Really Useless Railway

Owning Up

"Are you sure it's alright for me to come sleep at Tidmouth Sheds with them?"

"Oh don't ye worry Olli, they're willing to let you in. They want to hear about your story from yer perspective."

"Hmm... alright, if you say so Douglas! Anyways, I should be heading off soon with my passenger train, so you later!"

"Bye Olli!"

Douglas watched as Oliver left the yard at Tidmouth to get ready for his passenger train. He sighed to himself, worried about the outcome, he hoped for it to go out as planned. Soon, he coupled up to his train and headed to Knapford. When got there, he left his train in a siding where the shunter would take it. He was thinking of how he would get Oliver to trust Bear and diesels in general. That's when he noticed another engine in the yard.

"Hey! He accepted it! He's gonna come to the sheds tonight!"

The more Douglas thought about it, the more worried he became. He knew for a full fact it was easier said than done getting Oliver to trust any diesels. Oliver was a nice engine, yes, but he can be quite stubborn. His massive hate for diesels wasn't the easiest thing to change. But Douglas was sure he could try to fix that. He just had to find out how. Meanwhile, Oliver was having issues of his own too. Although he knew that Sodor was a safe haven for engines, he was quite shy and worried to meet the others, especially considering how there were diesels on this island too.
"...but then again, I can't just isolate myself... gotta make friends at some point...", he thought to himself. The rest of the day was uneventful, pulling some passengers here and there and seeing some engines pass by. But as the sun was beginning to set as Oliver reached Tidmouth Station, that's when things got interesting.

"Good evening fellow engine, you must be Oliver right?"

"Oh, uhhh... yeah, that's me. And you are?... Oh wait! You're that big blue engine who always pulls that big passenger train, I heard someone say your name but I forgot what it was. It was uhh Gary?... No, Geor-..."

"Gordon, it's Gordon."

"Alright, Gordon. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"It's a pleasure to meet you too Oliver. Say, Douglas told me how you'd like to come by and rest at Tidmouth Sheds tonight, eh?"

Oliver wasn't very sure at first, he had just met Gordon today and he was already asking him to come over by the big sheds. However, he remembered that Douglas had asked him to come over. So, he obliged.

"Olli! Great to see you've arrived!"

"Hi Douglas, Henry, and..."

Oliver's face went from one of curiosity, to one of disappointment. There in the sheds was not only the same diesel from yesterday, but another one too! There was however another engine he hadn't seen yet, a red tender engine with the number 5 on his sides. One of the births was empty, but next to it was the same diesel he had seen last night. Oliver now wanted to leave, but he had already made his decision, and didn't want to back down to it either. He made a choice, and couldn't change it. Soon, the attention was directed to Oliver.

Douglas: "Well then Oliver, why don't you introduce yourself?"

Oliver: "Uhm, alright... Well, as Douglas said, my name's Oliver. I used to work on the Great Western Railway. I worked on a branch line with other engines, this is also where I met my coach Isabel and my brake van Toad. However as years passed, we soon hit modernization, and with it came diesels. Eventually all the other engines were taken away, until it was just me. But my driver still had hope, he didn't want me to end up like the others. The night before I was meant to be taken away, my driver woke me up and started a fire. He said we were escaping to Sodor. We brought Isabel and Toad with us, and left the place we once called home. We hid in abandoned, hidden areas in the day, and ran down the line during the night. It was very scary and tough, trying not to getting caught by a diesel at night and hearing the roar and growl as they passed by through the day. As days passed, we were almost near Barrow if I remember correctly. We were excited, this was our chance, we would make it, we would be safe. However, we ended up running out of coal and got spotted by a diesel. We were sent to the scrapyard at Barrow where we were put into a siding. It felt like this was the end, that it was all over. Our chances failed, and we would be cut up into the thing we tried so hard to escape. That was, until Douglas found me! He heard my cries for help and coupled me up to his return goods train. We raced onto Sodor, not even daring to turn back. And here I am now!"