#rws au

[scattered-sense]

Percy (1969)

The old shunting man has some stories to tell.

[hazel-of-sodor]

This is going around on twitter so let's try it here

Feel free to send an ask if you want an elaboration on any of these.

1. Thomas/Cassandra as a J72 is long established lore. But something never said is the fact they dont know what they are until the preservation era. As far as Thomas/Cassandra knew, they were an LBSCR E2.

2. British Railways had a secret program from the 60s to the early 80s where they would allow groups to buy engines for preservation, but only if they agreed to keep the engine's survival secret. This was to make the engines/classes seem rarer than they were and driver up their price.

3. Blue Peter was originally male, but after the 1994 Durham wheelship accident and the emergency repairs carried out at Crovan's Gate, Blue Peter reawoke as female.

4. The world is a little bit larger in the AU, with more passengers and freight. This means more members of existing classes like the LNER Raven A2 and Gresley P1, and some classes that weren't built in ours like the GWR Cathedrals and Stone Circle Class.

5. Preservation is a larger movement, due to the engines being alive. There are more preservation railways, and those that exist in our world are better funded, and often larger.

6. It is now possible to circle the island by rail, via the Mantauo line which runs North from Vicarstown to Mantauo, and the Little Western, which extends North from Harwich to Mantauo.

7. Both Stanley and Smudger exist. Smudger, offically named Jennings, was the original No.2 of the Mid-Sodor Railway. She was eventaully sold to the Cronk and Harwick, with Stanley being bought to replace her.

8. Yes Nicole and Samantha are together, and adopted Claire

9. Many 'extinct' classes of British Locomotive have surviving members in other countries. Most commonly in the Americas and Asia, but British Railways refugees can be found in most countries.

10. Flying Scotsman has been part owned by the NWR since the American Tour, which they funded the latter half of in turn for majority ownership. Alan Peglar readily agreed, as it meant Scotsman was secured no matter what happened to him. In the present day the other portion is owned by the NRM.

11. With the greater interest in preservation and the existence of Crovan's Gate, many new builds were finished earlier. For example Lady of Legend was completed in 1975. Tornado is notable in the Au for being the first standard gauge steam engine built entirely on mainland Britain since Evening Star, as all the others had Crovan's Gate built components.

12. With the extension to Mantauo, the "Little" Western is a full fledged mainline, sporting many GWR Locomotives including Castles, Stars, and Cathedrals. Despite this, all agree Duck is still the head of the line.

13. Thomas/Cassandra and Duck dated during the Summer of 1976 while the No.1 was on the Little Western due to storm damage on the Ffarquhar Branch. It ended amicably, although no one but the two of them is certain whether it was due to the pair not working out or Thomas/Cassandra returning to her Branch Line.

14. While LNER P2s were transferred to Sodor during the war, and remained on the island afterwards, they were rebuilt in a manner similar to Gordon and so are considered P2/1s by Railfans. The 2007 Prince of Wales new build is intended to bring back the Gresley condition design, and the P2/1s are all excited to meet their new sister (they all insist it will be a girl, and engines are almost always right about such things).

15. The LNER U1 Typhoon and Big Emma (Big Bertha) work together on the Mantauo line and are shedmates...They're also girlfriends.

16. There were plans to rebuild Henry into a Hudson before the Flying Kipper accident, but the damage he stained was great enough Hatt used a favor Stanier owed him to have Crewe repair and rebuild Henry. As his trailing axle had been destroyed in the accident, Stanier had him rebuilt as a Black 5

17. The Sodor engines take great offense to the "Two Henry's Theory" and more than one pushy railfan has got blasted with a face full of steam over it.

18. Nancy Rushen is now the Thin Controller of the Skarloey Railway.

19. The NWR fleet list is over 100 hundred engines long, despite only containing engines that have appeared in either stories or art.

20. Midlothian is safe and sound on Sodor, although she refuses to set one wheel on the mainland.

21. U.S.S. Enteprise CV-6 is in service with the US Coast Guard as a Helicopter Carrier.

22. LNER 10000 "Hush Hush" does survive, but in her rebuilt form and her name is British Enterprise.

23. All the of the engines from the Fifteen Guinea Special survive, as 44781 Excelsior was saved by the Sodor Railway Musuem when the original preservation attempt fell through.

24. Excelsior joined her sister 45318 Intrepid, who the museum had already preserved, as she had pulled the last regular timetabled steam hauled service on British Railways.

25. HMS Hood survives the Second World War, and remains in service until after the Falklands War. She is now a museum ship.

26. All three Olympic Class would survive to enter Sodor Star Line Service in 1935 (Titanic having forced herself into a turn a second earlier), sold off by White Star Line as a final act of Defiance in the face of their impending forced merger with Cunard.

27. When the American Ocean Liner SS Moro Castle caught fire in September 1934, a White Star Liner recieved her distress calls and came to her aid. R.M.S. Titanic had been leaving New York Harbor when the sos was recieved and immedaitly turned to assist. Her crew helped the Moro Castle's contain the blaze and evacuate the passengers, before towing the stricken vessel to safe harbor.

28. America has had locomotive and sentient machine rights on paper since the 1890s, but it only truly came into effect following the first world war.

29. After the second World War ended up aligning themselves with either the USA or USSR. The USSR, like the USA also had rights for sentient machines. Never content to let the other take the lead in anything, the two superpowers pushed for their allies to take similar measures, leading to most nations steam fleets being protected by the time they were economically capable of replacing them.

30. The exception for Sentient machine rights is Great Britain. Even by the 2020s, the British Government doesn't recognize sentient machines as anything more than beasts of burden, if even that. This has led to political tension between Britain and both the USA and USSR.

31. As a result of the larger world/passenger numbers, the White Star Line planned a fourth Olympic Class. Tentatively named R.M.S. Gigantic, the hull was still early in construction when WW1 broke out. The Royal Navy claimed the unfinished hull, planning to finish the ship as a troop ship, but Germany caught wind of the project, and the unfinished hull was bombed on the slipway by a German Zeppelin. The hull was a total loss, and the White Star Line cancelled the project. After the war, the Line would eventually receive the newly completed S.S. Bismark as war reparations in 1922, renaming her R.M.S. Majestic.

32. As the Titanic Disaster never unfolded, with the liner instead surviving her maiden voyage, J Bruce Ismay would remain the managing director of the White Star Line until its merger with Cunard in 1935.

33. In the United States, roads never took over like they did in our timeline. The Railroads pushed for cars to have the same rights as their engines. While seemingly benigh, this place cars outside the budget of all but the rich. Roads certainly still exist, but are primarily for emergency services and for transporting freight in areas where railroads are impractical for one reason or another.

34. Since R.M.S. Titanic survived, why did the rules and regulations following the disastestill occur. Two reasons, 1. I play by the rule of the elastic timeline. While Context may change, most global events (or at the very least their consequences) still play out. 2. The Liners went on strike. Quite simply it was thie lives and passengers on the line. Unlike Humans, you can't just replace a ocean liner when they Strike. The fact the White Star Liner immediatly announced refits for Titanic and Olympic further forced the shipping companies to fall in line.

35. Sailing ships are often senient, although it takes longer for them to Awaken than those with engines.

36. As computer systems were installed in locomotives, it was found the engines were pefectly capable on instinctually interfacing with them, allowing engines to eventually access the internet, and games.

37. Engines are capable of consuming human food, although wether they like to varys engine to engine. No one is quite sure where the food consumed food and drink go.

38. While the original 26 books of the railway series are based on actuall events on the NWR, they have often been tweaked to better works in their role as children's books

[anonymousboxcar]

I have a fic/au idea that I don’t have the spoons to write in full prose right now, but I’d like to put it out there.

So. Henry arrives on Sodor and an outraged Fat Director demands to know who built him. Henry tries to answer all his questions, but he soon realizes he doesn’t know much about his builders either.

He first came to in a damp shed with boarded-up windows. He never made out any faces, only ever hearing low voices around him. This was done to keep him from identifying anyone involved.

Once this is clear to Henry, it eats away at him. All the other engines on the NWR know their builders, their inherited legacies, and their engine families (siblings, cousins, etc.). Even worse, he’s not the engine the Fat Director wanted. He can’t help any of this.

…but he can figure out who his builders are. And maybe being able to answer those questions would make the Fat Director a little less angry with him. Maybe he could find out what family he might have out there. Maybe he could get an explanation from them.

So Henry asks engines coming in from the Mainland for info, with Edward and Thomas also asking around for him. The crew assigned to Henry sees how much this matters to him, and, growing fond of him, write letters to the place Henry was built.

They don’t make much progress, however, until Gordon arrives.

Gordon and Henry both feel very shaken when they see each other. Their designs are so close that it can’t be coincidental.

Their investigation is impeded somewhat by Gordon not wanting to associate with Henry. For him, it’s uncomfortable to acknowledge an engine so similar to him and yet so wrong. He looks at Henry and sees what could’ve been his fate, as an experimental prototype. And that doesn’t even go into the blow to his Gresley lineage and prestige as which he perceives Henry.

But then it only makes sense, a bitter Henry argues, for Gordon to disprove the idea that Henry’s a real Gresley engine. And so Gordon relents (with some sternness from Edward and some scowling from Thomas as well).

Gordon then admits when they question him that some plans went missing from Doncaster. It was before his time, but he overheard some people still speculating about who could’ve done it.

He says nobody saw the plans as a great loss — that they were rejected for having too small of a firebox for a locomotive of that size.

But as Henry and his crew begin looking into who stole those plans, suspecting a rival of Gresley, things go wrong with his trains. Things like loosened couplings, damaged track that was fine an hour ago, and trucks catching fire.

It’s all sabotage. Henry has become a liability to his builders by trying to expose them. And seeing as they already got the money from his sale, they have no further need of him.

Henry is horrified, make no mistake, but he’s also angry. He’s done with this nonsense. He wants to see his builders face-to-face, to draw them out, to get some kind of explanation from them.

And so he makes the impulsive decision to stop in a tunnel.

He’s miffed that the Fat Director matches his expectations and bricks him up, but not surprised. He does his best to explain himself to his crew once the hullabaloo dies down. But as he lays out his idea, his confidence wavers.

He’s not sure if he can face the people who built and then abandoned him. He’s not sure if he’ll come away from this safely. And even if does, he’s not sure he hasn’t burned every bridge on this railway and any hope of a future here. Can he trust anyone here?

He doesn’t tell them this, though. It’s too late to go back. He can only see this through.

That night, some strangers approach Henry’s tunnel. They’re his builders. They’re here to dispose of him. He finally sees their faces, even if he can’t put names to all of them.

The way they talk to him confirms that they never cared about him. He was always a means to an end. He was always one of a kind, the product of a jealous grudge against another engineer.

And yet it doesn’t hurt the way Henry thought it would. He sees them and feels no connection, no obligation to them. He realizes they’re not and never were his family — that he never had to please or live up to them.

So when they give him one last chance to shut his mouth, to keep quiet about who they are, he laughs in their faces.

He takes great satisfaction in telling them they can’t command any kind of loyalty from him. He knows he could never trust them and he’s fine with that, because he feels nothing for any of them now. He doesn’t need them.

The only thing that scares him is the thought that he won’t get away from this. As the builders advance on him, he thinks that he’s grown fond of Sodor and this ridiculous railway. He wants to roll his eyes at Thomas’ quips, to watch the sunrise with Edward. He might even want to bicker with Gordon. He wants a future here.

And then his crew leaps out of hiding, getting into a scuffle with the builders.

It’s long enough for Thomas to come barreling down the line, followed by Edward and Gordon. They bring the police, having been informed of the “stake-out” plan… and the Fat Director steps off Thomas’ footplate, too.

The builders are summarily subdued and arrested, and all the engines and crews ask Henry is he’s alright. (Well, Gordon does so in a very roundabout, emotionally constipated way, but he still asks.) Henry is overwhelmed. He was right to trust them, it seems. He could more than trust them.

Henry and the Fat Director then hash things out. It’s a tense and messy conversation, especially because Henry is still reeling from the events of the night so far. But the Fat Director says that, regardless of his own opinions, it’s clear the rest of his engines and workmen would riot if he turned Henry away now. And he can’t afford that.

“You are needed here,” he says. It’s not quite an apology, but it’s close — an undoing of the bricks between them. “You are useful.”

Henry doesn’t say thank you, because this is the bare minimum. “Yes, sir,” he says, trying very hard not to cry anyway.

And so Henry is let out of the tunnel and remains on the NWR. It’s not perfect — far from it, sometimes — but it’s home. It gets better over the years. Decades pass before the Thin Clergyman starts asking around for the story of Henry’s tunnel.

By now, not many people know about what really happened. The knowledge of Henry’s leading designer would’ve torpedoed a workshop’s reputation, one which turned out to be uninvolved in what one of its designers did in his free time. Many people would’ve lost their jobs and locomotives would’ve lost the ability to find homes. So in the end, the scandal was hushed up and the builders were charged on the more minor offenses they committed.

For that reason, Henry and the others quickly rule out telling the truth. Nor does Henry want to revisit that time in his life. He doesn’t want to be associated with his builders in any way.

Thomas’ cheeky suggestion about him not wanting the rain to spoil his paint isn’t very flattering, but the others’ suggestions are even worse. (Edward’s idea of Henry being in the tunnel for a heroic reason is outvoted, though Henry appreciates it.) He also has to admit the Fat Director doesn’t look much better in that version of events — he looks arguably worse than Henry.

Is it petty? Yes. Does Henry go along with it anyway? Yes.

The Fat Director, now the first Fat Controller, accepts this without comment. He’s learned and grown quite a bit since the early days of his railway. He’s not the same man who bricked up Henry; he doesn’t think it’s worth getting so worked up over a small dig at him. (And while he’d never admit it, he thinks it’s a way to somewhat atone for his part in it all.)

But even if the Fat Controller did get upset, Henry wouldn’t be afraid in the slightest. He knows the engines here have his back. He knows he’ll always have his family.

[calitheheart]

"Skarloey's boys, they call us."

so here's something I've been whittling away at ever since I got back into the railway series - a ttte fire emblem-esque au! it's a niche within a niche but I've had it in my brain for ages and just wanted to get SOMETHING out! Presenting Sodor Cipher!

To start off, some of the members of the Skarloey - Sir Handel, Duncan and Rusty! In my general canon for this au I like to imagine the Skarloey as a Duchy with a heavy emphasis on their physical prowess and mineral mining thanks to their close proximity to the Culdee Fell mountains and the Blue Mountain Quarry - As such, Shane Dooiney is the industry capital for the area. Being far out from the rest of the towns and kingdoms means that many come to the Skarloey for a fresh start, and those that do inevitably forge stronger bonds than they've ever known before. Those bufferbeam-style belts aren't just for show, Skarloey's boys are so good at what they do that they have the sheer force of will to expertly maneuver mining equipment with just their bodies.

As for character bios/ mini backstories (can you tell ive never actually made an au before and dont exactly know the most eloquent way to explain things oop) we've got:

Sir Handel - Once known as Falcon in another kingdom, moved to the Skarloey after receiving a knighthood to get away from the life of a knight. Despite maintaining that he's an excellent mentor, he is rash and impulsive - all for a good cause though, he just wants to get through the day and clock off for some good-old-fashioned banter. Still good with a sword, but prefers to not have to touch it in favour of staunchly gathering resources.

Duncan - Once a lower member of a Mercenary group, he learned that being brutally vocal was the only way to get by. Not a bigot, but not exactly a saint either, he has a hard time letting new people into his life - not exactly the best disposition to have when you're leaving your life behind to work in the chattiest mountains on Sodor. Despite being in a merc group and being a supposed dab hand with an axe, he isn't the most well-travelled.

Rusty - Born in the Mainland before immediately being raised in Skarloey, Rusty has an undying love for the people of the Duchy and the rest of Sodor in general. They have a keen eye for detail and are quick to educate fellow knights on proper conduct - even if they don't exactly ask for it. Rusty runs double duty, conducting inspections in the mining sectors and guarding Crovan's Gate as a surprisingly adept Halberdier.

I'm still working out the specifics of details in this au as it's a blend of each era and general medieval fantasy worldbuilding, so I welcome any and all questions ! <3

[thesudrianchronicles]

No-Where journal No. 9 - 18th September 1922

Page 16: Our new passenger loco

"The NWR board has the pleasure to announce that, thanks to the generosity of Lord Faringdon & the rest of the Great Central Rly Co. That the North Western has become home to two of the GCR locomotives, '9Q' 4-6-0 No. 462 & '9N' 4-6-2T No. 447. This comes almost a year after the arrival of No. 3, the prototype 4-6-2 locomotive that was purchased last which has proven unsatisfactory on the 'Wild Nor' Wester'. The board expresses hope that, despite high coal consumption, No. 462 will prove a better loco on these duties until another locomotive can be procured. The locomotive, built only last year, has already proven it's on the flat between Vicarstown & Marron, but, like most engines of a similar size, require banking up the incline from the Wellsworth side. Lord Regaby has insisted that this locomotive become the railway's new flagship, with it have received the NWR's blue livery within only a week on the railway! And has even commissioned for this locomotive to be named 'Queen Victoria' in order to provide some elegance to the express. Hopefully, this 'Black Pig', as the GC men have started referring to this class as, will prove that even pigs can more than sluggish!."

No. 462 "Queen Victoria" seen near Crosby with the 10:00am limited from Tidmouth Central - photo credit: W. Middleton

[lnwrcauli]

Thomas the Tank Engine [NWR AU]

(Brief) History

Thomas is an LB&SCR E2 built in 1915. He was hired out to the newly-formed NWR, where he was subsequently (and quite suspiciously) sold after being written off as "lost in action". After the end of WWI, Thomas was allocated to Vicarstown to act as station pilot. During his tenure here, he was dragged along behind the Wild Nor' Wester as far as Crovan's Gate, after which he required new bearings on his coupling rods and valve gear.

In 1925, Thomas ran away down Gordon's Hill with a goods train. This act of negligence caused The Fat Director to re-allocate him to Wellsworth to learn how to handle wagons properly. His tenure here was short, however, as the then newly-purchased James also ran away down Gordon's Hill with a goods train later that month. After the alarm was raised, Thomas sprung into action with the breakdown train, his actions earned him re-assignment to the Ffarquhar Branchline. He worked here rather uneventfully for some thirty years until 1955 when a cleaner meddled with his controls and he ran into the stationmaster's house, badly damaging his front end. Repairs took longer than previously thought due to some issues securing the works drawings from Brighton, and when he finally returned to traffic in 1957, he had been completely rebuilt and reclassified. His running plate had been brought flush with his bufferbeams, his boiler, cab, bunker and tanks had been lowered and his classification was changed from LB&SCR E2 to NWR A1.

Returning to traffic, he had quite the few run-ins with Daisy, whom had done his work in his absence, as well as with the freshly-bought FQC No. 2 Mavis. From here, Thomas' life calmed down significantly, and except from a few mainline railtours, he has mostly remained on his little branchline in peace.

Personality

Thomas is, as expected, a cheeky little bugger with a loud mouth. He's immature, fussy, impatient and a joker. Since getting his branchline however, Thomas has matured somewhat, though he is still the witty little blighter he was in 1915.

This is my first stab at an existing character, it may not be the most fleshed-out, but I tried.

See you in the next one.

Cheerio!

[toast-com]

Okay so, here's why I think Godred and Stanley would hate each vehemently:

Godred, as I imagine him, is arrogant and pompous. He likes to think he's above any and all baser feelings. He carries himself like he's above people. He's got fangs like any other engine, will snarl and hiss like any other engine, but hides that under a cold mask of arrogance.

Stanley, however does none of that. What you see is what you get with him, the good, the bad and the ugly. He'll snarl at engine and person alike, does nothing to hide his volatile emotions. Godred (in the beginning of their relationship in my AU) thought him as brutish for it, which is a little true.

So the two argue like cats and dogs. Godred never ceasing to sniff out Stanley's weaknesses and then attack him verbally. Stanley, for all of his bullheadedness, can and will get under Godred's skin and will tick him off.

[redfirefox-55]

In another universe maybe lol

[outtox1cated]

How to kill an iterator- summon the spooky white eye guy from the funny block game and watch your world burn i guess

[karikokito]

Hehe angry mother and angry pebble

And this

[ask-the-pioneer]

Am lizard... am bring food... want... hunt with... creature... can... creature hunt... with... me?...

[kai-7kh]

Sound on! 🌧️

Practicing backgrounds for an au that im working on

Here's the picture version

Mmm Gold

Rain sound credit => here

[hazel-of-sodor]

Tasha was not the first No.1 on the Tramway. In the first days of the Tidmouth Knapford & Elsbridge Tramway, a makeshift engine was built from a portable steam engine and a wagon chassis to help build the line.

No.1 Glynn was meant to be temporary. The boiler used was already 20 years old when the engine was built, it was loosely mounted, and the rest of the engine was whatever spare parts could be found at the time. The engine was top heavy, and was restricted to 4-5mph to keep it from tipping over. The belt connecting its flywheel to the driving axle didn't fit properly and slipped often due to it being a random spare part rather than purpose made. The engine also proved too tall to pass the first tunnel, as the railways planned tunnel clearence had proven too ambitious and had been reduced.

No.1's expected service time was number in months, maybe years counted on one hand if it was lucky. No.1 was lucky indeed. Built some time between the closing days of 1881 and the dawning days of 1882, No.1 would keep its original form to late 1885, when purpose built coffee pots No.2 and No.3 had entered service. However it didn't leave service to be dismatled or scrapped, instead it went in for rebuild to prepare it for permanent service. The traffic load for the fledgling railway was greater than expected, and managment realized they needed a spare engine in the heavy season, and rebuilding No.1 was their cheapest option, and would raise morale as the crews had become fond of the little iron beast.

As Summer gave way to Autumn and the traffic lessened, No.1 entered the works. The old wagon chassis was dismantled, and modified into proper locomotive chassis, although how much of the new frames were original was highly debatable. The boiler was overhauled and retubed before being reaffixed to the frames. The boiler was not only more secruly mounted, but seated much lower, solving the engines stability issues. The new lower boiler mounting also reduced the engines overall height, allowing it to finally pass through the tunnels to the rest of the tramway beyond. Finally, a new, purpose made drive belt gave the engine the ability to pull with its full strength for the first time.

By all accounts the rebuild was a success, and No.1 banking trains up the mountain grades or shunting in the yards bacame a commom sight on the TK&ER.

No.1 Glynn would serve over 30 years, but by time of the TK&ER's was forced to become part of the new North Western Railway in 1915, the engine was well and truly clapped out. When No.5 was purchased late in that year, No.5 was taken to the newly built Crovan's Gates Works to determine its fate. The results were grim. While the Chassis was reusuable, little else was, with some parts coming apart when in the workmen's hand when they tried to remove them. The works quickly claimed the chassis to use in building their new works shunter, but the question of what to do with the rest of the engine remained. Tnesion already heightened by the TK&ER forced absorbtion by the NWR skyrocketed when rumors spread the engine was to be scrapped. Most local historians and first hand accounts agree that only the fact the country was at war prevented a strike from occuring.

Eager to gain good will with the former TK&ER, the NWR annonced the surviving componets would be combined with a new makeshift chassis and donated to the Tidmouth Musuem for static display and preservation. The new works shunter Tasha shunted Glynn into place in early 1916, in what was by wartime standards a lavish ceromony, and the NWR used the opertunity to pass the No.1 to the new shunter, in recognition that Tasha's chassis orginal belonged to Glynn.

In the present day No.1 Glynn is still one of the musuems prized items, and is well taken care of. Decades of careful restoration work have allowed the engine to be moved once again, and once every blue moon the engine is allowed to steam (albeit at low pressure) for important events, such as the 100th annivery of the Line's construction.

[anonymousboxcar]

Moving Forward AU: Romance?

(This was something I meant to have out by Valentine’s Day, but… yeah. No spoons. The silverware drawer was empty. Apologies for the lateness, folks!)

I’m pondering what romantic shenanigans Stanley might get up to in my AU. I imagine it would be years before he felt up to pursuing that kind of relationship. But once he’s had time to settle into his new normal, process his trauma, and make new friends, he might feel more comfortable with it.

One possibility I see is that he and Duncan decide to give it a try!

I like the idea of Duncan falling for this rough n��� ready, plainspoken engine who helps him not blow up over the little things in life. And for awhile, Stanley is too busy adjusting to his new life to see it. But he feels ever fonder of his grumpy friend who makes him laugh and doesn’t ask him to be patient all the time.

Once they sort themselves out, they’re not ones for extravagant gestures. They do what they did before, watching tapes of George Carlin and cracking jokes, with the new understanding between them. It’s very easygoing and comfortable for them both.

(There’s also an ongoing competition between them to call each other the most ridiculous, nauseating pet names possible.)

Another possibility: you know how there’s a notion in the RWS of engines being paired up with coaches, almost “courting” them? I like to think Stanley scoffs at this. It seems silly and quaint to him. But he’s also rejecting any closeness due to his old, ingrained fears surrounding derailments and getting somebody hurt.

And then, at the rail museum, he meets a truck.

The truck works with Stanley in his capacity as an exhibit on trench railways. They used to carry troops and supplies during WWI, though not on the same railway as Stanley’s old wartime circuit. At the museum, they haul passengers around the grounds.

They notice Stanley’s uneasiness over this business and try to reassure him: “So what if you slide off the track? I blew up once!”

“…what?”

“Well, it was a ways ahead of me in the train. Got a face full of shrapnel and a bent axle. But! Point is, I’ve had worse. I can take a bump or two.”

Full of irrepressible cheer and optimism, the truck helps assuage the worst of Stanley’s anxieties. In return, Stanley — grateful and a touch bemused — does his best to give smooth rides. This wins him the trust of the truck, who never experienced such gentleness in an unpatronizing package.

They start chatting on their runs and at the end of the day about museum gossip, guests, and their old lives. The truck shares their adventures with other trucks after the war. Stanley tells the truck about operation on a more typical railway like the SKR.

Hearing about Skarloey and Rheneas’ treatment of their coaches, the truck wonders what it’s like to be treated the way a civilian engine treats their coach. Stanley, thinking of his own struggles to fit into a “normal” railway on the MSR, offers to help. The truck accepts.

Stanley stumbles over calling the truck “dear,” as well as the other typical flowery compliments and language. He’s self-conscious and a little embarrassed by the time the day’s over.

But he’s also flustered by the warmth in the truck’s responses, their own compliments towards him. They’re not flowery, demure, nor outrageous, but honest and open.

The truck, seeing how red in the face he is, apologizes for making him uncomfortable. “You already made me feel respectable, proper-like, before I asked you to do this.”

Stanley admits he liked their compliments. “Just didn’t know what to with ‘em, I guess,” he says. “But… I really did like ‘em. Made me feel good.”

“Oh. Well, you can tell me that, if you like.” The truck looks Stanley in the eye. “You can tell me anything. I won’t laugh.”

“Not even if I ask you to keep doin’ what you did today?”

“Not even that. Though — if I’m honest? I’d like it if you kept up your end of things, too.”

So they keep at it. Their exchanges become more natural, more like second nature over time. They become mixed into casual conversation, become less about meeting expectations of engine-rolling stock relations and more about what they like in each other.

After a certain point, one curious child visitor asks for how long they’ve been married.

A pause follows. It’s long enough for Stanley to realize he isn’t surprised or confused by the child’s assumption. It’s long enough for him and the truck to make significant eye contact, to see his happiness and hope reflected back at him.

“A year,” they both say at the same time, smiling.

[thetrueressii]

"quick" drawing of monk and surv

[kalivasquezart]

Hunter tells a joke but Arti bullies him for it