#sodors power couple

[biggsodorcitystories]

Gordon & James - Sodor's (self-proclaimed) Power Couple!

They heard the term 'Power Couple' and decided they liked it!

[weirdowithaquill]

Traintober 2024: Day 27 - Twisted

Twisted Grin:

TRIGGER WARNING: This is a ghost story, and a dark one. This is your warning to not read if you are easily frightened.

Recently, the Arlesdale Railway had expanded to a couple of new mines, including one at the end of the valley. These mines were going to be brilliant new sources of ballast for the little railway, and Frank was very pleased to have been given the job of helping to build the lines out to them. The railway line snaked its way through the countryside, and all the way to a new town.

A wry old woman watched as Frank and the gangers laid out the prefabricated track, utilising the old grading work of the Mid Sodor Railway as a guideline for where to build their new line.

“Hello!” chirped Frank cheerfully when he spotted the old woman. She blinked, and wandered closer. Frank noticed immediately that the old woman was limping, using a thick wooden walking cane to help her as she hobbled her way over, pausing to take a few breaths by a slightly rotted old bench. It had once belonged to the Mid Sodor station that had stood here, but that was long gone and the platform had become overrun with weeds.

“Hello, little engine,” the woman hummed, using her cane to help lower herself onto the bench. “You must be building the new railway.” “I am!” beamed Frank. “We’re building out to the old zinc mine beyond the village, so we can extract the ballast. We’ll also be running passenger trains out here of course, but that’s more for tourists.”

The old woman hummed, the tanned wrinkles on her face shifting slightly with every breath. “You be careful around that mine,” she eventually said. Frank blinked; he wasn’t quite sure why the old lady was warning him about the mine, but figured it must be a generic warning. Mr Duncan made them all the time when talking to Rex or Mike.

“I will!” replied Frank politely. The old woman frowned gently – not quite an annoyed look, but more… reproachful. “You think I am being old and silly – everyone ought to know to be careful around mines.” “I… actually wasn’t,” chuckled Frank earnestly. “I was thinking about how a couple of the others get similar general warnings from our controller.” The old woman hummed again, her old eyes burning with something immortal and powerful.

“That mine is haunted,” the old woman finally said. ���My husband worked there before it closed – it’s not pleasant to talk about.” Now Frank was intrigued. “What happened?” he asked, before checking to see if any of the gangers were nearby – he spotted a little way away, heading off for lunch.

“The mine owned an engine – Smudger was his name. He was a terror – he wasn’t built right, they said. He was always derailing, or crashing trucks, or trying to pull dangerous pranks on the miners. He very nearly ran several over. And he always had this awful, twisted grin on his face – the engine enjoyed the terror he instilled in others. Everyone hated him, but they couldn’t get rid of him, not when he was needed by the mine. He got so bad that the Mid Sodor refused to let him onto their rails, not wanting to deal with him as his recklessness. He would ride rough and try to get the trucks to crash – and then he would arrive and come up with some awful scheme to cause mayhem. Worst of all, he would hide in the tunnel at the end of the town with only his eyes and grin showing off, waiting to scare another engine despite the dangers. Eventually, all the Mid Sodor engines bar Duke refused to deal with him.

“Then one day, things took a dark turn. Duke delivered a supply of dynamite to the mine, to help with blasting. He shunted them away carefully, picked up a few empty vans, and headed out. Smudger came over, looking for a new twisted joke to play on the men – and he found it. The mine had a new demolitions expert, whose job it was to do the blasting. Smudger waited until some miners had headed out to lay out the dynamite connected to the plunger – and then he struck. He snuck up behind the demolitions expert and screamed as loudly as he could. It was enough to spook the newcomer, who dropped the plunger in shock. The dynamite went off – and a stick of unplaced dynamite went flying at them. It hit the dynamite vans.

“The explosion was powerful enough to be felt in Arlesburgh. Smudger had blown up half the mine, and triggered a rockslide powerful enough to bring half the mine caving in. Dozens of men were trapped underground, with no way out. My husband got lucky – he’d been having tea on the other side of the mine when it happened.”

Frank was horrified – for an engine to be so reckless, callous and downright malicious as to try and cause such a thing, let alone having it succeed was mindboggling.

“That wasn’t the end though,” sighed the woman. “It’s said Smudger’s twisted spirit still roams about, running between the tunnel and the mines, torturing the poor souls unable to escape the site of their demise. Do not go up to the mines after dark.”

Frank agreed, unable to quite fully comprehend the story he’d heard. He decided to tell it to the other engines, and went to thank the old woman – only, she was gone.

It was like she’d vanished.

A little confused, Frank looked back up to see the gangers returning; had it been that long? They had really only just left, in spite of how long the story seemed to go. And yet they were back.

“That was quick!” said Frank. “What did you get?” The gangers stared at Frank, confused, but decided to humour the odd little engine. “We got pie from the nearby pub – though I wouldn’t say we were quick.” Frank didn’t say anything more, feeling very wary indeed.

The gangers made good progress over the rest of the day, reaching the mouth of the tunnel. It was long and curved, leading through a hill and into the valley where the old mine was situated. Frank instantly hated it – the mouth of the tunnel looking like a great yawning chasm, a great furious beast ready to swallow the little diesel whole. It also still had the old rails, old, rusted things that just added to the eeriness of the entire place.

“I don’t want to stick around,” admitted Frank. His driver agreed. “It seems… wrong,” the driver murmured. With the sun beginning to set, Frank hurriedly began heading back.

As he rounded the bend away from the tunnel, he could have sworn he saw a flash of a twisted grin.

“Pwah!” snorted Mike, letting off steam. “That’s a load of crock, and you know it!” Frank had told the others about his encounter with the old lady and the story she had told – as well as mentioning what he’d seen at the tunnel.

“I’m not so sure,” hummed Bert. “The Mid Sodor seems to be a hot-spot for the supernatural – remember the show they had here last summer? Those ghost-hunters who claimed they got a heap of readings.” “That was just reality TV nonsense,” sniffed Mike. Jock looked around, his eyes gazing around for any signs of a ghost.

“I… I don’t think so. I don’t like it. Why would ghosts want to haunt us? And what’s a Mid Sodor?” Frank sighed, and looked over. Rex spoke up. “Our line is laid on the bed of an old one – a much older one. It ran right the way to Peel Godred, up the side of the hills. Unfortunately, it was always poor, and so its manager made… questionable purchases. Really, only Duke, Peter Sam and Sir Handel were properly reliable out of the lot – and the mines were worse. They bought any engine they could, and it led to a lot of issues. This… Smudger isn’t the first ghost we’ve heard of.”

Mike snorted again.

“Oh, please! It’s all rubbish – and a weird old lady vanishing right after telling an ominous story? You were seeing things Frank – I’ll prove it!” And Mike agreed to swap jobs with Frank and take the works train to relay the rails through the tunnel.

“A twisted grin, what nonsense,” sniffed Mike as he made his way up to the tunnel. The rails had to be pulled up first, and by the time the gangers were finished, dusk had already begun to fall. His driver went to reverse him back down the line, when there was a loud clang, and Mike lurched to the side, wincing in pain. A rock had been kicked up into his motion, and when the little red engine tried to reverse, it had smashed its way into his cylinder and left him in pain.

Mike wasn’t going anywhere.

The gangers decided to head back to the village to call for help and stay for the night, leaving Mike sat right by the entrance to the tunnel mouth.

The tunnel was dark… bar a glimmer of white.

White…

Teeth.

A grin.

A twisted grin.

A Twisted Grin…

TWISTED GRIN, DEMONIC EYES, AN ENGINE DESTROYED IN FIRE OF ITS OWN MAKING AND TURNED AGAINST THE WORLD. FURY, HATRED, EVIL, TWISTED GRIN. TWISTED GRIN, WHY HELLO THERE MIKE, YES I KNOW WHO YOU ARE – BETTER RUN NOW. RUN RUN RUN LITTLE MIKE, BEFORE I EVISCERATE YOU, LOOK AT MY EYES, MY TWISTED GRIN. TWISTED GRIN, EVIL, HATRED, FURY. TURNED AGAINST THE WORLD, AN ENGINE DESTROYED IN A FIRE OF ITS OWN MAKING, DEMONIC EYES, TWISTED GRIN.

TWISTED GRIN.

TWISTED GRIN.

TWISTED.

Boom.

When Frank came to collect Mike in the morning, he was left stunned. Mike was shuddering violently, his eyes as wide as saucers and all the paint drained from him, leaving him a deathly white. All the trucks behind him were thrown about the hillside, ripped apart and completely ruined. The track into the tunnel had been shoved apart to its old width too, leaving the rails where the two gauges met twisted into an unholy shape.

And in the far corner of the tunnel, a beaming white twisted grin shone out.

Back to the Master Post

[feigeroman]

The Vicarstown Car Ferry

Above: This is not the Vicarstown car ferry train. I just needed a screenshot of a car on a train, and this was the closest I had to hand.

Every year, the Island of Sodor receives thousands of visitors from the Mainland, and obviously, the vast majority come by rail. A significant number, however, choose to arrive by car. Nowadays, this is no trouble, as they can simply drive across the Jubilee Bridge, which carries the main A950 road over the Walney Channel.

The bridge only opened in 1977, though, and any motorists arriving before then had to rely on the NWR's services to get themselves and their cars on and off of Sodor. And thereby hangs a fascinating tale about a little-known aspect of the NWR's history.

EARLY NWR EFFORTS

Above: The Vicarstown Bridge, in an undated view (obviously post-1975, given the presence of Spencer).

It all started with the construction of the NWR's own bridge over the Channel in 1915. In those days, there was no other link between Sodor and the Mainland, and thus no other way for goods and passengers to arrive. Some of those passengers wanted to bring their own horse-drawn carriages with them, and so was born one of the earliest vehicle-and-owner trains to run on Sodor. To begin with, it was simply a case of strapping the vehicle to a special carriage truck, and coupling it up to whatever passenger train its owner was travelling in. The truck then travelled as far as the nearest station to wherever the owner was going, where it was detached and the vehicle rolled off.

Above: For a time, the NWR also offered the use of a horsebox in conjunction with a carriage truck, so that the carriage’s owner could take his own horse with him, and avoid having to search for one at the other end of his journey. This cost extra, though, so there were few takers.

THE VICARSTOWN CAR FERRY

With the boom of private motoring in the early-1920s, there came a similar explosion in demand for the carriage of road vehicles by rail. This in turn resulted in the NWR running its first dedicated car-carrying trains - albeit only on an as-and-when basis, and with cars and drivers travelling in separate trains. The NWR did not return to vehicle-and-owner trains until 1927, when it launched a regular car ferry service between Vicarstown and Barrow-in-Furness - probably the best-known of all its car-carrying trains.

This new service had been made possible by the 1925 LMS Agreement, which gave the NWR running powers into Barrow, and in turn required Vicarstown to be converted for through running. Among the changes which resulted was the conversion of the adjoining goods depot to handle parcels and mail (goods facilities moving to a new depot elsewhere), and the closure of the existing parcels platform. This platform was thus free for conversion into a loading dock for the new car ferry service.

OPERATIONS

Throughout the fifty years the car ferry service ran, the basic pattern of its operation remained much the same, with only details like the motive power, rolling stock and timings seeing much change. It is thus worth looking at a typical journey for the service, starting at Vicarstown and ending at Barrow.

Below: A vague representation of how the loading process would have looked. I've employed a bit of artistic license with this photo: while the NWR did have some enclosed double-decker car carriers, these were never used on the car ferry services.

To begin with, the consist for that particular crossing was shunted into the station - the carriage trucks going to the loading dock, and the passenger coaches to one of the through platforms. Drivers and passengers boarded their coaches, leaving their cars to be loaded by the station staff. Once loading was completed, the carriage trucks were marshalled and coupled to the coaches. All shunting was done by the train engine, who then ran round to the front and hauled the train to Barrow. On arrival, the whole train was shunted to the loading dock there, where passengers and cars were unloaded together. The stock was then taken away for servicing. Of course, it goes without saying that in the opposite direction, the whole procedure was repeated, only in reverse.

In all, ten car ferry trains ran daily (five in each direction), with provisions in the working timetable for an extra four (two in each direction) if they were needed - say, during the busier summer months. To avoid overcrowding, a maximum of 20 cars were allowed on each crossing, and motorists had to book in advance. This enabled staff to work out how many carriage trucks were required, and what types, well ahead of time. It also allowed them to work out how many passenger coaches were needed - the rule here was that there should be at least one compartment for every car carried.

In the early 1930s, the NWR began allowing larger commercial vehicles to make use of the car ferry trains, and this required a slight amendment to the 20 cars rule. This amendment counted the size of a vehicle in car lengths - if, for example, a lorry turned up which was as long as three cars, then it took up three slots on that particular crossing. Any number of vehicles could thus travel on a single train, so long as their total length did not exceed 20 car lengths.

STOCK

The car ferry trains never had a specific engine allocated to run them - generally, any engine could do the job if they happened to be at Vicarstown or Barrow at the right time. As the NWR’s locomotive roster expanded, the car ferry became the exclusive preserve of the engines based at either of those sheds - the job generally being allocated to any engine who wasn't busy anywhere else that day.

The car ferry was also a neat way of getting an engine from one station to the other, without having to find an extra path for a light engine movement. For similar reasons, it was not uncommon for visiting LMS (later BR) engines to take charge of a Barrow-bound car ferry on their way home.

Below: An example of a long-wheelbase covered carriage truck. Many were later converted for parcels, newspapers or general goods traffic. This particular example went into departmental service, and in this view is carrying engine parts.

As far as rolling stock was concerned, this mainly consisted of both open and covered carriage trucks (henceforth referred to as OCTs and CCTs respectively). When the service first started, cars were carried on short-wheelbase OCTs, but these proved unpopular with motorists, as the cars often had their paintwork spoiled by smoke and soot spewing from passing engines - and sometimes from the engine pulling the train! The NWR tried to remedy this by offering the use of protective tarpaulins, but eventually they decided it would be more prudent to switch to CCTs instead.

Single cars were carried in short-wheelbase vans, similar in design to the GWR’s Mogo vans.

For pairs of cars, longer wheelbase CCTs could be used.

For trios or quartets, bogie CCTs were employed.

When larger commercial vehicles began to be carried, bogie OCTs were used - converted from the underframes of the fabled Dublin Stock.

Because of the aforementioned one compartment for every vehicle rule, the passenger coaches were at first quite a motley collection, with the numbers being made up by any old stock just lying around. It was only from the 1930s onwards that more consistent rakes of coaches began to be used - starting with Ironclad-pattern stock, moving on to Maunsell-pattern just after the War, and finishing up with Bulleid-pattern in the BR era.

MOTORAIL

Above: A display of Scottish country dancing at...I think it's Kensington Olympia? No, I don't know why either.

In the 1960s, British Rail officially launched its Motorail service, offering fast travel for passengers and their cars to all parts of the country. To serve Sodor, one of the new services ran twice daily between Kensington Olympia and Vicarstown, and the latter’s existing loading dock was upgraded into a terminal. Two of the car ferry's ten daily crossings clashed with the proposed timings of the new Motorail services, and so were slashed from the timetable. Other than that, the car ferry was able to carry on as normal.

By then, the rolling stock used for the car ferry was beginning to show its age, and a programme of gradual replacement was implemented from about 1966 onwards:

For cars, General Utility Vans replaced the old bogie CCTs, which were retained for parcels traffic.

For commercial vehicles, Carflats replaced the OCTs, which were either scrapped or placed into departmental service.

Finally, for passengers, some of the NWR’s own allocation of BR Mk1s replaced the Bulleid-pattern stock.

The car ferry trains continued unabated into the 1970s, but it was clear they were running on borrowed time - for the first time, demand was beginning to outstrip capacity, and there was no room in the timetable to run extra trains. Then, exactly fifty years after the car ferries had first began, came a blow from which they were never to recover.

THE JUBILEE BRIDGE

That year saw the opening of the Walney Road Bridge, to mark the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. Needless to say, this snuffed out the NWR's car ferry monopoly in an instant. Nobody was more incensed at this development than Sir Topham Hatt, and he saw to it that the NWR was substantially compensated for the extinguishment of their ferry rights.

Above: The Jubilee Bridge. Visitors to Barrow (and native Barrovians, too) may think that this is the only bridge here. This is an illusion!

All was not totally lost, however, for 1977 also saw the extension of BR's existing London-Vicarstown Motorail service to a brand new terminal at Killdane - a more convenient base for the visiting motorist to explore Sodor. Such was the success of this new service that further others were introduced, linking Sodor with other provincial centres. Some of these services employed the stock which had previously worked the car ferry trains.

MODERN DAY MOTORAIL

The expansion of Sodor's Motorail services came during a period of gradual decline for the brand across the rest of BR. The expansion of Britain's motorways, the improvement of car technology, and the chaos of privatisation all ultimately conspired to kill off Motorail by the early-1990s.

Above: First Great Western briefly revived the Motorail concept in the early-2000s, using a fleet of converted GUVs.

Despite this, Motorail on Sodor has continued to flourish into the present day. Not only are its existing terminals at Vicarstown and Killdane still in operation, but there is now a third terminal at Tidmouth. These form the basis for the NWR's current Motorail services, which all serve to help solve a very basic problem.

The thing is, many visitors to Sodor now arrive in their own cars, but the island's road transport infrastructure isn't really suited to the needs of the long-distance motorist. Fortunately, the NWR has them covered. Special car-carrying trains now run regularly between the Motorail terminals at Vicarstown, Killdane and Tidmouth. While you still have to book in advance, it's a small price to pay for having the convenience of a car at your disposal, without the insanity that comes from having to drive it all the way across Sodor.

Of course, while the NWR's Motorail trains are available to all motorists (local and foreign) the majority of their customers are Mainlanders - the typical Sudrian would just as soon leave his car at home altogether!

[hazel-of-sodor]

Day 27-Thomas and the Rocket Sled

Traintober 2023

Other Stories

Day 27-Record Breaker

Thomas and the Rocket Sled

1979

The Island of Sodor was even busier than usual. It was the 150th anniversary of the Rain Hill Trials and a gala was being held on Sodor to celebrate.

Engines of all types from the mainland and all over the world were coming to visit. 

Thomas arrived at Tidmouth Harbor one morning to collect a unique piece of rolling stock. He had been enjoying the lead-up to the gala immensely. There were so many new and strange engines and cars to meet that at times his head spun. This might have been the strangest one yet. Sitting on a special flatbed was a heavy metal frame with a seat on it. Behind the seat sat something that reminded Thomas of the jet engines on the planes at Tidmouth airport.

"It's a Rocket sled," Nicole explained as the flatbed was coupled behind Thomas. "The Americans use it to test systems for their aircraft."

"It must be very fast then," Thomas said.

Samantha snorted, "Try faster than the speed of sound. "

Thomas gave a mischievous smirk, "No one tell the Gresley's."

The engineers in charge of the rocket sled were ensuring it was properly secured, so Nicole climbed back into the cab to drink her coffee while they waited.

***

The lead engineer looked dubiously at her coworker. "John prepared it? Are you sure it's okay?"

Her coworker rolled his eyes good-humoredly, "Relax Beth, John knows what he's doing."

Beth glared, "Is that why Jasmine is regrowing half her hair?"

"Everyone makes mistakes every once in a while?" He offered unconvincingly.

She snorted, "Paul, John makes weekly mistakes. If his dad wasn't an admiral..."

"He's not that bad," he protested with a laugh.

Beth rolled her eyes, "Yes he is, I honestly wouldn't be surprised if he forgot to drain the fuel."

"He didn't forget to drain the fuel, here watch."

Before Beth could stop him, "Hey Crane!" He yelled up at Cranky.

Cranky was not enjoying the preparation for the Gala. It seemed every day more ships arrived with heavy locomotives and carriages, and he was expected to unload them all. "What is it?" He snapped towards the annoying human beneath him.

"Can you flip that lever with your hook?"

Had Cranky been in a better mood, or had had more sleep, he would have questioned the wisdom of flipping a lever on an unknown machine.

As it was, he gave the equivalent of a shrug. "Sure."

The lever flipped and for a moment everything was quiet.

"See? He didn..."

Thrrrremmmmmm

***

Thomas was patiently waiting for the engineers to finish when he heard the rocket rumble to life

"Are they testing the rocket?" He asked curiously.

Nicole's head snapped around to see the glow of the rocket's exhaust as it powered on.

"Brakes!"  She shouted, but it was too late.

Thomas began rolling forward as the rocket pushed him, faster and faster.

Samantha slammed on the brakes, but they quickly proved no match for the rocket's power.

Thomas whistled in alarm to the signal mam as he was pushed out of the docks and onto the mainline.

The signal men quickly threw the points and set the signals at danger. He rang control, "Clear the Mainline, we have a runaway."

***

Beth, Paul, and Cranky stared as the tank engine and sled raced out of view. 

"Uh...oops?"

Paul winced as Beth slowly turned to glare at him.

***

Thomas shot through Tidmouth Station, whistling as loudly as he could, startling James and Henry who were waiting with their trains.

Samantha released his brakes, realizing they could do nothing against the rocket but wear out.

Nicole hung on desperately as Thomas rocketed around the bend through Lower Tidmouth.

"Ooooooohhhh Lady!" Thomas cried as his speedometer broke 100 miles per hour, suddenly very grateful that Crovan's Gate had fit him with roller bearings. He would have worn through his old ones!

***

Percy had having a nice quiet morning when he heard Thomas. He had been taking a drink from the water tower when he heard the frantic whistling, and behind it, a dull roar.

"What in the name of..."

Thomas blasted past, the flyers on the station board flying from the force of his passing.

Percy sat there a long moment.

"It's too early for this."

"It's nearly tea time," his driver said.

"It's too early for this."

***

Several miles down the track Bertie heard Thomas's whistle rapidly approaching in the distance. "Wanna race Thomas?" He called eagerly.

Thomas roared past, whistling furiously.

"Never mind," Bertie said quietly.

***

Gordon was racing towards Wellsworth with the express when the radio in his cab went off.

Rain answered it.

"There's a runaway on track 3," she called out to Gordon and Amanda, "They'll overtake us soon."

Amanda smirked, "oh will they?" She said as she opened Gordon's regulator.

Gordon chuckled and surged ahead, even since he had been rebuilt back into a 3-cylinder in 72, he had taken every chance he could to test his speed.

As Rain shoveled coal like a woman possessed, Amanda watched the Speedometer creep up, smirking when it broke 100 mph.

Gordon however, frowned as he heard the runaway's whistle in the distance.

"Is that...Thomas?"

Rain snorted, "Don't be silly."

But it was.

Thomas raced up alongside the express coaches, he was going so fast the express seemed to be standing still.

"Hi Gordon, Bye Gordon," he managed to whistle as he shot past.

Amanda and Rain stared in shock.

"There's no way we can catch him," Amanda said in disbelief.

"But we have to try," Gordon called. He forced himself even faster, charging after the runaway No.1.

***

Finally, mercifully, the rocket ran out of fuel. Every joint and rod on Thomas ached. Even though Crovans Gates were known for over-engineering their rebuilds, Thomas was never meant to break 100, and he had far exceeded that.

To make matters worse, it had run out on Gordon's hill. Thomas wasn't sure he could make it up the hill without further damaging his motion. He rolled to a stop, panting heavily.

"Owwww." He moaned quietly.

"Are you alright?" Samantha asked, carefully setting his brakes and climbing down.

"I can't tell," Thomas winced, "maybe once everything cools down it'll be alright."

A deep whistle was heard as Gordon pulled up behind, curious passengers leaning out the window to look.

"Are any of you hurt?" The Pacific asked with concern.

"Nicole and I are alright. We're not certain about Thomas though."

"Is he well enough for me to push him up the hill?"

Thomas shifted his motion, "Probably better than rolling down."

Gordon gently buffered up and pushed Thomas and the sled up the hill to Maron station at the top, going slowly to keep from aggravating Thomas's motion

Jinx was waiting for them with a flatbed for Thomas. Gordon set off with the express again, as Thomas was loaded onto the flatbed, eager to make up the lost time.

The rocket car was left in the Marom sidings as Jinx set off for the works with Thomas.

***

The next day Gordon visited Thomas at the works as he was inspected for damage.

"So how's the new record holder?" The pacific teased.

Thomas had been lifted off of his wheels while they were inspected for damage.

He sighed in exasperation, "Not you as well."

Gordon smirked, "I'm afraid it's official."

"The steam speed record is for speed achieved under your own power," Thomas said baffled.

"Which my cousin still officially holds," Gordon agreed, "but you now hold the new record for the fastest a steam engine has traveled by rail."

Thomas stared for a moment, then groaned, "I'll never get your family to stop trying to adopt me now."

Gordon chuckled," You could just accept."

Thomas just sighed despondently.

A/N: Did I just adapt Thomas and the Jet Engine for my AU? Yes, yes I did.

[pxmun]

Early in the morning as the railway staff began their duties by looking over the routes and trains they would be pulling for that day.

Unbeknownst to the railway staff though, an imposter was amongst them. Boomer had managed to successfully steal a uniform and infiltrate the staff only area. While the workers were busy with their coffee and morning chatter, Boomer was working to scout out a target for his and Wendell's plan. He read down the list until he came upon the schedule for Percy; an engine without one of the kids with a magic whistle to protect him and an engine that was scheduled to pull a train of Troublesome Trucks, perfect. With a found target, Boomer stealth fully creeped out of the staff room and headed towards the yard.

There Boomer spotted the train of Troublesome Trucks Percy had to take in the next hour. He casually strolled up to the trucks and began to talk to them.

"So, you lot are Sodor's infamous troublesome trucks." Boomer said.

"So what if we are?" Asked one.

"What's it to you"? Replied another.

"Nothing much, just that I think that the trucks on the Mainland were right about you lot." Boomer responded.

"What did they say? What did they say"? The Troublesome Trucks asked in unison.

Boomer tossed away the candy stick in his mouth before answering. It was clear he was there to stir up trouble.

"They said that the troublesome trucks of Sodor we're nothing but a bunch of softies, saying that out of all the time you lot have been here, you've only ever managed to derail only a few engines." Boomer lied.

"How dare they"! One truck roared.

"Softies? Softies! We'll show those mainland trucks who are the real softies"! Roared a Troublesome Truck.

Boomer slipped away as the trucks talked amongst themselves about how to prove they were troublesome.

By then Percy arrived. He could hear the trucks talking to each other, but couldn't hear what they were saying as he backed up to be coupled to the train.

"Boy you trucks are sure chatty today, what has gotten all of you rowdy "? Percy asked.

The trucks immediately hushed up. They looked back at each other than began to giggle quietly to themselves, they had come up with a devious idea.

"Uh, the rails, they..." One addressed Percy.

" They make a funny squeaking sound if you ride on them while olive oil is spilled over them." A truck made up.

"Oh, that would be funny. Now, come along, we can't be late with our goods." Percy said, unaware of the trucks plan.

Percy was on his way to Fenland Junction and began to approach the double hills. Percy kept his attention on the trucks as he knew they had a tendency to try and hold an engine back while climbing the hills and for pushing them when going down hill.

They made it to the top of the hill with no issue, but Percy and his crew knew they weren't out of the woods just yet as they began the decline.

"Those trucks are up to something." Percy's firewoman said, but the driver hadn't paid any mind as they were focused on preparing Percy's brakes to prevent the small green engine from rolling down the hill uncontrollably. However, as the driver was about to pull the brakes, the trucks enacted their plan.

"Now! On! On! On"! A truck cried out.

The Troublesome Trucks gave Percy a powerful bump, causing his driver to fall out before they could apply the brakes, causing Percy to thunder down the hill.

"Help"! Percy cried out as the cargo inside the trucks began to shift to one side.

"Tilt, tilt, tilt"! The trucks sang.

Percy could feel himself leaning over, the train and him were going to derail! His firewoman tried her best to prevent the tip over, but there wasn't much she could do.

Just as Percy was coming off the rails, something reached out and wrapped around Percy. The force tugged at the small engine, pulling him back onto the track. The mysterious force did not let go as it aided in helping Percy come to a safe hault.

Percy could hear his rescuer panting as the ordeal came to an end.

"Huff...Huff. By Noah's Arc that was close"! Said a figure.

Percy looked over and gasped in surprise. Cleo's stories echoing in his smokebox.

"Wendell"?!

[dragons-and-magic]

I hope this doesn’t overwhelm you with more questions, but I LOVE THIS AU!😭💖

What are your main shippings?

What’s the dynamic between Nia and James?

Who’s most likely to go close up to humans if given the chance?

Do dragons hoard things like gold or piece of trash?

Can dragons purr like cats? LOL

How do dragons display of affection (both romantic and platonic)?

What type of dragon is Mavis and Hiro?

Has any of the dragons been raised or rescued by humans?

Do all the dragons have unique powers or fire breathing techniques?

Is there any dragon that are venomous like snakes?

What’s the funniest thing that Gordon does?

What’s Toby’s biggest pet peeve? (Example: Chewing loudly)

Lol! It's fine! I've been itching to get this lore written out! And these questions definitely motivate me to do so!

Apologies for there not being any art. I'm still not feeling great and unfortunately, don't have any concepts prepared. But I'll try to answer the questions as best I can!

1: What are your main shippings?: OH BOY.🤩🤩🤩 I have so many ships! Lol! I'll try to just put down the most important ships though. There aren't actually that many that are super important to the story. But let's see what I can do!

Edward x Boco: This one is one of the first ships to occur in the story! Boco makes his debut in the this AU's version of Day Of The Diesels. Him and Edward are an adorable couple and love them with all my heart!

Thomas x Ashima: I've been shipping these two since I was a little girl! I love them together and honestly, I'm shocked that there isn't more stuff for them in the fandom!

James x Nia: THIS ONE is the RAREST of rare pairs. But I love it. Please just trust me on this one. Please please please please please please please please please please ple-

Frankie x Hurricane: They were totally married in Journey Beyond Sodor. At least that's what I thought.🤣 I've written them a super interesting backstory. I can't wait to share it!

2: What’s the dynamic between Nia and James?: I'd say, begrudging allies, to friends, to lovers. He meets her when he gets lost in Africa and is at first a bit annoyed by her. But after she becomes his guide, and saves him a couple times, he slowly starts to warm up to her. And vice versa. They discover they have a lot in common! Both outgoing and playful individuals! Also, on the adventure, Nia helps James to see the world and himself in a new light. And Nia finds that he isn't all hot air. He does have a loving and gentle side. But he's scared to show it, fearing it will effect his image. She helps him open up and accept those parts of himself. They're adorable.🥰 I can't wait to write about them!

3: Who’s most likely to go close up to humans if given the chance?: Definitely either Thomas or Percy. Thomas because humans intrigue him. And Percy because he's young and a bit naive. Edward would probably too, but very cautiously. While he has known good humans, he's known more bad ones.

4: Do dragons hoard things like gold or piece of trash?: YES! I need to tell you about James's hoard. It's frickin hilarious! So, James is part wyvern, right? So, because of that, he basically has a crow brain. Meaning he'll collect anything that is remotely shiny. And despite his collection being mostly made up of tin foil, candy wrappers, glass, and bottle caps, he convinced it's absolutely priceless.🤣 Also, you could say that Edward hoards books, since he's a wizard and has tons of magic and history books stashed in his house!

5: Can dragons purr like cats?: Yep! Dragons can purr, chirp, hiss, growl, screech, chuff, and roar! They communicate with their wings as well! Fluttering wings means excitement. Flared wings can mean shock, or an act of intimidation. Folded wings means the dragon is neutral or simply calm. But wings pinned tightly against the back means fear or anger. Kinda like a cat flattening their ears.

6: How do dragons display of affection (both romantic and platonic)?: Oh! This is a great one! I'm not great at explaining this stuff, so just bare with me. Okay?😂 One form of affection is sun bathing together. Whole clans cam sometimes be seen sun bathing in a nice warm rocky place. Grooming each other is another one. It's considered more intimate and usually only done between immediate family members, very close friends, or mates. Also, dragons gives kisses kinda like cats, by licking. Mates definitely do that to show affection, though like the others, it's not strictly romantic. Dragon mate's may also entwine tails and rub noses to show affection. In addition, Dragon's have various ways of showing interest in a potential mate. Wyverns sometimes have flashy feathers and dances. Regular Dragons have certain calls or nest building techniques. Some species even bring their mates presents like fruit or shiny stuff.

7: What type of dragon is Mavis and Hiro?: I haven't decided on Mavis yet. She's been a tricky one to figure out. But Hiro is an ancient Wind Spirit Dragon! He was among the first dragon spirits, like Lady! He is spirit of Sky and Wind! Hiro looks like a usual Eastern Dragon, but very big, and with beautiful black and gold scales! He also has the usual lions mane his species is known for. A long flowy white and silver one!

8: Has any of the dragons been raised or rescued by humans?: Yes! Salty was! When he was a young dragon, he got lost in a storm and landed on the deck of a pirate ship! He was welcomed aboard by the pirates and became part of the crew! He was quite well respected actually, despite obvious language barriers. Lol. He knew how to get his thoughts across anyways! And that's why he has that name and so many adventure stories!

9: Do all the dragons have unique powers or fire breathing techniques?: Not all do. Even within species were they usually have it, some simply won't inherit the powers, cus genetics are weird. And sometimes dragons that have never been known to possess any sort of magic will miraculously get some! (Like Henry!) Some say this is the work of Lady. She is the Spirit of Magic and Life and will give magic to those she thinks will need it. And as for fire breathing, not all dragons breath fire. Some spit venom instead!

10: Is there any dragon that are venomous like snakes?: There most definitely are! Some species even slightly resemble snakes! Like the species Sonny is! He can spit venom, and has a cobra-like hood! And certain dragons and wyverns also spit venom. They live mostly around the equator. Since fire isn't very helpful in places with a lot of vegetation. (Fire hazards! Oh no! 😱🔥🔥🔥🧑‍🚒)

11: What’s the funniest thing that Gordon does?: Crash land and get his head stuck in the branches of a tree. Percy and Thomas were laughing about it for days. Not around him of course. He would probably end them if they did.🤣

1: What’s Toby’s biggest pet peeve? (Example: Chewing loudly): Actually, annoying sounds is probably very in character for him. He likes quiet, so I could see repetitive noises being very frustrating for him. Totally not self projecting. Haha. :D

Thanks for the questions!😁

[its-ya-girl-phoeni]

Same Character, Different Fonts (crossover with @ohmystarrynight's Human AU)

-

It had only taken a minute or so for Thomas to fall asleep, essentially using the front of his own vehicle as his bed. Although he had a perfectly good one at home, he was far too tired to deal with walking all the way back there at the moment.

It had been a long day for him, shunting, delivering, the usual tasks those who worked on a railway dealt with.

The front of the train wasn't exactly an ideal resting place, but it had to do for now, at least until he got some energy back.

His momentary power nap was cut short, however, when a voice began to speak.

"Um... excuse me, sir? You shouldn't be sleeping on my front like that. I wouldn't want you to get hurt!"

It sounded remarkably similar to his own, leading him to assume it was another worker around the yard.

"Mmfgh...?" Thomas slurred, blinking the sleep from his eyes. "Is that you, Robert?" He looked around for the source of the voice.

"I'm up here, actually."

He slowly glanced up.

A circular grey face stared back at him, a small smile forming. "...Hello!"

Thomas yelped, nearly falling off the front of the apparently-alive engine before he managed to catch himself. "Wha- What's going on? Who- What are you?!" He stammered, wildly gesturing to the confused engine in his panic.

"...I suppose you must be new to Sodor?" The train questioned, tilting his head (or perhaps just his face). "If so, then my name is Thomas the Tank Engine! ...Or just 'Thomas' for short."

"B-But... my name's Thomas!" He sputtered, pointing to himself with a shaking hand.

"Oh, don't be silly!" The blue train laughed, sounding uncannily like him once again. "It's a very common name to have."

He could only stare in disbelief as the engine snickered to himself.

"This... this can't be real." Thomas muttered. "I have to be dreaming. I'm not actually talking to a train right now, am I?"

"Well, I can assure you that this is real, sir." Train Thomas replied, his face showing a softer expression. "All of the engines here can talk. Most visiting the island are just as surprised as you, trust me."

There was a moment of silence before it was broken by Thomas clearing his throat.

"...Alright, I guess I can accept that my workplace somehow has magical talking trains now, wish someone could've at least given me a warning or two first, but that's not the point right now. What I want to know is..." Thomas began, twiddling his gloved fingers absentmindedly. "Given how you have the same name, and look like my own train, funnily enough... could you be... me? As in, a version of me from another world?"

The question was so baffling and out of nowhere to the tank engine that he couldn't help but laugh.

"BAHAHAHA-!"

Smoke billowed out of his nostrils and mouth, and he coughed for a moment.

"HAHAHAHAck-! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have laughed, but it's just... that sounds so silly! Next you'll tell me that YOU'RE actually a human version of ME!" He laughed harder.

"Well, I'm just trying to make sense of this, alright?!" He snapped, his cheeks turning red. "Why else would I be talking to a train that looks just like me?!"

At that, the Engine Thomas stopped, and began to take note of the man's features.

His small frame, his round button nose...

His thick triangular eyebrows, the way his mouth would curl at the edges when he was upset...

The bright blue clothing with the red ribbon...

The hat with the large number "1" emblazoned on it...

"Oh. Oh. I... I see it now." Train Thomas looked away, embarassed.

"You're welcome, me." Thomas dryly replied. "Now, what should we do with this information?"

A goofy smirk formed on the train's lips. "Oh, I can think of a couple things."

And so, the alternate duo set out on a day of work, friendship-forming, and all sorts of shenanigans together.

[number1spongebobfan]

T & F Hit Era Headcanons Part 1

well, it's been a while since I've done these huh?

Let's go!

Spencer

He is the Duke and Duchess of Boxford's private engine.

He is Gordon's cousin and rival. If Gordon's Squidward, then Spencer's Squilliam Fancyson.

He is sleek, shiny, well-groomed, and fast.

He's a pegasus with train wheels on his legs in his animal form.

He has a huge ego. He thinks he's sexy. He previously flirted with female engines on the mainland to no avail.

He says "I'm Spencer!" a lot.

He does magic tricks.

(Bill and Ben make fun of his hair cause it looks like a butt XD)

Rosie!

She is very girly. She loves the color pink, wears makeup, plays with dolls, and catches butterflies.

Like Percy, she has a sweet tooth. She likes cake and other sugary-sweets, but her favorite meal is strawberries with strawberry milk.

She used to wear pink clothes, but now wears red clothes with a red riding hood-esque cape.

She has a big crush on Thomas. Thomas didn't like her at first, eventually he fell in love and they became a couple <3

She speaks in an American accent.

Cat ears + cat tail in her animal form, like Thomas and Oliver.

Dennis

He's the Garfield of Sodor. This dude is lazy as fudge.

He likes to sleep on his hammock. He sleeps a lot.

He gets distracted easily.

He has Persian Cat ears and Persian Cat tail in his animal form.

This isn't a headcanon but why did I make him look like Mitt Romney. Seriously.

He's misunderstood by the other diesels. Mavis and Dart are sympathetic towards him, however.

Murdoch

He is big, strong, athletic, and powerful.

He maintains his side deflectors by using a good hairspray.

He does aerobics and other exercises to keep himself healthy.

He doesn't like loud noise. He wants peace and quiet.

One time Billy kept annoying him by calling him his big brother.

Him, Gordon and Henry are on pretty good terms.

He keeps it cool, in fashion and attitude.

He's a magnificent elk with train wheels on his legs in his animal form.

[iheartgod175]

Some Thoughts!

Man, I haven’t done a post like this in a while! But I figured I might as well before I work on one of my numerous WIPs XD

—So, I’ve been back on a Zula Patrol kick like you wouldn’t believe. Though that should be obvious with all the memes I’ve been making, haha! I promise this won’t become a Zula Patrol only blog, haha!

—I’ll be working on building my graphic design/editing skills so I can properly redesign my blogs ^^ You can expect a few graphics throughout the month! :)

—Chapter 4 of The Zula Patrol: Dreamscape Crusade Remastered is also coming along pretty nicely. I’ve been enjoying adding the layers of mystery and horror to the world that Multo ends up in. Oh, and a couple of new characters are making their appearance, too. And that’s all I’m going to say about the subject!

—I’ve also been steadily working on Love Language for the last couple of months. I thought FOR SURE that I’d be posting its first chapter by the end of the month, but life happened—not to mention that I keep coming up with MORE headcanons for Multo and Zeeter that I just have to write down and put in the story. XD Also, the story’s grown to the point where I had to break it up into FIVE chapters, now, with the fifth being the actual conclusion. This story’s been so fun to work on, and I hope you’ll all enjoy it when I finally publish it.

—That being said, I did have a few insecurities regarding the writing of Love Language. I wondered if anybody would actually read this story since 1. ZP isn’t a very well-known cartoon, and 2. Even for rarepair standards, Multo/Zeeter sure seems like it came out of left field. And for about a few weeks, I did leave it alone, out of worry that nobody would read it. But then I came across posts in my feed that said that it’s important to write the stories that you’d like to read, even if they don’t get any readership, because telling your story is what matters. I’ve dealt with this a lot since writing all of my stories, namely my Zula Patrol series. And while I struggle with it occasionally, I’m not going to let that whole “nobody will probably read this” mentality stop me from writing about these goofy aliens, and my favorite opposites-attract ship, of which I’m the sole captain.

—While I’ve been working on Blazin’ Trails content off and on, I’m having a deuce of a time trying to work on the final chapter of the original BT. I’ll literally sit down and open the document, looking for something to leap out at me and inspire me to work…but nothing’s working. And I really want to get things started with Blazin’ Trails Redux as well…*sigh*

—As for Super Why stuff, I’m looking forward to seeing the new shorts that are debuting next month! I got to see the first short, and it’s adorable. And I also can’t wait to see more of Power Paige in action! I just really hope that Woofster and Alpha Pig aren’t written out of the show :(

—Speaking of PBS Kids stuff…I kinda sorta got back into both WordGirl and Arthur. GOD, I feel old! And now, I’m half-tempted to have WG guest star in SRBA like Santiago will. The SRBA ‘verse? More like Into the Reader-verse, LOL XD

—Sodor Magic Crusaders MAY be getting an update in the near future. I thought about working on it for the first time in months, and I remembered that I only have a few episodes left until I can get to write the second season.

—Slowly but surely getting back into Honkai Impact 3rd. I still haven’t gotten a chance to watch the part 2 trailer, but it looks like it’s gonna be interesting!

—One thing’s for sure. Power Paige will definitely appear in the SRBA ‘verse. I just have to figure out what her backstory would be as well as her powers and what kind of fighting style she’d have. I know for sure it won’t be a sword—we already have four sword fighters in SRBA thus far (Super Why, Presto, Muse and Jackson).

—In Super Why news, I HAVE been working on the fifth chapter bit by bit, and I’d like to say that it’s about 65% finished. I don’t think it’ll be quite as long as the last update, but I don’t want to speak too soon ^^;

—I haven’t drawn anime in ages, not since I first started uploading on DeviantArt. And I admit, the pic that I’m going to post of Usagi isn’t the best..but you know what? Screw it! The only way I can improve is to practice, even if it’s wonky or incorrect! ^^

[hunty627]

A couple more stories that Grant can make up with his model trains when he rebuilds his model railway layout.

Isabel’s express service. Isabel the Great Western autocoach had been listening to Oliver the Great Western engine and Toad the Great Western brake van tell their stories over and over again, which were Toad’s adventure to Vicarstown with James and Oliver’s escape from the scrapyard. Isabel wanted an adventure too. And that’s when Gordon the big engine needed an extra coach because lots of passengers want to travel to Crovan’s Gate on the express, so Isabel was coupled to Gordon’s express train.

Bus brawl. Kayley the railway maintenance bus had been rudely taunted by Bulgy the double decker bus. Bulgy says Kayley is a disgrace to buses everywhere, which made her very upset.

A toy for Poy. Poy the small green engine was shunting freight cars when she saw something on the line side. It was a teddy bear. Her driver brought it to the lost property office in Knapford station. Poy wished to keep it. Later on, when Poy was steaming past Redbird station, she saw Dexter’s big sister Dee Dee looking very upset. Her teddy bear, Mr. Fuzzums had gone missing. And that’s when Poy figured it out. The teddy bear she found was Dee Dee’s teddy bear! Will she return it to her before Dee Dee loses her mind?

Sidney sulks. Sidney the forgetful engine was sulking in the shed. He says he forgot why, but he was still feeling cross. The other engines wanted to cheer him up.

The little Christmas twins. Skarloey was very excited for the holiday season. And he and the other little engines got to meet two new steam engines. They were a pair of narrow gauge tender engines named Holly and Jolly and they are twins. Will they be very reliable during the Christmas season?

A brake van of many colors. A new brake van arrived on Sodor for the pride month celebration. His name is Charlie and he looked like Toad, but he was painted in all 7 colors of the rainbow.

The undead engine. Smudger was telling his friends a story about a blacksmith engine named Smoother. He told them about something that happened to him that caused him to become nothing more but a literal death machine.

Jennings’ joust. Jennings was delivering some cargo trucks to Ulfstead Castle and saw a horse. It turned out that it was actually Barnaby, Becky’s pony! She had escaped from her family’s farm after getting such a fright that she would charge at anyone before giving them powerful kicks. Will Jennings be able to soothe Barnaby?

[rygoespop]

Thomas and Friends: Tales from Sodor (Story 62): Duck's Power Line Rescue

Narrator: Duck's Power Line Rescue

Scene opens with Duck puffing down the line as he blew his whistle to greet Murdoch

Narrator: One morning, as the Island of Sodor was nearly repaired from a storm, Duck was on his way to Knapford

Scene transitions to Duck at Knapford Station

Narrator: As soon as Duck arrived, Sir Topham Hatt was waiting for him

Sir Topham Hatt: The storm had knocked all of the Power Lines, so I need you take some new Power Lines at once!

Duck: Yes sir! *he blew his whistle and puffs off*

Scene transitions to Duck arriving at Knapford Yards, his train was waiting, which consists of a Works Unit Coach, 2 Salt Vans, 3 Flatbeds of Power Lines, and a Brake Van

Narrator: When Duck arrived at the yard, his train was waiting

Duck: Hello Stafford, is that my train?

Stafford: Why yes it is Duck!

Duck: Thank you! *he backs up to his train, as he is coupled up, blew his whistle and puffs off*

Scene transitions to Duck, now puffing down the line with his Power Line Train

Narrator: Soon, Duck was puffing down the line to the first site of repairs

Duck sees Henry with Rocky and some Workmen

Duck: Hello everyone, here's the first load of New Power Lines! *he came to a stop, as Rocky lifted the first New Power Lines off the first flatbed*

Henry: Thank you Duck! Soon Sodor will have Power again!

Duck blew his whistle as he puffs forward

Rocky: Alright, let's get these new Power Lines up!

Scene transitions to Duck puffing to the next site, Fergus was there with Judy and Jerome as Duck was approaching

Narrator: Later, Duck came to the next repair site, Fergus was waiting for him

Duck: *blew his whistle* Hello Fergus!

Fergus: Hello Duck, I see you brought new Power Lines!

Judy: Oh that's perfect!

Jerome: I agree!

Duck: Yep, New Power Lines to have the power back on!

Judy and Jerome lift the New Power Lines off the 2nd Flatbed

Judy: Easy does it Jerome!

Jerome: That's right Judy!

Fergus: Thank you Duck!

Duck: Your welcome Fergus! *he blew his whistle and puffs off*

Scene transitions to Duck puffing down the line, to the final repair site

Narrator: Soon, Duck was on his way to the final repair site, then there was trouble

James: *blowing his whistle as he puffs fast, pulling Coal Cars* Get out of the way Duck!

Duck: James?

James biffs into the flatbed, one of the power lines rolled off

Duck: *getting bumped* Ow! Ugh! James!

James: Sorry Duck! I'm in a hurry to take the Coal to the Docks!

The Power Line rolled down the hill and it came across Diesel 10

Diesel 10: *pinchy grabs the Power Line* Eh? What's this?

Duck: I have no time to argue with you James! *he blew his whistle and puffs off to the final repair site*

Scene transitions to Duck arriving at the Repair Site, Harvey was there

Narrator: Soon as Duck came to the last Repair site, there was trouble

Workman: Hey! One of the Power Lines is missing!

Duck: What?! I thought I had three! I can *realize that one of them rolled off following James bumping into him* Uh oh!

Harvey: Well, we can't repair the Power Lines now!

Duck: Don't worry, I'll find it soon as I-

Diesel 10: You mean this? *he honked his horn*

Duck: Diesel 10?!

Diesel 10: I believe this is yours *Pinchy lowers and drops the Missing Power Line*

Duck: The third Power Line! You found it!

Diesel 10: Found it on the track, so thought I give it back

Duck: Well Diesel 10, you may be a mean diesel, but thank you!

Soon, Harvey and the Workmen placed the final Power Line up

Duck: Let there be power!

Scene transitions to Knapford Station, Duck was there, as well as Diesel 10

Narrator: Later that day, Sir Topham Hatt has heard everything

Sir Topham Hatt: Well Duck, you brought the Power Lines to their destinations

Duck: Well the last one was saved and delivered by Diesel 10, if it weren't for him, then the power lines wouldn't be fixed

Sir Topham Hatt: Is that so? Needless to say Diesel 10, you are really useful

Diesel 10: Oh? Thank you Fat Hat- I mean Sir!

Sir Topham Hatt smiled

Thomas: Three cheers for Duck and Diesel 10

The Steam Team blew their whistles as Toby rang his bell

Sir Topham Hatt: And oh, a surprise for Gina, her Rail Ferry back to Italy is here!

Gina: I'm gonna miss you all

Thomas: We will miss you too Gina, it's fun having you here

Scene transitions to the Steam Team, as well as Duck and Diesel 10 all at Brendam Docks, seeing Gina set sail on a Rail Ferry back to Italy

Thomas: Have a great trip back home Gina!

Gina: Thank you Thomas! Promise me this, you and your friends will come visit me in Italy one day!

Thomas: I'd really like that!

Gina blew her whistle, as the Steam Team blew their whistles, Toby rang his bell, Duck blew his whistle, and Diesel 10 honked his horn

Rosie: Well, I'm glad we repaired Sodor!

Thomas: And Summer is finally on its way

Steam Clouds rolled in

Story End and End of the Sodor Storm Arc

[biggsodorcitystories]

Jamesdon Time

It's a day late, but I wanted to draw something for Gordon and James

[weirdowithaquill]

Okay okay okay

I just

*need* to hear more of you rambling about trains being shipped together I don't care who it is

Although if I am allowed to request a couple I find very cute myself it'd be Culdee and Catherine

Sorry it took me a hot minute to answer (I got sick) - but let's dive in!

Ok - Catherine and Culdee are the very definition of an adorable old married couple, perhaps even moreso than Toby and Henrietta. They *need* each other - and Catherine gets jealous when Culdee takes the Truck out. Likewise, while some of the engines just take whichever coach out, Culdee has specifically requested Catherine be taken off the rotation roster (especially after the Lord Harry era). They are absolutely adorable together, but they can have a... possessive streak.

It comes from the codependency.

(They legit need each other... to survive Culdee Fell.)

At the opposite end of the adorable old married couple is Toby and Henrietta. These two actually recently made history when they became the first two (to steal the term) non-faceless vehicles to marry. Ever. Previous to this, there had been a lot of legal battles and red tape and a whole heap of "they can't marry, they're machines" which the pair fought through... since the 1920's. (Culdee and Catherine legit married the next day, and are still jealous that Toby and Henrietta got hitched first).

Furthermore, Henrietta and Toby adopted Mavis in the early 70s the moment she stopped actively ignoring their advice. It is entirely thanks to Henrietta that Mavis asked Daisy out.

(Toby continues to enjoy watching his wife verbally beat other men into dust.)

Speaking of, Mavis and Daisy really are the very essence of disaster lesbians. There is no understating how ridiculous this pair can be - see the fact that Mavis spent nearly a full decade with her jaw hitting her bufferbeam every time Daisy entered the yards. And to make matters worse, Daisy had no clue! She thought (wrongly) that Mavis had a thing for Toby... which she vehemently objected to because - and I quote - "Toby is too old for such a powerful, commanding woman." Somehow, Daisy also missed the part where she liked said 'powerful, commanding woman'. Cue Daisy trying to flirt with a very uncomfortable BoCo every time he visited the junction while Mavis tried to get her driver to send... 'messages' to BoCo.

The only engine who enjoyed this absolute anime-plotline of a romance was Toby, who revels in chaos.

(Annie is pretending not to listen in on this gossip - but she's totally listening in on these two disasters.)

From disasters to functional beings - Duncan and Rusty continue to hold the title of 'most functional Sodor couple'. And for good reason! After Duncan got over his preconceptions about diesels, he was very blunt about his new feelings for the little diesel. And remember, Duncan is a mix of rock-star, factory worker and punk. So he manages to seem wild and abrasive to everyone who hasn't seen how devoted he is to his little diesel.

Rusty, being cool and calm and petty, loves to rub their relationship in Rheneas' face - because Rheneas can't do the same thing Duncan did and ask Duke out. Because Rusty is petty, let's not be mistaken - that little diesel was happy to let Duncan just sit off the rails because he was rude. Rusty is kind and helpful - but will also sit back and let you suffer from some Sodor Karma.

(This is why I say Duncan confessed - Rusty is gazing off into the sunset, but Duncan only has eyes for Rusty.)

Speaking of poor Rheneas - I've already given him a full post dedicated to the wild ride that was his courting of Duke - but I managed to miss the small detail of Duke adopting Spencer (see ERS for details). And that leads to a whole new realm of disaster for this poor engine. He gets Peter Sam on side, he gets Sir Handel to begrudgingly admit he's... decent enough... for his Granpuff - heck, he even manages to get Skarloey to stop laughing for long enough to wish him luck! He even manages to get some good advice on asking Duke out from Rusty and Duncan! And then.... AND THEN...

Spencer grabs Duke and whisks him away. Away? Away away - to the Boxford Estate. Spencer is not a 'good' engine, and he literally resorts to kidnapping Duke like the old engine is suddenly Rapunzel (Duke has feelings about this). In response, Rheneas had to get out 'The Truck' and make his way across the Island to save Duke... who had already hitched a ride out of there with Edward and was having tea and biscuits while laughing about their respective prospective red disaster boyfriends.

(Genderbent Elizabeth and Thomas enjoy watching Rheneas watch Duke get mended...)

I think that's all from me for now - no Percy x Diesel 10 shenanigans this time, but if someone asks for them, I will bring them. Until then, I'm going to take a heap of antibiotics and try to sleep off this illness some more.

[hazel-of-sodor]

Day 17-Snow

Traintober 2023

Other Stories

Day 17-Holiday

Snow

The holidays are a busy time on the North Western Railway. People and goods need to be taken around the island at all times of day and night. Donald and Douglas rarely see each other during this time, as their help is needed on every line. As soon as they are finished on one line, they are sent to another. They often go days only seeing each other when their trains pass each other, with no time to do anything other than whistle.

Despite this, they love the season. They travel all over the island and see all of the other engines, even the electric engines on the Peel Godred branch. The passengers are in good cheer, and the trucks even behave better....slightly. They work hard and sleep well each night, eagerly waiting for the start of their holidays.

Snow.

Each year the island of Sodor is blanketed with the cold white power, and each year the twins are coupled back to back with a workman coach between them, racing up and down the lines of Sodor. For several weeks they get to explore the island together, in weather that reminds them of the places they once called home.

These days this is mainly done for heritage, the North Western has rotary snow plows capable of clearing the lines, but both the engines and the fat controller agree it just wouldn't be the Holidays without Donald and Douglas working together to clear the snow.

[whumpster-fire]

Having Diesel 10 Thoughts

Certain recent incidents have made me reconsider and think actually given how Diesel 10 basically has basically an excavator arm I can see why everyone's intimidated by him.

Also I looked up his class and, holy shit I didn't realize that he was a fucking diesel-hydraulic. And also:

Added to this were practical problems modernising the D800s: because of the scaled-down bodyshell there was very little room inside for extra equipment. It was, for example, physically impossible to accommodate a compressor as well as an exhauster, so the locomotives were unable to haul newer designs of air-braked coaching stock. It also proved impractical to equip them with electric train heating (ETH) equipment for similar reasons, so they retained unreliable steam heat boilers to the end of their lives.

They couldn't even fit an air compressor in this class. What the hell did they do to fit this gigantic fucking hydraulic arm into him?

Each locomotive was powered by two Maybach 1035 hp (D800–802) or 1135 hp (D803–829, D831–832 and D866–870) MD650 engines coupled to Mekydro hydraulic transmissions.

Oh, god. Okay now I want to see a "realistic" Diesel 10 design where (a) the arm retracts to fit within the loading gauge, and (b) his front engine and other equipment like the steam heat boiler has visibly been completely removed to make room for "Pinchy."

Also these were passenger engines? So it seems unlikely that the claw would've been installed for maintenance of way work or whatever like I originally suspected, which probably means that Diesel 10 was employed by British Rail to hunt down and catch runaways like Oliver, and might have been given that claw for the express purpose of quickly tearing down improvised barricades like the one Oliver's crew used to hide him in a quarry siding in 'Escape', and of course for directly attacking and damaging them before dragging them to the scrapyard.

So, uhh, this raises the possibility that someone at BR just yoinked an arrogant young passenger engine off the express service he was running and gutted him, totally destroying his ability to do what he was originally designed for to turn him into a weapon.

(Also, like, some of the diesels in the series seem to just have names and not numbers or have nicknames they've "earned" by being nuisances, e.g. Spamcan and D.0261, Bear before joining the NWR, but every single one of the Class 42s was named. Did they, like, take his original name away as, like, a ritual severing of his ties to his identity? Obviously his number's different unless he was D.00810 / Cockade)

And then, just a few years after steam was finally abolished on BR lines, they declared his class, and his entire type of transmission, non-standard and they met the same fate as the steam engines he helped catch. Holy shit like I saw stuff about the early-generation BR diesels not having very long service lives but I did not fully process that the 28s, 42s, and Hymeks were withdrawn after only like 10 years, jesus christ.

Uhh, I guess that'd explain why he ended up on Sodor then? Did they immediately start getting rid of engines like Diesel 10 once they outlived their usefulness, or did they start sending him after other diesels and he got wise to the fact that his days were numbered?

Okay I have a horrible dark AU idea for how this went down since Magic Railroad's basically a Shining Time Station movie and doesn't quite fit the rest of T&F canon. Diesel 10 got sent to Sodor once to retrieve a "stolen" steam engine - possibly Oliver - and managed to terrorize and intimidate the NWR's residents while searching for the fugitive for a while because the law was very nominally on his side, until he fucked up and did something that let TFC kick him off the island even though he was there on official British Rail business (as opposed to the other diesels who kept getting booted off because they were on lease to help the NWR and were there at TFC's pleasure). Possibly something like attacking and damaging an NWR engine acquired through completely legal means, or even threatening / hurting / almost killing one of the human employees.

And then a few years later, he came back and one of the following happened:

Idea 1: Diesel 10 went rogue and came to Sodor with a massive grudge against steam engines because now it wasn't just his job, it was personal because so many preservationists had fought so hard against him to save their 'precious steamies,' and in his warped mind he believed that nobody was even trying to save diesels. When he got word that his class were being withdrawn he went straight to the biggest 'heritage' railway in the country determined to take as many steam engines down with him as he could. And possibly got blocked in a siding / shoved into some trap points / derailers and left to think about his actions.

Idea 2: Diesel 10 had more or less the same mindset, but he didn't go rogue, he was sent to Sodor to collect Boco or Bear! Because whoever was giving him orders at BR had the same idea and thought that TFC had only accepted any diesels reluctantly and no one on the NWR was going to actually fight for some obsolete nonstandard diesels. And they were horribly wrong.

Idea 3: Some dumb motherfucker on British Rail didn't check their paperwork and tried to send Diesel 10 after a fellow Warship without knowing what class he was, and he lost his nerve after his would-be victim recognized him, and finally got that there were no "winners" in a world where engines were nothing more than expendable tools. Long story short he ends up a fugitive himself, and possibly dragging one of the other Warships to Sodor with him. Or failing to do so.

[feigeroman]

Any particular headcanons for the Skarloey?

On the whole, not really - as far as my Thomas headcanons go, my attention has largely been focussed on the NWR as of late. However, I do have one or two stray narrow-gauge headcanons, which are as follows:

The Original #7

The SR first considered a #7 engine in the late-60s, and a number of different ideas were proposed. The proposal that got the furthest was to purchase a brand-new engine from Hunslet, to a modified version of their Eva 0-4-2T design. This would have been delivered as a kit of parts, to be assembled at Crovan's Gate. The engine was to have been named Rowan - at the time, the Owner lived in a house called The Rowans.

Unfortunately, for whatever reason, the proposals fell through at the last minute. Apparently, though, things had progressed far enough that the SR had preemptively allocated the #7 slot to Rowan. This meant that when Duke was rediscovered and brought to the SR, he was given the #8 slot. It would not be until another thirty-odd years later, when Ivo Hugh was built, that an SR engine actually carried the number 7.

(Above: Coincidentally, the Talyllyn Railway also had the idea of buying an Eva themselves, but this too was shelved after they bought the engine who would become Tom Rolt. This model shows what the TR's Eva might have looked like, bearing the name Cader Idris. Picture and model courtesy of Galveira.)

(Also, one smaller headcanon about Ivo Hugh: My version of the SR has all the engines in their TVS liveries, so I've done what loads of other fans have done, and made Ivo Hugh purple.)

The Double Fairlies

In 1923, the Peel Godred Power Company obtained powers to build a dam and hydroelectric power plant a mile or so north of that town, and considered using the Mid Sodor Railway to transport the required building materials and equipment. The MSR realized that stronger engines would be needed for this work, and on the advice of the Ffestiniog Railway, decided that a Double Fairlie was just what they needed.

Two such engines ended up being built, as kits of parts at the FR's own workshops, which were shipped to Sodor for final assembly at Crovan's Gate. Little Giant was the first of the two to be completed, and he arrived at Arlesburgh by rail in 1925. Unfortunately, what with the PGPC's decision to use the NWR's newly-constructed Peel Godred branch line, Little Giant's extra strength proved to be surplus to requirements, and he was sold just a couple of years later.

Meanwhile, the other engine, Saint Machan (alias Mighty Mac), had just been completed when the call came through that he was no longer wanted. Crovan's Gate decided they had to get their money's worth somehow, and so Mighty Mac became the new works shunter, running on the site's own internal railway system. As the Works expanded, however, it gradually became too big for Mighty Mac to cope with on his own, and by the 1970s, the size of the complex had reached a point of no return.

Fortunately, it just so happened that by the 1970s, traffic had increased on the Skarloey Railway to the point that another engine was sorely needed. One thing led to another, and Mighty Mac was sold to the SR in 1976. This left his old position as works shunter open for Victor (NWR #67), who arrived shortly afterwards.