the tales of sodor's engine

Toby's ghost

   Toby the Tram Engine loved working at the quarry. It was always a hive of activity as stone was cut in the towers and moved down the conveyors into the trucks, ready to be taken to other areas of the island for use in buildings, fences, and many other things!

    Quarry work could be hectic and very dirty, but it was honest work, and Toby was good at it. Toby had years of experience to be sure, but he also knew how to work with trucks. Toby loved telling them stories, and the trucks loved to hear them! However, Toby was known to embellish his stories somewhat…

    One day, the foreman approached Toby and his crew about a large stone delivery.

    “It’s been ordered from an anonymous party near the old branch station,” said the foreman. He showed them the invoice.

    Toby, his driver, and his fireman traded nervous glances.

    “That’s…odd,” said Toby. “We’ve haven’t set wheel on that part of the island for a long time.”

    “That’s right,” said the foreman. “What’s stranger still is that Sir Topham Hatt expedited the shipment to the old station, which means we need to get busy preparing the train.”

    Toby set to work shunting the trucks into a long line, each being loaded one by one with fresh cut stone. All the while, Toby felt very uneasy about the whole affair.

    The trucks sensed his anxiety, and spoke to him.

    “You look grim,” said the leader of the train.

    “It’s the old station,” Toby replied. “It’s been a long time since we’ve gotten any correspondence from there at all.”

    “It’s just an old station. What’s there to be nervous about?”

    Toby looked down at his buffers.

    “A few days ago, James was asked to drop off a goods train there. The last time I spoke to him he told me about…something he saw.”

    “What…what…what?” the trucks chattered.

“Let me tell you a story,” said Toby.

    “Many, many years ago, before the other engines arrived, there was an old engine that lived on an old branch-line. They say he was just a prototype since he bore no number.” 

“He worked on a big railway on the mainland for many years but was fell ill and was brought here to the Island for lighter branch-line work. But as time went on, the old engine’s health began to get worse. His parts became worn and he was in pain no matter what he did. The controller at that time didn’t care much for the engine or his pain, and the poor engine took matters into his own hands.”

    “What did the engine do?” the trucks said in anticipation.

    “The old engine, to escape his pain, ran his passenger train off the rails and into the ravine.”

    The trucks were horrified!

    “They say his ghost still haunts that old station. That’s why I’m nervous. I believe James must have seen the old engine’s ghost.”

    The trucks were spooked by Toby’s story. Soon, it was time for Toby and the stone trucks to leave for the old station, and the trucks were scared.

    “What if the old engine’s ghost is lurking around the old station?” they said to one another.

    “What if we fall into the ravine?”

    It took a long time to get to the old station. The part of the mainline from which the station branched was old and overgrown and hadn’t been traveled on for a long time.

    Toby pushed the trucks into the siding and prepared to leave to go back to the quarry. The trucks didn’t want him to go.

    “Where are you going?” they cried.

    “You won’t be able to be unloaded until the morning,” said Toby. “I have other trains to prepare for the morning. I-I’ll come back for you tomorrow.”

    Suddenly, they heard a strange sound coming from up the branch-line. It almost sounded like an engine, but there weren’t any engines around!

    “Who’s there?” called Toby’s driver, but there was no answer. The sound became louder, but now it was the sound of squeaking metal, like a rusty wheel that hadn’t been oiled for a long time.

    Toby and the trucks were completely silent, looking all around them for the source of the noise.

    Then, at the crest of the hill leading to the branch-line, they saw the silhouette of an old engine. Toby backed up quickly to the trucks to get away. They all stood quivering.

    “It’s the Ghost Engine!” the trucks cried!

    A spotlight flashed on. Standing there was Sir Topham Hatt! And there was Thomas, pushing an old, rusty engine on a flat wagon!

    “Oh, it’s only you, Toby!” said Sir Topham Hatt, “For a moment there I thought there were trespassers.”

    “Sir, what are you doing here?” exclaimed Toby.

    “Well, Toby, the time has come for us to face what happened to this old branch-line.”

    “I thought the engine who ran this old line perished in the ravine, sir?” Toby said.

    “No, Toby. This was an old contractor’s engine I used to build this branch-line many years ago. When the war started I was never able to finish it, and I had to leave him here.”

    “But sir, the stories-“

    “I know what the stories say, Toby, but none of them are true. My engine was weak, but he was a hard worker. It broke my heart to leave him here, but I was needed elsewhere.”

    Sir Topham Hatt sounded close to tears.

    “He lived a good life on his little branch-line, and now I’m rebuilding it in his honor! My old friend here will be sent to be used as a model for a statue. Soon we’ll have a nice attraction for the island’s visitors.”

    Toby was most surprised!

    “I had no idea!”

    “Don’t believe everything you hear, Toby!” Sir Topham Hatt laughed.

    Sir Topham Hatt was true to his word. Soon, the old branch-line was up and running and became a very popular destination for passengers. The old engine’s statue glistened in the sunshine. Looking at that statue, Toby realized that sometimes there’s more to a story than meets the eye!