One place on Sodor that was barely affected by the actions of Diesel 10 was the china clay pits. They continued on with their work, day in and day out. Bill and Ben were kept especially busy that day, and the heat and the dirt resulted in the two saddle tanks becoming cranky and tired with one another.
This reached a head one morning, when they sat in front of a line of trucks. "That's my line of trucks!" Bill grumbled.
"No it's not, it's mine!" Ben shot back. "Yours is over there!"
"That's ridiculous!" Bill snorted. "They are mine!"
"Are not!"
"Are too!"
"ARE NOT!"
"ARE TOO!"
Boco rattled to a stop with some empties to hear the argument, and sighed. "If you two don't stop arguing all you'll have is-"
Moments later, Bill and Ben both rocketed forward at the same time, crashing into each other and derailing in the proces.
"-trouble."
Filthy Rich sighed. "We need to get Mavis in here. She and Diamond would get this place in order in no time."
Seconds later, Babs and Sunflower Seed emerged from the rest house, only to see the carnage before them. "Just what we needed!" Sunflower grumbled.
"Anybody seen the derailin' kit?" Babs asked.
"The rerailing kit?" said the voice of Sir Toppham Hatt, making a flying visit.
"It wasn't my fault!" Ben shouted. "It was Bill who started moving first!"
"No it's not, it was Ben! HE started moving first!"
"Quiet!" Sir Toppham Hatt boomed. "Behave, or you can sit in your sheds for today." He cleared his throat. "Now then, I have acquired another engine to help out here, a diesel. He's new (or the newest I could find), and somewhat inexperienced, but keen to make a good impression, so please do help him in any way you can." He walked back to his car.
Boco frowned. "Doing your jobs correctly would be a good start," he sighed.
"Easy for you to say!" Bill shot back. "You're on the track!"
Sir Toppham Hatt turned his back to the carnage. "I hope the new diesel's OK," he sighed. "Derek's bound to have problems."
He was right. A diesel with two long bonnets and a central cab was trying to ascend Gordon's Hill. "Grease and oil! This hill is very steep; Heavens know how my engines will cope!"
"Keep steady on the throttle and we ought to be fine," said his driver.
But then, moments later, it happened. There was a loud pop, followed by a bang, and then his engines cut out, followed by smoke pouring from the rear engine housing.
"That's torn it!"
His driver hopped out of the cab and took a look. She was a girl with greyish skin and long black hair, complemented by a a pair of purple eyes. She wore a white formal short sleeved shirt with a purple bow tie, a purple waistcoat, a purple skirt with a symbol of a treble cleff on it, and a pair of black formal shoes, above which sat a pair of white long socks. She walked along the side of the engine, and took a look.
"That's worse than I can repair here," she said, in a clipped British accent. "I'll have to telephone for help. Stay there, Derek!"
"I can't exactly go anywhere," the diesel replied.
About 15 minutes later, Boco came to a stop with the tool coach.
"Terribly sorry, old chap," Derek said. "It's these Paxman engines, you see, they don't cope well with steep gradients. Nice to see you again, Boco!"
"And you too, Derek," Boco replied. "I did enjoy that gala at Chinnor. I know how it feels to be non standard; the Class 28s were completely rebuilt with new engines, and even then British Rail withdrew us after five years. Who's your driver?"
The girl spoke up. "I'm Olivia Clairmont," she replied. "But I prefer Octavia."
"Octavia?" asked Filthy Rich. "I believe I've seen you play with the Knapford Symphony Orchestra!"
"2nd cello," Octavia replied. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, sir."
"Call me Rich," Filthy Rich replied. "Now then, shall we get to work on fixing the engine?"
News of Derek's breakdown soon spread across the island. "Apparently," Thomas said to Percy, "it's teething troubles associated with his design."
Percy, naturally enough, got this information confused. As Bill and Ben puffed into the docks with some loaded trucks, he raised his voice. "Good luck, you two! That new diesel's got toothache!"
"What?" Babs asked.
"Why does Percy want to wish us luck?" Bill asked, confused.
"Because we'll need it," Ben said grimly. "I don't know what the world's coming to. A diesel with toothache? That must be a nightmare!"
Seconds later, Sunflower got a text on her phone. "Orders from management," she said. "Leave the trucks here and remain at the dock overnight for a rest. Remember the oranges."
"What?" Babs asked.
"I think he meant engines and his phone autocorrected."
That night, they rested alongside Duck. "What's wrong?" the big pannier tank asked.
"It's that new diesel!" Bill said. "He's got toothache!"
Duck laughed. "No, no. Some wires have got crossed somewhere. He has teething troubles, which means he's having technical problems. In this case, it's his engines, as they don't receive enough air to cool them down. They had the exact same problem on the Class 50s, if I recall correctly."
The next morning, the twins and their drivers waited at the quarry for the diesel. They had a heavy train to take to the docks. Moments later, an unfamiliar horn echoed through the yard.
"Great, it's the new diesel!"
Moments later, Derek rolled to a stop. "Good morning!" he said. His politeness caught the twins off guard. "I'm here to help you with your trucks. I suggest you take the front, and I'll bank from the rear. That sound good?"
"If anything, it would minimise the disruption caused by potential engine problems," Octavia said quietly. Once the engines were in place, they set off up the hill out of the quarry. At first, all was going well, both tank engines snorting on the front, and Derek's twin diesel engines roaring on the back.
"Come on, push harder!" Ben shouted.
"Put yer back inta it!" Sunflower added.
But Derek couldn't push any harder. He was close to exceeding his safe operational amp limit. Diesel electric locomotives can only be operated at full power for a limited period, or else the engines will begin to overheat. Warning lights came on in his cab.
"This isn't good," Octavia said. Moments later, a series of very loud bangs echoed, followed by the sound of electric discharge. Derek's engines cut out once again.
"Oh dear," he said. "I appear to have flashed over."
"Isn't this just great!" Ben complained. "This diesel is deadweight now!"
"We'll have to move both the train and Derek!" Babs commented. "Can you do it?"
"We'll jolly well try," Bill answered.
And they did. They got the train to the harbour, and Derek was dropped off in a siding so that a fitter could look at him. Later on, Sir Toppham Hatt came to visit them. "Jolly good work!" he said. "Sadly, Derek's engines have flashed over, so I've sent him to have some Rolls-Royce engines fitted instead. Can you four manage without him?"
"We'll try our best!" Ben exclaimed.
Derek has become a regular member of the China Clay pit fleet. With his BR Green livery and crests, he stands out immediately, and his politeness marks him out amongst most diesels. He is also very eager to help, although his reliability issues do get in the way sometimes. Octavia, on the other hand, is living with Vinyl Scratch on the island. Who knows what music they'll come up with?