Tales from the rails

Stephen the Odd Engine

"W-where am I? What is this place?" Asked a little tank engine as he was put in a siding in savior yards. He was covered in rust from his wait in the scrapyard. "You are safe now little one. The engines on the island will take good care of you." One morning, Evan, the number one on the NWD&D railway, woke to hear a deep, heavy, frightened breathing from outside his shed. "Hello?" Who's there?" Asked the tender engine as he looked out off the window. His crew arrived and Evan told them what was happening. "Alright Jack, light his fire." Said Drew, the driver, as he began open the engine doors all the way. Jack began to grab his matches and scratched his big mustache when he too heard the heavy breathing. "Sounds like a kid!" He exclaimed as he lit the fire. "Well then we MUST help him!" Said Evan as he built up steam. Soon he was ready and ran onto the turntable right outside and turned around. "Don't worry, we won't hurt you!" Called Evan as he was then reversed into the switch, he then was switched onto the siding where a little shed, for the size of a tank engine, sat. It was rusty. The dark morning sky was no help at all. "Don't worry bud, we'll help ya find your mama!" Called Drew from the cab. He then turned on the brakes, and hopped out of the cab. He flung the doors open and then went into Evan's cab. "What are you doing?" Asked Evan. "I can't see a thing in there! Come along Jack." Replayed Drew as he grabbed an oil lamp. He lit the wick and sat the lamp on Evan's running board. "By god." Said Evan as he stared at the sight. There sat a little tank engine, bleeding from it's cheek. It was covered in rust and had a huge dent in the smokebox. "W-who are you, where am I?!" Asked the little engine. "Woah, calm down little guy, we won't hurt you. Well, I won't, I don't know about Drew here." Said Jack as a joke. "D-d-d-d-d-d-don't touch me!" Screamed the engine. He struggled to speak as he slowly said the words. "Easy now. We are here to help, okay?" Said Evan.

Dan was puffing towards the NWD&D branch. He had to take some trucks down that line. Then, he saw a new engine that was wearing a number 1 on his side. It was a tender engine painted in a pale blue. "Oh, hello there. What's your name?" "I'm Evan, hello again Dan!" Said Evan, this confused Dan, he had never met Evan in his entire lifetime. "Oh, that's right, when you saw me I was just a boiler! When you delivered that boiler, you met me!" He explained. "Then the workers told me who you are, also your name is painted side, so yeah." Dan then uncoupled from his trucks. "Um, what is that?" Asked Dan as he looked behind Evan. There was a well wagon with a tarp on it. "Oh, it's an engine, poor lad is scared to death." He said as he uncoupled from his train, which were just the well wagon and the brake van. "Alright, can you take him to your works? Ours is backed up with Thomas, Henry, Gordon, Skarloey, and some engine from the mainland." Evan asked as he hooked up to Dan's trucks, preparing to set off backwards. "Oh yeah, I got this, we'll take good care of him." Said Dan. The engine under the tarp began to breathe heavily as Dan peeped loudly and set off with him. "Take care of me?" Questioned the engine silently under the tarp. 

Dan then arrived at the works with his load. "What is that, Dan?" Asked one of the head repair men. "A tank engine, I want you guys to repair him and paint him like me, if you guys have the time." Said Dan as he was uncoupled from the wagon. "We'll do our best, just make sure to come down when we're painting so we can make him look as much like you as possible." Said the repair man as he began to remove the tarp. Dan then gazed upon the engine for the first time. He was covered from cab to footplate in rust and grime, oil was dripping from his wheels, and he had dried up blood on his face coming from a wound on his cheek. He was mortified as he looked around. "D-d-d-d-don't touch me! I-I-I don't wanna die!" Screamed the little engine. Dominic rolled in, along with Jarrid the Troublesome Tanker. "Hey guys, who's the kid?" He asked. "Well, we're going to start repairs on... what's your name, little engine?" Questioned the repair man. "S-Stephen." He whispered. "Well Stephen, we'll make sure that you are 100% repaired and repainted in a nice new coat. How does that sound?" "T-that sounds nice." He said quietly, his stress began to fade slightly. "Well, don't bud, these workers know a thing or two about repair engines or rolling stock in record time! The men at Crewe are jealous!" Joked Jarrid as Dominic shunted him into the shed and a few men got to work on repairing his exit tubing.

A few weeks later, Dan rolled into Drenk station for his final stop for the day before his evening train. Suddenly, the station telephone rang. "Dan, you must go to the works. I will have Sally take your trains for the rest of the day." Said the stationmaster. "Alright sir." Said Dan as he began to shunt his coaches to the carriage shed. "Yay! We get to ride with Sally! We get to ride with Sally!" Sang the coaches. Dan then raced off to the works.

When he got to the works, he saw what he thought was a new tank engine. Stephen had a smile on his face, a fresh black coat of paint on him along with some paint pots on his running board, a nice royal blue. "H-h-hello there!" Greeted Stephen as Dan entered the shed along side him. "Hey kid. How you feeling?" Asked Dan as he looked behind him to see some painters opening the paint pots. "Better, I-I think." He replied. The painters then got a P class locomotive and looked at Dan for inspiration as they set off to work. Dan was being relined himself. "How come you do that? You hold out your words, why is that?" Asked Dan. "O-oh. T-t-that's because someone hit me with a boiler. I think it w-w-was a crane." Said Stephen, trying to remember the incident. DD and Mia were walking around the workshop. "Wonder how long it's gonna be." Said Mia. "I do too." Replied DD. "Probably an hour." Said JD, who started to stroll along side DD. "JD, I missed you!" Said DD as he hugged the tall man. "Where have you been?" "Work, it has been very demanding recently, and now I need an engine apparently. So Gramps said I could have the number 55." Replied JD, he then pulled out a stick of gum and began to chew it. "Oh, so you'll be out on the mainline I suppose." Said DD. "Nah, I was put on the branch line because suspicions of criminals along that line are at an all time high. So we'll be working together." Said JD.

A few Days later, Stephen had been tested and was ready for the rails. Dan had to teach him how to shunt. Ava, Tommy, Jarrid, and Walter were being used to helped. "You wanna buffer up to them lightly. Be gentle and they won't play tricks on you." Instructed Dan. "O-okay." Said Stephen as JD slightly opened the regulator and drove forwards. "Come on Stephen, you got this!" Thought Stephen as he buffered up to Ava. He began to pick up some speed as he buffered up to Tommy. "Watch it buddy, slow down a little!" Said Dan Stephen did so and buffered up to Jarrid. Then came Walter, and then he slowed to a stop as the trucks rolled softly into the buffers. "Well done you two!" Said Dan as JD hopped from the cab. He had put Stephen in reverse, and forgot about the brake! "Uh, D-d-d-driver?" Asked Stephen as he began to roll. Fortunately, Dan saw this and told his driver who then reversed and caught the little tank engine. "Thanks Dad- uh, I mean, um, Dan." He said spooked, "Uh, d-dad?" Said Dan as he pushed the little engine back into a siding so his reversed could be shut off. "Y-yeah, some of the workers said that with my paint job, it looks like you were my dad." Explained Steven. "Huh, you know. I never thought of it that way." Said Dan as he then looked at the station clock. "Oh my! It is getting rather late! We must get you to Levi!" Said Dan as grabbed the small train and Stephen as the two puffed off.