Branch Line Blunders

Bulgy Breaks Off

"YA! BOO! SNUBS!" Bulgy jeered as he roared away, "They hardly knew what was happening! What a lark!"

Bulgy was very pleased with himself. Not only had he fooled the passengers that he was a railway bus, but he also pulled a fast one on Duck and Oliver.

"Free the roads from railway tyranny!" he chanted as he sped away from the yards and onto the country roads.

"Are you sure about this shortcut Bulgy?" asked his driver, "I've only ever driven you up the coast and occasionally to the branch line."

"Pah, you just keep quiet and let me do this. I've got it all under control. Now let's step on it before they give chase. I've got to beat them to the station otherwise this'll be worth nothing."

So bulgy revved his engine and charged ahead. His wheels grounding up the pavement as he sped along. Whenever he approached another car going his way, he gave a mighty honk and swerved around them, forcing them to give way on the narrow road. Suddenly, he veered sharply along his "shortcut" which led him straight to the underpass of a railway bridge. His driver was concerned.

"Can you make that?"

"No fear, I've done bridges tighter than that," rebuffed Bulgy with confidence.

"I wasn't concerned about width I was concerned about hei-" but that was all he said before he was tossed forward like spilled produce.

When the driver recovered, he pressed the accelerator but only heard the wheels whirring with an awful screeching noise. He tried and tried again until the whirring noise was drowned out by cars and lorries honking their horns at him from both sides of the bridge.

"Rotten bridge," Bulgy muttered.

"'Ello, 'ello, 'ello, what have we here then?" said a policeman who had been traveling behind Bulgy.

A swarm of passengers came flocking out like angry hens to answer for Bulgy. A man climbed up the embankment just in time to flag down Duck by yelling "Danger!". Then the passengers stopped swarming the policeman and clambered up the embankment to Duck.

"He tricked us!" they complained, "He said he was a railway bus but wouldn't accept our return tickets! He wanted us to think railways were no good! Please help us."

Duck's crew took some serious observations and decided that they could cross the bridge. Meanwhile Bulgy was protesting from down below. Duck managed to safely cross the bridge and soon the passengers crammed into the coaches and Duck was off again.

Bulgy on the other hand was still stuck under the bridge. He sat there while the train shuttle service worked, he sat as police took reports, and he sat as the traffic found other routes until the sun set and he was all alone. The next morning, some workers arrived with sledgehammers while Bulgy watched in horror.

"Oh-wo? What are those for?" he quivered.

"Take it easy now Bulgy. You're not getting smashed...at least not today. We've been paid to keep you in one piece."

Bulgy grimaced at this but was relieved. So the men set about smashing out the top of the bridge while the debris rained over Bulgy. It was just his luck that instead of lorries carrying away the rubbish, it was Douglas with some trucks who kept jeering at the stuck bus. Once the bridge was thoroughly smashed to pieces and the debris cleared, Bulgy was able to drive away easily. But what he thought would be a long drive to freedom became a short trip to a scolding.

"You silly big red bus! The Fat Controller is furious with us now and is keeping a closer eye on us than usual. You're to be mended and sent back to your route with an experienced driver. I know that he'll not tolerate any of your 'down with railways' nonsense and neither will the Fat Controller."

So Bulgy sat in the yard listening to the manager's tongue-lashing before being sent to be mended at The Works. He was quite surprised at how much he enjoyed the rest. He did not care for his view, for he could see the railway from his resting spot. Most passing engines paid no mind, Donald and Douglas never failed to give pitying glances. But the workmen were able to have him mended in a fortnight and Bulgy could ride again.

On his way back, his driver brought him to the rebuilt bridge. Instead of the brick arch, there were steel beams spanning the two embankments. Bulgy growled as he saw Duck traveling down the line. His train was packed with content passengers. Then something unexpected happened as the driver floored the accelerator. Bulgy wailed loudly and as he neared the bridge he shut his eyes tight expecting a crash! Then he felt himself slow down and opened his eyes to see he was on the other side of the bridge. His driver laughed hysterically.

"So how'd you like your new bridge eh? Pretty nifty wouldn't you say?"

But Bulgy said nothing, he just growled wishing he could be sitting in a field, resting. But I think he doesn't really mean that, don't you?