//------------------------------//
// Stepney Gets Lost 
// Story: Thomas and Friends: the New Adventures 
// by The Blue EM2 
//------------------------------//

Things were finally back to normal on the Island of Sodor. With Storm King's defeat and the reopening of the Magic Railway to tourism, people were flocking to the island like never before. This meant that business was firmly as usual, and the railways of the island were very busy indeed.

One morning, Sweetie Belle was oiling Stepney over, ready for his day's duties on the Little Western. Suddenly, a car pulled up outside the shed, and Sweetie Belle went out to see who it was.

It was Sir Toppham Hatt. "Good morning, Sweetie Belle," he said. "Firstly, I would like to complement your sister's skill as a tailor. These new trousers are superb."

"I'll be sure to pass the news on, sir," Sweetie Belle replied. "Where are Stepney and I needed today?"

"Toby and Mavis are currently overworked in the Anopha Quarry, but I can't send a bigger engine as there are weight restrictions on the viaduct that leads to the quarry. As a result, I want you two to help them out for the day."

"Yes sir!" Stepney said. "Right away sir! I've never been to the quarry before!"

Sweetie Belle jumped onto his footplate. "Onwards to adventure!" she exclaimed, and they steamed off into the distance.

"Make sure to be back before dark!" Sir Toppham Hatt called.



After a long journey, and several water and coal stops, Stepney arrived at Anopha Quarry. Toby and Mavis, as well as their drivers Flash Sentry and Diamond Tiara, were waiting for them.

"Hello!" Toby called. "We're glad you're here. We've got a lot of work to do today!"

"Are those trucks mine?" Stepney asked.

"Only some of them," Mavis replied. "We've got masses more back there to clear out and move to the marshalling yards. Make sure they aren't overfilled; one of the brake vans is a bit picky about the load heights!"

"The more, the merrier!" Stepney cried, and he set to work. The work was hot, messy, and very noisy, but Stepney didn't care. The dustier he and Sweetie Belle got, the harder they worked.

Mavis stopped to refuel partway through the shunting, and she and her driver watched on as Stepney bustled up and down. "For an engine of his size and power," Mavis noted, "he works very hard. He's producing enough volume for several whistlers!"

"They are very determined," Diamond Tiara noted. "I'm seriously impressed. I understand now why Sir Toppham Hatt entrusted those three with the Little Western; they never give up!"

Later, when Stepney was taking on water, the foreman spoke to Sweetie Belle. "There's a consignment of trucks that need to be taken to the Harwick line that's being rebuilt. Would you be happy to take it?"

"Sure!" Sweetie Belle smiled. Of course, she had forgotten what Sir Toppham Hatt had said.



Night fell, and Stepney was ready for his goods run. The trucks were loaded, the brakes were ready, and Stepney's lamps were set up incorrectly.

"You need to move that bottom lamp to the other bracket, and add another one at the top," Flash pointed out. "That's a fitted goods, not light engine."

"And be careful out there!" Toby added. "It's dark, and you need to be careful."

"I will!" Stepney replied. "Thank you for a lovely day; I hope I can come back again one day."

"The line can be spooky," Mavis added. "Be careful!"

"Thanks for the warning!" Stepney answered, and sounded his whistle. He pulled away into the night, his heavy load bouncing behind him.

The Harwick line would come off at Peel Godred, at the end of the Peel Godred line. The run to Peel Godred was uneventful; apart from having to weave in and out of engineering trains, Stepney had a clear run, and dropped off his trucks in record time. Sweetie Belle changed his lamps, and after being turned on the turntable, Stepney headed for home.

It was dark and spooky as they ran along the line. In the dark, everything looked different. There was no real sense of where anything was, and to make matters worse the fog was rolling in, reducing visibility to almost zero.

"I have no idea where we are," Sweetie Belle said quietly. "We normally only run the Little Western at night, not out here."

"You're telling me," Stepney replied. "I can barely see even with my lamp. Mavis was right; everything does look spooky!"

Up ahead, a signal box was visible, and in the distance, a green light. "Full speed ahead Stepney!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed. "The signalman must have been expecting us!" They proceeded onwards into the night.

Only problem is, he hadn't been expecting them at all. The signalman had not been informed of the light engine move, and thought it was a slow goods. As a result, Stepney had been sent onto the wrong line.

It soon began to dawn on the engine and his driver that something was wrong. "It can't be taking us this long, can it?" Stepney asked Sweetie Belle.

"I've lost all track of time," she replied. Suddenly, they found themselves in amongst strange buildings and flickering red lights. Metal girders lay everywhere, chains hung from ceilings, and all around were the sounds of torches and bubbling liquid. "I think we've gone wrong somewhere, as I don't recognise this place. We should wait until the fog clears."

A few minutes later, the fog slowly lifted. Stepney looked all around and realised, to his horror, where he was. Lying all over the place were the broken up wrecks of steam and diesel locomotives, including, to his horror, a Terrier! "The scrapyards!" he cried. "We're in the scrapyards! We have to get out of here, now!"

Sweetie Belle was about to go for help, when suddenly a pair of horns echoed in the distance. Out of the gloom, two Class 08 shunters approached. Both of them were painted green with orange cabs and lining. One rolled up behind Stepney, and the other parked alongside him.

"Well, well, well," said the first. "What do we have 'ere? We were expectin' junk parts, but a full steam engine will do nicely." He read the name. "'is name's Stepney, Bert. Rings a bell."

"Sure does, 'Arry," said the other, whom Stepney inferred was Bert. "We 'ad another Terrier here a little while back. Shadwell, I think 'e was. 'e made some good scrap, and I think this one will too. Buffer 'em, Bert. Where you're goin', there ain't no comin' back."

Bert collided with Stepney's rear bufferbeam, and began to push him towards the building. The doors of the building slid open, to reveal more machines, mostly cutting tools and blowtorches. Sweetie Belle had applied Stepney's locomotive and train brakes, but Bert was simply too powerful. Eventually, they left Stepney in position. Above him was a massive crane, designed to rip a boiler free of the frames and crush the water tanks.

'Arry laughed. "Bye, bye, Stepney. At least you'll get to see your brothers and sisters again!" Both diesels cackled as they backed up, and the door closed.

"Section clear, locomotives and personnel are clear of machinery. Start up the grabber."

Sweetie Belle dived out of the cab and began waving at the control booth. "STOP! STOP! THERE'S STILL SOMEBODY IN HERE!"

But it was too late. The crane began to lower down, the central hole positioned over Stepney's dome. It advanced relentlessly, never giving an inch. Stepney tried to move, but clamps had locked his wheels in place so he couldn't escape. He closed his eyes, tears streaming down his face. "NOOOO!" he cried. "THIS ENGINE'S NOT FOR SCRAPPING!"

The grabber ignored him. Sweetie Belle, in desparation, started throwing things at the grabber to get it to stop, but that didn't work either. All the while, the pair never ceased calling for help.

But just as the grabber was about to clamp down on Stepney... it stopped. Stepney opened his eyes, to see it had stopped inches above him. "What?"

Sir Toppham Hatt was watching from a nearby gantry. "You two," he said, "are lucky that I was here tonight. I was able to tell the foreman of the mixup. I'm sending Duck to tow you both back to Arlesburgh."

Stepney sighed in relief. "Thank you sir," he said. "I thought I was a goner. But Sweetie Belle and I have learned something important today."

"And that is?"

"There's no place like home."