Henry's adventure across the canal

Dark clouds over Sodor

It's a cloudy day on the island of Sodor. Everything is running smoothly, all on schedule and punctual. Sir Bernadette Topham Hatt was sitting in his office sipping on a cup of steaming Earl Grey. In front of him were papers from his accountant. He looked at them with a frown. The tea tasted bland this morning. Or was it just this dread he felt. He slowly reached for them again. And read them slowly and this sinking feeling grew ever stronger. His company had money issues. He had feared this day. In the last few years passenger travel had been stopped by the government because of some illness. Some of his drivers and firemen have had it. Some didn't make it. He looked at a picture of his father. It was like a nasty, nasty flu. Now the impact was right in front of his eyes. He sighed and reached for the black telephone on his desk. He dialed up a number and waited.

Meanwhile at Knapford Gordon arrived with the express. At the same time Henry came in with a goods train. "Hello Gordon how are you?", piped Henry. "Good, good", replied Gordon, "The weather is just really dull. The sky is all grey." "Yes I noticed that. It feels...odd", the green engine adds. "Have to go now Henry. I have to be punctual otherwise my passengers will not be pleased." and with that Gordon was on his way with the trusty coaches he had been pulling for many many years. Henry glanced up at the sky through the glass ceiling of the station. The sky was as uninviting as ever. He signed, let off steam and puffed away. Throughout the trip he couldn't shake the feeling something off about the island. Even James who usually just bragged about how perfect he was, was weirdly quiet today too quiet.

When the day had ended and everyone stood in their place in  Tidmouth shed an air of unease was present . And then the whispers began. "I heard from Toby that the fat controller looked really worried today", Thomas whispered to Percy "Worried? Why?", the little green engine squeaked. "I dunno" "Maybe he just had a bad day", chimed in Emily, "I mean today's weather was truly depressing don't you think?" "Yeah, the weather was truly terrible. My red paint looked damp and boring", James groaned. Everyone rolled their eyes. But no one had the energy to snap back at the ever boasting James. And so they fell into a slumber, well not all. Henry stayed awake. "Maybe I'm worrying too much.", he thought, "the day was just cloudy, nothing more." And he fell into his well deserved sleep.

The next morning the sky hadn't cleared at all. Henry pulled the afternoon express after he had pulled a train from the harbor. Gordon shushed around one of the younger ones who didn't shunt fast enough. James surprisingly didn't have an accident ruin his paint job. And the rumors grew, spreading even to the narrow gauge engines of the Skarloey railway. And when everyone was back at the depot everyone was in unease. No one said a word. Everyone knew. North Western Railway, their company was in trouble. Some had picked words from their firemen and drivers. Gordon broke the silence: "As everyone knows by now the fat controller is in a dire situation and it seems th-" "Stop beating around the bush Gordon!", Percy interrupts annoyed, "Basically the fat controller doesn't have enough money to...to..." He didn't wanna say it. "He has to send maybe one or two away", he bursts out. Everyone gasped and looked at the engines standing right beside them. "He...he won't send us to the scrap yard, won't he", Henry mumbled so quietly almost no one could have heard it. "Of course not, you silly goose. How long are you part of this railway?", Thomas in a firm tone. „ I don't like this thought either. Another option would be storage, but we don't have room for one of us standing around and giving us away won't be easy either. The other heritage railways are probably facing the same problem. So the chances they take one of us are slim...",Edward frowned. Everyone looked worried at Edward. If Edward didn't know the answer, they all just could make guesses. Imagines of red lights, heat and scrapped engines disrupted poor Henry's sleep. They were faint memories from a time long ago. He woke up from them multiple times.

The following days he we felt a heaviness to every single movement he did. One day he missed the guard's whistle signal for departure and Gordon had to whistle at him to get going. He apologized afterwards but Gordon instead of shrugging it off looked worried. "Are you alright, old friend?", he asked concerned. "I'm fine, Gordon", the big green engine replied, "Don't worry about me. You aren't looking great either" "Haha", Gordon laughed but his laughter felt disingenuous, "Me worried, never. I have to go. And don't fall asleep next time!", he chuckles.
Henry looked after the mighty engine and a smile played around his lips. He smiled at everyone of his friends who he met today, Thomas, Duck, Donald and Douglas, Emily, Edward and many more. And they smiled back and even chatted a bit. And all blew their whistle when one of them left. And back at the shed this evening the mood was better than the last few days.
But yet the nightmares crawled into the green engines dreams he wanted to sleep, no he had to. Tomorrow the Flying Kipper was due. But he couldn't. Then when he had closed his eyes again he noticed a movement on his gate. He saw shadows move. He felt suddenly very heated. "Please, please don't take me away. Don't take me away." Someone with a flashlight stepped in, followed by multiple of those shadows. Henry couldn't understand what they were saying it all was just a noise. Then a valve inside his head broke. "PLEASE DON'T SEND ME TO THE SCRAP YARD! I NEVER WANTED TO REPLACE ANYONE AND I TRIED MY BEST EVERY TIME!!!", he frantically screamed. Silence. Henry panted. Then someone who he recognized was the fat controller stepped forward. "Henry, old champ I could never send you of all engines to the scrap yard.", the stout man calmly whispers. The engine looked around, but everyone else to his relief was still asleep. "You most certainly know already that we are facing hard times and so with a heavy heart I decided to borrow you to someone until we are back to normal", he explained, "Furthermore I like to introduce you to this lady. She will be your new controller and also driver. She's from Germany." With these words a chubby woman in a blue overall stepped out of the group. A motherly kindness radiated from the eyes behind the glasses: "Good morning Henry, sorry we woke you up." ,with a gentleness she addresses the engine. "I heard a lot about you. And I would love to work with you on my line" "Thank you, Miss or are you already a Mrs.?", Henry humbly asks. "I'm a Mrs. in fact and my dear husband will be your fireman.", she smiled broadly, "Are you ready to show me what you are made of, big lad?" "Yes!", he replied eagerly. The bad images were gone. Quickly Mrs. Controller and Henry's crew went to work. And soon Henry was under steam itching to depart. "Are you ready, yet?" he impatiently asks. "Yes, we are", his driver says and off they went.

The cold morning wind blew into Henry's face but he didn't care. And when they reached the port Mrs. Controller took over. "Are you ready Henry?", she asks him. "Peep, peep, of course I am." She loosens the breaks and opens the regulator gently, let some sand drop on the rails and Henry gave it his all. He pulled the heavy train like it was nothing. They flew by the mountains, fields and stations as the warm sun rose into the sky. Turning the track before them into a golden orange. The lady leaned out of his cabin window and with a big smile sticks her nose into the wind. They passed by the shunt which had caused Henry's first accident and after which he was sent to Crewe. But now he was feeling better than he had ever in his life. And with vigor he pushed on. "Don't go too fast, Henry", his driver reminded him. "I'm trying", he got as a reply. And at around 7:30 am they reached their final destination. And when the German lady got out of Henry's cabin she walked forward to his buffers with a smile equally as glowing with joy as Henry's own. "Henry" "Yes Mrs. Controller?" "I made the right choice with picking you as the engine for my line." "Oh oh, thank you", the engine replied flattered. "I brought an inspector and some workers along. They will check you if you are ready for service in my country and will fit you with the necessary tech like a radio" "Oh a radio? I just heard that it is now used on the mainland.", he reacts surprised by the news. "Well uhm," he stopped and looked away for a moment, "when do we depart for Germany?" "In a week or so, I wanna see you perform also passenger duties because you will primarily pull a set of coaches for the children and workers living near the line.", Mrs. Controller explained. "Oh alright", sadness rose up in the engine. "Don't worry, Henry. You will get the time to say goodbye" "Thank you very uhhhaahh", Henry yawned. The lady chuckles "Tired big boy, aren't you. Let's head back and get you some rest before our next job." On the way back Mrs. Controller or has Henry now knew Mrs. Drachenzorn whistled a tune. A majestic and triumphant one. Henry liked it.