For today’s story, we start somewhere altogether different. This story does not begin on Sodor, but rather in a county in England, called Norfolk, in East Anglia. This county has many railways, be we are going to be looking at a more unusual one today. For this railway was nor like any other railway. It ran along conventional lines at points in its run, but it also ran alongside roads for part of its run. As a result, this railway was dubbed a tramway, and it ran between a village called Upwell, in Norfolk, through a number of smaller communities in Norfolk such as Outwell and Elmbridge, before crossing the River Nene at Wisbech East, in Cambridgeshire. A freight only extension continued onto the Midland & Great Northern Joint Railway at Wisbech North a long time ago, but that had long since closed when the Midland & Great Northern had closed, cutting the railway back permanently to Wisbech East. This railway was the Wisbech and Upwell Tramway, a wonderful agricultural line that ran for 10 miles and had opened in 1883 to convey passengers and goods.
Down this line, a small engine with a coach and some trucks could be seen running. He looked most unusual, as he didn’t look much like an engine at all. His wheels were not visible, as they were covered by side-plates, and as a result he didn’t resemble the average imagination’s vision of a steam engine. He also had a pair of cowcatchers, on the front and back, which were there to ensure that no marauding cows and other such nature would wander onto the line and cause problems. He also lacked a conventional appearance, with a body made of wood and a high roof, in addition to front and rear cab windows, allowing him to be driven from either direction. However, he only had a face on one end, and this face was currently looking ahead.
This engine was called Toby, and he was a steam tram. He was currently coupled to a coach called Henrietta, an old four-wheeler with two balconies at either end, and four 13-ton plank wagons.
He takes trucks from the farms and villages to the mainline, and is cheerful to everyone he meets. To say his coach, who is called Henrietta, has seen better days would be an understatement, as she needs new axle boxes and a fresh coat of paint to boot.
“It’s not fair!” she grumbles, as she can remember the glory days when every one of her seats was full, and nine trucks rattled behind her. Nowadays, they are lucky if they get 3 or 4. This is because the farms are increasing sending their goods by road on big lorries that clog up local roads. Toby is always very careful, and hasn’t had an accident in years, compared to the buses, lorries, or cars, which seem to have an accident at least once a weak.
Rounding out this trio of characters, alongside Toby and Henrietta, is Toby’s driver. He has amber skin and bright blue hair, coupled with a pair of blue eyes. He typically wears a pair of blue trainers with a pair of blue jeans, alongside a white T-shirt with a lightning bolt symbol over a shield on it, as well as a black jacket with red and white lining. His name is Frank Selby, though most people call him Flash Sentry, and he has been Toby’s driver for a short while now. Nobody could understand why he took the job. “The railway is closing soon!” they all said, but Flash simply ignored them, as he enjoyed working with Toby. But they did have a point. After all, the buses were full, and Henrietta was empty.
One afternoon, after a quiet morning, Toby and Flash Sentry pulled into Wisbech East station, only to see a group of people standing on the platform. This was an astonishing sight, given that people rarely if ever travelled by rail around here. They must have come in by train somehow.
The group consisted of a woman in a big hat, two children, and a stout gentleman who was standing with them. Having a few minutes until they needed to run around, Flash hopped off Toby’s footplate and went a collected a cup of tea from the workmen’s hut. When he came back, however, he noticed the family were looking at Toby closely.
“Come on grandfather!” called the boy to the man. “Just look at this engine! I’ve never seen one like it before!”
Flash was about to speak to him when the man started speaking. “That’s a tram engine, Stephen,” he explained.
The girl looked surprised “Is it electric?” she asked.
Toby suddenly let off steam, whilst Flash spat out his tea in shock. “ELECTRIC?!” he and the tram engine said together, in unison.
“Shh! Shh!” hissed ‘Stephen’, to the girl. “I think you’ve upset them.”
The girl just looked even more confused. “But I thought all trams were electric,” she continued.
“Most trams are,” the stout gentleman explained. “But this is a steam tram, and I believe the last of his class.”
“LNER J70, that’s correct,” Flash told him, having regained his composure. “My name’s Flash Sentry, and I’m his driver. His name is Toby.”
The stout gentleman extended his hand. “I’m Bertram Toppham Hatt, though you may call me Bertram.”
They were suddenly interrupted by the children. “Can we go on it grandfather, please?”
Bertram smiled. “I suppose check-in at our accommodation can wait. May we purchase tickets, please?”
“Please speak to the guard for tickets,” Flash told him.
The family scrambled aboard, the guard blew his whistle and waved his green flag, and away they went. “Hip hip hooray!” cried Henrietta, happy she had passengers once again. But Toby did not share her enthusiasm.
“Electric indeed! Electric indeed!” he snorted, as he puffed down the line, past farm and field.
“Toby,” Flash reminded him, as she adjusted the regulator, “please be glad that we have passengers. We don’t know if or when we’ll get any more.”
Toby immediately forgot to be cross, and suddenly ran much more smoothly.
Once they got back to Wisbech East, Bertram came around to speak to them. “Your driver told me that your name was Toby,” he said. “Is this true?”
“Yes sir, it is,” Toby replied.
“Well, thank you both for a nice run,” Bertram said, as he and his family headed to the car. Both Flash and Toby felt a lot better almost immediately.
“That gentleman is a man who knows how to speak to engines,” Toby noted, to nobody in particular.
The children came every day for a fortnight to ride on the line, sometimes riding with the guard, and at others in the empty trucks. On their last trip, Flash invited them onto the footplate, where they enjoyed seeing the world rolling toward them from the driver’s perspective.
Everyone was sad when they had to go away. Bertram and his family thanked everyone, and Toby rang his bell as he pulled away. “Come again soon!” he called, as Flash drove him to his shed.
“We will! We will!” they called, and waved until Toby was out of sight.
The months went by, and things got worse. There were fewer trucks, and next to no passengers. Then the bombshell hit one morning when Flash opened up the shed.
“It’s the last day Toby,” he told him, as he hopped onto his footplate and lit his fire. “According to management, the line is to close tomorrow.”
The train was absolutely packed, as the townsfolk had turned out wanting one last ride on the branch. Ironically, this quantity of passengers would have saved the branch from closure, but they all joked and sang on the train as they rolled along the line. Flash and Toby wished they wouldn’t.
“Goodbye Toby!” they said, at the end of the line that evening. “We’re sorry your line is closing down, and we’ll miss you very much.”
“If you actually cared, you wouldn’t have taken the bus,” Toby thought. “Thank you,” he said. “I will miss you all too.” And he went away to his shed.
Flash Sentry closed up the doors for the last time, and walked away, as he now had to find a new line of work. Toby sat miserably in the shed.
“Nobody wants me,” he whispered, and as he did so, a single tear rolled out of his eye and landed on the rails below.
The next morning, the shed door was suddenly flung open. There was Flash, looking happier than ever before!
“What are you so happy about?” he asked, in his broad East Anglian accent.
“Listen to this!” Flash replied. “It’s from that Bertram fellow!”
Toby listened and-
-but I shan’t say any more, or I shall spoil the next story.