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// Double Header 
// Story: Thomas and Friends: The Retold Adventures 
// by The Blue EM2 
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After Gordon's visit to the mainland, the media frenzy that resulted (the news dominated the airwaves for weeks, and people had thronged the station of St. Pancras in the hope of seeing another steam engine) had led a lot of people to visit the Island of Sodor, the only part of the UK rail system to still utilise steam engines in every day, revenue earning service. As a result, trains became crowded and overfull, and people were having to stand in vestibules and corridors. This was not much of a change from usual, as the enthusiasts liked to stand there and hold their cameras out to film them whistling along the track. Nontheless, there were silly people and NIMBYs concerned with safety, and as a result Sir Toppham Hatt put an emergency timetable into place, which cranked up the number of trains to such a degree the Island rivalled Clapham Junction for traffic levels.

One day, Gordon flew along the line with the Express. Because of the new timetable, he had to do the run in a fraction of the time he was used to doing it in, and because of this he was very impatient. "Come on!" he shouted to the coaches. "Come on! Come on! We're going to be late, and we can't have that!"

"Take it easy Gordon," Rainbow Dash reminded him. "We're running on time, we don't need to go any faster! Not to mention we're doing the speed limit as it is."

Whenever Gordon finished one run along the line, he almost immediately had to be put on the other end of the train in order to go back again. "Oh well," he sighed. "I enjoy these good long runs along the line. They keep me in shape after all, and allow me to stretch my wheels. I don't want to be like Green Arrow, after all."

"What happened to him?" Rainbow Dash asked, surprised. Gordon had never mentioned a Green Arrow before.

"His cylinder block cracked, so they put him in a museum."

"Yikes!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. That did sound like an unpleasant fate.

That evening, Sir Toppham Hatt came by, finding Rainbow Dash snoring on the footplate. He sounded a loud hooter.

"Argh!" Rainbow Dash cried, snapping to attention. "Yes sir?"

"I can see that all the hard work you and Gordon have been doing is starting to take its toll," he said. "As a result, I'm giving you two a few days off to recover. In the meantime, James and Rarity shall do your work for you."

"I'll be honoured, sir!" James exclaimed.

"Hey, go easy on him Rares!" Rainbow Dash called. "The express is pretty heavy."

"I know that!" Rarity exclaimed. "Jamesy and I took it one time, remember?"

"I remember all too well," Gordon said, his face glum.



To say that James enjoyed working the train would be an understatement. He flew through stations showing off his bright red paint with golden stripes, and was determined to go as fast as Gordon.

"Slow down James!" Rarity exclaimed. "You can't go as fast as Gordon, and you have a much higher centre of gravity!"

"I can go as fast!" James cried. "Somebody has to be the favourite!"

Rarity facepalmed. "Please don't start bouncing," she sighed.

Later on, James encountered Toby and Flash Sentry (who, you'll remember, was his driver). "Hello Toby!" he called.

"Good morning James," Toby replied. "What brings you here?"

"I'm an important engine, you see," James continued. "Everbody knows that I am regular as clockwork. It is a fact! Never late, always on time."

"Says you," Toby sighed, annoyed. He couldn't stand James' prideful babbling most days.

"Yeah, weren't you held one time because of unfitted trucks with dodgy brakes?" Flash asked. Before anybody could reply, Sir Toppham Hatt arrived.

"Ah, Toby, there you are!" he said. "You need an overhaul, so you must go to Crovan's Gate at once."

Toby looked sad. "Can I take Henrietta sir?" he asked, sadly.

"No," Sir Toppham Hatt replied. "Whatever would the passengers think? Flash, you can stay with Toby whilst he's being repaired and keep him company."

"Yes sir," Flash replied, and climbed back onto Toby's footplate. He opened the regulator and Toby steamed sadly away.

On the way, they met Percy and Pinkie, who had at last returned to work. "Don't worry about Henrietta!" Percy exclaimed. "We'll look after her!"

"Yeah!" Pinkie added. "She'll be fine!"

Toby rolled along the main line sadly. His wheels are small, so he cannot go very fast, and in addition to this his water tanks are of a low capacity. This means that they don't hold much water at all, so he has to stop regulularly to fill up. This means he is poorly suited for long distance running, and is usually confined to branch lines. Just up ahead, a signal was visible. "Good!" he said. "There's a water tower near here! I'll just go and fill up there, then wait in the loop until the train has gone by. Then I can continue on my way and get to Crovan's Gate."

Flash brought Toby to a stop, picked up the hose, and ran it into a connection port on Toby's frames. The tanks started to fill, as they weren't filled in the same manner as on other engines. A hose couldn't be dropped into the top of the tanks due to their being no obvious place to put such a hole. The tanks were half full when suddenly the signalman came over. He was new, and didn't know Toby.

"Oi! Clear the line!" he shouted.

Flash went over to him. "Toby here needs to refill, as his tanks are only half full."

"There's no time!" the signalman replied. "James is calling at the platform and you're blocking it."

"Can't you just move us to the middle track, wait for James to pass, then let us back to the water tower?" Flash asked.

"No!" the signalman snapped. "Now get going! We can't have the line blocked! Get water at the next station!"

Flash shook his head and got onto the footplate, released the brakes, and opened the regulator. "What a jerk," he said to Toby.

"I know, I know," Toby sighed, who was now very sad. The run along the main line depleted his water tanks, and Flash put his fire out in order to prevent damage to the firebox or boiler. They rolled to a complete stop on the line, with no way of moving.

"I'll phone the station," Flash sighed, taking out his mobile phone and dialling the station master.

"Kellsthorpe Road, how can I help you?"

"Hi. This is Flash Sentry, driver of No. 7 Toby. We've stalled on the main line between here and Crovan's Gate."

"I'm halting all traffic on the Up line immediately. James isn't going to like this." The line clicked shut.

Toby sighed. "I bet James won't like this one bit."

He was right. James was furious. "I'll be late!" he said.

"This is my fault," the signalman said sadly. "I didn't understand about Toby."

Just then, Rarity had an idea. "How about James and I push Toby to Crovan's Gate? Then the works engine can rescue him and move him to the works!"

"What?" James exclaimed. "Me, push Toby and pull my train? Honestly, some people are so demanding." And off he went, complaining the entire way. When he found Toby, he shunted into him rudely. "Move it!" he bellowed, and began to push the tram engine along the line, working doubly hard as he did so.

When they got to Crovan's Gate, a huge crowd had assembled. They looked and pointed at the scene before them. "What happened here?" asked a man with a flat cap, as the works diesel recovered Toby and took him away.

Flash smiled. "Well, James broke down and Toby had to pull him into the station. That's why he's so tired."

"What?" Rarity cried. "Flash, don't be ridiculous!"

"Ha ha!" James laughed sarcastically, and vanished in a cloud of smoke.