//------------------------------//
// The Old Bridge 
// Story: Thomas and Friends: the New Adventures 
// by The Blue EM2 
//------------------------------//

It's been a while since we were last on the Skarloey Railway, so we return there today. Skarloey, Rheneas, Ocellus, and Yona all know how lucky they are to work on one of the most beautiful narrow gauge railways in the world. The line climbs through beautiful forests and over pleasant rivers, into the hills and far away. The railway line that runs up to Blue Mountain Quarry is notable for having a large, wooden trestle bridge. This bridge, unfortunately, was in need of structural repairs, as some of the beams were starting to rot and give way. One morning, Skarloey was travelling over the bridge as he had a shipment of slate wagons to take to the quarry to be refilled, then Duncan was to take them back later that afternoon.

As he rolled onto the bridge, it began to creak ominously, like it had been damaged in a high wind. "I don't like this!" Skarloey said. "The bridge is too wobbly for my taste!"

"I'm getting nervous too," Ocellus replied. "The sooner we get over it, the bet-"

She never had a chance to finish her sentence. There was a loud crack as one of the beams gave way, and the top deck of the bridge abruptly collapsed. Skarloey plunged down into the lower beams of the bridge and came to a stop as his chimney was wedged in by the remaining bridge deck.

"Oh dear," he said. "I don't want to go for a swim!"

Ocellus held on for dear life. "SOMEBODY HELP US!"





Rusty came along later that day to recover the trucks, and then returned with a crane to pull Skarloey back onto the track. Skarloey seemed to be mostly OK, but Ocellus was white as a sheet, not entirely surprising given her near death experience. Sandbar, being the gentleman he is, stayed with her for the rest of the day to ensure she was OK, and before long she was back to work. Mr Percival came to visit them one morning to tell them some good news.

"The bridge has been repaired," he said, "but the workmen's trucks have been left nearby and need to be recovered. Skarloey, you wouldn't mind going and recovering them?"

"Yes sir," Skarloey replied. However, he didn't particularly fancy going on the bridge again, and neither did Ocellus. When he arrived at the old bridge, he saw the trucks at the other side, however none of them were on the track. The bridge was high up, and wobbled as Skarloey moved forward. The bridge wasn't the only thing wobbling. Ocellus was shaking in fright as the engine slowly moved forward. But midway along, he saw the water and stopped, remembering what had happened the last time he had tried to cross it.

"I don't think I want to go any further!" he said.

"N- n- neither d- do I!" Ocellus barely squeaked out, and wound his reverser back all the way. The pair then reversed up the line and stopped in a nearby siding. 

Rusty then came by. "Don't you worry, you two," he said. "I'll go and collect them now and take them to the yard."

"I just hope the others can keep their mouths shut," said Sandbar sadly. "Knowing Gallus, he'll probably make fun of you for this. But he's a hypocrite anyways; he has claustrophobia."

Rheneas was annoyed. He puffed along grumpily, pulling Skarloey's assigned train to Blue Mountain in addition to his own. "I don't understand what's gotten into those two," he grumbled to Yona. "I wouldn't think twice about crossing a bridge, even if it were in less than brilliant shape. Whatever would the passengers think."

"Yona think Skarloey and Ocellus are scaredycats!" Yona said. "Yona afraid of nothing, like all Scandinavians!"

Back at the yard, Mister Percival came to see Skarloey.

"Both of you," he said, "have clearly not fully recovered from the incident on the old bridge. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have sent you back there so soon."

Ocellus wiped her eyes. "I can't help being acrophobic," she whispered.

"I'm not blaming you for something you can't control," Mr Percival replied. "I think a nice passenger run to the lake and back will help soothe your nerves. The carriages are waiting at Crovan's Gate station for you."





Whilst Skarloey and Ocellus were reassigned to the passenger duties, Rheneas moved the load assigned to Skarloey as well as his own, receiving diesel assistance from Rusty. As the gargantuan train rolled onto the old bridge, Rheneas suddenly broke down. His water tanks were empty, as he had not refilled before setting off on his way. Yona waved her hand to signal Rusty to stop.

"What's going on, Yona?" asked Sandbar.

"Rheneas tanks empty! Yona going to throw out fire!"

"Not on a wooden bridge you're not!" Rheneas said. "It'd catch fire from the cinders. Just dampen my fire down and let it cool slowly."

Yona began to slowly cool the fire, when suddenly a spider appeared in front of her. "YAAAAAAAAAGH!"

"What's going on?" Rusty asked.

"YONA NOT LIKE SPIDERS!"





Skarloey had just arrived at Lakeside station, when the station master came out to see him. "Rusty just came by. Rheneas has broken down on the bridge. The wagons have already been recovered, but we need another engine to collect Rheneas whilst Rusty shunts his trucks."

"We HAVE to help him!" Ocellus said.

"But the Bridge-"

"Rheneas doesn't deserve to end up in the drink. Looks like we'll both be facing our fears today."

So, bravely, both of them set off for the bridge, taking the T junction that took them to the bridge. Skarloey stopped just short. "Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked. "I can go over on my own and collect Rheneas."

"Who would couple you up?" Ocellus asked. "We need to do this together." With a look of grim determination, she opened the regulator and Skarloey crept onto the bridge. The structure wobbled and creaked. The river seemed deeper than ever.

Skarloey was frightened. But then, he remembered something Duke had said. "Look at the track, never mind the view." Focusing purely on the track, he rolled forward.

"That's it!" Rheneas called. "Keep looking at me! Look at the track, never mind the view!"

Ocellus was driving from instinct. Her eyes were jammed shut from the fear, and the bridge continued to shudder and shake. But at long last, the two engines made contact, and Ocellus got out of the cab and hooked Skarloey up to Rheneas.

Yona looked up. "Spider not nice thing to Yona!"

"Turns out she's arachnophobic," said Rheneas.

Ocellus went over to see the spider. "He can't hurt you. He's not venomous."

"How Ocellus know that?"

"My uncle Pharynx is an entomologist. It kinda rubbed off on me." Returning to Skarloey's cab, they began to pull Rheneas off the bridge.

Later that day, Rheneas felt sorry. "Thanks for rescuing me, Skarloey," he said. "I was wrong to think of you as a coward. I guess we all overcame our fears today."

"I suppose so," said Skarloey. "I'm no longer worried by that bridge, and Ocellus here is thinking of taking up ziplining as a sport!"

"Though not too high at first," Ocellus replied.