew what he was doing.

" Dad litteraly everyones here, the passengers, James, Percy, Edward, everyone "

" I love you Dad "

" Dad please- "

" I love you Dad "

" Dad- "

" I. Love. You. Dad. "

" FINE- FINE FINE OKAY- "

Gordon stopped repeating what he wanted Thomas to say, and just looked at him with a smug look on his face.

" Dad. I love you. " Thomas' face said it all, too. He was embarrassed as all hell. Clearly wishing that didn't happen.

" Thank you, " Gordon said as he let off some steam and puffed away with his express, very proud of himself indeed.

Thomas just gritted his teeth as he watched Gordon leave, getting himself back on the tracks again before coupiling up to his coaches. Trying to block out the giggiling coming from the coaches, the station and from the kther engines whk saw the ordeal.

" Happy Father's Day, old man. " Thomas scoffed to himself before puffing away to run his branchline passenger service.