Sodor: The Unabridged Accounts

THE UPTOWN DEVIL

"It was 30 years ago," began Hank, "My railroad served a logging company in a unincorporated community called Uptown - lots of peculiar fellows. The company owned 3 engines, I think they were oil burnin' chuffers. I hated them more than anything in the world."

"Why ever so?" asked Thomas. Hank sighed. "They were a ridiculous trio. Bash, Dash, and Ferdinand, they called themselves. Bash and Dash were twins who caused trouble wherever they went. Ferdinand was a true devil. He would whisper terrible threats whenever any engine worked with him. If it weren't threats, it was a "That's Right!"." Hank answered.

Thomas pondered this for a moment. It reminded him of the china clay twins, Bill and Ben, only worse.

"The worst of em' all," Hank continued, "Was an alligator tugboat, Billy Shoepack. He was in charge of munitions and hauling all sorts of strange tools. Shoepack had a deadly fascination for explosives. Any loud boom that was set off was like Christmas morning for him. "HOOWHEE, look at the damage!" he'd whoop.

"What happened to the engines and Shoepack?" Thomas asked incredulously.

Hank hesitated. then he said, "30 years ago, Uptown was destroyed in a deadly fire, caused by some runaway logs that clogged the stream. Billy was in charge of keeping the logs from flowing to the town. Ferdinand told him to ignore his directions, and so the alligator did. Billy did something, i dont know what in the Sam Hill that could've been, but those logs flew down the stream, there were tons of em'. They ran into a fuel barge, which exploded, making the whole of Uptown burst into flames."

"Bust my boiler!" Thomas gasped.

"I was in the yards when Ferdinand chuffed home, he looked scared. "You caused trouble, didn't you, bud?" I asked him. All Ferdinand could say was "That's right."

"I don't know what happened to those Logging Locos, but I know that somebody had heard Shoepack say, "I guess I'd better go." and he was never seen or heard from again. i don't know where he went, but I hope to God he's not out here still...."