Thomas and Friends: The Retold Adventures

by The Blue EM2

Skarloey Remembers

Midway down the North Western main line, between the stations of Kellsthorpe Road and Vicarstown, lies the station of Crovan's Gate. This station is very significant to the railways of Sodor, as it was where the metals of the North Western's predecessors, the Sodor and Mainland, the Tidmouth, Knapford and Ellsbridge, and the Wellsworth and Suddery Railway, had all converged. As a result, it had been decided to build the locomotive works here, as it made a perfect place to maintain engines as locomotives were changed over as trains went from one company's railway lines to another. And this works had gradually become larger and larger as time went by, with the facility now boasting two large maintenance shops, a smelting works, an iron and steel foundry, and three erecting shops, each with overhead gantry cranes that moved up and down, capable of lifting an entire engine boiler by themselves. It was here now that the bulk of locomotive maintenance and overhaul was performed, although a handful of jobs still had to be handled by engineering firms on the mainland, such as Henry's repairs after his crash, which had been done at Crewe Heritage Centre due to the severity of the damage.

However, our focus lies with another railway line that sat next to the main line, just outside the works. This railway was much smaller, with rails that were much closer together than those on the main line. In fact, these rails were so close together that the engines were very small indeed. This railway was also very old, having opened more than 100 years earlier, but there were very few on Sodor who actually knew about this railway, or indeed where it went or who its engines were. But one day, one beautiful, summer day, that was about to change.

Sir Toppham Hatt had sent Edward off to the works at Crovan's Gate in order to receive routine maintenance, and Applejack drove him down the line to the works. The sun shone and the breeze blew as the 4-4-0 charged down the track, running light engine until it reached the station by the works. When Edward rolled to a smooth stop, coasting beautifully into the platform, a girl got off the footplate and stepped onto the platform.

The girl had blue skin, a very light blue almost like the sky, and her eyes were of a similar shade, a light blue set against white eyeballs. Her hair was reddish pink in tone, and had this whispy tone to it, as well as a gentle, rolling flow down her back. She wore a red dress with black slip on shoes, and was seemingly very nervous.

"Are you sure it's OK for me to head over there?" she asked Applejack.

"Aw, c'mon Ocellus!" the farm girl replied. "Ya ought ta be fine over at the narrow gauge station! Nobody there bites."

"It'll be a good day, that I am certain," Edward replied. Just then the signal dropped and the foreman called.

"Edward!" he shouted. "You're cleared onto road 3. Stop there so we can do a preliminary check, and then we'll take you into the works for dismantling."

"Yes sir!" the old engine replied, whistling as he did so. "Goodbye Ocellus! Best of luck!" And with that, the engine and the farmer steamed away into the distance.

Ocellus picked her way over the narrow gauge tracks over to an old shed, which had two covered roads and a lean-to that covered the remaining two tracks. She stepped nervously toward it, and looked around. To say Ocellus had confidence issues is an understatement. She was often wracked with anxiety, and was a bit of a worrier. However, she wanted to try and help, and so walked over to the shed, looking around for any sign of life.

Nobody was there. The place was totally deserted. Not a soul was in sight, which spooked Ocellus even further.

"Hello!" said a broad, Welsh voice, from somewhere under the lean-to. "May I ask your name?"

Ocellus jumped ten feet in the air. "Who's there?" she asked, looking around.

"Calm down," the voice said again. "It's only me." Ocellus stepped toward the voice, and saw where it was coming from.

Sitting under the lean-to was an old tank engine, built to the narrow gauge, with a short frame and a curved saddle tank that sat atop its boiler, as well as four driving wheels and two more under its cab. However, the saddle tank did not cover its firebox, next to which sat a pair of coal bunkers, and it had a cab sitting over its cab controls (which was entirely sensible, if you think about it), with two porthole windows to allow the driver to see out. The engine was painted a deep red, with blue lining on his coal bunkers, and he also had a pair of outside cylinders, behind which sat a tangle of valve gear. "My name is Skarloey," the engine said, the voice confirming the engine's identity as male, with a kind smile that radiated warmth and friendliness. "What's your name?"

"I'm Olivia," the girl said quietly. "But you can call me Ocellus if you want. Everybody does around here." She chuckled nervously.

"I take it you are coming to work on the railway?" Skarloey asked.

"Yes," Ocellus replied. "But they didn't tell me about you!"

"I guessed they wouldn't have," Skarloey said sadly. "The manger has just bought two new engines for the railway, which I suppose leaves me somewhat redundant around here. I'm very old, and I need new parts, and as a result they chose to let me rest here until they raise the money to mend me. It's a nice place to rest, I will admit. But I miss Rheneas."

"Who's Rheneas?" Ocellus asked.

"Rheneas is my brother," Skarloey replied. "He and I were built at the same time in 1865. He's old as well, and yesterday they took him away on a lorry to some place on the mainland, Cromford, I think it was. They've taken him to a place called Israel Newton to have a new boiler made. I wish I could have a new boiler made, and some new fittings. I miss pulling trains up and down the line. Even the coaches, although they can be a bit of a handful."

"Do the coaches have names?" Ocellus asked.

"Why, yes!" Skarloey continued. "No proper railway would have coaches without names. Their names are Agnes, Ruth, Jemima, Lucy, and Beatrice. All of them are four wheeler coaches, but Agnes has first class seating, which means she has seats with cushions. The others only have hard wooden benches for passengers to sit on. But we always must have Beatrice. Even though she often smells of cheese and fish, she has a little window so that the guard can sell tickets, and as a result, we cannot leave her behind. Not all the stations on the line are staffed anymore, you know. We don't have the staff these days."

He then continued, a smile forming on his face as he remembered the old days. "Rheneas and I always took turns at pulling the passenger and goods trains. Everybody knew us, and we knew everybody. We whistled to all who came to watch us fly by, which was most days and a lot of people, but the school playground was where we were happiest, watching all the children run over during their breaktime in order to see us steam by with the trains. The passengers always thought they were waving at them."

Both engine and girl laughed at this, before Skarloey continued. "We always took your passengers up to Skarloey Lake, which is a somewhat ironic name, given that 'Skarloey' means lake. The return trip was always pleasant, because the villagers would travel down to the main line in order to do their shopping in Crovan's Gate town. And every single time, we had to wait for Mrs Last, who never arrived at the scheduled arrival and departure times! We would never leave her behind though, it would simply be improper. On these days, most of the carriages were too full, and so the third class passengers travelled in Agnes. This annoyed her to no end. 'First Class Coach, Third Class People', she would complain. I simply told her to stop being a fusspot, which usually did the trick!"

Ocellus smiled, then gasped as she looked at the time. "Sorry Skarloey, but I've got to go now. I'll see you again tomorrow!"

"Thank you for being so respectful, and listening so attentively," Skarloey replied. "I look forward to working with you." As the girl walked away, his eyes closed, and he dreamed of days gone by, of friends past and present. For although things may come and things may go, and whether they go fast or slow, nothing lasts forever. But friendship carries on.

Comments

[Banshee531]

Huh. So the student six will be the narrow-gauge drivers. I can dig that. Sandbar could be with Peter Sam and Gallus can be with Sir Handel

[SonicStreak5344]

10072226
I got a feeling Sir Handel is going to cause trouble soon since we all know what happenes in one of the tv episodes of the Model series. Remeber when he accidentally bumped those coaches and they bumped him back to for the sudden stop.

[The Blue EM2]

10072226
Yes. A lot of people thought I'd go with the CMC, but I'm saving them for later.

[The Blue EM2]

10072256
Very true.

[Magi Tail Welkin]

You know, I've never really gotten why the modern show and the fan community have given Skarloey and Rheneas Welsh accents. Yes they're based on engines who work on a Welsh railway ([Talyllyn and Dolgoch), but according to the book the four of them were built in England and then shipped off their respective homes. So really, Skarloey and Rheneas should have Sudrian accents, whatever they would sound like.

This American documentary showcases these Talyllyn Railway as the Reverend Awdry knew it. Indeed, I think it feature the Reverend in a little comedic sequence.

[The Blue EM2]

10072884
Railway with a Heart of Gold? That's a classic. Awdry indeed makes a brief cameo, throwing a switch.

My logic regarding the accents is that Sudric, as a language, is modelled on Welsh (the parallels between the words 'Rheneas' and 'Dolgoch', for instance). Hence, it makes sense for their voices to sound Welsh to an English ear (especially to Ocellus, who, based on her voice, has American/Canadian heritage, though that's because Devyn Dalton speaks with a Canadian accent).

[Magi Tail Welkin]

10072888
Well, its a mix of Welsh and Manx, but I imagine I wouldn't know a Manx accent, I've never been to the Isle of Man.

[The Blue EM2]

10072892
Me neither. Incidentally, John Bellis, originally slated to voice Thomas in TATMR, was dropped as Americans complained they couldn't understand his Manx accent.

[Magi Tail Welkin]

10072920
I can understand why, Britt Alcroft did choose narrators and voice actors on the spur of the moment just because she like how they sounded, that's why she chose Ringo Starr.

[The Blue EM2]

10072928
John Lennon was originally under consideration.

But going back to the original point, I think they used Welsh accents for Skarloey and Rheneas to emphasise how long they've been on the Island; notice how Rusty and Duncan don't have Welsh accents.

[Magi Tail Welkin]

10072953
If we're going by that logic Sir Handel and Peter Sam should have Sudrian accents as well, as should Duke.

[The Blue EM2]

10072955
They should, in my opinion.

[Thomlight Sparkle 1]

Ocellus! Ocellus is working on the Skarloey Railway! I am absolutely pleased! I bet my bottom dollar Gallus will be with Sir Handel, Sandbar - Peter Sam, Smolder - Duncan

[The Blue EM2]

10073814
In about four minutes, you'll be able to see if you bet correctly.

[Wessexbrony]

10072953
I think that it was also a nod to their real life counterparts. (There are some early SiF dubs that gave Peter Sam an Irish accent courtesy of Chris Signore.)

[Wessexbrony]

Fun fact: When I reviewed the Talyllyn Railway on TripAdvisor, I used the opening line of narration from Four Little Engines (the episode, that is.)

[The Blue EM2]

10075274
Could you send me the link please?

[Wessexbrony]

10075282
Here you go.

[JimmyHook19]

For although things may come and things may go, and whether they go fast or slow, nothing lasts forever. But friendship carries on.

Noice use for of one of the lyrics from the Friendship Through the Ages song. X3

[The Blue EM2]

10078657
Yes. The fact I chose to use the Young Six for the Skarloey Railway crew surprised many.

[ScisetShimmerEvan]

Ocellus picked her way over the narrow gauge tracks over to an old shed, which had two covered roads and a lean-to that covered the remaining two tracks. She stepped nervously toward it, and looked around. To say Ocellus had confidence issues is an understatement. She was often wracked with anxiety, and was a bit of a worrier. However, she wanted to try and help, and so walked over to the shed, looking around for any sign of life.

Looks like we have something in common, as I'm quite a worrier too.

"I guessed they wouldn't have," Skarloey said sadly. "The manger has just bought two new engines for the railway, which I suppose leaves me somewhat redundant around here. I'm very old, and I need new parts, and as a result they chose to let me rest here until they raise the money to mend me. It's a nice place to rest, I will admit. But I miss Rheneas."

Doesn't he mean manager?

"Rheneas is my brother," Skarloey replied. "He and I were built at the same time in 1865. He's old as well, and yesterday they took him away on a lorry to some place on the mainland, Cromford, I think it was. They've taken him to a place called Israel Newton to have a new boiler made. I wish I could have a new boiler made, and some new fittings. I miss pulling trains up and down the line. Even the coaches, although they can be a bit of a handful."

So your making them both siblings in this story compared to them not being brothers in the tv show eh, nice.

"Why, yes!" Skarloey continued. "No proper railway would have coaches without names. Their names are Agnes, Ruth, Jemima, Lucy, and Beatrice. All of them are four wheeler coaches, but Agnes has first class seating, which means she has seats with cushions. The others only have hard wooden benches for passengers to sit on. But we always must have Beatrice. Even though she often smells of cheese and fish, she has a little window so that the guard can sell tickets, and as a result, we cannot leave her behind. Not all the stations on the line are staffed anymore, you know. We don't have the staff these days."

How unfortunate.

Both engine and girl laughed at this, before Skarloey continued. "We always took your passengers up to Skarloey Lake, which is a somewhat ironic name, given that 'Skarloey' means lake. The return trip was always pleasant, because the villagers would travel down to the main line in order to do their shopping in Crovan's Gate town. And every single time, we had to wait for Mrs Last, who never arrived at the scheduled arrival and departure times! We would never leave her behind though, it would simply be improper. On these days, most of the carriages were too full, and so the third class passengers travelled in Agnes. This annoyed her to no end. 'First Class Coach, Third Class People', she would complain. I simply told her to stop being a fusspot, which usually did the trick!"

Huh, never knew skarloey meant/stood for something.

"Thank you for being so respectful, and listening so attentively," Skarloey replied. "I look forward to working with you." As the girl walked away, his eyes closed, and he dreamed of days gone by, of friends past and present. For although things may come and things may go, and whether they go fast or slow, nothing lasts forever. But friendship carries on.

I see what you did there at the end.