//------------------------------//
// Special Funnel 
// Story: Thomas and Friends: The Retold Adventures 
// by The Blue EM2 
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The temperatures on the Island of Sodor were beginning to fall, and the first signs of snow were beginning to emerge, particles of the silly soft stuff starting to fall wherever you looked. One day, Peter Sam made his way nervously along the Skarloey Railway. Even though he had suffered a serious accident which had damaged his funnel, the railway was yet to replace the defective part, and as a result he was rather worried about it. Now it seemed as if the biting wind was doing all in its power to blow it away, a prospect which un-nerved Peter Sam greatly, not to mention Silverstream.

Silverstream looked him over as she checked for damage at the end of another day's work. "The bolts are loose!" she said, shivering despite her warm winter clothing. "We're lucky that it didn't come loose today!"

"I've been telling everybody for weeks that my funnel feels wobbly," Peter Sam said sadly. "But nobody ever seems to pay attention to me."

Silverstream looked sad. "I pay attention to you," she said, with a smile, as she picked up a spanner and adjusted the bolts.

"At least the manager said I'll be getting a new one soon," Peter Sam sighed. "He says it will be something special."

"Honestly, you and your special funnel!" laughed Sir Handel. The other engines were fond of Peter Sam, but the issues with his funnel had resulted in him becoming the butt of jokes on the railway.

The weather got worse as the days went by. The wind got heavier, and it began to rain. It rained and it rained for a fortnight, and the rain turned solid ground into streams of mud that threatened to wash much of the line away. As a result, Rusty and Sandbar worked double time to convey workmen and crucial equipment up and down the line to where it was needed. They also assisted in dislodging trees and rocks, in order to allow water to flow freely and prevent landslides. But one day, Sandbar brought bad news to Rusty.

"There's been a flood and landslide near the tunnel!" he said, as he jumped into Rusty's cab. "The entire trackbed was washed away, and the rails are currently hanging in thin air. We must get up their and fix the damage as fast as we can!"

The repairs to the line took many weeks, as the decision was made to convert the old trackbed into a bridge. As time went by, the rain faded, and the weather grew colder. The water was replaced by ice and frost, but at long last the bridge was complete. A few days later, Peter Sam puffed carefully over the bridge. He then heard Silverstream sigh. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"It's cold, and I prefer summer," Silverstream admitted, sadly. "I've always liked going swimming, and you can't do that if it's cold. You get hypothermia."

"That must be horrible," Peter Sam said. "Oh look! Here's the tunnel!"

This was the very same tunnel that Duncan had derailed in, and as a result was taken with a degree of caution. The tunnel is curved, and as a result a driver cannot see all the way through to the end of it. The train slowly entered the tunnel, plunging into the blackness of the tunnel, and had almost cleared it when-

"OW!"

Peter Sam then emerged from the other end of the tunnel, and came to a stop, with a rather noticable component missing. His funnel was gone, sheared off by forces unknown.

Silverstream was shocked. "Peter Sam!" she cried. "Are you OK?"

"Apart from the fact my funnel has just been torn off, I'm OK," Peter Sam replied. "Any idea what caused it?"

"Here's what caused it," said the guard. In his hands he held a very long piece of ice. "This stalactite was hanging off the top of the tunnel roof, and collided with your funnel. You were in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"All caused by a well boiled icicle," Silverstream sighed, unaware of the fact she had just commited a spoonerism.

"I think you mean 'a well oiled bycicle'," Peter Sam said, unhelpfully. "Were you always hissing in Mrs Harshvoice's mystery lessons?"

Peter Sam set off once more, but the journey was very difficult. The role of the chimney is to draw exhaust gases out of the boiler and up the funnel, but without it these gases could not leave the boiler. This made travel very slow indeed, until Silverstream spotted something lying next to the side of the track. It was long, and old, and made of copper. "Look there!" she called. "It's a drain pipe! It'll be perfect for a makeshift funnel, which will at least control the smoke levels!" With some pieces of wire, she attached it to Peter Sam's smokebox, wrapping the excess around his buffers, and off they went. They arrived at the station at Kirk Ronan, but when they went to the yard the other engines were waiting.

"Hello Silverstream!" Gallus said. "Are you practicing your DIY skills?"

"Yeah, because that looks totally ridiculous," Smoulder laughed.

Sir Handel smirked, and just then he and Duncan began to sing, in two part harmony.

“Peter Sam said again and again,
his new funnel will put ours to shame.
Went into the tunnel
(And) lost his old funnel.
Now his famous new funnel's a drain!”

However, one engine wasn't amused. "Silence!" snapped Skarloey. "How would you like it if you were the one being laughed at?"

"Yeah!" Ocellus added. "Could any of you have improvised something like that?"

Duncan rolled his eyes. "Some people and engines have no sense of humour," he grumbled.

"Yeah, calm down Ocellus," Gallus snorted.



The teasing went on and on, until one day, Mr Percival arrived with a strange rectangular box. It was made of metal, and painted black, and looked very odd indeed. "Hello Peter Sam!" he called. "This is your new funnel!"

"Oh dear," Peter Sam sighed. "Somebody's squashed it."

Mr Percival laughed. "This funnel is called a Giesl ejector. It was invented by a Swiss engineer, and works by increasing the draft area. The blastpipe in the smokebox is replaced by multiple smaller ones, increasing the draft area, which is why this chimney has this long shape to it. There's another engine on the mainland called City of Wells who's fitted with one of these, and according to his driver it works marvellously."

The new funnel dramatically transformed Peter Sam's power output. He could now draw hot air much more easily, and he was a lot more powerful because of it. Even Sir Handel was impressed.

"I don't understand it!" he exclaimed. "He can just stroll along as if it's nobodies business. He makes work looks easy!" Safe to say, Duncan and Sir Handel don't laugh at Peter Sam's funnel now!"