Sodor's Unusual Tales

Number 4 No More

Number 4 No More

Part 3 of a multi-part story

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Part 1: https://youtu.be/Nrwne8PruAc

Part 2: https://youtu.be/jeueVIfQkt0

Part 3: This very story

Part 4: See Part 12

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Gordon was down on his luck. For the past month and a half, he had been getting sluggish with the express. No one knows why that is, except for Gordon himself.

He couldn't get the thoughts of two certain events out of his head. First, there was the incident at his hill, where people decided to tease Gordon about renaming it "Henry's Hill" since Henry got stuck. Then, there was the return of his cousin, Vincent, who reminded about a silly mistake from years ago, where Vincent was mistaken for Gordon, but was given his express train anyway. In both cases, Gordon was ridiculed. Normally, one would move on from such problems, but when it comes to Gordon, it takes a lot longer than usual.

Although they didn't know what Gordon's problem was, his crew, Sir Topham Hatt, and Mr. Starr were most concerned. One night, the four men met outside the sheds to talk about it.

"Gordon's been awfully sluggish lately," said the driver. "I asked him what the problem was when we stopped at Elsbridge the other day, but he just remained silent."

"We can rule out his firebox," added the fireman. "His coal is doing just fine, and it's not like he's suffering from the same problem that Henry had many years ago. So, it's probably his boiler."

"Maybe," said Sir Topham Hatt. "I suggest getting him to the steamworks, first thing tomorrow morning.

"In the meantime, I'll have to find a substitute for the express," added Mr. Starr.

And the four men parted ways for the night.

The next morning, Gordon was still being sluggish.

"Come on, Gordon," said his driver. "We're heading to the steamworks."

"No, it's fine," Gordon insisted. "I just need to sleep better. Watch."

And he immediately picked up speed as he left the sheds.

"Okay," said his driver. "We'll give it another go, but if something happens, we're heading to the steamworks. Understood?"

Gordon just gave a blow of steam.

"Fine," he muttered. "Whatever you say."

At Knapford Station, Gordon was soon coupled up to the express. As soon as the guard blew his whistle, Gordon set out. Gordon hoped for things to go smoothly for him today, but in order to do that, he would rather talk to his crew instead of anyone else. Unfortunately, his latest trip didn't go unnoticed.

"Hey, Gordon!" whistled Thomas. "Hope you don't get stuck on the Hill." And he rolled away, chuckling.

"Just ignore it," Gordon muttered to himself. "It's old news now. It's still my hill, and Henry still has his tunnel." And he managed to pick up speed.

Unbeknownst to him, even Sir Topham Hatt saw him leaving with the express, and was most concerned about his behavior.

"Oh, my," he whispered.

Down the mainline, Gordon was finally picking up speed, trying to prove that he doesn't need to go to the Steamworks. Surprisingly, it's almost as if his sluggishness was gone in an instant. Things were finally going smoothly, just as he wanted. That is, until he reached Elsbridge. Bill and Ben were passing by with a freight train bound for Knapford Harbor.