It was evening on the Skarloey Railway, and Skarloey himself was resting gently, dozing in the early evening sun. At the same time, Ocellus had taken out her cleaning kit, and was currently busy polishing his brasswork and varnishing his paint until it shone.
Skarloey wanted to rest, but Ocellus wanted to talk with him. "Oh my!" she said. "When did I last polish your brasswork? It's in a right state, you know, and this has to be corrected."
"And I'm trying to shleep," Skarloey said in a tired voice. "You're jusht a fushpot, thatsh all." And off to sleep he went, dreaming of the old days with Rheneas. The pair had run the railway together almost on their own, but sadly Rheneas had had to go away to a place on the mainland in order to be mended. Skarloey missed Rheneas. He looked forward to seeing him again, and hoped that it would be soon. "Stuck in mud," he said quietly. "Bucking bronco, me? Ha!"
But Skarloey's happy dream was interrupted by Ocellus once again. "Skarloey," she said. "Don't you want to look good for when Rheneas comes back?"
Skarloey's eyes shot open, and he looked about in alarm. "What?" he asked. "When?"
"Pretty soon, but we don't know exactly when," Ocellus replied, cleaning up her kit. "But as you want to sleep now, I'll come back and do it tomorrow. Wouldn't want to disturb you, would I?" and she began to walk away.
"Ocellus!" Skarloey called. "Do I really look a mess? Answer me honestly, if you would."
Ocellus smiled. "Now that's the Skarloey I know," she said. Taking out her kit again, she set to work removing dust and corrosion from the old tank engine. Unfortunately, Duncan then rolled into the depot. He was absolutely caked in muck, and his paintwork wasn't so much red as a muddy brown.
"Hello!" he said to Ocellus. "Cleanin' Skarloey, are we? No wonder, his paint looks like-"
"Shh!" Smoulder hissed. "Hey, Celly, can I borrow some of your cleaning kit? Duncan looks less than presentable."
"Oi!"
Ocellus sighed, as she finished work on Skarloey. "I'm sorry," she said, "but I can't. Mrs Cake asked if I can help her look after her twins, as Pinkie isn't around. Not only that, I'm helping her make some more cakes for the teashop up at the lake. So I'm off to do that next. See you tomorrow!" And off she went, humming to herself.
Duncan sighed. "Seriously," he asked, "why does Skarloey get the priority treatment aroond here?" And on he ranted. "It's not fair, you know. Peter Sam gets a new funnel, Sir Handel gets new wheels, Skarloey gets a polish, passengers get cake, but what do I get? Nothing! Not even a polish!"
"Duncan," Smoulder sighed. "Stop moaning. If you behave well, I'll do it tomorrow. Deal?"
Duncan was out of the shed like a flash! Truth be told, Duncan had been polished (a bit), but he enjoyed complaining about things. He had no more time to moan, as suddenly Smoulder's phone went off, and she answered it.
"What?" she said. "Oh dear. Duncan won't like that one bit. A coach, you say? Sure, I'll tell him right away. Right. Bye!" she hung up, and looked at the tank engine. "A coach has derailed up the line," she said. "We need to go get it, as well as take some workmen up the line to mend it."
Duncan sighed. "I don't know whether I'm coming or going. But I'll do it."
Smoulder smiled. "There's a good engine," she said. "Come on!"
Truth be told, Duncan's mood hadn't actually changed at all. He was behaving in a likable manner as it was most likely to get him what he wanted, but he was still annoyed. He went up the line to where the derailed coach was. The engine on the head of the train had gone on with the other coaches to Lakeside station, which left the derailed coach to be rerailed. Duncan left the workmen and some trucks in the siding, and then was coupled onto the train, taking the remaining coaches down to Crovan's Gate so that the passengers could catch the train home. He sulked the entire way.
"I get no rest, I get no rest!" he grumbled, as he puffed along. Duncan seemed to be having steaming issues on the way, and so Smoulder paused partway down the line, just above Skarloey station, in an effort to build up steam pressure.
"Put some effort in," Smoulder sighed. "We'll keep the passengers waiting if we keep this up!"
"You always think aboot the passengers, and NEVER about me!" Duncan snapped in response. Eventually, the pressure was back to normal, and they resumed their trip down the line. Duncan still ran very slowly, as the train was somewhat too heavy for him, and he still grumbled. "I'm overworked and I can't stand it!" he grumbled.
Smoulder responded by putting in a pair of ear plugs. "Much better," she sighed. "At least I don't have to listen to Duncan all the time."
Just above Rheneas station is a seven arch viaduct. This is the last point trains have to cross before entering the station, and beyond that it is a relatively easy run to Crovan's Gate. As Duncan rumbled slowly onto the bridge, the end was in sight. "Come on Duncan!" Smoulder called. "One more effort, and you can have a rest and a drink at the station!"
Her choice of words couldn't have been worse, as Duncan snapped at the mention of 'rest'. His brakes came on, and he skidded to a complete halt in the middle of the viaduct. "Keep your old station!" he said. "I'm restin' here, and that's final!"
He sat there for half an hour. Eventually, they had to bring Skarloey and Ocellus up the line to pull the stricken train into the station, which not only annoyed Skarloey, as he had been having a nice break, but Ocellus too, as she had been enjoying helping the Cakes. Most annoyed of all were the passengers. They were very cross, and they made sure to tell Smoulder in very loud voices what a bad railway it was. But somehow even crosser was Mr Percival.
"No passengers means no polish!" Mr Percival snapped loudly, at Duncan, before turning to Smoulder. "Get your engine under control, or else I'll give you the sack!" And he walked away into the night.
"No polish means no passengers," Duncan grumbled, but then noticed Skarloey backing into the shed road next to him. And boy did he look cross.