On Sodor, there was a roundhouse near Tidmouth. In this shed lived three engines. One of them was a small 4-4-0 that was painted blue with red lining. He had a narrow boiler, a round-topped firebox, and a Fowler tender. His name was Edward, and he was old. He hadn’t run in a long time, and the other engines mocked him over this fact endlessly.
“They won’t choose you today!” they said. “They want big engines like us!”
This was, indeed, a fair point. Both of these engines were bigger than Edward, and were both stronger than him. But this was of little encouragement to poor Edward, who was saddened by this. All he wanted was to come out and pull trains again, but he knew that the chances of that were very slim indeed.
Then one day, things changed forever, and everything for Edward improved.
It was very early in the morning, and the Sun had only just opened its sleepy eye upon the island, showering it in its glorious rays. The engines slowly opened their eyes, and yawned.
“I wonder who will go out today?” one of them asked.
“I think it will be me,” said another.
“No, it will definitely be me!” the first snapped back, sounding cross.
Edward just sat there sadly. Nobody will ever want to see me again, he thought, his face truly miserable.
But just then, a lorry pulled up just outside the shed, and a door opened on the left-hand side. Out of this door stepped a girl. She wore a pair of brown work boots with a pair of jeans, suitable for a hot, messy working environment. She also wore a belt with an apple on the buckle, a white collared shirt with green highlights on the sleeves and collar, and a brown Stetson hat. She had a light orange complexion, with brilliant emerald eyes and long blonde hair, done up in a ponytail.
A voice called to her. “Don’t be back too late Applejack!”
“Ah won’t Pa, now don’t ya worry!” the girl replied, before the lorry set off once again. She then began to walk over to the shed, and stopped at the side of it.
“Erm, excuse me?” she asked. “Ah’ve been told Ah’m workin’ with an ‘Edward’ today. Ah was wonderin’ if anyone could tell me where he is?”
“I’m Edward,” Edward told her.
The girl looked around her. “Sorry, but Ah can’t see where ya are. Y’all wouldn’t mind tellin’ me where ya are?”
Edward smiled. “Walk around the front of the 4-4-0 and you’ll be in the right place.”
The girl stepped forward, around the front, and stopped as her jaw dropped open. “What in tarnation?”
Edward laughed. “I can see you’ve never met a non-Faceless Vehicle before.”
The girl continued to stare. “Say what now?” she asked.
“A sentient railway vehicle!” Edward replied. “We all have personalities and emotions, though nobody is quite sure how, and as a result we often operate trains on our own. We do have crews though, and I believed you said we were meant to be working together.” He paused, before thinking it would be a good time to break the ice somewhat. “My name is Edward.”
The girl paused as well for a moment, before mustering up the courage to reply. “Mah name’s Annie. Annie J. Smith. But ya can call me Applejack, it’s what everyone else does.”
“Nice to meet you Applejack,” Edward returned the compliment, and Applejack headed over to light his fire.
She was certainly good at it, as she had a good head of steam going in next to no time. She reached up for the whistle chord and pulled it down, a wonderful sound echoing across the yard. Satisfied that all was ready, she opened the cylinder cocks and opened the regulator. Steam flowed from Edward’s cylinders as he puffed over the turntable and onto the mainline.
The other engines were very cross at being left behind, but Edward paid them no heed. Running through the yard, he eventually found the carriage sidings and backed onto the coaches waiting for him, a set of dependable 50-foot bogie coaches. He rolled into them very gently, and they were grateful.
“Thank you, Edward,” they said. “You’re a lot less rough than those other engines on the line.”
Applejack shook her head. “Now the coaches speak. Ah’m in fer a weird day.”
After a short run, they came to the first station on the line, and rolled to a smooth and gentle stop in the platform. Applejack leaned out of the cab and took the opportunity to hop onto the platform, standing in front of Edward.
“So, how’d ya end up on Sodor Eddy?” she asked warmly, a smile typical of Southern hospitality on her face.
“Well,” Edward replied, “I was built in 1896 by the Furness Railway, a company just on the mainland off Sodor. I worked hard for them for many, many years, but eventually the trains became too heavy for me and my brothers and sisters. So, in 1915, I was sold on to the newly formed North Western Railway, and here I have been ever since.” He paused, and looked at her. “I must admit, I was not expecting to find a girl from the Deep South on this island. What’s your story, Applejack?”
Applejack smiled. “Well, Ah was born in Oklahoma, as were my brother and sister. However, times got hard there recently, so Ma, Pa, mahself, mah siblin’s and my granny and grandpa all moved here, to Arlesburg.”
“Arlesborough,” Edward corrected.
“Thanks,” Applejack replied. “Anyways, we own the orchard there, but getting' the apples ta market by road’s a pain. If only somebody would reopen the old branchline that ran ta there! Then we could move the apples easily.”
Just then, a voice shouted. “Edward, we need to go! Allocated departure time!”
Edward looked back. “There is no guard!” he replied. “I can’t possibly depart without a guard!”
So, they waited. And waited. And waited. “Where in tarnation is that guard?” Applejack fretted.
Edward sighed. “At this rate we may have to leave without him.”
Applejack gasped. “Ya wouldn’t now!”
Just then, a loud whistle came down the street, and there was the guard, running with his flags in one hand, his whistle in his pocket, and some jam sandwiches in a box held within his other hand. He jumped aboard the guard’s coach at the back of the train, blew his whistle, and waved the green flag.
Applejack jumped back onboard, and blew the whistle. Away they pulled, running through the countryside beautifully, stopping at every station from there to Vicarstown at the other end of the island.
Edward had a lovely day. When Applejack backed him into the shed later that day, she stoood in front of him afterward.
“That was a great day Eddie,” she said. “Ah look forward ta doin’ that again.”
“You’ve got some soot on your face,” Edward pointed out.
Applejack looked in a mirror. “Ah shoot!” she replied. “And all over mah clothes too! What will Ma and Pa think?”
She had no time to think about that, as a loud horn honked in the yard.
“Sorry, gotta go! See ya soon!”
“See you soon!” Edward called. He then looked over to the other engines.
“I may be going out tomorrow as well,” he said. “What do you all think?”
The other two simply grumbled profusely, but Edward heard none of it, as he was fast asleep.